Floor Statements

I rise today to bring much-needed attention to a serious threat to our Nation: climate change.

There are those of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that routinely dismiss this threat or brush it under the rug as normal or even false, but the true consequences of climate change are not lost on the American people.

Extreme weather is real. From monster tornados destroying Oklahoma, to Hurricane Katrina destroying the Jersey shore, to wildfires raging out of control in the West, climate change is not an issue that we can put off.

As Environment Task Force chair on the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, this issue is extremely important to me. In fact, it should be important to all of us because we all bear the cost. Climate change does not have geographic boundaries and it does not discriminate on whom it wreaks havoc.

If you do not believe that climate change is a threat or that the costs are real today, let me share with you a few facts:

In 2011 and 2012, there were 25 extreme weather events affecting 43 States.

In 2013, we have already started with an early and intense wildfire season in my home of southern California.

Extreme weather events in 2011 and 2012 caused $188 billion in economic damage and cost American taxpayers $136 billion. That is nearly $1,000 per individual taxpayer, or the equivalent of approximately a 2 percent tax increase. And these are low estimates. Literally thousands of heat, rain, and snow records were broken.

My State of California is particularly vulnerable to wildfires. In the previous decade, the average size of these wildfires was 89 acres. But in 2012, the average size was 165 acres, nearly double. And 9.2 million acres, mostly in the western U.S., were burned. And in the last 5 years, fires have been more damaging and more costly than ever before.

Other regions are vulnerable to floods, droughts, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Just recently, while storm waters were inundating homes in one part of our country, ships were unable to navigate the Mississippi River due to extremely low water levels. These are facts we cannot afford to ignore.

It is true that changes in the Earth's climate have occurred cyclically over eons. But human activity has accelerated these changes, fundamentally jeopardizing our environment. And, we do not have eons to fix it. We rely on this environment for water, air, food and so much economic activity. We cannot turn a blind eye to climate change. Instead, we need to start preparing for it and work harder to stop it. That's why I call on Congress to stop the attacks on our environment and finally pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon pollution.

This week, we saw heartbreaking images of devastation following a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, that is estimated to have been more than a mile wide.

The scope of the disaster reminds us that we're all at the mercy of nature's whims, but it also reinforces a sense of community that we share as Americans. When the final cloud dissipated, Oklahomans were met by friends, neighbors, and Red Cross aid workers ready to help, the same as the victims of Sandy along the Jersey shore and the same as those who weathered the waters of Katrina in the Ninth Ward.

One thing every American can rely on in the face of disaster is that every other American wants to help. Whether we face tornadoes on the Great Plains or earthquakes in Los Angeles, we face them together. Let's make sure these victims get the Federal disaster aid they need on a timely basis. Whether we endure in a red State or a blue State, we are all equally deserving of each other's assistance.

I rise to offer amendment No. 8, the Chu-Polis-Connolly amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to offer an important amendment, along with Congressman Polis and Congressman Connolly, to H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, which would authorize construction of the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Our amendment calls for the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the cost of cleaning up oil spills from this pipeline. We need to know how much it's going to cost taxpayers to decontaminate our cities, towns, and farmlands when the pipeline leaks. We need to know how a spill will harm residents and the environment. Will it make Americans sick, pollute our water, and contaminate our farms? Americans have the right to know the full cost and harmful impacts that a spill would have.

There are many serious questions and inadequacies in some of the analyses of the project, if not glaring holes. Take greenhouse gas emissions, take pipeline safety and spill response, take alternative pipeline routes--there is too much we don't know. What we do know, though, is that the pipeline will transport oil that is heavily corrosive, making spills more likely and also more difficult and costly to clean up.

Tar sands pipelines in the U.S. have some of the worst spill records. Pipelines in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan spilled nearly four times as much crude per mile than the national average in the last 2 years. Yet, the Keystone XL pipeline, as planned, will cut across America's heartland. It will run above the Ogallala Aquifer, which is a main source of drinking and farm water for nine States, endangering hundreds of thousands of people.

That is why I oppose the bill. We cannot rush a decision that could have so many harmful impacts on the health of thousands of Americans. And that is why I urge the House to support our amendment.

Join me in asking the GAO to study the cost of spill cleanup and its impact on our health, environment, and water. The American people deserve to know.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Representative Polis.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. Chairman, I urge the House to support our amendment. The American people deserve to know.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, that's insanity. This week, House Republicans are trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 37th time. Thirty-six failed attempts weren't enough?

More than 105 million Americans have had arbitrary lifetime coverage caps lifted because of this law. Up to 17 million children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage. And more than 6.5 million children up to the age of 26 now have coverage on their parents' plan, about half of whom would otherwise be uninsured.

Why would anyone want to roll all of this back? Why would anyone waste 43 days--as Republicans have done so far--to repeal a bill that does so much for the American people? It's not smart; it's not logical. More importantly, it's not right.

