Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a climate crisis, and it is going to take American leadership and ingenuity to solve it. But we think we can create jobs and a lot of opportunity when we solve the climate crisis. But what we are seeing right now are devastating health and economic consequences of climate change here all across America, whether it is wildfires out West, flooding in the midsection. We are approaching hurricane season with great trepidation. Extreme heat.

We have got to act urgently, guided by the science, working in concert with our allies across the globe to provide a livable climate for all Americans, especially for future generations.

We have got to harness the technological innovation of the Moon Shot. We have got to harness the creativity of our entrepreneurs, the strength of our workers, and the moral force of this great Nation that is working to establish justice for all. Because I believe that, working together, we will be able to avert the worst impacts of this climate emergency and build a stronger, healthier, fairer America.

But let's look at what is happening right now. People know this. The last 7 years were the hottest on record. You don't have to tell that to the folks out West right now. They are living through some of the hottest days--the hottest, driest days.

This is a departure from the 20th century average temperature. It just seems like these hotter days, the longer, hotter summers, are more frequent. And the science tells us that is true.

Why is this happening? Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at record levels. People thought that, during the pandemic, greenhouse gases would dip and that might provide some salvation from the worst impacts of climate. But, see, these gases build up in the atmosphere. You don't get a bonus for any year.

In fact, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has said no, despite the pandemic, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at a record high.

This creates enormous costs on families and businesses here in America but also all across the planet. It impacts the air we breathe. It creates very severe health consequences. Think about the folks who have to work outside in the extreme heat and more polluted air while coming out of a pandemic.

Then, there is the cost, not just to the bottom line of the Federal budget, but the cost to all of us. In fact, last year alone, we suffered through about $100 billion, $96 billion, in damages from weather and climate disasters. That is just 1 year.

This is an enormous wake-up call for our great country and people all across the planet. We have waited too long to take ambitious action. The time is now. The time is urgent.

We don't have any more time for half measures, so we intend now to hammer out the most ambitious climate legislation that we have ever seen in order to answer the moral call that we have to future generations to make sure we give them a livable planet.

Mr. Speaker, we are joined tonight by a number of colleagues, who are going to speak from the heart and speak with great intelligence to provide a little science, a little know-how. I am really proud to stand with them on the floor of the House tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Congressman Casten, for bringing his intellect and his passion for solving the climate crisis to this Congress. It is needed now more than ever.

Mr. Speaker, hearing my colleague speak with such

passion and such intellect really does give me hope that we have the tools necessary to tackle the climate crisis. But I think we also need to think about climate as a climate opportunity, and there are a few of these.

Our newest colleague, Congresswoman Stansbury from New Mexico kind of hit on it. And it goes back to--I want to thank Mr. Casten--last year before the pandemic hit, Mr. Casten was kind enough to invite me to Chicago where we heard from environmental justice leaders. I also had the opportunity to travel to Detroit. I have listened to folks who are demanding greater equity all across America.

Back home in Tampa, Florida, I see it; I understand that now the climate crisis presents us with a generational opportunity to rebuild our country and our infrastructure, so we are not leaving communities behind and we are not leaving any American behind.

We can hammer out these investments that will help us rebuild the economy. Mr. Casten knows these examples quite well.

Decades ago, unfortunately, the Federal Government put interstate highways right through the center of many communities. The harms from the pollution still linger today. In fact, Black Americans are exposed to 21 percent more fine, particulate matter pollution than the average American. I just don't think we can pass an infrastructure package that ignores these injustices. We are going to have to create these new opportunities in solving the climate crisis, creating good paying jobs, but also lifting up Americans and American communities that have carried the burden of pollution.

Mr. Speaker, I think that is one of the reasons why President Biden's American Jobs Plan targets 40 percent of the benefits of our clean energy and clean infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities. I think that is smart policy.

I think the gentleman is right. Right now, as we move into our clean energy future, President Biden has the goal of really helping communities that need revitalization. When you think about the hard work in a coal mine or out in the field, we owe such a debt of gratitude to our coal miners and the energy workers who have powered America. They have made it what it is over the last century. They ushered in the economic progress that we enjoy today.

But we now know, according to the science, that our overdependence on coal and fossil fuels and fracked gas has led to a crisis that now threatens our way of life. I wish it weren't so, but we have to now, at this fork in the road, decide that our moral obligation to future generations comes first.

With all of the opportunities that clean energy and greater and stronger and healthier communities can provide, we have got to hammer this out through the American Jobs Plan and make sure that we protect our economy, we protect our national security, our health, our beautiful natural resources from sea to shining sea, and the air that we breathe.

But we have some choices to make. We can double down on the status quo, even as these climate-fueled disasters claim more lives and they hurt the pocketbooks of folks.

