Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor The Meadows, an affordable senior housing community in my congressional district located in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.

The Meadows excels as an elderly community by providing individual living with enhanced social services and high-quality care to approximately 100 Rhode Island seniors. The Meadows was built using a smart combination of Federal, State, local, and private funding. It has a green design which includes geothermal heating, Energy Star appliances, and energy-efficient lighting.

For the commitment to providing our seniors a quality standard of living, I congratulate the Meadows. I proudly join the National Affordable Housing Management Association in honoring The Meadows as a ``community of quality'' for exemplary development for our seniors.

Thank you for your work. Congratulations on your achievements, and thank you for your commitment to Rhode Island's seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with serious concerns about the lack of a true jobs plan from the Republican majority as we seek to tackle our spending challenges.

And as the race continues to find the next deepest cut, just who are the real losers? It seems to be the hardest hit. It's middle class families, our children, our seniors, our students, and women. This war on working families must end. Our people are our greatest asset.

In order to move our country out of this recession, we must invest in their success. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are moving forward with yet another dangerous spending bill, one that continues to give rewards to the most successful among us and literally guts the initiatives most meaningful to middle class families.

The work of reducing our deficit and controlling spending is, no doubt, hard. The fact of the matter is that we have to cut spending, but we have to do it responsibly.

As we seek to make a compromise this week, let's remember that we cannot cut what makes us competitive and what helps us innovate, succeed in the global economy and, ultimately, create jobs.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I'm new to this body but I was just elected to the Congress of the United States and what I heard during the course of my campaign is the urgency to get people back to work, to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and to deal with the deficit. We've just spent the last 3 hours under the cloak of deficit reduction. My friends on the other side of the aisle have pushed this very extreme amendment, which is targeting women's health care and women's health care providers. This ideological attack comes at the expense of our Nation's women. It's an attack on health centers and will put the lives of millions of women at risk--millions of women who seek and receive health care at Planned Parenthood centers all around this country.

Every year, Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses carry out nearly 1 million lifesaving screenings for cervical cancer and 830,000 breast exams. Its health centers provide contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients, and nearly 4 million patients are treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Planned Parenthood provides preventative health care, and that represents 90 percent of its work. We already have a Federal prohibition of using Federal funds for abortion. Not a single penny intended or targeted by this amendment is used to terminate a pregnancy.

What we should be talking about is getting the American people back to work: creating jobs, responsibly dealing with our deficit, and doing everything we can to strengthen the middle class. That's what we were sent here to do. That's what we should be doing.

I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment so that we can get back to the important business of putting Americans back to work.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with great concern about the future of our country. And that's because in the past few days we've seen the valley between the hardworking middle class and the rich continue to grow wider and wider. It's a matter of priorities, Madam Speaker, and right now we can see very clearly where my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have placed their priorities. It's not in the well-being of our workforce, not in the effectiveness of our classrooms, and not in the safety of our neighborhoods. No, Madam Speaker. The priorities of the majority party are not with the people who have worked hard all their lives to earn a decent wage, buy a decent home, put their kids through school, and do what they can to keep their families and communities strong. The priorities of my Republican colleagues lay with America's most successful--the hedge fund managers, Wall Street financiers, and investment bankers. That's why they worked so hard to give those folks another tax break at the end of last year under the guise of extending unemployment benefits for many people who lost jobs through no fault of their own.

But, my friends, you see, the rich didn't need another tax break--not now; not when their taxes are the lowest they've been since 1950, and a tax cut that added $800 billion to our deficit over the next decade. In addition to that, as part of the Recovery Act, Congress enacted the largest tax cut in American history and Democrats provided additional tax rebates for businesses that provide their employees with health insurance.

Amidst these tremendous tax breaks for the past 2 years, the Republicans are moving forward with a dangerous spending bill, one that continues to give rewards to the rich and literally guts the initiatives most meaningful to middle class families. Simply put, the Republicans' spending bill is irresponsible and tone deaf to the needs of a healing Nation. It cuts jobs, threatens American innovation, and diminishes investments in rebuilding America. It makes devastating cuts to education--reducing Pell Grants by $800 per student and kicking more than 200,000 children out of Head Start. It reduces the competitiveness of our workforce by slashing $1.6 billion in job training and cutting $120 million in alternative youth training that sends kids to work in construction and other trades--critical skills that will help us make things again in America and put us on better footing to compete with the rest of the world.

