Lewiston Shooting Anniversary
Floor Speech
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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, on October 25, 2023, America's gun violence nightmare became a living hell for the people of Lewiston, Maine, and everyone who calls our State home.
At 6:54 p.m., a man carrying a semiautomatic rifle walked into a bowling alley and fired 18 rounds, taking the lives of eight patrons in 45 seconds, including a 14-year-old boy.
The shooter then drove to a nearby restaurant, where he opened fire again, killing 10 more innocent civilians in 78 seconds, including 4 members of Maine's deaf community who were gathered at the restaurant for a cornhole tournament.
It was Maine's worst mass shooting ever and the tenth deadliest in American history. The total time the gun was operating was 2 minutes. That is 2 minutes of 1 man pulling a single deadly trigger, killing 18 human beings, 18 of our neighbors.
This shouldn't be allowed to happen, not by anyone, not anywhere, not ever again.
Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering the victims of this horrifying tragedy and in holding in our hearts the people of Lewiston, a city that so beautifully embodies the resilience and dynamism of our great State. I also ask my colleagues to commit to the kind of sensible gun-control measures supported by 80 percent of Mainers and supported by a vast majority of Americans.
Please never forget, and never again. New York Climate Week
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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, maybe my colleagues have heard of New York Fashion Week, which was at the beginning of this month, but this week is New York Climate Week, giving us an opportunity to spur climate action.
The fashion industry is a massive, $2.5 trillion global industry and an economic driver with a presence in every State. We cannot ignore the wide-ranging impacts of the fashion industry. Clothing production is surging, textile waste is rising, and workers' wages and conditions are worsening.
Fashion, and particularly fast fashion, is a climate issue. The apparel industry is responsible for about 4 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 4 percent of the solid waste in the United States alone.
In 2021, the World Economic Forum identified the fashion industry and its supply chain as the world's third largest polluter.
In June, my colleagues and I took an important step by launching the first-ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus. We are working to educate Members and the public about the negative impacts of the fashion industry and to develop policies to support a more sustainable industry.
There are important actions we can all take as individuals. We can buy less clothing and get more use out of our clothing by patching holes or buying secondhand, but there is a critical need for new policies to encourage brands to design better clothing and take responsibility for the end of life of their products.
Other countries and States are already starting this work. We cannot only make the planet healthier, but we can use these opportunities to create jobs and support communities and American businesses.
The time for action is now. I invite my colleagues to join me in the Slow Fashion Caucus and raising awareness and making an impact for the future of our planet.
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