Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on October 3, 2008, Addie Polk, a 90-year- old woman from Akron, Ohio, in my district, shot herself because her home was in foreclosure. Ms. Polk fell behind on her mortgage payments, and could not bear to lose the home that she had lived in for nearly 40 years. Fortunately, Ms. Polk survived and her home was saved, but Ms. Polk is not alone.

Millions of homeowners across the country are finding it more difficult to keep up with their payments. Homeowners are struggling for many reasons. Many, in fact, have lost their jobs. You're right when you say Americans don't want welfare--they want jobs--which is why we passed the recovery act just a couple of weeks ago. Some have lost their homes because of health care costs, another issue that our President and this Congress are set to take action on. Some have lost their homes because they were deceived into signing predatory loans, another issue that we're acting on, and some did get in over their heads when they shouldn't have.

Regardless of the cause, the crisis is real. It is real not only for homeowners like Addie Polk who are losing their homes; it is real for our communities, and it is real for our country. We have an interest and a responsibility to do better in dealing with the challenge.

Today, the House will vote on the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. The bill provides homeowners with options to refinance into mortgages that they can afford, and it will help countless families stay in their homes. Now, this is not the end. It is just one step in tackling the housing challenge that we face as a nation.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this crucial legislation because Americans like Addie Polk and so many others out there deserve more than feeling so desperate as to shoot themselves, after living in a home for almost 40 years, for fear of losing it.

Mr. Speaker, President Obama inherited a fiscal mess created by 8 years of Republican economic and fiscal policies. Tonight, our new President will begin the slow process of restoring fiscal discipline to Washington. He will do that first by leveling with the American people about the true costs of the budget he'll release on Thursday.

Second, he will re-institute the pay-as-you-go guidelines similar to those that have been in place here in the Democratic House now for the last 2

years. The principle of pay-as-you-go played an instrumental role in creating the budget surpluses of the 1990s. Unfortunately, those commonsense principles were rejected by the Bush administration, and helped lead to the record deficit that our country must now address.

And, third, President Obama is expected to propose mandatory, across- the-board spending cuts to offset any new initiative that expands the government's red ink.

Mr. Speaker, these reforms will help us cut the budget deficit in half over the next 5 years, which is not bad, considering what we inherited from our Republican friends.

Well, I thank the gentleman, and I thank you for organizing this today on the floor.

It is just so critical--and you have heard it here from every speaker thus far--that we get this bill passed. The reason for that is we need to get the American recovery going.

I come from Ohio. I arrived in these halls, and it was shortly thereafter that, as I walked down the halls, people started saying to me when they saw me coming, ``Jobs, jobs, jobs.'' The reason they said that is, from the day I arrived in Congress, I have been fighting for economic opportunities for the people whom I am so honored to represent, and I know that that need extends beyond Ohio.

As you have heard, this bill--but it bears repeating--will create and will save up to 4 million jobs. We will be doing things like rebuilding America. It will make us more globally competitive. We are going to give 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut that they desperately need. We will invest in roads, bridges and mass transit, flood control, clean water projects, and other infrastructure projects that all need to be done. This is work that has to be accomplished for many, many reasons, not just because it will, in effect, also stimulate our economy.

But if you're going to make massive infusions and investments in America, doesn't it make sense to invest in doing the work that needs to be done that will benefit the good of our whole and that will also strengthen our Nation's going forward? That is what this bill does.

It also contains unprecedented accountability measures. So important. So important. We've all seen the news, and those in Congress have watched with amazement as we've seen irresponsible behavior in the expenditure of funds that are taxpayer funds. We're all very disgusted by some of what has happened with the first tranche of the TARP funding. So these accountability measures under this new administration are critically important to restoring the trust of this Nation and of the people whom we are so, so fortunate to represent.

