Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), AFL CIO Local 716 in Houston, Texas.

IBEW represents members who work in a wide variety of electrical trade fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government.

IBEW Local 716 was chartered March 12, 1912, starting with 9 original members and has since grown to represent 4500 members. IBEW Local 716 plays a major role in enhancing the quality of life for all electricians across the Greater Houston Area by negotiating contracts for electricians that secure top paying wages, high-quality health insurance and pensions and creating safer working conditions.

IBEW Local 716 members have built some of our most memorable Houston landmarks that have vastly contributed to shaping Houston as the internationally known city it has become today. Some of which include: the original Humble Building, The Astrodome, the Texas Medical Center, most of Downtown Houston, Minute Maid Field, Metro Light Rail projects, The George R. Brown Center and the Toyota Center.

IBEW Local 716 members are widely known in Houston for their volunteerism and community service, donating countless hours of their personal time in the restoration of the Heights neighborhood projects, including the S.H.A.P.E. Community Center and vast array of other community projects.

I salute the courageous men and women who made IBEW Local 716 an organization which utilizes the skills of its members to make a better life for everyone. I congratulate IBEW Local 716 on 100 years of community building and union spirit, as well as their outstanding dedication to the labor movement and steadfast efforts to uphold workers rights to organize.

I thank the gentlelady.

Mr. Speaker, it is said that a politician will always rise to the occasion, and the Honorable Don Payne did rise to the occasion on many occasions.

But it is also said that a statesman makes the occasion. Don Payne was more than a politician, he was a statesman. He made the occasion in Darfur, where he went to make sure those who were suffering, among the very least, among the very last and the lost, that they would have an opportunity to have a better quality of life, and he was to this day still working to help the people of Darfur. He made the occasion when it came to AIDS, $50 million, $50 million to help those who are beset with this disease.

He made the occasion when it came to working with his colleagues, pulling us together, helping us unite to do things collectively that we could never do apart. He developed a symbiotic relationship among his many relationships. When I think of Donald Payne, I will always remember that he was a person of honor. He honored his word. To his friends his word meant something, but more importantly, he honored his word to foes, people who disagreed with him. Once they had his word, they had a word they could count on.

I will remember that he was a person who respected this institution. This institution meant something to the Honorable Don Payne.

What this institution stood for and how we could utilize this institution to make a difference in the lives of others was important to him. He was a person of valor. He would stand with you. He was determined. He was a fighter. He came under fire, I'm told, in Africa as he was trying to help others.

And finally, I will say this: I truly do believe that God is good all the time.

Even under circumstances such as these, I believe God is good because we didn't have to have him for 77 years. We didn't have to have him in this House for 12 terms. I didn't have to have him as a friend for 8 years. I believe that God is good all the time, and I am so proud that God allowed him to come this way and I had the benefit of calling him my friend.

Don, we love you, and I know that wherever you are, there is a statesman there who is making the occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the rights of women. I do this, Mr. Speaker, because we live in a world where it's not enough for things to be right. They must also look right. And it doesn't look right for us to conduct a hearing dealing with the rights of women and not, N-O-T, and not have a woman on the panel. We would not dare conduct such a hearing discussing the rights of men and not, N-O-T, not have a man on the panel.

It is not enough for things to be right. They must also look right. Some may argue that was right. I will always argue that it was not, and that it did not look right.

We must make the adjustments so that women can make decisions about their rights.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Mr. Speaker, there is an effort afoot to move Medicaid from a needs- based program to a block grant program. This, of course, by some estimates, would save approximately $180 billion.

Yet the question is not really how much money will it save. The question is, How many people will have their bodies healed by virtue of a reduction in the moneys that would go to Medicaid? How many lives will be saved is the question we have to ask ourselves.

In a country that is the richest in the world, the rich must pay their fair share of taxes so that all can benefit from the tax coffers and so that those who are poor and those who need health care can get a fair amount of health care.

I remind you again of what Kennedy said: If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Thank you very much for yielding to me. I greatly appreciate it. And, of course, I want to thank all of the members of the CBC for the stellar work that has been done in this area of publishing the history of Africans in the Americas, known as African Americans.

