Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 592 and 593, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reaffirm the solidarity between the United States and the Philippines at this tragic time.

As the people of the Philippines rebuild their infrastructure, aid their injured, and mourn their deceased, the U.S. must remain a beacon of international humanitarian leadership.

Since the landfall of Typhoon Haiyan on November 8, 2103, the United States Government has provided over $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance, shipping vital necessities like shelter, water, hygiene kits, plastic sheeting, and over 55 metric tons of emergency food provisions to Tacloban City and other devastated regions.

This aid is desperately needed. The typhoon has impacted 8 million Filipinos and taken the lives of nearly 3,400 people--a number expected to rise.

The tragedy has also touched the 17,000 people of Filipino heritage living in my district in Queens, New York. To them, I offer unwavering support and an unflinching resolve to do everything possible to help those affected overseas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to strongly urge my colleagues' support for the Early Childhood Education Professional Improvement Act, H.R. 3357, which I introduced earlier this week with Congressman Jared Polis. Our bill would establish a framework of incentives and standards for the much-needed education and development of pre-K teachers.

Equality of opportunity cannot be achieved without ensuring that all American children have access to high-quality pre-K. By the age of 2, affluent children already know 30 percent more words than low-income children. These disparities are then exacerbated when affluent children attend high-quality pre-Ks and poorer ones don't even attend pre-K at all.

Senior military leaders, budget wonks, economists, and education advocates all agree that pre-K reform is essential and necessary for a strong and prosperous America. Furthermore, it is the most cost- effective investment in education we can make.

Let's do this now, and let's do this right. Let's work together for high-quality pre-K for our children.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered to be the first sponsor of H.R. 2248, a bill originally introduced by Representative Markey of Massachusetts, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the clean CR, and go to conference on a budget so that we end this Republican government shutdown that is taking away nutritious foods from young children and mothers in the WIC program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2848, the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of State Operations and Embassy Security Act. This bill authorizes funds for the State Department to advance U.S. interests around the world and strengthen our national security.

The bill fully funds the President's request for diplomatic security, as I have long urged that it should. Importantly, it also makes several important changes to how we protect our diplomats and embassies abroad and how we ensure accountability at the State Department.

Mr. Speaker, this past December, an accountability review board, or ARB, was convened to assess the State Department's policies and response to the attack in Benghazi. However, under the current authorizing statute, an ARB can only recommend disciplinary action against a State Department employee where there has been a ``breach of duty,'' a standard which is both very high and very hard to understand. As a result, the Benghazi ARB was unable to recommend disciplinary action against even a single State Department employee.

On this point, Mr. Speaker, I refer you to section 414 of the bill before us today. It is entitled the ``Revision of Provisions Relating to Personnel Recommendation of the ARB.'' The section was drafted and inserted by me and my esteemed colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

By making it easier for future ARBs to recommend disciplinary actions, section 414 will ensure greater accountability and responsibility at the State Department in the years to come and help prevent future Benghazis.

This effort on the part of myself and Mr. Perry is representative of the bipartisan nature of this bill--the first such bill that would pass Congress in over a decade.

On a variety of issues, including the crucial maintenance and strengthening of Iran's sanctions, the committee has worked effectively and constructively as our country needs it to. This is in large part due to the stellar leadership

of Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel, and I thank them so much for their mentorship.

It is ironic that our committee stands on the verge of a significant bipartisan breakthrough at this time. Perhaps our work can inspire some much-needed reasonableness and compromise in these Halls in the hours, days, and weeks to come.

Mr. Speaker, on September 18, 2013, I mistakenly voted ``aye'' on rollcall vote 471. I meant to vote ``nay'' on the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Protection Act (H.R. 761).

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, this is the second time this year that the other side of the aisle has proposed funding SNAP at a level that completely disregards the purpose of the program. This newest iteration disrespects families struggling to survive and parents who are unable to feed their children. It doubles down on a determination to end hunger assistance and increase the suffering of our Nation's most vulnerable.

