to make the loss of these lives matter, my wife and i, spent most of last week on the ground with the families in uvalde, texas. shared stories, tears, and memories. the common thread, inpepbt of the anger and con-- independent of the anger, confusion, and sadness is the same. how can these families continue to honor these deaths by keeping the dreams of these children and teachers alive? again, how can the loss of these lives matter? while we honor and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognize that this time it seems that something is different. there is a sense that perhaps there is a viable path forward, responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward. bring us closer together and make us safer as a country, a path that can actually get something done this time. camilla and i came here to share my stories from my hometown, uvalde. came to take meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. we came here to speak to them, to speak with them, and to urge them to speak with each other. to remind them and inspire them that the american people will continue to drive forward the mission of keeping our children safe, because it's more than our right to do so. it's our responsibility to do so. i'm here today in hopes of applying what energy, reason, and passion that i have and trying to turn this moment into a reality. because as i have said this moment is different. we are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before. a window where it seems like real change, real change can happen. uvalde, texas, is where i was born. it's where my mom taught kindergarten less than a mile from robb elementary. uvalde is where i learned to master a bb gun. two years before i graduated to a .410 shotgun. uvalde is where i was taught to revere the power anti-capability of the tool that we -- and the capability of the tool we call the gun. uvalde is where i learned responsible gun ownership. and uvalde called me on may 24 when i learned the news of this devastating tragedy. i had been out of cellular range working in the studio all day. when i had messages of a mass shooting in the town i was born in in my inbox. i drove home and hugged my children a bit tighter and longer than the night before. and the reality of what happened that day in the town i was born in set in. the next morning we set up, we loaded the truck and drove to uvalde. when we arrived a few hours later, even from the inside of our vehicle, you could feel the shock in the town. you could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams. we saw a ministries, first responders, counselors, cooks, families trying to grieve without it being on the front page news. we met with local funeral director, the countless morticians who hadn't slept since the massacre the day before because they had been working 24/7 trying to handle so many bodies at once. so many little innocent bodies who had their entire lives still yet to live. it is there that we met two of the grieving parents, ryan and jessica ramirez. their 10-year-old daughter, she was one of the 19 children killed the day before. now, her dream was to go to art school in paris and share her art with the world. ryan and jessica were eager to share her art with us and said if we can share it that somehow maybe that would make her smile in heaven. they told us that showing someone else her art would in some way keep her alive. this particular drawing is a self-portrait drawing with her friend in heaven looking down on her drawing the very same picture. her mother said of this drawing, she said, we never really talked to her about heaven before, but somehow she knew. she was 10 years old. her father, ryan, this man was steady. he was uncommonly together. a qualm. when a friend of his came up and said how are you so calm? i would be going crazy. ryan told him, no, you wouldn't. no, you wouldn't. you would be strong for your wife and kids because if they see you go crazy that will not help them. just a week prior ryan got a full-time line job. stringing power lines from pole to pole. every day since landing that well paying full-time job he reminded his daughter, he said, girl, daddy going to spoil you now. told her every single night. daddy's going to take you to sea world one day. but he didn't get to do that for his daughter. she did not get to go to sea world. we also met anna a mom and stepdad of 9-year-old maggie rodriguez. she wanted to be a marine biologist. she was already in contact with corpus christi university of a&m for his future college encontrolment. 9 years old. she cared for the environment so strongly when the city asked her mother if they could release balloons into the sky in her memory, her mom said, oh, no. they wouldn't want to litter. maggie wore green high top converse with a heart she had hand drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature, camilla has she's shoes. can you show them, please. wore these every day. green converse with a heart on the right toe. these are the same green converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting. how about that? her mom said, if it could help someone accomplish her dream then her death would have an impact and it would mean her dying had a point and wasn't pointless. that it would make the loss of her life matter. the letter reads, marine biologist. i want to pass school to get to my dream college. my dream college is in corpus christi by the ocean. i need to live next to the ocean because i want to be a marine biologist. marine biologist study animals and water. most of the time i will be in a lab, sometimes i will be on tv. then elie garcia, a 10-year-old and her parents steven everyjennifer. she loved to dance and loved church. she knew how to drive tractors. and already helping her dad and uncle mowing yards. she was always giving of her gifts, her time, even food on her plate, they said. around the house we called her the great regifter. smiling through tears her family told us how elie loved to embrace. said she was the biggest hugger in the family. elie was born catholic, but having corn to baptist church with her uncle the last couple years her mom and dad were proud of her because they said, she was learning to love god no matter where. prior to her passing she had been preparing to read a verse from the bible for the next wednesday night church service. the verse was from deuteronomy. 