Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has had no stronger supporter than the United States Congress and today I rise in commemoration of the upcoming National Day of the Republic of China on October 10, 2013.

The United States and Taiwan share many basic principles such as democracy, human rights and trade. In particular, Taiwan is very important to the U.S. economy. In 2012, Taiwan was the 11th largest trading partner with the U.S. Additionally, Taiwan was the 7th largest destination for U.S. agricultural exports. Furthermore, bilateral trade between the United States and Taiwan is over $63 billion annually.

For Taiwan to remain competitive, it is important that they are able to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This 12-nation trade agreement is currently being discussed among Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Singapore. The TPP is open to all APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] economies, of which Taiwan is a member, and therefore would be incomplete without Taiwan's inclusion.

As the Administration follows through on its Rebalancing of Asia policy, Taiwan will play an integral role. Since Taiwan is one of our strongest allies in Asia, we need to continue to support their inclusion in the TPP; otherwise they will fail to remain competitive, which may result in a decrease of purchases for American products. This in turn, could negatively impact American farmers and manufacturers that count on Taiwan to buy their products.

Once again, I congratulate Taiwan on the upcoming National Day of the Republic of China, and look forward to continuing our working partnership.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw attention to the accomplishments of the students and faculty at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey and congratulate them on being part of such a prestigious research institution.

Since its founding in 1870, Stevens has created a legacy of innovation and its research projects have garnered federal recognition and funding. It is home to three national research centers as well as joint research programs in a variety of critical fields. These projects help to advance current scientific knowledge and capabilities and provide more understanding to confront the challenges faced everyday on both a domestic and global scale.

Stevens Institute of Technology has, and continues to, receive grants from numerous federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. The projects that have received grants recently are focused on creating useful and impactful solutions to current issues. One such project, ADVANCE Stevens, aims to increase the representation and advancement of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) careers by providing the environment and resources necessary to foster relationships between underrepresented groups of faculty and students. Projects such as this impact not only students at Stevens, but the nation as a whole by creating a greater understanding about the challenging problems facing our nation and working towards the solution.

Once again, congratulations to Stevens Institute of Technology for their accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my serious concern about H.R. 3102: the so called ``Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013''. At a time when so many Americans are still struggling to recover from one of the greatest periods of economic downturn in our history, it is an outrage to me that Congress would once again seek to cut vital food assistance programs.

These are programs that ensure our children, our parents and grandparents, and America's working families get basic nutritional aide when they've fallen on hard times. And the timing couldn't be worse. Just last year, as a result of the short sighted budget cuts known as sequestration, many of our seniors were already hit hard by cuts to programs like Meals on Wheels. Some estimates put those cuts as high as 19 million fewer meals each year. And now Congress wants to cut food stamps for millions of Americans?

Let me be clear, food stamps are critical to the health and wellbeing of our Nation's most vulnerable populations. In New Jersey's 8th District, nearly thirty eight thousand (38,000) households rely on this benefit to feed their families. Statewide, 45 percent of recipients are children and nearly 25 percent are either elderly or disabled adults.

I understand the need to bring our budget under control, but I encourage my colleagues to find a smarter path forward. Let us not balance the budget on the backs of those among us who are the most vulnerable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the disgraceful remarks recently made by another Member of this body.

My parents brought me to this country at the age of 11. They brought me here for the freedoms, they brought me here for the opportunities, and they never told me to strap 75 pounds of marijuana on my thighs so we can sell it in America.

It is disgraceful that a Member of this body would demean this House and what this country represents when you make remarks like that. I recognize that not all Members of this body feel the same way.

I represent Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, two monuments that symbolize the history of America as a Nation of immigrants. So when you make remarks like one of the Members made, it's not only ignorant, but quite frankly stupid, not recognizing the history of this country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Community Parks Revitalization Act.

This bipartisan legislation would provide matching funds and a new loan program to assist our communities in developing and redeveloping parks and recreational facilities.

