night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. you can listen to q&a and all of our podcasts on our free c-span now app. the house has passed legislation legalizing marijuana on the federal level by a near partyline vote. there are no plans for the senate to take up the bill. majority leader schumer have expressed a willingness to work on a senate version at some point. president biden has not indicated whether he would sign the bill into law. next, the debate in the house. this is about 50 minutes. gentleman from mississippi is recognized for two minutes -- for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. palazzo: thank you, representative bentz, for the time. mr. speaker, our country is facing a national security crisis and energy crisis, a border crisis, and economic

crisis. here we are voting on cannabis legislation. how is this helping our constituents who are paying sky-high prices at the gas pump? how does this strengthen our military and help secure america? how does this address biden's record breaking surge of illegal immigrants at our southern border? how does this help us to leave a stronger, safer, more secure america for our children and our children's children? simple answer, it doesn't. . we are here today to vote to get america high. and states with legal marijuana, there are more marijuana-related emergency room visits than any other category. patients using marijuana to treat pain, anxiety, depression, failed to report improve symptoms. and now has cannabis abuse disorder. about 30% of marijuana users have some form of use disorder.

in colorado, the speaker's home state, and the leading state for legalizing marijuana, there was a 25% increase in c.u.d. among 12 to 17-year-olds. these are our children. allowing children who don't know how to rationalize long-term effects of drugs to use a getaway drug for recreational or medicinal is reckless, careless, irresponsible. mr. nadler: if the gentleman will yield? mr. palazzo: no. it does not end the war on drugs. all it does is poison our children and weaken our society. this flawed legislation is not time-sensitive, does not require consideration this week, and should not take priority over the various serious issues our country currently faces. i urge my colleagues to vote against this bill and put our children first, not the dope dealers. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. correa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. correa: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of the more act. this legislation is a very simple but very important piece of legislation. it does three basic things. number one, it legalizes cannabis by removing it from the controlled substance act. number two, it establishes a process to expunge cannabis-related convictions. and number three, it taxes cannabis. and mr. speaker, it is time, it is time. 37 states in our nation have already legalized cannabis. even canada has legalized cannabis, and other nations around the world are legalizing cannabis. and even the israelis are

selling it, cannabis-related medicine. it's time, mr. speaker. but this is just a start. cannabis farmers can't enroll in crop insurance. they can't receive the official organic designation. and they can't access usda programs. mr. speaker, it's well beyond time. please, vote for this legislation. vote for common sense. let's vote for the more act. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: mr. speaker, in response to this bill helping farmers, i just want to say it does not. what it does, it puts a tax on top of that which the -- their product. when added to the oregon tax would be almost 30%. that does not encourage farmers to raise the crop because they can't compete against the black market. there has to be far more thought given to what will be an 8%

additional cost. by the way, it's in gross receipts tax. it's in top of the gross receipts, not the profit you are supposed to get. the bill, as written, fails to distinguish between hemp and marijuana. this must be done if folks in each space are going to properly grow. with that iry serve -- i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished majority leader of the house, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, chairman nadler, ranking members, this is

an important piece of legislation. how do i know that? because the people have told us that. every time they've had the opportunity to vote in america, they have voted to do this. they know that filling our prisons and creating criminal records for people who use marijuana, and knowing full well that if they are people of color, the possibilities of adverse consequences are geometrically greater. and i want to tell my colleagues, i'm tired of hearing this argument that, oh, my goodness, we're doing this. we ought to be doing something else. we are all working on the issues of great concern, not only to

us, but to the global community. on the war in ukraine, on the criminal activities that putin is subjecting us to, on inflation, a critical problem for all of our people, we're working on that. we're having trouble getting some legislation in the senate that will bring down inflation and bring down the cost for the american people. not on our side of the aisle. so when i hear this argument, oh, we ought to be doing this, we ought to be doing that, we ought to be doing the other, this is an important, fair piece of legislation, fair for the american people. so i thank chairman nadler. i thank the judiciary committee. i thank members on my side of the aisle. i thank barbara lee, who is walking down the aisle right now, who worked so hard on this.

