Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker for his heroic efforts on April 13, 2012.

Mayor Booker returned home last Thursday evening to find flames erupting out of his neighbor's home. His neighbor screamed that her daughter was still inside. The mayor ran inside without hesitation, hoping to rescue the woman he had known for years. In doing so, Mayor Booker suffered second-degree burns and smoke inhalation. The woman who was trapped inside the burning home suffered second-degree burns on her back. Mayor Booker's neighbor, Zina Hodge, said ``If Cory wouldn't have came in there and rescued me, I would have died in there.''

Mayor Booker is one of our Nation's foremost Mayors. As Mayor of Newark, he has worked diligently to create thousands of jobs, reduce crime, and improve education. Mayor Booker's leadership has attracted approximately $100 million in private philanthropy to the City of Newark, and a variety of nonprofits and public-private partnerships have been created with the goal of improving the lives of Newark residents. Mayor Booker is a shining example of what being a public servant truly means.

Mr. Speaker, Mayor Booker continues to strive to improve the lives of the citizens of Newark. I would like to recognize the Honorable Cory Booker for his determination, hard work, and bravery. His dedication and leadership are outstanding models for public service.

Mr. Speaker, roughly 120,000 jobs were added to the economy in March, marking the 25th consecutive month of increased private sector employment.

In 2 years, American businesses have created 4.1 million jobs. Just last month, the unemployment rate was down to 8.2 percent. While the stimulus bill enacted in 2009 aided in the recovery, there is still much more that this Congress can do to close the employment gap. Instead, Republicans in Congress have insisted on either blocking Democratic job creation proposals entirely or aggressively pursuing legislation that concentrates on special interests and the superwealthy.

Mr. Speaker, as long as millions of Americans continue to struggle, we have the responsibility to engage in a meaningful way that will get our economy back on track.

Mr. Chair, I rise to support H.R. 4348, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II, but I do so with a great deal of reservation. The simple fact is that we must pass a transportation reauthorization for the benefit of the country, as the piecemeal extensions cannot provide cities and states adequate time to plan, and result in wasteful spending of our precious infrastructure dollars.

The current bill was crafted in backrooms of the GOP leadership, without the benefit of hearings or a markup. This bill does not include one Democratic amendment, and contains numerous poison pills such as the Keystone XL pipeline that will be non-starters with Senate conferees. Up until the present time, the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee has worked in a fashion that focused on shared goals and producing the type of legislation that creates jobs, improves safety, and keeps Americans safe on the roads they travel. As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I can say that this reauthorization process in the House has been a stark departure from the traditional bipartisan process, and the quality of the bill has suffered as such.

Nevertheless, I support final passage of H.R. 4348 because it will enable the House to conference with the Senate on the reauthorization, and with a reauthorization in place, we can begin to repair our crumbling infrastructure and get thousands of American back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Baylor women's basketball team for winning the 2012 NCAA national championship. I was born in Waco, Texas, home of Baylor University, and I am so proud of my hometown team.

The Baylor Lady Bears did more than win, they made history. The Lady Bears completed a 40 0 season on April 3rd, 2012, by defeating Notre Dame 80 61 in the championship game. They became the first team, men's or women's, to go undefeated and win 40 games in one season.

Baylor University women's basketball team also made television history. With 4.24 million viewers, their game ranks as the most viewed national championship final since 2004. Brittney Griner, the Associated Press Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament, led the Lady Bears in their sound defeat of Notre Dame. I am pleased to hear that Brittney intends to stay in school and is on track to finish her undergraduate degree.

Baylor University, which also happens to be the alma mater of my own sister, has the most wins combined in football, men's basketball, and women's basketball of any Division I school this season. Baylor should be proud of their many accolades. They have worked so hard to succeed not only in sports, but academically as well. Baylor is a top ranked national university and is an academic gem for the State of Texas and our country.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in celebrating the Baylor University women's basketball team for their historic accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Bernard Rapoport, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. Mr. Rapoport was 94 years old when he passed away in his hometown of Waco, Texas.

Bernard Rapoport was born into humble beginnings. As the son of Russian immigrants, Mr. Rapoport began working at an early age to help his family survive the most trying times of the Great Depression. Out of this experience, Mr. Rapoport developed a tremendous value for education and hard work, and would promote this universally throughout his life.

After moving to San Antonio, Mr. Rapoport began a career selling insurance, where he quickly realized his true talents and passion for the work. Mr. Rapoport opened his own insurance agency in Waco, and launched a long and successful career. Mr. Rapoport ultimately founded the American Income Life Company and expanded it to become one of the Nation's largest providers of supplemental life insurance.

