Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 due to hazardous weather conditions.

Had I been able to vote, I would have voted as follows: on H.R. 4318, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act, as amended, I would have voted Yea; on S. 117, the Alex Diekmann Peak Designation Act of 2017, I would have voted Yea; and on the Journal Vote, I would have voted No.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on Monday, January 8, and Tuesday, January 9, 2018, due to a family emergency.

If I had been able to vote, I would have voted as follows:

On the Quorum Call for establishing a quorum in the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the 115th Congress, I would have answered ``present.''

On H. Res. 676, supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression, condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea.''

On H.R. 4564, the Post-Caliphate Threat Assessment Act of 2017, I would have voted ``yea.''

On H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Republican tax bill and to the misguided priorities that the GOP has brought to policymaking this Congress.

There was a time when it was taken for granted that Congress would wait for Congress' independent scorekeeper to evaluate the impact of any legislation on the deficit or the budget before passing any laws. People knew that the deficit mattered to the government's ability to provide for our children and grandchildren, and to the economy their ability to provide for themselves. Republicans, especially, professed to know that the deficit mattered.

It was especially unthinkable that Congress would pass important legislation, like tax reform, without waiting for a cost estimate of the bill. As recently as March, my colleague Rep. Brady said that economic growth from any tax reform package would need to be ``not economic growth judged by us, but by the Independent Joint Committee on Taxation.''

The GOP should care about the deficit. We haven't been able to reauthorize CHIP funding since it expired months ago, because Republicans won't support health insurance for children without funding offsets. If only they had the same concerns when it comes to tax cuts for their donors and for President Trump.

Republicans will start to care about the deficit again when Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, or other programs for the low-income are debated by Congress. Just like CHIP, these programs cost far less than the more than $1.5 trillion that this tax cut will cost, but they might be too expensive for the GOP.

There was also a time not too long ago when Republicans, as much as Democrats, legislated for the common good, or at least their conception of it. It's clear that those times are past.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 708, ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 709, and ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 710.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the thousands of hurricane disaster victims in our district in Houston and Harris County, Texas, along the Texas Gulf Coast, who are suffering this holiday season due to the Federal Government's inaction and Congress' delay in passing an adequate disaster supplemental bill.

People from Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are all U.S. citizens.

Hurricane Harvey's destruction was beyond anything witnessed in living memory in Texas. The Houston area typically gets 49 inches of rain throughout the year. A record 52 inches of rain fell in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding in our Nation's fourth largest city.

Harvey damaged over 300,000 homes and apartments in the city of Houston alone. Statewide, nearly 600,000 homes have been inspected by FEMA for flood or wind damage. Most tragically, 88 Texans lost their lives in Harvey's wrath.

Texans are a proud and independent people. We take pride in our self- reliance and can-do attitude. This was best seen in the actions of our brave first responders and countless volunteers from all over the country who rescued their neighbors during the worst flooding.

Unfortunately, many Harvey victims, and especially our seniors and low-income families, continue to be in great need and must rely on others for help.

A report released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that African-American Texans, Hispanic Texans, and Texans with lower income were the most likely to have suffered property damage or loss of income due to Harvey.

The same report found that over 50 percent of all Harvey disaster victims in Texas have been denied assistance from the Federal Government or are still waiting for a final answer.

To date, the Federal Government has provided just $10 million in aid for Harvey victims. Much more Federal aid is needed to rebuild Houston, Harris County, and the Texas Gulf Coast.

After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, Congress responded by passing a series of disaster spending bills that provided $120 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas. The Governor of Texas has requested $60-plus billion.

Three months after Sandy made landfall, Congress passed a $50 billion disaster relief bill to help New York and New Jersey rebuild.

Yesterday, I learned the House leadership is planning on delaying the disaster supplemental for Harvey and the other hurricanes that ravaged Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands for another month, until after Christmas and New Year's. These funds are needed now.

December 25, Christmas Day, will mark the 4-month anniversary of Harvey's landfall. Mr. Speaker, the people of Texas deserve better. Today, thousands of Texans in my district and throughout Houston and the Gulf Coast are living in tents, in their cars, and in flooded, moldy houses that are unsafe for our children and the elderly. America can do better than this.

During this season of giving, Congress must act and help these disaster victims in need or Texas will suffer a second man-made disaster by the United States Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to act and pass much needed supplemental appropriations to help victims of the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented destruction to the Texas Gulf Coast, dropping a record 52 inches of rain and causing catastrophic flooding in Houston and all along the Gulf Coast.

Earlier this week, a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Episcopal Health Foundation found that one in nine Texas Gulf Coast residents remain displaced, three months after Harvey's landfall. Four in ten Texas Gulf Coast residents report sustained damage to their homes and nearly half of affected Texas Gulf Coast residents said they are not receiving the help they need to recover from the hurricane.

