Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pascrell for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two documents. One is an article from the Chicago Sun Times of today, ``A 4-Block Radius on the West Side Is at the Heart of Chicago's Opioid Epidemic,'' and ``The Opioid Crisis in Illinois'' by the Illinois Department of Human Services.

[From the Chicago Sun Times, June 14, 2018]

A 4-Block Radius on the West Side Is at the Heart of Chicago's Opioid

Epidemic

(By Tanveer Ali and Sam Charles)

On July 15, 2016, Darwin Phillips was found dead by his

mother in the basement of the home in West Humboldt Park

where she and Phillips had lived since she bought it in 1979.

He was 50 when he died of an overdose of heroin and two

types of Fentanyl, heroin's synthetic but deadlier cousin, an

autopsy found.

``A sweet guy'' who worked odd jobs while grappling with

mental illness and addiction and was the father of two,

Phillips had overdosed five times before his fatal OD,

according to his mother Jamie Roberts.

``It's a disease,'' says Roberts. ``It's sad that people

take advantage of drug addicts. It still bothers me a lot. We

tried to get him help.''

Phillips' death was one of 745 in Cook County in 2016

linked to opioids, according to the Cook County medical

examiner's office. In Chicago, African-American victims like

Phillips accounted for 362 of those deaths--48 percent.

That stands in contrast to what's going on nationally.

Across the United States, white people accounted for about 78

percent of all opioid deaths in 2016, research by the Kaiser

Family Foundation found.

``The epidemic in Chicago is not the national epidemic,''

says Amanda Brooks, chief population health officer of the

PCC Community Wellness Center, (http://www.pccwellness.org)

which focuses largely on the West Side. ``The Chicago

epidemic is affecting 45- to 65-year-old men on the West

Side.''

In 2014, there were 212 opioid-related deaths in Cook

County, 129 of them in Chicago, according to the medical

examiner's office. By 2017, Cook County had 1,150 opioid

deaths, 764 of those in Chicago.

By comparison, Chicago saw 664 homicides in 2017 (https:// chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-murders-homicides-2017- steep-decline/).

What's changed to cause the rise in opioid deaths? The rise

of Fentanyl, experts say.

The powerful painkiller is legally available by

prescription. But it also can easily be manufactured

illegally and typically is mixed by dealers with other

illicit, though less deadly, drugs like heroin--often without

users knowing they're taking Fentanyl.

``Most of our patients are not intentionally taking

Fentanyl,'' Brooks says.

About 5 percent of the opioid deaths in 2014 were Fentanyl-

related, according to medical examiner data, and 67 percent

were tied to heroin.

By 2017, Fentanyl was a factor in 57 percent of opioid

deaths in Cook County, while heroin played a role in 66

percent. A combination of the two played a role in 37

percent.

While the number of opioid deaths has risen sharply

countywide since 2014, the impact largely has been felt in

areas with a lack of resources.

In 2017, Chicago Fire Department crews were dispatched to

9,158 opioid-related overdoses, records show--up 163 percent

compared to 2014. The hardest-hit parts of the city. West

Side neighborhoods like Garfield Park, West Humboldt Park,

Austin and North Lawndale.

A four-block radius roughly around Ridgeway and Augusta

alone was responsible for 1,257 calls in 2016 and 2017--about

7.2 percent of all opioid-related calls citywide during that

period.

That's the area where Phillips died.

His mother says drug dealers don't set up in the immediate

area around her home, as she and her neighbors have made it

clear that they want to keep their sidewalks crime-free. When

the weather turned warm, Roberts resumed what's become a

summer tradition for her selling snow-cones for 25 cents to

$1 outside her home.

``This,'' Roberts says, ``is my corner.''

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the STOP Act is to address the influx of synthetic opioids arriving through international mail. Given the growing harm to our communities from substance abuse, I, too, want to thank and commend the Ways and Means Committee for its hard work on developing this legislation. Especially, I want to point out the efforts of Mr. Pascrell and Mr. Bishop.

I am strongly committed to preventing the shipments of dangerous and illegal opioids into the United States. I support the intent of this bill to limit illegal trafficking of drugs, and I voted in support of this bill in the Ways and Means Committee.

However, after the last-minute changes made to this bill in the Rules Committee, I, unfortunately, cannot support H.R. 5788. The Republican leadership insisted on last-minute changes to impose civil penalties on the Postal Service for any accepted shipment lacking advance electronic data without allowing enough time to fully vet the impact of the changes with critical stakeholders.

