Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this House faces a historic test. Will we act decisively to deal with some of the most destructive crimes in our society, violent assaults against victims who are singled out solely because someone doesn't like who they are?

Whether committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability of the victim, these violent acts are particularly reprehensible because they target not just an individual but an entire group. These crimes do, and are often intended to, spread terror among all members of the group. They're intended to say to members of a group, don't be who you are. Don't go where you're not wanted. Do not exercise your civil rights to be yourself, to speak publicly, to go wherever you want.

This bill enables the Federal Government to intervene, so as to punish such crimes and protect the rights of individuals and of groups unpopular in some quarters.

Do not believe the scare tactics. This bill does not criminalize thoughts or speech. No one will be prosecuted because of what they say or think. No preacher need worry about a sermon. Only crimes of violence are punishable under this bill.

The law routinely looks to the motivation behind a criminal act and treats the more heinous of them differently. Manslaughter is different from premeditated murder, which is different from a contract killing. We punish crimes differently if they are terrorist acts, defined as violent crimes that ``appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population.''

Existing civil rights laws take a similar approach. A person who uses force to interfere with someone's federally protected rights such as voting, working, attending school and the like, commits a Federal crime. And that's been the law for many years. We treat an act of violence more seriously if the intent is to deny someone his or her civil rights.

The only question this bill presents to Members is whether we believe people assaulted violently because of their identity deserve Federal protection.

For many years Congress refused to adopt antilynching laws. Those were not proud times in our Nation's history. We now have the opportunity to do the right thing. I hope we do.

Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, April 1, 2009, during consideration of the End GREED Act (H.R. 1575), my vote was recorded as ``no'' on final passage of the bill (rollcall No. 178). I intended to vote ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention once again to the crisis in Darfur and to thank the Genocide Prevention Project, Darfur advocates, and survivors of past genocides who have come together to mark this April as Genocide Prevention Month in order to raise critical awareness.

In April 2009, the slaughter in Darfur will enter its seventh year. During that time roughly 450,000 have been killed and more than two million displaced. It is an international disgrace that on this April anniversary of the start of the genocide, the people of Darfur are suffering more than ever. Just recently thirteen international aid organizations were expelled from the area, severing the final lifeline. It is imperative that they be allowed to return.

Along with Darfur, past civilian slaughters similarly mark anniversaries in April. These include the tragedies of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Armenia. With this significance of April in mind, survivors of atrocity crimes have untied with advocates to observe Genocide Prevention Month this month--as a way to remind the world of its responsibility to the people of Darfur and to protect other civilian populations under threat. In April, survivors, and their descendents and supporters, will honor their dead with more than one hundred events. The plea at these events will be for protection for the people in Darfur and an effective global genocide prevention system.

To launch the month-long commemoration, more than sixty survivor and anti-genocide organizations from around the world have signed the following statement:

``Remarkably, six genocides have major anniversaries in the

month of April--a tragic testament to the international

community's inexcusable failure to stop inhuman and barbarous

acts.

This April, we--survivors of genocide and mass atrocities,

their descendants, and anti-genocide advocates--will honor

those who were lost and those who survived. And we will urge

immediate action to stop the ongoing Darfur genocide.

Our collective voices will remind the international

community to make its commitment to mass atrocity prevention

absolute. Until we do, we are destined to repeat the most

shameful chapters in human history.''

I now would like to enter into the Congressional Record a copy of this statement along with a list of the organizations that have signed it. I want to thank all of those involved in this effort. Their work is critical in making sure people never forget the human suffering in Darfur and commit themselves to preventing or stopping genocide, wherever and whenever it may occur.

Genocide Prevention Month Statement

Remarkably, six genocides have major anniversaries in the

month of April--a tragic testament to the international

community's inexcusable failure to stop inhuman and barbarous

acts.

This April, we--survivors of genocide and mass atrocities,

their descendants, and anti-genocide advocates--will honor

those who were lost and those who survived. And we will urge

immediate action to stop the ongoing Darfur genocide.

Our collective voices will remind the international

community to make its commitment to mass atrocity prevention

absolute. Until we do, we are destined to repeat the most

shameful chapters in human history.

