Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago in Citizens United, the Supreme Court overturned two decades of precedents to strike down the ban on corporate expenditures in Federal campaigns. This opened the floodgates and allows corporations to spend unlimited funds, so now money comes from a handful of billionaires looking to wield their influence, and no one has to know who they are.

Campaigns like the one in Wisconsin and many others are being bought with that money instead of being decided by an honestly and factually informed public, as they should be. Romney's secretly funded PAC alone spent $46 million before Memorial Day to sway your opinion, and it will continue to spend even more.

We have to end the influence of the secret money on our elections. That's why I am a cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, which will restore accountability in our elections. Americans want and deserve a more open and honest political process. Republicans blocked that bill in 2010. The GOP needs to listen to Americans and bring the DISCLOSE Act to the floor.

The American public has a right to know who is paying for campaign ads that they will be swamped with this election cycle, and they need to know sooner rather than later.

Mr. Speaker, there are few things that anger me more than when Members of this body claim that a piece of legislation will accomplish something that it simply will not accomplish. That is certainly the case with H.R. 3541--a bill that my friends on the other side of the aisle claim will prevent sex-selection abortions and will ensure that the United States does not become a supposed ``safe-haven'' for women seeking an abortion based on the sex of the pregnancy.

The issue of sex-selection is a very real issue in different nations around the globe. However, even leading international health experts in this field agree that the solution does not lie in criminalizing the practice, which would only keep it behind closed doors. The solution lies in addressing the social, economic, political and cultural factors that create, sustain and exacerbate sex inequality in the first place; the very inequalities that lead to sex-selection in the first place.

Unfortunately, this bill will not achieve any of the claims from my friends on the other side of the aisle and this will certainly will nothing to reduce sex discrimination and gender inequality.

What this bill will do, however, is to exacerbate the unfortunate impacts of sex discrimination and gender inequality by leading to greater stigmatization of women and especially Asian-American women who exercise their choice and control over their reproductive lives. And, there is nothing about that suggests or reflects any intention or hope of fighting back against gender discrimination. What this bill also will do is to restrict access to legal and safe abortion services, violate the very-important doctor-patient relationship and needlessly threaten healthcare providers with civil and criminal liability unless they report any suspicions they have about a woman's reason for exercising her right as a human being to control her body.

It is evident that this legislation has nothing to do with empowering women here or around

the globe nor does it have anything to do with ensuring that women who are faced with a very, very difficult decision have access to the safest care possible. More evident is that this bill is just another attempt to challenge Roe v. Wade and achieve an outright ban on all abortion services.

As a Member of Congress and a physician who has worked tirelessly to eliminate all health disparities those along racial and ethnic, geographic and gender lines I cannot and will not support any policy that I know will not improve the health, wellness and thus life opportunities of those who often are marginalized and on the down side of opportunity, access and privilege. And so, I cannot and will not support any bill that will not improve the lives of women and girls by expanding their reliable access to safe and appropriate comprehensive health care--including reproductive health care and by ensuring gender equality across all facets of their lives, from at work to in the classroom.

And so, I strongly encourage my colleagues not to support H.R. 3541. The issue of sex-selection is a very serious challenge, and serious challenges warrant serious, effective solutions. This bill certainly is not that!

We have a chance to stop in its tracks a bill that could worsen the health disparities that affect women, and that give rise to unsafe, often-lethal back-alley abortions.

Let's stop this bill; let's do so now; and let's go back to the table and develop a thoughtful bill that addresses the root causes the sex discrimination and gender inequalities that leave millions of talented girls and women on the downside of opportunity and hope.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many reasons that I rise in strong support of this bipartisen legislation. Not only will it modernize the FDA review process of new and generic prescription drugs, biosimilars and medical devices, and ensure that Americans have reliable access to new, safe and innovative medicines and devices, as well as to affordable generic drugs, but it also promotes greater equity and safety in the development and use of prescription drugs for children--a level of importance that cannot be stressed enough.

I strongly support this legislation because it prioritizes and protects the health and welfare of consumers, while also being fair and just to the prescription drug and medical device industries. And, this legislation includes incentives for the development of new antibiotics to treat both life-threatening infections as well as those that if not treated, snowball into life-threatening situations.

Finally, I rise in strong support of this legislation because it will take significant steps forward to address our nation's ever-growing challenge with drug shortages. And so, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me with their strong support of this legislation so that we may achieve what we have long hoped to accomplish: reforming and strengthening many of the Food and Drug Administration's key programs which--together--will ensure that Americans have greater and more timely access to safe, affordable therapies and medical devices to treat and manage their conditions, and improve their overall health, quality of life and thus life opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, although, H.R. 3310 is intended to streamline the Federal Communication Commission's reporting requirements. There are concerns that FCC's statutory authority on data collection could be affected and certain pertinent reporting requirements could be eliminated.

H.R. 3310 would consolidate eight separate reports of the FCC into a single comprehensive report in order to reduce the reporting burdens on the FCC while encouraging the agency to analyze competition in the marketplace as a whole. I believe that this bill is not only unnecessary but harmful to the process especially since under Chairman Genachowski many reforms have been made to address the issues the Republicans have indicated they want to fix.

While the FCC has sufficient existing authority to collect data for statutorily required reports, the language contained in Sec. 4 could be construed as denying the Commission its ordinary data collection authority with respect to certain provisions of the bill.

While I support the general intent of the bill to streamline FCC reporting requirements, I did not support it at committee level in its present form and no significant changes were made to improve the bill before it was brought to the House floor.

I urge my colleagues not support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to submit my remarks in opposition to a Republican bill that weakens protections for violence against women and in support of the bipartisan Senate bill.

Mr. Speaker, to say I rise in strong opposition to this bill would be an understatement. In addition to the other egregious cuts, this bill would eliminate the critically needed $6.3 billion in funding that the U.S. territories' Medicaid programs receive under the Affordable Care Act.

