Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate two outstanding public servants who have dedicated their lives to serving others and working for social justice in our community. Judges Thomas and Linda Teodosio will receive the 2012 Bishop Cosgrove Justice Award, which will be presented by the Catholic Commission of Summit County. This award is bestowed upon exemplary individuals and organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice in accordance with biblical values.

I have known the Teodosio family for many years and I am honored to call them my friends. Over the years, they have so generously given of their time, talent, and resources to numerous organizations in our community. What strikes me the most in this moment is how the Teodosios have chosen to use tragedy to make a positive impact. I will never forget where I was the day I learned of that terrible accident that took Andrea's life back in February 2011. Andrea Rose Teodosio was a beautiful woman whose kindness enveloped you like a warm ray of light. Her smile always beamed brightly.

Andrea lived her life with compassion and selflessness. She always looked for opportunities to help others, and would do so in a manner that preserved their dignity. Her mother, Linda, recounted a story of how Andrea at age 16 asked if she could give their pizza to a homeless man. Andrea tapped the man on the shoulder and said, ``My mom and I have all these packages and can't carry this pizza. Do you mind taking it?''

Andrea helped others, but never elevated herself in the process. She treated people with dignity.

Today, Andrea's memory and legacy lives on through the Andrea Rose Teodosio Foundation, which was established by Judges Thomas and Linda Teodosio and is administered by their son Christopher. Now, the Andrea Rose Foundation has already made a significant impact on the lives of so many. This organization works to demonstrate the values that Andrea held so dear--assisting the underprivileged and the elderly, actively addressing environmental issues, and promoting community service and education.

The Teodosio Family's service to our community is truly commendable and their example will continue to inspire others to give of their time, talent, and resources to those who are in need. Judges Tom and Linda Teodosio deserve our recognition and appreciation for their diligent work to bring the Andrea Rose Teodosio Foundation to fruition. I congratulate them both for receiving the 2012 Bishop Cosgrove Justice Award and thank them for all that they do to make our community stronger.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary individual who has tirelessly advocated to save the lives of children and others by getting life-saving automated external defibrillators, AEDs, placed in schools across the nation.

Dr. Terry Gordon is the 45th recipient of the Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award given out each year by the Akron Community Foundation to an individual or couple who best exemplifies selfless dedication to humanitarian causes in Akron, Ohio.

A Cleveland Clinic trained cardiologist, Dr. Gordon practiced invasive cardiology at Akron General Medical Center for over 21 years prior to his retirement. In 2000, while serving as President of the Summit County American Heart Association, a 15 year old football player at Barberton High School by the name of Josh Miller collapsed on the field and suffered sudden cardiac arrest. There was no AED on site and, sadly, Josh died of sudden cardiac arrest. The tragic loss of this young man full of promise was devastating to not only Josh's parents and family, but to the entire community.

Upon learning of this tragic loss of life and realizing the school did not have an AED on site, Dr. Gordon began raising funds to place AEDs in every junior and high school, making Summit County, Ohio, the first county of its size to do so and earning him the National Physician of the Year award for 2002 from the American Heart Association. His efforts also resulted in AEDs placed in every police, highway patrol and sheriff's vehicle in Summit County.

Dr. Gordon continued his advocacy at the state level, and in 2005 helped procure $2.5 million from the State of Ohio, which in partnership with the American Heart Association and Akron General Medical Center, placed over 2,200 AEDs in schools throughout Ohio. He later worked with the Ohio General Assembly to allocate an additional $2.5 million needed to complete the task of placing 4,500 devices in Ohio schools.

In 2007, I was proud to partner with Dr. Gordon on this important mission and introduced the Josh Miller HEARTS Act. Named after the Barberton High School football player who we lost to sudden cardiac arrest, the bill establishes a grant program to get automated external defibrillators into elementary and secondary schools across the nation. The Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in both the 110th and 111th Congress and is pending action in the 112th Congress.

In addition to his work advocating for AEDs in schools, Dr. Gordon remains actively engaged in our community, serving on various volunteer boards. He was a founding member of Stewart's Caring Place, a facility of wellness for those with cancer and their loved ones. He has been a member of The Youth Motivational Task Force for many years, has been a long-standing board member of the American Heart Association and is co- host of `Docs Who Rock', a fundraiser for the Summit County United Way. Dr. Gordon is also an accomplished author, whose work includes the book No Storm Lasts Forever.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the selfless dedicated service of Dr. Terry Gordon and in congratulating him on receiving the 45th Polsky Humanitarian Award.

Mr. Speaker, due to problems with travel, I was unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 537, ``yes'' on rollcall No. 538, and ``no'' on rollcall No. 539.

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to cast votes last night. Had I been present--

I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 514.

