[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H7296-H7303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FAREWELL TO CONGRESS
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Foxx). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to deliver my final floor speech
as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
For 26 years now, it has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve
my incredible constituents of California's 12th Congressional District.
I was sworn in on April 21, 1998. The late, great Ronald V. Dellums
retired early. I was his former intern, his former staffer, and he was
my former colleague, my mentor, and good friend.
Ron was actually the first African-American chair of the House Armed
Services Committee, and I remember that day so well. He sat right here
and encouraged me to give that first speech and to actually turn around
and to sign a petition then calling for campaign finance reform. I was
the 218 vote to sign the discharge petition on my swearing in day,
which I was very proud of.
Let me just first and foremost start by thanking my staff and all of
the members of Team Lee that have worked tirelessly to serve our
district 24/7 and to help us achieve so much. These are truly dedicated
public servants, and their commitment has undoubtedly left an indelible
mark, not
[[Page H7297]]
only on myself, but on our district and our country. As I say
constantly, once a member of Team Lee, always a member of Team Lee.
Also, let me take a minute to thank my family who has stood beside me
through all of the triumphs and challenges of the last 26 years. I
could not have done it without them. In 1998, my late mother, Mildred
Parish Massey, my late father, Garvin A. Tutt, my stepmother, Reiko
Tutt, my Auntie Juanita who passed away at 100, and my Auntie Lois who
just passed away at 103, they all were with me. They are not here
today, but they have been my guardian angels over the years to guide me
and to keep me moving forward.
Also my sisters, Beverly and Mildred were with me, their husbands,
Martin and Calvin, and my two sons, Craig and Tony--well, Carl a.k.a.
Tony, Carl Anthony Lee. They both were with me. Now, they have their
families, and I have five beautiful grandchildren.
Actually, I just have to say, on that day that I was sworn in, I was
talking to my dear friend and colleague Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-
Dove who was the cofounder of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus,
and I want to thank her so much because I am wearing the same thing
that I wore on April 21, 1998, when I was sworn in.
This caucus is a caucus that is very important because it is creating
climate-smart policies to reduce repair and wear and to recycle
textiles. The only thing I have done with this outfit is to just
shorten it a bit, but it is the exact same outfit I wore on April 21,
1998. I thank Sydney for her leadership. I am the OG of that caucus.
As I look back on my time, though, I feel a sense of gratitude for
the opportunity to not only serve my community, but to advance justice,
equity, and peace throughout our country and the entire world.
I am a woman of faith. I attended St. Joseph's Catholic School in El
Paso, Texas. I was taught by the Sisters of Loretto whose motto is
``Going where the need is the greatest'' and whose work--and they have
acknowledged this since they have been founded--they work for peace and
justice, which has informed me since my childhood.
I must, tonight, as I give my last speech on this floor after over 25
years of service, I am reminded of a Scripture, Galatians 6 verse 9,
which says: And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season
we will reap, if we do not give up.
Madam Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues who are with me tonight.
I want to really say that I love them, I appreciate their support, and
that I could not do anything without the support of Democrats and
Republicans, friends and colleagues.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
from Nevada, someone who is my sister's Congressional Member, someone
who has done a phenomenal job as our chair in leading up to new
heights, Chairman Steven Horsford.
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I want to first give honor and to
acknowledge a dear friend, a colleague, and a mentor as we take this
Special Order hour to thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee. She truly is a
gift. She is a treasure, and her service is an example for all to
follow.
For 26 years, Representative Barbara Lee has been an advocate for
justice, equality, and peace, both at home and abroad. Her commitment
to these principles has set a standard for all of us in this Chamber.
I have had the privilege of collaborating with her on many
initiatives, from expanding healthcare access to advancing racial and
economic justice. Her leadership within the Congressional Black Caucus
as a former chair herself has amplified the voices of marginalized
communities and ensured that their concerns are addressed at the
highest levels.
Representative Lee's dedication to peace is shown by her consistent
stance in foreign policy matters, and it was her lone vote against the
authorization for the use of military force in 2001 that showed how she
will always stick to her convictions. Representative Lee's impact on
Congress, on our communities, on our country, and really on all of us
will be felt for generations to come. Her legacy continues to inspire
us as we work to uphold the values that she has championed.
I say on behalf of the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we
thank her for her service, for her leadership, and for her commitment
to justice. She is a dear friend. She is a true colleague, and she has
been a mentor.
I wish her all the very best in her future endeavors, and I know that
her influence will remain with us for years to come. God bless her.
Barbara Lee speaks for me.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Congressman
Horsford, for that very sincere and very humbling statement and
remarks. I thank him, again, for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Lee Carter),
who has made her mark in this Congress, not only on behalf of her dear
late mother, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who we all know that this is
her twin right here, but she is doing a great job here. I thank her for
being here and upholding her mother's spirit and legacy, but also for
charting a course forward.
Mrs. LEE CARTER. Mr. Speaker, her last name is Lee, and her and my
mother were like sisters from another mother. I thank her for being
that to my mother, the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, for her entire
term of service, standing up for Progressive values, being part of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus, for holding that organization up, and
taking it forward and making it so impactful in this body.
I thank her for being there for the first Juneteenth, her family down
in Texas, in Galveston. She was so excited. They were both so excited
to see each other, to celebrate freedom, the real freedom for Black
people in this Nation.
