Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the House will be taking up statutory PAYGO legislation which will restore the policy that led from deficits to surpluses under the Clinton administration. Statutory PAYGO is a necessary step to restore fiscal discipline and begin bringing down the deep deficits that face our Nation. Without reducing the deficit, we won't be able to invest in vital priorities, including health care, education and clean energy.

The bill on the floor this week requires all new policies that either reduce revenues or expand entitlement spending be offset over 5 and 10 years. Discretionary spending is not subject to PAYGO and exceptions can be made for emergencies. We also take into account the political reality that several policies will continue, as in past Congresses, and allow them to be extended without offsets. Medicare physician payments, alternative minimum tax, middle class tax cuts and the current estate tax rates. I hope that all Members will support our PAYGO bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Education and Labor Committees for working diligently on America's Affordable Health Choices Act. This bill is a historic first step to moving towards providing affordable health care options for all Americans.

Comprehensive health care coverage will cost taxpayers initially. The current CBO estimate projects a government investment of $1 trillion over the next 10 years, but we must not forget that this investment in the health of Americans is not about the cost but about the savings for American families. According to CBO estimates, streamlining administrative costs may save Medicare $500 billion. Providing the public plan with the ability to negotiate for Medicare rates will increase those savings.

Advocates for laissez-faire economics have continually noted that competition drives down costs and spurs innovation. With the public plan, we are finally giving the government a tool to

reduce the costs of health care for Americans. For years, insurance companies have monopolized the market and have driven up costs for consumers. In many communities, the only available health option can impose astounding rates that consumers are forced to pay. The public plan will introduce fair price competition, forcing private insurers to keep apace with efficiency and with innovation. With the public plan, we offer Americans personal patient choice and the freedom to stay healthy.

The America's Affordable Health Choices Act provides 97 percent of Americans with health care options. However, border States, such as my own, California, will continue to experience many of the same problems in their busy hospitals. The State of California is home to 22 percent of the Nation's undocumented immigrants. It is true that many of these immigrants will continue to travel to Mexico for care, but they will also continue to clog emergency rooms, which will result in exorbitant costs due to emergency care. We cannot run down costs in States like California without addressing this issue. We must provide hospitals with a mechanism for recovering these costs.

In addition to the public plan, the House's Affordable Health Choices Act introduces improvements to both Medicare and Medicaid. Individuals and families with incomes at or below 133 percent of the Federal poverty level will be eligible for an expanded and improved Medicare. This will ensure that more children remain healthy. Improving rebates to seniors will help close the Medicare part D doughnut hole and will ensure that they do not have to decide between purchasing food or their medications.

This bill has taken many steps to improve Medicare and the care we provide to seniors. However, we must remember that improving care for seniors is not the same as long-term care. If California does not fix its budget crisis by August, residents will lose many Medicare and Medicaid benefits, such as home care for seniors and for the disabled. The House health care bill does not address this problem. Providing the option for home care is another way to reduce costs and to allow seniors to keep their freedom, and it is something we should strongly consider.

Again, America's Affordable Health Choices Act is certainly an impressive first step. We must be careful not to weaken a national public plan, and we must equally encourage our Senate colleagues to support a robust national public plan.

Though local co-ops or State-level systems may seem to offer savings and freedoms for the American people, they raise a host of problems. Duplicating public plans in various locales raises administrative costs. It creates too many levels of bureaucracy that are simply not necessary. Therefore, I support the House version of America's Affordable Health Choices Act. I truly hope this is the historic first step on the road to making health care for all Americans possible.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, we urgently need to fix the health care system for American families. Every day, Americans worry not simply about getting well, but whether they can afford to get the kind of health care they need. For American businesses, soaring health care costs put American companies at a competitive disadvantage in a global economy. For our fiscal future we have the most expensive health care system in the world.

We're emphasizing cost, choice, security, and quality. We want a policy that costs less, covers more, and is quality. Your choice. You have it. If you like it, you keep it. For security and peace of mind, for quality patient-centered care, we want American solutions for American health.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 476) celebrating the 30th anniversary of June as ``Black Music Month,'' as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I present H. Res. 476 for consideration. This resolution expresses our support for the goals and the ideals of Black Music Month.

