Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Gene Segerbloom, who recently passed away at the age of 94. A true public servant to the end, Gene served Nevada throughout her life, first as a high school teacher, then a Boulder City Councilman and, finally, as a four-term assemblywoman in the Nevada State Legislature, beginning at the young age of 74.

While in the legislature, she worked hard to defend the rights of women and children, as well as to protect the environment and Nevada's beauty, which was painted by her husband, Cliff, in many beautiful watercolors.

The Segerbloom family has been a fixture in Nevada politics for four generations. Gene's legacy continues through her son, Tick, who is a State senator today. Tick put it perfectly when he said simply, ``She loved Nevada. My mother always had a smile on her face, and she never had a bad day.''

I miss her personally, and Nevada mourns her loss.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as a proud member of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus to recognize Greek Independence Day.

Let us honor this date in memory of the beloved Andy Athens.

This holiday celebrates the 1821 victory in the Greek people's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire.

My grandfather, Arthur Costandinos Cathones, for whom I am named, instilled in me a great love for Greece and Greek culture. The Hellenic values he taught me have served me well as guiding principles throughout my career in public service.

I have enjoyed visiting Greece a number of times to learn firsthand about the birthplace of democracy. These trips have given me a deep understanding of the country's history, its food, its culture, its music and especially its people. I encourage my colleagues to visit Greece to experience all it has to offer.

The U.S. and Greece have always shared a special bond that we should recognize and strengthen instead of repeatedly using Greece as the whipping boy for Europe's economic woes as some have done in speeches on this floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Republican budget that's being debated this week and, in particular, to the unfair and inaccurate attack on a clean energy company that's located in my home State of Nevada. The Republican proposal refers to the Solar Reserve project as ``an ill-fated venture.''

Had he done his homework, Budget Committee Chairman Ryan would have discovered that this cutting-edge solar project is not ill-fated but, instead, has a long-term contract with our State's largest utility. It has created 450 good-paying jobs for Nevadans and is running on schedule and under budget.

The assertions being made in the Republican budget undermine the success of renewable energy programs, the jobs they create, and the investment they represent in our Nation's future energy needs.

In Las Vegas and across the country, Americans have made it clear that our budget should be a path forward for a strong middle class and a serious investment in the next generation of Americans.

Let's reject these mathematical gimmicks and unsubstantiated attacks and get to work on a real budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Republican budget proposal that's soon to be considered by the House.

The policies therein were debated and soundly rejected in the last election. In Las Vegas and across the country, Americans made it clear that our budget should be a path forward for a strong middle class and should be a serious investment in the next generation.

Instead, the Republican budget shrinks investment in infrastructure and education, cuts funding to research and development, eliminates the safety net for our most vulnerable, and ends the Medicare guarantee. Furthermore, it should include a question mark or a giant asterisk because so many aspects of it are vague and so many details are missing. This budget isn't a path to prosperity. It's a collection of inconsistent assumptions and mathematical gimmicks. It's full of phantom revenue and undelineated cuts.

People in my district, District One of Nevada, want Congress to pass a budget that represents a balanced approach, not one based on partisan ideology that's out of touch with their priorities. So I say let's get to work on that.

Thank you, Congresswoman Maloney, for letting me join you tonight, and thank you for organizing this very important special hour to talk about the Republican budget and its unacceptable impact on women.

For the third year in a row, Chairman Ryan has proposed an uncompromising budget plan that is out of touch with my State of Nevada's priorities and the country's vision for the future.

Chairman Ryan has used a lot of gimmicks in his budget, but no amount of chicanery will hide what this budget really means for women.

Instead of laying out a fair and balanced plan, as you said, Congresswoman, Representative Ryan's budget undermines the health and economic security of the elderly and the disabled, most of whom are women, and disproportionately harms low-income women and families they struggle to support.

It also would repeal the Affordable Care Act. This landmark legislation that we passed increases access to critical women's health services such as prenatal and maternity care, and it finally ends the longstanding notion that being a woman is a preexisting condition.

The proposed budget also threatens a laundry list of vital programs that help women and children such as SNAP, WIC, Head Start, school lunches, TANF, and Pell Grants, just to name a few. These are programs that millions of women across the country and their families rely on every day just to get by.