More than that, it sends a clear message to Americans in the territories that while they are American enough to defend this Nation during times of war, they are not American enough for this Nation to protect and preserve their health and well-being. This bill is un- American and it is unjust.

I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this terrible reconciliation bill.

Mr. Speaker, to say that I rise today in strong opposition to this bill would be an understatement.

The truth is that there are so many elements included in this bill that warrant everyone's strong opposition that the list reads like a dishonor roll: the attacks on Medicare and CHIP; the elimination of funding for the Exchanges that will expand health insurance to more than 30 million uninsured Americans; and the repeal of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which expands access to preventive health care services to millions of Americans who--as a result--would have improved overall health and well-being. The list goes on for far too long.

But, it gets worse because this bill also includes a provision to eliminate the critically needed 6.3 billion dollars in funding that the U.S. Territories' Medicaid programs received under the Affordable Care Act--a funding influx that, two years ago, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers deemed legitimate and necessary. And, if that is not bad enough, this bill also bumps our FMAP down from 55 to 50 percent--a percentage that every expert has agreed is far too low and unjust, given the territories' income, poverty and cost of living numbers.

I will call it like I see it: it bullies the most vulnerable Americans in the territories whose medical needs surpass their financial resources; and this bill sends the very clear message to Americans in the territories that while they are ``American enough'' to defend this nation and its honor during times of war, they are not ``American enough'' for this Nation to help protect and preserve their health, health care and thus well-being. It is un-American; it is unjust; it is an unnecessary embarrassment; and it must not pass.

We have one last chance to do the right thing; let's do it and not pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Member may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

I would like to again thank the Democratic leader for giving us this time.

Mr. Speaker, tonight the Congressional Black Caucus will use the hour to speak on something that's always at the core of what we fight for and what we legislate for and what we legislate to end, and which is always at the root of much of what we come to the floor every Monday night to talk about, the persistence of inequality and injustice in our country.

It is fitting then that as we do so this evening we call to mind and honor a staunch champion for justice, attorney John Payton, who at the time of his death on March 22 was the sixth president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Tonight I'm joined by several of my colleagues, and I begin by yielding such time as she might consume to the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a leader and one of our strongest fighters for justice and equality in this country, the gentlewoman from Oakland, California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Thank you, Congresswoman Lee.

You reminded me that I had the honor of traveling with you to Geneva for that U.N. conference that focused on the inequalities and the injustice that exist in far too many areas of the world with respect to voter participation. And as we heard from so many marginalized communities in different countries, it was really sad that when it came for my time to speak, I spoke from the experience of the United States and the lack of voter participation; the lack of full representation of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States; and the inability of the people of the Territories to vote for the President, our Commander-in-Chief.

Thank you for adding that.

Before I yield to the Congresswoman from the District of Columbia, I would like to yield such time as she might consume to the gentlelady from Texas, also a very strong voice for justice and equality in this country, not just in her own district, but for Americans and for people across the world, the Congresswoman from Houston, Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Thank you, Congresswoman Lee, for that very strong and impassioned and very well-deserved tribute to John Payton this evening. And as I yield to the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, let me, on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands who celebrate emancipation on July 3, wish the residents of the District of Columbia happy Emancipation Day.

It was wonderful to have you here, a close friend, a close colleague of John Payton's, to give us a more in-depth history not only of his accomplishments but of the man, himself, and we thank you for joining us as yourself a very strong fighter for justice and equality, a legal scholar like John Payton who has also devoted her life, like he did, to justice and equality.

I want to just close by saying a few words myself about John Payton and the work that we still have yet to do.

It was at the retreat of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation even as we were remembering, eulogizing, and coming to terms with the loss of our chairman and colleague and friend, Don Payne, that we learned of John's passing. It was distressing and disconcerting to think that at this time when we need strong fighters for equality and justice more than ever, that not only Donald Payne, but now John Payton would also be taken away from us. But we are blessed that we have their legacies, the bodies of their work and contributions and that standing on them and their inspiration we can be strengthened to continue the fight that they led so well.

Later than many of my colleagues, I first came to know John Payton personally in 2003 when he was at the firm of what was then Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, now known as Wilmer Hale. At that time, as you heard, he was the lead counsel for the 2003 University of Michigan affirmative action cases. In the end, the Supreme Court upheld the law school's affirmative action policy in a related case.

But I also came to know John Payton and his wife, Gay McDougall, as you heard at the conference that I attended with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a U.N. conference in Geneva, on voter participation which Barbara was the director of that conference.

But John's work in civil rights, as you heard, began from his undergraduate time at Pomona College and continued when at Harvard Law School he worked with students injured in the race riots-related violence during the Boston school-busing controversy. Many students at the law schools at Harvard, Howard, and Georgetown where he was a visiting professor at various times were fortunate to have the benefit of his experience and his expertise.

He was active in many domestic and international causes. Along with his wife and international human rights lawyer, Gay McDougall, he was one of the international monitors in South Africa in the very first election in which South African blacks could vote at the time Nelson Mandela was elected President.

The Legal Defense Fund said of him that he was a guiding light, a brilliant advocate, a mentor and a teacher who believed that American democracy thrives when it embraces all of our voices. President Barack Obama called him ``a true champion of equality,'' and said that he helped to protect civil rights in the classroom and at the ballot box.

So as we honor John Payton and his legacy, we recommit ourselves to continue his and our fight for justice.

Last week, I participated in the 2012 National Environmental Justice Conference and training program where administration officials, researchers, and advocates from all over the country convened here in Washington, D.C. It was distressing to hear of the communities in this country which today are suffering health impacts and still in 2012 have to fight to be free of polluting industries and for clean air and water. These persistent environmental injustices cry out for justice.