I am concerned about the fairness of imposing civil penalties for individual shipments lacking electronic data when the Postal Service lacks direct control over whether foreign postal operators provide this data. I am concerned that having one executive branch entity impose penalties on another would set up an adversarial relationship in addressing illegal drug trafficking rather than a collaborative relationship. I am also concerned that penalties are imposed based on individual shipments rather than systematic violations.

I appreciate the work of my Democratic colleagues to mitigate the negative effects of these civil penalties; however, due to the concerns of the U.S. Postal Service and the postal unions about the negative impact of these last-minute changes by Republican leadership, I cannot support this bill at this time. I am committed to stopping the shipment of dangerous drugs and to working to resolve these problems as this legislation continues to move forward.

I urge that we continue to work to improve it and make it the very best that it can be without threatening in any way the viability of postal operations.

Mr. Speaker, on roll call No. 216, I inadvertently voted `aye.' I strongly oppose the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and I intended my vote be recorded as `nay.'

Mr. Speaker, on roll call No. 216, I inadvertently voted `aye.' I strongly oppose the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act and I intended my vote be recorded as `nay.'

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Attorney Lewis Meyers, an outstanding legal scholar, a regular but uncommon man who practiced law, was a professor, a litigator, an organizer, manger, social activist, political leader and a friend to many.

Lewis's leadership roles began when he was a teenager in Houston, Texas where he helped to integrate the Houston Public School System. He led boycotts, protests and other forms of agitation and demonstrations. He was elected president of the NAACP youth council.

After high school, he attended Howard University Law School and the University of Mississippi Law School where he received his juris doctorate degree. Lou was steeped in movement organizations and politics.

He worked for the North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, Chicago State University, Kenny King College, Roosevelt University, Kent College of Law, DePaul University Law School. He was a tenured professor at Kennedy King College. Lewis's work experiences were so varied, Chief Administrator at Bethel AME Church, and a Deputy National Executive Director for the NAACP in Baltimore. Lewis was a member of the following organizations: American Bar Association, Cook County Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, National Lawyers Guild, National Conference of Black Lawyers, certified to practice in the United States Supreme Court of Appeals for the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth circuits, United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, United States Federal District Court for the north and central districts of Illinois. Lewis was the personal attorney for Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Minister Louis Farrakhan, Congressman Danny K. Davis and 27th ward Alderman Wallace Davis.

Lewis was a joiner of organizations in which he believed, Rainbow Push, Chicago Black United Communities, NAACP Southside branch, Teamwork Eaglewood, Fathers who care, New Mt. Pilgrim Mountain Men, Amer-I-Can, Five Hundred Black Men, Founder NAACP Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Executive Board New Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church.

I could not attend the funeral because I was scheduled to take two busloads of children and their families to visit their fathers at Sheridan Correctional Facility for Father's Day. Lou would have approved. Lewis and his wife lived a couple of blocks from my district office and could often be seen walking through the Westside neighborhood where he lived and worked. He was known for giving free legal advice and often handled legal cases pro-bono. He was devoted to his wife and family, and LOVED Houston.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures. If I were present for rollcall votes, I would have voted ``no'' for the following votes:

Roll 241, June 7, 2018: On Agreeing to the Resolution, H. Res. 923, Providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5895) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3) the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act.

Roll 240, June 7, 2018: On Ordering the Previous Question, Providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5895) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3) the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act.

If were present for rollcall votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for the following vote:

Roll 242, June 7, 2018: On Approval of the Journal

Mr. Speaker, I commend the Judiciary Committee for its tremendous work in bringing this bill to the floor. They have put forth tremendous effort and tried every way they could think of to compromise.

But notwithstanding the effort, I find myself not in a position to vote in favor of the bill. One of the reasons is that many of the organizations and groups with whom I have worked over the years are in opposition. They are people who are on the ground floor of criminal justice reform. They recognize that, if we are going to provide an opportunity to seriously reduce mass incarceration, we have to make provisions for individuals to regain some sense of reality regarding what got them into prison in the first place.

I appreciate all of the efforts. I think we have got too much authority being given to the Attorney General. I wish we had been able to get closer to what people I work with daily would be in agreement with. Unfortunately, we did not.

