Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent on July 23, 2018 and missed Roll Call Votes 366 and 367. Had I been present, I would have voted YES on both roll calls.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent on rollcall Votes 368, 369, 370, 371 and 372. I would have voted ``no'' on all five rollcall votes.

Mr. Speaker, standing under the revered E Pluribus Unum, I ardently plea for unanimous consent to amend the rules to make in order the Quigley amendment to restore desperately needed funds to prevent the pernicious and nefarious Russian interference in our elections.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, let me thank the committee for supporting me in my very important amendments last evening, and I have another very important amendment that is before the committee here today.

Mr. Chair, I urge support for my amendment that would prevent the administration from dismantling the EPA's Great Lakes Advisory Board. I am so pleased that this bill has again rejected the President's proposal to gut the GLRI, and this amendment would prevent them from dismantling the advisory board.

Mr. Chairman, this is a critical matter for anyone who drinks water. The Great Lakes provide drinking water to some 40 million people. Let me say that again. Forty million people depend on this resource for one of life's basic requirements, water, not to mention anglers and recreation.

As an old African proverb goes, water has no enemies. So, hopefully, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is something that we are going to recognize as having played a critical role in protecting and restoring one of America's greatest national treasures, a life- sustaining element, water.

Just to mention, not to bore people with a lot of statistics, but the Great Lakes contain about 21 percent of the world's surface freshwater and more than 80 percent, 85 percent, of the freshwater in North America. This is indispensable.

As critical as this funding is, it is also important that the EPA receive advice and input from local stakeholders regarding priorities under that program. The Great Lakes Advisory Board provides such advice.

EPA established the board in 2013 to provide independent advice to the EPA administration in its capacity as chair of the Federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. Some of the past activities of the advisory board have been providing the EPA with recommendations regarding what are the most significant stressors and needs for the Great Lakes ecosystem; providing the EPA with recommendations on ways to ensure effective public input into the Great Lakes action plan process; and providing advice on whether the GLRI should invest in efforts to understand long-term, future threats and communicate them to the Great Lakes community for action.

In light of reports of efforts to undermine the board, on a bipartisan basis, I joined colleagues in writing to the EPA earlier this year to make clear that we support the establishment and maintenance of the board. My amendment would put teeth behind this letter and make it clear to the administration what congressional intent is regarding this important advisory board.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank the gentleman from California. He is a very effective leader on this issue. I appreciate him.

An effective Great Lakes Advisory Board is vital to ensuring that the GLRI remains successful and impactful today and in the years to come.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise today to offer an amendment to increase resources available to help address a scourge that is occurring in so many of our communities: lead poisoning.

My district is facing its challenges like so many in our country, and the Federal Government must do its part by ensuring that we provide the resources to address this scourge.

Two of the most prominent vectors are old housing and old water infrastructure, lateral lead pipes. My amendment would attempt to address just one of the sources of lead, old lateral lead pipes, while recognizing the need to address housing when the appropriate funding bill comes to the floor.

Mr. Chairman, we know that children throughout America are at risk of a major public health crisis given aging drinking water infrastructure and housing stock. In my district alone, there are tens of thousands of lead service lines that pose a threat to the public health of children.

We have heard so much about Flint, Michigan, but I can tell you that lead poisoning in my district mirrors that of Flint, Michigan. I mean, Mr. Chairman, there just are no safe levels of lead for children.

As noted in a recent report by The Pew Charitable Trusts: ``In the absence of lead, hundreds of thousands of children would be more likely to realize their full potential thanks to higher grade point averages, a better chance of earning high school diplomas, and graduating from college, and a reduced likelihood of becoming teen parents or becoming convicted of crimes.'' Yet lead exposure remains a serious threat for far too many kids and their families in our country.

The only way to remove lead pipes as a source of lead contamination is to completely remove them. That is the goal that I joined with my former and dearly loved colleague, the late great Louise Slaughter, in writing to urge the EPA in March of this year to update its lead and copper rule to require

the full replacement of lead service lines.

But both public utilities and private homeowners are hard pressed to finance this needed work. It is my understanding that the average cost can be somewhere between $6,000 to $8,000 to replace such lines, which is an unimaginable sum for many of the households that our constituents live in.