There is only one word that comes to mind: ``cruel''--cruel to seniors, cruel to children, cruel to veterans, cruel to people struggling to survive with a shred of dignity. Children, elderly, disabled, and currently employed make up 92 percent of SNAP recipients. Yesterday, an elderly veteran called my office about his incredible struggle to purchase enough food. He said that without SNAP, he does not know how he will survive.

I want to take time to thank the organizations in my district and throughout New York City--Queens Jewish Community Council, Masbia, CPC, KCS, South Asian Council for Social Services, and the Hispanic Federation--for the amazing work they do every day to help our community.

I want to take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to the millions of people relying on SNAP and the millions more that oppose cutting this program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life and service of Ann Maggio, who passed away at age 90 on July 6, 2013. Ann left behind her daughter JoAnn, son Anthony, daughter-in-law Tracy, and grandson Andrew and the Suydam Street home she lived in for 75 years.

Ann, a longtime civic leader, moved to Ridgewood in 1938 when her parents bought a house on Suydam Street, where she lived for the remainder of her life. In 1944, after graduating from Hunter College, Ann went on to work for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company before she married Anthony Maggio in 1948. Together they had two children, Joann and Anthony.

As a resident of Ridgewood, Queens, she witnessed dramatic changes and became an instrumental part of her community. Ann first made her mark in Ridgewood's civic life by transforming the Grover Cleveland High School athletic field. Working with the police to establish a baseball and softball program, Ann kept the area from being vacant and was instrumental in making the athletic fields a reality for the community.

Ann continued to be an active member of the community, dedicating much of her time to a better Ridgewood. Whether it was keeping the neighborhood free from graffiti or promoting the safety of residents, Ann Maggio truly defined what it meant to be a civic leader.

The legacy she leaves behind exhibits the love she had for her community. Besides her family, nothing was more important to Ann than her love for her neighborhood.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me now in honoring Ann Maggio for her service to the people of Ridgewood.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this 38th attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Our country needs affordable care. My constituents in Queens, New York, need affordable health care. Right now, only 17,000 New Yorkers buy their own health insurance because the insurance premium rates are too high, and 2.6 million New Yorkers do not have health insurance. Nationwide, 13 million people are uninsured.

The most exciting part is that ObamaCare is already working. As of this morning, the new, approved health care premiums available in the New York State health care exchanges for 2014 are, on average, 50 percent lower than this year's insurance premiums. That is not even taking into account individuals who can take advantage of other Federal subsidies and that everyone with a health insurance plan will be able to gain access to basic, free preventative health care services.

I want to thank New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature for their leadership on this issue.

With all the partisan sniping across the aisle about health care, we cannot lose sight of why our country needs ObamaCare. Better access to affordable, preventative health care is essential to reining in health care costs; and more importantly, it's essential for a healthy America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life and service of Steven Pezenik, who passed away at age 57 on May 26, 2013 after a long battle with cancer.

Steven Pezenik began his distinguished career as a Consumer Service Specialist with the New York State Public Service Commission, where he served with distinction for 14 years. He then joined United Way New York City/AFL-CIO as a Constituent Liaison, before moving on to the United Food and Commercial Workers/Retail Wholesale Department Store Union. There, he proudly served the working men and women of Local 338 as Director of Special Projects, coordinating the local's public relations, and writing in and editing a quarterly newspaper. In his most recent position as Deputy Director of Constituent Services for New York State Senator Jose Peralta, Steve acted as a liaison between government agencies to help secure services for constituents.

Mr. Speaker, Steven Pezenik was a tireless public servant and advocate for the underserved and most in need. He helped raise over $11 million for The United Way and organized AFL-CIO toy, blood, and food drives, including a large-scale effort after September 11, 2001. With work that spanned almost three decades, he exemplified the meaning of public service. As a board member of the Queens Jewish Community Council, Steve always put first those most in need. Steve's commitment to working families functioned as the foundation for his activism and commitment to social justice.

