Floor Statements

Last weekend, I left. I went to Florida. Many people in church came up to me, and they wanted to know about this. These are not Federal employees; they are contract employees. So, therefore, they do service for the Federal Government, but they will not get paid; is that correct?

Lockheed Martin indicated that they are going to lay off over 3,000 employees. There are many companies that do work with the Federal Government, but because the Federal Government is shut down, they are going to furlough their employees, and they are not going to be paid.

We had the Secretary of the VA come to our committee. He indicated that by the 1st of November, if he did not have his appropriations, over 5,000 veterans and their families and their spouses would not get their benefits in the mail.

The list goes on and on.

For example, we have furloughed most of the HUD employees, so we are going to have more homeless veterans. The list goes on and on. Cemeteries. We have furloughed cemetery employees. The other issue is, if we default on Thursday, then the Social Security payments will not be made.

These people in this House of Representatives want to operate by management. For example, yesterday, I heard over the news the number of cows that had died--or had been killed--because of a storm. We came back the next day and did the farm bill. Because everyone has been furloughed, they can't even provide the assistance they usually provide. We are going to tackle this, but there is a whole array of services that we are not picking up. For example, when you look at the number of, let's say, people who work at the universities, their checks say the universities, but they are really working for national foundations or the Mayo Clinic.

Or on Alzheimer's research. So all of this work is brought to a halt for no good reason.

The sad issue here in the House is that the minority has no rights.

In the Veterans' Committee, members kept alluding to the Senate, the Senate, the Senate. Let's be clear, the Senate passed the bill, and I thank God for the Senate. They passed the bill and took the House number, which was unacceptable to all Democrats, unacceptable, took those low numbers in order to pass a continuing resolution so we could have discussions. But what happened to the House? They are missing in action because there is no leadership on the Republican side.

Would you repeat that again, sir.

Sir, are you saying that the Democrats in the House held their nose and voted for the Republican irresponsible numbers?

Say it again. Say it again. We lost on the compromise.

Sir, a conversation. Can we have a conversation. Can you repeat what you just said again. A conversation. You mean to tell me that the Speaker had a negotiation with the House and with the Senate on the Republican's low levels? That it was unacceptable to the Democrats in the House, we held our nose and voted, would be willing to vote for it if they bring it up in order to move forward and get a conversation going?

Mr. Speaker, we just want a conversation.

Sir, just one other question. I want to know how many times did the Republicans pass their bad bill in the House and then send it over to the Senate, and they think that the Senate is supposed to pick up their bad bill? How many times did they pass it-- 44?

No, I am talking about on the health repeal.

No, I think it was 44.

If the gentlewoman would yield, we have agreed. We have compromised. We have had a conversation. We have agreed to put our politics aside and do what is in the best interest of the United States of America. It is unfortunate that we have people that serve in the House of Representatives, what is supposed to be the people's House, and they do not care about the people of the United States of America. They only care about their petty politics.

I think I have said everything I need to say, but I do want to say one thing jokingly. I went home last weekend, and I was looking for some snake oil since they said that Cruz had given the House Republicans snake oil. I couldn't find any snake oil, but I did find some holy oil, and I asked my pastors to pray for us because we need all the prayer we can get.

It is shameful. The Republican Party, particularly in the House of Representatives, continues to hold the nation hostage in a futile attempt to defund Obamacare.

I am so deeply disappointed that Republicans, especially those tea party Republicans in the House, continue to keep the government closed by appealing to the most extreme members of their Party by refusing to pass a clean funding bill to keep the government working.

Speaker Boehner's Republican Shutdown Must Stop

Republican recalcitrance has once again brought about a manufactured crisis designed to promote right wing ideology at the expense of the needs of all Americans.

Instead of working together to develop a budget that will work for Americans, Republicans let extremists and ideologues drive their agenda and drive us all into a national crisis.

Why did Republicans so carelessly shut down our government? Because they continue to be obsessed with eliminating the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican crusade against providing affordable access to health care for all Americans knows no bounds, and it has become apparent that they are even willing to sacrifice the basic functions of the U.S. government just to prove a point.

Even though millions of Americans were clamoring to sign up for insurance benefits on just the first day the exchanges opened up to the public.

Members of Congress are elected to make sure our government functions, and Americans have had enough with this Republican led shutdown.

There is a solution to this problem.

The Senate passed CR would fund the government for an additional six weeks, and all Speaker Boehner has to do is bring that bill up for a vote to end this stalemate.