Instead of protecting such critical programs, Representative Ryan and the Republican Party would rather protect tax breaks for the wealthiest folks in our country, for oil companies and for those companies you mentioned that ship our jobs overseas.

The Federal budget is a blueprint for our Nation's future. It's a statement of our national priorities. It should reflect who we are, and it should provide a path forward that we can all be proud of.

My constituents in Las Vegas and our constituents around the country deserve better than this old rehashed Ryan budget which slashes programs for children, dismantles health care for women, eliminates the safety net for seniors and defunds education and needed research and development that we should be investing in as part of that three-legged stool.

Instead, we need to get to work on a balanced plan that protects women and families and makes those needed investments in our future.

Again, I thank you, Congresswoman Maloney, and our colleagues who have joined us tonight to talk about these important issues, and I urge you to give careful consideration to the Ryan budget with all those hidden little tricks and old hat policies.

Mr. Speaker, Las Vegans take pride in the different cultural heritages and traditions that have enriched our community, and contributed to our distinct identity.

Today, I stand to recognize a Las Vegas dance group that truly embodies this spirit, Comparza Morelense.

Rooted in their Mexican heritage, Comparza Morelense is well known throughout Southern Nevada, performing traditional dances and songs at numerous festivals and fairs for the last two years.

This January, Comparza Morelense's hard work and dedication were rewarded with an invitation to perform in the President's Inauguration Parade.

As the only Nevadan group invited to participate in the Parade, this was truly a prestigious honor.

On Inauguration Day, I proudly cheered them on as they represented not only Las Vegas and Nevada, but their rich cultural heritage as well.

Wolf Blitzer, newsman from CNN, also commented that the group with the beautiful costumes from the state of Morelos was the most colorful entry in the parade.

I submit the Las Vegas Sun article, ``Las Vegas dance troupe to perform in Inaugural Parade,'' written by Tovin Lapan on January 10, 2013.

Las Vegas Dance Troupe to Perform in Inaugural Parade

(By Tovin Lapan)

In the past two years, the Las Vegas dance troupe Comparza

Morelense has quadrupled in size and gone from dancing at

birthday parties and first communions to winning multiple

parade trophies and performing in November at the Latin

Grammys.

Despite the rapid rise in the group's popularity, no one

expected the invite that arrived Dec. 20. In fact, some

members of the group demanded to see proof the White House

had indeed requested they participate in the parade at the

57th presidential inauguration.

``I submitted an application because (the parade

organizers) asked us to. I think someone from the campaign

saw us last year,'' said Stephanie Padilla, one of the

group's members. ``I got the email saying we were invited,

and the first thing I did was tell my mom. She called the

other dancers, and they didn't believe her. So, we had to

show the letter to everyone.''

Comparza Morelense started with 11 members in December

2010. The group now counts 40 members, ranging in age from 9

months to 65 years old, among its ranks. About 25 dancers

will make the trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the

Jan. 21 Inaugural Parade.

Jesus Padilla and Maria Garcia, Stephanie's parents and co-

founders of the group, started the dance troupe with other

family members to help keep alive a tradition from their

home, the Mexican state of Morelos.

``We started the group because we would dance after family

dinners and parties, but we wanted a more formal way to share

the tradition and our culture,'' Garcia said in Spanish. ``We

never thought it would lead to performing for the president.

I think it reflects the president's interest in all of the

races and cultures in the country, and how he seeks

participation from all corners.''

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is attempting to

choose representatives from each state for the parade, and

Comparza Morelense is the only invitee from Nevada so far, a

committee spokeswoman said. In making its choices, the

committee considers the type of performance, reviews videos

and weighs how each potential participant would represent

U.S. history, diversity and commitment to service.

The elation of inclusion for Comparza Morelense, however,

was soon followed by the reality of funding and logistics. *

* * fundraiser, featuring food, games, a raffle and dance

performance, from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday at Elegante

Banquet Hall, 3020 E. Bonanza Rd.

During a demonstration for media this week, the group's

speakers cracked, popped and then conked out more than once.

Garcia said Comparza Morelense typically would use a pickup

truck and its own sound system during a parade, but for the

Inaugural Parade the members would like to hire a DJ with

professional equipment or, more traditionally, a live band.

No matter what, Comparza Morelense will make it all work,

Garcia said, beaming with a wide smile at the thought of how

far the group has come.

