Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I am deeply saddened by the passing of legendary civil rights pioneer Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Height as our Nation mourns the loss of a true visionary, champion, and leader in the fight for civil rights and justice for all Americans.

Dr. Height began her career as a civil rights activist when she joined the National Council of Negro Women. She would later serve as president of the organization from 1957-1998. In her position with the Council, which connected nearly 4 million women worldwide, she tackled issues that affected women, including child care for working mothers, health and nutrition and providing adequate housing for families in need.

She also served as National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated from 1946-1957. She remained active with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority throughout her life. While there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs.

Widely recognized as one of the founding members of the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Height was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. In 2004, she also received the Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1998, she told People magazine, ``I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom. . . . I want to be remembered as one who tried.'' There is no doubt that Dr. Height will be remembered as someone who not only tried, but went a step beyond to secure liberty and justice for all Americans.

Dr. Dorothy Height's leadership in the struggle for equality and justice for all people will continue to serve as an inspiration to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, today, I extend my condolences to the community of Raleigh County, West Virginia, as it mourns the loss of 29 miners in the collapse of the Upper Big Branch Mine-South, the worst U.S. mining disaster in decades. I also would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the families of victims who perished in the collapse.

The profession of coal mining is important not only to our nation's past, but also to its future, as we search for alternatives to our dependence on foreign oil. These professions power our economies and shape our culture.

I commend the tireless efforts of Raleigh County's first responders, as well as the volunteer efforts of those trained in mine rescue, and for the long hours they devoted to save the lives of the trapped miners.

The role of Congress in securing the health and safety of coal miners is essential and important. I take my role in the process of ensuring that violations of safety codes are properly dealt with and recorded, so communities like Raleigh County, West Virginia can avoid tragedy.

I would like to thank Rep. Rahall for introducing this piece of legislation, and express our Nation's sympathy and support for the fallen miners, their families and their community.

Madam Speaker, today, this nation lost a historic and influential figure in the struggle for civil rights, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks. Dr. Hooks served this country throughout his life through his unwavering devotion to protecting the rights of minorities and the poor. I express my condolences to his family and all of those who were touched by his many years of service to our community.

Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks was a man of great character and moral conviction. He served as the executive director of the NAACP for over 15 years, restoring the organization's financial soundness and membership base. He created several initiatives to combat discrimination, from projects that provided employment opportunities in Major League Baseball to economic development initiatives in urban communities.

This great civil rights leader not only served as executive director of the NAACP, but also served our great nation as a World War II veteran. His experiences in the war led to his fight against social injustices in the United States. Dr. Hooks also served in the ministry, as a minister at the Greater Middle Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. His work will live on through his contributions to our society as well as the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute at University of Memphis.

Dr. Hooks was a great friend of mine, a thoughtful mentor, but more importantly, he was a stalwart champion of the least, the last and the lost. His philanthropy will be remembered forever and serve as an inspiration and guide for futures to come.

Mr. Speaker, many years ago I heard Dr. Benjamin Hooks, who at the time was the executive director of the National NAACP, proclaim in the words of C.A. Tinsley, ``Harder yet may be the fight.'' I thought I understood what he meant at the time; however, events as of late have provided additional occularity and given me greater clarity with reference to this statement, ``Harder yet may be the fight.''

First, a brief vignette. On Sunday, prior to voting on the health care bill that was signed by the President, as I was leaving the Cannon Office Building, I had a friend to share with me what was thought to be some sage advice. My friend indicated that it might be prudent--not necessarily in these words--or judicious to make my way to the Capitol Building by way of the tunnel because there were persons who were saying ugly things and doing ugly things in the area that I would have to traverse.

I thought. And as I thought, I reflected on Rosa Parks, a lone African American female in the segregated South, who concluded on one evening that she was going to stand up for justice and do what was right by taking a seat on a bus. And little did she know that, by taking that seat, she would ignite a spark that would start a civil rights movement. I would add that it was Virginia Durr, an Anglo female, who posted the bail for Rosa Parks to get out of jail.

