Bonnie Watson Coleman

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the threat of extreme heat in the United States and applaud the action of President Biden in mobilizing an all-of-government effort to protect our vulnerable populations from this increasingly common disaster. Climate change threatens everyone on this planet, and it will continue to do so for generations. While some regions will experience scorching droughts and wildfires, others will experience catastrophic hurricanes and flooding. Environmental activist Wendell Berry said, ``The world is not given by our fathers, but borrowed from our children.'' The consequences of our past and present decisions are creating a dismal and desolate future for our children and for our children's children. Unfortunately, even if we rapidly reduce our carbon emissions today, our planet will continue to warm for some time. Heat threatens the lives of children, the elderly, outdoor workers, and more, as prolonged exposure leads to health risks, such as heat cramps, heat stroke, and of course death. This summer we experienced this new, hotter than normal heat across this country. In late June, the Pacific Northwest region experienced an abnormal heat wave that led to unprecedented numbers of deaths and hospitalization. July was the Earth's hottest month on record. In early August, over 80 million people across 20 States, from Washington to Florida, were under excessive heat warnings and advisories. Simultaneously, States along the East Coast experienced triple-digit heat indexes as a combination of heat and humidity created hazardous and deadly situations. Most recently, following Hurricane Ida, 10 people died from heat in New Orleans after vulnerable residents lost power, and temperatures climbed to over 90 degrees. Disadvantaged communities suffer the most from these frequent heat occurrences. Communities of color and low-income communities disproportionately experience higher temperatures than their White and wealthier counterparts. Decades of discriminate urban planning, like reducing tree cover or increasing hard surfaces, have led to temperature disparities in our most vulnerable communities. Moreover, in many of these communities residents struggle with significant preexisting and chronic illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which become fatal in extreme heat. For some Americans, higher temperatures are not merely a nuisance, they can be deadly. I applaud President Biden's recent decision to address extreme heat. From protecting outdoor workers by establishing OSHA standards to expanding cooling centers and cooling assistance amidst heat waves, President Biden's commitment to the health and safety of the American population is vital to ensure that fewer lives will be lost to increasing temperatures. Earlier this year I was proud to introduce the SHADE Act, which aligns with the ambitious goals of President Biden's extreme heat initiatives and addresses the heat disparity experienced in disadvantaged communities. The SHADE Act would create a grant program to plant trees in formerly redlined districts and overburdened communities. Thanks to the research of Dr. Jeremy Hoffman, Dr. Vivek Shandas, and Nicholas Pendleton, we now know that historical discriminatory housing policies have long-lasting consequences, making formerly redlined neighborhoods hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods. Climate change is not a distant or slow moving threat. It is here now, and many Americans are battling the consequences of it alone. Too many are losing that battle. While efforts to combat climate change must be a priority, we must also mitigate the impacts we are already facing. We must ensure that all Americans can adapt and can survive in this new normal.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5305, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. This important piece of legislation will achieve two vital goals: keeping our government funded through December 3 and providing much-needed relief to areas impacted by natural disasters this year. The emergency assistance is vital for my constituents who were heavily impacted by Hurricane Ida, which caused historic flooding across central Jersey. This assistance will ensure that townships and individuals in my district can fully recover and repair from the damages of the storm. Along with this funding, I am pleased to see the inclusion of canceling the outstanding balances of FEMA's community disaster loans. This will lift a financial burden that New Jersey, as well as other States and territories, have struggled with in the wake of recovering from multiple disasters dating back to Hurricane Sandy. I have been fighting for this relief with my New Jersey colleagues for years, and I thank the chairwoman from the bottom of my heart for working with me to get it included in the text. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill and its quick passage towards the President's desk.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Fannie Lou Hamer, whose speech on the violent oppression of Black voting rights on August 22, 1964 still rings too true today. Delivered to the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention, her speech details the violence at the hands of agents of the state that she and other Black Americans encountered in trying to register to vote in Mississippi in 1962 and 1963. The various barriers, via literacy tests and intimidation, as well as the physical beatings endured by Fannie Lou Hamer and her compatriots remind us of the critical importance of the proactive right to vote. She was a civil rights leader fighting for voting rights and women's rights. She dedicated her life to speaking up and out through her activism and campaigns for elected office. Her words continue to inspire and to underscore the importance of supporting the right to vote in the face of new barriers and new, surreptitious Jim Crow laws. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the full text of her remarks delivered on that day in 1964. Testimony Before the Credentials Committee, Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey--August 22, 1964 Mr. Chairman, and to the Credentials Committee, my name is Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and I live at 626 East Lafayette Street, Ruleville, Mississippi, Sunflower County, the home of Senator James O. Eastland, and Senator Stennis. It was the 31st of August in 1962 that eighteen of us traveled twenty-six miles to the county courthouse in Indianola to try to register to become first-class citizens. We was met in Indianola by policemen, Highway Patrolmen, and they only allowed two of us in to take the literacy test at the time. After we had taken this test and started back to Ruleville, we was held up by the City Police and the State Highway Patrolmen and carried back to Indianola where the bus driver was charged that day with driving a bus the wrong color. After we paid the fine among us, we continued on to Ruleville, and Reverend Jeff Sunny carried me four miles in the rural area where I had worked as a timekeeper and sharecropper for eighteen years. I was met there by my children, who told me that the plantation owner was angry because I had gone down to try to register. After they told me, my husband came, and said the plantation owner was raising Cain because I had tried to register. Before he quit talking the plantation owner came and said, ``Fannie Lou, do you know--did Pap tell you what I said?'' And I said, ``Yes, sir.'' He said, ``Well I mean that.'' He said, ``If you don't go down and withdraw your registration, you will have to leave.'' Said, ``Then if you go down and withdraw,'' said, ``you still might have to go because we are not ready for that in Mississippi.'' And I addressed him and told him and said, ``I didn't try to register for you. I tried to register for myself.'' I had to leave that same night. On the 10th of September 1962, sixteen bullets was fired into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tucker for me. That same night two girls were shot in Ruleville, Mississippi. Also Mr. Joe McDonald's house was shot in. And June the 9th, 1963, I had attended a voter registration workshop; was returning back to Mississippi. Ten of us was traveling by the Continental Trailway bus. When we got to Winona, Mississippi, which is Montgomery County, four of the people got off to use the washroom, and two of the people--to use the restaurant--two of the people wanted to use the washroom. The four people that had gone in to use the restaurant was ordered out. During this time I was on the bus. But when I looked through the window and saw they had rushed out I got off of the bus to see what had happened. And one of the ladies said, ``It was a State Highway Patrolman and a Chief of Police ordered us out.'' I got back on the bus and one of the persons had used the washroom got back on the bus, too. As soon as I was seated on the bus, I saw when they began to get the five people in a highway patrolman's car. I stepped off of the bus to see what was happening and somebody screamed from the car that the five workers was in and said, ``Get that one there.'' When I went to get in the car, when the man told me I was under arrest, he kicked me. I was carried to the county jail and put in the booking room. They left some of the people in the booking room and began to place us in cells. I was placed in a cell with a young woman called Miss Ivesta Simpson. After I was placed in the cell I began to hear sounds of licks and screams, I could hear the sounds of licks and horrible screams. And I could hear somebody say, ``Can you say, `yes, sir,' nigger? Can you say `yes, sir'?'' And they would say other horrible names. She would say, ``Yes, I can say `yes, sir.' '' ``So, well, say it.'' She said, ``I don't know you well enough.'' They beat her, I don't know how long. And after a while she began to pray, and asked God to have mercy on those people. And it wasn't too long before three white men came to my cell. One of these men was a State Highway Patrolman and he asked me where I was from. I told him Ruleville and he said, ``We are going to check this.'' They left my cell and it wasn't too long before they came back. He said, ``You are from Ruleville all right,'' and he used a curse word. And he said, ``We are going to make you wish you was dead.'' I was carried out of that cell into another cell where they had two Negro prisoners. The State Highway Patrolmen ordered the first Negro to take the blackjack. The first Negro prisoner ordered me, by orders from the State Highway Patrolman, for me to lay down on a bunk bed on my face. I laid on my face and the first Negro began to beat. I was beat by the first Negro until he was exhausted. I was holding my hands behind me at that time on my left side, because I suffered from polio when I was six years old. After the first Negro had beat until he was exhausted, the State Highway Patrolman ordered the second Negro to take the blackjack. The second Negro began to beat and I began to work my feet, and the State Highway Patrolman ordered the first Negro who had beat me to sit on my feet--to keep me from working my feet. I began to scream and one white man got up and began to beat me in my head and tell me to hush. One white man--my dress had worked up high--he walked over and pulled my dress--I pulled my dress down and he pulled my dress back up. I was in jail when Medgar Evers was murdered. All of this is on account of we want to register, to become first-class citizens. And if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? Thank you.