The case of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a Neighborhood Watch volunteer as he, Trayvon, walked home, has not only aroused sympathy for the family but justified anger over his senseless killing. It has also revived the long and shameful history of racial profiling in this country and our flagrant and reckless use of guns and the gun culture which so many people promote here. Trayvon's death is tragic in and of itself; but it's sadly a story that has been and continues to be told in countless communities across our Nation. Our children and our families cry out for justice.

The wealth gap continues to widen dangerously in this country. According to the PEW Foundation, the wealth of white families here is 20 times that of African Americans and 18 times that of Latinos. The Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has issued several recent reports that showed how poverty, including extreme poverty, and persistent segregation create health, education, economic, and other disparities.

To quote Angus Deaton of Princeton University in a recent paper:

There are grounds to be concerned about the rapid expansion

in inequality at the very top of the income distribution in

the United States; this is not only an injustice in itself,

but it poses a risk of spawning injustices in education, in

health and in governance.

The increasing income inequality in this country also cries out for justice.

I could go on, but let me just end with health.

Every year there are over 80,000 excess deaths in people of color, deaths that could and should and must be prevented. Every minority group suffers some health disparity: African Americans and American Indians and Alaskan Natives more than most. Many of these deaths and the countless disproportionate disabilities could be prevented with the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

It is health injustice that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called the most shocking and inhumane. The countless and seemingly endless years of these tragic health iniquities and the millions of people who have suffered because of them also cry out for justice.

It is for ending these and other injustices that John Payton dedicated his life. In an article in the Civil Rights Monitor, he said:

The problems of race and inequality in our country have

proven to be enduring and deep-seated in nature. But we must

recognize that this is a marathon and not a race if we are to

find solutions that work.

We are grateful for the leg of the marathon that he ran and the progress that he made in this race while he was with us.

To his wife, Gay; his sisters, Janette Oliver and Susan Grissom; his brother, Glen Spears; the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; and his many colleagues and friends, I join my CBC colleagues in offering our sincere condolences and those on behalf of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong and proud support of the Congressional Black Caucus' budget, which builds on the President's and the Democratic budget, is fiscally responsible, and restores America's promise and invests in our future. As a physician and chair of the Health Braintrust, I am particularly pleased with the investment we make in health.

The CBC budget provides an additional $10 billion in 2013, which protects Medicare and Medicaid, and which fully funds the Affordable Care Act, the Minority AIDS Initiative, and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. It supports the Office of Minority Health. Finally, it provides adequate funding for the new institute at NIH.

We provide robust funding for important prevention and public health programs like the block grant, maternal and child health, oral health programs, and community-centric efforts to address the socioeconomic determinants of health. We also increase funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, for the training of underrepresented minorities for the health workforce and, for the first time, for health facilities improvements and construction.

Health care is a right. The CBC, through this budget, ensures that all Americans will enjoy that right. We make a strong investment in health and much more, and we still reduce the deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to add any extraneous material on the subject matter of the Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, soon we will be called upon to vote on a budget for 2013. Budgets are supposed to be a statement of our values and our vision, and this is the case with the Congressional Black Caucus budget. The values that we support in our budget are American values. As it says in the title, it restores America's promise and invests in our future.

And at this time, I would like to yield to the person who leads us in developing the Congressional Black Caucus budget and who has done so for several years, one of the senior members on the Budget Committee, Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia.

Thank you, Congressman Scott. Thank you for your leadership over all of these years in developing such a responsible budget. The CBC is proud to offer that as an alternative again this year.

Now I would like to yield to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Ohio, who is a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee. She is a strong advocate for education and closing the achievement gap and for many of the safety net programs that we protect in this budget.

Thank you, Congresswoman Fudge, and thank you for your strong defense of programs for children, for our seniors, and for families across this country.

I would now like to yield such time as he might consume to Congressman Danny Davis, a strong fighter for health equity, for justice in our criminal justice system. He is a valued member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Thank you, Congressman Davis.

I'd like to just say a few words about the Congressional Black Caucus budget. I'm in strong support of this budget.

As I said, it's a responsible budget that is a statement of our values and priorities; and as the title says, it restores America's promise to invest in our future.

Our budget, as Congressman Scott said, builds upon the President's budget, and it would ensure that our children, our veterans, and seniors are protected and adequately taken care of. We invest in education and health care as well as in research and innovation. Our budget provides revenue by enacting tax measures that are fair, that close loopholes, and that protect tax cuts for hardworking, middle class families while protecting vital safety nets that help the poor, and it provides them with stepping stones out of poverty.

Those safety nets that we protect are, for example, Social Security; Medicare; Medicaid--a critical program; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF; and many, many others. It does all of that while reducing the deficit by an additional $3.4 trillion compared to the President's budget.

Our budget stands as a direct contrast to the Republican Ryan budget. The Ryan budget begins at the outset by breaking the hard-fought agreement on caps set in the Budget Control Act in 2011. If they can't keep their word on something that they forced an agreement on, then what will they keep their word on? So the Republican budget begins across-the-board cuts at 5.4 percent in 2013. They do not cut any defense spending, as agreed to in the Budget Control Act; but in 2014, they would reduce those caps 19 percent below the agreed-to cap in non- defense spending over 10 years. And I guess they know that the Supreme Court arguments made by those 26 States that began today against the Affordable Care Act are not going to win the day, that the Court will uphold the constitutionality of the law, and so the Republican budget would repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Just take a look at what Republicans take out of health care. They would cut funding for the Indian Health Service by 19 percent beginning in 2014. That would greatly diminish access to health care for the American Indians who already suffer disproportionately from many diseases and, as a result, who have a very low life expectancy compared to the white population.

In the Republican budget, there are cuts to funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which would make it very difficult for that agency to meet its responsibilities in overseeing these critical programs. There are also cuts to the Food and Drug Administration, which would reverse what Democrats were able to do to strengthen protections in food and medicines, and cutting back on those programs would put the American public at an increased risk.