why has she worked so hard on this? because she knows the extraordinary unfairness of the application of existing laws. you don't have to argue that. just look at the statistics. and you find that to be the case. chairman nadler has long been a champion of decriminalizing marijuana and addressing the systemic injustices and inequities resulting from the war on drugs. i was a supporter of the war on drugs. i've been here a long time. i have been, like the gentleman who spoke about this is a gateway drug. it's not a gateway drug. i've been convinced of that. marijuana has been legalized in 19 states. that's 40% of our states. save one. and the district of columbia.

and medical marijuana is legal in 36 states. so this is not out of the ordinary. this is what the american people tell us they think is the appropriate thing to do. now, for some in this house, those who are treated with inequality, particularly in this area, you're on your own. you know, make it out for yourself. we're not going to address it because we have other issues. of course, we have other issues, and we pass bills on those. unfortunately, not -- with not much support from the other side of the aisle. despite the changes in state laws and social norms around the usage of marijuana, its use remains illegal under federal law. the gentleman who is presiding over the house today comes from a state that has said that's not

good policy. now, that's not some whacko coastal state. it's colorado. maybe whacko but -- despite changes in state laws and social norms, as i have said, its use remains illegal under federal law. often resulting in devastating consequences. hear me, my colleagues, devastating consequences for black, latino, and native communities. now, i'm not any of those. and i will tell you a lot of my colleagues -- when i was in college in the 1800's, it was alcohol. it was alcohol. we were not the generation of

drugs. it was alcohol. and it devastated the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of young people. but nobody cried out to make it illegal. they had tried that, of course, in the 1920's. according to the center for american progress, black americans are four times more likely than white americans to be arrested for marijuana possession even though they use it at similar rates. and the gentleman who spoke says, why are we dealing with in? -- dealing with this? for the same reason our founders said that we believe in equality, that all men and they surely would add women today, are created equal and ought to be treated fairly and equally. four times more convictions and prosecutions for people of color.

that's why we're dealing with this. because it's unfair in america. those criminal records can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and careers indefinitely. and i regret that there are some members of our congress who apparently think that's not worthy of attention. it can result in difficulty finding employment, difficulty finding housing, denial of access of federal benefits, denial of financial aid at colleges and universities, and denial of the right to vote. that's why we're dealing with this. because the adverse consequences to people are substantial and negative and negative, not only for them, but for our country. the legislation before us would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the controlled substances act.

allowing our police department, which we want to fund, by the way, so get off that line that we want to defund the police. allow our police departments to focus on serious crimes. the legislation before us would remove marijuana from that list. the bill already, by the way, includes a requirement that a study be conducted to understand the societal impacts of decriminalizing marijuana, including the impact on juveniles, education, transportation, veterans' employment, and many others. this bill also expunges the records of individuals convicted of nonviolent -- let me we repeat that -- nonviolent cannabis offenses and provides resources for job training,

re-entry services, and youth recreation and mentoring programs. now, if you take the position that all of these people are on their own and want no help from us or get no help from us, then perhaps you don't care. this bill also addresses the disproportionate economic impact of the war on drugs by providing access to small business grants, opening up the legal marketplace to communities that have been largely excluded. this bill is a matter of justice and equal opportunity. it's about addressing systemic inequities and reforming our criminal justice system so that americans and america can become a better, stronger, more fair, and more just america.

that's why we're spending time on this bill today. i want to thank my friend one more time, chairman nadler, for his leadership on this bill. i also want to thank mr. neal for helping us get this bill to the floor. also, like to thank barbara lee, my dear friend. barbara lee and i have been working for some years now on how to lift people out of poverty into the middle class. we talk about the middle class. the way to lift the middle class is lift people those who aren't in it so they can contribute to making a better, stronger america. this bill will help that. because it will take the stigma away from four times as many people of color being stigmatized by our laws. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, support this

