Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, study after study has shown that illegal voting is extraordinarily rare and voter fraud is almost nonexistent.

Instead of spending taxpayer money chasing after mythical claims of voter fraud, the Federal Government must address actual threats to our electoral system. It is imperative that the Federal Government protect the integrity of our elections, but the administration seems interested in only chasing voter fraud unicorns.

The real threats to our democracy are voter suppression, cybersecurity, weaknesses, and foreign meddling.

To protect the integrity of our elections, we must expand voting rights for all Americans, we must modernize our voting systems, and we must appoint an independent commission to investigate foreign meddling in the electoral system before the 2018 Federal election.

Mr. Speaker, 17 years ago, the United States began a 2- month-long crash course in voting machines and election infrastructure. The 2000 Presidential election opened our eyes to the fact that voting equipment in most places was out-of-date and unsafe.

We didn't learn the lessons of 2000, and in 2017, America's election infrastructure remains in a bad state. We must act immediately.

First, we need to help all local and State governments replace their outdated paperless machines with more secure systems.

Second, we need to require postelection audits of all paper records to make sure that the results tabulated by voting machines have not been hacked.

Third, we need to help election officials at the local level upgrade their database and election infrastructure to protect against all cyber attacks.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting all efforts to modernize and protect our voting infrastructure and legislation dealing with cyber attacks.

Mr. Speaker, 1 year ago today, the United States held an election for President.

Going into that election, there were 251 million Americans old enough to vote, but only 139 million people actually voted. That means that just 55.3 percent of the voting-age population took part in the selection of the person to fill our Nation's highest office.

Mr. Speaker, we should break down barriers to voting, not build them. We should make registering to vote easier, not harder. We should ensure elections are competitive, not guaranteed.

Mr. Speaker, we must restore the Voting Rights Act. We must restore voting rights for people who have served their prison sentences. We must end partisan gerrymandering. We must protect the sanctity of our elections. We must do this before the next Federal election.

Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we mourn for the lives lost in the act of terrorism in New York last week. But New Yorkers are resilient. Violence will never break their spirit, and in the Northeast corridor, business has continued as usual.

Sadly, there are folks who want to use last week's terrorist attack for their cynical political reasons. They don't want to treat the root causes of extremism, whether based on racial resentment, twisted interpretations of religion, or political ideology. They do want to stoke fear in order to advance an anti-immigrant agenda, and they are trying to blame the Diversity Visa program for the violence.

Americans are smarter than that.

The Diversity Visa program strengthens the Nation by allowing people from places like Africa and the Caribbean to lawfully immigrate to the United States, where they help fill major shortages in the workforce and drive positive changes in their communities. We need them, and they need us.

Let's not sacrifice our national principles because of a trumped up fear of immigrants.

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands for her leadership on these issues. Right now, her focus has been on helping her country come to grips with the devastating hurricanes that have struck all the islands of the American Virgin Islands, and she has demonstrated great leadership in that endeavor.

Also, on the whole issue around TPS, Ms. Plaskett and Ms. Clarke have been our true leaders in the diaspora around these issues, whether it be the Caribbean or back to the Continent of Africa. I just want to acknowledge their great work on all of these issues and also thank the gentlewoman for hosting tonight's Special Order hour on protecting TPS recipients.

Before I start on the topic at hand, I would like to send my condolences out to the loved ones of the 26 people tragically murdered and the 21 people injured in yesterday's mass shooting in Texas.

When will we realize that something must be done in this country?

I have to ask: How much blood must be shed before Congress acts on gun control?

It has been 10 years since Congress has passed a gun control law. Since then, more than 300,000 people have been killed by guns in this country. More than 100,000 of those deaths were homicides. The American people deserve better--much better.

As the news cycle moves from one tragedy to another, we have not forgotten, and must not forget, that the citizens that Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett and Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico represent are still recovering from this summer's hurricanes. They, too, deserve swift action to help them recover from these devastating storms.

That, Mr. Speaker, brings me to the topic of tonight's Special Order hour. I want to start by dispelling the myth that the temporary protected status designation poses a threat to America's security. The truth is that TPS holders are rigorously vetted before entering the country, and they go through stringent background checks before each TPS renewal.

