[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 50 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1302-H1303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          RECOGNIZING AMY GOOD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ezell). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I love recognizing our community mothers in 
Detroit.
  Amy Good founded Alternatives for Girls, a nationally recognized 
organization serving at-risk youth women in southeast Michigan. For the 
past 37 years, Amy Good has led Alternatives for Girls with integrity 
and commitment to the organization's mission to ensure a better quality 
of life and future for girls and young women who have survived 
homelessness, violence, and trauma.
  With their support, many young girls can go on to succeed in school, 
graduate, and become leaders in our communities by providing shelter, 
housing, mentorship programs, skills training, and much more.
  With Amy's partnership, I am so proud to announce that our office was 
able to secure $1.1 million for the Alternatives for Girls to construct 
the Dr. Maya Angelou Village that will create 45 units of affordable, 
integrated

[[Page H1303]]

permanent supportive housing for at-risk families.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking Amy Good for her outstanding 
service to our residents in southeast Michigan as we wish her well in 
her next endeavor.


                     Mother Parks Federal Building

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, Congress passed legislation to celebrate the 
mother of the civil rights movement and a beloved resident of our 
community, Mother Rosa Parks.
  I thank Senator Debbie Stabenow, the McCauley Parks family, and 
everyone who supported this legislation. It was a privilege to lead 
this effort in the House to rename our Federal building downtown at 985 
Michigan Avenue in Detroit the Rosa Parks Federal Building.
  We honor Mother Rosa Parks today and every day for her bravery and 
unwavering commitment to justice. The Montgomery bus boycott showed the 
world the power of nonviolent resistance and collective action. Her 
strength resonated to millions across our Nation, inspiring a wave of 
protests, boycotts, and marches. Her protest challenged the status quo 
and paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to outlaw racial 
segregation in our Nation.
  As we reflect on Rosa Parks' legacy, let us not only remember her 
incredible courage but also recognize the work that still lies before 
us. Let us honor her memory by continuing to challenge inequality, by 
speaking out against injustice, and by standing up for what is right, 
even in the face of adversity.


                           Starvation in Gaza

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, over 1.5 million Palestinians are now 
displaced in Rafah without food, clean water, or medicine.
  More than 13,000 children have already been killed by the Israeli 
Government. Another child is killed in Gaza every 15 minutes.
  Many have witnessed family members literally dismembered before their 
eyes. They have witnessed their loved ones buried under the rubble 
while they were holding each other.
  The trauma has led to children as young as 5, Mr. Speaker, saying 
that they would prefer to die.
  Additionally, as if the threat from the bullets and bombs wasn't 
enough, Palestinians are now dying of starvation across Gaza. At least 
27 children and 3 adults have already starved to death. They have been 
forced to eat grass and animal feed just to survive.
  Let's be clear, this isn't a tragic accident. What we are witnessing, 
all of us across this world, is the Israeli Government using starvation 
as a weapon of war. The starvation is a result of the total siege on 
Gaza and the intentional targeting of local food production, 
infrastructure, and obstruction of aid convoys.
  Recently, at least 112 Palestinians were killed after Israeli 
Government forces opened fire on hundreds waiting to collect flour. The 
Israeli Government has been intentionally starving the Palestinian 
people, families. These are some of the most horrific crimes against 
humanity committed in this century. To target starving people seeking 
food is beyond belief.
  Now, my colleagues are pushing legislation to send more American tax 
dollars to the apartheid government of Israel and stop funding UNRWA, 
the major organization that provides desperately needed food and 
humanitarian assistance to starving Palestinians.
  Now, Members here, all of them, are going to be contributing to the 
starvation of Palestinian families.
  This is Yazan. He was only 10 years old when he died due to severe 
malnutrition and lack of proper healthcare caused by the siege and 
blockade in Gaza. His family, originally from the north, was displaced 
several times and wanted to make it to Rafah in hopes of finding food 
and medicine for Yazan, who needed it to survive, but there was nothing 
they could do to help him.
  This has to stop. What has happened to our shared humanity? 
Palestinians deserve to live. Palestinian children aren't disposable. 
They deserve to grow old.
  Netanyahu has said he will move forward with an invasion of Rafah 
with or without a temporary cease-fire. He said it.
  Let's be clear, though. A temporary cease-fire is not enough. There 
is nothing humanitarian about feeding starving children for 6 weeks 
before the bombing and killing resumes. A lasting, permanent cease-fire 
is what we need.

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