bill. the people of mississippi supported this bill when they went to the polls and voted, not on this bill. that's not accurate. but on the decriminalization of marijuana. because they knew that it was neither necessary to be criminalized and they knew the adverse impacts. . i wouldn't ask you to support something the people of california did or the people of new york or even maryland. but think about supporting the people in mississippi. who voted on a policy that would make a fairer and more just america. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: mr. speaker, i just want to mention that it was

noted that whenever asked people have said they would support legalization of marijuana, that's not correct. north dakota, measure 3 failed. missouri, proposition c to legalize marijuana failed. ohio, issue 3 failed. with that i yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. latta. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. latta: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise today to offer a motion to recommit on behalf of the members of our communities who have tragically lost their lives through substance abuse disorder, s.u.d. prior to the covid-19 public health emergency, our country faced a different kind of enemy that knew no bounds. this chamber once united in the battle against addiction. i was proud of the work we did to address this crisis. most recently through the support act. unfortunately all the progress we made seemed to evaporate with the onset of the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, mandates, social isolation, and for of an invisible enemy.

recently the centers for disease control and spreengs announced 105,752 americans died from drug overdoses from october 2020 to october, 2021. let me repeat that. 105,752 americans died from drug overdoses in one year's time. many of these deaths can be directly attributed to fentanyl, now the leading cause of death in americans age 18-24. down on our southern border customs and border protection are confiscating record amounts of fentanyl coming across the mexican border. a c.b.p. seized over 11,201 pounds of fentanyl from october of 2020 to september of 2021 which is a 4 sers increase -- 41% increase from the year b that's enough to kill 4.5 billion people or the entire u.s. population seven times over. to address this crisis, i introduced -- i introduced an

act with my friend from the ninth district of virginia. this legislation would permanently schedule fentanyl related substances as a schedule 1 and enable researchers and communities to study schedule 1 substances for possible medical benefits. we must do everything we can to save lives and implore my colleagues to support this legislation. mr. speaker, if we adopt the motion to recommit, we will instruct the committee on the judiciary to consider my amendment to h.r. 3617, to permanently place fentanyl related substances -- may i have 15 seconds. mr. bentz: another 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for another 30 seconds. mr. latta: thank you very much. to permanently place fentanyl related substances and schedule 1 of the controlled substances act and i ask unanimous consent to insert into the record the text of the amendment in the record and prior to the vote on the motion to recommit. mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: joyed. mr. latta: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from new york, ms. velazquez. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for two minutes. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this legislation because it is long overdue for our federal laws to catch up with the legal reality in almost every state in the union. because federal reform must place restorative justice as a top priority. i thank speaker pelosi, chairman nadler, and my fellow chairs for once again bringing this legislation to the house floor. voters in states like new york have led the way in changing their cannabis law, emphasizing restorative justice for our most marginalized communities. this bill takes a meaningful approach to undo the wrongs of the failed war on drugs by removing cannabis as a schedule 1 drug and encouraging states to

expunge low-level records. it helps entrepreneurs access affordable capital to start a legitimate business which too often is am way to entrepreneurship to people of color regardless of industry. as chair of the small business committee i am proud the more act includes measures, my colleague and i championed, to ensure s.b.a. programs like the flagship 7-a loan program, disaster loan program, and small business development center resources are available to legitimate cannabis businesses. the more act is the best proposal to ensure communities disproportionately impacted by the prohibition of cannabis are best positioned to profit from its legalization. for that reason i urge my colleagues to vote yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is

recognized. mr. bentz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield four minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. jordan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for four minutes. mr. jordan: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, record crime, record inflation, record gas prices, record number of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. what are democrats doing today? legalizing drugs. legalizing drugs and using american tax dollars to kick start and prop up the marijuana industry. wow. such a deal for the american people. record -- every major urban area has increased crime and democrats are legalizing drugs and propping up the marijuana industry. 40-year high inflation. hasn't been this high since 1982. we have some members not even -- record inflation. democrats are focusing on legalizing drugs and kick starting the marijuana industry. record gas prices, $6 gas in

