Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 568, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. I reluctantly missed this vote due to a longstanding commitment to

give the commencement address at Passaic County Community College, in my district, but had I been present, I would have voted AYE.

I am a proud to co-sponsor this legislation. It is completely unacceptable to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, and the government of Iran has isolated itself from the community of nations because of its refusal to negotiate or suspend its program. I have long supported strong sanctions on the Iranian regime to pressure them to abandon their nuclear program.

A nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East. I have always been a strong supporter of Israel's right to exist and defend itself, and I believe that the nation of Israel truly shares the ideals of freedom and democracy with the United States. Additionally, as a state sponsor of terror, the possibility that Iranian nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands is all too real. This would greatly increase the chance that a nuclear weapon could be detonated anywhere in the world. For these reasons, we simply cannot afford to contain a nuclear armed Iran.

I commend the House of Representatives for passing this legislation by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, which demonstrates the incredible level of support in the United States Congress and among the American people for protecting Israel and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capability.

Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that on May 17, 2012, I missed several rollcall votes due to a longstanding commitment to give the commencement address at Passaic County Community College, in my district.

Had I been present I would have voted:

``Nay''--rollcall Vote No. 259--Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule providing for consideration of amendments to H.R. 4310.

``Nay''--rollcall Vote No. 260--H. Res. 661--Rule providing for further consideration of H.R. 4310--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013.

``Aye''--rollcall Vote No. 261--H. Res. 568--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, as amended.

``Aye''--rollcall Vote No. 262--H.R. 5740--To extend the National Flood Insurance Program.

``Nay''--rollcall Vote No. 263--Rohrabacher (R CA): Amendment No. 4-- Prohibits funds made available by this Act from being used for assistance to Pakistan in fiscal year 2013.

While Pakistan has often not behaved as a good ally should, I do not believe it is in our national security interests to cut off all funding for military assistance and cooperation. It is an undeniable fact that we must work with the Pakistani government in order to keep our troops safe and supplied, and therefore cutting off all funding would not be prudent.

``Aye''--rollcall Vote No. 264--Lee (D CA): Amendment No. 5--Limits the use of funds made available in this Act to only the withdrawal of all members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DoD) contractors from Afghanistan.

I strongly support an accelerated drawdown of our troops from Afghanistan, where they have been fighting for far too long. While we must continue to help the Afghan people to build their country with humanitarian and diplomatic support, it is time for our troops to leave.

``Aye''--rollcall Vote No. 265--Connolly (R VA): Amendment No. 6-- Withholds funds from the Coalition Support Fund until the Secretary of Defense certifies that Pakistan has opened the Ground Lines of Communication, is allowing the transit of NATO supplies through Pakistan into Afghanistan, is supporting the retrograde of U.S. equipment out of Afghanistan.

I believe this amendment takes the correct approach by providing leverage to correct some of Pakistan's most egregious behavior while rewarding them for cooperation with our military efforts.

``No''--rollcall Vote No. 266--Rooney (R FL): Amendment No. 7-- Directs that foreign nationals suspected of terrorism be tried only by military commissions.

I do not believe we should be taking away the tool of our robust domestic court system from the President. Military commissions are often an appropriate venue, but our domestic courts have tried and convicted terrorists on numerous occasions and are often the best tool we have for trying and convicting those who seek to harm Americans.

``No''--rollcall Vote No. 267--Bartlett (R MD): Amendment No. 8-- Prevents the DoD from requiring contractors to enter into a project labor agreement (PLA) as a condition of winning a federal construction contract.

Project labor agreements are an important tool that our government uses for large scale construction jobs to ensure they are safe and efficient. They are often cheaper than not using PLAs and this amendment would impose an unnecessary mandate on our government.

``Yes''--rollcall Vote No. 269--Markey (D MA): Amendment No. 11-- Prohibits any funds made available by this Act, as well as any funds authorized and appropriated to the DoD through FY2023, from being used for the research, development, testing, and evaluation of a long range penetrating bomber aircraft.

Our current bomber fleet is scheduled to be active for several more decades. This amendment will save $18 billion over the next ten years; funding could be better spent investing in our education, infrastructure and healthcare.

``Yes''--rollcall Vote No. 270--Polis (D CO): Amendment No. 12-- Reduces the funds authorized in this Act for the ground-based midcourse missile defense system by $403 million and would direct that amount to deficit reduction.

The GAO recommended this reduction, and the Pentagon has suspended this program

until the problem with the recent failed tests can be fixed. With our deficit so high and the need to invest in education, health care and infrastructure so great, we must find savings wherever they can be found, including the defense budget.

