Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Shirley Ison-Newsome, the departing Assistant Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District. Ms. Ison- Newsome will retire after after 37 years of dedicated service.

Ms. Ison-Newsome has a long history as an educator and administrator within the Dallas ISD. She first began her work with the Dallas ISD during the 1970s, helping to lead further efforts to desegregate schools. Ms. Ison-Newsome's role within the Dallas ISD evolved quickly, as she assumed the role of principal of the Harry Stone Middle School, and then later as Area 2 Superintendent.

Ms. Ison-Newsome has contributed substantially to building Dallas ISD's academic program. She has frequently been recognized by her colleagues and outside organizations for her extensive work in education.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Ms. Ison-Newsome for devoting much of her life to the students of the Dallas ISD. I wish Ms. Ison-Newsome well in her retirement and her future endeavors. Public education is absolutely critical for our future generations, and having devoted educators as part of the public education system is an asset for the sound development of our youth.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. I was displeased that the House Committee on Rules decided late last night to consider this bill under a closed rule and would not consider any amendments submitted to H.R. 1911. My amendment would have extended Pay As You Earn in order to give past borrowers the same benefits afforded to new borrowers.

Pay As You Earn, created under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, reduces the monthly payment under Income Based Repayment, IBR, by a third, from 15 percent of discretionary income to 10 percent of discretionary income, and accelerates the loan forgiveness from 25 years to 20 years. However, it is only effective for new borrowers of new loans on or after July 1, 2014.

We need to protect students from high interest rates on these loans so they are not financially paralyzed for simply pursuing an education. In a global economy, putting a college education within reach for every American has never been more important. But it's also never been more expensive. On July 1, the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent if Congress does nothing, increasing college costs for over 7 million students by $1,000 per student, per loan. Unfortunately, this bill does not adequately provide the assistance our students need and instead exacerbates the college debt crisis.

According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, interest rates under H.R. 1911 will be higher than current fixed rates for millions of borrowers seven of the next ten years. Even more troubling, H.R. 1911 also includes provisions the will provide $3.4 billion in debt reduction. It will be a sad day in American history if should the Congress decide to further burden struggling students to reduce a national debt they will already be paying for throughout the course of their lives.

In Texas and all across the country, students and recent college graduates are now facing the highest unemployment rate of any other group. By 2018, 63 percent of all American job openings will require some sort of postsecondary education. In order for our country to remain competitive, we need to make college more affordable and accessible. Political gimmicks such as H.R. 1911 will only discourage our Nation's students from pursuing an education.

With the cost of higher education continuing to skyrocket, I simply cannot support a measure that will increase the financial burden for millions of students and their families. If Americans fail to address this issue now, we will default on commitment to a better future for our children. We owe it to our young people to provide the opportunities that will allow them to become successful and productive adults.

Madam Speaker, instead of working together to find a compromise to fully reverse the sequester, House Republicans have turned their backs on the American people and are jeopardizing our fragile economy. In fact, sequestration will cost 750,000 jobs this year alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

We saw last month how quickly and easily these cuts can be addressed when the Congress passed legislation to address traffic controller furloughs. But we have not been given the opportunity to address the 70,000 children who could lose access to Head Start or any of the

other programs that have been crippled.

Funding for the National Institutes of Health has shrunk by $1.5 billion, cutting into lifesaving medical research for areas that include breast cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. The cuts from NIH alone will result in a loss of more than 20,000 jobs and $3 billion in economic activity.

We can address these cuts, but the GOP's obstructionism has stalled all reasonable efforts.

We need to work on an approach that will fix sequestration while reducing our deficit sensibly.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to come to the table to compromise, and help find a solution that will keep our economy on track and growing.

As the Democratic side of the Texas delegation, I want to join the other Republicans that came up with the Oklahoma delegation and simply say that this is not a partisan issue. We stand ready to be of assistance to those people in Oklahoma.

I represent Dallas. That is closer to Oklahoma City than it is to Houston. No matter where tragedies may occur, we stand ready as American people to stand by those people who have been affected, notwithstanding party.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to H.R. 45, which would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act has significantly improved access to health care for Americans, and I strongly support it.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Texans are already seeing lower health care costs and receiving better insurance coverage. Over 7.5 million Texans now have no lifetime limit on most health insurance benefits, which will protect them from having their insurance cut off if they require significant medical care.

