Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Oleg Smurygin for his continued contribution to the health care initiatives of his community.

Mr. Smurygin was born to a middle class Jewish family to Yuriy and Bella Smurygin on April 7, 1966, in Kiev, Ukraine. He attended school in Kiev from 1973 until 1983, when he was recruited into the army for 2 years. Mr. Smurygin served as a Sergeant in the army from 1985 until 1987 under Special Forces by the border of China, Khabarovsk City. Once Mr. Smurygin was discharged in 1987, he attended the University of Kiev, where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in the Arts in 1991.

In 1992, Mr. Smurygin and his family decided to relocate to the United States as refugees. He supported his family working at Victoria Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, New York as a full time regular security guard. With more experience, Mr. Smurygin was promoted to shift supervisor and eventually to Director of Security in 2006. Spending over 10 years at Victoria Memorial Hospital, he was awarded Victory Memorial Hospital 10 Year Award of Excellence.

When the Victory Memorial Hospital closed its doors in 2009, Mr. Smurygin headed to the PAIN Institute as a Business Manager.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and accomplishments of Mr. Oleg Smurygin.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Mark Gladstein for his ongoing ability to serve his community by providing advanced health care options.

Dr. Mark Gladstein is a founder and a medical director of Brooklyn's leading pain management facility, Pain Institute of New York.

He is offering his community an expert team of personnel that have completed over 4,000 procedures per year--retaining the recognition of being the fastest growing, advanced, and most diverse pain management practice in New York. With locations in Brooklyn and Queens, Dr. Gladstein's practice serves over 2,500 patients from all five boroughs as well as outside of New York City and all walks of life, ethnicities and religious backgrounds.

Being in practice for over 8 years, Dr. Gladstein has gained the trust and respect of the community by providing the most advanced care in the field. Their patients receive quality care in an accredited state of the art office and ambulatory surgery facility. To this end, the entire skilled staff follow one simple philosophy: pain is an individual struggle and requires a unique and personal approach to manage. This approach allows Dr. Gladstein and his staff to personalize their attention to patients in a unique way.

Over the past years, Dr. Gladstein's achievements have been recognized by his peers and patients alike. He is a recipient of multiple Patient's Choice Awards, Consumer Research Council of America Awards as well as multiple teaching awards.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the many accomplishments of Dr. Mark Gladstein.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Oleg Smurygin for his continued contribution to the health care initiatives of his community.

Mr. Smurygin was born to a middle class Jewish family to Yuriy and Bella Smurygin on April 7, 1966, in Kiev, Ukraine. He attended school in Kiev from 1973 until 1983, when he was recruited to into the army for 2 years. Mr. Smurygin served as a Sergeant in the army from 1985 until 1987 under Special Forces by the border of China, Khabarovsk City. Once Mr. Smurygin was discharged in 1987, he attended the University of Kiev, where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in the Arts in 1991.

In 1992, Mr. Smurygin and his family decided to relocate to the United States as refugees. He supported his family working at Victory Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, New York as a full time regular security guard. With more experience, Mr. Smurygin was promoted to shift supervisor and eventually to Director of Security in 2006. Spending over 10 years at Victory Memorial Hospital, he was awarded Victory Memorial Hospital 10-Year Award of Excellence.

When the Victory Memorial Hospital closed its doors in 2009, Mr. Smurygin headed to the PAIN Institute as a Business Manager.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and accomplishments of Mr. Oleg Smurygin.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Howard Kagan for his support and dedication to serving Brooklyn and its youth through public advocacy and educational programs.

Mr. Kagan was born in Brooklyn, NY, and was the fifth of five children. He graduated from Brooklyn College where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree and later received his Master of Science Degree from Brooklyn College. For several years Mr. Kagan taught English and Math at the Middle School level as he has certification in General Education and Special Education. Working in the education field, Mr. Kagan has held the responsibility of being a teacher, educator and special

education teacher for the New York City Board of Education for 20 years. He was also a Track Four Coordinator for Severely and Profoundly Handicapped children.

