Analilia Mejia

“I am celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the Latino communities in my district. Immigrants have helped build this country, but leaders are using racist words to divide us. In my district, Latino people face unfair arrests, cuts to public help, and mistreatment. Giving justice and freedom to immigrants does not take them away from anyone else.”

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrate the vibrant Latino communities across New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. Our district, at the crossroads of critical moments in history, is as diverse as it is historic. Communities from across the diaspora proudly call the 11th District home, including my own. Recognizing the impact of the Latino community, without naming the crisis our community faces would be a disservice at this moment, however. As the daughter of two Latino immigrants, I was raised by parents who recognized the importance of embracing my Nation, while holding on to who I was. Following the scores of immigrants who arrived upon these shores, Latino Americans have created communities that enriched their adopted and beloved land, while remembering the culture of their parents and grandparents. Like many, irrespective of their culture or ethnic backgrounds, we stand appalled at the way in which those at the highest perches of this land use racist tropes and dog whistles to divide a nation of immigrants yearning for liberty and justice for all. Across my district, this warfare is made evident by every unjust arrest, through the gutting of safety net programs, and the wholesale vilification of a community that loves this Nation enough to serve it, grow it, and defend it. Violent arrests, courthouse ambushes, the denial of justice all lay bare the willingness of some to turn away from what actually makes America great: ``one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’’ Some say that upholding these words somehow takes away the freedoms and opportunities of those whose ancestors arrived upon these shores in generations past. This flawed thinking treats justice as if it were finite, as if it were cake, and sharing a piece somehow lessens what is placed upon your plate. Well, Madam Speaker, justice, freedom, and opportunity are not cake. It does not run out if someone else gets a slice.”

“I want to congratulate Major General Christopher D. Schneider on his new leadership job at Picatinny Arsenal in my district. I thank him for his long military service and welcome him to his new role.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Major General Christopher D. Schneider for his new role as the commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal in addition to serving as the portfolio acquisition executive for agile sustainment and ammunition. General Schneider brings to this role more than three decades of distinguished service to our Nation. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he began his career as an infantry officer, serving with the 1st Infantry Division, the 18th Airborne Corps, and the 82nd Airborne Division. Also, he served with the 75th Ranger Regiment, with deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He later transitioned to the Army Acquisition Corps, where he held senior leadership positions focused on strengthening our Nation’s military capabilities and advancing critical technologies. As commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal, General Schneider takes on an important responsibility for the U.S. Army and will be supported by one of the most talented and hardworking workforces in the Army right here in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. I congratulate General Schneider on his new role and look forward to working with him to support Picatinny Arsenal, its workforce, and our national security. I welcome General Schneider to Picatinny and thank him for his service to our country.”

“I am honoring Bruce James, who served as a Passaic County commissioner for more than 20 years. He was a union leader and helped raise the minimum wage in New Jersey. He spent his life fighting for working people.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Passaic County commissioner and my friend Bruce James. Bruce served as a county commissioner for over 20 years and previously served as a union leader at the Passaic County Board of Social Services. Bruce was a lifelong champion of working people and was integral to our fight to raise the minimum wage in New Jersey. For two decades, he showed up for our community for stronger parks, safer streets, and a county government that met families on their hardest days. He sat across that desk himself, and he never forgot it. Bruce did this work because he believed that working people deserved dignity, respect, and a government that fights for them as hard as they fight for themselves. Mr. Speaker, we carry forward Bruce’s fight and his legacy with love.”

“I am honoring Matt Trevenen. He is joining the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame for his great career as a player and his work as a coach.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor one of the newest inductees to the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Mr. Matt Trevenen. A graduate of Montclair High School, he is one of the most decorated attackmen at Montclair. He was a two-time first team all-State selection, a two-time Lacrosse all-American, and a two-time New Jersey Attackman of the Year. In 1998, Mr. Trevenen was named the Star-Ledger New Jersey State Player of The Year and the first player in State history to record two 100-point seasons. He currently still holds or shares six individual Montclair records. As if that wasn’t enough, he went on to Princeton where he was a 3- year starter and a member of the 2001 NCAA championship team. In 1999, he was one of five New Jersey players selected to the U.S.A. Lacrosse U-19 National Team, which captured the World Championship in Adelaide, Australia. Mr. Speaker, since retiring as a player, Mr. Trevenen dedicated himself as a coach and a leader in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. I rise to celebrate him.”

