Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and congratulate Sergeant Major Andrea Farmer, who will soon retire from the United States Army after 30 years of service.

A native of North Carolina's First District, Sergeant Major Farmer's work ethic has allowed her to successfully hold a variety of positions, including Chief Career Management NCO. Sergeant Major Farmer's abilities resulted in her being awarded a master's degree in Human Relations and Interdisciplinary Studies and receiving the Army Women's Legacy Scholarship Award. Sergeant Major Farmer will retire as program manager for the 23rd Quartermaster, Sexual Harassment Assault Response Prevention Program, where she works very hard to aid victims of sexual assault.

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate her upon her retirement, and also to recognize Andrea's parents, Bobby and Mildred Farmer of Nash County, North Carolina, who instilled high values in their daughter many years ago.

I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Sergeant Major Farmer for 30 years of service to our country.

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding time and thank him for his leadership on the committee and what he has done for education in this country.

Madam Chair, never have job-training and educational opportunities been so crucial for so many people as they are during this challenging economic time. Our country's economic situation is getting better. Last month we added 236,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest rate in 4 years.

But the unemployment rate in my home State of North Carolina is 9.4 percent; and in my First District, one in four people is below the poverty level.

The SKILLS Act, Madam Chair, will stall our delicate economic recovery at a time when we must invest in our workforce to ensure hardworking people are able to access the training they need to achieve the American Dream.

The SKILLS Act kills workforce development as we know it. It would turn 35 important workforce development programs into a block-grant system and force effective programs targeted to help disadvantaged populations to compete against each other for funding.

The bill would subject workforce development programs to partisan politics by putting funding in the hands of Governors and would remove seats reserved for community interest groups and community colleges on local workforce investment boards and, instead, leave the decision of where to invest the money in the hands of who? Big business.

H.R. 803 would devastate the innovative partnerships the Workforce Investment Act has created in my district. The bill would jeopardize the partnership between Lenoir Community College and Spirit Aerosystems in Kinston, where students gain technical experience for careers in aerospace.

It would endanger YouthBuild, which helps disadvantaged youth find employment in Goldsboro and Wilson and Elizabeth City, and a workforce development and training center run by Edgecombe Community College, which helps retrain dislocated workers in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

For these reasons, Madam Chair, and more, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 803 and support the Democratic alternative.

Let me thank the gentleman for yielding time this morning.

Let me associate myself with the last comments made by Mr. McGovern. He is absolutely correct; the American people are beginning to feel the impacts of sequestration.

My friends on the other side of the aisle are always talking about: We don't have a revenue problem; we don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem in this country. Well, Mr. Speaker, we have a deficit problem in this country.

There are two ways, at least, where we can address the deficit. We can address it with more revenue, which is what I strongly recommend, and we can also address it with very important cuts. We have got to have a balanced approach to deficit reduction. So I've come to the floor today to strongly oppose this rule.

Mr. Speaker, I don't like the way H.R. 933 evolved. We read about it in the news media this weekend. We returned to Washington on Monday afternoon and there it was, posted. We were told that the rule would be taken up today and we would be voting on it tomorrow. But then a snowstorm came into this Capital City, and now we are voting on the rule and the CR today and we are leaving town. That is not the way to do it.

The Republican majority has instead elected to move with a bill that provides new funding levels and flexibility to just the Department of Defense and military construction and veterans, while keeping the antiquated funding levels for the remaining 10 appropriations bills. Mr. Speaker, I believe that if we got serious about this and rolled up our sleeves, we could make it happen.

I cannot help but to remember the days when I was a trial judge back in North Carolina. From time to time, Mr. Speaker, we would have difficult cases. But we would send the jury in the room, we would lock the door, and we would make them deliberate; and more times than not, they would come out with a verdict. That's the way we need to engage in this business.

This is too serious, Mr. Speaker, to have a political dimension to this debate. We've got to have common sense. We've got to make it happen.

So I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I urge its defeat. We must get to the real work of governing in this country and stop the political theater.

Madam Speaker, we are merely 5 days into the sequester, this totally engineered crisis that did not need to happen. We're already beginning to feel the impacts of sequestration.

