Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the achievements of Reverend Dr. Clarence Norman, Sr. During his 60 years of service, Rev. Norman has ministered to tens of thousands and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all those he encountered. In honor of his six decades of service to our community, Rev. Norman was honored at a celebratory banquet on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach, New York.

In 1953, he helped found the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg located in Brooklyn, New York, which later relocated to the Crown Heights neighborhood. Shortly after the church's founding, he was ordained as pastor. Today, the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights has a congregation of over 2,000 people.

In addition to his ministry at the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, Rev. Norman has been dedicated to improving housing and education in the community.

Rev. Norman's commitment to education is evidenced by his own academic achievements: he received a Bachelor of Arts from Bloomfield College, and a Master of Divinity and Doctorate in Religion from Howard University. The importance of education was imparted to the youth he mentored and taught. He served as the Director of the John Edward Bruce Day Care Center and Dean and Assistant Principal of the Whitelaw Reid Junior High School. Additionally, he taught social studies at the Nathaniel Macon Junior High School.

In 1987, Rev. Norman founded the Local Development Corporation of Crown Heights, which has developed over 800 housing units for senior citizens and low-income families.

He has received numerous honors and awards including the 1969-1970 Parish Ministry Fellowship by the Fund for Theological Education and the First Annual Ecumenical Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. In 2002, he was honored by Ebony Magazine as a ``great black father.'' Rev. Norman is an inspirational leader whose work would not have been possible without the love and support of his wife Ellen Norman and their devoted five children. We thank his family for sharing him with us all.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating Reverend Norman on his 60th pastoral anniversary. For his commitment to the people of Brooklyn and to his service of those less fortunate, he is worthy of the highest praise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 35th anniversary of the founding of Full Gospel Assembly Church in Brooklyn, NY. Pastor Michael Bacchus and members of the congregation commemorated this milestone at a banquet on October 4, 2013 at the Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn, NY.

Full Gospel Assembly was founded on October 1, 1978 by Pastor Michael Bacchus, Assistant Pastor Jesse Persuad and Brother Colin Wronge. The people of New York are grateful for the exemplary service and leadership of Pastor Bacchus, whose vision led the church from meeting in a classroom at Long Island University to building its own sanctuary on Sullivan Place in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Under the direction of Pastor Bacchus, the Queens Campus of Full Gospel Assembly opened in 2011. The Full Gospel Christian Academy, which was founded in 1985, continues to offer pre-K and kindergarten classes.

The leaders and parishioners of Full Gospel Assembly have touched the lives of countless individuals through their compassionate service. In 1986, the church sponsored its first

missionary trip, where 45 parishioners traveled to Guyana to minister to the residents of Georgetown and Linden. The Berean Bible Study Center, which opened in 1989, has trained hundreds to be leaders in the church's ministries. To meet the needs of its diverse congregation, the church has a wide range of active ministries including those for children, youth, and families.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating Full Gospel Assembly on its 35th anniversary. The church leaders and parishioners have dedicated themselves to serving the people of New York, and for that they are worthy of the highest praise.

Mr. Speaker, this is day 11 of the reckless Republican shutdown of the United States Government, and you have still failed to provide a way out of the mess that you have created.

The communities that I represent in Brooklyn and Queens are still struggling from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy; yet this bill fails to fund the Army Corps of Engineers.

This was a wholesale government shutdown, and all that is offered is a piecemeal reopening. You have burned down the entire house, but offer only to rebuild the kitchen. That is a shameful dereliction of duty and a woefully inadequate remedy. This shutdown is hurting the American people. It is undemocratic, unconscionable, unnecessary, unreasonable, and unjust.

It is time to get back to doing the business of the American people. Let's reopen the entire government. Vote ``no'' on this piecemeal approach.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from the Silver State, my good friend, Representative Horsford, for his tremendous leadership for anchoring this CBC Special Order. And it's my honor and my privilege to join him today, during this Congressional Black Caucus Hour of Power, where, for 60 minutes we have the opportunity to speak directly to the American people. It's always an honor and a privilege to do so, but it's tragic and sad that we're here today under such circumstances. This is a manufactured crisis, a government shutdown engineered as a result of mean-spirited, reckless, and unreasonable behavior by our friends from the other side of the aisle.

And in order to mask the obstructionism and the behavior that has resulted in more than 800,000 hardworking civil servants being kicked out of their jobs temporarily--we hope--there's been a series of myths, of factual misrepresentations that have

been brought to the American people from our good friends on the other side of the aisle. I just want to spend a minute or two exploring some of the most significant ones courtesy of the House GOP.

The first thing that led us down this road is this idea that the Affordable Care Act is a train wreck, repeated over and over and over again. The Affordable Care Act is a train wreck.

It's not a train wreck. The train hasn't even left the station. Enrollment just began a few days ago on October 1. The coverage period for the American people doesn't even begin until January 1 of 2014. How can it be a train wreck when the train hasn't even left the station?

This is behavior that is designed to create an accident because of some obsession that folks have on the other side of the aisle with providing tens of millions of Americans who are otherwise uninsured with health care coverage. It's an obsession that, quite frankly, I can't understand.

What are you so angry about? Are you upset about the fact that the Affordable Care Act prohibits preexisting conditions from denying health care coverage to Americans, including children?