H. Res. 476 was introduced by my colleague, Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee, on May 21, 2009, and reported out of the Oversight Committee by unanimous consent on June 18, 2009. Additionally, this resolution enjoys the support of nearly 70 Members, of which I am included.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrated Black Music Month this past June, I thought of the impact African American music has had on American culture. Both socially and artistically, Black music is one of the most interesting trends in American history. African American music finds its roots in the slave culture of the rural South of the United States. Blues and gospel music comes from the plantation songs of slaves. As Blacks moved north into cities such as Memphis and St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit in the early parts of the 20th century, the music transitioned and became urbanized. Blues became jazz and combined with gospel music to form soul.

It was not until the post-World War II era that mainstream America began to feel the effects of Black music when musical geniuses such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Louis Jordan, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard and countless others began to play on the radio.

In the 1960s, soul music and rhythm and blues crossed over Black music further into the mainstream. Black music legends such as James Brown and Berry Gordy's Detroit Motown machine and Jimi Hendrix let the world know that Black music was a force to be reckoned with.

As Black music moved into the 1970s and 1980s, it took new forms. Disco, rap, and a new form of rhythm and blues would produce modern-era musical geniuses, such as the greatest entertainer of all time who just recently passed, Michael Jackson. Other musical greats, like George Clinton; Prince; and Kurtis Blow; Earth, Wind & Fire; and a host of others also helped Black music grow to phenomenal levels.

So what is the impact of Black music? The impact of Black music most notably is it told mainstream America that it is okay to express your feelings and your emotions as you see them. Black music informed America what was going on in African American communities, and it broke barriers that allowed Black people to further integrate into American society.

So, Mr. Speaker, I want to urge all of my colleagues to support the 30th anniversary of Black Music Month.

I reserve the remainder of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we will yield as much time as he needs to our distinguished Member from Tennessee, Representative Steve Cohen.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not remention the contributions of Michael Jackson, whose passing on June 25, 2009, coincided with the June celebration of Black Music Month. Through his innovation in the field of music, music video and dance, and subsequent global crossover appeal, Mr. Jackson paved the way for generations of African American musicians and left an indelible mark on the music industry, created a new genre and a new popular culture.

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

Madam Speaker, we rise to pay a 1-minute tribute to a star that shot high into the sky and now remains there. We would like all of those to join us who would like to take a moment to remember Michael Jackson, so Members may come and join us here at the mike.

I would just like to say to our House of Representatives, to the country and to the world, a young man has left Earth but now resides in the stars. He was a talented, multitalented person who entertained the world with his dynamic portrayals, the songs that he had written, and his style of dancing. We think that it is appropriate to say that we pay tribute to the culture that he has left behind, his legacy.

I would like now to ask my colleague, Mr. Jackson, if he would close out, and all those who stand with us send our condolences, our heartfelt sorrow to his family, his friends, and to his millions of fans throughout the world.

Madam Speaker, we urgently need to fix health care for American families, for American businesses, and for our fiscal future.

President Barack Obama and his Congress want to reduce your cost, offer you the choice of doctors and plans, and guarantee affordable quality health care for all. Cost less and cover more. Your choice: you have it, you like it, then you keep it. Security and peace of mind. Quality patient-centered care.

We need a uniquely American solution that builds on the best of what works to foster competition among private plans and provide patients with quality choices. We must ensure that every child in America is covered. We must invest in prevention and wellness. We must ensure that doctors and nurses get the information they need.

Never again will your coverage be denied, and never again will we have to make a life or a job decision based on coverage.

Never let your family suffer financial catastrophe or bankruptcy because of high medical costs.

I rise today in support of H.R. 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act, called PEACE, of 2009.

Since President Barack Obama took the reins of our Nation, he has begun to lead us in a new era of foreign policy based on the theme: listen, learn, then lead.