While in this difficult economic climate the President's budget managed to fund NIH at its current level, the Republican Ryan budget would jeopardize new research by cutting that budget; and that research that would lead to innovations in medicine and improve lives would be jeopardized. In addition, they cut WIC and turn SNAP into a block grant, which weakens their ability to help those who increasingly find themselves food insecure as the gap between the rich and poor has widened and incomes have plummeted. And it cuts the Republicans' favorite target, the EPA, which would reduce our investments in public health and harm our ability to protect our public from air and water pollution and land contamination.

On the other hand, our budget, the CBC budget, which is always a very responsible budget--responsible to the American people and fiscally responsible while providing more deficit reduction than the Republican Ryan budget--still makes important investments that are critical to a strong future, including in health care.

First of all, our budget upholds the Affordable Care Act and fully funds it, but it takes it one step further by creating a public health insurance option that by itself saves almost $103 billion in health care costs over the next decade. It adds $10 billion to health care funding in the 2013 budget, and that $10 billion more robustly funds the following important programs, such as the AIDS drug assistance programs, which have been underfunded for years, causing States to drop persons from their rosters with HIV and AIDS or reducing the coverage, reducing the benefits, and causing increasingly long waiting lists. It also increases funding for Ryan White, the Minority AIDS Initiative, and prevention activities for HIV, for STDs, for TB, and hepatitis.

Our budget funds the Office of Minority Health, which was expanded and strengthened under the Affordable Care Act to improve health equity. We expand and pay for oral health programs, for health care facilities improvements and construction. We increase funding for the maternal and child health in the Preventive Health Block Grant. We fund the Physician-Scientist Training program, which brings underrepresented minorities into health care careers both in the practice of medicine, as providers, and in research. We provide additional funding for substance abuse and mental health services administration.

And we finally provide adequate funding for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH. We also restore funding for the REACH program, a very important program that assists racial and ethnic minority communities to develop programs and unique approaches to health care just uniquely for those communities.

We fund many, many other health-related programs and services. And still, with all of that, we reduce that deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years. Those health provisions, as well as those in education, in research and innovation, and in the protection of the safety net programs and tax fairness, those in the CBC budget make it one that is clearly a statement of our values and priorities, a statement of America's values, values that everyone in this body should support.

At this time, I would like to yield again to our leader on the budget in the CBC, Congressman Bobby Scott.

Thank you for summarizing that for us and for pointing out the very important point that, in order to keep those tax cuts for the millionaires, those programs that so many people in this country, the poor and the middle class, depend on will be cut. That's a tradeoff that this country should not be taking and we do not support.

So we are very pleased to present our budget. As I said, and as Congressman Scott said, this is a very responsible budget that not only invests in the future and keeps America's promise to its people, but it saves money, $3.4 trillion over 10 years to reduce the deficit.

With that, we ask for the support of our colleagues, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we laid to rest a young man, Deniel Brow who was killed after he turned away from an argument--shot as he began to walk away.

Every time our children are out, not only in the Virgin Islands but across the country, and certainly as we now see in Florida, we worry that they will be injured or killed in some senseless act of violence.

In the case of young Traynor Martin, he was not killed because of an argument with a peer which would have been bad enough, it appears he was pursued by an adult, allegedly, a self appointed overly aggressive neighborhood watch person who seemed to be just looking for trouble, and who even after being told by dispatchers to leave the boy alone pursued him and in the midst of his pleas for help heard on the 911 tape, shoots and kills him.

I am glad the Justice Department has begun its investigation and I thank our colleague Corrine Brown for getting involved and being the strong advocate she is on behalf of the grieving Martin family and his community.

But you know the blame for this incident goes beyond the shooter. All who have engaged in violent rhetoric against racial and ethnic minorities, who have been contributing to the poisonous environment in which we now find ourselves in this country and who have been encouraging this kind of vigilante activity are also responsible for young Traynor's death and his family's loss.

I hope this incident will be a wake-up call and have us come to our senses and sense of fairness, justice and community--the kind of community that looks out for and takes care of its children, not kills them or fosters an atmosphere where this kind of action is encouraged.

I thank you for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise today during a time when we should all be celebrating the many great successes of the Affordable Care Act on its second-year anniversary. Democrats have rightly been applauding the health and economic benefits of affordable, reliable access to high- quality health care services brought about by that landmark law. Not so with our Republican colleagues, who choose to ignore or misrepresent the many benefits millions of people have been enjoying because of the Affordable Care Act.

Then comes this disastrous marriage between two bills--one that will repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board--which some Democrats like myself support--and the other malpractice bill, which I strongly oppose because it will trample States' rights, providing extraordinary protections for drug and medical device and health insurance companies, making it nearly impossible for those harmed to seek and achieve justice.

I support the IPAB repeal because in its current form it will not achieve significant savings or ensure quality access to health care under Medicare. Additionally, as a physician who practiced for more than two decades, I'm opposed to its broad authority to make recommendations that would detrimentally affect health care providers and eventually Medicare beneficiaries. However, attaching at the very last minute a medical malpractice bill that provides protection to every entity involved in medical malpractice and health care lawsuits except the victim is just plain wrong.

And, no pun intended, but adding insult to injury is the fact that their medical malpractice bill is completely outdated. The bill was designed more than two decades ago. Back then we did have challenges with malpractice insurance, but today those challenges have been addressed. Today, we do not have a malpractice insurance crisis in this country.

I strongly oppose H.R. 5, and encourage my friends on the other side of the aisle in the future, if it's more than just political rhetoric, to quit while they're ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, tonight the Congressional Black Caucus again thanks the Democratic leader for allowing us to have this hour to talk about something very important.

As we approach the second anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a truly landmark law that's bringing about health reforms that are helping millions of Americans not only save money but have healthier lives, we want to review some of those facts this evening, not the myths, not the misrepresentations about this great law, the facts.

There's so much that's being spread that is just flat-out wrong, wrong about the facts and wrong to tell our fellow Americans things that are just not true about this law.

