Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the recent indictments of two GOP House Members showcases this rampant culture of corruption symbolic of a government of, by, and for special interests and wealthy donors.

Now, this week, Republicans are trying to rush through their tax scam 2.0, which explodes the deficit to give more money to wealthy donors and the richest Americans. Because of the first tax scam, some of the biggest corporations are now on track to spend $1 trillion on dividends and stock buybacks.

Meanwhile, working class constituents struggle to keep a roof over their head, pay for healthcare, and put food on the table for their family.

Democrats want real bipartisan tax reform that creates jobs, reduces the deficit, and is for the people, not just the ultra-rich.

We want to clean up the corruption and make Washington work for the people again. This means strengthening our ethics laws to fight special interests. This means fixing our broken campaign finance system to end the influence of big-money donors, and this means empowering voters to demand a responsive, accountable government, one that protects the right to vote, secures our election infrastructure, and ends partisan redistricting.

Mr. Speaker, every American who works hard and plays by the rules should be able to retire in dignity, supported by the pension that they have earned.

Instead of protecting these hardworking Americans, this Republican- led Congress prioritized tax cuts for the biggest corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Now some of the largest pension plans for workers are on the verge of collapse; 1.5 million Americans, including 43,000 in my home State of Michigan, are at risk.

These workers have earned their pensions. They worked a lifetime contributing to them, and now they are having the rug pulled out from under them?

Patricia from Michigan is one of those retirees. Here is what she told my office: ``I was a single mother raising one child. I thought putting money into the pension was my security. Now you want to take it away. I was never on welfare--I worked. If I lose my pension, I will not be able to pay for the basics: utilities, taxes, car insurance, food.''

So unless Congress steps up, pensions for Americans like Patricia will be cut. Let's vote on bipartisan legislation that I cosponsored, the Butch Lewis Act, which addresses this pension crisis. This legislation ensures that multiemployer pension plans remain solvent and continue providing retirees and workers with the retirement benefits that they have earned. It is long past time to take up this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my House colleagues who visited my hometown of Flint, Michigan, last week to get an update on the city's ongoing water crisis. I want to specifically thank Leader Nancy Pelosi; Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn; Representatives Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern, Denny Heck, Dwight Evans, Jared Huffman; and, of course, the members of the Michigan delegation, including Sandy Levin, Brenda Lawrence, and Debbie Dingell. I want to thank them all for visiting Flint.

I appreciate all my colleagues who have come to Flint to visit with families, and I am especially grateful that Congress passed much-needed help for this community as it struggles to overcome this water crisis.

Today, there is progress in Flint, thanks to this body. Nearly 7,000 of those dangerous lead pipes have been replaced so far using the Federal funds that we provided.

The recovery does continue. The Flint water crisis has faded from the national headlines, and this congressional delegation is a reminder that the crisis isn't over. That visit was an opportunity for us to hear directly from families that there is still much to be done.

What happened in Flint is not some anomaly. It is a warning to the rest of the country and to this Congress that we have to do more to rebuild America's critical infrastructure. Otherwise, we run the risk of more Flint, Michigans to come.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2069.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the Quigley amendment to restore funds to prevent Russian interference in our elections.

Mr. Speaker, like many Americans, yesterday I watched and was dumbfounded by the words and the actions of the President of the United States as he betrayed our principles and our national interests on the world stage.

Never before have we seen a President of the United States so quickly surrender our longstanding values and our national security interests to an adversary like Vladimir Putin. The President's pathetic performance was an embarrassment for the United States.

Just last week, of course, his own Justice Department indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents for the very act that he denied ever took place. When he had a chance to take sides between American interests and the American intelligence community, he wrapped his arms around Vladimir Putin, a KGB spy with a history of jamming his opponents and killing journalists. This is outrageous.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of my bipartisan amendment that would provide $1 million for the United States Geological Survey to eradicate grass carp in the Great Lakes. Grass carp are an invasive species, one of the four species of Asian carp that pose an immediate threat to the Great Lakes and its coastal wetlands.

Since being introduced in Lake Erie, the grass carp population has been increasing, threatening our coastal wetlands and our region's economy that relies so heavily on the health of the Great Lakes. Our coastal wetlands are important to Michigan's environment and the wildlife they serve as a natural water filter and habitat for fish and waterfowl.

Since 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has been supported by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, has helped to restore the wetlands the grass carp are now consuming. The immediate threat of grass carp in Lake Erie jeopardizes the investment and the goals of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

This amendment is simple. It empowers and funds the United States Geological Survey to track and monitor grass carp so that we can stop their spread in the Great Lakes.

