[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2991-H2994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING MOTHERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous material into the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the Congressional Mamas'
Caucus, I would like to take a moment and truly celebrate Mother's Day
and recognize the contributions of mothers across our country.
We must continue to center mamas in the policies we develop and
champion here in the United States Congress. As the mother of two
incredible boys, I stand here today as an advocate for the needs of all
mothers. Mothers should not be struggling like they are today, and we
can act.
As the founder of the Congressional Mamas' Caucus, I want to ensure
that mothers have a seat at the table every day in our policies and
legislative work. I always say to folks, we can't keep enacting laws
that impact mothers, that are about mothers, but not with mothers.
From the incredible mothers in Michigan's 12th District Strong to
mothers in other movements for justice, I want to tell you, I love you
deeply. You are literally anchors within our communities and
neighborhoods. Many of you are community mothers. Your voices deserve
to be heard in this House, the people's House.
Mothers, as we all know, embody strength. They nurture. They come
into spaces with unconditional love. Today, we honor and celebrate
mothers for their tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to
their families.
Mr. Speaker, motherhood is a journey filled with joy but also
challenges and sacrifices. It is a universal experience that transcends
race, religion, and socioeconomic status, yet many mothers continue to
face great, great disparities.
Mothers are often the primary caregivers, so this Mother's Day, I ask
all my colleagues, please, don't just say ``Happy Mother's Day,'' show
your love with action, action that uplifts moms.
The challenges they face can be overcome with actions here in
Congress. From the daily struggles of balancing work and family
responsibilities to the barriers that negatively impact our
marginalized communities, mothers often bear the brunt of inequity and
injustice.
One of the most pressing issues that I see continued over and over,
no matter which townhalls, whether I am having it in the city of
Detroit or in suburban communities, mothers and families today are
facing high levels of poverty and really, truly struggling every single
day with the economics of their family around healthcare and so much
more.
Millions of children, Mr. Speaker, in the United States live in
poverty, lacking access to basic necessities like food, shelter, and
healthcare. In Michigan, close to 20 percent of children under the age
of 18 live in poverty. In the richest country in the world, that is
unacceptable.
Working families in our country should not worry about where their
next meal should come from. If we have the money for endless wars, this
body can find the resources to end child poverty.
Ending child poverty is a policy choice, and in Congress we can start
by expanding programs like the child tax credit. I introduced the End
Child Poverty Act, which would cut poverty by over 60 percent. This
bill would implement a universal child benefit program. This bill would
lift millions of people out of poverty by providing about $428 per
child per month to every family in America so that nobody is left
behind.
Universal school meals are critical in ensuring that no child goes
hungry. Of course, we all know and have been taught by the incredible
Shirley Chisholm, the first African American to serve in Congress, that
children cannot learn when they are hungry, so let's feed them. Access
to meals is essential for every child's development. By investing in
universal school meals, we can ensure that every child has access to
the resources they need to thrive at school. This is how we support
mothers.
I am proud to cosponsor the Universal School Meals Program, which
many of my colleagues are championing here, to provide free meals to
every child in America.
Again, many of the programs I want to talk about tonight will
continue.
Now I want to yield to one of my colleagues who I consider an
incredible community mother and partner in this fight to, again, uplift
mothers. She has championed so much work around reproductive health and
been at the center of movement work, from the movement for Black lives,
movement around Black maternal health, and so much more. Mr. Speaker, I
yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts, Ayanna Pressley.
Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Tlaib for her
leadership in founding the Mamas' Caucus. I appreciate the way in which
wherever she sees a gap, she seeks to fill it. I also appreciate what
an incredible role model she is and the righteous representation that
she provides for her sons. I appreciate the way that she fights for
every child as if they are her own.
This time of year, Mr. Speaker, we wax poetic about the contributions
of mothers, call their work valued, their love endless, their role
invaluable. Mr. Speaker, mothers across America don't want a Hallmark
card, they want policy change.