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize some of the amazing track talent from the 12th District. This past weekend, Athing Mu of Trenton, the child of Sudanese immigrants, dominated her 800-meter Olympic qualifying race, nearly breaking the American record despite an early collision on the track. This young woman is finally getting the recognition she has worked so hard for. No less impressive was Dunellen's own Sydney McLaughlin, who broke the world record for the 400-meter hurdles, becoming the first woman to ever run the race in under 52 seconds. We have known about these extraordinary young women for quite some time back home, but now America has had the opportunity to see them in action. New Jersey is so proud of them. I can't wait for them to show the world what they will do at the Olympics.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, Juneteenth is a day for me of commemoration, not of celebration, because it reminds us of something that was delayed in happening. It also reminds me of what we don't have today, and that is full access to justice, freedom, and equality. All of these are often in short supply as it relates to the Black community, and it is still delayed. So, as we take this time to acknowledge Juneteenth and to recognize Juneteenth National Independence Day Act--something I definitely support--I pray that we do not lose track of the fact that we have so much more work to do to ensure that we have the fairness, the equality, the opportunity, whether it is voting, working, or just living healthfully in the United States of America.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that January 6 was a frightening experience. It was an assault upon the fundamentals of this Government. It was an assault upon the place I thought I was going to be the safest I could possibly be, and we politicize this. This is an opportunity to bring this bipartisan commission into existence so that we can get out of the politics of it and look at the facts that happened, the evidence that happened, and the recommendations that will ensue from that effort. I wholeheartedly support this effort. I am grateful for the bipartisanship of it, and I pray that all of our colleagues will support this.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th Commemoration of the Tulsa-Greenwood Race Massacre, where on May 31-June 1, 1921, a white mob of thousands of people shot and murdered Black residents of America's ``Black Wall Street'' in Tulsa, Oklahoma, looted their homes and businesses, and burned more than a thousand homes, churches, schools, and businesses. The horrific events of this deadly attack were the result of a series of failures of leadership that ultimately fostered race-based violence, discrimination, and oppression. This was a failure of law enforcement to protect Tulsa's Black residents and maintain civil order. A failure of the judicial system, as many of the residents who fled the Massacre were detained in internment camps immediately following the Massacre and a grand jury placed the blame entirely on the Black community and indicted 85 people--mostly African Americans--with Massacre-related offenses. A failure of our American promises of the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Justice was not served. No White person was ever held individually accountable for crimes committed during the Massacre, and the vast majority of survivors and their descendants were never directly compensated for these harms. The attack on the thriving Black community continued on throughout the years and is evident even in today's society; as the community sustained millions of dollars of property damage and many Black survivors of the Tulsa massacre and their descendants have not been able to recoup the wealth that had been stolen or destroyed during the Massacre. And still today, despite calls for justice and accountability, our government leaders continue to fail the victims of the Tulsa-Greenwood Massacre and their descendants by refusing action to right the wrongs that were perpetrated on innocent community members 100 years ago. Over the decades, local ordinances to prevent rebuilding, redlining, and so-called ``urban renewal'' policies have prevented Black Tulsans from rebuilding a thriving community. Expressways, funded by the federal government, literally cut through areas of Greenwood, displacing Black families and businesses. Madam Speaker, though we are 100 years past the heinous Tulsa- Greenwood Massacre, Black Americans are unfortunately not far removed from the continued injustice of systemic racism and oppressive tactics that block upward mobility out of poverty and suppress opportunities to create and maintain generational wealth. As we take time to recall the injustice of this Massacre and continue the call for justice for the descendants, let us also reflect on the continued efforts of injustice that plague minority communities today. We need accountability, we need economic justice, and we need criminal justice reform. We cannot continue to delay justice and equality. The time for change is now.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Jersey for those kind words, and I thank my colleague from the other side of the aisle for supporting what I think is a very important piece of legislation. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call on all of my colleagues to support the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act. Over the last several years, data has indicated an alarming increase in the suicide rates for Black children and teenagers, while a recent study has shown that suicide intervention programs--while successful among White, Asian, and Hispanic children--have done little to help African-American and Native-American youth. Two years ago, I launched the Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. The task force's report that inspired this bill is an urgent call to action. Regardless of race, gender, and socioeconomic status, every individual should have access to mental health resources and treatment. This bipartisan bill will provide much-needed grants for culturally competent mental health services, increase funding for the Minority Fellowship Program, and direct research and resources at Federal departments and agencies. I basically am echoing what my colleagues have already shared with you. We must pursue this equity in mental health because