Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the House Chamber between June 5, 2018, and June 19, 2018, during my medical recovery. Had I been present, I would have voted: Yes on Roll Call No. 231, Yes on Roll Call No. 232, Yes on Roll Call No. 233, No on Roll Call No. 234, No on Roll Call No. 235, No on Roll Call No. 236, No on Roll Call No. 237, Yes on Roll Call No. 238, Yes on Roll Call No. 239, No on Roll Call No. 240, No on Roll Call No. 241, No on Roll Call No. 242, No on Roll Call No. 243, Yes on Roll Call No. 244, Yes on Roll Call No. 245, No on Roll Call No. 246, Yes on Roll Call No. 247, Yes on Roll Call No. 248, No on Roll Call No. 249, Yes on Roll Call No. 250, No on Roll Call No. 251, No on Roll Call No. 252, No on Roll Call No. 253, No on Roll Call No. 254, Yes on Roll Call No. 255, Yes on Roll Call No. 256, No on Roll Call No. 257, Yes on Roll Call No. 258, Yes on Roll Call No. 259, No on Roll Call No. 260, No on Roll Call No. 261, No on Roll Call No. 262, Yes on Roll Call No. 263, Yes on Roll Call No. 264, Yes on Roll Call No. 265, No on Roll Call No. 266, No on Roll Call No. 267, No on Roll Call No. 268, Yes on Roll Call No. 269, Yes on Roll Call No. 270, No on Roll Call No. 271.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Stroke Awareness Month celebrated in May of each year.

Mr. Speaker, every 40 seconds someone in the U.S. has a stroke.

In fact, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 430,000 Americans every year.

Yet, by making simple lifestyle changes, according to the National Stroke Association 80 percent of all strokes are preventable.

Unfortunately, many wait until it is too late:

I know, because I had a stroke when I was 49 years old.

Since that fateful day and a year of rehabilitation, I have worked hard to increase awareness alongside the American Heart Association, National Stroke Association, Women's Heart Alliance and many others.

However, we can and must do more.

That is why, as Co-Chair of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, I urge my colleagues to join me in raising greater awareness of stroke by cosponsoring my resolution, H. Res. 337.

Together we can combat this devastating illness and help find long- term solutions to better prevent, treat, and improve the lives of Americans and their families affected by stroke.

I thank my colleagues for passing the FAST Act in the Omnibus, because it expands access to telehealth-eligible stroke services under the Medicare program.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York, but more importantly, I thank her for anchoring tonight's message against gun violence.

Mr. Speaker, I come here tonight with a heavy heart. I don't have a written script, but I was so touched when I listened to Congresswoman Clarke's opening statement and then when my classmate and colleague, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, spoke.

I wanted to come tonight because I want everyone listening to us to know to ask the question, Mr. Speaker: Why are we lagging behind? To ask the question: When are we going to do more than one moment of silence when there has been an unnecessary shooting?

We do it when there is national attention. But what happens when that young person in their backyard, what happens when that person is killed by a gun in their home? All lives matter, Mr. Speaker.

So, tonight, our message is clear. Americans have asked us to do something. I had the opportunity to witness thousands and thousands and thousands of young folks who came together to March for Our Lives because this is their way of life, and they felt that they should do something, and they did.

And at the end of the program in the Third Congressional District, they looked to us as leaders and said: What are you going to do for us? What are you going to do about this?

So I thought about it, and I went to my office, and I thought maybe I can take all of these commonsense gun laws and roll it into a bill that is called the Safer America for Everybody Right Now Act.

It won't solve the entire problem, but this is what we are called to do. We are called to come here and try to make a difference. We come to this floor just tonight talking about saving lives, talking about how much we care for families. We run on a platform of caring about our children and family and saving lives, and, yet, we come here and can't get a piece of legislation put before the Congress to vote on it. Mr. Speaker, that is not right, and it is not fair, and the American public deserves more.