6:5. i felt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might. that's who elie was becoming. she never got to read it. the church was on a wednesday night. then there was a fairy tail love story, a teacher named irma and her husband joe. this was an amazing came. camilla and i, we sat there with the family members in the living room, along with the four kids. kids were 23, 19, 15, and 13. they shared all these stories about irma and joe, served the community, hosted these parties. and how irma and joe were planning on getting a food truck together when they soon retired. they were humble. hardworking people. irma was a teaffer -- teacher who her family said went above and beyond and just couldn't say no to any kind of teaching. joe had been commuting to and from work 70 miles away in del rio for years. together they were the glue of the family. both worked overtime to support the four kids. irma, even worked every summer when school was out. the money she made two summers ago paid to paint the front of the house. the money she made last summer paid to pay the sides of the house. this summer's work was going to pay the to paint the back of the house -- pay to paint the back of the house. irma was one of the teachers who was gunned down in the classroom. joe, her husband, literally died of heartache the very next day. when he had a heart attack. they never got to paint the back of the house. they never got to retire. they never got to get that food truck together. we also met a cost mowtologist. she was well voiced in mortuary makeup. that's the task of making the victims appear as peaceful and natural as possible for their open casket viewings. these bodies were very different. they needed much more than makeup to be presentable. they needed extensive restoration. why? due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an ar-15 rifle. most of the bodies so mutilated that only d.n.a. tests or green converse could identify them. these children were left not overwhelm dead but hollow. so, yes, counselors are going to be needed in uvalde for a long time. counselors needed in all these places where mass shootings have been for a long time. i was told by many that take a good year before people even understand what to do next. even then when they secure enough to take the first step forward, a lifetime is not going to heal those wounds. again, you know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked for? what every parent separately expressed in their own way to camilla and me? that they want their children's dreams to live on. that they want their children's dreams to continue to accomplish something after they are gone. they want to make their loss of life matter. but we heard from so many people. families of the deceased, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, texas rangers, hunters, border patrol, and responsible gun owners who won't give up their second amendment right to bear arms. they said we want secure and safe schools and gun laws that won't make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns. so, we know it's on the table. we need to invest in mental health care. we need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. we need to restore our family values. we need to restore our american values. and we need responsible gun ownership. responsible gun ownership. we need background checks. we need to raise the minimum age to purchase an ar-15 rifle to 21. we need a waiting period for those rifles. we need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them. these are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes. responsible gun owners are fed up with the second amendment being abused and high jacked by some deranged individuals. these regulations are not a step back, they are a step forward. for a civil society and, and the second amendment. this cure all? hell, no. people are hurting. families are. parents are. as divided as our country is, this gun responsibility issue is one we agree on more than we don't. it really is. but this should be a nonpartisan issue. this should not be a partisan issue. there is not a democratic or republican value in one single act of these shooters. not. but people in power have failed to act. so we are asking you, i'm asking you will you please ask yourselves, can both sides rise above? can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands? we have a chance right now to reach for and to grasp a higher ground, above our political affiliations. a chance to make a choice that does more than protect your party, a chance to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation. we got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. what we truly value. we got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations. enough of the counter punching. enough of the invalidation of the other side. come to the common table that represents the american people. find a middle ground. the place where most of us americans livniway -- live anyway, especially on this issue. i promise you america, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are. no. how about get inspired, give ourselves just cause to revere our future again. set an example for our children. give us reason to tell them, hey, listen, and watch these men and women, these are great american leaders right here. hope you grow up to be like them. let's admit it. we can't truly be leaders if we are only living for re-election. but be knowledgeable and wise and act on what we truly believe. again, we have to look in the mirror. lead with humility and acknowledge the values that are inherent to but also above politics. we have to make choices, make stands, embrace new ideas, and preserve the traditions that can create true, true progress for the be next generation. with real leadership. start giving us all of us with real leadership, let's start giving all of us good reason to believe that the american dream is not an illusion. where do we start? we start by making the right choices on the