the systems we have in place simply do not address the mental health needs of all communities. Madam Speaker, I call upon all of my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to send my sincere congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the members of Thespian Troupe 3991 at Hightstown High School for their incredible efforts in collecting 84 pounds of food for Rise Food Pantry as part of New Jersey Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat. The dedication that they have shown to this program--from re-creating a national initiative at the state level so they can continue fighting childhood hunger, to achieving such tremendous feats in their 2020 food drive--is a true testament to the character and focus of their members. Whether this drive is their last, their first, one of many, or the only one that they will participate in, I hope that they can feel the impact that they have had on the community they live in, and that they remember that they are always capable of such impact. I applaud them on this achievement, and I look forward to all that they will accomplish in their futures. Again, Congratulations.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to see us take up the HEROES Act today. From State aid to essential pay, this is a step toward making sure every American makes it through this crisis. But I want to draw attention to something equally pressing. On both sides of the aisle, this pandemic has allowed us to agree that there is a floor below which we don't want any family to fall. The truth is that, before COVID-19, countless Americans were just a personal or local or national disaster away from not paying rent, not buying groceries, or worse. COVID-19 is just one more crisis derailing their lives, particularly those of Brown and Black communities. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and contributions of R. Alexandra Larson, better known as Sandy, who spent her life advocating for social justice, fighting for those who might otherwise be voiceless and placed justice higher than any other objective. Sandy dedicated her career to the taxing but incredible work of fighting for civil rights and supporting children and families. Unlike many, she walked the walk, living her values daily. As an attorney with the Middlesex County Office of the Public Defender, she developed projects to document and address disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration for people of color--working to correct a disparity that plagues our society even now. As Director for the Governor's Committee on Children's Services Planning, Sandy was responsible for reports that to this day are the basis for broad advocacy efforts for children across my state, and she is credited with helping to develop the New Jersey Youth Services Commission--established to fix the way courts handle at-risk youth. Sandy's efforts to affect positive change were not limited to her professional endeavors. In her free time, she shared her three degrees--a BA in Journalism from Douglass College, an M.S.W. from Rutgers School for Social Work and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-- Newark--and her years of expertise with community organizations that included the Metuchen-Edison NAACP and the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey. She served on the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Training School for Boys, the Children's Trust Fund of New Jersey, the Coalition for Hispanic Rights in Criminal Justice, the Middlesex County Local Advisory Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the ASAP program. What her friends and family, including her daughter Francesca Dulce Larson, her mother Francesca Nadalini, granddaughter Serafina Giovanna, and her siblings Michela, Marthe, Robb, Gus, Giovanna, George, Jayne Amelia, and Jonathan, will no doubt miss the most is her spirit. Sandy was fearless and fierce. She was about building a brighter future for everyone and connecting the dots that would improve the world just a little with every action she took. She was a light in every room, the link that connected so many friends, and a source of love in a world that could use more of it. I am so grateful for everything she accomplished and devoted herself to with her time here, and I send my heartfelt prayers to all those who join me in mourning her loss.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I want to thank him for this leadership on this very important issue. I join him in calling for support and passage of the Transportation Security Officers Act. We rely on Transportation Security officers to keep us safe. They work hard, including going without pay for more than 5 weeks during the last government shutdown. Yet these TSOs have none of the rights or the protections we have set for the rest of the Federal workforce, and that is what this bill would finally correct. H.R. 1140 offers TSOs the ability to organize themselves and fight for better pay through collective bargaining and puts them on the Federal general schedule pay scale, ensuring they see the same regular step increases as the rest of the Federal workers who keep our government running. It would ensure TSOs can appeal personnel decisions to a neutral third party--something their managers and others within TSA can already do. It would give these workers the paid family leave and medical leave that all other Federal workers now have, ensuring they can care for an ailing parent, be home with a new baby, or deal with a new diagnosis. H.R. 1140 finally gives TSOs equal footing, recognizing that they are equally valued members of the Federal workforce--people we rely upon daily to keep our skies safe. I am grateful to our chairman, Mr. Thompson, for his work to bring this bill through committee and for his tireless efforts of workplace rights and protections for TSOs. Mr. Chairman, I urge the passage of this bill.