Floor Statements

I rise today as a founding cochair of the 39-Member Out of Poverty Caucus to talk about the millions of people living in poverty in America.

Nearly 45 million Americans live in poverty, and one in five children are growing up in poverty. The recession may be over for big corporations and the superrich, but for far too many Americans the recession is actually a depression.

Yesterday, the Out of Poverty Caucus held a press conference with organizations working on the front lines with low-income and poor people. We heard stories of more homelessness, long lines at food pantries, and the desperation felt by so many. Our Nation's unemployment rate remains at an unacceptably high 9.2 percent. Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs are finding it harder and harder to find a new one. These new ranks of the long-term unemployed and their families are facing the stark reality of life in poverty for the first time.

The ongoing impact of the recession on struggling families and those facing or living in poverty simply must not be ignored. But instead of working to improve the lives of millions of Americans in poverty, the Republican Party continues their drive to plunge our Nation into default and our economy over the brink.

Speaker Boehner has unveiled yet another Republican plan that fails to do what America needs. His plan fails to end the threat of default. His plan targets the programs aimed at America's most vulnerable--our seniors, our children, and our low-income families--for more draconian cuts.

Trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor is morally wrong.

We need a balanced approach that balances targeted cuts with the revenue that we need. We must make sure that we can pay the benefits that we owe to our seniors, protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and safeguard our most vulnerable communities.

Mr. Speaker, while the Nation's unemployment level remains unacceptably high, for some minority communities it was double digits even before the recession began. The unemployment rate for African Americans today is recorded at 16.2 percent and Latinos recorded at 11.2 percent. And what many of us have known for a long, long time now, African Americans and Latinos have lost 18 to 20 times their net worth, more so than white Americans due to structural inequalities where race is a factor. These numbers are horrific and speak to the larger crisis facing our Nation, the jobs crisis.

Let me share the story of one American who is looking for a job. Reverend David was laid off from his job as the successful director of a faith-based nonprofit that served the disadvantaged and worked to put people on a path to self-sufficiency. Now he is relying on the very safety net programs that he used to connect others to. He diligently job hunts week after week. David and his wife rely on unemployment benefits to make ends meet, and he is worried about what he will do when he reaches the 99-week limit of those benefits.

Reverend David is not alone. Forty-five million Americans worry about where they will sleep at night, if their children will eat, what will happen if they need medical attention, and when will they secure a living-wage job.

We must work together to help the millions of Americans who are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

As the first order of business, I call on the Speaker to bring my legislation, H.R. 589, to the floor for an up-or-down vote immediately. It would add 14 weeks of retroactive emergency unemployment benefits to those long-term unemployed known as 99ers who continue to face uncertainty and hardships. Passing this extension will stimulate our economy, not to mention that it is our moral responsibility to help those in need.

But people really want to work. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are holding our economy hostage, putting forth policies that will create more unemployment and more job loss. Instead of quickly passing a clean debt ceiling vote, the Republicans are marching lockstep to create this default.

Instead of supporting the vital human needs programs that will protect our most vulnerable, Republicans are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor while maintaining these tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and Big Oil.

Mr. Speaker, there is no more time for these Republican games. The American people expect us to put partisanship aside to protect our economy and create jobs. The American Dream has been a nightmare for the 45 million living in poverty, and is turning quickly into a nightmare for millions who are falling from middle income into the ranks of the poor.

The bill put forth today by Republicans guarantees this tragic outcome.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast my vote on House Resolution 375, the Rule providing for consideration of S. 627. Had I been able to cast my vote I would have voted ``no.''

I move to strike the last word.

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2584, the Interior appropriations bill.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I want to thank Ranking Member Moran and our full committee ranking member, Congressman Dicks, for leading the fight every step of the way against this Republican assault on the environment.

Sadly, Mr. Chair, this bill is nothing more than a vehicle for bigger profits for Big Oil and other special interest polluters.

This bill and all it contains destroys critical environmental standards established to protect the public's health. By attaching more than 40 extremely dangerous policy riders, the Republicans take direct aim on the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the environment in which we live. This terrible legislation guts the budgets of key Federal agencies charged with protecting our citizens and our national resources. It terminates air quality standards as well as land and water conservation funding that will impact all communities in our country. But these cuts will hit my home State of California especially hard.