My amendment would provide funding for one of the newest tools that Congress created in the 2016 WRDA bill to help communities address lead pipes. This program provides grants for lead reduction projects that help reduce the concentration of lead in drinking water by, among other uses, providing assistance to low-income homeowners to replace lead service lines.

Recognizing the need, Congress authorized the program at $60 million per year; yet it received only $10 million in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill. While I would like to get closer to the authorized level, my amendment is modest and pragmatic and would simply continue funding for this program at the fiscal year 2018 level.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his stewardship and for his recognition of the importance of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on July 16th, I missed Roll Call votes No. 329 and 330. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on both bills to designate post offices in honor of members of the military.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, the intent of the amendment is to reserve funds for the Smithsonian to do an exhibit in conjunction with local groups and organizations focused on celebrating the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent. I am so proud to offer this amendment.

Mr. Chair, January 1, 2015, through December 21, 2024, has been designated as the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, with the theme, ``People of African Descent: recognition, justice, and development'' by the United Nations General Assembly.

The population comprising the African diaspora is expansive, spanning across the globe from the Americas and the Caribbean, to Asia and Europe, with persons of African descent having a historic presence on every continent.

Around 200 million people identifying themselves as being of African descent live in the Americas. The goal of this initiative is for the United Nations and its member states, among others, to take advantage of the auspicious period of history by undertaking activities in the spirit of recognition, justice, and development for people of African descent around the globe.

Among the goals of this international initiative is to underscore the important endowments made by people of African descent to our world societies and to promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture, and contributions of people of African descent to the development of societies.

Now, in this country, Mr. Chairman, the Smithsonian is uniquely positioned to celebrate the launch of this International Decade at the national level here in this country by creating temporary and maybe permanent exhibits that can help promote the cultural and artistic goals of the International Decade and to create an effective exhibit or series of exhibits across its museums on the contributions of African descendants in the United States, where Black history is inextricably and integrally woven since this country's founding and even before. Yes, Mr. Chairman, Africans explored these shores long before Columbus and archeological findings here do prove.

The Smithsonian has a history of undertaking efforts to commemorate and tell the story of the impact of African descendants on African American history, politics, culture, and society, including the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Smithsonian has a wealth of artifacts and holds the resources to put together a well-regarded national showcase to weave together a compelling and concise study and story of some of the most notable contributions across sectors of African descendants. Likewise, it can work with local organizations to borrow or make available artifacts, documents, and relics related to telling the story in a way that no other institution in our country can.

Simply put, the Smithsonian has the right mix of expertise, archives, and artifacts to help tell the story as well as the ability to work with local groups throughout our Nation that are guardians of some of these narratives but may not have the resources.

With these additional resources, it is hoped that the Smithsonian will partner with other State and local institutions to help create a story reflective of the U.N. International Decade for People of African Descent and promoting the history and heritage of people of African descent and their impact on our country here.

In an era of xenophobia and rising intolerance, now, more than ever, we need to join in helping to publicly recognize the culture, history, and heritage of people of African descent and their impact on the Nation and the world and have the International Decade for People of African Descent be more than an empty rhetorical platitude to African Americans on this shore.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague, because we will turn the light on the contributions of Africans on this continent during this decade.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call votes No. 327 and No. 328. I would have voted YEA on Roll Call 327 related to a motion to recommit H.R. 50 and NO on Roll Call 328 related to final passage of H.R. 50.

Mr. Speaker, on June 25, I missed Roll Call votes 289 and 290. Had I been present, I would have voted YES on Roll Call 289 regarding the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2018 and YES on Roll Call 290 related to H.R. 5783.

Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 295

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, the legislation before us today makes nonprofit organizations eligible for Federal Government vouchers to house people in recovery for drug addiction. My amendment simply makes Tribal housing authorities also eligible to apply and receive the vouchers.

I, like the gentlewoman from California, am concerned that this bill, without additional funding, however well-intended, really robs Peter to pay Paul, and it would cannibalize our local housing authorities of funds and prioritize seeking housing solutions for those individuals with addiction problems over other individuals who are victims of domestic violence, who are low-income families who have been waiting in line and need a subsidy in order to make ends meet, and other homeless populations.

