[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5751-H5752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LEWISTON SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Maine (Ms. Pingree) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, on October 25, 2023, America's gun violence 
nightmare became a living hell for the people of Lewiston, Maine, and 
everyone who calls our State home.
  At 6:54 p.m., a man carrying a semiautomatic rifle walked into a 
bowling alley and fired 18 rounds, taking the lives of eight patrons in 
45 seconds, including a 14-year-old boy.
  The shooter then drove to a nearby restaurant, where he opened fire 
again, killing 10 more innocent civilians in 78 seconds, including 4 
members of Maine's deaf community who were gathered at the restaurant 
for a cornhole tournament.
  It was Maine's worst mass shooting ever and the tenth deadliest in 
American history. The total time the gun was operating was 2 minutes. 
That is 2 minutes of 1 man pulling a single deadly trigger, killing 18 
human beings, 18 of our neighbors.
  This shouldn't be allowed to happen, not by anyone, not anywhere, not 
ever again.
  Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering the victims of 
this horrifying tragedy and in holding in our hearts the people of 
Lewiston, a city that so beautifully embodies the resilience and 
dynamism of our great State. I also ask my colleagues to commit to the 
kind of sensible gun-control measures supported by 80 percent of 
Mainers and supported by a vast majority of Americans.
  Please never forget, and never again.


                         New York Climate Week

  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, maybe my colleagues have heard of New York 
Fashion Week, which was at the beginning of this month, but this week 
is New York Climate Week, giving us an opportunity to spur climate 
action.

[[Page H5752]]

  The fashion industry is a massive, $2.5 trillion global industry and 
an economic driver with a presence in every State. We cannot ignore the 
wide-ranging impacts of the fashion industry. Clothing production is 
surging, textile waste is rising, and workers' wages and conditions are 
worsening.
  Fashion, and particularly fast fashion, is a climate issue. The 
apparel industry is responsible for about 4 percent of the world's 
greenhouse gas emissions and 4 percent of the solid waste in the United 
States alone.
  In 2021, the World Economic Forum identified the fashion industry and 
its supply chain as the world's third largest polluter.
  In June, my colleagues and I took an important step by launching the 
first-ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus. We are working to educate 
Members and the public about the negative impacts of the fashion 
industry and to develop policies to support a more sustainable 
industry.
  There are important actions we can all take as individuals. We can 
buy less clothing and get more use out of our clothing by patching 
holes or buying secondhand, but there is a critical need for new 
policies to encourage brands to design better clothing and take 
responsibility for the end of life of their products.
  Other countries and States are already starting this work. We cannot 
only make the planet healthier, but we can use these opportunities to 
create jobs and support communities and American businesses.
  The time for action is now. I invite my colleagues to join me in the 
Slow Fashion Caucus and raising awareness and making an impact for the 
future of our planet.

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