Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, people helping their fellow men and women in their time of need is so prevalent amongst us that we can only believe it is an integral part of our makeup, that which gives us our humanity.

An organization in this mode is the Kagayaki Kobe Social Welfare Organization, in Kobe, Japan, who, with its volunteers and supporters, is dedicated to providing services to the physically and mentally handicapped, their families and to the community at large. Part of the aid includes job training, daily living skills, assisted living, training and support for family members, all ongoing features of this organization's selfless dedication to gaining acceptance, integration and fair treatment of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Kagayaki Kobe focuses on the individual needs of the disabled. It has promoted creativity and self expression through the staging of the popular ``Clown Angels'' performers, through art and calligraphy and in the production of crafts. The organization provides psychological and physical therapy, medical assistance and the forum for group activities to encourage openness and communication so that we all can better understand and provide assistance for others.

From November 20th through November 23rd the Kagayaki Kobe International Event will celebrate the people who strive endlessly to make possible the good work of this organization: Mrs. Polissa Choueke, International Liaison, Mrs. Miyoko Ikeyama, President, and Mrs. Natsuko Dama, Financial Director, and all of the volunteers and supporters who so are dedicated.

The Choueke Family, including Tony Choueke and Mrs. Polissa Choueke, also maintains a museum in Kobe as home to many artworks, antiques, interior decoration and a garden open to the public to benefit community events and charitable causes. The building, designed as an English mansion with a blend of Japanese and international influences, was acquired by the Choueke family in 1954 and for four generations, the Choueke family has been dedicated to its preservation and acquiring the artworks that adorn the interior.

As a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment I salute the efforts and cooperation between Kagayaki-Kobe and Mrs. Polissa Choueke in their dedication to the betterment of the mentally challenged, in furthering awareness and acceptance for the disabled, in providing both material and personal assistance to those in need, and working together to promote good will in nurturing the friendship between the people of Japan and those of the United States of America through service to others.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today as the sponsor of the Gestational Diabetes Act and urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.

I would like to thank my colleague and an original sponsor of the legislation, Dr. Burgess and his staff member, James Paluskiewicz for their efforts on behalf of this legislation. I would also like to thank the Committee staff who worked tirelessly to bring this bill to the floor today. Specifically, I would like to acknowledge Anne Morris of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Emily Gibbons of the Health subcommittee who is also a former member of my staff.

Madam Speaker, every single year 135,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. And, while gestational diabetes generally goes away after pregnancy, it can have significant health impacts upon both the mother and baby. In particular, women are at much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future, and their children are at higher risk of obesity and/or the onset of Type 2 diabetes as adults.

This is why I introduced the GEDI Act. This bill aims to lower the incidence of gestational diabetes and prevent women afflicted with this condition and their children from developing Type 2 diabetes.

We need to have a greater understanding on how to prevent and treat this condition. There is currently an insufficient system for monitoring cases of gestational diabetes to uncover trends and target at risk populations. In addition, new therapies and interventions to detect, treat and slow the disease need to be identified. The GEDI Act will help us accomplish those goals.

This legislation is supported by the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Association of Diabetes Educators, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Women's Association, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the International Community Health Services, and the Society for Women's Health Research.

The statistics surrounding diabetes are staggering, but we must always remember there is a human face behind every number, with far too many of them being pregnant women and their children.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this important legislation.

I thank my colleague from New York for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule on H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

We all know on September 11, 2001, what happened, and I said it on the House floor shortly thereafter and I repeat it again today that I was never more proud to be an American and a New Yorker than on that day. Many of my constituents rushed in to help. Tearfully, many of them perished.

But within days of the attack, over 40,000 responders from across the Nation, let me repeat, across the United States, 431 congressional districts out of 435, these heroes descended upon Ground Zero to do anything possible to help with the rescue, recovery, and cleanup.

The people that rushed in didn't put themselves first. They selflessly helped others. They rushed in to help their fellow human beings. And the question is, why should we now penalize these people who risked their lives?

They thought it was safe to work at the site and the air was safe to breathe. They were told this by Federal officials, that the air is fine, come down and help. They never questioned their own safety when they ran in to help others, because they put others in need ahead of themselves. And do you know what? The statements that were given about the air being safe to breathe were false. Many became sick, and the illnesses from exposure to the toxins have developed to become severe and debilitating, and for some deadly, and these heroes deserve more.

