[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         OUR POWER, OUR MESSAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
any extraneous materials on the subject of my Special Order hour.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today 
to open our first Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour of this 
year, during Black History Month, utilizing to the fullest extent 
possible: Our Power, Our Message.
  I would like to thank the Congressional Black Caucus members for 
having the confidence to elect me to be chairwoman during the 117th 
Congress. I stand on the shoulders of greatness as I acknowledge the 
past members and chairs for their tremendous leadership.
  For the next 60 minutes, we have an opportunity to speak directly to 
the American people about the issues of great importance to the 
Congressional Black Caucus and the millions of constituents we 
represent.
  Tonight's Special Order hour topic will serve as part of a rollout of 
our policy agenda and celebrate our 50th anniversary in the context of 
the many critical issues facing the Black community.
  The Congressional Black Caucus kicked off Black History Month, Madam 
Speaker, with the powerful Travon Free film ``Two Distant Strangers,'' 
a moving story about a young Black man caught in a George Floyd type of 
nightmare with his local police department.
  During tomorrow's CBC meeting to be held at 12 p.m., the ``Living 
Black History'' vignette, featuring all 58 members of the CBC, will be 
unveiled to the public via Facebook, TheGrio, and my YouTube page.
  We are also hosting a virtual film screening of director Lee Daniels' 
film, ``The United State vs. Billie Holiday,'' tomorrow evening.
  In that spirit, later this week, I will be introducing the Black 
History is American History Act to close out our Black History Month.
  This year marks the 50th anniversary of the CBC with the largest CBC 
group ever, 58 members who represent the diversity, hope, and promise 
of this great Nation. It has been stated before, and it certainly bears 
repeating, the CBC is commonly referred to as the conscience of the 
Congress and over the decades has forcefully advocated on policies that 
our Nation cares about, ranging from economic justice and reparations, 
healthcare, voting rights, consumer protection, education, and fair 
policing to far beyond.
  The killing of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd drew 
America closer to another watershed moment last year, amid a pandemic 
that has disrupted life as we knew it, triggering an intergenerational 
cross-class collective of people demanding change, which led to the 
passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that is the 
first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, 
change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and 
build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing 
systemic racism and biases to help save lives.
  I also wear another hat, and that is as chairwoman of the Diversity 
and Inclusion Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. 
Though it may speak for itself, I appreciate that kind of 
transformative change which we seek in the spirit of policy, 
legislation, and regulation that will, hopefully, result in building a 
record that we can use as we promote diversity and inclusion in our 
democracy. As CBC founder member Bill Clay noted, we have no permanent 
friends or enemies, just permanent interests.
  The CBC's priorities will allow us, in many instances, to work with 
the Biden administration to deliver relief to our constituents who have 
been so devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to work on long-term 
plans for recovery. To that end, we are so pleased that we will 
announce our domestic policy team tomorrow, as we have met with 
Ambassador Susan Rice, who is head of the Biden domestic policy team.
  It is so important that I end by saying the Congressional Black 
Caucus is committed to dramatically reversing these alarming trends by 
working with our community leaders, allies, and colleagues in Congress 
to pass critical legislation and by working with the Biden-Harris 
administration to encourage responsible executive branch policies and 
actions using Our Power, Our Message.
  Now, I am honored to announce our CBC anchors for tonight: 
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a scholar, a strategist, an orator, a 
woman who has sponsored legislation and helped craft much of the 
changes that we will be talking about through the 117th Congress; and I 
am equally as proud to say that the Special Order hour will be co-
chaired by her coanchor, Congressman Ritchie Torres, a freshman, a 
member of the Financial Services Committee, a giant in public housing 
legislation. Tonight, you will hear from them.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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