In fact according to some reports, there are enough votes to pass a clean CR now.

This short term bill to fund the government already represents a compromise, after a negotiation, by Democrats and is the level requested by Speaker Boehner.

But Republicans cannot take ``yes'' for an answer. They are continuing to play more games by pushing a piecemeal approach to resolving this shutdown. This will not work.

As USA Today put it, it's like seizing a school bus full of kids then offering to release the cutest ones.

The Senate will not pass these bills, because they do nothing to address the real problem--that we need to fund the whole government.

Instead of working together to do our jobs and resolve these critical issues, Republicans have taken a decidedly different approach, one that they seem to have been looking forward to for some time--to make another desperate attempt to stop the Affordable Care Act.

In fact, as one of their chief spokespeople, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann put it, ``We're very excited. It's exactly what we wanted, and we got it.''

Republicans seem not to care too much about the consequences of a shutdown, even though the consequences are significant.

Thousands of federal employees have been furloughed. National parks are shuttered. Loans to small businesses, farmers and families trying to purchase homes have been shelved. Lifesaving scientific research at NIH is halted. People waiting for travel visas and passports will be even further delayed. Those who need assistance to get back on their feet like recipients of the Women Infants and Children program (WIC) are struggling to find other means to get by. Veterans and their families applying for hard-earned benefits are waiting indefinitely for their fair due.

But the plan is in place, the Republican slash and burn approach to governance continues, and they have shown that they are willing to put it all on the line to appease the extreme right wing of their party.

As if their work to dismantle the programs Americans rely on like Head Start and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) wasn't clear enough when they pushed the sequester through, they have now chosen to just stop our government from functioning.

The cavalier attitude on display by House Republicans makes it clear that the Majority is more interested in ideology than action.

Their government shutdown could be the most damaging thing to hit our economy since the budget sequestration they imposed on Americans.

Rather than passing a jobs plan to get Americans back to work, help rebuild our economy and create good jobs with good benefits, the GOP has gotten what they really wanted all along--shutting the doors of the government of the United States.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss how the Republican self-imposed government shutdown is affecting our Nation's veterans. Just yesterday, VA Secretary Shinseki testified in the Veterans Affairs' Committee, and he put several points straight ahead.

If the shutdown continues, there will be over 3.8 million veterans who will not receive disability compensation payments. That means they will not get their checks in the mail by November 1.

315,000 veterans and over 200,000 surviving spouses or dependents will not see their pension payments.

Education payments to more than half a million veterans using the GI Bill will end.

It is really very shameful that the Republicans are doing this to our veterans--over $6 billion in benefits. Nearly 5 million veterans and their families will not receive their pension payments.

Shame on the Republican House of Representatives.

The Independent Budget,

A Budget for Veterans by Veterans,

October 3, 2013.

House Speaker John Boehner,

Longworth House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,

Hart Senate Office Building,

Washington, DC.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,

Cannon House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,

Russell Senate Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Reid, Leader Pelosi and Leader

McConnell: On behalf of The Independent Budget--co-authored

by AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of

America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars--we would like to

express our tremendous disappointment that Congress'

inability to pass a full annual budget has led to a

government shutdown. Your failure is already causing real

harm to the brave men and women who have served and

sacrificed for this nation.

The current government shutdown has stopped work on the

more than 250,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

disability claims that are awaiting adjudication;

compensation, pension and education benefits are in jeopardy

of not being paid; Vocational Rehabilitation offices are

working with reduced staffs; and the Department of Labor's

VETS programs and federal employment OneStops are closed.

These are real impacts on veterans, many of whom are

struggling to transition back into civilian life.

Furthermore, funding the operations of the VA through

short-term continuing resolutions (CRs) or other stop-gap

measures are not acceptable solutions. Typically, short term

CRs don't take into account the effects of inflation or

increased demand for VA benefits and services. CRs also

prevent VA from starting or expanding critical programs and

disrupt or delay vital new research and construction

projects.

As the leaders of Congress, we call on you to immediately

take all actions necessary to give final approval to

legislation providing the full year's FY 2014 appropriation

for all veterans programs. Our organizations and the millions

of veterans we represent will no longer tolerate Congress

leveraging veterans' health and wellbeing to achieve

unrelated political ends.