It derails $2.5 million in funding for high-speed trains, canceling 76 projects in 40 States, at the loss of 25,000 jobs focused on rebuilding America; and, at the same time, reduces our domestic security by eliminating 1,330 police officers and 2,400 firefighters, making our communities less safe.

The work of reducing our deficit and controlling spending will be hard, to be sure. The fact of the matter is that we have to cut spending. But we have to do it responsibly. We cannot cut what makes us competitive and what helps us to innovate, to succeed in the global economy, and ultimately to create jobs. The President's budget makes some serious cuts to good programs--some I strongly object to. But as we work to cut spending, we have to be sure that it's not at the expense of continuing to support initiatives that create jobs, educate our children, and keep our communities safe. We have to be serious and smart about how we address America's budget challenges.

This week, we will begin debate here in this Chamber on this budget challenge. I've heard from many of my constituents about the concerns that they have related to the Federal budget for this year. It's those conversations and the families I've met all across Rhode Island during the course of my campaign that I've got on my mind. I know what their priorities are. I've seen the circumstances and I understand the

challenges that their families are facing.

My friends, we owe it to the hardworking people of our country who are struggling to get by and who are playing by the rules but just waiting for someone to stand up for them rather than the rich guy on Wall Street. We owe it to America's hardworking people to have a serious and thoughtful debate in the hopes of producing a smart and essential budget for our country.

Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have become captive to an extremist agenda that harms people who are already hurting the most. That's why it's critical we ask our Republican friends, Just what are your priorities? Do we have the courage to come together--not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans--and invest in our country's greatest asset--our people; the people who built this great Nation and who we must believe in, now more than ever, to move our country forward to a prosperous and promising future.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in support of this amendment but to oppose the underlying Republican continuing resolution.

The spending bill before us is born out of an ideology that cuts right to the heart of our values as a country, and our priorities, too. Because that is what a budget is supposed to reflect: our values and priorities as a nation. Our priorities are to strengthen the middle class, to reduce the deficit, and to create jobs.

And we can see very clearly where my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have placed their priorities. It's not in the well-being of our workforce, not in the effectiveness of our classrooms, not in the safety of our neighborhoods. The priorities of the majority party are not with the people who have worked hard all of their lives to earn a decent wage, buy a decent home, put their kids through school, and do what they can to keep their families and communities strong.

The priorities of my friends on the other side of the aisle lay with America's most successful: the hedge fund managers, Wall Street financiers, and the investment bankers. Our Republican colleagues are pushing a spending bill that is irresponsible and ignores the needs of a healing nation. It cuts jobs, threatens American innovation, and diminishes investments in rebuilding America. And to what extent? Well, I can tell you, as a former mayor, I have seen firsthand the consequences of what is being proposed. Some of the most egregious cuts come at the expense of our most vulnerable and some of the most immediate job creators and economic growth engines that I know of.

Our colleagues are gutting more than $340 million from the Community Service Block Grants and nearly $3 billion

from the Community Development Block Grant program. These are real dollars that are putting Americans back to work and helping small businesses in communities all across this Nation.

In addition, this budget slashes $1.6 billion in job training and cuts $120 million in alternative youth training that prepares kids for work in construction and other trades, critical skills that are necessary to help us make things again here in America.

Our colleagues, since assuming the majority last month, haven't offered one single piece of legislation that would create jobs. My friends on the other side of the aisle, at the same time that they are cutting billions of dollars in jobs programs that will help put Americans back to work, are continuing to support hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to companies that are shipping our jobs overseas. While they cut 200,000 children from receiving early childhood education through Head Start, they are giving $43 billion in subsidies to the oil and gas companies.

This Republican proposal cuts Pell Grants for 9 million students, making it difficult and, for some, impossible to continue to go to college while at the same time continuing to give large agricultural corporations billions of dollars in Federal subsidies.