The Affordable Care Act has lowered prescription drug costs for over 200,000 seniors in Texas by closing the gap in drug coverage known as the ``donut hole.'' It has also allowed 357,000 young adults in Texas, who might otherwise be uninsured, to gain coverage through their parents' plan. Over 1.5 million consumers in Texas have received rebates from insurance companies because under the Affordable Care Act, insurers must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care and quality improvement rather than CEO pay, profits, and administrative costs.

The Affordable Care Act also promotes equal treatment for women. Starting in 2014, insurers will not be allowed to charge women higher premiums than men simply because of their gender. Because of the Affordable Care Act, insured women are already able to receive critical preventive services such as mammograms, birth control, and well-woman visits without paying any out-of-pocket fees.

Today marks the 37th time that Republicans have voted to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, Republicans seem to be treating the legislative calendar of the U.S. House of Representatives as a playing field for their political games. Instead, we should be working hard for the American people by passing legislation to create jobs, spur economic growth, and reform our broken immigration system.

The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it is working. Up to 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied health insurance, and nearly 13 million Americans have received $1.1 billion in rebates from their insurance companies. Texans cannot afford to lose the crucial health benefits that the Affordable Care Act provides. That is why I plan to vote against H.R. 45 and all future efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I am proud to stand with my colleagues and the President to support a health system that provides security, accountability, and peace of mind to Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Children's Medical Center Dallas. This year, Children's Medical Center Dallas celebrates its centennial, marking 100 years of providing quality health care to the Dallas community.

Children's Medical Center Dallas has consistently been recognized among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. It has more than fifty specialty and subspecialty programs, and was the first pediatric hospital in Texas to be designated as a Level I Trauma Center. Children's provides more than $65 million in charity health care annually to ensure access to treatment for many children whose families are unable to pay for their care. With nearly seven thousand employees and well over 200,000 patients served annually, Children's is an integral part of the Dallas community.

To expand the treatment options available for patients, Children's has partnered with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to create the Children's Medical Center Research Institute. This Institute builds upon the clinical expertise of Children's Medical Center Dallas and the scientific prowess of UT Southwestern Medical Center to conduct transformational pediatric research.

Over recent decades, I have seen Children's Medical Center Dallas grow and develop in its effort to continue providing superior healthcare for children and their families. I congratulate Children's on its 100th year of operation and commend the hardworking nurses, physicians, and staff at Children's for providing care to so many of Dallas' children.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize this week as National Nurses Week, and celebrate the life-saving work that nurses do every single day of the year. As the first registered nurse in Congress, I know from experience that nurses play a critical role in patient care, health promotion, and disease prevention. Nurses are the most trusted professionals in the country, and it is no wonder why. Nurses have the privilege and responsibility of caring for people at their most vulnerable, and they do it with grace and commitment.

Just as nurses care for us when we are sick, we must ensure that our health system supports nurses by enabling them to do their jobs safely and effectively. Research has shown us that when nurse staffing levels increase, patient risk of complications and hospital lengths of stay decrease. This, in turn, leads to cost savings.

As our health system changes to meet our future needs, nurses are leading the way. The Affordable Care Act and the Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing report both call for nurses to optimize their contribution to patient care.

Increased federal and state engagement is needed to ensure that America's nursing workforce remains strong in years to come. I believe we must expand nurse training programs and increase the number of nursing faculty available to teach the next generation. Only then will we begin to be able to address the national nursing shortage that could potentially jeopardize future patient access to care.

Mr. Speaker, National Nurses Week has been celebrated annually since 1991, beginning on May 6th, which is National Recognition Day for nurses, and ending on May 12th, the birthday of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. I am honored to have the opportunity to recognize all the dedicated nurses who came before me, and all those who have come after. Supporting the nurses who care for us is simply the right thing to do, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the Record opposing the GOP's unscrupulous Mother's Day gift--more work and less pay for working mothers. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers.

Madam Speaker, it has been more than 20 weeks since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook school; yet Congress has still been unable to pass a comprehensive legislative piece to curb gun violence in this country. While an overwhelming majority of Americans support expanding background checks, Senate Republicans last month blocked an important measure that would have expanded background checks to many types of private firearm sales.