At this time, I would like to begin yielding to some of my colleagues. I will begin by yielding such time as she might consume to the gentlelady from Cleveland, Ohio, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge.

Thank you, Congresswoman Fudge. And thank you for reminding us that such a large percentage of Americans, once they really know what's in the bill and what is being provided, support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

At this time, I would like to yield such time as she might consume to the Congresswoman, the gentlelady from Texas who often joins Congresswoman Fudge and myself on these Special Orders, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Thank you, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Certainly, we know that Planned Parenthood has always followed the law. And in this Women's History Month, thank you for raising the issue of the unfair treatment of women by some of the laws like the one in Texas, the one in Virginia, and also legislation that has been attempted to be passed in the Congress of the United States.

We're also joined this evening by a Congressman from Texas, Congressman Al Green, who often joins us here. We're representing all of the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who know how important this law is to our communities and, really, to communities across this country. So we thank you for joining us.

I yield such time as he may consume.

Thank you, and thank you for making those points and for making them so passionately.

I know you said we'll save $1 trillion over the next 20 years, but I am confident that the savings will be more than that when we look back on the good that this bill is going to be doing over those 20 years.

I just want to say a few words about the bill. Some of it will be repetitive.

For the first time, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is finally making a significant investment in prevention. We're finally beginning to turn what is supposed to be a health care system into a real health care system and not a sick care system. The old adage, ``an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'' is still true, and it's no more true than in health care.

In my family practice, I would see patients who had difficulty getting their preventive care, getting their mammograms, their colonoscopy and other preventive services. That will no longer be true. And so they would come in sicker. And some patients would come to me after being sick for a long, long time when they had far advanced disease. So I know that that is the same not only in my district and in my practice, but it's the same for many low- and middle-income people everywhere in this country, but especially for African Americans, other people of color, of course the poor, and people who live in rural America.

Let's talk about African Americans and preventive care. Twenty percent of African American women are not up-to-date on their Pap smears; 32 percent of African American women are not up-to-date on their mammograms; and 45 percent of African Americans have never had a colon cancer screening.

The Affordable Care Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, takes important steps to reverse this

trend, and makes sure that all Americans can afford the preventive care that they need.

And this will reduce the premature deaths. It is said that in this country, every year, about 88 or more thousand people die in excess numbers that should not have died if they had received the preventive care and the kind of health maintenance that we want them to have and that this legislation will allow them to finally have.

Today the life expectancy for African American men is 7 years shorter, and for women it's 5 years shorter than our white counterparts.

There's an article I was reading on MedlinePlus. Overall, the national life expectancy was nearly 75 for men, for white men, 68 for black men; 80 for white women, and 74 for black women. Washington, D.C., the Nation's Capital, has the largest life expectancy disparities between blacks and whites: a 13.8-year disparity for men and 8.6 years for women. New Mexico had the smallest disparities.

Let me just mention some of the States with the largest disparities. More than 8 years for men: New Jersey, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

The ones with the largest disparities for women--more than 6 years-- Illinois, Rhode Island, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, and Nebraska.

Surely all Americans, but African Americans in particular, have a serious stake in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It's clear that our lives really depend on it, but not our lives alone.

It will also, as has been said, reduce health care costs. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies reported about 2 years ago that the direct and indirect costs of health disparities in this country over just a 4-year period was $1.2 trillion. We could save that money just by reducing health disparities in this country.

Of course, now 26-year-olds can stay on their parents' health insurance for the very first time. I remember when my daughter turned 22 and I had to drop her from my insurance coverage, the insurance coverage I had right here in the House of Representatives. But now, 2.2 million young people--of which 400,000 are African Americans--are being covered on their parents' insurance.

Seventeen million children can no longer be denied because they have a preexisting disease, just because they're sick. Children with asthma, children with sickle cell disease, and the children who are increasingly having diabetes, they can no longer be denied health coverage; they have access to health care. In 2014, that will be extended to adults, who also will not be able to be denied health insurance because of preexisting diseases. There are up to 129 million Americans under the age of 65 that have a health condition that could make it hard for them to find health insurance.

Going back to African Americans again, who suffer disproportionately from multiple chronic diseases, we need this benefit. Deaths from cardiovascular disease were 30 percent higher in African Americans. The prevalence of diabetes is 70 percent higher. It's also very high in the American Indian population. African Americans represented about 55 percent of all adult AIDS cases and 65 percent of pediatric cases. And our infant mortality is more than 2.3 times higher than our white counterparts.

As you heard from Congressman Green, being a woman will no longer be a preexisting disease. It's amazing, being a woman is almost like having a preexisting disease. They don't deny us the insurance, but they charge more. There's another article from The New York Times written by Robert Pear, and I'm reading from it now. It says:

For a popular Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in Chicago, a 30-

year-old woman pays $375 a month, which is 31 percent more

than what a man of the same age pays for the same coverage.

In the States that have not banned gender rating--and I think there are about 28 or so that have, 26 or so that have--but in the States that have not banned gender rating, more than 90 percent of the best- selling health plans charge women more than men.

So many testimonies of people that we heard from while we were having the hearings in preparation for developing this bill, of people who lost their coverage because they had a serious illness. I remember one lady with breast cancer. They dropped her coverage. I remember a young girl who had had a liver ailment in her infancy. She could not get coverage. Her parents almost had to sell their home and become destitute to be able to provide coverage for her. That would not happen now under this Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

You can't have benefits cut because of lifetime limits anymore. Before the law, 105 million Americans had lifetime caps on their care, including 10.4 million African Americans. Who wants to go back to those days again? No one wants to go back to those days. We're not going back.

There can be no scrimping on our care to give bonuses to the CEOs, or for fancy ads. At least 80 percent of premiums must be used to provide health care services. Before the health care law, some insurance companies spent as much as 40 percent of premiums on administrative overhead, like marketing and CEO bonuses. Now that cannot be any more than 20 percent.