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, the new Medicaid proposal from the White House is a reverse Robin Hood on steroids, a coordinated effort to steal from the poor and give to the rich campaign donors at Mar-a-Lago and other places. This White House has put Medicaid on the chopping block, Medicaid, the program specifically put in place to provide healthcare to our most vulnerable citizens, our seniors, our veterans, the working poor, and their children. My Republican colleagues will tell you, no, this is merely about giving States greater flexibility. That is nonsense. Federal law already gives States flexibility. This is about taking away healthcare to pay for their tax cuts. This is the latest in the GOP's long war on the working people and the poor people of this country. They have cut the Children's Health Insurance Program. They have cut food stamps. And now they are cutting Medicaid. Don't be fooled. This has long been in their plan.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me say that my heart hurts for my colleague and my sister, Lucy McBath, as she confronts on a daily basis the pain of our failure to act on sensible gun safety legislation. I rise today, as many of my colleagues will, almost one year since the House took the steps to curb violence by passing H.R. 8, a bill that has yet to receive any consideration in the Senate. We are in the middle of Gun Violence Survivors Week. Yet, despite survivors' calls for action; despite the calls of parents and friends who have lost loved ones to guns; despite the calls from our young people who just want to be safe in school; and despite our calls of the communities who want to be safe in their homes, we have yet to get H.R. 8, or any other gun violence bill considered in the Senate. The paralysis around preventing gun violence is disgusting, and it is deadly. This story line that preventing people from buying assault weapons or stockpiling ammunition is somehow infringing upon their rights is deeply hurtful, and it is wrong thinking. Including suicides by guns, there were 177 deaths on New Year's Day alone. There were three mass shootings, and the lives lost included three children between the ages of 12 and 17. That's just one day, the first day of this year. Yet, Republicans in the Senate continue to refuse to move any bill that might keep more families from getting that phone call. There are so many options available to us. There is the baseline, bipartisan bill, like, H.R. 8, that we have already passed in the House. There are bills that would go even further, like my own Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2019, and the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2019. One would require registration for handgun purchases, just like the government requires registration and basic standards for voting, operating a vehicle, even opening a business. It would ensure accountability and allow enforcement to identify threats. The other places a very basic principle into law; that you shouldn't be able to stockpile bullets without ID or without law enforcement being aware. Mr. Speaker, there are bills that would keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals, and bills that would push us to study gun violence as the health crisis it is. So far, none of these seem to be good enough for most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, or the other side of the Capitol. We are approaching a point from which we cannot return, where failure to act will normalize gun violence in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our society. The survivors that we honor today, the families of those we have lost, and the countless Americans who wonder if they might be next deserve so much more from us. I stand here today representing all of the loss of the survivors and what they have experienced. But I stand here, representing the hope that my granddaughter, Kamryn Anne Marie Watson, is safe in her school, just like all of the other children should be. Nothing less is acceptable.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in support of the resolutions presented by my friends from California, Congresswoman Lee and Congressman Khanna. They are long overdue. The actions of this President over the last few weeks are an escalation of the reckless, arrogant, and ignorant foreign policy of this White House, if you can even call these hasty decisions a policy. The President's actions lack a coherent strategy. He lacks an understanding of history, and he lacks the foresight to see the consequences of his actions. Last week, the House and the Senate received briefings that failed to answer our questions about the basic facts behind the decision to kill Major General Qasem Soleimani. Republican Senators themselves said the briefing was so poorly presented that they left more opposed to the President's actions than before they were briefed. In other words, the more we learn about this debacle, the less faith anyone has in the White House's ability to make these decisions. Some of the questions asked by Members of Congress in that briefing went unanswered for so-called security reasons. Yet they were later addressed in interviews and press conferences by members of the administration as they tried to cover for the President's lies and obfuscations. That is why I will join Democrats, and hopefully any Member of the House unwilling to watch us enter another endless war, in voting for these bills to limit the President's ability to engage in further aggression with Iran and keep American troops out of harm's way. The President has spent the days since his ill-advised attack blustering to reporters and on twitter, including threatening to attack cultural sites, a war crime of which the only outcome would be maiming and killing civilians. Just last week he ticked off a list of Iranian aggressions that he claimed were the result of the Iran deal. In fact, each event he cited occurred only after his foolish decision to pull out of the deal. These resolutions are critical to curtailing any further misguided action by President Trump. The fact is, this action