I grew up in a small storefront church on the south side of Chicago,
and my grandfather was the pastor there. Even as a pastor, he would
often say that he would rather see a sermon than hear one.
Mr. Speaker, the mothers of this country are deserving of policies,
policies that see them, center them, and serve them, and they would
prefer those over bouquets, verbal or otherwise.
We tell mothers that caregiving is their greatest contribution and
then undermine them at every turn. We tell women that motherhood is
aspirational and the greatest contribution they will ever make, while
for many a safe pregnancy is a privilege and not a right. Then we
thrust them into a broken healthcare system that denies their bodily
autonomy, criminalizes pregnancy outcomes, and jeopardizes their lives.
We tell mothers that the work of keeping that baby warm, safe, and
fed is the highest calling, and then we allow negligence and policy
gaps to create a baby formula shortage in the midst of a pandemic as
mothers panic to meet a most basic need.
We tell mothers that they must work like they don't have children and
parent like they don't work while we fail to pass universal paid leave
policy, thrusting mamas and caregivers back into the workplace mere
weeks after their babies are born.
We tell mothers that it takes a village, and we are so proud to be a
part of theirs, and then we fail to invest in safe, affordable
childcare.
[[Page H2992]]
We tell mothers that they are their children's first teachers, and
they send their little ones out into the world with a hopeful heart,
and then a stark reality keeps them up at night--policy gaps that fail
to keep that child safe from a gun on the block or in the classroom.
We tell mothers that in the twilight of their lives after they poured
into their babies that we will take care of them, and then we gut
social programs that would help our elders age in community with
dignity and the care that they need.
Mr. Speaker, mothers don't need empty praise. They need policy
change. Now, by the grace of God and the sheer will and brilliance and
sacrifice of my mother--my shero, Sandy Pressley, may she rest in peace
and power--the woman who gave me my roots and wings, there are many
lessons that I was afforded by her example. Chief among those lessons
was that being a mother was, in her opinion, her greatest achievement
and her superpower. However, it was also not her only identity, and
because I had a front-row seat early on to her humanity, I saw the many
struggles and hardships that she was confronted with on a daily basis.
Not for lack of good character, not for a lack of strong work ethic,
but because of an absence of policy or policy violence.
Mr. Speaker, as a Nation, we penalize and marginalize the very people
who give us life, but yet and still mothers and caregivers persist,
persist in doing the work of community and movement building, of
mothering, of nurturing, when it has been 101 years too long, and we
have yet to even enshrine gender equality in our Constitution. We still
have not passed the equal rights amendment, and still we raise our
voices, and we rise in the Halls of power, navigating systems not built
for us to speak out.
Together we press, day in and day out, for a more just America
because being a mom, being a mama, being a mommy is our superpower.
This is not a just nation which supports us as parents, as
caregivers. If we want this to be a just nation and one that is more
just and fair for the generations we are raising and for the
generations to come, we fight for the rights of our children and
grandchildren, we move with the clarity and conviction that only
caretakers can. Leaving a better world behind is not an abstract
concept, it is grounded in the children right in front of us.
Every society owes a debt of gratitude to those who mother, and in
their name we press for a world that lives up to their aspirations, a
world that keeps their babies safe, a world that keeps all our babies
safe.
Mr. Speaker, I would rather see a sermon than hear one.
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, as a mother myself, I know that there are
circumstances out of our control that require families, especially the
mothers, to take time off from work, especially new mothers. Whether it
is your sick child, a parent, or a personal illness yourself, taking
unpaid leave is not a reality for millions of our American families,
our mothers.
Too many mothers are forced to choose between taking care of their
families or keeping their jobs. We need paid leave for all by providing
mothers with the time off they need to care for themselves and their
families. No one, Mr. Speaker, not a single person should have to fear
losing the income they need to keep a roof over their families' heads
in exchange for literally just being able to take care of their child.
{time} 1915
The Healthy Families Act would guarantee employees the right to earn
paid sick days each year--again, earn it.
