Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Chad Audi, CEO and President of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM) in Detroit, Michigan. February 2012 marks Dr. Audi's 15th year serving Wayne County through his work at the DRMM.

Dr. Audi began working in the DRMM's finance department in 1997 and rose to become the Vice President of Finance and Administration. Later, he was appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer. In 2005, Dr. Audi was selected to serve as the CEO/President of the DRMM.

Dr. Audi is a well-respected member of the community who has formed strategic partnerships with outside organizations, agencies, and individuals and found creative and cost-effective ways to serve DRMM's clients in a friendly, spiritually supportive environment.

The DRMM is the country's largest rescue mission and is committed to sharing the gospel of the love of Jesus Christ. The DRMM provides hope to the disadvantaged, abused, and homeless people in Wayne County.

Under the leadership of Dr. Audi, the DRMM serves one million meals to the homeless and hungry annually. The DRMM provides over 1,600 community members a day with shelter, food, substance abuse treatment, case management, transitional jobs, and spiritual mentoring.

The DRMM has also opened the Cornerstone Bistro in Highland Park, Michigan. The Cornerstone Bistro is a sit-down restaurant and ``cornerstone'' of a culinary apprenticeship program run by the DRMM and Wayne County Community College. This program helps DRMM clients receive on-the-job training and a culinary arts associate degree.

I commend Dr. Audi's tireless work improving the quality and range of services available to those in need in our community.

It is with great honor that I recognize Dr. Audi and his work at the DRMM creating a brighter future for Wayne County residents.

Mr. Speaker, student loan debt is too high and I'm asking this Congress--I'm demanding that this Congress--cut it down.

Student loan debt will soon approach $1 trillion; and as our graduates are struggling to pay off this debt, this debt is robbing them of their future, and it's costing this country jobs. That's why I will soon introduce this bill to responsibly reduce student loan debt, to make repayment simpler and fairer, and to give our graduates a chance that they deserve--a chance to enjoy the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I honor the life and legacy of Ofield Dukes, a public relations pioneer, long-time friend of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and fellow Detroiter. Mr. Dukes was firmly committed to fighting for justice and equality for all people.

Mr. Dukes, an Army veteran, graduated from Detroit's Wayne State University with a degree in journalism. After graduation, he worked at The Michigan Chronicle, a weekly African American-run newspaper based in Detroit, until he moved to Washington D.C. in 1964 to work for the federal government.

Mr. Dukes served as the deputy director of public affairs at Lyndon B. Johnson's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. From 1966 to 1968, Mr. Dukes was a communications advisor to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.

Mr. Dukes founded his public relations firm, Ofield Dukes & Associates, in 1969. The firm focuses on political and minority affairs with a focus on African-American and African issues. Mr. Dukes' first client was Detroit's Motown Records. Today, Ofield Dukes & Associates represents the Democratic National Committee, Howard University, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and the Congressional Black Caucus, among other notable clients.

Mr. Dukes' relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus dates back to its founding in 1971 when he helped organize the first Congressional Black Caucus dinner. Mr. Dukes also served as an advisor to several CBC chairpersons. He was a founding member of the CBC Foundation, served on the Foundation Board for 14 years, and worked to improve the socioeconomic circumstance of African-Americans around the nation.

Mr. Dukes also spent his time reaching out to younger generations. He taught at the Howard University John H. Johnson School of Communications for 25 years and American University's School of Communications for 8 years, inspiring hundreds of African-American students to pursue careers in public relations and politics.

Mr. Dukes' work ethic, dedication, and resilience embody the spirit of Detroit. In October 2011, Mr. Dukes returned to his hometown of Detroit, Michigan because of his love for the city, family, and friends. After a struggle with bone cancer, Mr. Dukes passed away on December 7, 2011. I am honored to call Mr. Dukes a friend and colleague. He will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives is considering H.R. 2471. H.R. 2471 would amend the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a 1988 law that prohibits video rental stores from disclosing a consumer's rental history. Currently, the only way such information can be shared is with the consumer's written consent each time the video tape service provider wants to share their information. H.R. 2471 would allow video tape service providers to obtain a consumer's consent on an ongoing basis and that consent may be obtained through the Internet. In recent years, the Internet has changed how we share movies and other media. This is why I originally supported the bill. Ultimately, I am voting against H.R. 2471 because the bill could undermine the key provision of the VPPA which is the consumer's right to give meaningful consent to disclose their personal information. H.R. 2471 transfers control from the consumer to the company in possession of the data and diminishes consumer's control over their personal information.