The legacy he leaves behind reflects the love he had for his community. Yet, nothing was more important to Steve than his love for his family, his wife Lisa and daughter Sasha.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me now in honoring Steven Pezenik for his service to the people of Queens County, New York City and New York State.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. William Lee and the YMCA of Greater New York for their impeccable efforts to provide support and services to all New Americans.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. ``Bill'' Lee became a student leader at the Korean YMCA. As he immigrated with his young family to New York to complete his graduate medical education, Dr. Lee became aware of the unique challenges facing newly arrived immigrants and he has worked diligently over the past decades to combat these challenges.

Bill Lee has served as a board member of the YMCA of New York City from 1982-1996 and again since 2005. He also served on the YMCA of the USA Board of Directors from 1995-2004, and continues to have a lifelong relationship with the YMCA both in Korea and in the United States. With support from Dr. Lee and others, the YMCA of Greater New York established New American Welcome Centers throughout the City, including the Flushing YMCA in my Congressional District. These Centers help immigrants achieve literacy, cultural competence, and self-sufficiency.

Mr. Speaker, drawing on his own experience as a young immigrant who faced much adversity, Dr. Lee was able to turn his experiences into positive solutions for the newly arrived immigrants he saw in New York City. He successfully fundraised and organized the Korean Center of the Flushing YMCA, a branch of the YMCA of Greater New York that served new Korean immigrants with English-language classes and programs for newly arrived Korean families. As organizing chair of the International branch of the New York City YMCA, he championed the New Americans program, carefully outlining the needs of new immigrants, and the importance of working collaboratively with a strong referral network of service providers. He also closely monitored the initial years of the start-up and roll-out of six centers.

This week, Dr. Lee and Jack Lund, President of the YMCA of Greater New York, are visiting Washington, DC, to participate in a ``Champions of Change'' celebration hosted by the White House in honor of the Obama Administration's commitment to expanding programs and services to the immigrant population of the New York City.

A renowned cardiologist, Dr. Lee never fails to give back to his community. He has shaped one of the most successful programs in the YMCA through his belief that helping new arrivals succeed will be repaid many times over in society.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me now in paying tribute to Dr. William Lee and to the YMCA of Greater New York for their years of assistance to Korean Americans and to the entire City of New York.

To me, what has been more shocking than the sequester, itself, has been the response to it, or lack thereof, on the part of House leadership.

Are they listening to those on our streets and in our neighborhoods? Maybe the country is simply numbed by its repugnance of this Congress and the last.

The sequester harms the American people, particularly the middle class and our children. My district in Queens, New York, is decidedly and truly middle class; and every day constituents tell me how the sequester is hurting their families and their futures. It will cost America over 750,000 jobs this year, including police, firefighters, public defenders, and border agents.

We need to come to a compromise on a real spending plan that will increase revenue rather than slashing critical programs. The American people need us to speak up for our priorities and our values. The silence is disturbing. The sequester is not okay.

As I watch the farm bills move forward in the House and Senate, I am very saddened at the disregard for my most vulnerable constituents--our fellow Americans. Cutting another of our Nation's safety nets will only serve to further the suffering of disadvantaged children and senior citizens across the country.

Many of the recipients in my district who rely on SNAP to lift their families out of poverty and combat what would otherwise be certain malnutrition of their children, for many of these families this is the only form of income assistance they receive. Eighty percent of them fall below the poverty line.

Reducing benefits would have a terrible effect on millions of Americans. In addition to the Recovery Act's boost of funds ending, further cuts are not warranted.

Although the recipients of SNAP don't have an association to represent them here in Washington, I have come to the floor today to let them know that they are not being forgotten in this fight and that many Representatives will continue to battle on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the Record opposing the GOP's callous Mother's Day gift--more work and

less pay for working moms. Not a Happy Mother's Day.