I'd like to, tonight, just address a very simple topic that has a lot of meaning, the whole notion that great people will always rise to the occasion. However, it also takes great people to make the occasion; and on occasions such as this, we often mention the great ones: the great Thurgood Marshall, the great litigator that he was, winning more than 29 cases, I believe, before the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

But in talking about the cases that he won, approximately 29 is what I recall, we also should remember that there were other persons who helped to make the occasion for the great Thurgood Marshall who went on to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. One such person would be Charles Hamilton Houston.

A great story about Charles Hamilton Houston, he was the person who produced the strategy that the Honorable Thurgood Marshall followed to help the NAACP litigate the cases that went before the Supreme Court, more specifically, the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which helped us to integrate society by way of desegregation.

There's a story about Thurgood that many people are not aware of. He applied to the University of Maryland Law School and he was denied access because of his color. And I'm not angry with the University of Maryland. As a matter of fact, it was because they rejected him that he went to Howard University, where he met the Honorable Charles Hamilton Houston. And it was there that their friendship blossomed such that Thurgood acquired this intelligence about the strategy to use the Constitution and litigation to bring about a more perfect Union.

The interesting story, however, is not complete unless we go on to talk about how Thurgood, who graduated at the top of his class, went on to practice law, and one of his first cases involved a person who was denied access to the University of Maryland. He won that lawsuit. So history has a way of causing persons who have been rejected to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other persons who may be similarly situated.

I am so honored that Thurgood Marshall finished at Howard University and went to become chief litigator for the NAACP; but all of this was predicated upon his having a great relationship with another person who made headway, did not necessarily make the same kind of headlines, the honorable Charles Hamilton Houston.

We talk about the Honorable Rosa Parks and how she took a seat and ignited a spark that started the civil rights movement, but there was another person who took a seat before Rosa who was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail. She was a 15-year-old girl. Her name was Claudette Colvin. She, too, suffered the same fate as the Honorable Rosa Parks, but she didn't make the headlines. She did make headway such that when the Honorable Rosa Parks was arrested, it become more of a story. Of course, Rosa Parks had status in the community, and that was, in no small way, a contribution to her receiving the attention that she did.

And, by the way, Rosa Parks wasn't just tired. She was tired in the sense that she was tired of injustice, and she took a stand against injustice because she was tired of injustice.

The interesting thing about this story is that the bus boycott that took place didn't end because of the boycott alone. I think that had something to do with it because it probably helped to shape public opinion. But there were three other females who filed a lawsuit that made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States of America: Browder, McDonald, and Smith. It was that lawsuit that they won, they made headway. They didn't make the lasting headlines, but they made the difference in the Montgomery bus boycott.

And, of course, we always talk about Dr. King, and we should, because he paid the ultimate price. He made the ultimate sacrifice. But we should not forget that before Dr. King marched from Selma to Montgomery, there were others who set out to march from Selma to Montgomery, and they did not make it across. Well, they made it across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but that was where they met strong resistance from officers who had billy clubs, and they resisted the marchers. They didn't resist them; they actually took them on, and they beat them all the way back to the church where they started.

I enjoy hearing John Lewis tell the story not because of the suffering, but because he tells it in such a way as to cause me to have some degree of appreciation for what they went through on Bloody Sunday and how they paid a price. There were many people there on Bloody Sunday. The Honorable John Lewis was among them. They made headway and they made headlines, but their names have not been mentioned. And these are the people who made the occasion such that the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King would come to Selma and proceed with the march that eventually took them from Selma to Montgomery. They made headway. They didn't always make headlines, but they made a great contribution.

And, of course, we know of the Honorable Barack Obama, the first African American President of the United States of America, who did not get there because of his color. He is President because he is capable, competent, and qualified. But before he ran, there was a woman who ran, the Honorable Shirley Chisholm. She was the first African American to run for President from a major political party. She didn't get the nomination of the party, but she did run from a major political party.