Do you dislike the fact that young people going out into a very difficult job market can now stay on the insurance of their parents until the age of 26?

Does it really bother you that small businesses will be eligible for a tax credit up to 35 percent to help provide health insurance coverage for their employees in a manner that will allow these small businesses to grow and prosper?

Enough with this myth the Affordable Care Act is a train wreck. But that was the basis of the shutdown and the ransom notes that were sent over to the Senate majority that courageously stamped each one: Rejected; return to sender.

Defund, delay, destroy the Affordable Care Act, that was the genesis of this conflict. And then we shifted, once it was clear that that strategy was not going to work, into the second great myth of this debacle that we find ourselves in. The second myth: Democrats refuse to negotiate.

Negotiate over what? Negotiate over a law that my colleagues have clearly indicated is the law of the land, passed by a duly-elected Congress in 2010, signed by the President, declared constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States of America in a decision issued by Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush appointee, and then affirmed by the reelection of President Barack Obama in the electoral college landslide? Why do you want us to negotiate over settled law?

There are three ways in the American democratic system for you to change law, Mr. Speaker:

The first is through the legislative process. In 2010, you lost. Forty-three or 44 additional times subsequent to that, you've lost, unable to do it legislatively.

You can try and change the law in America through our democratic system jurisprudentially, through the court system. In 2012, the Supreme Court rejected that. You lost.

Then you can try and change things as a result of an election, and you lost with the reelection of the President by more than 5 million votes in 2012.

Those are the three legitimate ways--legislative, jurisprudential, electoral--that you change laws in American democracy. You do not extort concessions and threaten to shut down the government.

So this notion that we've refused to compromise is a great myth, particularly when, as my good friend from Nevada pointed out, the fact is that we've already compromised as it relates to the underlying number connected to funding the government.

The Democrats believe the appropriate number is $1.058 trillion. That number is right here. The Republicans believe the appropriate number is $986 billion. That number is right here. We've agreed to drop our number all the way down to $986 billion, representing a $70 billion compromise, yet you continue to put forth this myth, as if we're the ones behaving unreasonably. The American people see through this factual misrepresentation.

Lastly, let me just say, we had another great myth put forth this weekend by none other than the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No, not the junior Senator from Texas; the other one from Ohio. He said there are not the votes in the House to pass a clean CR. Not the votes? I'm no mathematician, Mr. Speaker, but it's clear, 198 Democrats have indicated they're willing to reopen the government if you put the bill on the floor. And if you add that to the 23 Republicans who have gone on record back at home in their districts, that gets us to 221, the magic number being 217 to reopen the government.

Stop peddling factual misrepresentations to the American people to cover your legislative malpractice. Let's get back to doing the business of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this institution after spending 6 years in the New York State Legislature. It was a very meaningful experience for me, notwithstanding the fact that the legislature in New York is sometimes derided as one of the more dysfunctional bodies in the country; but after witnessing the last few days here in the House of Representatives, it is clear to me that there is no more dysfunctional place in this country than the House of Representatives under the current majority control.

This is a manufactured crisis that has unnecessarily plunged us into a painful government shutdown, a shutdown that will harm the American people. The House majority has placed children in jeopardy--tens of thousands shut out of the Head Start program. The House majority has placed seniors in jeopardy--unable to benefit from the Meals on Wheels program, partially funded by the Federal Government. The House majority with this government shutdown has placed expectant

mothers in jeopardy and individuals who are now unable to get the nutritional assistance that might otherwise be available. You have placed veterans in jeopardy, Mr. Speaker. The House majority has placed families in jeopardy--more than 800,000 hardworking civil servants cast out onto the streets, with the uncertainty to determine when they may be able to pay their bills. The House majority with this government shutdown has placed the economy of the American people in jeopardy.

Enough is enough.

I am trying to figure out who actually is in charge, Mr. Speaker. Are you in control of your conference on the other side of the aisle? Is it the Tea Party that is in control of the House of Representatives agenda? Is it outside agitators or the junior Senator from Texas who barks out orders on the other side of the aisle, and then they're executed in lockstep by the extremists here in the House of Representatives? Mr. Speaker, who is in charge? Who is responsible on your side of the aisle for marching us down this dangerous path?

I have also been struggling in trying to figure out why are you so angry about the Affordable Care Act. What is it that you are so upset about? Are you angry about the fact that tens of millions of previously uninsured Americans will have access to health care? Are you upset about the fact that the law will prevent discrimination against individuals, including children with preexisting conditions? Are you angry about the fact that the Medicare part D doughnut hole will be closed and that seniors all across America will have access to more robust prescription drug coverage? Are you angry about the fact that young people in a difficult economy can stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they are the age of 26? What exactly are you upset about? Are you angry about the fact that small businesses will have access to tax credits--as much as 35 percent--in order to insure their employees in a manner that will help these small businesses grow and prosper?

Enough already.

The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. It was passed by a duly elected Congress in 2010 with the great leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. You have lost legislatively, Mr. Speaker. The Affordable Care Act was determined to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States of America in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, an individual nominated by George W. Bush. You've lost legally. Then the President of the United States of America was reelected last November in an electoral college landslide. You have lost politically, Mr. Speaker.

Enough already.

