Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, I rise today for each and every person who owns a home. I rise today for every American who has struggled to pay their mortgage each month. I rise for every person who has watched their home, their piece of the American Dream, slip away because they lost their job through no fault of their own or because they got cancer and are no longer able to work and pay their medical bills.

I rise to condemn what these bills are trying to do today. Make no mistake; repealing these programs will close the

door on the American Dream for more and more Americans.

Madam Chair, when I was a young boy, my family did not own a home. My father was a sharecropper. My mother and father had to ``go without'' for years. They saved and they saved. They prayed. They waited. My father could never get a mortgage. Mortgages were not available where we lived. They were not available for families like mine. It's just the way it was.

In 1944, my parents bought a house with three rooms and 110 acres outside of a small town called Troy in rural Alabama. It cost us $300. I couldn't imagine that much money changing hands at once. I look around this Chamber, and I see some suits in this room that cost much more than what my father paid. Up until the time she died, my mother spoke about the day we moved in. How proud she was. It was a huge achievement for us. It changed everything. That house, that land, it was ours. Ours.

Looking back, I can't imagine what it would have been like to have lost it all for reasons beyond my father's control--the harvest or the weather or because it would fix someone else's bottom line.

Madam Chair, I know that buying a house is the biggest decision most people will ever make, and it is the greatest source of pride. For most people, their dream is their house. It was for me. When I bought my house, I thought of my mother and my father. His house made it possible for me to buy mine.

This American Dream is built from hard work. But that dream is also made of bricks and mortar. It's a house, Madam Chair. It is a home. And this Chamber is shutting the door on that house. They're locking the door on the American Dream. These two bills today would end two new programs that are helping struggling homeowners who have lost their job through no fault of their own. To me, it is unthinkable.

Madam Chair, I strongly oppose H.R. 836 and H.R. 830. We must stand up for the American homeowner. We must stand in their corner. We must not walk away from them in their time of need.

I urge all of my colleagues to stand with me and defeat these bills. Don't lock the door on the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act.

Four years ago, a horrific accident occurred in my congressional district when a bus carrying the Bluffton University men's baseball team crashed on Interstate 75 in Atlanta, Georgia, en route to a tournament in Florida.

Twenty-nine people were injured on that terrible day, but seven others--Zachary Arend, David Betts, Scott Harmon, Cody Holp, Tyler Williams and Jean and Jerome Niemeyer died that terrible day. They were all treated at various hospitals--Atlanta Medical Center, Piedmont Hospital, and Grady Memorial Hospital.

The entire nation was shocked by the tragedy, and I was floored when my office received a phone call from one of the surgeons who treated the victims. Dr. Jeffrey Salomone, an Associate Professor of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, and Deputy Chief of Surgery at Grady Hospital was outraged. He felt that the injuries would have been less severe, and that more lives may have been saved had the victims not been ejected from the motorcoach bus. It was an accident that had been seen time and time again in emergency rooms across the country, and Dr. Salomone couldn't understand why the government had not acted.

Well last year, Congress almost did. The sponsors of the Senate- companion to this legislation--Sens. Sherrod Brown and Kay Bailey Hutchison--worked tirelessly to move the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act through the Committee process and onto the Floor. In the House, the Chairmen of both the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee expressed interest and empathy on this issue. Secretary LaHood coordinated discussion groups and drafted a preliminary proposal to address motorcoach safety.

Simply said, Mr. Speaker, Congress needs to act. This bill addresses the most common-sense of issues and has always enjoyed bipartisan support. The U.S. used to be a leader on safety and standards issues, but now we're falling behind. The proposals laid out in this legislation bring our nation's motorcoach industry into the 21st century. I hope that all my colleagues will cosponsor this important bill, and that the victims and their families will celebrate its signage into law this year.

I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding me this time.