This bill introduced by Chairman Berman is the beginning of this new era of American foreign policy which will give the President the tools he needs to bring peace and long-lasting stability to Pakistan. The PEACE Act authorizes the President to provide assistance for Pakistan to enhance economic development, human rights, cultural and educational programs, the judicial system, and democratic institutions in order to strengthen civilian rule and long-term stability.

This bill does not allow Pakistan to use any of this assistance to upgrade or buy new F-16s or upgrade its nuclear arsenal. The reporting requirements in the PEACE Act provide the necessary oversight provisions which require Pakistan's government and the Obama administration to inform Congress on the progress and uses of our assistance.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1886.

Mr. Speaker, lest we forget, we must constantly be vigilant that we have people in this country who still harbor hate. As we go looking around the world for those who would do mass carnage, we need to look right inside of ourselves and see what is happening among too many of our people.

Officer Johns was there. I understand he opened the door for the person who shot him, but he represented a minority, and the shooter went to a place where he could show his anger, his hate, his hostility. As long as these kinds of people allow this to grow within them, we are all at risk. As long as we let guns go unregistered and let them out there and in the hands of these people, each and every one of us is at risk.

So it is now the time not only to give our condolences to the family of Officer Johns, but to take a step in the right direction for the right policy that will keep this in our minds every day of our lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 529, condemning the violent attack on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 10, 2009, and honoring the bravery and dedication of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum employees and security personnel.

I express my deepest sympathy to the family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns who lost his life as he stood guard at the museum. Officer Johns was only 39 years old; and standing six feet, six inches tall, was known as a ``gentle giant''. He was lovingly called ``Little Stephen'' by his family and ``Big John'' by his colleagues. Officer Johns must always be remembered in our hearts and minds as a hero.

Mr. Speaker, hatred must not be tolerated, and acts of violence must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I rise today in support of H.R. 2410, particularly the section that authorizes a way to enhance our public diplomacy efforts worldwide by ensuring diplomatic and consular mission libraries and resource centers open to the public to show American-made films that promote American culture, principles, and values.

Also, there is another provision in section 214, public diplomacy resource centers, and it amends the State Department's Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to direct the Secretary of State to ensure that diplomatic and consular mission libraries and resource centers are open to the general public to the greatest extent practicable and to schedule public showings of American films that showcase American culture, principles, values, and history.

Also, section 215 has grants for international documentary exchange programs and authorizes the Secretary of State to make grants to U.S. nongovernmental organizations that use independently produced documentary films to promote a better understanding of the United States

abroad and a better understanding of global perspectives of other countries in the United States. I urge your support.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2009, and I commend Chairman Berman for his leadership in support of a new direction in our foreign policy. This bill will authorize the State Department from 2010 thru 2011, build capacity to the Department by adding fifteen hundred (1,500) new Foreign Service Officers, and enhance our Public Diplomacy efforts worldwide.

Section 214, Public Diplomacy Resources Center amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to direct the Secretary of State to ensure that diplomatic and consular mission libraries and resource centers are open to the general public to the greatest extent practicable to schedule public showings of American films that showcase American culture, principles, values, and history.

Section 215, Grants for International Documentary Exchange Programs authorizes the Secretary of State to make grants to U.S. nongovernmental organizations that use independently produced documentary films to promote a better understanding of the United States abroad and a better understanding of global perspectives of other countries in the United States.

Section 330, Department of State Employment Composition amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of State to report on efforts to develop a uniform definition of diversity that is congruent with core values and vision of the Department, and to evaluate the diversity plans specifically relating to the Foreign Service and Senior Foreign Service. This section also provides for a GAO Review by the Comptroller General of the United States to assess the employment composition, recruitment, advancement, and retention policies of the State Department for women and minority groups.

As many of my colleagues may know the State Department has some of the worst diversity rates among its Foreign Service Officers. If you look at the top levels of the Foreign Service regarding diversity you will find there is basically none.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2410, a bill which will enhance our Public Diplomacy efforts worldwide, diversify our Foreign Service, and give the State Department the tools necessary to meet our foreign policy goals.

