Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, the Consumers Union dubbed 2007 the Year of the Recall. This year, product recalls are happening at an even swifter rate. After dangerous toys led to injuries and deaths, the Democratic Congress worked hard to protect our children and families.

This week, will be bringing a final bill to the floor that will strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission and ensure that families are protected from dangerous toys. The legislation bans lead beyond small amounts in products intended for children under the age of 12 and prohibits the use of dangerous materials in children's toys.

The bill bans industry-sponsored travel by the Consumer Safety Commissioners and staff in order to eliminate any conflicts of interest. It also provides a significant budget increase for the CPSC so that it has the resources to test more toys. No longer will there only be one tester per toy.

Madam Speaker, let's protect our children today by once again passing legislation with strong bipartisan support.

Madam Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 512 on H.R. 6493. I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 504, on the Shuler Amendment to H.R. 415, I was unavoidably detained.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 503 on the Bishop Amendment to H.R. 415, I was unavoidably detained.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Throughout the years Alpha Kappa Alpha has instilled in its members the qualities of sisterhood and service to the community. It should be commended on reaching this tremendous milestone.

Alpha Kappa Alpha is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-trained women in 1908. Since its inception, Alpha Kappa Alpha has always been an advocate for the less fortunate and an agent for change in the community. One of the top priorities of Alpha Kappa Alpha has been to remain true to its core mission of sisterhood and service to the community. Alpha Kappa Alpha's Extraordinary Service Program has worked to improve the living standards within the black community through economic education, creating exposure and opportunities for the women entrepreneur, assisting black families, and improving the mental and physical health of local communities.

This week over 25,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, including Patricia Jones, a constituent from the 32nd Congressional District of California, came to Washington, DC to attend the Centennial Convention. They are joined in their work and the legacy of their work by Honorary Members of the Sorority including Maya Angelou, former astronaut Mae Jemison and the late Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Marian Anderson and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Madam Speaker, I hope that my colleagues will join me in congratulating Alpha Kappa Alpha for 100 years of service to the community. As a Latina Member of Congress, I look forward to working to promote economic and educational advancement in all communities of color.

Good morning to my colleagues.

As you recall, last month before the House adjourned for the July 4th recess, we passed legislation that would treat seniors and the disabled through Medicare. The legislation passed with strong bipartisan support with Democrats and Republicans recognizing the need to pass this legislation. Last week, the Senate finally followed our lead and passed the bill. Senator Kennedy courageously returned to Capitol Hill to lodge that vote.

The legislation is now sitting on the President's desk. He has a decision to make. Will he side with private insurers or will he support seniors and the disabled? A veto-proof majority in the House and Senate has now passed legislation that strengthens Medicare and ensures our seniors and disabled that they have access to a doctor that they know and trust.

Mr. Speaker, President Bush should drop his veto threat and join our Members in the House in support of legislation that puts seniors first and the disabled and strengthens a great program known as Medicare. He should sign the Medicare legislation as soon as possible.

Madam Speaker, today I rise with my colleagues to support the overriding of the President's veto on this legislation that will protect our seniors. Did you know that over 44 million vulnerable Medicare patients are depending on us to pass this bill? By vetoing the legislation, President Bush is ignoring the needs of our seniors, the disabled individuals and our doctors.

Less than a month ago, Congress passed the bill by a margin of 355- 59. I voted for the bill so I could help ensure that 70,000 Medicare beneficiaries, patients in my district, would be able to receive their continued health care. The bill includes programs that help low-income Medicare patients, including low-income Latinos. Although Latinos make up only 6 percent of the overall Medicare beneficiaries, more than 14 percent are considered low-income seniors. Allowing a 10 percent cut would be devastating to patient providers practicing in communities like mine in East Los Angeles.

I have heard from many of my constituents that some California physicians, even in my own district, are considering not taking any more Medicare patients because of the inadequate reimbursement rate. Even less access would be imposed upon a community that is already faced with health care disparities and being able to access health care. Organizations across the country understand the importance of this piece of legislation including AARP and the American Medical Association.

I encourage all of my colleagues, Members of Congress, to help us override the President's misguided veto and to stand first and foremost for our seniors and those disabled Americans that are counting on our work here in the Congress.

Mr. Speaker, today on a lighter note, I would like to talk about optimism and the wherewithal that our country has, especially among our young people. I want to talk about a subject that doesn't really get a lot of attention in this whole debate about energy and oil and the fact that we are now faced with skyrocketing prices at the gas pump.

I want to talk about investing in our future. I want to talk about young people not only from my district but across the country, and I want to talk about what we call green jobs, green-collar jobs. Some people might think that's a misnomer, you know, but we have actually changed. Blue-collar jobs have, as you know, been outsourced to other countries.

What we are attempting to do in the Congress and something that President Bush signed into law just last December was an act that was part of the energy bill, the energy package, that said we are going to make a difference in this country by investing in America's future. We will provide 10 million jobs in green technology if our government steps up to the plate.