Lastly, let me just say, I can remember sitting in that church when nine innocent churchgoing lives were taken. I can remember going to Ferguson and being at the site where a young African American boy's life was taken with a gun. I can tell you about being with the mothers in the movement and the pain and the agony in their voices when they talked about the loss of their child.

I was here as a freshman with Sandy Hook, and you know, I was at the nightclub in Florida. What more does it take, Mr. Speaker, than us coming here tonight asking you to do more than sit in that chair; asking you to put fair legislation on this floor so we can vote on it? That is my ask tonight.

Please support some of the bipartisan legislation that we have. Please look at putting funds in for mental health. Just do something to help us have a safer America now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Financial Literacy Month, which is celebrated every year in April.

Whether it is purchasing your first car, getting a job, going to college, starting a family, or even saving for retirement, it is imperative that Americans of all ages have the capacity to make sound financial decisions. That is precisely what I have been fighting for these last two decades.

In the Ohio Statehouse, I successfully spearheaded legislation requiring all public high school students to complete a financial literacy class prior to graduation. Now I am proud to continue this important work in the Halls of Congress.

Working with the Jump$tart Coalition and serving as the co-chair of the House Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus, I had the opportunity to recently host and honor students during Financial Literacy Day on the Hill.

Mr. Speaker, I am asking all of our colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to join us in Financial Literacy Month.

Mr. Speaker, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes put it: ``Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.''

I rise today because, with the enactment of the Republican tax bill, the American people have been getting the short end of that deal.

When the majority jammed through their tax bill, we all knew it was a massive giveaway to the super-wealthy and the well-connected.

Now we see the evidence, tax day. The vast majority of tax cuts have gone to stock buybacks, dividends, and corporate mergers, while only a sliver of the benefits have found their way to American workers.

On top of that, it will be ordinary Americans and our children and grandchildren who will shoulder the trillions of dollars of debt and threats to cut the very Federal programs that help them and their families make ends meet.

Americans deserve better than the Republican tax bill, massive debt, and never-ending dysfunction. They deserve better jobs, better wages, and a better future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act.

Signed into law 7 days after Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s tragic assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, the Fair Housing Act builds on his dream to ensure that every American can live wherever they choose.

While in the five decades, our country has made progress in securing equal opportunity and access to affordable housing for all with the unencumbered ability to rent or to buy, but our work continues.

In fact, just last week, in my community, community leaders broke ground on the final phase of a $120 million public-private project for Legacy Pointe at Poindexter, fueled by a $30 million HUD Choice Neighborhood grant that I helped to secure in 2014, but our work continues.

I stand here today in that spirit to say that I will continue to defend the central tenets of the Fair Housing Act so that all Americans can pursue the American Dream without fear of discrimination or redlining.

Madam Speaker, our work continues.

Mr. Speaker, this Equal Pay Day, I rise to call for the closing of the gender pay gap.

Last year, women earned a meager 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

That's a $10,000 difference in paychecks or another 100 days of work to earn what men earned just last year.

That's shameful.

Even more shameful: for women of color, the pay gap is even wider: 63 cents on the dollar for Black women; and 54 cents for Latinas.

In my own district, the gender pay gap stands at 89 cents.

While that is better than most, we cannot rest until women in Central Ohio and across the country are paid dollar-for-dollar.

Congress can help make pay equity a reality by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it harder for pay discrimination to infect the workplace.

Because, when women are given a level playing field, companies benefit, families prosper, communities grow, and our economy is stronger.

Yes, when women succeed, America succeeds.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, March 19, 2018, I was absent from the House Chamber during roll call vote 115. Had I been present, I would have voted yea.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today during Women's History Month to honor the extraordinary accomplishments made by Black women throughout our nation's history.

In 1987, Congress declared March to be National Women's History Month, giving the nation the chance to reflect on and salute the trailblazers who paved the way for many of the rights women have today.