So we should remember that for every James Chaney, there were persons who were in the shadows who made a difference. John Lewis was one of them. For every Thurgood Marshall, there's a Charles Hamilton Houston who mentored, who made a difference in the life of a Thurgood Marshall such that he could go on to do the great things that he did. For every Rosa Parks, there is a person who is in the shadows, who made a difference, who helped to make the occasion such that Rosa Parks could rise to the occasion by taking a seat and igniting a spark that started the civil rights movement.

Let us remember not only the persons who made the great headlines that we continually recognize, but let's remember that there were other persons who made great headway who don't get the recognition today that they merit, but they were a part of this great movement for liberty and justice for African Americans across the length and breadth of this country.

At some point, I shall talk about persons who were of many hues who also participated in this great movement, because we didn't get here by ourselves. There were many persons of many colors who marched and protested. Many of them gave their lives to this movement as well--John Shillady comes to mind, who was beaten in Austin, Texas, and as a result of that beating lost his life. He was an NAACPer, he was Anglo. Of course we know about Goodman and Chaney and Schwerner. And two of them, of course, were not African Americans, Schwerner and Goodman.

So I think that on occasions like this we should always celebrate the great and noble African Americans who made great sacrifices, remember those who were in the shadows, and also remember that there were others of many hues, of many ethnicities and many religions who were right there with us to help us arrive at this point in our history.

And I thank you so much for this time to mention some of the great ones, and some of those who were great but did not receive the acclaim that they richly deserve. And I thank you again. God bless you, and God bless America.

I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, when it comes to health care and those who need it and can't afford it, I constantly remind myself that but for the grace of God, there go I. You don't believe in God? But for the grace of chance and circumstance, but for the goodness of luck, there go I.

The question we have to ask ourselves is what kind of country are we going to be? Are we going to be a country wherein health care becomes wealth care? Where only the wealthy can afford what is available? The technology's available. The pharmaceuticals are available. But only the wealthy can afford that which is available in the richest country in the world.

Are we going to be a country wherein pregnancy is a preexisting condition; if you are pregnant and you don't have insurance, you cannot get it? Is that the kind of country we are going to be? Are we going to be a country wherein senior citizens who are in need of pharmaceuticals cannot get them because they can't afford them, but if you're wealthy, you can. But for the grace of God, there go I.

No one deserves the status in life to which he or she is born. Born wealthy? You didn't earn it. Born poor? You don't deserve it.

The question is whether we will understand that it can happen to any one of us and that we are a country that can afford to make a difference in the lives of those who are sick and cannot take care of themselves.

So the issue today has not been whether we can afford it or whether we can do it. The question is, do we have the will? We can find the way.

I would yield to my colleague from Georgia, whom I have great respect for and for whom I hold no animus. I just would like to ask you, is it not true, my dear friend, that we can work this out and find a way to get it done? Is it not true? Can we not find a way to get this done?

If I may reclaim my time.

I do welcome comments about the past, my dear friend.

But I'm asking you, given that you do have some degree of influence given that you're in the majority, why can we not do now what was not done? I'm not privy to all of what wasn't done and should have been done. But why can we not do now what wasn't done? Why can we not now work to mend, rather then end, something that can benefit persons who cannot help themselves? Why can we not do it now? What prevents us?

I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, I ask that I be extended the courtesy that the gentleman from Georgia received when he received an additional 5 minutes. I don't need an additional 5 minutes. I would just like to continue this dialogue that we have had, and he did receive an additional 5 minutes earlier.

I ask unanimous consent to continue briefly this dialogue with the gentleman.

I would ask the Chair for a ruling first as to whether the Chair has the authority to do it. Then, if I am incorrect, let the record always reflect that I will extend an apology when I have made a mistake. So if I have made a mistake, I will do so; but I do ask that the Chair give a ruling as to whether or not we can have the unanimous consent request granted.