california. $4 gas everywhere else. democrats are legalizing drugs. and helping the marijuana industry. and, of course, two million illegal immigrants crossed our southern border in the last 14 months. and democrats are legalizing drugs and helping the cannabis industry. by the way, and we have a justice department, we could be -- we have a justice department that is treating parents as domestic terrorists. spying on moms and dads who show up at school board meetings. putting a threat tag label on parents. this designation, this label on moms and dads, simply standing up for their kids. democrats are focusing on legalizing drugs and helping the cannabis industry. the majority leader, democrat majority said why are we dealing with this today? you know why? because they can't deal with the real problems facing american

people. the left won't let them. do you think the left will let them do what needs to be done to bring down gas prices. one of our democrat colleagues in that hearing we had the c.e.o.'s of the oil and gas companies, will you pledge today to decrease production? they want less oil and gas. i asked -- went down the list. what do you want, $8 gas? the truth is they do. the left will not let the democrats do what needs to be done to help the inflation problem, energy problem, illegal immigration problem on the southern border. what do they do? they legalize drugs. wow. wow. this is wrong. everybody knows it. let's focus on the things that matter for -- the majority leader leader said for middle class families having to drive to work, pick their kids up to school, take their kids to little lyle league practice, spending four and five bucks a gallon to get them there and back. let's focus on the things that matter. i urge a no vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, this bill will greatly reduce crime by redefining as not crimes things that are now considered crimes and by releasing people in jail who should not be in jail. it will produce justice and it will reduce the expenses to the public. mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from california who has been such a great champion in the fight for this legislation, ms. lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california, ms. lee, is recognized for two minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 3617, the more act. i want to thank speaker pelosi, leader hoyer, chairman neal, and chairman nadler. let me thank you for your persistence, perseverance, and really hanging in there and bringing this to the floor because you know what the issues

are and you know how important this is to repair the damage of the lives of so many people. so thank you, chairman nadler, so much. i want to also thank congressman blumenauer. my partner on so many issues. of course our speaker. and mr. perlmutter who is in the chair today. everyone who has helped to bring this to the floor. my condolences today, with the family of our colleague, the late representative don young. a champion on this issue. we honor -- i honor his memory today. as the founding member and co-chair of the cannabis caucus who voted for the more act the first time it came to the floor. also let me thank our advocates for educating the public on this issue, which of course meant our members of congress learn more about the importance of this. that this is also a racial justice bill. it's the product of long time the work of so many for a long

time. and i want to salute our staff, amy, julie, samira, gregory, caleb. so many staff. as a former staffer i know how this was done. i want to thank our staff for really doing the heavy lifting on this. the more act, yes, it includes my legislation, the marijuana justice act, and the refer act, which is the first marijuana racial justice bill introduced in congress many years ago. this bill would end federal prohibition and decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the list of controlled substances act. that's what the more act does. make no mistake, yes, it is a racial justice bill. according to the aclu, black americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis related crimes than white americans, despite equal rates of use. these arrests can have a detrimental impact on a person's quality of life and lead to difficult finding employment,

securing housing, and accessing other benefits. mr. nadler: i yield 30 seconds. ms. lee: it's a multibillion dollar industry that brings tax revenue of billions to our states. over 950 people are arrested daily for marijuana related offenses. this is truly unjust. we must end this failed policy of marijuana prohibition which has led to the shattering of so many lives. primarily black and brown people. yes, that is extremely important. it's time to repair the damage. it's time to provide equal justice for those who have been unduly incorrespond rated. public -- incarcerated. public opinion supports this. over 50 yearsing a the national commission on marijuana -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. lee: thank you again. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: reserves.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. natd letter: mr. speaker, i now -- mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to another great champion of this legislation, 2:30, to another great champion of this legislation, mr. blumenauer of oregon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for -- mr. blumenauer: i thank alt people that my friend barbara lee acknowledged. a century ago we were in the midst of a prohibition against alcohol. and the problems that my dear friend from oregon highlighted in terms of the prohibition against cannabis. i agree with him about the horrific situation in southern oregon. i look forward to working with him to try and remediate it. but the solution is to be found in this legislation. the problem of the cartels, the