Following his tenure at the New York City Board of Education he went to Brooklyn Law School and received his J.D. degree in 1989. He has had a private practice since 1989 specializing in all forms of personal injury cases, including slip and falls, auto accidents, medical malpractice and general negligence. His private practice is an Accredited Business with the Better Business Bureau since 2008 and has an A+ rating. Mr. Kagan has been actively practicing law for 22 years and has hosted an internship program for college and law students. Furthermore, Mr. Kagan advises law students and recent law graduates on how to start their own practices and on the basics of Tort law.

As a lawyer Mr. Kagan was admitted to the New York State Bar in June of 1989, and is admitted to practice in New York State and New Jersey. Besides his love for people and children, Howard loves reading, stained glass, traveling, Jai alai and flying Cessna 150's.

Mr. Kagan has four children of his own; two sons who are attorney's and one who is currently studying at Columbia Dental school. He has also been happily married for 25 years.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and success of Mr. Howard Kagan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. James Aurora for his exceptional service to his community and the youth.

James Aurora is a third generation of owners of the now famous Sonny's Collision Specialists in Brooklyn, New York. This renowned business has been serving the community for 60 years and has gained a distinct reputation for quality customer service.

Mr. Aurora has built an operation that employs 25 professionals that offer clients guaranteed personal attention. In the years that Mr. Aurora has been operating Sonny's Collision Specialists he has never known any unsatisfied customers. Every customer of Sonny's has only experienced top notch service in the most expeditious manner.

Jimmy Aurora knows the importance of giving. Sonny's is not only a staple in the community for their expertise in auto body collisions, but they are famous for their giving spirit. Mr. Aurora on a yearly basis has sponsored cricket teams, baseball leagues, and boys' clubs, along with donating thousands of dollars towards autism awareness and the American Cancer Society. He has not only provided a necessary service to his community but he has found the means to give more to those in dire need.

Mr. Aurora lives by the company's motto: ``Perfection is not an accident.'' Jimmy proudly represents his heritage and family legacy by ensuring that Sonny's Collision Specialists continues to be a leader and trendsetter in auto body collision work.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and accomplishments of Mr. James Aurora.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the important and essential role that athletic trainers play in providing quality health care across our nation. Our nation's health care system is complex and every day people with many different health needs are served by legions of caring, qualified, and professional athletic trainers.

Athletic trainers are health care professionals who hold at least a bachelor's degree in athletic training. Almost 70 percent of athletic trainers have a master's degree or PhD. Athletic trainers are licensed health care professionals who provide injury prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation to patients of all ages.

Athletic trainers work under the direction of physicians to provide care to patients. Historically, they worked with athletes in secondary schools, colleges, universities and professional sports. Today, about 50 percent work outside of these athletic settings. Many athletic trainers are employed by clinics, hospitals, physician offices, commercial workplaces, the United States Armed Forces, and performing arts companies. The focus of athletic trainers' care is to prevent injuries and support patients and clients in their rehabilitation efforts to regain function as quickly and safely as possible.

Athletic trainers pass a national certifying exam. In most of the 46 states where they are licensed or otherwise regulated, the national certification is required for licensure. Athletic trainers maintain this certification with required continuing education. They work under a medical scope of practice, and adhere to a national code of ethics.

Unfortunately, in 2005, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a policy to prevent physicians from employing anyone other than a physical or occupational therapist and speech language pathologist to provide physical medicine and rehabilitation services in a physician's office.

Due to all of these facts, I have proudly introduced the Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare Act of 2011. This bill would make the following improvements:

Ensure coverage of and improve patient access to physical medicine and rehabilitation services under Medicare Part B;

Allow physicians to choose from a wider range of highly qualified health professionals to serve patients' needs; and

Restore the ability of athletic trainers to provide physical medicine and rehabilitation services incident to a physician's services.

