Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 338, to Promote a 21st Century Energy and Manufacturing Workforce Future Act.

For years, many of the industries I represent have complained of workforce shortages.

In East Houston and Harris County, if we were able to recruit every union electrician in the country, we would still have a shortage.

The same is probably true for pipefitters, welders, etc.

The economy in our part of the country is rapidly expanding thanks to the development of the Eagleford shale and the Permian Basin.

We must ensure that this economic prosperity is shared across all of our community.

In Texas, workforce diversity has to be a reality.

I am pleased that Representative Rush has crafted this legislation and I am proud to be an original co-sponsor.

I am also proud to support workforce development opportunities for Hispanics, African-Americans, and women in the energy field.

The industry needs skilled workers and we need to create opportunity for everyone, including many of those I represent in and around the area.

The bill will encourage the Department of Energy to conduct outreach to these communities to ensure they have access to the knowledge, skills and abilities required to fill high paying jobs in the energy field.

Thanks to efforts by ExxonMobil and the Texas Gulf Coast Community College Consortium, we are already addressing the workforce needs of our industries but more needs to be done and this bill will help us achieve these goals.

Mr. Speaker, we have had this competitive shoot for a number of years, and I have to admit, this year I had a job fair at home, so I am going to turn it over to my vice chair, Marc Veasey, who was actually out there. It is a great competition between the Republicans and the Democrats, but we work together on a lot of other issues.

Mr. Speaker, it is appalling what is happening today on the House floor. It appears to be: let's just pass a bill, no matter what it does or who gets hurt with it.

TrumpCare is nothing more than broken promises and mean-spirited policy. It would mean higher healthcare costs for more than 24 million hardworking Americans losing their health coverage, key protections are gutted, older Americans are hung out to dry, the end of Medicaid as we know it, and cuts in Medicare.

If TrumpCare passes, Americans with preexisting conditions could be pushed off their insurance and sent in the high-risk pools that are not affordable. High-risk insurance pools do not work when everyone in the pool is a high risk. I was a State legislator when we did that. You have to have high-risk pools that share the wealth, so to speak.

People will be left with soaring costs, worse coverage, and rationed care. It is a frightening future where millions of Americans who need affordable, dependable health care are left out in the cold.

There is an obvious, irresponsible reason why this vote is being rammed through without even a Congressional Budget Office estimate or an opportunity for Members to even know what is in it. They don't want people figuring out the real-world consequences and the devastation it means to our American families. History will not be kind to the people who support this awful bill.

I urge my colleagues to do what is right and vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on May 14, 1948, the democratic State of Israel was founded.

This week, 69 years later, we celebrate a vibrant, Jewish state located in the biblical homeland

In tribute to Israel's 69th birthday, I rise today to honor the Jewish people and their long-standing struggle to build and expand their country.

Many of the Jews who lived in Israel in 1948 were survivors of the Second World War and the Holocaust, which pushed international opinion for the need for a homeland for the Jewish people where they could be free from persecution and free to build a better life.

Since that fateful day in Tel Aviv, Israel and its people have worked tirelessly to build a thriving democracy that is economically prosperous and at peace with neighboring nations.

Today, 69 years later, after many difficulties and hardships, a strong, resolute Israel has a population over 8 million.

The first nation to recognize Israel's independence, I am proud to say, was the United States, when Democratic President Harry Truman welcomed Israel into the community of nations just hours after its declaration.

The bonds between our two great nations, bound together by common interests and shared values, have only grown with time.

Through Democratic and Republican Administrations, we have continued to stand by our ally in the Middle East.

As most people know, I have been a long-time supporter of Israel and continue to advocate on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I hope on this joyous celebration that we reflect on the need to redouble our efforts to bring peace to the region and continue to tangibly support our friend and ally in its request for peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the latest version of TrumpCare. Once again, House Republicans have confirmed their approach to fixing health care requires gutting key provisions for people with preexisting conditions, increasing costs, and offering fewer protections. Letting the States cherry-pick the essential health benefits--the 10 basic medical care categories covered, like emergency care, mental health, addiction treatment, or lab tests--is just crazy.

The obvious problem with eliminating the Affordable Care Act's essential health benefits is that it will leave people without access to reasonable quality health insurance. The consumer should know what their health insurance covers.

Without some minimum requirements, insurance companies can offer plans that are insurance in name only. Anyone who is actually sick and needs care will be left out in the cold.

The essential health benefits make the marketplace viable because they help pool the risk among the whole population instead of just attracting sick people who need these services.

If Republicans thought TrumpCare was so great, why would they exempt Members of Congress and our staff?

I urge my colleagues to scrap this political game and work with us to strengthen health care for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my constituents and the millions of Americans who contacted their Representatives last week and voiced their opposition to the Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Although TrumpCare failed, the debate on health care is far from over. I hope that Speaker Ryan will reach across the aisle so we can improve a law that works and is more popular than ever.