We have heard also about this bill and its scope. The truth of the matter is this is not about being a Democrat, and this is not about being a Republican. We just need a bill that will work for the American people. There is room for everybody who wants to help. Now, it is true that we won't all get everything we want into this bill, and I

won't go into the things for which I am dismayed may or may not ultimately end up in this bill.

The fact of the matter is it creates those jobs, jobs, jobs that the people in Ohio and across this country so need. As for the support of this bill, as I said, it's not about being a Democrat, and it's not about being a Republican. It has broad support across this country.

Sometimes we get wrapped up with what goes on here, but you know, it's from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, from the National Association of Manufacturers, from the Associated General Contractors of America to Representatives like Mike Castle, who is a Republican from Delaware, who said, ``I am always concerned when the Republican party takes a negative position on something that should be moving forward.'' Now, I'm not sure that's a statement of support, but I do know that that is something that he said about some who may not be willing to act yet even though we need so much done.

Governor Charlie Crist appeared with President Obama to talk about the plan and about the hope that it offers for this great country. Charlie Crist said, ``This is a time when our country needs all of us to pull together.'' We have all heard before that we come here on different ships, perhaps, but we are all in the same boat now on this thing. It's about jobs, jobs, jobs for Americans and Floridians. The list goes on.

There are people of both parties who are working diligently to try and get us to a place that will allow us to pass this bill because action delayed is very, very costly as you have already heard here today. Even if you have not heard it today, you have seen it because you've seen it in your neighborhoods; you've seen it on the streets where you live; you've seen it in your neighbors who are losing their homes; you've seen it in your friends who are losing their jobs.

This is a great country. What this bill is really about is our making a massive investment in this country and in the people who live here. So let us get this bill passed. I am looking forward to it. I invite all to join us in that effort who have that opportunity. Let us put Americans back to work, doing things that America needs to have done.

I thank the gentleman from Connecticut and all of my colleagues who have risen here today to talk about what is so important for this country.

It's been said so well, but it bears again, as I've mentioned, repeating. Time is of the essence, and so here we are 3 weeks and 1 day from President Obama's inauguration, and we're on track to reach agreement on an historic Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We know it's going to create millions of jobs. We know that it is going to help 95 percent of American workers with tax cuts. It will begin the process of transforming our economy, and it contains that necessary unprecedented accountability and transparency.

But in its simplest form, in its simplest summary, this bill is all about restoring the promise of the middle class, restoring the promise that this country is founded on and has grown to greatness because of. You know, this is about our workers, and this is about our businesses. This is about our States and our communities and all the families and the people who live there.

It has components about health care. It has components about putting people to work, building things, our infrastructure that we all know is crumbling and has resulted in tragedy. And my good friend from Minnesota knows that all too well, as we watched that bridge crumble and lives were lost.

This is a great, challenging time for this country. But we do have opportunity in this moment, and this bill is the beginning of it because this is our beginning on the path back to restoring the promise of the middle class.

I thank the gentleman for the time and for his leadership on this critical issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act. This legislation is long overdue for our Nation's children.

I want to share a story about a girl from my district that puts this issue all into perspective. I met Rose and her mother at an event one weekend back in my district in Ohio, and I will never forget the moment her mom introduced her to me. She looked up at me full of hope and she, in a moment, reached out and she hugged me.

After Rose walked away, her mom explained to me that her daughter had cancer and was preparing for a bone marrow transplant. Before I could even digest what her mom was saying that their family was going through, Dawn, her mother, said, when are you guys going to pass SCHIP, because Rose has insurance, but there are a lot of kids in this country who don't, and they deserve the same opportunity for a future.

Dawn was right, nearly 9 million children in this country do not have health insurance. Those kids need the same opportunity to have the health care that they need. In the midst of fighting cancer with her daughter, Dawn found the courage and compassion to look beyond her struggle to stand up for kids across this Nation without health insurance.

I share this story with my colleagues because today we have the opportunity to look beyond all differences to finally pass this legislation. This bill will allow an additional 4 million children across this country, which includes 200,000 children in Ohio, to obtain health insurance.