Now we are asking for that appropriation for $125 million to help create, and, I think, minimally, 10 million jobs, that will be reaped across this country that will secure our energy security here at home. It will also send a steep message to many nonbelievers across the country that we mean business, that we are actually going to keep these jobs here, that these jobs won't be outsourced, that they won't be going to China and India and Indonesia and even to Mexico, because we are going to make an investment here.

It's, very simply, trying to set a precedent here to provide opportunities for people to get retrained or to get into new technology, into are renewable energy, into biofuels, and into creating solar panels. Those manufacturing jobs that we knew as blue-collar workers that my father as a teamster and other people in my district represented, could be retooled to help provide and incentivize our economy by keeping those jobs here at home.

No more of this minimum-wage jobs, but providing good, sustainable, liveable-wage jobs for working men and women and people that could rely on this to raise a family, not in the state that we are in right now, where you have a single head of household, a woman, in many cases, that's working three jobs just to make that rent, just to make that electricity bill, just to get that extra gallon of gas to get to her job. Those are things that we know are resonating right now with our constituents, and they demand a change.

It isn't just enough to say that we are going to lower the energy costs, they have to have a good-paying job to provide for all those commodities, luxuries that they need to keep their family going.

And one best way of doing it is by jump-starting the economy and by supporting the Green Jobs Act, something that the Senate and also the House passed again that was signed into law in December. We need $125 million to help jump-start that program.

I want to illustrate something here, a picture of some youngsters who were actually installing on a roof, who had just completed a project in Oakland, California, who were trained in a program, who went through an apprenticeship program that was done in a private and public partnership. It was to help install solar panels and to retrofit them in some of our oldest buildings in very dilapidated parts of our country.

What an incentive that would be to help to jump-start our communities and to revitalize those communities that have been left behind by the manufacturing jobs that went to other countries but also to incentivize those places that have high unemployment like in Oakland, like in East Los Angeles, like in the Bronx, like in Little Havana in Florida. These places need relief, and the government has an obligation to help provide an incentive, working closely, hand in hand, with private industry.

The reason I say that is that I know it works, and it's working right now in an obscure place in my district in East Los Angeles. The LA Unified School District, which doesn't always get honors for many things that they do, has invested in a program out of the East LA Skills Center to help retrain individuals. The majority of those who are participating right now happen to be middle-aged people who are saying, ``I need to get retrained into a better paying job, a job that's going to help me in the rest of my life and in my retirement.'' They're taking that challenge; they're going through training, and they're being offered jobs.

One of the dilemmas that we're facing right now is that we don't have an adequate workforce available to fill all of these potential jobs. I say: Why? Why should we go outside and bring people in when we need to make those investments here in the United States and in Los Angeles?

So, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say and would like to urge my colleagues to support the Green Jobs Act and to provide that infusion of $125 million that will act as a stimulus package for our economy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 79th anniversary of the founding of the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC. This is a tremendous milestone and one in which LULAC members should take great pride. Under the leadership of National President, Rosa Rosales, LULAC continues to be an influential force in Congress and throughout the country.

LULAC is the largest and oldest civil rights and service organization in the United States. Since 1929, LULAC has worked tirelessly to advance the economic condition, increase access to quality health care and education, and civil rights of Latinos across the country. LULAC's commitment to the advancement of Latinos is demonstrated through the community-based programs it operates at more than 700 local councils nationwide.

Education has always been a top priority for LULAC. In 1975, the LULAC National Scholarship Fund LNSF was established to provide scholarships to Latino students who attend colleges and universities. LULAC's education efforts will continue to benefit future generations of Latino youth. I am also proud that LULAC has made proactive efforts to increase Latino civic participation in the United States through its voter registration and citizenship drives. LULAC plays a pivotal role in ensuring that Latinos are part of the political process on the local, state, and federal level.

Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating LULAC for all the hard work that it has done for the Latino community in the United States. LULAC is paving the way for generations after us to achieve even more. I look forward to continue working alongside LULAC to achieve social and economic justice for all Latinos.

Madam Speaker, there are many signs that our Nation's economy is struggling. However, the renewable energy and energy- efficiency sectors, you need to know, are booming. In 2006, the renewable energy and energy-efficiency sector generated 8.5 million jobs, nearly $1 trillion of revenue in the United States.

Jobs in these sectors are good paying, high-quality jobs that will stay in the United States. The Green Collar Jobs Act which was passed and signed into law by President Bush in 2007 will help train 10 million new workers.

Through this program, we can help provide incentives to underserved communities. In a time of economic turmoil marked by rising gasoline prices and even higher profits for oil companies, it is important that we support these sectors of our growing economy.

I urge Members of Congress to please support the Green Jobs program and incentivize those individuals who are seeking reform and new investments in our economy.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Indiana for recognizing me, and I also want to declare my strong support for S. 2607, the DTV Transition Assistance Act, which will help improve our country's transition to digital television, or DTV, as it is known.