Madam Speaker, this bill takes steps backwards from offering full protections for women and children who suffer unspeakable abuse.

I'm not questioning the intentions, Madam Speaker, of those on the other side; that's not my purpose here. But who are we excluding today? You're either a unifier on the floor or you are a divider. Instead of passing the bipartisan Senate bill that provides protections for women who are victims of abuse, the majority has decided instead to turn women's safety and security into a political fight. It shouldn't be.

According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, an average of 24 people per minute

are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner.

The Violence Against Women Act makes great strides. It shouldn't matter if a woman is an immigrant or a member of the LGBT community. I'm against this rule. I'm against the bill. I hope we can come together on a final resolution of this.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following eleven rollcall votes. Had I been present I would have voted:

1. Aye--Peters (D MI)--Page 3, Line 10- Adds $9 million for International Trade Administration offset by cuts to Cross Agency Support--NASA.

2. Nay--Broun (R GA)--Page 3, Line 10--3% cut to Salaries and Expenses/Administrative Accounts, $847 million, and puts the savings into the Spending Reduction Account.

3. Nay--McClintock (R CA)--Page 3, Line 10--Cuts $277.8 million from the International Trade Administration and puts the savings into the Spending Reduction Account.

4. Aye--Michaud (D ME)--Page 5, Line 17--Adds $38 million Economic Development Administration, offset: Census Account.

5. Nay--Pompeo (R KS)--Amendment No. 3--Cuts funding for the Economic Development Administration, $219.5 million, and puts the savings in the Spending Reduction Account.

6. Nay--Scalise (R LA)--Page 6, Line 7--Reduces spending and overhead of Economic Development Administration and the Department of Commerce to FY08 levels and reduces the Deficit by $18.2 million.

7. Nay--Quayle (R AZ)--Page 11, Line 18--Eliminates funding for Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia, $21 million, and puts the savings into the Spending Reduction Account.

8. Nay--Harris (R MD)--Amendment No. 10--Strikes $542,000 increase from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Website and puts the savings into the Spending Reduction Account.

9. Aye--Grimm (R NY)--Page 13, Line 2- Adds $18 million for Regional Information Sharing Systems, offset: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Climate Services.

10. Nay--Broun (R GA)--Page 15, Line 13--Cuts $15 million from the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery account and puts the savings into the Spending Reduction Account.

11. Aye--Runyan (R NJ)--Page 21, Line 23--Transfers $22.4 million from Department of Justice General Administrative Expenses to the Byrne Memorial Justice Program.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that our Vice President, Joe Biden was correct when he said, ``Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value''. Well Mr. Speaker, we have seen the Tea Party budget, and we sure know what their values are.

The majority values millionaires over women and children's access to healthcare. They value corporate welfare for outsourcing jobs over helping the next generation of workers afford college. And they value oil and gas companies over ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens, including seniors and children, have access to important nutrition and healthcare programs, plain and simple.

As a Member of the Committee on Ways and Means, I fought against that committee's unfair reconciliation legislation that inordinately Placed the burden of increased defense spending and tax cuts for the very wealthy on seniors, the disabled and middle class families.

Instead of asking the wealthiest amongst us to pay just a small fraction of their income more, the majority's legislation squeezes it out of the 14.5% of U.S. children living in poverty in New Jersey. This bill will snatch $1,800 from the pockets of a family earning $21,000 a year. Instead of cutting back on oil and gas subsidies for companies like Exxon, which made an almost $10 billion profit last quarter, this bill cuts $47 billion in tax credits for middle class families could to purchase health insurance.

In short, the majority's choice is to cut $75 billion from programs that directly benefit seniors, the middle class and poor, in order to protect special interests and millionaires.

We must fight back against the Tea Party assault on the middle class, women, children, and the poor, and I ask my colleagues to vote no on this legislation.

I move to strike the last word.

I must say, Chairman Wolf, you've always been a sensitive person--I don't say this to blow smoke; I really mean this-- and it's a tough decision when you have to make priorities. We come to the floor to fight for what we believe in, and I think you respect that, and I'm sure the gentleman from Staten Island respects that as well, and we all do here, my good friend from Philadelphia, Congressman Fattah. We'd like to do all of these things and more. But not only did we run out of applications--think about that. People, we said, stop, don't apply any longer. You've got 11,000, 12,000 cops laid off, police officers in this country. Tell me that doesn't have consequences.

