Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, this bill is only necessary because, in the last bill, Republicans prioritized a half-trillion-dollar gift to corporations that turned around and laid off workers who bailed them out.

Our people need us to prioritize public health and testing, and they need recurring monthly relief payments now.

This is Skylar Herbert. You need to see her face because there needs to be a human face to this pandemic. She is 5 years old, died from coronavirus. Skylar loved dressing up and performing, and she loved and adored being in kindergarten. Her death should be a wake-up call that we must act in urgency.

Her father, a firefighter, her mother a police officer, first responders, and the amount of guilt that they feel because maybe they didn't have access to testing, that is exactly why they are out there telling her story every single day.

Please, let's act now in urgency.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. TLAIB. I urge my colleagues to please do more to save lives. It is immoral for us to walk away and take a month off when people, our neighbors, are dying and losing loved ones.

So, in memory of Skylar, in honor of her, please let's expand public health funding and testing for everyone.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source