Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 1585, the ``Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act.'' This legislation will help combat the obesity epidemic facing our youth by promoting physical education for students by providing grants to schools, requiring State and local officials to report the progress on these initiatives, and improving teacher training.

Let me be frank, we are facing a childhood obesity epidemic in our country. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control found that obesity rate for children ages 12 to 19 is 17.6 percent and we can not allow this to continue. Today's legislation is a first step in correcting this disturbing trend by acknowledging that the whole community must actively participate in promoting healthy lifestyles for children. First, it requires all schools, districts and States to report on quantity and quality of physical education. In addition, grants are provided to support school counseling and community learning centers in order to boost children's nutritional and physical education. It also revises the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education.

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, this Congress passed historic health care reform legislation. The new law will change the lives of millions of Americans who could not get access to health care. While I believe this was a necessary law, we must also provide our children with the resources to live long and healthy lives. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1276, which commemorates the anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and calls on the American people to consider volunteering in their communities. The Serve America Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on April 21, 2009, created additional service and volunteer opportunities for Americans by expanding and strengthening existing federal grants and programs that provide community service.

The Serve America Act provides 175,000 new service opportunities, which more than triples the number of nationwide volunteers involved in these programs. This legislation includes initiatives to increase energy conservation, improve the health status of economically disadvantaged individuals, and enhance economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals. Additionally, the Serve America Act enhanced the existing learning programs of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, by providing year round opportunities to improve the education of children and youth. The volunteers involved in these programs should be applauded for working to address some of the grave problems that impact many of their fellow Americans.

My friend, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, came from a family with a long legacy of serving our country. Today, we take time to honor his memory, his outstanding commitment to the public service, and this final legislative triumph. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, on April 21, 2010, I regret that I was not present to vote on S. 1963, H. Res. 1104, and H. Res. 1216.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all votes.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution honors the life and achievements of my dear friend, the late Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks.

With Dr. Hooks's passing last week, our nation lost a champion for justice and an iconic figure of the Civil Rights Movement.

Personally, I will never forget the genuine spirit and talent Dr. Hooks had in inspiring every individual he encountered. This spirit of Dr. Hooks is what we celebrate today.

In addition to being a dedicated civil rights advocate, Dr. Hooks was an accomplished attorney and judge, a government servant, and a respected Minister of the Gospel.

He served as the Executive Director of the NAACP for fifteen years. He was also the first African-American appointed as Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, and the first African-American criminal court judge in Tennessee.

Dr. Hooks was the founder of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. He also founded the Children's Health Forum in 2002.

And the list of his accomplishments goes on.

Today, I would like to touch on three significant points.

First, Dr. Hooks's leadership in the Civil Rights Movement was shaped by his firm belief that education and non-violent activism could lift the oppressed.

He once said: ``There are a lot of ways an oppressed people can rise. One way to rise is to study, to be smarter than your oppressor. The concept of rising against oppression through physical contact is stupid and self-defeating . . . the most enduring contributions made to civilization have not been made by brawn, they have been made by brain.''

Dr. Hooks's own life was a testament to the power of education to overcome racism and oppression. He studied pre-law at Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, TN. While in college, Dr. Hooks was required to use segregated lunch counters, water fountains, and restrooms.

But he was not deterred by these daily reminders of inequality--he finished his college education, and joined the U.S. Army in 1944.

Even in the Army, Dr. Hooks was subjected to discrimination--he found that prisoners of war were often given better eating accommodations than African-American soldiers.

Dr. Hooks's pursuit of a legal education was also full of obstacles, because no law school in his native State of Tennessee would admit him.

However, he persevered, and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul University College of Law in Illinois.

And he pledged to use his hard-earned legal education to further the Civil Rights Movement.

On my second point, Dr. Hooks's life's work resulted in the acceleration of significant changes towards equality in America.

It has been written that ``Often in the past, Benjamin Hooks's words have been heeded by his fellow Americans and have been turned into national policies that have benefitted the whole society.''

The Civil Rights Movement is woven from the work of many people who have tirelessly campaigned to end discrimination and racism in all its forms.

Dr. Hooks was a central thread in the patchwork of great civil rights leaders. His leadership in NAACP sit-ins and boycotts helped further the cause through non-violence.

And he applied his hard-earned education in his work with Thurgood Marshall and members of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership to create strategies in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

It is with great pride that I remember Dr. Hooks's fifteen years of leadership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). I attribute the success and the turn-around of the NAACP to my friend, Dr. Hooks.

His tailored focus on empowering black Americans, and his call to all Americans to continue pressing for equality, helped the NAACP combat racism, fight apartheid, and defend affirmative action.