illegal activity, the black market is a result of the fact that the federal government does not have its act together. people across the country have acted to take it into their own hands. as a result, we have a piecemeal approach, 48 states have some form of legalization. chairman nadler and the committee has done is provide a framework to be able to harness the forces, to be able to do the research so we can deal with impairment. the federal government interferes with that now. we have an opportunity to solve the horrific problem of lack of access to banking services. which makes dispensaries across the country sitting ducks. it adds to expenses for minorities. it adds to the problems of law enforcement. we face a situation now of great racial injustice in this country

the legislation faces. we have an opportunity to unlock untold benefits for more medical research and be able to channel the efforts into a legal market, to be able to have a taxing system federally and to be able to strengthen the legal cannabis market so that the profits flow to the people who should do it rather than the cartels and the corner drug dealers that still are cutting corners. . my friend is right about the southern part of oregon. but he's wrong with the solution. the more act will redirect the resources to be able to solve the problem that has been created by the failed prohibition on cannabis. this is historic legislation in part because we will send this to the senate where there is a different mind set for the leadership. we've opened the opportunity to solve these problems.

i urge us to take advantage of it and move forward. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: thank you, mr. speaker. and to my friend and former law school classmate, president blumenauer, i just want to say -- actually, he was a few years ahead of me. i want to draw attention to the bill page 15 which talks about the expenditures. the amounts in the trust fund shall be available without further appropriation only, only as follows. and then it reads -- reflects section 3052-a of the street tax of 1968 which i drug out and read through three times looking unsuccessfully for an allocation of money to local law enforcement agencies such as the ones in southern oregon. it's not there. that money is going for a very limited, very narrow purposes. how much money? well, if this 8% tax had been

applied to the amount of marijuana sold in the united states last year, the total is $400 million. not the total sold. total tax. $400 million, half which would go to this narrow piece of work. not saying it's unimportant. narrow. 50% called out here. 10%, 25%. none to police. so what i'm trying to say is, yes, we have taken this up. do it right. get it right. and you have a whole bunch of work that needs to be done to get this bill right. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. maloney: i rise in strong support of the more act, and i applaud my colleagues, chairman nadler and barbara lee, for their leadership on this critical legislation. for years, public support for marijuana legalization has surged. 37 states have voted to legalize

marijuana. its past time congress answers the call for marijuana justice. this sweeping legislation would finally decriminalize cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the controlled substance act. the law would apply this retroactively to prior and pending convictions that have been disproportionately harmed communities of color. the more act would also help those whose convictions are overturned through the opportunity trust fund that would provide job training, re-entry assistance, legal aid, and health care. if we are serious about criminal justice, we need to get rid of the antiquated cannabis laws. the more act would do just that. i hope my colleagues will join me in voting on this long overdue bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon's recognized. mr. bentz: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to say, again, i went down to southern oregon and i asked the law enforcement folks what we needed to do to

try to head off the cartels which are generating this huge sum of money for themselves, what could we do, and the answer was law enforcement. because if you don't have force, you can't control the cartels. to get law enforcement requires people. that requires money. and this bill doesn't allocate any to that purpose. so since we know this bill is going to drive up the cost of legal marijuana, thus driving more people into the black market, why isn't there more money for law enforcement? why isn't there any money for law enforcement? with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. green. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. green: thank you. and still i rise, mr. nadler. thank you so much. i thank ms. lee, mr. perlmutter. and i rise because i see this as a bill that will benefit some of

the least, the last, and the lost. people who have been denied access to housing, denied access to loans, denied access to the things that we need to succeed in the united states of america. i plan to support it. i ask that my colleagues support it because it's tough being a black man with a criminal record in the united states of america. this bill will help a lot of black men have opportunities that they've been denied. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon. mr. bentz: reserves. the speaker pro tempore: continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york's recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from louisiana, mr. carter. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carter: the covid pandemic has produced a rise in drug

abuse, violent crime, and other indicators of collective trauma. these are pressing issues that urgently need resources devoted to them. we must stop wasting precious resources on marijuana offenses. law enforcement simply cannot afford to chase small-time pot offenders while violent and random crime continues to be on the rise nationwide. the aclu reports states wasting billions annually enforcing cannabis laws. this is money, time, and effort better spent on investing on true community safety. further, overwhelming americans want marijuana reform. 91% report they believe it should be legalized. congress is long overdue in marijuana reform and decriminalizing this substance, but we have a long journey ahead to achieve social justice and criminal justice reform. the war on marijuana is a costly relic of the past.