I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 515.

I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 516.

I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 517.

I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 518.

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

I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I want to be clear that this final amendment does not kill the underlying bill. It only improves it. So regardless of whether you intend to vote for the legislation or against it, you will have the opportunity to do so today.

In a little more than a week, we will be getting back to our districts for the August work period. Some of us will have the opportunity to sit down with seniors to talk about the issues that affect them. Some will visit job sites or national parks. Regardless of where you go, there are basic protections that ensure the safety and the security of the people you'll meet with.

If you represent a district with a high foreclosure rate, there are commonsense protections that stand between your constituents and predatory subprime lenders. If you represent a district that borders one of our Great Lakes, like I do, there are basic protections that aim to keep invasive species, like Asian carp, out of our Great Lakes, protections that not only preserve and protect our natural species but thousands of jobs and the futures of the people from Illinois to New York. If you represent a district that has even one senior, as we all do, there are critical protections to ensure that their prescription drugs are safe and that the care they get must be safe as well.

In a week, we will all face our constituents, constituents who rely on these protections to stay safe, to stay healthy, and to hold onto their share of the American Dream. What this motion to recommit does is to allow us to recommit ourselves to those essential protections for the people whom we serve.

It ensures, while middle class Americans are paying their fair share and are playing by the rules, that those at the very top can't simply hide their money away in foreign bank accounts, because those who do well in America should do well by America. It also ensures that we have the protections we need to protect the financial futures of our middle class families and that we have cuts for them, for the middle class families--those who really need it.

It ensures that those protections that hold invasive species at bay, while allowing future generations to enjoy America's environmental wonders, will be upheld. It ensures that our prescription drugs for our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our grandchildren are safe and that home ownership is still the American Dream, not a subprime nightmare.

If you vote for this final amendment to the bill today, you will be able to honestly tell your constituents that you have voted to protect them, to protect their families, and to protect their futures.

Mr. Speaker, the days left in this Congress are quickly coming to an end. What we have here is an opportunity to accomplish what our constituents sent us here to do nearly 2 years ago--to put politics aside and to put our neighbors first. For the good of our country, let us join together in this moment to pass these commonsense protections.

I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this commonsense, balanced final amendment to the bill. Then we can immediately vote on final passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the laborer and the steelworker. I rise today for the small business owner and the working family. I rise today to support this motion to instruct because we should all rise and we should all strive to support our working families and create jobs right here in this country.

We know that one way to do that is to ensure that the money we spend to rebuild and strengthen our transportation and infrastructure, if we spend it here, it leads to jobs here. If we invest in American iron, steel, and manufactured goods, we are investing in the people who produce those products.

While it's easy to stand up here on the floor and talk about the need to support our workers and create jobs, this motion takes those words and turns them into action. By closing loopholes and strengthening Buy American provisions, we come one step closer to ensuring that every American taxpayer dollar spent on transportation and infrastructure will be spent on an item proudly stamped: ``Made in America.''

Last year, I was proud to introduce the American Jobs First Initiative, a series of four bills to strengthen Buy American laws and level the playing field for American manufacturers and workers. I introduced them, Mr. Speaker, because every day I hear from Ohioans who are ready to get back to work. Every day I hear from Ohioans who just want a chance at a good-paying job and a slice of the American Dream. And every day I hear from Ohioans who want this Congress to act to make sure that when their taxpayer dollars are being used, that we will use American iron and steel and manufactured goods to build that infrastructure.

This is our chance, Mr. Speaker. Vote ``yes'' on this motion to instruct. Vote for jobs. Vote for working Americans. And vote to give our constituents a fair chance at the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, as a strong supporter of the Export-Import Bank, I regret that I was delayed in a constituent meeting and unable to reach the floor to cast my vote on rollcall No. 224, and I am glad to see it passed overwhelmingly, as I have advocated for. Had I not been delayed, I would have voted ``yes,'' consistent with my position of working to create jobs and economic opportunities for working families.

Thank you, Mr. Doyle, for your leadership. This is a great amendment. It's a commonsense amendment. Now we don't know if the XL pipeline will be built. Many have strong opinions on whether or not it should be built at all. But one thing that we should all agree on is, if it is built, it should be built with materials made right here in America.

You see, when we talk about producing energy in America, that doesn't just mean oil, gas, wind, nuclear, and

other sources that power our homes and businesses. It means materials used to extract, refine, and transport that energy. And why does it have to happen that it needs to be American-made materials? Because it means jobs, good-paying jobs that can help to strengthen our middle class. It means stronger communities and a stronger economy at a time when we need that now more than ever. And it means a future with more security and more certainty for the next generation.