Mr. Rapoport understood well the values of social responsibility, and used his success to help others in need. Using $46 million of his own money, Mr. Rapoport established the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation in 1987. Consistent with his values, the Foundation focuses on promoting educational, healthcare, and cultural programs for the community in Waco and elsewhere. For his widespread generosity, Mr. Rapoport was named as one of America's ``40 most generous philanthropists'' by Fortune magazine.

Mr. Rapoport's civic involvement continued well beyond his philanthropy, and he was well-known for his dedicated political involvement at all levels of leadership. Mr. Rapoport built strong relationships with presidents, senators, and representatives, and was frequently praised for his fierce advocacy.

Mr. Speaker, it takes a special person to become as successful in business and political activism as Mr. Rapoport. It takes an extraordinary person to use that success to contribute so selflessly to the community. It has come as a great loss to many people to hear of Mr. Rapoport's passing. I am pleased to honor Mr. Rapoport for his contributions, and his legacy will be preserved in the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation and the American Income Life Company.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. John S. Chase, a renowned architect, entrepreneur, and father. Mr. Chase passed away at the age of 87.

Mr. Chase was a man of many firsts. Just two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas must desegregate its graduate and professional schools, Mr. Chase enrolled to become one of UT's first black students. In his passionate pursuit to become an architect, Mr. Chase endured hate mail and heightened discrimination, and had to be shadowed by federal marshals in order to ensure his safety.

After graduating, Mr. Chase became the first African American licensed to practice architecture in the state of Texas. Unfortunately, his struggles with racism persisted, and white firms refused to hire him. Not easily discouraged, Mr. Chase overcame these obstacles by moving to Houston and opening his own firm. There, Mr. Chase went on to build homes, churches, schools, and public buildings that have left a lasting legacy throughout Houston.

Mr. Chase was diverse in his skills, and in addition to his career he was devoted to his community. In 1980, Jimmy Carter appointed Mr. Chase to serve on the United States Commission on Fine Arts, where Mr. Chase contributed to the design and aesthetics of federal interests as the first African American to serve on the Commission. Mr. Chase also made notable contributions toward expanding the educational resources for the University of Texas, including his work on the Martin Luther King Humanities Center and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Building.

Mr. Speaker, I am greatly saddened to hear of Mr. Chase's passing, and my thoughts are with those family members who are grieving his loss. We must honor his bravery for facing overwhelming adversity during a time of such uncertainty and racial strife. While there is little comfort in mourning a loved one, I hope his family can take solace in the lasting legacy he has left behind. Mr. Chase's many structures will serve to remind us of his personal triumphs.

Mr. Speaker, equality and justice are the underpinnings of our society. By adhering to the rule of law, we as a society place tremendous trust and faith in our judicial system to do what is righteous and just. The judicial branch of government, as established by the Founding Fathers, is the necessary check on the Executive and Legislative branches. Article III of the Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial and a jury of one's peers.

Justice is not something to be taken lightly or for granted. The integrity of our justice system is only as good as the people who participate in it.

We must continue to work to uphold the integrity of the judicial system by embedding these guiding principles into the fabric of society for future generations.

With the passing of John Payton, we lost a true civil rights pioneer and someone who fought every day to uphold the rule of law. Mr. Payton was a fierce advocate for equality and justice during a time, not so long ago, when such protections under the law were not enjoyed by all.

Mr. Payton frequently appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, in passionate battles to win equal rights for minorities. Mr. Payton showed us that there was still much work to be done--and now, millions more Americans can enjoy greater equality and enhanced protection from discrimination as a result of his contributions, in pursuing this ideal.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is still a beacon and a moral compass for the rest of the civilized world.

Not only do the people of this country rely on us for our guidance, but so do the people around the globe. As we once again find ourselves fighting to advance social progress, we must ensure that we continue to move forward by upholding the integrity of our laws and our judicial system.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize parliamentarian John V. Sullivan for his long and distinguished service to the House of Representatives. Tomorrow, after 25 years of service to the House, John is retiring.

John is one of only four Parliamentarians who have served the House of Representatives. In this rare company, John stands out. In many ways, the Parliamentarian is the keeper of order in a House increasing lacking in civility. That John is equally respected on both sides of the aisle is testament to his fair hand and steady demeanor.