Why are we in this situation? I would simply ask that we pass a clean CR and get back to doing the business of the American people.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin, the badger State, for yielding me some time, for your tremendous leadership in anchoring this Progressive Caucus Special Order week after week after week, carrying forward in such a powerful and compelling way the Progressive message to the Americans out there who we represent. It's such a powerful vehicle to use the House floor, to speak in such eloquent, genuine ways about the challenges that we confront here in the United States Congress.

Over the last few weeks, what we've witnessed, I think, can be characterized as both the theater of the absurd and a Shakespearean tragedy. Let me deal with the Shakespearean tragedy aspect of this.

We are in the midst of a government shutdown right now that is unnecessarily forcing pain on the American people. It's a shutdown that was manufactured by the House GOP that has resulted in a situation where Americans all across this country have now been put in jeopardy. That's a tragedy of epic proportions. Children have been put in jeopardy. Tens of thousands of them have been shut out from the Head Start program. Families have been put in jeopardy. More than 800,000 individuals were kicked out of work unnecessarily. As time marches on, faced with the uncertainty as it relates to how they pay their bills, put food on their table, clothing on their backs, pay off the mortgage, more than 800,000 hardworking Americans are collateral damage as a result of a reckless, irresponsible, mean-spirited behavior.

Veterans have been unnecessarily put into harm's way. Children looking for hope and dealing with the cancer that has afflicted them are unable to participate in clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. Seniors, who otherwise would benefit from the Meals on Wheels program--it's insult to injury. It's bad enough you're trying to cut $39 billion from the SNAP program, but then you've got to inflict additional pain, as a result of the government shutdown, on seniors who rely on the Meals on Wheels program to eat and deal with their nutritional needs.

The other problem that's amazing to me is that you've put in jeopardy expectant mothers who are now unable to receive the nutritional assistance that would be available to them in the absence of a government shutdown. This is a Shakespearean tragedy inflicted upon us by an out-of-control House majority.

Let me deal for a moment or so with the theater-of-the-absurd aspect of this. I asked on the floor of the House of Representatives today, Who's in charge? My distinguished freshman colleague from California just referenced this point. Who is in charge of the House of Representatives? Is it the Speaker who's in charge at this moment? Is it the Heritage Foundation? Is it Tea Party extremists? Is it the junior Senator from Texas, who for the last week, before he disappeared, was barking out orders over on the other side of the Capitol and then Members in the House of Representatives were following those orders in lockstep, executing this extreme agenda that has led us to a shutdown of the United States Government?

The other side of the aisle, my good friends, they're going to say, Well, what are you talking about an extreme agenda? We just have a disagreement as it relates to the Affordable Care Act, and you guys on the other side of the aisle, the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he doesn't want to compromise. Compromise on what? The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. It was passed by a duly elected Congress in 2010. The Supreme Court of the United States of America declared it constitutional in 2012 in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, someone who was nominated to the bench by George W. Bush.

And then a few months later, in November, the President of the United States was reelected in an electoral college landslide with a difference of more than 5 million votes, reaffirming the Affordable Care Act, which was his signature legislative achievement.

What exactly do you want us to compromise on when October 1 was the day that enrollment first began? You claim it to be a train wreck. The train hasn't even left the station yet. But in advance of this government shutdown, you sent a series of ransom notes over to this side of the aisle. I mean, this really is shocking behavior. It was a series of ransom notes. If you don't do what we want to you do, we're going to shut down the government.

Let's go through the ransom notes that were sent over. First you said, Defund the Affordable Care Act; and then that didn't work. And then you said, We want to delay the Affordable Care Act for a year; and that didn't work. And then you said, We are going to deny the ability for contraception coverage; and that didn't work. And then you said, We're going to repeal the medical device tax; and that didn't work. And then you said, Well, let's delay the individual mandate for a year; and that didn't work. And then finally, out of desperation, you said, Well, we're going to jam up our own congressional employees in what effectively amounts to a misrepresentation, because you weren't trying to take away a subsidy. You were trying to take away an employer contribution that is available to the overwhelming majority of Americans whose employers provide health care. A series of ransom notes that were summarily rejected by a courageous Senate majority.

And when you finally realized the futility of those demands included in each of those legislative ransom notes that you sent over to the other side, at the 11th hour, in the height of hypocrisy, you said, Let's go to conference.

Go to conference? As my good friend, the distinguished Congressman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) pointed out, we've been asking for regular order since the spring of this year.

Now, regular order involves the following process:

The House passes a budget, the Senate passes a budget, both of which occurred earlier this year. And then at that point, the two sides appoint conferees to sit down at the negotiating table and try to work out the differences. That's the regular order that you've been screaming about for the last 4 years. And earlier this spring, you finally had an opportunity to bring it about. Senator Harry Reid was prepared to move forward. Even Mitch McConnell seemed like he was ready to move forward. And individual Republican Senators said that it was absurdity for the House Republicans to have been demanding conference committees over the last several years, and finally they get an opportunity to do it, and nothing's forthcoming from the other side of the aisle here in the United States House.

Why is that the case? Well, I think we've now figured it out. Because you knew that the demands that you would make--because you are following the script from the junior Senator from Texas and others-- would have been so extreme at a conference committee that it would have just been a futile legislative exercise, and you did not want that to be exposed to the American people. I think that's one of the only conclusions that we can draw at this moment, with the benefit of hindsight, as to why in the world a conference committee was never appointed, even though that's something that you had been demanding, my good friends on the other side of the aisle, for the previous few years. So the American people aren't going to be fooled by these 11th- hour gimmicks--conference committee.