I have a pet peeve about Medicare because I keep hearing especially my Republican colleagues saying that Democrats have cut $500 billion out of Medicare. That's not exactly what happened. I think the American people understand savings. We found savings, $500 billion worth of savings, and we used most of it to make Medicare stronger. I'll go to some of the facts here:

It reduces prescription drug costs for seniors. The health care law provides a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs for seniors in the Medicare part D doughnut hole; 3.6 million seniors have already received that discount, saving a total of $2.1 billion, each senior saving an average of $604.

It provides free coverage of key preventive services; 32.5 million seniors--25.7 in traditional Medicare and 6.8 in Medicare Advantage-- have already received one or more free preventive services.

It provides a free annual wellness visit. It strengthens Medicare. By providing those savings and putting them back into Medicare, we strengthen Medicare and extend its solvency by 8 years, from 2016 to 2024. We have more work to do, but we extended it by 8 years.

It helps seniors remain at home and stay out of nursing homes, and it provides nursing home residents with more protections from abuse.

The average premiums for Medicare Advantage enrollees are 7 percent lower in 2012 than they were last year. Since the health care law was enacted, those premiums have fallen by 16 percent. The Medicare part D deductible has fallen by $22 in 2012, the first time in Medicare history the deductible has fallen.

So we didn't hurt Medicare. We did not take money out of Medicare. We found savings in Medicare, mostly from fraud and abuse, and also from leveling the reimbursement to providers so that the Medicare Advantage may have that much more reimbursement than other providers. And we made Medicare stronger. So today, 47 million Americans are benefiting from a stronger Medicare program.

We put Medicare on a stronger, more secure course; and we're not going back. We're not going to vouchers where the beneficiary will take on a lot more of the cost. We will not break our commitment to seniors and people with disabilities.

Small businesses also. We've heard that they've done well; 360,000 small businesses used tax credits and covered 2 million employees in 2011. I know those 2 million employees and the people that employ them don't want to lose that coverage. We don't want to go back. We will oppose any attempt to take us back to the days when we could not provide health care for our small businesses to provide insurance for their employees.

As was said earlier, health care is a right. President Obama led and we worked with him to ensure that that right is there for every American. We also worked very hard, the Tri-Caucus did--the Black, Hispanic and Asian Pacific American Caucus--to include

health equity as a part of this important law. In it, discrimination is expressly prohibited. There are core objectives within it to reduce health disparities and to create health equity. There is data collection. You don't know what you don't know you don't know.

There are health profession provisions to increase not only the overall health care workforce, but to make sure that that workforce looks like America, that there's diversity in that workforce, and to support institutions that train underrepresented minorities.

We created Offices of Minority Health in some agencies of the Health and Human Services that did not have them, such as SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. We know that mental health issues often go unnoticed, undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed in people of color or people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. We need an Office of Minority Health there. We needed one at FDA to make sure that when medicines are approved, that they have been tested in minorities and people with disabilities and other comorbidities.

I've had bad experiences with CMS asking about the impact of changes of medication in end-stage renal disease, where we know that African Americans and some other subpopulations require more of a certain medication. After a few years, we asked, What was the impact on this population group? They said, well, we don't collect data that way. We can't know what we're doing wrong or where we might have to change things to improve people's health.

I represent a territory. Although the territories did not get State- like treatment under this bill, we will finally be able to cover close to 100 percent of the Federal poverty level in our territories under Medicaid--finally.

We will have an opportunity to have an exchange. In our case, we may only cover up to 200 percent of poverty, but we're making steps. This bill has allowed us to make steps that will allow us to begin to transform our health care system and open up access to care to our constituents that they've never had before.

This is in the United States Virgin Islands, in Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and Puerto Rico. As I said, we have a lot more to do, but we made a good start with the Affordable Care Act, and we'll continue to work until all Americans, no matter where they live in this country, have equal access to health care.

And the rising costs of health care are already slowing. The best is really yet to come. In 2014 the exchanges will help to pay premiums for families that are at or below 400 percent of the Federal poverty level. Small businesses will get even more help in the form of tax credits. There will be no denial for anyone because of preexisting disease. The doughnut hole will begin to be closed.

The research that this bill creates will improve the quality of health care and make us safer. And the skyrocketing health care cost increases will stop, will start going down.

I know that there are some in this country that feel that all of this that we talk about in this bill threatens the health care that they already have, but it doesn't. It does not. It makes the health care coverage that you already have more secure. It cannot be taken away just because you're sick. There will be no lifetime limits or annual caps. And the increases in premiums are already beginning to level off, so insurance is already becoming more affordable.

The American people ought to be thanking President Obama, and I know that many do. More than 80 percent support the provisions of this bill, thanking the President for this landmark law, as important as the one that created Medicare. We ought to feel good about the fact that this country is living up to the high ideals on which it was founded, and that we will no longer be shamefully lagging behind so many countries in the health of our population, not in the richest country in the world.

I'm certain that if the Supreme Court decides on law and the Constitution, without any political activism coming into play, as they should, this good law will prevail, and more importantly, the people in our Nation will prevail.

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the National Black Leadership Commission on AID, Inc, I submit a statement on condolence on the passing of my dear colleague, Donald M. Payne.

National Black Leadership

Commission on Aids, Inc.

NBLCA Mourns the Passing of Rep. Donald M. Payne

In reaction to the death of Rep. Donald M. Payne, Tuesday,

March 6, 2012, C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO of the

National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc, issued the

following statement of condolence:

The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc.

(NBLCA) expresses its profound sorrow at the death of Rep.

Donald M. Payne. For over two decades, Rep. Payne served his

constituents in New Jersey's 10th Congressional District and

the nation with courage and distinction. He was a longtime

supporter of the NBLCA and dedicated his 12 terms in the U.S.