Unfortunately, I do not support passage of the bill, but I support continuing to work to find the real, hard-nosed solutions that we need.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Lewis for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5444, the Taxpayer First Act. In particular, I commend Representatives Lewis and Jenkins for their leadership to prevent private debt collectors from pursuing tax collections from individuals and families earning under 250 percent of the Federal poverty level.

I was deeply disturbed by the report of the Taxpayer Advocate which found that private debt collection enforcement this year targeted SSDI and SSI recipients, subjected impoverished Social Security recipients to levies, and put 45 percent of the studied taxpayers into installment agreements they could not afford.

The private debt collection program appears to have increased the profits of debt collectors at the expense of the disabled, retirees, and impoverished--counter to IRS policy and decency. Creating an independent appeals process, improving the offer in compromise program, and modernizing the IRS are overdue improvements.

So I thank Ranking Member Lewis and Chairman Jenkins for their leadership, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, as we recognize tax day today, it is fitting that we advance a bill that recognizes Taxpayer Assistance Centers are the primary face of the Internal Revenue Service in local communities.

H.R. 5440 was jointly introduced by Representative Karen Handel from Georgia and Representative Tom O'Halleran from Arizona. It simply requires public and congressional notification prior to any closures of these critical centers.

Taxpayer Assistance Centers, or TACs, provide in-person help to taxpayers on a wide range of issues, including making payments, resolving questions, and authenticating identity. They are IRS employees who know the law and provide high-caliber assistance locally.

In fiscal year 2017, TACs served approximately 3.2 million taxpayers, down from 4.3 million served the prior

year. Unfortunately, this decline can be tied, in part, to the IRS' recent prioritization of online services over in-person assistance. This shift is evident in multiple ways:

It is evident in the closure of 30 TACs since 2011, a reduction of over 7 percent;

It is evident in the substantial reduction in TAC staffing, a decline of about 30 percent during the same period that the centers were closed;

It is evident in the rigid requirement of appointment-only assistance, without allowing walk-in help, even just to pay one's taxes. Indeed, the Taxpayer Advocate noted that about 30 percent of all TACs have either zero or one employee, resulting in virtual closures in about 111 sites.

These reductions impose hardships on local communities and limit taxpayers' rights to quality service. These reductions in access and the resulting community disruption concern taxpayers as well as Members of Congress.

H.R. 5440 is a commonsense bill that requires the IRS to provide public notice, including through nonelectronic means, 90 days prior to the closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center. This notice ensures that affected taxpayers are aware of closures as well as information on alternative forms of assistance that is available. Importantly, the Secretary of the Treasury must notify Congress of the closure and provide the reasons for closing the TAC.

Face-to-face assistance is a critical element of the Internal Revenue Service. Many tax issues cannot be resolved via a website or a brief phone call. Taxpayer Assistance Centers are vital to our tax system, and I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation to ensure public and congressional notification prior to any closures of centers.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran), the lead Democratic cosponsor.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As I prepare to close, I want to reiterate the importance of Taxpayer Assistance Centers as the local face of the Internal Revenue Service. The Internal Revenue Service should be increasing this presence and not limiting it.

H.R. 5440 is a commonsense bill that requires the IRS to provide public notice, including through nonelectronic means, 90 days prior to the closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center. This notice ensures that affected taxpayers are aware of closures, as well as information on alternative forms of assistance that are available. This notice will help communities and taxpayers better answer their questions and comply with their tax obligations.

As I have said, this is, indeed, a commonsense bill. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, as we recognize tax day today, I applaud this body for advancing H.R. 2901, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act.

I want to thank my colleague and commend him for his leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. It has been good working with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), and I look forward to continuing to do so.

This crucial program provides high-quality tax assistance to hardworking families to help those who can benefit from a program that is designed to help.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, offers free tax services to people who make less than 250 percent of the poverty level, and to underserved taxpayers, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited-English speakers.

It is a prime example of smart Federal investment because each Federal dollar is matched by the private sector. The demand for VITA services is great. The number of tax returns prepared by the VITA program doubled between 2014 and 2016. In 2016, VITA grantees filed more than 3.8 million returns, helping families claim about $1.1 billion in earned tax benefits. In Illinois, over 23,000 returns were filed for almost $32 million in refunds.

With the new tax law, these high-caliber, in-person services are needed even more, especially in States like Illinois, affected by the SALT limitation. VITA services are top-notch. The Internal Revenue Service reported that VITA preparers have a 94 percent accuracy rate nationally on returns claiming the earned income tax credit.