Thanks to the ACA, over 20 million more Americans are insured. People with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied. Consumers are protected from the worst abuses of the insurance industry. There are parts of the law that can be improved, and that is what we should be working on.

The Republican bill never tried; not one public hearing was held on that bill. Their complete lack of transparency in the Republican leadership tried to ram it through without public comment. We worked on the ACA for more than a year before there was a final vote.

TrumpCare was voted on in only 18 days after it was introduced--18 days--a bill that would cut 24 million Americans from health care. As ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, I hope to work with my colleagues on a bipartisan solution to improve the ACA.

Mr. Speaker, this is outrageous. TrumpCare will rip health insurance from 24 million Americans, almost as many people who live in the State of Texas.

TrumpCare is a direct assault on the President's promise to the American people. It will saddle families across the country with massive health costs. It will lead to higher premiums, less benefits, and more people uninsured.

Under this bill, premiums increase 15 to 20 percent in each of the next 2 years. It will particularly be terrible for the near-elderly Americans because TrumpCare allows insurance companies to charge them five times higher than what others would pay for coverage. It destroys protections for Americans with preexisting conditions. It guts the essential benefits so consumers won't know what coverage they have. Plans would not have to cover things like emergency care, hospitalization, or even prescription drugs.

What do you do when you leave people with that? Junk plans that are insurance in name only. What is the point of having insurance if it doesn't cover anything?

For those who aren't one of the 24 million who lose insurance, many will be left with plans that are more expensive but don't have to cover things like prescription drugs or mental health and substance abuse.

This bill will make it harder for people to get treatment. It will destroy the Medicaid program, the bedrock of our social safety net that insures 74 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, and one in seven seniors on Medicare.

TrumpCare harms Medicare. It will make the program insolvent 3 years earlier, directly causes part B premiums to go up $8.7 billion, and takes away funds that seniors depend on for long-term care. It is impossible to overstate how terrible TrumpCare will be for the American people.

This is a dangerous bill. It is opposed by physician groups and hospital associations.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak against TrumpCare.

TrumpCare will take health insurance away from 24 million Americans. That is basically the amount of people that live in the State of Texas.

For the lucky ones who don't have their health care ripped away, TrumpCare forces families to pay increased out-of-pocket costs and higher deductibles and cuts the financial assistance they get today to afford their insurance.

It has a crushing age tax. TrumpCare forces Americans who are aged 50 to 64 to pay premiums five times higher than younger people pay for health insurance.

This, combined with a slash in financial assistance to help people pay for coverage, will literally mean that there will be people who now have to pay more for their premiums annually than they actually earn in a year. That is unacceptable.

TrumpCare cuts Medicare and will shorten the life of the program by 3 years. It is hard to find someone this bill helps, but the people that it will hurt can be counted in the millions.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this horrible plan and to work with us to expand access and lower cost.

Mr. Speaker, this week Republicans plan to vote on TrumpCare to push 24 million Americans off healthcare coverage and saddle families across the country with massive health costs. TrumpCare is an assault on families and a broken promise to the American people.

Twenty-four million people will lose their health insurance. It will terminate the assistance that people depend on to afford quality coverage. It will destroy the Medicaid program, the bedrock of our social safety net for more than 50 years.

Medicaid covers 74 million children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors with long-term care needs. Under TrumpCare, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket and families will be exposed to crushing health costs. Premiums will rise dramatically-- particularly, for older Americans--because TrumpCare allows insurance companies to charge five times higher than what others pay for the average, five times higher for our near senior citizens. This means thousands and thousands of dollars more in premiums, which low-income seniors cannot afford.

TrumpCare shortens the life of the Medicare trust fund by 3 years and cuts $880 billion from Medicaid.

Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible bill, and it puts the entire healthcare system at risk.

Mr. Speaker, 24 million Americans will lose their health insurance. They will become uninsured. We call it TrumpCare, as it should be called.

For 7 years, Republicans have said they have a better alternative to the Affordable Care Act. President Trump promised on the campaign trail that Republicans would put forward a plan that would have insurance for everybody which would be far less expensive and far better for the American people.

We now know the Congressional Budget Office report says that 24 million people will lose their health insurance, including 7 million who will lose their insurance they currently have through their employers.

Older Americans waiting to get on Medicare would be charged five times what they pay now. It reduces the Medicare trust fund, and it cuts 25 percent in Medicaid, a program that provides care for children and senior citizens.

Mr. Speaker, this plan is both heartless and financially unsound. This repeal bill does not lower premiums or out-of-pocket costs nor does it expand access to care, and it provides a huge tax cut poorly disguised as a healthcare bill.

We need to defeat this bill.

Mr. Speaker, on February 25 and 26, 1992, twenty-five years ago, the Armenian military forces occupied the town of Khojaly and destroyed hundreds of innocent lives. Those that weren't killed were wounded or taken hostage while their city was under siege.

