Floor Statements

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

Mr. Chairman, the ADA is a powerful and important law that we all respect and embrace. Unfortunately, in States like California, it has created a cottage industry of unscrupulous attorneys abusing title III of the ADA.

The amendment I am offering is very simple. The current language in the bill permits a business notified of noncompliance with the ADA to simply make substantial progress in remedying the violation. Frankly, this language is too loose. My amendment strengthens this language to only permit the language of ``substantial progress'' where they cannot complete the work because of extenuating circumstances.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment promotes basic fairness. It does not allow dishonest property owners to abandon responsibility by claiming they have made substantial progress. The message is still clear: businesses must fix their ADA violations.

Today is a chance to pass something that addresses the real problem. Let's not let the lack of a perfect solution get in the way of real progress.

I want to speak to some of the issues that we have had in California.

In California, this particular law has created an industry that allows for lawyers to make a lot of money off of small businesses. It has basically allowed shady law firms to make a profit out of abusing the ADA, often resulting in high legal bills and no fix to the allegations presented.

In many cases, businesses are forced into settlements because the cost of fighting an allegation is so great. The average cost of a settlement is $16,000, but the cost of fighting the allegation is sometimes four to six times the average $75,000 income generated by the business.

In California, a simple fix--putting up a sign or moving a door a few inches--can carry a $4,000 penalty, the minimum amount of damages, which will still be in place when the bill passes. This is no small sum if you are a local bakery, a neighborhood grocery store, or a barber shop.

California is ground zero for this problem. It is home to 12 percent of the disabled population but 40 percent of ADA lawsuits nationwide. From 2012 to 2014, 54 percent of all related complaints in California were filed by just two law firms.

The law firms sometimes recruit plaintiffs who are not directly impacted by the ADA or even living in the same State. Fourteen plaintiffs brought 46 percent of all these lawsuits. One of them, Robert McCarthy, filed more than 400 suits against California businesses, and he doesn't even live in the State.

One infamous example is the California-based Moore Law Firm, which filed more than 700 lawsuits over the past few years, resulting in large settlements and sometimes even bankruptcy for some businesses. Given recent laws to address this in my home State, trial lawyers are rushing to States like Texas, New York, and Florida, where they can make a profit.

In 2014, a bar owner living in Torrance, California, was handed five lawsuits in the past 2 years and needed to save up to $30,000 to remodel. She was the target of a small group of attorneys who took aim at businesses in shopping centers for a quick profit.

What we need to do, Mr. Chairman, is take the profit out of making these facilities accessible. We all want them to be accessible. We want to give them notice and a couple of months to cure the problem or else the lawsuit can continue. I think this makes a lot of sense.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. Chair, let me close by saying this: I wholeheartedly support the letter and the spirit of this law. I recognize how important it is. This law is powerful, but it has been weaponized by lawyers who are trying to make a quick buck.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his generosity and for his great leadership.

Mr. Speaker, we are truly here on a historic occasion. It is a rare and crucial moment of bipartisanship. This is the way you can do it-- men and women, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals-- coming together to make this place better.

When I first started this work back in 2014, I dreamed, but I did not dare to hope, that we would end up here today. Today, this bipartisan group of legislators is taking a historic step that has plagued this institution for generations.

For years, Members of Congress have gotten away with truly egregious behavior by mistreating their staff. A story that will be etched in my memory forever is a young woman who sat in my office earlier this year and told me her story and who said, as she cried, the process was almost worse than the harassment.

No more, ladies and gentlemen, no more will that be the case. Thanks to the Me Too movement, the American public has made it clear that they have had enough. They expect Congress to lead; and, for once, we are.

Today, I am proud to support the CAA Reform Act. Based on the ME TOO Congress Act, which I introduced last fall, this bill empowers survivors. They will no longer be subject to mandatory mediation. They will be represented by counsel. They will no longer have cooling off periods and periods where they have to be counseled legally, and they have the right to sue.

Most importantly, it creates the kind of transparency that we talk about but rarely ever provide, and Members--yes, Members--are going to be held responsible for their bad behavior. We will require them to pay the settlement in full in 90 days. If they can't do that, we will garnish their wages, we will garnish their thrift saving plans, and we will garnish their Social Security.

We would not be here today were it not for the unwavering commitment of Chairman Harper, Ranking Member Brady, Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, Congressman Byrne--whom I was delighted to work with on this issue-- Congresswoman Brooks, Congressman Deutch, and the entire Committee on House Administration.