This pipeline is going to run through America; it should be made of American iron, steel, and manufactured goods. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense amendment and supporting the American middle class and in supporting American jobs.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 880, a vote on H.R. 527, I inadvertently and mistakenly voted ``aye'' on passage of the bill, when I intended to vote ``nay.'' I have always stood by our working families to defend critical regulations that protect our environment and public safety, and believe that a ``no'' vote on final passage properly reflects my record and the priorities of my district.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and I thank her for the motion.

What's it going to take to get this body to focus on priority one, which is

getting America back to work? Why, Mr. Chair, are we here yet again debating an anti-worker bill when we should be working together to help foster jobs? Instead of trying to disempower workers and further weaken the middle class, why aren't we trying to create opportunities for them and their families? Every day that the focus is on attacking workers instead of generating job opportunities is one day longer we're mired at unacceptable rates of unemployment, and it's one more day that far too many unemployed Americans will struggle.

And yet here we are debating this extreme and lopsided bill to give big corporations the upper hand over working families, a bill that does nothing to bolster our recovery but does a lot to stack the deck against American workers. We have seen this fight before, as the gentlewoman has pointed out, in other places, and the American people are voicing their opposition to these types of fundamentally unfair attacks that stack the deck against workers.

In my State of Ohio, we saw a Governor try to silence our firefighters, teachers, our police officers, our nurses, and other people who serve Ohio. Instead of focusing on jobs, the Governor and his allies pushed the bill through and unleveled the playing field for working families. It wasn't right there and it's not right here, and the American people urge the defeat of this bill.

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

I am in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to this bill, but let me begin by saying that this final amendment, if adopted, will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. Instead, the bill, as amended, will immediately be voted upon for final passage. We may strongly disagree on the bill in question, but surely no one in this Chamber can disagree that, in these hard times, working families in this country deserve a fair shake. Unfortunately, the underlying bill, as written, is fundamentally unfair.

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, in my home State of Ohio, voters, in an exercise of direct democracy, voted to overwhelmingly repeal the infamous senate bill 5, which was a fundamentally unfair and extreme attack on workers. In a resounding victory for middle class Ohioans, many Democrats and Republicans alike went to the polls and soundly rejected the union-busting effort that would have unfairly silenced workers and stacked the deck against them. At a time when public officials across every level of government should be focused on getting Americans back to work, the underlying bill before us today, like Ohio's recently repealed senate bill 5, would unfairly stack the deck against our workers and American jobs.

But the good news, Mr. Speaker, is that it doesn't have to be that way. Right here, right now, Democrats and Republicans together, like so many voters in Ohio joined together, can stand up for fairness and the middle class, and can pass this amendment. Our amendment would improve the bill in three very important ways:

First, it would level the playing field between employees and corporate boards.

It's only fair.

When workers choose whether to organize a union, they're choosing who their representative will be in the workplace. When a board of directors takes a vote on whether to hire a CEO, it's choosing management's representative in the workplace. I doubt that proponents of this bill would ever think of leaving a corporation voiceless or would ever think of throwing obstacles in the way of a corporate board of directors' ability to choose its next CEO. Yet that's exactly what this bill before us does to workers.

It's not right. Workers shouldn't have to wait any longer than a corporate board of directors. So this amendment levels things out by saying that nothing in this bill will impose any longer of a waiting period for workers to vote for a union than any State law imposes on a board of directors voting on a CEO.

Second, this amendment will make sure that elections proceed legitimately and fairly.

Everyone can agree that workers deserve to be fully informed. So this amendment requires that, when a petition for an election is filed, the board must ensure an equal opportunity for workers to hear from all sides. Under current law, Mr. Speaker, only one party--the employer-- can engage in what is called ``captive audience meetings.'' Only one party can force the voters to attend campaign speeches, rallies, and meetings or be fired. Under this motion, under this amendment, the parties would agree to equal access to voters.

It's only fair. No more captive audience meetings unless the parties agree, unless there is fair and equal access to voters so that all sides may be heard and so that workers can judge for themselves and make fully informed choices when it comes time to vote.

Finally and importantly, this amendment discourages job outsourcing. With 9 percent unemployment in the country and with our economy barely growing, the last thing we want to do is reward companies that ship jobs overseas.

The underlying bill provides employers with a nasty weapon for tactical delay. It allows employers to drag out preelection hearings indefinitely, preventing an election from ever happening.

Employers can raise any issue at a time prior to the end of the hearing, even issues that have nothing to do with the conduct of the election or the question of whether there should be an election at all. Outsourcers should not have the benefit of a tactical delay to help ship jobs overseas. We should not allow it.

This amendment says if you have outsourced jobs or announced plans to outsource jobs in the past year, you don't get that privilege. You have to do what every party to a Federal case must do: state your claims at the beginning of the hearing. We shouldn't extend privileges to outsourcers.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this final amendment to the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

I thank the gentleman.