Madam Speaker, it is unbelievable that with so many people out of work and millions of people uninsured that the first item of this new Congress is to take health care away from people who just got coverage. More people have insurance today because of the Affordable Care Act; more small businesses are offering health insurance to their workers. For the first time in the history of our Nation, we are headed in the right direction. We are making health care a right and not a privilege.

The repeal will force seniors to pay for more drugs. It would kick young people off of their parents' insurance. We will go back to a time when insurance companies were allowed to discriminate. And once again it will allow insurance companies to put profits above patients' health.

We must not turn back. We have come too far. We cannot go back. The American people are counting on us to do what is right, what is just, what is fair. We made a promise of health care to the American people. We must keep that promise. Vote ``no.'' Keep the promise of health care for all of our citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Brady and the Democratic leadership, and especially our new Speaker and his staff for their help with this bill and their support for holding this historic event in the rotunda.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. Con. Res. 2, authorizing the use of the rotunda for a ceremony to honor the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

President Kennedy came to us during difficult times. In 1961, America was a very different place. In the South, Jim Crow and racial segregation were a part of everyday life--a part of my life.

Around the world, the possibility of nuclear war and the spread of communism were clouds that hung over every country. Tensions were rising. The danger was real. The world, once again, looked to us.

For me, and for millions of Americans, the young man from Massachusetts looked like the future.

As a young activist, I know that I challenged him to ensure that the future included civil rights. But on inauguration day, just outside this very building, he challenged me. He called me to serve in a new way.

He reminded me that the principles upon which this country was founded must live within each of us; inspire and guide each of us; and be sacred to each of us.

President Kennedy came to us during difficult times. And he was taken from us during difficult times. He never saw the success in civil rights, the fall of the Berlin Wall or men on the moon. But on his first day--his very first day--he gave to us a new hymn. One that seemed to express what we had been struggling to put into words. His inaugural address gave us a hymn of hope, a hymn of optimism, a hymn of service.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this resolution, and I think it is appropriate and fitting that Congress honor this important anniversary in the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Madam Speaker, today I rise with a heavy heart at this moment of great sadness in our nation's history. The violence we witnessed last weekend in Arizona still seems so unreal, so shocking, so unbelievable. Only a few days ago, Representative Gabrielle Giffords stood in the well of the House reading the First Amendment, and today she is fighting to regain her ability to speak.

I keep hoping that in the midst of this great tragedy, we will say enough is enough. I keep hoping we will finally find it necessary to teach the way to love, the way of peace and non-violence, not only to our children, but that we will embrace it among ourselves as adults and as national leaders. We pray a special prayer today for all of the people of Arizona, but especially Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly.

Representative Giffords is one of the most hopeful, optimistic people you would ever want to meet. She is wonderful. She is smart, and she is beautiful. I hope that one day soon she will rejoin us in this chamber. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of all those who were hurt, those who are still struggling to be made whole, and with the families of all those who were slain. May God bless them all in these difficult hours.

Amendment 13, section 1: ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.''

Section 2: ``Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I have just two words for you, my colleagues: Vote ``yes.'' Vote ``yes'' to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Vote ``yes'' for equality. Vote ``yes'' because discrimination is wrong. Vote ``yes'' because you believe in the beloved community. Vote ``yes'' because every American deserves the right to serve their country. Vote ``yes'' because the survey results are in, and the military leaders say the troops are ready. Vote ``yes'' because, on the battlefield, it does not matter who you love only the flag that you serve. Whatever your reason, I urge you, each of you, each of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' today, to stand up and vote ``yes.'' Vote ``yes'' because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, the DREAM Act, this is a bill that we should have passed a long time ago. The American dream--isn't that why we are all here, why we work, toil, and sacrifice for these United States of America? These young people, uprooted from their homes and brought to this country as children, some of them so young this is the only home they have ever known. They have obeyed our laws, became excellent students, sacrificed blood and tears for our country, just as any good American would do.

Mr. Speaker, the time is always right to do what is right. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill and pass it now.