This would not be here today but for the majority and minority committee staff, especially Jamie Fleet, who has shown extraordinary leadership, as has Kim Betz, for all the late nights and the lost weekends to get this bill over the finish line. And to my staff, who worked just as hard, to Molly Fishman and to Miriam Goldstein, I will forever be grateful for what you have provided.

But our work is not done. The Me Too movement is driving change from the boardrooms to the break rooms across our great country. I am committed to ensuring that Congress looks beyond itself to improve the lives of all workers in America.

Today, we take a great step forward for the congressional workplace. We show that we can come together across party and geography. Tomorrow, let us continue to work to make sexual harassment and violence in all workplace settings a thing of the past.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Music at Kohl Mansion concert series, conducted each year at Mercy High School, Burlingame. This is the 35th year of Music at Kohl Mansion. Built in 1914, Kohl Mansion's stunningly beautiful hall and associated rooms are the perfect setting for sparkling holiday lights and the joyous sounds of chamber music.

Music at Kohl Mansion has a national reputation for presenting chamber concerts of the highest professional standards, featuring local, national and international ensembles. The allied program of Kohl for Kids has instructed over 100,000 students in interactive music programs through 22 K-12 public schools. The instruction has also been offered through concerts, master classes, and coaching. Kohl for Kids also serves the public in public libraries, community centers and senior residences. Hundreds of students have received musical instruments through the year-long instrument drive for schools, and a partnership with the Young Chamber Musicians since 2011 has strengthened the education and performance opportunities for advanced, teenage musicians.

The holiday production of Music at Kohl Mansion and the year-round production of music through Kohl for Kids strengthen America. Despite different cultures, backgrounds and experiences, music is a unifying language that every person can appreciate without regard to race, heritage or training. Music connects each of us with our inner spark, and encourages all to unite around a common source of inspiration.

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of being an alumna of Mercy High School, and the proud trumpeter of its ongoing mission to elevate the human spirit. Music at Kohl

Mansion and its allied program of Kohl for Kids have spent 35 years making my community a more hopeful place in which to live. This holiday season, while viewing the lights around us, I want to celebrate the light within that is brought forth by the music emanating from Kohl Mansion. There is no finer location for music than the hall of Kohl Mansion where the love of God and country are palpable in the joyous renditions of this treasured winter festival in tiny Burlingame. Let the bells of this concert ring for as long as our human species have hope of joy and redemption.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Lori Liu who is leaving public service after four years on the Brisbane City Council, the last year as Mayor of this storied town near San Francisco Bay. Lori's deep commitment to public service is evident from her accomplishments and contributions to her community. She is a champion of education, children, the arts, recreation, economic development and the environment.

Lori was first elected to the council in 2013. While on the council, she served on, or as representative to, a number of organizations, including the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Peninsula Clean Energy Board of Directors, the County Library JPA, the council's Economic Development Subcommittee, the Health and Safety Subcommittee, the League of California Cities, the liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Airport Community Roundtable, the Planning Commission, the liaison to the Open Space and Ecology Committee, the Community Choice Energy Advisory Committee and many others. You may justifiably surmise from this lengthy list that Lori is well-versed in a variety of issues affecting the residents of Brisbane and the region.

Her leadership is notable as she tackled one of the most longstanding opportunities and challenges in the community: the Baylands Project. Lori was indefatigable as she conducted council meetings and listened closely to the community through hours of discussions involving possible offices, open space, housing, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the overall concept of a sustainable community. She carefully weighed the impacts of this project on Brisbane and our region.

She was instrumental in laying the groundwork to build a new library which will be constructed starting next year. Libraries are community spaces that connect generations and nurture life-long learning. The Brisbane Library will include a Maker's Space to spark the creativity of the next generation of innovators, spaces for children and teens, a quiet study area, an outdoor garden, a community center, and the first public arts project triggered by a city ordinance.

Lori has a long track record of working on environmental issues. In fact, when she moved to Brisbane in 2004, her very first volunteer activity was to attend an Earth Day clean up event. While on the council, she helped to secure a grant to renovate Crocker Park Trail. This funding will make the trail more usable for bicyclists, joggers and parents with strollers. It will also establish a safe pedestrian and bike-friendly connection between residential development at the Ridge and Lipman Middle School. Due in part to Lori's outstanding work, Brisbane received the Platinum level Spotlight Award from the Institute for Local Government for environmental leadership and best practices. With her support, the city signed up to have all municipal electric accounts serviced by 100 percent renewable energy.

