The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“AND STILL I RISE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3052-H3053 on July 1, 2020.
The Department provides billions in unemployment insurance, which peaked around 2011 though spending had declined before the pandemic. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, claimed the Department funds "ineffective and duplicative services" and overregulates the workplace.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
AND STILL I RISE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) for 30 minutes.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. And I rise tonight to express my support for H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.
I have supported this legislation because it is not only good for my congressional district, it is also good for the country.
This legislation will allow us to do something that I think is quite important. I sit on the Financial Services Committee, and it allows us to address housing as a part of our Nation's infrastructure. The Honorable Maxine Waters has worked tirelessly to get housing included in this legislation. I believe it will benefit many people, especially those people who may find themselves with rent due and an inability to pay their bills.
I also am proud to say that it will help our ports. We have the Port of Houston, and that is a port that is very significant as it relates not only to Houston but to the country.
It will help with our schools, and it will help with broadband. It is a very good piece of legislation.
But there is one additional thing in this legislation that I think would be of benefit, not only to the young people in this country but also to our police officers. This is H. Res. 169 which is a piece of legislation that emanated in my office. This would have a driver and an officer safety education component.
We talk about the conversations that African American parents have with their children. This is a conversation that takes place because of a history that we too well understand. This legislation addresses that conversation, but it addresses it not only as it relates to the young person, the person who is going to be driving the car, it also addresses it as it relates to the officer.
It would grant States moneys for grants such that they would be able to train officers about the interactions with civilians and train civilians, give them the education that they need so that they will understand how to properly interact with officers.
Understanding can change the course of history. It can make a difference in the lives of people. My hope is that with this legislation in H.R. 2 it will cause somebody to benefit from just knowing how to interact with a person who happens to be a police officer or a police officer getting a better understanding of how to interact with someone from a given community.
As important as this piece of legislation is, I do understand that if we are to have the kind of change that we seek, we will probably have to have another piece of legislation that I am proud to offer. This is a piece of legislation calling for a department of reconciliation. A lot of what is happening in our country is systemic. It is institutionalized. If we want to deal with systemic and institutionalized problems, especially as they relate to race, then we need to have a department so that we can approach these systemic issues not only in the short term but over the years and over the decades.
This department of reconciliation will, of course, have a secretary of reconciliation. This secretary will have the responsibility of devising the strategy and implementing a strategy to eliminate racism and invidious discrimination in our country.
{time} 1845
This department will be properly funded. We would like to see it funded with a minimum of 10 percent of what the Department of Justice receives. This would be the equivalent--the money would not come from the Department of Justice--but the equivalent of 10 percent of what the Department of Justice receives as a minimum in funding.
This department would be one that would give us the opportunity to look into the future and devise a means by which we can avoid some of the systemic problems that we currently have.
Madam Speaker, my hope is that this resolution will get the support of my colleagues. It has gained support every day, and I look forward to getting the continued support of my colleagues for the resolution. The resolution, of course, is the forerunner to a bill, a bill that will actually develop this department of reconciliation.
We found that there is a Labor Department, and this Labor Department, of course, deals with issues associated with labor. We have other departments that are specialties. They specialize in dealing with certain issues. Well, why not a department of reconciliation so that we can do something that has long been needed since the Emancipation Proclamation?
While we had the invidious discrimination known as segregation, through the years, we have not done what we need to do, and that is reconcile, settle our differences, come to a conclusion as to what is appropriate when it comes to some of the icons that we have in this country with reference to Civil War memorabilia and where it can be placed. These kinds of things can be resolved through the department of reconciliation.
Madam Speaker, my hope is that we will have the department available to us in the near future. My hope is that this is something that Presidential candidates will embrace and want to talk about. I will surely put it before candidates when given the opportunity because the secretary will report directly to the President of the United States. This will give us the insight that we need into the Office of the Presidency. And the President can, of course, provide legislation by and through the secretary.
It is a good piece of legislation, and my hope is that we will get it passed.
Finally, this: I am honored to say that I, too, support law enforcement. My uncle was a deputy sheriff. He had a great amount of influence on my life. I believe that I am in Congress today because of some things that he said and urged me to do.
Madam Speaker, I support law enforcement. I don't paint all law enforcement officers with the same brush, just as I don't want all protesters to be painted with the same brush.
I support the right to peacefully protest. I believe that if we who support the protest movements and support peace officers, if we would actually let people know that there are some persons who are in the police forces that are not acceptable because of their behavior, and there are some people who are associating themselves with the protest movement who are not acceptable because of their behavior--persons who do things that are inappropriate, persons who would burn buildings, this is inappropriate. I don't support that. Officers who would put their knees on the necks of persons, that is inappropriate. No one would support that, I would hope.
Madam Speaker, I just think that, as we move forward, let's not conclude that there is something wrong with the protest movement because of some of the people who associate themselves with the movement, just as I don't conclude that there is something wrong with all police officers because of the actions and behavior of some police officers. There are people within both of these entities that I speak of who are good, and the bad ones, we, of course, should eliminate.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________
