Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I was unavoidably detained and missed the following votes: rollcall vote 175--H.R. 793--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 12781 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Inverness, California, as the ``Specialist Jake Robert Velloza Post Office''. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on this bill; rollcall vote 176--H. Con. Res. 27--Providing for the acceptance of a statue of Gerald R. Ford from the people of Michigan for placement in the United States Capitol. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on this bill.

Mr. Chairman, there is a more basic and fundamental question that we are confronting today. That question is, Can we continue to go out of our way to help major corporations? As a matter of fact, $700 billion. Can we go out of our way to help them and make sure that the programs work for them and then turn our backs on the taxpayers that helped those very same major corporations? That's the basic question that we have to contend with. Are the banks and the major corporations too big to fail and are the taxpaying Americans who helped bail them out too small to help?

Can we continue to end programs that help people stay in their homes that did not create the exotic products, that did not create prepayment penalties that coincide with teaser rates, that did not create loans wherein you qualify for your teaser rate but you don't qualify for your adjusted rate? Can we continue to allow them to be evicted when we can help some of them?

We may not be able to help everybody, but when you can help somebody, you ought to try to do the best that you can and help those that you can.

With reference to the FHA refi that passed, that was ended yesterday by a vote of this House, that bill did not lose money unless persons failed to pay their mortgages. It was only if mortgages were not repaid that FHA came forward and covered the cost. So to say that it cost $8 billion is incorrect. It cost whatever at the end of the program may have been spent; but that

money had not been spent, so the money was there.

There was also a premium to be paid by persons who got the refis. FHA was going to help a lot of people stay in their homes and help a lot of communities and neighborhoods maintain their integrity and their property values.

We, today, have an opportunity to help people with emergency mortgage assistance, people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own because of this downturn in the economy. It is a very simple premise.

Will we allow ourselves to save major corporations and deny the people, the taxpaying Americans, some help in their time of need?

If there is one thing that I heard from American people, it was: Where is my bailout?

Well, when we come up to the plate, and we try to help people who actually need and merit the help, somebody comes forward and finds a reason why we can't help them. This is the day to help those American people. Let's not let them be too small to help while others will allow banks to be too big to fail.

Mr. Speaker, this is about our veterans. I have but 1 minute, so please allow me to speak on behalf of our veterans for 1 minute.

This is a moment of truth for us. Our veterans have been there for us. We had the courage of our convictions to send them to war. They have done their jobs, but many of them are returning home to properties that are being foreclosed upon. That will be abated. This is an opportunity for us to spend 0.859 percent of the $1.6 trillion that we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan to help our veterans retain their homes. They have been there for us. The question is: Will we be there for them today?

Don't you take up time to make sure that the veterans don't get what they deserve. Veterans have worked hard for us. We sent them to war. Let's now make sure that we take care of them in peace. Let's take care of our veterans.

Thank you very much, the Honorable Donna Christensen. I appreciate greatly your organizing this opportunity for us to speak this evening on something that is exceedingly important to this country, and that is the history of African Americans in America.

African Americans are no different than any other Americans. We are all the same. There is only one race--the human race.

To a certain extent, I always have some degree of consternation whenever we have a black history celebration or occasion such as this. I have this degree of consternation because I really think we should just have one history, and it really should be American history; but we have these occasions because some of the accomplishments of some Americans have not been properly acknowledged, and as a result, we want to make sure that American history includes the history of all Americans.

So we talk about the history of African Americans, the history of Africans in the Americas--in the United States of America, if you will. Many names come to mind. We always mention Thurgood Marshall. We always mention Rosa Parks. We always mention the great heroes and heroines who have been on the forefront of making America great.

Today, I would just like to mention nameless faces, persons who have never made headlines, who work full time, who take care of the family, who pay taxes, who have never complained by way of a protest, a march. They have done their duty as citizens in this country, and I want them to know that there are those of us who pay attention to the fact that they, too, have made America great. They are nameless faces in the crowd, but they have made a great statement by being honorable, hardworking, law-abiding citizens.

To those who continue to do their duty as citizens, we thank you for what you have done. We want you to know that we who have been honored to serve in the Congress of the United States of America will not allow the rollback of the clock on many of the programs that are of benefit to all Americans. This will include, of course, those of benefit to African Americans.

We will fight to protect the Department of Education. It means something to have a Department of Education in this country, especially to persons who at one time were lawfully denied the right to get an education. We will fight to protect laws that fight discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear involved an Anglo lady, but that case had implications far beyond any given ethnic group. We will fight to make sure

all persons are treated equally on jobs, and this includes African Americans.