Tell me, what are those consequences? Smaller warrant squads. The last two police officers killed in North Jersey, killed by two guys on the lam. We didn't have enough people to go look for them. That's not acceptable in a society which depends upon law and order. So you can't talk out of both sides of your mouth about law and order.

We need police on the streets. This is about community policing. And I would say to my good friend from Virginia, these are two programs that, tonight, we're speaking about one of the police, the COPS Program, and the Fire Act. Leader Hoyer could tell us about that. But they're two bills that are run--no other bills are run better in the Federal Government. I think we would want to duplicate that. Having provided a huge cut in the past, from $166 million all the way down to $40 million, we can't do that with 11,000 and 12,000 police officers laid off.

Our amendment would restore the program. Of course, this is really just a drop in the bucket because it only really hires close to 1,000 police officers. We've already laid off 12,000. And a lot of positions have not been filled. There was no one in that position to begin with.

So, look, the program, the account that we're talking about in NASA I think is $2.8 billion. This is a small part of it. I would rather do it some other way, Mr. Chairman, through the Chair. I would rather do it another way.

My hometown laid off 125 police officers. Same story in other towns in New Jersey. Fewer cops on the beat means more crime on our streets, plain and simple.

If I can't come up here and fight for the guys and gals who defend us day in and day out, and if there is an attack, be it a natural disaster or some man-made disaster, it's the police and firefighters and EMTs who are going to be there long before the Federal Government. We need to protect them.

I yield to the gentleman.

Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I understand what you're saying.

Mr. Chairman, it cannot be depending on the allocation. We've got to fight for the allocation. We've got to fight for what we want.

I want us all to listen on both sides of the aisle. What is dragging down the economy at this section, at this point, when you look at it objectively, if you try to look at it objectively, is that we have lost between 600,000 and 700,000 public sector jobs.

So we are adding private sector jobs, even though we only added 116,000 last year, and we've got to do a little bit better than that so we can catch up for people that are coming into the market, and defend and go after those people who want to drop out and become phantoms and then they don't exist at all on the numbers. That doesn't help us either.

But we've got to stop this trend down to the bottom. We're losing teachers, police officers, and firefighters at an unprecedented rate. And if you think that's going to solve our problems, nationally or locally, I don't think that that's the route to go.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today, May 7th, I missed the three rollcall votes of the day. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``yea,'' H. Con. Res. 105--Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha; ``yea,'' H. Con. Res. 117--Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service; ``yea,'' H. Con. Res. 118--Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the District of Columbia Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Personal Explanation

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Israel's sixty- fourth Independence Day. Today is a cause for true celebration.

On May 14, 1948, Mr. David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the State of Israel. It is with this in mind that families and friends across the globe come together to celebrate on this very special occasion.

The United States' strong solidarity to the Israeli people is continually fortified. Since Israel's independence, the ties of democracy between Israel and the United States have been unwavering.

The United States was one of the first nations to recognize the nation of Israel, just minutes after Prime Minister Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the State of Israel.

As the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel has been one of the United States' most

important allies since its founding. This relationship remains strong and vibrant to this day.

While many things have changed in the past sixty-four years, the bonds of friendship between our two great nations has remained constant.

President of Israel Shimon Peres has called on all Jewish people across the world to participate in Independence Day celebrations being hosted at the Presidential residence in Jerusalem.

These celebrations will include honorary flyovers of Israeli combat planes and helicopters and a full military review by President Peres and Chief of Staff Gantz. President Peres will also be awarding 120 soldiers with the President's Outstanding Service Award.

Also, President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu, will partake in singing songs commemorating Israeli independence with the Israeli Defense Forces band and numerous patriotic singers.

I am always pleased to recognize and commemorate historic occasions such as this one.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, all Jewish people, and me, in recognizing Israel's sixty-fourth Independence Day.

Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that on April 24, 2012, I missed the one rollcall vote of the day.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 178, the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2157--To facilitate a land exchange involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo National Forest, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, we are really in the middle of the theater of the absurd. I'm not opposed, and apparently the other side is not opposed, to stimulus spending for the economy. I don't know where they have been for the last 18 months. Let's make effective stimulus.

Since you mentioned the CBO, Mr. Cantor, through the Chair, they rank this bill next to last in bang for the buck in job creation. You didn't quote CBO about that.

Through the Speaker, the Joint Committee on Taxation said the economic impact is so small as to be incalculable--your own analysis on your Web site. It's very clear it's going to cost, add, $1.1 million, for every job created, to the deficit.