What we need to do at this point is just pass a clean continuing resolution that, if it were to come to the floor of the United States House of Representatives, would have bipartisan support

from Democrats and from Republicans, many of whom were mentioned earlier today by the distinguished Congressman from the Badger State (Mr. Pocan), and we could get beyond this shutdown, this Shakespearean tragedy, which is very painful for hardworking Americans, and go off and do the business of the American people. That's what needs to happen.

I hope reasonable minds can come together. You can stop following the marching orders of outside agitators--who've got no interest in governing and are only concerned about 2016 and other ambitions that these individuals may harbor--and do the responsible thing so we can move this country forward.

Since March or April of this year.

And, Congressman, you raise an interesting point. I think this is important to clarify for the American people. Our friends on the other side of the aisle have said, Well, we want a changed set of law. We want to defund, destroy, or delay the Affordable Care Act. Inherently outrageous. Well, let's just put that aside for the moment.

The Senate majority and those on our side of the aisle in the House of Representatives as well as the President, have already compromised, as you pointed out. The number that we feel is appropriate to fund the government and do what's right for the American people is $1.058 trillion. That's the number that we feel is appropriate. The number that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like to see the government funded at is $986 billion. That's a significant difference.

However, in order to move the country forward, the Senate majority, the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the President of the United States have all agreed to move forward with a continuing resolution, not at our number, $1.058 trillion, but at the House majority number, which is substantially less, $986 billion. Our good friends on the other side of the aisle don't know when to take ``yes'' for an answer.

As the Democratic whip pointed out earlier this week, we've already compromised and accepted the sequestration cuts for the purpose of keeping the government open and negotiating over the next 6 weeks as to what the appropriate number is. So that is political spin that you hear, those who sent over the ransom notes, accusing others of an unwillingness to compromise when we've already compromised on the number in the continuing resolution.

I thank the distinguished gentlelady from New York.

Mr. Speaker, the House GOP has once again exposed its extremism for all of the American people to see. The resolution that underlies this rule is dead on arrival in the Senate and will not be signed into law by the President. And so what we have embarked on is a futile legislative joyride that will only end in a government shutdown, that will hurt children, hurt families, hurt the military, hurt senior citizens, and hurt our economy. This is an unnecessary Shakespearean tragedy.

Why are we continuing to fight a battle that you have already lost? You lost it in 2010 legislatively when this Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. You lost it jurisprudentially in a court of law when the Supreme Court in 2012 declared the Affordable Care Act constitutional, and then you lost it politically last November when the President was reelected to a second term. Why are we continuing to litigate an issue that has already been resolved?

It's time to confront reality. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Let's move on and get back to doing the business of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the achievements of Bishop Eric R. Figueroa, Sr. During his 30 years of service, Bishop Figueroa has ministered to thousands and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all those he encountered. In honor of his three decades of service to our community, Bishop Figueroa was honored at a celebratory banquet on Monday, May 20, 2013 at Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach, New York.

In 1983, Bishop Figueroa founded New Life Tabernacle, which has been an important part of our community. In addition to his ministry at the church, Bishop Figueroa has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the lives of the people of Brooklyn through the Family Life Development Center. The Center provides an impressive range of services which include: a food pantry, drug rehabilitation programs, juvenile alternatives to incarceration, mentoring, counseling, college preparation, scholarships, and senior citizen programming. He recognized the needs of the people of Brooklyn and found solutions. His work has provided critical services to those most in need.

Bishop Figueroa's efforts as a founding member of Brooklyn Congregations Together, which united church communities in the borough to best meet the needs of the people, are commendable. The community remains indebted to the New Life Covenant Fellowship, which educates and empowers new leaders. Bishop Figueroa is truly a gifted teacher, preacher, and singer.

He is an inspirational leader whose work would not have been possible without the love and support of his wife Doreen Figueroa and their devoted children and grandchildren. We thank his family for sharing him with us all. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating Bishop Figueroa on his 30th pastoral anniversary. For his commitment to the people of Brooklyn and to his service of those less fortunate, he is worthy of the highest praise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 114th birthday of Ms. Susannah Mushatt Jones, who is affectionately called Miss Susie. Considered the oldest resident in New York State by the Gerontology Research Group, she is a beloved member of the Brooklyn community I am proud to represent in Congress. In honor of her birthday, Miss Susie was honored on July 12, 2013, at the Vandalia Senior Center in Brooklyn, NY. We revel not just the years since her birth, but the history she has witnessed in three separate centuries. From experiencing segregation in the South to being a first-hand witness of the Civil Rights movement in New York, we commemorate her birthday with awe and inspiration.

Miss Susie was born into a large, loving family on July 6, 1899, in Lowndes County, Alabama as the third of eleven children. In 1923 she moved to New York as part of the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North, Midwest, and West. Miss Susie dedicated her professional pursuits to children, first as a schoolteacher and then as a childcare provider. At one point, she moved to Hollywood to work for a family in the film industry. During her time on the west coast, she enjoyed socializing with movie stars and attending movie premieres. She fondly remembers meeting Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant.

