Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, there are an estimated 12,000 spinal cord injuries every year in the United States. These injuries most often result in temporary or permanent loss of sensation and paralysis, and they can forever change the lives of those who have been injured. However, thanks to the dedication of top scientists and medical professionals across the country, we hold out hope for more effective treatments, and one day, a possible cure.

In recognition of September as Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month, we'd like to take this time to acknowledge the leadership of several neurosurgeons who worked diligently to review and update the Guidelines for the Management of Acute Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries, published in the March 2013 edition of Neurosurgery. This work describes the ``state of the literature'' with regard to the treatment of patients with cervical spine and spinal cord injuries and is a useful guide to help clinicians make important decisions in the care of their patients.

The contributing members of this work include Mark N. Hadley, Division of Neurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Beverly C. Walters, Division of Neurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Inova Health System in Falls Church, Virginia; Bizhan Aarabi, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland; Sanjay S. Dhall, Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University; Daniel E. Gelb, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Maryland; Mark R. Harrigan, Division of Neurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham; R. John Hurlbert, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada; Curtis J. Rozelle, Division of Neurological Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children's Hospital of Alabama; Timothy C. Ryken, Iowa Spine and Brain Institute, University of Iowa; Nicholas Theodore, Division of Neurological Surgery, Barrow Neurological Institute.

Mr. Speaker, the standardization and refinement of surgical techniques over the last decade embodied in this work is a substantial accomplishment. It is a testament to the experience and dedication of its contributors, and I, along with Representatives Terri A. Sewell, Elijah E. Cummings, John Lewis, Bruce L. Braley, and Ed Pastor, hope you will join us in recognizing them for their impressive work. Due to their commitment, numerous lives are improved daily through the increased understanding and treatment of spinal cord injuries.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall votes 491 and 492, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on both questions.

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with a passionate constituent from Rhode Island who told me of her mother's struggles with pancreatic cancer. Katie Boucher recounted the story of her mother, Marie Boucher, who was diagnosed in 2008 and passed away just four months later at the age of 59. Her story resonated with me, not only because my own grandfather battled pancreatic cancer, but because an estimated 45,000 people were diagnosed with this illness in 2013 alone.

Despite great advancements in medical science, we are still woefully behind the mark when it comes to pancreatic cancer. To make matters worse, the budgetary impacts of sequestration are forcing cut-backs at the National Institutes of Health, which is responsible for funding much of the biomedical research across the country.

Mr. Speaker, we can achieve deficit reduction without sacrificing the vital research that not only drives better health outcomes, but also drives our local economies. I ask my colleagues to join me in urging stronger funding for NIH and a stronger focus on biomedical research, not just for Marie Boucher and her daughter, but for the thousands of people who are fighting for their lives in every single district across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with a passionate group of constituents from Rhode Island who told me of their family's struggle with pancreatic cancer. In particular, Katie Boucher recently recounted the story of her mother, Marie Boucher, who was diagnosed in 2008 and passed away just a year later in 2009 at the age of 59.

Her story resonated with me not only because my own grandfather battled pancreatic cancer and ultimately passed away from the disease, but because an estimated 45,000 people were diagnosed with this illness in 2013 alone.

Despite great advances in medical science, we are still woefully behind the mark when it comes to pancreatic cancer. To make matters worse, the budgetary impacts of sequestration are forcing cutbacks at the National Institutes of Health, which is responsible for funding much of the biomedical research across the country. Mr. Speaker, we can achieve deficit reduction without sacrificing the vital research that not only drives better health outcomes, but also drives our local economy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in urging stronger funding for NIH and a stronger focus on biomedical research, not just for Marie Boucher and her daughter, but for the thousands of people who are fighting for their lives in every single district across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to recognize the 100th anniversary of West Warwick's incorporation on September 23, 1913. Although it is the youngest of Rhode Island's municipalities, it has a rich and vibrant history, and it has played a great role in shaping our state.

While we are celebrating West Warwick's 100th birthday this year, 2013 is also the 340th anniversary of its settlement. In 1673, Warwick divided among five families a parcel of land around what is today the village of Natick and opened it for settlement. The new residents quickly discovered that, in addition to rich stocks of timber, fish, and farmland found in West Warwick, the area also boasted enormous potential in its waterways. Within the town's eventual boundaries, the branches of the Pawtuxet River enter at an elevation of 150 feet before joining up and dropping to a mere fifty feet above sea level on the eastern border. This natural resource, combined with a good dose of Rhode Island ingenuity, was to prove vital to the growth of the community.