I think of my neighbors back home in Florida now, the so-called Sunshine State. Boy, we have a lot of work to do to capture the power of the sun through solar energy, but we are paying more now because we have longer and hotter summers, it means AC bills are going up.

We have these intense flood events, so we are paying more for flood insurance and stormwater costs. Meanwhile a lot of these energy companies have kind of gotten off the hook over time.

What does the gentleman say about that?

Mr. Speaker, well, what has been so fascinating is there are so many people in the room because they understand the opportunities, the job-creating opportunities through the American Jobs Plan.

Here we go. The American Jobs Plan will create 2.7 million new jobs. So let's talk about some of those jobs. I think about some of our colleagues who represent communities that have seen jobs go overseas over time, our industrial base.

We know what President Biden has proposed will help revitalize those communities; plug those abandoned coal mines; plug the abandoned wells; just plain plug the leaks of methane gas that are so damaging to the climate.

We think we can create millions and millions of jobs through a new CCC, a Climate Conservation Corps. We can strengthen our communities at home. I know we have got a lot of seawalls that need repair, a lot of replanting of trees and mangroves to help protect us from these very costly events. We know we need to modernize the electric grid across America.

Representative Casten, that is going to create an enormous amount of jobs in the Midwest because a lot of the renewable resources, your solar power, wind power, it is largely in the Midwest. We have got to build the modern electric grid.

Look at this horrendous catastrophe in Texas just a few months ago because the electric grid there was not connected. It wasn't modernized. It wasn't resilient. People lost their lives because of the strange, climate-fueled winter storm in Texas.

We are going to create a lot of jobs just modernizing and making the grid more resilient. And I haven't even gotten to the wind power, offshore wind, wind in the Midwest.

This is our future. This is why I like to think of it not just in the terms of a climate crisis, but a climate opportunity. And I think that is why President Biden says that every time he hears people talk climate, he hears jobs, jobs, jobs.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Casten is right. You know, listing off all the job opportunities, the transportation sector, he is right.

And this is a global competitiveness issue. We have got to win this race with China and the Europeans. They are building those electric vehicles.

But how exciting was it to see the announcement from Ford and GM?

I can't wait to see this electrified F-150 truck, the Lightning.

This is an enormous opportunity, especially in the industrial Midwest that has really seen a lot of job loss over the years to China. We are going to get back on this, and the only way we can do it is through making these targeted investments.

We want to build the electric vehicles that the world drives. We want to make sure that that charging infrastructure goes coast to coast in every community.

But it is going to take the focus of America. And the good news is, all Americans--I don't care if you are a Democrat or Republican or Independent, or what, they understand that clean energy is the future; and that if we do it right, we can lift communities that need it; and we can create millions and millions of jobs.

Now, I started with the science. And we heard from some outstanding colleagues, and we are going to hear a lot more from them in the coming weeks as we hammer out the American Jobs Plan.

But there was one witness at one of our early hearings, Dr. Abdelhadi, who is an expert, who has been focused on climate for many years, and I want to just remind what he said.

He said: The limited actions to address this climate crisis have resulted in lost opportunity and have produced a challenge that is even greater than it was even a few years ago. With political and society will, and with strategic and scientifically informed action that considers all of the dimensions of climate change, the dangerous trajectory we are on can be altered, such that our generation's story can be one of success and not failure.

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Florida for yielding.

It is with great sadness that I rise on behalf of the Florida delegation, and you can see we have many new Floridians in our delegation today because we had such great love, respect, and admiration for our colleague Congressman Hastings.

Congressman Hastings was a towering figure who always stood up for the little guy. He fought for civil rights. He fought for voting rights. He fought for affordable healthcare. He was tireless.

Now, Alcee did not suffer fools or malarky, and he was unafraid to point it out. And he did so with relish. And let that be a great example to all of us who have this tremendous responsibility to stand up every day for the people who send us here, especially the voiceless and the vulnerable.

But Alcee served with great intellect, with passion, with flare. He loved the House of Representatives. He loved the State of Florida. He wanted it to be better, and he worked on that every single day. But I think we are all better for his service and his example.

Madam Speaker, I think Alcee would have appreciated the fact that you are in bright orange today, the color of his beloved Florida A&M University. Go Rattlers.

On behalf of the great State of Florida, we also send our love, prayers, and condolences to Lale, his chief of staff, his entire team, his family, his devoted friends, and I would respectfully ask that we recognize his life with a moment of silence, but ask and invite you

all to join us in a celebration of his life that we intend to hold next week.

Madam Speaker, in honor of Black History Month, I am celebrating Tampa's health care heroes. I rise today in admiration and respect for the service and leadership of Dr. Kevin Sneed, a tenured professor and the founding dean of the University of South Florida (USF) College of Pharmacy. Born in 1968, he was raised in Orlando, FL. His parents were both public school teachers and were part of the initial wave of educators to desegregate Orange County public schools. As a student at Edgewater High School, he was a shining star-- senior class vice president, a member of the National Honor Society and a football and track athlete.