Lori understands that a high quality of life for residents depends on a healthy balance of physical and financial security, education, functioning infrastructure, clean air and clean water, and recreation and entertainment. Life without music and fun would not be complete, so Lori supported the launch of two spectacular, family-friendly community events, the Marina Kite Festival and the Star City Music Festival. The kite festival celebrated its first anniversary this June and the music festival will have its premier in July next year.

Lori holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She and her husband Raymond Liu live in Brisbane with their two young children, Samantha and Noah.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor Lori Liu for her exemplary service on the Brisbane City Council. Her public service made Brisbane a better place to live, work and visit. I personally regret that she is leaving office and hope she will return to offer Brisbane her skills and talents in addressing the issues facing her beloved city. I have no doubt that Lori will continue to make enormous contributions to any effort she undertakes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Lori Liu who is leaving public service after four years on the Brisbane City Council, the last year as Mayor of this storied town near San Francisco Bay. Lori's deep commitment to public service is evident from her accomplishments and contributions to her community. She is a champion of education, children, the arts, recreation, economic development and the environment.

Lori was first elected to the council in 2013. While on the council, she served on, or as representative to, a number of organizations, including the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Peninsula Clean Energy Board of Directors, the County Library JPA, the council's Economic Development Subcommittee, the Health and Safety Subcommittee, the League of California Cities, the liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Airport Community Roundtable, the Planning Commission, the liaison to the Open Space and Ecology Committee, the Community Choice Energy Advisory Committee and many others. You may justifiably surmise from this lengthy list that Lori is well-versed in a variety of issues affecting the residents of Brisbane and the region.

Her leadership is notable as she tackled one of the most longstanding opportunities and challenges in the community. the Baylands Project. Lori was indefatigable as she conducted council meetings and listened closely to the community through hours of discussions involving possible offices, open space, housing, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the overall concept of a sustainable community She carefully weighed the impacts of this project on Brisbane and our region.

She was instrumental in laying the groundwork to build a new library which will be constructed starting next year. Libraries are community spaces that connect generations and nurture life-long learning. The Brisbane Library will include a Maker's Space to spark the creativity of the next generation of innovators, spaces for children and teens, a quiet study area, an outdoor garden, a community center, and the first public arts project triggered by a city ordinance.

Lori has a long track record of working on environmental issues. In fact, when she moved to Brisbane m 2004, her very first volunteer activity was to attend an Earth Day clean up event While on the council, she helped to secure a grant to renovate Crocker Park Trail. This funding will make the trail more usable for bicyclists, joggers and parents with strollers It will also establish a safe pedestrian and bike-friendly connection between residential development at the Ridge and Lipman Middle School. Due in part to Lori's outstanding work, Brisbane received the Platinum level Spotlight Award from the Institute for Local Government for environmental leadership and best practices. With her support, the city signed up to have all municipal electric accounts serviced by 100 percent renewable energy

Lori understands that a high quality of life for residents depends on a healthy balance of physical and financial security, education, functioning infrastructure, clean air and clean water, and recreation and entertainment. Life without music and fun would not be complete, so Lori supported the launch of two spectacular, family-friendly community events, the Marina Kite Festival and the Star City Music Festival The kite festival celebrated its first anniversary this June and the music festival will have its premier in July next year.

Lori holds a B.A from Tufts University and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She and her husband Raymond Liu live in Belmont with their two young children, Samantha and Noah.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor Lori Liu for her exemplary service on the Brisbane City Council. Her public service made Brisbane a better place to live, work and visit. I personally regret

that she is leaving office and hope she will return to offer Brisbane her skills and talents in addressing the issues facing her beloved city. I have no doubt that Lori will continue to make enormous contributions to any effort she undertakes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor David Lim for his eight years of outstanding service on the San Mateo City Council and as mayor in 2013 and 2017. David's dedication to

justice and his community have informed his leadership on important issues such as social justice, public safety, infrastructure, education, diversity and the environment. I've had the occasion to work with David on one of the most pressing challenges in our region, the housing crisis. David is a true champion of his middle class constituents and has showed great courage in forthrightly addressing the thorny issues of affordable rental housing.

David was first elected to the council in 2009, at the height of the Great Recession. He instantly became a very active member of the council, helping guide the city of San Mateo through a difficult and long recovery process. He always encouraged input from residents and was driven by a dedication to being fair and to making the best decision.