As early as 1737, the force of the river was harnessed in the form of a saw and flour mill. The citizens of West Warwick remained mostly subsistence farmers, however, until the community's first textile mill opened in 1794. Following closely on the heels of Samuel Slater's famous mill in Pawtucket, the Centerville Mill would usher in enormous changes in the town. By 1810, five of the seven largest mills in the state were located in West Warwick.

This rapid industrialization fundamentally altered the way of life in town. Rather than living on relatively isolated farmsteads, mill workers moved into factory housing near their workplaces. This swiftly increasing population density led to a greater demand for services, and soon, taverns, shops, churches and schools were springing up around these factory hubs. In fact, all of the villages that make up West Warwick--Natick, Centerville, Arctic, Clyde, Riverpoint, Wescott, Phenix, and Crompton--grew up around a mill of some sort.

In post-war West Warwick, the industrial base, until then rapidly expanding, exploded. Driven first by the Civil War and then by the vastly improved transportation infrastructure that permeated the state, West Warwick's textile production increased by orders of magnitude. Commercial developments sprang up to serve the thousands of factory workers, and cultural and civic institutions were strengthened. A housing expansion tied to the mills' desire for labor also served to bring the villages together as the fields and forests separating them were given over to homes.

By the late nineteenth century, the citizens of West Warwick were clamoring for better representation. Their political views diverged significantly from the more agrarian and coastal residents of Warwick proper; in fact, they were so divergent that the Republican-controlled General Assembly refused to consider any split of the municipality for fear that Democrats would gain power. In 1912, however, the town held a referendum through which division passed, and the General Assembly granted the town its charter in 1913.

The century since has seen both dramatic change and stability. The change centered on the collapse of the Rhode Island textile industry beginning in the 1920s. As textile jobs moved south, the town struggled to adapt to new economic realities. And yet, despite this traumatic shock, citizens of West Warwick retain the same industriousness they displayed 340 years ago, a spirit that will continue to lead them to future success.

As we celebrate that spirit this year, I must acknowledge and thank the fine work of the West Warwick Centennial Committee. Led by its President, Council Member Edward A. Giroux, the Committee has developed a wonderful program to celebrate the town's religious, industrial and cultural development.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have the people of West Warwick as my constituents, and I am honored to join them in celebrating the town's 100th birthday.

Madam Speaker, I have come to the floor too often this Congress to fight against legislation that harms the most vulnerable members of our society and hinders access to health care for Americans across the country. Rhode Islanders, the American people, and I have seen enough. It is time for Republicans to stop perpetuating and exploiting these self-imposed crises for political gain and join with Democrats to find consensus on the budget, put people to work, grow our economy and strengthen the middle class.

But instead of House and Senate Leaders working together to achieve a balanced compromise, we will vote this afternoon on an untenable bill, wasting yet another opportunity to address sequestration that even the Republican Chairman of the Appropriations Committee has called ``unrealistic and ill-conceived.''

With this continuing resolution, Republicans are making a 42nd attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would not only prevent millions of families from becoming insured, but would also gut the well-established Children's Health Insurance Program that provides coverage to over eight million moderate to low-income children.

In Rhode Island, we have finally started to recover from the Great Recession. In April, we saw our unemployment rate drop below 9 percent for the first time since 2009, yet only yesterday we learned it had crept back up to 9.1 percent. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the economic drag from the sequester will cost us up to 1.6 million jobs by this time next year. Hardworking Rhode Islanders are scrimping to get by as it is. We simply cannot afford another hit to the economy. We have a responsibility as their representatives to ensure that this downward trend in employment is not only stopped in its tracks, but reversed.

Democrats have offered a responsible, balanced alternative to fund the government and end the devastating, across-the-board cuts of the sequester with a mix of spending cuts and revenue measures to reduce the deficit in a responsible way. Regrettably, House Republicans have refused seven Democratic requests to allow a vote on this proposal.

