Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, to pay respect to over 12 million people, including 6 million Jews, systematically murdered by the Nazis. We learn how ordinary men and women can turn a blind eye to massive suffering and death.

This January, I traveled to Poland to observe the 69th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. We were joined by representatives and parliamentarians from 60 different countries, over half of the Knesset from Israel, and many, many survivors.

The memory of the Holocaust is seared forever into the consciousness of a generation of people who survived it. Through their stories, the lessons of that dark time serve as a warning to future generations.

In the words of Elie Wiesel:

Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.

It is with that sentiment I vow: never forget, and never again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the extraordinary life of Leo Bretholz, a Holocaust survivor who passed away in his home on March 8, 2014, at the age of 93. Leo is survived by three children, Myron Bretholz of Phoenix, Md., Denise Harris of Ellicott City, Md., and Edie Norton of Herndon, Va.; a half-sister; and four grandchildren. He was married for 57 years to Florine Cohen, who passed away in 2009.

He was beloved by the Baltimore community who recognized him as a courageous and inspiring individual. He worked for many years as a salesman and later managed bookstores. When Leo retired, he spent his life visiting schools and speaking with people from many diverse backgrounds.

His work with schoolchildren and the positive impact he had on them was depicted in the documentary, ``See You Soon Again,'' which preceded his memoir ``Leap into Darkness: Seven Years on the Run in Wartime Europe'' that he produced with journalist Michael Oleskor. Students described him as a ``true inspiration'' who ``never stopped teaching or trying to make a difference in the lives of his students and friends.''

Leo dedicated his life to fighting for justice for all victims of the Holocaust. One of Leo's great causes was the pursuit of reparations for U.S. Holocaust survivors from the Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF), the state-owned French railway.

Between March 1942 and August 1944, SNCF carried 76,000 people to Nazi camps, including Leo. But, out of the 1,000 people on the SNCF train car, Leo managed to be one of only five people who successfully escaped.

Leo frequently recounted the incredible story of his journey from Austria to France in this train car, when he and a friend forced open the bars of a cattle car to escape the Auschwitz-bound train. Ever since, Leo has been active in telling his story and fighting for justice through educating schoolchildren, lawmakers, and the general public.

Leo often gave the account of an elderly woman also on the train who told him, ``If you get out, maybe you can tell the story. Who else will tell the story?'' This encounter and his successful escape led him to speak out against unjust laws in his memoir that recounts his experience and successful escape.

In 2011, I testified with Leo in front of the United States House Foreign Relations Committee, about the need for long-overdue reparations for Holocaust survivors from SNCF.

I am proud and honored to have worked with Leo. He truly was a hero. It was his strong energetic force that has truly helped move forward the Holocaust Rail Justice Act, legislation that would provide reparations for hundreds of known survivors, veterans, and their family members living in the United

States today who for the past 10 years sought legal action to hold SNCF accountable.

As we remember Leo's life and legacy, it is important to continue his fight for justice. I will continue to work on this issue with the same vigor Leo had, to give Holocaust survivors a deserved day in court and finally hold SNCF accountable for its wartime injustices. Leo's passing is an unfortunate reminder that the number of Holocaust survivors left in the world continues to dwindle. His incredible story is an inspiration to me and anyone who hears it, and I know that his life and legacy will never be forgotten.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, the budget offered by our Republican colleagues is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the solution to our problems.

It is the problem, because this is not a budget; it is a retreat. It is a retreat from the high ideals, noble goals, and bold dreams that have made this country so great.

As the author and columnist Nicholas Kristof recently pointed out, a new ranking of livability in 132 countries shows that the United States has fallen to 16th, fallen. But apparently, our Republican friends think that is just a little too high.

We now rank 24th in inequality in the attainment of education. But the Republican budget would cut Pell grants that help low-income students afford college.

We rank 29th in life expectancy, and 24th in nutrition and basic medical care, and the Ryan budget would cut funding for food stamps and Medicaid, and raise the eligibility of Medicare.

We rank just 70th in health, and Republicans want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and snatch health care coverage away from millions who just received it.

This is not a budget, Mr. Chair. This is a call to Americans to dream small and aim low. This is an attempt to shift costs onto the shoulders of the middle class, the young, and the elderly in a way that would cripple our ability to compete.

I believe we are a better people than this and a greater Nation. Look at just about any poll on the subject these days, and you can see that Americans are most concerned about jobs and growing our American economy. What the American people want to see from the Congress is a plan that will help accelerate the growth of our economy and create good jobs, but the crushing austerity of the Ryan plan would do just the opposite.

This makes no sense because we know what actually works and what actually grows jobs and what doesn't. We have seen it, and we have lived it. The record speaks for itself. It shows

whose ideas actually work in the real world and whose don't.

Since 1961, the private sector has added a total of 66 million jobs. Twenty-four million of them were added under Republican Presidents, and a whopping 42 million were added under Democratic Presidents.

Let's take a look at this chart. Under President Clinton, this country grew a whopping 22.6 million jobs, and he left office running an annual surplus of over $128 billion projected to grow into the trillions. Then, under the 8 years of President Bush, we added only 1.2 million jobs--what a stark difference--and the budget surplus was turned into an annual $1.4 trillion deficit.

When President Obama took office, our economy was shedding over 800,000 jobs a month, and the Bush administration left office with the worst job creation record in 75 years. Nevertheless, in the 5 years since President Obama took office, we have created 4.7 million jobs, nearly four times what was created under President Bush, and we have more than halved the annual deficit.

The actions swiftly implemented by the President and Democratic Congress quickly turned the economy around, and job losses diminished; and, as this next chart shows, those actions have worked. We have been gaining jobs for the last 49 months.

In that time, the economy has added 8.9 million private sector jobs, regaining more than all of the jobs lost during the great recession.

This chart shows what I call the deep red Republican valley, where we were shedding over 800,000 jobs a month. Since President Obama took office with his economic plan, we have been growing jobs.

Democrats understand that, in order to maintain our leadership in the world economy, America needs to continually sharpen its competitive edge; and we understand that, while investing in the future may carry some risk, refusing to do so carries an iron-bound certainty, the certainty of a slow decline and crippling decay.