This is a question of priorities, and it's clear what the priorities of my friends on the other side of the aisle are. The Republicans are moving forward with a dangerous spending bill, one that continues to give rewards to the rich and literally guts the initiatives most meaningful to middle class families.

The work of reducing our deficit and controlling spending will be hard, to be sure. The fact of the matter is that we have to cut spending and we have to be serious about it, but we have to do it responsibly. We cannot cut what makes us competitive and what helps us to innovate, succeed in the global economy, and ultimately create jobs.

I know that the priorities that we have set are the priorities of getting people back to work. My friends, we owe it to the hardworking people of our Nation who are struggling to get by, who are playing by the rules but just waiting for someone to stand up for them rather than stand up for the rich guy on Wall Street. We owe it to America's hardworking people to have a serious and thoughtful debate with the hopes of producing a smart and sensible budget for our country. And that's why it's critical we ask our Republican friends: Just what are your priorities? Do we have the courage to stand with our country's greatest assets, our hardworking people? Or do we stand with the people who have enjoyed the most at the expense of everyone else?

America's future depends on harnessing the innovation, education, and entrepreneurship of our fellow Americans. This budget proposal undermines that opportunity, endangers our recovery, and makes our future less certain.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, America is the strongest Nation in the world, we hold our freedoms sacred--and we have fought to protect these freedoms for centuries, and many have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Yet, there is a great and impending threat to that strength and freedom, a threat that imperils millions of Americans--the repeal of our Nation's Health Care Reform.

As a new member of this Congress, protecting Health Care Reform is the first line in the sand. I was sent to Washington to fight for Rhode Islanders. As I have heard loudly over the past year, and witnessed first-hand as a Mayor for the last 8 years, families in my state have spent enough time awake at night worrying about where they'll find work, or the security of their current job. I will not support any action that places an additional burden on the people of Rhode Island. I will not have them lie awake at night, now having to once again worry that they will lose their health care when they need it most, or wondering how they'll pay for this month's prescriptions, or whether their child will be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

Just yesterday I had the privilege of hearing from a Rhode Islander, Alex Lataille, who spoke at the one and only hearings Congress had, to discuss the negative effects of repealing the new health care law.

Alex graduated last May with two bachelor's degrees, and while looking for a job after graduation, he is able to afford health insurance because he can stay on his parents' policy. Repealing this law means Alex and millions of Americans will lose their coverage.

Recently while having breakfast in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, I met a young woman named Beth. She said she was going to be a constituent of mine, and she had only one request. For years she had been, and remains, an insurance sales agent. But for as many years, she has been denied access to health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Each and every day served as a painful reminder that while she was selling insurance to others, she was being denied the very same coverage. As someone well attuned to the health care industry and the Affordable Care Act itself, this young woman knew that health care reform meant hope, provided certainty, and would finally allow her to get the access to affordable health care she would need--relieving her of years of fear and anxiety. She asked for my commitment to defend health care reform.

The Affordable Care Act establishes a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan--one that would provide new coverage options for Americans like Beth until 2014, when, finally, all discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions will be prohibited. Recently I also had the opportunity to speak with Susan, a mother of five from Rhode Island. Susan and her husband Ed are both middle-income earners. Recently their two sons, age 22 and 23, graduated from college. Both sons found entry level work, but neither receives health insurance from their employers. Under the current law, both sons will be eligible for coverage under their mother's health insurance plan when it renews in eight months. Susan went on to tell me that it would cost her more than $600 per month to provide coverage to her sons through COBRA. She said that with three children still at home, and despite the fact her and her husband are employed, they cannot support the added expense beyond eight months.

With repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the temporary gap that Susan and her family face would become a permanent gap. We are sending a deplorable message to Americans, and indeed the world, if we abandon hard working men and woman like Susan and Ed, and let their two sons-- both college graduates, both duly employed, go without health coverage until they find jobs that provide health insurance.