I am blessed to be able to stand upon the shoulders of such great Black women, who sacrificed so much to help secure equal rights for all Americans, including generations yet unborn.

Some are household names, such as Rosa Parks.

In her defiance to give up her bus seat on a Montgomery City Bus in December 1961, she sparked the peaceful 381-day Montgomery bus boycott, leading to the desegregation of our nation's public transportation systems.

There is also Shirley Chisholm who in 1968 became the first Black woman elected to Congress.

Only four years later, she became the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

In my own state of Ohio, there is Ellen Walker Craig-Jones, the first Black woman to be elected mayor in the United States by popular vote.

Ohio also gave us Irene Long, the first female chief medical officer at the Kennedy Space Center.

These women, and so many others, helped make it possible for me to stand here, on the floor of the House of Representatives, with my fellow women of the Congressional Black Caucus.

We owe them a debt of gratitude.

But, this Women's History Month, not only should we honor the history that has been made; we should look forward, to the history that will be made.

We are so fortunate to have Black women who continue to lead the way:

Public servants like new Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms;

Organizers and advocates like those who led the Women's March; and Patrisse Cullors, who co-founded Black Lives Matter; and Tarana Burke, who first used ``Me Too'' to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in our society.

Women continue to face workplace discrimination, a higher risk of sexual assault, and an earnings gap that will cost the average woman hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of her working lifetime.

``Me too,'' a simple phrase turned hashtag, has galvanized millions into action, letting those who continue to treat women as second-class citizens know that time's up.

Countless more Black women are unknown outside of their own families and communities, but still deserve admiration:

The Black women who sent a message to this administration, by showing up in Alabama to vote in the first Democratic Senator from the state in 25 years;

The Black women who have marched and continue to do so to have their voices heard;

The Black women who will attend school and college against the odds, who will run for office, who will fight for what they believe.

All are part of our history and their courage and dedication have helped to sustain the American spirit by breaking down barriers, creating new opportunities, and inspiring the next generation.

Still, there is more work to be done to provide women with the economic security and opportunities they deserve and their families need.

We must diversify our workplaces to reflect what our communities look like.

Statistics show that companies with more racial, ethnic, and gender diversity are more likely to be successful.

When women--and in particular, women of color--are allowed to succeed, then we all succeed. That has been true throughout our nation's history.

It is my honor to celebrate Women's History Month by recognizing all those who came before me, to continue to work every day to create an even brighter future for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to it in its present form.

Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit is simple and should be able to garner the support of every Member of this body who seeks to enhance our robust public and private markets while, at the same time, ensuring there are adequate safeguards in place for the benefit of Main Street investors.

Specifically, this motion will accomplish two simple things: one, it will strike the increase in the offering limit to $75 million; and, two, it will require the SEC to review and revise their bad actor disqualification regulations prior to future increases in the offering threshold.

Unfortunately, as currently written, with all due respect to my Republican colleagues, raising the offering threshold is a solution in search of a problem. Congress designated the SEC with regulating the offering. Congress decided the SEC would administer the offering. The SEC is the expert on Regulation A+, and it should be the one to raise the offering threshold, assuming the data supports such an increase.

Under the law, the SEC will be reporting to Congress whether or not they will raise the threshold just next month. This bill is premature, and for the lawyers in the room, it is not ripe for review. So why wouldn't we wait?

Right now there is zero data to suggest Congress needs to raise the threshold, and it seems prudent to wait until next month to see what the SEC has to say before rushing to increase it.

The majority argues this bill will allow companies to raise more money. I say this bill is a solution in search of a problem because only less than a handful of companies have ever actually raised the current maximum amount of $50 million.

With regard to updating the bad actor disqualification regulation, Bloomberg recently published an article on Regulation A+ and the companies using the offering and found one executive of a company was convicted for filing false tax returns, another for obstructing justice, and another was accused of selling unregistered stock. For the sake of time, these are just a few examples. Are these really the types of individuals we want selling securities to Main Street mom-and-pop investors?

