Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Social Security as it approaches its 75th anniversary. When FDR signed this historic legislation into law, he understood that the whims of Wall Street were sweeping many hardworking Americans into financial ruin. At the time, more than half of America's seniors lacked sufficient income to be self-supporting.

Social Security changed all of that. Indeed, today, in my home State of Florida, 53 percent of seniors would be below the poverty line without Social Security. That hasn't stopped Republicans from wanting to end the guarantee of Social Security. In 2005, President Bush proposed privatizing Social Security, which would have cut benefits for 70 percent of retired Americans. Well, it's deja vu all over again.

While President Bush may be gone, his plans live on. House Republicans are once again calling to privatize Social Security, and Medicare for good measure. We simply cannot risk tossing millions of seniors into poverty.

Let us rededicate ourselves to Roosevelt's vision and to the economic security of all of our citizens and not throw our seniors out in the cold.

Thank you so much. And my colleague from Michigan, Mark Schauer, who's been holding down the fort here and who cares so passionately and so deeply about his district, about the people that he represents in Michigan, you have fought so hard to make sure that they have a voice because Americans are struggling, and you know that Americans are struggling. You're in the midst of an economic crisis in Michigan, as we all have been coming out of, and you're absolutely right when you talk about the fact that we have a choice.

I mean, Americans in November are going to have a choice. We can go back to the agenda of the Republicans, which now is right there in blue and white, and where they clearly have said, making no bones about it, that they would take us back to the exact same agenda that they pursued before, which included focusing on tax cuts exclusively for the wealthiest Americans, not caring in the least about working families or the middle class or having an agenda that did anything for anyone in a working family or the middle class, focusing on making sure that we could only spend time worrying about the well-being of major corporations and leaving working families to twist in the wind. Or we can choose to continue to move in the new direction the Democrats have taken the country under President Obama's leadership, under the leadership of the Democrats here in the House and the Senate when we took the majority back in 2006 and ended the culture of corruption that literally hung over this capital under Republican leadership. We ended the focus exclusively on the wealthy and focused on trying to turn things around.

President Obama on his first day in office inherited an economy where we were bleeding 700,000-plus jobs a month. And I'm not sure if Mr. Schauer talked about this, but we have now fast-forwarded a year and a half later and the economy is adding about 100,000 to 125,000 jobs a month.

And if you look at manufacturing--and I know that's a particularly important area for Michigan. American workers are so proud and have always been so proud of the fact that we in America make things. We are the ones that make sure that machines run, that the manufacturing that is the proud tradition of the United States of America should continue. We have had 11 straight months of growth in the manufacturing sector under President Obama's leadership, under the policies, the economic decisionmaking that we've made since he took office, and that's incredibly important for Americans to understand. Because even though we have a long way to go, we've begun to turn the corner. We've begun to turn things around, and we need to continue to push hard to make sure that we can invest in infrastructure and balance those investments with tax cuts targeted to middle class and working families.

Last year, in the Recovery Act, the economic stimulus that has been talked about so much in the last year, we invested $787 billion to make sure that we could create those jobs and invest in shovel-ready projects that were ready to go so that we could get people back to work who literally were left twisting in the wind after the Bush administration drove us into a ditch. And now you have the same people, the same people who drove us into the ditch in the first place are asking to get the keys back so that they can return to the exact same agenda that they pursued during the time that they were in charge. Why Americans would give them back the keys when they got

us into this mess in the first place is beyond me, but that is what they are aggressively pursuing, nonetheless.

This morning, a number of us on the House floor had an opportunity to talk about the approach of Social Security's birthday. We're approaching the 75th anniversary of Social Security, 75 years of making sure that Social Security provides the safety nets to Americans who are in their retirement years, making sure that they have something to fall back on, and making sure that they have the ability to make ends meet each and every day.

And as Mr. Schauer so rightfully put it, under the exact same agenda that the Republicans pursued then, we would return to an effort--and they readily admit this, that we would return to their effort, which was first proposed by President Bush, to privatize Social Security.

What privatizing Social Security means is allowing people to invest their Social Security in the stock market. Now, if you watched the volatility of the stock market over the last number of years, I shudder to think about how the seniors in my district, my seniors in south Florida, I shudder to think how they would be able to make ends meet over the last few years if their Social Security investments evaporated into oblivion after the stock market downturn. We had stock market downturn, then it went back up, then it went back down again. The stock market is not the place for funds that are there and designed to be a safety net. In my home State, 53 percent of seniors without Social Security would be living in poverty, and that's just simply unacceptable. If that's the agenda that the Republicans want to take us back to, then Americans need to know that that's the direction that they would go.

I want to focus on some other comments because we should make sure that people know exactly what's being said on the other side so that when they make a decision on which direction they want to go, when they make a decision on which candidate for Congress, which Members they choose to have represent them, they should know what some of the Republican leadership on the other side has been saying.

If you recall, we had a lot of commentary on the other side about the stimulus, about the economic Recovery Act; and I remember that Mr. Cantor, their Republican whip, I remember he actually has consistently said that the stimulus has not produced jobs. Now, I'm not sure what planet he's been living on, but one thing that has been very clear is that the economic Recovery Act, the stimulus bill, created millions of jobs. We wouldn't have been able to go from bleeding 700,000-plus jobs a month to adding about 100,000 private sector jobs a month without the investment that was made under the Democratic leadership.

Now, in spite of the fact that Mr. Cantor has consistently said that the stimulus produced no jobs, that didn't prevent him from hosting a job fair with companies that received $52 million in his community to create jobs from the stimulus. He actually held a job fair at a Virginia high school with a number of private companies that were seeking to hire and who benefited from the funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. So he's not the only one that has essentially tried to have it both ways, be opposed to the stimulus, vote against the stimulus, stated it didn't do anything, but then take credit in their community when the checks are being handed out and the celebrations were being had for the jobs that are created in the district by the economic Recovery Act.

And, I mean, I don't want to directly call any of our colleagues hypocritical, but that type of action seems pretty hypocritical to me Mr. Tonko, and I'm really pleased that we're joined this evening by my good friend Mr. Tonko from New York who's joined us every week, week after week, to make sure that we can help America understand and talk to the American people about how this economy has turned around and how we have been able to create jobs, balance investments with tax cutting policy, and I would be happy to yield to the gentleman for his comments.

Thank you so much, Mr. Tonko, and I just wanted to add a couple of things and then I know Mr. Schauer will close us out.

But one of the things that I think is important to note that we also have done--because deficits are really an issue and deficit spending is an issue--we, when we took the majority back, reestablished the PAYGO rules and then enshrined them in statute in this

Congress to make sure that legislation that we pass is paid for, that we don't, like most families have to do, like every family I know, can't spend more than they take in.

The Republicans let those rules which were originally adopted under the Clinton administration and resulted in the record surpluses that President Bush inherited, they let those rules lapse. Well, we reestablished them because when they let those rules lapse, that's when we ended up in a huge deficit situation.

Because of that, we are able to, with the budget that we have adopted, cut the deficit in half over the next number of years and focus on deficit reduction while also making sure that we balance that with investments so that we can get our economy back on track.