Mr. Speaker, the TPS designation is a part of our national character, and it must be protected.

What do I mean by that?

We are a compassionate people, aren't we--a compassionate nation?

The Americans I know are proud to live in a country that is free and prosperous enough to extend a helping hand to those in need. The TPS designation does just that.

TPS is a helping hand that reaches out past our national borders to lift people out of the depths of despair brought on by natural disaster, violence, or turmoil. Yet the administration is reportedly planning to remove the TPS designation for nationals of several Latin American and Caribbean countries. This is really bad news for the United States.

First, ending the TPS designation for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras will destabilize communities in the United States proper. TPS holders own small businesses. They pay taxes. They take out mortgages. They fill jobs that we rely on every day in construction; hospitality; restaurants; landscaping; and elder care, in particular.

Ending TPS designations mean ripping people out of their communities and local economies. Businesses will shutter. Essential jobs, like disaster cleanup, will go unfilled. The national economy will suffer a $164 billion loss in gross domestic product.

Without TPS holders from Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras, New Jersey will lose $864 million from its GDP. My State cannot handle that burden.

Second, ending TPS designations for Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras will tear apart families of color. Many TPS holders have lawfully lived in the United States for more than a decade. They have established their families here. They are parents to 270,000 U.S. citizens. In New Jersey, 8,800 U.S. citizens were born to TPS holders from Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Forcing TPS holders to leave the country means forcing them to leave their families. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens will have to say good-bye to their parents and grandparents. People will be forced to return to countries that are still suffering from the problems that led them to the TPS designation in the first place.

Third, removing the TPS designation for nationals from Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras will threaten security throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. These small countries are still suffering from disasters, public health crises, and political instability.

The sudden influx of 300,000 additional people has the potential to destabilize national governments and threaten security throughout the region.

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, 2016, and 2017, I led the effort to get the TPS designation for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. These countries were reeling from public health and infrastructure

emergencies. They faced an existential threat from the Ebola virus, and the American people lent a helping hand by giving them temporary protected status. I have had no doubt that authorizing nationals from those West African countries to enter the United States saved lives; no doubt whatsoever.

Mr. Speaker, we must not abandon our national character to the cynical call of ``America first.'' The TPS designation does not weaken us. It strengthens us by showing the world that the United States is morally worthy of its status as a superpower.

Rolling back the TPS program is bad policy, it is bad politics, and it is immoral. If the United States turns its back on those in need, what have we the people become?

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me to honor the life of Jeremiah Grant, an eight-year-old boy from my district who lost his life on October 28, 2017.

Jerry was a student at the Ollie Culbreth Junior School in Jersey City, New Jersey. He excelled in academics and in the world of competitive jump rope. At only eight years old, Jerry was the youngest member of the Jersey City Honey Bees double dutch team. Earlier this year, the Honey Bees earned the title ``world champions'' at the American Double Dutch League's 44th International Competition.

``Jerry Prince Bee'', as his friends called him, was all smiles during his double-dutch performance on The Tonight Show in August. That smile and his legacy of love will live on in North Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate a group that I have worked with for some time, the Jersey City H.O.N.E.Y. Bees Double Dutch team for their big wins at the American Double Dutch League's 44th international competition.

But tragedy intervened. Sadly, on October 28, one of the H.O.N.E.Y. Bees passed away. I ask my colleagues to join me in honor and remembrance of the life of Jeremiah Grant.

Jerry was a student at the Ollie Culbreth Jr. School in Jersey City, New Jersey. He excelled in academics and in the world of competitive jump rope. At only 8 years old, Jerry was the youngest member of the H.O.N.E.Y. Bees. He was also the only boy on the team and was called Prince Bee. Jerry was a winner, and his legacy of love will live on in north Jersey.

May Jerry ``Prince Bee'' continue flying high in eternal peace.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me as I rise to pay tribute to the Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center for performing its 1,000th heart transplant.