House of Representatives to fighting social injustice and

advocating for the health and well-being of all Americans and

other fellow citizens of the world. His support in the House

was instrumental in the full implementation of the Minority

AIDS Initiative and other legislation addressing disease

prevention and health promotion. Rep. Payne was especially

passionate about ending HIV/AIDS and human rights violations

in Africa during his distinguished service on the House

Foreign Affairs Committee where he chaired the Subcommittee

on Africa.

Mr. Payne will be sorely missed by all who had the pleasure

and honor to work along side him in the fight against HIV/

AIDS and health disparities based on race and ethnicity. On

behalf of the NBLCA's Board of Directors and staff, I convey

heartfelt condolences to Rep. Payne's family, constituents,

and colleagues in the 112th Congress of the United States. In

Mr. Payne's memory, we rededicate ourselves to enhancing our

advocacy to protect the health, human rights, and civil

liberties of all Americans. May God grant him peace.

Mr. Speaker, today, as you heard, the House, the Congress as a whole, the 10th District of New Jersey, our Nation, the countries of Africa and the Caribbean, of Ireland, where he was an honorary citizen and, indeed, the world, has suffered a great loss. Donald Payne was a friend and advocate for the world and all of its people, but particularly for the sons of Africa here and worldwide.

Tonight I am honored to chair this Special Order in his honor, and to recognize my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who will be coming to pay tribute to Donald Payne.

I'd like to begin by asking unanimous consent that all Members might

have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of the Special Order.

I'd like to begin by yielding 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

I'd like to yield 2 minutes to Mr. Wolf of Virginia.

I would next like to yield 2 minutes to the Congresswoman from Texas, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.

I would like to yield 2 minutes to the Congresswoman from the District of Columbia, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Thank you, Congresswoman.

I would like to now yield 2 minutes to one of Donald's colleagues from New Jersey, Congressman Holt.

Thank you, Congressman Holt.

Now, I would like to yield 2 minutes to another colleague from New Jersey, Congressman Frelinghuysen.

Thank you for joining us and for offering those words on behalf of Congressman Payne.

I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the Congresswoman from California, another dear friend of Congressman Payne, Lynn Woolsey.

Thank you, Congresswoman Woolsey.

I would now like to yield 2 minutes to another colleague from New Jersey, Congressman Lance.

Thank you, Congressman Lance.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who I believe succeeded Donald Payne as the chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Thank you, Congresswoman Waters.

I yield 2 minutes to the Congressman from Texas (Mr. Al Green).

I thank Congressman Green, and now I would like to yield to another colleague from New Jersey and friend of Donald Payne, Congressman Chris Smith.

I thank Congressman Smith, and now I'd like to yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Congressman Clarke).

I now would like to yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Thank you, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen. And now I would like to yield to the gentleman from American Samoa, Congressman Faleomavaega.

I thank the gentleman from American Samoa.

I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Illinois, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

Thank you, Congresswoman Schakowsky.

I would now like to yield 2 minutes to another colleague of Don Payne from New Jersey, Congressman Bill Pascrell.

Thank you, Congressman Pascrell. And thank you for bringing the sympathies of Sinn Fein to the floor.

I would now like to yield 2 minutes to a person who served with Don for quite awhile on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Dan Burton of Indiana.

Thank you, Chairman Burton.

At this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to another colleague from New Jersey, Congressman Rob Andrews.

Thank you, Congressman Andrews.

At this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Troy, the gentleman from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis.

We are coming close to the end of our hour. I think our colleague will probably yield us some time, but I would like to close out this particular hour, and I ask unanimous consent to extend the hour to allow the Members who are on the floor to speak.

The next speaker would be Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Thank you, Congresswoman Lee. And thank you, everyone who's come out to pay tribute to Donald Payne this evening; and thank you, Father Conroy, for being here with us.

I recently had the opportunity to introduce Donald at an annual gala of the Mountainside Marketing Group, where he was being honored with the 2011 Congressional Minority Business Award, and it was really an honor to do that.

I talked then about his commitment to Africa and how I always told Donald I would never travel with him. You see, he was as comfortable, as you've heard, meeting rebels in the jungle as he was meeting Presidents and chiefs. State Department warnings meant nothing to him. You heard about his plane being shot at in Mogadishu, and he also did some jail time here at home for protests on behalf of the justice here and abroad.

Because of the high respect in which he was held by everyone on all sides, he was able to bring peace to warring factions, to broker truces, and to ease the pathway to democracy for many. And his legacy as a peacemaker was not limited to Africa. He's considered an honorary son of Ireland for his contributions there.

I talked that evening about his commitment to children. As a teacher, he used his senior position on Education and Labor to ensure that educational opportunities are available for all children, but especially poor and minority children. He worked hard to close the achievement gap, and was also a key player in legislation to reduce interest rates on college loans and to increase Pell Grants.

I was able to tell those gathered how working families had no stronger supporter of labor and worker protections than Donald Payne.

Last year the Health Braintrust and all of our partners honored Donald with the Congressional Leadership Award.

I had the honor also of traveling to Newark every other year to the Donald Payne health summits and health fairs. He was just as determined that the people in his district have access to quality health care as he was committed to their education and economic opportunity. It was always an event that was looked forward to and attended by thousands who were then connected to the health care system, some for the very first time.

But his commitment to health extended beyond his district to our entire country, to Africa and the Caribbean. He made sure that global health was added to the responsibility of the Subcommittee on Africa, which he chaired.

He led the effort to increase PEPFAR funding more than threefold. When President Bush signaled his willingness to go from 15 to 30 billion over 5 years, Donald took that as an opening to push for even more and, with Barbara Lee and others, parlayed that to $48 billion. He also led in ensuring that, for the first time, all the countries in the Caribbean would be included.

So it's no surprise that condolences are pouring in from all over the world, and I want to submit one from Dr. Claire Nelson on behalf of the Institute of Caribbean Studies.