By passing this amendment, the United States Geological Survey would have additional resources to find out where grass carp are breeding so we can know how to stop their invasion and remove them from the Great Lakes. Funding from this amendment will double our efforts in Lake Erie to ensure we protect our coastal wetlands, our wildlife, and the Great Lakes themselves. With this amendment, we have an opportunity to address this urgent threat of invasive species such as grass carp.

Madam Chair, I thank my friend from Michigan, Congressman Walberg, for working with me on this bipartisan amendment. I also thank our friends on the Appropriations Committee--Congresswoman Kaptur, Congressman Joyce, and Congressman Moolenaar--who have also been involved and helped on this. And I, of course, thank Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum for their efforts in working with us on ensuring that this amendment receives fair consideration.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for his support, and I

thank Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum for their efforts in dealing with this really important issue. It is particularly important to those of us who live in the Great Lakes region, but it is important to all of us. This is really not only a question of maintaining this ecosystem, but it is important to our economy.

Madam Chair, I thank all of my colleagues for their support. I urge the passage of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, a Federal court has ordered the Trump administration to reunite every child under 5 years old who is separated from his or her family by today. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has no plan for family reunifications and will fail to reunite as many as half of those children who were taken from their parents. This is completely unacceptable.

Last week I visited some of those young children, one who looked about 6 months old and many who were 3 and 4. At the facility I visited, caseworkers there were calling detention facilities around the country to locate those parents. They had to call the facilities to try to find the parents. Many of them did.

But it is clear that the administration had no plan other than to separate these kids from their parents as a tactic to try to dissuade people who are seeking shelter from violence from coming to the United States. Shame on them.

This will be a dark period in our history. It is a sad day.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, an incredible nonprofit organization in my hometown of Flint that is working to end hunger in the communities across my district. Each year, the food bank distributes more than 28 million pounds of food through 22 counties.

In addition to providing that assistance, the food bank is doing important work to study poverty in America. It is clear through their work that the way we measure poverty in America doesn't give us the full picture. The way we look at poverty is incomplete.

Many families in Michigan technically are above the Federal poverty level, but those families struggle to meet their basic needs, like a roof over their head, enough food on the table, and paying their utility bills.

Congress has to do more to end poverty in this country. Instead of cutting childcare programs, healthcare, and ending tax incentives like the Earned Income Tax Credit, let's help families be self-sufficient. Let's focus on creating good jobs, raising their wages, supporting families with income that allows them to not focus just on the basic needs.

This is something that we have to do. We are the richest country on the planet. We ought to be able to end poverty in America.

Mr. Speaker, my first real professional job was as a social worker at Whaley Children's Center in my hometown of Flint, protecting kids who had been the subject of child abuse, victims of child abuse. We knew then, as we know now, that the best place, ultimately, for those kids was to get them back in their family. We worked to reunite kids with their families.

So it is particularly offensive to see the President of the United States, the Government of the United States, adopt policy that intentionally separates children from their families.

This is child abuse. This is child abuse. Nothing else.

The notion that a government would engage in this practice ought to offend everyone, and the idea that the President is congratulating himself for ending a policy that he, himself, ordered to separate children seeking asylum in this country from their families is ridiculous. Those who have sat silent as

this has happened are complicit in this policy.

Now, today, we will take up two pieces of legislation, neither of which deal substantially with the immigration problem.

My God in Heaven, let's get this done.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this legislation requires States to submit a report on the number of patients served for opioid use disorder at institutions for mental diseases, their length of stay, and the care they received after they were discharged. My amendment would add two requirements to that report.

The first additional element addresses co-occurring disorders. My amendment would require that States include information on the number of individuals suffering from these disorders, as well as the type of specific disorders from which they suffer.

Co-occurring disorders are a terrible situation in which a person is simultaneously experiencing a mental illness and a substance use issue. This is especially prevalent in our veteran population, with the VA estimating that about one-third of veterans seeking treatment for substance use disorder also meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Co-occurring disorders can be especially difficult for doctors to diagnose because of how complex symptoms can be, with one often masking the symptoms of the other.

As of 2016, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that more than 8 million

adults in the U.S. had co-occurring disorders. Half of them did not receive proper treatment, and around one-third received no care for mental illness or substance use disorder.

If we are going to get these individuals the help they need and deserve, we are going to need to know what care is needed and how large the existing treatment gap really is. My amendment will help to provide that data.

