[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 21 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H375-H376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LET'S KEEP OUR EYES ON THE FUTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Ms. Stevens) until 10 p.m.
  Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I thank you so much for your dedication 
to this body and your oversight this evening. I thank all of the very 
hardworking professionals who help to run the floor of the House. I am 
so pleased to be back on the floor of the House of Representatives this 
day, February 4.
  Some on the outside project fair criticism, question, demand, want of 
us. Some may look at us even with a frustrated or loathing eye. We all 
know how often we hear the statistic about how popular Congress is. 
What pours in here through money, outside influence, the money that 
circles around this building.
  And when we walk onto this floor of the House of Representatives, 
though, we are all but just Members. We are representatives of our 
constituents, carrying a voting card, carrying a voice, representing 
the values, the determinations, the wishes and the wants of our 
district, and forced to come together to make a determination.
  We ask ourselves: What do we demand of this institution?

  I had the privilege of being here this evening as we have seen a long 
debate, a long time of Special Orders ensue, those who reflected on the 
events of January 6, the horrible insurrection that took place, the 
desecration of this institution, this pride and joy of the United 
States of America, both the House and the Senate momentarily taken 
over. And I join my colleagues in those reflections.
  We saw the other side of the aisle reflect on energy needs, energy 
resource needs. We also saw some contributions made to constituents 
back at home.
  Tonight, as you look out to the Capitol--and we know this--it is not 
a full Chamber right now. These are obviously also different times, 
Madam Speaker. We don't have many outside guests walking through the 
Congress due to the pandemic. But everyone is allowed to look at the 
Capitol and see the lantern, see the tholus that supports the Statue of 
Freedom, that supports Lady Freedom. That lantern is lit right now.
  And what is that lantern saying?
  That democracy rings out, that freedom rings out, that our future is 
still within our grasp.
  I am proud and grateful to be here tonight, Madam Speaker. I know 
that the time is not always a given. We certainly recognize that in the 
midst of this pandemic. We reflect just a month in to this 117th 
session of Congress. I am very excited about this 117th session of 
Congress because it is new. It is a new session.
  And what do we get with new?
  A month ago, January 4, the day after the swearing-in of the new 
Congress, we passed our rules package, we had procedural votes. I am 
very proud to say I introduced my first bill of the Congress, the 
Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act, a bipartisan bill, focused on 
our domestic supply chain needs to ensure that we can withstand future 
disruptions, that we can continue to test our system, that we can bring 
together the best and brightest of America to get in front of 
challenges and create jobs and continue to create jobs.
  I come from Michigan, and I am really proud of coming from Michigan 
and I am proud of what Michigan's story is, particularly coming out of 
the year 2020, and what that means with regard to the first bill I 
introduced in the 117th Congress, our manufacturing economy, our 
innovation capabilities.
  We have continued to monitor this economy. We are seeing some 
ricochets, some growth in areas we weren't expecting, some job loss. 
Michigan's at about a 7.5 percent unemployment. We are going to build 
it back better. We are going to get people back to work with good wages 
and good benefits and a dignity for what they do. You see that in 
manufacturing, when people work with their hands, when they produce, 
when they are part of an outcome and a productivity. And it is really 
very exciting to see that Michigan will continue to be a leader.
  It must be recognized, our leadership, because when those supply 
chain disruptions hit almost a year ago, when we saw the PPE shortages 
in our hospitals, in our healthcare system for the individual American 
who was going to the grocery store looking for some hand sanitizer or a 
roll of paper towels, it was the Michigan manufacturers who stood up 
immediately to rework their supply chains, to rework their production 
channels, to source that PPE, from the big three--from Ford, Chrysler, 
GM--on down the supply chain. And it was absolutely amazing, and it was 
union workers to boot.
  And then the great innovation of America, the story that will also be 
heralded and seen coming out of this pandemic was the creation of a 
proven and tested vaccine that we invested in immediately. My 
colleagues and I will reflect on that, that the first thing we did as a 
body together, all of Congress, everyone who gets to stand in this body 
voted to fund the research for the vaccine, the very beginning of 
March. And we got that vaccine, and it got produced in a place called 
Portage, Michigan. As the year began to reach its conclusion, the 
trucks filled with that vaccine, and it started to get in the arms of 
the people who were counting on it. Absolutely miraculous. So unique to 
the place that I am privileged to call home.
  As we reflected in 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, 
the question I would ask my colleagues is: What is our moonshot of the 
next 50 years?
  We certainly met one in the year 2020, yet we haven't stopped 
continuing to innovate. We haven't stopped continuing to keep our eyes 
on a future that we are inheriting and that our next generation is 
inheriting.
  I am optimistic about this next generation. I am optimistic about 
what they represent and about my opportunity to engage and to listen to 
the students of America and to advocate for them from the Halls of 
Congress. It is why I proudly sit on the Education and Labor Committee.
  President John Kennedy said: ``To govern is to choose.''
  To govern is to choose. And we make those choices. See, I don't get 
to issue proclamations instead of voting. I take a vote. I come down, 
``yes'' or ``no.''
  Which way do we decide to come down as a nation?
  Are we going to agree as a people with one another every step of the 
way?

[[Page H376]]

  Absolutely not.

                              {time}  2145

  No union is perfect in that regard. But what makes and builds toward 
a more perfect Union, as our Founders compelled, and as we compel each 
other, is the constant dedication to doing the work, to standing up for 
people, to calling out truth and what is right.
  I certainly am not shy of doing that, Madam Speaker, and I know that 
that was important for us at the beginning of the pandemic to listen to 
the science, to recognize the threat and to take its seriously, and to 
also be resilient. And I see that resilience all around my district, 
Madam Speaker.
  And I continue to be compelled to the constituents of the 11th 
District, to the falling COVID rates in Michigan. We continue to pay 
tribute and to recognize those who are suffering, those who are 
struggling from COVID-19, families who are separated from one another 
as an individual is getting their treatment. We hold them in our 
hearts. We think about them and we remain dedicated to the prevention 
and the cure and the effort to end this pandemic.
  I am so excited to welcome President Joe Biden to the White House. We 
were here for his inauguration. We were here to hear his remarks. His 
invitation for unity and unity by way of delivering; unity by way of 
delivering for the American people; the Buy American provisions that 
will continue to invest in American manufacturers and using our Federal 
dollars to identify new supply chain opportunities for us.
  I see this all over my district, from Northville up to Troy and 
Auburn Hills, what people are working on and how we can help them to 
continue to do that.
  Madam Speaker, I thank you for the time tonight and I yield back the 
balance of my time.

                          ____________________