that he has taken makes Americans less safe. It threatens our diplomats abroad with retribution, it threatens our military personnel in the region, and it threatens Americans working in the region. Many, many years ago, Senator George McGovern said: ``I am fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.'' Well, I am fed up too, and so are the American people. Reports suggest the President thought this move would be celebrated by Americans. But I speak for myself and the hundreds of constituents who have messaged me when I say: No more, Mr. Trump. We don't want this war. We don't want war with Iran. No continuing escalation, no more killings, and no more sending our daughters and sons into harm's way to appease the fragile egos of the men in the White House. I call on all my colleagues to support the resolutions of my colleagues, Ms. Lee and Mr. Khanna. And I send a clear message to the White House: Your days of reckless misadventures with the lives of Americans are over.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I come to the well of the House today to call on my colleagues to support the PFAS Action Act. This bill, like so many that have come to the floor under Democratic leadership, is about taking action for the people; in this case, ensuring access to clean and safe water. PFAS, so-called forever chemicals that have leached into water supplies for decades, are hazardous to human health. Their presence is linked with reduced kidney function, reduced immune system function, and increased risk for diseases like diabetes and cancer. These chemicals are in our water because of corporate negligence, and like in many other cases, our working families trying to make ends meet are hit the hardest. That is why it is critical that Congress step up and take action, and that is why this legislation is so important and what it is about. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for the people and vote for the PFAS Action Act.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, there have been quite a few comments from the other side about how this is partisan, and this is an attack, and we're coming after Donald Trump. I don't like this President. I don't like his values, or his decision making, nor his policies or the words he chooses to use. But these articles are not about a man. They are about the ACTIONS of a man. They are about the ways in which someone elected to the highest office in this country abused that office, and violated the basic tenets of the constitutional balance of power. I don't want him to serve two terms, but this is about that. This is about holding the President of the United States, whoever he may be, to the standards and expectations of that office. I say that genuinely. I would take this same vote for any President who abused his office in that way. And any member of this body who fails to understand what this vote really means--making clear what we expect of the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, not the person sitting in it--is deeply and horribly mistaken. Anyone who fights for democratic values, who values the balance of power, who wants to ensure the underpinnings of the greatest democracy in the world remain strong for generations to come, will support these articles of impeachment as I intend to do.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I thank the gentleman for taking on this Special Order hour and leading it. Organized labor has always been the foundation of good-paying jobs that support a thriving middle class. That is why it is vital that we support legislation like the PRO Act, finally empowering the National Labor Relations Act to do the important work of protecting workers' rights. Since the day that law was enacted in 1935, big businesses and their allies in the Republican Party have worked to weaken it. Their efforts have brought us to a point where union membership has cratered, and not coincidentally, inequality has grown. The PRO Act implements penalties for employers who illegally fire workers because they try to form a union or are simply pro-union in their thinking. Today, we see employers out in the open on Twitter flagrantly violating the NLRA and threatening their employees if they even think about forming a union. The PRO Act will allow workers to stand up and say to their boss: Joining together with my co-workers is right, and you will not threaten me with cuts to my hours, my pay, or my job. This law will put an end to the practice of company bosses dragging their feet in collective bargaining negotiations in order to break the spirit of workers and avoid their legal responsibility to honor the wishes of their workers. The PRO Act also recognizes the changing face of workers and ensures that those working multiple jobs do not lose their right to organize when they change shifts. The part of this bill that I find most energizing is its protection of that most fundamental right of workers, the foundation of worker power from which all labor power is derived, the right to strike, the right to stand with your fellow worker and say: We will not accept these conditions another minute. We will not work another day until our demands are heard and our rights are respected. The right to stand with your union sisters and brothers and withhold your labor is finally recognized under this bill. If workers can put their sweat into building the greatest country in the world, how dare we say to them that they cannot join their fellow workers to demand a fair share of what they built? This bill is the most important labor rights bill in years, and today, I am proud to be a member of the party of the working men and women, the Democratic Party, as we pass this bill. I thank the gentleman for the opportunity.