Finally, I would like to celebrate my dear friend's commitment to public service, and to lifting up people from all walks of life.

Dr. Hooks never strayed from his focus on securing equality for all Americans.

In 1972, he became the first African-American to be appointed to the Federal Communications Commission. He used his tenure in this distinguished government position to actively promote the employment of African-Americans and other minorities in the broadcast industry.

Dr. Hooks saw his own success as an opportunity to help further the cause of equality and justice. He once said, ``Black men who have succeeded have an obligation to serve as role models for young men entrapped by a vicious cycle of poverty, despair, and hopelessness.''

I would like to commend my colleagues for their sponsorship of this resolution.

In particular, I would like to thank my good friend from Memphis, Tennessee, Steve Cohen, for working with me on this important resolution.

I would also like to commend the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith, for joining me in co-sponsoring it.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

Madam Speaker, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith and I would like to take this opportunity to thank one of the most dedicated and productive members of the Judiciary Committee staff for her service to the House, the Judiciary Committee's Chief Copyright Counsel, Stacey Dansky. For 8 years she has worked ably and diligently for the Judiciary Committee and we commend her for her achievements.

After graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University, Stacey earned her law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where she served as the Chief Notes Editor for the Texas Law Review. She clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston and later practiced law with the Washington firm of Williams & Connolly.

With the Judiciary Committee, Stacey has worked on a host of issues of national significance--principally in intellectual property policy, antitrust law, civil liberties and women's rights. Stacey's efforts proved critical to the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005, and she was instrumental in the House's overwhelming passage of the Free Flow of Information Act in 2007. From 2002 through 2008, Stacey served as the Chief Antitrust Counsel to the Democratic Members of the Committee. She helped coordinate the Committee's consideration of corporate mergers like those of XM-Sirius and Delta and Northwest Airlines, drafted legislation and organized hearings on net neutrality and telecommunications issues, and led the Committee's oversight efforts involving particular industries, including the oil and the credit card industries.

As the Committee's Chief Copyright Counsel, Stacey worked tirelessly on efforts to curb digital piracy, negotiate orphan works legislation, protect copyright in research publications and made invaluable contributions to the enactment of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 2008. She has deftly and expertly led the Committee's negotiations to extend and to update the satellite and cable compulsory licenses; as she has efforts to establish a full public performance right for sound recordings, set forth in H.R. 848, the ``Performance Rights Act.''

On behalf of the Judiciary Committee, its staff, and this distinguished body, we would like to thank Stacey for her commitment to the Committee and her exemplary work. Her humility, generosity, sense of humor and professionalism will be sorely missed. She has served as a cherished advisor to the Committee's members and as a colleague, mentor and friend to many present and former Committee staff members. We wish her the best of luck and extend to her our deepest gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4851, the ``Continuing Extension Act of 2010.'' Earlier today, the Senate passed this critically important measure, which will provide short term extensions to several lapsed programs, including extended unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance subsidies. The bill also ensures that physicians who care for Medicare patients will not suffer a debilitating cut in their reimbursement rates, which could potentially cause them to cease providing care.

We pass these needed and humane extensions tonight to ease the pain being felt by our fellow citizens around the country. I sincerely hope this is the last time we are forced to cut off this social lifeline because of the dilatory tactics of Senate Republicans. Food, shelter, and health care are too important to be subjected to petty political battles. I encourage all my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 222) recognizing the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States of America.

I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this resolution was brought to the Judiciary Committee's attention by our friend Solomon Ortiz of Texas, which recognizes the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and to the Nation in his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination. Dr. Garcia was born in Mexico, and his family settled in Mercedes, Texas. So this concurrent resolution recognizes the leadership and historical contributions of this great American.

It is singularly important to me that he graduated from a segregated high school in Texas. Segregated how? Well, it was segregated because Hispanics could not go to the schools that everybody else went to. Of course, African Americans couldn't either, so I guess they had two levels of segregation. Eventually, he got through the University of Texas, and then became a doctor. During World War II, he was a combat engineer, which is a field of the military that I, too, served in. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is my intention to yield to our colleague Mr. Ortiz, who has more detail that we can add to this, though, Madam Speaker, at this moment, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas, Solomon Ortiz, whom we recognize as the dean of the Hispanic Caucus and whom I thank for bringing to our attention this great Texan and American.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to Mr. Chet Edwards of Texas, a real leader on improving relations not just in Texas but across the country.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 25) granting the consent and approval of Congress to amendments made by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

This jurisdiction comes to the Judiciary Committee under the commerce clause, which says that all compacts must come through the committee. The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia is being replaced with the District of Columbia agency with oversight of matters relating to the commission. The State Corporation Commission of the Commonwealth of Virginia is being replaced with the Commonwealth's Department of Motor Vehicles.

