Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday morning, I, along with a number of my colleagues, left our offices to walk over to the House floor to vote after the government had already been shut down. We passed on our way a cleaning crew who was down to half staff--half of her team not here to clean our offices.

We are not the ones that make this Chamber function. Yet we are clearly sending home those that do. They're not a line item in a budget. They've got rent and mortgages to pay, mouths to feed, and children to clothe. But because some of my colleagues have decided that it's better to shut down this government than to provide millions of Americans access to safe and affordable health care, here we are.

As you all know, the Affordable Care Act was modeled upon the health care reform we have already conducted in Massachusetts. So it's worth taking a quick look at where that Massachusetts health reform stands.

We have 100 percent of all kids covered. We've got 98 percent of all adults covered. We've made certain that no person is now one bad accident or one bad gene away from medical bankruptcy. Regarding cost containment, our rates have increased for individuals, and premiums are at a 1.8 percent increase this year.

We need to get this bill done, and I ask for your help.

To my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), the chairman of the House Manufacturing Caucus, I want to thank you for organizing this and for your leadership on this issue.

On October 1, just 2 days ago, the Institute for Supply Management reported the manufacturing index rose in September for the fourth straight month to a reading of 56.2. Any reading above 50 indicates growth, and it's the highest level we've seen since April of 2011.

Now a couple of monthly statistics about manufacturing: In 2011, manufacturing contributed over $1.8 trillion to the Nation's economy and accounted for 47 percent of all U.S. exports. For every $1 that we spend in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. Nine percent of the workforce, more than 11 million Americans, are employed in manufacturing. And two-thirds of the U.S. private sector investment in research and development occurs in the manufacturing sector.

The value and potential for future growth in manufacturing in Massachusetts is a perfect example. The industry continues to be a critical segment of our economy. Yes, in the downturn, we were hurt. But what's remarkable is that the persistence and ingenuity of the manufacturing industry statewide continues to rank above the national average in terms of the concentration of manufacturing employment.

And after years of decline, in 2011, the total number of manufacturing firms actually increased. This means that companies and industries like aerospace, electronics, computers, pharmaceuticals, they're central to the success of the Massachusetts manufacturing economy. It's why I believe in advanced manufacturing in that it promises future growth, and it's essential to the public-private partnerships that are going to innovate and are going to be needed to commercialize and bring new products to market.

That's why I'm proud to have written and introduced the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, RAMIA, of 2013, along with my Republican colleague Tom Reed of New York, the fellow cochairman with you, Mr. Chairman.

The bill is designed to bring industry, universities and community colleges, Federal agencies, and State and local governments all under one roof to accelerate manufacturing innovation. It establishes public- private sectors for manufacturing innovation that will help bridge the gap between basic research and development and commercialization of novel technologies.

The centers will serve as a regional hub of manufacturing excellence and will provide access to cutting-edge capabilities and equipment, creating an unparalleled environment to educate and train the next generation of our workforce.

And as we've seen, Mr. Chairman, we've seen this model work right there in your hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, the area that you represent. There are great advancements that we have seen in additive manufacturing in 3-D printing.

Our bill is locally driven manufacturing policy that addresses the disconnect between research, commercialization, and workforce training. We've seen that back in my district in communities like Taunton, Fall River, and Attleboro, where industrial manufacturing and manufacturing has been and can be a key to economic development in the future. That's why I support this industry. That is why I am proud to support this bill. And I thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening.

I thank my colleague from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House and ask that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the clean CR, and go to conference on a budget so that we can end the Republican government shutdown that is hurting public safety.

I thank my colleague from New York for yielding. I want to thank the ranking member for his work on the bill and for the continued leadership my colleague from New York has shown in STEM education, an issue that is particularly important for my district and the local workforce back home.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this bipartisan amendment and of the continued work that we need to do here in Congress to support and expand engineering education. This amendment would simply have taken advantage of existing title II funding to bring industry expertise from the STEM fields into the professional development we provide for our teachers. It reflects the goals of bipartisan legislation my colleague and I have introduced together, the Educating Tomorrow's Engineers Act, and reflects the underlying principle at the heart of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which we consider for reauthorization today--the fundamental equity and equality of opportunity in American education.