Founded in 1901, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a regional care, teaching hospital that provides comprehensive health care services to local communities. Beth Israel is an important referral and treatment center for patients throughout northern New Jersey, and it is one of only two hospitals certified to perform heart transplants in the state. Staffed with more than 800 physicians, 3,200 employees, and 150 volunteers, the hospital serves over 3 million patients each year.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has long been a leader in cardiac care. It performed the first heart transplant in New Jersey in 1986. It was the first New Jersey hospital to use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for babies awaiting transplants, and it pioneered the use of Left Ventricular Assist Devices for heart-transplant patients.

In August, Beth Israel's Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program performed its 1,000th heart transplant. Only eleven other centers in the United States have reached this milestone. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center deserves to be recognized for its achievement. I am proud and honored to have this medical center investing in the health care of my constituents and the citizens of the State of New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me as I pay tribute to the recipient of the 2017 New Jersey Principal of the Year Award, Mr. John T. Farinella of Rahway High School.

Mr. Farinella is a lifelong South Plainfield resident and a graduate of South Plainfield High School. After high school, he went on to earn a dual bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Pennsylvania State University. He later received his Master's in Education Administration and Supervision from Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey, followed by his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University's School of Law. Mr. Farinella has worked in the New Jersey public school system for more than 20 years, and he has

served the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) as a member of its Council, Legislative Committee, and Constitution Review Committee.

During his time as Principal of Rahway High School, Mr. Farinella has coordinated two key programs that have dramatically helped the students of Rahway High School: the Freshman Transition Program and the Rutgers Future Scholars Program. The Freshman Transition Program provides a support system for Rahway High School's incoming freshmen as they acclimate to the differences between middle school and high school. It helps them begin to plan their lives beyond high school. The Rutgers Future Scholars program recognizes and mentors eighth grade students whose parents have not graduated from college. Fifteen students who perform to the satisfaction of Rahway High School and the Rutgers Future Scholars Program are invited each year, free of charge, to attend Rutgers University.

Mr. Farinella and his staff have dedicated much of their time and effort over the past six years to creating a more comprehensive and complete learning environment for the children of Rahway High School. Through his work at Rahway High School, Mr. Farinella has shown students the value of a college degree and created a college-going mentality throughout his school. Mr. Farinella has shown passion through his leadership and vision for Rahway High School. The Tenth District of New Jersey is proud and honored to have Mr. John T. Farinella investing in the futures of the students of Rahway High School.

Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we mourn with Gold Star families, but we cannot feel their pain. There is nothing anyone can say or do to really comfort families suffering the loss of a loved one. But there is a lot people can say or do to cause grieving families additional pain, as we have seen over this past week.

As Members of Congress, we are there for our constituents. They are our families. It is our obligation to speak up when they are hurt.

The loss of American servicemembers should not be politicized. Our fallen heroes should be honored.

Sergeant La David Johnson is an American hero.

Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson is an American hero.

Staff Sergeant Bryan Black is an American hero.

Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright is an American hero.

The 28 men and women who lost their lives in service to their country this year are all American heroes. Let us honor their sacrifices and comfort their families, as has been the tradition in this country until last week.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to start by thanking my colleague, Congressman Garamendi from the great State of California, for hosting this afternoon's Special Order hour on the Republicans' massive tax giveaway to the rich.

Mr. Speaker, the American people want a tax plan that creates jobs, builds infrastructure, helps out the poorest among us, strengthens the middle class, and requires billionaires to pay their fair share.

Unfortunately, the Trump-Ryan-McConnell tax plan puts billionaires first and working class people last. The Republicans' tax plan will cut taxes for the wealthiest 1 percent, and it will raise taxes for more than a quarter of New Jersey's households. That is 1.2 million families in the State that I represent.

Across the country, the average tax increase for families under the Trump-Ryan-McConnell tax plan is $794 a year, another $794 a year on families struggling now to make ends meet. In New Jersey, that is money a family could use to pay for a month of childcare or 7 months of an electric bill.

The President spends a lot of time golfing at his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. He knows many working class people in New Jersey. He employs some of them. His proposal to eliminate the Federal deduction for State and local taxes will hurt them dramatically.

Eliminating the Federal deduction for State and local taxes will take money out of people's pockets and out of New Jersey to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. That is just not going to work for the American people. Eliminating the Federal deduction for State and local taxes doesn't work for New Jersey, and it doesn't work for the American people.

