Rashida Tlaib

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that we recognize the legacy of Bob Berg, a communications professional and long-time public servant in the city of Detroit. Born April 1, 1943, in Watseka, Illinois, Mr. Berg grew up on farms in central Illinois and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in political science from Wesleyan University where he wrote for the student paper. After graduating, Mr. Berg held several positions, including leading the state capitol bureau for United Press International covering Governor William G. Milliken. He was later hired in the Public Affairs office of Milliken. In 1982, Mr. Berg went on to the role for which he is most well- known, serving as press secretary for Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young. Mr. Berg's professionalism and work ethic earned him his reputation for being an exceptional press secretary. He served on Mayor Young's staff for eleven years, touching on many issues that faced Detroiters. Beyond his time serving under Mayor Young, Mr. Berg began his own communications firm. He was honored by New Detroit in 2014 with a Leadership in Race Relations award and by the Detroit Urban League in 2018 as a Distinguished Warrior. Mr. Berg served on several organizations, including on the board of the Coleman A. Young Foundation, the Detroit Police Foundation, and the Detroit Urban League. It is with great sadness that we recognize the great loss of Bob Berg and give tribute to his surviving family.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, community members came together to celebrate the life of Lila Cabbil, affectionately known as Mama Lila, or Ms. Cabbil, a dedicated and well-known activist and a member of our community. With genuine respect for her legacy, we join with the community in celebrating Ms. Cabbil, remembering the impact she continues to have on so many people and hold her tight to her family. She will be sincerely missed and long remembered. Mama Lila lived to serve and advocate for a better quality of life for her community. Born in North Carolina and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Mama Lila possessed a strong sense of justice and willingness to stand against injustices. She became involved with the civil rights movement and was a close friend of Rosa Parks. Mama Lila soon became a prominent leader in the movement, becoming the president of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. She has been a tireless advocate for economic and social justice, as well as for food and water justice in the city of Detroit. In addition, Mama Lila has served as an educator for younger generations, advocating for greater social awareness and sensitivity. She facilitated dialogue across cultures and built relationships in order to address systematic oppression and combat racism. We offer our words of praise as a memorial for Mama Lila. May her family find comfort in their faith and their memories of this fine person and her distinguished life.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Chair, I am proud to be a supporter of H.R. 1500, the Consumers First Act. The act ensures that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau serves its statutory purpose of protecting consumers from unfair, abusive practices, and holding greedy corporations accountable when they take advantage of people in our communities. The residents of the 13th District in Michigan are charged a whopping 369 percent APR rate by payday lenders. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, payday loans drain over $4.1 billion in fees a year from people in 35 States that allow triple digit interest rates for payday loans. Car title loans drain over $3.8 billion in fees annually from people in 22 States. Madam Chair, together, these loans drain nearly $8 billion in fees every year, money that should be going to pay rent or buy groceries. Instead, it is going to line the pockets of predatory lenders who are making record profits. Across Michigan, 600 payday lending storefronts each issue 3,000 loans a year. Most of those loans are used by a borrower to repay their prior loans; and 90 percent of these loan borrowers in Michigan re- borrow within 60 days. This is why I am offering an amendment that ensures that our residents are protected from predatory lending in the payday and auto loan industries. This amendment will provide those of us in Congress with the information necessary to know how these industries are operating and how our residents are being impacted directly. A doctor can't treat a disease without the necessary lab work or research. This also applies to our ability, as public servants, to push back against these loans being offered in all corners of our communities that push our residents more into poverty. This payday lending amendment would require the CFPB to report to Congress quarterly the number of investigations opened and closed relating to payday and car title lenders. It requires an oversight report every quarter on the number of enforcement actions, an estimate of how much in fees payday or car title customers pay, how many times in the previous 12 months payday customers rolled over their loans, and how many car title loan borrowers lost their cars in the previous 12 months. Madam Chair, we have a responsibility to tackle this debt trap crisis that is set up for more profits for corporations but leaves the American people in financial despair with no escape. In Michigan, predatory lenders are looking to squeeze money out of low-income people with deceptive and abusive practices and have, unfortunately, found a steady stream of business back home in our districts. Taking advantage of people in difficult situations is immoral, but companies continue to stretch and break the law for an extra buck, regardless of the human cost. In my district, Detroiters with payday loans are more likely to file for bankruptcy, be evicted, or face utility shutoffs than any other Detroiter without payday loans. Madam Chair, I say to my colleagues, these numbers are not unique to the State of Michigan. Our constituents are being harmed by these abusive, greedy practices, and we have to make sure we have all the information we need to take action and protect our families. We know that many consumers who are forced to get high-interest, high-fees payday loans are targeted low-income families. Many are taken advantage of because they have relatively few other places to turn. According to the New York Fed, more Americans than ever were at least 3 months behind on their auto loans, and it said delinquencies were worsening among subprime borrowers. Auto debt is now nearing $1.3 trillion. Madam Chair, many of our constituents are a missed payday or a family emergency away from being forced to rely on payday loans or missing an auto payment. Many are already in that position. It is our job to make sure we have the information necessary in this body to protect them. Madam Chair, this amendment strengthens consumer protection, and I encourage my colleagues to support it. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Chair, I do want to note the burden outweighs the cost on our residents back home. We need to be able to know exactly what is happening on the ground at home in regard to these kinds of practices and abusive behavior by payday lenders. We as a body need transparency and understanding of what is going through the CFPB, and we are not able to remedy these challenges for our residents without that information. Madam Chair, I hope that we can agree this is a bipartisan issue. This would impact a majority of our States across this Nation. Madam Chair, again, I hope I can get some support from my good colleague, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Chair, I do want to clarify to my good colleague that this is not an annual report. We want to know, every quarter, changes in payday complaints. So just be aware that this is about a quarterly report regarding those changes. This is not an annual report. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Correct.