issue that is in front of us today. we start by making laws that save innocent lives and don't infringe on our second amendment rights. we start right now by voting to pass policy that is can keep us from having as many columbines, sandy hooks, las vegases, buffalo, and uvaldes from here on. we start by giving elithia a chance to be spoiled by her dad. start by giving maggie a chance to be a marine biologist. start by giving elie a chance to read her bible verse at the wednesday night service. we start by giving irma and joe a chance to finish painting the house, maybe retire, get that food truck. we start by giving mckenna, lay la, miranda, jose, javier, eliana, annabel, jackie, j.c., ava, and lexiy start by giving all of them our promise that their dreams are not going to be forgotten. we start by making the loss of these lives matter. karinea: i know the president has an event right after this. i think it's running a few minutes behind. i will -- we'll do the briefing until we have to go to the event. a couple things at the top and opening it up. as i just mentioned soon the president will sign into law nine bipartisan bills that support veterans, and he will be joined by members of congress from both parties, veteran advocates, and veterans who will benefit from these laws. president biden ran on the promise to unite the country, which is why supporting veterans is a key part of his unity agenda announced at the state of the union. supporting our country's veterans is an issue that all americans can agree on, among the impact of the bills being signed into law today are two that will improve access to breast imaging services for veterans, including those who experienced toxic exposures during military service. other bills to be signed include three to honor the legacy of service to our nation, including one to award a single congressional gold medal to the u.s. army rangers world war ii. the rangers played a crucial role in the d-day invasion of normandy, which began exactly 78 years ago yesterday. also today the senate voted to advance the packed act. the president was clear in his state of the union that addressing toxic exposures is a priority and congress should move with the urgency for our veterans. today long kong took a major step forward. president biden looks forward to final passage of this legislation so that he can sign it into law and continue to uphold our sacred obligation to support those who have served our nation, their families, caregivers, and survivors. today the administration announced new investments from the american rescue plan to help provide every american with access to affordable high speed internet. these investments will bring down costs for families and small businesses, particularly in rural and remote areas, and ensure affordability. this morning treasury announced the first state awards from the $10 billion capital projects fund which will make resources immediately available in louisiana, new hampshire, virginia, and west virginia to connect over 200,000 homes that currently lack access. on a sad note our dear friend and colleague, michael guinn, will be leaving us for treasury where he will serve as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs. he has served as the white house director of rapid response for the past 16 months, respond together most challenging and difficult issues imaginable, amid these often emotional stories, the poise and moral clarity are unveiling and his willingness and ability to step up has made him an indispensable member of the team. joining him at the treasury department will be our very own michael where he will serve as a spokesperson. better known here to all of you, to all of us, a kiko. has served not just as a press assistant but as the strong engine and reliable engine at the press shop. his relentless work ethic and dedication to the mission of this team have been second to none. we will miss you both. thank you so much. very heart wrefrping but i'm very excited for both of you. we have some hellos. we keep announcing people leaving. we actual have people coming back. we have great folks joining our team. two new members who are here to our team. i would like to first introduce abdula hassan, right here. some of you know him already. who will be joining us as an-sciesant press secretary having previously served as deputy associate director for communications for the white house office of management and budget. amongst many topics he'll cover civil rights, immigration, and climate. we also would like to extend a warm welcome to alexandria row manna, who is joining us on detail from treasury where she was served as senior spokesperson, part of alexandra's duties will be working on housing, and other economic issues. they haven't even gotten their full-time badges yet. but we are already getting them hard at work. we appreciate all of their work thus far. we have felt the impact of it. please join me in welcoming the team w that i think that's all i have. all right. go ahead. reporter: we are getting ready to start here. karinea: i have other obligations as well after this. we'll see. we'll see what we can do. i can't make any overwhelm preuss -- any promises. reporter: on the subject of guns. does the president have a clear sense where things are? what is possible on capitol hill? why is he turning to an actor -- karine: his voice does matter. you heard him speak on thursday very clearly, very loudly, very passionately during prime time. at a critical time during the day where he made sure he can commune kphao*upb kate with the american people -- communicate with the american people. he's the president of the united states his voice carries, it does matter. what he says carries weight that is pretty tremendous. matthew was here because, as you heard, he has a very personal connection to uvalde. he met with the families. is he from there. he was born there. he lives in texas. we thought hearing from him directly, him using his platform, is incredibly important. we all know what it's like, or how important it is for folks, especially whether you are an actor, whether you are in the business sector, wherever you are, to use your platform how critical and important