I hope that we continue--I will continue--I know you will continue to
uplift that holiday and make it important for all Americans to
understand how we make this a more perfect Union.
I know many will tell of your many accomplishments in working on HIV/
AIDS, which is so important, being the lone vote after 9/11, always
standing in truth and power, always standing up and never being afraid,
never backing down, always being unbossed.
I thank her on behalf of myself, since she has always been an
inspiration to me, watching from behind the scenes, intergenerational
leader, guiding the next generation of women, Democrat women, and women
across this Nation. I thank her for traveling with my mother, loving my
mother, voting with my mother, fighting with my mother, taking pictures
of my mother. We will miss her. Barbara Lee speaks for me.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lee Carter
for her leadership and her friendship. I was her mother's personal
photographer, and we did travel the world. What Sheila wanted, Sheila
got because she was a true warrior woman, as is Mrs. Lee Carter.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague and very good friend from
Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). I visited her district several times as she
actually was in a film, a documentary. I thank her for that, the name
of it was: ``Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power,'' but she was the
star of that documentary.
{time} 2000
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding. This is a very emotional moment for me to see you leaving
this body. You will never leave my presence. You will be part of my
life. I am going to follow you wherever you go, Barbara Lee.
I want to say that Barbara Lee has always been kind of a broker-
dealer to me. She is someone, as her sisters of her Catholic training
encouraged her to do, to go where the need is the greatest.
I remember one of my earliest memories of Barbara Lee was 20 years
ago when I went to the first Democratic Caucus and almost got into a
fistfight with Steny Hoyer as the consultants were urging us not to use
the word ``poor.'' Don't talk about poverty. That is kind of a bad
message. That won't help us win.
Let me just tell you, I was ready to fight and argue. I mean, I had
decided to try and reinvent myself coming from the Wisconsin State
legislature to be a kinder, gentler lady from Wisconsin, but already I
was stepping into big doo-doo with Steny Hoyer, the Caucus minority
leader, as Steny Hoyer defended our consultant's admonition that we
don't use ``poor'' as a word.
[[Page H7298]]
Barbara Lee not only came alongside me to encourage me and to try and
validate me as I argued in my very strident, loud, obstreperous,
disruptive way, not only did she come alongside me, but she worked
Steny into putting together a task force on poverty and worked him into
committing himself on a weekly basis to bringing in speakers, to
bringing in experts, to bringing in people to talk about poverty in a
way that ultimately, I believe, led us to one of the most revolutionary
bills that has ever been passed in this House of Representatives: the
child tax credit, as it was envisioned under the American Rescue Plan.
Literally we were able to cut the poverty of Black children in half
and cut poverty among all children by 40 percent. We were able to
establish and prove and demonstrate that an investment in our children
was an investment unlike all the other stuff we talk about like tax
cuts are going to pay for themselves. We saw in a very short period of
time the return on investing in children. That conversation really was
made manifest by Barbara Lee bringing the issue of poverty to the
front.
I was on welfare, and Barbara was, too. It wasn't something that we
talked about. It was kind of an embarrassment; is that right, Barbara?
Ms. LEE of California. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.
Ms. LEE of California. That is right. It was an embarrassment, and it
was a stigma on us. Welfare queens, that is what they tried to call us.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. It was a stigma, and I was the welfare queen.
Barbara came and befriended me, and she went where the need was the
greatest.
Barbara Lee was our United Nations representative. We talked about
all of her international impact, and Barbara Lee was our Congress
United Nations representative.
Barbara, you did so much in that space to bring the American side to
have us visiting the U.N. because there are so many people in the
United States that are not necessarily as supportive of the world and
the United Nations, but you represented us so well.
We have a country in our own hemisphere, Cuba, that is right in our
hemisphere, Haiti, right in our hemisphere, full of people who are poor
and destitute and marginalized, and Barbara Lee being that broker-
dealer was not ashamed of them. She was not someone who shied away from
them even though there was not only stigma but contempt and disdain and
disbelief in them.
Barbara went to Cuba. She has been to Cuba so many times. The last
time she went to Cuba, I went with her, and as she was introducing all
of us there, she introduced me and said, well, the reason that Gwen
Moore is here is because she said that if I came back to Cuba one more
time without her, she was going to kill me. That is how I got a chance
to go to another country in our hemisphere and really see the resources
that this country could bring to us.
That is where Barbara learned about how people from the United States
were going to Cuba--and maybe you could just share with us--becoming
doctors at state expense, how they were providing care for people with
diabetes without those folks getting amputations.
Barbara, can you share a little bit about that? This was just
revolutionary to me to experience that with you.
Ms. LEE of California. Well, let me just say to Representative Gwen
Moore, I am so happy you came to Cuba in spite of no option for me
except to invite you to Cuba because you came back and continued to do
the work to help normalize relations with Cuba. All we want are normal
relations.
There are so many scientific discoveries that Cuba has developed that
Americans could benefit from, and there is much we have developed that
the Cuban people could benefit from.
Let me tell you, there is a treatment that prevents amputations from
diabetes. Representative Burgess, who we honored earlier knows about
that treatment, Heberprot-P. We saw in the clinics 80 to 90 percent
effectiveness used all around the world, but because of the embargo, we
weren't able to get a clinical trial here in America.