Representative Garamendi, you have done a tremendous job in leading the way and showing the American people, because we all know that things don't have to be the way that they are. We all know that we can invest in the things that have always made our country strong, things like education, that we know not only strengthens the individual but is key to the success of our future, investing in policies that will enable us to make it in America.

And when we talk about make it in America, Representative Garamendi and Representative Tonko, I know that we are often talking about manufacturing. And coming from Ohio, manufacturing of course is not just a part of our past and our history. It is a strong part of what is going to make us successful in the future.

I will tell you, I'm excited because in the coming days I'll be introducing a number of bills that are all related to how we can strengthen U.S. manufacturing and bolster U.S. manufacturing for our workers and our productivity right here in the United States. So I'm grateful to be down here with you. I can just tell you, I went out and talked to our folks and there is a growing belief that there is a better way. There's a comprehensive understanding that things have not been fair, that the deck has been stacked, and that there are still those here who are trying to protect the wealthiest and the most privileged at the expense of the others. And that's why I'm so grateful to have the chance to be here and fight alongside you and Representative Tonko and others, like Representative Jackson Lee from Texas who has just joined us.

In the last election, we heard over and over again the refrain that people don't want a government on their back. And I agree, and I know you do, too, that people don't want a government on their back. But they do want a government on their side, and that's what we're here to make sure that they get, because that is not what they're getting with the Republican legislature as it exists today.

So carry on, Representative Garamendi, and count me in as somebody who supports those investments in education and in making it in America.

Representative Garamendi, if you'll yield just a moment, the name of the bill, just to set the record very clear, is Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act. The whole point of that bill is when we are building our infrastructure, our water and sewer systems, as you point out, that really need to be built in this country, and of course it would put people to work, it would help our communities, spur our economy; and if we do it using U.S.-manufactured goods and iron and steel, which is what the bill would require, then we put even more people to work while we're strengthening our community. So it's the Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act.

I thank the gentleman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and get back to the work of really creating jobs in our country.

Every week I go home to Ohio and I meet with countless men and women who are ready to get back to work. They're ready to prove something that we already know--that the American worker is the most productive and innovative in the world.

Right now there are thousands, an estimate of a million Americans, who could be put back to work if we held China accountable for manipulating its currency. By rigging the system and giving the manufacturers, their manufacturers, an unfair advantage, China has placed a roadblock in our road to economic recovery.

The Senate has already taken action. They passed a bill to hold China accountable and give our workers a level playing field on which to compete. If House Republican leaders are really serious about significant actions to create jobs, they can bring this bill to the floor right now, right here today. We can do something big to help people in Ohio and across the country.

I urge defeat of the previous question so that we can bring the currency manipulation bill to the floor and bring jobs back to the United States.

I thank the gentleman for his leadership. Representative Garamendi has been a strong voice for the people of this country, standing up for the middle class, and it is my privilege to join you down here on behalf of the hardworking people of Ohio.

I think that we begin by noting that we think that the true measure of America's economic success is the well-being of American families, not just the stock market or corporate profits. Now, I know that you've already talked about this, but it's just so important that we focus on the fact that the promise of America must be for all Americans, not just the wealthy few.

So we come to this floor and we once again look at a couple of things. One of them--we've heard it many times, but it bears repeating--you know, even some of those who have done so well in America now are calling on us to have them do well by America. We've heard Warren Buffett say--here's a chart that shows that his income was $46 billion, his tax rate is 17.7 percent. His secretary's income is $60,000 and his secretary's tax rate is 30 percent. And to quote Warren Buffett, he says: ``My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.'' So even he is calling on Congress, and we join him in that call because it's so important that we focus on what is the backbone of this country. What makes this country so great is the strength of its middle class, and we know that it has been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed.

We are now in a place where one in four homeowners are under water. That means owing more on their mortgage than their house is even worth. We

know that college tuition and fees increased about 300 percent over the last 20 years, and graduates are now leaving school with an average debt of $24,000. Taxes for the richest 400 Americans were sliced in half as their income quadrupled and now are paying only 17 percent.

Now, this is a complicated problem, and it's a serious problem; but the good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. We all know that the key, the solution to strengthening this great country and restoring the promise of the middle class lies in getting people back to work.

So I'm very happy to hear you talking about your bill that deals with making sure that we're buying American--iron, steel and manufacturing goods--when we move into new industries in the future. And I have a number of bills that require the use of iron and steel and manufactured goods made in America when we build our infrastructure, which, of course, is one of the key components, that building of our Nation's infrastructure that our President is trying to make happen with the American Jobs Act.