The past 9 years have not been kind to so many of the first responders who put themselves in harm's way and the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. It is estimated that up to 400,000 people in the World Trade Center area on 9/11 were exposed to extreme toxic environmental hazards, including asbestos, particulate matter, and smoke, and the illnesses that those exposed to the toxins developed are severe, debilitating, and, for many families, simply devastating.

Many people think that H.R. 847 is a special benefit for New York. No, it isn't. The benefit is, with these people, you get sick, you get sicker, and you die. That is not a benefit. Every single congressional district, save three or four, has constituents who were exposed to the fateful day.

So I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes on this rule so we can proceed with an honest debate on H.R. 847. The American public is fed up with the bickering and the fighting. This is something we can and should all come together for.

So I urge my colleagues, please, don't vote against this rule and don't vote down the bill because of any kind of politics. Let's honor the sacrifice that so many of our constituents made on that fateful day.

The pay-fors are fine for me. If others feel the pay-fors are not proper and want to change them, I am not particularly bothered by that. I think we need to all put our heads together and pass this bill, whatever the pay-fors are. The important thing is to pass this bill and help these people.

New York was attacked because it is a symbol of this country. It wasn't attacked because it is New York. It is New York, but New York is a symbol of the United States.

So let's work together in a show of unity. I have talked to a number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. We all want to get this done with. Let's get it done with. Vote ``yes'' on the previous question, vote ``yes'' on the rule, and vote ``yes'' on the bill.

I thank my friend from New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.

You know, I am going to try to speak from the heart. Those of us who represent districts in and around New York City all had constituents who died on 9/11. We all had friends who died on 9/11.

Remember after 9/11 how we all banded together as Americans? Remember singing ``God Bless America'' on the steps of the Capitol? Remember how it didn't matter if you were Democrat or Republican--we were all Americans that day, and we should all still be Americans above and beyond anything else?

I remember, on the Friday after the Tuesday attack, going with President Bush to Ground Zero, where he stood with a bullhorn and a fireman with him, where he pledged that there would be help forthcoming from the Federal Government. All we are asking now is to help these people who got sick--who were selfless, who didn't think of themselves, who responded, and who only wanted to try to help other people. They are now getting sick. They are now dying. They now need our help.

You know, it's not true, my friends, to say, Well, I'm for helping these people, but I'm not for this bill.

The bottom line is this: If you want to help the heroes of 9/11 and the first responders, you vote ``yes'' on the bill. If you don't want to help them and if you want to make excuses, you vote ``no'' on the bill. It's as simple as that. Yes or no. Yes or no.

Do we help the people who need our help now, those who responded on 9/11 when government officials told them that the air was clean and that it was okay to go down to Ground Zero, and they went there?

This is not a New York problem or a New Jersey problem or a Connecticut problem. This is an American problem. People are sick from 431 districts of the 435 districts, and who are we to turn our backs on them now?

So I beg my friends on both sides of the aisle, this is bipartisan. We're all American. Vote ``yes.''

I rise to express my support for the JCC Maccabi Games, which will be held in 2012 in Rockland County, New York. The JCC Maccabi Games is an amazing event where thousands of Jewish teams meet, compete, and learn the values of sportsmanship. 2012 will also be the 40th anniversary of the massacre at the Munich Olympic Games. I can remember the moment as if it were yesterday when, on September 5, 1972, 11 athletes and coaches representing the State of Israel were taken hostage and ultimately killed by terrorists. The Rockland JCC Maccabi Games will commemorate the solemn event. It is important to note that nearly 38 years after the Munich massacre, the International Olympic Committee has yet to memorialize these individuals with a moment of silence at the Olympic Games. This should happen, and I will introduce a resolution to encourage the International Olympic Committee in the next Congress to hold a minute of silence at the Olympic Games in 2012 and to urge that all future Olympics honor the Munich 11.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Rockland County, New York, which will host the 2012 Maccabi Games and look forward to joining with the community in celebrating the sport and friendship which these games are about.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 321, 111th Congress, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 1 o'clock and 4 minutes a.m.), the House adjourned until Monday, November 15, 2010, at 2 p.m.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1662, which expresses solidarity with the 33 trapped miners in Chile, whose story we've all been following in the news. Imagine: If we sit riveted to the tireless efforts of the rescue teams, what it must be like in Chile in ``Camp Hope'' where the families of the stranded miners hold vigil every day. Hope--Esperanza in Spanish--is a powerful force. In fact, the wife of one of the miners has given birth in the days since the collapse. The daughter's name: Esperanza.