``When we started, we only set out to share this dance and

piece of our culture with the community,'' Garcia said. ``Now

we get to go perform for the president. It's amazing.''

Pablo Soriano, a 12-year-old who joined the group just a

few months ago and will travel to Washington, dances in a

black velvet costume embroidered with images of the sun and

Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh.

``I like everything about the dance,'' Pablo said. ``I like

the jumping. You get exercise. You sweat. My mom and dad are

from Morelos, and I feel like I'm carrying on the traditions.

I also like how there are so many different cultures mixed

together.''

The dancers are called ``Chinelos,'' and their origin dates

to the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The indigenous people were

persecuted and not allowed to openly practice their own

religion. During Lent and Carnival, emboldened by the ability

to wear masks in the festivities, some indigenous people wore

costumes mocking the Europeans and danced through the

streets. The Chinelos from Morelos, where in the colonial era

there were large sugar plantations, are some of the first and

most well known.

``The priests didn't let the indigenous people practice

their customs, and they had no rights,'' Garcia said in

Spanish. ``When they had the chance (at Carnival preceding

Lent), they put on costumes and made fun of them.''

The costumes are elaborate and take between one and two

months to make, Garcia said. The masks are typically light in

color and feature a pointy upturned beard, a clear holdover

from the dance's roots in imitating Europeans.

The costumes, made from velvet, are embroidered with

elaborate designs that reflect the dancer's interests and

often meld motifs from politics, religion and both European

and Mexican culture. Some are images of indigenous Mexican

mythology, many have depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe,

and others feature skulls, dragons, swords and even Disney

characters.

The dance is called the ``Brinco del Chinelo'' (Jump of the

Chinelo) and is left open to interpretation by the individual

dancer. For the Inaugural Parade, however, Comparza Morelense

is planning to do some extra choreography in an effort to

present a more unified form for their moment in the national

spotlight, Garcia said.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the rule but oppose the House Republican substitute, and to urge my colleagues to vote for the real Violence Against Women Act's reauthorization. This passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Real VAWA focuses on key programs to address sexual assault, including the backlog in testing rape kits. It also consolidates programs to ensure that resources are reaching victim services and local law enforcement, and it ensures protection for all victims of abuse and violence.

In Nevada, nearly half of all women have been the victim of some kind of sexual assault, and more than a quarter have been the victim of rape. The Rape Crisis Center in Las Vegas--an excellent organization that I've worked with closely over the years--assists victims in the transition to become survivors. This Congress should support the Center's efforts, not hinder them.

Violence against women is not a game. It is time for House Republicans to stop playing games and to reauthorize this final legislation now.

I rise today in support of H.R. 5012, the Weekends Without Hunger Act.

Last week the House passed a child nutrition bill that takes important steps towards keeping our children healthy and hunger free while in school. This is a goal I strongly support, and that's why I introduced the legislation called Weekends Without Hunger Act, which would help children not be hungry whether or not they are in school.

Across the country, almost one out of every four children is at risk of going hungry. In southern Nevada, over 50 percent of children rely on the free and reduced lunch program. That means that more than 156,000 students are facing hunger at home and many depend on school meals as their main source of food and nutrition throughout the week.

While school meals help keep children healthy and ready to learn during days when school is in session, there is currently no targeted federal child nutrition program available to provide these children with food during the weekend or extended holidays when they do not have access to those school meals.

Especially at this time of year when most of us are having holiday meals with our families and friends, it's important to remember so many children are not enjoying their school vacation because they are going hungry. A vacation from school should not mean hunger for our children.

Food banks around the country, including ThreeSquare food bank in Las Vegas, has stepped up to meet the challenge of hunger on weekends through programs such as Backpack for Kids. In Clark County, Backpack for Kids operates in 178 schools, assembling and delivering approximately 5,200 weekend backpacks each week filled with nutritional, nonperishable foods to provide meals for children in need.

I believe that at the Federal level, we can and should be doing more to support vital programs like Backpack for Kids. That's why I introduced Weekends Without Hunger, which will help children and keep them from going hungry when they are not in school over the weekends and during holidays.

In this tough economic climate, food banks across the country are seeing an increased need for their services. That's especially true in areas hardest hit by unemployment.

While these organizations are doing great work, passing H.R. 5012 would build on their efforts and help them do even better. It would be a great partnership.