So, to those of you who work in the trenches, who never or who rarely, if ever, complain, I want you to know that there are people in this Congress who are working every day to make sure that your status as an American is always protected and will always be honored. You, too, deserve the rich and noble history associated with you that we associate with Rosa Parks, that we associate with Dr. King, that we associate with Thurgood Marshall. You are as much a part of this history as they are. We honor you and we love you.

God bless you and God bless all Americans. God bless the United States of America.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Speaker, I think I now understand what Dr. King meant when he said that the truest measure of the person is not where the person stands in times of comfort and convenience, but rather, where do you stand in times of great challenge and controversy.

This is a time of challenge and controversy that will measure our truest measure as people of goodwill. I ask anyone to show me the empirical evidence connoting that we should reduce funds to get better service, to get better scrutiny, to get better cops on the beat with the SEC.

Every police department in this country has some problem or has had some problem. No one would say let's eliminate the police department because it has not performed up to a standard of 100 percent. The SEC is not perfect but what it does is this: It oversees 38,000 entities, 11,450 investment advisers, and these investment advisers are managing $33 trillion. Some things bear repeating. These investment advisers, 11,450 of them, are managing $33 trillion. Do we really want to take the cops off the beat? Would we ever make such an announcement as it relates to any police department in this country?

Let us stop for just a moment and take a deep breath and understand what is about to take place here. We are about to send a signal to those who would perform dastardly deeds that we are going to allow you to do this with impunity, not because we want you to do so, ostensibly, but because there will not be the deterrent in place that we know should exist to prevent them from doing these dastardly deeds.

So I'm going to ask all of my friends on both sides to stop, take a deep breath, and let us ask ourselves: In this time of challenging controversy, will we prevent the SEC from overseeing

the 7,600 mutual funds as they properly should, from overseeing the 5,000 broker-dealers as they properly should, from overseeing more than 10,000 companies as they properly should, 35,000 entities as they properly should?

This is a time of challenge and controversy, and I am proud to say that I am going to stand for making sure that those who invest are properly protected. This is our time. This is a moment to stand up and be counted. And I hope that every investor out there will look to see who stood for making sure that investments are properly protected and that the integrity of the system is properly in place. I stand for doing the right thing, and the right thing is to make sure that this SEC has the right amount of capital in place to protect our investors and our investments.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the SEC has 3,800 employees, and this is correct; it does have 3,800 employees. But it also has to be said that they oversee 35,000 entities. It must also be noted that they have to police 11,450 investment advisers. It also must be said that they have to monitor 7,600 mutual funds. They have 5,000 broker dealers that they have to keep an eye on. And they also have 10,000-plus companies that they have to monitor. Yes, 3,800 employees, but they are overworked already and they are overwhelmed with what they have to do.

I might note, also, that if we go back to the 2008 levels, we're talking about over $200 million in cuts to the SEC. The SEC needs help, not hurt. This piece of legislation, if it is implemented to its fullest thought intent, will indeed hurt the SEC.

Let's talk for just a second about who the SEC employees actually are. These are the first responders to possible financial disasters. They are the ones who have to catch the Madoffs of the world, as has been indicated. And I must add, also, that it was under the 2008 levels that Madoff was able to make off with about $80 billion with his Ponzi scheme.

We need to protect the SEC. Let's make sure that we don't cut jobs in an effort to save the economy--and these are jobs that are actually needed. So let's not just cut any jobs. Let's make sure that we protect the jobs that are going to help protect the financial security of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, it was my privilege to have participated in the 22nd Delta Days, an annual Legislative Conference held in our Nation's capital today by the distinguished service organization, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

It is also my honor, during this Black History Month, to recognize a trailblazer in academia and a role model for thousands of Black women, the Honorable Gwendolyn E. Boyd. Due to her accomplishments both in the classroom and in the community, she was recently appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Ms. Boyd was sworn in to this position by Senator Barbara Mikulski.

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She was educated in public schools and received a four-year scholarship to attend Alabama State University where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in Mathematics with a double minor in Physics and Music. Additionally, Ms. Boyd was the first African American to earn a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University.

Gwendolyn Boyd is an engineer and the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She was appointed by the President of Johns Hopkins University as Chair of the Diversity Leadership Council, a position she has held since 2001. Ms. Boyd is a member of the Capital City Chapter of The Links, Inc., a Life Member of NAACP, the Alabama State University Alumni Association and the Association of Yale Alumni, as well as a participant in various engineering organizations for minorities.