Just last week, I met with the Chilean Defense Minister in my office. We spoke of miracles. For 17 days after the mine's collapse, not a shred of evidence existed that the men below were alive. Their families didn't know whether to grieve or to hope. Yet, on August 22, a miracle occurred. Discovering the miners were alive provided an entire country with hope and inspiration. And after a method was engineered to communicate with the trapped miners, my friend, President Sebastian Pinera, broadcast a message to the world from the miners: ``We are 33. We are fine.''

As we speak, engineers and other experts are leading three simultaneous efforts to rescue the miners. They involve sophisticated heavy machinery and precision drilling equipment, and every inch they descend into the mine must be undertaken with care. The miners are in a precarious situation. But the sense of optimism I observe in Chile is uplifting. The men have created a livable environment down there. They exercise, they pray, they play dominos. They are surviving--but they need the support of their families, their country, and people around the world.

Their rescue is imminent. I am proud that our government has stepped up to help in this difficult, but worthy endeavor. This is not an example of gaining political points or helping a political ally. This is our government doing what it does best: lending humanitarian support. A handful of medical experts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--NASA--are in Chile now. They are providing psychological expertise on the effects of isolation. They will be there when the miners emerge from their temporary homes and will assist in their reintegration. I commend their efforts.

I urge my fellow lawmakers to join me in voting in favor of this resolution, so that these 33 brave souls--whether they rise to the Earth's surface in one week or one month in a metal contraption aptly called ``The Phoenix''--their families, and those who collaborated in their rescue know that here in the United States this chamber has taken the time to reflect on the plight of these heroes and express solidarity with them.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 1517, the Conversion of Certain Overseas Customs and Border Protection, CBP, Employees. I would also like to give special recognition to my New York colleague, Representative King, for the hard work that he has put into this legislation.

H.R. 1517 would grant the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection the authority to non-competitively convert employees serving on overseas limited appointments into permanent employees. The need for this legislation was brought to my attention by fifteen U.S. CBP employees serving at pre-clearance centers in Ireland, who were incorrectly hired by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. These employees were hired on overseas temporary appointments, but the work requirement evolved into a permanent basis.

There are two ways for a Federal agency to fill permanent overseas positions: (1) By hiring locally engaged staff, LES, and/or (2) by U.S. direct hire. Yet, because an agreement between the United States and Ireland requires that all pre-clearance employees be ``permanent'' employees, and by definition employees on overseas appointments are ``limited'' employees (albeit in this case, limited for an indefinite duration), CBP is in violation of the two countries' agreement. More troubling to me, the fifteen employees on overseas limited appointments are not covered by the protections and immunities afforded by the agreement to ``permanent'' U.S. pre-clearance employees

Later, I learned the number of employees in similar positions included over thirty other CBP employees in Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Canada. It has been through no fault of their own that these loyal employees, some who have been protecting our country for almost twenty years, are now in employment limbo. Without this legislation, they will have to either become Locally Engaged Staff, who are compensated by and receive benefits from the Irish Government, or be placed into competitive positions that will require a return to the U.S. Either choice would destroy an established way of life in Ireland or an established career with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. H.R. 1517 would allow these employees to stay close to their families and keep their positions protecting our country.

I would like to applaud the House Homeland Security Committee for including language encouraging the CBP Commissioner not to be too disruptive to the employees when implementing this legislation. I recognize the standard CBP policy is for employees serving at overseas positions to rotate back to the U.S. after five years. However, in this extreme circumstance it would be best for the CBP to allow the employees to continue to serve where they are currently, with the years of experience they bring to their positions.

H.R. 1517 is a bipartisan bill. It is supported by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the employees. Each has had the opportunity for input into the final legislation.

