Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, in June 2016, a gunman opened fire in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people, including Jerry Wright, a Miami Heat fan who loved to dance.

Jerry Wright's parents, Fred and Maria, know that their son's death was preventable but, more than that, that it was not unusual.

Nearly 40,000 people die because of guns every year, and that is why Fred and Maria lead the local Moms Demand Action group in my district. I am so proud to learn from them and work with them on commonsense gun safety in Miami-Dade and around the country.

By mandating universal background checks for every gun sale, we can be a step closer to ensuring that, when our children go to school, to concerts, to movie theaters, to clubs, they do so safely, they do so without worrying that this dance might be their last.

Fred and Maria Wright aren't asking for an overhaul of the Second Amendment; they are just asking for the adoption of commonsense solutions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands by supporting H.R. 8.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Tony Argiz, recipient of this year's prestigious Sand in My Shoes Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Tony Argiz is an exemplary community leader and illustrates the ``sand in my shoes'' tenet of life that sets Miami apart as a fantastic place to live and work.

The Sand in My Shoes Award takes its name from a letter Damon Runyon wrote to his friend Bill, a Hollywood movie producer, detailing why he had opted to stay in South Florida rather than return to California to write a movie script. He wrote:

``The truth of the matter is, Bill, we've got sand in our

shoes. It's pretty difficult to explain that to anyone who

doesn't know what it means. It means a land covered with

sunlight . . . warm and soft. It means white and pink houses,

with red and blue and green roofs . . . . It means palm trees

whispering mysteriously and tall melaleucas nodding their

plumed heads to every breeze. It means big fat porpoises

playing in Biscayne Bay and gaunt pelicans patrolling the sky

at dusk, and folks fishing from bridges all day. . . . It

means Hialeah and stately avenues of giant palms and pink

flamingo, black swan and wild duck. . . . Turquoise blue

waters of the ocean lapping white beaches and always the sun

shining down in kindly warmth. . . . It means Bimini where

the big game fish lurk and the nearby Keys where the ghosts

of bearded old buccaneers still guard their buried treasure.

. . .''

Originally from Cuba, Tony Argiz came to the United States with Operation Pedro Pan. He lived at a Catholic boarding school in Tampa until his parents came over, five years later. He credits his early years in Florida with giving him the hunger for education, for hard work, and for success. He later attended Florida International University on a baseball scholarship, an experience that taught him the value of teamwork.

Today, Tony is Chairman and CEO of Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC, one of the top 40 accounting firms in the nation. In 1986, he was appointed to Florida's Board of Accountancy, which he later chaired. He has served on the American Institute of CPAs Nominations Committee and on the PCP Executive Committee and its Technical Issues Committee. He is also a leader among South Florida nonprofit organizations, as chairman of the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation and of Facts About Cuban Exiles.

I am pleased to recognize the contributions of my friend Tony to the greater Miami area and to celebrate his extraordinary achievements as a community leader.

Madam Speaker, my first friend and mentor in Washington was Chairman Dingell. Big John guided me during all of my years as HHS Secretary. He was a towering figure in the House, passionate about healthcare, and tough on unethical behavior by those who benefited from the generosity of taxpayers.

He was, for all of us who knew and loved him, gentle and kind, and generous with his time and advice. He was a gentleman legislator, brilliant, tough, strategic, and extraordinarily effective. He was a patriot.

My heart goes out to my good friend, his wife, Debbie, and his family.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, January 27, we observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day marks the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Today I rise because we have a sacred duty to remember the lives lost to Nazism, an abominable evil.

We must remember so that we never forget.

We must never forget the events of the Holocaust so that we may stand together against anti-Semitism and against any such acts leveraged in the future against the Jewish people and all people everywhere.

Madam Speaker, I want to share the story of Doris, a constituent from Palmetto Bay, Florida. Doris works as an investigative program officer for the Department of Homeland Security. For over 27 years, she has devoted her life to the safety and the security of our community. Today marks the 34th day of this irresponsible shutdown. It also marks the 34th day that Doris will be going to work without getting a paycheck.

She has received notice that her department will miss a second pay period; something that her supervisor has told her will affect her retirement status.

This nightmare has affected her financially, mentally, and emotionally. She is terrified about having to default on her mortgage and not having enough money to cover her car payments or put food on the table.

Later today, Doris is planning to stand in line at a nearby parking lot to receive a head of lettuce and some tomatoes from a local food bank. Is this what the administration thought of when they initiated this shutdown? Is this what the greatest country in the world has succumbed to?

It angers me to know that Doris is being used as pawn to fulfill a campaign promise. Madam Speaker, I say to the President that we do our jobs and he does his. Open the government.