Why do we need to do that? Obviously we need to put people back to work, but we also have this: We have more than 2,700 miles of our roads in need of repair. That's greater than the distance between Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California. Now, that's from the Research and Innovative Technology Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation. So we know that the need is extraordinary.

What would this mean for our workers? Under the American Jobs Act, building new jobs for nearly 2 million unemployed construction workers. Can you imagine?

We know that when we strengthen our infrastructure, we strengthen our middle class and we strengthen our Nation as a whole and its place in the world.

So, with that, thank you again, Representative Garamendi, for being down here fighting the fight, because we can do things differently and get different results, results that work, not just for the privileged few, not just for the billionaires and millionaires, but for people out there who want nothing more than a chance, a fair chance at the American Dream.

You mentioned our water and our sewer infrastructure, which is important, critically important. And as we build that out, I have a bill that's called Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act, and what that would do is it would require that when we build that water----

It's called Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act.

That's correct. And it's very simple because it deals with our water and our sewer infrastructure, which is in desperate need of rebuilding in this country. And as we rebuild it, we can even multiply the jobs out if, as this bill requires, we use American iron, steel, and manufactured goods, because then the ripple effects of putting those folks who work in those industries, our ironworkers, our steelworkers, those who work in manufacturing, they also will have the benefit of us building out, in addition to our construction workers.

Absolutely. Ohio is in need, and I think it's important that we look at not just the cost that we're experiencing today from the failure to put people to work doing this work that needs to be done in our schools, building our Nation's infrastructure, which needs serious attention, according to all of the estimates and all of the surveys out there. The fact of the matter is, it's important to look at the long-term effects, too. Because those schools, if we fail to invest in education, whether it's in the physical facilities or education in general--which is another place that some of our colleagues across the aisle want to cut back.

The American Jobs Act is going to put more teachers in the schools. One of the things that we do is we choke off our future because other countries, make no mistake, they're investing in education because they know that that creates a better future, not just for the children and the students themselves, but for their Nation and the strength of their Nation.

They're also investing in their infrastructure for the same reason, because having an up-to-date, a state-of-the-art infrastructure is going to strengthen their competitiveness. It's going to strengthen their place in the world.

And while others are doing that, here we are with all of this work that needs to be done that would add to the value of our Nation which is so great in the first instance. But there is no substitute for creating real value.

In this last recession, we saw the very risky proposition of people on Wall Street moving money around, not creating any real value. You would think that more would have learned the lesson, because we need to have strong infrastructure. When you put people to work building things, you're creating real value. When you put people to work in manufacturing and you take something of lesser value and you turn it into something of greater value, that cannot be replaced with the smoke-and-mirrors trading that we saw going on before the recession.

Thank you so much, Representative Garamendi.

It seems there are some here in this body, and, with all due respect, there are a lot of folks who come to Congress and they're fairly well- heeled themselves. It seems that some who are here, they seem fixated on protecting those tax breaks that ship jobs overseas. They seem very concerned about that top 1 percent, the billionaires and the millionaires.

It seems as if they almost believe that we can fix this country's economy without making most Americans better off, which is a backwards proposition. It's almost like they think that the top 1 percent is who built this country, and that that's where all of our policies should be aimed.

But I disagree and I know, Representative Garamendi, that you do as well. We understand that when we have people working, building infrastructure and making things and manufacturing, that that has a way of rippling out, right? And then we have those taxpayers who of course are energizing our economy. And then we have the revenue that comes into our communities that can put our firefighters and our police officers and our teachers into a salary that they have earned and they deserve for doing the important work that they do.

But instead of doing that, instead of making the choice that those at the top should pay a fair share, they want to take more out of those firefighters and teachers and police officers and nurses.

Right now as we speak, we're a week away from a referendum in the State of Ohio. If that issue, Issue 2, is voted down, it will be a really big moment because what that would do is it would repeal a bill that was passed by the State legislature there. And that bill is aimed at attacking our firefighters, our police officers, our teachers, and our nurses by reducing their collective bargaining rights, their ability to even have a voice at the table, to be part of the solution, which they always are because they know what's going on in America.

They didn't go into those jobs because they thought that they would

make tons of money. They went into those jobs because they had a commitment to service, to teach our kids, to run into our homes when they're burning to try and save us, to go out on our streets and make them safe. And yet they're the ones that some are looking at to get money back?

It wasn't our teachers or our firefighters or our police officers, it wasn't the seniors on Social Security or Medicare, it wasn't the students and their Pell Grants that drove our economy off the cliff. It was Wall Street that drove our economy off the cliff. And it's time that they pay a fair share so middle class America can start to breathe a little easier again knowing that they'll have opportunities in this country.

