Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I am very sympathetic to the gentleman from Michigan's plight.

PFAS chemicals have been found in groundwater and drinking water in Michigan due to their use in firefighting foam at former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. In fact, many closed installations across the country have a PFAS problem.

For many decades, the Department of Defense used a class of chemicals called PFAS and PFOA in firefighting foam. However, we now know that PFAS is a toxic chemical that has negative health effects on the environment.

I would like to work with the gentleman from Michigan on this issue to ensure that cleanup costs in his district are properly addressed in a timely manner, and I look forward to working with him on this issue.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I also do not oppose the amendment and find the gentlewoman's concept interesting.

It is pretty clear that getting another BRAC round is going to be difficult. In response, many services are demolishing facilities that they no longer need using operation and maintenance funding.

As we know, the BRAC account is primarily for environmental cleanup costs associated with closing bases. I would be interested to see if there are any environmental cleanup costs associated with the demolishing of buildings.

For that reason, I will not oppose the amendment, and I look forward to seeing the results of the gentlewoman's idea.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, though I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, as the gentleman from California said, some veterans have reported respiratory issues and other health conditions that they believe are related to their exposure to burn pits.

There are studies that provide information about the health effects related to exposure, but not enough to determine the long-term impacts. In response, the VA is researching, responsibly, the issue and has created the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry for veterans and servicemembers. However, many veterans, unfortunately, do not know about the burn pit registry.

The gentleman from California's amendment would help bring attention to the registry to get more veterans registered so that, should an issue arise, they can be contacted quickly and receive the care that they have earned.

There is no cost to the veteran to participate, and the veteran does not even need to be enrolled in the VA's healthcare system.

The burn pit registry is a tool to help participants become more aware of their health and to identify health conditions possibly related to exposure to burn pits and other airborne hazards. But it only works if veterans know to sign up, and the gentleman's amendment will accomplish that.

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

Mr. Chairman, this registry is a tool that can be used to identify health concerns, guide discussions with a

healthcare provider, and document deployment-related exposures. We need to ensure that the VA is doing all it can to make veterans aware of this registry. It could literally, as the gentleman from California pointed out, be the difference between life and death.

Mr. Chair, I urge all my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Providing veterans, Mr. Chairman, with prompt access to care is one goal that all Members of this body share. Call routing at the VA is a very important issue. We need to ensure that there is a system that meets the expectations of veterans and their loved ones.

There are numerous VA call center numbers available to veterans who have questions about healthcare benefits and other issues, and we must ensure that calls being made to the VA are prioritized, tracked, and routed to the correct place so that issues are promptly and thoroughly addressed.

We do also have, Mr. Chairman, an issue with there being a lot of different phone numbers at the VA, and that in and of itself is also confusing. So I, too,

look forward to working with both gentlemen from California. I appreciate their efforts on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the gentlewoman is correct, roughly 20 veterans take their own lives every day in the United States, and it is a very serious problem that we need to address.

As the chairman mentioned, the bill provides $8.6 million for mental health programs, and that is actually $6 million above the budget request. We are very proud of the work that the committee has done.

In addition, the $196 million for suicide prevention outreach fully funds the veterans' crisis line, additionally, at $90 million. The bill repeats language first included in the FY17 act requiring the veterans crisis line to provide to individuals who contact them immediate hotline assistance from a trained professional and to adhere to all requirements of the American Association of Suicidology.

The potential for suicide and making sure that we take care of our veterans who are facing crisis is absolutely critical. I do not oppose the amendment, but I do think it is important to stress that the committee did work to significantly prioritize this issue, and we appreciate the gentlewoman's attention to it.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Adaptive sports promotes the rehabilitation of disabled military service veterans. This is a vital program that allows veterans with disabilities to participate in physical activity, including those with mental health issues, within their home communities, as well as more advanced paralympic and adaptive sports programs at the regional and national levels.