Again, I think this is a laudable goal, but I am concerned about this bill not having any appropriations connected to it.

But, Mr. Chairman, if we, in fact, are going to take this approach, I am sure we can all agree that Tribal housing authorities should also be eligible. Indian Country has been devastated by drug addiction, and Tribes from across the Nation have struggled to keep pace with treating their addicted population and all the tertiary problems associated with addiction, including housing problems.

The reality is that nonprofits are not really operating in Indian Country now, and the unique geographic and cultural challenges make it very unlikely that any nonprofit will actually be able to serve Indian Country even if the program is successful in other areas.

Indian Tribes are making do. There are some success stories, like the Potawatomi in Milwaukee, but the need is so overwhelming. So as we provide aid to our States, I strongly believe that our sacred trust obligations to Indian Country make it necessary for us to include our Tribes in this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have absolutely no doubt at all about the gentleman's commitment and his sincerity to solve the problem of housing challenges for those who are addicted.

I would just note that my own experience in my community is similar to the gentlewoman from California. We have seen people be on the waiting list for 10 years to get in housing. If we appear to be skeptical about there being enough housing resources, it is only because of that experience where we have seen people on the wait list for 10 years.

Mr. Chairman, again, I thank the gentleman for his consideration, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as you mentioned, the Poor People's Campaign was a national call for a moral revival.

What we are doing here now: We are reengaging the Poor People's Campaign for the nonviolent economic reform movement that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was organizing when he was assassinated in 1968.

This resurgence is being called the most extensive wave of nonviolent direct action in our Nation's history. What this resurgence recognizes is that Dr. King was right, that the trifecta of racism, poverty, and militarism are interconnected. Today they are trapping more than 140 million Americans in poverty and low wealth, and many of them are children and veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk to you about one of Dr. King's triple evils, militarism. I want to talk about it because we have a total volunteer Army now. We don't have the draft. So the young people who are being recruited into our military today are young people, often from low-income households, who are seeking an opportunity, and they are being seduced into the military with promises of technical training, bonuses, and college.

I would like to share with you a letter from one of those people, Mr. Brock McIntosh of Illinois. He says:

This way of injecting the poisonous drugs of hate into

veins of people, normally humane, cannot be reconciled with

wisdom, justice, and love.

I would like to tell you all about the precise moment I

realized that there was poison in me. I am the child of a

nurse and a factory worker in the heartland of Illinois, the

family of blue collar and service workers.

At the height of the Iraq war, military recruiters at my

high school attracted me with signup bonuses and college

assistance that some saw as their ticket out. For me, I hoped

it was my ticket up, providing opportunities that I once felt

were out of reach.

Two years later, when I was 20 years old, I was standing

over the body of a 16-year-old Afghan boy. A roadside bomb he

was building prematurely detonated. He was covered in

shrapnel and burns and now lay sedated after having one of

his hands amputated by our medics. His other hand had the

callused roughness of a farmer or a shepherd.

As he lay there with a peaceful expression, I studied the

details of his face and caught myself rooting for him: ``If

this boy knew me,'' I thought, ``he wouldn't want to kill

me.'' And here I am, I am supposed to want to kill him, and I

feel bad that I wanted him to live.

Now, that is the poisoned mind. That is the militarized

mind. And all the opportunities afforded me by the military

can't repay the cost of war on my soul.

It is poor folks who carry the burden of war for the elites

who send them. A working-class boy from Illinois, sent

halfway around the world to kill a young farmer--how did we

get here? How did this crazy war economy come to be?

First, there is the demand. A society that feels

perpetually threatened perpetually prepares for war, even in

the time of peace. To do this requires a military industrial

complex, a vast war economy whose charters, profits, stocks,

and jobs depend on permanent militarization and whose fortune

prospers most in times of war.

Secondly, there is the supply. A Nation that wants to

attract volunteers to its military and care for veterans

provides opportunities that will lure recruits who are

predominantly working-class folks with limited opportunities.