Madam Speaker, I am very concerned about reports that the city of Detroit may be running out of money as early as April of next year.

One of the problems Detroit is facing is that too many of our tax dollars are going to pay off debt owed by the city and owed by the schools at the very time we need to put more police officers, more firefighters, and more emergency medical providers on the street; at a time when we need to hire more school teachers and open more schools that will truly educate and graduate our young people.

That's why I'm urging this Congress, this House specifically, to adopt the Detroit Jobs Trust Fund. And I want to thank you personally, Madam Speaker, for the leadership and vision in supporting this legislation which would allow Federal tax dollars paid by Detroiters to be invested in Detroit, invested to cut taxes to make our streets safer and our schools stronger. This will not only help put Detroiters back to work; it will help our country because when you rebuild Detroit, you renew America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Benishek for that wonderful invitation for me to visit your district. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, it's one of the most beautiful areas you can ever see in the country. It has delicious food and great people. I know I'm going to have a wonderful time. But also, too, my visit to northern Michigan will help Dan and I have another set of common experiences that we can use to help serve our people together.

With his area in northern Michigan and with the area that I'm hired to represent, metropolitan Detroit, we can focus on the common needs of our people. Let me give you an example. When Representative Benishek visited the east side of Detroit with me this past summer, we found out we had a lot of things in common. I'm born and raised on the east side. Well, he actually lived on the east side when he attended one of the finest medical schools in the country, Wayne State Medical School in the city of Detroit.

We visited several places, but in particular we visited the Mercy Primary Care Center. This is a health clinic located right in the heart of Detroit. Firsthand, we were able to hear from and see the challenges that many of our veterans are facing. Our veterans--these were young men and women who, because of their loyalty to our country, were sent overseas. They risked their lives. They risked their mental and emotional well-being. Many of them came back to Detroit only to face a place where they can't even find a job. They can't even find a home. They are out on the street with no place to live. No one should have to live in that type of indignity.

Representative Benishek, as a physician and as a Member of the House committee that oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs, he wanted to work with me to better serve these veterans. So he and I are now working together with the Department of Veterans Affairs to better provide shelter, health care, and training to these homeless veterans in the city of Detroit. This is an example of how Republicans and Democrats can work together to help our people.

And you know what? It's not really that hard for he and I to work together. The folks that he represents

and the people that I serve in metro Detroit, like all Americans, we all want the same thing. We just want to have a chance to live a decent life. We want those rights that are spelled out in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, rights of life, of liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, just a chance to live your life as fully as you choose it. That's the American dream.

So while the deliberations of this House many times highlight the differences between Republicans and Democrats, he and I are choosing to underscore how we can work together to serve our people and make this country an even better place to live. It's my greatest honor to visit the Upper Peninsula, and it's also my honor to serve this country as a Representative of metropolitan Detroit.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this morning, I spoke on how glad I was that the Representative from Michigan's First District was able to take a tour of the city of Detroit and visit Mercy Primary Care Center. But when I visited that center, I was also appalled. I was appalled by what I saw and what I heard--that our veterans from metro Detroit, our veterans, young men and women who risked their lives, their physical and mental health for our country, who went overseas and came back home to face only no prospect of employment, no income to even provide them with decent shelter, little access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. So as a result, folks that we should be revering as heroes ended up on the streets of Detroit, living like animals. No one deserves to live that way in this country.

So right now, I'm asking this Congress, instead of just focusing on cutting everything and cutting programs and funding initiatives, let's help put people back to work. Let's provide them with mental health and substance abuse treatment and give them the dignity that every American deserves.

Mr. Speaker, several months ago, I introduced House Resolution 365, which asks this Congress to cut student loan debt and home mortgage debt.

