Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Oregon for her leadership on the Science Committee as well as our ranking member from Texas for her leadership.

But I have to rise in opposition of H.R. 1442, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act, and here is why: it is absolutely accurate that the best science and the best advice comes from multiple perspectives. You certainly need the perspective of industry, but you have to independently have that perspective of science as well.

You need a board that is unbiased, that is unfettered, that is transparent, that is looking at it from the perspective of advising Congress and giving us the best possible advice because our sole job is to protect our citizens, to provide that best advice to our citizens. That is what the advisory board is designed to do and should do.

But it requires a delicate balance. It can't be stacked in one direction or the other direction. You have to create that transparency that allows for vibrant, unfettered dialogue.

And I say this as a scientist, as someone who has been on advisory boards.

Now, the importance of what the EPA does and what advice they provide Congress is incredibly important. I will just share: I am a lifelong Californian. I grew up in southern California. I grew up at a time where I could actually see the air that I was breathing, where there were days that they ordered us to stay inside.

It is through legislation, it is through working with industry, it is through looking at science that you cannot only both protect our citizens, protect our environment, but also advance industry.

I applaud the Science Committee and Chairman Smith for taking up this debate. But let's do it in a way that not only is built on sound science, is built on evidence, but also allows multiple perspectives, not just from one side or the other side, not just from one group or another group, but creates this context where we can have vibrant debate, where we can get the best and most sound science, and we can get the best advice, which is what this group is supposed to do. They are supposed to advise Congress and allow us to do our job, which is to protect the citizens of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Rahall for yielding, and for your leadership on this issue to make sure our veterans get the health care that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the Rahall motion to instruct our conferees. I look at this issue, not as a Member of Congress, but as a doctor who has worked in the VA system.

Now, these are men and women who stepped up to answer the call to duty, to protect our freedoms, American freedoms, and we need to give them that same duty when they return. That is why we need to have enough doctors, nurses, and health care professionals in the VA system.

It has been reported, many of these men and women, needing necessary care, often have to wait 30 days, 60 days. That is unconscionable.

This isn't a Democratic or Republican issue. This is an issue of getting our men and women, our veterans, the necessary health care that they need.

And as a doctor, you have to have a work force. You have to have necessary health care professionals that can address these needs in a timely manner.

This is a very simple section of the Senate bill that Congressman Rahall is suggesting we move forward, section 203. It would directly address the workforce shortage and the doctor shortage in the VA by targeting funding to hire additional health care providers and prioritizing these additional providers for the facilities that need them most.

It is common sense. It is the right thing to do to serve our men and women, to serve our veterans. Accepting these provisions is just one of many steps that we must do to ensure that they get the care that is necessary.

There are other things that we can do, but this is something we can do immediately, and we shouldn't delay it another week, another year. Let's take care of our veterans.

There is other legislation out there. We have a bipartisan bill, the Doctors Helping Heroes Act. It is Democrat and Republican. It is common sense.

Once we get section 203 passed, let's do more to train those necessary doctors. We can do it, and we have got the will, and I really commend my colleague from West Virginia, Congressman Rahall, for taking the lead here. Let's do what is necessary to serve our men and women, our veterans, and let's move section 203 forward.

Mr. Speaker, last month's Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case is a serious step backwards for women's health. It sets a dangerous precedent where bosses are in control of their employees' health care decisions. And it worries me.

As a doctor, I know that in order for a woman to make the best decision, she needs to sit down and have a conversation with her physician. It is important that we have all options available.

Long-term contraceptive methods like IUDs are often the safest option and up to 20 times more effective than the birth control pill, but upfront costs can make it difficult for some women, particularly low- income women, to afford these methods. Prescription birth control can often cost up to $600 a year, and if women can't afford it, they are more likely to use it in an inconsistent manner.

That is why I am proud to support the not my boss' business act, which ensures that employers can't pick and choose what health services a woman can receive. Health care decisions should be made between a patient and a doctor, not her boss.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to this body about the outrageous Supreme Court decision, the Hobby Lobby case.

I look at this, not as a Member of Congress, but as a doctor. Now, in my training, we took an oath. That oath was to put our patients first, to do good.