Mr. Chair, I'm proud to serve as a Representative of California's Ninth Congressional District, which has long been at the forefront of the environmental movement, including working on critical issues of climate change as well as fighting for renewable energy, green jobs, and environmental justice.

This bill undermines the Clean Air Act's ability to crack down on air pollution, threatening the quality of life for our children, our families, our communities, including my constituents in the East Bay, many of whom suffer unfairly from poor air quality.

Now, let me just tell you this personal story. Many of my childhood friends who grew up with me in my neighborhood, a polluted neighborhood in El Paso, Texas, many of them were dead before they turned 55 years of age, or many of them who are still alive have chronic or debilitating diseases. These tragedies can be directly related to environmental degradation of the neighborhoods in which I lived and grew up in in El Paso, Texas.

Also, let me just say, this bill is unjust because it really does refuse to fund EPA at a level where there can be some justice in terms of the overall programs of environmental administration, where it can implement its core mission of protecting human health and the environment. This means that more women and more children and more people facing or living in poverty and more communities of color are bearing the brunt once again of pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change. Sadly, this is in line with the Republican plan to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.

Rather than Republicans taking actions to create jobs, this bill guts funding to create jobs--especially green jobs. Rather than the Republicans taking action to protect our Nation's clean water supply and open spaces, this bill takes us back to dirty water and closed parks. Rather than taking action to ensure that people across this country can trust our government--and they want to trust us--to protect the water that they drink and the air that they breathe, this bill rolls back the standards and protections aimed at protecting public health.

Mr. Chairman, as a person of faith, I believe that there is a moral and ethical responsibility to protect the natural resources provided by our Creator. This measure before us prohibits us from acting on that very, very serious and important responsibility.

How can we here make decisions that knowingly harm people? How can we make decisions that pollute our environment? How can we make these crass decisions, as Members of Congress, that will increase health hazards leading to diseases such as cancer?

People elect us because they trust us to make decisions that protect and enhance their quality of life. They want us to preserve our beautiful planet. Future generations are counting on us. This bill really does let them down.

We need to defeat this horribly destructive bill and move quickly to matters that the American people expect us to address, like to create jobs, raise our debt ceiling, and to protect the public health.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Let me thank Congresswoman Christensen for leading this Special Order tonight.

I also thank you for your leadership on behalf of, really, my constituents and on behalf of the entire country because it is so important that you as first vice chair of the Congressional

Black Caucus--and chairman Cleaver, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus--continue to be the conscience of the Congress and to speak out and sound the alarm about the consequences of possible bad political and policy decisions. So thank you very much for what you're doing. It's so important that these issues be swept from under the rug and discussed in an open forum.

The debate and the discussion with Congressman Bobby Scott and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee were very important to have because I think that the public, who is listening to this discussion, will understand the history and the background and the technical aspects about this budget and deficit reduction plan that the Speaker is bringing forward, which really do, once again, put the American people as pawns, I think, in a game that they are not responsible for playing. People cannot wait any longer. They are tired of having their futures threatened by Republican politicians who are playing games that put the entire Nation and our economy at risk.

As for the Ryan budget and now this debt ceiling plan put forth by the Republicans, I'll tell you that what comes to mind is, when you look at it and when you listen to what's in it, it's a ``you're on your own'' kind of plan. For those who are wealthy and those are beholden to special interests and hedge fund billionaires and millionaires and all of those who have benefitted from the tax cuts, they'll be fine; but for those, as you mentioned earlier, who are poor or who could possibly fall from middle income into the ranks of the poor, this debt ceiling plan put forth by the Republicans is morally wrong and is fiscally unsound. We don't want to see the majority of the American people on their own once again, so I'm glad we're here tonight discussing this.

A Republican default on our debt, this would devastate the retirement savings of millions of American seniors--just devastate. We know that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid--these government safety net programs--have provided for millions of our seniors to live a decent life in their golden years and to not fall into the ranks of poverty. Now all of these programs are on the chopping block. It makes no sense. A Republican default on our debts, it would weaken our entire economy and weaken our national security, and we heard earlier that hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost, that even more jobs would be lost. We should be about creating jobs, not putting forth measures that would take us further down the road into a recession and, for some, a depression.