Now, I don't want us to forget a big crisis that we have, and I think
the pandemic exposed this crisis. We have a childcare crisis in our
country.
Affordable childcare is also incredibly essential for working mothers
and the well-being of our children. Access to quality, affordable
childcare allows mothers to continue to pursue their careers while
knowing that their child is safe and taken care of.
By investing in affordable childcare, we can support working mothers
and help them achieve economic justice and be able to thrive, not just
survive.
I am proud to support as, again, the cofounder of the Congressional
Mamas' Caucus to be pushing for the Childcare for Working Families Act
to be sure families can afford the childcare they need and expand
access to high-quality options and help ensure that childcare workers
are paid living wages.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez), a wonderful
colleague from Illinois who is not only championing tenants' rights,
which is the center to many mothers, but also is a proud child of
immigrants. I will tell you just how incredibly connected she is to her
community on the ground and brings a lot of that lived experiences here
in the Chamber that has been really missing for a long time.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker,
(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)
I rise today to honor the women in my community as we prepare to
return home to our districts for Mother's Day.
I've said before that I'm the proud daughter of my courageous
immigrant mother, Maria Elvira Ramirez.
A woman who almost drowned in the Rio Grande and sacrificed so much
to give me a chance at a better life.
A woman who, to this day, never fails to lend a hand and offer
support and guiding words to anyone in IL-03 who needs it.
She is a mother for the whole community.
And as I honor my mother, I can't forget women who have also served
as mothers to community, including: Elvira Arellano, Juanita Barraza,
Nancy Aardema, Leticia Barrera, Catherine Garcia, and Julieta Alcantar.
Each of these ``mujeres'' have nurtured, cared for, and supported
whole communities, extending their love and compassion.
As ``madres de communidad,'' they have: taught us how to care for
each other and keep each other safe; defended our causes and protected
our dreams; created safe spaces and encouraged us to be our authentic
selves.
These mothers have taught us that love is both gentle and fierce.
They taught us how to fight for each other and to stand firmly
against that which seeks to destroy us: unaffordable housing, gun
violence, a broken immigration system, and more.
These mothers taught us to stand up for each other--not only for
their children, but for all children.
El dia de hoy me levanto para honrar a las mujeres de mi comunidad
mientras nos preparamos para regresar a nuestros distritos para
celebrar el Dia de la Madre.
Muchas veces he dicho que soy la orgullosa hija de mi valiente madre
inmigrante, Maria Elvira Ramirez.
Una mujer que casi se ahoga en el Rio Grande y sacrifico tanto para
darme la oportunidad de una mejor vida.
Una mujer que, hasta el dia de hoy, no deja de dar una mano y ofrecer
apoyo y palabras de orientacion a cualquiera en IL-03 que lo necesite.
Ella es madre de toda la comunidad.
Y al honrar a mi madre, no puedo olvidar a las mujeres que tambien
han servido como madres en la comunidad, entre ellas: Elvira Arellano,
Juanita Barraza, Nancy Aardema, Leticia Barrera, Catalina Garcia, y
Julieta Alcantar.
Cada una de estas mujeres ha nutrido, cuidado y apoyado a comunidades
enteras, extendiendo su amor y compasion.
Como madres de comunidad, ellas nos han tienen: ensenado como
cuidarnos unos a otros y mantenernos seguros; Defendido nuestras causas
y protegido nuestros suenos; Creado espacios seguros y animado a ser
nosotros mismos.
Estas madres nos han ensenado que el amor es a la vez gentil y feroz.
Nos ensenaron como luchar unos por otros y a oponernos firmemente a
aquello que busca destruirnos: viviendas inasequibles, violencia
armada, un sistema de inmigracion fallido y mas.
Estas madres nos ensenaron a pararnos firmes, no solo por sus hijos,
sino por todos los ninos.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, it is why I rise today to honor mothers,
my mother, and so many women in Illinois-3 who have shown love, who
have shown compassion, who have shown love even when they have been
given hate.