That's the difference between us and them, and I hate to say it like that, but, really, there hasn't been a more stark contrast in the choice that Americans have to make in this election, and I look forward to spending some more time on the floor talking with my colleagues about it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in protest of the Castro regime's intention to forcibly deport 52 political prisoners under the guise of release. Historically, the Castro regime has used political prisoners as pawns to extract international concessions and ease criticism. But as The Washington Post pointed out in their reporting on this story, this gesture does not represent fundamental political change. As more political dissidents die of hunger strikes in Cuba, we cannot allow this hollow gesture to blind us from the reality on the ground.

In Cuba's authoritarian dictatorship, every dollar that flows into the country props up the Castro regime. In the meantime, Alan Gross of Potomac, Maryland, arrested for distributing cell phones and laptops to Cuba's tiny Jewish community, continues to sit in prison with no hope of release.

A relationship with the United States must be earned. Banishing political dissidents from their homeland hardly meets that test. This cheap political trick is surely of no solace for Gross and others still in jail.

Madam Speaker, it's a privilege to join my colleagues on the floor this evening to talk about the future of our economy and the new direction that we, the Democrats, are moving this country since taking over the Congress. We will plan to spend the next 45 minutes to an hour talking about where we've been and where we are at this point and the opportunities that we have to continue to go. My colleagues and I will talk about the progress that we've made and the efforts that we've employed to try to create jobs and turn the economy around.

We feel really excited about the accomplishments that we've made thus far. We have only to look back to the month before President Obama took office in January of 2009 to see at that point the economy having bled 700,000-plus jobs. Fast-forward to June, now July of 2010, and we are now adding, on average, between 125,000 and 200,000 jobs per month. And those are private sector jobs. We also have the addition of public- sector jobs through the census. But consistently month after month, particularly starting at the beginning of this year, the economy has consistently added private sector jobs, and that is incredibly important. We know that the way we're going to continue to turn our economy around, the key to our economic revival, is through job creation.

We can attribute much of the success and much of the turnaround that has occurred thus far to our passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last February. We know that the $787 billion stimulus package that we passed injected badly needed resources into the economy. But, Madam Speaker, it also injected badly needed capital in the form of tax cuts for the middle class and for working families, and that's something that doesn't get talked about enough.

We do talk a whole lot about job creation, but one of the keys to job creation, we know, is stimulating the economy through tax cuts targeted towards the middle class, working families, and small businesses. We have really endeavored to make sure that

we've struck a careful balance and the right balance between stimulating the economy by injecting the badly needed resources and also generating the tax cuts that we know are the lifeblood of so many small businesses, for them to have the capital available to be able to make the investments that they need in the infrastructure of their businesses so that they can have the wherewithal to add new hires and create more jobs.

And that's something that, if you compare and contrast the priorities of the previous administration to the priorities of the Obama administration and our leadership under Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership here in the House of Representatives, the priorities back in the Bush era were, again, a return to the trickle- down theory of economics; that if you focus tax cuts and if you focus all of your attention on the wealthiest Americans, on the largest corporations, then somehow that largess will flow downward through the economy and, you know, ``rising tides lift all boats.'' Except in this case, we know that that policy sunk the boats and, instead, we capsized a whole lot of small businesses in the water; and now we have been engaged in a really significant effort to try to right those ships and get the economy back on track. We're excited about the progress that we've made, but we also recognize that we have a long way to go.

There are a number of things that we are going to want to focus on tonight. Let's just look at the weekly economic update just in the last week and in the last month. If you look at employment, the private sector in the month of June created an additional 83,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate continues to fall. It fell to 9.5 percent. That's the sixth straight month of job growth in the private sector, and the fall in total unemployment reflected a decrease in our temporary census jobs. We added 9,000 manufacturing jobs in June, and that is the 11th month in a row that we have added manufacturing jobs.

So the progress that we're making is evident. We need to be able to continue that progress and not get too timid or gun-shy while we balance our priorities and make sure that we can focus on getting the jobs done.

The June jobs report was another reminder of just how far we've come since last year and how much work remains to be done to stop the free fall. The President and Congress took strong and immediate steps in the Recovery Act and put those people back to work after 22 straight months of job loss before President Obama took office. We now have seen our economy create private sector jobs for the last 6 months in a row, and we need to make sure that we can continue that recovery.

We're moving in the right direction. We know it's not fast enough, but that's why President Obama is fighting for additional steps to speed up the recovery and keep the economy growing. And he and we have made clear that creating jobs is our top priority.

Another priority, for example, in a State like mine, in my home State of Florida, particularly in south Florida, is making sure that we can get lending kick-started again and make sure that folks who are struggling to be able to make their mortgage payments and remain in their homes still have the ability to do that. We have been very focused, and the administration has been very focused on creating programs that will help keep people in their homes, that will give banks and banking institutions the opportunity to work with homeowners so that we don't see masses of individuals out on the street and continue the flood of housing that has become available on the market as a result. So we have a lot of things to think about.

I am joined tonight by several of my colleagues, the first of which is my colleague from Houston, Texas, who has been a long-time Member, focuses on the needs of her district like a laser beam, and has talked quite a bit about the need for job growth. She is struggling in her community, as a fellow Gulf Coast Stater, dealing with the aftermath of the BP oil spill, my good friend, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you for joining us and for your leadership. You have really been a stalwart fighter for the middle class and working families that Democrats have always stood for and stood by, and it's just absolutely critical that you've come down here tonight to help us get that message out. So thank you so much.

And it's a really wonderful transition, the item that Ms. Jackson Lee closed on, making sure that we can make things again. And focusing on manufacturing and the resurgence of manufacturing in this country is a perfect segue to the priorities and the message that I know my good friend from Michigan, whose district I was just in this morning and had the privilege of joining him in his district in Ann Arbor and had an opportunity to meet with his constituents who are very supportive of his efforts to create jobs here and to focus the needs on Michigan's economy right here in Washington. So my good friend, Mark Schauer from the great State of Michigan.

Would the gentleman yield for a question on the key chain?

Have you had an opportunity to talk with the Census Bureau about why it is that they are getting promotional material that they're using to get Americans to complete the census form from China?

If the gentleman would yield for another question. So essentially the screen printing that was done onto the item, they define that as substantially altering the actual piece.

So it's exempted?

Okay, but can I ask you another question?

Because it's not like we don't know that we do the census every 10 years and that we are going to need promotional materials to promote the census.

So what would be the urgent nature or last- minute ordering that would be done for key chains or hats? We know in 2020 we are going to need that. We know in 2030 we are going to need that.

Stock up.

Absolutely. And thank you so much for your leadership on this, Congressman Schauer. Really, this is something that you have been spearheading for a long time. And it's finally cracking through. I know that it's a priority that we're going to be taking up in the very near future. And I have a hunch that legislation is going to definitely be sent over to the Senate. And they would be hard pressed not to take it up.

With that, I want to turn it over to the very eloquent and hardworking stalwart for creating jobs and helping us turn the economy around in his home State of New York, Mr. Paul Tonko.

Will the gentleman yield for a question?