Serving in a booming economy also proved challenging. As wave after wave of new high-earning tech and biotech workers arrived, escalating rents and skyrocketing housing prices undermined the stability of long- time low- and middle-income residents. Justice-minded and seeking to maintain the socio-economic and racial diversity of the region, David represented all residents. He pulled landlords, tenants and regional anti-displacement experts into conversations to develop solutions to the affordability crisis. David pushed the city to do more to support low-income workers and advocated for increasing the minimum wage.

As a young parent himself, David is an educator at heart. Coaching high school mock trial teams and advocating for local students and schools, David wants all children to attend safe schools and to receive a good education. When he learned that immigrant families needed translation services in order to understand the enrollment process he pushed local school districts to take action. David never stops turning problems into creative solutions.

He also worked to improve San Mateo's environmental stewardship. David has succeeded in his goal to leave the city better than he found it. While on the council he helped launch the Sustainability Commission which has reduced the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam containers.

David was raised in Southern California where he attended local public schools. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Political Science and his Master's degree in Education from UCLA. For two years, he taught history at a middle school in LA but then moved to Washington, D.C. to work for Congressman Bob Matsui of Sacramento. In 1999, he returned to the Bay Area and pursued his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. As a young Bay Area district attorney, married with young twin daughters, he searched for a community to call home. In 2001, he moved to San Mateo, the town where his grandfather, whose father had emigrated from China to San Francisco's Chinatown, had once been a household servant.

David and his wife Terri continue to live in San Mateo with their three children, Caroline, Katherine and Harrison.

Today, San Mateo is one of the most diverse communities in the country. David was the first Asian American to be elected to the city council and his cultural sensitivity has been an invaluable asset to the city. He believes some of the best ideas and fresh perspectives come from young people. At public meetings that can last late into the evening, David has been known to rearrange the speakers cards--with public approval, of course--so that school-aged residents can address the council and get home to complete their schoolwork. In even small ways, David is always focused on making life better for his constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I admire David Lim greatly and ask the members of the House of Representatives to rise with me to recognize a remarkable public servant, devoted husband and father, and tireless advocate for others. While he is leaving the council, I have no doubt that he will continue to contribute to his beloved community for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our ranking member, Mr. Brady, for his steadfast support on this issue; the chairman, Mr. Harper, who has moved swiftly to address this issue; and also my colleague, Congresswoman Comstock, for bringing this resolution to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I have been working on this issue since 2014. I am so delighted that we are here today taking up this measure. As we take this up, I hope that we remember that training must be more than an online module. It must be in person, interactive, specific to congressional workplace issues, and taken seriously.

Today's bill is an important step in the right direction, but let's not fool ourselves. It is a baby step. Let us not, to paraphrase Shakespeare, tread the primrose path while leaving survivors to struggle the steep and thorny way to justice.

We are in the midst of a cultural revolution. We are elected Representatives of the American people, and we must not hesitate to do what is needed to fix this broken system.

Seventy percent of those who are sexually harassed never report it. They never report it. One woman came up to me as I was walking the Halls of Congress to thank me. She said that she was on this very floor working late in the evening on a particular bill. A Member came up behind her, grinding up against her, and then stuck his tongue in her ear. That happened on this floor, with Members probably standing around. So we do have a problem, and we must address it.

Unfortunately, due to the system Congress has created to protect itself from being exposed, there has been no accountability. It is now clear that this misguided attempt to protect the institution is instead harming it and leaving victims in its wake.

We work in a very special place, a trusted place, but let me be very clear: we are not special. The outcry for accountability that we are hearing from all corners of the country must be heeded. We are seeing titans of entertainment, news, and every other business be swiftly terminated. Yet, here in Congress, we hide behind due process niceties when, in reality, we have constructed a system that shields us from true accountability.

Did Harvey Weinstein or Matt Lauer receive months of due process before being terminated?

When do we simply believe the victims and provide them a fair and safe process to report and get justice? Then we have got to decide: Is one occurrence worthy of expulsion? Two? Three?

These are thorny issues. We don't like to come down on our friends and colleagues. I get that. But don't we have a moral responsibility to victims, to society at large?

When the CEO of a major company is fired because of sexual harassment, the board of directors doesn't say: Let's wait until the shareholders can meet and decide.

