Lori Trahan

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, on November 15, 2019, my vote was not recorded on the McAdams amendment to H.R. 4863 (Roll Call No. 619). I would like to reflect how I intended to vote: YEA on Roll Call No. 619.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 1915, a bill originally introduced by Representative Cummings of Maryland, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) for their dedication to the Tice family. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to an issue of critical importance for our country. Our fellow American, Austin Tice, is in his eighth year of captivity in Syria, where we believe he was unjustly detained and is reported to be held by the Syrian Government or its affiliates. Austin was risking his health and safety as a freelance reporter, endeavoring to shed light on the suffering of the Syrian people for the world to see. His reporting has appeared in The Washington Post, McClatchy, and other news outlets. As a fellow graduate of Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, Austin was also a former Marine Corps captain who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Austin was no stranger to risk. Regardless, he knew the importance of the work he was undertaking. His dedication to service represents the very best our country has to offer. There is every reason for us to believe that Austin is still alive, and I have joined with my colleagues to call on our administration to use the full resources of the United States Government to bring Austin home. I had the privilege of meeting Austin's parents, Marc and Debra, a couple of months ago. I am awestruck by their hope, their perseverance, and their commitment to seeing their son returned home once and for all. I am comforted that there is strong bipartisan support behind this effort. I know we can get this done if we work together. I again thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia. I appreciate so much her organizing this Special Order and a coalition of bipartisan legislators to keep focus on this very important issue. We won't stop until we bring Austin Tice home.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of millions of Americans to call ``foul'' on Major League Baseball. This week, Major League Baseball is discussing a proposal to cut the number of minor league franchises by 25 percent. The Lowell Spinners, a Red Sox affiliate, is among the 42 teams being forced out. This plan is a betrayal of the fans and players as well as stadium vendors and employees around the Nation. It is an affront to the people of Lowell who swung for the fences in building LeLacheur Park, one of the Nation's best minor league parks. As the World Series gets underway, remember that the minor league system produces the talent we see on the baseball diamond. MLB's plan is way off base and will hurt so many communities across the country that rely on minor league teams' presence. Let's call it a balk and get back to rooting for the home team.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, on October 15, 2019, I was unable to participate in the vote series. I would like the record to reflect how I would have voted if I were present; YEA on Roll Call No. 556, and YEA on Roll Call No. 557.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of a tragic anniversary that the residents of the Merrimack Valley will never forget. Tomorrow marks 1 year since a cascade of explosions in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover, Massachusetts, damaged over 130 homes and businesses, burning several to the ground. At least 20 people were sent to the hospital. A Lawrence police officer, Ivan Soto, lost his home while aiding his community. Shakira Figueroa was seriously injured, and a young man, Leonel Rondon, lost his life. An NTSB investigation revealed a series of failures by the gas company as it replaced pipelines in the area. Oversights allowed the full flow of high-pressure gas to enter a low-pressure distribution system. In April, I introduced the Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act to prevent this type of disaster from ever happening again. We owe it to the Sotos, the Figueroas, the Rondons, and the many other families who suffered on September 13 to pass strong pipeline safety legislation this year.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from women's community groups in support of this legislation. July 15, 2019. Pass the Raise the Wage Act Dear Members of Congress: As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic security and equity for women, we strongly urge you to pass the Raise the Wage Act as a top priority of the 116th Congress. The Raise the Wage Act will raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2024, then index the minimum wage so that it continues to rise along with wages overall. It will also end unfair exclusions for tipped workers, people with disabilities, and youth so that they, too, can benefit from a decent minimum wage. Women across the country--especially women of color-- continue to experience a pay gap and a higher risk of poverty than men. Women working full time, year round typically make only 80 percent of what their male counterparts make, leaving a wage gap of 20 cents on the dollar. This wage gap varies by race and is larger for women of color: Black women working full time, year round typically make only 61 cents, Native women only 58 cents, and Latinas only 53 cents, for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. While Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make 85 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, many AAPI communities experience drastically wider pay gaps. Women's overrepresentation in low-wage jobs is a driving force behind the gender pay gap. Women are close to two- thirds of the workforce in jobs that pay the minimum wage or just a few dollars above it, as well as two-thirds of workers in tipped jobs. Women of color are particularly overrepresented among tipped workers and other low-wage workers. They are particularly harmed by the $7.25 federal minimum wage that has not gone up in a decade and by the $2.13 tipped minimum cash wage that has been frozen for an astonishing 28 years. Poverty-level wages heighten women's economic vulnerability, which in turn heightens their vulnerability to sexual harassment on the job. Women who rely on tips to survive often feel compelled to tolerate inappropriate behavior from customers so as not to jeopardize their income and employers are often unwilling to protect their employees for fear of upsetting a paying customer. Women's lack of economic power in these workplaces perpetuates the already pervasive culture of sexual harassment in industries that employ large numbers of tipped workers. The Raise the Wage Act is critically needed to advance women's economic security and dignity in the workplace. