Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, what a disaster. The American people wanted a Tax Code that works for them. Instead, my esteemed colleagues just passed a tax plan that only works for crony capitalists and oligarchs.

The GOP tax plan is scamming hardworking American families in order to line the pockets of millionaire real estate developers and people who paint their toilet fixtures in their private jets gold.

Mr. Speaker, hardworking American taxpayers want jobs, investments in our highways and railroads, fully funded children's healthcare, state- of-the-art schools, and well-paid teachers.

Oligarchs who own gilded skyscrapers, gold-leafed golf courses, and real estate passthroughs want to drown in the excesses of wealth.

The American people wrote their Representatives. They called us. They marched in the Halls of the Capitol for a democratic Tax Code. Instead, they got a scam that takes away money from schools, police officers, fire departments, and families. But I guess money talks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Colonel Joseph Toppin of Edison, New Jersey, on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

Colonel Toppin entered the military in 1948, the same year that a wavering President named Harry Truman finally prohibited racial discrimination in the Armed Forces. Colonel Toppin rose to become the first African American to serve as battalion commander for the Army's 40th Infantry Division.

The colonel has dedicated his life to improving the quality of our democracy and making the world a safer place. He helped with postwar planning for the development of Korea. He also was the principal planner for the Army's ship-to-shore discharge operations along the west coast of France. And Colonel Toppin was the inspector general for Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Upon leaving the Army, he had an illustrious career at Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Colonel Toppin is now retired, but he has still not stopped inspiring those around him, which is why I stand here tonight. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Colonel Toppin on his 100th birthday and for his service to the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, children's health is not a partisan issue. It is a human issue.

Nevertheless, the majority party let the Children's Health Insurance Program expire months ago. As a result, States across the country are going to be forced to terminate millions of underserved children's only lifeline to a doctor.

Rather than working with Democrats, the Republican leadership passed a bill that would extend CHIP, but strip health coverage from as many as 668,000 American children. Partisanship has poisoned this well.

Mr. Speaker, nearly 231,000 children in New Jersey rely on CHIP to get them to the doctor. Many more people in my State rely on community health centers, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act's prevention fund to stay healthy.

Congress must protect these programs. I urge my colleagues to pass a bill before the end of the year to extend the funding for these critically important healthcare programs, including CHIP and community health centers, without taking healthcare away from more than half a million Americans.

Mr. Speaker, by now, we have all seen the horrifying video of a slave auction in Libya. It is outrageous. Migrants and refugees, most of them Black Africans, are being preyed upon, held in detention camps, and bought and sold like property.

Mr. Speaker, the United States cannot stand by as an idle spectator to the plague of slavery in Libya. People are not property.

Last week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and I met with Libya's Ambassador. She agreed that the Libyan Government will conduct a transparent investigation, but they do not have the capacity to do so. That does not absolve the United States of its responsibilities.

We must immediately investigate allegations of slavery and forced labor in Libya. We need to impose sanctions if Libya fails to end slave auctions and forced labor. We must ensure the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development are adequately staffed to respond to the situation in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, Congress should adopt the bipartisan H. Res. 644, which will do all these things and more

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Montclair High School Mounties football team for winning their State championship game against the Union City Soaring Eagles.

The Mounties' senior running back, Daniel Webb, returned the championship game's opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown only 13 seconds after the game began. The Mounties never lost their lead. They beat Union City 35-14 and won New Jersey's North 1, Group 5 State championship. This was Montclair's third perfect season and fourth State championship in the past 6 years.

The championship is a big win for everyone in Montclair, New Jersey. For weeks, local businesses and community groups came together to support the Mounties. At the championship game, on December 1, more than 1,500 fans turned out to cheer their team on.

I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating head coach John Fiore and the Montclair Mounties football team for their big win in a stellar year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Shabazz High School Bulldogs football team for winning their State championship game against the Weequahic High School Indians. These schools--both in my neighborhood and in my district--have been rivals since 1938.

This is the second year in a row that they have gone head to head in the championship, but this year Shabazz beat Weequahic with a score of 35-0 to win the State championship for north Jersey, section 2, group 1. The Shabazz Bulldogs had a perfect season, finishing the year with a 12-0 record. It was their first perfect season since 1966.

The Shabazz Bulldogs were led to victory by Coach Darnell Grant, whose brother Barris Grant coached the Hillside High School Comets football team to its State championship this year as well. Both teams are in my district.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Coach Grant and the Shabazz High School Bulldogs football team for their perfect year in sports this weekend.

Mr. Speaker, New Jersey has one of the ten lowest firearm death rates in the country. That is because the people of my State have set the bar high for public safety.

The bill my Republican colleagues just passed would undermine the will of the people and make New Jersey less safe.