Advocacy Project, Aegis Trust, Americans Against the

Darfur Genocide, Armenian Assembly of America, American

Jewish World Service, Armenian National Committee of

America, Armenian National Committee of Canada,

Armenian Youth Federation, Eastern USA, Awareness

Unlimited, Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at

NYU, Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy

(CAHRAD), Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in

Sudan, Center for Social Development (Phnom Penh,

Cambodia), Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness

and Action, Council for Prejudice Reduction, Citizens

for Global Solutions, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and

Democracy, Darfur Alert Coalition, Dear Sudan, Do

Something, Dream for Darfur.

Educating Against Prejudices, Bosnian Library at the

Conrard Sulzer Public Library of Chicago, Foundation

Rwanda, FRA Nor Seround--Nouvelle Generation

Armenienne, Generations of the Shoah International,

Genocide Intervention Network, Genocide Prevention

Project, Genocide Watch, Great Rainbow, I Stop

Genocide, IBUKA, Institute for the Study of Genocide,

International Association of Genocide Scholars,

Investors Against Genocide, Kentuckiana Interfaith

Taskforce on Darfur, Khmer Legacies, Kigali Genocide

Memorial Centre, Jewish Community Relations Council of

the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Liquidnet

Holdings, Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur,

Minnesota Interfaith Darfur Coalition, Miracle Corners

of the World, Mothers of Srebrenica.

New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, New Jersey

Responds to the Crisis in Darfur Coalition, Pittsburgh

Darfur Emergency Coalition, Public Interest Projects,

Righteous Pictures, Save Darfur Coalition, Second

Generation of Los Angeles (Children of Holocaust

Survivors), Society for Threatened People, South

African Holocaust Foundation, Southeast Asia Resource

Action Center, Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom,

STAND, Stop Genocide Now, Survivors Fund (SURF), The

Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, The Sparks

Fly Upward Foundation, Three Generations, UN Watch,

Voice of Witness, Youth Initiative for Human Rights.

Point of order, Mr. Chairman.

The gentleman from Georgia obtained the floor in opposition after stating that he was not opposed and then stating that he was opposed. We have not heard a word of opposition to the amendment. We have heard some skepticism about the bill, but we have not heard a word about opposition to the amendment. I think, as a matter of order, that we are entitled to hear opposition to the amendment so I can make up my mind on this amendment.

That is not in opposition to the amendment. That is in opposition to the bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor the life of acclaimed Russian-Jewish writer and humorist Mr. Sholem Aleichem, whose 150th birthday was this past Monday, March 2, and to congratulate Limmund FSU on the events it is sponsoring this week in New York City, Tel Aviv, and Kiev to commemorate this momentous event.

Born as Sholem Rabinovitch on March 2, 1859 in Pereyaslav, Ukraine, Sholem Aleichem showed his writing talents at a young age. In 1879, he began publishing stories in Hebrew. Just a few years later, in 1883, he began publishing stories in Yiddish and, because Yiddish was not considered by some appropriate for legitimate writing, he adopted his now famous pseudonym: Sholem Aleichem.

This was the beginning of a long and distinguished literary career, in which Sholem Aleichem wrote and published dozens of short stories, plays, and novels in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Russian. He is best known for his writing in Yiddish and his role as one of the preeminent Yiddish authors. His efforts, through his own works and his promotion of the writing of others, did as much as anyone to promote Yiddish as an art form.

His works were widely popular, as they were both meaningful and humorous with an ability to teach and entertain. They also reflected the real lives and problems of their readers. Through his work, Sholem Aleichem left behind a rich portrayal of Jewish life and culture in Eastern Europe and Russia at the turn of the century. In fact, it was his stories that were the inspiration for the popular musical, Fiddler on the Roof. It is no wonder that he became known as the ``Jewish Mark Twain.''

Well after his death in New York City in 1916, his popularity continues to this day. His timeless works have been translated into many languages, including English, making accessible his unique literary talents to millions more. Monuments have been erected to him in Kiev and Moscow. And, in New York City, East 33rd Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, is named ``Sholem Aleichem Place.'' It is only fitting that we pause on this, the occasion of his 150th birthday, to celebrate Sholem Aleichem and his contribution both to Jewish life and culture and to humanity as a whole.

Indeed, people will be remembering Sholem Aleichem all around the world thanks to the efforts of Limmund FSU. Limmund FSU is a volunteer organization whose goal is to help build bridges between Russian- speaking Jews and their Jewish history and culture. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Limmund FSU on the events it is sponsoring this week to honor Sholem Aleichem. It could not have picked a better person to honor and I want to thank everyone involved for their tremendous efforts.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is an opportunity for Members to help families who are about to lose their homes thanks to a terrible combination of job loss, spiraling health costs, declining home values, and predatory lending practices. It will, among other things, correct a 30-year-old anomaly in the bankruptcy code.