In fact, it's very simple. America must pay our bills on time, and we must do this in a way that does not devastate the safety net for our senior citizens and our children's future.

Either you are on the side of the American people and want to safeguard vital human needs programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, critical food benefits for families and children--or you're on the side of the billionaires and the bankers, financial services industries, subsidies for massive oil company profits. You're on one side or the other in this debate.

The Congressional Black Caucus continues to be on the side of our Nation's most vulnerable populations, who, in these very hard economic times, depend on these vital safety net programs for their survival day-in and day-out. Meanwhile, we keep hearing claims from the other side of the aisle that only misdirect attention.

America really is not broke. We're the richest and we're the strongest country in the world, and we still have the best ideas, the best workers, the best schools, and the largest economy in the world. But we won't be for long if the Republicans have their way.

You know, you often wonder for those who say that default will not wreak havoc on the country. There are some who I think could care less if we went into default because if you listen to what they're saying, it doesn't really bother a lot of Members here. And that, to me, is tragic.

Some tell us that the future is bleak and that the government cannot afford to invest in a prosperous and growing America. But the truth is that raising the debt ceiling should be very simple. It should be a simple vote by all of us to allow the United States Treasury to fund all of its programs and obligations and debts of the entire Federal Government that are already in the law.

Republicans in the House have already voted to support and pass a $9 trillion increase in the national debt. And now again, instead of working to create jobs and help our Nation rise out of this great recession, and depression for many, the Republicans are really playing a high-stakes game of chicken with the safety net and with the security of every single American so that they can protect the massive--and Congressman Scott and yourself talked about this--$400 billion tax cut that Congressman Scott warned us we would have to pay for some time soon. It came sooner rather than later, Congressman Scott. And we listened to you, and those of us who voted ``no,'' we tried. But here we are with your prediction coming true.

Here we're asking once again those who have been hurt, the most vulnerable, to pay once again. And that is just downright wrong.

A failure to raise the debt limit would mean an immediate stop to over 40 percent of the entire Federal Government. Our soldiers would not get paid, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments would be delayed. And the health and safety of every single American would be threatened, along with the health of our very fragile economy.

The incredibly irresponsible position that the Republicans have taken protecting tax breaks for the super rich, Wall Street corporations, Big Oil, that seems to be more important than preventing the United States government from defaulting on our debts.

And let me just remind those who want to cut Medicare and dismantle Medicare. That's basically what they want to do. Medicare recipients did not create the national debt. And that is unconscionable to even talk about balancing the budget or paying down the debt on the backs of our most vulnerable populations, including those who are facing living in poverty.

And let me remind our Republican colleagues again that the Congressional Black Caucus, under the leadership of Chairman Cleaver, Congresswoman Christensen, Congressman Bobby Scott, already offered a budget--and he mentioned it earlier--that would have saved $5.7 trillion from the deficit, protected our most vulnerable communities, and would have ensured the stability of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. And our budget was balanced.

So the country is not broke. We know how we got here--two wars, these massive tax cuts for the very wealthy, Wall Street going amok. So it's time to be real, and it's time to be truthful. It's time to be honest, and it's time to make sure that the decisions we make here will not dig us deeper into the hole. America really doesn't have any more time for these Republican games.

Let me also conclude by talking about those who are unemployed because if we don't do something quickly, the ranks of the unemployed are going to grow even greater. And unemployment compensation is really survival funds, survival compensation, until we figure out how we're going to create jobs. And incidentally, the Republicans haven't put forth any job plan since they've been in power.

But these long-term unemployed Americans who have run out of their unemployment compensation, known as the 99ers, they continue to face uncertainty and hardships, and the House must act now to stand with these individuals.

H.R. 589, which my colleague, Congressman Scott, and I introduced earlier this year, Congresswoman Christensen and many members of the Congressional Black Caucus are cosponsors. This would add 14 weeks of unemployment emergency compensation. It would make these benefits retroactively available to people who have exhausted all of their benefits and are still unemployed. Extending these benefits for long- term unemployed individuals will stimulate our economy, empower more consumers, and create more jobs.

So this extension should be in any deficit reduction plan because we know that not only is it the right thing to do, the morally correct thing to do, this is the economically prudent thing

to do in terms of passing an emergency extension. It really should be the first step in taking bold steps to create millions of jobs for Americans.