Well, let me just bring you up to date very quickly. This procedure
prevents amputations for those who have diabetes, and, of course, the
Black communities, the Brown communities have a disproportionate rate
of amputations. This is 90 percent effective. Finally, we got clinical
trials here. You talk about not giving up. Finally, finally, there is a
company now that is in phase 3--I believe it is phase 3--of the
clinical trials, so hopefully we will be able to have this treatment in
America. Can you imagine us taking 25, 30 years just to get this far
and how many people could have benefited from it?
While we are talking about Cuba, I was recently there, and I will
include in the Record, Representative Moore, on your time a letter to
President Biden. Many of us have been trying to remove Cuba from the
state-sponsored terrorism list. This is from over 130 civil society
organizations of Cuba--not the government, civil society. I am going to
read one paragraph: ``Cuba is not a terrorist state. There is
absolutely no evidence that may support a claim otherwise, as has been
recognized by the overwhelming majority of the international community
and many sectors in the U.S., including a number of U.S. Government
specialized agencies that, by the way, attach great value''--mind you,
great value--``to their professional cooperation with Cuba in their
fight against this scourge.''
Mr. Speaker, I include this letter in the Record.
Asociacion Cubana
de las Naciones Unidas,
Havana, November 8, 2024.
Mr. Joseph Biden,
President of the United States.
Esteemed Mr. President: The purpose of this letter, signed
by organizations movements, networks, groups and social
actors that widely represent the Cuban civil society, is to
request that Cuba be removed from the list of terror
sponsoring states.
This measure defined the Cuba policy pursued by your
predecessor. It was not introduced by your administration;
however, your administration has enforced it; therefore, your
administration is held responsible for its serious
consequences.
Cuba's designation in that list is arbitrary, and as it is
well known, was driven by political motivations. It is also
contrary to the norms of civilized coexistence among nations
and has highly unfavorable consequences for the operation of
the Cuban economy and the well-being of the Cuban people.
This action has compounded the economic, commercial and
financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the U.S. government and
in place for many years now, and which accumulated financial,
social and human damages are beyond calculation. A recently
observable consequence has been the surge of Cuban emigration
to the U.S. using lawfully regular, as well as irregular
channels.
Cuba is not a terrorist State. There is absolutely no
evidence that may support a claim otherwise, as has been
recognized by the overwhelming majority of the international
community and many sectors in the U.S., including a number of
U.S. government specialized agencies that, by the way, attach
great value to their professional cooperation with Cuba in
their fight against this scourge.
Further to denying the truth, this designation
automatically triggers the application of coercive economic
measures that preclude Cuba's access to foreign financial and
banking institutions and payment agencies, as well as to
sources of financing, technologies, and supplies and
materials associated with public services in such basic areas
as healthcare and education.
This designation also hiders Cuba's payments for raw
materials, food supplies, medicines, fuel, and equipment and
related parts and accessories. It also interferes with Cuba's
foreign financial operations, including our country's debt
settlement transactions. It deals a hard blow to the Cuban
tourist industry and discourages Cuba's foreign business
relations. And it halts productions and gives rise to supply
gaps and shortages.
Our families are suffering the consequences of this unfair
label. Our families have endured the wear, pain and loss
caused by the application of the coercive economic actions
derived from this description.
For decades, our capacity to normally and effectively
satisfy the needs of their members and build, free from
foreign intervention, a legitimate and collective project
that contributes to our society has been damaged.
Cuba has recently faced a severe energy contingency. It has
also been hit by two devastating hurricanes and two
earthquakes, which caused additional suffering and material
losses to its people and economy. Removing our country from
the List of States that allegedly sponsor terrorism would
contribute to the economic, social, and psychological
recovery of the affected regions and populations, the
improvement of our countrymen's living conditions, and the
well-being of Cuban families.
Mr. President, all we are asking is that you do what is
right before the end of your
[[Page H7299]]
term of office and let justice prevail by removing Cuba from
the list of terror sponsoring States.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, we have forwarded this letter to
President Biden asking him to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of
Terrorism list with at least 20 Members who have signed that letter.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Representative Lee, this is what I admire
about you so much: We all go to the White House, and we are in awe, and
we shake the hand of the President and the First Lady, and we meet up
with them and take selfies with them, and you always put the Presidents
to work.
We are going to continue on, and we can promise you that we are going
to continue to make sure that we get to normalize our relations with
Cuba. George W. Bush, a Republican, you got in his face. One of the
things that George W. Bush will always be remembered for is his
initiative on HIV/AIDS and saving millions of lives not only in Africa
but all around the world. I just want to remind people that here, once
again, was Barbara Lee breaking down a door of stigma. While most
people were distancing themselves from HIV/AIDS patients because, you
know, people were saying they were in sin, and they had somehow
deserved it somehow, Barbara Lee was one of the people that marched
right on up to the White House and made sure that someone in high
places like George W. Bush, you gave him the cover to have the courage
around this issue and break through that stigma. Barbara, let me thank
you for that. Let me ask you to share with us a little bit more about
that journey.