If you're a family farmer, you're allowed to use bankruptcy to modify your mortgage. We enacted that law in 1986 during the farm foreclosure crisis. It was a success, and we made it permanent 3 years ago. If you're a real estate speculator or if you own 5 or 20 or 50 homes, you can modify your mortgage in bankruptcy. If you're a major corporation, you can modify all of your loans and contracts in bankruptcy. The only exception is the family home. Yet, while millions of middle class families are on the verge of losing their homes, much of the banking industry and some Members of this House are still opposed to providing the same relief to the middle class that is now enjoyed by farmers, speculators, the wealthy, and major corporations.

Lenders warn that we can't save the family home because it will increase borrowing costs for everyone else. This is the same industry that in 2005 told us that making bankruptcy more onerous would reduce people's interest costs by $400 per year on their credit cards. Nothing of the sort happened, of course.

The banks have received billions of dollars from the taxpayers to keep the industry afloat, but they scream at the thought of our helping a few thousand families. I have nothing against Wall Street. In fact, it's in my district, but it is time we did something for the middle class homeowner. We tried the voluntary modification route without success. Maybe the programs in this bill will all work this time, but families getting thrown out of their homes shouldn't have to wait for Congress to figure out how to get banks to save the middle class. The banks have failed to save troubled homeowners. We must not fail. For every day we delay, the crisis deepens. People's lives hang in the balance. It is time we put American families first.

I urge my colleagues to support the rule, to support this legislation and to end this anomaly in the bankruptcy code that affects only homeowners. Let them enjoy the same rights as everyone else.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Gerald Schoenfeld, who, as chairman of the Shubert Organization for more than 3 decades, was instrumental in revitalizing theater in New York and in making Broadway a national brand.

The Shubert Organization owns and operates theaters in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. On Broadway, where it is preeminent in theatrical influence, the organization owns 17 theaters, most of which are in my Congressional District. Additionally, the Shubert Foundation provides major support to nonprofit theaters and dance companies across the country.

Gerry Shoenfeld believed that the Shubert Organization was much more than a custodian of theaters. In fact, the organization invested in and produced many significant plays and musicals, winning numerous Tony Awards. With his friend and business partner Bernard Jacobs, Gerry Schoenfeld was involved in presenting or producing everything from popular blockbusters, like Cats and Phantom of the Opera, to critically acclaimed productions like The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Amadeus, Dreamgirls, Sunday in the Park With George, The Real Thing, and The Heidi Chronicles. Again with Jacobs, Schoenfeld was instrumental in moving A Chorus Line from the New York Shakespeare Festival to Broadway, where it ran for 15 years.

Gerry Schoenfeld knew all the players, big and small, in the Broadway theatrical community and in the world beyond it. His dedication to Shubert employees was legendary. He knew everyone from the box office workers to the backstage crewmembers by name, and often spent his Saturdays making the rounds of the Shubert theaters, personally ensuring that things were running the way he wanted them to.

Perhaps one of his most important contributions lay in his tireless efforts to demonstrate how powerful an economic engine the theater industry is, not only for New York, but also for the nation. Still another achievement was his success in spearheading the effort to make New York's theater district and the surrounding Times Square area family-friendly destinations.

A native New Yorker, Schoenfeld attended local public schools, graduated from the University of Illinois, served in the Army during World War II, and earned a law degree from New York University's School of Law. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a faculty member of Columbia University's School of the Arts. American theater suffered a true loss with the death of Gerald Shoenfeld on November 25, 2008 at the age of 84.

Madam Speaker, it is fitting that Gerald Schoenfeld, who left such an important legacy to Broadway and to America, be remembered and honored.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Richard D. Burns, Executive Director of New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) Community Center. Mr. Burns proudly serves as the longest-serving Executive Director of any LGBT organization in the United States.

A graduate of Hamilton College and the Northeastern University School of Law, Mr. Burns has built a long and distinguished career of public service, diligently leading a number of important service and advocacy organizations through the years.

This year, while celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Center has grown to become the largest LGBT multi-service organization on the East Coast and the second-largest LGBT community center in the world. More than 6,000 people and 300 groups meet there every week. As a mark of his achievements, Mr. Burns was inducted into OMB Watch's Public Interest Hall of Fame at their 25th Anniversary celebration in September 2008.