Well, colleagues, our board of directors are the American people, and they are loud and clear. They do not want us to hide behind opaque decisions by the House Administration or Ethics Committees. They do not want to pay for our inability to keep our hands to ourselves. They want accountability and transparency, and they want it now.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, but to also join me in taking Congress from a cruel and disgusting joke to a leader in workplace fairness. I know we can do better than this. The American people know we can do better than this. We must rise to the challenge.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Sharon Levine, an exceptional healthcare leader who has strived every day of her career to move our healthcare system forward to provide better access, quality and coverage. I've known Dr. Levine for many years and had the great honor to work with her. Dr. Levine was often the voice of Kaiser as the sponsor or supporter of major health care legislation I offered while in the California State Assembly and Senate. When it came to reproductive health issues, Dr. Levine offered compelling testimony on why the bills were necessary. I often marveled at the ability Dr. Levine had at dispelling myths and misperceptions Members had on particular issues without making them look ignorant.

Dr. Levine recently retired from a remarkable, more than 40-year-long career with Kaiser Permanente. She had served in an executive leadership role for the Permanente Medical Group since 1991. In 2015, Dr. Levine accepted the role of Executive Vice President for External Affairs for the Permanente Medical Group, a position she held until her retirement.

Dr. Levine graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and began her medical career in pediatrics at the Georgetown University Community Health Plan. In 1977, she joined the Permanente Medical Group as a pediatrician and spent the next four decades serving residents of northern California.

In addition to being an invaluable doctor to her patients, Dr. Levine has educated physicians and clinicians throughout California and the Kaiser Permanente system, inspiring and coaching them to deliver better care and about ways to improve our healthcare system. One of her important responsibilities was to ensure that Kaiser Permanente's prescribing and pharmacy policies were patient-centered and that they were rooted in common sense, with physicians closely involved in promoting both excellent quality and sound clinical management. Her leadership on this issue greatly benefited Kaiser Permanente members, patients and customers.

Dr. Levine's contributions have had an impact beyond California through her service on numerous boards of directors, including serving on the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Medical Board of California, the Institute for Medical Quality and the Insure the Uninsured Project. She has passionately advocated for public policy that ensures physicians are at the center of critical decisions that affect patients, whether in the exam room, in the board room, in the hearing room or in the auditorium, where the next generation of health care leaders learn about what works in American health care and what still needs to be improved.

Dr. Levine will continue to play an important role in the medical community. She was recently selected to serve as board member of the newly established Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. In that role she will ensure that the curriculum of this medical school will be of the highest quality. She will also be a mentor to many aspiring physicians who share her lifelong commitment to medicine.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Members of the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor Dr. Sharon Levine, a remarkable doctor, educator and advocate whose leadership and friendship I deeply value. While she will be missed by her Kaiser Permanente family, we can all feel assured that her contributions have permanently improved our current system. If we had more leaders like Dr. Levine in our communities we would no doubt have a better healthcare system and healthier Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary public service of Jim Ruane, the Mayor of San Bruno, California, who is leaving office after 22 years of unparalleled leadership, eight of them as Mayor. His wisdom, eloquence, and devotion to civic leadership will be sorely missed by the 43,000 residents of his beloved community by the bay.

Jim was first elected to the city council in 1995 after previously serving on the planning commission. Since he joined the council, and under his leadership and that of colleagues, San Bruno has undergone a transformation. A deactivated Navy base was transformed into a vibrant, mixed use community. Tanforan Shopping Mall has been revitalized and San Bruno's downtown core is poised for revitalization. Jim's service also includes the contentious period leading to the establishment of BART service to the San Francisco Peninsula, through San Bruno.

The creation of an elevated right of way for Caltrain above San Bruno Avenue was decades in the making. Today, traffic in San Bruno moves smoothly and without interruption from the 92 daily commuter trains that serve the Peninsula. Personally, I love trains, but it would take a true romantic to love being stuck on San Bruno Avenue in a long line of traffic as the trains go by on a hot summer day.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most solemn duty that any of us undertake as elected representatives is to defend our community's interests after a fatal assault. On September 9, 2010, San Bruno was fatally assaulted by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company when a 30 inch high pressure natural gas pipeline ruptured, killing eight innocent people, destroying 38 homes, and damaging dozens more. The fire was so enormous that fire equipment from throughout the Bay Area and beyond responded.

From the beginning, and for years afterwards, Jim Ruane was, without question, one of the finest public servants I have ever witnessed. Literally in the heat of the moment, he offered accurate and comforting information to his community and also to the world. In the days and months after the explosion, Mayor Ruane led his community in endless meetings, forcing PG&E to answer tough questions about its role in the explosion and deaths. Throughout that time, I joined him and witnessed his steady hand in both quieting traumatized crowds and reassuring tearful neighbors that justice would be done and answers delivered.