I come to this Congress to help bring common sense solutions to complex problems. When I look at the impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act, I think about the struggles of Alex, Beth and Susan, Ed and their two sons. I think about the number of Rhode Islanders who will once again find themselves saddled with greater financial burdens. I think about the many men, women, and children of my state who will once again face uncertainty over something as fundamental as their own health and well-being. When I think about these consequences, it is common sense, and an understanding of the struggles faced by so many Rhode Islanders that compels me to object so strongly to this proposed repeal.

I was sent here to find practical solutions to solve the problems facing Rhode Island families. Let's work to improve this law, not repeal it.

Mr. Speaker, on January 25, 2011, I was listed as ``not voting'' for House Resolution 49, to provide Capitol-flown flags for recipients of the Medal of Honor. I intended to vote ``yea'' on this resolution, as I support the provision of flags flown over the Capitol for those who receive the Medal of Honor. I also wish to express my appreciation for Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta for his valiant and courageous service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a question for my friends on the other side of the aisle: When will we get down to the business of putting people back to work?

My constituents in the First District of Rhode Island sent me to here to do everything I can to get our economy

back on track, pave the way for sustained recovery, and get Rhode Islanders back to work. And that's why my colleagues and I in the Democratic minority are focused on job creation, economic development and debt reduction.

However, the first actions by the new Republican majority during their first month have not been consistent with these principles.

Unfortunately, my constituents, like Rhonda Taylor, for example, from North Providence, Rhode Island, whom I met with yesterday, do not have months and months to wait for my Republican colleagues to get their priorities straight. She's already been waiting and waiting. And that's because Rhonda lost her job in the information technology field due to outsourcing almost 3 years ago. And her unemployment compensation benefits were exhausted nearly a year ago.

Rhonda is a mother of three. She's liquidated her savings and sold all of her possessions, and now she's afraid she'll become homeless.

Rhonda proves why there is no time to spare. We need to focus on policies that create jobs today. The struggles of our unemployed friends and neighbors are heartbreaking and, unfortunately, all too common. People like Rhonda have no time to wait. The partisan games have to end.

Unfortunately, Rhonda's story is not unique. I've been hearing similar messages for the past year from men and women all across Rhode Island. But instead of working on policies that will help real Americans like Rhonda, my friends on the other side of the aisle are playing politics with the Federal budget and the national debt, a budget that even Republican economists say could lead to double-digit unemployment and reverse the economic growth that is starting to take hold.

Blind budget cuts my colleagues in the majority are pursuing won't help people like Rhonda but would, rather, do more to cut jobs than save or create them. What my friends fail to recognize is that partisan political games will not solve our Nation's unemployment crisis which plagues nearly 14 million of our friends and neighbors.

The fact of the matter is the challenges facing us as a Nation are not Democratic challenges or Republican challenges. They are our challenges, and they require American solutions.

The work is demanding, yes, and it will test the will of both parties to make difficult choices. But as a Congress, we need to both responsibly reduce the deficit, cut spending, but also make the smart investments that will create jobs now and guarantee the prosperity of our great Nation.

Our Nation must make the investments in education, innovation, infrastructure, science and research that are critical to rebuilding our economy and putting people back to work because we cannot compete in the short term if we cannot innovate. And we cannot innovate in the long term if we fail to provide our children with access to a high- quality education. We cannot move goods and services throughout the economy if our infrastructure is crumbling. And America cannot make things again if we do not support the research, the entrepreneurs, the small businesses and manufacturers that transform ideas into new products.

People like Rhonda back home in Rhode Island, and hardworking people all across this Nation, have suffered for too long. We must have the courage to set the right priority, cut what doesn't work or isn't needed, live within our means, and make the right investments that ensure our ability to compete in the global economy today and into the future.

I call on my Republican colleagues to join me so we can focus on putting Americans back to work by developing commonsense solutions and focusing on jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with serious concerns about the misguided agenda our friends on the other side of the aisle are pursuing.

While Democrats continue to make job creation, economic recovery, and debt reduction top priorities, the majority continues to engage in political theater. In fact, their first actions after assuming control of the House haven't created a single job or protected a single American business.

Instead, the other side's top priority has been to repeal the patient protections provided by the new health care reform bill; and their so- called ``budget resolution'' they have offered today is a one-page document with no specific cuts to reduce spending, no budget numbers and, most importantly, no ideas on job creation or on economic recovery.