Ms. LEE of California. Representative Moore, thank you very much for
reminding us of that, and let me just say because of Republicans and
Democrats we have saved 25 million lives, and we must have a permanent
clean extension of PEPFAR. President Bush and I disagreed on every
single policy. I voted against everything that he put forward, but we
came together to save lives, and I thank him. I thank all of those who
up until this point have kept this bipartisan and encouraged
Republicans and Democrats to continue to do that. I will be working on
this from the outside.
I thank Representative Moore very much for being here with us
tonight, and I hope that you will be able to stay for a few more
minutes as soon as I yield to someone else.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. You want me to stop talking?
Ms. LEE of California. No, I have to yield to a couple members, and
then I will come back to you if you can stay.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. I will because I need to ask you about a
couple more things. I will return to the mic.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Mrs. McBath) who came to Congress hitting the ground running
out of a very personal tragedy of gun violence in which she lost her
son, and here she is moving forward being very successful and making
sure that our young people are safe and that gun violence is no more.
Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Barbara Lee speaks for me.
I do rise today to honor my dear colleague and friend, Congresswoman
Barbara Lee from California, who will be retiring at the end of a
longstanding and extraordinarily remarkable career in Congress.
{time} 2015
Ms. McBATH. Congresswoman Lee, you are more than a servant-leader to
America. You are an example by which countless women of color can seek
to emulate as we step up to be the voices of our communities.
You are unabashed in speaking truth to power and unwavering in your
convictions for change and your convictions for community and your
convictions for helping the least of these. I truly wish there were so
many more people here that would stand on those very convictions.
Barbara, you have never been afraid to stand up and speak out, even
when the odds are against you. You inspire me each and every single
day. I mean, I see you running around here and making deals and dealing
with the people and your bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle.
I see you walking these Halls, I mean, literally running these Halls to
do the work of the people with new fervor for progress in America.
I am truly going to be so sorry to see you leave. You are such a
galvanizing voice. As you continue to transition away from the Halls of
Congress, I know that your work is not finished yet.
I am encouraged by everything that you have done here, everything you
have done preceding the time that I have come to Washington. I really
look forward to everything that you are going to be doing going
forward. I know that your work is not finished yet. God is not done
with you yet.
I just look forward to the next chapter of leadership, you know, in
your life and what that is going to look like for the communities that
you represent.
Just as it was expressed even earlier, you know, just like
Representative Shirley Chisholm who is, you know, our leader, you have
always been unbought and unbossed. You are a light in this world. You
are a city on a hill and a name that is never going to be forgotten.
I want to thank you very, very much. When I first came here, people
kept telling me I couldn't be on the Judiciary Committee because I
wasn't an attorney and I didn't have the experience and I didn't know
how to fight for justice.
You said to me: If this is where you believe you need to be, and we
know why you have come to Congress, I will make it happen.
Thank you for allowing me to use my voice in the Halls of Congress
for reform and justice and gun safety and all the things that I so, so
believe in. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be able to
stand for justice and democracy in these Halls, and I am going to miss
you.
Ms. LEE of California. I am going to miss you, too, Congresswoman
Lucy McBath.
Just look at you and how far you have come in leadership now on that
Judiciary Committee and where you are in honor of your son. Just look
at what you have done to bring this House together, to focus on the
issues of gun violence, working with many, many colleagues.
As I listen to you, I am very humbled by what you said, and I am
reminded back of the Scripture:
Let us not grow weary of doing good.
I just want you to stand tall and continue to fight the good fight
because the country needs you right here, fighting for life.
Thank you very much. God bless you.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my sister, my Palestinian sister whose voice
speaks for many, many people in our own country and throughout the
world.
Rashida Tlaib is not only a voice for people who never had a voice in
this body but she is also a great legislator. I always like to tell
people, you know, Rashida Tlaib cares about clean water. She cares
about public safety. She cares about housing. She cares about making
sure that her constituents have the best constituent services in the
country, as the best Representative who we all model our district
offices after.
Rashida Tlaib.
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lee for yielding. Of
course, she cannot just let us speak about the incredible, powerful
leadership she has had in this Chamber for 26 years.
Of course, I was blessed. I had no idea she was going to be assigned
as a mentor to me and then birth the wonderful Grants E-Newsletters
because she told me this is what you have got to do is fight for your
access and fair share of our resources for our districts.
She got me right on the Task Force on Poverty. Thank you for that.
You have been incredible, again, the last 26 years. Your
determination and what I have watched you do has changed this
institution forever. You have not only created this amazing momentum
and movement around talking about poverty in this institution that
really wasn't ready for people like us, Congresswoman Lee, but you
pushed back against the stigma in health disparities of our neighbors
living with HIV and AIDS when it was unpopular; ending the
discriminatory Hyde amendment that restricts access to abortion care
when some people in this Chamber would not even say the word
``abortion.''
[[Page H7300]]
You have done so much for all the incredible residents of the city of
Oakland and the surrounding communities. I want to take a moment and
thank them, thank them for continuing to send you here to this body; to
continue letting you change this institution to be better. It will be
forever changed because Congresswoman Barbara Lee served here for 26
years.
There is a saying, Audre Lorde's quote, and it just reminds me of
you, Barbara. She said: ``When I dare to be powerful, to use my
strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less
important whether I am afraid.''