Mr. Speaker, San Bruno didn't have to pursue justice by suing PG&E, but it did. San Bruno didn't have to pursue justice by exposing corruption at a state agency known as the California Public Utilities Commission, but it did. San Bruno did not have to issue subpoenas and release documents to the world exposing the cozy relationship of PG&E and its regulators, but the city did because doing so was part of the process of justice needed to demonstrate that no entity--including PG&E--is above the law. The utility was subsequently found guilty in federal court of multiple felonies. It was fined $3 million by the court, after earlier being penalized $1.6 billion by a reconstituted California Public Utilities Commission.

I am firmly convinced that the leadership of San Bruno--and importantly all of its councilmembers during these years--did our nation a public service by independently seeking justice in this case. Notably, Jim Ruane was the ever-present face of conviction. He remained absolutely convinced that America's legal system would allow a mouse to roar. And roar it did. We as a Congress have failed to learn the lessons of San Bruno, and have repeatedly failed to cure the defects in federal statutes that contributed to the San Bruno catastrophe. However, the actions of the City of San Bruno have made America safer by forcing management to consider safety in pipeline operations.

Jim Ruane is the loving father of Jim Jr. and Stephanie, and the proud grandfather to Gavin, Patrick, Brendan and Ryan. He is also the devoted husband of Noreen, his partner in life and fellow resident of San Bruno for over 40 years. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War era.

Today, I rise to celebrate Mayor Jim Ruane, a man like few others. He is quiet and wise in normal times, but imbued with a natural command presence during times of exigency. In my book, he is one of our local heroes. With his departure, we thank him for bringing justice to us all, crafted like the best plaster ornamentation his company creates in its daily work, an enduring beauty for every citizen to behold.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the accomplishments of an uncommonly generous man who has donated countless hours to his community in both public and private life. Ken Ibarra, the Vice Mayor of the City of San Bruno, is leaving public office after 21 years. To say that Ken will be missed is an understatement.

To imagine Ken Ibarra, you must first imagine a version of the Energizer Bunny, except that this bunny has an enormous smile and is crowned with beautiful, jet black hair. As to Ken's energy, let me offer you just one example. The San Bruno Lions Club is one of the most active clubs on the Peninsula. At civic events in San Bruno Park, the club's BBQ is often set up. Now, imagine the Energizer Bunny, sweating from all-day exposure to the heat, slinging hamburgers right and left, shouting out to hundreds of friends, tossing hot dogs onto hot platters, and all the while downing an extraordinary amount of unidentified, but undoubtedly healthy, liquid refreshment.

Obviously, Ken puts the bunny to shame.

In addition to these and other volunteer tasks, Ken has served in multiple leadership positions in the Lions Clubs, up to the district level where he served as District Governor in 2009. He has always embodied the slogan of the Lions: We Serve. He has also devoted his leadership skills to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Bay Area Special Olympics Lions Club.

Ken Ibarra was originally appointed to serve an unexpired term on the city council, and from that day forward he never ceased his dedication to the betterment of San Bruno. During his years in office, he's represented the City of San Bruno on so many local and countywide boards and commissions that they are too numerous to mention. Importantly, Ken has served on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, the San Mateo County Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART) Board, the Grand Boulevard Steering Committee, and the San Francisco Airport Community Roundtable.

During his time in office, Ken and his council colleagues reshaped the face of San Bruno, dealing with many longstanding community challenges including the grade separation of the Caltrain right of way, the renovation of Tanforan Shopping Mall, the construction of new housing at the Crossings/San Bruno, and water and wastewater improvements that only an architect and civic improvement aficionado like Ken Ibarra could truly appreciate. I can honestly say that it takes a really special person to get excited by wastewater improvement projects. Well, thankfully for San Bruno, Ken Ibarra is that kind of guy.

On September 9, 2010, San Bruno was rocked by the explosion of a high pressure natural gas transmission pipeline. Eight residents were killed, 38 homes destroyed outright and dozens more severely damaged. In the aftermath of the explosion, Ken Ibarra stood in alliance with his council colleagues in seeking justice for those killed and for the entire city. Over hours in the intervening years, Ken helped lead his community through the painful discovery of malfeasance by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, wrongdoing that culminated in felony convictions for the company's actions, $1.6 billion in penalties, and $3 million in court-ordered fines.