Mr. Speaker, in New Jersey, gun owners who want to carry a concealed weapon in public must meet stringent public safety requirements and have a really good reason to carry a concealed weapon loaded while in public.

The people of my State can feel secure because they know that the people licensed to carry these guns in public are carrying their guns safely and responsibly.

Mr. Speaker, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is the peak of Federal overreach. It is a special interest bill from the NRA that will overturn laws and undermine the safety of the State of New Jersey. Today's vote was bad for New Jersey and bad for our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate my alma mater, Hillside High School, class of 1976, in Hillside, New Jersey. The Hillside Comets football team won their State championship against the Point Pleasant Boro Panthers on Saturday.

The Hillside Comets finished their season with a 9-3 record. They beat the top-seeded Panthers to bring home Hillside's first State title since 1985. The Comets are only the second football team from Union County to win a State title in central Jersey in 15 years.

Mr. Speaker, the Hillside Comets football team are winners both on and off the field. Sixteen players are on the honor roll, and five of them are members of the National Honor Society. The team's successes are, no doubt, a testament to the high expectations set by their head coach, Barris Grant.

I was honored to join the Comets at their celebration on Sunday, and I am proud to have such outstanding students in my district. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Hillside High School Comets, winners on and off the field.

Mr. Speaker, today is the 29th World AIDS Day. Let us commemorate those who lost their lives and commit to reducing the 37,000 new HIV infections that occur each year in the United States.

In my hometown of Newark, New Jersey, new HIV cases have been rising among young people under the age of 25. According to experts, the rise in new HIV/AIDS cases among young people in Newark is linked to the opioid crisis.

Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion lately about the opioid crisis, but we forget that it is linked to so many other issues--mental health access, poverty, communicable disease, joblessness, and the list goes on.

Congress can help end the opioid crisis and the HIV/AIDS crisis here in the United States soon. But to do that, we must increase funding for healthcare access, mental health treatment, antipoverty programs, disease control, education, and access to HIV PrEP medication.

Mr. Speaker, recently, I met with a group of engineering and nursing students from Rutgers University. These young people have worked hard to get an education so they can help communities in need, but they came to the Nation's Capital asking for help that only Congress can provide.

These bright young minds are not U.S. citizens; they are what we call DREAMers. Each day that passes without Congress voting on the Dream Act darkens their futures. Like the 20,000 other DREAMers in my district, these are young people who fear that they will be detained and deported to places they have never seen or known before.

Mr. Speaker, the holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, not fear and uncertainty. I implore my colleagues to honor the wishes of the American people and do the right thing by history. Let us finally pass the Dream Act.

Mr. Speaker, let us never forget that the GOP tax scam will harm real people.

On Tuesday afternoon, 42 high school students from the Cristo Rey Newark High School were here at the Capitol, urging me to vote against the GOP tax scam.

Mr. Speaker, the young people I met with are from financially struggling families. They worked hard and got accepted into an innovative school to gain professional skills. The students take part in a corporate work study program. Their earnings go towards their college preparatory education. The model works.

Last year, 100 percent of Cristo Rey Newark's students were accepted into 4-year colleges. Under the GOP tax scam, these bright, young people from financially disadvantaged families will have to pay taxes on their work study earnings--taxes they cannot afford.

That is wrong. I will continue to stand up against the GOP tax scam and stand for programs that benefit America's children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of Rodney Maurice Gilbert, a giant in New Jersey arts and social justice activism. For the past fifteen years, Mr. Gilbert led Yendor Productions, a Newark-based firm he founded in order to develop and produce arts education programming that elevates oppressed voices. He was a dedicated artist, educator, and community leader.

Mr. Gilbert devoted his life to helping underserved communities find their artistic voices. After graduating from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Gilbert spent three decades serving the arts community in New Jersey. He was an accomplished actor with credits on stages from Broadway to Little Rock. He was a gifted director known for shining artistic light on social issues such as mental illness. And he was an educator who inspired young artists to bring to life the untold stories of underserved communities.

Mr. Gilbert left a lasting impact on New Jersey. He helped heal Newark by paving the way for people to use arts and culture as vehicles for advancing social justice. Mr. Gilbert brought people together. He inspired young people. And he created a platform for people to creatively tell their own stories. In July, Mr. Gilbert directed Down Neck, a play written by Pia Wilson that explores the 1967 Newark Rebellion's impacts on the Ironbound neighborhood. His inspirational use of arts as a means to speak truth, preserve history, and pursue justice has left a permanent mark on the New Jersey arts scene.

Mr. Gilbert passed away on November 8, 2017, but his legacy will live on. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life of Rodney Gilbert--artist, teacher, advocate, and friend.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I rose to honor our Nation's public schools. Today I rise to honor Ms. Evelyn Malzberg, a lady who embodies the saying: ``It is never too late to learn.''

After graduating high school in 1943, Ms. Malzberg thought about going to college, but Ms. Malzberg's mom told her that no man would marry a woman smarter than he is. So Ms. Malzberg found success elsewhere. She married, raised a family, and had a career as a legal secretary.

Somewhere along the way, Ms. Malzberg concluded that she had made a mistake. She started taking college courses, one a semester. A few years ago, at the young age of 84, Ms. Malzberg graduated from New Jersey City University with a bachelor's degree in creative writing.

I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Ms. Malzberg, a lady whose remarkable story proves how valuable the Nation's public education system is to our people.

Mr. Speaker, this week is American Education Week, a time to celebrate our public education system.

The public education system is one of this Nation's greatest accomplishments. In classrooms from Newark, New Jersey, to Nome, Alaska, public schools train a new generation of world leaders, bridge builders, first responders, artists, doctors, plumbers, and CEOs.

Children in this country--all of them--have a right to a high-quality education.

It is a sad state of affairs that we have a U.S. Secretary of Education who continues to tilt the board against children whose way up is through public education.

During American Education Week, I call on my colleagues to stop using public schools as a political bargaining chip. Let's put public schools back together and back to work for the next generation of leaders.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Veasey for hosting tonight's Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, we are here, as the gentleman from Texas has stated, to discuss many different issues that face the American people.

H.R. 1, which is interesting that it holds that number, because based on what we see, that tax cut will only work for the top 1 percent, so we feel that it is appropriate that it was designated H.R. 1.

Mr. Speaker, this tax bill, cut tax scam will devastate over a period of time the working class, people trying to move into the middle class, and middle class families. Eventually, some people might see a bit of a cut, but for most people, there will be an increase.

I do not understand why we continue to think that trickle-down economics is going to work in this country. It has failed time and time again. To give breaks to the most wealthy, somehow we feel that that is going to overflow and trickle and drip down to the middle class. Sometimes a drip is very slow. We continue to wait for this economic equation to work one time in the country's history because, up to this point, it has not worked.

Why would we not allow families to continue to deduct their interest on student loans? Why?

Most of these families are fighting to get their children into college and have to take out loans.

What is it about the country that we need to tax those people?

Tell me why it is that they cannot deduct this interest.

Two of my sisters are teachers, both in education--one in alternative high school work and one a kindergarten teacher for 25 or 30 years. In kindergarten, you are looking to help a youngster become creative, find their gift. On many occasions, with the school not being able to supply things, they would go to the educational stores and buy flashcards and buy other items to enhance the children's education, out of their pockets, out of their personal moneys.

Now you are going to say that they cannot deduct those expenses that they are using to educate our children, our next leaders? Why?

Yet, if you go from a 75-foot yacht to a 100-foot yacht, you are allowed to deduct the difference. Why?

It absolutely makes no sense what we are doing with H.R. 1. It is a billionaire's tax scam, and we need to make sure the American people understand that.

Secretary Mnuchin was on the talk shows on Sunday. He said: Well, we can't promise everybody is going to get a tax break.

So they are even, finally, being honest about it.

Mr. Speaker, everybody might not benefit from this tax cut, but all of the people that they are interested in will benefit from this tax cut.

We need to be honest with the American people. We need true tax reform. My colleagues on this side of the aisle are ready to do that, but the majority continues to stifle any bipartisanship that we can have on this issue.

We need to move forward in a positive way for the American people. We need to come together in this body to help the American people. We do not need another tax cut for the rich.

In New Jersey--a State that only gets 77 cents back on the money that it pays to the Federal Government--for every dollar, we get 77 cents back in services. So we are subsidizing other States.

I heard today that West Virginia, for every dollar it sends, gets over $4 back.

Not to allow New Jersey's citizens and other subsidizing States-- Connecticut, Maryland, New York--to have the tax break on State and local exemptions is almost like double taxing people.

I just am here to say that this is an issue that is very important to the American people. They do need relief and they do need help, but we need to do it in a bipartisan manner that makes sense for the entire country--not just the top 1 percent, but the entire Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Veasey for his leadership on these Special Order hours. He has demonstrated a gift in bringing issues to the American people and to the country in a manner that is very even- tempered. Some of us get a little excited, but Mr. Veasey seems to be able to keep his composure and still be strong in his message, and I applaud him for that.

Mr. Speaker, we have the highest property taxes in the country, and it is really an effort for families to stay in their homes and pay those property taxes. Any relief they can have along the way helps their quality of life in this country, and that is what we are here striving for, to make sure that everyone can benefit and enjoy the fruits of this country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time.