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me and for leading in this Special Order hour. Mr. Speaker, I stand here tonight to remind my colleagues and the world that our transgender community needs us. Bigotry, hate, and violence against transgender people has reached a level that requires a whole day devoted to simply remembering everyone who has lost his or her life. This year alone, over 300 have been murdered. That is to say nothing of the transgender people who were bullied or harassed to the point of taking their own lives just simply for accepting every part of themselves. There is no doubt in my mind that an administration that has endorsed hate at every turn and outright exclusion of our transgender friends and family is part of the problem. Our actions in this body need to be part of the solution. I am proud to be a part of the Equality Caucus Transgender Equality Task Force, and I am determined to see us continue to take real steps that will protect the rights and the freedoms of all people. As a founding chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, I am committed to recognizing the value and need of our transgender sisters. As the chair of the CBC's Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, I am actively working to ensure transgender youth receive the support and the care and the love to overcome the hate of our society. This is a community in dire need, and I join my colleagues and so many others in stepping up and speaking out. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the opportunity to speak.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for yielding, and I want to thank my colleague, Ms. Underwood, for her work on this very important issue. For nearly a year now, we have watched with growing horror and outrage as the cruel and inhumane combination of xenophobia, malicious policy from the White House, and indifference to people in need has built into a crisis at our southern border. We have let this come to a point where children have died, children fleeing violence and persecution and horrors in their home countries seeking to come here, the land of opportunity and promise, children we separated from their parents and loved ones, children that we failed entirely here on our soil and in our custody. We cannot allow that to continue, and this measure that we are taking up today will take important steps to address gaps in medical screening at the border so that we don't fail any more children. It pushes us to find new ways to handle the unique needs of health screening at the border, with special emphasis on children and vulnerable groups. Just as importantly, it mandates implementation of an e-record system so that we are not letting anyone slip through the cracks. An e-record system is not something we have never heard of before. What has happened at the border thus far, including the tragic deaths of the children, those mentioned by my colleague like Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gomez Alonzo, is proof that we are not doing enough, and that is not because we can't. I am grateful to Ms. Underwood for stepping up to ensure we do more, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bill and its passage.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Joseph E. Tighue, who passed away on August 24, 2019. Joe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1932 to Eugene and Elizabeth Tighue. After graduating Trenton High School in 1952, Joe joined the Army and served overseas during the Korean War. After his services, Joe studied business, real estate, and insurance at Rider College and Rutgers University. His natural skill and ingenuity led Joe to a long and storied career in real estate and New Jersey politics. With his high school sweet heart, Marie Dileo, by his side, the young couple started the Tighue Realty Co. Later in life, Joe returned to school to earn the MAI Appraisal Designation. He served as president of Certified Appraisal Service and as president of the Mercer County Board of Realtors. Joe's efforts to give back to his community did not go unnoticed and he was named ``Realtor of the Year'' when he was recognized nationally for starting a work release program that utilized county workhouse inmates to rehab run-down city houses. In 1969, Joe was selected to run for Mercer County Freeholder, and he went on to serve for three terms. Later from 1980 to 1990, Joe served as the Mercer County Surrogate and Judge of the Probate Court. Over the course of his 87 years, Joe and his wife, Marie, built a large and loving family that will continue to carry his legacy, including his brother Thomas; children Gary, Robert, and Susan; six grandchildren; and many nephew and nieces. Madam Speaker, I send my condolences to the family and friends of Joe Tighue. I ask that my colleagues join me in commemorating his incredible life and legacy. Rest in peace, Joe.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call out the blatant racism in the President's tweets. I believe his rant and his defense of that rant merit censure from this body. The phrase ``Go back where you came from'' is a racist trope that has been used by segregationists, neo-Nazis, White nationalists, and the Ku Klux Klansmen to create a framework in which non-White people are not truly American. Describing non-White countries as ``broken'' and ``crime infested'' echoes the racist trope the President has used before that such countries are dysfunctional, dirty, and violent because their populations are Black. His comments are indefensible, and so is the silence from my colleagues across the aisle. Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't bother seeking an apology from him, but I do hope Republicans here will join us in fully and roundly condemning his words, and I would remind them that history won't look kindly on those who refuse to stand up for what is right. It is not lost on me, however, and I hope not my colleagues either, that this is simply a distraction from the President's friendship with a documented pedophile and news reports that he lied to the Supreme Court about his census question.