My core job as a doctor is to sit with my patients, answer her questions, talk about the risks and benefits and the various options that are available, but then to empower my patients to make the decisions that best fit their lives.

To women, there is no greater decision than when to start a family, when to become a mother, and that is why protecting those reproductive rights and reproductive options are so important. That is core to our oath as physicians, and that is why the Supreme Court's decision on Hobby Lobby was so outrageous.

We have got to fight against this encroachment of the government or the Justices in the Supreme Court coming into my exam room and getting between me and my patients. That is outrageous. It is an affront to individual liberties. It is an affront to what we do as doctors.

It is not just me speaking. This is doctors all across America. The American Congress of OB/GYNs calls this ruling outrageous.

We need to have all options available. But what am I to do now if a Hobby Lobby employee comes to me as a patient, sits down and says: You know, I am not ready to start a family at this juncture. I would like to know what my contraceptive options are; I would like to know what some of the safest methods are.

Well, IUDs often are 20 times more effective and are extremely safe, but the Supreme Court has now made that option unavailable for me. They didn't go to medical school. I did. As a doctor, it is my oath to provide all those options.

Now, others might say, well, that patient can still choose to get it. The reason people have health insurance is because they want to have health care available when it is necessary. What if that patient can't afford that health care option? For many patients, hourly workers, often contraception can cost up to $600 a year. They are not able to afford it. That is why this is such an outrageous decision. We have got to keep the government and the Supreme Court out of our exam room.

And it is even more personal than that. I am a husband and I am a father. I want my daughter to grow up in a country where she is in control of her health care decisions, where she is in control of her body.

So as a doctor, as a father of a daughter, I am

proud to support the not my boss' business act because it puts patients back in charge of their health care decisions. We, as a country, prize individual liberties and individual freedoms above all. So this gives those decisions back to the patients.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate an important milestone for one of Sacramento County's most important economic drivers, Aerojet Rocketdyne.

It was one year ago that the formerly separate companies officially launched their future together as Aerojet Rocketdyne, a company that jointly represents 130 years of space launch and rocket propulsion.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader providing propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense, strategic, tactical missile and armaments areas. They also play a key role in our nation's space program.

They employ more than 5,300 people nation-wide, and more than 3000 of those employees are in my home state of California. They represent the best our nation has to offer in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and contribute to our community and to keeping our nation a leader in aerospace and propulsion.

Over this inaugural year, among Aerojet Rocketdyne's many accomplishments was successfully contributing to 11 rocket launches; and they have already contributed to the successful launch of 4 of the 17 rocket launches planned for 2014. They have powered every human mission to space since the Gemini and Mercury missions that preceded the Apollo Moon missions.

Aerojet Rocketdyne will also power the next generation Space Launch System, which will launch humans into space farther than we have ever gone before, and they are working with commercial partners to provide affordable and innovative solutions to launching crew and cargo to the International Space Station.

So, again, I want to recognize Aerojet Rocketdyne and the men and women who have worked to invigorate our economy and make our country a leader in propulsion and space exploration. Thank you, Aerojet Rocketdyne, for 130 years of success. I wish you many more!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lou Weintraub. The oldest veteran in the Sacramento Jewish Community, Lou turned 100 earlier this year and will be honored at the Jewish Memorial Day Commemoration this weekend for his years of commitment to the Sacramento County community.

Born to Polish immigrant parents in New York in 1914, Lou and his two siblings were children of the Depression. He attended City College of New York, and later the University of Pennsylvania. Soon after, he served as a clinical psychologist in the military for four years during World War II.

A longtime executive with San Francisco's Jewish Community Federation before he retired, Lou has worked with and served on the board of many commissions and nonprofits in the Sacramento region, where he moved in 1989 after meeting his wife.

He continues to be very active, delivering food to the home-bound for Meals-A-La-Car and on the boards of both the Community Services Planning Council and the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Emergency Food and Shelter Board.

Lou is also an active congregant of Mosaic Law Congregation, attending its Daily Minyan and Shabbat and holiday services. He is known to regularly hold court after the services where at lunch in the social hall he is surrounded by people of all ages taking in his wisdom.

