[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H2428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ELEVATING VOICES OF BLACK LEADERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Ruiz) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna 
Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks by police officers have highlighted the 
anguish and injustices that Black communities have experienced for 
generations; have shook our Nation to its core; and made evident, 
starkly, the racial injustice in our Nation.
  As we watch the unrest, as we hear the pain, it is imperative we ask 
ourselves: What are we doing about it?
  It is more important than ever that we have the difficult but 
necessary conversations to address racially targeted excessive use of 
force and racial profiling by police who do not follow their own 
professional code of conduct. There must be dialogue. There must be a 
humble willingness to listen, reflect, and come together to make 
change.
  In the last few weeks, that is exactly what we have done in my 
district, in California's 36th. Over the past few weeks, I held 
listening sessions and roundtables to elevate the voices and 
experiences of leaders in the Black community. They shared their 
stories, perspectives, and recommendations for change.
  I also convened an important dialogue between African-American 
leaders and our local police chiefs. Our local police chiefs have come 
to the table with open ears and a willingness to be part of that change 
that we seek.
  These conversations were impactful and productive. We outlined next 
steps, steps like banning choke holds, expanding the use of body 
cameras, increasing transparency and accountability, increasing 
community engagement, and annual mental health wellness checks for 
police officers.
  I am encouraged by the progress, and I look forward to the hard work 
that will lead to real change in our community, change that will move 
our community and Nation from internalizing despair to externalizing 
hope and action for change.


                       Supporting ACA Enhancement

  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, as an emergency physician, I have seen the 
faces of failed healthcare policies. I have looked into the eyes of the 
suffering when they couldn't afford care. I have cried with families 
who have lost a loved one, knowing it could have been prevented with 
routine care if only they had health insurance.
  Even now, I have gone into hard-to-reach and high-risk communities 
and personally conducted COVID-19 testing, watching the health 
inequities and disparities play out in real time, seeing 
disproportionately higher rates of transmission and deaths in low-
income, uninsured, Latino, farmworker, and the homeless communities.
  As a physician and humanitarian, I find it unconscionable, repulsive, 
that during a global pandemic, while millions are infected by COVID-19 
and millions more are unemployed and struggling economically, that the 
Trump administration is actively working to repeal the Affordable Care 
Act through the Supreme Court.
  Repealing the ACA would be a disaster, leading to millions of 
families facing financial hardships and many, many more deaths from 
COVID-19.
  Repealing the ACA would eliminate protections for people with 
preexisting conditions, the very same conditions that render a person 
more likely to die from COVID-19.
  Repealing the ACA would take away health insurance from millions of 
Americans who, for the first time, have health insurance because of the 
Medicaid expansion.
  It is precisely during this time that we must work to expand 
healthcare access and make it affordable, which is what H.R. 1425, the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, would do.
  It is precisely now that we need to lower healthcare premiums for 
middle-class families, encourage States to expand Medicaid, strengthen 
protections for preexisting conditions, and lower the cost of 
prescription drugs.
  I support this bill for the people, and I will continue fighting for 
the people to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for the 
people.

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