“President Trump fired the leaders of the agency that protects our elections because they would not make it harder for people to vote. He is also spreading false claims about voter fraud to push a bill that stops millions of citizens from registering. Congress must pass new laws to protect our elections from the president. We must also reform the Supreme Court.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today with urgency. Weeks ago, President Trump fired every remaining Commissioner of the Federal agency charged with protecting the integrity of our elections. This Chamber has not reckoned with that fully, and it should. The Election Assistance Commission exists to help carry out free and fair elections in this country. It was structured by law with four bipartisan members precisely so that no single administration could control how our elections are run. That structure is the point. For over a year, this administration pressed that very Commission to require a passport or original birth certificate as a condition for voter registration. Millions of Americans do not have ready access to either document. The Commission would not act on this demand, and the courts agreed. Both checks held. Then, days after the Supreme Court granted the President new authority to remove the heads of independent agencies in a case that had nothing to do with elections, the President used that very authority in order to eliminate every Commissioner. This was not incidental. It was the removal of the officials standing between this President and a policy his own Commission and the courts have rejected. Last Thursday night, he took his case to national television. In a prime-time address from the White House, the President declassified documents he claimed proved foreign interference and widespread fraud in the election he lost over 5 years ago. He alleged a foreign government has compromised the voter data of 220 million Americans and that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote. Independent fact checkers, who reviewed those very documents, found that they did not support the claim made about them. He presented no evidence of a single fraudulent vote because 5 years and 64 court cases have never produced even one. This Chamber has now watched the same pattern twice: raise unproven claims of fraud, then use them to justify removing the very safeguards standing in the way; first the Commissioners and now a prime-time address built to manufacture support for legislation his own party could not pass on its merits, the SAVE Act. House Republicans have pushed it through, and Senate Republicans have tried repeatedly to force it through as a reconciliation amendment, needing only a simple majority, only to see it blocked each and every time. Under this bill, a driver’s license does not satisfy the registration requirement. Only a passport, an original birth certificate, or naturalization papers would. Consider what that means: 146 million Americans do not hold a valid passport, and roughly 69 million married women hold birth certificates that no longer match their legal names. When Kansas tried a version of this requirement, 31,000 eligible citizens, 12 percent of all applicants, were blocked from registering--not noncitizens, citizens. Mr. Speaker, this has never been a matter of election integrity. It is a matter of who holds power in this country and who is permitted to participate in choosing it. When a party grows uncertain it could win on the merits, the next move is rarely to accept that outcome. It is to lay the groundwork in advance so any unfavorable results can be dismissed before a single vote is counted. This Chamber should be prepared to say clearly every time that surfaces that this is not a defense of democracy. It is a preview of what happens if this administration does not like what voters decide. Congress has an obligation to respond. We must enact durable, statutory protections for the administration of Federal elections so that no single official can dismantle them by executive action. We must pursue meaningful reform of the Supreme Court, including term limits and enforceable ethical standards because a Court that keeps expanding this President’s authority is not exercising oversight. It is, in fact, removing it. Each of these actions taken individually may appear isolated. Taken together, however, they constitute a sustained effort to narrow the American electorate at the exact moment this country is apt to render judgment on this administration. I will not treat this as acceptable, and I will not stop opposing it.”

“I helped start a group to protect the 14th Amendment. We must protect its promise that every person has equal rights and fair treatment under the law.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Aguilar and my fellow co- chairs, Representatives Cleaver, Randall, Simon, and Subramanyam, for their leadership in launching the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. This work is about protecting the Constitution’s promise that every person deserves equal protection, due process, and the full rights of citizenship. Those principles have shaped generations of progress in our country, and they are worth defending today just as they were 158 years ago. We owe it to those who came before us and those who will follow us to ensure that that promise endures. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”