There are a number of our colleagues in the Senate that should be thanked for helping expedite this matter: Senators Cardin, Mikulski, Mark Warner, and Jim Webb. We are grateful to them all.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution because it is obviously in the interests of all that this commission be governed by a three-member board with one representative each from the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland. I urge its support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4994, the ``Tax Assistance Act of 2010.'' With Tax Day around the corner, this Congress is continuing to build on its strong tax cutting record by instituting a series of commonsense tax cuts and credits. Among other things, this bill will require the IRS to pay interest when it sends taxpayer refunds late and end the outdated practice of requiring businesses to keep cumbersome records related to their cell phone use. It will also make Tax Day less stressful in 2011, by allowing the IRS to provide additional help to low income filers.

In addition to the commonsense, pro-business tax cuts found in this bill, this Tax Day, Americans across the country will also be able to enjoy the $800 billion in tax cuts aimed at working families enacted by this Congress. These include the Recovery Act, the largest health care tax cut in history, and tax credits and accelerated write offs for small businesses. Even Bruce Bartlett, President Reagan's domestic policy advisor, noted that ``federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president.''

As Americans file their 2009 income taxes, they may qualify for a series of other generous tax cuts--for example, you could save money for attending college, making energy-saving home improvements, purchasing a home for the first time, or buying a new car. Other benefits being claimed this year include:

The Making Work Pay tax credit--95 percent of working families are already receiving the Recovery Act's Making Work Pay tax credit of $400 for an individual or $800 for married couples filing jointly in their 2009 paychecks--and will continue to see these benefits in 2010.

Expanded family tax credits--moderate income families with children may be eligible for an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit and the additional Child Tax Credit.

Tax-free unemployment benefits--thanks to the Recovery Act, individuals who received unemployment insurance in 2009 do not have to pay taxes on the first $2,400 of such earnings.

I firmly believe that unemployment benefits should never be taxed and I pledge to work in

the coming tax year to enact legislation that would do away with this tax forever. In the meantime, I will continue to work with my colleagues to enact additional middle class tax cuts, like the Recovery Act and the Tax Assistance Act of 2010. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Res. 1246 with a heavy heart to express my deepest condolences to the country of Poland, its people, and the Polish American community. This weekend the country of Poland suffered a tragic loss. Saturday, I awoke to news that the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, Poland's first lady Maria Kaczynski, President of the Polish central bank, Slawomir Skrzypek, and many other high ranking military officials all died in a plane crash. The President and these other leaders were in route to Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the tragic massacre at Katyn.

Although these leaders will be missed, I have faith that many talented people in Poland will help their country emerge from this time of sorrow and mourning. I want to let the people of the country of Poland know that I and Metro Detroit's Polish American community extend our deepest sorrow and extend to you our thoughts and prayers in your time of need.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 4849, the ``Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010.'' Today's legislation would provide much needed tax relief to small businesses, as well as assistance to states for infrastructure projects, housing tax credits, and direct aid for communities hit the hardest by job losses. This is a very timely bill and will provide a real benefit to States suffering through periods of unemployment, like my own State of Michigan.

As we are all too aware, states have been struggling with staggering budget deficits and have painfully cut back on many vital programs. One of the important proposals within the Act would extend $2.5 billion funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund through 2011. TANF gives a one-time aid for needy families and subsidizes employment programs

I also support provisions in H.R. 4849 that would allocate over two billion dollars in additional funding for Recovery Zone bonds and extend the popular Build America Bonds initiative. Recovery Zone bonds are low interest bonds aimed at funding investment in economically depressed areas, such as my congressional district. Build America Bonds, lauded as one of the most successful parts of the Recovery Act, are bonds with tax exemption on interest and will be extended for three years under this bill. Build America Bonds will allow for the construction of new schools, roads, environmental projects, public safety facilities, and government housing projects.

Madam Speaker, this. Congress has passed sweeping legislation such as the Recovery Act, health insurance reform and fair pay for women. These actions have shown the American people that we can act in times of crisis. In this vein, I believe tax relief, coupled with aid to the States, can spur substantial job creation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, we are facing a crisis with our young adults--many of whom are unable to find work during this economic downturn. According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for 16 to 19 year olds is 25 percent. This is simply unacceptable and that is why I rise in support of the ``Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act of 2010.'' This legislation, offered by my good friend, the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, will help mitigate this emergency by providing funds to summer youth programs. The bill will also ensure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has adequate funds at its disposal to enable it to comprehensively and quickly respond to future natural disasters.