In order to prevent future disruptions to veterans'

programs, we also urge you to approve legislation that would

extend advance appropriations to all VA discretionary and

mandatory appropriations accounts. Advance appropriations

have shielded VA health care from most of the harmful effects

of the current government shutdown as well as prior

continuing resolutions. Now Congress must provide the same

protections to all remaining discretionary and mandatorily

funded veterans programs, including disability compensation

processing and payments. There are currently bills pending in

both the House (H.R. 813) and the Senate (S. 932) that could

be quickly amended and approved to achieve this goal.

Both government shutdowns and continuing resolutions

represent failures in leadership. Congress' obligation to

veterans does not start in the eleventh hour of a national

crisis; you have an obligation to pass a timely, sufficient

budget for all veterans programs, benefits and services.

On behalf of our organizations and all of America's

veterans, their families and survivors, we call on you to

work together to immediately approve a full year's

appropriation for all veterans programs, and subsequently to

approve pending legislation to extend advance appropriations

to all VA discretionary and mandatory funding. Anything less

is unacceptable to the men and women who have served this

nation in uniform.

Sincerely,

Stewart M. Hickey,

National Executive Director, AMVETS.

Garry J. Augustine,

Executive Director, Disabled American Veterans.

Homer S. Townsend, Jr.,

Executive Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Robert E. Wallace,

Executive Director, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United

States.

Mr. Speaker, today on the House floor, instead of putting an end to the damaging Republican Government Shutdown by passing a clean funding compromise passed by the Senate, the House Republican leadership has chosen to take a different path to vote on more political ploys. They are doing this by continuing to offer mini- versions of appropriations bills in a cynical effort to give themselves political cover for causing this shutdown in the first place.

These bills are political gimmicks, not a responsible approach to governing. Republicans have shut down the government and are damaging our economy and the middle class. And today the House is considering the following five GOP piecemeal bills, which only fund selected pieces of the government--National Institutes of Health, local funds for the DC, the National Parks, certain funding for Reserve/Guard, and part of the VA.

Like my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus, I wholeheartedly support veterans, our National Guard and Reserve, the District of Columbia, important medical research and our national parks. However, these bills leave out many of the crucial services relied on by the American people such as Head Start programs, veterans' cemeteries, small business loans, education for our children to equipping and training our troops to building housing for military families to getting decisions on veterans disability claims, among many others.

Instead of opening up a few government functions, the House of Representatives should re-open the entire government. The harmful impacts of a shutdown extend across government, affecting services that are critical to small businesses, women, children, seniors, and others across the Nation.

The American people have seen enough, and the time has come for Republicans to abandon their reckless and irresponsible agenda and join Democrats to honor America's commitments to provide vital services our citizens pay for with their hard earned tax dollars. I urge Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, and the Republican Party to end its shutdown by working with Democrats to pass a clean funding bill and end this charade immediately.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: God has blessed us with the best veterans in the world. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. The veterans understand that if they vote for this bill, it is a $6 billion cut to veterans services.

So what are you cutting? The National Cemetery Administration, the office in charge of construction of VA facilities, Office of Inspector General, grants to the States for veterans homes, grants to the State cemeteries.

All four veterans organizations said that there is a problem in the House of Representatives' lack of leadership.

Bring a clean CR to the floor. Let's vote it up. You are not fooling anybody. This is a Republican right-wing part that is bringing this terrible instance to this country. There's no reason.

Bring up a clean CR. A clean CR.

I am appalled that the House is considering this bill that only partially funds the Department of Veterans Affairs.

To take one small portion of the budget to help those men and women who have sacrificed so much and use it as a club to hammer the American people over the head while you argue about the Republican Government Shutdown.

This bill cuts $6B from the bill the House passed earlier this year for a full year funding of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This is unconscionable.

This is what this bill does not fund:

the National Cemetery Administration,

the office in charge of construction of VA facilities,

Office of Inspector General,

Grants to state veterans homes,

Grants to state cemeteries.

The Four Organizations that write the Independent Budget each year, AMVETS, DAV, PVA and VFW, sent a letter today to all the leaders of the Congress. They said that ``Both government shutdowns and continuing resolutions represent failures in leadership.'' They went on to say that anything less than passing a full appropriations bill ``is unacceptable to the men and women who have served this nation in uniform.''

Pass a clean CR and let's get back to the business of governing this country.

Mr. Speaker, today on the House floor, instead of putting an end to the damaging Republican government shutdown by passing a clean funding compromise passed by the Senate, the House Republican leadership has chosen to take a different path to vote on more political ploys. They are doing this by continuing to offer mini- versions of appropriations bills in a cynical effort to give themselves political cover for causing this shutdown in the first place.