So we should be working to pass a jobs bill that would help people find this pathway out of poverty. We should help keep middle-income individuals from falling into poverty. We should be looking at a budget and a plan that, yes, will help pay down our debt. Yes, it is part of deficit reduction--that incorporates deficit reduction as part of it. But no, that does not cut Medicare, Social Security, or Medicaid. And we should really be trying to figure out a way to create some jobs for people. I mean, that's the bottom line. That's what we need to do.

Thank you again, Congresswoman Christensen, for calling this Special Order today. We should make sure that the world knows that the Congressional Black Caucus continues to call attention to the games that Republicans are playing that will threaten our national security interests as well as our economic interests. And the fact that we're here working to try to create some jobs and to help ensure that this debt ceiling is raised, that's the bottom line.

I rise today as the founding cochair of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus to join my colleagues to discuss the urgent crisis of poverty and to provide a voice for those people living in poverty and who we feel that could get disproportionately hurt by any negotiations that take place that cut too deeply.

I want to thank our leadership, especially our whip, Mr. Hoyer, for his powerful words this morning and for his leadership; Leader Pelosi and our Assistant Leader, Mr. Clyburn, for each and every day standing and working for the least of these.

Mr. Speaker, a daunting statistic speaks for itself: One in 5 million children in America are growing up in poverty, and nearly 45 million Americans are living in poverty today. Our national unemployment rate is 9.2 percent, but for African Americans it is 16.2 percent and for Latinos it is 11.6 percent. And we know it's twice these statistics, given the millions of people who have lost hope in looking for jobs.

Given these heart-wrenching statistics, the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, our cochairs--Representatives Baca, Butterfield, Conyers, Honda, and I--sent a letter to the President, the Vice President, and the congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle asking them to protect those programs that support those facing or living in poverty in the debt ceiling negotiations.

My colleagues and I are here on the floor today to remind every Member that it was not American families or children or the working poor that forced Congress to run a deficit, and it definitely was not America's seniors on Social Security or Medicare or people on Medicaid that forced Republicans to turn the first budget surplus into decades of record deficits. Two wars, massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, Big Oil, and Wall Street running wild caused these deficits. The American people are willing to work, they want to work and pay their fair share, but they should not be asked to fill a hole that they did not dig.

We should quickly pass clean legislation to raise our debt ceiling to end this default crisis so that we can move on doing the critical work of creating jobs and responsibly addressing the national debt. Making heartless cuts on the backs of hungry children and struggling American families will not balance the budget. Every Member of Congress should consider the millions of Americans who are struggling--struggling to find work, struggling to pay for health care if they have health care, struggling to stay in their homes, and struggling to feed their children.

Mr. Speaker, more and more Americans are facing poverty every day, and the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus is on the floor once again to be the voice for these Americans struggling day in and day out just to survive, demanding that we protect these vital safety net programs and help support the poor, especially in this Great Recession.

We are here today to share some stories from people who have benefited from those programs. I have a story

from Veronica, who lives in northern California, who has turned her life around under these vital safety net programs. Her story is one of hardship and survival. It's a story of getting back up when life knocks you down. It's a story of America. She is the American Dream. But she and her spouse were teenage parents. They relied on public assistance to bring up their children. They were able to get good jobs and they got off of Federal assistance.

Well, in 1995, the bottom fell out. Their son was diagnosed with diabetes. Her world imploded. She tried to go back to work full time. Her son needed more care at home. She was given child care assistance so she could support her family and her son. She was offered counseling and job training and, in the fall of 2009, the opportunity to work at Second Harvest Food Bank as an administrative assistant through the Federal stimulus program. She said she's still married to her husband. They have three beautiful children. And there's no way she could have kept her family together without the help of such programs such as SNAP food stamps, Medi-Cal, and job training. She said, ``We found unknown strength, faith, and resilience in our downfall. We'll do everything that we can do to stay self-sufficient but cannot say enough about the blessed safety net.''

Mr. Speaker, we understand that even when you work hard and do things right, sometimes everyone needs a helping hand, especially when there are no jobs. I personally needed this helping hand in years past when I was forced during many hardships that I was faced with that I had to rely on for many years public assistance and food stamps and Medi-Cal just to get through school, to take care of my kids, to get a job. And if it weren't for that safety net, I would not be here today.

