Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Garamendi for his leadership and for bringing us together today on two very, very important topics. I have come to know him as a leader on issues that are impacting the American people, from California to New Jersey. The gentleman has demonstrated a concern for all people of this country and his constituents. For that, I am grateful.

Today, the second topic on the Democratic agenda for the people, protecting preexisting conditions, is both timely and important. Yesterday, the Trump administration unleashed another assault on the Affordable Care Act. In Federal court, the Trump administration said that it agrees with the lower court's decision to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

After campaigning on the premise that he would work to improve healthcare, President Trump wants to

eliminate protections for people with preexisting conditions.

President Trump wants to end the provision that allows young people to stay on their parents' health insurance plans.

President Trump wants to bring back junk insurance plans that take people's money but refuse to cover their medical expenses. That is what will happen if President Trump wins in Federal court.

It was not that long ago when Federal law allowed insurance companies to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. Insurance companies could charge people with preexisting conditions extremely high rates and refuse to cover them at all. The Affordable Care Act eliminated legalized discrimination against people with preexisting conditions.

But now the Trump administration is fighting to bring healthcare discrimination back.

Well, there is no going back.

More than 200,000 people in New Jersey, alone, who purchase their insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace have preexisting conditions. Nearly 5 million New Jerseyans who get insurance through their employment could be harmed by Trump's attack on the Affordable Care Act's protections for people with preexisting conditions.

New Jerseyans and all Americans deserve protection, not discrimination.

In my district, 16,000 people, alone, with preexisting conditions would be at risk of coverage loss or premium increases if the Trump administration successfully rolls back the Affordable Care Act.

Now, let me touch on the effects of this on women for a second.

The Affordable Care Act's protection for people with preexisting conditions prevents insurance companies from charging women a higher premium on the basis of their being a woman. It keeps insurance companies from charging women a higher premium on the basis of them being a woman. Now, that is not something that they had very much of a choice in at birth, so it is immoral to hold that against them.

What the Trump administration is trying to do would result in women facing significantly higher health insurance premiums simply because they are not men. That wasn't right before the Affordable Care Act, and it sure isn't right now.

Let me be clear: The Trump administration wants to put lives at risk by undermining people's access to healthcare in this Nation.

And let me be clear about this: I will keep fighting, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi), to ensure that all Americans' healthcare is protected. That is the least we can do in the position that our constituents have given us in this task to be their voice in this House.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to once again commend Mr. Garamendi for always being timely in bringing these issues to light for the American people and for all the country to see, that we here in the House of Representatives do speak for them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the great work of tuberculosis survivor Kate O'Brien.

Kate visited my office in Newark earlier this month, along with the staff from the Global Tuberculosis Institute of Rutgers University. She shared with me her inspiring story about surviving TB and the need for global and domestic TB funding.

Tuberculosis is a curable, airborne infection that kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease. It is the leading killer of people with HIV worldwide.

Tuberculosis is also a problem here in the United States. In 2016, the disease was reported in each of the 50 States, with more than 9,000 cases reported across the country that year.

Though it is curable, TB has a huge economic impact. In my State of New Jersey, TB costs the economy $5.7 million a year.

We have made tremendous progress to combat TB here in the United States. Because of the work of advocates and survivors like Kate O'Brien, we can raise awareness about tuberculosis, increase funding for research and treatment, and save lives at home and abroad.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a life well lived. Trish Morris-Yamba was an early childhood education visionary from South Orange, New Jersey. She passed away peacefully on March 8, 2019.

Ms. Morris-Yamba was called to serve children and community at a young age. When she was in college, she established a campus child care center for adult students. After completing her master's degree, she opened the CHEN School and served as founding president of Newark, New Jersey's Early Childhood Coalition. Over the years, Ms. Morris-Yamba served as president of the board of trustees at the Newark Public Library, a trustee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Women's Board Association, a board member for Newark Emergency Services for Families, and executive director of Newark Day Center and the Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund, among other

roles. Ms. Morris-Yamba was the epitome of a community servant, and the thousands of lives she touched are grateful for her visionary leadership.

Ms. Morris-Yamba will be forever remembered for her belief that society must serve the total child. She had a love of learning and a passion for passing knowledge along to future generations. Throughout Newark, Essex County, and all of New Jersey, countless children grew into civic-minded adults because of Ms. Morris-Yamba's work.

Trish Morris-Yamba was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a member of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and aunt. I ask that my colleagues join me to celebrate Ms. Morris-Yamba and to honor her legacy.

Madam Speaker, a year ago this week, our country lost one of its greatest legislators, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

In her 33 years in Congress, Louise Slaughter never backed down from a righteous fight. Here is just one example of Congresswoman Slaughter's grit. When she arrived in Congress, every single clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health was aimed at White men, so Congresswoman Slaughter secured the first $500 million of Federal funding for breast cancer research.