Family has always surrounded Miss Susie: she takes great delight in being an aunt to over 100 nieces and nephews. Throughout her life, she has brightened many lives with her positive attitude and infectious laugh. She resides in Vandalia Houses and was an active member of the Vandalia Houses Senior Center tenant patrol through her 100th birthday. Miss Susie credits her healthy lifestyle free of smoking and drinking for her longevity.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in celebrating Ms. Susannah Mushatt Jones on her 114th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 100th birthday of Mrs. Lucy T. Davis. Mrs. Davis is a beloved member of the community; throughout her life, she has brightened the lives of all she encountered. In celebration of her centennial birthday, Mrs. Davis was honored on May 11, 2013 at the Bishop Hucles Nursing Home in Brooklyn,

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the achievements of Councilman Albert Vann. During his years of service, Councilman Vann has helped thousands and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all those he encountered. In celebration of his 30 years of outstanding service, Councilman Vann was honored on May 9, 2013, at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, NY, where the library was renamed in his honor.

As both a teacher and elected official, Councilman Vann has served the people of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, the community in which he was born and raised. Councilman Vann graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School and went on to earn his B.B.A. from Toledo University, his Master's Degree in Education from Yeshiva University, and his Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Long Island University. He served as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. Prior to being elected to public office, Councilman Vann taught at PS 256, JHS 35, and JHS 271 in Brooklyn, NY.

Councilman Vann served in the New York State Assembly from 1974-2001. Throughout these years, he continually and fervently represented the needs of his constituents. As Chairman of the New York State Black & Puerto Rican Caucus, he worked to prevent racial gerrymandering of the New York City Council. In 1982 he filed a lawsuit that increased the representation of communities of color--this landmark victory led to the creation of two additional Congressional Districts, three additional State Senate Districts, and six additional State Assembly Districts that represented communities of color in New York State.

In 2001, Mr. Vann was elected to the New York City Council. He has done a tremendous job as Chair of the Council's Committee on Community Development, where he has addressed poverty, foreclosures, and predatory equity. While in the New York City Council, Councilman Vann founded the 36th Council District Katrina Relief Effort, the Black Brooklyn Empowerment Convention, and New York City Works, which strives to reduce the disproportionately high unemployment rate in Black and Latino communities.

Recognizing the importance of empowering residents to improve their communities, he created several taskforces including: Education Taskforce; Senior Taskforce; Community Safety Taskforce; Youth Taskforce; and the Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Through his leadership with the Council's HIV/AIDS Faith-Based Initiative, Councilman Vann has improved HIV/AIDS

prevention outreach throughout New York City. Councilman Vann's vision led to the co-naming of Fulton Street as Harriet Ross Tubman Avenue and New York State's recognition of Harriet Tubman Day.

Councilman Vann has truly been a trailblazer, whose positive influence will have an everlasting effect on the community. His record of achievement would not have been possible without the love and support of his wife, Mildred Vann, their four children and eight grandchildren. We thank his family for sharing him with us all. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating Councilman Vann on his 30 years of outstanding service. For his commitment to the people of Brooklyn, he is worthy of the highest praise.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 days to revise and extend their remarks.

It is an honor and a privilege, Mr. Speaker, to once again have this opportunity to stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives and to anchor the CBC Special Order where, for the next 60 minutes, members of the Congressional Black Caucus have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on an issue of great significance to us, which is the future of the organized labor movement and how that relates to the economic viability of the African American community and to America as a whole.

Now, today, we've all just returned from the August recess. We are here back at the Capitol, and of course we're in the midst of a very robust period of deliberation as it relates to the administration's request for us to grant authorization for this country to strike militarily against Syria for what appears to be the use of chemical weapons, which is in violation of international law, against the Syrian people. That debate will play itself out over the next few days and, perhaps, even the next few weeks; but while we undertake that solemn obligation to make the best decision for this country and for our constituents as it relates to such a critical issue of war and peace and possible military engagement, we also have a similar responsibility to deal with the domestic issues that continue to impact our constituents as well as the American people.

We know that we are still in the midst of a very sluggish economic recovery and that the American worker has fallen behind relative to the position that that worker was in coming out of World War II and through the sixties and the seventies, into the eighties and the nineties. This is a matter of urgent concern to the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and it should be a matter of urgent concern to everyone who is a Member of this august body. Part of the deterioration of the American worker, I believe, empirically can be shown to be directly related to the deterioration of unionized membership here in this great country. So we will explore those topics.

We are a week removed from the Labor Day celebration, and we are also a few weeks removed from the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, a march that was projected as one both for jobs and for freedom. We often focus on the civil rights aspect of the march--and it produced some tremendous pieces of legislation--but the March on Washington was also about jobs and economic opportunity, and it was put together with the significant assistance of the organized labor movement here in America.

I've been joined by several distinguished colleagues, Members of the House of Representatives, but also of members of the class of 2012-- this wonderful freshman class. I believe the first speaker will be the distinguished gentleman--my good friend from the other side of the Hudson River, the always nattily dressed--Representative Donald Payne, Jr.

I thank my good friend from New Jersey for those very insightful and thoughtful observations.

I think the organized labor movement has a pretty simple objective in that a hard day's work should be compensated by a good day's pay; and anybody that works hard to provide for their family should be able to take care of their family, possibly even with a solidly middle class existence. That seems like that is consistent with the idea of who we are as a country. We, of course, right now have a minimum wage that is so low--$7.25 an hour--that you can work 40 hours a week and a family of four will still fall below the poverty line.