My home State of North Carolina hosts the third largest military population in the country. Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station are integral parts of their local communities and also help to form the backbone of our national defense.

The sequester has already impacted the Coast Guard, with air operations being cut by 11 percent and maritime operations cut by 24 percent. These cuts have reduced maritime safety and security in the waters off of our coastline.

Furlough notices have already gone out to thousands of civilian employees at Fleet Readiness Center, where maintenance is conducted on Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. The furlough amounts to a loss of $81 million.

The 848 employees at Butner Federal Correctional Center, located in my district, received furlough notices and will lose up to 10 percent of their salaries because of sequestration.

The impacts of the sequester are already being felt in Martin County, where the public school system has lost $400,000. This means that teachers are stretched even thinner and are forced to do more with significantly less.

Madam Speaker, we need to rethink the sequester.

The gentleman from Tennessee who just spoke said that sequestration is a game of scare tactics. Apparently, he hasn't looked at the statistics from his district in Tennessee. Let me tell you, sequestration is not only going to affect the people of my district, but it's going to affect the people of his district and his State as well.

Sequestration is very troubling, Mr. Speaker. Sensible people all across America are beginning to see the impact that sequestration will have on their families. We are hearing from Governors every day, both Democrat and Republican. We cannot wait any longer. We have delayed this for far too long. The consequences of an unbalanced budget are very, very clear.

My home State of North Carolina already has one of the highest rates of unemployment at 9 percent; and these cuts, Mr. Speaker, to education, health care, low-income families, and military readiness around my State and country will be disastrous to so many.

Our children are our most valuable asset, and ensuring they earn a quality education is the best investment we can make in our future. Unfortunately, the sequester threatens many children's chances at obtaining a quality education.

The impacts of sequester in my State of North Carolina are huge. Teachers and schools in North Carolina will lose more than $25 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting 350 teachers and teacher aide jobs at risk, resulting in 40,000 fewer students receiving services they need to help them do well in school. Programs like Head Start and Early Head Start--services that residents in my district so desperately need--will be eliminated for 1,500 children, reducing access to critical early education programs that teach the skills necessary to enter kindergarten on an equal footing.

If America, Mr. Speaker, is to continue to be a global leader, we must out-compete other nations in the classroom by improving the caliber of teachers, promoting school grants, increasing education standards, and utilizing up-to-date technology to prepare students for the higher education and jobs of the future. However, educational advances will only result if our schools are properly funded. Don't cut education.

The American people must know that the sequester's reach stretches to health care research and innovation. Hospitals around the country and those in my district, like Duke University Medical Center, serve an invaluable role in the community to not only care for those who are sick, but to research and find cures for critical diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease--curable diseases that kill people every day. Don't let this happen.

The across-the-board cuts would sever funding for research from organizations like the National Institutes of Health. Scientists at universities across my district, like at Duke University and East Carolina University, would not have the chance to discover groundbreaking medical advancements such as the one that earned Duke University's Dr. Robert Leftkowitz the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Many citizens in my district are low-income families who are currently surviving with assistance from critical antipoverty programs like unemployment benefits, SNAP, and WIC. Low- and middle-income families will bear the brunt of the pain from this sequester. These people deserve programs that provide relief from financial hardships. However, if Congress does not work together to prevent sequestration this week, these programs will lose very significant portions of their budgets.

North Carolina has an enormous military presence; the sequester will be felt especially hard by our men and women in uniform and the civilians that support military operations. Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, among others, will not be ready to defend and serve our country at a moment's notice if we allow this to happen.

In my State alone, cuts to the Department of Defense budget will result in 22,000 civilian DOD staff being furloughed, reducing the gross pay by $117 million. Base operation funding would be cut by $136 million, severely reducing military readiness, putting our country at peril.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I implore my colleagues to work together to prevent the impending sequestration so that we may prevent devastating cuts to our vital infrastructure. We are slowly but surely building on economic recovery, and our Nation can literally not afford to be knocked down again by an inability to compromise. Please, let's get it done.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and particularly thank the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for her leadership in convening this special hour tonight.