Every day, I hear stories from Rhode Islanders about the harmful effects of sequestration on their lives and livelihoods. We seek public office to represent the interests of our constituents, and to give a voice to those who can't always speak for themselves. We must work together to help grow the economy and provide for investments in education, military readiness, research, public safety, infrastructure, and the health of our country.

I urge my Republican colleagues to reject this highly damaging funding bill and join Democrats in passing a budget that addresses sequestration so we can alleviate the persistent a drag on our economic recovery. We owe it to the hardworking families and business owners who are looking to us for stability, certainty and opportunity.

Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained on rollcall votes 437, 438, and 439. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on each of those questions.

Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Nadler

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, this appropriations measure fails at every level to meet our Nation's transportation infrastructure needs, support our States' housing initiatives, or further our community development goals.

I would like to take a moment to highlight a few of the most egregious cuts in the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill before us today because it's important for my constituents in Rhode Island to hear exactly what's being proposed here today.

We all recognize clearly that some cuts in Federal spending are unavoidable. In certain cases, they're even desirable in the current budgetary environment. But this bill goes far beyond what's reasonable by reneging on the spirit of the agreed-to spending levels in the Budget Control Act. The cuts in this bill to the Community Development Block Grant program, the HOME grant, and transportation investments endanger the well-being of America's cities and towns, as well as our residents.

Expanding economic opportunities and creating jobs continue to be my top priorities in Congress. It's exactly what this Nation needs right now. It's certainly what we need in Rhode Island, given the fact we have the fourth highest unemployment rate in the Nation. Regrettably, this bill achieves neither of these goals. The Congressional Budget Office estimated just last week the sequestration would result in 1.6 million fewer American jobs by the end of September 2014. Yet my Republican colleagues have decided to double down on this reckless policy by crafting the T-HUD bill with the assumption that sequestration remains in effect.

These cuts translate into real jobs and real benefits to our communities. Just 2 weeks ago, I celebrated a $10

million Federal TIGER grant award that will be used to help Rhode Island replace the aging Providence Viaduct. It's part of the I-95 corridor that goes right through the center of Providence. This bill eliminates the TIGER grant program.

In April, our State Department of Transportation unveiled plans to improve the Providence Amtrak station. The station serves over 1 million Amtrak and commuter rail passengers each year, benefiting our entire State, as well as neighboring ones with multimodal connections from Providence to the Boston metropolitan area. This bill cuts Amtrak funding by 33 percent, endangering further improvements to important interstate transportation infrastructure.

In June, Rhode Islanders celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 618. Their 1,000 members take us to school, work, to the doctor, and to the grocery store quickly and safely every day. Public transportation decreases congestion, pollution, and individual fuel costs; it connects us to recreation, family, and community; and it creates jobs in the short term, while supporting careers over the long term. This bill cuts transit funding by 17 percent from last year.

It also delivers a 25 percent cut to the Housing Counseling Assistance Fund, which helped over 2,000 Rhode Island families last year stay in their homes, avoid foreclosure, or refinance their mortgage. This bill would cut the HOME program by $300 million, a 30 percent reduction from pre-sequestration levels. HOME is a critical resource that's used to develop affordable housing for those who need it most. It has resulted in over 4,200 units in Rhode Island alone being created.

Meanwhile, homeless families, the most vulnerable among us, once again will feel the full brunt of the majority's misplaced priorities. In 2012, over 4,800 Rhode Islanders found themselves homeless, one- quarter of them children. The State homeless assistance programs depend on Federal support to operate shelters to help move people to a permanent housing solution; yet H.R. 2610 does not come close to adequately funding these programs, placing thousands of Rhode Island families in even further jeopardy.

By cutting the administrative fund for section 8, this bill seeks to undermine the very integrity of that program. Those seeking housing assistance vouchers will find agencies understaffed, underfunded, and unable to serve the millions who depend on section 8 to stay in affordable housing. This is outrageous.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, this bill cuts the CDBG program by almost 50 percent, an unacceptable and draconian move that will cripple the neighborhoods that need the most help. These grants are the cornerstone of local investment opportunities. For every dollar spent on CDBG grants, $3 is leveraged from private, nonprofit, and other non-Federal funding sources. The organizations working with CDBG funds use them for employment services, homeless assistance, child care, senior care, mental health outreach, and countless other services. I'm sad to see that the committee has decided that this is not worth the investment.