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would give nearly one in three working women a raise, including 41 percent of Black working women, 38 percent of working Latinas, 29 percent of white working women, and 18 percent of Asian working women. Women and people of color have been left behind by our economy and our policies far too often, for far too long. Adopting the Raise the Wage Act would mark a crucial step toward ensuring they can work with equity, dignity, and safety. There is no more fitting way to begin this historic Congress than by making real, concrete progress in ensuring all women receive adequate pay. We urge you to prioritize the Raise the Wage Act in the 116th Congress by swiftly passing this legislation. Sincerely, 9to5, National Association of Working Women; 9to5 Georgia; A Better Balance; Abortion Access Front; ACCESS; African American Health Alliance; All-Options; Amara Legal Center; American Association of University Women (AAUW); American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; AFT Local 1766 (Union of Rutgers Administrators); American Medical Student Association; American Psychological Association; Americans for Democratic Action (ADA); Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence; Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO; Black Women's Roundtable; MS Black Women's Roundtable; Bucks County Women's Advocacy Coalition. California Child Care Resource & Referral Network; Cambridge Committee to Raise the Minimum Wage; Caring Across Generations; Center for American Progress; Center for Frontline Retail; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for Popular Democracy; Chelsea Collaborative; Citizen Action of New York; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues. Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW); California Capital Chapter, CLUW; Capital Area Chapter, CLUW; Chesapeake Bay Chapter, CLUW; Chicago Chapter, CLUW; Cleveland Chapter, CLUW; Florida Chapter, CLUW; Genesee County Chapter, CLUW; Grand Prairie Arlington Chapter, CLUW; Greater Kansas City Chapter, CLUW. Greater New Jersey Chapter, CLUW; Greater Oklahoma City Chapter, CLUW; Houston Chapter, CLUW; Kate Mullany Chapter, CLUW; King County Chapter, CLUW; Lorain County Chapter, CLUW; Los Angeles Chapter, CLUW; Metro-Detroit Chapter, CLUW; Metropolitan District of Columbia Chapter, CLUW; Missouri Chapter, CLUW. Northeast Cleveland Chapter, CLUW; Pennsylvania State Chapter, CLUW ; Philadelphia Chapter, CLUW; Rhode Island Chapter, CLUW; San Diego Chapter, CLUW; San Francisco Chapter, CLUW; Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter, CLUW; St. Louis Chapter, CLUW; Western New York Chapter, CLUW; Western Virginia Chapter, CLUW. Coalition on Human Needs; Color of Change; Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF); Criminalization of Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies; Day One; Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment & Appeals Project; Economic Opportunity Institute; Empire Justice Center; Equal Rights Advocates; Equality North Carolina. Equality Ohio; Fair World Project; Federally Employed Women; Feminist Majority Foundation; Food Chain Workers Alliance; Forward Together; Found Objects Transformed; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Futures Without Violence; Gender Justice. Health Care for America Now; If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice; Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault; In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda; Innovation Ohio Education Fund; Institute for Women's Policy Research; Interfaith Worker Justice; Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action; Jewish Women International; Jobs With Justice; Jobs With Justice, Cleveland; Jobs With Justice, St Joseph Valley Project. Justice for Migrant Women; Kentucky Equal Justice Center; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); Las Hermanas USA; Laundry Workers Center; Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund; Maine Women's Lobby; Massachusetts Voter Table; Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH); Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence. MNCASA; Moms Demand Action, Triad North Carolina; MomsRising; NAACP; NARAL Pro-Choice, North Carolina; National Alliance to End Sexual Violence; National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF); National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Coalition for the Homeless. National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Central Ohio Chapter; National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Queen City Metropolitan Chapter; National Committee on Pay Equity; National Council of Jewish Women; National Council of Jewish Women, Arizona; National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans; National Council of Jewish Women, Pennsylvania; National Domestic Workers Alliance; National Employment Law Project; National Employment Lawyers Association. National Immigration Law Center; National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH); National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund; National Network of Abortion Funds; National Organization for Women (NOW); NOW, Louisiana; NOW, North Carolina; NOW, Raleigh; NOW, Southwest Pennsylvania; NOW, Triad North Carolina. National Partnership for Women & Families; National Women's Law Center; National Women's Health Network; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence; New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs; New Voices for Reproductive Justice; New York Union Child Care Coalition; North Carolina State AFL-CIO; North Carolina Women United. Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health; Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence; Ohio Domestic Violence Network; Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice; Oklahoma Women's Coalition; Organization United for Respect; Oxfam America; Path Ways PA; Pennsylvania NOW; People For the American Way. PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts); Physicians for Reproductive Health; PL+US: Paid Leave for the United States; PowHer New York; Project IRENE; Public Justice Center; PWN-USA; Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition; Restaurant Opportunities Centers United; Restaurant Opportunities Center, Pennsylvania. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS); Shriver Center on Poverty Law; Solace Crisis Treatment Center; Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness; Tewa Women United; The Women's Law Center of Maryland; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Mass Action Network; United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries; United for A Fair Economy. United Democratic Women of MD, Inc.; URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity; V.I. Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Council; Valencia Shelter Services; Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Voices for Progress; Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; Washington State Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs; West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy; Western Center on Law and Poverty. Women & Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania; Women Employed; Women Lawyers of Sacramento; Women of Reform Judaism; Women's Law Project; Women's Rights and Empowerment Network; Women's Medical Fund, Pennsylvania; WomenRising, Inc.; Working Washington/Fair Work Center; Workplace Fairness. WV FREE; Yellowhammer Fund; YWCA USA; YWCA, Dayton; ZERO TO

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to give more than 33 million deserving Americans a raise by voting for the Raise the Wage Act. I want to commend Chairman Scott and his staff for their outstanding work to get us to this point. The current Federal minimum wage rate hasn't budged in a decade, but basic costs have, and they have dramatically. It is an affront to basic fairness and an intolerable conditions for families working hard yet falling further and further behind. They live on a razor's edge facing impossible choices: Paying the rent or the car; Buying diapers and formula for their children or medication for themselves; Cutting a check for a student loan debt payment or a doctor's visit. Today, a single mother with two children working full-time at $7.25 an hour is living well below the Federal poverty line. We can fix that by voting to give her a raise. Let's do the same for the rest of America by passing the Raise the Wage Act. It is long overdue.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this year's National Defense Authorization Act. This bill addresses many critical components of our national defense, including the urgent need to tackle sexual assault across the United States military. Recent years have seen significant progress towards reforming how sexual assault claims are handled. Now it is time for Congress to confront the conditions that allow sexual assault to happen in the first place. We have an obligation to protect and safeguard those who answer the call to service and wear the uniform of the United States. It is not good enough merely to have the best training and equipment on the battlefield; we must also protect our soldiers on base or wherever they are. This NDAA includes an amendment I coauthored that does just that by directing the Secretary of Defense to create a civilian advisory committee on sexual assault prevention in the military. This committee would be comprised of civilians with expertise in campus sexual assault prevention, suicide prevention, public health, and perhaps, most importantly, culture change of large organizations. We absolutely can make more meaningful progress to make military sexual assault a thing of the past. I am glad that opportunity is reflected in the NDAA before us now. I urge support of this bill.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Illinois, our Appropriations Committee chair, as well as members of the Rules Committee, for making this amendment in order. I rise to offer an amendment that serves to remind the FCC that lawmakers who oversee and fund this agency want answers. It has been over a year since Congress directed the FCC to investigate the sale of geolocation data by wireless carriers to third parties. Location data has been sold through a supply chain with little oversight, and we are seeing this information end up in the hands of bad actors. For just a few dollars, stalkers and predatory abusers can buy geolocation information to prey on unsuspecting victims, a reality that should set off alarm bells nationwide. The FCC's delay in reporting their findings from this investigation puts consumers' security at risk. The FCC must act to remedy its lack of enforcement and transparency regarding this investigation.