As many of our colleagues know, before being elected to Congress 8 years ago, I was a trial judge and an appellate judge in my home State of North Carolina. But what many of you may not know is that, for some 6 years before becoming a judge, I spent considerable time litigating cases under the Voting Rights Act and presenting comments to the Department of Justice in section 5 cases.

Mr. Speaker, so many people do not understand section 5. This preclearance provision does not apply in every jurisdiction in America. It only applies to selected counties where there was evidence of discriminatory voting practices when the Voting Rights Act was first enacted in 1965. These jurisdictions are required to submit to the Department of Justice any changes in election law or procedure for determination of whether the change could have a negative impact on the voting strength of minority groups. If the jurisdiction fails in their proof, the change is not allowed. And I will say for the Record today that, in the early days of section 5, many jurisdictions ignored the requirement.

It has been proven, Mr. Speaker, time and time again in courtrooms across America that racially polarized voting has existed at the ballot box since the 15th Amendment was ratified--and it exists today. My congressional district in North Carolina, though it is improving, continues to have voting based on the race of the candidate. Many white voters choose not to vote for a candidate who is clearly the preferred candidate of the African American community. When this happens, the black community is handicapped. We call it vote dilution. And so section 5's preclearance provision simply is a backstop against jurisdictions devising election schemes that will make it more difficult for the African American community to elect a candidate of its choice, taking into consideration the existence of racially polarized voting.

Mr. Speaker, I can cite dozens of instances in North Carolina where discriminatory changes were proposed to election systems and the Department of Justice stepped forward and denied the change. Had it not been for section 5, black electoral success in my congressional district would be considerably less. Many of the cities and counties in my district now have single-member election districts that were ordered by the courts. The courts have required that some of these districts had to be majority African American, which now enable the African American community to elect candidates of their choice. Elimination of section 5 could enable mischievous jurisdictions to eliminate this in favor of at-large elections, where concentrations of black voters would be submerged into at-large systems.

Mr. Speaker, the time has not come when we should eliminate the protection of section 5. The evidence continues to suggest racially polarized voting that discriminates against the African American community. If this protection is struck down, some governing boards at the State and the local level will seize the opportunity to promulgate election rules that disadvantage minority voters, and the only remedy then will be to file an expensive Federal lawsuit and prove intentional discrimination in the district court. And so, Mr. Speaker, I urge the Supreme Court to carefully look at the legislative history that we have provided and decide to maintain the protection of section 5.

Again, I thank the gentleman from Nevada for his friendship and his leadership and for working to make this hour happen tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. In the early 19th century, 4 million slaves resided in the South, public opinion in the North began to oppose it, States resisted by ceding from the Union, and a brutal civil war ensued.

In order to end slavery and the war, President Lincoln on September 22, 1862, issued a preliminary emancipation proclamation directing all rebelling States to free their slaves and return to the Union in 100 days.

Lincoln made it clear: should they fail to do so, he would use his authority as Commander in Chief to end slavery. States failed to act, and Lincoln signed the proclamation January 1, 1863.

More than 200,000 lives were lost in the war. Lincoln lost his own life with an assassin's bullet following reelection. This is American history that every individual must understand and appreciate.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we commemorate 150 years of freedom for African American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an important day in American history. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 147th anniversary of the abolition of that regrettable institution of slavery. On 6 December 1865, the State of Georgia became the 27th State to ratify the 13th Amendment, marking the three-fourths supermajority necessary to amend the Constitution. The 13th Amendment accomplished something that the Emancipation Proclamation did not and perhaps could not do. It declared the nonexistence of slavery in the whole of the ``United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.''

The triumph the 13th Amendment represents not just for African Americans but for all Americans should be celebrated every December 6.

[From the Raleigh News & Observer, Dec. 5, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I rise today to honor the life of Staff Sergeant Rayvon Battle, Jr. of the United States Army. Staff Sergeant Battle lost his life in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on November 13, 2012, while trying to stop an explosion.

Staff Sergeant Battle was a native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which is in my Congressional District. In 2005, he graduated from Northern Nash High School and went on to enlist in the Army where he became a squad leader in the 38th Engineer Company, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2'' Infantry Division.