Madam Speaker, by providing more than $12 billion in disaster relief to various Federal departments and agencies, we can ensure that communities have the resources and funds that they need to rebuild. H.R. 268 confirms our commitment to communities like my district and my State that are often hardest hit by natural disasters.

This rule funds crucial infrastructure projects that will better equip our hurricane centers in tracking, predicting, and forecasting large storms. It increases nutrition assistance programs, including $600 million for Puerto Rico. In addition, over $1 billion will be available to cover crop losses in many parts of the country.

But critical to implementing this bill is an amendment to reopen the government. Without the government open, Federal agencies, States, and communities are having difficulty accessing disaster aid. Anyone who cares about disaster relief should be voting for this bill, which will end the shutdown, open the government, and help people across this country who have been victims of national disasters.

Madam Speaker, I rise in solidarity with the thousands of Federal employees in my district and across this Nation who, because of the shutdown, haven't received a paycheck.

I want to share the story of Robert Guevara, a Federal aviation safety inspector in my district who did not receive a paycheck this past Friday. He is tasked with overseeing the airline's mechanics and repairing facilities so operations run smoothly and safely at Miami International Airport. He has one goal: aviation safety. He prides himself on keeping our travelers safe and ensuring that all inspections are as thorough and accurate as possible.

After 21 years of service in the Air Force, he told me he could barely recognize our country anymore. How can the greatest country on Earth tell its employees to work without a paycheck? How can we hold our patriots hostage?

Madam Speaker, no one wins in a shutdown. We must demand that this administration and the Senate leadership reopen our government.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great disappointment that I rise today on the 19th day of this unnecessary and reckless government shutdown.

Just last week, this body passed the very same Republican funding bills that would open the government and keep Americans safe and secure.

My community in south Florida is home to one of the biggest airports in our Nation, Miami International Airport. Just yesterday, 130,000 passengers passed through the airport. Yet, TSA employees, air traffic controllers, and Customs and Border Protection agents who inspect international cargo are forced to work without pay, and must deal with the unbearable decision of choosing between paying for healthcare or putting food on the table.

Nearly a quarter of the households in my district rely on food stamps. If this shutdown continues, these families are at risk of losing access to food.

There is absolutely no reason why families should be evicted from their homes or go hungry because their nutrition benefits were left unprocessed.

There is absolutely no reason why the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, and our national treasures around the country, must continue to rely on the kindness of devoted volunteers to keep them from deteriorating.

Mr. Speaker, I have been through a shutdown before. I oversaw 125,000 employees at HHS during the longest shutdown.

No one wins in a shutdown. It was painful.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the ability of the Speaker, on behalf of the House of Representatives, to intervene and defend the Affordable Care Act in the case of Texas v. United States.

This case is a backhanded way to do what Republicans could not do legislatively: repeal the ACA and take away comprehensive health insurance from millions of Americans.

Madam Speaker, I represent a district that has the highest number of people--more than 100,000--enrolled in the ACA. Whether you get your health insurance from your employer, from Medicare, from Medicaid, or from the marketplace, you have something to lose if this disastrous court case is upheld.

Not only will insurance companies again be able to deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions, young people will no longer be able to stay on their parents' insurance until they are 26. Preventive services like flu shots and annual checkups will not necessarily be covered without cost. Women may, once again, face buying insurance that doesn't cover maternity care.

Our bipartisan efforts to phase out the Medicare doughnut hole could

come to an end. Our seniors should not have to choose between paying exorbitant costs for prescription drugs and buying food or paying rent.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support all of these provisions.

Madam Speaker, with this rule, we simply want to stand in court and defend the valuable protections in the Affordable Care Act that this case threatens to take away.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for his kind words at the beginning of his comments.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Allred).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Bera).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the majority whip.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy).

Madam Speaker, I inquire whether the gentleman from Oklahoma is prepared to close. I am prepared to close on my side.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I thank my distinguished colleague.

It has been more than 9 years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. It has withstood dozens of repeal attempts, and the Supreme Court already has held it constitutional. Now a district court in Texas has determined that the whole law should be null and void.

But the ACA is now so enmeshed in our society that we sometimes forget the numerous benefits that are now threatened by this case. It is not simply protections for preexisting conditions. It is subsidies to help the middle-class families and small businesses to buy health insurance. It is caps on out-of-pocket health insurance costs. It is an end to annual and lifetime limits.

No matter where someone gets their healthcare, they have something to lose if this case is upheld. Madam Speaker, that is why the House of Representatives must intervene in this case. We need to stand with the American people, the overwhelming majority of whom support the crucial benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

The administration is unwilling to intervene in this case and protect the rights of Americans; thus, it is up to Congress to defend and uphold this law and all of the crucial protections it provides for our citizens.

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