Thank you. Because I wanted to ask you, the

way you're characterizing our colleagues' view--and I want to bring our good friend, Mr. Murphy, into this discussion because he and I, in the 2006 to 2008, in the 110th Congress, we spent quite a bit of time on the House floor talking about the Republicans' efforts to privatize Social Security. And I'm wondering if your characterization of their agenda is one that you--is this something that you think is--is it your opinion?

From what I understand, we have a number of different third party validators that can document that they have consistently supported privatization of Social Security and vouchering of the Medicare system as we know it.

Thank you, Mr. Tonko. Really, you have hammered home, you're here night after night, week after week, to make sure that we can talk to the American people, illuminate not just our efforts on turning the economy around and creating jobs but our successes.

And someone who has been really focused on creating jobs, making sure, as a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, making sure that we do that through our innovation agenda, through our passage of the global warming and climate change legislation and also through health care reform, is the leader from the great State of Connecticut, Congressman Chris Murphy.

Thank you very much for helping us share that story with the American people and with our constituents, because it's absolutely critical, as we turn the corner and go through the summer, that we make sure that we talk about our efforts to continue to focus on job creation, and particularly on tax cuts for working families and the middle class because it's such a dramatic shift from where we were. And as we get closer and closer to the choice that Americans will be making in November, it's

going to be critical that people understand the choice that they're going to be making. They can backslide toward the Bush era, where the focus was exclusively on the wealthiest few in America, exclusively on the largest corporations and the trickle-down theory of economics that was disproven time and again, or we can continue to go in the direction, the new direction that we have been pursuing, which is focusing on job creation, focusing on making sure that the middle class can thrive.

And there is no one that knows that effort better than my good friend Tom Perriello from the great State of Virginia.

Thank you so much, Mr. Perriello, and thank you for your leadership in your district and the optimism and hope that you fight for every single day.

You know, it really always boggles my mind how the Republicans wake up every morning, come to work and decide, I am going to be an obstructionist today. I think today I am going to figure out yet another way to say no. And rather than come to the table and work with us, because they need jobs in their districts too, instead, they vote no here, and then they do like the minority whip did just in the last week when he was home in his district. After voting no on the Recovery Act and being critical of the Recovery Act, he didn't have any problem showing up and taking credit for one of the projects funded by the Recovery Act in his district. I think Americans really see through that transparent attempt at hypocrisy.

We are a party of genuine articles. We are Members who work hard every day to make sure that we can get it done for the American people and get this economy turned around.

There is no one that works harder at that in rural America than my good friend Lincoln Davis from the great State of Tennessee.

Thank you so much, Mr. Davis. Really, I think it's so incredible. We had nine Members join us tonight for this hour. And we had the full philosophical spectrum--from the most conservative member of our caucus to the moderates to progressive members of our caucus. And that shows not only the big tent that we are in the Democratic Caucus but that we really are a reflection of America and American values, whether it's making sure that we can create jobs in rural America or the most urban core. It's absolutely critical.

Yes.

You're absolutely right. Thank you so much for your leadership and for joining us this evening.

To close us out in the hour, we have a duo from the great State of Pennsylvania. Both of them are freshmen. The gentlelady from Pennsylvania was particularly pleased, I know, when her colleague from Pennsylvania was elected recently in a special election because that made her not one of the most junior Members in the Chamber. Now he holds that title. But the gentlelady from Pennsylvania, Mrs. Kathy Dahlkemper.

Will the gentlelady yield?

Given that you're from a State that is in the heart of the Manufacturing Belt, can you talk a little bit about what is going on in your district and the efforts that we're making here to create jobs and what kind of progress the recent surge in manufacturing has brought to communities in Pennsylvania?

Mrs. Dahlkemper, it's okay. You're right. In Florida, we don't have a strong manufacturing base, but we want to make sure that folks in Pennsylvania are able to thrive economically so they can come down and vacation and they can afford to take a vacation and come down to south Florida and across my beautiful home State and spend their hard-earned dollars that they have been able to use and invest in their small business and come down and make sure that they can help our economy thrive.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We yield back the balance of our time and thank the Speaker for the opportunity and look forward to hearing from our colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to share some news with the Members of the House.

Members of the House, we thought it only right to continue our efforts to have the women show up the men. Our bipartisan congressional women's softball team had another amazingly successful softball game to raise money for the Young Survival Coalition. It was our second annual game.

In the last 2 years, we have raised more than $80,000 for the Young Survival Coalition. We think that is not bad for 49 years of a congressional baseball game and 2 years of a congressional women's softball game to do pretty well in that time.

This year we got smart and decided to play women that were maybe a little less athletic and a little older than the team we played last year, and we played the Capitol female press corps. We were doing great until the sixth inning. Then a couple of us got a little tired, and we had a couple of ringers that we were concerned the press brought in. But, in fairness, they did a fantastic job, even though we lost 13-7.

Congratulations to the press team. The press team did a fantastic job. They were devoted and dedicated and worked hard.

I yield to my colleague.

We won for five innings.

We will see you at the third annual congressional women's softball game next year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of approving stronger, tougher sanctions against Iran, protecting the security of the United States and sending a strong message that the U.S. government will not allow a nuclear-armed Iran.

As an original co-sponsor of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, I am so proud that this Congress has put together the most comprehensive Iran sanctions legislation that the United States Congress has ever passed. It adds sanctions on refined petroleum, but more importantly, it broadens the categories of sanctionable activities by applying sanctions on those who sell Iran technology, services, or know-how that help the country develop its energy sector.

It can not be overstated: A nuclear-armed Iran is an urgent and deadly threat to peace and stability in the Middle East and at home. As citizens of the United States--a global power and nuclear leader--we have a priority to make sure that nuclear capability does not get into the wrong hands. We must protect ourselves, and our ally Israel, from the dangers of the Iran regime.

This legislation will help us quash Iran's continued attempts at developing nuclear weapons. With Tehran importing 25 to 40 percent of its refined petroleum needs, these economic sanctions will have a dramatic impact on Iran's economy. They are critical to suspending Iran's nuclear program and ensuring security and stability in the Middle East and at home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of provisions contained in H.R. 3962, which will temporarily fix the Sustainable Growth Rate--or SGR--formula. This legislation will undo the twenty-one percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians that took place on June 1st. Without prompt action, these cuts will do serious harm to physicians and patients alike.

With a 21 percent cut, payments to physicians would be well below their overhead costs and could jeopardize continued access for Medicare beneficiaries to their physicians. We have a duty to our retirees to be there for them when they are in need, so I fully and enthusiastically support the provisions that restore Medicare reimbursement rates.

However, I want to register my profound concern over a provision in H.R. 3962 that utilizes a new application of what's known as the ``72- hour rule'' as an offset for the SGR temporary fix. This provision dictates how a hospital must bundle certain Medicare payments for reimbursement.

My home state of Florida was among the states included in the first round of the Recovery Audit Contractors Program, overseeing the 72-hour rule. Some Florida hospitals that have undergone audits had either inadvertently overbilled or underbilled.

Hospitals that inadvertently overbilled are obligated to repay the appropriate amount, and have already done so. But, hospitals that inadvertently underbilled, would be immediately precluded, if this passes, from resubmitting claims in compliance with existing regulations to recoup underpayments.