Representative Garamendi, I couldn't agree more with the idea that this is the voice of the people, that this is a referendum. They said to the Republican Governor and the legislature there, You've gone too far. Our firefighters and our police officers and our teachers, they're not our enemies. They're our heroes; they're the people who we look up to, who do good work on behalf of all of us, not just those who are the privileged few. And this is where we make our stand: on this referendum.

It's so important that the American people look at what's going on, frankly, in Ohio, and that we have a strong voice. Just to make sure that we have a correct record, a ``no'' vote on that issue is going to repeal that bad bill. We'll see what the people in Ohio do, but I am confident that we're speaking up together for one another and for police and firefighters and teachers.

The gentleman makes such an important point.

Here we are. We're coming up on Veterans Day. It is not enough to just go out to ceremonies on Veterans Day and express our appreciation, although that should happen. We should be expressing our appreciation to veterans, not just through those ceremonies but through our policies. We have all of these veterans out there who are returning from the current wars, and we have other veterans out there looking for opportunities. The American Jobs Act will help us to create those opportunities that they so richly deserve.

Let's be clear: the people who are fighting our wars, they are part of the 99 percent. Very few are part of the 1 percent. So it's really, really important that we do focus on giving them the opportunities, the American Dream, the fact that if you work hard and if you try hard and if you play by the rules that you'll be able to make it in America. That is part of what they were fighting for.

So I could not agree more. We've got to focus on getting help to our veterans.

It is my honor and my privilege to stand up for the people of Ohio and for the veterans you were just speaking of.

I just have to say, those veterans, those men and women who were on the battlefield, they weren't just fighting for Wall Street; they were fighting for the United States of America and all that it stands for. They weren't just fighting for the top 1 percent; they were fighting for all of us. Now they're coming back, and we have an obligation. We have a promise that we have made to them, part of which would be fulfilled if we could get the American Jobs Act passed. So it is incumbent upon us to beat back.

We hear a lot of rhetorical terms. In the last election we heard over and over again, Oh, we could create jobs if we could get government off the backs of the job creators.

Well, look, the refrain, people don't want government on their back, I agree they don't want government on their back. But you know what? They do want government on their side. And that is not what they have been getting and that is why we have to be here, to stand up for the middle class, to stand up for those veterans, for those seniors, for those college students, for those workers, for those firefighters and those police officers, those teachers and those nurses who have suffered far less growth as, we know, Wall Street continues to flourish with record CEO bonuses and all of those profits. We just want people to pay a fair share, and we want the American people to have a fair shake.

Thank you for your leadership. You have been tremendous.

Congresswoman Fudge, I thank you for your leadership. You have been tremendous in this fight, and it is a fight that unfortunately we didn't ask for, but we must fight on behalf of the American people.

There is nothing more important, there is nothing more American than the right to vote. You know, at a time when government officials from all levels of government should be focused on getting America back to work, unfortunately, we are seeing this scourge of voter disenfranchisement, legislation springing up State to State across this country, and we've heard a little bit about that already today.

So over the past century, our Nation, as we expanded the franchise and knocked down all of the barriers that were so hard fought to increase electoral participation, in 2011 that momentum abruptly shifted. We've heard here tonight about how State governments across the country enacted an array of new laws, making it harder to register to vote in some States, and some States requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as 1 in 10 voters do not have. Other States, like our State, have passed laws to cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by millions of Americans. Two States reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have criminal convictions. But these new restrictions fall most heavily on a specific population.

These would be insidious. Any attempt to prevent somebody from exercising their right to vote, of having the voice at the ballot box, would be insidious, but when you look at these laws, you start to see a pattern emerging. There is an effort to target voters who appear, who people think, some people think, may have a tendency to vote for one party over the other party. So voters who are being perceived as Democratic voters are being targeted by these laws. And why do I say that? What is the basis for me saying that? Because we have seen where these voter ID laws fall most harshly.

We heard from the gentlelady from Wisconsin making the case, but it's really important. Let me just tell you a couple of examples. In Tennessee, 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper, a lifelong voter, attempted to secure the new ID that she would need to vote in the next election. When she arrived at the DMV, she was turned away because despite having her birth certificate, current voter registration card, and a copy of her lease, she did not have a marriage license--she was 96--a marriage license, to verify the change of name.

In Texas, thanks to a new voter ID law, students may not use their school-issued photo IDs to vote, and we saw this in Ohio as well, an effort to try and restrict student IDs as a valid form of identification to vote.

So in Texas, while Texans who possess concealed weapons permits are allowed to use their permits to vote, those with student IDs are not. This justification just seems a little bit arbitrary. And according to one State representative, it's that: ``Texas, you know, is a big handgun State so everybody has almost got a concealed handgun license over 21.'' That was the argument that was given for that distinction.