As a result, several hundreds of thousands of people all around this country signed an online petition to support this resolution. I'm happy to say that our voices are now being heard. The White House is moving in the right direction on helping to cut student loan debt. But I'm urging the American public to keep speaking out, sign on to this petition to support House Resolution 365, and help free the American people from excessive home mortgage and student loan debt.

Mr. Speaker, I am very honored to say that I was born and raised in the city of Detroit, and I currently represent the great city of Detroit and its suburbs as a representative in Congress.

I also represent the Detroit Tigers. This ``D'' stands for the Detroit Tigers, and, you know, they may have had all the odds against them, but they kept on fighting. You know, they represent our city's spirit.

I'll tell you also what this ``D'' represents. It represents democracy, as in the arsenal that Detroit built in World War II that saved this country, and it saved this world from fascism.

You know, our city is going through some tough times right now, but we're not going to give up. We can actually create jobs again for this country. We just ask this Congress, allow this city to keep its Federal tax revenue, place it in a protected trust fund, invest it in the city for 5 years.

We can create jobs not only for Detroiters but for millions of Americans. If you want to create jobs in this country, invest in Detroit.

The Detroit Jobs Trust Fund will create jobs for Detroiters. And we definitely need it. Metro Detroit has lost more jobs over the last 10 years than any other metropolitan area in the country.

But as the fighting spirit of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions demonstrates, we've got to fight to help this country compete and win any battle for jobs around the world. So my message is this: if you want to create more manufacturing jobs here in the U.S., then invest in Detroit.

Thank you. And I just want to thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) for her commitment to growing our economy not only here in this country but we can help the world by us in the United States manufacturing the best products and creating the best technologies.

I have introduced a bill called the Detroit Jobs Trust Fund. It will create jobs in Detroit. And Detroiters really need it because we've got the highest unemployment rate. We've lost more jobs than any metropolitan region in this country during the last 10 years. But as Ms. Hanabusa pointed out, investing in Detroit not only creates jobs for Detroiters, it will put Americans throughout this country back to work. And that's because in spite of Detroit's troubling economic situation and high unemployment rate, we still have the manufacturing know-how and we have the well trained workforce to put Americans back to work, especially in the area of advanced manufacturing.

So when Detroit makes its streets safer by hiring more police officers, more firefighters, and properly deploying them, when we improve and reform our public education system by opening more high quality schools, hiring more teachers who can go do the job, and when we reduce the cost of living and doing business in Detroit by cutting some very high municipal taxes, those factors--safe streets, good schools, and low taxes--that will attract investment back to the city.

If you take a look at the city of Detroit, you will see that we have a lot of vacant property. Well, that's land ready for a big plant to be located there. And by capturing the existing federal tax revenue that Detroit individuals and Detroit businesses already pay and having that money placed in a trust fund administered by the Department of the Treasury to be invested in Detroit to hire those police officers, hire and train those teachers and to cut taxes, we can bring employers back to Detroit to hire Detroiters. But also, we can resurrect our manufacturing powerhouse in Detroit and create those jobs throughout the country the same way Detroit did back in World War II.

Detroiters built the arsenal of democracy that helped win World War II and saved this country and this world from fascism. It was metro Detroiters' manufacturing know-how that built some of the best cars in the world and that created millions of jobs worldwide, and especially in this country.

So in the same way, by investing in Detroit, in the Detroit workforce, in the Detroit winning spirit--exemplified by the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions--we can put our people back to work. We can make this country even stronger in advanced manufacturing and help uplift the quality of life for everyone around the world.

I appreciate you giving me this time, the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa), for talking about an important issue, putting Detroiters back to work.

If I can just say as a final note--I mentioned this last night-- getting a job is important. Many years ago, in this last big recession we had in the 1980s, I was without a job and I lost hope. And that can be devastating, not only devastating economically and financially to people, but it can be devastating to the spirit of a human being. So a job gives somebody a paycheck, but it gives a person self-worth and the dignity and the uplifting spirit that they need to keep marching on. And that's what this country is all about.

You know, we have to deal with obstacles; but as Americans, we can turn those obstacles into opportunities. That's why immigrants are so successful when they come here to this country because they see this country for all its richness, for all its opportunity, and they seize it. I'm just asking for that same opportunity to be available for Detroiters, to put our country back to work.