Before I leave the podium, if I may, I would like to prevail upon my friend whom I am having a colloquy with to show some sense of desire to continue this and reach some sort of----

May I ask for the unanimous consent now, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, I, along with my colleague Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee attended an event in Houston, Texas. It was styled ``Byron Nash Live.'' This event was well attended. As I approached the venue, there were literally hundreds of people outside. Most of them were young people, and it was raining as I approached the venue. I did ask one of the young people if he was going to be able to go in, and I was told that there was an overflow crowd, that it was standing room only, and that as a result, he would have to stand outside. But he assured me that he would be there for the duration of the event. He was there for ``Byron Nash Live.''

Byron Nash, a 24-year-old comedian, was giving a performance, if you will. This performance was attended by his mother, Gwen Nash; his father, Michael Nash; his grandfather and grandmother, Reverend James and Mrs. Nash as well. This event was a lively event. Byron received several standing ovations, and his life was spoken of throughout the entirety of the event.

This, in a sense, may have been his last performance in the physical world, for you see, Byron Nash made his transition, and this was his home-going celebration. It was truly a celebration. There were many who did mourn his death, but we all were there to celebrate the life that he lived. His life, while it was short, was a meaningful life because the true measure of one's life is not how long one lives, but rather, what does one do with the time that God gives.

In his short lifetime, Byron Nash made a very positive impression on a lot of young people--a lot of older people as well. But I was proud to see so many young people in attendance, so many young people who were there to pay their last respects to a young man who lived a life that we were, of course, eager to celebrate.

While his life is no longer in the physical world, we believe that his spiritual existence is one that we should celebrate continually, and we will remember him.

There is good reason for his life to symbolize something, because he passed because of a rare type of cancer styled renal medullary carcinoma. As of 2009, there were 120 cases--I'm sure more since then, obviously more, but 120 cases. Victims of this type of cancer live 1 to 7 months, thereabout. Not a lot of empirical evidence has been acquired. This type of cancer seems to attack those who suffer from sickle cell. If his life can mean something to those who still live and symbolize something as we go forward, it should be that we must do more to fight this type of cancer.

His grandfather has dedicated his life to a continuing effort to get the word out, get the message out that this type of cancer does claim the lives of young people. We can do more here in the Congress of the United States of America to help fight cancer in general and this specific type of cancer that is known to few. It is my hope that we will continue to allocate resources to fighting cancer such that this type of cancer can move to the front burner.

We've got to do more to prevent, to educate, and to make sure that cancer becomes a disease of the past in our lifetimes. It is my hope that Byron Nash's life would become the genesis for us to do more to fight not only cancer in general but for this specific type of cancer known as renal medullary carcinoma.

I will leave these words with all of those who are within the sound of my voice here and those who may be viewing at home, and especially to his family: I want you to know that we will do all that we can to make sure that he not only lived a decent life--as he did, and that is as recognized--but also that we will do all that we can to fight this dreadful disease and bring it to an end.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we remember the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen in protecting our freedom and way of life during World War II. These heroic World War II veterans just recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of their first training session on July 19, 1941. It is important that we constantly remind ourselves of the sacrifices of veterans in pursuit of our liberty.

The Tuskegee Airmen were not only heroes but pioneers, becoming the first African Americans to pilot and instruct others on how to fly combat aircraft. Though only approximately 140 Tuskegee pilots remain, it is essential we celebrate their accomplishments as a realization of the American Dream that inspired millions of African Americans, as Congress did in 1998 by establishing Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Alabama.

The Tuskegee Airmen fought courageously for their country at a time when they were denied vital freedoms and liberties at home. They endured segregation and hostility from the local community, and especially stringent standards meant to exclude as many of them as possible from the piloting program. When they finally reached combat, they fought in segregated units, but still managed to distinguish themselves--engaging in over 200 bomber escort missions, damaging or destroying 409 German aircraft, and sunk a battleship

destroyer. Their prowess became so legendary they were nicknamed the ``Red Tails Angels,'' by the pilots they protected, as only the red back end of the aircrafts were visible while they flew in front of U.S. air bombers on their vital missions. After the desegregation of the military in 1948, the Tuskegee Airmen went on to make exceptional individual contributions in the integrated U.S. Air Force.