I would strongly encourage my colleagues to join with me in support of this bipartisan legislation. Continued employment of these individuals is in the best interest of CBP as the work requirement remains and is critical to CBP protecting our Nation's borders.

Madam Speaker, Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhi and of Albanian descent, for over 45 years ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, first in India and then to other countries. She died in 1997 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

On the centenary of her birth, we celebrate the great work of this wonderful woman, who gave so much as an advocate for the poor and helpless that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

When she arrived in India, she became increasingly disturbed by the widespread poverty she saw in Calcutta. She began her missionary work in the slums in 1948, wearing a simple white cotton sari with a blue border. She began looking after the needs of the destitute and starving by begging for food and supplies.

In 1950, she received Vatican permission to start the congregation that would become the Missionaries of Charity with a mission to care for, in her words, ``the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.'' It began with 13 members and today has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.

She went wherever there was suffering. At the height of the war in Beirut she rescued children and brokered ceasefires; she helped the hungry in Ethiopia; radiation victims of Chernobyl; and earthquake victims in Armenia. She even opened a center in the South Bronx.

Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack in Rome in 1983, while visiting the Pope. After a second attack in 1989, she received an artificial pacemaker. In 1996, she broke her collar bone, suffered a bout of malaria, and her left ventricle failed. In failing health, she stepped down as head of Missionaries of Charity in March, 1997, and died on September 5, 1997.

Mother Teresa showed what can be done through dedication and love. She is a shining example of one who rather than curse the darkness, lit candles throughout the world to show us the way to help others.

Madam Speaker, I want to take up where the chairman left off. This is $26 billion that is paid for, and my Republican friends on the other side of the aisle don't want to do that, even though it is paid for. It will bring back teachers and it will bring back first responders. And instead, they want a $700 billion tax break for the rich that is not paid for. So that doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Madam Speaker, 160,000 education jobs could be lost if we do nothing, including 8,000 in my home State of New York. Congress can't sit by and let these jobs disappear and hurt our children. This assistance is critical to States as they struggle through the recession. This includes a $10 billion education jobs fund that will save 140,000 teachers. It is not a payoff to the teachers union, it is a payoff to our children and for the future of this country.

This will prevent deep cuts in education, health care, and social services. So, Madam Speaker, we should not play politics with American jobs. I continue to urge support for this bill to ensure that Americans are working and our economy is well onto the road to recovery.

I thank the chairman for yielding to me, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 5851.

A couple of speakers before me, the gentleman from Georgia on the other side of the aisle kept repeating the mantra of ``never let a crisis go to waste,'' and he was deriding this side because apparently he thinks that we should always forget a crisis and we should not take into account what we've learned because of the crisis.

You know, it is because of this crisis that we really need to redouble our efforts to protect people who live all around the Gulf of Mexico, to protect the workers, to protect the public from companies that really couldn't care less about them; and this Whistleblower Protection Act is going to do exactly that.

Now I'm on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I sat through every hearing that we had with oil officials and with the BP officials. And I'll tell you the truth; it was insulting the way Mr. Hayward came and wouldn't tell us anything because he was obviously told by his lawyers not to tell us, and the arrogance dripping from his mouth where he just seemed to not care at all about the havoc that BP had put forward in the gulf and even with the people who were killed.

I thank my friend from New Jersey for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, I was never more proud to be a New Yorker. Many of my constituents rushed in to help, and within days of the attack over 40,000 responders from across the Nation descended upon Ground Zero to do anything possible to help with the rescue, recovery, and cleanup.

Sadly, many of my constituents were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The people that rushed in to help their fellow human beings didn't put themselves first, they selflessly helped others. And the question is, should we now penalize these people who risked their lives?

Within minutes of the planes hitting the World Trade Center, New York's first responders mobilized to save those who were trapped or hurt. They thought the site was safe to work at and the air was safe to breathe. They never questioned their own safety when they ran in to help others because they put others in need ahead of themselves. And you know what? The statements that were given about the air being safe to breathe were false. Many became sick, and the illnesses from exposure to the toxins have developed to become severe and debilitating, and for some, deadly. These heroes deserve more.