The second element of my amendment requires information on access to community care for individuals suffering from a mental illness other than substance use disorder.

For decades, our country has shifted mental healthcare services away from institutional care into community health providers. That is substantial progress that we certainly don't want to reverse or endanger.

Make no mistake, passing this legislation will have a direct effect on access to community care for people with mental diseases. We should know how much and to what extent that is the case. My amendment will provide Congress with the data on whether that access is increasing or, as a result of this potential legislation, decreasing.

We should not, in efforts to combat this epidemic, inadvertently create uncertainty or greater harm for other groups of people, especially such vulnerable groups as those with mental illness. My amendment will provide Congress with greater information for us to know if we are doing just that.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comments of both of my colleagues.

This is an effort to make sure that, as we take on this epidemic, whatever path we may take, we do so in a way that gets us the best information we can to determine whether or not we are making the progress that this intends. We have our thoughts about that. This legislation, and this particular amendment, would ensure that Congress has the information it needs.

I encourage my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this week, the House is voting on bills meant to address the opioid crisis, a crisis facing communities across the country. This crisis deserves our full attention and bipartisan action. Mr. Speaker, 115 people die every day from overdose. These are real human beings.

I think of Katie Lethbridge, from my home community of Brendan Bye, lost to this terrible, terrible addiction, this terrible tragic disease.

We need more than just the legislation that is coming before us this week. We need a serious commitment to treatment, to funding treatment, not just with direct funding to ensure that the programs that support treatment are in place, but actually making sure that people have healthcare coverage that includes coverage for treatment.

When this House works to undermine the guarantee that people with a preexisting condition, which could include addiction, if it is taken from them, we are really not living up to the promise that we owe to these folks.

Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to recognize Dennis Williams as he retires from United Auto Workers after more than 40 years of service to the union and to our country.

I have known Dennis for many, many years. Throughout his career, he has led the fight to protect the right to collective bargaining and to ensure that all workers, not just those in the union, have fair pay and safe working conditions.

Like the UAW itself, Dennis has always been committed to securing economic and social justice for workers. His experience has carried him through the diverse sectors of the UAW, giving him expertise across the spectrum.

He started at UAW Local 806 as a salvage welder, served in many positions--bargaining chairman, international representative, region 4 director--before becoming international president in 2016.

Dennis Williams' service and success at the bargaining table led to a better quality of life for the UAW's more than 400,000 workers and 580,000 retirees, many of whom I am proud to represent in my home district.

I am grateful to work with leaders like Dennis who have changed our communities for the better, and we will miss Dennis Williams' voice and his leadership in the union, but we know it won't be lost to the country as he begins this next chapter in his life.

Congratulations, Dennis, on work well done.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this is a bipartisan amendment. It is very simple. It would expand the House Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program so that more wounded servicemembers have the opportunity to continue serving our country by working in congressional offices.

We need more veterans in public service. They bring unique perspectives and experiences, unlike any other. The veterans that I have been fortunate enough to hire in my office have given me invaluable support and allowed me to consider issues that are important to veterans in an important and much more enlightened fashion. Their voices are important in this body, more now than ever.

By investing in the Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program, more veterans will get a chance to serve. Expanding this program will enhance the professional development opportunities for those fellows.

We in Congress do talk a lot about ways to help veterans transition following their service in the military. This is an opportunity for us to actually do something about that and model what we think all employers ought to be doing.

It is a simple way to expand opportunities for veterans. It increases the number of veterans in public service. Again, in my office, I have benefited greatly from the veterans that I have hired. It is a bipartisan effort to continue to expand this program.

I ask my colleagues to pass this amendment. It is a small way to not only improve the function of our own offices but also say thanks to the brave men and women who have given so much for the freedom that we all enjoy.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is intended to highlight the lack of urgency by the Air Force to address an ongoing drinking water emergency across the country, including one in my home district. I am not talking about Flint; I am talking about Oscoda, Michigan, at the northern end of my district, the home of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.

My constituents living there have had their drinking water contaminated by PFAS, perfluorinated chemicals, from the Air Force's use of firefighting foam. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to harmful health issues like cancer as well as thyroid, kidney, liver, heart, and reproductive problems. It is not just servicemembers but community members there.

Unfortunately, the more we learn about this dangerous class of chemicals, the more we are finding it in drinking water across the country. In my district alone, thousands of people have cancer-causing chemicals in their drinking water due to the Air Force's use of this material.