let's vote yes today so we can build a safer and more equitable tomorrow. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to assure everyone that the police in oregon are not chasing those who are using mari marijuana. oregon legalized marijuana. what we're having trouble with are the consequences of that legalization. and that's what i'm trying to bring to the attention of folks today. if we're going to legalize on a national scale, then for goodness sakes, don't make the mistakes we made in oregon. put in appropriate law enforcement at least. by the way, we should put in a lot of other things, too, that i previously mentioned. what has to be there is funding for local police. because this bill is going to drive up the demand for marijuana and up the cartels across the united states. their presence, it's bad and local law enforcement can't take care of it.

the assertion that f.b.i. and homeland security and d.e.a. are going to do so is incorrect. i know because i have asked. we have nothing from the attorney general helping us in that space. so what i'm saying is, you're going to do this, get it right. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york's recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, mr. bentz refers to the cartels. of course, there are cartels. of course, they're making money because they have a monopoly of supply of a substance that has a great demand. you pass this bill and those cartels will no longer have a monopoly. and the law enforcement, their expenses will go down because they will not have to enforce the marijuana laws and the marijuana prohibition laws. they won't have to fight the cartels anymore because their supply will have been

eliminated. i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from new jersey, mrs. watson coleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new jersey is recognized for a minute. mrs. watson coleman: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to everyone my colleague, barbara lee, acknowledged earlier. i rise in support of the more act and the countless families that have been disrupted because of the devastating war on drugs. as a result of the war on drugs, the united states has a higher rate of incarceration than such human rights abusing governments as russia, belarus, and iran. it also wastes more money than any other country, locking up its citizens for personal drug use. racial justice and cannabis decriminalization are intertwined and the former cannot be achieved without the latter. by decriminalizing cannabis, we can reverse the trend of overincarceration and get one step closer to dismantling the system that racism is so

pervasive in our criminal justice system. the more act is an important step in rewriting our future, and i urge my colleagues to support it. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair will advise managers, mr. nadler has 2 3/4 minutes. mr. bentz has 6 3/4 minutes left in his time. the gentleman from oregon. mr. bentz: in response to the assertion, once this bill passes, if it does, that suddenly the cartels will disappear sadly is not going to be true. that is because legal marijuana will be 30% more expensive than that which is raised on the black market. that's why one has to be aware when one puts this kind of additional cost into this bill, 8%, on a gross basis -- i want to assure people, they need to understand the difference

between net profit and gross. what's going to happen is the cartels will have a 30% benefit, advantage over privately raised marijuana. and so what i'm trying to say is, get this bill right. this isn't my thinking. this is people who have looked in this extremely carefully, people trying to do this legally. i'm saying this bill is incorrectly crafted on that level and many others. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from illinois, ms. schakowsky. the speaker pro tempore: ms. schakowsky is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: i want to thank you, mr. chairman, for your leadership. and i also want to recognize representative blumenauer for his decades of work on this issue. the more act is the most comprehensive marijuana reform bill in congress, and it is rooted in social justice.