I reflected on 1965 and what we now know as Bloody Sunday, when there

were persons who wanted to peacefully march from Selma to Montgomery, and they knew that as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge there were members of the constabulary waiting on the other side of the bridge prepared to do them harm under the color of law. And they did. I would also remind us that it was Frank Johnson, an Anglo Federal judge, who signed the law that allowed the march to continue. He signed an order.

And as I reflected on these incidents, I realized that if Rosa Parks could take that seat by herself, surely I could cross that street and come over to vote. And I realized that if those marchers, including John Lewis, could march into the constabulary armed with clubs, I could surely cross that street with a constabulary out to protect me.

And so I bring these thoughts to the attention of this House because this truly is a fight. C.A. Tinsley was right. The fight is not yet over. Harder yet may be the fight. But I want to commend those persons of good will who have stood up and spoken up against the behavior that was exhibited by the persons who were out on the streets. I commend every person, Republican, Democrat. It doesn't matter your party affiliation. This kind of behavior merits condemnation.

I would simply close with this. As we move forward and as these kinds of ugly incidents take place, I beg that we would continue to condemn this behavior, because C.A. Tinsley was right:

Harder yet may be the fight. Might may often yield to right. Wickedness awhile may seem to reign, and Satan's cause may seem to gain. But there's a God that rules above, with a hand of power and a heart of love. And when we're right, he will help us fight. Harder yet may be the fight.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H.R. 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010 and the healthcare reform package that its passage will complete.

Today, the House of Representatives has been given the opportunity to take a concrete and powerful step toward completing the work of reforming our healthcare system that began decades ago. For much of the last year, my colleagues and I have debated many ways in which we could work to lower costs, improve the quality of care and expand coverage. What we pass today will begin to achieve all three.

In the wake of the financial crisis that has devastated our economy, concerns of our nation's deficit are well-placed and wholly appropriate. Despite what many of its opponents would argue, the passage of this healthcare reform package will reduce the national deficit by an estimated $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Through the course of this debate, we have seen misinformation about healthcare reform instill fear into the hearts of the American people. We have seen the distortion of truth breed uncertainty about whether healthcare reform will be to the benefit of our country. Despite all of the debate, and at times confusion, there remains one incontrovertible truth: the cost of inaction, when our country spends nearly $2.5 trillion a year on healthcare, over 45 million Americans are without health insurance, and 45,000 people die every year due to lack of health insurance, is simply too great.

The time for debate has ended. The question we are faced with is quite simple: do we act to shift the course of this country towards affordable, quality healthcare, or do we continue down the path of unsustainable costs and squander this historic opportunity to bring about meaningful change in the lives of the American people?

I am proud to vote in favor of this giant step toward putting Americans in control of their health care and I look forward to this legislation being signed into law so that we may move forward with this much needed reform.

I want to thank the team that worked on this effort. Of course, that would be the honorable Chair of the subcommittee, Mr. Meeks. It would be the Honorable Maxine Waters. It would also be Mr. Miller, the ranking member on the subcommittee and, of course, the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Bachus.

Madam Speaker, I must tell you that my comments have been revised because I cannot allow this moment to go by without speaking to the comments that were made by Mr. Bachus.

He spoke to our hearts and he spoke truth. It's not easy to stand in the well of the House of Representatives and speak the kind of truth that we heard. A son of the South and a Representative from Alabama stood in the well of the House, and he spoke the truth about one of the greatest atrocities ever imposed upon humankind and about how one country, in an effort to extricate and liberate itself, had to pay for the very liberation that it accorded itself. It meant something to me to hear this son of the South speak this kind of truth in the well of the Congress of the United States of America.

So I commend you and I salute you.

Mr. Miller, I thank you as well.

The two of you deserve to have it said that you truly spoke truth to power tonight. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I did not know Charlie Wilson, but I know friends of Charlie Wilson, and based upon what his friends say, he was truly a remarkable person. I admire people who march to the beat of a different drummer. I admire people who are original, who do things in a very good way, but they do the things that they do in their very own way.

It appears that Charlie Wilson was such a person. While he could easily have been a great Congressperson representing the people of his district and not traveling abroad, he took it upon himself to not only help the people of Afghanistan but to go there and be a part of it and to actually take others into Afghanistan as well to help people with a resistance movement. He marched to the beat of a different drummer. He did not allow the circumstances of what we call ``the norm'' to prevent him from doing unusual things in a most significant way.