Barbara, you sat in that well with me when I got censured. You told
me to keep my head held up high. In that moment it wasn't just about me
but the fact that it was about your character and the fact that you
understood what it meant to be feeling alone, even, again, standing up
and saying it is okay to speak truth to power, that it is okay to be
able to save lives, no matter faith or ethnicity. You did it in such a
powerful, graceful way.
I will never forget you. You know I am going to call you all the
time. You know I come from the most beautiful, Blackest city in the
country. Even though you may not have been born and raised in Detroit,
we are going to take you in as one of our own because you have been
doing that here in this Chamber and teaching us from afar how to do it
right.
Thank you. Thank you for, again, making this institution better.
Congresswoman Lee, it is not the same. Because of you, it is now
better. It has created space for people like myself, Congresswoman
Moore, Congresswoman McBath.
Again, you have opened doors for many of us in this Chamber. Thank
you. Thank you for your service to our country.
God bless you.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you, my sister, Rashida Tlaib. Let me
thank you for your strength and for again being a voice that has never
been represented before on this floor. Also let me thank you for
staying strong and not growing weary, Rashida, because you were my
mentee. You were, but it didn't take long for you to get it.
I know you, and I see you. I know what it means to be here. Don't
grow weary. Keep at it. Thank you again for being here.
Paul Tonko, my relatives' Representative and my friend from New York,
who I love dearly, thank you for being here this evening. I am going to
miss you, but I will be seeing you.
Mr. TONKO. Absolutely.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding.
Yes, they are a good family. I enjoy being their Representative.
It is absolutely a powerful moment this evening in the House to hear
everyone, your friends, your colleagues, recap the history you have
written as a Congress Representative and the service you have provided
in this House.
It is my colleague, our colleague Congresswoman Barbara Lee that has
been a progressive champion and who is a fierce advocate and dear
friend during my time in Congress.
Barbara, what impacts me most is that you are a powerful voice, a
very bold voice, a very determined voice, a passionate voice, and
oftentimes a lone voice because you felt the moment that challenged you
had to be addressed by your fierce loyalty to awesome causes.
Your efforts in this body will be remembered for your courage, your
tenacity, and your strength of spirit. You have dedicated your time as
an elected Representative to serving those in need, sometimes the
voiceless, whether it be the global HIV/AIDS community, those in need
of housing or reproductive healthcare rights, and certainly education
and fairness in education.
Your advocacy for your constituents in the East Bay area spans
decades, ranging from your time as a social worker, as a congressional
staffer, as a small business owner, as a State legislator, and
certainly your powerful record as a Member of Congress.
I have been honored to work with you on issues that are close to my
heart including the entire climate issue, to make certain we hand over
our planet in better stead to those who will follow us, certainly the
addiction policy efforts that you have made treating those with the
illness of addiction with high regard and high priority, and the
expansion of STEM education. These are all important areas.
You, my friend, have been a titan of this body. I am honored to have
served with you. I think in many of the gatherings that we have had and
in offering the official goodbyes, it is so obvious that you are
genuine. You are authentic.
As we have heard from your very first moments of life, there was a
reason. Your mom shared with the world that you were saved in that
moment to live a life of service. It has proven itself so true.
I am honored to be with you. I will take good care of those
constituents in the 20th Congressional District.
God bless you, and God speed.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you so much, Paul, for those words and
for your friendship and for your leadership and for being someone who I
can talk to confidentially.
You mentioned my mother. Actually, when she was giving birth, she
needed a C-section. They would not admit her to the hospital because
she was Black. The bottom line is she almost died in childbirth. The
bottom line is I almost didn't get here. I almost didn't breathe. My
mother almost died. That is where my fight for women's health, for
justice, for gender equality began--at birth.
Thank you for that reminder, Paul.
Bobby Scott is another Representative who is a great leader, who
supports and puts forth policies to help our working men and women, the
middle class and low-income people, to really grow the middle class by
moving into the middle class. He is also somebody who cares about our
young people, education, HBCUs, minority-serving institutions. He is
really a man of all seasons.
I just want to thank him. He represents another part of my family in
Virginia. Paul Tonko represents one part of the Lewis family in New
York, and Bobby is my family's Virginia Representative.
Thank you again, Bobby.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee
for yielding. This is not about me. This is about you, your legislative
legacy. You have done a great job here as a legislator, and you will
leave a great legacy.
{time} 2030
There are two parts of that legacy that I wanted to emphasize. They
have been mentioned already tonight, but the first is the advocacy that
you had to create the poverty task force. We raised a lot of money to
try to get elected, and poverty is rarely mentioned as an issue. You
not only created the task force, but you have also used that task force
to create targeted, effective ways to actually address the issue of
poverty.
The other is the issue of global AIDS, the global AIDS crisis. Your
work with the Bush administration has been phenomenal. To paraphrase
Martin Luther King, AIDS anywhere is a threat of AIDS everywhere, and
if we don't address it everywhere, it threatens the rest of the world.
Your work convinced the George W. Bush administration to actually
allocate the order of magnitude of resources needed. There were
discussions of a little here and a little there, but you kept on them
until they actually put in the kind of money that was necessary. It is
not an exaggeration to say that tens of millions of people are alive
today because of your work.
So, I thank you, Barbara Lee, for all of your work, especially the
work for those who would not have a voice without you.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative and
Ranking Member Bobby Scott, the former chair. I thank him for his
leadership. I feel that our children's future is secure with him here.
