On the recordNovember 7, 2023
Again, in a moment of self-awareness, we are a bunch of straight White guys talking about social justice. When did a social justice agenda become a bad thing? Again, who am I to say, but weren't the leaders of the civil rights movement leading a social justice agenda? Does anyone imagine that that notion that we read about, as you go down to the archives, toward a more perfect union, does anyone think that we have met that and that housing and transportation have to be fundamental toward the ends of that agenda that we talked about? In the end, wasn't Lincoln saying that 87 years ago--every once in a while, we have to ask ourselves did we really mean it when we said that we were all created equal? We have to ask ourselves that today. We still have a long way to go, and it runs through all our systems, including our transportation and our housing systems. It is not a bad word. Someone needs to stand up to you when you do this. It is wrong. This amendment is wrong. This bill is horrible because of these things. I oppose it, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 2000
