Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on June 9, 2014, I proudly voted in favor of H.R. 4412, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Authorization Act of 2014, which passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 401 to 2. NASA is an investment in our nation's future. Investments in the space program will energize, engage, and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, educators, and the public.

NASA helps propel our nation's economy and technological edge by creating thousands of high-tech jobs in the aerospace industry, at research laboratories, and in universities, and will help strengthen the U.S. aerospace industrial base. Space exploration stimulates the best and brightest with cutting-edge scientific and technical challenges that will make our nation stronger and more competitive. For example, NASA research on advanced electronics and micro-chips helped create the Silicon Valley that provides the innovation and economic growth that benefits our nation today.

But NASA is much more than a jobs program. NASA's science programs aim to answer fundamental questions about the nature and fate of the Universe, the origins of the planets and solar system, the lifecycle of stars, and will help us answer basic human questions, such as whether life has existed elsewhere, perhaps on Mars or maybe Jupiter's moon Europa.

I'm supportive of NASA's planetary science program and the great work done by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located in my Congressional district, in Pasadena, California. JPL has led the world in planetary science missions, including the Mars rovers, missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus, among many others. The planetary science program is a unique symbol of our country's technological leadership, pioneering spirit, and our optimism for the future. It demonstrates that we are a bold and curious nation interested in discovering and exploring the richness of worlds beyond our own. A vibrant space program is the hallmark of a great nation.

I also support Section 321 in the bill, which calls on NASA to follow the recommendations from the National Academy of Science's report on planetary exploration. Section 321 specifies regular opportunities for small, medium and large missions consistent with the report, and establishes a goal to launch a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa by 2021.

NASA's planetary science program is a crown jewel of our nation. I support these pursuits and investments because they inspire the public and the next generation of scientists and engineers that our nation needs.

I urge my colleagues, and the Administration, to continue to robustly support NASA's cutting edge missions, engineering, and technology.

Mr. Speaker, it has been almost 1 year since two-thirds of the Senate--Democrats and Republicans--voted for comprehensive immigration reform. So House Republicans have had 1 year to address the 4.3 million families languishing in the immigration backlogs separated from their loved ones for decades, 1 year to bring the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are already in the fabric of our society out of the shadows so they can earn their place in society, and 1 year to allow the brightest minds in the world to graduate from our schools and contribute to the economy. They have had 1 year to reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion, as this bill will do.

They promised the American people reform; all we have heard are excuses for the delays. That is why I helped to introduce H.R. 15, a bipartisan immigration bill. This bill has the votes to pass today.

I urge Republican leadership to put politics aside and bring this bill to the floor. It is time to fix our broken immigration system once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most precious rights we have as Americans is the right to vote. But every day it is becoming more difficult to do it.

Today is nearly 1 year after the Supreme Court's Shelby decision, which gutted provisions of the Voting Rights Act. States quickly moved to restrict voting rights. In fact, hours after Shelby, Texas announced its voter ID law would be implemented immediately. Thank goodness the Federal court blocked it.

Without these protections, minority communities will be disproportionately affected. The Voting Rights Act ensured equal access to the ballot box, and it protected voters like Rose

Thompson. Rose is 79 years old and has voted all her life, but this November she will likely be turned away. Rose was born at home in Jackson, Mississippi, and never received a birth certificate, so she can't obtain a voter ID as her State requires. Without an ID, Rose loses a fundamental right that was guaranteed to all Americans.

Now is the time for action. I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act and restore our ability to have a voice in this democracy.

Mr. Speaker, the San Gabriel Mountains are a defining feature of my district, and their peaks form a beautiful crown for the Los Angeles region. But they are deteriorating as forest rangers grapple with more than 3 million visitors annually.

Trails are marked by graffiti instead of signs, trash litters the ground as receptacles overflow, and blatant safety hazards leave the public at risk and threaten our water supply.

That is why I am introducing legislation to designate this area as a National Recreation Area. It would allow the National Park Service to work with the Forest Service and local partners on community-based, community-driven protection and restoration projects. It could mean more small parks in underserved communities, better access and connectivity to trails and bike paths from within our urban cities, new signs in the mountains, more bathrooms, more picnic areas, educational programs for a sustainable future, and more visitor services.

Our community deserves to see these mountains protected permanently. I urge my colleagues to support this effort.

Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago, my nephew, Lance Corporal Marine Harry Lew, was a victim of military hazing while stationed in Afghanistan. After 3\1/2\ hours of a brutal beating and torment by fellow soldiers, he took his own life. Since then, I have dedicated myself to ensuring that the Department of Defense addresses hazing within its ranks.

Because of my bill, the Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability Act, the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, required each military branch to submit a report to Congress on what they are doing to address hazing.

The reports were inconsistent. We learned that most branches don't track allegations and incidents of hazing and that substandard tracking results in unreliable data.

That is why I urge support for my amendment to this year's NDAA. It requires the Government Accountability Office to provide Congress with a much more thorough and, most importantly, independent report.

We must protect the young people that we send off to war from abuse by their own soldiers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 15 to demand a vote on the bipartisan immigration reform bill that provides an earned pathway to citizenship.

Mr. Chairman, once again, Republicans are attempting to restrict the President's constitutional authority of prosecutorial discretion.

Deferring deportations of DREAMers is squarely within the President's authority. It is right there under the Constitution's Take Care Clause.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is legally sound, makes sense, and is the right thing to do. These kids study in our schools. They play in our neighborhoods. They pledge allegiance to our flag. All they want to do is to continue calling their home ``home.''

Every day that Republicans stonewall immigration reform, another 1,100 people are deported and families are split up. Instead, the ICE Parental Interest Directive protects the parental rights of detained parents. It does not limit immigration enforcement at all.