It takes a special type of person to file for re-election in the years after the trust of your fellow citizens has been rocked to its core by fatal corporate wrongdoing. Always, you must ask yourself, ``Is it worth it?'' Ken filed, and was re-elected. However, as a local government official under these circumstances, you lose sleep, shed tears, publicly and privately grieve, and try to help your community focus on tomorrow and its possibilities while its citizens are constantly haunted by the past. Ken

Ibarra is a true leader, as demonstrated by the enormous empathy and devotion that he showed to his neighbors and constituents through numerous public meetings, private deliberations, and policy choices leading to recovery in San Bruno.

Ken Ibarra is leaving civic life, but we who know him well know that civic engagement will never leave Ken Ibarra. He is a skilled architect of both structures and civic pride. We wish him well as he enters another phase of his life where he will undoubtedly pursue both crafts for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Pacifica, California, a sea- sprayed city in my district blessed by salty breezes, soaring shorebirds and the collective smile of residents that rivals in intensity the warmth of the sun itself. On November 22, 2017, Pacifica is a spritely 60 years old.

Residents love this town, and there's no doubt as to why. The views of the Pacific Ocean are spectacular, the shoreline is captivating. If you wish to stroll through the sand and to hunt for seashells, bring your children to the beach and spend a few hours listening to the waves and gazing at the gulls overhead or the snowy plover nearby, Pacifica is the place to be.

Although sunshine is the predominant feature of Pacifica, fog occasionally arrives. Well, actually, more than occasionally. But it is quiet and serene in Pacifica when fog shrouds the shore and the mountains.

For hundreds of years, Pacifica was home to a village of the Ohlone tribe. Pacifica's creeks and ample supply of fish and nuts fed generations. These residents lived in balance with nature, thriving on the ocean side of the San Francisco Peninsula and trading with other villages on the bay side.

The Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola arrived in 1769 and climbed the mountain behind Pacifica to a point now known as Sweeney Ridge. From that point, Portola was the first European to discover the existence of San Francisco Bay. In the next decades, thousands followed, leading to the establishment of Mission Delores and the creation of early San Francisco. Pacifica fed San Francisco from crops planted throughout the San Pedro Valley. In 1839, a Mexican land grant to Don Francisco Sanchez was made and it almost exactly matched the boundaries of modern-day Pacifica.

While much of modern-day Pacifica might be unrecognizable to the Ohlone or to Don Francisco Sanchez, one characteristic of those early times would easily be recognized: families. Both in the distant past and today, Pacifica teems with families. The school district is highly regarded and has over 3,000 students from grades K through 8. Parents from biotech companies and other global corporations drive a few extra miles to work every day so that they may live in a community with quality schools and a web of soccer teams and gymnastics programs that allow children to thrive amidst friends. The annual family-friendly Pacifica Fog Fest draws tens of thousands from throughout the Bay Area to enjoy the sun, music, a hometown parade, and all of the cheese and nachos needed to earn a mother's scorn.

Civic life in Pacifica is energetic, to say the least. In recent years, the city has completed such notable projects as the undergrounding of utilities, the creation of a dog park, the commencement of a parking program at state beaches, improvements to the senior/community center, protection of environmental resources around the creeks and on the beaches, and numerous other public improvements that augment Pacifica's natural splendor.

The city's leadership is as strong today as ever, and it meets the challenges of modern governance head on. For example, City government illustrates its love-hate relationship with Mother Nature by joyfully paying to protect the snowy plover's nesting areas while scrambling to pay to prevent the erosion of bluffs to the beaches below. The council knows that if you walk along the beach near Pedro Point, you're probably walking on the sand that once existed as the bluff, a few miles north, that supports Esplanade Boulevard. Such is the duty of leadership in Pacifica where a councilmember must pay to maintain infrastructure in the coin of the realm while delivering sand and refurbished habitats for endangered species for free to the ultimate administrator of Pacifica's fate: Mother Nature.

Congratulations to the City of Pacifica upon 60 years of formal incorporation, from November 22, 1957 to the present. From tail fins on cars to shark fins in the ocean, the city has done well for itself. With its loving population and visionary leadership, there are many more adventures to come for this little place by the sea that 39,000 call home and celebrate as a place to embrace life, family and neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, due to an unavoidable conflict, I missed the following votes on November 1, 2, and 3. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 597, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 604, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 605, and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 606.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Robert Newlen, for his decades of service to the Library of Congress. Beginning his career in 1975 at the Congressional Research Service and working his way up to Deputy Librarian of Congress, Mr. Newlen is truly an inspiration.