And so let me just ask all of you to remember the poor, remember those struggling to survive, and to support those people who have exhausted their benefits, their unemployment benefits. They hit the wall in 99 weeks. We need to add more weeks of unemployment compensation for individuals who deserve this help. The 99ers need help. We need to do this. We need to do more to create jobs. We need to help people survive until we have the vision and the backbone to do that here.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, July 5, 2011.

Hon. Barack Obama,

President of the United States, The White House, Washington,

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and also for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule and in opposition to the underlying bill.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee and former vice chair of the Leg. Branch Subcommittee, I am deeply saddened by Republicans' ongoing efforts to weaken and dismantle our democracy. The Leg. Branch appropriation bill is simply an inadequate and misguided bill. We must not gut one of the coequal branches of government. We should be working to ensure that we are strengthening and preserving the most direct voice the American people have in our government, the legislative branch, especially the House of Representatives, the people's House.

Passing this bill will undermine one of the fundamental building blocks of our democracy, and it will weaken our Nation. Failing to provide adequate resources to the leg. branch will mean

that all of our congressional offices, both here and in our home districts, will face cuts in staff. The constituent services that we provide would suffer right when our people need them the most.

Our constituents rely on our staffs to help us develop sound legislation and to provide constituent case work. Our constituents rely on them to keep them informed about the complex and incredibly diverse issues that fail our Nation each and every day.

Now, I worked as a staffer for my mentor and predecessor, Congressman, Mayor, Ron Dellums; so I know very well how hard staffers work to help us represent the American people. These staffers are paid much less. They work more hours than most public employees, not to mention the private sector employees.

We need to keep in place the resources necessary to attract the best and the brightest to public service. When you gut this budget, you are creating more unemployed people who will need to go on unemployment compensation.

This is an example of the policies that Republicans are putting forward to create more unemployment and a nonresponsive government. It is vital that our district offices and our Washington offices are fully staffed to make sure that our constituents--this is about our constituents--that they will continue to have access to the services so that they don't just get hung out there once again because, in this hard economic time, many, many people are desperate and they need our help.

This is just another signpost on the road to ruin during this ``good luck'' Republican Congress. This bill says good luck to finding a job. It says good luck to finding affordable health care. This bill says good luck to keeping your home and your family intact. Good luck to feeding your family and your children. When the public demands, as they should, constituent services and help, this bill says, good luck to our constituents.

Representative democracy is really on its way out the door. Case work will be greatly diminished with these unrealistic budget cuts. Bills like this clearly show the Republican agenda for what it is. It's really: Good luck, you are on your own.

Let me ask Members to please oppose this bill because this is not good. It's not good for our staffs; it's not good for our constituents; it's not good for the country.

Mr. Speaker, the right to vote is a fundamental right which is at the heart of this Nation. This right is under attack.

I came to this floor, after the stolen Presidential elections in Florida and Ohio, to protest the results of these two elections that were filled with voter suppression. Now, years later, 34 States, once again, in our map of shame, require voters to present IDs to vote in Federal, State, and local elections. And in 15 of those States, voters must present a photo ID. Some States require that the ID be government- issued, mind you, in order to cast a ballot.

However, for any number of reasons, 21 million Americans do not have a government-issued ID required by these voter ID laws; and, thus, the fundamental right of American citizens is taken away. Most State legislatures have enacted or have proposed legislation echoing similar detrimental voting changes. Many of these bills have only one true purpose, and that is the disenfranchisement of specific populations of eligible voters.

In California, unfortunately, there is a voter ID bill pending to suppress voter participation. It would cost, mind you, $26, $26 just to get the required documents to qualify for a government ID. This certainly looks like a poll tax to me, which all of us from the South know and remember as a way to keep African Americans from voting.

These voter ID laws have a partisan agenda seeking to deny specific populations of people the opportunity to not to vote, which is really very shameful before they have an opportunity to elect their representatives in government. And we cannot allow this.

So I have to thank Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, the Congressional Black Caucus, and all of our colleagues for their voices to protect the right for all citizens across this Nation. And I urge the Department of Justice to be vigilant and aggressive in protecting the civil rights and voting rights of Americans.