Mr. Chairman, the committee is a strong supporter of this program. In fact, the bill provides $17.8 million for the National Veterans Sports Program. I appreciate the gentleman addressing this issue today, and I support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to recognize a man who lived by faith and embodied a life of stewardship: Reverend Joe C. Johnson.

The Johnson family, the family of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, and the broader South Florida community mourn the loss of a moral and spiritual giant.

Reverend Joe C. Johnson was one of our boldest, strongest, and most unapologetic servant-leaders. As the senior pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church for the past 41 years, Reverend Johnson has been the cornerstone of a rich and vibrant faith community.

All those who knew him had the opportunity to soak in his wisdom. I am both humbled and proud to have not only known him, but to have been able to fellowship with him and his congregation. He was a role model, a keen listener, an advisor, and a dear friend.

I will always remember him as a man of great empathy and foresight;

A man who believed that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions and cared deeply for his congregants; and

A man who worked tirelessly to better the lives of all those in our community.

My thoughts are with his wife Emma Inez, his children, grandchildren, and their entire extended family at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.

In the days, weeks, and months ahead, we will celebrate his life and honor his legacy. While this loss will be felt deeply by everyone, we are forever privileged to have shared this time with him on Earth.

May he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this balanced budget amendment.

Just a few months ago, Republicans plunged this Nation nearly $2 trillion deeper into debt with a tax scam bill that gave massive handouts to corporations and the ultra wealthy.

Another trip down memory lane reminds us that Republicans care so much about balancing our budget, that one of the first things that they did upon taking the majority back in 2010 was repealing paygo rules that required Congress to pay for our spending.

What better way to cover up yesterday's fiscal malfeasance than to hide behind a cynical and hypocritical promise to be more fiscally responsible tomorrow?

There are really only two possibilities here: either my Republican colleagues can't do simple math or something more sinister is going on. One thing is clear: Republicans have proven time and again that they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

When Republicans preach the virtues of fiscal responsibility, what they really mean is that they want to take away the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits that millions of Americans have earned. That is not fiscal responsibility; that is moral cruelty.

By creating a massive hole in the deficit with the Republican tax scam, this middle class con was the first step of a scheme to undermine Social Security and Medicare. This disgraceful amendment being considered today is the second step.

We have seen this movie before. Republicans followed the budget- busting Bush tax cuts for the wealthy with an attempt to privatize Social Security and they followed the budget-busting Bush recession with an attempt to voucherize Medicare.

The best way to clean up the fiscal mess made by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is to repeal the Republican tax scam. We do not need to amend the Constitution, and we must not force their fiscal mess to be cleaned up at the cost of our seniors' health and dignity.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment and to keep fighting against the Republicans' perpetual crusade to break the promises we have made to our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I live in Broward County, Florida, where the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting tragedy took place nearly 2 weeks ago.

I am here to talk about our teachers and other public sector employees, but I want to take a moment to make sure that people within the sound of my voice understand what is at stake here. To hear the messages of these valiant students, in the memories of their friends whose lives were lost, their teachers whose lives were lost, and also on their own behalf as survivors. Their message is clear that we need to make sure that we are preventing weapons of war from being in the hands of civilians by banning assault-style rifles; by banning high- capacity magazines; and by closing gun show loopholes, and every other loophole, that exist today on background checks so that we can make sure that we take concrete steps to prevent mass shootings from happening in this country, anywhere.

If anything else, their message is a diversion tactic, whether it is more investment in mental health or arming teachers. In particular, the idea that we should put more guns into a school environment is ludicrous to them. Their teachers already did everything they could to protect these children, and some of them lost their lives. That is unacceptable and something that we need to come together to prevent.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague, Congressman Mast, for taking a stand that was extremely difficult on banning assault weapons. I know that is not politically popular for me to do, but he deserves that credit, so I thank him.