it is. i think his words here today were incredibly powerful and emotional. i thank him and camilla for come here today. they met with the president as i just mentioned. i just wanted to just address that. the president received an update as you all know as we mention interested senator murphy on the state of negotiations on capitol hill. he told senator murphy he strongly supports his efforts to find a compromise and encouraged him to get the strongest possible results. in the end of the president said that the message he took from the families from uvalde when he was there was to do something. please do something. that's what the grieving family told him. some of you heard that yourselves from the community when he was in uvalde. that is what senator murphy and his colleagues are going to do. they are going to do just that. reporter: reporting that the federal government -- [indiscernible] karine: i cannot confirm that report. the president is looking forward to leaving tomorrow to head to the summit. clearly that we are hosting. i can say this, that the united states continues to recognize juan as the interim president of venezuela. that said while the interim government was not invited to participate in the main summit, they are welcome to participate in all three stakeholder forms and other events. reporter: more directly involved in the negotiations on the hill now that he's met with senator murphy? karine: i want to be clear here. senator murphy has said this many times during interviews on various networks here that he believes it's time for the senate to act. and that is what they are doing. the president is encouraged, but what he's seeing with this team of negotiators on the senate side and he is -- like i said encouraged and wants to continue to see them move forward and take action. reporter: in meeting with matthew mcconaughy, did he go through the same -- karine: they had a private conversation. i'm not going to read out the private conversation. as you can imagine the president went to uvalde himself. he also met with many of the family members. he also has heard many of the soar terrorist that -- stories that matthew came here to share wufplt they certainly connected on -- share with you. they certainly connected on that aspect. reporter: is the president willing to accept whatever agreement they come to should they come to an agreement when it comes to guns? karine: the president has been involved in gun reform. as senator, vice president, and clearly as president. having signed the most executive actions on gun reform than any president at this time of their presidency. and when he was senator, he was talking about this today, it took him years, it took him years to get the 1994 assault ban legislation. that was law for 10 years and expired in 2004. so we haven't seen this type of negotiations or this type of coming together from both sides in a very long time. it's been decades. he is encouraged. he is optimistic. but what he is hearing, the update he received. so we are going to see how those negotiations go. and any step, he believes any step is a step forward. he's going to continue to call for all of the things that you heard him lay out when it comes to what he sees as a comprehensive gun reform reform on thursday is important. clearly we are not going to negotiate from here and leave the specifics to the senators. reporter: does he still make saudi arabia -- karine: i spoke to this yesterday. i can share more thoughts on that now. the president was very clear when he was asked about this on friday when he was delivering his remarks on the economy. basically he said as president he believes that if there is ane feels that he should take that direction. so saudi arabia has been a strategic partner of the united states for eight decades. every president since f.d.r. has met with saudi leaders. the president considers saudi arabia an important partner on a host of regional and global strategies, including other efforts to end the war in yemen. contain iran. and counterterrorism. saudi pilots flew with ours in the war against isis. its navy patrols in the red sea and gulf. the president will meet with any leader if it serves the interest of the american people. that's what he puts first. he believes engagement with saudi leaders clearly meets that test. as has every president before him. i'm going to move on. i'm going to take one more. i'm going to take one more. reporter: on the negotiations, if changing background checks for younger people and 21 is happening. does the president believe that is meaningful change is? is that what comes of this moment? is he ok with that? karine: the president was clear last week that there is real urgency. to make sure something like uvalde or buffalo and many mass shootings prior can't happen again. we are encouraged again by the progress that we are seeing. we are going to stay closely engaged. we are going to not negotiate from here. we are going to let the contours of the legislation and those conversations play out. and what we are encouraged by is that the conversation is happening, both sides are coming together. we saw the house taking some actions last week. they also take some actions this week. what we -- what the president believes is that we have to do something. and like he said on thursday, enough is enough. >> we are going to leave the white house briefing to fulfill or miles per hour than 40 year commitment to live coverage of congress. continue watching at-l at c-span.org or our c-span now app. the house is about to gavel in on legislative base. today the lawmakers are debating 12 business. ition? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6087 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6087, a bill to amend chapper 81 of title 5:00 united states code for purposes of workers compensation under such chapter, services by physician assistants and nurse practitioners provided to injured federal workers and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. walberg, each will control 20 minutes. the gentleman from connecticut. mr. courtney: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days

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