This bill is misguided, and I hope we will rethink this. I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, before I begin, I want to first congratulate the chairman, the gentleman from Florida, and the ranking member for their important work on this legislation before us today.

Madam Chair, it's no surprise to any of us that the United States Navy, with its critical role in our national defense, faces ever- increasing global threats and a significant resource-constrained environment. To maintain undersea dominance in maritime regions of economic and military importance to the United States, the Navy requires disruptive technologies that can be rapidly developed, demonstrated, evaluated, and fielded to counter other nations' expanding undersea capabilities, and to extend the Navy's reach and persistence.

The Advanced Submarine Systems Development program supports innovative and promising undersea technologies, including Unmanned Undersea Vehicles, or UUVs, as we know them, for the delivery of new and needed capability to the undersea domain.

However, under the current acquisition plan, the Navy may not have the new technologies it needs to meet requirements in this domain until after 2020. So my amendment reduces the appropriation for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide, Office of Secretary of Defense by $22 million and transfers this amendment to RDT&E, Navy, for the purpose of supporting Advanced Submarine Systems Development.

This represents a funding increase to the level authorized by the Armed Services Committee and this House in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. It has been scored as reducing outlays by $3 million by CBO.

Unmanned systems, such as the Predator in the Air Force, provide increased performance for many missions and have truly revolutionized modern warfare. Autonomous undersea vehicles can add significant capabilities to the Navy's systems and platforms and act as a force multiplier for long-endurance, hazardous, or high-threat missions where humans are limited in mission success.

In response to a question I asked at a hearing earlier this year before the Armed Services Committee, Navy Secretary Lehman stated that, and I quote:

These underwater systems, UUVs and USVs, can be relatively

more useful in undersea warfare than their airborne

counterparts are to surface and air forces.

While the Navy recognizes the promise of these

technologies, at a time of shrinking budgets, new

technologies, without existing bureaucratic and industry

supporters, tend to suffer disproportionate cuts and

cancellations, compared to programs with political and

bureaucratic constituencies and must be actively protected by

Congress.

So with this, Madam Chair, support of this program will help accelerate the integration of UUVs and other autonomous undersea technologies and payloads into the Navy for the full spectrum of military needs and potentially

speed the eventual availability of these capabilities to civilian purposes such as energy exploration and environmental monitoring, just as happened with aerial vehicles.

My amendment accomplishes this in a fully competitive way accelerating, rather than disrupting, the existing development process and enabling earlier support of COCOM-defined operational needs.

With that, I urge support of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I appreciate the comments that the chairman has just made. I'd just point out that in the Defense authorization bill this was authorized at the higher level. And the information I have from program managers is that they could, in fact, absorb and make important use of these funds in speeding these technologies to the warfighter and enhancing our undersea capabilities.

With that, I would urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend and cheer America's deaf athletes and the United States Deaf Sports Federation, USADSF, in their representation of the United States of America at the upcoming 2013 Summer Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Summer Deaflympics have been held every four years since 1924 and the Winter Deaflympics since 1949--making the Deaflympics the second- oldest international sports games after the Olympics.

From July 26, 2013, through August 4, 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria, will host the 2013 Summer Deaflympics. Over 180 deaf and hard of hearing athletes and coaches will train and travel to Sofia to represent the United States in 11 sports. They have trained their entire lives for the honor and privilege of representing their country in international competition. Their achievements are extraordinary, and I know my colleagues join me in feeling great pride in all they have accomplished.

USADSF was established in 1945 and represents over 100,000 deaf and hard of hearing athletes in the United States and nearly 1,500 individual member organizations. USADSF fosters and regulates rules of competition and provides social outlets for deaf athletes and their friends. It serves as a parent organization of national deaf sports organizations, conducts annual deaf sports athletic competitions, and assists in the participation of American teams in international competition.

USADSF is run by volunteers, who give of their time, talent, and resources for the love of the games and the athletes.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate all the athletes, coaches, and support staff from the United States for earning a place to represent our country at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics and I commend USADSF for their efforts in supporting them.

