John Lewis

Madam Speaker, I rise with a sense of righteous indignation to support this resolution.

I know racism when I see it. I know racism when I feel it. And at the highest level of government, there is no room for racism. It sows the seeds of violence and destroys the hopes and dreams of people.

The world is watching. They are shocked and dismayed because it seems we have lost our way as a nation, as a proud and great people. We are one Congress, and we are here to serve one House: the American House, the American people.

Some of us have been victims of the stain, the pain, and the hurt of racism. In the 1950s and during the 1960s, segregationists told us to go back when we protested for our rights. They told ministers, priests, rabbis, and nuns to go back. They told the innocent little children seeking just an equal education to go back.

As a nation and as a people, we need to go forward and not backwards.

With this vote, we stand with our sisters. Three were born in America, and one came here looking for a better life.

With this vote, we meet our moral obligations to condemn hate, racism, and bigotry in every form.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Let's do what is right, what is fair, and what is just.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3351, the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.

Let me begin by thanking Chairman Quigley and Chairwoman Lowey for their leadership on this important bill. I would also like to recognize their staff for reaching out and listening our concerns and priorities in this bill.

The Federal Government shutdown, changes to the tax code, and difficulty accessing experts increases IRS casework in many District Offices, including my own. As the chair of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, I believe it is critically important that Congress restore desperately needed funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

For many years, the National Taxpayer Advocate underscored the necessity of providing the agency with the resources, staff, and tools it needs in order to improve taxpayer services. Although Congress needs to restore the agency's funding to at least $12.3 billion, I believe that this bill finally moves the agency in the right direction.

I would also like to reiterate my appreciation for the Appropriations Committee's support when the House considered the Taxpayer First Act. As you know the Taxpayer First Act, which the House and Senate adopted earlier this year, is the most important improvement to taxpayer services in a generation. We worked hard to correct misinformation that our bill would tie the hands of the IRS and hurt taxpayers' options. During a time when there is so much tension and rush to judgment, our coalition remained thoughtful and fair.

As you know, Mr. Chair, the Taxpayer First Act resulted from years of bipartisan hearings, roundtables, and a public comment period on the draft bill. This legislation authorizes $30 million dollars in matching grants for the popular Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which helps low and moderate-income taxpayers complete and file their taxes. The Taxpayer First Act also protects certain low-income taxpayers from the private debt collection program, and authorizes desperately needed new initiatives to protect and serve taxpayers, who are victims of identity theft. I hope that this bipartisan, bicameral bill will become public law in the near future.

In closing, I would also like to recognize the Chairman's hard work to remove problematic policy riders from the FY20 House bill. I know that it was not easy, and I thank him and his staff for taking the time to consider our concerns. I offer my strong support and commitment to continue working with the Chairman and the Subcommittee so that this critical agency receives the funding and guidance so that the IRS may provide the highest quality, timely and secure taxpayer experience.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Dr. George P. ``Bud'' Peterson, Ph.D. on his retirement.

For the past 10 years, Dr. Peterson served as the 11th president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a world-renowned higher education institution that is located in my district. Under Dr. Peterson's leadership, the Institute has consistently ranked among our nation's best institutions of higher education, and he managed to exceed benchmarks outlined in Georgia Tech's strategic plan.

Madam Speaker, we are very fortunate to have an institution like Georgia Tech educating our young people in Atlanta. President Peterson worked tirelessly to open the doors of opportunity to young people from every corner of Georgia. During his tenure, undergraduate applications tripled, graduate applications doubled, and the student body increased by 69 percent to more than 32,000 students. In 2014, the Georgia Tech guaranteed admission and financial support to valedictorians and salutatorians from Atlanta Public Schools. In 2017, it extended these offerings statewide through the Georgia Tech Scholars Program. Access to a quality education changes the very trajectory of these young people's lives.

For visitors to Metro Atlanta, Dr. Peterson's impact is arguably most visible in Tech Square in Midtown Atlanta. There is an important national conversation on how to create new livable-wage, manufacturing jobs and bolster United States' global competitiveness. In our region, Dr. Peterson ensured that Georgia Tech became the regional center for this discussion. For these reasons, former Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke appointed President Peterson to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and President Barack Obama appointed him to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) steering committee and its 2.0 successor.

President Peterson excels in connecting young minds with great ideas to emerging industries and opportunity. Since 2013, 30 corporations have set up innovation centers in the area, engaging students' creativity, growing our economy, and ensuring that Atlanta remain a center for talent and technology. In fact, Madam Speaker, last week Dr. Peterson welcomed my staff and me to Georgia Tech's new Coda building. This incredible facility, along with the rest of Tech Square, shows how the Institute will continue to shape Atlanta's future. Dr. Peterson was instrumental in making this vision a reality.

Before coming to Georgia Tech, Dr. Peterson served as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder and provost at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Born in San Francisco, California, Dr. Peterson grew up in Kansas and earned degrees from Kansas State University and Texas A&M University. Throughout his career, Dr. Peterson focused on promoting research and scientific education and received national accolades for his work. For these reasons, President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on the National Science Board in 2008, and President Obama re-appointed President Peterson for a second six-year term in 2014.

Although Dr. Peterson is retiring this summer from the administration, he is staying in the Georgia Tech family and returning to the Institute's faculty. On behalf of the people of Atlanta, I thank President Peterson for his years of dedicated leadership to our community and to Georgia Tech. I wish him, his beloved wife Val, and their four children continued success and happiness in this next chapter of their lives.