I regret that I did not have the opportunity to meet him, because I believe that such a person has a positive impact on the lives around him; and as I listen to his friends speak so highly of what he was able to do here in the Congress of the United States of America, I only can say, Charlie, I didn't have an opportunity to meet you on this side, but I know that at some point, I'll have an opportunity to meet you, and I want you to share some of those many stories with me.

You have been a friend of this country, and this country loves you. God bless you, Charlie. I know that wherever you are, there's a good time being had.

Mr. Speaker, there are those who contend that we are moving too quickly, we're moving too swiftly, and that we must slow down. In fact, this translates into we really should not go forward at all. And to these who would contend that we should stop at this point, that we should simply let it go, my response is: we cannot let health care go, because it won't let us go.

The system is not sustainable. It is unsustainable as currently implemented. Currently, we're spending about $2.5 trillion per year on health care; $2.5 trillion is a big number. It's difficult to get your mind around $2.5 trillion; $79,000 a second, however, is a number that we can comprehend. And that is what we are spending--$79,000 per second. By 2018, depending on who's counting and how you count the numbers, we will be spending $139,000 per second. That would be more than 20 percent of GDP.

We cannot sustain the current system. It must be revamped. This system has to change: 46 million people uninsured, depending on who's counting, when you count, and how you count. In my State of Texas, 6 million people uninsured and 1.4 million children in the State of Texas are uninsured. In Harris County, where I reside, 1.1 million people are uninsured. The system cannot continue as it is constructed.

We spend $100 billion per year in emergency rooms; $100 billion per year to cover those who are uninsured. That's money that could be well spent in a physician's office and would save us a lot of money and would also help us to deal with preventive measures as opposed to responding to illnesses when they become almost dire.

The system must change. We currently have a system wherein there are many people who are too young for Medicare. They make too much to receive Medicaid. And they don't make enough to buy their insurance. The system has to change. We cannot allow preexisting conditions to continue to prevent pregnant women from getting proper treatment. Pregnancy is a preexisting condition under the current system. The system has to change.

We must find a way to muster up the courage to take on this challenge. If we could pass and did pass Social Security when the polls were against it, if we passed other crucial measures when the polls were against them, we can pass health care reform. And for those who contend that in this country how you got here will depend upon whether you will get treatment, my response is this: if you commit a crime in this country and you harm someone, and we should harm you as the culprit, when we capture you, we will give you aid and comfort. In this country, if you are an enemy combatant and you hurt our warriors in battle and we should capture you and you have been wounded, we will give you aid and comfort. In this country, if you're on death row and you're going to meet your Maker next week, we will give you aid and comfort if you're suffering this week, and send you to your Maker next week.

If we can give the enemy combatant, the person on death row, and the person who is a criminal aid and comfort, surely we're going to give it to people who find themselves hurt and in the streets of life. The system must change.

Dr. King said it best. He said, On some questions, cowardice will ask, Is it safe? Expediency will ask, Is it politic? Vanity will ask, Is it popular? But conscience asks the ultimate question and that is, Is it right?

This is the right thing to do. I stand where Dr. King stood when he told us we must do that which is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but do it because it's right.

Mr. Speaker, the current system with reference to health care cannot be sustained. We are currently spending $2.5 trillion per year. That is a large number, difficult to get your mind around it. However, $79,000 a second is something that we all can understand. And by 2018 it will become $4.4 trillion per year. That would be $139,000 per second.

For those who say, this is not my fight, I have good insurance, it may be that you have not utilized your insurance and you don't really know how good it isn't. For those who say I have insurance, I am okay, remember that 14,000 people per day lose their insurance. But for the grace of God, you may be one of the 14,000 people without insurance tomorrow. So please understand this is everybody's fight, because the economy of this country is dependent upon how we impact health care.

Finally, this. In my State of Texas, 6 million are uninsured, 1.4 million children uninsured. This is inexcusable. There is a difference between something being unsustainable and being inexcusable. It is inexcusable.