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues the story of one of my constituents, Geraldine, as a reminder that the work that we do here on the floor impacts people's lives. Geraldine received assistance from the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which is also known as SCSEP. We provided $464 million to SCSEP in the minibus package that we passed yesterday, H.R. 2740. The bill included fiscal year 2020 funding for critical programs at the Department of Labor that help Americans like Geraldine find jobs and gain new skills in their journey to become reemployed, programs like Job Corps, Registered Apprenticeship, YouthBuild, and, of course, SCSEP. Geraldine is a perfect example of why this funding is so important. She is a mother and a grandmother and the main provider for her granddaughter and two grandchildren. When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, she lost her job, a devastating moment for her family's only source of income. She quietly retired, but like far too many Americans, she did not have enough savings to stop working. Her family needed her, and she needed to find work, a task made difficult with her age, existing skill set, and, now, gap in employment. Fortunately, Geraldine was able to take advantage of SCSEP through Easterseals in New Jersey. Created by the Older Americans Act of 1965, the Senior Community Service Employment Program has helped low income, unemployed seniors learn new, in-demand skills and reenter the workforce for more than 50 years. Participants enrolled in SCSEP receive a subsidized minimum wage for work at a nonprofit agency while learning skills to help them reenter the workforce. But SCSEP does more than just skills training. Its greatest success is helping seniors regain their sense of confidence and self- fulfillment. Some programs have services that help seniors get glasses or even pay rent and utility bills. Geraldine shared this with me, that SCSEP was instrumental in helping her regain her sense of purpose. She was so successful in her program, that she was offered a position at Easterseals to support new participants in the program through their own journeys to reemployment, people who were previously in the same position as she. Increasingly, seniors like Geraldine have become the primary caretakers for their grandchildren. This is especially true for places that have been ravaged by the opioid crisis. That is why it is so important that we support more programs at SCSEP at the Department of Labor. There are countless seniors out there with nowhere to turn. SCSEP is one of the answers that gets them back to work. Madam Speaker, before I close, I want to share with you one last anecdote from Geraldine. She shared with me her story about a boy in her community who didn't want to throw away broken crayons. In defiance of his dad, this little boy said even broken crayons still color just as brightly as ever. Geraldine says that she sees herself in broken crayons and knows that her colors shine just as brightly as any others. We must ensure that critical programs like SCSEP are fully funded as grandparents across America are increasingly becoming the primary breadwinners in their families. I am proud that my colleagues and I voted to pass H.R. 2740 yesterday, and as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, I am committed to advocating for more programs that support our seniors.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for giving me this opportunity to speak on what I think is a very important and very good bill. I am here to speak on H.R. 2740, which contains the fiscal year 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Defense; State and Foreign Operations; and Energy and Water Development funding bills. As a new member of the Appropriations Committee this year, I am particularly proud to support this bill, which includes, among many other things, $100 million in programming for reentry programs; $250 million for registered apprenticeships; and $128 million for Youth Build, a program that provides critical skills to youth in my district, which is New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. I thank Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro for her leadership of our subcommittee. I was pleased to work with her to include language and funding that addresses maternal mortality, including various provisions to address the persistent gaps in our healthcare system that result in Black mothers being 2 to 6 times more likely to die than White moms. I also thank her for working with me to include funding to address the suicide epidemic among our youth. This is needed urgently, as the suicide rate for children has increased 70 percent in the last decade, with a disproportionate increase among Black youth. To inform further efforts to address this epidemic, the bill requests a report from the Surgeon General on contributing factors and evidence-based interventions. In closing, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the rule and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, Democrats continue to fight for access to healthcare in our work to deliver progress for the people because it is essential to daily life. You cannot work, you cannot care for your children, you cannot do anything without your health. I was recently blessed to come through a health challenge myself, and I believe more strongly than ever that, whether it is cancer therapy or prescription medication, access to the best treatment cannot be reserved for only the wealthy. Last week, I secured funding in the Appropriations Committee to study the impact of prior authorization policies on patient health. People are dying because insurance companies want to see lower cost treatments, see them fail before they will cover more expensive ones, even if your healthcare provider specifically recommends it. Whether you have cancer like I did or you are dealing with a chronic illness, you shouldn't have to endure extra pain or wonder if you can survive long enough to get to the treatment that will work for you. I will continue to fight for access to high-quality healthcare for all Americans.