Today's legislation will appropriate funds to provide 300,000 youth workers a $600 million grant this summer. Furthermore, this appropriation will fund Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) that will expand programs previously funded in the Recovery Act. I believe this is an effective way to develop our young citizens' critical leadership skills, and practical training, and in helping them become productive members of society. I believe these programs will have a positive and lasting impact in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, the tragedy after hurricane Katrina highlighted the need for proper management and resources at FEMA. The proposal being considered today will give $5.1 billion to complete urgently needed projects and ensure they are fully equipped to respond to future disasters.

If we are to build a better America, we need to invest in our country. I believe the proposal today will make America a stronger country and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the American people's call to pass health reform, and I urge this body to pass this historic bill.

We are here at this moment, principally, because of one number: 45 million. These are the uninsured Americans, many of whom have lost their job and their health insurance in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Today's vote on this imperfect legislation is necessary because our fellow citizens desperately need access to affordable comprehensive health care services. This legislation will give them that foot in the door and pave the way for greater future reforms.

America remains the only nation in the industrialized world where health care is a for-profit corporate enterprise, where approximately 45,000 uninsured people die each year from lack of coverage, and over 1 million people go bankrupt each year.

Let me be clear. This is not a perfect bill. I would have preferred a different approach that covered more people. But let me address those who oppose this bill. Tomorrow, they are going to wake up and our democracy will still stand. We will continue to live in the greatest country with the hardest working, most patriotic, freedom-loving citizens on the planet.

The real impact of the bill will be felt tomorrow when:

Insurance companies can no longer drop a person's coverage once they become sick;

The average senior citizen will gain an additional $1,727 in prescription drug coverage; and

Our children cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions and will be covered under our policies until they are 26.

When health reform is fully enacted, approximately 31 million additional Americans will have access to health insurance, with 15 million of them receiving care via an improved Medicaid.

Don't let anyone fool you--Medicare will be strengthened by this bill. The only Medicare cuts in this bill are the billions in corporate welfare subsidies to health insurance companies that provide minimal benefit to seniors. The bill takes this wasteful spending and applies these funds to benefit consumers, not insurance companies. Medicare will become more affordable, offer more comprehensive benefits, and continue to provide peace of mind to America's seniors for years to come.

We will not end our efforts to improve our health system with the passage of this bill. Just as we have improved Medicare and Social Security, so too will we strengthen this initial package of reforms.

Members of the Senate Leadership have made it clear they will revisit the idea of a public health insurance plan this year. I call on my fellow progressives to hold firm in our insistence on such a vote. The health insurance monopolies fear the competition an efficient not-for- profit public health insurance plan would provide and that is exactly why we must have an up or down vote on this proposal.

I support a public health option because I fundamentally believe in the value of public health insurance. For this reason, I remain an ardent supporter of universal single-payer health care. This system has successfully provided quality, affordable, and cost-effective health care wherever implemented, whether with Medicare, the U.S. military, Europe, Taiwan, or Japan.

Adoption of a single-payer system is the only long-term means to eliminate the corporate-medical-industrial-complex which threatens to undermine our health system with continued rising costs and an insatiable desire to pass costs onto already burdened citizens. For-profit investor-owned hospitals, prescription drug companies, and medical device manufacturers are just as culpable as the health insurance industry and future reforms must seek to address the profits-first mindset that prevails in these industries.

If this bill passes, we should celebrate it. Tomorrow we will begin the work to make it better--to truly secure health care as a human right.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 2 minutes a.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until today, Monday, March 22, 2010, at 12:30 p.m., for morning-hour debate.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1107, which recognizes the 189th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrates Greek and American democracy. This resolution honors the Greek republic on its 189th anniversary, but the culture of the Greek people is over three thousand years old and has been the intellectual and philosophical foundation for many democracies throughout modern history.

Modern Greece is a living, breathing example of the trials and struggles of many countries over the last hundred and eighty-nine years. Greece had to remove the shackles of empire to forge its own identity and destiny. The Greek people joined the allies in their fight against fascism during World War II. In the war's aftermath, Greece was in the physical and geopolitical center of the east and west struggle in the Cold War.

The Greek people and culture have also had a lasting impact in the Detroit Metropolitan area. What started out as a small group of people on Monroe Street who wanted to preserve their rich culture, has grown into a successful group of business owners and, most of all, great Detroiters.

Greece is an example of the steadfast determination that all people admire. The Greek People have seen their land invaded by foreign nations, experienced coups and rebuilt after tragedy. While this happened, America stood with them offering aid and assistance. It is only fitting we celebrate this occasion with them.