Speeches

I represent the Sierra Nevada of California. Yosemite Valley, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and Lake Tahoe are all within my district. The Yosemite Land Grant Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1864 was the first time the Federal Government set aside land for “public use, resort and recreation … for all time.”

The Confederacy was fundamentally an attack on our Constitution and the founding principles of our nation, and it should never be romanticized or honored. I have no problems with lawfully removing monuments that specifically honor this rebellion. That’s not what this bill does.

Thirteen years ago, I partnered with California State Senate Democrats in advocating for an open records act for complaints against police officers. Five years ago, I co-sponsored Hank Johnson “Stop Militarizing the Police Act.” This year, I co-sponsored Justin Amash’s bill to end qualified immunity for public officials. So if the majority was seeking bi-partisan support for police reform – they would have had it. If they had sought consultation, compromise and cooperation, if they had reached across the aisle, they would have found many sincere allies among Republicans.

Just a few months ago, America enjoyed the most promising economic expansion in our lifetimes, lifting millions of Americans out of poverty, boosting wages for American workers and producing the lowest unemployment rates in fifty years. Today, the American economy lies in rubble, with tens of millions of Americans thrown into unemployment, poverty and despair.

Three trillion dollars divided by 129 million households means the average family will have to pay more than $23,000 for this single bill either from their future taxes or from inflation robbing them of their savings and retirements.

The word “Congress” literally means “the act of coming together and meeting.” The Constitution calls for representatives to “attend,” “assemble” and “meet.” Congress is a deliberative body and by its very nature that requires the people’s representatives to interact with each other both through formal proceedings as well as through the countless informal conversations that are the unique product of “coming together and meeting.”

When we passed the Paycheck Protection Program, I warned that serious flaws would deliver a windfall to businesses that do not need it, at the expense of those that do. That is exactly what happened, exhausting the fund within days...