H.R. 5012 would establish a 5-year pilot program to provide commodities to eligible institutions such as schools and food banks to provide nutritious food to at-risk school children over the weekend and during school holidays. For example, $10 million would be enough funding for approximately 3 million weekend food backpacks. To ensure that the Federal funds are well spent, the bill also requires an interim and final evaluation of the program by the Secretary of Agriculture.

I urge you all to support H.R. 5012, Weekends Without Hunger. As this Congress moves to give tax breaks to millionaires, I implore you not to forget the children. It is a disgrace that in a country this great and this wealthy that any child should go home and go to bed hungry. So I ask you to vote for this bill, or else go look a hungry child in the eye and tell him or her, You're just not valuable enough to save.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment to enhance access to public lands by acquiring right-of-ways from willing sellers.

The Federal Government owns more than 85 percent of the land in my State of Nevada, which includes some of the most spectacular landscapes in the Nation. Outdoor recreation supports nearly 20,000 jobs in Nevada, and it generates $116 million in annual State taxes. By increasing public access to these Federal lands for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and other recreational purposes, we would be doing something that would not only help our economy but would be welcomed by enthusiasts throughout the State.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent and member of the United States men's soccer World Cup team, Herculez Gomez, on his performance in the World Cup.

Herculez Gomez, a former soccer star at Las Vegas High School, was a standout forward for the United States at the World Cup. With Team U.S.A. facing a 2-0 deficit in a match with Slovenia, Coach Bob Bradley turned to Gomez to come off the bench to provide a spark to his squad. Thanks to Gomez's energy and play-making abilities, Team U.S.A. rallied for a 2-2 tie.

Although we didn't prevail in the final competition, I want to congratulate Herculez Gomez and his teammates for their performance in the tournament. Their teamwork and passion inspired millions of fans throughout the United States and was just a preview of what U.S.A. soccer can do in the future

I wish the best of luck to Herculez Gomez and welcome him home to District Three, where he is a local hero and role model to many aspiring young soccer players.

Madam Speaker, today Nevada mourns the loss of a good man, former Governor Kenny Guinn, a true public servant who always put the interests of Nevadans first, ahead of party and above politics.

I was honored to serve in the State legislature during Governor Guinn's tenure there. As a former Clark County School Superintendent, Governor Guinn led efforts to improve Nevada's system of education. And through our shared commitment to both teachers and students, we became friends as well as colleagues.

It was thanks to his leadership that we created the Millennium Scholarship which bears his name and has helped some 60,000 young Nevadans fulfill the dream of a college education. That is his legacy.

Kenny Guinn reached the State's highest office, but he never lost his special common touch for which he is so beloved by so many. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family today.

Mr. Speaker, for 75 years, older Americans have relied on the guaranteed benefit that Social Security provides. This monthly check provides a safety net from poverty and is a key component to a dignified retirement after a lifetime of work. Seniors contributed to Social Security. They earned it. They deserve it. They depend on it.

As we celebrate 75 years of this outstanding program, it is once again under attack by Republicans who want to dismantle the system and spend trillions of dollars in a risky privatization scheme that gambles senior citizens' savings in the stock market while lining the pockets of Wall Street. Does that sound familiar? Well, it should. Republicans tried to do the same thing under the Bush administration. This represents yet another attempt to return to the failed policies that created the worst economic situation since the Great Depression.

Well, I stand here committed to fighting back against such programs and protecting Social Security so that 30,000 seniors in southern Nevada who depend on it won't be abandoned in their golden years.

Thank you very much for recognizing me. And thank you, Congresswoman Fudge, for bringing this issue to the attention of the country. We certainly need to be talking about it, and I appreciate bringing the Nevada perspective to the discussion. Extending these unemployment benefits is critical to the constituents in southern Nevada.

I represent the most populous district in the country. There are 1 million people in the district compared to about 650,000 in most districts. We also have the highest unemployment rate in the country and the highest foreclosure rate, so it's a lot of people with a lot of problems. And we just heard today some rather dismal news that that rate is continuing to climb. Now the unemployment rate in southern Nevada is over 14 percent--it's probably higher than that, that's the official figure, and if you look at construction unemployment, I'm sure it's at least double that.

