Corporate Greed is A Virus That Infects Every Level of Government

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, our residents are saying: Enough. Enough with giving billionaires and corporations taxpayer dollars that should be going to improve the quality of life of our residents, especially in a city that is still struggling with water shutoffs and foreclosures.

In the city of Detroit, billionaire developers are now lining up for $800 million in tax giveaways after decades of broken promises. They even have the nerve to say the money isn't enough or coming fast enough.

Billionaires are asking a recently bankrupt city, the city of Detroit, for 800 million in public dollars, from a city still grappling with poverty, with the lack of affordable housing, and so much more. I just cannot believe how easily we give this money away to people with a track record of failure.

In Detroit, the Ilitch Holdings took $400 million for what they called ``District Detroit'' just a few years ago. They showed us these beautiful images and renderings, and said this is what they were going to do with the public dollars.

Do you know what we got?

We got parking lots, just parking lots. We got just asphalt--even though they got much of the property on top of the tax dollars--for just $1.

Many of these parking lots sit empty while we struggle for affordable housing and so many other things. Again, because of these broken promises, we are stuck grappling with poverty.

They took the money from the people. They didn't deliver on those promises, and we are just going to go ahead and give them double the amount with little assurance that they actually would do their jobs this time? I ask my colleagues: really? Really?

For those that are in Michigan, we are going to go ahead and trust a company that continues to tell us they are going to do this and give us this?

Corporate greed is a virus that infects every level of government. Campaign contributions from those corporations are killing our democracy. Our residents deserve better. Our neighbors pay taxes so our government can provide much-needed resources and services to our communities, not billionaires seeking profits, no matter that they are now functioning, literally, a few blocks from a school, a public school which doesn't have clean drinking water.

We say: Enough. We need community benefits protections to ensure that we all are able to thrive. Celebrating Ramadan

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors around the world and wish all who celebrate and observe a peaceful Ramadan full of family, faith, and community.

As a Muslim myself, I know how critically important it is that we celebrate, again, our neighbors and help those that are most vulnerable among us during the month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is observed by more than a billion Muslims around the world. It involves deep prayer, reflection, robust charity and giving, as well as fasting from sunrise until sunset, and, yes, that includes water.

Ramadan is observed during the ninth month of the lunar calendar and is also meant to bring consciousness in the heart and mind to be closer to Allah.

I invite my colleagues and those watching to learn more about Ramadan, its meaning, and to even break fast with us. Join our iftars that are near you in your communities. We welcome you.

Again, Ramadan Mubarak to all of our Muslim neighbors across the country and the world. Keep Medical Debt off Credit Reports

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, nearly one in five adults have medical debt collections listed on their credit report. That means one in five Americans may be denied housing, be forced to pay more in rent, struggle to purchase a vehicle, or other necessities because of a sudden health crisis or visit to an emergency room.

That hits particularly hard in communities like mine where residents already face challenges with access to credit.

This week, I am reintroducing the Consumer Protection for Medical Debt Collections Act to prohibit the collection of medical debt for 2 years and prohibit debt from medically necessary procedures from even being included in a credit report.

We passed this legislation in the House last year, and it will be a major step in fixing our broken credit system.

This bill, Mr. Speaker, would also provide protections and safeguards for people who, through no fault of their own, got sick and could not afford the medical care due to our broken healthcare system.

In the wealthiest country in the history of our world, medical emergencies should not send a family into financial ruin. Collectively, Americans owe more than $195 billion in medical debt, and this is immoral. We need to stop punishing people for being poor and getting sick.

Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in our country, and the pandemic has only made the crisis worse. No one, again, chooses to get sick. This is commonsense legislation, and we must get it signed into law.

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