We've seen income inequality reach levels that are as bad as they were during the Great Depression. Part of the reason for these economic phenomena clearly have to do with the decline of Americans and their participation in the workforce as union members. It's something that we just have to confront here in this country in deciding what type of America we're going to become as we move forward into the future.

I've been joined by another extremely distinguished, eloquent, thoughtful colleague from the great State of Ohio, and I'm pleased to yield the floor now to Representative Joyce Beatty.

Thank you, Congresswoman Beatty, for those very comprehensive, thoughtful, and insightful remarks, and for pointing out, of course, the historic connection between the struggle for civil rights here in America and the organized labor movement.

Of course we know that A. Philip Randolph was very central in the 1963 March on Washington, that great labor leader who, in 1937, formed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. A. Philip Randolph once made this observation:

The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor

movement traditionally has been the haven for the

dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden,

and the poor.

He echoed those words several decades ago, but I think they ring true today in America in 2013, and we're thankful for that.

I've been joined by another distinguished colleague, a member of the freshman class, my colleague from the Lone Star State. It's now my honor and my privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas, Marc Veasey.

Thank you, Representative Veasey, for your very eloquent thoughts and observations.

Of course, we understood that Dr. King was very close with organized labor, with 1199 in New York, with the retail workers, and a variety of other unions. And of course on that tragic day down in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was assassinated in 1968, he was there in support of striking Black sanitation workers, so he leaves behind a tremendous legacy. Part of that legacy, of course, includes standing up for the rights of workers to organize and fight for decent wages and health care and a pension. These are all things that Dr. King would advocate for were he around today.

We have been joined by one of the leaders of the CBC, someone who was a distinguished civil rights attorney prior to his arrival here in the Congress and a judge, and now he serves as vice chair in the Congressional Black Caucus, one of the most eloquent voices in the CBC, and I am pleased to yield the floor to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield)

I thank the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina for those observations and for your continued leadership here in the Congress.

I would ask the Speaker how much time is remaining on this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that's been troubling to me and to many of the people that I represent back home in Brooklyn and parts of Queens has been to witness the attack on organized labor, on unions all across the country. Particularly in 2011, 2012, we witnessed it in Wisconsin, we witnessed it in Ohio, taking place in other parts of the country.

And I think that it's unfortunate that there are some forces out here in the country determined to crush the ability of the American worker to organize and fight collectively for a decent way of life.

And I think it's important to point out some of the reasons why all Americans should be thankful for unions and

for the organized labor movement. I'm just going to highlight quickly 10.

We should be thankful to organized labor because of overtime pay.

We should be thankful because of child labor laws.

We should be thankful because we now have the 40-hour workweek. We should be thankful because of workers' compensation, there to provide a safety net for folks who are injured on the job.

We should be thankful because we now have the presence, as a result, in significant part, of the organized labor movement, for unemployment insurance.

We should of course be thankful because many Americans, as a result of the efforts of organized labor, enjoy pensions, increasingly under assault, increasingly being taken away, but pensions have provided a vehicle for retirement security important to the American way of life and standard of living.

We should be thankful to organized labor because it fought for employer health care insurance coverage, something that many folks in this country still don't have, and that's one of the reasons why I strongly support the Affordable Care Act, an effort to correct that inequity that exists in America. But the fact that many employers do provide health insurance is an outgrowth that resulted from, in large measure, the effort of organized labor.

We should be thankful to organized labor because of the presence of whistleblower protection laws that give, in many instances, workers the capacity to identify something that's wrong, and to be able to move forward and reveal it, often, in some instances, when public funds are being squandered or the law is being broken; to reveal a wrong without having to have the same level of fear that retaliation would take place as a result of simply doing the right thing.

We should be thankful to organized labor because it fought for sexual harassment laws designed to allow the workforce to be an environment where men and women could exist without fear of inappropriate behavior poisoning the atmosphere. We still have a long way to go in that regard, but we've got some good laws on the books designed to protect against repulsive behavior in the workforce.

Lastly, we should be thankful, and this in no way is an exhaustive list, just a representative sample, but we should be thankful for holiday pay, thankful that organized labor fought for the opportunity for many Americans to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Year's or other holidays with their families, still have an opportunity to be compensated as a result of the ability to get certain holidays, perhaps most significantly, the Fourth of July, where we celebrate the birthday of this great Nation--off in remembrance of who we are and where we need to go in this country.

We've got a lot of reasons to be thankful to organized labor. Several of my colleagues earlier today referenced their own personal experiences as it relates to the labor movement. And as I was listening to those experiences, from Representative Donald Payne and Representative Marc Veasey, I thought about the experience of myself and my own family, growing up in Brooklyn to two parents in a working class neighborhood in Crown Heights.

My parents were married in April of 1967. At the time they got married, they were both members of the Social Service Employees Union, SSEU, which subsequently became Local 371 and DC 37. But they were both SSEU members. They got married in April of 1967.

And just a short while thereafter, the union decided to go out on strike because they were fighting for improved conditions, both for the workers and for the clients that Social Service workers served.