The directive is about family values. It is about American values. Bills like this waste time while thousands of families are separated. This must end now.

I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, twenty-six years ago, the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region of Azerbaijan petitioned to become part of Armenia. Their desire to determine their own future was met with brutal force and violence that was tragically reminiscent to events preceding the Armenian Genocide.

For the next two years, the Armenian population was the target of racially motivated pogroms. Hundreds were murdered, many more were wounded, and the Armenian community still grapples with the scars from the horrific attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.

On February 20, 1988, Nagorno Karabakh began its national liberation movement with a resolution to secede from Azerbaijan, and on December 10, 1991, Nagorno Karabakh officially declared independence, becoming a democratic state committed to freedom and respect for human rights. But today, the people of Nagorno Karabakh are still forced to live under the constant threat of violence from Azerbaijan.

As we commemorate the somber anniversary of the beginnings of their struggle, we wish for the peaceful resolution of this conflict and the right of the Nagorno Karabakh people to determine their own future.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 7, the so-called No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, is as deceitful as it is dangerous. We already ensure that tax dollars don't fund abortions and have ever since the Hyde Amendment was introduced in 1976.

This new effort is an attempt to create restrictions far beyond the scope of current law, interfering with how women use their own private dollars, on their own private insurance, for health coverage.

This is just the latest Republican assault in their ongoing war on women. It is why I felt it was so important to introduce the Women's Health Protection Act. My bill would put a stop to the unprecedented attack on abortion we have seen at the State level over the last few years. It would ensure that every woman has access to the medical care she is entitled to.

Decisions about pregnancies are deeply personal and difficult, and they belong to the woman and the doctor she trusts, period.

Madam Speaker, new year, new Congress, but the same old political tricks. H.R. 7, the so-called No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, will not do anything further to stop tax dollars from funding abortions because tax dollars are already restricted from funding abortion and have been ever since the Hyde amendment was introduced in 1976.

As one of the five female members on the Judiciary Committee, I strongly oppose this bill that will undermine women from using their own private funds to buy their own private insurance for health coverage. This is a ploy to drive out abortion coverage in the private market. Millions of women who purchase health insurance in the private market will lose access to comprehensive health insurance.

It is time to end these games once and for all. Decisions about a woman's reproductive health belong between that woman and the doctor she trusts, not with politicians who would interfere with a woman's private decision.

I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this past Monday was the first time in months that 1.3 million out-of-work Americans went to their mailboxes and did not find an unemployment check.

People like Kaitlyn Smith from my State of California, a Marine Corps vet and mother of two young children, she said that she had been searching for work for months but has not had success. California is starting to recover, but it still has 400,000 fewer jobs than it did before the downturn. It is especially hard to find jobs in the high desert where she lives; but the family can't move because her husband, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, must remain near the combat center until he is discharged from the Marines in July.

The loss of her benefits will cut even more deeply into the couple's income. Kaitlyn says the family is already skimping on basics, including heat. She says:

I have to keep the house at 55 degrees, even though I have

two little girls, ages 2\1/2\ and 1\1/2\.

For Kaitlyn and others like her, we must extend unemployment benefits, and we must extend them now.

Mr. Speaker, over the next few weeks, the American people will be celebrating the warmth of the holidays with friends and family alike.

But for nearly 1.3 million people, the situation will be desperate. The pains of long-term unemployment will be compounded as their benefits totally run out on December 28.

These people have struggled for months on end to find work after losing a job. They include thousands of veterans who recently completed their military service, and they include families who need unemployment benefits to clothe their children and put food on the table.

It is unconscionable that this budget deal does not protect these vulnerable families who had no part in causing the recession that put them in such dire circumstances.

As we go into this holiday season, let us help those in greatest need. Extend unemployment benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Innovation Act. This bill will help curb abusive lawsuits brought by patent assertion entities, more commonly known as patent trolls.

Rather than relying on patents to protect investments in new innovative technologies, these actors abuse our patent system. They threaten legitimate businesses and consumers with costly litigation for selling or using a product that falls under their overly broad patent.

The patent system is nothing short of a net for them to cast in hopes of extorting settlement fees. Right now, this scheme is costing our economy $29 billion every year.

While the bill is not perfect, the Innovation Act is a promising first step towards reining in these abusive tactics. I still have concerns with provisions that address fee shifting and the Federal judiciary, and we need to ensure that the Patent Office is fully funded. But this conversation will continue beyond today's vote, and my hope is to see these concerns addressed for the American people.

Madam Speaker, today my thoughts are with the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The typhoon ravaged the Philippines, bringing sustained winds that reached 175 miles per hour and storm surges reaching 13 feet.

In the aftermath, reports have confirmed more than 2,300 dead; but the number could be far larger. Haiyan wiped out roads, electricity, and communications in much of the country.

Mayors are faced with unthinkable decisions, like choosing between transporting in food and relief supplies or transporting out the bodies of victims.

When those in the other parts of the globe are in need due to disaster, the United States always lends a hand. Right now, the Philippines are in need.

I urge Members of Congress and all members of this United States of America to continue opening their hearts to provide critical support to the recovery efforts.

Mr. Speaker, more than 2.5 million Americans have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. They placed themselves in harm's way so we could live safely at home.

The benefits veterans receive for their service hardly repays them for the sacrifices that they have made. Nonetheless, they need the help. This is why we must ensure veterans can access every benefit they have earned, benefits like educational counseling.

While the VA does a great job providing vocational rehab, many veterans aren't aware of the educational counseling they are entitled to as part of their GI benefits. That is why I am introducing the Veterans Education Counseling Act. It directs the VA to differentiate between these two benefits and makes the application process available online. This helps every veteran make the right choice for their lives and their future.

I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in passing this bill.