Instead of investing in the future and in the next generation, the Ryan budget guts funding for education, workforce training, critical infrastructure, scientific research, public health, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and public safety, all the investments needed to make the American economy of tomorrow competitive and put us on the cutting edge.

Instead of fully preparing the next generation for tomorrow's economy, the Ryan budget cuts funding for early childhood education, K- 12 education, special education, and higher education. It slashes grants and charges students more interest on their college loans.

It lets the higher education tax cut expire, saddling our young people with even more student loan debt; and we know now that student loan debt is now larger than credit card debt in our country. It is a crippling concern.

Sadly, the cuts extend far beyond education. The Ryan budget proposes draconian cuts to nutrition assistance, home heating assistance, and rental assistance. SNAP, which provides food security for millions of American children, is cut more than $135 billion, and 200,000 fewer women and children would get basic nutrition through the WIC program.

We can all agree that the economic recovery has been too slow, and yet this Republican budget cuts critical investments to create jobs and enhance our competitiveness.

In 2015 alone, the budget cuts $52 billion from efforts to update our crumbling transportation infrastructure. That amounts to over 1.5 million jobs. The budget cuts the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, threatening our edge in medical and scientific innovation.

The Republican budget even eliminates funding for the arts, humanities, and public broadcasting, which support the institutions that enrich our lives and chronicle our cultural and artistic heritage.

Further, the Ryan budget would cut health care funding and increase costs for seniors. It would raise the age to qualify for Medicare to 67 and bring back the dreaded doughnut hole that leaves too many seniors to choose between their medication and putting food on the table.

After nearly a century of talking about doing it, we have finally expanded health care to cover more Americans. Yes, there have been bumps along the way, as there have been with the implementation of transformational social programs, like with Medicare and Part D prescription drugs; but the important thing is that it is working.

Already, 7 million people have signed up through the health insurance marketplaces, and another 3 million young adults have been able to remain on their parents' health plans until they turn 26.

Under the Ryan plan, these 10 million Americans who thought, at long last, they had reliable and affordable health care insurance would have it snatched away from them, but it is even worse than that.

By 2024, a staggering total of 40 million people would become uninsured under the Ryan plan. The CBO projects that 25 million people, who would have gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, will, instead, have to go without it, and there are another 14 to 20 million people who would lose insurance as a result of the block granting and Medicaid cutting laid out in the Ryan budget.

After 53 failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Ryan budget hopes to succeed in taking us backwards to those dark days when people with preexisting conditions couldn't get coverage, when protections against lifetime limits didn't exist.

No-cost preventive services, like mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, would be no more. It would take us back to a time when women were charged more just because they were women and when the insurance companies called the shots.

From the smallest children to the oldest seniors who rely on Medicaid for health care and to cover long-term health bills, the Ryan Medicaid cuts will negatively affect literally millions. Women who make up almost 70 percent of adult Medicaid beneficiaries will especially feel the sting. The most vulnerable will be hurt the most.

Mr. Chair, budgets are about choices, and we face a truly watershed choice now. We can choose to continue to do things that have lifted the hopes of millions, provided unparalleled opportunities, and made our country the envy of the world.

We can choose to continue to help those who need it the most and provide a measure of care to those who have the least; or we can choose to go down a radically different road, concede the future to the bold, defer to others, expect less, and turn our faces away from the downtrodden and the dispossessed.

Yes, we can make that choice; but please, Mr. Chair, let's stop referring to this as a budget and call it what it really is, a retreat, an act of surrender. It is giving up on the America we have always known.

This is not a blueprint. It is a black eye. We are a better people than this and a greater Nation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' America does not retreat.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I now yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Maryland (Mr. Cummings), who is a champion of working families.

May I inquire, Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining on this side?

I yield myself 1 minute.

Now, my good friend from Texas pointed out that the recovery has been slow, but at least it is a recovery. It is not a loss of jobs, as we see in this chart, the long, red valley of job loss, shedding over 800,000 jobs a month when President Obama took office, and we have job growth.

I would like to see it stronger and better, too, but at least it is job growth. The former President Bush left us with a $1.4 trillion deficit when he inherited a surplus and the worst job growth record in 75 years.

I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Maryland (Mr. Delaney). He is a former CEO of a public company which has brought great expertise to the Joint Economic Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute.

The gentleman from the great State of Texas says that the Republicans have been cutting the deficit, but the facts are different.

Under President Clinton, we created a stunning 22 million jobs, and he left this country with a surplus. Under George Bush, in 8 years, he only created 1.2 million jobs and left us with a $1.4 trillion deficit. And in the 5 years that President Obama has been in office, he has created 4.7 million jobs, which is 5 times more than his predecessor did, and cut the deficit in half. So the record of cutting deficits is on the side of the Democratic administrations and policies.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas), a newly elected Member and a member of the Budget Committee.

May I inquire how much time remains?

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip.

I yield myself 30 seconds.

The facts speak for themselves. George Bush's administration left us with a $1.4 trillion deficit. They cut taxes, led us into two wars, and they blew the deficit.

Look at the Democratic deficit. We had a surplus from Bill Clinton, and President Obama halved the deficit.

I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much is remaining.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Our economy is recovering from the depths of the Great Recession, but too many Americans are still left behind. This budget kicks them even further back with draconian cuts. We were sent here to create jobs, not eliminate them.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Ryan austerity plan would slow our economy and cost us jobs over the next 3 years.

Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget would make life harder for the vulnerable Americans from cradle to grave. It represents a choice to be less competitive and less compassionate.

Voting for this budget is voting to slow our recovery, lower our hopes, and dim our dreams. It is not a budget; it is a retreat, and Americans deserve better.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this draconian Republican budget, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I have made mine within the timeframe we had.

Mr. Speaker, today, we commemorate Equal Pay Day, the typical time three months into the year when a woman's wages finally catch up to what men were paid the previous year. This symbolic day illustrates the blatant gap that still remains between men and women's pay earnings, with women continuing to make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. It is an urgent reminder that we must work together to secure equal pay for equal work.

When you discriminate against a woman, you discriminate against her entire family. Today women serve as the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of all households with children under the age of 18. In addition, two out of three families now depend on the wages of working moms. Our country is evolving; today only a fifth of American families have a male breadwinner and female homemaker. It is time to promote pay equity on behalf of these families.