We need a Poor People's Campaign to amplify the voices like

this, of regular folks, above the lobby of a militarized

industry, a poisoned economy, to demand jobs in industries

other than war-making, to demand opportunities for working-

class folks that don't require killing other working-class

folks.

We need a Poor People's Campaign to demand justice for

people of color, killed by militarized police forces, a

poisoned law enforcement.

We need a Poor People's Campaign to transform a militarized

politic, a poisoned Congress, and a poisoned White House that

proves their toughness with chest beating and unites their

base with war drumming.

War always has a way of distracting our attention and

perverting our priorities. We need a Poor People's Campaign

to organize for racial, economic, and ecological justice, to

force these issues to the front and rectify our Nation's

agenda.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out that the United Nations has called this heartless act of separating children from their parents as ``unlawful . . . and a serious violation of the rights of the child.'' The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that such separation can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's development and affecting his or her health.

I just want to say that many of my colleagues today have indicated that this is not who we are.

They have asked what I think is a rhetorical question, Mr. Correa. They have asked: Who are we?

Well, I can tell you who we are through the agency of our head of state. We are people who have embraced the President of the Philippines who kills people who are accused of drug trafficking. Through the agency of our head of state, we are people who have embraced cruel dictators like Vladimir Putin who invaded a country. Through the agency of our head of state, we have asked to readmit Putin into the G7, making it the G8. Through the agency of our head of state, we have declared that Kim Jong-un is to be admired, that he is smart, that he is a good negotiator.

Who we are, are people who are silent. We are quiet. So why are we asking ourselves who we are? This is who we are, and this is our watch, and the world is watching us. They are watching us be silent and say nothing.

Who are we? We are people who have determined that Canada is an enemy of the state. We are people who are standing by while our Government, the United States of America, is violating international human rights law. That is who we are.

Until we face the reality of who we are, we can't fix this. I could not have, 2 years ago, ever predicted that the United States would behave in this manner.

This is a horrific practice.

The demand is for all Americans to rise up against this, and especially those Americans who have been endowed with the privilege of representing the peoples of the United States of America, especially those people who are in leadership in this body.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman and madam ranking member.

Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment to this critical bill, which authorizes billions of dollars in Corps projects.

My amendment is very simple. I can keep it short. It would reaffirm the need for the Army Corps to make every effort to ensure, as part of their project planning and implementation process, the fair treatment of all communities in this vital process.

Mr. Chair, this amendment addresses the continuing concern that certain vulnerable communities affected by Federal actions often have little to no input into the planning and implementation of those activities, and they include low-income communities, both urban and rural, communities of color, and other marginalized groups such as Tribes.

By adopting my amendment, the Army Corps could lead in reforming how Federal agencies engage with vulnerable communities by working collaboratively with community stakeholders, by outreach, proactive outreach, and requiring really meaningful involvement and conversations with these communities of color, including Tribal communities, engaging them in developing Corps development of the projects and implementation.

I would ask that no one would object to requiring that the Corps spend more time listening to and validating community concerns and working to resolve them collaboratively at every step of the process, rather than waiting until a lawsuit occurs.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on May 24, I missed Roll Call vote 229. Had I been present, I would have voted NO to reject the motion to table the appeal in order to allow the House to debate Mr. Thompson's timely amendment to strengthen the gun background check system.

Mr. Speaker, I have not had the privilege to serve on the Agriculture Committee, but, given the comments of the gentleman there, I would suggest as an amendment that, since this bill is about work, we have work for 12-year-olds. Maybe boys could be shoeshine boys and the girls could be shampoo girls at the beauty salon so that they can help subsidize families.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, there is an old saying that is appropriate for this discussion: ``If you aren't at the table, you are on the menu.'' And children are definitely on the menu and at the tender mercies of the job market.

This bill will cut access not only for SNAP but kids who go to school every day. This means in my State there will be 23,000 kids who will not get school lunch and breakfast because of this bill.

I am going to turn in, Mr. Speaker, some of the stories of people in my district who need SNAP, real people, single people like Jana, who has worked on a job for 11 years, lost her job, and has been looking for work for 3 months and couldn't find it.

I would ask that we reject this bill for people who need SNAP to survive. This bill is not about work. It is about taking food out of the mouths of babes.