The Janus v. AFSCME case is a case related to public sector unions. Simply put, teachers and other employees would be dealt a serious blow in terms of their ability to organize, organize on things like the conditions in a school and how we can keep them safe, all the way to wages and benefits.

Today, despite being more productive than ever, we have Americans who work longer hours for less money and fewer benefits. While working people continue to struggle, we have corporate CEOs, whether they are the CEOs of gun manufacturers or any other corporation, who continue to use their wealth to influence politicians and rig the economic rules to benefit the wealthy and the powerful at the expense of everyone else.

A major part of this effort is a decades-long attack on unions. Unions increase the bargaining power of workers by allowing them to negotiate collectively, together, rather than individually with employers. Imagine how a single or handful of employees would do if they were trying to negotiate with a major corporation for better benefits and wages on their own. When workers bargain collectively, employers have no choice but to work with them to pay them higher wages and offer more generous benefits and better working conditions, like school safety.

Big corporations and their overpaid CEOs don't like paying higher wages and offering generous benefits; so, as a result, they don't like unions. The latest battle in the corporate war on unions happened yesterday at the Supreme Court where the Justices heard the Janus v. AFSCME case.

This goes after public sector unions to continue the assault on all working people. It is a blatantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further turn the economic rules against the middle class.

When teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and other public service workers are free to build strong unions, they win benefits like better

working conditions, wages, healthcare, and retirement security and safety that are given not just to union members, but to everyone in the workplace covered by the contract.

I saw this firsthand, Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Graduate Assistants United union when I was in graduate school and I attended the University of Florida. Graduate assistants are the lowest rung on the ladder at colleges and universities, but are a linchpin to the success of educating college students. Having a union to fight for our wages was a key to being treated fairly by our university.

Public sector unions have also played a vital role in providing economic opportunity for women and people of color. Given that all workers covered by a contract gain the benefits of union negotiations, it has been standard practice that all workers governed by the contract contribute their fair share to the cost of organizing, through union dues paid by union members and fair share fees by workers who choose not to join the union. Fair share fees don't pay for any political activities, just the collective bargaining activities that directly benefit everyone.

We need to make sure that we continue to stand up for workers and for the middle class. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will not side with the plaintiffs in this case.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to recognize the tremendous and meaningful work of Rosalyn Crawford Frazier, Chief Executive Officer of Broward Community and Family Health Centers.

Ms. Frazier has played a pivotal role in the lives of South Florida families by providing quality, affordable health care to the underserved, underinsured and uninsured. Her commitment to the health and wellness of Florida's families is extensive, impressive and inspiring, and she works tirelessly to strengthen families across Broward County.

Community health centers have become an essential provider for comprehensive, high-quality preventive health care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. They have become the core primary care destination for

millions in our country--especially for minorities and our most vulnerable populations.

Ms. Frazier oversees the successful operations of four clinical practice sites and one dental site located in Broward County, Florida. Broward Community and Family Health Centers provides comprehensive medical, behavioral and dental health services across all lifecycles, helping to increase access to care and reducing health disparities in Broward County. The center's mission is ``to provide accessible, comprehensive, high quality primary care services to all persons with dignity and respect.''

In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of several individual centers, Ms. Frazier is also at the forefront of health policy advocacy, from the grassroots to the highest levels of government. She has played an integral role in policy development, having testified before legislative committees, and serving on various policy planning councils. For her commitment, she has received several outstanding service and leadership awards from various federal, state, local, community and national agencies and organizations.

Ms. Frazier received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from DePaul University, a certification in Financial Management and Executive Development from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a certification in Health Care Executive Management from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University for its Master of Public Health Program.

Rosalyn Frazier is a selfless, compassionate, and thoughtful citizen whom I am proud to call my friend. I applaud her work to ensure that families in Broward have access to quality affordable health care and thank everyone at Broward Community and Family Health Centers for improving the lives of those in Florida's 23rd Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing resolution which, yet again, is a complete and total abdication of our responsibilities as Members of Congress.