My father and I both had the privilege to serve alongside Congresswoman Slaughter. We knew her as a fierce champion for women and workers throughout the country. There was something disarming about her Kentucky drawl that really made you feel at home. She was a thoughtful leader who could cut bad ideas down with her wit and determination.

Every time I left her presence, I left with a smile. Congresswoman Slaughter was truly one of the best human beings I ever met in my life. Her lifetime of service to this Nation will be celebrated by the American people for decades.

Madam Speaker, I wonder if President Trump intended for his budget to be a joke. After all, he entitled it ``Better America'' but proposed massive cuts to education programs, the Special Olympics, Medicare, Medicaid, and AIDS programs.

Nothing about that will make America better. In fact, it will make life worse for millions of Americans.

Trump also likes to call himself the Builder President, but his budget includes not a single penny to fund the country's most critical infrastructure project, the Gateway project.

Gateway is a nationally significant project to replace the crumbling tunnels that run under the Hudson River

and connect New York and New Jersey. It is a critical project to truly build a better America. After all, Gateway is the linchpin of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, which supports 30 percent of the Nation's jobs and produces 20 percent of our GDP.

The Gateway project isn't just about connecting New York and New Jersey. It is about ensuring the stability of the national economy and the free flow of workers from North Carolina to Maine.

Trump can't be the Builder President if he doesn't build anything.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Bard High School Early College science faculty for their work to advance science, technology, engineering, and math programs for their students.

Earlier this year, one of their teachers, Maria Agapito, was only 1 of 35 science teachers in the country who was selected by the Society for Science and the Public to receive a $1,000 grant.

Ms. Agapito and other science teachers will be using this grant to create a multiyear science program for student research. They will be able to use the funds to help buy equipment and materials, and for student projects.

Science teachers at Bard and public schools across the country are doing great things to help their students prepare for an increasingly technological future.

I am proud to represent such bright students and passionate educators.

Mr. Speaker, I thank all of America's teachers in this country and wish them continued success.

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday marked the seventh anniversary of the death of my father, the late Congressman Donald Payne. My father was a tireless advocate in this House, but he lost his life to colorectal cancer too early.

That is why each year I sponsor a resolution recognizing March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a time to educate the public about the disease and the need for screening. I introduced that resolution on Wednesday, the anniversary of the loss of my father.

I also introduced the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Screening Act, a bipartisan bill joined by Representatives Rodney Davis, Don McEachin, and David McKinley as co-leads. More than 100 Members have joined on as cosponsors, and I hope the remaining Members will join as well.

Mr. Speaker, when people use Medicare to get colonoscopies, they are hit with an unexpected bill if polyps are removed. That is a monetary barrier to screening, and screening saves lives. My father, unfortunately, did not get screened for colorectal cancer. It wasn't something that people of his generation did. But we can honor his legacy by improving education and removing barriers to screening.

Mr. Speaker, when Speaker Pelosi took the gavel on January 3, she was surrounded by children, and as she brought down the gavel to commence the 116th Congress, these were her words: ``I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America's children.''

The importance of Speaker Pelosi's words cannot be overstated. Last year was horrendous for children in our country.

If we look at gun violence or immigration or healthcare or poverty relief, children suffered last year under the Trump administration and a Republican Congress.

On February 14, 2018, a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, to commit mass murder; 17 people were killed, another 17 were injured, and most of them were children.

The Parkland shooting wasn't the first school shooting in our Nation's history, and it wasn't the last. But the Parkland students, standing on the shoulders of student leaders before them, stood up and marched. They bound together in an intersectional, nationwide movement to demand that Congress and the President do something to make our country safer.

Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears. The President and his administration were too inept or too cowardly to confront the NRA. And because my colleagues across the aisle were too inept or too cowardly to confront the NRA, we witnessed preventable shooting after preventable shooting.

Then, when the Trump administration finally did release its School Safety Comission report, it completely ignored evidence-based violence and prevention strategies. Instead, the report suggested rolling back civil rights protections for students and making guns more easily accessible in schools.

Look, there is a commonality among the mass shootings in America's schools: easy access to firearms. But rather than address the root cause of school shootings, the Trump administration suggested that we put guns in classrooms, as if teachers are security guards and schools are prisons. Nobody thinks that is a good idea except for the NRA.

Meanwhile, educators across the country are clamoring for funding to install new locks on classroom doors, harden school entryways, and secure school facilities.

The 116th Congress was called into order on behalf of all children because Democrats will listen to teachers and students--not the NRA. That is why we passed two bills in February to institute universal background checks and close the Charleston loophole. That is why I introduced the Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act: to save children's lives.

We were called into order on behalf of all children, including those who are at our borders.

Under the Trump administration and Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, both of whom were empowered by my colleagues across the aisle, the United States of America ripped children away from their parents and put them in cages.