Khojaly was recognized as occupied territory from 1988 until 1994 when a ceasefire was signed. The aggression and occupation by Armenian forces has been condemned by the United Nations Security Council.

More than two decades have passed since those horrific events and little attention has been paid to those killed during the attacks and the struggles of displaced person.

According to Human Rights Watch and other international observers the massacre was committed by Armenian troops, reportedly with the help of the former Soviet 366th Motor Rifle Regiment. Human Rights Watch described the Khojaly Massacre as ``the largest massacre to date in the conflict'' over Nagorno-Karabakh. In a 1992 report, they stated that Armenian forces and the 366th ``deliberately disregarded this customary law restraint on attacks.''

Every year, more and more organizations and countries recognize the terrible tragedy perpetrated against Azerbaijani citizens in Khojaly that night. Each year, we need to recognize that without constant reminders and vigilance, violence can be perpetrated against innocent people. We need to stand up and remember that it is the right of all people to coexist peacefully without fear of brutality.

Azerbaijan has been a strong strategic partner and friend of the United States. The tragedy of Khojaly was a war crime which cannot be ignored.

Let's stand with the people of Azerbaijan as they commemorate this tragedy and urge world leaders to help bring a peaceful solution to the occupation of these lands.

Mr. Speaker, health care is important to every family in America. The Affordable Care Act increased access to health care for about 20 million Americans.

Is the Affordable Care Act perfect?

No bill that has ever been debated on this floor and passed is perfect.

Let's make our goal not to have anyone who received access to health care to lose it. We need to make it better and to guarantee access to quality health care for all Americans. America can do better.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight the growing number of executive orders issued by President Trump and the silence from our House majority.

President Trump has signed 12 executive orders in the first 5 weeks in office. Many, like the border wall, the Muslim ban, and the ACA sabotage order, are highly misguided and exceed the intent of the law.

Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee and investigate the actions of the Executive. To date the House majority has said little and taken no action to oversee the Trump administration's abuse of power through executive orders.

When President Obama sat in the White House, the House majority called his administration every name under the sun. Agencies were closely scrutinized. Federal officials were regularly subject to hostile questioning.

Where is the oversight, Mr. Speaker? Where is the criticism? What happened to limiting executive power?

I hope my colleagues in the majority will uphold Congress' constitutional duties and vigorously scrutinize President Trump's actions and mounting abuse of power.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.

Longstanding federal policy explicitly prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions, except for certain narrow circumstances of rape, incest, or severe health complications that threaten the life of the mother.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) maintains this ban and a federal appeals court confirmed that no federal dollars may be used to pay for abortion services under the law.

Far more sweeping in scope than the title implies, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act goes well beyond codifying the Hyde Amendment and protecting public funds.

This bill intrudes on women's reproductive autonomy and access to health care, manipulates the tax code to put additional financial burdens on many women and small businesses, and unnecessarily restricts the private insurance choices available to consumers today.

The House of Representatives should be spending our time working to improve access to health care for all Americans, instead of deceptive legislation that interferes with a woman's ability to make personal, private medical decisions.

I urge my colleagues to stop the relentless attacks on women's health and vote against this damaging, unnecessary legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I oppose the Republican resolution and support the Democratic resolution. We shouldn't deal with affordable care without a solution. Just don't repeal. Let's see what the replacement is so we don't, as Kentucky would say, buy a pig in a poke.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to S. Con. Res. 3, the FY 2017 Budget Resolution, the next step in the process of repealing essential coverage and patient protections established by the Affordable Care Act.

Moving forward with implementing the GOP's devastating ACA repeal plan will lead to massive losses of coverage and consumer protections for people enrolled in insurance and in the Medicaid program.

It will hamper the movement towards value-based payment reforms, burden seniors with higher out-of-pocket costs on their prescription drugs, and undermine prevention and wellness initiatives.

Repealing the ACA will leave every state with big increases in the uninsured rate and higher uncompensated care costs, and threatens coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Charging forward without even agreeing on a replacement plan is a blatant abdication of the responsibilities we have as representatives of the American people.

The effects of doing so are not abstract. People are going to get hurt in very real ways.

The American people deserve to know how Republicans plan to avoid the devastating consequences of ACA repeal, which include millions losing coverage, chaos in the insurance markets, hospitals and states losing billions of dollars and a hit to our economy.

In addition, the FY17 Budget Resolution shamelessly prioritizes politics over patients by proposing to defund Planned Parenthood.

Denying patients the quality care--including breast exams, contraception, and preventive and primary care services--will only exacerbate the pain felt from coverage losses for the 2.5 million patients who depend on Planned Parenthood each year for care.

The Resolution is bad for patients, budgets, and will upend our health care system.

It fails the test of sensible policymaking.

The lack of any details on the ACA replacement Republicans say they will enact fails the test of sensible policymaking: having the key information before voting.

We should be taking steps to amend, not upend, the law.

I urge my colleagues to abandon this collision course and stop working against the American people.

We should not be ``Making America Sick Again.''