He attended the University of Central Florida to earn his bachelor's degree in biology with a concentration in microbiology. While it is apparent that he was drawn to the sciences, it was a significant illness while in college that furthered his appreciation for health care and inspired him to enter this field. Dr. Sneed then received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy, where he received numerous clinical and leadership awards. He returned to Florida to complete an Ambulatory Care/Primary Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Veteran's Administration Medical Center.

Prior to joining USF, Dr. Sneed was a faculty member at Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy. He joined USF Health as assistant dean and then founded its College of Pharmacy, which this year will celebrate its 10-year anniversary since welcoming its first charter class. In 2019, the College of Pharmacy received a $10 million donation from the Taneja Family Foundation, marking a transformational milestone for the young school and validating the innovative education experience that centers around the Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist, which trains pharmacists and physicians together. USF is a pioneer of this in Florida.

One of Dr. Sneed's research and clinical interests is examining health care disparities. He regularly partners with organizations, such as the American Heart Association and REACHUP, Inc., to shine a light on these disparities and improve health outcomes, and his efforts were more critical than ever this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Dr. Sneed has been dedicated to educating African American and Latino communities on how to understand the coronavirus and prepare for the vaccine, while working with the medical research community to help ensure equitable distribution among communities of color. Black and Hispanic populations that contract COVID-19 have a higher death rate by 2.8 times their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same dataset also demonstrates even higher hospitalization rates for Black and Hispanic populations. Dr. Sneed's efforts surely will save lives.

Dr. Sneed is active in national and state organizations, among which include the American Heart Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, National Pharmaceutical Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Florida Pharmacy Association, Florida Society of Health- System Pharmacists, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, abstracts, poster presentations, and he has participated in multiple federal and industry sponsored grant projects. Notably, Dr. Sneed served as a site principal investigator and co- investigator on medication clinical trials.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation in the midst of a public health crisis and the Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize the service and leadership of Dr. Kevin Sneed, and his audacious, inspiring vision to transform health care in a way that empowers the clinician, but more importantly, the patient.

Madam Speaker, in honor of Black History Month, I am celebrating Tampa's health care heroes. Today I rise in immense gratitude for the life of service of retired pastor, Dr. Patrick Emmanuel Vincent, who because of his vision and leadership, approximately 1,500 of our neighbors of the East Tampa community have a medical home and access to free health care through the Calvary Community Clinic. Born in 1948 in the southeasterly Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, our community is fortunate that for the past nearly 20 years he has called Tampa Bay his home and for his pastoral service leading the congregation of Mount Calvary Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church since 2001 until his retirement in 2016.

Dr. Vincent always wanted to be a minister of the gospel as far back as he could recall. He started his preparation for ministry at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Maracas Valley, a few miles northeast of his childhood home. He then moved to Mandeville, Jamaica to complete his bachelor's degree at the Northern Caribbean University. He graduated with a master's degree in Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University in Michigan. He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. His pastoral ministry took him to Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, as well as Birmingham, AL and Orlando, FL. He became a renowned church builder and church growth specialist. As the senior pastor of Mount Calvary SDA Church in Tampa, Dr. Vincent led his congregation into their beautiful new sanctuary and reconstructed the church's school.

But Dr. Vincent's vision went beyond serving the congregation of his church. He led a survey within the East Tampa community where his church is located to determine the most critical need. In response to the growing uninsured population in this area, the Calvary Community Clinic was established in 2015 to provide quality, compassionate health care. Dr. Vincent raised funding through Mount Calvary Church endowments and membership contributions, community initiatives, donations from corporations as well as grants. Today, Dr. Vincent serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the clinic and a volunteer staff of certified physicians, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, counselors, social workers, and clerical and support personnel provide free healthcare and health education services to the uninsured, underserved and working poor individuals and families of East Tampa and Hillsborough County.

Dr. Vincent is happily married to Judy Williams and together, they have committed their lives in service to God and their neighbors.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation and Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize Dr. Patrick Emmanuel Vincent, and his lifetime of servant leadership, spiritual guidance and his entrepreneurial spirit to uplift

and grow his congregations and beyond that, his community at large.

Madam Speaker, in honor of Black History Month, I am celebrating Tampa's health care heroes. Today I rise in admiration and respect for the public service and leadership of Dr. Dana Darien Glenn, who proudly serves our Veterans as Women's Center Medical Director at the James A. Haley Veterans (VA) Hospitals and Clinics in Tampa, FL. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1966, she relocated to Tampa in 1972 with her family. Her own father, Dr. Glinton Darien, served as a full-time staff dentist at the James A. Haley VA Hospital. Dr. Glenn has followed in his footsteps to serve our Veterans. Dr. Glenn was also influenced by her mother, who is a retired registered nurse. While Dr. Glenn has always had a passion for science and math, building a sense of community for her patients started at a young age when she would accompany her father, a deacon, as he visited the ill and shut-ins.