Ms. TLAIB. Yes.

Ms. TLAIB. Will the gentleman yield?

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 218.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who puts this Special Order together every week, has truly been committed to the rights of our LGBTQ neighbors, and I am very pleased that many of my colleagues tomorrow, in a very bipartisan way, are going to be supporting a historic, historic bill: the Equality Act. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter).

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Haaland).

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I also would love to recognize the fact--it is pretty historic--that Madam Speaker who is presiding over this Chamber right now is a member of our beautiful community, of the LGBTQ community. That, to me, is pretty historic as we now are debating and putting forward the Equality Act. That is Congresswoman Angie Craig. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), my colleague.

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today to uplift my LGBTQ neighbors at home in the 13th Congressional District. I want them to know that I uplift them today, and always, as their unwavering advocate in the United States Congress. There are ideals and values we all should attempt to live up to in this country. I know many of us ran to be in this Chamber to ensure that our laws match those values and ideals as well. When I think of these issues we confront as people and as a representative body, I always feel that we must use an approach that is rooted in values that uplift our whole communities. The values of equality, justice, and acceptance come to mind when I think of the need to pass the Equality Act. Far too long, our LGBTQ neighbors have been forced to live a life of fear, a life in hiding, a life of oppression, and a life of instability. We have come a long way in the LGBTQ rights community, but we have a long way to go. The Equality Act is a step in the right direction on this important path toward justice. I think of the right side of history, when the right to marriage was afforded to same-sex couples, the moment when our LGBTQ neighbors in Michigan were able to create that special bond with their loved ones. But I am also reminded of the stark reality that they faced being in States where they could still be fired from their jobs the day after their wedding for being gay. I think of the trans community across the country that still faces discrimination and violence, especially trans women of color who are disproportionately targeted and killed. Our laws still do not protect them. LGBTQ Americans remain vulnerable to discrimination on a daily basis and, too often, have little recourse. Fifty percent of the national LGBTQ community live in States where, though they have the right to marry, they still have no explicit nondiscrimination practices in other areas of their daily life. One's identity could still mean deep harm and even death for some communities in this country, and we must change this. I think of our LGBTQ neighbors who are denied public accommodation just because of who they are and whom they love. I think about how we are failing them by not living out our values rooted in justice. This week, we have a chance to begin to change with the Equality Act. We now have a pro-equality majority, Madam Speaker, in this Chamber, and I am so glad we can change the fact that LGBTQ folks are being denied housing, services, and employment in the majority of our States. I am so glad to be part of ensuring that everyone has full protection in our civil rights laws, regardless of who they are and whom they love. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), my colleague.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, we must have a moral awakening, a spiritual revolution on how we treat a person's health in this country. We must understand that every single human has a right to be healthy and comfortable, to live with dignity, and to receive the healthcare they need to flourish. At present, this understanding is in conflict with a sinister, unjust force in our society: corporate greed. Why are people forced to skip insulin injections so they can pay their rent? Why are my residents charged $70 for a PrEP, a pill that could dramatically reduce HIV transmission, when the same pill costs $7 abroad? Corporate greed has replaced the moral imperative that everyone live in health and dignity. There is more wealth in this country than any other in human history, and millions go without health insurance and prescription drugs, people condemned to live with pain and suffering because we have chosen corporate profits over our dignity as a nation. We are watching a crisis unfold in real time. It is time we break the corporate stranglehold on our health and well-being, lost profits of the insanely wealthy be damned. We have much more important things to protect. We have the soul of this country to rescue.