Engineering and technical skills across the STEM fields are going to be anchors of the 21st-century economy. The most rapidly growing sectors of our economy and our country's growth right now are the innovation sectors: advanced manufacturing, life sciences, information technology, and clean energy. Economists continue to predict expansive growth in these areas over the next decade--a very bright spot for our economic future.

It is the job of our schools to make sure that every child from every ZIP code has access to an education that prepares them to fully engage in this economy and become a productive member of our workforce. The more kids we educate in these fields and the better the education, the wider and deeper our prosperity will be.

While we withdraw this amendment today, we will continue to work with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen our commitment to engineering education and to revitalize the workforces in our local communities by preparing today's students and tomorrow's workers for good jobs in the innovation sectors.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in strong opposition to the farm bill rule and the underlying bill because it takes food nutrition away from working families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor two dear friends and dedicated public servants--State Representative John Fernandes and State

Senator Richard Moore from Milford, Massachusetts.

Representative Fernandes and Senator Moore are being honored this week with a prestigious Environmental Merit Award from the EPA for their tremendous work they have done to combat phosphorus pollution in their communities.

When studies showed that the phosphorus levels in the Charles River at nearly double the healthy standards, these two men immediately recognized the dangerous impact this would have on the region's cities and towns. They came up with a simple, direct, and creative solution that worked for families and businesses alike. Most importantly, they got it through the State house and the executive chamber, delivering real results in record time for their constituents.

That's par for the course for these two local leaders, who have proven time and again that they are the best of the best when it comes to public service.

As dedicated as they are diligent, as creative as they are compassionate, they seek every day to do better and more for their communities they represent. I am honored to work with them, to recognize them, and to call them friends.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National Police Week. A month ago this very day, those of us from Massachusetts had every reason to be proud of our first responders and our police officers. Over the course of that week, I heard from so many of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, who said how proud they were to be Americans because of the response that our law enforcement officials took in reaction to the marathon bombings.

It is not just in disasters, however, that our first responders and our police officers answer the call. I want to recognize Sergeant Michael Murphy from Brookline and Sergeant Jim Machado from Fall River, who are here this week.

As a former prosecutor, you realize every day that the routine is anything but. Every time a car is stopped, every call that a police officer responds to, they literally put their life on the line.

We need to only remember the acts of MIT Officer Sean Collier to recognize how dangerous the job is that they perform each and every day to enforce our laws and to keep us and our neighbors safe. And so, as a Member of the Fourth District of Massachusetts and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I want to take a brief moment to all of our police officers and say thank you.

I would like to begin by thanking the gentlelady from Massachusetts for the opportunity and most importantly for pulling us all together here today to mark a moment that none of us will ever forget, a signature moment in Massachusetts history.

I also want to begin by recognizing the victims of the horrific attacks that happened last Monday. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families as they begin a long road to recovery. I, I think like many of my colleagues from Massachusetts and like so many people from Massachusetts and from really around the country and around the world, have always delighted in Marathon Monday. I don't know how many times I went out and watched the runners as they ran by on their quest to the finish line on Boylston Street. My stepmother has actually run the marathon a number of times; and together with my dad and brother, we would often go down to Heartbreak Hill to watch the runners at the time that they need it most.

As you see all the runners run by, I think one of the things that always stuck with me was how many people were there cheering them on. As you think about it, 26.2 miles, with people from the very beginning in Hopkinton to the end on Boylston Street in Boston, two, three, four, five rows deep on each side of the street, sitting there, screaming, yelling, offering a bottle of water or literally a hand to those who are trying, striving for an incredible feat of personal endurance and excellence.

That is really, I think, to me what that marathon, what that day, is all about. It's about a community that comes together to cheer on not just the runners but to celebrate what we have built together, to recognize that that day isn't just about those individual feats of excellence but about a community that is willing to cheer on complete strangers, for runners to know--and you'll hear it if you talk to those that have competed in that race--that, yes, it is an extraordinarily difficult course, but that Boston is one of the best marathons to run because there is always a crowd that is there to carry you through to the finish line. Complete strangers, people you have never seen before and will never see again, but they are there to offer a hand.