The urgency could not be more clear. With an ailing economy the population of uninsured is growing, and we know that a 1-percent increase in employment is projected to increase the number of uninsured by 1.1 million kids. In these difficult economic times, the least we can do is make sure that our children have access to the health care they need and deserve.

I am pleased to report that Rose has received her bone marrow transplant and her eyes and her future are bright. Let's do the same for the rest of America's kids.

I thank the gentleman for the time and for his leadership on this issue.

I thank the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Mr. Miller, for his tremendous leadership, as well as Representative Rosa DeLauro for her commitment. And I rise today in strong support of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I wish this legislation were not necessary. But, sadly, nearly 45 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, pay discrimination still exists; and in one fell swoop, in the Ledbetter case, the Supreme Court made it immensely easier for discrimination to prevail at the expense of women and their families across this country, and that is unacceptable.

The Court held that Lilly Ledbetter would have had to file a complaint within 180 days of when her employer began years of discrimination against her even though there was no way that she could have known that she was being discriminated against. The Court, in effect, eliminated any real opportunity for victims of long-term gender-based pay discrimination to be made whole and provided employers who engage in pay discrimination for years to do so without consequence.

Let's pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time and for his leadership, and I thank the distinguished Chair of the Education and Labor Committee, Mr. Miller, for his leadership, and, of course, the gentlewoman from Connecticut, Ms. DeLauro, for her unyielding advocacy on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. Last November, people across this country voted for change, and with passage of this legislation we will finally change the wage gap that has persisted between men and women.

We know the statistics: 77 cents on the dollar that women earn as opposed to men. But this is about more than statistics. It is about people. It is about women and it is about their families, and it is about fairness. With every paycheck of these affected women, they are cheated and their families are cheated. It robs families of earned income, it robs their pensions, it robs their Social Security benefits, and it robs them of fairness and justice.

We are a country that values fairness and justice for all of our citizens, not just those of a certain gender. Let's pass this bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this very important matter.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, which we must pass here today. After 8 years of failed policies and economic pain, the families in my district and across Ohio are trying to hang on.

Since 2001, 1,087 Ohio factories, companies and operations have shut down or had massive layoffs. That is one company shutting down or laying off workers every 2\1/2\ days for 8 straight years. That is an average of 61 jobs lost each day due to shutdowns or layoffs. In fact, since 2001, Ohio has lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs alone, and now our State's unemployment rate is 7.4 percent, nearly double the 2001 level.

In order to keep our families strong and workers competitive, we must extend these unemployment benefits.

Madam Speaker, 22,478 unemployed workers in my home State of Ohio will lose their benefits in October, and a total of 34,389 will lose their benefits between October and December, right before the holidays.

Madam Speaker, we must act here to pass this bill with the same sense of urgency to help our families as we did to pass the economic recovery package just voted on to free up the credit markets. Extending these unemployment benefits is critical. We must extend them to help our workers who are struggling to find jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, October 3, 2008, at 9 a.m.

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate Mission Specialist Michael T. Good on his upcoming trip into space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Mission Specialist Good is one of seven astronauts who will fly on the shuttle's fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. This 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to make repairs to the telescope, extending its life into the next decade.

Mission Specialist Good is a native of Broadview Heights, Ohio, in the 13th Congressional District. He attended Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, located in Brecksville, Ohio, Which is also located in my congressional district. His wife Joan is also from Broadview Heights. The couple has three children, Bryan, Jason, and Shannon.

Mission Specialist Good is a distinguished graduate of the University of Notre Dame with both a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering.

As a colonel in the United States Air Force, he has logged over 2,100 hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

Good was selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000. Following 2 years of training and evaluation he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and the Space Shuttle Branch.