Staff Sergeant Battle was a source of great pride in his hometown because he epitomized what it meant to serve with honor and distinction. This was demonstrated in the various awards and decorations Staff Sergeant Battle received during his career in the Army. Among them include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the NATO Medal. In only 25 short years, Staff Sergeant Battle accomplished more than most people do in a full lifetime.

Unfortunately, Staff Sergeant Battle perished while serving his country--prematurely ending a promising life and career. He is survived by his wife, Dorris Battle; his father, Rayvon Battle, Sr.; and his grandmother, Dora Harris.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in offering heartfelt condolences to Staff Sergeant Battle's family, and sincere appreciation for his selfless efforts in defense of our great nation. I pray that his life remains a source of inspiration to the Rocky Mount community and Americans nationwide. We are forever indebted to his family for the ultimate sacrifice he paid on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career of Ms. Audrey Neal. After four decades of faithfully serving the Wilson community, Audrey Neal will retire next month. Ms. Neal began working at the Wilson County Register of Deeds in 1972 as a Deputy Register of Deeds. In her position she helped to oversee Wilson County's real property and vital records.

In 2002, Ms. Neal was appointed to complete the unexpired term of then-Register of Deeds, Ms. Celia Brinson. Due to Audrey's leadership and experience, she was elected in 2004 to serve a full term as Register of Deeds, and has been reelected since.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Neal is retiring from Wilson County Register Deeds after a remarkable 40 years of service on December 3.

As she enters this new chapter in her life, I ask my colleagues to join me in showing gratitude for Audrey's service, and in congratulating her on retiring. Congratulations Audrey, well done.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Bishop George Edward Battle, Jr. on his installment as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Livingstone College. Bishop Battle's lifelong leadership made to communities throughout North Carolina and to Livingstone College makes him uniquely qualified to serve in this capacity.

A native of Rocky Mount, NC, Bishop Battle is himself a graduate of Livingstone College, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He holds a Master of Divinity from Hood Theological Seminary, and earned a Doctor of Ministry from Howard University in Washington, DC.

By profession, Bishop Battle is a premier pastor within the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Presently, he serves as Senior Bishop of the A.M.E. Zion Church and as Presiding Prelate of the Piedmont Episcopal District, which includes several North Carolina jurisdictions. In addition, Bishop Battle is herald as a community advocate and leader in the fields of education, business, and public activism.

After more than 40 years of community service, Bishop Battle's accolades are too numerous to name. He has garnered dozens of awards for his tireless work with children, young people, and in grassroots political engagement. His management, educational leadership, and commitment to community will without question benefit the Livingstone College community.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons and more, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Bishop George Edward Battle, Jr. on his appointment as Chair of Livingstone Board of Trustees.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Howard Monroe Fitts, Jr. on his recognition as a Freedom Fund Honoree by the Durham Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP. Dr. Fitts will receive this recognition next month in appreciation of his advocacy for civil rights and his diligent public service to the Durham community.

Mr. Speaker, after completing a baccalaureate degree in biology at North Carolina Central University, NCCU, Dr. Fitts served as Teacher and Principal in Wilson County Public Schools. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and served faithfully for three years before being honorably discharged in 1945 at the close of World War II. After the war, Dr. Fitts returned to academia where he earned a master's degree in Public Health Education in 1946, and a doctorate degree in Health Education from Columbia University in 1961.

His involvement with the NAACP is deeply rooted, stemming back to his childhood when he worked alongside his father to sell the organization's official magazine, Crisis. During that time, the young Dr. Howard Fitts was exposed to movements led by the church, health agencies, and other civil rights organizations. This exposure made an indelible impression on him, leading to his active participation and advocacy within the Durham community. As a result, Dr. Fitts quickly rose to leadership positions in the NAACP and the influential Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, DCABP.

Among many of his most notable work include his key involvement in the desegregation of the Durham's public school system,

where Dr. Fitts testified during court procedures, arranged transportation for Black students to desegregated schools, and enrolled his own son as one of the first African American students at Morehead Avenue Elementary School.

