[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RISKING CHILD SAFETY TO VILIFY TRANS KIDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call out harm and 
hypocrisy. This bill, H.R. 28, is couched as a bill that protects 
children when it does the exact opposite.
  Madam Speaker, this bill not only erodes Federal protections for our 
kids, but it puts the physical and emotional safety of every child in 
our public schools at risk.
  Imagine that you are 8 years old, trying out for the soccer team, and 
your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. 
That is exploitation. That is egregious, but it is exactly what this 
Republican bill does. It allows adults--not medical professionals, just 
random adults--to demand to inspect our child's genitals without 
parental consent.
  As a survivor of a near-decade of childhood sexual abuse and as a 
bonus mom to a school-age daughter, I am horrified.
  To Members of Congress who support this legislation, you are putting 
the safety of children across this Nation at risk. Why? Because you 
want to vilify and harm trans kids, children who should have every 
right to show up in this world and live and thrive like anyone else. 
You are punching down at the most vulnerable and exacting harm on 
everyone.
  I would ask my colleagues: Have you spoken to any of these children? 
How about their parents? They pose no threat to you, but you pose a 
threat to them, denying them their healthcare, isolating them from 
their friends, creating conditions for bullying and even suicidal 
ideation.
  You are posing a threat to every child who wants to step onto a 
soccer field or pick up a softball bat in this country.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and to speak out 
in strong opposition to this disgusting, predatory bill that does 
nothing to keep a single child safe.


                            We Need Clemency

  Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, for too long, our Nation's criminal 
legal system has been wrought with systemic injustices and biases and 
has prioritized cruelty at the expense of rehabilitation and justice. 
That is why we have a mass incarceration crisis.
  Nearly one in two adults in America has had an incarcerated loved 
one. Today, in the name of all who have felt the injustices of the 
carceral state, we are standing united to call on President Biden to 
use his clemency powers to release people from prison and reunite them 
with their families.
  There are mothers like Michelle West, who is incarcerated for the 
crimes of her abuser; brothers like Charles Ellis, Jr., from my 
district, the Massachusetts Seventh, who had ineffective assistance of 
counsel when he committed a crime at the age of 19; and sons like 
Ismael Lira, who was sentenced to life in prison for a nonviolent 
cannabis charge.
  Madam Speaker, why is anyone still incarcerated for cannabis?
  With nearly 1 million people behind bars, more people per capita than 
any other country, it is time for clemency to put the United States on 
a path toward ending mass incarceration.
  Locked in cages are people who pose no threat to public safety: the 
elderly, disabled, and chronically ill; those who were wrongly 
convicted; and people serving time under outdated sentencing laws.
  It is the height of hypocrisy to claim they are a risk to public 
safety when they are the very people at this moment that we are 
trusting to keep the public safe. Eight hundred incarcerated men are 
fighting wildfires in California for $5 a day, only to return to a jail 
cell at night. During the pandemic, these same people were making hand 
sanitizer.
  President Biden has the power to save their lives. That is what this 
moment demands, and we are grateful for his leadership. We need action. 
We need compassion. We need clemency.


                  Celebrating Haitian Independence Day

  Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, this weekend in my district, the 
Massachusetts Seventh, community members came together to celebrate 
Haitian Independence Day. There was much soup joumou, freedom soup, 
that was consumed.
  On January 1, 1804, Haiti became the first free Black republic, 
declaring independence for all people from colonial rule and 
enslavement.
  This weekend also marks 15 years since a devastating earthquake 
killed thousands and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes on the 
island. These anniversaries encapsulate the values of the Haitian 
people: resistance and resilience.
  The Republic of Haiti continues to experience heightened violence and 
political instability, which is why, as co-chair of the House Haiti 
Caucus, I continue to advocate for humanitarian aid to our ally, TPS 
for migrants, strategic trade partnerships for economic prosperity, and 
an end to deportations to Haiti.
  Even with just a few days remaining in the Biden-Harris 
administration, we must prioritize stability for Haitians on the island 
and in the United States.

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