[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                         REMEMBERING WILLA CASH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Mother Willa Cash, 
a resident of Detroit and community mother in Michigan's 12th 
Congressional District, as we mourn her recent passing. She was 
lovingly called Willie by those who knew her well.
  Ms. Cash's work touched the lives of so many. She worked for the 
State of Michigan's Department of Unemployment Services and later the 
Michigan Department of Human Services before retiring in 1999 after 26 
years of service.
  Ms. Cash was a caring, compassionate leader in our community. She 
volunteered her time and energy to the Unity Temple Church of Detroit 
and Greenwich Park Association block club. She was a proud, lifelong, 
engaged voter and a member-retiree of the United Auto Workers Region 1-
A.
  Ms. Cash's love and compassion for her family were extraordinary. 
Willie and her late husband, James, were married 53 years at the time 
of his passing, and they were parents of two beautiful twins.
  Please join me in recognizing Mother Willa Cash and her contribution 
to our community as we honor her memory.


                   Detroit's Water Shutoff Moratorium

  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, just over 3 weeks ago, the city of 
Detroit's water shutoff moratorium ended, terminating vital protection 
for Detroit's most vulnerable residents.
  We only got the lifesaving moratorium in the first place thanks to 
years of determined organizing and advocacy from our community's water 
warriors. Many are the mothers of our neighborhoods.
  In response to that organizing and advocacy, the city has now created 
an affordability plan, but many of the mothers in our community and 
advocates continue to highlight shortcomings and a lack of awareness 
amongst struggling Detroiters of the resources available, which leaves 
thousands still in jeopardy of shutoffs.
  For many Americans, water shutoffs are only the beginning. Even after 
they pay off outstanding debt or arrange for payment plans, 
reconnection fees further penalize them.
  We need to move beyond treating missed payments as a moral failing 
and acknowledge the reality of families struggling as they try to make 
ends meet. The cost of water in our country has gone up 400 percent.
  In the wealthiest Nation on Earth, there should not be a single 
family without water. We have had enough of punishing people for being 
poor. It is time to take our public health seriously and guarantee 
water as a human right. We all know water is life. It is time we start 
treating it as such.


                 In Solidarity with Iranian Protesters

  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the 
protesters in Iran. In the streets, they are demanding human rights and 
women's equality.
  The courageous protesters are risking their lives to stop the massive 
policing and security operations hurting women.
  No one protesting for human rights in Iran or anywhere in the United 
States or anywhere in the world should be met with government violence. 
No one should be persecuted or executed for fighting for freedom for 
their sisters, their daughters, or their mothers from oppressive and 
harmful actions.
  Mahsa Amini should be alive today. Countless protesters should be 
alive today. I stand, and I know we all do, with all the brave and 
courageous Iranians, especially the young women at the forefront of 
this movement, who are fighting for liberation and bodily autonomy.

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