This bill ensures that the funds already set aside for the DTV transition are being used more effectively. With leftover funds from a low-power TV grant program, this bill enables the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to allocate an additional $5 to $7 million this year for consumer education in underserved communities, such as seniors, minorities, and in rural areas.

All of the underserved populations, especially Spanish-speaking households, are at the greatest risk of being left out of the DTV transition. According to recent testimony from the NTIA, 40 percent of the calls coming into the converter box coupon call center are from Spanish speakers. There is a demonstrated need for additional education in Spanish-speaking households about DTV, and this additional funding will also help smooth the DTV transition for all Americans.

I also want to urge my colleagues to address the DTV transition issues along the U.S.-Mexican border. While the funding for the bill will help, we need a targeted outreach effort along the border because of access to both analog and digital TV signals from Mexico and the U.S. after the U.S. DTV transition.

I have personally introduced H.R. 5435, the DTV Border Fix Act, and urge my colleagues to please consider cosponsoring this piece of legislation. It will help facilitate those emergency responses so that people on both sides of the border can hear what's happening, but particularly on our side of the border.

I urge the Members today and colleagues to support this bill before us but also to think more importantly about what the next steps are and how to help those underserved communities who don't speak English.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Grifols USA to my community and other communities across the country.

This Friday will mark 5 years since Grifols USA began operating its facility in East Los Angeles. That is 5 years of over 600 jobs for residents of East Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Furthermore, Grifols' steady growth and expansion will continue to present additional opportunities to my constituents for years to come, and well into the future.

Grifols' prosperity has positively impacted many communities, not just my district. Currently, Grifols operates 78 plasma donor facilities, in 27 States across the country, which provide skilled and entry-level employment opportunities to over 3,000 Americans.

Perhaps more praiseworthy than Grifols' economic contributions though, is the company's mission. I would like to honor Grifols for its commitment to producing unique, lifesaving medicines to treat small, chronically ill patient populations. The company's unwavering dedication to the development of safer, more effective plasma therapies, and progressing methods, has been a benefit to countless patients around the world who suffer from a number of disorders.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Grifols for the company's positive presence in many of our Nation's communities and tireless commitment to improve the lives of patients with chronic illnesses.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to urge my colleagues to join us in bringing down the price of gasoline and securing our energy supply.

Last December we enacted legislation that began to redirect our Nation's energy policy so it is clean, secure, and invests in our workforce.

In May we passed the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act of 2008, legislation which gives the U.S. authorities the ability to prosecute those who engage in anti-competitive behavior, like the cartels such as

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act. This legislation will extend and expand important tax incentives for renewable energy, will spur business investments, cut taxes for millions of Americans, and retain and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs.

The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act includes $18 billion in tax incentives to spur green jobs and energy independence. I am pleased that it includes a six-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar energy, and between one and three year extensions of the production tax credit for addition sources of renewable energy. It also provides tax credits of $3,000 or more to purchase fuel-efficient, plug-in hybrid vehicles and includes important incentives for energy conservation in commercial buildings, residential structures, and energy efficient appliance. This bill also includes $3 billion in tax credit bonds for State and local governments to make energy conservation investments in public infrastructure, investments which I hope can be targeted toward low-income communities and our schools.

Without these energy tax extensions, our nation could lose an additional 116,000 jobs this year. with additional long-term repercussions in the growth of an industry which has enormous potential at in an otherwise uncertain economic time.

This legislation also invests $37 billion to spur job creation and cut taxes for millions of middle-class families. It will help the families of more than 13 million children by expanding the child tax credit to those earning $8,500 a year, saves 3.4 million teachers money by providing a deduction for classroom expenses, extends tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit to 22,000 American servicemen and woman in combat, and would help more than 4.5 million families better afford college.

At a time when families are struggling in a slowing economy and oil prices reached yet another record on the world market, this bill is a much needed step toward securing our energy and economic future. I hope my colleagues and the President will join us in enacting this important legislation which makes needed investments without increasing the national debt.

Madam Speaker, today I rise as a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus to pay tribute to the millions of Americans of Asian and Pacific heritage for their valuable contributions to our great country.

The district I represent has benefited from the economic and social contributions from the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. That includes the Cities of Monterey Park, known as Little Taipei, Rosemead and West Covina, as well as other neighboring communities in San Gabriel Valley. In my district, there are approximately 120,000 API descendants.

For example, according to the Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Americans own at least two-thirds of Monterey Park's more than 5,000 businesses.

Many of the constituents I represent came to America in the hopes of providing for their loved ones and plan to reunite with their families.

This month comes at a tough time, especially for many of those of Asian descent, particularly those that were affected by the recent earthquake in China. My sympathies go to their families.

I look forward to continuing to work with the API community and others to bridge the gap to provide better services to all our residents and grow our economy.