Closing the wage gap between men and women would cut the poverty rate in half. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate among women is the highest it's been in 17 years, with 17 million women living in poverty last year compared with 12.6 million men. The 77 cents to the dollar that women make relative to men adds up to $11,084 a year in loss of income. This impacts her lifetime earnings and hurts her retirement savings. Over the age of 65, nearly 52 percent of women are categorized as economically vulnerable by the supplemental poverty measure versus almost 42 percent of men at the same age. If the slow pace of increase continues, it will not be until 2058 that hard-working women receive pay equity and are able to close the wage gap that will allow them to enjoy a well-deserved retirement.

It is estimated that greater pay equity between men and women would add nearly half a trillion dollars to the U.S. economy. The first female Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, has been vocal in her praise of women's increasing participation in the workplace and contributions to our overall economy. Between 1970 and 2009, women's participation in the workforce jumped to nearly half of all workers, going from holding 37 percent of jobs to nearly 48 percent. Women have made similar advances in higher education and receive almost 60 percent of the bachelor's degrees granted in the United States. Still, one year after college, female graduates receive just 82 percent of what their male counterparts make. This unjust pay gap only increases as they become older; women are paid just 69 percent of what men earn 10 years after college graduation.

In this year's State of the Union, President Obama drew attention to the wage gap, saying that this level of inequality in 2014 is unacceptable. He prioritized congressional and private sector action on fair pay and fair leave policies so that women can achieve the equality they deserve.

Women make tremendous contributions to our economic wellbeing. Unequal pay is a reality in modern America but it doesn't have to be. There is wide support for equal reimbursement--73 percent of Americans favor equal pay for equal work. I agree, and that's why I support the Paycheck Fairness Act. It is time for us to prioritize the long-term well-being of the nation's hardworking women, many of whom are heads of households, and immediately pass this critical legislation to help ensure equality in the workplace.

Thank you, and I thank all of my colleagues for this important bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, there is no more important thing a government can do than protect its citizens from violent crime, and today's reauthorization of the Debbie Smith Act, until 2019, does just that. It will protect women, and it will save lives.

The Debbie Smith Act has been called the most important antirape legislation ever to have passed this Congress. During Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April, we are presented with the grim statistics that every 2 minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in our country.

This bill was first introduced in 2001, after a hearing Steve Horn and I organized on the use of DNA to convict and exonerate. Since first being signed into law in 2004, the Debbie Smith Act funds have provided State and local governments with the tools to eliminate the backlog that exists around this country.

It is estimated the backlog is of roughly 400,000 kits that are sitting in warehouses and police departments, and each one of these kits is representing a life of a woman who has been raped.

It not only represents a peace of mind for her to know that her rapist will be convicted and put behind bars, but it will prevent future rapes because the FBI tells us that most rapists will attack another seven times; so, if we can convict, we can save seven other lives.

I want to recognize two extremely brave women who are speaking out on this issue and have testified before Congress. It is very difficult to do. I have tried to get people to testify. The only person I could get to testify was my good friend, Debbie Smith, who inspired me and others after her wonderful testimony in 2001. She is also joined by Natasha Alexenko, founder of Natasha's Justice Project, working to completely eliminate the backlog. Natasha's and Debbie's stories tell the need of this legislation.

My friend, Congressman Scott, spoke about his constituent, Debbie. Natasha was raped, and it took 15 years for them to process her kit. During that 15 years, her rapist raped other women, was involved in sex trafficking, selling drugs, and a slew of other crimes across this country. When her kit was processed, he was put behind bars. If they had processed it earlier, it would have prevented all of this other damage to women and to society as a whole.

One of the tragic costs of this type of crime is that those who survive a sexual assault carry wounds that are not readily visible. They are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. Each rape kit that gets tested brings these survivors closer to justice and prevents future rapes.

Since I introduced the first version of this legislation in 2001, it has always received wide bipartisan support. I thank Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, members of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Poe, Ms. Bass, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Scott, and former Congressman Mark Green for all of their hard work.

I hope that this bill will quickly pass the Senate and become law. This is one of those rare bills that virtually guarantees that it will put real criminals behind bars and protect people more effectively from one of the most traumatic assaults imaginable: rape. The grants provided to States and local governments will allow them to significantly reduce or eliminate their backlogs.

By using a national DNA database, it helps them identify criminals.

The bill that Mr. Poe and I passed earlier this year, the SAFER Act, will direct that 75 percent of this money go directly for the backlog. It is roughly $113 million. It is important. It is a moral imperative to eliminate the rape backlog so that women will not be victimized simply because their government failed to act and failed to process this important evidence.

This is an important day. I urge my colleagues to unanimously pass this bill and move it to the Senate and unanimously pass it there.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 193rd anniversary of Greece's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The ancient Greeks forged the notion of democracy. They believed in the right of self-governance, one of the foundations of our great Nation; yet, for centuries, the Greek people--the people whose ancestors inspired our own country's founding, the people who Thomas Jefferson called the light which led ourselves out of Gothic darkness, the Greek people were denied this right.

Today, Greeks celebrate March 25 as the day when the Greeks began the long, hard battle for independence.

I recently met with Ambassador John Koenig, ambassador to Cyprus, to discuss the latest on our Cyprus negotiations. He was hopeful that real progress could be made in unifying the island and stopping the illegal Turkish occupation.

The U.S. must also continue to work to find a mutually agreeable name for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greece is an important ally to the United States. I am proud to stand with American Greeks today to celebrate their independence and aspirations.

Mr. Speaker, I thank all of you for joining us this evening. I am delighted to be here to speak about the importance of the National Women's History Museum. I am so pleased to be joined by some of my colleagues who will speak about outstanding women from their States and in the history of our country, women who deserve to be recognized in this museum.

First, I would like to thank my colleague in this effort to create a national museum for women on or near The Mall. She is Marsha Blackburn, from the great State of Tennessee, whose passion and unyielding commitment to making the National Women's History Museum a reality is unrivaled. She is a godsend, an inspiration, and a great friend to women, and I thank her so much for her extraordinary leadership and for the announcement I hope she will make tonight about March 25--moving our legislation forward.

Women stand on historical quicksand. With each step we take forward, the steps behind us disappear. Women have to re-create the wheel with every generation.