I urge my colleagues to join me in cheering our American athletes on to success at the games, and to co-sponsor my bipartisan resolution honoring their achievements. This resolution, which I introduced today, calls on all members to honor and support our delegation and wishes them well as they represent our country against the world.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, this bill fails to enact real reform, put students first, or invest in a well-educated and highly trained workforce. In particular, it neglects to hold schools accountable for student success and does not invest in quality teacher education development programs.

Of additional concern is that H.R. 5 reverses decades of protections for students with disabilities. Now, I cannot support a bill that undoes so much of what we have fought for and accomplished over the past 30 years. Instead, I'll support the substitute offered by Ranking Member Miller, which addresses many of the concerns that I have and with whom I was proud to work on a provision which includes comprehensive career counseling as an allowable use of local funds.

As cochair of the Career and Technical Education Caucus, I know that school counselors play a critical role in helping students move into careers that meet their individual needs, whether it's at a 4-year university, a 2-year degree, or professional certification.

I believe that the ranking member's provision is the best way to go, and I do thank the ranking member for offering his amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill, which cuts off nutrition assistance to millions of Americans, including thousands of Rhode Islanders.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule; and to the total elimination of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the underlying Farm Bill.

Three weeks ago, the House voted down the Republican-led Farm Bill, rejecting its draconian cuts to SNAP as unnecessarily harmful. The bill before us today contains virtually the same farm provisions, only this time it omits any and all funding for nutrition assistance. Splitting agricultural and nutrition policy sets a terrible precedent. In fact, over 500 agricultural groups oppose this bill, as do environmental and animal welfare advocates.

In the wealthiest nation in human history, it is unconscionable that every American cannot afford life's basic necessities. SNAP helps millions of Americans living in poverty put food

on the table. Eighty percent of the households receiving SNAP earn below the federal poverty level, making it a vital form of assistance for working families.

Last month, I proudly joined a group of my Democratic colleagues in taking the SNAP challenge, a commitment to living on no more than $4.50 in daily food costs. Every member of Congress should experience what it's like to subsist on such a paltry sum and should understand the impact of the decisions we make on the lives of the constituents we represent.

When we take food off of the plates of hungry children, we have a moral obligation to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions. Under this bill, thousands of Rhode Island families will see their SNAP benefits evaporate. This isn't a solution; it's a bait and switch that I cannot support.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule and reject the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because every American deserves access to an affordable education. Unfortunately, high costs keep too many students from realizing this dream. Last Monday, the interest rates on subsidized student loans doubled to 6.8 percent. We have the ability to fix this, and the time to act is now.

This week, the Senate will vote on a plan to lower interest rates to 3.4 percent for another year. Authored by my friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Jack Reed, this bill is a commonsense solution to another self-imposed crisis. I realize, as does my colleague from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), that over 40,000 Rhode Island students receive subsidized Stafford loans and will soon be making financial decisions for the upcoming school year.

If education is truly the great equalizer, if it's the thing that's going to help our students achieve their own path to success and truly grow our economy, then how can we justify making it less accessible to the most economically disadvantaged?

Mr. Speaker, we must act today to help students access higher education. I urge the Senate to pass this bill and the House to take it up without delay.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 299, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Amendment No. 9 Offered by Mr. Broun of Georgia

Mr. Speaker, in 3 short days, the student loan interest rate is set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent unless Congress takes action. This is unacceptable. College is already too expensive for far too many young people, and doubling the interest rate on student loans will only make things worse. We should be working together to solve this looming crisis.

Regrettably, the only vote we have had on this is a Republican-led bill that would make college more expensive and prevent students from locking in a fixed rate. By the time 2013's freshmen graduate, they will be paying more than double today's current rate for subsidized Stafford loans.

Rather than waging another partisan fight on a bill that will not pass in the Senate and the President is prepared to veto, we should consider legislation that has a chance of becoming law and that will provide real relief to students and their families. I, therefore, strongly urge House Republican leaders to allow a vote on legislation I proudly cosponsored by Congressman Courtney of Connecticut to extend the current low rate for an additional 2 years.

It is a moral and economic imperative that we provide a top-notch education to every student in this country regardless of their financial means. Congress must act to fix this problem, and the clock is ticking.