It is my understanding that many hospitals are still reviewing a large number of possible underpayments for submittal. If they are precluded from resubmitting claims because of changes in this legislation, Florida hospitals could face $225 million in losses. This retroactive application constitutes changing the rules of the game after the services were provided, and is simply not fair to providers.

We owe it to both our physicians and our hospitals to treat them fairly when they care for our seniors under Medicare. Assuming this legislation becomes law, I strongly encourage the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer this new application of the 72-hour rule in the most equitable manner possible and limit the adverse impacts on hospitals to the greatest extent possible.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that we continue to see steady economic growth in our country. The work that we have done here in this very Chamber and the work that our President has done to ensure our economic turnaround is making a real and positive difference for America's families.

To put this statement into real numbers, here are some statistics that indicate undeniable growth and recovery: An average of 200,000 jobs have been created each month over the last 7 months. Stocks have risen across the board since the passage of the Recovery Act. We have now seen three quarters of economic growth. There are 98 percent of families who are seeing their taxes decrease for tax year 2009. Average refunds are up 10 percent, which is around $3,000. Since January of 2009, we have restored $5 trillion of household wealth.

In my own State of Florida, I am proud to report that, for the first time in nearly 4 years, we have seen improvement in the jobs report, with the unemployment rate dropping in May.

With these numbers as proof, I can say with confidence that America is on the road to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, first, before she departs the Chamber, let me just say what an absolute pleasure it was to travel to the Middle East with the gentlelady from Wyoming. Mrs. Lummis was a pleasure to have as a companion. She was inquisitive. The purpose of that trip was particularly to bring Members who had not been to Israel before so that we could learn about the importance, not just strategically, the importance of Israel in terms of its relative location to its neighbors so that Members like Mrs. Lummis could see and understand just how important it is that we continue to be supportive of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Everyone I know that travels to Israel comes back a stronger supporter and a stronger pro-Israel advocate; and I commend you, Mrs. Lummis, for doing just that. It was an absolute pleasure. We began a friendship that I know will continue many years into the future, so thank you very much.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to be joined by my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), this evening. We're going to spend some time talking about our economy and talking about the evolution of our economy. There certainly has been some ebb and flow in that regard, but we are here tonight to talk about the success that we have had in turning the economy around and beginning to see progress. Inch by inch, month after month, there is more and more progress as we move forward.

This evening I want to highlight, Mr. Tonko, the fact that if you look back--and I know we have a chart on this which I would love to go get in a minute--but if you look back to just before President Obama took office in January, at that point, for the months leading up to his inauguration, we were bleeding, the United States was bleeding 700,000- plus jobs a month, and we weren't able to stanch those losses. The Bush administration handed President Obama the largest deficit in history, and one which they created after being handed a significant surplus from President Clinton.

And to have to deal with the amount of problems that our economy was facing when President Obama was inaugurated was astonishing and appalling, Mr. Tonko, because to have been left a mess and to have the economy driven off a cliff as it was was just absolutely irresponsible and it was avoidable.

It was avoidable because during the Bush administration, instead of focusing exclusively on the wealthy and having a tax-cutting policy that was focused exclusively and irresponsibly on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, instead what should have been done is there should have been a focus like there has been every single month since President Obama took office; there should have been a focus on broadening that tax-cutting policy and focusing on targeting tax cuts for the middle class. That wasn't done, and so the economy essentially was careening out of control.

Now you fast forward to a year and a half after he first took office, you fast forward to a little more than a year after we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which invested $787 billion into our economy to jump-start the economy, to create jobs, to provide 98 percent of taxpayers in this country a tax cut. Where you had the wealthiest 1 percent get tax cuts under the previous administration, 98 percent of Americans got a tax cut last year. And we actually have the lowest tax rate now that we've ever had. It is just really amazing the way things have been turned around, and we should be very proud of that.

Today, in terms of job creation, from bleeding 700,000-plus jobs, we are now adding an average of 200,000 jobs a month since the beginning of this year. That is a really incredible accomplishment. I'm going to toss it to you in a second and go get those charts so we can have an illustration of what we're talking about, but we have a lot to be proud of. We have a long way to go. I mean, granted, we certainly aren't out of the woods yet, but we have turned things around and are beginning to see that in the economic indicators that I know we will talk about tonight. So it is a pleasure to be with you this evening.

Thank you very much.

First of all, let me just say that it has been such a breath of fresh air. I know Speaker Pelosi likes to say that each new Congress breathes in new life from the trenches, new people who have just come from having their fingers on the pulses of their communities. Both of you, Mrs. Dahlkemper and Mr. Tonko, reflect that statement really to a T. I know that you're in your districts, constantly working hard to make sure you can come up here and can fight for the things that the people in your districts care about.

Particularly, I know I never tire of hearing you talk over and over about how important it is that we restore that manufacturing base and that we be supportive of an economy that makes sure that we can make things again. I have heard that refrain from you and from your industrial, you know, rust belt colleagues for many

months now, and now we are seeing the fruits of that effort with the increase in manufacturing.

Also, it is really exciting that you can actually point back, Mr. Tonko, to a point in time and to a policy decision that we made, to a vote that we cast, which made a difference. I mean it's hard, you know, to gauge sometimes whether or not what we are doing is working, you know, whether a policy decision has had the desired outcome, but you can see. I mean the proof is in the pudding. I mean here are retail sales that Mrs. Dahlkemper just talked about. Now let's just look at consumer confidence in general, because the consumer confidence numbers did just come out, as you talked about.

Every month for, I think, the last 7 months, we have had consumer confidence on the rise. We have had another jump in consumer confidence. This is a chart that talks about the increase in household wealth and how American household wealth is beginning to recover. $17.5 trillion of household wealth was wiped out under President Bush. Under President Obama, we have already recovered $5 trillion of that household wealth.

When people have their wealth restored, when they have resources again, they start spending money. That's why those retail sale numbers are going up. When you have your wealth restored, you gain more confidence in your ability to make some spending decisions that you might not have made. So, ultimately, we are going in the right direction.

Really, I have to laugh at some of our friends on the other side of the aisle. You know, with the expression ``your glass is half full or your glass is half empty,'' that's sort of the determining factor of whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist. I don't even think it's half. I think their glass is just empty. I think they broke the glass, because, to be honest with you, it's really shocking how they can see only gloom and doom with positive economic numbers like this. I mean what is so sad is sometimes I think they wish that this were not the direction that our economy was moving in because, sadly, for so many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, it's about regaining power rather than about seeing the American people regain some power, some power in the purse. So I just thought I would point that out.

Before I flip it to you, Mr. Tonko, some really exciting and interesting poll numbers came out this week. In these hours, we like to make sure that we don't just have people taking it from us. I mean, you know, obviously, I'm a Democrat. I'm, you know, supportive of my party's agenda, of our leadership's agenda and of moving the country in a new direction, so we try to talk about third party validators on the House floor.

The ABC News/Washington Post poll was released just this past week, and it showed that Democrats are favored over Republicans to handle the Nation's biggest problems. Six in 10 who were polled are dissatisfied with congressional Republicans' ideas. In terms of the individuals polled, we were supported by a 12-point margin. By a 12-point margin, Americans trust Democrats over Republicans to handle our Nation's biggest problems 44 to 32 percent. That is a pretty significant indicator that Americans are happy with the direction that we are going.

