Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Today I stand boldly in support of this Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act.

Madam Speaker, 800,000 children, as you know, in the State of California are covered by this program. It is essential that we continue to provide that coverage. But many, many low-income and minority children will not be covered because previously this President vetoed our bill twice where we would have taken this farther. Instead of the 6 million that are currently in the program, it would have gone to 10 million children. But we can't talk about that now.

But one thing is sure, our constituents, our seniors, are telling us we also need to provide a fix for our doctors because many of our seniors that are on low-income assistance now need to see their doctors, and we know how vitally important that is.

Each and every one of us has an obligation to provide support for the very vulnerable in our communities. And I think there is a saying somewhere, maybe in the Bible, that says we will be judged by how we deal with those that are most vulnerable. And those are our frail, elderly and our children.

I know we can do better. I also pray that we have better outcomes after 2008, because I do believe that our public, our constituents, are demanding that we step up to the plate on health care. That is the number one priority that we are reading about throughout this country, that we cannot stand behind and not speak up here on the House, on the floor and demand that we have better coverage for all of our populations. I speak not only as a Latina and as a woman representing a low-income community, but I think I speak for many millions of people who would like to hear their Congresspeople speaking out loud and shouting out loud about the need for better health care coverage. They are demanding it. Yes, as my former colleague said on the floor, we will probably see those results change once November 2008 arrives.

Merry Christmas to the Congress.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize all our service men and women, especially those celebrating the holiday season away from their families and friends. This past Saturday, I had the honor of welcoming home 200 soldiers who served in the 115th U.S. Army Unit located and based out of South El Monte. These are two young gentlemen that I happened to meet earlier this year in Iraq on a recent visit. I was delighted to see that they were home. Many had already spent two or three tours there. In fact, I would like to have the House recognize that there are over 600,000 immigrants currently serving in our Nation's Armed Forces; 35,000 of those have pledged their service and loyalty to our country in spite of not being citizens.

I am particularly proud of this young gentleman, Jose Diaz, a resident in the 32nd Congressional District, who came, communicated in my office and said, Congresswoman, I want to become a citizen. We helped to expedite his paperwork while he was serving abroad. I was also happy to see him this Saturday at a homecoming for his family.

I say this today to you, Members, because in the holiday season, we need to remember all of our brave soldiers, men and women who are currently serving us across the country, and I would ask all of you to please remember them in your prayers.

I thank the gentleman for yielding time.

Today, I rise in strong support of the rule and H.R. 6. H.R. 6 will lower energy costs, strengthen our national security, reduce global warming emissions and create green collar jobs. The bill recognizes that energy policy is not only about improving the infrastructure, but also about creating economic opportunities for all.

Major investment in renewable energy could create 3 million green jobs over the course of 10 years. These jobs can lead to self- sufficiency, prosperity, higher wages and access to benefits and better career choices. These jobs will stay in the U.S. and will not be outsourced.

I am proud that the bill authorizes $125 million for workforce training and green collar jobs which includes Pathways Out of Poverty grants, so that as Silicon Valley advances, so will people in East Los Angeles, the Bronx and the Midwest.

The bill says to American workers, particularly urban and rural workers, there is a place for you in the green economy. I urge passage of the rule and passage of H.R. 6.

Madam Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 1155 on Over-the- Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, today I rise to discuss the naturalization application backlog at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency, known as USCIS.