I came here from the mental health field. Every day that the Republicans in Congress choose to block critical measures to reduce gun violence, we will prevent having a safe community,

because with the background check, many innocent sick people will be stopped. We cannot afford to continue to lose lives and have families severely impacted by senseless violence at the hands of criminals with deadly firearms.

Madam Speaker, we owe it to the American people to respond immediately to this violence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions of the Affordable Care Act to eliminating health disparities. Health disparities refer to the unequal health outcomes, ability to access health care, and rates of disease that impact certain Americans based on their income, race, ethnicity, or other identities. These disparities not only have devastating impacts on communities of color in my district, but they undermine health in historically marginalized communities across the Nation.

The disparities are staggering. For instance, in 2006, the infants of African American women had death rates over twice as high as infants of white American women. In 2009, the average American could expect to live 78.5 years, but the average African American could only expect to live to 74.5 years. African Americans also have significantly higher rates of hypertension and HIV than white Americans.

The impacts are financial as well as human. Eliminating health disparities would prevent approximately one million hospital stays per year, saving $6.7 billion in health care costs alone. Even more stunning, from 2003 to 2006, the direct and indirect costs of racial and ethnic health disparities totaled $1.24 trillion in the United States.

Insurance coverage is strongly related to better health outcomes, and African Americans have substantially higher uninsured rates than white Americans. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans who are currently uninsured, and will provide subsidies to make coverage affordable for low-income Americans. The Affordable Care Act will mandate that Medicare and some private insurance plans cover essential preventive services at no additional cost, so that more people will be able to prevent illness and stay healthy.

The Affordable Care Act invests in community health centers, which offer primary health care to patients regardless of income, and in coordinated care measures, such as providing care teams to help patients manage chronic diseases and funding home visits for pregnant mothers and infants. Patients may be more likely to visit the doctor and receive quality care if physicians are able to understand their cultural background, so the Affordable Care Act also devotes resources to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of health care providers and improving cultural competency training for all providers.

These are just some of the important ways in which the Affordable Care Act is working to eliminate health disparities. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to support the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act and eliminate health disparities for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of legislation we will consider today that will provide the Secretary of Transportation with the flexibility to transfer funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation Administration. It has now been almost two months since the sequestration cuts were enacted, and we are in new and unprecedented territory. This week alone, approximately 2,800 flights were delayed daily because of the Republican majority's refusal to address the effects of the sequester sensibly.

This bill would allow the Department of Transportation to shift $253 million in funds to the FAA's operations account to prevent the worst of these drastic cuts. This is simply a safety issue for the millions of passengers who travel our skies. Over the past five days, we have seen our national airspace system seriously compromised by the furloughs of air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals. In addition to the very serious safety concerns, the inconvenience of passengers, and the loss of wages to these federal workers, these delays have slowed commerce at a time when we should be doing everything we can to nurture our domestic economy.

Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that now that the actual effects of sequestration are painfully clear, Republican Members of Congress will come back to the table, and we can work on a bipartisan, common sense approach to ending sequestration.

Mr. Speaker, it has now been more than 7 weeks since the sequestration cuts were enacted, and we are in new and unprecedented territory. Furlough notices have already been sent to thousands of Federal employees and contractors, and many services are beginning to slow. While many of the worst consequences of the sequester have not yet been realized, the truth is that the wheels have been set in motion, and we are on a course that will have real impacts for millions of Americans.

As a result of employee furloughs, more than 1,200 flights were delayed yesterday because 1,500 air traffic controllers were laid off the job. Because of the Republican majority's refusal to address the effects of sequester sensibly, the FAA estimates that a third of the passengers will face delays during the furloughs, with up to 6,700 flights arriving late at more than a dozen major airports each day.

Beyond crippling our government's ability to provide critical services, the Republican sequestration plan is slowing the economic growth that our country so desperately needs.

In short, Republicans are putting the ability of our government to fully perform basic government functions that we need to keep us safe at risk.

We need to work on an approach that will fix sequestration while reducing our deficit sensibly.

We need to come to a compromise that will prevent these indiscriminate cuts, and keep our economy on track and growing.