You are absolutely right, creating those jobs in Detroit will have a ripple effect throughout this country.

And I'm glad you mentioned about remanufacturing. That's the best way to have Make It in America jobs. Actually, I was able to visit a remanufacturing plant right outside the city of Detroit 2 weeks ago. It's fascinating what they do. These are not used units. These are totally remade. And, actually, these are better units and pieces of equipment than if you actually bought something new. So instead of U.S. manufacturers buying new products overseas that are made overseas, they can buy great remanufactured units right here at home, putting Americans back to work. So you're absolutely right about that.

I really appreciate it. And thank you for supporting Detroit and supporting Americans going back to work. And we're going to make it in America.

I want to thank the gentleman from Arkansas for yielding to me to address this body and also to my good friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), for inviting me to be here.

As you know, I'm a Democrat. I'm currently vice president of the Democratic freshman class. And yet we may have our differences, but the people that we represent in this great country are all different. That's what makes our country so strong and so great is that we attracted people from all around the world with their different talents and perspectives. But they all have the opportunity to responsibly express themselves and leverage their talents to build one of the greatest countries our civilization has ever known.

One thing I do know that we can agree on is that the role of this Congress is to create jobs and to help improve the business climate to keep and attract the investment that creates jobs. I want to give you an example of the place that I was born and raised in and that I currently live in, the city of Detroit. That metropolitan area has lost more jobs than any other metropolitan area in the last 10 years. Home foreclosures came through, hit our city like a wave and destroyed blocks and blocks of formerly viable neighborhoods. It's been heartbreaking for me to see what's happened not only to the city but to the people that I love, many of whom have had to leave the city for the suburbs. They've moved out of State. Many have just lost hope altogether.

I want to get to the point. What businesses have told me on what they need to stay in the city and what businesses would need to locate in the city is the same things that Detroit families want: simple, basic things--safe neighborhoods, good schools, a low cost of living and doing business.

So think about it: if we could provide better public safety for folks, if we could improve the schools and cut those high municipal taxes in Detroit, I know that we could keep businesses and attract new jobs. And here's why. Even though this city has been very hard hit economically, we've got the best manufacturing know-how in the country. We've got a great trained workforce. If we're able to hire more police officers, hire better teachers, keep our schools open longer, cut our property taxes by eliminating our daunting municipal and school debt and eliminate our city income tax on residents and nonresidents, we could bring jobs back to Detroit. And not only that, we could create jobs for this country.

Now all that sounds like it costs money. It does cost money. But here's what I'm proposing. It's not new money. Let's just use existing tax revenue that Detroit businesses and Detroit individuals pay right now. We put that money in trust on a pilot basis to see how it works. And we would say, if the city wants to benefit from those tax dollars, it's got to pay off its debt entirely, the city and the school district, and it's got to eliminate that uncompetitive city income tax. And then the rest of the money can only be invested in those core areas that will improve the business climate of that city, like making the streets safer, the schools better and rebuilding those crumbling roads and water systems. That's what we can do.

I appreciate the gentleman from Arkansas for yielding to me.

You're very welcome, Representative Christensen. What I wanted to do was, on behalf of all metro Detroiters, I wanted to thank the Congressional Black Caucus and, in particular, our chairperson, Representative Maxine Waters, the head of our Jobs Task Force, for coming to Detroit and giving folks in Detroit some chance of getting a job and definitely some hope that they have a future for themselves.

This was so important for me because years ago back in the 1980s when we had our last big recession, I was one of those guys who was unemployed. What happened was I did give up hope for a moment there, and it was devastating for me after I lost my income and then my food stamps were cut off. When you give someone the dignity that they realize they have something to offer themselves, their family and their city, it doesn't matter if they don't get a job at that interview. They will have then the drive to fight for themselves and not to give up. That's why our people are still here thriving because we didn't give up. But that jobs session did show that there are a lot of folks in Detroit who still need a job.