Last month, Galway Central School District in New York considered outsourcing the roles of their school psychologist and social worker. After all, budgets are tight, and what harm could come from this?

Andrew Huzsar, the district psychologist, and Christine Bornt, the school social worker, had already faced an uphill battle helping their students. Although the district has only 900 children in attendance, Galway is geographically one of the largest school districts in New York State. And as the only school psychologist and social worker, Andrew and Christine struggled to meet the needs of their students, facing more than double the recommended ratio of students to mental health professionals across the district.

An onslaught of letters and testimony soon flooded the Board of Education, as students, parents, and teachers, alike, protested on Andrew and Christine's behalf. The board soon relented to the public outrage, perhaps thanks to a very moving letter of support that Andrew received. This letter was from a young student explaining that he would not be alive today if it had not been for Andrew intervening in his life. This student was not someone Andrew saw regularly. They met only three times the previous school year.

Mental health counseling is a critical component for student success. Just three meetings were enough to save this student's life.

As a clinical psychologist, I know that there is no budget cut more shortsighted than one that stands between mental health resources and those who desperately need them. For a student, that access may be the difference between a productive day in class and an act of aggression against themselves or their peers. In the case of Andrew and that student, it made the difference between life and death.

That's why last week I introduced the Partnerships for Achieving Student Success, or PASS, Act. It does more than ever before to help our Nation's neediest schools ensure that our children have access to the appropriate mental health and student service professionals on campus. It creates a Federal grant program to help low-income school districts recruit, employ, and retain school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and other psychologists qualified to work in K-12 schools.

Galway School District ultimately kept their mental health professionals, but not every school district has the capacity to do so. By expanding the number of school mental health professionals in low- income, high-need schools, we can effect positive change in the lives of students who need it most. That's why the PASS Act already has the support of the American Psychological Association, National Association of School Psychologists, American School Counselor Association, and the School Social Work Association of America.

And it is why I take to the floor today to encourage my colleagues to support this bill and improve the academic and life success for students across this country. Together, we can make sure that the Andrews of this world are there when their students need them.

Twenty-four years, a quarter century. Imagine not being able to

see your brother or sister for 24 years. That's how long our sibling visa backlogs can be right now in our broken immigration system.

The Senate immigration bill does many good things to fix this broken system and reduces the backlog of family visas. This means that all those families who have been waiting for so many years can finally be reunited. But for the future it gets rid of the sibling category entirely.

What this means is that if someone immigrates here and becomes a citizen, she can petition for her parents to come in short order; but because this bill gets rid of the sibling category, the 22-year-old brother with Down syndrome would have to be left behind to be all by himself. That's not right.

Fixing our broken immigration system is so important. But let's make sure that immediate family members can be reunited.

This month, the San Gabriel Valley lost a wonderful leader, the Native American community lost a true champion, and I lost a dear friend. Helen Doherty wore many hats throughout her years of public service, but one thing remained constant among them all: she fought to make life better for those around her. All people were her family; all children were her children.

Helen's actions were always guided by the needs of younger generations. An educator at heart, she spent four decades in public school classrooms. She taught where she was needed most--where the value of a lesson learned would have the greatest impact--places like the Bridges Community Day School, where she worked with young people who had worn out their welcome in the traditional school system through expulsion, drug use, or family problems. None of that mattered to Helen. What mattered was helping kids build a brighter future for themselves, one new lesson at a time.

But being an educator meant more to Helen than teaching in schools. It meant being a good colleague as well. She was a devoted member of the California Teachers Association and won their California Teacher in Politics award.

Helen's compassion for others led her to speak out and fight for those in need. Much of her activism was rooted in who she was as a member of the Cherokee Nation. She had personal insights into the needs of Native American communities, and she fought tirelessly to have them addressed. By the time she was in college at UCLA, she had personally felt the pains of intolerance directed at her and her heritage.

Determined to change the wrong she faced, Helen boarded a bus and rode clear across the country to hear Martin Luther King deliver his ``I Have a Dream'' speech. That dream was her dream. His message was her message, and she fulfilled it each and every day for the rest of her life.

Helen worked side by side with the Gabrielino Tribe to help them gain recognition and joined the Morongo Nation in promoting human rights. She took those challenges and struggles that are unique to reservation life and raised awareness for solutions.

Her efforts helped ensure those facing difficult conditions on reservation land had the education to build a brighter future. She held workshops on tribal lands to help people develop the skills needed to improve their quality of life, and she worked hard to ensure that textbooks in California accurately reflected the true history of the Native people. As her advocacy led to public service, Helen was a founder and chair of the Native American Caucus for the California Democratic Party--one of the first Native American caucuses for a State party.

Helen left us not long ago, but her impact lives on. The lives she touched are forever changed for the better as are the communities she fought to empower. Her life's work provides an inspiration for all of us. So, today, I bid farewell to a friend, a mentor, and a true role model to so many.