From 2000-2004 Gwendolyn Boyd served as the 22nd National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international service sorority with over 200,000 members in over 950 chapters throughout the world. She currently serves along with Patricia Lattimore, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management, as the Sorority's National Social Action Co-Chair. Very active in ``giving back'' and helping promote an agenda for the positive growth and development of our youth, Ms. Boyd uses her many talents and skills to the benefit of the community. This includes freely sharing her time while she encourages their interests in careers in math, science and engineering and in their overall success.

It is my honor to recognize this accomplished woman and commend her many achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the President for his message last night, and I especially would like to focus on one aspect of the message.

The President indicated to us that sitting together was important. It has great symbolism, and it's a positive thing; but he also indicated to us that this is not the final step in the process. Sitting together can never, never replace working together. So it is what we do today-- last night he said tomorrow--sitting together tonight, he indicated, but working together tomorrow; this is where we have to focus our energies and efforts. We must work together. And if we're going to work together to fulfill what I believe is a great challenge--and that is America first, to make America number one--if we're going to make America first, America number one, we absolutely have to focus on education.

Education is important because the jobs, as we go forward, will require much more education than we have been allowed to have and have good jobs in the past. We must focus on education to have the good jobs that we want. And jobs are a priority for all of us.

Some statistical information is available to help us better understand why we need to focus on education.

Currently, about 25 percent of our students are completing high school. Over the next 10 years, half of all new jobs will require more than a high school education. If we compare our 15-year-olds to 15- year-olds around the world, we find that we are 20 when it comes to science literacy; China is number 13; Korea 3. The U.S. is number 28 when it comes to mathematics literacy among our 15-year-olds; China is number 1; Korea number 3. The U.S. is ranked 16 when it comes to reading literacy among 15-year-olds, China is number 1, Korea number 2.

We must focus on and maintain an educated workforce. An educated workforce requires that we understand that we have to have quality teachers and that we are going to have to make sure that these teachers will invest in education themselves because they see it as a means by which they can have a livelihood.

I understand that most teachers don't teach simply because they want money. They teach because they want to be with children, and they want to see children learn. This is important. But teachers have to feed their families, too. I support making sure that teachers get a decent day's pay for a hard day's work. I support teachers and making sure that the teachers are available to educate our children.

If we're going to have America first, we have to have a first-rate health care system. We had a great sickness-care system. We were among the best when it came to sickness care. We spent a hundred billion dollars a year treating persons in emergency rooms, in facilities outside of primary care facilities.

But if we're going to be number one, we had to move away from the $2.5 trillion that we were spending annually on health care, which translates into $79,000 a second--17.6 percent of GDP--and by 2018 it would have become $4.4 trillion per year--more than 20 percent of GDP-- $139,000 a second.

To have America first, we've got to educate our people and we've got to have them receive quality health care. Quality health care can never be underestimated because of the way it impacts the workplace.

America can be first. I stand for America first. I love America. And I stand here today to say to my colleagues across the aisle that I am willing and ready to reach out and work with you to help make America first because if America is first, not only is the United States a better place, but the world would be a better place because of the values that we hold so near and dear to us.

We believe in liberty and justice for all. We believe in government of the people, by the people, for the people. We believe that every person ought to succeed on his merits or fail on his demerits. That's what America gives to the world--the notion that there is a fair system that allows anyone to rise to the top, to reach the zenith of life, the best that life can offer. We take this to the world, and I want America to be first so that the world can benefit from what America has to offer.

Thank you, Mr. President, for your message. And I assure you I have taken the challenge that you have accorded us. I will work with others to make sure that we get beyond the symbolism of sitting together and move to working together which will make the difference in the lives of the people in this country and, indirectly, the people around the world.

God bless you, Mr. President, and God bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, it has been written many centuries ago that if we know the truth, the truth will set us free. The truth is, Mr. Speaker, that repeal of the current health care law means that we will reinstate conditions that existed prior to the repeal. The truth is that prior to the law that we currently have, we were spending $2.5 trillion a year on health care. That's $79,000 a second. That's 17.6 percent of GDP.

The truth is that if we had continued at that pace, we would spend by 2018 $4.4 trillion per year, more than 20 percent of GDP, $139,000 per second. The truth is that health care was going to bankrupt this country. CBO has estimated that this bill that currently passed that is in place now and is law, the health care bill that's law, saves

about $1 trillion over a 20-year period, more than $1 trillion, to be more appropriate.