New York was attacked because it is a symbol of our country. New York was attacked because the terrorists wanted to make a statement. The responsibility to help these sick first responders is not just a New York problem, it's an American problem, and we all have a responsibility to help those people no matter where we may live.

And let me say this to our Republican colleagues, please don't vote down the bill because it is on the suspension calendar or for any other excuse you may give. Whatever excuse you may give for voting ``no'' on this bill, the bottom line is that a ``no'' vote is a vote to turn your back on the first responders.

Please vote ``yes'' on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the death of a good friend of mine, Senator Thomas P. Morahan of Rockland and Orange Counties in New York.

Senator Morahan and I served together in the New York State Assembly back in 1980. He was elected to the State senate in a special election in 1999. He is well-known as someone who really cares and cared about people. As a Republican, and obviously I am a Democrat, he and I reached across the aisle many, many times to work very hard on legislation that was important to the constituents whom we served.

I have been pleased for many years to call Tom a friend. At the church on Saturday at his mass, there was an outpouring of people from the community and community leaders and political leaders, government leaders to show the affection that we all felt for Tom.

Tom did wonderful work with veterans and mental health and people with disabilities, made the lives of countless New Yorkers better. If there's one or two words with which I can describe Tom Morahan, it would just be a wonderful, wonderful friend, a wonderful gentleman, a good friend, and we will certainly miss him.

He was the kind of person that is the epitome of what public service should be, and I want to pay tribute to my good friend, Senator Thomas Morahan. May he rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce a resolution to support the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. This resolution focuses on an initiative launched by President Obama in Port of Spain, Trinidad during the Summit of the Americas in April 2009. The President called on all governments to join him in an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) to address the common challenge of securing reliable or affordable access to energy.

Many countries like Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and El Salvador responded to the President's invitation and are working in a variety of efforts to promote energy efficiency, fight climate change and increase energy access. What makes ECPA stand out is that it's not a U.S.-led or wholly U.S.-financed initiative but a collaborative and flexible process for moving the hemisphere forward on issues of energy security. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called it, ECPA is like ``Facebook,'' any country ``can start an initiative and invite others to join and countries can be part of as many initiatives as they choose.'' ECPA helps strengthen energy security by encouraging energy alternatives and by letting governments share best practices and expertise about what policies and technologies can help them meet their national objectives.

This resolution highlights the valuable work that ECPA does to strengthen energy security in the Western Hemisphere. Under ECPA, some of the more than 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers serving in this Hemisphere will be trained in renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts to educate their host communities and implement small-scale renewable energy projects. Another ECPA initiative in Central America addresses the issue of the regional power grid. Six Central American countries have been working for many years to interconnect their power grids in order to reduce power blackouts. With U.S. assistance under ECPA, these countries can address some of the last regulatory hurdles to trade power in a regional market once their grids are interconnected.

The resolution also notes the important role played by other countries under ECPA. Brazil is leading an effort to encourage sustainable and energy efficient low-income housing, and promote urban development and planning. Mexico will lead an energy efficiency working group, while Costa Rica and Peru have created energy efficiency centers. Trinidad and Tobago and Chile are developing renewable energy centers to promote sustainable energy practices in the region.

Once again, Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this resolution supporting the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas bolsters energy security, reduces energy poverty and encourages low carbon growth in the Western Hemisphere. This resolution also encourages the efforts of the United States government to expand collaboration to other countries in Western Hemisphere as well as promoting active participation by the private sector and civil society. I urge my colleagues to strongly support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, because of a necessary absence, I missed the recorded vote on H.R. 5623, the H.R. 5618, the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. (Rollcall vote No. 398) Had I been present and voting on this vital legislation, I would have voted yes.

Since Congress first provided the emergency extension on unemployment benefits in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, I have voted to continue the extension at least seven times. As our nation recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression, it is very promising that almost 431,000 jobs were added in May, the most in four years. But we cannot reverse two years of recession overnight, nor can we turn the tide on a decade of declining middle class economic security. There is still much to be done to help the nearly eight million people who lost work during this economic crisis return to payrolls. Providing unemployment insurance benefits so that families can continue to put food on the table and pay their mortgage, is necessary to the economy's continued recovery.