Madam Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 1048, a resolution commending the efforts and honoring the work of the men and women of USNS Comfort and the United States Navy in response to those affected by the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. I would also like to thank Representative Tim Murphy for introducing this piece of legislation.

Before the earthquake hit Haiti, the country was already in recovery from a string of hurricanes and tropical storms, food shortages and rising commodity prices, and political instability. These problems were compounded when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Haiti, erasing any recovery efforts done prior to this catastrophe.

Estimated casualties were reported to be over 150,000 and Haiti withstood millions in damages to the country's infrastructure. It has been reported that 3,000,000 of Haiti's population were directly affected by the disaster, and as a result, one third of the existing population is displaced.

Immediately following this tragedy, President Barack Obama vowed the ``unwavering support'' of the United States and pledged a ``swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and support the recovery in Haiti.'' Days after the earthquake, the United States Navy responded to President Obama's request and delivered aid. The crew of the USNS Comfort provided 24-hour service to hundreds of critically ill men, women and children patients. Our Navy medical personnel on USNS Comfort saved the lives of 98 percent of the ship's patient population, which holds a capacity of 1,000 patients, and successfully performed 100 surgeries as of January 24, 2010.

Due to the limited resources for critically ill patients, the USNS Comfort medical staff often find themselves making grave decisions in terms of the use of their existing resources. President Obama's pledged support of $100 million in humanitarian aid will go a long way toward supporting their efforts.

I commit my full support to H. Res 1048 and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 1022, a resolution honoring the life and sacrifice of Medgar Evers and congratulating the United Sates Navy for naming a supply ship after him.

I would like to thank my colleague, Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, for introducing this significant piece of legislation.

On October 9, 2009, the United States Navy announced that the Lewis and Clark dry cargo and ammunition ship would be named. United States Navy Ship Medgar Evers.

The U.S. Navy's dedication to Medgar Evers recognizes the slain civil rights pioneer who led efforts to secure the right to vote for all African-Americans and to integrate public facilities, schools, and restaurants.

Medgar Evers rose to prominence in the civil rights movement in his home state of Mississippi. He discovered his passion for activism while working for the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, which he began in 1951 upon graduating from Alcorn University.

Appointed Mississippi's first field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Evers established local chapters of the NAACP throughout the Delta region.

As an NAACP worker, Medgar Evers fought against segregation and Jim Crow laws by organizing boycotts on gasoline stations that refused to allow blacks to use their restrooms. His boycott of Jackson, Mississippi merchants in the early 1960's attracted national attention, and his effort to have James Meredith admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962 brought much needed federal assistance.

In 1963, Evers met an untimely death when he was assassinated in his driveway. He was murdered just hours after President John F. Kennedy's speech on national television in support of civil rights. However, Medgar Evers' sacrifice and legacy of challenging racism and segregation endures today.

I join my colleagues in honoring Medgar Evers and applaud the U.S. Navy for recognizing him by naming one of its vessels after such a great American activist.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 1044, a resolution commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Honoring the victims of the Holocaust, and expressing commitment to strengthen the fight against bigotry and intolerance are integral parts of this resolution. I would like to thank Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for introducing this piece of legislation.

Before Allied forces arrived in Poland to liberate Auschwitz, on January 27, 1945, approximately 6 million Jews and other targeted groups were murdered by Nazi soldiers across Europe.

Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp in Poland. Between 1940 and 1945, 1.3 million Jews were deported by Nazi authorities to this extermination camp. Over 85 percent of the people sent there were tortured, starved and then systematically murdered in gas chambers.

This camp symbolizes a place of terror, for Jews, prisoners of war, people who were caught hiding the Jews and even those who had different political views from the Nazi Regime during the Holocaust.

America stands with the Jewish people, and has dedicated the Holocaust Memorial Museum, to recognize the people who lost their lives, as well as those who survived the Holocaust. Their strong resilience against the Nazi's inexorable plan of genocide and their dedication to their ideals in spite of great adversity was remarkable.

The Department of State Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, along with several United States embassies and consulates has done an exceptional job at tracking anti-Semitism, bigotry, racism and intolerance. America and our partnering departments stand together with the Jewish people in solidarity to ensure the safety of all people and prevent our future from mirroring the atrocities of our past.