To date the federal government has provided $10 billion in aid to Harvey victims in Texas, mostly advance payments through the National Flood Insurance Program. However, far more federal aid is needed to rebuild Houston, Harris County, and the Texas Gulf Coast.

After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, and Hurricane Sandy impacted New York and New Jersey, Congress responded by passing substantial disaster supplemental bills. In 2013, Congress provided over $50 billion for recovery and rebuilding efforts as a result of Sandy, and $120 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas.

I cannot and will not vote for a continuing resolution until House leadership puts disaster relief front and center and passes a substantial supplemental disaster bill that will help Texans fully recover from Harvey's destruction and prepare the Texas Gulf Coast before the next major storm strikes.

We cannot continue to kick-the-can down the road while thousands of families in Texas and other parts of our country continue to suffer, months after these terrible storms made landfall.

I urge my colleagues, regardless of state and party, to join me in standing up for disaster victims and calling on House leadership to pass a substantial emergency supplemental.

Mr. Speaker, this holiday season the Republican majority has been working overtime on a tax plan that gives permanent tax cuts to wealthy families and corporations funded by raising taxes on middle class families.

As the Republican majority tries to disguise its tax plan as a beautifully wrapped gift, the American people need to know that there are negative healthcare effects hidden inside the plan.

By passing this tax plan, there would be automatic cuts to Medicare to the tune of $25 billion a year. In addition, this plan could cause an extra 13 million people to become uninsured. The tax bill will explode our debt or will cut Medicare and Medicaid.

It has been more than 2 months since Congress should have reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program and federally qualified health centers. This is the first time in history that these programs have been held hostage to the legislative process.

Instead of racing to reauthorize these popular bipartisan programs, the Republican majority instead has neglected children across the country solely to provide tax cuts to corporations and wealthy individuals.

Mr. Speaker, this plan is not for the many, but it is only for the few.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

While I am opposed to restricting law abiding citizens' access to firearms, I feel that this bill does not adequately address many of the requirements that states have instituted in passing their own concealed carry laws.

I am a big supporter of concealed carry and was the lead author of a bill in 1991 in the State Senate to create local concealed carry. The way this bill is written would strip many protections that are currently afforded to Texans.

Texas has many requirements for a person to be able to get that license including live-fire training. As a state, we also bar convicted domestic abusers and those convicted of violent crimes and stalking. Under this bill, an individual who had committed those crimes could conceal carry their weapon in Texas if they got their permit from a neighboring state that lacked these requirements for concealed carry like Mississippi. It is for these reasons that I do not support this bill as it is currently written.

If we are going to create a federal reciprocity standard for concealed carry it should be a standard that takes into account many of the protections individual states have created. I would proudly vote in support of a bill that addressed these standing issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to remind every American that the window to purchase health insurance on healthcare.gov will close in 10 days. I encourage anyone who doesn't get insurance through a job or government program to apply before December 15.

Financial assistance is available, and the Department of Health and Human Services has said before that 8 out of 10 consumers qualify for a plan that costs less than $75 a month.

Although the signup period was cut in half by the Trump administration, nearly 2.8 million people have already enrolled so far this year compared to 2.1 million this time last year. That is an increase of 33 percent, and this doesn't include numbers from States that have their own exchange.

Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, and I urge my Republican colleagues not to harm the ACA by including provisions in the tax bill and, instead, work with Democrats to improve the law.

Millions of Americans depend on us to do the right thing, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3017, the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act.

This legislation will strengthen the Brownfields Program, an important program created by Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 that assists communities with the cleanup of brownfields sites and encourages economic redevelopment.

The EPA has estimated that there are 450,000 brownfield sites nationwide. Through the lifetime of the program, nearly 64,000 acres have been revitalized. Every federal dollar spent on rehabilitating brownfields leverages over $16 on average. To date, the Brownfields Program has leveraged nearly $24 billion and created over 124,000 jobs across the United States.

Houston is home to one of the country's best known brownfields success stories, Minute Maid Park, home of the World Series Champion Houston Astros. Minute Maid Park was built on a former 38-acre brownfield site in Downtown Houston.

Our district, which is home to dozens of abandoned and former industrial sites in need of environmental cleanup and redevelopment, needs to see the expansion of the Brownfields Program so we can have more success stories like Minute Maid Park.

I hope that appropriators will fully fund the Brownfields Program at the authorized levels set in this bill, including $200 million annually for grants to assess and clean up brownfields properties and $50 million annually for grants to assist states and Indian tribes establish and enhance their own cleanup programs. We have seen funding for Brownfields drop steadily in recent years, which has impacted local communities' ability to assess and clean up sites in Texas and around the country.

This legislation received strong bipartisan support in the Energy and Commerce Committee and passed by voice vote.

I ask all of my colleagues to join me and vote in support of the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the tax bill.

Again, we find ourselves faced with a bill that will impact every American, but my Republican colleagues are rushing through. They won't even wait for the Congressional Budget Office to show us what the cost will be, to assess what this bill will do to our economy, to our children and our grandchildren.