And I have introduced legislation to help provide those jobs opportunities to Detroiters. And if I could, I wanted to share with you and then share with our public how that would work. When you visited Detroit, Representative Waters, you may have noticed we had all these big parcels of vacant land with just nothing on it or maybe some burnt- down houses or buildings. We could actually build plants on those properties as we built plants back decades ago in World War II that housed the arsenal of democracy that saved this world from fascism and helped us win World War II, those same plants that build those great American-made automobiles that put Detroiters to work but also put millions of Americans back to work.

So in the same way, we have the land to attract these new plants. We also have roads that have all these potholes in them that need to be filled. We have bridges, we have water systems that need to be repaired, we have a plan for a transit system that could connect Detroit with the suburbs, help people get to jobs in the suburbs, help folks in the suburbs come to Detroit and enjoy themselves; but we need matching money to be able to do that.

What businesses have told me and what families have told me is that they moved out of Detroit for a couple of simple reasons. Number one, they didn't feel safe in the city. So it didn't matter how many economic development incentives we provided businesses; few businesses would take those incentives if they felt that their office would be broken into or their employees would be robbed.

Similarly, businesses that had to hire a large number of people, folks that they didn't know, they were concerned that the Detroit public schools really didn't graduate folks that had the ability to work on the job, that had the ability to read and write adequately to be able to do a good job if they were hired.

And then, finally, because Detroit had overspent a lot of its money and they had to finance that deficit with bonds and then pay off those bonds by raising the property tax, a lot of businesses said, look, for the services I'm getting, the taxes are too high. On top of it, many of their employees, even if they lived in the suburbs, had to pay a city income tax, definitely the residents had to do that.

So I said, look, the taxes are too high. If the perception is that the city is dangerous, I'm not sure if we are going to hire qualified people. They decided to leave the city. Safe streets, good schools, low taxes. If we could have those pieces in place, we could attract all the business. And I'll tell you why we could, because in spite of all of our challenges in Detroit, we still have the best manufacturing know- how in this country and in this world. We have the trained workforce to put our State back to work and our country back to work. But we just need the money to hire the police officers, to hire the school teachers, to pay off our debt and cut our taxes.

Now, this Congress says we don't have the money. But I say we do. It's in the very Federal taxes that Detroit individuals and Detroit businesses pay every year; $2 billion a year Detroiters pay to the Federal Government, to the IRS in Washington. My bill, House bill 2920, would ask this Congress to say this: instead of sending Detroit tax dollars to Washington, D.C., let's redirect that money to Detroit, place it in a trust fund where it can't be touched, only to go to projects that will create jobs, to retire our debt, to hire police officers, to hire school teachers to keep our school buildings open longer, high-quality schools, and, yes, to cut taxes to eliminate our city income tax and reduce our property taxes. That would attract jobs back.

And then we would have the money to fix up those roads, repair the deteriorating water system, and train people for jobs and then possibly even create a job program like the CETA job program that I got hired into that saved me, that saved me from a life that my friends ended up in--prison, incarcerated, on drugs, or dead. Those programs that this Congress stood for 30 years ago helped save my life, and it can help save this country.

So I want to thank you for giving me this time to speak before the body. Detroit, we've got the money to put our people back to work. We pay it to the IRS every year. I'm asking this Congress to allow us to keep our money for 5 years, to put our people back to work as a pilot basis, and to show this country what Detroit can do for itself and for America. Thank you so much, and God bless you.

Madam Speaker, I offer this Congress and this country a simple, yet powerful, way to create new, good-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States, and that's by investing in Detroit, by allowing the tax dollars that Detroiters pay to be invested back in Detroit; invested to help make the streets of Detroit safer, to help improve Detroit schools, to help train Detroiters for jobs, to help rebuild our city.

You see, this type of investment will definitely create jobs in Detroit. But more importantly, Detroit's manufacturing know-how, our trained workforce, investing in Detroit will help put Americans back to work. So by helping put Detroiters back to work, you're going to help put this country back to work.

Mr. Speaker, nearly 10 years after the horrific events of 9/11, Americans are still at risk, especially at risk of being poisoned, poisoned by terrorists who would choose to dump large amounts of chemicals into our drinking water supply. So in order to protect the safety of our people, especially Metro Detroiters who drink water from a large municipal water system, today I'm introducing legislation to better secure our municipal water systems all around this country from such a terrorist threat.