Further, VITA services make a real difference for individuals and families. VITA sites are skilled at ensuring that taxpayers get all of the tax benefits for which they are eligible. These savings, coupled with the savings of hundreds of dollars in tax preparation costs, put more money in my constituents' pockets to cover the essential costs like rent, groceries, and medical care.

H.R. 2901 makes important changes to the VITA program. For example, in addition to permanently authorizing VITA, the bill allows the Secretary to fund the VITA grants up to $30 million. We have fully exhausted the recent appropriations of $15 million. The IRS estimates that 70 percent of Americans are eligible to file their taxes for free.

Given the high demand and need, H.R. 2901 recognizes that the IRS should put taxpayers first by giving them access to high-quality free services, doubling our Federal investment via this quality matching grant program.

Madam Speaker, I want to acknowledge and recognize the wonderful VITA sites in Chicago--the Center for Economic Progress, City-Wide Tax Assistance Program via Ladder Up, and I am especially pleased that the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago helps champion this program in my hometown.

As these programs do, many VITA sites provide additional programs to increase financial stability for families, and I am grateful for their presence in Chicago and other places throughout the country.

Madam Speaker, I also want to thank Ranking Members Neal and Lewis, Chairmen Brady and Jenkins, Senators Brown and Heller, former Representative Mike Honda, former Representative Xavier Becerra, the United Way, and Prosperity Now for their leadership in providing the permanence of this program.

And as I know people are struggling and running trying to get there fast before the deadline expires to file their returns, I am glad to know that those who needed it were able to get help.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this program, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Again, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), for his tremendous leadership on this issue. If one talks to someone who has used this service to convey their earnest sense of relief and gratitude for something that is called

``free,'' they save not only the cost of paying a tax preparer, but they also know that they have got all of the benefits for which they were entitled.

I represent thousands of low-income taxpayers, and the earned income taxpayer credit that they are able to get oftentimes lights up their life when it is time to file. Some of them are able to get benefits that they didn't think they were going to have, and so they give a real bit of thanks to those who helped them prepare and to know.

There are many adviser volunteers and I want to thank them-- individuals who give of their time, their energy, their knowledge, their expertise, and their effort to make sure that low-income taxpayers are provided all of the assistance that they need.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work on this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 1512, the Social Security Child Protection Act, which was introduced jointly by Representatives Kenny Marchant and Lloyd Doggett, both of Texas. I note that my colleague, Mr. Johnson, is also in the House. This means that Texas is serious about children and protecting them. This bipartisan legislation would protect children in cases where their Social Security card is stolen from the mail.

Most parents apply for a Social Security number for their child soon after the baby is born. They can do this easily and securely right in the hospital. The Social Security Administration then assigns a number to the child and mails the card to the child's family.

Unfortunately, sometimes these letters do not reach their intended destination. They can be stolen from the mail. In fact, the Social Security numbers of children are highly valued by identity thieves. Fraudsters can wreak havoc, creating an extensive record of bad debt and fraud associated with a child's number.

Currently, Social Security will issue a new number to anyone, child or adult, who can show that their number has been misused and that they have been harmed. However, in the case of a child, sometimes years go by before the family learns that a child's number has been used for fraud.

Under the bill, the Social Security Administration would issue a child a new Social Security number if their card is stolen from the mail. The family would no longer have to prove that harm has occurred before the child can be issued a new number.

Madam Speaker, this is a commonsense measure, and I want to commend Mr. Marchant for thinking it up, thinking of it and responding to a need that was expressed to him by one of his constituents. It is a great measure. I am pleased to support it, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I will close.

I am pleased to note that H.R. 1512 and other bills before us today take important steps to decrease identity theft. I know that identity theft is one of the top issues that the Chicago Taxpayer Advocate addresses. Helping prevent identity fraud and helping taxpayers deal with identity theft are important improvements.

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 5192, the Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act, which was introduced by Representatives Carlos Curbelo of Florida and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Our Nation is facing a growing epidemic of so-called synthetic identity theft. This is a sophisticated form of fraud where the fraudster manufactures a fake identity using a legitimate Social Security number but combining it with a made-up name. Numbers that belong to children are especially valuable for these fraudsters. This is because children typically do not yet have a credit record. If they did, the credit record would reveal that the name and number do not match, making the number useless to the synthetic identity fraudster.