Before coming to Congress, John served in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate General (JAG). In this capacity, John had to represent, in a legal capacity, many odd and unruly individuals: an experience that prepared him well for his current position.

I will miss John's steady presence as Parliamentarian. However, I know the House will be well served by the excellent staff John assembled during his tenure.

John, thank you for your lifetime of public service, and good luck in your future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose H.R. 4281, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012. I am opposing this measure because it is merely a 3-month extension, as opposed to a long-term reauthorization. States and municipalities need time to adequately plan their transportation projects, and these piecemeal extensions will not offer the certainty needed to see these projects through.

It has been more than a month since House Republicans reported their seriously flawed bill, and they do not have the votes to pass it. I have served on the Transportation Committee for 20 years, and up until now, the committee has worked in a bipartisan fashion to produce a sound and commonsense transportation policy.

Instead of voting on another extension, we should be considering the bipartisan Senate transportation bill. While I would prefer a longer reauthorization, the 2-year bipartisan Senate bill will provide the kind of investment in infrastructure and job creation that is desperately needed.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to oppose the Republican Budget. This budget is another giveaway to the wealthy, balanced on the backs of middle class families, the elderly, and the poor.

The Republican's budget would reduce spending to support Medicare program management by $207 million in 2013. These cuts hinder the ability to keep pace with growing Medicare and Medicaid enrollment. These cuts would restrict patient access to care and delay payments to providers.

Under the GOP budget, 9.6 million students would see their Pell Grants cut in 2012. Their budget would also result in $430 million in cuts to the Head Start program, with 60,000 low-income children losing access to early childhood education.

The GOP budget would also cut $350 million from nutritional assistance for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This would cut off funding for 700,000 women and children from receiving food necessary for healthy child development.

This ill-conceived budget would cut funds for Social Security by 5.4 percent in 2013 and 19 percent in future years, reducing vital services for our Nation's seniors. This budget ends the Medicare guarantee and increases costs for seniors--replacing Medicare's guarantee of health security with a voucher that shifts higher and higher costs onto seniors and the disabled over time. It cuts Medicaid by a third, while turning it into a block grant.

These are the priorities of the Republican majority in the House, Mr. Chair. The Republicans' FY2013 Budget favors tax cuts for the wealthy over the needs of children and seniors. The corporate tax cuts alone would cost $1 trillion in lost Federal revenue over the next decade. The Republican leadership's budget is a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans, who would receive an average tax cut of at least $150,000, while inevitably forcing drastic cuts on those most in need.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the Ryan Republican budget that will end Medicare as we know it.

Reminiscent of last year, the Republican budget provides tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires while ending the Medicare guarantees for our seniors, sticking them with the bill for rising health care costs.

The proposals in the Republican budget lack balance and jeopardize the health and economic security of our Nation's seniors. The 300,000 Texas seniors, who have saved almost $200 million on prescription drug costs since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, will be forced back into the prescription drug doughnut hole.

I urge my Republican colleagues to end this attack on our seniors, as they have already been through enough, and we have given the rich too much leeway while the middle class and the poor pay the bills.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) alternative budget.

The CBC Budget proposes an additional $10 billion in funding for general Science, Space and Technology activities. Specifically, this funding will apply towards agencies I oversee as Ranking Member of the Committee, such as NASA; the National Science Foundation and NIST; and to many programs we specifically authorized in the America COMPETES Act and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, including Noyce Scholarships; the ADVANCE program for women faculty; Graduate Research Fellowships; and many other important research and STEM education related programs.

The CBC Budget also invests an additional $2 billion towards Energy providing additional funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Department of Energy which also falls under my Committee's jurisdiction.

We all know that our nation's future strength is directly dependent upon our commitment to a robust science agenda. As Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we urge support for programs that broaden participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also called STEM.

As we call for increased funding for programs which broaden participation for STEM, we are concerned that the Administration's FY2013 budget holds funding for these critical programs flat even as other STEM programs grow and new ones are created. We remain concerned that we still have not actually moved the needle much in terms of participation in STEM by underrepresented groups nationwide.

Given the low participation by these groups in most STEM disciplines, the changing demographics of this country are going to catch up with us very soon with respect to having a STEM-skilled workforce for 21st Century jobs. In some industries we are already seeing a troubling skills gap that will only become worse if we don't broaden participation in STEM by minorities, and women for that matter.

As the first African American and first female Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, broadening participation in STEM remains a top priority of mine. Broadening participation is not a minority issue or a gender issue, it is a national competitiveness issue we all must work to address for our country's benefit.