During his time at the Library of Congress, he has served in various capacities, including assistant director and then director of the Knowledge Services Group in CRS, law librarian for collections, outreach and services in the Law Library, the Library of Congress' Chief of Staff, and as of last year the Deputy Librarian of Congress. Mr. Newlen's personal commitment and devotion to the institution is unparalleled. He has committed his entire professional career, 43 years to be exact, to making the Library of Congress a vital part of the deliberations of the legislative branch.

Mr. Newlen's behind-the-scenes efforts in the Law Library were critical in bringing the Magna Carta, one of history's most celebrated documents and a major influence on our Founding Fathers, to the Library of Congress for exhibit in 2014.

Mr. Newlen is known as a quiet leader and a mentor among his colleagues and friends at the Library, who has inspired many and has forever left his mark on this great institution. I have had the good fortune of interacting with Mr. Newlen many times. As many say, he is a gentleman and a scholar.

After leaving the Library of Congress, Mr. Newlen will be moving to my home state of California to work as the head of the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation. Mr. Speaker, Robert Newlen has been an extraordinary public servant, and I know the House of Representatives joins me in wishing him well in the future

Mr. Speaker, I know you have heard the story. Sunday, in Las Vegas, 59 people at a concert were mowed down and more than 500 were wounded.

I know you have heard this story, too: last June, 49 cellphones on the floor of the Pulse Nightclub were ringing and ringing and ringing and were never answered.

What about this story: two years ago, eight students who just wanted to learn and their professor who was there to teach them were mowed down in their classrooms at Umpqua Community College.

And everyone knows that, nearly 5 years ago, the bodies of 20 elementary school children and 6 teachers lay in Sandy Hook Elementary School in what was then the unthinkable act of horror.

So here we are again with what was once unthinkable becoming mundane.

Mr. Speaker, how have we as a society become so debased, how have we strayed so far from what is right and what is just so that we hardly blink at the massacre of innocents in schools and movie theaters and classrooms and concerts and nightclubs? And it goes on and on and on.

So I ask you today, how many lives must be destroyed before Congress acts? Nine lives in Charleston showed us nine was not enough. Thirteen lives at Columbine showed us that 13 was not enough. Certainly 20 small children killed in their classrooms at Newtown? No. The 32 lives lost at Virginia Tech? Again, not enough. Forty-nine lives in Orlando? No. The more than 33,000 Americans killed each year by guns? No, that is not enough.

The fact that more Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields in all our wars since the American Revolution, is that not enough?

Now 59 people have been murdered in Las Vegas and hundreds more are left struggling with injuries, both physical and mental, but the worst part--and believe me, I have trouble picking out the worst part--daily mass shootings have somehow become just ordinary.

The massacre in Las Vegas was the 273rd mass shooting in the United States this year.

Last year, I posted the name and photo of every single victim killed in mass shootings on the walls outside my office. There were 476 shootings, with 597 people killed and 1,734 wounded. Not enough. It is never enough.

That is how I learned about Tamia Sanders, who was 14 years old when she was killed while sitting on her porch next to her mother; about Antonio Hinkle, who was 32 when he was gunned down and killed at a cookout pushing children out of the way of gunfire; and about Willow Short, age two, who survived a heart transplant only to be slaughtered outside and alongside the rest of her family by her own father.

I stand before you filled with rage and sadness to say this has to stop. Moments of silence provide little comfort--frankly, no comfort. It is a show here to somehow suggest that if you make the headlines, we will give you a moment of silence, but for the 476 other mass shootings each year, we are not going to give you a moment of silence.

Do we really lack the courage of conviction? No. Other industrialized countries have seen no such blood-soaked streets.

By remaining silent, we are not just being cowardly, we are being complicit in these crimes.

Mr. Speaker, we must honor the dead by taking action. Now is the time for a vote, and we know what the vote is on.

Our human instinct is to try to find patterns and make sense out of the most horrific and senseless acts. Whether the shooters are terrorists or domestic abusers or the mentally ill, one pattern is the same: access to deadly weapons that can allow a lone gunman to lay waste to human life on a massive scale must stop.

This is why we must ban assault weapons that have, time and time again, caused mass bloodshed and the attachments that make them into automatic weapons that you can purchase for a mere $50.

Automatic weapons are banned in the United States, machine guns are banned in the United States, but if you can buy a $50 attachment and make it into a machine gun, how have we banned anything?

Let's make sure every gun purchase requires background checks rather than just 60 percent of gun purchases.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to do more than be silent.