Before joining The LGBT Center in December of 1986, Mr. Burns acted as President of the Board of Directors and as Managing Editor of the Gay Community News in Massachusetts.

Mr. Burns has served on the Board of Directors of the Non-Profit Coordinating Committee since 1987. In addition, he is an active member and past Co-Chair of CenterLink, an association of LGBT Community Centers which he co-founded in 1994. Today, CenterLink is the national voice for nearly 150 LGBT community centers across the country as a result of his dedication.

Mr. Burns also serves on the Citizen's Advisory Committee of New York City's Human Resources Administration and is the founder of the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network. And Mr. Burns is a member of the Steering Committee of the National LGBT Executive Directors Leadership Institute, a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Policy Roundtable.

Today I rise to recognize and congratulate Richard D. Burns for 22 years of outstanding and dedicated service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of New York, and for his groundbreaking work as Executive Director of The LGBT Center.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment increases transit capital funding by $3 billion to $12 billion. $1.5 billion will go to the Transit Capital Formula Program, which goes to every State, including both urban and rural areas, and $1.5 billion to the New Starts program. The amendment is supported by numerous transportation, labor, and environmental organizations. I have been informed the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO will be scoring the amendment, and the League of Conservation Voters may be scoring it as well.

This amendment has broad support because people all over the country recognize that investing in transit is one of the smartest things we can do to create jobs here in America, to reduce congestion and dependence on foreign oil, and spur economic growth.

I urge support for the amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman.

At this point, Mr. Chairman, I now yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman of the Transportation Committee, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Mr. Chairman, I now yield 10 seconds to the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin.

That was less than 10 seconds.

Mr. Chairman, I now yield 45 seconds to the distinguished chairman of the Highway and Transit Subcommittee, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

(Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon).

I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Maffei).

(Mr. MAFFEI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I want to say that I appreciate the support of this amendment on a broad bipartisan basis, from Mr. Mica, the ranking member of the Transportation Committee, from Chairman Oberstar, and from the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Obey. I urge everyone to vote for it. This $3 billion will make a tremendous difference to mass transit, to new starts in every State in the Union.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 is necessary to overturn the Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear. In that decision, this Supreme Court once again went out of its way to read our anti-discrimination laws as narrowly as possible, and refused to interpret the law as intended by Congress. In doing so, the Court said something astonishing: the only discriminatory act was the initial decision to pay Lilly Ledbetter less than her male coworkers. Once the employer had successfully concealed that fact from her for 180 days, she was out of luck, and Goodyear could go on paying her less--just because she is a woman--forever. The 180-day deadline to sue had passed. The decision to discriminate was illegal, but paying her less than her male colleagues from that moment forward was not.

This is astonishing because it rewards employers who successfully conceal pay discrimination and makes it virtually impossible for employees to challenge such discrimination. It is also astonishing because--17 years ago when it passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991-- Congress rejected the reasoning that the Supreme Court relied upon in its Ledbetter decision. Through the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Congress rejected the Supreme Court's conclusion that a statute of limitations begins to run when an employer adopts a discriminatory seniority system and does not restart when the discriminatory effects of that system are felt. Congress made clear that it was rejecting this reasoning in the context of discriminatory seniority systems, which was the question presented by the Lorance case, and in all other contexts as well.

Until its Ledbetter decision, the Supreme Court seemed to have gotten Congress's message. In Ledbetter, however, the Supreme Court relied upon the faulty reasoning in Lorance and ruled, once again, that a statute of limitations runs only from the time that a discriminatory decision is made. Now we're called upon to do it over again. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will hear us once and for all and interpret statute of limitation periods as we intend. Thus, while Ledbetter addresses discrimination in employment, our passage of this bill expresses broad disapproval of the Court's reasoning in any context where it might be applied. Within the specific context of pay discrimination, our use of the phrase ``discriminatory compensation decision or other practice'' should be read broadly, and to include any practice--including, for example, seniority or pension practices--that impact overall compensation.

I urge adoption of The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution honoring the heroic actions of the pilot, crew and rescue teams with respect to US Airways Flight 1549. When that flight suffered catastrophic engine damage shortly after takeoff, Captain Chesley B. ``Sully'' Sullenberger, III, took prompt action. Faced with the very real prospect of losing the lives of all the passengers and crew, he maintained his calm and executed a textbook water landing. His flawless technique and quick judgment allowed him to bring the plane down in one piece and to avoid collisions with any of the countless vessels sailing the river. There is no doubt that his years of service as a decorated pilot in the U.S. Air Force helped prepare him for the difficult task that he confronted that day.