For the fifth time so far this fiscal year, Republicans are asking us to fund the government for just another flip of the calendar. The last time Republicans dragged us down this path of budgetary incompetence, we had the first ever complete government shutdown when one party held the House, Senate, and the White House. Yet here we are again, left with this ludicrous approach of funding the U.S. Government month to month while ignoring so many of the pressing issues Americans want us to address.

Today we have heard Republicans pay endless lip service to their devotion to military spending--and that

funding is certainly vital--but what Republicans have not mentioned is that this latest stopgap gimmick is going to rob from crucial nondefense budgets that also keep Americans safe. That means veterans, homeland security, counterterrorism, and State Department programs will be neglected and ignored.

That is why Democrats are asking for a simple compromise to raise the spending caps that are unreasonable and uncompromising. That is because we all want a strong national defense, but we also need equal increases in our domestic budget so that hardworking families can feel safe and financially secure.

We also want Republicans to join us in confronting the dire shortfall at the VA so no veteran is denied care upon returning home.

We want Republicans to work with us to ensure urgently needed recovery funds go to Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all areas impacted by wildfires.

We want Republicans to truly help us fight this opioid scourge, protect America's pensions, and do what the vast majority of Americans want us to do: pass a clean Dream Act.

Don't tell me we don't have the funds to support those needs. This Congress just gave a huge handout to billionaires and giant corporations that exploded the deficit by $1.5 trillion.

But this cynically crafted continuing resolution fails to address those real needs, the needs of the people who actually sent us here to stand up for them. We must end this cycle of budgetary neglect.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership--particularly, his responsible leadership--as the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the political gambit that the Republican leadership is pulling today.

Virtually identical versions of the Defense Appropriations bill we are considering have already passed the House twice. The Republican majority is so bankrupt of ideas that they are now going around in circles playing political games.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I strongly support moving appropriations bills through the committee and to the floor through regular order. I applaud all of my committee colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working in good faith on all 12 appropriations bills.

But the appropriations process has been hijacked by Republican leadership and the rightwing ideologues who now run the House. Regardless of the outcome of today's vote, all appropriations bills will remain stuck in the swamp that is this Republican Congress.

The reason for this holdup is that Republican so-called leaders have refused to work across the aisle toward an agreement on a budget that would prevent the gutting of investments in vital national priorities: from education to infrastructure, from healthcare to housing, from diplomacy to defense.

We need to provide our military with the resources they need. There is no question about that. Instead, the Republican majority is using the brave servicemen and -women who defend our Nation as pawns in a partisan crusade that would undermine the nation our troops are defending.

The stated Republican rationale for their intransigence is that they are concerned about the deficit, yet these are the same Republicans who voted to explode the deficit by more than $1.5 trillion in order to give a huge tax cut to big corporations and the top 1 percent.

As each day passes, it becomes more and more clear that the priorities of the Republican majority are backward and immoral.

Instead of expanding access to affordable healthcare, Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and leave millions uninsured.

Instead of investing in the middle class, Republicans gave a huge tax giveaway to those who have turned their backs on the middle class.

Instead of building on bipartisan efforts to advance reasonable reforms to our immigration system, Republicans are trying to tear apart families and close the door on aspiring Americans.

Instead of responsibly funding national priorities, Republicans are playing political games to distract from their failure to govern.

Instead of investing in all of our people, Republicans are pitting us against each other to deflect the blame from where it belongs--with the party who controls both Houses of Congress and the White House.

This is no way to keep the state of our union safe. This is no way to keep the state of our union strong.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this political charade. Let's work together to invest in all of our national priorities and make the state of our union more perfect.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pledge my whole- hearted support for the right of workers to organize and to decry the efforts of powerful corporate interests to outlaw public sector union fair share fees in the Janus v. AFSCME case currently before the Supreme Court.

Today, despite being more productive than ever, American workers are working longer hours for less money and fewer benefits.