I had the pleasure of attending the Tuskegee Institute of Technology, now Tuskegee University, the site of the training program for these brave young men, as an undergraduate. Tuskegee University has provided me and a multitude of African American youth with the most precious commodities in life, education and self-esteem.

Mr. Speaker, I support a one-year extension of the payroll tax holiday, unemployment insurance and protecting seniors' access to their Medicare physician. However, both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate of the United States voted overwhelmingly to extend these expiring provisions for two months, so that Congress might have adequate time to negotiate a longer term extension for the American people. House Republicans' refusal to vote on the Senate compromise puts at risk American middle class families at a time when we must do all that we can do to support them.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

There has been much debate as to whether this bill will create or save jobs. There is much speculation based on whether this bill will create or save jobs. When you have few facts, you, generally speaking, can have much speculation. This amendment addresses speculation.

There is some sense in this country that our approval rating is low in Congress because of much speculation. Speculation can breed distrust. Speculation can lead to fact-free debate, a term my good friend, Emanuel Cleaver, Representative from Missouri, uses--fact-free debate.

This amendment can help us eliminate fact-free debate. This amendment contains less than 100 words, and it addresses the elimination of fact- free debate. It reads:

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall transmit to Congress a report estimating the increase or decrease in the number of jobs in the United States that will occur as a result of the enactment of this act.

This amendment eliminates fact-free debates and speculation. So if you really want to eliminate fact-free debates and speculation, then you should support this amendment.

If you believe that this bill really does create or save jobs, then you should support this amendment.

If you believe that Carlisle is right, that no lie can live forever, and this will eliminate the possibility of things being done with malice aforethought, you should support this amendment.

If you believe that William Cullen Bryant is right, that truth, when crushed to Earth, can rise again, you should support this amendment, because this amendment will help us to repeal what the truth is.

If you believe that fact-free debates ought to be eliminated, you ought to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have?

Thank you.

It is an opinion, well stated, and I appreciate the opinion that has been well stated. However, the best way to ascertain whether jobs are being created or eliminated is to utilize empirical evidence, empirical evidence developed after the fact as opposed to before the actual implementation of the bill.

If you believe, and I believe your heart's in the right place, if you believe that this is an opportunity for us to dispel any myths, to dispel any speculation, then let's have a study done after the bill has passed and after there has been some time for implementation.

I'm willing to extend the time. I'm willing to have GAO do the study. My heart's in the right place. I want us to have proof positive that this bill does or does not eliminate jobs. I want to eliminate the speculation.

I believe I have enough time left to engage my friend in a colloquy.

How much time do I have, Mr. Chairman?

I yield to my friend from Colorado.

Reclaiming my time for just a moment, you say before. You see, empirical evidence under the scientific method is best acquired after you have the actual evidence. So what you would do is utilize speculation to come to a conclusion and then call that a fact. This would eliminate speculation.

I yield to the gentleman.

Reclaiming my time, the question is whether you will actually have the opportunity to hurt your toe, as you put it. There is no need to avoid things that don't exist. Let us get the actual raw empirical evidence and use that to draw our conclusions as to whether this bill creates or saves jobs.

I yield to the gentleman.

Reclaiming my time, because supporting something is not empirical evidence as to whether or not it will do a certain thing. I respect all who are supporting it.

By the way, I don't disrespect you. I believe your heart is in the right place. What I'm trying to get you to see is if you utilize the scientific method, you will get your empirical evidence after you have given this an opportunity to be enacted.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

With all due respect, the world is larger than Colorado, and there are other States and other organizations.

Will the gentleman yield?

In my city we have a rock-crushing company. It yields dust, particulate matter. That is something that is a concern to rural people as well.

I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, there are unsung heroes and heroines among us. These are the persons who overcome great challenges just to do the ordinary. They're not born into plenty--they're often born into poverty--but they have lives that are rich in that they overcome great obstacles in life just so that they can be of benefit to the lives of others.

One such heroine was born on January 26, 1934. She passed last week on November 9, 2011. Her story is one that I would hope we would remember simply because it exemplifies the life of a person who met challenges, who did everything that was required, who played by the rules--and sometimes these persons go unnoticed.