Why the hurry, Mr. Speaker?

Is it in hopes that Americans won't notice the repeal of the estate tax, a tax that only applies to people so wealthy that entire States don't have someone affected by it in some years.

Is it so that Americans won't notice that this bill repeals the State and local tax deduction for families, but not for businesses?

Or is it so that Americans won't notice that it won't tax businesses earning income abroad, but it does tax individuals working abroad?

Eighty percent of the tax cuts in this bill go to the top 1 percent of Americans. Republicans may pretend to hope that the money will trickle down to the average American, but we know it won't work. Trickle-down does not work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my ranking member for yielding time to me.

I rise to oppose H.R. 3922. I got elected to Congress to expand access for healthcare. I am not a doctor, I am not a nurse, but as Members of Congress, we can do as much damage as someone who isn't a doctor or nurse by legislation that we see today.

And while I strongly support extending funding for the Children's Healthcare Insurance Program and federally qualified health centers, delaying cuts to disproportionate share hospital payments, advancing our other bipartisan healthcare programs, this legislation includes offsets that undermine access to cover these services.

Again, my goal in Congress was to expand healthcare, and this bill restricts that access. Two-thirds of Medicaid dollars go to children. If you cut Medicaid, you are cutting those children's benefits. This bill cuts children from Medicaid, and it gives money to the children who are less poor on CHIP. We need both programs. We don't need one or the other.

Both CHIP and FQHCs are bedrocks of our healthcare system, providing health insurance to almost 9 million lower-income children serving on the front lines by providing high-quality primary and preventative care to more than 25 million Americans.

Congress let funding for these programs expire last month, the first time in our history, since the 1960s, that the FQHCs and the CHIP program were not bipartisan. That is the step this House is making today by doing this.

It should be bipartisan because it has always been bipartisan. Unfortunately, instead of bipartisan negotiations looking for a compromise, the process was derailed. The bill cuts, again, Medicaid. Two-thirds are children, to help poor children, and limit their access.

The Prevention Fund funds the Centers for Disease Control. We have any number of future illnesses that we need the CDC to have the ability to fight that, and here we are, cutting vaccinations in our communities. We are cutting infectious disease detection and prevention.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and let's expand access and not restrict it.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the Houston Astros for winning the World Series and giving some folks in Houston and southeast Texas something to cheer about. We have had a tough few months, but you could see from last night that there is a lot of cheering in Houston.

But I am here to talk about a major issue that is really important: the Children's Health Insurance Program--the CHIP program--and the federally qualified health centers. Both programs are bedrocks of our health system, providing health insurance for over 9 million lower income children, and serving on the front lines of primary care, providing high-quality primary and preventative care for 25 million Americans.

Congress let funding for these programs expire more than a month ago, and we must act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen and sustain them. Both CHIP and community health centers have always had strong bipartisan

support since their creation 20 and 50 years ago, respectively, but not this time.

We should not cut Medicaid to fund these two programs. You are taking money away from the poorest children to give to the less poor children. We need to support vaccination programs, infectious disease detection and prevention, and chronic disease prevention. We need to make sure this bill is bipartisan, and it is not right now.

Mr. Speaker, beginning today, millions of Americans have the opportunity to buy or change their healthcare plan through the Affordable Care Act exchange.

The open enrollment period ends December 15, so consumers need to act now. We only have 45 days to shop around, receive assistance from local organizations, and make a final decision. But many people may not know that because the Trump administration has taken several administrative actions to undermine the ACA.

Cutting the open enrollment period in half, to slashing advertising and outreach funding by 90 percent, to announcing a shutdown of healthcare.gov on Sundays during open enrollment and other sabotage efforts, the Trump administration and the Republican majority have tried to restrict the access to healthcare for Americans.

I encourage every American who needs health insurance to visit healthcare.gov and get covered. Financial assistance is available, and about 80 percent of the enrollees who pick plans on healthcare.gov will be able to get insurance for $75 a month or less.

Mr. Speaker, we are one week away from the open enrollment period--an opportunity for Americans to purchase health insurance for 2018.

President Trump ended the cost sharing reduction--the CSR--payments, which reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income working families.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis says ending these payments would likely increase premiums by 20 percent next year and by 25 percent by 2020.

In the Senate, there is a bipartisan agreement, led by Senators Alexander and Murray, to stabilize the marketplaces by funding the CSR payments and increase resources for open enrollment outreach.

Last night, unfortunately, a couple of the Members in the majority added partisan objectives to the bill, cutting mandates, which will keep costs low, and adding anti-abortion restrictions to CSR payments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the majority to drop the poison pills and work with Democrats to bring the Alexander-Murray bill to the floor as soon as possible to stabilize markets and lower costs for American families. The failure to fix the health reform will cause millions of Americans to lose healthcare, and, that is, ``No Care TrumpCare.''