Again, as he spoke, I have to go back to Galatians 6:9, where I
opened, because I am hearing this over and over again: ``Let us not
grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not
give up.''
I think all of you have spoken to that not only about myself but
yourselves, so I thank you. I just pulled the Scripture out of the
clear blue sky tonight thinking about what to say, and all of you are
validating this.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who
is my
[[Page H7301]]
friend and my brother. He is somebody who has worked so hard to make
sure that our young people have a second chance. So many have been
unjustly incarcerated for nonviolent offenses who should be able to go
through rehabilitation, get a job, and go on to live their lives. Danny
is the author of the Second Chance Act. He also has worked on sickle
cell, diabetes, and all the healthcare issues. He is remarkable. Thank
you for being my friend.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't let the evening go by
without coming to pay tribute to Barbara, one of the fiercest, most
courageous, hardest working, and most energized persons I have ever
known during my lifetime.
Seeing what you have contributed and the way in which you have done
it, as I listen to each one of the people who spoke--World AIDS Day
probably wouldn't be taking place. We just celebrated it on the 1st of
December, and people all over the country and all over the Nation
celebrated World AIDS Day. That is a part of your work.
The focus on SNAP and hungry people, people needing food, that is a
part of your work, making sure that people got second chances and that
they got money.
Every session, when we get to appropriations, we always say: Are we
really going to get the money we need for people to have these
programs?
Barbara Lee is there, and we know that Barbara has got our back.
The focus on international relationships, I think I got two boxes of
Castro's cigars. I never smoked, but I got two boxes of Castro cigars.
He would keep us up all night. He never wanted to quit and go to bed.
Somebody would have to say: Mr. President, we have got other people to
see tomorrow and other things to do.
The whole health arena, how much fun I had working with Clyde and the
folks out in San Francisco and Oakland, where when we started with what
is known as the federally qualified health centers. When I started,
there were 10. Now, there are 1,400 all over America, taking care of
more than 30 million low-income and moderate-income people in this
country.
So, Barbara, you have done it.
My mother used to tell us a little poem. She used to say: If you
can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be
the best little shrub on the side of the hill. If you can't be a
highway, just be a trail. If you can't be the Moon, be a star. For it
isn't by size that you win or you fail. But be the best, the very best,
of whatever you are.
That is what you have been. That is what you are. God bless you. Keep
on working.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend so much for
those beautiful words.
You are the resident poet, we know, but you are able to articulate
how the spirit moves in public policy.
So, I thank you for showing us where the North Star is so that we can
move in that direction.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Do what the spirit says.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
California (Mr. DeSaulnier), who is my neighbor and friend from next
door.
Mark DeSaulnier has come to Congress, and we have become very good
friends and colleagues. We really chartered some new courses and
brought them to Capitol Hill to get our Democratic Caucus to talk about
race and racism.
Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I was a work in progress sometimes.
Barbara would look at me and get that look on her face.
Ms. LEE of California. He has come around all the way, full circle.
Mr. DeSAULNIER. I just don't get it sometimes.
Barbara, as a neighbor, colleague, and friend, I just wanted to come
down and thank you and talk about two specific instances where you made
me a better person and, as an example of how you have illuminated this
country, that if you can't talk about trouble, then you can't talk
about love and you can't talk about making people better.
We were down here in the well when I first got here after Ferguson.
Elijah Cummings and John Lewis were sitting right there. I can't
remember which one of us started this, but the conversation was: If we
can't talk about race in the bay area, and gosh knows we have enough
trouble there, where the heck in the country can we?
So, we started that. You taught me so much. John Powell from the Haas
Institute for diversity is just a wonderful man. All his staff would
come to these townhalls. I don't know how many we had, but Judy Chu,
Karen Bass, and Ted Lieu came to a very diverse area in our two
districts. It was wonderful, and I learned so much about myself and my
own biases and prejudices. It was illuminating, too, because I had
liberal White Democrats come up to me, I told you this, and say: Why
are you doing this?
You had one of those moments where: Why are you surprised?
Then, we brought John back here to the Democratic Caucus, and I am
told that, at the time, it was the largest turnout the Caucus ever had
because Professor Powell talked about his experience at Ohio State and
Cal, his studies on diversity, and why confronting bias and racism was
so important for the health of this country. That was wonderful and
continues to be, and we are going to continue to do it.
Then, for people who don't know about the Port Chicago 50, it was the
largest domestic loss of life in the United States during World War II,
when the very segregated, racist Navy was having Black African-American
sailors load ships at Port Chicago, which was in San Francisco Bay in
my district, in our neighborhood.
These young men came from all over the country in the forties because
they wanted to defend America in spite of all of our flaws,
particularly from the South. They were told how to load munitions in
such a way that was so dangerous and so different from the White
Teamsters who did the same work. Because of this disregard, the White
officers would actually bet on which group would load more, and they
would just throw these weapons into these ships.
One morning, disaster struck. The ship exploded. You could hear the
explosion 20, 50 miles away. It rattled windows in San Francisco 15
miles away. We lost over 300 African-American sailors that day.
They had to go down into that water the next day. The ship was gone,
and the pier was gone. They went into the water under instruction from
their White officers to get the bodies and the parts from their
colleagues out of there.