In addition to his civil rights leadership, Dr. Fitts has served as a public health educator for Chapel Hill, N.C.'s District Health Department, professor and Chair of the Department of Health Education at NCCU, and as a consultant to the World Health Organization. His resume is filled with notable board positions, and his extensive work spans the tenure of every Executive Director of the NAACP from Walter White in the 1930s to Kwame Mfume in the 1990s.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. Howard Monroe Fitts, Jr. on this unique honor of being recognized as a Freedom Fund Honoree by the Durham Chapter of the NAACP. His lifelong contribution to his community and country cannot be overstated.

Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed emotions that I rise today to honor the life of Specialist Joshua N. Nelson of the United States Army. Specialist Nelson was a native of Greenville, North Carolina, which is in my Congressional District. Specialist Nelson was one of four soldiers that tragically lost their lives in Zabul Province, Afghanistan on September 16, 2012.

Specialist Nelson graduated from North Pitt High School in 2008 and later enlisted in the Army where he became a signals intelligence analyst. Specialist Joshua Nelson was a source of great pride in his hometown of Greenville. He exemplified to the community what was possible with determination, and epitomized what it meant to serve with honor and distinction.

These facts were demonstrated in the various awards and decorations Specialist Nelson received during his career in the Army. Specialist Nelson received the National Defense Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. In only 22 short years, Specialist Nelson accomplished more than most people do in a full lifetime.

Unfortunately, earlier this month, Specialist Nelson perished while serving his country. He is survived by his wife, Quamisha Nelson; his mother, Kathy Glover; his father, Brian Nelson; and his stepmother, Valorie Nelson. I offer my sincere appreciation to his loved ones for his service in the United States Army and his selfless efforts in the defense of our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in offering heartfelt condolences to Specialist Joshua Nelson's family. I pray that his life serves as a guiding force for the Greenville community and others around the country. We are forever indebted to his family for the ultimate sacrifice he paid on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Jamesville Middle School in

Jamesville, North Carolina for being honored by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School.

Since 1982, the Department of Education has recognized elementary, middle, and high schools whose students excelled or showed significant academic improvement on state or national assessments with the National Blue Ribbon School designation. This year, Jamesville Middle School is being recognized, along with 268 other schools nationwide, for its academic performance.

During the last two school years, students from Jamesville Middle School demonstrated academic excellence--earning performance composites of 91 and 93 percent on the North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests. These scores have distinguished Jamesville Middle School as one of the top five schools within a six county region in eastern North Carolina. As a result, the North Carolina State Board of Education and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction named Jamesville Middle School an Honor School of Excellence two years in a row.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the students, faculty, and parents of Jamesville Middle School for their commitment to academic excellence. Quality primary and secondary education are essential for academic success and lifelong achievement. The Blue Ribbon School designation is a great testament to the Jamesville community's commitment to prepare their children for the future.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring and celebrating Jamesville Middle School's recognition as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon school.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on this solemn day in the history of our Nation, the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks on 9/ 11, to honor and pay tribute to a North Carolina State Trooper who was killed in the line of duty this past Saturday morning. It was a tragic incident.

Trooper Bobby Gene DeMuth served the State of North Carolina proudly and honorably for 12 years. He was assigned to the Rocky Mount Troop C, District One Highway Patrol.

Trooper DeMuth loved his work. He loved his work as a law enforcement officer. He protected the good of our society from the bad, and he fought to make North Carolina a safer place. Trooper DeMuth's life was tragically cut short, and he was killed while in the line of duty. He was pursuing an individual suspected of some very serious crime. He was serving and protecting.

Following a 20-mile, 30-minute high-speed pursuit that began in our capital city of Raleigh, and ended by the heroic effort of Trooper Bobby Gene DeMuth, the suspect was apprehended.

Tomorrow, Trooper DeMuth will be laid to rest at Inglewood Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It is a sad day indeed. Trooper DeMuth, like so many of the first responders who passed away 11 years ago, deserves our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for doing what only a select few can do, and that is to protect and defend the public against those who do it harm.

May God bless Trooper Bobby Gene DeMuth, his family, and each and every person that puts himself in harm's way to protect the greater good.