Think about what is taught in our American history classes. It is mostly written by men and focuses on their experiences. As my daughter said: It is usually about a bunch of wars between men. Where are the stories about the women?

In large part, women are invisible. History is empowering. It shapes who we are and provides role models to guide us.

We need a museum for half the generation, half the population--women. There are women's museums that focus on aspects of women First Ladies, of women artists, but not one in the United States or around the world, which I am aware of, that focuses on the sole accomplishments and contributions of half our population--women.

I now yield to my colleague, Marsha Blackburn.

My colleague pointed out the historic importance of Tennessee in its giving women the right to vote.

It is interesting that both of our States played such a crucial effort in the women's leadership in achieving this right--Tennessee, the final vote, giving women the right to vote, and, New York, the birthplace of the women's movement and of the first resolutions and efforts to gain that right to vote--in Seneca Falls, New York, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony. Incidentally, they were all Republicans, and yet they gave their lives so that we could have the right to vote.

The gentlelady is so correct. We are making history tonight, and we are making history with these hearings.

It was noteworthy of Candice Miller, from the great State of Michigan, that the day she held the hearing was the day that Mary Barra came up the ranks from an intern to the head and CEO of one of America's greatest companies, General Motors.

So I look forward to hearing from my colleagues here. In order of appearance, Marcy Kaptur, from the great State of Ohio, is a great leader for women and, really, all people, thank you for joining me. You are making history, too, with all of your hard work.

Thank you so much for your inspiring comments.

I would just to briefly note that one needs to go no further than today's history textbooks to see why our museum is so important.

Approximately 10 percent of historic references in U.S. history textbooks refer to women. Less than 8 percent of the statues in National Parks are of women leaders. Our U.S. Capitol building, which hosts millions of tourists each year, displays only 15 statues of women out of the more than 200 currently on exhibit.

At this time I yield to the gentlelady from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).

I thank the gentlelady from Wyoming for sharing that incredible equality history and really inspiring me and Congresswoman Blackburn to work harder and harder to pass this important bill.

Imagine how much more inspired, confident, and successful women in general could be if our national narrative included an equal proportion of women's stories? I firmly believe that we wouldn't be trying to lean in--we would already be in.

Also helping us with this museum is the Representative from the great State of Florida. After very personal observation, I can tell you she is very hardworking. She happens to live with me. We share what we call the Members' House together. She is a trailblazer who keeps on knocking down trails and building new opportunities.

In addition to being an outstanding Member of Congress, she was elected and appointed by the President of the United States to chair the National Democratic Committee.

So I now yield to Debbie Wasserman Schultz, my very good friend and housemate. Thank you for joining us tonight and thank you for all of your hard work.

I thank my good friend for her inspiring and thoughtful remarks.

Women's history is not focused strictly on the accomplishments and contributions of individuals; rather it includes recognition of the collective efforts of women to enrich society.

After all, it was women who lobbied pasteurization of milk, vaccinations for our children, and sewage systems for our communities. Women banded together during World War II to support the war effort.

They planted victory gardens, donated nylons to be used for making equipment, and even took up collections that yielded enough money to purchase aircraft bombers.

Clearly, women have succeeded in shaping our Nation in important and lasting ways. A women's museum would chronicle those important achievements of women throughout history that are scattered across the Nation, as Marcy said, and we need to work to make this happen.

I yield to my good friend and colleague in this effort, Congresswoman Blackburn.

I thank the gentlelady for giving

that overview of the wonderful contributions of women from the great State of Tennessee, and I think it really is historic that the birthplace of the movement for the women's right to vote began in New York and really was completed in the great State of Tennessee. How historic is that?

I must say that the great men who built this Nation and shaped our society did not do it alone. I want to tell you about some of the women from the great State of New York.

First, I would like to speak about one of my mentors, a great friend, a great leader, Geraldine Ferraro, whose run for Vice President inspired me and countless other women who followed her into office.

As a young woman, she demonstrated her extraordinary capacity for hard work and dedication by skipping three grades and graduating high school at the age of 16. After college, she taught second grade in New York public schools and put herself through Fordham Law School at night.

After her children were born, she spent 13 years as a homemaker, after which she did something that was unusual at the time: she went back to work as an attorney in the Special Victims Bureau of the New York District Attorney's Office.

Later on, she ran for Congress and became an outstanding Member representing Queens, New York. During her three terms in Congress, Ferarro became known as a strong advocate for her district and for issues such as protecting Medicare and Social Security.

Then, in 1984, she literally made history when she became the first female candidate for a major party for Vice President. She is a symbol of the possibility that women could achieve their dreams, break the glass ceiling, and aspire to the highest realm in their chosen profession.

Ferraro is the type of woman I hope inspires my daughters just as she inspired me. Her life is the story girls and boys should hear when they come to our Nation's Capitol, but too often the stories of women are swept under the rug and not remembered. That is why we need this museum.

But Geraldine Ferraro would not have had the opportunity to be such an important trailblazer without the hard work of some of the amazing New York suffragettes: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. Their statue is in the rotunda of the Capitol, and it was a bill of Connie Morella's and mine to move the women out of the basement into the rightful living room of the Capitol with the country's other great revolutionary leaders.

Stanton met Mott in 1840 when they both were refused seats at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London on account of their sex. It was there that they first discussed the need for a convention to address the condition of women in the United States. This led to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, which was attended by Anthony. Together, they championed the National American Woman Suffrage Association, dedicating their lives to achieving equality and the right to vote for women.

The activist work of Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott are the roots under the women's movement in this country. None of them lived to see women gain the right to vote, but it would have been literally impossible without their hard work and dedication. They literally dedicated their lives working daily to raise awareness, build coalitions, and to pass the 19th Amendment.

Without their dedication to women's rights, Alice Paul, the author of the Equal Rights Amendment, would not have been inspired to secure a woman's right to vote. Alice Paul, incidentally, was a relative of my late husband, Clifton Maloney, from the great State of New Jersey. Without their dedication, I would not have been inspired to continue the work on the amendment to our Constitution which we coauthored to ensure equality for women and men in all areas of society.

But there are also countless women whose work has had a tremendous impact on our lives and in our communities. For all intents and purposes, they have been forgotten.