I strongly support the vital role athletic trainers play in our health care system. I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing this important group of health professionals and co-sponsor the Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this bi- partisan legislation that will help protect consumers against dangerous products that may do them harm. This legislation affects a broad spectrum of our economy, from the manufacturers of toys to the children that play with them. I am truly delighted that Democrats and Republicans were able to come together to support a plan to increase the safety of all children's products manufactured in this country. I am also pleased that this bipartisan agreement addresses some of the unintended consequences of the original legislation without sacrificing the safety requirements that I believe are necessary to protect our children.

Our committee has had several months of consultation with industry officials to alleviate the burden placed on them by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act's (CPSIA) new standards and regulations. These common sense reforms such as allowing flexibility for the CPSC to exempt specific products and exclude certain used children's products were supported by many of the stakeholders that will be affected by the legislation we are considering today.

I again want to commend Chairman Bono Mack and Ranking Member Butterfield for coming together and bringing this improved legislation to the floor. I encourage my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation, I also urge my colleagues to continue to work together in the spirit of bi-partisanship to protect the standards of safety that our constituents demand of us.

Mr. Speaker, I received a call yesterday from a senior citizen in my district that disturbed me greatly. It tore at my heart to hear the fear in her voice as she begged me to do all that I can to protect senior citizens, and I assured her that I would. She went on to say how hard she worked during her life. She kept her part of the bargain, and now she expects her government to do the same.

It really bothers me to hear some people suggest that poor Americans and senior citizens who get checks from the government are freeloaders. Everybody in Congress gets a check from the government. How can they consider themselves as being different?

We need to stop, regroup, and think about what we are doing. We need to think about all those people who have played by the rules, and now we want to change the rules in the middle of the game. Mr. Speaker, that is wrong.

Mr. Speaker, today, Congressman Ed Towns joined millions of grateful recipients in celebrating the 46th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare, signed into law on July 30, 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. Today, Medicare provides comprehensive health care coverage to 47 million Americans, including 39 million seniors and eight million people with disabilities under the age of 65 years old. Many consider Medicare one of the crowning achievements of the Democratic Party.

``On the 46th anniversary of Medicare it is important to recognize the profound impact it has had on American families. Slightly more than half of Americans over the age of 65 years had health coverage in 1964. Today coverage is virtually universal,'' stated Towns. ``Because of Medicare, millions of Americans enjoy guaranteed benefits and affordable premiums for health care at a time in their lives when they need it most.''

Medicare is arguably the best anti-poverty program to ever come out of Congress. Nearly 30 percent of seniors lived below the poverty line in 1964. Since Medicare was signed into law that number has dropped to 7.5 percent. Recent studies have shown, the average Medicare beneficiary saves hundreds of dollars per year in premiums because of Medicare. Most Americans believe Medicare must be preserved, regardless of age.

``Support for Medicare is nearly universal among Americans across the political spectrum, yet we have heard recently proposals that would end the program as we know it,'' Towns stated. Some of my colleagues passed a budget that would replace Medicare with a voucher system where seniors would be forced to spend $6,000 on average to purchase private insurance. I have made a commitment to vigorously fight any policies that would change Medicare. Medicare is a program that has worked well for millions of Americans and their families and I will do all I can to preserve it.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Reverend Reginald Lee Bachus on the occasion of his installation as pastor of the Mount Ollie Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York.

Brooklyn has long been known as the ``Borough of Churches'' and has a rich history of outstanding contributions by churches of many denominations to enhancing the quality of life for its residents. The Mount Ollie Baptist Church is one such religious institution that has a long history of service to Brooklyn and has been led by a succession of outstanding clergy.

The Mount Ollie Baptist Church was organized and founded in 1932 by the late Reverend Henry Milerson and was incorporated on October 4, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. The present edifice built under the leadership of Pastor R. D. Brown, established Mount Ollie Baptist Church as the first Baptist church to be constructed in the Brownsville community. In 1987, Reverend Spurgeon E. Crayton was called to pastor Mount Ollie Baptist Church and directed a ministry with many innovative programs that impacted the entire Borough of Brooklyn.