We go around the world preaching democracy and the importance of voting; yet we are going in the opposite direction in our own country.

Now I would like to yield to the gentleman from Tennessee, Representative Cohen.

Thank you.

First, let me thank the gentleman for yielding and for his outstanding leadership.

I rise in strong opposition to what has been appropriately labeled as the ``duck, dodge, and dismantle'' budget bill. The Republicans duck making the hard choices by requiring us to actually amend our Constitution before we can act to avoid default. The end result: America fails to pay its bills on time.

The Republicans dodge facing the real challenge by continuing tax breaks for the super wealthy and Big Oil, funding two wars, and other Republican interests. And the Republicans want to dismantle our Nation's economic security for seniors, the disabled, and the poor by cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Making heartless cuts on the backs of the most vulnerable will not balance the budget. And it's morally wrong.

Now, with only 14 days left, Republicans are pushing forward legislation that will guarantee a default and will kill hundreds of thousands of jobs. This ``duck, dodge, and dismantle'' bill would end the social safety net, kill jobs, and set our Nation back rather than move it forward. I urge my colleagues to oppose this job-killing bill that would end up being written in stone in our Constitution. It turns the American Dream into a nightmare.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Geronimo ji Jaga Pratt. A powerful human rights activist, a decorated veteran, a loving partner, father, grandfather, brother, mentor and friend, Geronimo was also a survivor and a fearless harbinger of change. He was a man who inspired so many to advocate for social justice, civil rights and judicial reform, and his story of resilience will be a timeless call to action for all who stand for justice. Geronimo was taken from us too soon on June 2, 2011, in his adopted country of Tanzania. Today, let us find comfort in the joy he inspired and the extensive legacy of his life's work.

Born Elmer G. Pratt on September 13, 1947, in rural Morgan City, Louisiana, Geronimo was the youngest of seven children born to hard- working parents. After high school, where he was a football quarterback, Geronimo joined the Army, earning two Purple Hearts and emerging a sergeant after two tours in Vietnam. Geronimo moved west, where he attended the University of California, Los Angeles to study political science and play football. In 1969, his political inclinations and commitment to social justice led him to assume a leadership position with the city's Black Panther Party.

As the leader of the L.A. Chapter of the Black Panthers, Geronimo became a target of the subversive and immoral FBI COINTELPRO counterintelligence campaign against perceived enemies of the U.S. government. In a tragic series of events, Geronimo was falsely accused, convicted and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, in fact, he was nearly 400 miles away from the scene of the crime. His subsequent 27- year imprisonment, including eight years in solitary confinement, galvanized Free Geronimo campaigns throughout national and international progressive communities. By the time of his overturned conviction and release in 1997, Geronimo had become the symbol of an era and the unceasing fight for human rights.

Rather than dwell on the atrocities that had been committed against him, Geronimo became a positive mentor for young men and women who he believed to be wrongfully convicted of crimes. He later divided his time between Louisiana and Tanzania, where he fostered humanitarian programs for the poor, including projects to provide water and solar power for hundreds of African families.

It is with a very heavy heart that I say goodbye to Geronimo today. As a young mother, bagging groceries, working on the survival rallies, selling newspapers, helping to organize the Panther school, and raising money for candidates of the Black Panther Party, my life was touched by Geronimo's leadership and strength. It was through that often tumultuous experience, and the inspiring people I met, that I entered the political arena. During the time of Geronimo's imprisonment, I remember leveraging my position as the chairwoman of the State Legislature's Black Caucus to bring his case to greater prominence. Despite the injustices he endured, Geronimo was an uplifting force and a great inspiration to me and the entire global community. I will miss him dearly.

Today, California's 9th Congressional District salutes and honors Geronimo ji Jaga Pratt. His life was about seeking justice for those who had no justice. And, his legacy will serve as a reminder that we must always be vigilant of those who aim to suppress freedom, opposition and basic human rights. Geronimo will be remembered for his strong sense of dignity, humility and his generous service to others. He truly epitomized the indomitability of the human spirit. We extend our deepest condolences to Geronimo's family and his extended group of loved ones. He will be deeply missed.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast my votes today. Had I been present to cast my votes, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 33 and ``yes'' on approving the Journal.

