[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H921-H922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING FTC'S NONCOMPETE BAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Porter) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PORTER. Madam Speaker, our economy thrives on competition and 
freedom. No employer should be able to block their workers from taking 
a better job, but that is what noncompete contracts do. They strip 
Americans' freedom to work at the job that is best for them.
  As a result, workers are losing out on nearly $300 billion in wages 
every year. Companies stop incentivizing workers to stay because they 
don't need to. They are stuck.
  Noncompetes also drag down the entire economy, hurting even those of 
us who aren't covered by them. Everyone is harmed when wages are 
suppressed, innovation is stifled, and competition is prevented.
  I am thrilled that the Federal Trade Commission is ending this toxic 
practice. Banning noncompetes will promote the ideals our country was 
founded on--open markets, economic mobility, and the right to control 
one's own life.
  Madam Speaker, I commend this effort to make our capitalist economy 
more fair, free, and prosperous.


        Standing Up for Rental Market Fairness and Affordability

  Ms. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm on the 
housing crisis crushing millions of Americans.
  Skyrocketing rents across the country are pummeling families and 
squeezing them out of their homes. Let's face it, the rental market is 
broken and riddled with unfair practices.
  Unreasonable background checks, crooked screening algorithms, and 
anticompetitive information sharing are just some of the many obstacles 
locking renters out from obtaining safe and affordable housing.
  I am grateful that the Biden administration announced new actions to 
increase fairness in the rental market, protect tenants, and make 
housing more affordable. Rooting out predatory tactics and developing 
strong guardrails will help prevent future egregious increases in rent.
  As California's watchdog during the last foreclosure crisis, I know 
it takes fight to keep families in their homes. I urge leaders across 
government to stand up for renters.


                     Keeping AAPI Communities Safe

  Ms. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I rise to address how our government can 
address the issues facing our AAPI communities.
  Supporting Asian and Pacific Islander Americans requires recognizing 
the diversity within those communities. Inadequate data limit our 
ability to serve all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
  Federal data on AAPI people fail to capture differences across ethnic 
backgrounds. Grouping all AAPI people into one supercategory erases 
important distinctions in cultural traditions and lived experiences.
  Blunt data instruments cannot produce targeted policy solutions to

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the dangers AAPI communities face, like hate crimes.
  In California, anti-AAPI hate crimes are up 177 percent, but some 
communities experience these threats more acutely. For example, a 
recent survey found that Vietnamese communities are 38 percent more 
likely to worry about hate crimes than other AAPI communities.
  I am leading efforts to fund community-based solutions to anti-AAPI 
hate crimes, but making these tools even more effective requires data 
that identify at-risk groups. Official data must guide our efforts to 
keep our AAPI neighbors safe.

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