Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank my dear friend and courageous leader who brought us all together so many years ago and, I believe, built up the…”

“I thank my dear friend and courageous leader who brought us all together so many years ago and, I believe, built up the Equality Caucus into such an effective spokesperson for all of those who are voiceless in many instances. Madam Speaker, I thank David Cicilline. I remember the journey he made on the Equality Act. It was a lot of meetings, a lot of engagement, but he brought us all together. I am very proud to be an original cosponsor and one that gave insight into the necessity for that legislation. Let me say the very obvious, and that is happy Pride Month. It is an important statement for America, and it is about Americans. Madam Speaker, these statistics from Texas would give you just a bird's-eye view of what our State is like: percent of adults who are LGBTQ-plus, 4.1 percent; total LGBTQ-plus population, 1,053,000 and, of course, growing; the workforce, 5 percent. {time} 2120 Those who are workers, 647,000; and the LGBTQ-plus, adults raising children, 29 percent--just regular Texans, regular Americans. That is why we stand on the floor of the House today to be able to celebrate Pride Month. And though many of the occasions we have had in Houston and around the Nation are virtual, we are still making our voices heard. We look forward in Houston to our big Pride Parade, and, of course, we look forward to recommitting ourselves to making equality in every aspect of American life real for members of the LGBTQ community.…”