Nellie Bly was one of the most influential journalists of the 19th century. She pioneered the field of investigative journalism at a time when our Nation was rapidly undergoing industrialization. She also emulated the voyage of Mr. Fogg, Jules Verne's character made famous in the classic novel, ``Around the World in 80 Days.'' But Bly pointed out, however, that he made the trip in 72 days.

While working for Joseph Pulitzer's The New York World, Bly went undercover and feigned insanity to report on the deplorable conditions of the Blackwell Island insane asylum. She exposed the horrific physical and emotional cruelty she had seen patients endure. Her work caused an uproar in New York, resulting in more money to help people with mental illnesses and a change in care for the people in the asylum. Bly's work helped open the profession to future generations of women journalists who wanted to write hard news rather than the light features in society columns.

Lillian Wald, another great New Yorker, was a progressive-era reformer setting the standards for modern social work and community nursing. She left medical school in the 1890s to work with poor immigrant families on New York's Lower East Side and founded the Henry Street Settlement, which still serves New Yorkers, and Visiting Nurse Services, which still serves our country and which continues to offer health care and social services to the needy.

Wald tirelessly campaigned for the rights of women and minorities and undertook some amazing humanitarian efforts to improve our country helping to found the United States Children's Bureau, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the NAACP. The New York Times nominated her as one of the 12 greatest living American women in 1922, and she later received the Lincoln Medallion for her work as an outstanding citizen of New York.

There are untold numbers of women like those that I have mentioned who have made great contributions to this Nation. In addition to learning about their specific contributions, we are only now gaining a full understanding of how civilization evolves through the power of feminine values and women's enduring traditions.

Nowhere can one find a place for all of these contributions and traditions in one place. That is what we want to accomplish for women. I want to note that there are numerous museums in and around The Mall. We have museums for stamps. We have museums for law and order and for space. We have the great Smithsonian. We have museums for African Americans. We have museums for Indian Americans, and we have museums for the media--the important media. We have over 22 different museums right in this area, but not one is focusing on the valid and incredibly important contributions of women.

They say women hold up half the sky, but where do you find it? It is not in the history books. It is not in the museums. It is nowhere to be found. Now, if all these other museums had sections focused on the contributions of women, maybe we wouldn't need this museum. But they don't.

As my daughter used to say when I would read stories to her at night, she would say: Mommy, Mommy, why aren't there any stories about girls? Why are all the stories about boys? Can't you read me a story about girls? We don't focus on the contributions of women. There is a woman who rode longer and farther than Paul Revere, and nobody even knows her name. Let's build this museum and talk about her contributions, too.

If we and future generations are to learn all the lessons of the past upon which to build a future, we must be aware of the true experiences, the hardships, the successes, and the contributions of women.

I have here some people I feel deserve to be in that museum:

Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, one of the first elected to serve in the State legislature, an outstanding attorney;

Eleanor Roosevelt, from the great State of New York, an outstanding First Lady who helped so many;

Rosa Parks, who was tired and decided not to give her seat to a White and started an entire civil rights movement that literally changed this country and the opportunities for all people; and

Sally Ride, the great astronaut who went into space.

We don't really chronicle the women scientists and the explorers, all these incredibly important women.

Marsha, I know--I know--that we would not have these hearings and we would not have the momentum--we have over 84 cosponsors of our bill now. This would not have happened without your hard work and your leadership. I know she has been reaching out to her colleagues that chair these committees, to the leadership of the majority and others to move this effort forward and to gain momentum. So on behalf of the women I am privileged to represent, I want to thank you for all of your hard work. It is historic.

A National Museum for Women's History

(By Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-NC)

Throughout history, conservative women have impacted our

nation's future and become an important voice in our

democratic republic. We have proven ourselves as pioneers,

innovators, leaders and decision-makers. We have created and

contributed to many aspects of history--be it agriculture,

medicine, politics, philosophy, science, and art. We have

touched countless lives and shaped history, yet rarely does

society teach, recognize or display our contributions--and it

is time for this to change. In an effort to change this, I

have joined my colleagues in advocating to establish the

National Women's History Museum (NWHM) in Washington D.C.

Young women deserve a space to call their own--a physical

space they can visit to hear and read about those who came

before them and changed history. We need a tangible place

that encourages our girls to wonder, to feel empowered, and

to inquire about the people who fought to provide them with

the freedom and opportunities they enjoy today. We need to

share the stories of the strong women who have shaped our

past and present so that young girls can learn the true

meaning of perseverance and courage. There are too many women

whose achievements have gone unrecognized and too many women

whose efforts have been underappreciated. With such a vibrant

history, it is a shame that we have yet to formally establish

a museum dedicated to honoring their accomplishments.

However, we are making strides.

This past December, my friend Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-

Tenn.) sponsored legislation with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-

N.Y.) to create a commission that would recommend site

locations and funding for the NWHM. This bill would have no

additional cost for taxpayers, as the commission would be

entirely paid for without federal funds. Information gathered

by the commission would then be relayed to both the president

and Congress. This past December, Reps. Blackburn and Maloney

testified before the House Committee on Administration to

relay the importance of establishing this commission. Joan

Wages, president and CEO of the National Women's History

Museum, an organization dedicated to establishment of the

museum, also testified. Yet, nearly four months later, there

has been no movement on this bill. With more than 82

bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, 19 in the Senate, and a

plethora of national women's groups supporting the bill,

there is no excuse for this inaction.

As one of only 19 Republican women in the House of

Representatives, I see firsthand how our underrepresentation

can impact our future opportunities. But as we continue to

increase our ranks, our daughters need an environment to

learn about the conservative heroes who made this possible--

women like Jeanette Rankin, Sandra Day O'Connor and

Condoleezza Rice. These women have earned their place in

history, and our girls should have every opportunity to study

them and feel inspired by their contributions.

If there were a museum that honored and proudly displayed

our history, perhaps more women would be encouraged to run

for political office, to seek out top-tier leadership

positions, or to launch a new business. By establishing the

NWHM on the National Mall, the notion of conservative women

holding office could become less of a rarity and more of the

norm.

As Republican women, we must continue to demonstrate that

conservative principles--like fiscal responsibility,

individual liberty, and a strong defense--are values worth

pursuing. We need to make women's history a part of

mainstream society. We need to have our story told, and we

need to lead the way for other young conservative women.