Reading about that in the book and the history about it--anyway, for
80 years, this has gone on. Fifty of those young men who volunteered to
serve this country in horrible conditions and who survived were taken
to court-martial and got the worst possible sentence, 50 of them, for
disobeying an order that they knew was dangerous. They didn't disobey
it; they just said: We are brave men, but we don't want to go back to
the same circumstances. So for that, they were court-martialed.
Thurgood Marshall helped defend them, and as part of what he said
about similar cases: I come not just to defend these men, but I come to
defend the sacred creed in our founding documents.
So for 40 years, my predecessor tried to get a change. With your help
and for the 10 years I have been here, we have tried to get a change.
Toward the end, I was arguing with the Navy and with the White House.
In the last conversation, I was emulating you. I was a little
irritated.
I said: Goddamn it, can't we just do this for Barbara Lee before she
retires?
The secret weapon in that was, a month later, the Secretary of the
Navy called me and said: We are going to exonerate those sailors.
Those are just two specific examples of how you have raised people up
and raised me up, and there is so much more that everyone else has
talked about, about poverty and your dogged determination for justice.
You have done it in a way that has gone to people who a lot of us
wouldn't go to, but you have gone to everyone and went after, as
Lincoln said, ``the better angels of our nature,'' and you were able to
persuade them.
So, I am going to miss you so much.
Ms. LEE of California. I am right next door.
Mr. DeSAULNIER. I know. I know you are going to be coming and using
that finger every once in a while saying: Come on, man.
In our districts, if you come to the bay area, you can still see
bumper
[[Page H7302]]
stickers that say: ``Barbara Lee Speaks for Me.'' Indeed, Barbara,
thank you for speaking for so many Americans.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what a pleasure
it is to work with my friend, Congressman DeSaulnier, because there are
very few people who will take on issues that they really aren't quite
settled with, and he did.
Race, racism, and systemic racism, all the hate that surfaces as a
result, really present a clear and present danger to our country. You
as a White man really understood what privilege is and understood what
the history is.
I thank my friend very much for being a partner because that is what
this is. We all have to work together.
He is supporting my truth resolution, H.R. 40, calling for a truth,
racial healing, and transformation commission. Hopefully, we would like
an executive order, but what you just said is the rationale, Mark, for
why we have to have the truth told about the history of Black people,
especially in America, and why only with the truth can we heal, and
only then can we move toward transforming this country.
My friend has been an example of exactly what we are talking about. I
just want to thank you for your brilliance, your leadership, and your
sensitivity.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Grothman). The gentlewoman has 5\1/2\
minutes remaining.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from
Alabama (Ms. Sewell).
{time} 2045
Ms. SEWELL. First, let me just say that we know that Barbara Lee
speaks for all of us. When I first came to Washington, Barbara, you
were a great mentor and friend.
Having studied about Shirley Chisholm, the stories that you told
about her were so important. My favorite quote of hers is that:
``Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this
Earth.'' Well, Barbara, you have actually burned a mortgage. You have
done so much great work over your time in Washington and in Congress.
Your legacy will loom large over this place. I thank you for guiding
so many of us through the appropriations process. I still want a
tutorial before you go.
Ms. LEE of California. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.
Ms. SEWELL. But, when I think about being effective, Barbara Lee's
record is, bar none, one of the most important congressional records
that we have.
Your track record on funding, whether that was all of the wonderful
stuff you did for AIDS--and I could go on and on and on about how you
have truly changed the world.
You have earned the right to retire, but we know that there is no
such thing as retiring, that you go from project to project, and you
excel in all.
Do know that this place will not be the same without you here.
I am sorry I am just running in, but I could not miss the opportunity
to tell you how important you have been to me and to my office, and I
thank you. Saying ``thank you'' doesn't seem adequate enough but do
know that your legacy will live on through so many of the people that
you touched. I am just grateful that I was one of the ones that you
mentored, so thank you so much.
We love you, Barbara Lee.
Ms. LEE of California. Well, Congresswoman Sewell, let me just say
thank you. I want to make sure everyone knows you represent Selma,
Alabama. She represents the heart and soul of the civil rights
movement.
Terri Sewell has put Selma and its aspirations and its dreams and its
needs on the map of this House of Representatives, and I just wanted to
tell you.
Ms. SEWELL. And there was never a time that you didn't come with John
to Selma. How many times did you make that pilgrimage on faith and
politics? I just want to say thank you. Not only did you bring it, but
you brought children from your Martin Luther King Center in Oakland.
Ms. LEE of California. Yes.
Ms. SEWELL. And you also started a program with the children from my
district.
Ms. LEE of California. That is right.
Ms. SEWELL. And they got a chance to come to Oakland on the tour.
Ms. LEE of California. So we have this Oakland-Alabama connection.
Ms. SEWELL. We do. We do.
Ms. LEE of California. We have an Oakland-Birmingham, Oakland-Selma
connection, which is so important because of you, though, Terri.
Ms. SEWELL. Well, it is important because of you. We are absolutely
following in your footsteps, and you leave huge steps for us to follow.
Thank you, and I love you.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you again, and thank you for being here.
Congresswoman Moore, I have to say I am glad you stayed here
throughout this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California has 3
minutes remaining.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, let me, once again, thank
everyone, all of my colleagues, but especially my constituents, who I
considered the most enlightened, most diverse and most progressive,
yes, congressional district, for giving me the faith and trust to fight
alongside you for a better tomorrow.