Under this bill, banks and other certified users could verify the customer's name, Social Security number, and date of birth with Social Security's

own records. This would allow the bank to detect attempted synthetic identity theft. As under current law, banks would be required to get the consent of their customer in order to have the SSA verify information.

Social Security would not provide any identity information back to the bank other than, yes, this is a match or, no, this does not match. This matching could occur more quickly than it does under current law, to reflect the way commerce is conducted today.

I am pleased that we were able to work in a bipartisan way to develop this legislation and to strengthen it as it moved through the committee process. We did so in several ways.

First, we made sure that users of the system paid the full cost of developing it and conducting the verifications. We did not want to detract from the main mission of Social Security, which is to make sure Americans receive their earned Social Security benefits on time and in full.

Second, we strengthened the security of the system to make it not subject to misuse. Americans' personal information must be kept secure, and Social Security must only conduct the matching when the individual has given consent.

I am pleased to say that Social Security's track record on this is strong, and I expect they will carry on with their protectiveness of Americans' private data as they design a new system. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation to protect children and fight identity theft.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), the lead Democratic cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I have no further requests for time, so I am going to move ahead and close.

Mr. Speaker, I think we have seen much agreement on the floor today, pleasantly so. I really don't know when I have seen as much agreement on a group of bills and legislation as I have seen on this day. And I guess it really means that all of us agree that we need to do everything that we can to protect ourselves from identity theft, that we need to look after the interest of children and protect them.

I want to thank all of the staff from both sides of the aisle, even those who worked for subcommittees, as well as for the primary staff, for the tremendous amount of work that they have done.

Again, it is a pleasure working with Mr. Curbelo, and I guess if we don't agree on everything, we do agree that all of us have a responsibility to file and pay income taxes in order to keep our government moving.

It has been a pleasant day, not just for us, but I think all of our constituents, who have watched the proceedings, probably are saying to themselves that they would love to see more days like this, and I would, too. So I urge passage of this bill and the others that we have had before us.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the proposed bureaucratic approach of the balanced budget amendment says nothing about our national priorities, about what to do about massive and growing economic inequality, about addressing the impact of globalization on the American people.

It says nothing about infrastructure for sustainable energy, water, transportation, communication, health, education, housing, the opioid epidemic, climate change, or Social Security. It says nothing about addressing the great inequities facing women, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, or the homeless.

The balanced budget amendment would wipe out trillions of dollars of Social Security, Medicare, military and civil service retirement trust funds, and the FDIC and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation trust funds.

At a time when our Nation may be heading for a constitutional crisis because Congress is unable to find a simple majority for legislative guarantees, guaranteeing that no one man is above the law, a balanced budget amendment would create an ongoing scenario of endless potential constitutional crises should Congress be unable to find supermajorities to resolve budget shortfalls, creating the threat of political extortion by a congressional minority. The balanced budget amendment is a direct attack on our citizens and our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, let us end this facade of reality and vote down this assault on real government.

Mr. Speaker, let me just, first of all, commend Representative Burgess, chairman of the subcommittee, and Mr. Green, as well as Representative Butterfield and all of the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, for their leadership in bringing this bill to this point at this moment.

As we just heard, sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder characterized by affected red blood cells that mutate into the shape of a crescent or sickle, and, as such, these cells are unable to pass through small blood vessels. It is a recessive genetic condition that occurs when a child inherits two sickle cell genes or traits from each parent.

The consequences and complications of this disease are extreme. The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, with whom we have worked for many years, has studied and reported that common complications with this disease include early childhood death from infection; stroke in young children and adults; lung problems similar to pneumonia; chronic damage to organs, including the kidney, leading to kidney failure, and to the lungs, causing pulmonary hypertension; and severe painful episodes.

In fact, pain episodes are a hallmark of sickle cell disease. They are unpredictable in many ways, both the timing of when they occur--how severe they will be--and how long they will last. For those with the disease, these devastating pain episodes can start as early as 6 months of age and can span a lifetime, impacting school attendance and participation in the workforce. In fact, these pain crises contribute significantly to the 200,000 emergency room visits collectively made by sufferers of sickle cell disease each year in our country. A typical crisis will result in a hospital stay of 7 to 10 days.

Mr. Speaker, we have made a tremendous amount of progress in the treatment, research, and effective ways of dealing with this disease. I note that more than 20 years ago I worked with the project at the University of Illinois running a sickle cell education project, and I have seen much of that progress that we have talked about, but we still have a long way to go. There is still tremendous need for research. There is need for additional treatment modalities.