Let's honor our mothers and daughters by providing them with

a place to learn and feel inspired. Let's establish the

National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C.

I thank the gentleman for his beautiful words. Certainly the museum will not be achieved without like-minded men who support it.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include for the Record an op- ed that Marsha Blackburn and I wrote called ``The Women You Don't Know Yet,'' and a beautiful, beautiful op-ed written by Renee Ellmers representing the great State of North Carolina called ``A National Museum For Women's History.''

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Kaptur, for your leadership and for organizing a briefing earlier today for Members of Congress with head leaders from the State Department on the actions that are happening, and for your leadership in passing H. Res. 499 today, which condemned the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity by military forces of the Russian Federation. We appreciate very much your making that happen and helping us to pass that resolution.

Once again, the Russians have rattled their sabers and tightened their grip on the Ukraine. In the past 24 hours they have seized a Ukrainian naval base. Even though the Constitution declares Crimea to be an integral part of Ukraine, the pro-Russian regional authorities in Crimea continue to sever links to Ukraine's capital today, canceling incoming flights from Kiev. They have also run out of town any of the monitors that have come from the United Nations or the independent free world. Flights to and from Turkey also have been suspended.

The Russians have threatened to confiscate Western assets and refuse to even speak to the Ukraine's interim prime minister on the phone. The interim prime minister has found $80 billion missing--even loan guarantee money. This Congress needs to work together to find that money and return it rightfully to the Ukrainian people.

Yanukovych, the disgraced former President, did the Russians' bidding and appealed to Ukrainian military units to refuse to follow the orders of the new interim authorities.

Once again, today, the Russians ignored international norms, calls for restraint, and all the cries for justice for all those who were gunned down in Independence Square.

Congresswoman, are you aware that there has been no action to punish the people who killed community leaders and others in Independence Square? Eighty-two people were murdered.

My constituents have held vigils. They have memorials that they have constructed. In their churches they have pictures of every single martyred hero and heroine, with their stories. Yet no one has been held accountable for that crime against decency and humanity of killing innocent people.

They have ignored Ukrainian sovereignty, treaties, and the rule of law, all in an effort to reestablish a disgraced petty tyrant whose secret life of obscene opulence included--this is hard to say--gold- plated toilets--that is what they are saying on the Internet--along with pictures of all of his zoos and his house and all kinds of things where he wasted the money of the Ukrainian people on wasteful things.

On the other hand, the Ukrainians have already done the right thing for the world around them. In 1994, they signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and willingly gave up the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. They are a peace-loving people. With the peaceful stroke of a pen this eliminated a far greater threat to world peace than North Korea and Iran combined.

The key thing the Ukrainians were promised in return was security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. The U.S. and Russia, Congresswoman, were signatories to that statement.

President Obama has made it clear that America will stand with the Ukrainian people. We are all watching everyday on television what is happening, and what has struck me the most was the scene where the Russians were shooting in the air and shouting at the Ukrainians, and they marched peacefully towards them. One general called out: America stands with us.

That is true. America stands with peace-loving people around the world and for democracy. We so often take for granted the freedoms, the liberties, the democracy that we have that others are struggling for around the world.

Tomorrow, the Ukraine's interim prime minister is scheduled to meet President Obama at the White House here in our country. The White House has announced visa restrictions on Russians and Crimeans who are threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The President is working with America's allies to craft economic sanctions that will punish and isolate the architects of this aggression.

Secretary of State John Kerry has traveled to Kiev to mourn for the fallen in Independence Square and to bring $1 billion in American loan guarantees and pledges of technical assistance. We overwhelmingly passed the $1 billion loan guarantee without a cap here in our Congress. It was an important vote. We all stood with the Ukrainians.

Now it is time for Congress to make it clear that we stand with the Ukrainian people. The resolution we passed today is a good start-- condemning the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity by military forces of the Russian Federation.

To paraphrase the Ukrainian anthem: Their persistence and toils should be rewarded. Let freedom's song resound.

We should be asking our friends in Russia, What is their word worth? What is their signature worth on any document, on any treaty, or on any contract? What is their word worth?

I would like to invite the distinguished Congresswoman to join me this Saturday with the Ukrainian community on Roosevelt Island, named after FDR, who went to Crimea for Yalta and spoke of the four freedoms: freedom of want, freedom of religion, freedom of democracy, freedom of speech. These freedoms are what the people in the Ukraine are fighting for, longing for, working for.

We are going to gather at the Four Freedoms Park in Manhattan to pray with, to be with, and to stand with the Ukrainian people who are bravely fighting as we speak for their freedoms, for their independence, for American values that they want as their values. America stands with them. The American people are standing with the Ukrainians.

I thank the gentlelady for having found the Ukrainian Caucus here in Congress, of which I am a member, and also for having crafted resolutions and so many statements in their support and helping to organize in a bipartisan way. Because this country is united. We are speaking with one voice, Republicans and Democrats, in support of the Ukrainian people.

I thank the gentlelady for her magnificent leadership.

I thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for authoring the Grimm-Waters bill, which I support.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will protect homeowners from drastic premium increases, provide relief to housing markets, and put the flood insurance program on a path to long-term solvency.

The bill will also put a stop to FEMA's reckless implementation of Biggert-Waters. The GAO found that FEMA doesn't even have the information that the GAO said was key to determining a property's actual flood risk; and yet, FEMA has gone ahead with massive premium increases anyway, based on back-of-the-envelope calculations and a shocking indifference to the impact on the middle class families that are suffering across this country because of Hurricane Sandy, many of whom are in my district.

This bill will require FEMA to actually complete the affordability study that was mandated in the prior legislation, so that independent experts can determine the best way to successfully balance the two main goals, consumer affordability and long-term solvency.

This bill would set a hard cap on rate increases at 18 percent a year and will protect families and businesses from the kinds of 500 percent rate increases that they are suffering from now.

I congratulate the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) on her leadership and Congressman Grimm. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Grimm- Waters bill.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her hard work on the Financial Services Committee.

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3193, which is a blatantly partisan assault on the CFPB and on American consumers.

I think it is telling that just 4 months after the first government shutdown in 17 years, the Republicans want to remove the CFPB's independent source of funding and subject it to Congress' deeply dysfunctional appropriations process.

It is telling because it exposes the true purpose of this bill. It is not to make the CFPB more accountable, but rather to undermine, defund, and hinder its ability to act to protect consumers in every possible way.

The dysfunction that led to last year's 16-day shutdown is exactly why we gave the CFPB an independent source of funding in Dodd-Frank. We wanted to insulate the CFPB from the political games and partisan brinksmanship that, unfortunately, became a staple of the appropriations process.

Another key reason for creating the CFPB was to make sure that we have at least one regulator whose sole purpose is protecting consumers. Prior to the financial crisis, consumer protection had, unfortunately, become an afterthought of the banking regulators whose primary mission was protecting the safety and soundness of the banks, but not consumers.

When Congress created the CFPB, the whole point was to create a regulator whose sole focus would be to protect consumers. The reason Congress did this was that, prior to the financial crisis, consumers were an afterthought, a secondary thought, a third thought, or usually not even thought about at all. So it was a huge step forward to have a department that was focused on protecting consumers from new products that were harmful and from innovations that were not tested that were harmful to the consumers and the economy as a whole, which led to the financial crisis.

This was a huge step forward for consumers when it was created. Unfortunately, this bill before us today is a huge step backwards because it would give the safety and soundness regulators more authority to veto the CFPB's consumer protections in the name of bank profits--just like in the old days. Let's remember that, in just its first 2\1/2\ years, the CFPB has already made huge strides on a number of important consumer protections--from new mortgage protections to credit cards to payday lending.

An independent source said the credit card bill of rights that was supported by the CFPB saves consumers $20 billion a year. That is a huge step forward for consumers, and the Bureau has been willing to make sensible changes when it has needed to. Last year, the Bureau adopted amendments to the CARD Act that would allow stay-at-home spouses to take out credit cards in their own names. This was a commonsense fix for an unintended problem for stay-at-home spouses who were creditworthy, and they made the decision so that they were able to get these credit cards. That is a huge step forward, and I worked with Mrs. Capito on it from across the aisle. The Bureau continues to work hard to develop consumer safeguards in rapidly growing areas, such as prepaid cards and overdraft protection, both of which many Members on both sides have a keen interest in seeing going forward.

In short, the CFPB's work has already made the lives of American consumers and our constituents better on a day-to-day basis. This bill would undermine these results, and it would weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose the bill.

I would like to place in the Record independent organizations-- literally well over 100--that are in support of the CFPB and that are in opposition to this bill. They are good government groups, credit groups, individual legislators, and local and State partners, all of whom are in opposition to the bill that undermines the work of the CFPB, which is there to protect consumers.

Following Are the Partners of Americans for Financial Reform.

All the organizations support the overall principles of AFR

and are working for an accountable, fair and secure financial

system. Not all of these organizations work on all of the

issues covered by the coalition or have signed on to every

statement.

AARP; A New Way Forward; AFL-CIO; AFSCME; Alliance For

Justice; American Income Life Insurance; American Sustainable

Business Council; Americans for Democratic Action, Inc.;

Americans United for Change; Campaign for America's Future;

Campaign Money; Center for Digital Democracy; Center for

Economic and Policy Research; Center for Economic Progress;

Center for Media and Democracy; Center for Responsible

Lending; Center for Justice and Democracy; Center of Concern;

Center for Effective Government; Change to Win; Clean Yield

Asset Management.

Coastal Enterprises Inc.; Color of Change; Common Cause;

Communications Workers of America; Community Development

Transportation Lending Services; Consumer Action; Consumer

Association Council; Consumers for Auto Safety and

Reliability; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer

Watchdog; Consumers Union; Corporation for Enterprise

Development; CREDO Mobile; CTW Investment Group; Demos;

Economic Policy Institute; Essential Action; Green America;

Greenlining Institute; Good Business International; HNMA

Funding Company.

Home Actions; Housing Counseling Services; Home Defender's

League; Information Press; Institute for Agriculture and

Trade Policy; Institute for Global Communications; Institute

for Policy Studies: Global Economy Project; International

Brotherhood of Teamsters; Institute of Women's Policy

Research; Krull & Company; Laborers' International Union of

North America; Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law;

Main Street Alliance; Move On; NAACP; NASCAT; National

Association of Consumer Advocates; National Association of

Neighborhoods; National Community Reinvestment Coalition;

National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income

clients); National Consumers League.

National Council of La Raza; National Council of Women's

Organizations; National Fair Housing Alliance; National

Federation of Community Development Credit Unions; National

Housing Resource Center; National Housing Trust; National

Housing Trust Community Development Fund; National

NeighborWorks Association; National Nurses United; National

People's Action; National Urban League; Next Step;

OpenTheGovernment.org; Opportunity Finance Network; Partners

for the Common Good; PICO National Network; Progress Now

Action; Progressive States Network; Poverty and Race Research

Action Council; Public Citizen; Sargent Shriver Center on

Poverty Law.

SEIU; State Voices; Taxpayer's for Common Sense; The

Association for Housing and Neighborhood Development; The

Fuel Savers Club; The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights; The Seminal; TICAS; U.S. Public Interest

Research Group; UNITE HERE; United Food and Commercial

Workers; United States Student Association; USAction;

Veris Wealth Partners; Western States Center; We the

People Now; Woodstock Institute; World Privacy Forum;

UNET; Union Plus; Unitarian Universalist for a Just

Economic Community.

List of State and Local Partners

Alaska PIRG; Arizona PIRG; Arizona Advocacy Network;

Arizonans For Responsible Lending; Association for

Neighborhood and Housing Development NY; Audubon Partnership

for Economic Development LDC, New York NY; BAC Funding

Consortium Inc., Miami FL; Beech Capital Venture Corporation,

Philadelphia PA; California PIRG; California Reinvestment

Coalition; Century Housing Corporation, Culver City CA;

CHANGER NY; Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement

Corporation (NY); Chicago Community Loan Fund, Chicago IL;

Chicago Community Ventures, Chicago IL; Chicago Consumer

Coalition; Citizen Potawatomi CDC, Shawnee OK; Colorado PIRG;

Coalition on Homeless Housing in Ohio; Community Capital

Fund, Bridgeport CT; Community Capital of Maryland, Baltimore

MD; Community Development Financial Institution of the Tohono

O'odham Nation, Sells AZ.