These bills are political gimmicks, not a responsible approach to governing. Republicans have shut down the government and are damaging our economy and the middle class. And today the House is considering the following five GOP piecemeal bills, which only fund selected pieces of the government--National Institutes of Health, local funds for the D.C., the National Parks, certain funding for Reserve/Guard, and part of the VA.

Like my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus, I wholeheartedly support veterans, our National Guard and Reserve, the District of Columbia, important medical research, and our national parks. However, these bills leave out many of the crucial services relied on by the American people such as Head Start programs, veterans' cemeteries, small business loans, education for our children, equipping and training our troops, building housing for military families, getting decisions on veterans disability claims, among many others.

Instead of opening up a few government functions, the House of Representatives should re-open the entire government. The harmful impacts of a shutdown extend across government, affecting services that are critical to small businesses, women, children, seniors, and others across the Nation.

The American people have seen enough, and the time has come for Republicans to abandon their reckless and irresponsible agenda and join Democrats to honor America's commitments to provide vital services our citizens pay for with their hard earned tax dollars. I urge Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, and the Republican Party to end its shutdown by working with Democrats to pass a clean funding bill and end this charade immediately.

Mr. Speaker, this is a real sad day in the House of Representatives.

You know, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. What happened tonight is the Republican-controlled extremists--bullies or hostage-takers--took the American Government and our economy hostage to their demands. This is a shameful day. This Congress makes the Gingrich Congress look like moderates.

The Republican Party has shut down the United States Government because they don't want the American people to have affordable health care. Shame on the Republican Party. Shame on you.

Mr. Speaker, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.The American people know that there is a small minority who are controlling the Republican Party in the House, and they are acting like bullies . . . or rather hostage takers. Taking the American government and our economy hostage to demands that will not be met.

Shame, shame, shame on the Republicans. Here we go again: I have been in office for over 20 years and this is the worst, the most extreme Congress I have ever worked with. Today's Republican Party make the Gingrich era members in the mid 1990's look like moderates.

The Republican Party has shut down the government because they don't like the idea of providing health insurance to ALL Americans. And remember: The Affordable Care Act passed both chambers of the United States Congress, was signed into law by the President of the United States, was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, and received a stamp of approval by the American public when they voted to re-elect President Obama. It is now time for House Republicans to accept the ACA and assist their constituents to receive the many heath care benefits that Obamacare offers.

On this day, the President helped move the country forward with open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, and the GOP moved the country backwards by shutting down the government.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to try and act like grown-ups so we can all work together to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep our government open to provide the services that our citizens pay for and deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in complete disgust and opposition to the House Republicans misguided plan to shutdown the government. As the current continuing resolution is set to expire on Monday at midnight, the sad truth remains that Speaker Boehner has surrendered the gavel to the Tea Party's hopeless attempts to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. With the Affordable Care Act, passing both chambers of the United States Congress, being signed into law by the President of the United States, upheld by the United States Supreme Court, and securing the approval of the American people during the last election, it is now time for House Republicans to accept reality and discontinue their obstructionist tactics of trying to prevent a law that is beneficial for millions of Americans across this country. As House Republicans continue to use the Affordable Care Act as the hostage that will trigger a government shutdown, the fact remains that even if the government shuts down, the Affordable Care Act will continue to be implemented with the health insurance exchanges opening on Tuesday, October 1, 2013. Earlier this week, the Senate passed legislation that will keep the government funded and prevent a government shutdown, if the Republican leadership was serious about keeping its commitment to the American people, the House should immediately schedule a vote on the legislation passed in the Senate.

The American people have seen enough. The time has come for Republicans to abandon their reckless and irresponsible agenda and in Democrats to honor America's commitments, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1412, as amended, the Department of Veterans Affairs Expired Authorities Act of 2013.

VA would lose the authority to continue a number of critical programs

that, without action, would expire next week. These programs assist our most vulnerable veterans reintegrating back into society and into their communities.

With this legislation, wrap-around services for homeless veterans and their families would be authorized to continue. Services such as counseling, job training, job referrals, financial assistance, case management, housing, and the special needs for the frail, elderly, and seriously mentally ill veterans will continue.

We listened to veterans when they told us that they were busy with jobs, school, and families and, as a result, found it difficult to get the health care they needed without childcare assistance. This measure extended for 1 year VA's authority to provide childcare assistance for certain veterans receiving intensive health care services.