Madam Speaker, I rise today, first of all, to pay tribute to a true champion for peace and justice, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. Her leadership is reflected in the fact that today marks the 400th occasion on which she has spoken on the House floor against the ongoing war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan.

Today is really a landmark not only because of Congresswoman Woolsey's outstanding commitment to ending the wars we are engaged in, but also because she is my good friend. And she will be retiring at the end of this term. I was truly honored to be by her side when she announced her retirement after 20 years of bold and visionary service in this House and serving her district. It was a bittersweet occasion. But I know she will do wonderful things in the next chapter of her life.

Congresswoman Woolsey should really be commended for being an unparalleled leader and a guiding light, a truly guiding light in Congress for peace, for SMART Security, and for justice.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank Congresswoman Woolsey for her unwavering leadership and commitment to end the unsustainable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She introduced the very first resolution calling for us to bring our young brave men and women home from Iraq. I believe she pulled together then, what, 130 votes maybe for that resolution? And I want to remind you, this was a time when this body was, quite frankly, very timid in its opposition to the war.

She broke that silence, and I have to thank you for that very historic moment, Congresswoman Woolsey. Now we must ensure that the 45,000 United States troops and our military contractors who remain in Iraq leave Iraq at the end of this year, as stated in our Nation's Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq.

Congresswoman Woolsey's fight to end these wars is directly tied to, really, the impasse that we are facing over our Nation's debt limit, which we are discussing today. She has tirelessly reminded this body, time and time again, that in order to pay for these wars, the United States has taken on incredible debt. This reckless spending and resulting debt are now being used by many in a dangerous political game which threatens the economic future of our country.

Allowing our government to default on this Nation's legal obligations would threaten every American's economic security, it would devastate people's retirement savings, and it would cripple an already struggling housing market.

The truth is, and Congresswoman Woolsey always reminds us of this, is that raising the debt ceiling should be really a very simple thing. This should be a straightforward vote to allow the United States Treasury to fund all of the programs and obligations of the entire government that are already in the law, very simple.

Republicans in the House have already passed a $9 trillion increase in the national debt. And now, instead of working to fund the programs that they already voted to authorize, Republicans are playing a high- stakes game of chicken with the safety and security of every single American so that they can protect the massive tax breaks for the super rich, Big Oil and, of course, hedge funds. They have taken an incredibly irresponsible position that protecting tax breaks for the super rich and Wall Street is more important than protecting the United States Government and Main Street from defaulting on our debt.

And, again, Congresswoman Woolsey has been a leader in protecting Social

Security, and I want to remind all of us today that Social Security and Medicare did not create the national debt, and that is really unconscionable to ask our most vulnerable communities to be the ones who must bear the burden of balancing our budget.

It was the Republicans who told us that the financial markets would regulate themselves. In return, what did we get? The financial crisis.

It's the Republican politicians who keep telling us that tax cuts pay for themselves and create jobs. In return, we have a huge deficit and an unacceptable unemployment rate. And it was Republicans who told us that we could fight two wars while giving more tax breaks to their rich friends.

Of course, Congresswoman Woolsey for years and years and years had reminded us that, first of all, the wars did not need to be fought, but, secondly, they were morally and fiscally wrong. In return, now we will end up paying a cost of nearly $6 trillion by borrowing the money and adding this to the tally of our Nation's debt.

Now, unfortunately, Republicans are blaming their debts on the most vulnerable Americans. Even now they continue to drive our Nation closer and closer to the brink of disaster just to protect massive tax breaks for billionaires.

So once again, in closing, I am proud to stand here with Congresswoman Woolsey as a member of the triad. She is working to end our Nation's wars and will continue to do so to promote national security and to protect our seniors and our children, our working families and the most vulnerable Americans.

Thank you. We owe you, Congresswoman Woolsey, a debt of gratitude.

Madam Speaker, I have always strongly supported Israel's security and rights as a nation, and I continue to support a two-state solution that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, which is essential to achieving peaceful reconciliation among Israel, the Palestinians and their neighbors in the region. Consistent with those principles, yesterday I voted ``present'' on House Resolution 268 because it did not move the parties forward on negotiations or toward these goals. My concern has always been to bring the parties to the table so they can resolve their differences.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I am pleased that my colleagues, Representatives Nadler and Woolsey, are joining me in offering an amendment that make it the policy of the United States to withdraw all members of the United States Armed Forces and military contractors from Iraq by the end of this year.