I also recognize that our mothers, as we pay respect to them, they
also want
[[Page H2993]]
to make sure that we pay respect to the brave children that they have
raised.
You see, on college campuses across the United States and the whole
world, students, our children, they are fighting for our shared
humanity.
They are putting their comfort and their bodies on the line to
disrupt the status quo. They are sending a clear message that
Palestinian, that Jewish, that Christian children must be protected and
that we must uplift our shared humanity.
Inspired by the lessons we have learned from our own mothers in our
communities, these brave and courageous students are defending children
in Gaza who are being murdered with U.S. bombs.
They are taking a stand for children whose schools have been
destroyed. Students of all faiths--Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and from
diverse backgrounds--are uniting to care for each other and to keep
each other safe, to defend their cause and protect their dreams and to
create a space that is encouraging freedom for everyone.
These children are an inspiration to so many of us, and they remind
us that the future is bright by putting the values and love into action
that their courageous mothers instilled in them.
Thanks to the teachings of these women, today we have a generation
who believes in our interconnectedness struggles and are saying enough.
In one voice, they are telling us clearly: No more war.
I close by saying that I learned from my own mother, a woman with a
third-grade education, a woman who struggled and has experienced all
that is wrong with this world, that if you lead with compassion, that
if you lead with courage, that you are willing to be uncomfortable in
the times that you must be uncomfortable, then you are living your
purpose and our collective responsibility for collective care.
It is why today as we are all getting ready to head back to our
districts to celebrate Mother's Day, I call on us all to remember the
lessons we learned from our own mothers, and I urge all of us to see
our shared humanity, no matter where we were born, no matter our
citizenship status.
Let's not forget the women who right now are mourning their children
and the children looking for their mothers under the rubble in Gaza and
in every conflict. May we remember those children. May we remember
those mothers.
After all, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Mother's Day
in 1914 to honor mothers who had lost their sons in the First World
War.
May we come back to protecting our children, may we come back to
protecting mothers and fathers, and may we be reminded in this day as
we celebrate mothers across the world that we, here in Congress, have a
responsibility to protect them and to uplift them.
I thank Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for her work, particularly the
work she is doing around paid family leave, affordable childcare,
universal school meals, investments in WIC and SNAP, ending child
poverty, and reproductive freedom.
It is the honor of my life to serve with her.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Illinois will provide a
translation of her remarks to the Clerk.
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, as you heard from my colleague, again,
incredible lived experience is so needed because mothers come from all
different backgrounds, all in different income classes.
Again, we could be doing more as Mother's Day comes up, not just
saying happy Mother's Day but uplifting policies that uplift all
mothers.
In the Congressional Mamas' Caucus, we have been centering our work
on Black maternal health. The crisis is real, it is here, and I know
many of my residents continue to tell me: We don't want just task
forces and commissions and to be studied.
We know that there is a crisis. We know that Black women are three
times more likely to die from pregnancy complications.
We know it is not because Black women are less capable of bearing
children or giving birth but because our healthcare system has
consistently neglected and mistreated them. We must address the racial
health disparity in our healthcare system and face that fact.
I am also incredibly proud to be a cosponsor of the Black Maternal
Momnibus Act, a comprehensive bill, Mr. Speaker, that would ensure
Black mothers are safe and supported in their decisions and journeys to
have children.
Every person should have the right to make decisions about their own
body, including whether and when and how to have children.
There is a clear attack on women's rights as we know across our
Nation. Rather than prohibit safe and legal contraception, we need to
provide support for women and families that lack the means to access
such treatment.
The relentless attacks on reproductive freedom are making it more
difficult for mothers to access the care they need.
Today, I say to my colleagues that it is time to do better for our
mothers. This Mother's Day, let's celebrate the incredible strength and
resilience of our mothers everywhere and thank them by continuing to
fight for policies that will change their lives for the better.