The installation of Reverend Reginald Lee Bachus as pastor of Mount Ollie Baptist Church continues the tradition of outstanding preachers who have led this great church. Reverend Bachus is a product of Prairie View A&M University where he earned a B.S. in electrical engineering, and Yale Divinity School where he earned his Master of Divinity degree and distinguished himself as a member of the 2009 Admissions Committee, Senior Class Officer, Chair for the Yale Divinity School Baptist Student Fellowship, and an officer of Yale Black Seminarians

The son of Reverend Reginald E. Bachus, pastor of the historic Friendship Baptist Church in Chicago, IL and grandson of Reverend Dr. C.L. Bachus, pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Kansas City, KS, Pastor Bachus embodies the spirit of prophets and lives by the creed, ``woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!'' (1 Corinthians 9:16).

On behalf of the residents of Brooklyn, New York, I am delighted to welcome this outstanding preacher to our Borough and look forward to many years of his leadership as pastor of Mount Ollie Baptist Church.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and accomplishments of Reverend Reginald Lee Bachus.

Mr. Speaker, this is a sad day in America. There are people who have to choose between paying their bills and eating a decent meal.

All I hear is that we have a spending problem. ``We have a spending problem. We have a spending problem.''

I want to be sure we do not try to solve our spending problem on the backs of the poor, on the backs of children and on the backs of our senior citizens. We have been cutting services for the poor, children and seniors for years. Go back and look at the record, and you will see that this is a fact. If you add up all of the money we are spending on children and seniors, it would not begin to make a dent in the Federal deficit.

We spend less than 10 percent of the budget on children. That means we are not seriously investing in the future of this Nation. When we cut programs like WIC, we are literally taking the food out of the mouths of babies, so I say our priorities are certainly misguided or upside down. When we cut tens of millions of dollars from juvenile justice delinquency programs, then we'd better get ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on more prisons.

When we look to save money by cutting Medicare and Social Security, we really do a disservice to the senior citizens in this country. Senior citizens have worked all of their lives putting a good portion of their paychecks into a system that paid for the well-being of their parents and grandparents.

If the truth is to be told, today's seniors have paid more than $2.5 trillion extra into Social Security so that it would be safe, and here we are talking about making cuts. When President Ronald Reagan signed the law to increase the payroll tax, it was to make sure Social Security would be there for future generations; but the government spent the money, and now we want to make seniors pay again. That is wrong.

Our senior citizens have paid enormous sums of money into Medicare, and now people are talking about ending it as we know it. Certainly, rising health care costs are causing Medicare problems, but we can fix those problems without making it a voucher program.

I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a deep breath and to think clearly about what we're doing. Children and seniors are the most vulnerable citizens in our country. They are depending on us to use sound judgment and not be swayed by the political gamesmanship.

I stand here this morning to tell you that I intend to fight for the well-being of our children and our senior citizens. Of course, we need to uncut, uncap and get some real balance into this discussion, recognizing the fact that our children and our seniors must be protected. Of course, every time I hear one of our Members talking about the fact that we need to cut Medicare, that we need to cut WIC, I think that we need to stop and take a real, real deep breath and recognize that, when we do that, we end up creating other things, and we do not save money.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Pastor Mary Allen for her devotion and work with her church and within her community.

Pastor Mary Allen is a loving wife and proud mother of two beautiful children, Minister Monica Allen and Minister Clinton Allen. She has been married to Bishop Clenso Allen for 45 years and they celebrated their wedding anniversary on May 3, 2011.

Prior to her extensive involvement with her church, Pastor Mary Allen was an employee at Chase Manhattan Bank for 17 years. She eventually left the business world to pursue a calling in prayer and righteousness. Pastor Mary Allen has taken up leadership roles as the head of the Daughters of Naomi Women Empowerment Fellowship in her church and as the Director of the Calvary Outreach Ministry. Pastor Mary Allen uses all at her disposal to engage the needy and spread her ministry to them.