Another article, appearing in Barron's, studied the hundreds of companies that have used Regulation A+ to raise funds, and I quote them: ``We were supposed to get new jobs and new industries. Instead, we've gotten GoFundMe-style websites hawking penny stocks and professional wrestlers shilling shares on TV.''

They went on to highlight some of the companies and the products availing themselves of the lightly regulated Regulation A+ offering, which included companies trying to make cannabis paraphernalia, flying cars, guns, and my personal favorite, the founder of a rock band seeking to raise money to study UFOs and light-speed travel.

Now, I am not trying to persuade Members that all companies seeking to raise money through Regulation A+ are Wolf of Wall Street or UFO chasers, because back in my home district, a Scottish-based company successfully used Regulation A+ to open their first brewery and restaurant in the United States. That example is exactly what Congress had in mind when it called for the creation of Regulation A+, and it is precisely the type of opportunity for investors that the law was intended to create.

This is why we need to ensure that we maintain the integrity of the Regulation A+ offering and that we prevent bad actors from using it in a way to rip off and scam all of our constituents.

That is why I urge Congress to adopt this motion, to stand up for strong public and private markets, to wait the 30 days when the SEC can come back to us, and to stand up for strong protections for Main Street investors.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, as people across America celebrate Women's History Month and honor our nation's many sheroes, I rise today to recognize a modern-day shero, my colleague, fellow Ohioan, and good friend Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

This Sunday, March 18, 2018, Congresswoman Kaptur will become the longest-serving woman in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving incredibly for 35 years, 2 months, 15 days and counting.

I have had the privilege of knowing Marcy for more than two decades, as well as the honor of serving in the House alongside her for the last six years, and I cannot think of a more determined, driven, and dedicated public servant than she.

Throughout her entire decades-long service to the people of Ohio's Ninth Congressional District, Congresswoman Kaptur has been a steadfast champion for our great automotive and manufacturing industries, the American worker and their families, and the brave men and women in the Armed Forces. In addition, she has been a tireless advocate for the middle class, and in ensuring that everyone has a fair shake to succeed and realize the American Dream.

Of course, I would be remiss to also not mention her unyielding commitment to our nation's veterans--highlighted by her tireless work and driving force to establish the National World War II Memorial.

Yes, Congresswoman Kaptur has left an indelible mark on Ohio and this nation, and I join all those in Congress and across the country in saluting her on this momentous and most historic accomplishment.

Congratulations, Marcy

Mr. Speaker, 1968 was a watershed year in our nation's history. That year saw the deadliest period of the Vietnam War and the peak of protests against that conflict. It saw the passage of the Fair Housing Act but the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. 1968 saw President Johnson announce that he would not run for a second term and Richard Nixon elected to succeed him.

In the midst of that tumultuous year, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission, issued its report examining the cause of riots and unrest that had occurred in inner cities and communities of color around the country.

After visiting those cities, interviewing witnesses, and consulting with experts, the Kerner Commission submitted its findings to President Johnson. That groundbreaking report remains important five decades later, not only as an historical document, but also because it describes the same issues of race that we struggle with today and how we can overcome them.

The Kerner Commission's report identified twelve grievances that were shared in the communities of color where the unrest had taken place. Among these were lack of economic opportunity, discrimination in the administration of justice, and inadequacy of education, housing, and social welfare programs.

These same problems persist today.

Employment: In 2018, the unemployment rate for African-Americans is 7.7 percent, compared to just 4.1 percent overall, and black workers made 83 cents on the dollar compared to white workers.

Housing: only 41 percent of black households own their home, virtually the same as 1968, while over 70 percent of white families own their homes.

Education: schools are more segregated now than they were thirty years ago, and blacks are half as likely as whites to have a college degree.

Justice: blacks are incarcerated at a rate of 3.5 times higher than whites.