This bill would extend the authority to provide a monthly assistance allowance to veterans with disabilities who are invited by the U.S. Olympic Committee to participate on the U.S. Paralympics team. More than 14,000 veterans with disabilities have benefited from these activities. The results for these veteran athletes have been astonishing both in terms of athletic accomplishment and personal accomplishment.

This bill extends eligibility for specially adapted housing for our most disabled veterans. It would allow them to live more independently in their daily lives.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we have a moral obligation to ensure that we do what needs to be done to help those who have worn the uniform receive the benefits and services they have earned. These extensions of critical programs we are considering today will help us do all we can.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1412, as amended. I want to thank Chairman Miller for working in a very bipartisan way for veterans.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the constituents of the Fifth Congressional District of Florida, it gives me great pleasure to stand with the multitude of well-wishers and admirers of this great leader, humanitarian and my friend, Dr. Helen Jackson. We gather to acknowledge the breadth and depth of her leadership and guidance on the occasion of her retirement after 39 years of faithful service within the Florida Department of Health, Detroit Department of Health and many other healthcare related fields. Since 1990, Helen served as Director of Nutrition and Chronic Disease Prevention Services for the Duval County Health Department and held many positions of leadership within the healthcare community that includes the State of Florida.

Dr. Jackson has served the people of Jacksonville, Northeast Florida, the Duval County Health Department and a host of other endeavors with pride, determination and personal professionalism. She has been that familiar and friendly face and voice, many have come to depend upon during her enduring career. She has been a friend, mentor, surrogate, gentle motivator, and the very fabric that has kept many on course. She is the embodiment of service and dedication to a set of ideals that supports the common goal of service to and for others, a consummate professional dedicated to doing the right thing, every day, in service to the citizens of this community.

Thank you, Dr. Jackson for all your love and support and for the work you have done and continue to do for so many. Retiring, yes, but we know you will remain forever with our reach and in our hearts.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Sinema for organizing this special order today. For far too long, we have treated mental illness as a by-product of physical injuries, and that those who suffer from mental illness just need to get over it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a good friend on the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust. Mr. Ron E. Armstead is the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust.

In addition to being the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust (CBCVB), he is a past consultant for former Secretary Jesse Brown's Veterans Administration's Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. He has served as Executive Director of the CBCVB since its inception in 1988, first under Rep. Charles B. Rangel (NY-13), a decorated Korean War combat veteran and Dean of the New York Congressional Delegation, and currently under myself and Representative Sanford Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), ranking member of Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies of the Appropriations Committee.

Under his leadership the Veterans Braintrust has expanded from its small core group to become the premiere forum for policy debate between veterans and representatives of government in the country. As well as being a Navy veteran, Mr. Armstead holds a Masters Degree in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a license in social work (LSW) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is currently on an extended leave of absence from Howard University's School of Social Work Doctoral Program.

Mr. Armstead began his activist career at Boston State College in September 1975, as a campus organizer and later President of Student Government Association. During his time at BSC, he and several classmates incorporated the Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse, Inc. as an outgrowth of the Veterans Club on campus. His extensive background includes, but is not limited to issues of homelessness, mental health, social work, youth violence, affordable housing and community development.

I am pleased to honor Mr. Armstead on this, the 25th Anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust.

Mr. Speaker, once again, Republicans have succeeded at taking a bad bill and making it even worse. I categorically oppose the bill before the House today, which heartlessly cuts nearly $40 billion from nutrition assistance programs, which assist the most vulnerable in our communities to stave off hunger and poverty. To enact this into law is outright shameful and runs counter to our most fundamental values as a nation. For seniors, children in low-income families, the disabled, and those who have lost jobs; food and nutrition programs are a lifeline and must be preserved.

Nearly 49 million Americans and 17.6 million U.S. households are food insecure, while nearly 17 million of these individuals are children, 5 million are seniors and 300,000 are elderly veterans. Last month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report stating that in the aftermath of the recession, food hardship remained extremely high as more than 8 million Americans lost their jobs. From the unemployed factory worker to the teacher who lives paycheck to paycheck, hunger and poverty affect every community in America. Certainly, the need for food assistance is already greater than SNAP can fill, and food banks and charities have stepped up to the plate to address these additional needs. Demand for assistance at food banks has increased 46 percent during the recession, so it's no surprise they are having a hard time keeping up with the current levels of need.