Mr. Speaker, we were sent here to create jobs and get the American economy back on track, both the Republicans and Democrats. Let's stop the political gimmickry, and let's get to the work of putting the American people back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my thoughts and prayers to the people of Colombia in light of the devastating flooding, heavy rain, and destructive landslides that, even as I speak, continue to ravage that country.

This natural disaster, ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes. In total, more than 2 million victims have been affected by the flooding, and some reports are calling this the worst natural disaster in Colombia's history.

My district in northern Rhode Island is home to many wonderful Colombian families. In fact, Colombians make up the fourth largest Latino group in Rhode Island, most of whom have loved ones in the affected areas of their native country.

So on behalf of the people of the First District of Rhode Island, I would like to express my sympathies to all of those who have been affected by this devastating flooding. We remember those who have died and express our sympathies to those who have lost loved ones, been injured, or lost their homes as a result of this destruction.

I express my wishes for a rapid reconstruction of the damaged areas and return to safety for the families affected by this tragic natural disaster.

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday I had the privilege of hearing from a Rhode Islander, Alex Lataille, who spoke at the one and only hearing Congress had to discuss the negative effects of repealing the new health care law.

Alex graduated last May with two bachelor's degrees, and while looking for a job after graduation, he is able to afford health insurance because he can stay on his parents' policy. Repealing this law means Alex and millions of Americans will lose their coverage.

I also recently spoke to Beth, a woman from Woonsocket, Rhode Island. She told me she's an insurance agent. She sells insurance every single day, but she's denied access to coverage because of her preexisting condition. Repealing this law would mean she would again be denied access to health care. She said, Please do not let them take my health care.

I was sent here to find practical solutions to solve the problems facing Rhode Island families. Let's work to improve this law, not repeal it.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 2.

We know that if we repeal this law, we know the following things will happen: Children with preexisting conditions will be denied coverage; adult children under the age of 26 will be denied coverage under their parents' policy; seniors will pay more for their prescription drugs; and small businesses will once again go back to paying nearly 20 percent more than their corporate counterparts for providing the same health care coverage; small businesses would lose the incentive for providing coverage to their employees and an up to 50 percent tax credit which has already increased coverage at small firms by more than 10 percent. They would lose the ability to grow their businesses and create jobs by using that tax credit to hire additional employees.

This law establishes consumer protections, incentivizes wellness programs, and establishes cost controls and cost-cutting exchanges. For small businesses, that means driving down the cost of providing health insurance and providing assistance for small businesses that are struggling with skyrocketing premiums.

Currently, small businesses pay, on average, 18 percent more than large businesses for the same coverage, and health insurance premiums have gone up three times faster than wages in the past 10 years.

Small business tax credits are critical to providing small businesses the opportunity to provide insurance to their employees. We made a promise to those small businesses to do everything we can to make it easier for them to thrive in this economy, and this is a good first step.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this repeal.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution and in honor of the victims and those left suffering as a result of last weekend's devastating tragedy in Arizona.

In what can only be described as a brutal act of domestic terrorism, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, members of her staff, and other members of the Tucson community are now fighting for their lives. And six innocent others, including a 9-year-old little girl and the Congresswoman's director of community outreach, Gabe Zimmerman, gave the ultimate sacrifice in the exercise of our democracy.

This tragedy gives us great pause as we begin the work of the 112th Congress and serves as a painful reminder that our democracy is built upon the ability of our citizens to participate fully in their democracy, and we must protect that. These have been tragic hours for our country, for those who lost loved ones, and for those who were injured and their families. On behalf of the people of the First District of Rhode Island and my colleague, Congressman Jim Langevin of the Second District, we send our sincerest condolences from our entire State to all those who have lost a loved one as a result of this hideous attack. We also extend our thoughts and prayers to Congresswoman Giffords, her staff and her constituents, all of whom were victims of this tragedy. And we pray that those injured have a speedy and full recovery.

May God grant our Nation and all the victims peace and comfort. And may we renew our commitment to the ideals that have made America great, including the free exchange of ideas and a democracy that continues to listen carefully to the people we serve.

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