My parents, newlyweds at the time, confronted what I imagine was an extremely difficult decision: Do we strike with our union brothers and sisters, even though we'll have no possible means of providing for ourselves, and we don't know how long we'll be out of work, or do we cross that picket line in defiance of the collective action of the SSEU workers who went out on strike?

I'm proud that my parents joined with their union brothers and sisters and went out on strike. And as I look back at that decision, it's a lot of reason for me and for my brother and for our family to be thankful, because when I think about it, in 1973, my younger brother was born with some heart difficulty, and I'm confident, looking back on it, that it was that union-negotiated health care that helped our family get through what was otherwise a very difficult time. And my brother's alive and well and doing wonderful things as a professor at Ohio State University right now.

And then in 1980, my parents bought their first and only home in Crown Heights, the home that my brother and I grew up in, the home that they still live in back in Brooklyn right now. And it was that union- negotiated salary that helped them put together the money to make the down payment and to pay the mortgage all of these years.

Then in 1988, it was time for me to go off to college. And one of the reasons why I was able to come out of college relatively debt-free is because my mother borrowed against her union-negotiated pension in order to send her children to college.

And so the organized labor movement never has to worry about whether I'm going to stand up for them because they've always stood up for me and so many others just like me, as we heard from my colleagues in the freshman class here in the Congress. And that's simply representative of stories that so many folks across America could share.

Now, unfortunately, we know that organized labor is under attack. About 60 years ago, in 1953, about 35 percent of the American workforce had collective bargaining coverage. But as of 2010, we went from about 35 percent in the 1950s to just under 7 percent in 2010.

Where has that gotten us?

I think it's put us, not in a better position, as middle class America or working families; it's put us in a worse position.

And we saw the attacks in Wisconsin, and we saw the attacks on collective bargaining in Ohio that the folks had to roll back after the people of Ohio rose up in opposition.

I was proud, as a member of the State legislature at the time, in 2012, to support the effort to unionize by a group of very courageous cable workers in Brooklyn. Organized by the Communication Workers of America, they voted, in the face of significant pressure to the contrary, to join the union and to organize a chapter in order to fight for better wages and for stronger health care and the possibility of a better retirement.

Unfortunately, the courageous nature of those workers has not been met with a negotiated contract. The collective bargaining process has failed them to date. In fact, more than 20 of them were unceremoniously terminated earlier this year, and they were only brought back in the face of tremendous pressure by public servants at all levels of government.

But more than 18 months later, from the moment in which they voted to join the union, they still are in limbo. They have no contract, and in many ways, their lives have been turned upside down. In fact, every other worker in the company that employed these cable workers has been granted a substantial raise, while these individuals remain in limbo.

We're hopeful that we can do better, that we can bring the NLRB back to life, that it can serve as an objective entity to regulate the relationship between the workforce and employers across America.

There are a lot of employers who want to do the right thing. We should encourage that because it's good for America. And in this economic recovery that we have right now, there are a lot of companies that are doing pretty well. But there are a lot of workers who are still struggling.

One of the things that I think we have to confront here in the Congress is the fact that we have a very schizophrenic economic recovery. The stock market is way up, corporate profit's way up, the productivity of the American worker is way up, yet, unemployment remains stubbornly high, and wages remain stagnant.

How can that be when corporate America is doing so well, when investors in the stock market are doing so well, when objective measures show that the productivity of the American worker has increased significantly?

But the American worker, in terms of their ability to live and pursue the

middle class dream, has, in many ways, been left behind.

These are questions that I'm hopeful this Congress will confront. As we fight our way through sequestration and deal with the debt ceiling and the potential default, God forbid, that we have to confront next month, and we work our way, deliberatively, through the question of whether a military strike in Syria is appropriate, let's not forget the fact that what makes America great is the capacity for people to work hard, to purchase a home, to raise their family in safety, in security, with the ability to live a life where they provide for themselves and for their families and are able to hand to a generation of Americans that come behind them, hopefully, an America that is more prosperous, not less prosperous.

We in the CBC believe that the best way to get there is not to continue to attack organized labor but to recognize what it has done for this country and to strengthen organized labor as we move forward.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials into the Record on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and my privilege once again to anchor this CBC Special Order where, for the next 60 minutes, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus will have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on the important issue of race in America. Where do we go from here?

The events of the last several weeks have startled many throughout this country; most recently, the verdict down in Florida where Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted and the result that shocked many all across this country, a verdict that was viewed by many as unjust.

A few weeks prior to that, the Supreme Court struck down an important provision of the Voting Rights Act, an act that had been the most effective piece of civil rights legislation in this country which has helped to bring our democracy to life and is designed to make sure that all Americans, regardless of race, have an opportunity to participate in our democracy in a meaningful way.

The debate over the farm bill that has left many people troubled by the fact that the SNAP program, in an unprecedented fashion, was left out; and if we don't come to an agreement here, our failure to step up and help those who are hungry will disproportionately have an effect on many in the African American community.

These are just some of the recent events that have come together to put us in a position where, as the President has recently indicated, it's time for us to have a meaningful conversation on race--a direct conversation, a forthright conversation, an honest conversation. That's why the members of the Congressional Black Caucus are here today.

We have made tremendous progress in America. We've come a long way in this great country, but we certainly still have a ways to go. The road to equality is still under construction, and we're here today to try and lay out a roadmap for how we can get closer to a more perfect union here in America.