This bill, if it becomes law, will reinstate the past that we have tried to overcome. This bill will bring back, reinstate, preexisting conditions. And as has been said, and for edification purposes, pregnancy is a preexisting condition. This bill will reinstate the doughnut hole that we have been trying to close to help seniors with their pharmaceuticals. This bill will reinstate kicking children off of the policies that they're on now with their parents until they are 26 years of age. This bill will reinstate a condition wherein approximately 45,000 persons per year were dying from a lack of insurance. That's one person every 12 minutes. This bill will take us back in my State to 6 million persons being uninsured without the possibility of having insurance, will take us back to 1.1 million persons in Harris County, Texas, being uninsured, 20 percent of the children in the State of Texas are uninsured. This bill will take us back to a time and the place that we tried to escape.

And I thank God that this so-called repeal will not become law because I believe that this bill, if it becomes law, will hurt too many people. And there are some I have actually heard say, it would be good for it to become law because then people could understand the pain that this bill will invoke. I don't agree. I do not agree because I don't want people to suffer unnecessarily. I believe we do have a duty to be our brother's keeper. And by the way, it's easy to be your brother's keeper when you don't have to keep your brother. It is difficult to do the right thing to make sure that every American has health care. In a country wherein we will take the bank robber who is harmed in the process of robbing a bank and give him aid and comfort, in a country wherein we will give our enemies in mortal combat aid and comfort if they should become wounded, in a country wherein we will give the person on death row who is to meet his Maker next week aid and comfort if he gets sick this week and then send him to meet his Maker next week, in this country, the richest country in the world, if we can give aid and comfort to the bank robber, if we can give aid and comfort to the mortal enemy of this country, if we can give aid and comfort to those who are on death row, we can give aid and comfort to those who are among the least, the last, and the lost.

I believe that we've made a mistake today. This is why I voted against repeal.

Madam Speaker, today we are one, and we are resolute.

We are one because we understand that there really is but one race, and that is the human race. We are one because, as Dr. King put it, all of humanity was created by one common Creator to live in harmony--from a bass black to a treble white.

We are one, and we are resolute.

We are resolute in our belief that one day our friend, our sister, will return to the floor of this Congress, to this Hall, and she will stand at this podium, and she will be welcomed by her colleagues as she returns and takes her rightful place in the Halls of the Congress of the United States of America.

We are one, and we are resolute because we believe that an innocent baby was taken from us. That innocent baby, though she is not with us in the

physical, will forever be with us in the spiritual as long as we remember who she was and never forget that we cannot allow the innocent to be stolen from us without our taking the time to pause and be grateful for the time that we had with the innocent.

We are one, and we are resolute.

We must also be resolute in a basic premise that Dr. King called to our attention, and that is that we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish together as fools.

We are one, and we are resolute.

Madam Speaker, today I extend sympathies and well wishes to my colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of the 8th Congressional District of the State of Arizona. I wish a speedy recovery for this remarkable woman who has dedicated her life and career in service to her constituents.

I would also like to extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims who were fatally wounded: nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, Congressional Staffer Gabe Zimmerman, Federal Judge John Roll, and Arizona citizens Dorwin Stoddard, Phyllis Schneck, as well as Dorothy Morris. To the people of Tucson, Arizona affected by this random, senseless act of violence, my thoughts and prayers remain with you.

As they work through the ineffable tragedy which befell this community on Saturday, January 8, 2011, I must commend the tireless efforts of Pima County's first responders, as well as the efforts of bystanders in their role to restore and maintain order during this tragedy. With their efforts, lives were saved.

America is mourning both for the victims of this tragedy and for the assault against our constitutional right to peaceably assemble. That our citizens can fall under attack while upholding our Democratic values is deplorable. We must never allow an act of violence to thwart this right.

I ask my colleagues to join me in support of the Resolution before this chamber today which condemns this indiscriminate act of violence and honors Representative Giffords as she fights to recover.

Mr. Speaker, I was there when the President of the United States of America signed into law the health care act that is sought to be repealed. I was within 20 feet or so of the President; and at the time he signed it, there was a feeling of great jubilation, but also there was a feeling of great consternation because, as he signed it, in ink, I knew that it was written in tears, written in the tears of the many parents who saw their children with preexisting conditions and could not get insurance for the illness that their children had; signed in ink, written in tears, but it was also written in sweat, the sweat of the many persons who toiled for more than 50 years to get health care for all Americans; signed in ink, written in sweat, tears and in blood, written in the blood of the millions of people who suffered because they couldn't get health care, and also of the many who died because they could not get the insurance that would afford them health care.