I think no matter what district you go to, whether it's to a progressive district like mine or to a moderate district like Mrs. Dahlkemper's--and you're probably halfway in between Mrs. Dahlkemper's and mine, Mr. Tonko, as far as the philosophical spectrum in your district--our constituents would tell us we are cautiously optimistic, that things are moving in the right direction but that we're not out of the woods yet. You need to keep pushing. You need to keep innovating. You need to keep passing legislation that is going to jump-start and spark this economy and be an engine of job creation. That's what we're keeping our nose to the grindstone on.

I'd be happy to yield.

Will the gentleman yield?

Since you asked the question rhetorically, I'll actually jump in and answer it with an answer from Mark Zandi, Moody's economist who Mrs. Dahlkemper just referred to.

As to what would have happened without the Recovery Act, without the TARP legislation, and without making sure that we grabbed a hold of the tiller of this economy, what he says would have happened is we absolutely would have sunk into a depression, that literally the policies of President Obama and of the Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate steered our ship of fate away from a depression.

You're absolutely right. And I want to jump off what you just talked about, related to the choice that Americans will have. Over the next few months, we are going to get closer and closer to an election, and in November, I think Americans will have a very clear choice. They can go back to the failed policies of the past. They can backslide toward the Bush era, in which we will be in a situation where we will be led by people who think that we should exclusively focus on big business, big corporations, the wealthiest Americans, and that tax-cutting policies should only be targeted towards that group of people and use the whole trickle-down notion that has been proven time and again not to be effective, in fact, proven to be detrimental to the economy.

Or we can continue to move in the direction that the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have been taking us, which is slow and steady progress so that we can reestablish the balance that we need in our economy, particularly, as you mentioned, the balance in terms of regulation. We allowed the fox to guard the henhouse for 8 long years in industry, particularly in the financial services area, which we're debating and discussing this week. And it's high time that we reestablish some order and balance.

Mr. Tonko, as the parent of twin fifth- graders, I can tell you that my fifth-graders often scratch their heads and wonder, Mom, what the heck are your colleagues on the other side of the aisle doing? They wonder why they only focus on the most narrow view.

Yes, you did. You did, as a matter of fact. And my fifth-graders and first-grader will be back tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that. Maybe we can send them over to the other side of the Chamber, and they can shake things up a little bit.

With that, we've been joined by our colleague from Ohio (Mr. Boccieri) who is doing a fantastic job representing his community and is a real fighter for the values of the Midwest.

Would the gentleman yield on that example? Because let's tell them how they slowed that process down. It's not only that they were not voting for the America COMPETES Act, which by any measure will create literally millions, potentially, of new jobs and definitely tens of thousands of jobs. They added an unrelated, irrelevant pornography amendment to that legislation to try to catch Members on our side of the aisle in a vote for or against pornography. And what they did was they ran an amendment that said that we would vote on whether or not Federal employees would be able to be paid if they viewed pornography on work hours.

And add to that, on top of that, the Republicans allowing the PAYGO statute and the PAYGO rules to expire. A big part of the reason--under the budget that was passed by President Clinton, we adopted under a Democratic administration, Democratic leadership a pay-as-you-go rule that said that we're not going to spend more than we take in. I mean, just like people have to do in their own households. And when we came back into the majority, we readopted those rules. And now we have the PAYGO statutes reestablished. And what we need to make sure we continue to do--except for emergency spending, which in an economy that's as dire as this one, we've had a number of different emergency situations.

But making sure that other than emergency situations, we pay for the legislation that we're passing, whether it's including the war costs in the budget and actually having it be real numbers instead of pretending that we don't have an ongoing obligation when it comes to war funding. We included the costs of the Iraq war in the Appropriations Act, in the budget, unlike the Republicans who just pretended year to year that we weren't going to actually have that expense.

So we have been trying to be responsible. We have been trying to make sure that we can get things back on track, and that, like you said, we can establish some parameters. Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle think that government is always an obstacle; government can never be a solution. I don't think government is the be all and end all solution to all of our world's problems either. But government certainly can be part of the solution. Governments can help make sure that we can establish

some fairness and some balance and also make sure that there is someone minding the store, that there is not an unchecked industry. We have about 60,000 barrels a day gushing out of the ocean floor right now because no one was paying attention.

Absolutely.

And we're doing it without our friends on the other side of the aisle, which is really just so incredibly disappointing. I mean, I have seen our leadership reach across the aisle time and again and ask our Republican colleagues to come to the table, sit down. We're not going to agree on everything, but let's sit down and try to hammer out areas of agreement where we can find some common ground. Let's try to pass bipartisan legislation. As you said, we passed health care reform with over 150 amendments that were offered by Republicans, accepted and included into the bill. We had a bipartisan bill without a bipartisan outcome, and that's been their choice repeatedly. They have made a choice, whether to either sit with us and try to work something out--and you know there's times where you have to--look, politics can be a contact sport.

This is a situation where they have different ideas than we do, but I've been in office for 18 years. I spent 12 years in my legislative body. You were in your legislature as well. I have never been in a situation--and I come from a State that is controlled by Republicans for the majority of the time that I have served in office. But I was always able to reach across the aisle and find some common ground. And we were always able to, on many things, pass bipartisan legislation. They have no interest in that.

So the choices that they are making are, I think, going to result in the American people being presented with a choice to either embrace hyperpartisanship, embrace individuals who are bent on power and bent on controlling the direction that this country moves, and only doing it their way, or Members like our Members who have their fingers on the pulse of their communities, who understand intuitively what the needs are in their district, and who aren't reflexively just voting with their party.

I mean, just look at the diversity of our caucus. We have been able to pass some significant legislation: the Recovery Act, the health care reform legislation. We've passed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights. We have some significant pro-consumer economic recovery legislation, and we haven't passed it unanimously out of our caucus. We have a diversity of ideas, but our ideas and our diversity reflect America because some Members are able to be supportive and some Members aren't.

You would think that there would have to be some people on the other side of the aisle that would have the nerve, that would have the backbone to step up and say, You know, I'm going to put aside my quest for power, and I'm going to sit down, and I know we can work something out. And each of us has had private conversations with other colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and they whisper, Debbie, I really wish we could be with you on this. I really agree with you, but you know, my hands are tied. Really? Your hands are tied? I don't see any rope actually binding your hands or a gag binding your mouth. It's sad.

That is the choice they are making.

And using that free market base for innovation and investment in alternative energy is going to take us right through the 21st century. We are risking, without passing that legislation and making sure that we can spark those significant corporate investments in those technologies, we are risking giving over our leadership in this area to China and India. I mean, because that's what's going to happen. They are certainly not sitting around waiting for us to decide whether or not to pass alternative energy and climate change legislation. They are focused on making sure that they can be leaders in innovation and technology in the area of alternative energy.

We have so many opportunities to create tax incentives and to help create jobs through that legislation. Again, it would be nice if we weren't being stiff-armed.