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to recognize the Honorable Judge Damon J. Keith for his leadership and tremendous contributions to the civil rights movement, and to honor his memory. Born on July 4th, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan--a fitting birth date for a man who upheld the rights so cherished by our nation--Damon Keith was the youngest of six children born to Annie and Perry Alexander, a Ford factory worker. Keith was a proud graduate of the Detroit Public School System, graduating with honors from Northwestern High School in 1939. Keith was the first of his family to attend college and from there he went on to serve in the military before graduating from Howard University Law School in 1949. Judge Keith returned to Detroit to begin his legal career, earning an LLM from Wayne State University. Damon Keith worked in his own private law practice until 1967 when he was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Keith served as Chief Judge from 1975 to 1977 before he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Keith's career is distinguished by his tireless defense of the U.S. Constitution. He decided several important cases that advanced civil rights in the State of Michigan. His legacy in the civil rights movement includes deciding cases against segregating schools, employment and housing discrimination, and federal wiretapping policies. Key among these cases are a 1970 decision ordering desegregation of Pontiac schools, a 1971 ruling that Nixon and AG Mitchell violated the federal constitution by wiretapping students in Ann Arbor, and lastly a 2002 ruling that deportation hearings held in private are unconstitutional--an opinion in which he famously wrote, ``Democracies die behind closed doors.'' He was also instrumental in upholding the rights of local workers across the state. In 1973, Judge Keith ordered Detroit Edison to pay $4 million to black employees who were victims of job discrimination and ordered the company to create an affirmative action program. He also ordered the union to pay $250,000 for failing to protect their workers from discrimination. His tireless work and fight to advance the quality of life for all people are memories and values we will forever cherish and continue to uphold. It is a great privilege to recognize a gentleman who contributed so much of his life to fight for human rights and civil equality for human beings. This is in recognition of a great loss to our state and a tribute to Judge Keith's surviving family as we honor his legacy.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, 6 years ago yesterday, Westland firefighter Brian Woehlke made the ultimate sacrifice when he died courageously battling a blaze at a local strip mall. Brian, who was born in Detroit, certainly was courageous, and he lost his life after the 29 short years he had been on this Earth. On the sixth anniversary of his tragic passing, let us remember him and his loving family that survives him, including his wife, Jennifer, and his daughter, Ava. We thank them for their selflessness and bravery, and we honor them by offering unwavering support for the men and women who continue to serve as our first responders across the country.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a civil rights icon. Judge Damon Keith passed away this past week. He said one of his mentors, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, would say to him: When you finish Harvard law, Judge Keith, I want you to use the law as a means of social change. Judge Keith said: That is what I am trying to do in my lifetime. The civil rights icon was courageous. He will be sorely missed by many, but even more in his home community of the city of Detroit. In one of his most famous cases, he said, in his opinion, that: ``Democracies die behind closed doors.'' And from a recent Detroit Free Press article, in 1973, Judge Keith ordered Detroit Edison to pay $4 million to Black employees who were victims of job discrimination and ordered it to create an affirmative action program. Some of these are just a little hint of the incredible contribution that Judge Keith had to our Nation. He will be sorely missed, but, hopefully, his legacy on civil rights and justice for all will continue on in our work here in this Chamber.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, we talk about opportunity a lot in this Chamber. The opportunity to thrive, the access to get ahead in life if you worked hard. We tell our kids every day that opportunity is abundant. It is everywhere, in every corner. If you just work hard, you can have access to a tremendous amount of opportunity. Yet we know now that many roadblocks exist through no fault of their own. This is why it is so critically important to talk about the college affordability issue and crisis in our country. There are many motivations to go to school. For many first-generation college students like me, it is to help their families. Many want to give back to their community, yet many are not able to fulfill this dream because of affordability. In fact, Mr. Speaker, Michigan ranks among States in the bottom half in college attainment. Fewer than 30 percent of Michigan adults hold at least a bachelor's degree. We are closing the door on those who want to help others, whether it is their family or their broader community. Studies show that first-generation college students go to