But the bottom line is this. We are here on the floor tonight because we have people--we've seen the protests out there. We know that there are those, and they are holding signs, and they say: ``We are the 99 percent.'' We see the plight that our middle class families are facing throughout this country, but I think it's worthwhile to bring up that idea about the 99 percent, and I'll tell you why. Because the reality is there are those in this country who have a lot of power, and that's what that 99 percent and the upper 1 percent is about, right? And they have a lot of voice. You know why? Because they have a lot of money that they use to make their voice heard. But the truth is, the upper 1 percent that controls so much of the power and so much of the money in this country still only controls 1 percent of the vote--unless the deck is stacked.

And so that 99 percent needs to have access to the voter box, because that is the place that we are all equal. So I am proud to stand with you to fight back against these efforts to suppress the vote and to stand up for democracy--democracy that was fought for and is still being fought for by our men and women in uniform.

I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for yielding.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm happy to be here on the floor in a way tonight because it gives me a chance to speak up for so many Americans, so many Ohioans that I have the great privilege to represent from Ohio's 13th Congressional District. The people that I have the honor to serve are hardworking folks, people who want nothing more than a government that works with them and not against them.

In recent days we've seen and, frankly, for weeks now we've seen a number of Americans out in the street. The Occupy Wall Street movement has grown. It has spread throughout the country, and we still hear some people say that they're confused about what it is, that those who are out there protesting, what is their message.

Well, a few weeks ago I traveled to Wall Street and joined the protesters to see what it was that brought them there. And while there are a number of voices, there was one theme that was extraordinarily consistent; and, really, what that theme was is there are so many people out there who are struggling. And they are just begging to be heard, heard by those of us who come here to represent them. And they want to be heard, not just their voices, but they want to see their voices reflected in policies that will improve their lives and their opportunities in this great country.

We are a great country because we have a strong middle class. We have upward mobility that allows people who are willing to work hard, it's that American Dream, that if they're willing to work hard, that there will be a chance for them to take care of themselves and their families and find a way to live in a comfortable manner. But that dream is slipping away from so many; and so we see them gathered, sometimes at these protests, and we see them when we go home to our communities, because we know that American families have been suffering under the effects of this recession.

And at the same time American families, so many workers and others are suffering, we're seeing some here in this body, and beyond the House of Representatives, we see them continuing to look out just for those who are at the very top of the heap. And so thus comes the phrase, ``we are the 99 percent'' that we hear echoed on Wall Street and throughout the United States, because they want to be recognized. They want to be heard, because the top 1 percent, those who control so much of the wealth and so much of the power in this country, they have a lot of money to speak with. They can speak through campaign contributions, and they do. And they can speak through sometimes secret committees that impact elections and impact policy, and they do.

But who will speak for the rest of the people, for policies that will make sense to the American people, those who I have the privilege, as I said, to represent in Ohio? Those hardworking folks who just want a job, who just want a fair shake, who just want an opportunity?

I believe in them. I believe in the American people, and I believe that if given a chance, they will take that chance and they will climb that ladder of opportunity. That's why we see kids, see students out in those protests. We see them, who have done everything we've asked them. They've gone to school, they've gone to college, and now they're trying to pay off that college debt, and there's no job.

And instead of being focused on jobs here in this body, here we are at the

end of October and the Republican majority has not brought any jobs agenda forward. Oh, yeah, we hear about--what do we hear about? We hear about the need for more deregulation. Well, the very thing that brings some of those to Wall Street, the fact that we had deregulation. Deregulation. It wasn't the college students that I speak of who drove our economy off the cliff, it wasn't the kids on Head Start, and it wasn't our seniors; and yet it is those groups that are being targeted here for cuts instead of those who drove our economy off the cliff.

All that people want is for everybody to pay a fair share and for people in this country to have the chance, for those who are in the middle class to stop getting squeezed, and for those who aspire to the middle class to be able to reach for that dream that has served us so well.

So that is why I come to the floor tonight, to speak up for those who are out there who are begging to be heard, not only their words, but to have their words reflected in a better way and a better day.

So here tonight I'm very honored to see my colleague, Representative Tonko, who is a great leader, a man of great compassion and thoughtfulness, a problem solver, somebody who's looking for solutions for the people. The most innovative and capable people in this country have joined me tonight. Thank you, Representative Tonko, for being here.

I thank the gentleman.

And you put it so very well, and this chart also helps us begin with the starting point for what people out there are feeling. They know that something is fundamentally unfair. They know that something is very, very out of whack. They know that our economy suffered a Great Recession. They know that they are still suffering a Great Recession.