I rise in strong opposition to this legislation. Just yesterday, in order to comply with the majority's budget that violates the deal Speaker Boehner agreed to last year--that deal is clear, public--the Ways and Means Committee cut $53 billion in health care tax credits, child tax credits, social services block credits. You cut it yesterday for the disabled, for the elderly who are most vulnerable. In New Jersey, they could lose millions of dollars for Meals on Wheels, foster care.

This is unacceptable. We are voting to add $47 billion to the deficit today with a giveaway to professional sports teams--oh, you didn't know that--or hedge fund operators or managers or whatever they call themselves, and multimillion-dollar partnerships and corporations.

Yes, $47 billion goes to 125,000 millionaires.

But each of them gets a tax cut, Mr. Speaker, $60,000. This is wrong.

The same report found that the best options for job growth include aid to States and increased safety net spending, something I know that the other side opposes.

In fact, the Agriculture Committee just voted yesterday to cut food stamps, get this, by $34 billion; like all of those people on food stamps want to be on food stamps, all those people that are poor want to be poor. And that's your anthem. But it can't find reality. It has no foundation, and it is immoral--immoral.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Chair, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it does. I've listened to these words. ``Empty'' and ``pyrrhic'' come to my mind. How in God's name can you speak across the floor to the people on this side and imply that the President is guilty of thievery or theft when, from 2001 to now, here's the record--and I'll wait if you want to interject. Please stand and say ``you're wrong'': 2001, tax cuts, not paid for; 2003, tax cuts, not paid for.

No, not yet. I'm not finished. Then you can interject your thoughts. Don't look so startled, because what you've said is startling. You didn't pay for those two tax cuts, you didn't pay for two wars, and you didn't pay for the prescription drug plan that you put into effect. In fact, you didn't even vote for it, Mr. Chairman, yourself.

The point of the matter is, you pay for nothing, then you're accusing us--you're accusing those on this side of the aisle of not being responsible? Do you know what you've done? By 2020, the portion of the debt gets bigger because of those things you folks did a few years ago, and you have amnesia about it.

Announcement by the Acting Chair

I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Madam Chairman, I take back my time. I think I've been generous about that.

The only difference is, the President who was the President in 2001-- I'm glad you agree with me--came into circumstances very different from the President who raised his hand in January of 2009, wasn't it? In 2000, we had a surplus of $5 trillion.

When this President raised his hand, we were losing 750,000 jobs a year, number one; and, number two, we had a deficit beyond belief, Madam Chairman. And for us to compare, you must believe in fairy tales.

Now, if you want to talk about a budget that's in balance, we can do that; but if we continue on this path and not recognize history, we will never come to balance. Let's be honest.

When I was introduced to this budget, the chairman of the Budget Committee stated that his reason for turning Robin Hood on his head was to stop an ``insidious moral tipping point.''

Madam Chair, I can only assume April Fools came early and this budget resolution is a joke.

We're going to steal from the middle class and working poor because we need to stiffen their upper lips and improve their moral fiber.

Let's talk about moral fiber. Where were the morals of the bankers on Wall Street who drove this economy off the cliff? They're doing just fine today. They're not doing time. But the middle class is still struggling and millions of Americans are unemployed.

You don't have to look far to see what the real intentions of this budget are. It's a 30-year pathway to poverty and shrinking the middle class even further.

Don't take my word for it. When asked if his tax plan would hurt the middle class, the chairman of the Budget Committee responded with: I don't know. There's no way to know that. Are you playing Russian roulette with a shrinking middle class?

Madam Chair, let's try and help the chairman figure this out. The $4.6 trillion tax giveaway to the very wealthy in this budget means that the middle class homeowners lose their mortgage interest deduction and property tax deduction, students lose the deduction for interest on student loans, small businesses lose tax credits for buying insurance, and future seniors will have Medicare turn into a voucher program that will make them pay $6,000 more out of pocket by 2022, because this Republican budget cuts $800 billion from Medicare.

Premium support doesn't reduce costs. It simply shifts them to seniors without the guarantee of Medicare benefits.

Seniors like Medicare. Take it from me, they like the security it provides them, and it controls costs better than any private sector plan, and it costs less than any private sector plan. This is not a plan to strengthen Medicare. This is a plan to slowly drown it.

And leaving no working family's stone unturned, this budget takes 62 percent of its $5.3 trillion in nondefense budget cuts from programs that protect the most vulnerable in this society, which includes food stamps, Head Start, and the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program.

This is a joke.

Thank you for presenting it to us. We'll present our own.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in reluctant, but strong, opposition to this bill. I say reluctant, because I support repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, as do many Democrats.