So we now find ourselves in the same situation as the one described in the Kerner report 50 years ago: ``Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal.''

Fortunately, the Kerner report also described a path to reverse the trend of racial division. It called for ``the realization of common opportunities for all within a single society'' that requires ``a commitment to national action--compassionate, massive and sustained, backed by the resources of the most powerful and the richest nation on this earth. From every American it will require new attitudes, new understanding, and, above all, new will.''

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus who embody the commitment to national action and the new will that the Kerner Commission called for 50 years ago.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank Congresswoman Jackson Lee not only for yielding me time, but for all her scholarship and all of her commitment to making a difference against sex trafficking.

Mr. Chair, today is a proud day for me. I am proud to stand here on this House floor to urge the support and passage of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, known as FOSTA, as well as the Walters amendment.

Human trafficking and sex trafficking is happening in all areas: big cities, little cities, rural and suburban areas, Democratic districts, Republican districts. It happens in every congressional district in America, regardless of whether that district is red or blue.

Trafficking, Mr. Chair, is a nonpartisan issue, and that requires bipartisan solutions. And if Congressman Poe were still here, I would add, ``And that is just the way it is.''

I am so honored to be joined today with so many colleagues. I also want to thank Congresswoman Roby for her leadership in managing the time. What an honor it is for me to join the leadership of Congresswoman Ann Wagner, not only the sponsor of this bill, but a friend, a colleague, someone who is my classmate. And early on, she started talking about human trafficking, and we shared our mutual interest; and we have been, so to say, joined at the hip ever since. And I could not thank her enough for all of her leadership.

Mr. Chair, it tells you that we must work together. Congresswoman Wagner has done that with this legislation and more. So I am very honored to be the lead Democrat. You have heard what the Fighting Online Sex Trafficking Act will do, so I won't go in great details with that again. But I will tell you, it will address a critical problem.

Our laws have not kept pace with how technology has been used to exploit the innocent. The internet has changed how humans are trafficked. It has taken something that was once done in the streets and made it easier and more anonymous. Trafficking online is a well- documented problem, yet we have seen a few websites turn a blind eye, even as they profit on the buying and the selling of children, women, and men.

FOSTA will help solve this in many ways, as you have heard. On this last point, I would like to say FOSTA is targeted in a way that will not only affect websites engaged in the online trafficking trade; it will recognize some of the concerns that some of the tech communities initially raised. But I think that the process that FOSTA has gone through in the Judiciary Committee and now with the Walters amendment shows how the legislative process can be used.

It shows how the legislative process can be used to result in a better product. The bill now has the support not only of the trafficking victims' advocates, but also of law enforcement and many of the internet and tech companies.

So, again, I thank the hard work of Congresswoman Wagner. I want to say that we won't solve the problem of human trafficking overnight, but if we get this bill signed into law, we will make it harder for traffickers to exploit the innocent and we will keep countless children, women, and men out of the cycle of abuse.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. More importantly, I thank her for her amendment. As the lead Democrat sponsor of this bill, I proudly join her with that amendment.

Like my colleague Congresswoman Roby said, it is always good when you have a great bill that you can have an amendment that asks for a study to make sure that it is effective.

Lastly, let me just say, I thank the Congresswoman for sharing those stories, whether it is the story of Cathy, whether it is the story of Erika, or in my district, Theresa, it makes me proud to stand with her. And I thank her not only for this amendment but for her work in judiciary because what we know her amendment will do, it will protect the innocent.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our ranking member, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, for yielding me time and also for her steadfast leadership in opposing the Financial CHOICE Act and many of the provisions included in the bill, including the one that we are considering on the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, this bill flies in the face of the old maxim: Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

This bill would effectively blindfold our regulators when calculating operational risk capital at our largest institutions--it is worth repeating again: not our community banks, but our largest financial institutions--by precluding them from looking at an institution's historic losses as an indicator of possible future losses.