The Air Force does not seem to want to recognize this ongoing drinking water crisis. I have been pushing the Air Force to clean up the contamination in Oscoda and other communities. In fact, the entire Michigan delegation, Democrats and Republicans, wrote to appropriators asking for more funding for PFAS contamination.

While Members are prevented from earmarking legislation to send resources directly to clean up contamination in Oscoda, it is an urgent problem that I wanted to call attention to. This community is near this former Air Force Base. It is facing very serious water contamination issues.

You would think that the Air Force would request additional resources to clean up contamination, but, frustratingly, the Air Force has so far refused to request additional resources.

The Appropriations Committee even asked the Air Force if they needed more money. Let me repeat that. The Appropriations Committee even asked the Air Force if they needed more money to address this problem, but the Air Force responded that they did not need any additional funds.

I offer this amendment for the purpose of raising the issue. I know that it is not possible for us to designate these funds, so it is my intention to withdraw this.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Florida, the ranking member of the subcommittee, for her commitment to work on this.

This is a serious issue. I know Congress takes it seriously. I just would ask that the Air Force take it equally as seriously and request the funds necessary to clean up this really difficult problem.

With that, I know that this amendment could present some problems in terms of the way this legislation moved forward, but the commitment that I have that this will be getting the attention it deserves from Congress, I think, is important.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time, and I withdraw my amendment.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would provide just over $2 billion to the vocational rehabilitation and employment account. This account invests in programs to help veterans successfully transition to civilian life.

Our country has been at war for nearly two decades. While these conflicts are still ongoing, the number of veterans in this country is going to continue to grow. We have to invest in programs that support this generation of veterans as they seek to reintegrate into the civilian workforce.

I just want to highlight a couple of important programs in this account.

The Special Employer Incentives program connects veterans with opportunities where the VA reimburses the employer for up to half of a veteran's salary. This is a program that matches veterans with apprenticeships, with the expectation of being hired upon completion.

I know from experience that our veterans bring unique perspective and skills to the workplace. I have hired, as I have said in previous conversations, multiple veterans working in my office, including a Wounded Warrior fellow and a HillVets fellow. We should ensure that we are supporting programs that connect veterans with employers.

My amendment would also ensure funding for the VA to expand its Veterans Economic Communities Initiative, a program in which nonprofits and educational institutions build supportive networks for veterans. This is exactly the kind of long-term support that we should have had in place years

ago before launching into these conflicts.

For many Americans, the American Dream is owning your own business and being your own boss. The vocational rehabilitation and employment account includes programs that help veterans do just that.

The vocational rehabilitation and employment account also includes the VetSuccess on Campus program, which places vocational rehab counselors in partner schools.

This amendment would give the VA the opportunity to expand these programs, reaching even more veterans.

Unfortunately, as this process has moved forward, we have come to understand that the VA would intend to reduce the account for direct support for tuition and other supplies for veterans under their rights under the GI Bill.

I will ask that this amendment be withdrawn, but I want to make sure to make the point that we ought to have a specific carveout for these vocational programs, for these transition programs. It is my hope that, as we move forward, we will be able to work with the VA to be able to identify a source that would not reduce the other benefits that are available to veterans seeking to better themselves.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. Chair, I withdraw this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I thank the committee Democrats and Republicans for bringing this bipartisan bill to the floor.

One of the most important pieces of infrastructure in my particular district in the State of Michigan is the Saginaw River. This Federal port allows for raw material from around the world to be brought into our communities to be used in manufacturing and agriculture and is really the lifeblood of the economy there.

The depth of the river, however, currently limits the size of the ships that can use this very important port. Our dock owners on the Saginaw River have joined with the local government and businesses to propose deepening the Saginaw River to increase business opportunities and grow jobs in our region.

The Army Corps process to authorize deepening of the river, however, can sometimes be rather time-consuming. While millions have been spent by dock owners, under current law, the Army Corps construction plan for considering construction projects does not allow those investments that have already been made.

So I am supporting this legislation, in part, because of the reforms in the bill. It changes the way the Army Corps does their cost-benefit analysis on a project. It will greatly benefit many projects, including the Saginaw River's deepening project.

This will grow jobs in my district, in our State, and in our country. It is a step in the right direction. I encourage the Corps to work with those local members and that local coalition on the deepening of this river using the reforms in this bill. This is really important for my district.

I really appreciate the work of the committee in coming together and delivering these reforms and delivering a good bill to the floor in a bipartisan fashion. I encourage my colleagues to support it.