It is no accident that working people are struggling. Corporate CEOs continue to use their wealth to influence politicians to rig the economic rules to benefit the wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else.

Now, those same corporate CEOs and special interests are behind a Supreme Court case called Janus v. AFSCME--a case that threatens to make things even worse for working people.

This case aims to take away the opportunity for working people to join together in strong unions to speak up for themselves, their families, and their communities.

When teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and other public service workers are free to build strong unions, they win benefits like better working conditions, better wages, health care, clean and safe environments, and retirement security that benefit not just union members, but all workers.

Given that all workers benefit, it has been standard practice that all workers contribute their fair share of the cost of organizing--a practice upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court in 1977.

But the CEOs and corporate special interests behind the Janus case have abandoned the conservative principle of respect for precedent.

They are instead driven by a misguided belief that working people should be denied the same ability as they have to effectively negotiate a fair return on their work so that they can provide for themselves and their families.

The Janus case is a blatantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the economic rules against everyday working people.

But what these corporate bigwigs fail to recognize is that unions are now more important than ever.

Unions work because we all pay our fair share and we all benefit from what we negotiate together.

The forces behind this case know that by joining together in strong unions, working people are able to win the power and voice they need to level the economic and political playing field.

That is why I will continue to stand with American workers and their unions to ensure that they are protected, and that they are able to pursue their own version of the American dream.

Mr. Speaker, what we are witnessing here today on the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration is a complete failure by the majority in leadership and governance.

For the first time ever, we have a shutdown where one party controls the White House and both houses of Congress, and Federal employees will risk being sent home and losing pay.

Not a surprise, given the twisted, upside-down priorities that dominate the Republican agenda.

Instead of expanding health coverage, Trump and Republicans have been focused on taking it away. Instead of providing responsible tax relief focused on America's middle class, Republicans passed a huge tax scam that produced handouts to corporations and the wealthy and explodes the deficit.

Now, rather than passing a responsible long-term spending plan, we have another shortsighted budget Band-Aid and the historic Trump budget shutdown.

Our colleagues have clearly been reading from their alternative facts dictionary today, because it does not pass the straight-face test in any corner of this country that Republicans actually care anything about people's healthcare. Please, give me a break.

Let's end the Trump shutdown by working together and focusing on bipartisan progress. Americans deserve at least that much from this body.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the absurdly titled Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

This bill is yet another attempt by the majority to intimidate women and providers of abortion care by imposing restrictions that are redundant, at best, and life-threatening, at worse. Time and again, Republicans have charged that politicians, not women and their doctors, know what is best for women's bodies. Enough is enough.

Today is a reminder that women's reproductive rights are constantly under attack, and I will never waver in fighting back. This bill is completely unnecessary. It has always been illegal to kill newborn infants, and to suggest this legislation is anything more than redundant obstruction for women accessing healthcare is outrageous.

Instead of spending time on unnecessary legislation, my Republican colleagues should work with Democrats to fund the government and protect 800,000 young people, our DREAMers, from deportation to countries they have never known.

Mr. Speaker, Americans face actual real problems every single day. So let's get back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing resolution, which is, yet again, a complete abdication of our responsibilities.

Instead of adopting fully funded appropriations bills or an omnibus with an actual chance of passing this Congress, we are mired in this unbreakable habit of passing continuing resolutions.

The Republicans' most recent proposal does nothing to renew funding for the more than 1,400 community health centers across the country or the 25 million Americans they serve after they let funding run out in September.

According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, if Congress does not act soon, 28,000 sites could close, 50,000 staff could be laid off, and 9 million Americans could lose access to care.

When did this program, which has always had bipartisan support in this body, become a partisan issue?

These abdications are simply immoral. Our Republican colleagues say: We don't have the money to fund these programs, but somehow they were silent on that issue when they gave a handout to giant corporations that add more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit.