Lou's wife Roslyn summed him up best when she told the Sacramento Bee earlier this year, ``What I see about Lou is that he cares more about other people than himself. He's always caring about somebody else.''

Thank you, Lou, for caring, and for your continued dedication to the Sacramento area community.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am opposed to it in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended.

Mr. Speaker, instead of voting on divisive bills that threaten communities and their water supply with toxic mining waste, we need to focus on creating jobs and getting unemployed Americans back to work.

Mr. Speaker, we have no more urgent mission than getting our veterans back to work. That is our priority. American families want their leaders to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to rebuild an economy that works for the middle class, not more partisan politics.

Today, over 2 million unemployed Americans have been waiting for Congress to restore Federal emergency unemployment benefits since December.

Among veterans who have served since 2001, the unemployment rate is 9 percent. This is disgraceful. During these tough economic times Americans need to focus and Congress needs to focus on getting Americans back to work.

This amendment would do just that, allowing priority hiring of veterans and those who have received unemployment insurance. To help create more jobs, we also need to make more products here in the United States. There is a greater opportunity for our people to make it in America if we make things in America.

That means we need to focus on creating the best conditions for American businesses to manufacture their products, to innovate, and to create jobs right here in the United States.

Already, more and more U.S. companies are bringing overseas manufacturing back home. Let's continue to encourage these U.S. companies to continue to bring those jobs back here and to build things here in America. We have seen the American auto industry come back, Apple computers, alternative energy companies, just to name a few. We need to continue to encourage these companies to make their products here.

That is exactly what this amendment does, and it will help set us on a solid path forward to a future of greater economic competitiveness, more jobs, and longstanding, long-term economic success.

Let's show the American people what our priorities are. It is about creating jobs and getting Americans back to work and, most importantly, getting our veterans back to work. That is exactly what this amendment does.

I urge the adoption of this important amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) on celebrating their 25th anniversary. Founded in 1989, AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world and represents over 12,500 members nationwide. My family and I are proud to be counted among them.

AAHOA's achievements over the past quarter century are one of the greatest examples we have today of capturing the American Dream. Comprised of first and second generation Indian Americans, AAHOA members and their families immigrated to the United States seeking opportunity. These entrepreneurs found a niche as hoteliers and soon became a profound influence on the hospitality industry.

Today, AAHOA members own over 40 percent of all hotels in the United States employing over 600,000 people with an annual payroll of almost $10 billion.

It is also my pleasure to recognize AAHOA's chairman, Mehul ``Mike'' Patel for his exceptional leadership this year. Mehul and his family came to the United States from Valsad in Gujarat India when he was a teenager and they lived and worked in a motel in Garland, Texas. The lessons of hard work and perseverance he learned while growing up in the motel have served him well and today he is the chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage, Hotel Development and Management Company, with multiple hotel properties across the United States.

Mehul's vision has been instrumental in elevating AAHOA to the next level. Under Mehul's stewardship, AAHOA has reached record levels of membership, and advanced its position as the voice of hotel owners with members in nearly every congressional district in the United States. Mehul is a dynamic leader in his community and industry and I am proud to commend his accomplishments.

I would also like to recognize AAHOA's officers, Vice Chairman Pratik Patel, Treasurer

Jay ``Jimmy'' Patel, Secretary Bharat ``Bruce'' Patel and President Fred Schwartz, along with AAHOA's 24 past chairman whose dedication to the organization and the hospitality industry have helped to create jobs, promote investment in their local communities, and grow America's economy.

I look forward to addressing AAHOA's annual convention later this month and continuing to work with this extraordinary organization in the future.

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to speak about a case the Supreme Court is going to hear in a week, the Hobby Lobby case.

As a doctor, I took an oath to provide my patients with the best medical advice possible and empower them to make the decisions that impact their lives and to put them in charge. Women should be free to make the health care decisions that work best for them and respect their own faith and personal circumstances.

Allowing bosses to pick and choose the health care their employees receive sets a very dangerous precedent that could have far-reaching consequences. That is why the Hobby Lobby case that will be argued before the Supreme Court later this month is so important.