the criminalization of marijuana and this nation's failed war on drugs has devastated our communities of color. it has led to overpolicing, mass incarceration, and the destruction of families. this critical legislation takes steps to undo these harms. today, i urge my colleagues to vote for criminal justice reform, to vote for an equitable marijuana industry, and to vote for beginning to repair the harms caused by decades of racist marijuana criminalization and enforcement. so i urge all my colleagues today to vote yes on the more act. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: mr. speaker, i ask

unanimous consent to enter into the congressional record a list of multiple items. which i will now review. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bentz: policy statement from the american academy on child psychiatrist on marijuana and teens. the institute report on marijuana and impaired driving. next, the article from health.com titled, is marijuana addictive, by ashley. next, nbc news article, legalized marijuana linked to sharp rise in car crashes. next, denver post article entitled, are you high? the science of testing impairment is hazy and evolving. and bloomberg, u.s. grapples to see how high users are. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, those are placed in the record. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from nevada, ms. titus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from nevada is recognized for one minute. ms. titus: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you, mr. chairman. the more act is a historic piece of legislation, no question about it. it removes criminal convictions for marijuana use that have stigmatized the lives of thousands of individuals in our country, particularly those of color. in addition, tragically, our veterans have been denied access to medical marijuana for treatment of pain management and also posttraumatic stress disorder after they have offered their lives, put their lives in danger for us. supported by public vote, nevada legalized medical marijuana in 2001, decriminalized marijuana use in 2017, and has shown that regulating marijuana works. most of the other states have done the same, so it's time for the nation to follow suit. with the passage of the more

act, the marijuana industry can become a key element of growing and diversifying our economy, creating more good jobs and putting more folks back to work as we recover from the pandemic. i urge a yes vote on this bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the lady yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. . mr. bentz: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york, the chair will advise the managers, the gentleman from new york has 45 seconds. the gentleman from oregon -- 3/4. mr. nadler: for the purpose of unanimous consent request to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i yield back the time i'm sure. let me submit health affairs culture of health chose the importance -- shows the importance of cannabis liberalization policy. center for american progress. ask unanimous consent to submit these leaders. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: reserves. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york prepared to close. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. bentz: prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. bentz: thank you, mr. speaker. this bill as i mentioned previously fails to appropriately fund the police in all the states that will be facing the challenges we face in oregon. this is not a question of money. the bill as drawn will be raising literally billions of dollars. an 8% tax. over the next how many years. billions. so somehow some of that money has to make its way into law enforcement. without law enforcement you'll see situations like we have in southern oregon replicate across

the nation. regardless of the optimistic thought that somehow the cartels no longer have the marijuana. monopoly, therefore it will go away. that's not the case as long as there is a higher price. in many cases a much higher price for legally produced marijuana. the bill fails to address impairment. my friends, many of them, in law enforcement space, including my brother, former county sheriff, have said this is a huge problem. where we don't know when people are driving impaired. studies are ongoing. why are we broadening this problem when we don't know how to charge those who are driving under the influence. of course as we heard, fails to address the ever increasing potency of the drug. it fails to address the age at which marijuana can be legally used. what's that about? we know this drug adversely affects, particularly young men's brains, development all the way up to age 26. yet this bill says nothing about

it. it fails to address the differences between marijuana and hemp. some would say that's such a small issue. it's a huge issue. it's a huge issue and it needs to be addressed. this bill is the proper vehicle to address these issues. i see there are some amendments being brought which perhaps will at least go partially in that direction. but the bill itself and the legalization is premature given the nature of those amendments. this is an untimely and incomplete bill. it's the great -- its greatest failure is in not recognizing and addressing the damage the drugs will do to our kids and communities. i strongly urge a no vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, last congress the house voted on a bipartisan basis to address this issue. unfortunately the senate failed to act. i'm pleased we are moving forward again today. over the past two decades public support for legalizing marijuana

has surged. states have led the way and continue to lead the way on marijuana reform. federal laws have not kept pace with the obvious need for change. it's time for the federal government to catch up to do what is right. the more act would treat marijuana as a public health issue rather than a criminal matter and would begin to rectify the heavy toll the criminalization has taken, particularly on communities of color and low-income communities. i urge my colleagues to support this