college in order to help their families. Sixty-nine percent of them say they want to help their families compared to 39 percent of students whose parents have earned a degree. This desire also extends to the community with 61 percent of first-generation college students wanting to give back to their communities compared to 43 percent of their non-first-generation peers. Regarding college school loan debt, students used to think about getting good enough grades when we go to college. That is what we were focused on. Not anymore, Mr. Speaker. Students today are forced to make a decision between a degree and access to that opportunity or debt. In 2016, 64 percent of Michigan college graduates left school with debt, an average of over $30,000 a year, the 11th highest in the Nation. Even after factoring in grant programs, low-income families have to pay more than 70 percent of their income to cover college costs. I want to share a story of my friend in college. It took him close to a decade because he was serving our country. He came back after serving not only as a U.S. marine but also doing civil service work for the United States Army. He came back, and all he wanted to do was become a schoolteacher, a public educator. He loves it. It is his passion. As he sits in his classroom every single day educating our children, he has to also deal with the increase in debt, with the high cost of interest, and with all those things that now put him in a financial crisis. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that low- and middle-income households already face higher burdens. They are less likely to have family assistance and more likely to have other pressures such as a part-time job or family caretaking roles in addition to their schoolwork. As many low-income students avoid applying to college altogether due to costs, borrowers who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt aren't able to purchase homes, start their families, obtain employment in certain fields, and save for retirement. Student loan debt is further putting low- and middle-income students and their families into a downward spiral that leaves many worse off than they were when they started school. This is not how it has to be. Student debt has a greater impact on low-income borrowers, as many of us know. In fact, borrowers in low- and moderate-income households face education debt that has averaged 24 percent of their income in 2010 alone. The average for all households was 6 percent. Looking at that more deeply and really unpacking that, we also have to look at food insecurity and housing insecurity when it comes to college affordability. The current state of college affordability leaves so many students in housing insecurity as well as food insecurity. Most college students, Mr. Speaker, attending at least half-time are not eligible for SNAP assistance unless they work at least 20 hours per week or they work part-time in a work-study program, have young children, or meet certain other requirements. Again, they are stuck in a spiral of insecurity. However, working 20 hours a week has been shown to lengthen the time it takes to graduate, just like for one of my best friends. Increased college costs lead to a heightened risk of dropping out as well. I have seen many, many of my friends who started with me who could not finish because they couldn't afford it. On-campus housing comprises anywhere from 24 to 42 percent of students' total budgets. Meanwhile, the cost of off-campus housing surrounding universities tends to be higher than the standard market rate. We see that in all our districts across the Nation. These steep costs have consequences. One survey alone found that 42 percent of their undergraduate students had experienced housing insecurity within the past year. In many cases, housing insecurity is coupled with food insecurity. In one study, 59 percent of students at a 4-year university experienced food insecurity. What that means is not having enough to eat, just like my colleague from California talked about for a specific resident in her community who only could afford to eat once a day. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that the more college becomes unaffordable and out of reach for working- and middle-class families, the more we subject students to poverty as they try to obtain higher education. As income inequality increases and as we see it across our Nation every single day, and college tuition and living expenses go up as well, we are creating an environment where fewer people have an opportunity to thrive, fewer people can help their families, and fewer people have the means to help their community. This should not happen in our country, and we should be working day in and day out to correct this. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today recognizing the amazing contribution of our Congressional Progressive Caucus in allowing many of our colleagues who are pushing bold and progressive ideas, especially around college affordability. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter).

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 170.

Ms. TLAIB

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.