mrs. watson coleman: thank you. reclaiming my time. i want to ask you -- secretary devos: can can i finish the question? mrs. watson coleman: every time you talk about your findings, your research, whatever, i would love to see that research. i honest to god would love to see what you rely upon. as you are making -- answering some of these questions about what to do. let me tell you something i really support very much in your budget. and that is to expand access to pell grants for apprenticeship programs, technical programs. i agree with you the root is not always a four ---route is not always a four-year college education. i want to know that in advance of doing that, since that is an innovation on your part, what are you going to have in place to ensure that something like a trump university that had absolutely no academic relevance is not someone -- not an organization that benefits from this new approach? secretary devos: congresswoman, this proposal is one that we would like to work with congress to ensure the appropriate boundari

mrs. watson coleman. the chair: the gentlelady from new jersey, mrs. watson coleman is recognized at this time. mrs. watson coleman: i wish to thank the gentlelady for yielding to me. i rise in support of h.r. 1, the for the people act. america is not a democracy if we don't protect the right to vote. we should be expanding voter rolls and making every single voice heard at the boll lot -- ballot knox and -- box and that includes currently and formerly imprisoned americans. a mistake made should not simes your right for life. i offered an amendment to this bill that would have included those americans in our democracy, however, i have withdrawn that amendment at the time. i will continue to work with my colleagues to fight for re-enfranchisement for these americans. this bill is a reflection of priorities of democratic leadership in this body. it is exactly the type of legislation went overlooked until democrats took back the chamber. i urge my colleagues to support our democracy by voting for its passage. i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yields

mrs. watson coleman. the chair: the gentlelady from new jersey, mrs. watson coleman is recognized at this time. mrs. watson coleman: i wish to thank the gentlelady for yielding to me. i rise in support of h.r. 1, the for the people act. america is not a democracy if we don't protect the right to vote. we should be expanding voter rolls and making every single voice heard at the boll lot -- ballot knox and -- box and that includes currently and formerly imprisoned americans. a mistake made should not simes your right for life. i offered an amendment to this bill that would have included those americans in our democracy, however, i have withdrawn that amendment at the time. i will continue to work with my colleagues to fight for re-enfranchisement for these americans. this bill is a reflection of priorities of democratic leadership in this body. it is exactly the type of legislation went overlooked until democrats took back the chamber. i urge my colleagues to support our democracy by voting for its passage. i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yields

mrs. watson coleman: i had a saying, show me your budget and i'll show you our priorities. look at what the president prioritizes. an additional $8.6 billion for his hate-fueled, wasteful wall. a 5% increase in the already bloated pentagon budget, including money for his childish space forest and making his tax cuts for the rich permanent. the same cuts that exploded the deficit. now, let's look at what he apparently does not value. medicare. $854 billion in cuts. medicaid, $241 billion in cuts. snap, that's meals for families who've fallen on hard times, $220 billion in cuts. he already clearly doesn't prioritize the environment. 31% cut from the e.p.a. education, $207 billion cut from student loan programs or infrastructure, $22% cut from the department of transportation. anyway you look at the budget, it's clear. this president needs to get his priorities in order. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the sp

mrs. watson coleman: mr. speaker, i rise today to call out a growing insidious threat to women. there are bills in at least eight state legislatures that would outlaw abortions if a heartbeat can be detected. typically, this is about six weeks of a pregnancy, though it can be earlier. six weeks before many women even know that they are pregnant, effectively taking away their right to choose whether or not to begin or expand their family. these laws are cruel. they are also in direct violation of the supreme court's decision in roe v. wade, a precedent that has stood for over 45 years. and that's the point. mississippi governor bryant recently signed into law one of these bills, and he did so knowing it was unconstitutional. he even admitted he was signing this bill for his own religious reasons, knowing that it was likely to be challenged. he wants to go to the supreme court because he wants credit for trying to overturn roe v. wade. but the women of this country will not go back. we have fought tooth and nail to obtain our rights in this country. those who believe women will gi

watson-coleman. >> in a bipartisan fashion. thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you, madam secretary, for being here. i've got a whole bunch of questions that i'm going to ask that where you can, you just tell me yes or no. question, what is a chain link fence, enclosed, into a chamber, on a concrete floor represent to you? is that a cage? >> it's a detention space, ma'am, that as you know has existed for decades. >> does it differ from the cages you put your dogs in when you let them stay outside? is it different? >> yes. >> in what sense? >> it's larger, it has facilities, it provides room to sit, to stand, to lay down. >> do so do my dog's cage. are the jails different than the cages that you have allowed the children to be put am? >> i'm sorry which jails. >> the jails that you put their parents in or the adults that come here with children, that you say are coming here illegally. >> the detention centers, most of them, no, ma'am, they have a border around the outside, but they essentially sleep in dorm-like conditions. >> so they live in better conditi

the chair now recognizes the gentle lady from new jersey, miss watson coleman. [ inaudible ] >> in a bipartisan fashion. thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you, madam secretary, for being here. i've got a whole bunch of questions, and i'm going to ask that where you can you just tell me yes or no. question, what is a chain link fence enclosed into a chamber on a concrete floor represent to you? is that a cage? >> it's a detention space, ma'am, that you know has existed for decades. >> does it differ from the cages you put your dogs in when you let them stay outside? is it different? >> yes. >> in what sense? >> it's larger. it has facilities. it provides room to sit, stand, lie down. >> so did my dog's cage. are the jails different than the cages that you have allowed the children to be put in? >> i'm sorry. which jails? >> are the jails that you put their parents in? or the adults that come here with children that you say are coming here illegally. >> the detention centers, most of them, no, ma'am. they have a border around the outside. but they essentially sleep in dorm-like conditions. >> so they live in better condit