Lola Mae Bolton Davis was born in Anderson, Texas, to Arllie Pratt Sanders and Charlie Bolton. She was their second born. She attended Allen Farm School up to the eighth grade. She joined Rockwest Baptist Church.

At the age of 16, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she acquired her first job as a housekeeper. At the age of 18, she met the love of her life, Ruben George Davis, Sr. A year later, they had their first child, Pamela. She went on to attend Franklin Beauty School. Eventually, she opened her own business, and it was known as the Lola Davis Beauty Nook. She later had three additional children--Ruben, Paula and Renwick.

She was hired by Texas Instruments in 1969. While she was working there, she received her GED. Later, she received her associate's degree from Houston Community College. She enrolled at Texas Southern University and graduated with a degree in education. She taught in the Houston Independent School District.

Mind you, this is a person who dropped out of high school, who received a GED, who went on to get an associate's degree, who got her degree in education, and now she's teaching in the Houston Independent School District.

She was known as ``Grandma Davis'' to her students. Her son Ruben became a constable in Harris County. He is still a constable, but is now in Fort Bend County. Her children have done well.

She played by the rules. She did not receive all of the awards that one might receive who has excelled and made a great contribution by way of an invention or maybe made a great contribution of having been elected to public office, but she did do this--she was a good citizen who did the right thing: took care of her family and produced offspring who have done well.

So, today, I salute her as an unsung heroine. Thank God for the many unsung heroes and heroines who are at the very foundation of what makes this Nation great. God bless you.

God bless the United States of America, and God bless our unsung heroes and heroines.

Mr. Speaker, America continues to be the land of

the free because America continues to be the home of the brave. I think it most appropriate that this House take up legislation today that will include the Hiring Heroes Act.

This legislation is exceedingly important because our brave heroes, our troops, go to distant places, and they risk their limbs and their lives to protect great and noble American ideals. They do not ask why. When the clarion call comes, they respond by going to their various assignments and doing their jobs.

When they leave home, they many times will leave home a wife that is with child. Many of their children are born while they are in distant places protecting our great and noble American ideals. They will leave behind them children who are about to take their first steps. They never get to see the first step or hear the first words spoken.

When a troop goes to war, that troop has that family with him or her. A family goes to war, not directly, but always indirectly, with the troop that goes to war.

And they do their jobs. They have done their jobs in Afghanistan. They have done their jobs in Iraq. And they will continue to do their jobs.

But it is sad to note that of those veterans who have done their jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12.1 percent of them are unemployed. This is not a partisan issue. This issue transcends the lines that generally separate us. If they can go to distant places and risk their limbs and their lives for us to do their jobs for us, we have to provide jobs for them when they come home.

This is about doing the right thing for people who answer the clarion call to serve without reservation or equivocation. They merit jobs when they come home. This is why I'm proud that this House will take up legislation that will accord tax credits to businesses that hire our veterans.

If a business hires a veteran who has been unemployed for 4 weeks, there is a $2,400 tax credit available. If that veteran has been unemployed for 6 months, there is a $5,600 tax credit that's available. If the unemployed veteran has been unemployed for 6 months and has a service-connected disability, there is a $9,600 tax credit available to the business.

This is the business of America: putting our veterans to work.

This piece of legislation merits our consideration for other reasons as well. The legislation will allow approximately 100,000 veterans of wars of other eras to be helped with job training and other programs. This piece of legislation is the least a grateful nation can do for those who answer the clarion call to serve in distant places.

I am honored to say I will vote for the legislation. I believe in our country. I believe in the American service people--the troops that go to distant places. I want to make sure that they have every opportunity to recapture what they lost when they left their homes, left their jobs for years on end. If they can leave their jobs here and make sacrifices for us, we've got to make sacrifices here so that they can have jobs when they return home. America will continue to be the land of the free as long as we continue to make sure that we have jobs for those who are brave enough to serve us in distant places.

God bless America and God bless our troops.