Mr. Speaker, long before a man finds a political party, he finds his principles. This debate about the ``Bush Tax Cuts'' is an opportunity to show the American people our principles--to show them that we stand for and believe in a strong middle class; to show them we believe in fiscal responsibility.

Forty-seven years ago, on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial, I criticized both the Republican and the Democratic party for doing too little for the working man and the disenfranchised. And now, as I stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives, I hope this is criticism I will not have to repeat today.

To my colleagues who fret or seek the cover of Republican votes I say, ``be not afraid.'' Be not afraid as history will judge us right. Be not afraid as the numbers are on our side. Be not afraid as an elected official is judged not by the number of years he has served, but by the cause he has served.

Stand up and show America the cause you serve. Stand up and show America your principles. If you value and believe in the strength of America's working families, then vote ``yes.'' If you truly believe in fiscal responsibility, then vote ``yes.'' But if partisanship and political games come first, then vote no and allow America to see you for who you are.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the chairman, Mr. Conyers, for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I want to thank Mr. Poe for his support for this resolution. The two gentlemen are right.

Fifty years ago today, a brave African American, a 6-year-old girl, young Ruby Bridges, walked bravely to the doors of the previously all- white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

It was not your typical first day of school. This little girl walked to her new school with her mother and armed Federal agents. She was not met with the smiles of schoolyard friends. She was met with screaming, angry mobs of people who did not want her to be there. In protest, parents withdrew every other student from her class. The only remaining teacher, Mrs. Barbara Henry, attended school each and every day to teach young Ruby.

Ruby Bridges was born the year that the United States Supreme Court handed down the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. They struck down the doctrine of ``separate but equal'' schools. Yet, 6 years after that historic decision, Louisiana and much of the South had yet to make Brown's promise of equality a reality. It took courage, nothing but the raw courage of a little girl, to integrate the schools in Louisiana. In the face of verbal abuse, threats, and unveiled hatred, Ruby Bridges learned to drown out the shouts with her prayers.

Little did she know on that first day of school 50 years ago that her image, immortalized in the painting of Norman Rockwell, would symbolize the end of segregation in schools.

Her story is the story of our Nation. She paved the way for integrated public schools all across the United States.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to pause and recognize the 50th anniversary of Ruby Bridges' courageous walk to school. I encourage all of my colleagues and all Americans to reflect on the historic Brown decision and importance of desegregating of schools. I ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution and recommit ourselves to equality in education for all Americans.

I want to thank my chairman, Chairman Levin, for yielding.

Madam Speaker, this week on the news we heard economists declare that the recession ended sometime last year. But while Wall Street may celebrate, in Atlanta and many other cities there is a different story. Small businesses from Peachtree to Cascade and from Moreland Avenue to Clairmont Road continue to struggle. People are still suffering. With this bill, we give them the support they badly need.

Enough with politics and enough with the posturing. Small businesses need access to capital, and they need it now. They need it right now. They need tax relief, and they need it now.

I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and pass this bill. It is the right thing to do, and we must do it and do it now.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6190) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend the airport improvement program, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to give Members 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, H.R. 6190.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6190, the Airport and Airway Extension Act, Part III. The Airport and Airway Trust Fund taxes and spending authority are scheduled to expire on September 30. This bill extends its authority through December 31, 2010, while we work together on a long-term solution.

This extension is critical for our airports and communities across our country. Our aviation system is also key for our economy and jobs. For example, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, located in my congressional district, is the busiest passenger airport in the world. Over 250,000 passengers travel through the airport each day. The Atlanta airport has a direct impact of more than $32 billion on Georgia's economy and employs almost 60,000 people throughout our State. Extending this authority provides the necessary revenue to maintain our Nation's airports and air traffic control system.

Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to come together and support this very simple, commonsense, necessary legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois, the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, Congressman Costello.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota, the hardworking chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Oberstar.

Madam Speaker, I fully support H.R. 6190. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' for this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, my colleague, Chairman Stark, for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, we as a Nation have a duty to provide the very best health care to our seniors and our disabled brothers and sisters. For them, Medicare is a blessing, a lifeline.

Each time someone steals money from Medicare, it weakens the public trust, it hurts our seniors, and threatens the future of Medicare. We must not, and we will not allow, criminals to rob Medicare. If you defraud Medicare once, you will never, ever do it again.

CEOs who defraud Medicare should not be able to simply move to a different company and continue to bill Medicare. Their companies should not be able to hide behind corporate shells that rob Medicare. This legislation will strengthen the anti-fraud laws and stop these bad practices.

I want to thank Mr. Herger and again the chairman of our Subcommittee on Health, Chairman Stark, for working side by side with the Oversight Subcommittee to end these abuses.

I ask all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this necessary bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, on July 28, 2010 I was unable to cast rollcall votes 476 through 482. Had I been here I would have cast the following votes: on rollcall No. 476, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 477, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 478, I would have voted ``yes''; on rollcall No. 479, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall No. 480, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall No. 481, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall No. 482, I would have voted ``yes.''

I want to thank my colleague, my brother, and my friend, Mr. Cohen, for introducing this resolution with me. I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia, along with Chairman Conyers and members of the Judiciary Committee, for bringing this resolution to the floor tonight.

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting and appropriate that we pause to recognize the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, better known as SNCC. It grew

out of the sit-in movement and the efforts of hundreds and thousands of young people who were standing up by sitting in.

These young people put their bodies, their hearts, and their spirits on the line to end racial discrimination and segregation in public accommodations. We were working to liberate the soul of a nation. It was the young people--black and white, Jewish and Christian, from the North and the South--coming together as a circle of trust and a band of brothers and sisters to change America forever.

As a young student in the Nashville Student Movement, people like Jim Lawson taught us the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolent resistance. He taught us the way of love. While we trained and learned and prepared to sit in, the Greensboro sit-ins happened. That was the spark that ignited the courage and the passion of students around the Nation.

On the day of the first Nashville sit-in, 124 of us gathered at the First Baptist Church, and we walked through downtown Nashville, two by two, quiet and solemn, well-dressed and well-mannered. My group went to Woolworth's. We sat at the counter, and we were told that we wouldn't be served. The lunch counter was closed early, and they turned out the lights, but we sat there all day, quietly--some of us reading, some of us doing our homework. We sat in again and again that week. It was the first time that I was arrested for civil disobedience. No sooner would one group be arrested than another group would take our place at the lunch counters.

Some of us were beaten, and the images of violence were broadcast around the Nation. Soon, the jails were full. The process of desegregation had begun. For months, all around the country, students sat in and stood in. The sit-ins spread around the South like wildfire. We marched; we sang; we prayed. Along the way, many were beaten, jailed, and some even died in the struggle.

During that time, 126 student delegates from 58 sit-in centers and 12 different States came to the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. That was the first meeting of what would become known as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, better known as SNCC.

SNCC did the hard, nitty-gritty work of organizing and mobilizing people in the heart of the Deep South to attempt to register to vote. From the sit-ins to the Freedom Rides, from Freedom Summer voter registration drives to the March on Washington, SNCC was there.

By 1963, at 23 years old, I had been arrested 24 times. I had been on the Freedom Rides. That year, I also became the chairman of SNCC.

SNCC was made up of people like Bob Moses and Bob Zelner, Julian Bond and Charles Sherrod, Bernard Lafyette and Diane Nash, Ruby Doris Smith and Fannie Lou Hamer, Howard Zinn and Ella Baker.

These young people, the students, carried the movement into the heart of the Deep South, and America is a better place because of them and the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. We hope that they will inspire the next generation to continue to build the beloved community. It is a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and the worth of every human being.

I ask and urge all of my colleagues to join us in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of SNCC and the sit-in movement.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my staff for working on this resolution, especially my legislative director, Michaeleen Crowell.