And I say thank you for all that you've done for us, Helen Doherty.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, April 18, I was unavoidably detained due to a meeting with constituents from my district. Had I been present on the House floor, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 116, the motion to recommit H.R. 624, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Imagine what the front page of The Boston Globe should have looked like yesterday: marathon winners jubilantly accepting medals; throngs of people triumphantly crossing the finish line; bystanders passing out Gatorade; families and friends cheering on loved ones. Instead, the front page depicted a war zone.

This vicious, senseless attack left nearly 200 people injured, some critically, and three dead. My heart breaks for everyone affected, and justice must be served.

But even this dark act couldn't blot out the examples of love, compassion, and selflessness on display. Volunteers and officers raced to aid blast victims. Marathon runners continued running--straight to the nearest hospital to donate blood. And thousands of people opened their homes to athletes who had nowhere else to go.

These are the stories that define us as a Nation. This is the spirit that no terrorist attack will break.

Two thousand dollars; $2,000 is what you will lose if the Republican Paul Ryan budget goes through.

What does $2,000 mean to you?

For a single mom, it could mean the difference between feeding her family or seeing her kids go hungry. For hardworking Americans, it could mean the car payment, or gas money, or prescription drug money that you need to pay each and every month. But to the GOP, $2,000 is the amount they are taxing middle-class families in their ``new budget,'' the Paul Ryan budget.

But not everybody has to pay more. The truth is that in this budget, if you're an oil company or corporation taking jobs overseas or a yacht owner, you have nothing to fear with the GOP budget. Your lifestyle is totally secure.

Once again, working families will pay more so the rich can pay less. For the sake of middle class Americans, we must oppose the Ryan budget.

Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 25th anniversary of a critical turning point in the political freedom of the Armenian people of Azerbaijan. Let us take this occasion to remember their struggle for self-determination and freedom.

In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan petitioned to become part of Armenia. For the next 2 years, the Armenian population was the target of racially motivated pogroms. Hundreds of Armenians were murdered and more wounded during three violent attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.

In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh officially declared independence, becoming a democratic state committed to freedom and respect for human rights. Despite dual blockades and threats from neighboring Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh has held a series of democratic elections and continues to work hard to strengthen its economy. I stand with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in this noble pursuit.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of a critical turning point in the political freedom of the Armenian people of Azerbaijan. Let us take this occasion to remember their struggle for self- determination and freedom.

In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan petitioned to become part of Armenia. For the next 2 years, the Armenian population was the target of racially motivated pogroms. Hundreds of Armenians were murdered and more wounded during three violent attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.

In 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 authoritarian rule. As we commemorate their century-long struggle, let us not forget their quest for autonomy and justice.

I rise to oppose the House amendment. For nearly 20 years, Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to expand and improve the Violence Against Women Act. On three separate occasions, we found common purpose in protecting survivors of domestic violence. Today, we will try again.

The Senate bill protects immigrant, LGBT, and Native American victims. The amendment takes this all away.

Right now, an immigrant woman who fears deportation could be terrorized by a violent stalker. She would have no choice but to continue to live every day in fear. The Senate bill fixes this by giving this immigrant woman a legal means by which to save her life. This amendment would deny that protection.

The point of this law is to protect the vulnerable, not to cherry- pick who matters. It's time to return to bipartisanship and protect victims. It's time for the House to pass the Senate VAWA bill as is. We must oppose this amendment.

Here we are just days away from the catastrophe that we've known about for months, just days away from a self-inflicted wound to our economy, our credibility, and the American people.

The sequester, these automatic budget cuts, will literally take food out of the mouths of hungry mothers and children--600,000 of them. Air traffic controllers will take a huge hit, increasing wait times by 50 percent. Security lines at LAX could take 4 hours during peak traffic times, as if waits aren't already bad enough. It will eliminate more than 2,000 food inspector jobs. I don't know about you, but I like knowing that I won't get salmonella when I open a can of tuna.

The American people will suffer. And for what? It's not like we couldn't see this coming from a mile away. We did see this coming from a mile away. Enough is enough. It's time for Republicans to join Democrats in a solution, a balanced approach that can avert this freight train.

Last night, President Obama challenged all of us to come together to improve our country's fiscal health today and for generations to come.

Automatic budget cuts, or sequestration, was never intended to be good fiscal policy. It was never intended to be policy--period. If these cuts take place, the American people will actually be harmed by the Representatives who were sent here to serve them. This is unacceptable. In just 2 weeks, if we don't act, across-the-board cuts will deeply hurt every aspect of our lives--schools, health programs, law enforcement, research and development. Under sequestration, all of these will be decimated.

In our fragile economy, our Nation cannot afford to wait, so I call on our colleagues from the other side of the aisle to rise to the challenge. We cannot keep on going from one manufactured crisis to the next. Work with us to stop sequestration before it's too late.