Our recovery lags behind the rest of the country because you have to have a job with money in your pocket in Iowa and Georgia and Vermont in order to be able to come to Las Vegas for a holiday.

The two economic main drivers in my State are tourism and construction, and they have been the hardest hit sectors during this recession. The fact is, many of these jobs are not going to come back right away. We know that already 38,000 people in Nevada have lost their benefits because of this Republican obstructionism that we've been talking about.

When I see Republicans stand in the way of this final extension of unemployment benefits and I hear them make statements that people are spoiled by unemployment benefits, or they aren't willing to take certain jobs, it just makes me angry. It makes me angry because nothing could be further from the truth, and it is an insult to the American people who are the hardest working people on this planet. These are the same people who build America, they keep it running, and they serve its citizens and its visitors every day.

We're talking about family members, friends, and neighbors who are worried and scared that their benefits will run out. They've got homes they can't afford to pay for, doctors they can't afford to see, children they can't afford to send to college now, and time they just cannot afford to waste.

Every weekend I'm in the district talking to people. We have housing workshops, Congress on the Corner. I'm just out in the district, and I repeatedly hear these same tragic stories from people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and they seem kind of at a loss of what to do. They can't really understand what's happening, and they cannot believe that the Republicans could be so cruel and insensitive to their needs. They have worked all their lives, they have paid their taxes, they have contributed to unemployment, they have followed the rules, and they just need a little bit of help right now, a little bridge until the economy turns around so they can get themselves back together. All they're asking for is just a little bit of help to kind of keep body and soul together until this economy turns around.

Just this weekend, I heard from one family, a young couple, Matt and his

wife from Henderson, with their young children. They had worked very hard to get out of kind of a rough neighborhood, to move to a better area away from some gangs so their children could grow up in a safer environment, lost his job. We're trying to help him with a loan modification. If he can't get these unemployment benefits, he's not going to qualify for that loan modification, he's going to lose his house. He is worried to death that he may have to move into his car with his two small children. He is relying on these unemployment benefits just to help him scrape by just for a short time so he can make those payments and stay in that house so that his family will be safe.

Those are the kinds of stories that we hear, and that's why the opposition's obstructionism is just so insulting and so hard to believe and understand. We've got to stand up and fight for these people who are at the risk of losing these important benefits.

It's bad enough that the Republican economic policies from the last administration, policies of lax regulation of Wall Street bankers, policies that incentivize companies to take jobs overseas, policies that gave tax breaks to the wealthy, the very wealthiest, but now won't help working people, it's a shame that those policies--and it's bad enough that they got us into the situation we're in now, but when those same people turn their back on the American folks who need a little help at this point, it's just unbelievable, it is disgraceful. I say to them, have you no shame? Have you no shame?

Thank you for letting me join you tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Army Sergeant Matthew Hennigan, a resident of southern Nevada who was killed in action serving in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Hennigan was a strong willed and brave soldier who never shied away from a challenge or turned down an opportunity to serve. With a contagious smile and a warm personality, Sergeant Hennigan was a strong and fearless soldier and a friend to many. He is remembered by his fellow soldiers as a model citizen, a strong warrior, and a respected leader.

He was an inspirational captain of the Silverado High School wrestling team in his senior year; and upon graduation, he answered the call to serve his Nation at the young age of 17. He did so with valor and dignity.

Matthew Hennigan is a true American hero. He epitomizes the best this country has to offer. Let us always honor his memory, never forget his sacrifice, and promise to be there for his family in this sad time.

God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Chef Rick Moonen on his impressive second-place finish on Bravo's Top Chef Masters competition earlier this month. Chef Moonen is donating his winnings to Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas, where the $22,500 prize money will fund the equivalent of 67,500 meals for southern Nevadans who are struggling with hunger.

I was pleased to join Chef Moonen this past April when he further demonstrated his commitment to fighting hunger by supporting the Weekends Without Hunger Act, a bill I introduced that will prevent low- income children from going hungry when they are away from school during the weekends and on holidays. We're honored to have a chef of Rick Moonen's stature as such a strong advocate for fighting hunger in southern Nevada.

So, again, I extend my congratulations to the chef and thank him for the contributions he's made to our community. I am also proud to have his wonderful restaurant, RM Seafood, in District Three. And I urge all my colleagues to join us to support the Weekends Without Hunger Act.