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer my strong support for the rule and for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act. This is an important retirement savings measure that has the support of a wide range of stakeholders, from the United States Chamber of Commerce to the Girl Scouts. What a credit to the committee for taking up this important legislation for the people. I want to highlight section 105, a provision that the committee included to offer a tax incentive to small businesses for setting up automatic enrollment for their employees' retirement plans. Madam Speaker, while half of private-sector employees have access to a retirement plan through their employer, it is estimated that just 15 percent of small businesses offer a retirement plan. Yet small businesses employ approximately half of the Nation's private-sector workforce. Ensuring that small business employees have retirement options just like those who work for larger companies will increase small businesses' competitiveness at a time when the job market is tightening, and it will position these employees for a secure retirement. Establishing automatic enrollment in retirement plans is critical. Participation rates in defined contribution plans like a 401(k) are above 90 percent among new hires when automatic enrollment is the default. Moreover, 80 percent of participants increase their contributions over time. Alternatively, when employers do not offer automatic enrollment, new hire participation is below 50 percent. Section 105 is based upon a bill that Mr. Kelly and I introduced, the Small Employer Retirement Savings Auto-Enrollment Credit Act. It would provide small businesses--those with up to 100 employees--a $500 tax credit to defray the start-up cost of offering automatic enrollment. The tax credit would also be available to small businesses that convert their existing employee retirement program from an opt-in to auto- enrollment. I was pleased to work with the chairman and his staff as well as the gentleman from Pennsylvania on this issue. I urge adoption of the resolution and the SECURE Act.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment 100 years ago today. It is remarkable to imagine that the fundamental right to vote was only granted to women this recently. If only the suffragettes who sacrificed so much for so long could see the results of their movement, that I would be serving in Congress shoulder to shoulder with 131 women, the most in our Nation's history. We know that better decisions are made when more women are at the table, from the boardroom to the floor of this historic Chamber. Women have been blazing the path of social progress in the United States for centuries, marching for civil rights, striking for workers' rights, organizing against gun violence, and speaking out on sexual harassment. Today, we continue to reshape our country, writing new history in the Halls of Congress. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, women like Susan B. Anthony, Shirley Chisholm, Edith Nourse Rogers, and many more, and make sure we do our part to pave the new path for women to follow after us. Madam Speaker, I am proud and honored to take part in celebrating the anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise during National Law Enforcement Week 2019 to honor the valiant men and women who protect and serve the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The Haverhill Police Department consists of outstanding public servants who devote their lives to keeping the citizens of the city safe, while improving the lives of countless individuals. Like most Americans each day, they get up, say goodbye to their loved ones, and head to work. But their work, and the work of police officers around the country, is like no other. From the moment they put on their uniform they have answered a call that at any moment may put their lives in harm's way. I thank the Haverhill Police Department for their continued and unwavering service and wish them well in their careers and future endeavors to come. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I recognize the Officers of the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer my strong support for the rule and for H.R. 5, the Equality Act. Recent years have brought extraordinary progress in the fight for full equality for our LGBTQ community. Like millions of others across the country, I joined with friends and family to celebrate Supreme Court rulings paving the way for same-sex couples to marry. But in the midst of these joyful and historic victories, we knew that the work was just beginning. Though LGBTQ people could now get married, in a majority of States they could still be fired for having a picture of their spouse on their desk or kicked out of their home just for being who they are. The fact is, LGBTQ people are still at risk of discrimination across key areas of life in huge swaths of our country. Recent national surveys of LGBTQ people show that 42 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; and 78 percent of transgender people have experienced discrimination or harassment on the job because of who they are. Only 21 States have explicit laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and employment, housing and public accommodations, and only 20 States have such protections for gender identity. The time to end this patchwork of protections once and for all is now, and to do that, we must pass this important legislation. The promotion of fairness and justice is a hallmark of who we are as Americans. Everyone should be afforded all of the rights provided for in our Constitution and outlined in our Declaration of Independence. These rights are fundamental to all human beings, and all Americans deserve the same civil rights regardless of gender, race, and sexual orientation. We don't need to amend that. Let's pass the rule and let's pass the Equality Act.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise during National Law Enforcement Week 2019 to honor the valiant men and women who protect and serve the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The Haverhill Police Department consists of outstanding public servants who devote their lives to keeping the citizens of the city safe, while improving the lives of countless individuals. Like most Americans each day, they get up, say goodbye to their loved ones, and head to work. But their work, and the work of police officers around the country, is like no other. From the moment they put on their uniform they have answered a call that at any moment may put their lives in harm's way. I thank the Haverhill Police Department for their continued and unwavering service and wish them well in their careers and future endeavors to come. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I recognize the Officers of the Haverhill Massachusetts Police Department.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Antonio ``Tony'' Frias of Hudson, Massachusetts who is turning 80 years old on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Tony dedicated his life to his community and business, as the co-founder of S&F Concrete Contractors, Inc. Tony has lived his life admirably, and his legacy of hard work and public service continues to inspire many in our community. Tony Frias was born in Santa Maria Island, Azores and left school after the 4th grade to immigrate to the United States in 1955 with the earnest pursuit to create a better future. Before becoming involved in construction, Tony challenged himself in various positions, building skills, determination, and exploring interests to cultivate. After seven years of working in the concrete construction industry, Tony and his brother Joseph joined forces with Jack Santos to establish S&F Concrete Contractors, Inc. Today, he continues his work with over 50 years of construction experience at the forefront of the company. Tony's lifetime commitment to our community and his work at S&F Concrete Contractors has been invaluable to Massachusetts. I am proud to rise in honor of Tony's 80th birthday and look forward to his continuing to inspire others in our community. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I recognize Mr. Antonio Frias today.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer my strong support for the rule and for H. Res. 124. We should approve both and send a powerful message that Congress will not tolerate such a cruel and self-defeating policy. Last month, the Armed Services Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee held a hearing that was the first of its kind. The chairwoman, my colleague from California, invited transgender servicemembers to testify. We heard from an impressive panel of five dedicated servicemembers. They asked for nothing more than to be permitted to continue to serve their Nation honorably. Before the hearing, I met Staff Sergeant Patricia King. Patricia grew up on Cape Cod. She is a combat-tested and decorated infantry soldier who has served nobly for over 20 years in the Army. Her life was turned upside down by a tweet nearly 2 years ago, one that put her military career in jeopardy. We should never treat our servicemembers so callously. But if Patricia's story isn't sufficiently convincing, consider how shortsighted this ban is as well. The DOD's total cost for transition-related care in fiscal year 2017 was $2.2 million, which is one-tenth of 1 percent of DOD's annual healthcare budget for the Active component. Yet the cost to train a single fifth-generation fighter pilot is $11 million. The retraining cost of losing just one transgender military pilot would be five times more than the entire transition-related care for the military for a year. Meanwhile, the Army missed its recruitment goal for the first time in more than a decade last year. Now is certainly not the time to turn away well-qualified and patriotic soldiers. Let's approve the rule and the resolution and say ``no'' to discrimination.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Chair, before addressing the pending amendment, I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for his leadership and also express my profound appreciation for my friend from Connecticut. She has been a tireless champion over the years for equal pay on behalf of those who have been discriminated against unfairly. Madam Chair, I imagine that most of us agree that unfair pay discrimination needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, despite the progress we have made in offering greater opportunities to more and more Americans, pay discrimination persists, and, at times, it occurs in stealth ways that cannot be easily detected. That, in fact, is a key reason why I oppose this amendment. Keeping this bill intact is necessary to prevent the kind of unfair discrimination that occurs when one employee is compensated less than another despite doing the same job just as well for just as long and with the same credentials. I worked in the private sector for 13 years before coming to Congress. I know firsthand that unfair pay disparities still occur. Across industries, I worked with employers to confront this inequality, to bring more women to the decisionmaking table and create work environments where people of any sex, gender, race, or ethnicity were truly empowered. Pay discrimination derails a workplace. It holds back talent and undermines trust, a toxic mix for any business. A key component of the Paycheck Fairness Act requires that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission collect wage data, disaggregated by sex, race, and national origin. This provision is particularly necessary to respond to the administration's attempt to block the EEOC from collecting data. Earlier this month, the National Women's Law Center won an important case to reinstate the EEOC's ability to collect this data. Nevertheless, attacks on collecting data of this type continue. We should not make it easier to hide pay discrimination. This provision is necessary to ensure that equal work does, in fact, lead to equal pay. It will reveal trends in hiring, compensation, and advancement, and it will expose sex-segregated jobs, and unequal salaries, benefits, or bonuses. This provision is a critical component of the bill, and I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment and keep the bill intact. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Chair, reporting this data allows the EEOC to see which employers have racial or gender pay gaps that differ significantly from the pay patterns of other employers in their industry and region. To be clear, this pay data will not conclusively establish that any employer is violating the law, and it isn't intended to. What it will do is aggregate millions of data points to establish gender and racial pay patterns within job categories, industries, and localities, allowing identification of firms that significantly depart from those benchmarks that may warrant further analysis. Simply put, we cannot end unfair pay discrimination if we don't have the data. I join my colleague from North Carolina in celebrating a record number of women entering the workforce, but let's compensate them fairly for their work, and let's use data to inform our decisions. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment and support the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge this Congress to provide permanent relief to the Dreamers, Deferred Enforcement Departure, and Temporary Protected Status holders whose lives have been turned upside down by the Administration. We must pass H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, without delay. Fourteen months ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was ending TPS for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans in the United States. The Department's decision about Salvadorans' TPS was just the latest in a string of such announcements since the fall of 2017--which also threaten Sudanese, Haitian, and Nicaraguan immigrants. Families have been living in a state of fear and uncertainty for a year and a half, and for no good reason. Madam Speaker, I'd like to explain why this is not only cruel policy, but also unnecessary and short-sighted. Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Irma Flores. Irma is a community engagement specialist for the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, where she assists the Spanish-speaking community. She lives in Haverhill, in my District, with her daughter, who goes to school at UMass Boston. Her son graduated from Suffolk University with degrees in International Relations and Political Science. Irma, herself, studied International Relations in her native country at the University of El Salvador. However, she and her kids fled to the United States 18 years ago because of a devastating earthquake. For nearly two decades, the United States has been Irma's home and her children's home. The people of Somerville depend upon her; and she is a beloved part of the Haverhill community. It is estimated that there are more than 12,000 people living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with Temporary Protected Status--half of whom are from El Salvador. However, people like Irma have had their lives upended by the callousness of the Administration's policy. If Irma's story isn't persuasive enough for Congress to act, consider the fact that the law, despite the Administration's claim, does not require her return. That's because we have the power to permit extensions if these residents are unable to return in safety. The United States does not--and should not--return people to disaster areas or warzones. In January, our State Department renewed its travel advisory to El Salvador. The warning reads: ``Violent crime, such as murder, assault, rape, and armed robbery, is common. Gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, and narcotics and arms trafficking, is widespread.'' These are not conditions under which families should be forced to return. But if the legal argument is not persuasive either, consider the fact that TPS holders contribute nearly $650 million to the Commonwealth's economy. One analysis found that if Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian workers with TPS were removed from the labor force, the United States would lose $164 billion in gross domestic product over the next decade. Again, Madam Speaker, this is cruel, unnecessary and shortsighted policy. This Congress should approve the Dream and Promise Act, which provides a permanent fix for Dreamers, DACA, and TPS recipients without delay, so that people like Irma and her family can remain safely here as members of our communities.

Mrs. TRAHAN

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I commend my friend, the Congressman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes) for offering one of the most significant reforms to our election system in a generation. I am particularly pleased that H.R. 1 puts redistricting in the hands of independent commissions, where it belongs. Under the bill, each State will create 15-person independent redistricting commissions that represent the public's interests first and foremost, without consideration of political party advantage. However, to prevent the real or perceived risk of bias, H.R. 1 excludes several categories of people from serving on these commissions, including political candidates or officeholders, campaign officials, big donors, and lobbyists. My amendment would simply add to this list those individuals who are registered agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, FARA. FARA has been in law since the 1930s. It requires disclosure when an individual is acting as a political representative of foreign governments. As with H.R. 1's current exclusions, adding foreign agents will help ensure that those serving on the independent redistricting commissions are not at risk of actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Coming from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which gave our Nation the term ``gerrymander,'' I am pleased that H.R. 1 will put an end to this device by allowing voters to choose their representatives rather than the other way around. My amendment aims to close a loophole by ensuring that registered foreign agents, like lobbyists and big donors, may not serve on redistricting commissions. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Illinois. I also look forward to working in a bipartisan way to restore our government to the people. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment. I urge a ``yes'' on H.R. 1. I yield back the balance of my time.