While their donors rested peacefully over the holidays knowing that their tax cuts were safe, Republicans continued to torment 800,000 hardworking young people by refusing to pass the Dream Act. 122 DREAMers lose their protected status every day, and Republicans have not been brave enough to do what is right.

These courageous individuals are teaching in our schools, working in our communities, and serving in our military.

I have had the privilege of meeting DREAMers in south Florida and in the Halls of this Capitol. Their hopes and hard work signify what is best about America, and by any reasonable definition, they are Americans. This is their home.

It is past time for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work on a bipartisan spending package that promotes the middle class, protects DREAMers, and finally assures the American people that their government is working.

I simply will not support any spending bill that fails to do so. Make no mistake, Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. A government shutdown will land squarely in their lap.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Special Agent Victor B. Williams, who after 34 years of service with the federal government, is retiring to independently pursue his efforts to end human trafficking.

Victor began his career as a Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he conducted search and rescue/law enforcement missions from 1982 until 1991. He then joined the U.S. Customs Service, which later became the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a special agent in ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Unit, Victor participated in both domestic and international law enforcement investigations dealing with a wide range of activities, including terrorism, narcotics, money laundering, identity and benefit fraud, maritime smuggling operations, container security, and human trafficking.

Victor's experiences during these investigations triggered a lifelong determination to not only combat human trafficking, but also to educate law enforcement personnel and the public about the importance of victim-centered approach. He has served and represented over 250 entities, including non-governmental organizations, churches, private organizations, and law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels in his fight against the exploitation of people.

Victor B. Williams is an extraordinary man who has dedicated his life to serving others. I could not be prouder of the time and devotion he has given to his community and his country. I am honored to recognize Victor today for his invaluable contributions to combat modern-day slavery.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing resolution, which is, yet again, a complete abdication of our responsibilities as Members of Congress.

What we have before us today is evidence that the so-called Republican leadership simply cannot deliver on the promises they have made to the American people. Instead, this Congress has decided to continue taking the ludicrous approach of funding the government for just a few weeks at a time, while ignoring the pressing issues that demand our attention.

Over the last few weeks, Republicans in this Congress have decided to focus only on pushing through legislation designed to further enrich giant corporations, while adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit.

Yet, to the DREAMers who teach our children, care for our sick, and serve our Nation, Republicans continue to say: You just have to wait.

For millions of our most vulnerable--young kids suffering from illness and debilitating disease, who are reliant on the Children's Health Insurance Program--Republicans have made it clear their priorities lie elsewhere.

And to those who have served our country with dignity and pride, the Republican majority has failed to provide urgently needed resources to address the dire shortfalls at the VA.

Well, Mr. Speaker, the DREAMers cannot wait. The threat of deportation looms over these courageous individuals every single day. Sick children deserve our attention now. They should not be used as bargaining chips in this reckless debate. And our Nation's veterans need to know we have got their backs without delay. We cannot deny them the healthcare that they have earned.

Don't tell me that we don't have the funds to support those who need us the most, when this Congress just gave a handout to those who need it the least.

This pathetic continuing resolution fails to address the needs of the people who sent us here. It doesn't even come close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 1730, the Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017. I thank Congressman Kilmer for his vision and leadership on this critical issue.

This legislation would strengthen current Federal law to prohibit threats against religious property, increase the penalty for damaging religious property, and expand protected religious property to include not just houses of worship, but also religiously affiliated nonprofits, like Jewish community centers.

Over the past few years, there has been a frightening rise in incidents of racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia in the U.S. and around the world. All too often, the perpetrators of hate target houses of worship and other religious centers.

From the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin in 2012, to Charleston's Emanuel AME Church shooting in 2015, to the mosque attack in London this summer, and the firebombing of a synagogue in Sweden just this past weekend, these violent, cowardly bigots go after what is most sacred to the communities they so odiously abhor.

While the hateful incidents that result in loss of life are undoubtedly the most tragic, any threat or attack against religious property can shake communities to their core.