CEO David Green may oppose birth control--and that is his personal decision--but individual Hobby Lobby employees have their own moral and religious views, and they shouldn't have to subscribe to his.

This case isn't about the rights of corporate CEOs. It is about the rights of workers and patients everywhere. It is about the individual freedom to choose and make your own health care decisions.

We need to stop bosses and out-of-touch politicians who want to come into our exam room and make those health care decisions. Let's keep these bosses out of the exam room and allow women to make the health care decisions that impact their own lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. This week, they open a new exhibition called ``Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation.'' One out of every 100 Americans traces his or her roots back to India, me included. As a first-generation Indian American born and raised in California, I am here today largely because of the Indian Americans of my parents' generation who paved the way with their dedication to hard work, education, and family. It is important for us to recognize this remarkable community's contributions to our country.

The new exhibit examines the daily experiences of Indian Americans and highlights the impacts they've had on our Nation, from breakthroughs in medicine and technology to the election of Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian-American member of Congress, elected in 1956. It is the first exhibit of its kind to explore the Indian American experience and celebrate the history and achievements of this community's political, professional, and cultural contributions to American life and history. I commend the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for their support and recognition of this country's 3.3 million Indian Americans and their dedication to furthering national dialogue about a community that has become integral to the fabric of American life.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak against this bill, and here is why. This bill does nothing to create additional water supplies. The water that we have already lost, we can't get that back. What we need to do is look at ways to better manage the water we have and look at ways to better conserve that water.

We are ready to do this. We are ready to work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle as Californians. This isn't about Democrats versus Republicans. We can't pit one community against another. You are talking about families.

This is a picture of Folsom Lake in my district; 500,000 residents in our community rely on water from Folsom Lake for drinking water.

It is not about a little fish. It is about when a child goes to turn on their tap they get clean water coming out of it.

This should be under water, and if you want to understand how bad it is, let's look at this picture. This is the wet side of Folsom dam. Where is the water? This bill takes water where it doesn't exist. You can't move water if it doesn't exist.

So we stand ready to work with our colleagues in both Houses and across the aisle to look at better ways for us to manage water, better ways for us to predict and forecast weather, if you are going to have a dry season, to protect that water, and better ways to serve all of California's communities.

It can't be northern California versus southern California versus central California. It has got to be Californians working together. Let's solve this. Let's work together, and let's create a brighter future for California by managing our water together.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment made in order under the rule.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is simple. Supporters of this bill argue that it won't negatively impact upstream users. My constituents are these upstream users.

My amendment protects upstream users, adding safeguards for the five California delta counties. It guarantees that this politically motivated water grab would not harm the quality, quantity, or safety of drinking water supplies for these residents.

California is in the middle of a crisis. We need real solutions, not political solutions. Last year was our driest year on record. The snowpack where the State gets over a third of its water is at record lows.

We all agree there is a problem. So let's sit down, Democrats and Republicans, and work to find solutions together, not pit one community against another. In the meantime, let's not sacrifice one community. This amendment ensures that.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Chairman, in closing, from my perspective, this is stating the obvious. Let's protect the water rights of the users in my community in northern California. This just codifies that. It just makes sure that when folks in the five delta counties turn on their taps, they can get clean water, quality water.

So if it is in the bill, there is no reason not to vote ``yes'' on this and codify it and make sure we are protecting those families in northern California.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I speak in support of this motion because it will make this bill better. This is about protecting existing State law, and the current bill before us takes away State law.

It is about protecting our communities, our local rights, our county rights. This motion will make this bill much better.

It is incredibly important to the residents in the five delta counties and the folks that I represent, that they have water that they can drink. This motion allows us to honor those State, county, and local laws and makes this bill better. I urge my colleagues to support the motion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in opposition of H.R. 3964, the so-called Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act.

Mr. Speaker, California is suffering its worst water crisis in modern history. This is a 1 in 500-year drought. For the third year in a row, dry weather conditions and drought-like conditions are hurting so many families in California--farmers, small businesses. If you need to see how bad things have gotten, look at Folsom Lake in my district. It is dry. Over 500,000 residents in my community rely on Folsom Lake as the source of its water. This is how bad it has gotten.