Now, make no mistake, I strongly support the Affordable Care Act. This bill will lower costs, strengthen Medicare, and provide 33 million uninsured Americans with health insurance. This is a tremendous accomplishment. But I have concerns with IPAB, including how it will operate and that it gives up important Congressional authority over pricing. Abdicating our responsibility is not the right thing to do for our seniors. I was elected by my constituents to protect Medicare.

I supported this bill in the Ways and Means Committee, and I would love to support it on the floor. That's why it's so disappointing that the majority would abandon any semblance of compromise by attaching this sharply partisan medical malpractice proposal. Capping malpractice settlements limits patient protection. There's no question that we need to protect health care providers from frivolous litigation, and I am willing to work in a bipartisan way to develop those protections. But not at the expense of the vast majority of Americans who have, for too long, lived without access to affordable quality health care, and who should

also be afforded the fullest protection of our legal system.

I urge a no vote and I hope that the Majority comes to its sense, embraces bipartisanship, and comes back with a bill I can support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Ciro Giuseppe Randazzo, for receiving the prestigious Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey ``Trinacria D'Oro'' Award and for his contributions to the State of New Jersey. As a distinguished medical professional, professor, and lecturer, Dr. Randazzo has dedicated his life to bettering the lives of others.

Dr. Randazzo graduated from John's Hopkins University in 1997, receiving his Bachelor's degree in Biology. Not stopping there, Dr. Randazzo went on to receive both his Master's in Public Health and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Upon graduation, Dr. Randazzo started as an intern and ultimately became a fellow at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Currently, Dr. Randazzo serves as an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Randazzo also serves as the Division Director for Neurology at the Thomas Jefferson Medical.

Dr. Randazzo is a distinguished lecturer and has been invited to speak on numerous occasions regarding pressing neurological issues and breakthroughs. He is also a published author and a well respected resource on neurological issues throughout his profession.

On March 11, 2012, Dr. Randazzo will be receiving the Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey ``Trinacria D'Oro'' Award. This award is the Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey's highest honor.

Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey is a non-profit organization based in Bergen County, New Jersey. They aim to promote a harmonious relationship between the Region of Sicily and the State of New Jersey. As the proud Chair of the Italian-American Congressional Delegation, it is a great honor to recognize Dr. Randazzo and Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey.

Dr. Randazzo and Federazione Siciliana Del New Jersey are shining examples of the continued contributions Italian-Americans make in communities in the State of New Jersey and throughout the country.

The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the achievements of individuals like Dr. Ciro Giuseppe Randazzo.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Dr. Randazzo's family and friends, all those whose lives he touched, and me, in recognizing Dr. Ciro Giuseppe Randazzo.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the continued contributions of Rev. Dr. James A. Kuykendall to the State of New Jersey and to our Nation. As a spiritual leader, mentor, and community servant, Dr. Kuykendall has dedicated himself to bettering the lives of others.

Dr. Kuykendall is a native of my hometown, Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Eastside High School, where he was an assistant drum major for the school marching band. Dr. Kuykendall went on to study at Montclair State University and Ramapo College. Ultimately, Dr. Kuykendall obtained his Doctor of Divinity degree from Shiloh Theological Seminary in 1999.

Dr. Kuykendall also proudly and honorably served in the United States Army. He was stationed in Seoul, South Korea and completed his tour of duty as a financial specialist.

In 1987, Dr. Kuykendall established the Agape Christian Ministries Church. He is the founder and pastor of one of the most multicultural and popular ministries in the City of Paterson.

However, Dr. Kuykendall's message and goodwill is not confined to the Agape Christian Ministries Church on 76 Ward Street in Paterson, New Jersey. His weekly ministry broadcast is telecast to over 120 cities throughout New Jersey and New York. The Agape Christian Ministries Church also has one of the most generous college scholarship programs in the State of New Jersey. This has made higher education a reality to countless bright and talented students.

Currently, Dr. Kuykendall serves as Chaplain to the Paterson Police Department and as Chief Chaplain to the Passaic County Jail. He serves on numerous community and civic boards. Dr. Kuykendall has received numerous awards and honorary resolutions for his civic and religious work throughout New Jersey.

Dr. Kuykendall is married to Rev. Kathy Kuykendall of Paterson, New Jersey. They could not be more proud of their daughter Tanisha Vonetta and of their grandchild Te'ras Trae Samuels.

The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the achievements of individuals like Dr. James Kuykendall.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Dr. Kuykendall's family and friends, all those whose lives he touched, and me, in recognizing Dr. James Kuykendall.