The Jewish community of south Florida, sadly, knows this firsthand.

Last year, a man planned to bomb a synagogue in Aventura in my congressional district during Passover. He was caught, thankfully, but incidents like this proliferating around the country are instilling fear, causing unease, and requiring additional security measures to be deployed. Sadly, in south Florida, this was not an isolated incident.

Mr. Speaker, I will say that, although not specifically an attack against a Jewish institution, I remember my children, then in preschool, attended preschool at our local JCC and, after the 9/11 attack, my husband racing to their school to take them out of school that day because of the panic that was instilled that automatically occurs in every Jewish family's life with children in a Jewish institution when there is a terrorist attack. We are constantly on edge as to whether or not our community is next.

It is deeply disturbing that the people in my community who attend synagogues and visit our Jewish community centers do so knowing these domestic terrorists intentionally want us to feel uneasy about it. Their mission is to instill fear in the hearts of Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities so that we will not feel at home in America.

And they are not relenting. The most recent annual report on hate crimes by the FBI showed that there was nearly a 5 percent increase in incidents last year. It is the first time in 10 years that America has experienced consecutive annual increases in reported hate crimes.

More than half of the religiously based hate crimes were anti-Jewish, and a quarter of them were anti-Muslim. We cannot let bigoted threats and vandalism become the new normal.

We must pass this legislation to make it 100 percent clear that, in the view of Congress, when it comes to religious bigotry, there are not good people on both sides.

We must pass this legislation to make anti- Semitic and Islamophobic cowards think twice before they spread fear, while hiding behind a computer or a phone.

We must pass this legislation to ensure that America is always a refuge from religious persecution. I deeply wish this legislation were not needed, Mr. Speaker, but, sadly, it is. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing resolution, which is yet again a complete abdication of our responsibilities.

Instead of adopting fully funded appropriations bills or an omnibus with an actual chance of passing this Congress, we remain mired in this unbreakable habit of passing continuing resolutions. This not only creates needless legislative and economic uncertainty, it costs the government, especially our military, billions in wasted taxpayer dollars. Moreover, this abdication reflects the Republican leadership's complete abandonment of our values and the needs of our constituents.

For one, we have yet to pass the Dream Act. Despite widespread support nationally and with growing fear of deportations, this Congress has ignored the 122 DREAMers who lose their protected status every day. These are Americans by any definition, and this is their home. I will not stand by as this President cruelly threatens to send these brave young people back to countries about which they have no memory.

When will this body fully address the horrific disasters that have ravaged Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and California? Countless communities, including my own, are anxiously awaiting vital recovery assistance that only the Federal Government can provide. These abdications are simply immoral. It doesn't end there.

Congress has failed to renew the Children's Health Insurance Program. States and families across America are scrambling to find replacement funds and healthcare alternatives for their children.

When did CHIP and protecting the health of our children become a partisan issue?

My Republican colleagues want to add more than $1 trillion to the deficit for tax cuts for big corporations and the top 1 percent, while they are at it; but then they say we can't afford to spend a fraction of that on healthcare for children?

These priorities are backward and morally indefensible.

Instead of protecting Americans from the scourge of gun violence, Republicans are weakening our already feeble gun laws by passing more legislation that ensures more deadly gun violence in our towns and cities.

We need to pass an omnibus budget that doesn't threaten programs for our veterans and children or make drastic cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs that our seniors rely upon.

Instead of handing massive tax cuts to millionaires and powerful corporations, we should pass a budget that supports education, expands women's health, and provides real economic relief to the middle class.

In short, we have to break this body's obsession with promoting the interests of the well-off and special interests, and ignoring the needs of children, DREAMers, seniors, and the middle class.

This continuing resolution does nothing more than provide another short-term fix for the Republican leadership's unhealthy addiction. It is abominable, it is irresponsible, and we should set it aside and focus on making long-term decisions for the American people.