Also, I just want to say I started with a Scripture, and I want to
close with one as I leave this august body.
This is Proverbs 16:3. It reminds us of this. It says: Commit your
actions to the Lord, and your plans succeed. Now, this comes from the
Bible: Even in retirement, we are called to commit our actions to God.
I believe in the separation of church and state. I also believe in
those values that those Sisters of Loretto taught me, and that was to
go where the need is the greatest, do justice, love mercy, and walk
humbly with thy God.
Thank you again, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to all of my colleagues for
being here tonight, and thank you to the House of Representatives, both
Democrats and Republicans, for, yes, being part of Team Lee.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to Ms. Moore of Wisconsin. Okay. Gwen Moore is
going to close. Since we have 45 seconds, this is how we do it.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Barbara, let me just thank you.
Ms. LEE of California. This is how we play jazz, right?
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Just let me thank you.
You are that same cheerleader who fought to integrate the
cheerleading team, but once you got on the team, you were a team
player.
The thing that I love about you so much is that, even with how
competitive this place is, you always tried to lift people up, to
encourage them, to help them get in position. I know so much snot and
tears came out of my eyes because I couldn't get on Ways and Means, but
you told me: Just keep on and don't give up.
Barbara, thank you for encouraging us, for loving us, for getting us
out of Iraq, your leadership in everything, and bringing us together on
a bipartisan basis.
I love you, Barbara, and this institution will never be the same.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you, Gwen Moore, and I told you: Don't
get weary, and you will get there, and you reap what you sow, and you
got it.
Thank you for being our voice on the Ways and Means Committee. God
bless you.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver my final
floor speech as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
For 26 years, it has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve my
incredible constituents in California's 12th Congressional district.
I'd like to first and foremost thank my staff and all the members
Team Lee that have worked tirelessly to serve our district and help us
achieve so much. These are truly dedicated public servants, and their
commitment has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on not only me, but
on our district and country. As we say, once a member of Team Lee,
always a member of Team Lee.
I would also like to thank my family, who have stood beside me
through all of the triumphs and challenges of the last 26 years. I
could not have done it without them.
As I look back on my time in Congress, I feel a sense of gratitude
for the opportunity to not only serve my community, but to advance
justice, equity, and peace throughout our country and the entire world.
[[Page H7303]]
It is a gift to serve, and with that gift, we were able to:
Save twenty-five million lives around the world from AIDS, through
the bipartisan PEPFAR program--arguably the most successful foreign
assistance program in American history.
Fight back against endless war by securing bipartisan votes to repeal
Authorizations to Use Military Force.
As Chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on State & Foreign
Operations, I worked to expand investments in diplomacy and
development, to build a better, safer world. Specifically, I worked to
strengthen our presence and partnerships with Africa and the Caribbean.
As the official Congressional Representative to the United Nations
General Assembly, I worked to support greater international cooperation
for fighting poverty, discrimination, and abuses of human rights, as
well as working towards global peace and justice.
Urge the Surgeon General's office to highlight gun violence as a
public health crisis in the U.S.
Author legislation to launch the American Women Quarters program,
which honors the contribution of American women by featuring their
likenesses on U.S. quarters.
Introduce the first-ever comprehensive sex education bill, aiming to
ensure that students receive medically accurate information on sexual
health.
Advocate for a shift in federal policy by reducing military spending
and addressing the bloated Pentagon budget.
Launch the Ron V. Dellums Memorial Fellowship aimed at boosting the
number of minority students in science, technology, engineering, the
arts and mathematics (STEAM) fields through robust financial
scholarships.
And help pass legislation that drastically reduced child poverty in
the U.S. through my leadership as a member of the Appropriations
committee, among many other things.
My final two pieces of legislation serve as bookend moments for me.
Last week, alongside former Senator Laphonza Butler, we were able to
pass legislation that awarded my mentor and friend, Congresswoman
Shirley Chisholm, the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor
bestowed upon a civilian from the Congress. The bill was signed by Vice
President Harris, who is the pride of my Congressional district. It was
truly a beautiful moment to witness.
And this week, I'll be introducing legislation to extend the
Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, otherwise known as PEPFAR. I
worked alongside my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and
President George W. Bush to establish this legislation over 20 years
ago, and in that time the program has saved over 25 million lives
around the world.
President Bush and I disagreed on virtually everything, but we came
together to address one of the most deadly diseases in human history.
And together we must continue forging ahead to achieve our goal of an
AIDS-free generation by 2030.
I'd like to thank the constituents of California's 12th Congressional
district, the most enlightened district in the country, for giving me
their faith and trust to fight alongside them for a better tomorrow.
They elected me to strengthen our communities. To push back against
oppression, militarism, and corruption. To fight for legislation that
embodies our values of justice, equity, and peace for all people--no
matter their race, religion, or sexuality.
Fighting this fight on behalf of the East Bay in Washington has been
one of the greatest honors of my life.
We've made incredible progress--from critical health care reforms at
home and abroad, to lowering costs for working families, to enacting
historic climate and gun violence legislation.
We've got a long way to go. But I'm proud of the work we've
accomplished together. Let us keep up the good fight.
____________________