And, Mr. Speaker, I see you rising and wanted to thank my colleague from Ohio for joining me tonight. Mr. Speaker, we among House Democrats really spend quite a bit of time interacting with our constituents. We do it in many ways. We do it in live town hall meetings, in telephone town hall meetings, as well as through social media networking and interaction. And I know that I really encourage people who are listening to this and encourage our colleagues to reach out to me and provide me with feedback on my Facebook page, which is RepDebbieWassermanSchultz. So anyone interested in giving us some feedback on our Facebook page, that's welcome.

And Mr. Boccieri, I don't know if you want to promote your own. We do have a contest going on in the House Democratic Caucus, and so we are all interested in adding folks to our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

That's exactly right. We look forward to repeatedly inviting our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in moving this country in a new direction, continuing to jump- start the economy, create jobs, and aggressively restoring the prosperity that Americans have enjoyed for our entire history.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Dr. George Tiller, a brave and prominent physician who dedicated his life to providing women the ability to choose. Dr. Tiller was shot and killed while serving as an usher at his church in Wichita, Kansas, a year ago this past May. His story is tragic but he is not the only one who has been targeted by intimidation tactics and acts of violence.

Since 1993, eight clinic workers have been murdered in the United States and seventeen attempted murders have occurred since 1991. Opponents of the women's right to choose have directed more than 6,100 reported acts of violence against physicians since 1977, which does not include the 156,000 reported bomb threats and harassing phone calls.

Whether you are on the right or left side of the isle on this issue, I believe we can all come together and agree that violence as a solution is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We should be able to work in unison to find common ground on the issue of female reproductive rights without putting anyone's life in danger.

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act was enacted in 1994 to provide federal protection against the unlawful and often violent tactics used by opponents of abortion rights. While violence has declined since then, violence at reproductive-health centers and abortion clinics is far from being eradicated.

Dr. Tiller was respecting the women's right to choose and for that, his life was taken. We must all work to ensure that no more lives are destroyed and acts of harassment are stopped. If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that violence is not the answer and I look forward to the day that all doctors and clinical workers can go to work, free from fear of violence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my congratulations to the state of Israel on its acceptance into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This shows a great triumph for the country of Israel, and I congratulate them on their prestigious achievement.

On May 10, the 31 states in the OECD unanimously agreed to invite Israel to become a member, noting the country's ``scientific and technological policies have produced outstanding outcomes on a world scale.'' On May 27, Israel officially joined.

The fact that Israel is now a member of the OECD is proof that, despite hardships and struggle, Israel has become a thriving and prosperous democracy. It has made important contributions in technology, medicine, agriculture and environmental innovation, worldwide. I am proud to see that these contributions are being acknowledged.

I also want to recognize President Obama and Secretary Clinton for their strong efforts ensure this happened. This victory for Israel is equally a victory for our country.

Congratulations, too, to the participating countries in the OECD for their ability to see past the possible politicization of this offer. The OECD was responsible and fair in its assessment of Israel's qualifications, focusing on what matters: economic and democratic standards.

But even as we stand here to recognize the Jewish State's achievement, we must remember that Israel, one of our strongest and most consistent allies, still continues to face attacks from hostile neighbors and challenges in its dealings with the rest of the world.

We must continue to be supportive allies to the Jewish State. Though Israel has made this significant advancement, threats still exist, and we must ensure that anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments do not dictate Israel's viability as a strong, democratic nation.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the bipartisan Women Members of Congress softball team, we want to once again extend an invitation to all Members, staff, and anyone listening to attend the second annual congressional women's softball game, which will occur next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Guy Mason Field, once again benefiting the Young Survival Coalition, which is a young women's breast cancer organization.

We really thank all of the Members and staff who came out last year. Over 400 people attended. We raised $50,000 for the Young Survival Coalition. And this year, captained by myself and my colleague from Missouri, Jo Ann Emerson, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Lisa Murkowski, the team members are Donna Edwards, Grace Napolitano, Jean Schmidt, Laura Richardson, Betsy Markey, Betty Sutton, Linda Sanchez, Susan Davis, Kathy Dahlkemper, Shelley Moore Capito, Debbie Halvorson, Senator Kay Hagan, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Kathy Castor, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and Nydia Velazquez.

With that, I yield to my good friend from the State of Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back, we want to emphasize that this is a frustrating process at times, but the women of the Congress, both the House and the Senate, not only know how to have a good time, know how to play softball, but they know how to get along and suggest that our male colleagues could take a page from our book. We look forward to seeing you at the game.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. And it was an absolute pleasure to join you on the CODEL to the Middle East in January where we learned quite a bit about the progress of the peace process.

And it has been noted by a number of our colleagues this evening that we cannot allow, in spite of all the recent controversy--which is unclear to me why a country that is defending its borders, its territory, and its people is controversial--but that we cannot allow it to take our focus off to that of a nuclear-armed Iran.

One of the things that is unbelievable to me has been the criticism and the questions that have been thrown at Israel: first, that they supposedly boarded the flotilla ships in international waters as if they somehow

didn't have the right to do that. That this is a legal blockade, there isn't any disputing that. They are well within their rights and, understandably, are defending their borders and their people.

Because what country would not make sure that items coming in from a ship to an area that is run by a hostile terrorist organization would not be checked to make sure that they are the genuine humanitarian aid that the people bringing the goods in say that it is? That is simply common sense. And I would think that the citizens of any nation would expect nothing less than their government.

But the other criticism that I have heard during the week is that somehow the people of Gaza--and no one denies that there is suffering that has gone on in Gaza. The people of Gaza went through a war. They continue to be ruled by a terrorist organization, and so, as a result, they are definitely suffering.

But it is important to note that, over the last 18 months, Israel has allowed a steady flow of humanitarian aid and food to go to the people of Gaza. One million tons of humanitarian aid, to be specific, have been allowed into Gaza over the last 18 months, the equivalent of one ton of aid per man, woman, and child in food and materials living in Gaza today.

And just a few days later, an Irish ship, the Rachel Corrie, was offered the same thing, to take their goods. And they were also challenging the blockade, yet had a very different response and accepted the boarding and accepted travel to the port of Ashdod and had their goods offloaded.

The point is that Israel cannot be expected to stand idly by and allow for goods to be flowing unchecked without making sure that there aren't hostile intentions behind those goods.

And as Israel continues to face unjust criticism on the world stage, the United States must continue and will continue to support our friend, ally, and partner. And I am so proud to stand with my colleagues today.

You have a tragic situation that occurred, but we cannot forget that this blockade exists because Hamas, the ruling party of Gaza, is a terrorist organization with the sworn goal to destroy the Jewish state. A blockade supported by both Israel and Egypt is a means to stop the smuggling of illegal materials and weapons to Hamas.

And I am so pleased that you have organized this special order hour this evening and look forward to continuing to stand with you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the amendment from yesterday, and I am proud to have joined my colleagues in repealing the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, I did so not only because I believe this is an important step toward full LGBT equality, but also because I believe repealing the policy will make our military stronger and our Nation more secure.

Mr. Speaker, since the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was created in 1993, more than 13,000 able-bodied patriotic Americans have been jettisoned from the military simply because of who they are. These are brave men and women who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We owe these Americans a debt of gratitude, not disrespect and dishonor.