More importantly, this amendment also clarifies that this timeline cannot be changed unless it is in the form of a treaty requiring the advice and consent of the Senate or unless authorized by an act of Congress.

We must ensure that 45,000 United States troops who remain in Iraq, and our military contractors, leave Iraq at the end of this year, as is stated in our Nation's Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq.

This is of concern because this week the President and some of his advisers are considering just how many troops they can leave behind. Senators and others are publicizing their opinions. Senator McCain of Arizona has suggested 10,000 to 13,000 troops remain to serve for support in intelligence arenas, as air support, and as a peacekeeping force. Others may eventually call for even more to remain. At the same time, the Government of Iraq is feeling pressured on multiple sides to either ask us to stay or to ensure our departure. As one of the original founders of the Out of Iraq Caucus, along with Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, our position has been clear all along--we opposed the war and the occupation from the start, and we have worked day in and day out to end it.

We believe that ending the occupation of Iraq means withdrawing all troops--and we mean all troops--and all military contractors out of Iraq. It would be unacceptable to have troops remaining in Iraq after December 31, 2011, unless of course there was a treaty or an act of Congress. Leaving troops would hurt U.S. national security interests by adding credence to insurgents' narrative about the U.S. being a permanent occupying force. America's interests in Iraq and the region will be best served by eliminating our military presence and making greater use of our Nation's assets, including diplomacy, reconciliation, commerce, development assistance, and humanitarian aid. And we have already said in policy that there shall be no permanent military bases in Iraq.

Iraqis must be responsible for the security of Iraq, which they have demonstrated more and more as we have been pulling out of their country. The American people have no interest in extending our presence in Iraq, and they are looking to Congress to ensure that we bring our troops home and focus the savings on the challenges facing our Nation today.

Furthermore, we need to ensure that if any security commitment is required, that such commitment be established by a treaty or an act of Congress.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I join my esteemed colleague Ms. Jan Schakowsky from Illinois in offering an amendment that hits at the heart of the issue of fiscal responsibility.

This amendment would freeze Department of Defense programs at fiscal

year 2011 levels unless the financial statements of the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2011 are ready to be audited in 6 months from the date of enactment. However, this amendment would exempt military personnel, Reserve and National Guard personnel accounts as well as the Defense Health Program account from this potential funding freeze. It also contains a waiver for any potential harm to national security or combat forces.

In these financial times, which are very difficult as we all know, more and more people are learning of the importance of keeping to a budget and of being able to track where every single penny goes of their paychecks, if they have paychecks. For too many Americans right now, survival boils down to appropriately spending and saving every dollar and every cent that they have and budgeting what little money they have left.

Sadly, the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office have documented that the Defense Department cannot tell the American taxpayers how their money is being spent. That really is quite shocking. We cannot wait any longer for the books to be audited. This requirement first came down in 1990, and over the years, this requirement that they keep the books that can be checked over has been pushed back to 2017. Already the Department of Defense has stated that they need an extension.

How many times do we turn our backs on agencies in their spending money without being able to account for it? How many more stories of expensive ashtrays and overpriced hammers do we need to have before we begin to deal with this in an effective way?

The bloated Pentagon budget, filled with waste, fraud and abuse, must be able to be audited. The American people expect to know where our defense dollars are going. They pay for this Defense Department, and they expect Congress to be the watchdog of these agencies. In fact, I believe that it is critical that the Department of Defense not only be ready for an audit but be able to actually pass an audit.

Today, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, be fiscally responsible and hold the Pentagon accountable to get its financial books in order. We require that of the business sector, of the private sector. We require that of our own family budgets. Why in the world don't we require that of the Pentagon where so many of our hard-earned tax dollars are being spent? We should freeze their spending, freeze their budget, until we know what they're doing with their money. An audit is a very reasonable request, and I hope that the other side understands that this really is in the spirit of fiscal responsibility and in helping to ensure that the Pentagon's books are in order.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Offered By: Ms. Lee

Amendment No. 111: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), add the following new section:

Offered By: Ms. Lee

Amendment No. 112: At the end of the bill (before the

spending reduction amount), insert the following: