I urge every one of my colleagues to use Black History Month to celebrate the contributions of people who came to this hemisphere not of their own free will--in chains, in bondage, and then helped to make this country great. It is…

The Virgin Islands is known for its queens--powerful, dynamic, passionate women who lead. We had Queen Coziah, who led the coal strikes; Queen Mary and ``Bottom Belly,'' who led the labor strikes. We lost one of our queens last week, Ann…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the committee print, add the following new section: SEC. 19. ASSISTANCE TO TERRITORIES FOR…

As I rise today to begin discussing infrastructure, I cannot let go the remarks from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, their being completely appalled by the Speaker not bringing over one resolution in what they believe to be a…

In closing, I would like to just acknowledge to the Chair the support of the Energy and Commerce Committee, particularly my good friend, Mr. Tonko from New York, as well as Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, for introducing this legislation and…

I want to spend my 5 minutes to tell a story, a history story from the Virgin Islands. This month and for the next 6 months in the Virgin Islands, we commemorate a historic fight for freedom and autonomy. On the small, 20-square-mile…

Today is National Rural Health Day. More than 60 million Americans live in rural areas. Unfortunately, these individuals tend to be in poorer health than those who live in urban and suburban areas. They experience greater rates of chronic…

November is Native American Heritage Month, and I would like to share with you a story, one unknown to most Americans, but one that Virgin Islanders learn at a young age. It is the Caribbean story of Europe's drive for conquest and the…

I would like to also acknowledge the work that another Member of Congress, Max Rose, does in mental health related to veterans. We know so many of those veterans are, in fact, African American, coming back home after having served this…

I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois for what she has said, and, Mr. Speaker, I would engage the Congresswoman, through the Chair, in a discussion. I know that she has been going around the country to so many districts and talked with so…

I thank the gentlewoman so much for her admonishment to us to continue working, to continue doing what is necessary for those of us who live in the Black community, for those who are affected by what is a lack of treatment in the Black…

One of the things, Mr. Speaker, that we wanted to talk about was Blacks being overrepresented in prison: 1 million of the total 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States. One million of those 2.3 million are, in fact, African…

Because so many individuals in the African American community, if they are going to speak with a psychiatrist, a mental health professional, if that individual does not--never mind that they don't look like them, but if they are not…

I think about how, if a family has individuals with diabetes, hypertension, the other issues, and they are taking money and time to deal with that--if, in fact, they are--they are not considering going to counseling or going to some other…

I think so much about when the gentlewoman said people talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, and there are so many people in our country who are having present-day traumatic stress disorder. In the Black community, there is this…

I know that there have been studies, which you were just discussing, where Black women are historically mistreated by doctors because they do not believe African American women when they say that they are not feeling well or when they are…

I was looking at a statistic here that, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 89.3 million Americans live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas, in contrast to only 55.3 million…

This cuts across all economics of African Americans. This is not just about poor Black women.