In July 2007, the Bush administration raised the naturalization fee application by 66 percent, from $400 to $675. The fee increase was meant to improve the process of these applications. Yet, recent reports state that the USCIS is months behind in scheduling, so they aren't even beginning to process these applications.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates it will take 16 to 18 months to process these applications that have been filed by June 1, 2007. These delays are going to hinder hundreds of thousands of people from exercising their vote to be a part of history, the Presidential elections that are coming up in November. How abysmal this is for us to give that information to so many people who are playing by the rules, who are waiting in line to become U.S. citizens. These are people from across the world waiting in line. We have to do something. I urge my colleagues to step up to the plate.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support for the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 3887). I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 3887, which will provide new tools to protect against modern slavery, both in the immigrant community and among American citizens.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act was originally enacted in 2000 to combat trafficking in persons, ensure the prosecution of human traffickers, and protect the victims of trafficking. The 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. State Department estimated that approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people were trafficked to the United States annually. Victims were trafficked for forced labor and debt bondage in areas such as agriculture, sweatshop manufacturing, and domestic service. This legislation would direct the U.S. State Department to establish an office to monitor and combat human trafficking. It would also authorize the President to support international efforts to combat trafficking and to rescue and care for victims.

In California, Maria Suarez is one of the brave survivors of modern slavery who is working to protect others from cruel mistreatment. At the age of 16, Maria was sold as a sex slave to a 62-year-old man in California. He was killed by a neighbor and Maria was convicted of murder for her limited role in covering up the killing of her captor. Consequently, Maria served 22 years in jail before being pardoned.

When Maria was released from prison she was detained by the immigration service as a convicted felon. I led efforts in Congress, along with community activists, to provide relief to Maria and release her from immigration detention. In 2004, Maria was granted a T visa, which is a visa for victims of trafficking and provides legal status for them to remain in the U.S. for 3 years. After 3 years, T visa holders can apply for permanent resident status. This legislation would allow for the reunification of victims and their families, and would help Maria Suarez and others like her by making the immigration service recognize that victims should not be held responsible for what they are forced to do while they are enslaved.

I applaud Chairmen Lantos and Conyers for their hard work and continued dedication to this issue. Congress must continue fighting on behalf of those who have been forced into servitude and slavery and give these people a voice. I am hopeful that this legislation will give immigrant survivors of domestic violence and trafficking victims, such as Maria Suarez, a genuine opportunity to explain their circumstances before Federal authorities.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize Dean Aguillen, an intelligent individual who has been on Speaker Pelosi's staff since 2002. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he most recently served as a Senior Adviser and Director of Member Services in the Speaker's office. Dean's hard work, dedication, and skills are the reasons why he was so respected by his colleagues and Members.

I had the pleasure of knowing Dean over the last several years. Dean attended the weekly Congressional Hispanic Caucus, CHC, luncheons to give our caucus a House update and he proved to always be responsive to our needs. He was a valuable player in the Speaker's office and he represented her well before the CHC. He has made a lasting impression on the CHC and I commend Dean for his commitment to this country and to the Latino community

While I am sad to see Dean leave, I am confident that the future will bring him much success. I wish Dean good health and the best of luck in all of his future endeavors. Buena suerte Dean.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in strong support of this legislation, the bill, H.R. 6, and also on the rule.

H.R. 6, as you know, will lower energy costs, strengthen our national security, and reduce global warming emissions, and create what I say are ``green collar'' jobs. Major investments in renewable energy could create over 3 million jobs in 10 years. It would also eliminate the outsourcing of good-paying jobs.

Here I am in a classroom in East Los Angeles. If we have the political will to do this now, why can't we put our money where our mouth is and help the American public better understand that this new technology, the greening of our country, should be made available to everyone? Leave no one left behind, whether in the Bronx, whether in East Los Angeles, across this country. There is a whole new wave of emphasis and trust and hope that we here in the Congress are going to do the right thing.

I don't have any earmarks. I know my staff has worked very diligently with our committee and as a member of Energy and Commerce to see that we do the right thing. We spent laborious hours working on this legislation.

I ask for Members to support the bill and the rule.

Madam Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 1082 on Suspension--H.R. 3315--Naming Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center.

I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, today I rise to urge my colleagues to support a strong reauthorization of the SCHIP program that prevents additional loss of health care access to U.S. citizen children.