Yet last month, rather than moving forward to pass a full Farm Bill last month, Republicans are doubling down on a failed strategy that only serves to undermine the health of millions of Americans and has no chance of becoming law since this bill will not pass the Senate or be signed into law by the President. Indeed, one would think that House Republicans' failure to pass their comprehensive, five-year Farm Bill, or subsequent partisan bills, should compel them to work with Democrats on behalf of the food and economic security of hardworking Americans, yet that is not the path they have chosen.

It's time for Republicans to trade in their pointless and partisan agenda for responsible solutions that will promote, expand, and strengthen America's middle class.

Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate and celebrate the 50th anniversary for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963), we do so with deep appreciation and profound gratitude to those who sacrificed and made true their promise of working to make America a better place for everyone.

With the march taking place during the 100th year anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 people. As a result, the March on Washington remains one of the largest demonstrations for civil rights and economic rights in American history. Not only was the crowd large on that day, but the enormous impact it had on the struggle for equality and social justice is immeasurable.

As the concept for a march of its magnitude began to unfold, American civil rights leaders as James Farmer, John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and Bayard Rustin all joined a broader coalition responsible for organizing the march under the leadership of its chairman, A. Phillip Randolph.

Randolph, a onetime resident of Jacksonville, FL, had been selected to lead this effort as he was one of the most widely known spokespersons for black working class interests in the country. Just over twenty years prior he planned to use the support of nearly 100,000 loyal Black citizens to march on Washington, D.C., to protest President Franklin D. Roosevelt's refusal to issue an Executive Order to ban discrimination against black workers in the defense industry. However, just six days before the march was scheduled, Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 8802 declaring ``there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin''.

During the march on Washington in 1968, the coalition presented a list of comprehensive goals which included, a push to get passage

of meaningful civil rights legislation, immediate elimination of school segregation, a program of public works, increased job training for the unemployed, a Federal law prohibiting discrimination in public or private hiring, a $2-an-hour minimum wage nationwide, withholding Federal funds from programs that tolerate discrimination, enforcement of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution by reducing congressional representation from States that disenfranchise citizens, a broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to currently excluded employment areas, and authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when constitutional rights are violated.

While we have made significant progress since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we find ourselves dealing with many of the same issues that participants of the demonstration dealt with years ago. Today we see unemployment in the African American community over 10%, today we see conservative state legislatures across the country passing restrictive laws that make it more difficult for Americans to have access to the ballot box, today we see people judge each other based on the color of their skin, and as a result an unarmed teen in Florida lost his life, and today, we find ourselves trying to piece back what is left of the dismantled Voting Rights Act of 1965, as the United States Supreme Court has struck down Section 4 of the law, leaving the prized legislative victory of the Civil Rights movement without much power.

While we must take this time to celebrate and appreciate the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we must also continue to ensure that the goals of the march are fulfilled and Dr. King's Dream becomes a reality. For there is much work to be done, and if we all join together, I am hopeful we can make social justice and equality real in America, and all across the globe.

Offered By: Ms. Brown of Florida

Amendment No. 19: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Sec. 421. None of the funds made available by this Act may

be used to close or consolidate any offices in the Office of

Field Policy and Management of the Department of Housing and

Urban Development that were in existence as of June 1, 2013,

or any field offices of the Office of Multifamily Housing

Programs of such Department that were in existence as of such

date.

Today, we are here to finish the job of ensuring that all taxpayer-funded infrastructure investments support American jobs.

If we defeat the previous question, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the ranking member on the Committee on Rules, will offer an amendment to the rules that will make in order H.R. 949, the Invest in American Jobs Act of 2013, under an open rule.

H.R. 949 strengthens domestic manufacturing requirements not only for Federal-aid highways, transit, aviation, and other Federal infrastructure investments, but also in rail.

When I was chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, I held a roundtable of the importance of buying American in passenger rail projects. Well over 100 American companies participated and advocated for stronger rules. As a result, we included a provision in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 which required that the federally funded rail projects use domestic steel, iron, and other manufactured goods.

We heard a lot of complaints, but 5 years later we know that it works. Let me just say that in Rochelle, Illinois, they just created more than 300 jobs using American companies. H.R. 949 would extend this same Buy America requirements to Amtrak and the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan program.

When it comes to transportation, every $1 billion we spend in infrastructure creates 33,000 new jobs. Now, because of the provision, Buy America, for every $1 billion we spend, it creates 43,890 good- paying American jobs.

I urge the House to defeat the previous question so we can consider this important bill.