Now, earlier, the ranking member injected an example of asking about our credit scores. I think it is worth elaborating on this, Mr. Speaker. Imagine if I go to a bank for a mortgage loan and they ask me for my credit score, and I simply told them they couldn't look at my past financial behavior in order to decide whether or not they are going to give me the loan.

So when you talk about good or commonsense regulation, we all know the answer to that question, Mr. Speaker.

Well, this bill would effectively do just that to our regulators. Instead of a credit score, which determines creditworthiness, operational risk determines the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, and systems.

I would tell our regulators, when determining the appropriate level of capital a financial institution needs to hold against operational risk, you cannot look at an institution's past losses, especially if they got out of that business.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is common sense. I think whether you are a banker or a regulator, you clearly understand that we need to make sure that we don't blindfold our regulators.

So I oppose this bill, which would reduce capital in our country's largest financial institutions and blindfold our regulators' ability to safeguard the stability of our economy. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me this time.

Maybe I should try to right that wrong analogy that our chairman thought; but maybe if I take his analogy that it is not based on the house I sold but it is based on the house I am living in, well, what is the difference?

If I went to the bank and wanted to put my house up for collateral but I hadn't paid the payment on it in 4 months and it was getting ready to be foreclosed on, I think they would want to know that. And that would be maybe a better analogy on it, because what we are trying to say to the people who are out there watching and listening to this: You cannot let our larger banks put us at risk, what we know also happened in 2008.

So that was the point I was making. So let's say the analogies don't work so we don't have to go back and forth. Let me just say that I am voting ``no'' on this because I don't want to blindfold or tie the hands of the regulators' being able to do their jobs.

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, February is Black History Month. It is a time to reflect on the progress we have made in this country in the pursuit of equality and justice and to honor the people whose hard work and sacrifice contributed in that endeavor.

While we certainly have made progress in many areas, I think it is also important to acknowledge the problems that still persist so that we may continue the work of those who we honor, not just in February but throughout the year.

We will hear a lot about 2018 being the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but it is also the 50th anniversary of the Poor People's Campaign, which Dr. King championed before his death.

The Poor People's Campaign came to Washington in the spring of 1968 and set up a shantytown called Resurrection City where thousands lived on the National Mall, just a short distance from where I stand here tonight.

A central part of the Campaign was the drafting of an Economic Bill of Rights, which called for:

``A meaningful job at a living wage;''

``A secure and adequate income for all those unable to find or do a job;''

``Access to land for economic uses;''

``Access to capital for poor people and minorities to promote their own businesses;'' and

The ``ability for ordinary people to play a truly significant role in the government.''

Fifty years later, we are still fighting for these same economic rights.

In 1968, a nonwhite family in America had a median wealth of about $3,000 while white families had a median wealth of around $60,000.

The wealth gap since then has only expanded, with black families holding a median wealth of $17,000 versus $171,000 in white families--a wealth gap of a factor of ten.

Homeownership--an important tool for wealth creation--is only 42 percent for black families but 68 percent for white families.

Retirement savings for black families is now around $25,000 but over $157,000 for white families.

It is important to note that Hispanic families have to deal with a wealth gap just as bad as black families.

In the greatest country in the world, your economic security should not be so closely tied to your race or your zip code.

In his Nobel Prize address in 1964, Dr. King noted: ``There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.''

Mr. Speaker, we, as members of Congress have a responsibility to use those resources to address the problem head on.

Certainly, we in the Congressional Black Caucus are committed to solving the problems of the wealth gap and economic inequality to bring our country closer together.

We must promote policies that increase job creation in low-income communities; strengthen our social safety nets, not take away benefits; invest in training programs so workers can transition to high-skilled, high-wage jobs, and make investments in revitalizing schools, infrastructure, and neighborhoods.

Families of color, and all American families, deserve equal access to economic opportunity. They deserve better jobs, better wages, and a better future.