And so it was with great sadness, but also great pride, that I watched the events unfold on Monday, to see complete strangers run into danger rather than flee from it; to see our first responders answer our call of bravery without hesitation; to meet the doctor that after running the marathon and completing 26.2 miles ran to work so that he could get started helping save victims; to meet some of the victims and their families, to know that we will never, despite how much we have come together, be able to replace Martin and Krystle and Lu and Officer Collier, but that the long path to recovery, that we will be there with them for every step of the way; to recognize the law enforcement officers that put themselves in grave danger, never quite knowing what might happen or what weapons these two terrible individuals might have on them, that took

great risks for the sake of safety for our own communities; to the investigators and the prosecutors that now have the long task of bringing these individuals to justice; to our sports teams, to the 17,000 strong that sang the national anthem in Boston Garden and the 30,000-plus that belted it out at Fenway Park; to Mayor Menino, Vice President Biden and President Obama for their leadership in this difficult time; to the One Fund for Boston that in shortly over 10 days has already grown to over $20 million, pouring in from citizens from around the country to help provide a little bit of relief to those who will need it most in this long road to recovery.

It is an extraordinary message, a powerful symbol that gets back to what Boston and Massachusetts have always been about. From the first people that set foot on our shores, the earliest settlers and the Pilgrims, that we have each other's backs and we always will, and that next year on Patriots Day the marathon will be run more crowded and louder than ever.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of a very special guest of mine today, Emmanuel Aviles from Taunton, Massachusetts, who is visiting Washington with his family.

At just 10 years old, Emmanuel was selected as the grand-prize winner in Scholastic's national Picture a President art contest. His charcoal sketch of Abraham Lincoln earned him that distinguished honor, as well as a 50-book library for his classroom at Parker Middle School and a trip to Washington, D.C.

Emmanuel's teacher back home calls him, ``a great role model,'' who is ``eager to learn and help other kids.'' He practices art drawing every day and hopes to some day pursue a career in art.

Today, Emmanuel is joined in the Capitol by his father, Emmanuel, Sr., his mother, Karen, and his brother, Diego.

I would like to welcome them to Washington and congratulate Emmanuel on making his school, his city, and his State incredibly proud.

Congratulations, Emmanuel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to come together and avoid sequestration. Make no mistake: These cuts aren't just fodder for newspaper headlines. They are real. They are deep. And they will hurt.

Back home in my district in Taunton, Massachusetts, we have an active chapter of Jumpstart, a national literacy organization that pairs community volunteers with low-income preschool children. They operate in tandem with the local Head Start. If sequestration happens, over 70,000 children across the country could lose access to Head Start-- 1,500 in Massachusetts--jeopardizing the ability of Jumpstart to continue offering their services. On top of that, the organization is run on the hard work of volunteers, most of whom come through Federal work-study programs--800 jobs lost in Massachusetts alone--or AmeriCorps--$38 million in cuts across the board.

Those are big numbers. But for a moment forget the numbers. The numbers are just a succinct way of saying there's a 4-year-old girl in Taunton, Massachusetts, whose single mother depends on Jumpstart to get her child up to speed for kindergarten while she works two jobs to keep food on the table.

Our budget is in difficult shape. It will require tough choices to clean up. But they have to be smart choices, worthy of our constituents back home who put their faith and trust in each and every one of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Irving Fradkin of Fall River, Massachusetts, a finalist for the national ``Citizen Service Before Self'' award.

The son of Russian immigrants, Dr. Fradkin's story of service began in the late 1950s. As an optometrist opening his new practice in a struggling former mill city, he was immediately struck by how few of his young patients had plans to go to college. When he asked why, the response was always a simple answer: My parents can't afford it.

At the time, the average cost of tuition was a couple hundred dollars a year. Dr. Fradkin did the math. He figured that if each of Fall River's 30,000

households gave a single dollar, they could send every single graduating senior in the city to college. And so Dollars for Scholars was born.

With the deep faith and compassion of a tight-knit community, Dr. Fradkin began collecting as little as $1 from his neighbors and friends to provide scholarships to the local students. Over four decades later, what began as a card table operation in a determined Massachusetts town became Scholarship America, an organization that has awarded nearly $3 billion in scholarships across 38 States.

At 92 years old, Dr. Fradkin continues to fight for that city that he loves and the students that have made his life's work. Tonight, I congratulate him and his wife, Charlotte, on a recognition deeply deserved.