Thank you so much for yielding, and Madam Speaker, thank you for presiding this evening.

I wanted to join my colleagues because it's important that we speak on such a critical issue as health care, and as we all know the United States is the only industrialized Nation to not offer universal health care to its citizens. Currently, there are only 47 million people without health insurance, and as a Nation we're facing a real health care crisis.

Did you know that blacks are far more likely than whites to die from strokes, diabetes and other diseases? Six million African American adults are uninsured or experiencing gaps in their coverage, and one- third of all adult African Americans are without health care. Sixty-one percent of African American adults who are uninsured during the year reported medical bills or debt problems, compared to 56 percent uninsured white adults and 35 percent uninsured Hispanic adults.

About one-third of African American adults visited an emergency room for a condition that could have been treated by a regular doctor if one had been available, compared to 19 percent of Hispanics and 19 percent of whites. Hispanics and African American working age adults in the United States are at greater risk of experiencing gaps in insurance coverage, lacking access to health care and facing medical debt than white working age adults, and usually when African Americans come in to a health facility, they come in more acutely ill. They go into emergency and end up in the surgical suite at a great cost.

Uninsured rates for working age African American adults are also high, with one-third, or 33 percent, more than 6 million adults uninsured who are experiencing a gap in coverage during the year. Sixty-two percent of Hispanic adults, age 19 to 64, an estimated 15 million adults were uninsured at some point during the year, a rate more than three times as high as that for white working age adults.

Minorities are less likely to be given appropriate cardiac medicine or to undergo bypass surgery. Studies show significant racial differences in who receives appropriate cancer diagnostic tests and treatments.

Absolutely, and I just want to mention the demographics of my district. I have a third African American, a third other people of color, and a third majority, and I have some very wealthy real estate and some very poor real estate in my district. And what I do to accommodate their concerns is send out a questionnaire, and I have five regional advisory groups that come maybe every quarter to my office in the conference room, and I list their concerns. And then we go over each one of the concerns, and what comes at the top is education.

But health care depends on the area that you're in. The very wealthy people can pay for their 50-minute hour with their psychiatrist. So health might come in the middle or down in the lower area of their responses. But in the lower socioeconomic areas, you can always find it near the top. Education is at the top but health care would follow.

Yes, they are, and particularly in this era when we have a critical economic crisis they are really concerned about health care. They're out of a job. They don't have any insurance. They don't even get their retirement. Some of them worked for, I would say one of those discount master store. I won't call any names.

And they work part-time and there are no benefits. And these are the people that fall at the end of that spectrum.

Mr. Speaker, Democrats have been committed to fiscal responsibility since taking control of the House in 2007. The President's budget calls for health care reform, job creation, a clean environment, energy efficiency, and college affordability to be completely deficit neutral.

We are constantly reviewing the progress and spending of our recovery programs to ensure a strong return on every public dollar spent. We're also working to cut programs that don't work or government contracts that don't deliver for the American people. We're working hard to reform our Nation's health care system, which will reduce the deficit, save money for consumers, and improve efficiencies in the health care system.

In a key step, we scheduled oversight hearings and carefully reviewed all Federal spending within the committee's jurisdiction to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.

I applaud President Obama and the Democratic Congress for taking these critical steps and we will continue working with him to reduce our Nation's deficit and debt.

Thank you, Ms. Fudge. And, Mr. Speaker, I'm here along with my colleagues to speak about health care.

As we all know, the United States is the only industrialized Nation not to offer universal health care to its citizens. Currently, there are over 47 million people without health insurance, and as a Nation, we are facing a health care crisis.

Also, due to the ailing economy, the number of uninsured is on the rise as many Americans have lost their access to employer-based health care. We are aware that all Americans need access to quality health care. Many of us for years have repeatedly called for a national solution to the health care crisis, especially those of us who are deeply concerned about health care disparities in minority communities. For years we have continually noted how minorities are less likely to have quality health care.