I can't leave this House floor without talking about the fact that I
grew up in the most beautiful Blackest city in the country.
When you grow up in Detroit, Mr. Speaker, you don't have one mother.
There are all the Black mothers and the neighborhood mothers so that
even when my mom's eyes were not on us, all the other mothers on the
block had eyes on us.
I take this moment and acknowledge these community mothers throughout
my district, and I know I am going to leave some out, and I love them
all. There are particular ones that really, really, really have touched
me and shaped the person that I am today.
From Mother Christina Guzman to Mother Monet Davis to Mother Angie
Webb, Linda Campbell, Mother Dr. Leonard who is fighting, fighting for
the right to breathe clean air, Mother Braxton who is embedded in the
community.
These are mothers that after they take care of their family, they are
trying to take care of the neighborhoods they live in.
I thank again Mother Nan Berry, Mother Laveta Browne, who is my
former high school teacher who continues to check on me and make sure
that I am okay and literally is always in the background saying that we
have to do better as a country.
Again, as we come together, we honor and celebrate every single
mother every day, and we can do it every single day, not wait until
Mother's Day to say Happy Mother's Day but do it with action.
I would be remiss in not speaking about my mother. My Yama was born
and raised in Palestine in the occupied territories in the West Bank, a
little village, Mr. Speaker, Beit Ur al-Foka.
It is an olive farm that she grew up on, picking olives and
harvesting in October, a family that literally struggled every single
day, but they lived off their land.
My mother came to the United States after marrying my father with
only an eighth-grade education. She was pregnant with me, 3 months.
She came to the city of Detroit, and she raised 14 children, and I am
the eldest. When people call me mama bear, it is really real.
My mom, to this day, after we all left, now she is an empty nester,
and I kid you not. I have people come up to me. Can you tell your
mother to stop sending food because she cooks for the whole block, even
folks that are, like, I am fine. I have children that take care of me.
She sees a person that is limping or maybe had an accident, one of
her neighbors, she will bring them food, all kinds of Middle Eastern
food, all kinds of food. You have to take it. If you don't take it, she
gets very angry. She takes care of her block.
I think people don't realize just the incredible compassion that my
mother has, was really filled with living again in Palestine with the
most compassionate woman I have ever met, my grandmother.
These mothers--sorry, Mr. Speaker. I just lost my grandmother. These
mothers deserve us to do more here, and the Congressional Mamas' Caucus
centers this.
We can't keep talking about how we love our mothers, but they are
struggling from food insecurity to housing.
[[Page H2994]]
When I am at a town hall, I do not ever want a mother to tell me she is
struggling to feed her children. It should be easier for them.
Again, if they are doing everything they are supposed to do, why
can't we help them? I feel very compelled that we need to move with the
same urgency that many of my colleagues do when it is corporations.
When it seems to be the defense budget, it seems like we find the
money. When it is somebody that literally comes to my office and says:
Rashida, I found out I have MS. How am I supposed to take care of my
family? I have MS. A young girl came to my office at 31 years old
telling me she is on dialysis, spending 3 to 4 hours in treatment.
These mothers deserve us to do more in this Congress. We deserve to
do it in action. We have to do more.
This is incredible to sit there and tell you all that these mothers
come to us, and they are not even asking. They are saying: Tell us what
we need to do, but it is hard out there. It is hard. I am working, but
if my child gets sick, I am out. I can't make up those hours.
Again, our families right now are struggling with sick care in our
country, not healthcare. Literally, people are making money off of the
fact that folks continue to be sick.
I am asking our Congress this Mother's Day as the Congressional
Mamas' Caucus member and many of us in this Chamber; we know that we
love our mothers, but we can do more.
We can do more through policy and through action to really protect
and to uplift them, to make sure that they are not only surviving in
our country, but they are thriving. Because I will tell you, if we take
care of our mothers, I know the children will be taken care of. Our
neighborhoods and communities will be taken care of.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________