Floor SpeechBipartisan2026-04-20

WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HealthcareEnvironmentTradeEducation

Context

On 2026-04-20, Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6) delivered a floor speech titled "WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the environment, trade policy.

Full Text

WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2979-H2980] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I cannot overemphasize the level of enthusiasm that I and the New Jersey delegation express today on the swearing in of Congresswoman Mejia. I cannot. We are so enthusiastic, and I think you can tell from her own constituents who came here today. I just want you to understand that her leadership was so important, her reaching out to the grassroots, her reaching out and standing up for working families, but even more so for young people. Young people were so enthused by her. Many of us are concerned about the future of our democracy and whether younger people are going to vote, whether they are going to participate. Analilia made it clear that that was so important to her, and so we had--She got so many people who were younger to come out to vote, to actually participate in the election, to knock on doors, and all the things that are so important to our democracy. [[Page H2980]] She talked about solutions. She didn't just say: We want you to come out. She talked about solutions for working people that would actually make a difference. This is what is really important. The reason that we are so enthused is that we see someone who reaches out to young people, who is a grassroots organizer, and who understands the problems of working families. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the new member of our New Jersey delegation, the gentlewoman, Congresswoman Mejia. Ms. MEJIA. Mr. Speaker, good evening. It is a privilege and an honor to stand before this Chamber. We, the privileged few, are honored with the responsibility to represent the interests of our fellow Americans at home and across the world. I thank my new colleagues for their warm welcome and the great people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District for their trust. I thank, of course, my husband, Robert, and my two children, Langston and August, for being my best supporters. The three of them mean the world to me. I also thank my sister, Anaisa, and my two mothers, Luz and Michele, and my dearly departed father, Francisco, for always standing alongside me. My presence in this Chamber is, in many ways, an unlikely reality. I am the daughter of a Dominican factory worker and a Colombian seamstress who knew struggle. Yet, I stand before you, representing the great 11th Congressional District of New Jersey, a place rich in history and eager to make more. I bring greetings from Morristown, where George Washington led through the harsh winters of the Revolutionary War. I bring greetings from Bloomfield, New Jersey, as well, which led the way on access to public education for all. In fact, I send greetings from every corner of my district. My constituents are eager to hear how we shall work together to improve the lives of the many I am honored to represent. Mr. Speaker, there is an African proverb that says: If you wish to know the end, you must strive to understand the beginning. This proverb feels timely as I begin my tenure in this lauded space, at the precipice of our Nation's 250th anniversary. As I address this body, I am ever present to the fact that it was conceived and designed as the people's House, a counterweight at critical moments, where people may have the fullest say. I stand before you on this day, the 20th of April. I want to remind you that on this date in 1871, an ``Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes,'' otherwise known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, was signed as an attempt by we the people to make true the promise of freedom and equity hard earned through conflict and peacemaking. The third in a series of Enforcement Acts, it was designed to protect the civil and political rights of individuals, under threat by the violence of vigilante groups intent to deny the protections of the Constitution for those who earned it through blood, sweat, and tears. The 14th Amendment defined citizenship and guaranteed due process and equal protection of the law to all Americans. Vigilante groups like the Klan, however, threatened by the idea of expansive freedom, used violence to undermine the Republican Party's plan for Reconstruction. The Ku Klux Klan Act made it a Federal crime to deny any group or individual ``any of the rights, privileges, or immunities or protections named in the Constitution.'' In a moment in which a State-sanctioned vigilante group threatens due process and equal protection, and our highest Court questions citizenship, clearly defined in the Constitution, it is important for us to strive to understand the beginning so that we may protect what we hold most dear all the way through to the end. I join you today with a message delivered by the people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District but echoed nationally: Stand up, defend, restore not only our democracy, but also a just economy that actually works for working people. Stand up for folks like Bob, a retired fire captain who served at Ground Zero, struggling to access healthcare because of staffing cuts and hiring freezes. Stand up for Mary, who alongside her husband, dropped her own health coverage just to afford their child's college tuition. Think about and stand up for Larry and Joe, who work hard every day and deserve a just retirement in their golden years. These are not just abstract policies or debates. These are real consequences of the decisions made in this Chamber. At a time when our Constitution and our rights are under strain, we are called not just to serve, but to stand up, to protect, and to deliver on the promise of equal protection and justice under our great laws. That is the work ahead of us. That is the work that we must take on. ____________________