On October 14, 2008, at approximately 10:19 p.m., Mission Specialist Michael Good and the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Once again, I rise to express my congratulations and best wishes for Brecksville, Ohio's Mission Specialist Michael Good. Best wishes for a safe and productive journey.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the motions to suspend the rules relating to the following measures be considered as adopted in the form considered by the House on Monday, September 22, 2008, or Tuesday, September 23, 2008, as applicable:

H.R. 160, H.R. 2933, H.R. 4828, H.R. 6323, H.R. 2994, and H.R. 1532.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be here on the floor this evening during Hispanic Heritage Month to honor the Hispanic community and pay tribute to the extraordinary contributions that Hispanics have made and continue to make to our great Nation.

There are 45.5 million Hispanics in America whose hard work, strong faith and closely knit families have made America a better and stronger country. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor some of the Hispanic leaders in my congressional district who selflessly serve our communities with diligence and passion.

Leaders including Joel Arredondo, president of the Lorain City Council and president of the Coalition of Hispanic Issues in Progress. Joel is an active leader in our community, and as a result, last year the Lorain County Urban League honored him as the Community Leader of the Year.

Pastor Gilbert Silva is the pastor at House of Praise in Lorain, Ohio. Pastor Silva has touched the lives of many people through his thoughtful sermons and one-on-one interaction with his parishioners.

Celestino Rivera, chief of police for the City of Lorain. Chief Rivera serves in his position with professionalism and integrity in his mission to protect and serve our community.

First Sergeant Sam Obechi teaches the Honor Guard at the Southview School Army Junior ROTC. Not only has Sergeant Obechi selflessly served our country, he serves our community and our Nation by teaching young men and women how to prepare for college and the Armed Services.

Victor Leandry, director of El Centro Social Services, which is a regional affiliate for the National Council of La Raza. His commitment to the community is seen through his work in civil rights, social justice, community development, and education.

Nellie Carraballo is a member of Steelworkers Local 1104. I had the honor of serving on a panel with Nellie recently to discuss the so- called U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Nellie has helped educate many in my community by sharing the worker's rights violations that she witnessed while she was on a trip to Colombia.

Laura Rios, director of a community grassroots organization in my district called Reclaim Lorain. Laura and her group have energized the community through their local initiatives, such as their campaign encouraging people to vote.

Mr. Speaker, the individuals that I have mentioned are only a few of the very many Hispanic leaders in Ohio and across our country who are fighting to improve our community and our neighborhoods.

The Hispanic community is a vital part of our Nation economically, culturally and politically, and the 110th Democratic Congress has been successful in enacting key initiatives to help revitalize our economy and renew the American Dream for millions of America's Hispanic families.

We increased the minimum wage, benefiting 2.3 million Hispanics over the next several years, the first increase in a decade.

We have twice passed legislation to provide health care coverage for 10 million children in need, including millions of Hispanic children. Now, unfortunately, President Bush vetoed these measures, preventing children from accessing the health care that they need.

But in addition, this Congress has extended unemployment benefits at a time when the Hispanic unemployment rate stands at 8 percent.

Finally, this Congress has passed landmark measures to improve the lives of America's veterans, including the 1.1 million veterans who are Hispanic.

Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that Congress continue to focus on expanding economic opportunities for our Hispanic working families and communities.

I will continue to fight to ensure that Hispanics in my district have a voice in Washington, D.C., and once again, I'm proud to recognize our Hispanic leaders in my district in Ohio and all across our great Nation.

I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and recognize all of the accomplishments of the Hispanic community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 6874) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 156 Taunton Avenue in Seekonk, Massachusetts, as the ``Lance Corporal Eric Paul Valdepenas Post Office Building,'' and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 351) honoring the 225th Anniversary of the Continental Congress meeting in Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1783, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1000) to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Naming of Pittsburgh as the culmination of the Forbes Campaign across Pennsylvania and the significance this event played in the making of America, in the settlement of the Continent, and in spreading the ideals of freedom and democracy throughout the world, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1418) congratulating Michael Phelps, 2008 Beijing summer Olympic champion swimmer, on winning eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and becoming one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.