We are doing everything we can to conserve water, but you can't take water when it doesn't exist, and that is why H.R. 3964 is such a bad bill. It is a bill that is taking what doesn't exist. It doesn't create any new water; it just tries to move water from one community to another, but it doesn't exist. You can't take water that is not there. In fact, let me show you how bad things have gotten.

The snowpack in California in the Sierras is the source of water for over 500 million Californians. It is what we rely on. It is our biggest reservoir.

You can see what the snowpack looked like January 2013. Here it is. You got snow right here--that is our biggest reservoir--and this is in the middle of the drought. Here is what it looks like today, January 2014. It is not there. The snow is not there.

So H.R. 3964 suggests taking water that doesn't exist. It is a bad bill. You can't falsely promise water delivery that doesn't exist. The water is not there.

Here is what my suggestion is to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Water is not about Democrats or Republicans. This is a solution that we have to come together. It is about protecting our communities. California is going to go through a devastating summer if we don't come together immediately as Democrats and Republicans to look at how we can conserve water and look for creative solutions on recycling water. But we've got to do this together--not pitting one region against another, not pitting one community against another. We have to come up with creative solutions. We can't just look at today's challenge. We have got to do that. That is an immediate issue. But we have also got to start discussing the future of water in California, looking at issues like storage, looking at issues like water recycling, looking at creative solutions because it is dry.

With that, let's come together as Democrats and Republicans, folks from the north State and the south State, and let's not pit one community against another. Let's solve this issue today for our children.

Mr. Speaker, it is day 16, and I am cautiously optimistic that the shutdown ends today and that we begin to restore the full faith and credit of our Nation.

Let's get this done. First, let's open the government today. Second, let's pay our bills and make sure that the world knows America always pays its bills. Most importantly, now is the time for us to come together and put a real budget together, a budget that brings Democrats and Republicans together, the best ideas out of both parties, and really begins to deal with the debt. We need a budget that begins to strengthen Social Security and Medicare for today's seniors, but also the next generation of seniors, and a budget that begins to create jobs and restores the middle class in America.

Let's work together as Democrats and Republicans to put the American people first. We now have that opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, day No. 15.

Today is day No. 15 of the government shutdown. We are less than 48 hours away from defaulting on our bills. We have never done that in the history of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, if we don't pay our bills, that would be reckless behavior and that would be irresponsible.

But we are seeing some progress.

First, it seems like both the House and the Senate have agreed to open up government until January 15. Let's make that happen.

Second, it seems like both the House and the Senate agree to lift the debt ceiling until February 7. Let's make that happen.

But let's do step number three, which says, let's set a budget process in place that negotiates a budget that starts to deal with our debt and our deficit so we can get out of this crisis mode and start getting about the business of creating jobs.

Mr. Speaker, now is the time for leadership.

Mr. Speaker, we are close. Let's get this done for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, day No. 14.

Mr. Speaker, today is the 14th day of the government shutdown, and we are 1 day closer to defaulting on our debt. Mr. Speaker, we've never not paid our bills as Americans--as Americans, we always pay on time-- but we are 1 day closer to a manufactured crisis. We've got to stop this.

Mr. Speaker, now is the time for leadership. Enough with the games, enough with the name-calling, and enough with the finger-pointing. We have to come together as Democrats and Republicans and put the country first.

Mr. Speaker, you are the Speaker of this House. This House has both Democrats and Republicans, and you need to lead us. It's that time. I will make a quick suggestion. Here is what you can do in three easy steps:

Step No. 1, open the government;

Step No. 2, let us pay our bills; and

Step No. 3, let's negotiate. Let's come together as Democrats and Republicans and negotiate a real budget that starts to address our debt. Let's make sure we don't leave our children and grandchildren a mountain of debt. Let's do what our parents and grandparents always did, which was to leave the country better off for the next generation.

That is what it takes--leadership. Mr. Speaker, now is the time for that leadership. You are the Speaker of this House, and we need you to lead us as Democrats and Republicans. America is watching, and we need to put the people's interests first.