His efforts were aided by the heroic actions of his crew, who quickly completed an orderly evacuation of the frightened passengers, and of the very many people from the local organizations, such as New York Waterways, the fire department, the police department, the Coast Guard and others who all rallied to the rescue.

The bravery and the selflessness on the part of Captain Sullenberger and his crew were matched by the swift response from local police and fire departments. The first responders were able to reach the plane within 2 minutes and begin to rescue the stranded passengers. This rapid response was crucial to the survival of the passengers and the crew as the plane had landed in the middle of a busy waterway with air temperatures well below freezing.

I would point out that since World War II, there are a number of cases of aircraft that had to land in the water, commercial aircraft, major commercial airlines that had landed in the water, and in every case except this one, at least half the passengers died. In this case, not one single passenger, not one single crew member died. There was not even a really serious injury because of the flawless performance of the pilot in bringing the plane down in one piece, even so it didn't tip over, making sure it missed the George Washington Bridge and still landed right next to the ferry terminals where there were ferry boats waiting.

There could have been no better expertise and display of heroism and skill than that shown by the pilot and his crew and by passengers, too.

And finally the staff of the many hospitals that cared for the injured passengers deserve our praise as well. We thank the staff at St. Vincent's Hospital, New York Downtown Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Jersey City Medical Center and Meadowlands Hospital.

So, Madam Speaker, I'm proud that we have convened here today to honor all those involved in the safe return of 155 people. Acting with no small measure of heroism, these ordinary citizens lived up to the highest ideals of their professions and deserve the most sincere admiration and respect of this Congress.

Madam Speaker, it's been 46 years since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Yet women still earn on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and the promise of pay equity remains unfulfilled. And the Supreme Court's Lilly Ledbetter decision makes it almost impossible to challenge Federal discrimination.

This bill will overturn that decision. Last year, the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, which I chair, held a hearing on the Ledbetter case and heard directly from Lilly Ledbetter who eloquently described the terrible injustice of the Court's decision.

The Court held that although Ms. Ledbetter had lost thousands of dollars of pay because of intentional sex discrimination, she could not sue because the employer had successfully hidden its own misconduct and discrimination for more than 6 months. This decision makes it almost impossible to enforce the right to be paid the same regardless of race or sex, et cetera. This must be changed, and this bill changes that.

The need for the Paycheck Fairness Act is equally clear. Unfair pay disparities require workers and their families to live on less than they rightfully deserve and reduce retirement earnings.

I urge adoption of both bills.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 8, a few minutes ago, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate The Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York as they commemorate the 225th anniversary of Evacuation Day.

The Sons of the Revolution in New York is an organization which keeps alive the memory of the men who achieved American independence through military, naval, or civil service. They also promote and assist in celebrating the anniversaries of events which relate to the War of the Revolution.

November 25th is the anniversary of Evacuation Day, which signaled the end of the Revolutionary War when the last British troops departed Manhattan. Though the importance of this day is sometimes forgotten, the Sons of the Revolution have kept its memory alive. This year they are hosting a parade on November 22nd to commemorate the 225th anniversary of the British evacuation of New York.

Once again, I offer my heart-felt congratulations to the Sons of the Revolution at the time of this celebration. As representative of the 8th Congressional District of New York, I am honored to have such distinguished citizens working in my district to keep the history of America alive.

Madam Speaker, I voted against the Iraq war resolution, the PATRIOT Act, the FISA Act amendments; and I led the opposition to the bankruptcy bill just a few years ago, in each case because I thought we were being railroaded into unwise actions through the use of fear tactics. But I do not believe that to be the case now. Now we face a very real crisis.

The credit markets are shutting down. People will not be able to get car loans, loans for store inventories. There will be thousands of bank failures, millions of job losses. I believe we stand now literally on the brink of the abyss, and that we haven't seen such a situation since 1931.

This is in many ways a weak bill. There should have been far more help for people facing foreclosures. There should have been bankruptcy reforms. There should have been real revenues to pay for it. There should have been a real stimulus to the economy. But this is the only bill that could be agreed upon now.

We are not sure this bill will solve the crisis, but it might. It will buy us time for a better solution. As between a certainty of catastrophe and a possibility of averting that catastrophe, I will vote for the possibility of averting the catastrophe. I urge everyone else to do so.