This was not a difficult vote for me. The preamble to our Constitution states: ``We, the people, in order to form a more perfect Union, to provide for the common defense, and secure the blessings of liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution.'' Our President often says we are in the constant process of making our Nation a more perfect Union.

In my view, this amendment is vital if we are to uphold the Constitution's promise of equal protection to gays and lesbians in my home State of Florida and all across America. My friends in the LGBT community know all too well that serving their Nation openly and honestly in the Armed Forces is but one of many rights they are currently denied. That's wrong, and with this vote we made it right.

Yet as important as this amendment is towards bestowing full civil rights for gays and lesbians, it is equally important because it will improve our military readiness and make our Nation more secure. Too often we are told in this Chamber that we must choose between our security and our liberty. And I generally reject that false choice. But in this case, with this vote, we both expand civil liberties and make our Nation more secure.

Mr. Speaker, since the attacks of September 11, when our Nation has

been waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at the very time that we have been under serious and sustained threats from global terror networks, the United States military has discharged more than 800 soldiers in mission-critical positions, including Arabic and Farsi linguists. Why? Are they bad translators or poor soldiers, marines, or airmen? No, they were discharged for only one reason, because they were gay or lesbian.

They were discharged despite the fact they made valuable contributions to our intelligence community. They were discharged despite the fact we have an alarming shortage of translators. So this policy is not only an affront to civil liberties; but at a time when we are fighting two wars, it is idiotic.

But it is important to repeal this policy for a third reason. It is dishonorable. Gays and lesbians are serving in our Nation's Armed Forces with great distinction. They always have. The only question is whether our government must continue to ask them to lie about their sexual orientation in order to do so. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is the only law in the country that requires people to be dishonest about their personal lives or face the possibility of being fired.

Our own Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, recently said, ``No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me personally, it comes down to integrity-- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.''

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. No one should have to lie to perform any job, but especially not those sworn to protect our Nation. I think it is only fitting that this amendment was offered by the first Iraq war veteran to serve in Congress, Representative Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania. Congressman Murphy served in Bosnia and in the famed 82nd Airborne in Iraq. So when he brought his amendment before this House, he did so with deep love for his country and with our military's best interests at heart.

The policy Congressman Murphy crafted, in cooperation with our Commander in Chief and Pentagon leaders, is a responsible one. It merely unties the hands of leaders at the Pentagon by removing the outdated Don't Ask, Don't Tell statute, while ensuring that the transition to a new personnel policy takes place without disruption to our fighting force.

In the spirit of equality and a more perfect Union, with the confidence we are making our Nation more secure, and with pride that we are ending a policy of dishonor, we uphold our American values by repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to proudly commemorate the fifth annual Jewish American Heritage Month, which takes place in communities across the country each May.

Jewish American Heritage Month promotes awareness of the contributions American Jews have made to the fabric of American life-- from technology and literature, to entertainment, politics and to medicine.

It is a concept that was brought to me by leaders in the south Florida Jewish community 5 years ago when I was first elected to serve in this body. It was an idea born of the concern that, although there have been 355 years of Jewish life in America, there is still a tremendous lack of understanding about Jewish culture in that Jews are both a religion and a heritage in terms of our traditions and our community. Because we are less than 2 percent of the population in America, most people in America have either never met a Jewish person or have rarely, if ever, interacted with a Jewish person, so our traditions are often a foreign concept.

It was felt by the leaders in my Jewish community that, in having a month dedicated to cultural and educational programming, particularly in non-Jewish communities, it would raise awareness, foster understanding and deal with some of the concerns over the fact that, of the bias incidents that have been documented by the FBI and by the Anti-Defamation League, literally 65 percent of those bias incidents in recent years have been anti-Jewish bias. If we can use Jewish American Heritage Month, now in its 5th year, to foster understanding and tolerance, then hopefully we can reduce anti-Semitism and bigotry in this country.

As we are well aware, the foundation of our country is built upon the strengths of our unique cultures and backgrounds. Yet, while our diversity is America's strength, ignorance and intolerance about the culture and about the traditions and accomplishments of the Jewish people are, unfortunately, still really prevalent.

Again, Jews make up only 2 percent of our Nation's population, and as a result, we need to make sure that people in America understand that there have been so many different things and that so much of American history has been touched by a significant contribution of American Jews.

Tonight, my colleagues who are joining me on the floor to acknowledge and to mark the 5th annual Jewish American Heritage Month are going to talk about some of the impacts that the Jewish community has had throughout American history.

It is my privilege to yield to my friend, the gentleman from Colorado, Jared Polis.

Thank you so much, Mr. Polis. Your comments are such a perfect example of the unique contributions that American Jews have made in our history, and you specifically highlighted examples that most people would not have been familiar with. I would bet that Coloradans are not familiar with that history. So thank you very much for coming down and sharing that with us this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I want to share a story that was an experience that I lived through. For me as a young Jewish woman growing up in a predominantly Jewish community in New York, on Long Island, growing up, and then moving to south Florida and spending my adult life in a significant, large Jewish community, one would think that I had spent most of my life without experiencing anti-Semitism, and I have not experienced much in the way of overt anti-Semitism.

But I want to share a story with my colleagues from when I was in college at the University of Florida. I was standing in the hallway of my dorm the first week of school and talking to another young woman who I had just met, and she saw my last name on the door, because there are signs on the doors with your names on them at the beginning of each semester in most college dorms.

Somehow the subject of religion came up. I shared with her that I was Jewish, and her response, she was from a tiny town in north Florida, and it was evident after her comments that she had never met a Jewish person before, because she said to me, ``You're Jewish? I have seen pictures, but I have never seen a real one.''

You know, growing up on Long Island, and that being my first exposure to someone who had not met a Jewish person, I had heard that there were people in America who thought that Jews had horns, and we were somehow not human. But, fortunately, I realized at the time that that was simply a reflection of the fact that she had not had experience with Jews or the Jewish community. And as we got to know each other, we lived on the hall together all throughout our freshman year, we got to be very good friends, and she realized that I was human and that I didn't have horns.

But it is really important, and that story and that experience helped me understand why we had a need for Jewish American Heritage Month, just like the experience of Black History Month and the years and years of success of that cultural celebration that we have in February, and Asian Pacific Islander Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month. It is important that we celebrate the diversity in this country and that all Americans learn about the success and contributions that all different cultures have weaved together to make America the strong, vibrant Nation that we are today.

Again, I am really pleased to be joined by my colleagues who are here with me on the floor tonight.

With that, I yield to my good friend and next door neighbor, a gentleman who has been doing a fantastic job representing his constituents in south Florida and someone who has spent many, many years as a leader in the organized Jewish community, Congressman Ron Klein from the great State of Florida.

Thank you so much. I thank the gentleman for his remarks and for taking us through an important aspect of Jewish life in America.

Now it is my pleasure to yield to another colleague from the West, and a leader on the House Rules Committee who has a Rules Committee meeting that is imminent that he needs to get to, and a leader in the Jewish community as well, Congressman Ed Perlmutter from the State of Colorado.

Thank you so much, Mr. Perlmutter. We appreciate your contribution to our effort to raise awareness and celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans to American history.

