Madam Speaker, first, let me thank Representative [Jackie] Speier, Representative [Carolyn] Maloney, and all those who have been such warriors on this issue for such a long period of time. They are keeping the faith.

It’s never too late to do the right thing. About sixty days after…Congress passed the ERA, Maryland voted to ratify the ERA. I had been in the State Senate for five years at that point in the time, and I could not understand why women were not equal under our Constitution as it read, and how sad it was that, the consciousness of our Founders, which was extraordinarily high for their time – extraordinary – but they didn’t say ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident that all human kind are created equal.’ It is time to act. It is far past time to act. As I said in Maryland, 48 years ago, [we] overwhelmingly said: all of us are equal.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Trump Administration released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2021. It was titled, 'A Budget for America’s Future,' but its vision for that future is bleak. Its vision of the future is the true 'American carnage' that President Trump described in his Inaugural Address. It envisions an America that is less than it can or should be. It envisions an America where working families are left to struggle while the wealthy continue to prosper.

Madam Speaker, history will remember this generation of Puerto Ricans for their perseverance, their courage, and their strength. Having endured two devastating hurricanes in 2017, they have had to cope with their heartbreaking aftermath, characterized by the Trump Administration’s failure to allocate resources properly, fairly, and effectively. Now, a series of powerful earthquakes have struck the island, causing additional damage and, sadly, loss of life. We have heard reports that, while much of the power transmission infrastructure that was rebuilt stronger after the hurricanes were able to hold up, the aging power plants they serve sustained damage.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, which will protect workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively.

I solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’ That is the oath Senators swore on January 16. It is the oath created by Senators when they tried the first impeachment of a President in 1868. It is an oath rooted in the revolution fought by their grandparents to create a republic of laws, not kings.