Christian D. Menefee

“Seventy years later, America's transportation needs have changed, but Congress' basic responsibility remains the same. We have a duty to maintain a surface transportation system that allows people and goods to move across this country safely, efficiently, and reliably.”

“Seven million children in this country are in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm. Every year, hundreds of kids are killed and injured because guns are within arms' reach. Safe firearm storage is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce gun violence, suicides, accidental deaths, and having stolen weapons end up in the hands of people who should not have them. Kimberly and her schoolmates should have come home that day.”

“I rise today to introduce the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act. Eight years ago, Kimberly was a student at a Texas high school, and she and several of her classmates and teachers were murdered by a student who brought his parents' gun to school because it was not properly secured. Their deaths were both a tragedy and entirely preventable.”

“I want to be very clear about what this bill is. This is part of a greater effort to ensure that we have cash bail systems throughout this country, which would keep rich people on the streets, even if they are violent criminals, and would have poor people locked behind bars because they don't have the money. Picture two people accused of the same low-level, nonviolent misdemeanor and who come from the same background. A judge looks at both of them and says neither is a flight risk and neither is a threat of harm to the community.”

“I rise to oppose H.R. 7892, the so-called No Aid for Ghost Students Act. Think about a first-generation student who is applying with a FAFSA for the first time. It is already one of the most confusing processes out there, but all this bill does is make it worse. This bill would require the government to run every single financial aid application through a fraud detection algorithm, and if you get flagged, the college that you have been admitted to cannot release a single dollar until you jump through hoops to prove who you are.”

“June is Pride Month, a month celebrating the contributions of the LGBTQ community, but it also must be a month of speaking hard truths. Texas has more anti-trans murders than any other State in the Nation. Over half of Texas victims are Black transgender women. We cannot celebrate Marsha P. Johnson and not protect the women who look like her. Last week, Persia Amarra Conway was killed in Houston. She was 33 years old. She was loved, and she is not alone.”

“I was proud to defend that consent decree. Let's be clear about what this is. If somebody is a threat to the community, they should be in jail, regardless of whether they have a billion dollars or a thousand dollars. If they are not a threat to the community, they should not be left to languish in jail, potentially lose their livelihood, their family, all so we can make cash bail companies more rich. We should be about protecting the community, not protecting industry.”