I'm pleased today that we've been joined by the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the distinguished gentlelady from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), who has been such a tremendous, eloquent, forceful leader in her position as chair of the CBC.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

I thank the distinguished chair of the CBC.

Our objective here today, as part of our mission in the Congress, is really just to make sure that all Americans, regardless of skin color, have access to the American Dream, have an opportunity to pursue life and liberty and happiness here in America, unencumbered by any barriers connected to the color of their skin. That's our hope in America. That will make America all that it can be, this great country even better, in the quest toward a more perfect Union.

I am pleased that we've been joined by the distinguished gentleman from New York, the lion of Lenox Avenue, a legendary Member of this great institution, Congressman Charles Rangel.

(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I thank the distinguished gentleman from New York for his very insightful, passionate, and wonderful remarks as they relate to the situation that we in America find ourselves in today, the way forward, as well as an understanding of why we have arrived in this position.

Before I turn the floor over to the distinguished gentlelady from Texas, I just want to thank the Congressman from Harlem for mentioning the fact that we here in America do have a capacity, I think, to address multiple problems at the same time. We can multitask.

It's wrong when a child is killed in the inner city. It's wrong when a child is killed, 17 years old, walking home down in Sanford, Florida. We have an ability to address all of these problems, but there are some in this country that criticize those of us who raise problems of injustice in America by immediately pointing out that in inner cities all across this country--in Brooklyn, in Harlem, in Houston, in Chicago--there's Black-on-Black violence. We understand that it is our children who are dying. That is why the CBC, this Friday, will be in Chicago convening a summit to discuss the problem of violence in the inner city communities in places like Chicago, Illinois. But that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to injustices that exist in other parts of the system.

We are pleased that we've been joined by the distinguished gentlelady from Houston, Texas, who has been working hard on this issue, on many issues of concern and injustice here in America. So let me now yield to Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.

I thank the distinguished gentlelady from Texas for her very thoughtful and eloquent remarks.

We in the CBC simply want a justice system that is color blind. That should be our goal, our objective, our mission here in America. We can't have a set of laws unequally applied--over-enforced with one group that looks a certain way and under-enforced with another group that looks a different way. That's not the type of America we want.

One of the reasons so many folks were troubled with the verdict down in Florida was that it appeared that the stand-your-ground defense seemed available for a self-appointed vigilante who shot down a 17- year-old in cold blood but, apparently, was not available for a battered woman who simply fired a warning shot against someone who had had a history of abusing her. We just want a set of laws equally applied to everybody.

We are pleased that the distinguished gentlelady from New York--my neighbor back at home--who has been a fighter for justice here in the Congress over the last 6-plus years, has joined us. Let me now yield to Representative Yvette Clarke.

I thank the distinguished gentlelady from New York.

The conversation on race is not an easy one, but certainly is a necessary one here in America and one that should be embraced because the diversity of our society, as the gentleman from New York, Congressman Rangel, pointed out, is one of our greatest strengths here in America.

We've been joined by a classmate of mine, the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey, Representative Donald Payne, not only one of the sharpest dressed Members of Congress, but he's got one of the sharpest minds. And so I'm pleased to yield to him such time as he may consume.

I thank Congressman Payne for those very eloquent remarks and for noting the conversation that he had with his young son, conversations that have been taking place in the aftermath of this verdict in households all across this country, with parents and their young sons and daughters trying to make sense of an inexplicable verdict in the eyes of many.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining in this Special Order?

I'm going to now turn to the distinguished gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Donna Christensen.

I thank the distinguished gentlelady for those very powerful remarks and observations.

I now yield to the distinguished gentleman from Houston, Texas, a fighter for civil rights and equality prior to arriving in the Congress and during his tenure here in this great institution, Representative Al Green.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas.

We, unfortunately, are approaching the close of this Special Order. To close us out in the remaining time we have Representative Marc Veasey from Dallas, who's done a tremendous job as a Member of this freshman class.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas. We've come a long way in America. But we, of course, still have a ways to go.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the Voting Rights Act has a strong bipartisan history. It was reauthorized by Congress in 2006 with the overwhelming support of both Democrats and Republicans.

Yet the Supreme Court, in striking down a key provision of this historic civil rights legislation 2 days ago, has undermined the integrity of the democratic process.

It was a jurisprudential hijacking of the principle of responsive and representative government. It's a decision that will go down in history, right next to the infamous Dred Scott opinion written way back in 1857.

The unencumbered right to vote is fundamental to the foundation of this democracy. In this regard, the Supreme Court has failed the Nation. Let's make sure that this Congress does not do the same.

This bill is a violent assault on reproductive rights here in America and an unnecessary intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship. It is a continuation of the Republican war against women and an unconstitutional effort to repeal a 40-year Supreme Court decision. It is dead on arrival in the Senate. The White House and the President will veto it. A majority of the Supreme Court will declare it unconstitutional.

So why are we here wasting the time and the money of the American people

on a futile and extreme legislative joyride?

This is not Barry Goldwater conservatism. This is not even Ronald Reagan conservatism. This is conservatism gone wild. We can only hope for the good of the country that our friends on the other side of the aisle can get the extremism out of their system today so that we can return to the business of the American people tomorrow.

I urge a ``no'' vote.