Medicaid citizenship documentation created by the Deficit Reduction Act has caused citizen children to lose access to health care. Low- income white and black U.S. citizen children, not Latino citizens, are disproportionately affected. Documentation requirements are extremely burdensome to low-income families who often lack the resources to pay for that documentation.

In Alabama, Kansas and Virginia, Medicaid enrollment declined by a larger percentage among white and black children than among Latino children who were U.S. citizens.

The Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services and the past administrator of CMS concurred that there is no substantial evidence that undocumented immigrants are committing fraud in order to receive Medicaid.

Citizenship documentation, as implemented, is a flawed policy based on inaccurate assumptions that adversely affect our children's health.

I urge my colleagues to allow that we enforce a good SCHIP program. Take care of those 10 million children.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 3688), which would implement a trade agreement reached last year between Peru and the Bush Administration.

The Peru free trade agreement (FTA) will not protect American workers nor will it protect workers in Peru. The Peruvian National Convention on Agriculture (CONVEAGRO) has estimated that approximately 1.7 million Peruvian farmers will be negatively affected by the agreement. Although efforts were made to incorporate international labor standards in the Peru FTA, it is unclear whether the Bush Administration will enforce this provision. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has stated that the Peruvian government needs to change labor laws to be in compliance with international treaties.

Serious concerns also remain about language in the Peru FTA that does not eliminate the excessive North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 11 foreign investor privileges. These investor privileges create incentives for U.S. firms to move offshore. These investor privileges have also been used to undermine efforts to protect the environment and public health. The provisions also allow foreign investors to bring suits before tribunals to challenge the government's implementation of natural resource contracts or leases, which have the potential to continue threatening the resources in Peru. For that reason, environmental organizations have expressed significant concerns about this trade agreement even though improvements were made to help stop the flow of illegally logged timber in Peru.

The United States trade policy has resulted in a loss of at least three million manufacturing jobs since 1999 and a loss of nearly one million textile and apparel industries jobs in the last 13 years. A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute showed that a typical American working household lost more than $2,000 in wages because of foreign trade. Further expansion of this policy could worsen conditions for workers in America that is why this legislation is opposed by groups such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Change to Win, Service Employees International Union, UNITE HERE, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Friends of the Earth, and the Sierra Club. I cannot vote for this legislation when our trade policy does not protect American workers and American jobs. In this new age of globalization, Congress must restore the economic security of working- and middle-class Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3920, the Trade and Globalization Assistance Act of 2007. This bill will provide American workers displaced by globalization and trade policy with the necessary tools and assurance to compete in the global economy.

Created in 1962, the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program offers trade-displaced workers up to two years of job training and income support while they transition to different jobs often in new sectors. Unfortunately, for too long, thousands of our workers have been denied services they are otherwise eligible to receive because of a lack of funding or restrictive interpretations of current law. H.R. 3920 bridges this gap, by not only doubling training funds to $440 million but also by providing states with funds for vital outreach to ensure that our workers are not lost or forgotten in this increasing global age. Eighty percent of all workers in the United States work in the service sector industry and I am proud that for the first time they will be fully eligible for coverage through this legislation.

H.R. 3920 also intends to protect our most vulnerable workers--women and minorities. While Latinos represent 12.6 percent of the total U.S. workforce, they account for 26 percent of textile and apparel industry workers. In California, Latinos make up an estimated 80 percent of the California garment industry, which has been especially hard-hit by NAFTA's impact. As a result, Latino workers have been significantly hurt by poorly crafted trade policy. According to the Department of Labor, 47 percent of individuals that applied for NAFTA's TAA program due to lay offs were Latino.