I was there. I knew what the circumstances were. At the time the bill was signed, we were spending $2.5 trillion per year on health care; $2.5 trillion is $79,000 a second on health care. That was approximately 17.6 percent of our GDP. And by 2018 it would have become $4.4 trillion per year, which would have been more than 20 percent of GDP and $139,000 a second. Signed in ink, written in blood, sweat and tears.

I knew where we were at the time it was signed. In my State, we had 6 million uninsured, 1.1 million in Harris County, and 20 percent of the children in Texas uninsured when that bill was signed. Still in America we have millions that are not getting the proper attention that they need, but there is the potential to get it because of this bill.

At the time it was signed, we had more than 40 million people uninsured. The bill covered some 30-plus million people. We had 21 million people who were working full-time and did not have insurance; 45,000 people per year were dying because they didn't have insurance. That's one person every 12 minutes. Twenty-one million people were working full-time and did not have insurance. That bill brought people under the umbrella of health care and health insurance.

The greatness of America is not going to be measured by how many great buildings we build and how many people we can cut out of health care. It's not going to be measured by the people that we can put in the streets of life. The greatness of America will be measured by how we treat people in the streets of life. This bill addresses people in the streets of life, real people who can die because they don't get the health care that the richest country in the world can provide.

I respect those who vote however they choose. But as for me, I am going to stand with those people who need health care and who are going to get it under this bill because preexisting conditions no longer exist.

And for edification purposes, for those who do not know, pregnancy was a preexisting condition at the time the bill was signed. For those who do not know, children under the age of 26, many of them required to get health care because they couldn't stay on their parents' policies, they can now stay with their parents. The doughnut hole for seniors is being closed with this bill. The doughnut hole, for edification purposes, is that point in time when a senior has to pay for all of the pharmaceuticals that a senior might receive and need. And these pharmaceuticals are expensive. This bill addresses these things.

This bill is a lifeline for many persons in this country. I will support it and I will say more about it in the future. I stand with the American people who need health care.

``If after such consideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent together with the objections to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law.''

Mr. Speaker, today I was unavoidably detained and missed the votes on:

Adjournment Resolution (H. Con. Res. 336--Sine Die Adjournment) Although H. Con. Res. 336 passed by a vote of 196-153, I respectfully request the opportunity to record my position. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 652.

H. Res. 1776--Rule providing for consideration of H.J. Res. 105-- Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011. Although H. Res. 1776 passed by a vote of 184-159, I respectfully request the opportunity to record my position. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 653.

H.R. 2142--Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act of 2009 to require the review of Government programs at least once every 5 years for purposes of assessing their performance and improving their operations, and to establish the Performance Improvement Council. Although H.R. 2142 failed under a suspension vote by a vote of 212-131, I respectfully request the opportunity to record my position. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 654.

Mr. Speaker, life has prepared me for this vote. When you have had to sit at the back of the bus, in the balcony of the movie and have had to stand in a line for colored only, then you are prepared for this vote. I assure you that I don't need a survey to tell me what is right when it comes to human rights. We cannot truly have a first-class military with second-class soldiers. I close with this:

I will not ask people who are willing to die for my country to live a lie for my country.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that I support House Resolution 1377 honoring the accomplishments of the Honorable Norman Mineta. Former Congressman Norman Mineta is an outstanding leader and a noble American.

Former Congressman Mineta lived through a dark time in our Nation's history when we forced Japanese Americans into internment camps based solely on their heritage. He was forced to leave his home and eventually sent to the Heart Mountain Internment Camp near Cody, Wyoming. This injustice is in part what prompted him to champion the struggle against social injustice and oppression. Congressman Mineta addressed the injustices Japanese Americans endured during World War II with H.R. 442, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which passed with his leadership. He persisted in fighting for justice and equal rights for all. He has a human rights legacy worthy of being honored by this august body.

Hence, today as we honor him for his accomplishments, we are reminded of the moral imperative to fight against human indignities and injustices. Former Congressman Mineta not only understood the value of acknowledging our past mistakes but also took meaningful actions to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

Former Congressman Mineta reminds us that collaborative efforts with the Asian American community can produce a greater America. This is evidenced by his founding the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) which continues to use collaborative efforts to promote ideals for the well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders, as well as all Americans.

The history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will continue to shape our Nation as their contributions make America a greater nation. This is why Asian American and Pacific Islander issues must continue to be a part of the great American debate.

Today, we honor Former Congressman Mineta for his accomplishments which have strengthened our entire nation. His legacy continues to remind us that liberty and justice for all can indeed be a reality for all.