I urge my colleagues to continue their strong support of H. Res. 1044, commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Madam Speaker, I offer my strong support to S. 2949, a bipartisan measure to extend temporary aid to help the thousands of Americans who are evacuating Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010.

This is the worst disaster to hit Haiti in over two centuries, with an estimated 150,000 deaths, three million adversely affected, and severe damage to roads, ports, hospitals, and homes.

Nearly 14,000 American citizens have been evacuated from Haiti, with 40 percent of them receiving temporary repatriation assistance.

The Department of Health and Human Services Repatriation program provides assistance, such as travel expenses, medical care, temporary lodging and food assistance, to U.S. citizens repatriating to the United States in the wake of a natural disaster or other hardship. Americans receiving this assistance must reimburse the government costs incurred on their behalf, unless repayment is deemed to be infeasible due to the recipient's overall lack of financial resources.

This important legislation would raise the annual funding limit on the U.S. Repatriation Program, from $1 million to $25 million, for Fiscal 2010.

Thank you to my colleagues for acting swiftly to move this bill and provide assistance to all Americans in need of help returning to their homes from Haiti.

Madam Speaker, I would like to extend my support to H. Res. 1021, which expresses condolences to and solidarity with the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

I would like to thank my colleague, Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, for offering this legislation and express heartfelt condolences and sympathy for the people of Haiti in the wake of this horrific natural disaster.

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country of Haiti. An estimated 3 million people have been directly affected by the disaster in Haiti, more than 1.5 million people left homeless, and severe damage has been sustained by roads, ports, hospitals, and homes.

The challenges in helping Haiti are immense, and the U.S. and partner countries have made important contributions to the recovery efforts. I commend the Obama administration for granting Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals in the United States, many of whom are unable to return home due to the destruction in Haiti.

I applaud the individuals, businesses and philanthropic organizations across the United States and throughout the international community who have responded to the crisis in Haiti with an outpouring of generosity and support.

It is clear that the people of Haiti are now facing a humanitarian crisis that is unimaginable and that will take years to recover from. I support a sustained commitment to people of Haiti and encourage innovative thinking in providing long-term assistance to the country.

I am committed to helping the Haitian people recover from this tragedy and to rebuild their homes, communities, and lives in the days, weeks and years to come.

Again, thank you to Rep. Barbara Lee for introducing this resolution and urge all my colleagues to support H. Res. 1021.

Madam Speaker, I lend my full support for H.R. 4462, introduced by my colleague Chairman Charles Rangel, which allows for the acceleration of tax benefits for charitable cash contributions to benefit the victims of the earthquake in the Republic of Haiti on January 12, 2010.

This tax benefit will allow persons who make cash donations to the relief efforts in Haiti from January 11, 2010 to March 1, 2010 the opportunity to claim those donations as charitable contributions on their 2009 Federal Income Tax Return.

The 7.0 earthquake that ravaged the Haitian capital of Port-au- Prince, the city of Jacmel and the city of Carrefour brought immediate devastation to the country, taking the lives of approximately 200,000 people and leaving tens of thousands missing. This event, which has left an estimated 1.5 million homeless, has completely destroyed most of the infrastructure in the capital, and was deemed the largest earthquake of this magnitude in over two centuries in the Republic of Haiti.

Providing a tax benefit on charitable contributions would offer an incentive for American citizens to give during an essential period for the relief effort in Haiti. Several charities saw a significant drop in contributions, which fund the entirety of their operations, due to the economic crisis. Non-profit organizations will need considerable resources to provide the long-term services for a population devastated by a natural disaster. This tax benefit will ensure those resources are funded by an outpouring of generosity from the American people.

In the face of this grave tragedy, the American people have given from their hearts, as well as their pockets, to assist the people of Haiti during this time of extreme hardship and turmoil. This philanthropy should not go unnoticed, especially as many people have chosen to donate at a time when their own financial well-being is uncertain.

I would like to thank Chairman Rangel for introducing this piece of legislation, and the American people for their benevolence in this time of adversity for the Haitian people.