So, again, I thank all of those who have demonstrated support for this important legislation. I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Dr. Burgess for his leadership, and Representative Gene Green. They have both demonstrated, I think, the kind of leadership that we are often seeking, searching for, and looking for.

Mr. Speaker, it has been my pleasure to work with Representative Gallagher of Wisconsin in development of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend the first lady of Wisconsin for the leadership that she has provided. Of course, the first lady is the wife of the Governor. I must admit that I was a bit amazed when we were contacted by the first lady of Wisconsin to talk about this kind of legislation and to talk about the importance of it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 443, which recognizes the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care and proposes to implement this care at the Federal level.

Traumatic experiences affect millions of people across the country, including the city of Chicago. It is integral to the development of any person who has experienced trauma to get physical and emotional support after experiencing an extremely stressful life event.

This is especially important to our Nation's children, as adverse childhood experiences can affect the health of a child for the rest of his or her life. If a child does not receive care for trauma, it could even shorten his or her lifespan, and this stress facilitates negative brain development.

Trauma-informed care addresses the survivor's specific needs in relation to his or her personal trauma and recovery. It promotes a collaborative environment between the survivor and close friends and family, and it addresses the symptoms of trauma that require treatment. This helps the survivor work through his or her recovery in a positive way with the support of close allies.

Though many States have adopted trauma-informed care programs, it is essential to implement trauma-informed care at the Federal level and make sure that people anywhere in the country get the treatment and support they need, not just those in certain States.

It has also been my pleasure to work closely with Senator Durbin, the senior Senator from the State of Illinois, and hundreds of groups that have formed a coalition to help promote and develop an understanding of just how much trauma care is needed.

Very seldom do I talk about it or mention it, but I had a grandson who was murdered a year or so ago, and there were other children in the home. It was a home invasion. So I can tell people firsthand that the kind of attention and care that individuals get after they have had a traumatic experience makes a tremendous amount of difference in their recovery.

I also note that I was trained as a psychologist, and so I have interacted in many instances with individuals who had experienced stress. So this is an excellent piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Gallagher again for his leadership. It has been my pleasure to work with him. I look forward to the passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly commend Ranking Member Larson and Chairman Johnson on their bipartisan bill to dramatically improve the Social Security Representative Payee program. We have a responsibility to ensure that this system is strong and fair to protect our vulnerable citizens. In addition to the multiple improvements in oversight and quality, I want to thank Representatives Larson and Johnson for including provisions to improve the Rep Payee program for foster youth for which I advocated.

Currently, when foster youth receive Social Security benefits because they are disabled or their parent is deceased, disabled, or retired, it is common practice for State child welfare agencies to take the children's benefits for state revenue rather than preserving these funds for the youth' s current or future needs. We have very poor understanding of who serves as representative payees for foster youth and whether they conserve the funds for these youth. This bill requires long-overdue data coordination between the Social Security Administration and state foster care programs. Requiring this data coordination is critical to ensuring that we know who is serving in the important fiduciary role for foster youth. Right now, we have no clear understanding of the number of foster youth with representative payees, whether those payees are state agencies or family members, and whether the funds are conserved for foster youth or used to plug holes in state budgets.

Just last month, the Social Security Advisory Board recommended improving the Representative Payee Program related to foster youth. The Board pointed out that state foster care agencies routinely are assigned automatically as the payee without any analysis if there is a better choice available. The Board highlighted that there can be an inherent conflict of interest in designating a state entity as payee given that the interests of foster care programs may conflict with the interests of the foster youth. The data required by this bill will help Social Security better focus on payee determination for foster youth to ensure that the payee will act in the best interest of the child. Further, it will provide data to help us understand how often state agencies are serving in this capacity and how they are using these funds. To advance this understanding, the bill requires a GAO study on minor beneficiaries in foster care and their representative payees.

In addition, this bill protects foster youth from overpayment errors made by the state. Under current law, if an overpayment occurs and the state foster care agency is the beneficiary, the foster youth is responsible for repaying the overpayment. This bill includes a protection so that if a state agency is the representative payee and an overpayment is made, the state and not the foster youth is responsible for the overpayment the state received.

These improvements are critical to improving the representative payee program for vulnerable foster youth. I am grateful to Ranking Member Larson and Chairman Johnson for working to strengthen the Representative Payee program to protect vulnerable citizens and for including these significant protections and transparency provisions to support foster youth.