The under-representation of women and minority groups in STEM fields is a severe impediment to the formation of an adequate American STEM workforce. The increased education and participation of this segment of the workforce is essential to supplying the American economy with the STEM expertise the country needs to innovate and remain competitive.

In 2008, the US Census Bureau recorded African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans as making up 28.2 percent of the US population, and yet, these groups only represent a mere 10 percent of the science and technology workforce. By the year 2050, minorities are predicted to represent 55 percent of the college population.

As a Caucus we support funding increases in programs which broaden participation in the sciences. Low-income and minority communities bear a disproportionate share of the national shortfall of highly qualified STEM teachers. Schools in these areas often lack adequate facilities such as science laboratories and other college preparatory tools that cultivate a hands-on, interactive learning environment.

Of great importance to us are funding and programmatic focus on high- need areas, low-income populations, and underrepresented groups wherever possible. We are pleased and supportive of the many provisions within the America COMPETES Act Reauthorization of 2010 which will result in improving the effectiveness and impact of activities to broaden participation across the entire $6 billion in research grants at the National Science Foundation. However, in order to expand participation of minorities in the sciences we still have some work to do.

We need to strengthen the capacity of community colleges in which many of our students are enrolled. We need to award more grants directly to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) involved in research collaborations, enabling these institutions to build their research capacity in ways that serve their own faculty and students best. We should provide more scholarships and other avenues to decrease the financial burden many African American students disproportionally face. Finally, we need to support programs which will lead to more African American teachers and mentors.

Mr. Speaker, as you know my commitment to priorities of the Congressional Black Caucus remains strong and as Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration to identify solutions to new, or persistent issues that threaten to set our nation back even as we continue to look forward to our future.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5, legislation which makes it more difficult for injured patients to hold medical providers, the drug industry, insurance companies, and nursing homes accountable for patient deaths and injuries. The so-called ``Protecting Access to Healthcare Act,'' is simply the same, repackaged tort reform proposal that has been considered on the House floor many times. This ``medical malpractice'' bill is a one-size-fits all, anti-individual rights bill that denies individuals their rights to redress when injured.

The medical liability components of H.R. 5 do little to control health care costs and do more to undercut the rights of patients. The $250,000 cap and high standard of proof for punitive damages would severely weaken the deterrent effect that punitive damages have on egregious misconduct. Forever freezing the damage caps further weakens future deterrent effects while further reducing benefits to injured parties.

According to the Institute of Medicine, approximately 98,000 people die each year in the United States from preventable medical errors. The best way to lessen healthcare costs associated with malpractice is to reduce incidents of malpractice, not bargain away the legal rights of injured patients and consumers. This bill does nothing to address patient safety, quality measurement, and care improvement strategies that could actually reduce costs.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 5 will not do anything to lower the cost of health care. If the compensation for injured patients is not sufficient, American tax payers will be left to pick up the tab. I urge my colleagues to consider very carefully who will end up paying at the end of the day.

Madam Speaker, for decades, women in this country have unfairly borne the burden of excessive health care costs. Fortunately, through the Affordable Care Act, millions of women no longer have to worry about going bankrupt if they get sick.

The Affordable Care Act ensures that being a woman will no longer be treated as a preexisting condition. The Affordable Care Act bans insurance companies from requiring women to obtain a referral for access to necessary OB/GYN care and bans insurance companies from dropping women when they get sick or pregnant.

Despite these accomplishments in women's health, the war on women continues in Texas. Governor Perry's political decision to forgo nearly $40 million in Federal funding for the Texas Medicaid Women's Health Program will leave 130,000 women without access to preventative health services.

Despite these obstacles, I will continue to fight for the increased access to quality health care for women in Texas.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act this week, we should reflect on the progress made in this country. It has only been two years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, but millions of Americans are already seeing lower costs and better coverage. This includes tens of thousands of people in the 30th District of Texas.

Texans are saving more than $1.3 million in health care costs, an average of $639.36 per beneficiary, and 210,700 Texans are directly saving on their Medicare prescriptions. Residents of my district, ranging from young adults to seniors to children with pre-existing conditions, are all already receiving critical benefits. 9,100 young adults in my district now have health insurance, and 54,000 seniors have received Medicare preventative services without paying any co- pays, coinsurances, or deductibles.

Mr. Speaker, as the many benefits of the health care law continue to be implemented, I will continue to fight efforts to repeal this critical law. Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act will put the insurance companies back in charge and will lead to higher costs and reduced benefits for millions of Americans across the country.