>> many students like us worked tirelessly to achieve their goals getting into college, perfecting the prairies, scene tasks, building the resume to be

the perfect representation of themselves. but what about think they cannot control? some used affirmative action and diversity of student what is affirmative action? affirmative action are defined as the practice of clarity of favoring individuals belonging to minorities. >> this is about equity, trying to get people what they need, looking at the basic issues that face them, and giving them what they need so they can compete on an unequal plane. >> when i worked at stanford undergrad the vast majority, 80% to 90% of the students who applied could do the work. they really have something to offer. they had great grades and test scores but they were poor. the whole pool can do the work. what the admissions office is doing is picking the people they want. >> many people think that

affirmative action's only goal is to lift just to record students. when colleges create a diverse student body, they can make that student experience more memorable and life-changing. a diverse community allows students to be close to coaches difference on their own. this allows students to respect those cultures and become open-minded and understanding of individuals. >> doctors and nurses who look like people in those communities, lawyers who look like people in those communities and the only way we will get that is through an affirmative effort. >> let's take harvard for example. harvard university is one of many colleges that have been using affirmative action for years. in 2021 harvard was ranked in the top 250 schools nationwide for racial and ethnic diversity. when compared to average diversity within colleges nationwide, harvard stands out.

however, not everyone believes affirmative action is fair to all students. since affirmative-action started changing the lives of students in the 1970's, it became a very controversial topic. on one hand, there are many people in support of affirmative action as it increases diversity and advantaged historically disadvantaged minorities. >> if you have been disadvantaged and handicapped in the process, you cannot run a good race against people who have been price is -- practicing all their lives. >> some people believe affirmative action discriminates against nonminorities and causes colleges to admit less qualified candidates. >> every individual is unique and it is wrong to assume that someone of a specific color brings diversity to a school. >> in 2003 affirmative action became a federal issue.

they instigated the supreme court cases against michigan state, accusing the college of not admitting them because of their race. >> i think that racial discrimination is wrong and the university of michigan is using a preference that is based solely on skin color. >> our view was that historically based on our constitution, the equal protection clause and civil rights laws, rates can only be used to make decisions in nearly described circumstances. >> we should acknowledge that we are trying to create processes that are going to be very fair, as fair as possible for the most number of people as possible. getting into the college you want to go to is not a right. but if someone can demonstrate that they were truly harmed by being discriminated against, i would argue let's stop doing that. i do not want to discriminate against people. >> in both of these cases, the supreme court rules that the use

of race in college emissions is constitution. there have been many challenges to these cases, most recently harvard. all of these cases, the outcome has been the same, keeping affirmative action a relevant factor in college admissions around the country. how does this affect our life? many high school students around the nation seek a well-rounded college experience and part of what makes this experience so meaningful is learning the different backgrounds of people around the world. today affirmative action allows schools to give students this opportunity by selecting students that will create a more diverse student body. >> i have seen what happens when young people are introduced to a diverse curriculum in a diverse set of people in the classes without. challenges who they are. if we want a diverse society, we will have to be deliberate about it. otherwise we will continue to have what we see in the streets right now.

hatred, discrimination, the unstable nature of the country around the issue of race. >> affirmative action is a necessary step we must take for our generation's future diversity because only surround ourselves with people from different backgrounds, we allow generations to develop leaders and activists who will fight for a more accepting nation. >> to watch this and all winning entries, visit our website at studentcam.org. >> all this month watch the top 21 winning videos from our c-span studentcam video documentary competition every morning before "washington journal." one studentcam winner told us how the federal government impacted their lives.

watch anytime online at studentcam.org. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by the television companies and more including sparklight. >> the greatest town on earth is the place you call home. at sparklight is our home too and we are all facing our greatest challenge. that is why sparklight is working around the clock to keep you connected. we are doing our part so it is easier to do yours. >> sparklight supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers , giving you a front roast to democracy -- a front row seat to democracy. >> coming up, mason clark from the institute for the study of war and join us to talk about russia's invasion of ukraine. later, public health practice at

johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health discusses the public health on-call podcasts and the latest in the coronavirus pandemic. joined the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, and tweets. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: good morning. it is saturday, april 2, 2022. the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.3% but the inflation rate is the highest in decades at 7.9%. the president announced a release of one million barrels of oil a day from the nation's reserves for the next six months. and russia's war on ukraine continues into its sixth