In 1995 Pastor Mary Allen attained a higher level of ministry as she was ordained as an Elder. She pursued this higher level of ministry after God called her to proclaim His word and spread her faith among her peers. She is presently serving as co-Pastor under the leadership of her husband Bishop Clenso Allen.

Pastor Mary Allen has acquired several accolades over the years because of her work with the church. On June 15, 2008 she received her Doctor of Divinity Degree from International Christian University in Chesapeake Virginia. In March 2010 she was named by District Attorney Charles Haynes along with 30 other women as Outstanding Women in Brooklyn, New York.

Pastor Mary Allen continues to spread the word of the Lord and works fervently within her community to help the needy. Her favorite Scripture can be found in the book of Philippians 4:13, ``I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me''.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and accomplishments of Pastor Mary Allen.

Mr. Speaker, let me just sort of set the record straight and explain things.

When President Obama came into office, we were in debt, and we were also involved in two wars. And when President Clinton left office, there was a surplus. So we need to make certain that we keep our facts in line.

So I stand here this morning with the Out of Poverty Caucus to voice my opposition to the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act passed by this body yesterday.

Furthermore, I'm very disturbed that many of the policies being promoted by some of my colleagues are unjust and they are just plain wrong. Cutting back on Medicare and Social Security is unfair to the senior citizens who have worked hard all of their lives and should not have to worry at this point whether they can afford to go to the doctor or buy the medicine that they need.

Let me add, I am baffled at times by the fact that many of my colleagues refuse to even consider how unjust their proposals are. Yes, we must reduce our debt burden. I agree with that. But it is unjust to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and most vulnerable citizens in our Nation.

The wealthy must join in the sacrifice. They must be included. According to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, two-thirds of the income gains in the United States from 2002 to 2007 went to the top 1 percent of the income earners. Many of my colleagues are saying give them more tax breaks. They're not even asking for more. But they're saying give them more.

Many of the Members of this body believe it's all right to balance the budget by taking food out of the mouths of babies, by cutting WIC programs. Imagine how terrible it must be for a mother or father to send their kid to bed hungry at night.

That is why I stand for the Out of Poverty Caucus and say enough is enough.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 2553, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011. This bill would add controversial policy riders that have not been negotiated and would cause undue harm to critical FAA programs that support thousands of public and private sector jobs. I urge my colleagues to pass a clean FAA extension so that capital accounts

which support Grants-in-Aid for Airports, Facilities and Equipment can continue to remain functional. Without this much needed funding stream these programs would be shut down, and approximately 4,000 employees would be furloughed. With a 9.2% unemployment rate nationwide Congress must act in a bipartisan manner to help stabilize and enhance job creation. Again I urge my colleagues to come to a reasonable consensus and support a clean extension of airport and airway funding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this Administration to join in the efforts to reach a reunification agreement on the island of Cyprus.

For many years, international organizations have been engaged in the efforts to bring about a negotiated compromise to the dispute in Cyprus and a reunification of the island. These negotiations have been focused around coming to a solution which benefits both Cypriot communities.

On July 7, 2011, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva in a new effort to reach a deal on reunification. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon is pushing both sides to come to an agreement before Cyprus takes up a steering role in the European Union. This was the third round of three-way talks that Secretary Ban Ki-Moon has held with Cyprus Leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

I stand today to ask the Administration to take an active role to bring about a solution that would benefit both Cypriot communities. This ongoing disagreement is not helpful and reunification of Cyprus will only benefit the world community.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, testified that ``resolution of the Cyprus problem will have a tremendous impact on the region by strengthening peace, justice, and prosperity on the island, advancing Turkey's European Union accession, improving NATO-EU cooperation and removing a source of friction between two NATO Allies, Greece and Turkey.''

I wholeheartedly agree and urge the Administration to take action to ensure that an accord is achieved that would lead to an independent government with both Greek and Turkish Cypriot governmental engagement.