Ripping children away from their parents and lying about it to the American people was evil, plain and simple, and it should have ended Secretary Nielsen's career. I feel Secretary Nielsen is incompetent, inept, and is not up to the task of securing the homeland's safety. Anyone who would put children in cages, fenced cages, taken from their parents can just not be trusted.

President Trump's deplorable, inhuman attempt to change our immigration system has killed people.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the launch of a wonderful new group in my district, the Multiple Sclerosis Support Group of Hudson County.

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive immune disorder. For people with MS, the internal systems designed to keep their bodies healthy wind up attacking other parts of their body. Their immune system eats away at the protective covering of their nerves.

Severe cases of MS result in paralysis, vision loss, and diminished brain function. Nearly a million people in the United States are living with multiple sclerosis.

The MS Support Group of Hudson County aims to bring people together to help support, encourage, and uplift people who are diagnosed with MS, as well as their caregivers, friends, and families.

I am proud of my constituents' work on behalf of the people in their community. Groups like this serve an important role in society, and I am honored by their commitment to helping one another.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor America's health and wellness coaches.

Approximately 70 percent of healthcare dollars in the United States are spent on lifestyle-related diseases; but health and wellness coaches can decrease those costs by helping people achieve their personal health and wellness goals.

Far too many people suffer and struggle with poor health because they don't have the motivation and resources or sustained support needed in

order to transform their habits. Healthy habits are not always easily achievable when a patient is working alone, but health coaches are there to ensure people succeed in taking control of their health issues.

That is why, earlier in February, Congressman Mullin and I introduced a bipartisan resolution to express our support for health and wellness coaches. I am proud of our work together as co-chairs of the Congressional Men's Health Caucus, and I encourage my colleagues to join us in recognizing America's health and wellness coaches.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Samuel D. Roberts for his lifetime of service to the people of New York.

Sam's career began with General Motors, where he was a union worker who served as chairman of the UAW Local 465 Education and Civil Rights Committees. While at GM, Sam served five terms as an Onondaga County legislator. Then the people of New York State's 128th Assembly District sent him to represent them in Albany.

After 5 years in the State assembly, Governor Andrew Cuomo tapped Sam to serve as commissioner of New York's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, a $5.4 billion office that oversees more than 2,000 workers.

Sam recently retired from government to serve as a special advisor to SUNY Oswego's president.

Throughout it all, Sam has kept community first. He has created positive change that will last for generations both in Onondaga County and throughout the State of New York.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating Samuel D. Roberts, a pioneering community leader.

Mr. Speaker, some of the greatest contributions to medicine have been made by African Americans in this country.

The first open-heart surgery in the United States was successfully completed by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black man. Not only was he a pioneer of this lifesaving surgery, but also, in the late 1800s, he opened the country's first hospital with an interracial staff, Provident Hospital in Chicago.

Then, in the 1930s, Dr. Helen Dickens did her internship at Provident Hospital before becoming the first Black woman admitted to the American College of Surgeons.

And then, while Dr. Dickens was doing her internship at Provident, a young Black girl growing up in segregated Arkansas dreamed of becoming a doctor. Sixty years later, in 1993, Dr. Joycelyn Elders became America's first African American Surgeon General.

Mr. Speaker, Black history is not something that is in the past. It is constantly unfolding. It is American history.

Our stories are being written and expanded upon all the time. That is why Black History Month is so important--not just to honor our past, but to celebrate our present and prepare for our future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a trailblazing first responder from Roselle, New Jersey. On December 19 of last year, Rayna Latimer was sworn in as the first-ever woman firefighter in Roselle, New Jersey's history.

She has been called a hero, not just because she is a firefighter, but also because she is paving a path for young girls who might one day become firefighters in their own communities.

Rayna has lived most of her life in Roselle, and she has spent the past 5 years preparing to become a firefighter. That is because helping people has always been her passion, Rayna had told a local newspaper a while ago.

Before setting her sights on the fire department, Rayna was a corrections officer. That gave her a greater appreciation for first responders.

She didn't set out to become the first female firefighter in Roselle. Rayna just wanted to align her passions and her strengths.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Rayna Latimer for her service to Roselle, New Jersey, and for inspiring young people throughout her community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the students, faculty, staff, and friends of Linden Public Schools in New Jersey for spreading holiday cheer while helping those in need.

Each year, members of the Linden Public Schools load into buses with Santa Claus and travel through their town to sing carols and collect donations for a charity gift drive.

Staff and students put their hearts into planning the event, which they call Caroling for a Cause. This year, they collected more than 1,000 gifts from across the community. Those gifts will help bring smiles to the faces of more than 300 children.

Mr. Speaker, this is the season of giving, and the Linden Public Schools are leading by example.

I thank the students, faculty, and staff who participated. And I applaud Superintendent Danny Robertozzi for supporting Caroling for a Cause.

I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing everyone who participated. They are helping make sure their friends and their neighbors in need have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.