It is now my pleasure to yield to one of our newest Members, who as of just yesterday is no longer the most junior Member of the House of Representatives. He held that title for, oh, about a month. He is the neighbor to the other side of my congressional district, and did a fantastic job as a State senator, was another leader in the organized Jewish community in south Florida, someone who has been a staunch advocate for Israel and for issues that are important to the Jewish community, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Deutch.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deutch, and I'm really pleased that you chose to highlight in your remarks the contributions that our Jewish war veterans have made.

Last year, I think it was last year, Ms. Schwartz, last year, we marked, the Jewish Members, a number of us and some non-Jewish Members, marked Jewish American Heritage Month by taking a trip to the Museum of Jewish Military History, which is based in Washington, D.C., and it was a museum that I was not familiar with, didn't know existed. And we had an opportunity, all the way back to the Revolutionary War, to see the contributions of Jews throughout our military history and how they proudly, so many of them, as you said, hundreds of thousands, proudly fought side by side with their fellow American citizens to defend the freedom that we continue to enjoy today.

So thank you so much for acknowledging that.

It's now my privilege to yield to my good friend, the gentlelady from Pennsylvania, who has been a leader, whom I've shared many a conversation with in the time we have served in the Congress together. We were elected in the same year and both served as State legislators, championing many of the same cases. She was a leader on health care in the Senate in Pennsylvania and has been a leader in the Jewish community in her own right, and I'm so glad you've joined us here tonight.

The gentlelady from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).

Thank you so much.

Ms. Schwartz, I have to tell you that I've heard you share that story before, and I get a lump in my throat every time you tell it. It is so moving and meaningful for you to share that story in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, and it's one of the ways that we can help people understand why acknowledging the contributions of American Jews and the rich tapestry that we have weaved throughout American history is so important. So thank you again for sharing that story once again.

It's now my privilege to yield to one of the most significant Jewish leaders in our country, someone who has been a stalwart fighter for Israel, a stalwart fighter for the issues that matter to American Jews and to Jews across the globe, the gentlelady from Nevada, Shelley Berkley.

Thank you so much for your eloquence, Ms. Berkley, and for acknowledging that a lot of people think about the arrival of Jews in America as really being an infusion after World War I, an infusion after World War II; but we have 353 years of Jewish life in this country. And, unfortunately, much of our arrival followed persecution in other parts of the world: after the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms in Russia--that's when my family came initially in the 1800s--and then in the early 1900s fleeing Poland for a better way of life here. And it's so incredibly important that we tell our story.

Jewish American Heritage Month allows us to do that now. President Bush proclaimed it 5 years ago. We had 250 cosponsors, of which you were one, of the original legislation that urged him to do that. And one of the things that I really think is important to acknowledge is there is so much partisanship here in the House of Representatives. I was the most proud at the time that we passed that resolution unanimously out of the House. With over 400 Members voting for it, we had 250 cosponsors, bipartisan cosponsors, and then we had a bipartisan effort across the Jewish community in this country to urge the President at the time to proclaim the first Jewish American Heritage Month. And they did so willingly, put aside party differences because they knew that it was incredibly important. And we have continued to be able to mark the occasion every year.

Me as well. And in that same vein, Emma Lazarus was by far at the time the leading Jewish literary figure in 19th-century America. And it's her sonnet which was called ``The New Colossus'' that is engraved on the base of the Statute of Liberty: ``Give me your tired, your poor, yearning to breathe free.'' And then the rest is history.

The rest is history, exactly. There are so many contributions that this month allows us to highlight. And I really thank you for joining us tonight, to continue to be able to do that. And I know we look forward to the rest of the month and the celebrations across the country.

Thank you so much.

It is now my privilege to invite my colleague from the State of Florida, the gentleman from central Florida, who is a newly elected Member and who has done a fantastic job fighting for his constituents, fighting on behalf of the issues that are important to this country, and fighting to help particularly focus on job creation and turning our economy around, the gentleman and my friend from central Florida, Alan Grayson.

Thank you so much, Mr. Grayson, for sharing your unique perspective. And, again, it's so incredibly important that we had this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Jewish Americans to American history.

And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that something that I am quite proud of is a contribution that I wasn't aware that I had made. Upon my election to the Congress in 2004, I learned that I was elected as the first Jewish woman to represent the State of Florida in Congress in history. And that's a source of great pride certainly to my parents, my Jewish parents, who were extremely proud and who kvelled, which is a Yiddish expression for a great bubbling of pride, so to speak. But it's something that has been a source of pride to me.

I would be happy to yield.

Thank you. That's right. They wished for a doctor or a lawyer; they got a Member of Congress. What can you do? They had to settle.

Mr. Speaker, as I wrap up, and I am going to yield the last portion of our time to my good friend from Indiana, but I do want to talk about this year's Jewish American Heritage Month. And it's been packed with programs celebrating the contributions of American Jews to our country with movies, cultural exhibitions, speakers, and innovative educational curricula.

Right here in Washington, the United Jewish Communities and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington will once again be hosting what has become their annual tradition, a reception for Members of Congress and members of the Jewish community right here on Capitol Hill.

J Street will also be hosting a reception to celebrate May as Jewish American Heritage Month with Members of Congress, their staff, and the Jewish community. But that's not all. The Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration has been hosting lectures and exhibits and discussions about Jewish contributions to America.

In my home State of Florida, there will be a celebration of Jewish contributions to the civil rights movement. And the Marlins baseball team will host a Jewish Heritage Game. I can share with you that I had the privilege of throwing out the first pitch last year at the Jewish Heritage Game, which was really neat. But at that game they have kosher food and Jewish music in-between innings, and it's really an incredible experience.

Cincinnati, Ohio will be hosting lectures, including one on President Lincoln's solid relationship with Jewish Americans. And Wyoming of all places will host a festival celebrating Jewish food. And Lord knows that we Jews like food a whole lot.

Events are also scheduled to occur in New York, California, Texas and other States around the country, but I think the thing that we are all the most proud of is that tomorrow we will join President Barack Obama and the first lady, who will hold the first ever White House celebration and ceremony honoring Jewish American Heritage Month and the contributions of Jewish Americans throughout American history. It's our first opportunity to have that celebration in the White House during the month of May and Jewish American Heritage Month.

Mr. Speaker, we have come a long way in recent years to promote appreciation for the multicultural fabric of the United States. It's our responsibility to continue this education. If we as a Nation are to prepare our children for the challenges that lie ahead, then teaching diversity is a fundamental part of that promise. Together, we can help achieve this goal of understanding with the celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.

I thank my colleagues for their support and call on all Americans to observe this special month by celebrating the many contributions of Jewish culture throughout our Nation's history.

With that, I would be happy to yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly) who hopefully will come up with a good segue from Jewish American Heritage Month to what he has come to share with us tonight about his constituents.

Honoring Three Sons from Second District of Indiana

I am really privileged to have been here to listen to the gentleman acknowledge the patriots that gave their lives and that have served our country so faithfully from his community, and I can tell you that the constituents of the district that he represents in Indiana have no greater friend, no greater advocate, than Joe Donnelly.

With that, I yield back.