Nearly 2 million people in New Jersey take the deduction. That is more than a third of the State's taxpayers. Most of them are from New Jersey's lower and middle-income families. Getting rid of that deduction means higher taxes for regular people.

So let's be clear. The Republican tax plan claims to be cutting taxes, but in reality, it raises taxes on millions of New Jersey's families and millions of other families nationwide.

The Federal deduction for State and local taxes is good for families. It keeps them from paying twice on the same income. If you pay State and local taxes on your hard-earned money, the Federal Government should respect that. After all, State and local taxes pay for our roads, our schools, our police, and all essential services we rely on each and every day.

New Jersey already pays more to the Federal Government in taxes than it receives in return. In fact, according to the Tax Policy Center, for every dollar New Jersey pays to the Federal Government in taxes, we get back only 77 cents. That is 77 cents on every dollar. The Trump-Ryan- McConnell tax plan is asking people from my State to send more to Washington so the wealthiest 1 percent can get a tax cut. That is just wrong.

When he unveiled his tax plan, President Trump claimed taxes are something he is very good at. Yeah, protecting billionaires is all this tax plan is good at.

Elected officials from both parties must continue to stand against the Trump-Ryan-McConnell proposal and prevent billionaires' first tax overhaul from crushing hardworking families.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

And to your point, I appreciate you bringing this map out to show these States that are subsidizing, and you are being very generous in that statement, other States.

To have Members, over the past several weeks, come to the floor and admonish New Jersey and say that we really don't need the deduction, when--if I can tell, North Carolina is one of those States being subsidized. It is disingenuous to come to the floor and critique this plan when it is one of the only ways that people, citizens from New Jersey have as a way to balance things out to some degree.

We all have to pay our fair share, but at some point in time New Jerseyans would like to see a return on their investment as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the Lone Star State, my classmate, Congressman Veasey, for hosting tonight's Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this position where the lines are being so blurred that Gold Star families have come into this political discussion and are being dragged into this, unwillingly, over the past several days.

I have great respect for General Kelly and was very delighted to see him get the job as Chief of Staff so that he could maybe bring some semblance of calm and normalcy to the White House, but it seems like he has been infected by the disease that is the scourge in the White House.

There is no reason for him to fabricate what one of our colleagues said. The videotape is there. She never did one thing that General Kelly said she did on that fateful day in the dedication to that FBI building.

I don't understand what is going on with people these days, but these are the times we find ourselves in.

Mr. Speaker, as much as we would like to live in a colorblind society, in an America where people should be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin,

we aren't there yet. Race, unfortunately, still matters.

Juries devalue Black lives by punishing offenders more harshly when their victims are White than when their victims are Black. Police are more likely to use force when interacting with Black people than when interacting with White people. Emergency room doctors are less likely to prescribe pain medication to Black patients than to Whites.

Results from psychological studies of racial bias have shown that nearly 90 percent of the White people in the United States who have taken the implicit-association test have an inherent racial preference for White people over Black people. Oh, yes, race matters in America, and we have got to talk about it.

It should not take a crisis for the United States to discuss race and the effects of stereotypes that are baked into our national cultural. We should not have to wait for a police officer to shoot an unarmed Black man before we discuss how negative stereotypes about Black people affect snap judgments.

It should not take mass murder in a Bible study to get us talking about how negative stereotypes of Black people in social media help White supremacists rationalize their racism.

Back in 1997, Professor Jody David Armour warned us that bad actors would try to make racism seem reasonable. Professor Armour wrote a book called ``Negrophobia.'' In it, he predicted that ``perhaps the gravest threat today to progress toward racial justice comes from the right- wing ideologues bent on convincing White people of good faith that negative stereotypes about Blacks are justified.''

Professor Armour told us to look out for people trying ``to prove that Blacks are inherently less intelligent and more violent than Whites.'' And he explained that these people would try to make racism seem rational by using discredited studies, unscientific experiments, and cooked statistics.

What have we seen on our social media over the past few years? We have seen that negrophobia is alive and well in the United States, and social media is its enabler.

People like the President have used social media to spread cooked statistics and outright lies to rationalize the racist stereotypes that Black people are inherently violent.