As a former mayor, I have seen firsthand the value that investing in parks brings to our communities. When we make investments in our parks, it leads to healthy, vibrant neighborhoods in which businesses want to invest and families want to live. Our parks and recreational centers are also instrumental in helping to achieve the important national goal of increasing exercise and in providing recreational opportunities for our youth and disabled or injured veterans.

The Community Parks Revitalization Act has the support of many national organizations, including the National Recreation and Park Association and the American Society of Landscape Architects, and it has strong bipartisan support in the 113th Congress.

I encourage my colleagues to join me in strengthening our community parks.

I want to thank my colleagues for being here today and for expressing the sentiment towards a friend.

I knew Frank Lautenberg for a long time. I was a mayor when I first met him. He never changed. He was a fighter. He was a real product of New Jersey in his coming from Paterson, serving in the service, starting a business. He became one of the best Senators we ever had in New Jersey. He was a man who had a vision, because he was one of the first ones who saw that riding on a plane and having somebody smoking next to you was not healthy. Frank fought that fight, and President Reagan signed it into law.

So, today, New Jersey is sad. It's sad because one of its own is not going to be with us any more. Right down to the end, Frank fought. I will remember him fighting Governor Christie. I remember him fighting for the tunnel. So we are all sad in New Jersey today.

To the whole family, we extend our condolences.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my serious concern about the proposed cuts to funding for food stamps in the 2013 Farm Bill.

Food stamps are critical to the health and wellbeing of our Nation's most vulnerable populations. In my home State of New Jersey, nearly 870,000 households rely on this benefit to feed their families. Of that number, 45 percent are children and nearly 25 percent are either elderly or disabled adults.

As it stands, food stamp benefits average less than $1.50 per person for each meal, and that number is already set to drop to about $1.40 this fall when a temporary boost from the Recovery Act ends.

Every one of us knows how difficult it would be to feed their children or aging parents a nutritious meal for that amount of money. And yet, the farm bill would slash federal spending for food stamps by more than $21 billion over the next decade, eliminating food assistance to nearly 2 million people.

I understand the need to bring our budget under control, but I encourage my colleagues to find a smarter path forward. Let us not balance the budget on the backs of those among us who are the most vulnerable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of our teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week.

Across the country, we trust teachers with our most valuable resource: our children.

Our teachers serve as role models and mentors to our kids, helping them to reach their potential; and in New Jersey, we have among the most talented teachers in the country.

It was because of the mentorship of my teachers in high school that I applied for college and eventually became a teacher myself, and it is because of my experience in the classroom that I

understand the challenges of our educators today.

While we ask our teachers to prepare our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must also give them the tools to rise to these challenges. Competitive salaries and financial resources must be provided so that they can recruit the very best teachers in science, technology, engineering, math, and the arts.

While we honor our teachers this week, let's not forget the services they do for our children every day. Let us join together in recognizing teachers across this country.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the upcoming 65th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and the bond of friendship between the United States and Israel.

Like the United States, the State of Israel has stood as a beacon of democracy and hope for Jewish immigrants from all over the world. As an immigrant myself, I understand the importance of the democratic freedoms and values that our nation holds dear. The United States and Israel share and embrace those values as the cornerstones of a vibrant democratic society.

I have been fortunate enough to visit Israel and witness the importance of the friendship the U.S. and Israel share. We share the common goals of peace, freedom, security and prosperity for our citizens and for the region. I am pleased to help honor the State of Israel on its 65th birthday I hope all my colleagues and fellow Americans will join me in taking pride in the unique contributions that our Israeli community has made to our nation.

Again, congratulations to Israel and its people all across the world on their 65th independence day.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the contributions of the

biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies in New Jersey to Hurricane Sandy relief activities.

New Jersey companies in the biopharmaceutical field have donated an estimated $11.1 million towards Sandy relief efforts. The New Jersey biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies made contributions to a large number of organizations, including the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Direct Relief International, Feeding America, the Salvation Army, Save the Children, United Way, and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.