Community Redevelopment Loan and Investment Fund, Atlanta

GA; Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina;

Community Resource Group, Fayetteville A; Connecticut PIRG;

Consumer Assistance Council; Cooper Square Committee (NYC);

Cooperative Fund of New England, Wilmington NC; Corporacion

de Desarrollo Economico de Ceiba, Ceiba PR; Delta Foundation,

Inc., Greenville MS; Economic Opportunity Fund (EOF),

Philadelphia PA; Empire Justice Center NY; Empowering and

Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), Cleveland OH;

Enterprises, Inc., Berea KY; Fair Housing Contact Service OH;

Federation of Appalachian Housing; Fitness and Praise Youth

Development, Inc., Baton Rouge LA; Florida Consumer Action

Network; Florida PIRG; Funding Partners for Housing

Solutions, Ft. Collins CO; Georgia PIRG; Grow Iowa

Foundation, Greenfield IA; Homewise, Inc., Santa Fe NM.

Idaho Nevada CDFI, Pocatello ID; Idaho Chapter, National

Association of Social Workers; Illinois PIRG; Impact Capital,

Seattle WA; Indiana PIRG; Iowa PIRG; Iowa Citizens for

Community Improvement; JobStart Chautauqua, Inc., Mayville

NY; La Casa Federal Credit Union, Newark NJ; Low Income

Investment Fund, San Francisco CA; Long Island Housing

Services NY; MaineStream Finance, Bangor ME; Maryland PIRG;

Massachusetts Consumers' Coalition; MASSPIRG; Massachusetts

Fair Housing Center; Michigan PIRG; Midland Community

Development Corporation, Midland TX; Midwest Minnesota

Community Development Corporation, Detroit Lakes MN; Mile

High Community Loan Fund, Denver CO; Missouri PIRG; Mortgage

Recovery Service Center of L.A.

Montana Community Development Corporation, Missoula MT;

Montana PIRG; New Economy Project; New Hampshire PIRG; New

Jersey Community Capital, Trenton NJ; New Jersey Citizen

Action; New Jersey PIRG; New Mexico PIRG; New York PIRG; New

York City Aids Housing Network; New Yorkers for Responsible

Lending; NOAH Community Development Fund, Inc., Boston MA;

Nonprofit Finance Fund, New York NY; Nonprofits Assistance

Fund, Minneapolis M; North Carolina PIRG; Northside

Community Development Fund, Pittsburgh PA; Ohio Capital

Corporation for Housing, Columbus OH; Ohio PIRG;

OligarchyUSA; Oregon State PIRG; Our Oregon; PennPIRG;

Piedmont Housing Alliance, Charlottesville VA; Michigan

PIRG; Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, CO; Rhode

Island PIRG.

Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento CA;

Rural Organizing

Project OR; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority;

Seattle Economic Development Fund; Community Capital

Development; TexPIRG; The Fair Housing Council of Central New

York; The Loan Fund, Albuquerque NM; Third Reconstruction

Institute NC; Vermont PIRG; Village Capital Corporation,

Cleveland OH; Virginia Citizens Consumer Council; Virginia

Poverty Law Center; War on Poverty--Florida; WashPIRG;

Westchester Residential Opportunities Inc.; Wigamig Owners

Loan Fund, Inc., Lac du Flambeau WI; WISPIRG.

Small Businesses

Blu; Bowden-Gill Environmental; Community MedPAC;

Diversified Environmental Planning; Hayden & Craig, PLLC; Mid

City Animal Hospital, Phoenix AZ; UNET.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to reintroduce legislation to address the long-standing name dispute between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece. This House Resolution urges the FYROM to work within the framework of the United Nations process with Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of resolving the name dispute and encourages the United States to work with its NATO allies to uphold previous NATO Summits decisions, with regard to the enlargement issue.

As founder and co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, this is of tremendous importance to me. I believe the United States must send a strong message, supporting a solution to the name issue and to encourage the FYROM and Greece to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.

Historical and archaeological evidence shows that the ancient Macedonians were Greek. Macedonia is a Greek name that has designated the northern area of Greece for 2,500 years. In 1944, the name of the Skopje region was changed to Macedonia as part of Tito's imperialist campaign to gain control of the Greek province of Macedonia.

Both NATO and the White House have repeatedly emphasized their support for the unanimous decision made at the NATO Bucharest Summit in 2008 (and reiterated at NATO Summits in Strasbourg/Kehl in 2009 and Lisbon in 2010) that an invitation would be extended once a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute has been reached. As the United States and its NATO allies consider the future of NATO and possible changes in membership, the United States must abide by this decision. Otherwise, any move by the United States that shows support for extending NATO membership to the FYROM, before a resolution is reached in the name dispute, might be misinterpreted by the government in Skopje as a sign for further intransigence. This would eventually derail the ongoing negotiations, thus undermining U.S. interests in the Western Balkan region.

This resolution urges the FYROM to work within the framework of the United Nations process and in good faith with Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of resolving the name dispute. The resolution also encourages the United States to work with its NATO allies to uphold previous NATO Summits decisions, with regard to the enlargement issue and extend an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached.

Mr. Speaker, far too often, families feel constant competing pressure between home and work life. Since being signed into law in 1993 by President Clinton, the Family and Medical Leave Act has been used 100 million times by men and women across the United States to meet these dual demands. These individuals and their families have benefited from up to 12 weeks of job protected unpaid work leave to care for new children or to help a loved one or the individual recover from a serious health condition.

Today, 21 years later, federal workplace policies have not kept pace with work and family life needs. As a result, many families must unfairly prioritize work and family duties. It is time to enhance this legislation so that more families can access leave to help loved ones who need their assistance. That is why I am introducing the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act. This legislation will expand the Family and Medical Leave Act so that it covers businesses with 25 or more employees, from the current threshold of 50 or more employees. It also provides up to 24 hours each year of unpaid Parental Involvement and Family Wellness. This new addition allows parents and grandparents to attend to parent-teacher conferences and to take their children, grandchildren, or other family members to the doctor for regular medical or dental appointments.

We as a country must show we truly value families by investing in our workforce and implementing new policies that support working parents and grandparents. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.