Thank you, Mr. Perlmutter, and I thank Mr. McHenry.

I rise in support of H.R. 2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act.

I'm standing where I'm standing because I'm honored to celebrate the bipartisanship associated with this act. For those who are at home who may not be able to see and understand, normally I would be standing to my right; but I do unconventional things, and I think it's appropriate today to stand where I'm standing.

Mr. McHenry, I'd like to thank you for the spirit that you have shown as we have tried to make this a better bill. I'd also like to echo these same expressions of appreciation to Mr. Bachus. I think that Mrs. Maloney merits an expression of appreciation as well. And I especially, notwithstanding all of the other persons that I've had a chance to thank, including the ranking member, but I do want to thank the staffs who worked with us because they did outstanding work.

Mr. Grimm and I were able to craft a bipartisan amendment that would aid and assist in the effort that Mr. Perlmutter has called to our attention, making sure that the persons who handle the dollars, that these persons are not persons who have been convicted of either State securities fraud or Federal securities fraud. And this amendment would require that the SEC construct appropriate measures, regulation or rule, to prevent these persons from handling the money, if you will.

And I'm honored to say that, with this amendment, I find this bill much better than it was initially. But I also have to say that Mr. McHenry never rejected the bill, the amendment, and I'm grateful that it has worked out to the extent that it has.

So today we will have greater transparency. We will have small businesses in a position such that they can use this thing called crowdfunding to fund their efforts. And also, we give persons who cannot invest in a large way an opportunity to invest in a small way and hopefully enter into the capital markets for equity purposes.

Thank you, Representative Fudge. And thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Friends, although the faces change, the fight remains the same when it comes to the black vote. The Emancipation Proclamation didn't do it. The 13th Amendment didn't do it.

Although the faces change, the fight remains the same. In 1870, the face was that of President Ulysses S. Grant, and the fight was the 15th Amendment and the right to vote. It passed. Although it passed, the faces changed but the fight remained the same because in 1944 it was the NAACP and a great lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, that took Smith v. Allwright to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, and they won that case, which eliminated the white primaries in the State of Texas, by the way, in Harris County.

The faces changed but the fight remained the same because it was in 1953 that the NAACP had to go back to court to eliminate the white pre- primaries imposed by the Jaybirds in the State of Texas.

The faces changed but the fight remained the same, because even though we eliminated the white primaries, the white pre-primaries, in 1965 the faces were those of the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on what we now know as Bloody Sunday. They were beaten back to the church where they started the actual march. The faces of those marchers happen to include the Honorable John Lewis, Member of Congress.

In 1965, the face was that of LBJ, President of the United States of America. He had the opportunity and did sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The faces changed, but the fight was still the same. We had to have a Voting Rights Act, notwithstanding all of the amendments to the Constitution, and notwithstanding Smith v. Allwright and Terry v. Adams.

In 2006, the faces changed. George Bush, President of the United States of America, reauthorizes the Voting Rights Act because we still find that there are cases of invidious discrimination when it comes to voting in the United States of America.

The faces changed, but in 2011 the fight remains the same. The faces are those of the 25 percent of African Americans who don't have photo IDs, the faces of the 18 percent of elderly persons 65 or older who don't have photo IDs.

The faces have changed consistently, but the fight is still the same. We still have to fight for this precious right to vote; and this is why we're here tonight, to make sure that we all understand, and the message goes out and the clarion call is there to those who would help us and make sure that on election day we protect the right to vote.

Notwithstanding the fact that the faces have changed, the fight remains the same.

I am honored to say that I was one of the cosponsors of the request for the Congressional Gold Medal for the marines. And I did so for them, I did so because of the history that it represents, but I also did so because when you support any of our military people, you're supporting all of them.

It was important to send a message that we support those persons who made it possible for others to have opportunities, but at the same time we're supporting those who are serving today in faraway places who desire to be at home with their families. We support their families who are supporting them. And regardless as to how people feel about various wars, every person ought to want all of our troops to come home safely.

I support them. I support what we're doing to let the world know that what they have done should be recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal.