[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING FOR RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Green of Texas). The Chair recognizes 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 106th anniversary of 
the Armenian genocide.
  The first genocide of the 20th century, the atrocity saw the massacre 
of more than 1.5 million men, women, and children at the hands of the 
Ottoman Empire.
  As a young boy in Fresno, my Armenian friends told me the stories of 
the horrors that their parents and grandparents witnessed. They never 
forgot the tragedy, and neither will I.
  After decades of inaction, both the House and the Senate passed 
resolutions in 2019, calling for the recognition of the Armenian 
genocide. It is my hope that the Biden administration will officially 
recognize these crimes against humanity.

                              {time}  1030

  Just this past year, we witnessed another atrocity against the 
Armenian people in Artsakh. There is no denying the attacks made by 
Azerbaijan and Turkey were premeditated and coordinated in an effort to 
eliminate the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh.
  No words on our part can undo the terror and brutality suffered by 
Armenians, but actions can. We can learn from these atrocities and 
commit ourselves to ensuring that something like this never happens 
again, for starters, by requiring that Azerbaijan and Turkey comply 
with their agreement to release prisoners of war and civilians held 
captive by Azerbaijan.
  It is time the United States reestablish its presence in this part of 
the world by standing up for human rights.


                    Critical Need for Infrastructure

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address also a critical need 
for infrastructure in America. It is time that we build new 
transportation systems and rehabilitate structures to support a modern 
economy and a way of life in the 21st century. President Biden's 
American jobs plan is an attempt to do just that with historic 
investments in improving infrastructure and putting millions of people 
to work. We need that.
  The goals of this plan is to help all Americans. I urge my Republican 
colleagues to help forge a bipartisan package to invest in America.
  When it comes to transportation, California is leading the way by 
building the Nation's first sustainable, true state-of-the-art high-
speed rail project. It will deliver a fast, reliable, and eco-friendly 
way to connect to Los Angeles, to the bay area, and ultimately 80 
percent of the State's population, getting cars off the roads and 
cleaning our air.
  It will spur an investment in the economy that will deal with the 
economic fallout of the pandemic, creating reliable, good paying jobs; 
supporting small businesses; and investing in socially disadvantaged 
communities. In my home of California's San Joaquin Valley, we are 
already seeing the benefits of high-speed rail.
  My legislation, the High Speed Rail Corridor Development Act of 2021, 
will help fund this forward-thinking project and other rail corridors 
across the Nation.
  Big projects we know are hard. They always have been. So bold action, 
if we are serious about improving our future, is necessary. Since I 
first came to Congress, it has been one of my highest priorities to 
invest in America's infrastructure.
  What do I mean by this?
  Investing in our Nation's water infrastructure, a 21st century system 
of transportation, nationwide broadband, and our schools are all 
investments that the majority of Americans want to see us make.
  The debate we are engaged in now is how we define and what we can 
agree on in terms of infrastructure and how we pay for it because we 
must.
  So let's show the American people that their government can work 
together and make important investments that are long overdue that will 
benefit America and regain our lead. Today, we rank 13th in the world 
in terms of infrastructure. That is not the place America ought to be. 
We need to make these investments in our people and in our country, 
which are good investments that will pay dividends for future Americans 
and future generations to come.

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