View original source →

WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2979-H2980] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] WELCOMING THE HONORABLE ANALILIA MEJIA TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I cannot overemphasize the level of enthusiasm that I and the New Jersey delegation express today on the swearing in of Congresswoman Mejia. I cannot. We are so enthusiastic, and I think you can tell from her own constituents who came here today. I just want you to understand that her leadership was so important, her reaching out to the grassroots, her reaching out and standing up for working families, but even more so for young people. Young people were so enthused by her. Many of us are concerned about the future of our democracy and whether younger people are going to vote, whether they are going to participate. Analilia made it clear that that was so important to her, and so we had--She got so many people who were younger to come out to vote, to actually participate in the election, to knock on doors, and all the things that are so important to our democracy. [[Page H2980]] She talked about solutions. She didn't just say: We want you to come out. She talked about solutions for working people that would actually make a difference. This is what is really important. The reason that we are so enthused is that we see someone who reaches out to young people, who is a grassroots organizer, and who understands the problems of working families. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the new member of our New Jersey delegation, the gentlewoman, Congresswoman Mejia. Ms. MEJIA. Mr. Speaker, good evening. It is a privilege and an honor to stand before this Chamber. We, the privileged few, are honored with the responsibility to represent the interests of our fellow Americans at home and across the world. I thank my new colleagues for their warm welcome and the great people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District for their trust. I thank, of course, my husband, Robert, and my two children, Langston and August, for being my best supporters. The three of them mean the world to me. I also thank my sister, Anaisa, and my two mothers, Luz and Michele, and my dearly departed father, Francisco, for always standing alongside me. My presence in this Chamber is, in many ways, an unlikely reality. I am the daughter of a Dominican factory worker and a Colombian seamstress who knew struggle. Yet, I stand before you, representing the great 11th Congressional District of New Jersey, a place rich in history and eager to make more. I bring greetings from Morristown, where George Washington led through the harsh winters of the Revolutionary War. I bring greetings from Bloomfield, New Jersey, as well, which led the way on access to public education for all. In fact, I send greetings from every corner of my district. My constituents are eager to hear how we shall work together to improve the lives of the many I am honored to represent. Mr. Speaker, there is an African proverb that says: If you wish to know the end, you must strive to understand the beginning. This proverb feels timely as I begin my tenure in this lauded space, at the precipice of our Nation's 250th anniversary. As I address this body, I am ever present to the fact that it was conceived and designed as the people's House, a counterweight at critical moments, where people may have the fullest say. I stand before you on this day, the 20th of April. I want to remind you that on this date in 1871, an ``Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes,'' otherwise known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, was signed as an attempt by we the people to make true the promise of freedom and equity hard earned through conflict and peacemaking. The third in a series of Enforcement Acts, it was designed to protect the civil and political rights of individuals, under threat by the violence of vigilante groups intent to deny the protections of the Constitution for those who earned it through blood, sweat, and tears. The 14th Amendment defined citizenship and guaranteed due process and equal protection of the law to all Americans. Vigilante groups like the Klan, however, threatened by the idea of expansive freedom, used violence to undermine the Republican Party's plan for Reconstruction. The Ku Klux Klan Act made it a Federal crime to deny any group or individual ``any of the rights, privileges, or immunities or protections named in the Constitution.'' In a moment in which a State-sanctioned vigilante group threatens due process and equal protection, and our highest Court questions citizenship, clearly defined in the Constitution, it is important for us to strive to understand the beginning so that we may protect what we hold most dear all the way through to the end. I join you today with a message delivered by the people of New Jersey's 11th Congressional District but echoed nationally: Stand up, defend, restore not only our democracy, but also a just economy that actually works for working people. Stand up for folks like Bob, a retired fire captain who served at Ground Zero, struggling to access healthcare because of staffing cuts and hiring freezes. Stand up for Mary, who alongside her husband, dropped her own health coverage just to afford their child's college tuition. Think about and stand up for Larry and Joe, who work hard every day and deserve a just retirement in their golden years. These are not just abstract policies or debates. These are real consequences of the decisions made in this Chamber. At a time when our Constitution and our rights are under strain, we are called not just to serve, but to stand up, to protect, and to deliver on the promise of equal protection and justice under our great laws. That is the work ahead of us. That is the work that we must take on. ____________________