There were only a few of us that knew that Donald was diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment. He was truly amazing. I thought he was even more feisty after his diagnosis than before. He would add his humorous commentary even more often at our meetings. He teased many of us mercilessly.

He led the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation with boundless energy which, of course, all of us on the board and the staff had to try to keep up with.

His most recent boat ride, of which he takes pictures with everyone who comes, was lots of fun as always; and he thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, as all of us did.

His work in this body, of course, never faltered, and I think he would have been a more formidable adversary or advocate, as the case might have been.

But above all, Donald was a dear friend.

In the end, he succumbed to the cancer, but up until the very last, he lived his life to the fullest. The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and he visited us several times, my family and staff join me in extending our heartfelt sympathy to his family: his children Donald, Jr., Wanda, and Nicole; his four grandchildren and his great grandchild; his brother, Bill, and sister Kathryn; Laverne, and all of his staff, past and present here and in the district; and the people of the 10th District of New Jersey.

Donald was not only a respected member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he chaired. He was loved by all of us. We will miss him terribly, but we will remember him with such great affection and consider ourselves blessed to have known him, to have served with him, and to have him call us his friend.

So long, Donald. Rest in peace. Until we meet again.

March 6, 2012.

Dear Friends: ``Every once in a while a GIANT walks the

earth.''

Over the past several years, I was privileged, to have

worked with Congressman Payne who was tireless in his support

for the Caribbean, as well as Africa. I remember well the

first time I moderated a Task Force at the CBC Annual

Legislative Caucus, that he

was Co-Chair of. He was so gracious, with my anxiety about

following the appropriate protocol. As Chair of the Bi-

partisan Caribbean Caucus, he led the way for us to have our

voice heard and helped us to understand how we as Caribbean

Americans may better impact the Congress he loved and served

so well.

On behalf of the Caribbean American community, ICS will

offer condolences to his family and friends as the

arrangements become known to us . . . by way of our Advisors

who were his personal friends.

In the meantime, I offer my prayers of thanksgiving for his

life and legacy and my prayers of comfort to those he loved

best. May he rest in peace.

Dr. Claire Nelson,

President of the Institute

of Caribbean Studies.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This evening, the Congressional Black Caucus is pleased to have a few minutes of Special Order time to again come back to the issue of voter protection.

As we know, many States have either passed laws restricting voter participation in elections or are in the process of doing so. These attacks, as we said last week, have taken many forms. They've been expanding the ban that prevents felons from voting, cutting election administration budgets, curtailing early voting, and eliminating same- day registration.

Just in November, two members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Keith Ellison and Gwen Moore, introduced a bill, the Voter Access Protection Act, which would protect those rights and restore same-day voter registration. The bill would reverse both the laws that curtail early voting and that eliminate same-day registration. Some of these laws allow for the intimidation of voter registration groups. Some States are imposing strict ID requirements, creating barriers in getting the required ID and also putting up barriers to students who vote where they attend school.

Tonight, I am going to be joined by several Members, beginning with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, to again begin to raise the country's awareness of some of the voting restrictions that are being put in place across this country and to let the public know that the Congressional Black Caucus, just as we did last year, will go across the country to raise awareness of the need for jobs. We will have job fairs from which we have actually put people to work in several cities across this country. We've matched people who were out of work with jobs. We're still waiting for this Congress to pass jobs legislation, the American Jobs Act, and many of the other pieces of legislation that the CBC and other Members have put forth, but this time we're going to go across the country and focus on protecting the right of Americans to vote.

At this time, I would yield such time as she might consume to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.

I thank you for coming and for making that very strong presentation and for sharing that story with us which lets us know that, not so very long ago, people were really blocked from voting and took their lives in their hands just trying to exercise that simple right, the right to vote.

I would like to now yield to our colleague from Ohio, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

Well, thank you. We appreciate your joining us and pointing out some of the inconsistencies that are occurring in Ohio and also paying tribute to Toni Morrison.

We do have one of the gentlemen of the Congressional Black Caucus joining us tonight, and that is Congressman Al Green of Texas, a leader in his area in the NAACP for many years, and now a leader in the Congress and all the time a leader of our country.

Thank you for joining us, Congressman Al Green.

Thank you, Congressman Green. And thank you for reminding us of the many, many unsung heroes and heroines on whose shoulders we also stand here today.

This is Black History Month, and on many occasions throughout February the Congressional Black Caucus will be here on the floor to talk about the ones that we know and those that we don't hear much about. There is a lot of our history that of course we're very proud of--the Long March to Freedom, the march for the right to vote, and today, where we now have 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. But we also have history that we're not going back to; and Sheila Jackson Lee, when she was speaking earlier, reminded us of some of that history.

Going back to the other topic of our Special Order, the right to vote and protecting that right to vote, tomorrow the Congressional Black Caucus, led by our chairman, Reverend Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, will be submitting a House resolution condemning the passage of legislation that would unduly burden an American citizen's ability to vote, and opposing any State election law or proposed legislation that would have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities across this country.

When we introduce this, I think this is clearly a resolution that would signify the sense of Congress. It should be a resolution that every Member, Republican and Democrat, should support, supporting the right of every American citizen to vote freely and to have that vote counted. And we would invite all of the Members of the House to join us in that resolution, to become cosponsors, and we would ask the leadership to bring it to the floor for a vote.

Again, it condemns the passage of legislation that would unduly burden an American citizen's ability to vote and opposes any of those State election laws or proposed laws that would have a disproportionate impact, because historically we know that people of color have been barred from voting.

The passage of these restrictive voting laws, the resolution reminds us, is reminiscent of the Jim Crow-era poll taxes and literacy tests that disenfranchised thousands of African Americans. It also reminds us that these laws do more to suppress the right to vote than to protect our electoral system. There's a lot of talk about these laws being passed and proposed because of fraud in the election system, but there's no proof that there is any fraud. So these laws are really about suppressing the right to vote.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

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