Unfortunately, President Bush is threatening to veto this legislation, continuing his policy of favoring wealthy Americans over middle-class workers. I believe that it is well past time to acknowledge the hard fact that trade policy has had a negative impact on our nation's workers and it is our job to give them the support they need to be active members of our workforce. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, so we can provide displaced workers with the tools and resources necessary to compete in the 21st century, and I urge President Bush to reconsider his callous threat and stand with us to support American workers and American jobs.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to discuss poverty and homelessness in the San Gabriel Valley in the 32nd Congressional District. At least 43 percent of adults living below the Federal poverty line in L.A. County have worked either full-time or part-time. They have to balance rent or mortgage payments, child care, food, gas prices, and health care. The increasing costs can lead to homelessness if you can't make these payments.

In Los Angeles County, over 152,000 people are homeless over the course of a year; and in the city of Azusa, at least 1,500 children were homeless last year.

I am proud that Democrats have taken steps to reduce poverty and homelessness. In 2007, our farm bill raised the minimum benefit in the food stamp program for the first time in 30 years. For the first time in more than 10 years, we have raised the minimum wage and expanded American homeownership, and also would help to provide and ensure that low-income and middle-income families have affordable mortgage loans.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me. And I ask my colleagues to please rise with us today on behalf of the many, many children, 10 million children, that will benefit from the reauthorization and on this rule so that we can hear the discussion and the debate on the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.

We can't afford not to help those 10 million children. These families here will be the ones that benefit, and future generations, Americans, citizens, will benefit. The SCHIP Reauthorization Act will help reduce what we call health care disparities that currently exist in our communities and in this country.

And although programs such as SCHIP and Medicaid have decreased the number of uninsured children over the last few years, there still has been a lack of funding and outreach efforts that have left millions of eligible children just like these without any form of health care coverage. In fact, 70 percent of Latino children are eligible for health care coverage through public programs, but remain uninsured.

This bill that we are going to debate will reduce the number of uninsured children of color by supporting community health care workers who are better known to give advice to many in our community. These are people that they can trust. These are people that can help inform them on how to go through the process of receiving this type of aid and assistance through the SCHIP program.

While we're doing that, we're going to reach millions of people who have otherwise not been enrolled in the program, particularly those communities that speak other languages, not just bilingual, but also people from different ethnic background like Armenians, Russians, Pacific Islanders and, yes, of course, Latinos.

The compromise legislation, as I see it, before us today is a step in the right direction, and we have an opportunity and a moral obligation to do what is right for our children and our families. These are the most vulnerable communities in the United States. Children of all ages and of all communities of color are counting on us to do the right thing.

I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this rule for the sake of the 10 million children and their families that will benefit from the increase in funding for health care coverage for the most vulnerable populations in our society.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 721, which would recognize the 60th anniversary of the Mendez v. Westminster decision. This landmark decision ended segregation of Mexican and Mexican-American students in California schools.

On March 2, 1945, a group of concerned Mexican-American fathers, led by Gonzalo Mendez, challenged the practice of school segregation in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, California. These fathers claimed that their children, along with 5,000 other children of Latino descent, were victims of discrimination by being forced to attend separate ``Mexican'' schools in the Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and El Modena school districts of Orange County, California. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the families and held that the segregation of Mexican and Mexican-American students into separate schools was unconstitutional. This California case won access for Mexican-Americans to all schools in 1947 and helped lay the foundation seven years later for the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Latinos are the fastest-growing student population. Approximately 32 percent of children enrolled in our Nation's public school are Latino. The status of Latino education suggests a number of missed opportunities from early childhood education through higher education. For example, families of 67 percent of Latino children under the age of three have an income that is 200 percent below the federal poverty threshold. Economic hardship is a reality for these families and has an adverse effect on child development and school readiness. In 2004, only 58 percent of Latinos had completed high school and 12 percent completed college.

Madam Speaker, it is important that Congress honor and recognize the civil rights implication of the Mendez v. Westminster case. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and learn from the lessons of this Nation's history. Like Gonzalo Mendez and the rest of the fathers who led the fight in Mendez v. Westminster, we must continue the fight to close the education gap in our country. Educating our children is a commitment we must keep.