The community also coordinated with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure an uninterrupted supply chain of critical life-saving drugs as well as having teamed up with local pharmacies to provide free or discounted prescriptions to affected patients. In addition, individual companies performed a variety of services in the immediate aftermath of Sandy, including the distribution of hygiene kits; providing generators to local municipalities; deploying emergency decontamination units; preparing food for first responders; and working to supply hospitals, pharmacies, and retailers with supplies that their patients and customers needed.

While our community as a whole came together to provide relief to the victims of Sandy, we thank the biopharmaceutical industry of New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, unless Congress acts this week, a series of drastic spending cuts known as the sequester will take effect. Sequestration threatens the jobs of hundreds of thousands of middle class Americans, as well as vital services for children, seniors, and our troops. Congress must not wait any longer to come to an agreement.

Should sequestration take effect, my State of New Jersey would lose almost $12 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 160 teachers and their aides at risk. New Jersey would also lose $17 million in funding, or about 210 teachers who help children with disabilities. In addition, Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for an estimated 1,300 children in New Jersey. Furthermore, New Jersey would lose funding cuts for public safety grants provided to local law enforcement officials designed to improve the safety of our communities, as well as reduction in funding to provide meals for New Jersey seniors. Mr. Speaker, these are just a small portion of the impact sequestration will have on New Jersey and America as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 699, a balanced bill to replace the sequester with spending cuts and revenues.

Madam Speaker, if we face yet another fiscal cliff in 2 weeks, it is imperative that this Chamber produces a real solution to ward off a financial disaster that could deeply impact the American people.

The idea behind sequestration was to create a worst-case scenario that was so severe that it would force both sides to work together and find a balanced approach to passing a realistic budget reducing our deficits.

Instead of setting the stage for yet another battle to be resolved in the 11th hour, we should be focused on creating jobs and growing our economy. If sequestration goes forward, programs and services that millions of Americans rely on, like Head Start, supplemental nutrition programs like the WIC program, and even FEMA, would be decimated by drastic cuts in our funding.

Additionally, sequestration would slash critical support to police who keep our streets safe, our air traffic controllers who manage our skies, and food inspectors who ensure the food that we eat is safe.

Instead of jeopardizing critical services to our citizens, we need to begin to work on an approach that will avoid sequestration while sensibly reducing our deficit.

Madam Chair, let me first congratulate my colleague and all of my colleagues from New Jersey for their hard work. This unprecedented storm has hurt New Jersey to the tune of 41,000 people; 41,000 families are currently impacted. Over 300 municipalities have been impacted in New Jersey. The PATH stations in Hoboken are destroyed. Thousands of families who lived in houses in the area--they also lived in the basements--have no place to go.

And here we are 3 months later, and we're still battling over this money. This is for people who are hurting. This is for States like New Jersey and New York and Connecticut who are donor States that are constantly sending money to the Federal Government. You know, I sat in this Chamber when we had these wars and all this money for these wars. We destroyed the infrastructure in Iraq, and then we put billions of dollars to fix the infrastructure in Iraq. We put billions of dollars in Afghanistan.

This is for the Americans in this country who have been hurt by this storm that is unprecedented. My friends, we have to work together to get this money to these people so they can start their lives over again.

Madam Speaker, as I sat here, I was thinking that maybe there is a bias against the northeastern States of this country. This devastation can happen to any State, and no one State has the money to make sure that the people who were injured in this storm can move forward. I would remind all those Members who are not here supporting this bill that this could happen to your State. As I sat here and supported Alabama, as I supported Mississippi, as I supported Texas, I was hoping that, by now, with regard to the northeastern part of the country, this Congress would have acted. It has been 77 days. These people are hurting. People in my district still can't get back to their homes, and here we are. In the last Congress, we just didn't do anything about it. Now we are moving forward, and hopefully, on January 15, we can get the rest of this money so that the people who are suffering in all of these States that were hit by this storm can get their lives back together again.