And do you know what else they know? They know that Wall Street has recovered. They know that in 2009, after receiving trillions in taxpayer-funded bailouts, the top 38 financial firms gave record pay to their employees during that Great Recession. So they're calling on us for some increased fairness, taking some of this and translating it into opportunity. After all, it was the taxpayers who came to their aid.

I am now happy to welcome Representative John Garamendi, a great leader, a guy who understands that we need to create jobs in this country, that we need to make things in America.

Representative Garamendi, thank you for joining us.

You are so right, Representative Garamendi. And at a time when all elected officials across all levels of government should be focused on jobs, we see our colleagues across the aisle here, the Republicans, offering nothing by way of jobs, and we see them fixated on protecting millionaires and billionaires and Wall Street banks that helped to drive our economy off the cliff.

At the same time, they look to go after things like Medicare that our seniors depend upon. They look at cuts for nutrition programs that are so desperately needed. They want to take it out of the hide of our workers. It wasn't our workers who drove our economy off the cliff; and, frankly, they are not part of the problem.

Getting them to work, back to work, the American people back to work, is the key to solving our problem. And they want us focused on jobs.

So I'm so grateful that you are here, and I'm glad that, Representative Tonko, you are here to stand up for common sense, for a future that is as great as our past.

Representative Tonko.

I thank the gentleman for his passion and for his brilliant remarks. There is brilliance in common sense, and we know that the American people get it. This is no secret. That's why they're speaking up. They're standing up for what has always made this country so great.

I hope that everybody will take that approach, and I thank the gentleman for his kind words. Do you know what? You're right. The workers can say it better than anybody.

When I went to Wall Street, when I traveled there to stand with those who were standing up for fundamental fairness and opportunity, that really is the essence of what it is. I've heard from so many people in Ohio, and they've put it so well. I'll just share a couple of remarks they sent my way.

Jessie from Silver Lake, Ohio, says:

A strong working middle class is what drives an economy, not 25 percent of this country's wealth in the hands of the upper 1 percent. In a democracy, all votes should have the opportunity to rise. There will always be some with more money and some with less money, but this disparity now is disastrous for our future.

Debbie from Avon, Ohio, says:

We need to stop corporate greed. The rich are continuing to get wealthier and not pass down opportunities in the form of jobs to the people who are the most needy. People want to work for a living. We need the people who are benefiting the most to give people an opportunity by creating jobs. My fear is that we're creating a society where there is strong resentment.

Alice says:

Many big companies have not created jobs in the U.S. Instead, they've taken many of their jobs to the countries with the cheapest labor, the least regulations and few employee rights. This flies in the face of the Republicans' concern that taxes on the rich mean fewer jobs.

On that point, every day in the United States we are losing 15 factories. Yet, here on this House floor, those on the other side of the aisle are content in trying to protect the loopholes that encourage jobs to be shipped overseas. We don't think that's a good idea. We don't think that's good for America. When I pledge allegiance to the flag, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; but when multinationals pledge allegiance to the flag, I don't know who they pledge allegiance to.

I think it's really important that people down here stand up for U.S. manufacturing and U.S. workers. Close those loopholes that continue to help ship our jobs overseas, and make some sense, frankly, of our trade policies. We need to really crack down on unfair trade practices like the currency manipulation. We passed that bill through the House last year, a bill that would have reined in China's currency manipulation. It is ready to go again. It passed in a bipartisan way. If the Speaker of the House would just bring it to the floor, we know that we would

pass it. It's estimated it would create a million jobs. It could make the difference of a million jobs, and would cost us nothing.

Yet, Representative Garamendi, there you stand with a plaque that is really important because, instead of going for those million jobs, what do we have?

I thank the gentleman. I thank you for laying it out in very simple terms.

I mean, the fact of the matter is we can invest in America. We can put people back to work because we do have a long-term deficit that we're going to deal with, but the biggest deficit we have right now is a deficit of jobs.

And we have no deficit of work. There is much to be done, and we've got a lot of people trying to do it, wanting the chance to do it. We could build our infrastructure; and when we build our infrastructure, we can do it with American iron, steel, and manufactured goods.

The President's proposal to put people back to work. We can't get rid of the long-term deficit in this country unless people go back to work.

This is a great country that we have the privilege of serving, and we just want to make sure that we do right by the country and by the people who we are here to represent. We have heard it before, we know we have heard those out there who say corporations are people. Well, I say people are people, and those are those people I'm here to support.

Representative Tonko.

Thank you, Representative Tonko. Thank you, Representative Garamendi. We do need to stand up together, stand up for seniors, push back those attacks on Medicare. We need to stand up for workers.

We need to stand up for jobs, and we need to stand up and make sure that those who have done well in America do well by America. Wall Street and everyone needs to pay their fair share.

I yield back the balance of my time