Mr. Speaker, countries like Russia have used social media to fuel racial tensions in America's communities, and White supremacists have used social media to organize their hate.

We must not be afraid to ask: What role has Facebook played in fueling negrophobia in America?

Facebook was born in an age of diversity, but it was not born with a commitment to diversity. Only 3 in every 100 Facebook employees are African American.

The company has no Black executives, and it has no Black board members. The company's global director of diversity has said that hiring women and people of color is complicated. Its chief executive officer, Sheryl Sandberg, has promised that Facebook would hire a Black board member sometime soon.

Why has it taken so long? Why have minority voices been left out of the essential media development? Has Facebook's failure to value minority voices inside the company made Facebook an online megaphone for racist voices outside the company?

Facebook's algorithms have the power to affect the way Americans think about Black people, for better or worse. When Facebook accepts money from foreign actors who want to exploit racial tensions in the United States, Facebook perpetuates negrophobia.

By the same token, Facebook's algorithms could weaken negrophobia by enhancing positive messages that challenge people to reexamine and resist discriminatory responses, but that will require Facebook to fully commit to diversity right now, not sometime in the future.

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus met with Facebook a week ago in terms of these negative ads that were found out to be bought by Russian actors and spending $100,000 in doing so, and buying fake ``Black Lives Matter'' responses and ads and ``anti-Black Lives Matter'' ads to continue to fuel this division in our country.

If countries are able to see a weakness in our fabric in this Nation, then they will exploit it. We have to come together as Americans and understand that our issues are something that we have to deal with and look each other in the face and have an honest discussion about.

No one is perfect. No one is saying that one side is worse than the other, but we need to come together as a unit, as this great experiment called the United States was meant to be, that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights--all Americans, not just some--and we continue to strive towards that goal, towards that utopia in this country.

This is the greatest country in the world, and we all know it here because we benefit from it, but we have a long way to go in terms of reaching the ultimate goal.

Mr. Speaker, in New Jersey, nearly 231,000 children rely on the Children's Health Insurance Program. CHIP gets them to the doctor. CHIP gets them to the hospital. CHIP saves their lives.

But last month, Republican Members of Congress made a choice to put on another repeal-and-replace dog and pony show and let CHIP expire.

Mr. Speaker, what do my Republican colleagues have against needy children? Who thought it would be a good idea to put 9 million children's health at risk for political gains? So much for compassionate conservatism.

Mr. Speaker, CHIP is vital to the Nation's future. Along with Medicaid, CHIP has cut the rate of low-income, uninsured children nationally by half--from 14 percent to 7 percent. But if Congress doesn't immediately reauthorize long-term CHIP funding, children will not get to see their doctors. They won't have access to hospitals, and some may die

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jaheir Moore, a seventh grade student from Jersey City, New Jersey, for his service to people in need.

This young man from my district takes the time nearly every day to crochet hats, scarves, blankets, and other items for people in homeless shelters and newborn babies in intensive care units. Over the past couple of years, he has donated dozens of bags full of his creations to make life a little better for others.

Jaheir is a straight A student who wants to become a fashion designer. In February, he was a guest on the ``Rachael Ray Show.'' A week later, Jaheir had his first runway show in Jersey City. In April, I presented him with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his charity work.

Mr. Speaker, Jaheir Moore's unselfish acts of kindness for people in need shows that our country's future is a bright one.

Mr. Speaker, $15 billion for a wall. I thought Mexico was going to pay for it. Mr. Speaker, President Trump is playing a dangerous game with North Korea. He is playing a dangerous game with American lives.

The President probably thinks he is being clever when he taunts Kim Jong-un and calls him ``little rocket man.'' The President probably thinks he is a tough guy when he threatens to rain down fire and fury on North Korea. But the President is not clever, and he is not tough.

A clever President would know that peace is preferable to war. A tough President would understand that threatening war with a highly armed, petty dictator makes the United States look weak and risks American lives.

President Trump's saber-rattling could draw the country into nuclear war that no one wants. If the United States is drawn into a war for the President's ego, people will die, Americans will die, and thousands, if not millions, of North Koreans will die.