Mr. Speaker, I think many times people wonder why so often we go back and give homage to our past. It's because we still suffer the damages of the past. And we don't forget the families that have given up so much just for us to be able to vote. And we still struggle for that vote. We still struggle for the right to vote, but we must continue. And I want to say to these families, and I know some of them personally, how much we appreciate the fact that they have been loyal to the cause, loyal to this country, loyal to our military, and stand strong today. And so I want to thank you very much for giving honor. I thank my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, it has been over 60 years since the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education desegregated our schools. Yet an achievement and opportunity gap remains among our minority and low-income students.

As Members of Congress who represent communities of color, the purpose of today's special order is to highlight an economic and social crisis America faces if this problem is not confronted and significant measures are not taken. Particularly, we must focus our efforts on closing the gap in the STEM disciplines. As the First Female and First African American Ranking Member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, this is an issue that is very serious to me and has been one of the pillars of my legislative agenda in the United States Congress for over 20 years.

Ensuring minorities are proficient in STEM is more than just a question of equity. We have a vast, untapped pool of talent in America, and this pool is continuing to grow. It is estimated that, by 2050, 52 percent of the U.S. population will be from underrepresented minority groups. Our ``Nation's Report Card,'' by the National Assessments of Educational Progress, shows that students from underrepresented minorities are falling behind in math and science as early as 4th grade.

At the Post Secondary level, even though students from underrepresented minorities made up about 33 percent of the college age population in 2009, they only made up: 19 percent of students who received an undergraduate STEM degrees Less than 9 percent of students enrolled in science and engineering graduate programs, and; Barely 8 percent of students who received PhDs in STEM fields. Frankly, all of these numbers are much too low.

I also must underscore the important role that community colleges play in providing to STEM degrees for minority students. 50 percent of African Americans, 55 percent of Hispanics, and 64 percent of Native Americans who hold bachelor's or master's degrees in science or engineering attended a community college at some point. We cannot afford to ignore the role of community colleges.

We have to drastically increase the number of African American students from these groups receiving degrees in STEM disciplines, or we will undoubtedly relinquish our global leadership in innovation and job creation. We know school administrators, teachers, community leaders, public-private partnerships and parents all play a critical role in addressing this issue. No one person or organization can do it alone. We must all work together to leverage our respective strengths and resources to tackle this challenge.

For example, the corporate community was highly involved supporting a bill I co-authored, the America COMPETES Act. As many of you are aware, I recently introduced the STEM Opportunities Act of 2013 this March. The STEM Opportunities Act of 2013 will help address many of the challenges faced by women and underrepresented minorities pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research careers by:

Requiring the National Science Foundation (NSF) to collect more comprehensive demographic data on the recipients of federal research awards and on STEM faculty at U.S. universities (while protecting individuals' privacy); ,Promoting data-driven research on the participation and trajectories of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM so that policy makers can design more effective policies and practices to reduce barriers; And developing, through the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), consistent federal policies, such as no-cost extensions and flexibility in timing for the initiation of the award, for recipients of federal research awards who have caregiving responsibilities, including care for a newborn or newly adopted child and care for an immediate family member who is sick.

We're all in this together, and working together I know we can achieve great success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a leader in my community and esteemed civil rights lawyer, Adelfa Callejo.

On Friday, April 12, Adelfa Callejo was given a most deserving honor when the Dallas Independent School District, DISD, dedicated an elementary school bearing her name. At the dedication, Adelfa Callejo, now 89 years old, stood up from her wheelchair and proclaimed, ``Only through education will we make the world a better place than when we found it.'' Throughout her life, Adelfa Callejo has improved the lives of countless individuals in my community through her life of good deeds and public service.

Adelfa Callejo was the first Hispanic woman to graduate from Southern Methodist University, SMU, Dedman School of Law. She has been in private practice in Dallas for more than 45 years. Working full-time during the day, Adelfa Callejo attended night school and graduated in 1961. Adelfa Callejo, an advocate for civil rights, has pursued community causes throughout her life and has won many awards for her years of service in the community and legal profession.

Mr. Speaker, Adelfa Callejo is an exceptional community leader and deserving of recognition for her contributions to society. Our country is a better one because of Adelfa Callejo.