[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H2450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Congressional Mamas' Caucus, 
I am asking our Chamber to please take a moment to recognize that we 
are experiencing a Black maternal health crisis in our country.
  In Michigan's 12th Congressional District, we are experiencing not 
only the Black maternal health crisis but also an infant mortality 
crisis.
  We don't want another study. We want action.
  Michigan has had one of the highest death rates among Black women in 
our country because our systems and institutions have failed to provide 
our Black neighbors with the comprehensive, high-quality care they 
deserve, a system free of systemic racism.
  To address the Black maternal mortality crisis, we must understand 
and acknowledge our country's racist history and the ways in which it 
has manifested in our healthcare system. Black women are three times 
more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. This 
is unacceptable.
  Black women have consistently been neglected and mistreated in our 
healthcare system. They should feel safe and supported by their 
healthcare professionals, and they should be believed.
  Black women in frontline communities like ours also live with the 
devastating effects of preexisting conditions from air and water 
pollution.
  I founded the Congressional Mamas' Caucus with Mothering Justice 
because we were tired. We were tired of policies created about mothers 
but not with mothers.
  I am also incredibly proud to have been a supporter and cosponsor of 
the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, a comprehensive bill that would 
address every dimension of the maternal health crisis in America.
  This legislative package will extend WIC eligibility, fund community-
based organizations, prioritize Black maternal mental health, support 
incarcerated mothers, and invest in Federal programs to address the 
Black maternal health crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, I will not stop until Black women receive the equitable, 
nondiscriminatory, comprehensive care they deserve.


                            Get the Lead Out

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, water contaminated by lead service lines can 
be found in every single congressional district in our country. From 
rural areas to densely populated cities, lead service lines are 
widespread and pose serious health risks to all of us, but particularly 
our children.
  I founded the Get the Lead Out Caucus with the goal of eliminating 
lead from our drinking water once and for all.
  Experts have estimated that we need $60 billion to replace every 
single lead pipe in America in the next 10 years. We continue to wake 
up to stories about children being poisoned and cities having to hand 
out bottled water because they have failed to invest in our water 
infrastructure.
  We are now seeing our own food supply being impacted by toxic water 
being used to wash produce that ends up in our refrigerators and on our 
dining room tables.
  People across our country are being forced to drink, bathe, cook, and 
wash dishes with water that is literally poisoning our bodies.
  This is a public health crisis, Mr. Speaker, and it affects all of us 
in the United States.
  I am proud that I am leading, in partnership with Congresswoman 
Debbie Dingell and Lisa Blunt Rochester, an appropriations request to 
provide $1.5 billion in additional funding for lead service line 
replacement in Michigan and throughout the country in the next fiscal 
year.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please join me in this 
initiative. I know that many of our municipalities have talked to all 
of us about struggling to find the resources to meet the urgent need 
for lead pipe detection and replacement, so this $1.5 billion would 
keep us on track for our goal of total nationwide lead pipe replacement 
in the next decade.
  Tribal nations across the Great Lakes remind us that water is life. 
There is no more precious resource than water. We must continue to 
demand that clean, affordable water is a human right in our country.

                              {time}  1030


                      Congratulating Laila Nasher

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to congratulate 
Laila Nasher, a resident from our district and a dedicated leader in 
our community, for becoming the first Yemeni-American woman to earn the 
prestigious Truman Scholarship award.
  Born in Aden, Yemen, Laila is a proud immigrant and was raised by her 
mother in Detroit. In 2021, I had the honor and privilege of Laila 
interning in our office, and since then I have watched from afar her 
incredible commitment to public service, and it continues to just grow.
  Laila is committed to advancing equity in our public education and 
supporting underserved communities and first-generation college 
students like herself. As a student at Harvard, she is now studying 
social anthropology and history and inspiring young Yemeni-American 
women in our community and across our country to pursue their dreams.
  I am so proud of Laila in receiving the Truman Scholarship award and 
cannot wait to see all that she is going to be able to accomplish in 
the years to come. Please join me in congratulating Laila for her 
outstanding achievements and deep commitment to our community.

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