For example, one-third of all African Americans lack comprehensive health care, but health care is not just a minority issue. Just this past weekend, thousands of students graduated from colleges and universities around the country. They walked across the stage to grasp their diplomas in return for their hard work, achievement, and their health insurance card. For those of us in California, we are blessed that children can remain on their parents' health insurance plan until they are 25 years old, but this is not the case in many States. Can you imagine overnight thousands of graduates who have not been able to find jobs in this struggling economy have now become uninsured? Yes, young people may be the healthiest portion of the population, but they, too, at some point will fall ill.

This past weekend's graduations have made me realize how necessary it is to act quickly. That is why I support universal health care and H.R. 676. We have twiddled our thumbs long enough, and now it's time to act as quickly as possible to give all Americans the right to quality health care.

Now, I want to talk about another health issue that is very close to my heart, the issue of mercury amalgams. Dentists have been using silver dental fillings for over 150 years without informing consumers that these silver fillings are actually more than 50 percent mercury. A 2006 poll showed that 78 percent of American people are not aware that mercury is the majority component in silver fillings. Congress has acted to remove mercury from public schools in the form of thermometers, the Environmental Protection Agency warns the public when mercury levels are high in certain fish. However, the Food and Drug Administration has done nothing to warn consumers of the risk of mercury in their mouth.

Mercury is a known neurotoxin. It can harm the mental development of a fetus and children. Mercury vapors from dental fillings can enter the blood stream and cross the blood-brain, barrier. In an expecting mother, mercury can pass through the placenta into the fetus, potentially causing neurological damage. For example, autism in young children has been linked to mercury exposure. In adults, studies are beginning to show mercury as the root of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. I will admit that more studies are needed to strengthen the relationship between mercury and neurological illness. The studies that have been done thus far have been woefully shortsighted and have failed to look at the long-term effects of mercury fillings in children and adults. Rather, they have focused on only 2 or 3 years of an individual's life.

I support more research on the subject. However, I do not support watching more Americans becoming ill without the knowledge of the potential health risk caused by mercury. The burden of proof is on the producers of mercury amalgam and on the dentist. If there is a chance that mercury is toxic to consumers' health, the consumer has the right to know.

In the coming months, I will be introducing a bill about the effects of mercury amalgam fillings and its potential health risks. I hope that you will support me in making consumers more aware of this critical issue.

Mr. Speaker, ``mission accomplished.'' If this were so, then continuous funding for combat is not needed. However, resources for our military withdrawal is. The supplement as a means of financial support for continuing conflict is a very deceptive technique. Funding should be in the budget since it appears that there is no end to the conflict in Iraq. Combining food assistance, AIDS, farm loan programs, refugee assistance in this bill will give the bill the votes needed for passage. But humanitarian issues should be in separate legislation. They are too important to be dumped in this bill.

To make my point, I will not vote for any war funding that deprives my constituents of the domestic funding needed to improve their lives. The rule is the passageway for this injustice.

Mr. Speaker, America can become the world leader in the new clean energy economy. To ensure our economic recovery is sustainable for years to come, we intend to pass comprehensive clean energy legislation that will create millions of new American jobs that cannot be shipped overseas, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, increase production of cleaner, renewable energy sources, crack down on heavy pollutants who have damaged our air and water quality, and give American entrepreneurs and innovators the tools they need to stay competitive in the global economy.

There is also the Energy and Commerce bill called the American Clean Energy and Security Act. It will invest in American jobs that cannot be shipped overseas. It will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It will be consumer focused and increase production of cleaner, renewable energy sources.

Mr. Speaker, this week the House takes up the anti- predatory lending and mortgage fraud legislation. These bills are the next step as we work to rebuild our economy in a way that is fair and consistent with our values.

The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009 will curb abusive and predatory lending, a major factor in the Nation's highest home foreclosure rate in 25 years. The bill would outlaw many of the egregious industry practices that marked the subprime lending boom and would prevent borrowers from deliberately misstating their income to qualify for a loan. The bill will ensure that mortgage lenders make loans that benefit the consumer and prohibit them from steering borrowers into higher-cost loans.

This week Congress will also vote on legislation to create an outside commission to investigate the causes of the current financial and economic crises in the United States.