Pramila Jayapal

Thank you so much, Chairwoman Maloney, and for your tremendous leadership on so many issues.

I have advocated for the equal rights amendment for over 25 years.

I hope that my colleagues understand their words matter and we need everyone's help in fighting back against these heinous racist attacks.

Just recently in a Committee's hearing, some of my colleagues across the aisle continue to call it the China virus. I spoke up. I said that was not correct language, number one, and number two, it incited this kind of hate.

There is no question that our words matter, our framing matters, and particularly as Members of Congress, when we use our platforms to continue slurs that are seen in a way that encourages racist hate crimes, it is a big problem.

The violence and discrimination targeting the Asian-American community hits very close to home, and it's been a difficult hearing.

I really believe we need to reassert the broader vision of a democratic economy and society that once guided antitrust enforcement.

Antitrust law used to abide by its own rules of the road, sometimes called bright line rules.

Considering Pell has gone from covering 80 percent of the [audio issues] to less than 30 percent at a public four-year college.

Our economic recovery may be largely dependent on affordable access to postsecondary education.

It is clear that the pandemic has had a negative impact on college enrollment for all students, particularly low-income, first generation, and certainly freshman of color.

I am not driving I promise you, but I am in a car because I didn't want to miss this very important hearing.

I think it is incredibly important for all those reasons for us to have that national strategy, and to do the research that you're talking about.

I think we have a real duty in Congress to learn what we can from the stories of people, particularly the workers that have suffered the worst of the pandemic, and to confront the stories they tell us about inequalities that are tearing…

Having people who say the things that have been said... is dangerous for all of Congress.

I do fear that that is the case. But the proper way to go about it is to call for an investigation.

Help is on the way and it's going directly to the people, every single piece of this package.

It's a very big tactical mistake for Republicans... they're going to have to try to explain why they voted no on a package that puts money in people's pockets.

My message tonight is help is on the way real, tangible help. Money in your pockets.

I think that we understand that the level of crisis that we face requires a solution that matches the scale of that crisis, and I believe that that is what we will be delivering when we pass this through the House and when President Biden…

This will lift families out of poverty. This will lift children. It will cut child poverty by half. This will decrease hunger.

I believe that to be the case. Obviously, every member makes the decision at the very last minute sometimes, but from my conversations, I think people understand that this is a bill that does what we said we would do. It puts money in…

I think the idea that people are struggling in this way, and at the same time, let me say, the countervailing force for us of billionaires who have made $1.2 trillion just in the last year, that contrast, I think, really put that argument…

I’ve already said that I think that the parliamentarian should be overruled.

I think the parliamentarian should be overruled. That is not unprecedented as you know. Hubert Humphrey did it in 1967 and 1969. Roosevelt did it in 1975. These are certainly unprecedented times, where we could thank the parliamentarian…