The youngest of three children, she attended Hillsborough County Public Schools, graduating with honors from Leto High School. She then earned her associate's degree and graduated with honors from Hillsborough Community College. She completed her bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Florida in 1988 and her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine in 1993. She returned to Florida to complete the Bayfront Medical Center Family Practice Program. In Tampa, she met and married the love of her life, Vernon Glenn, where they live with their two children, Alana and Theodore.

Prior to joining James A. Haley VA Hospital, Dr. Glenn was a private practitioner for 10 years in Tampa. Part of that time she ran a practice, Glenn Family Health Center, with her husband. Her sense of community transitioned her from private practice to joining the James A. Haley VA Hospital as a full-time staff physician in 2005. She was inspired by the hospital's patient-aligned care team and less than 10 years later, she would become part of the planning team to open a center solely dedicated to women veterans healthcare, including equipment, supplies and space to ensure gender-specific care. The United States has more than 2 million women veterans, and the number of women using VA health services has more than tripled over the last 20 years. VA hospitals across the nation are adapting to serve the changing demographic--Dr. Glenn is part of this history of transition. The James A. Haley VA Hospital currently serves approximately 12,000 female Veterans.

Dr. Glenn is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and she is a member of the American Medical Association. Her list of past awards and honors include Finalist for VA Woman of the Year Award, Young Leader Award by the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, Charles Aucremann Art of Medicine Award, M.A. Barton Award for Best Medical Paper, Outstanding Presentation, Research Day, and Commonwealth Fund/ Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellowship in Academic Research. Her professional and community services include: VA National Women's Health Services Mini-Residency Faculty participating in national and local lectures to train women's health staff as well as Affiliate Assistant Professor at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine teaching internal medicine residents. She has been a volunteer speaker at numerous church-based community health programs focusing on women's health issues.

Dr. Glenn is passionate about helping people achieve their highest level of health and wellness. She is especially encouraged about opportunities to effectuate positive changes in the African American community disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and in multiple chronic disease/health outcome measures as well as underrepresented in leadership roles in medicine.

Her personal mission statement is based on her favorite Bible verse, Galatians 2:20: ``I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.''

Madam Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation in the midst of a public health crisis and the Tampa Bay community, I am proud to recognize the service and leadership of Dr. Dana Glenn, as well as her eternal optimism guided by her personal faith.

Madam Speaker, I missed the vote on Roll Call No. 94 on March 18, 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 94.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

I rise today to urge the impeachment of Donald Trump because the attack on the Capitol and the Congress was the single most depraved betrayal of the U.S. Constitution ever committed by a President. The traitorous incitement of an insurrection demands not just impeachment but removal from office immediately.

Violence during the transfer of power, Confederate flags, anti- Semitic paraphernalia desecrated this Capitol. Accountability must come swiftly. We must act with the same resoluteness we showed in the early morning hours after the insurrection, where we ensured the will of the voters was effectuated.

Donald Trump's defilement of this Capitol will not stand. It demands impeachment now.

Madam Speaker, as we enter a new year, Americans are urging us to come together and tackle our toughest challenges, and that includes the costly climate crisis.

In the previous Congress, the House directed that a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis develop a roadmap for America's clean energy future. With a broad cross section of ideas and input, the committee developed a majority staff report that was a detailed roadmap for action. It was called the Solving the Climate Crisis plan. It has been described as the most well-thought-out plan for addressing climate change that has ever been part of U.S. politics, an extraordinary synthesis of expertise from social and scientific fields.

Some of our recommendations have already been adopted into law through bipartisan legislation, but we have much more work to do. This excellent rules package will allow us to continue our work in the 117th Congress.

Our bipartisan committee intends to advance clean energy solutions that unleash American innovation, promote environmental justice, and create good family-sustaining jobs in all communities across the country.

I urge Members to support the rules package, and I thank Speaker Pelosi, Chairman McGovern, and the Committee on Rules for their work and for their vision.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the selfless pro bono

work of Tampa attorney, Michael Bedke, who will receive the Florida Bar Foundation's 2019 Medal of Honor Award this week. The Medal of Honor is the Foundation's highest honor.

Michael Bedke works to ensure the wheels of justice turn for everyone. He has devoted a large portion of his distinguished legal career in service to his community and his country. He has provided extensive pro bono service and advocacy for AIDS patients, domestic violence survivors and individuals in need. He also has maintained an unfailing commitment to improve the lives of veterans. He spearheaded the ``No Place Like Home'' initiative which establishes permanent supportive housing for neighbors in need of mental health services or who are at risk of chronic homelessness.

Throughout his life, Mike always has recognized his duty to serve his neighbors and country in a wide variety of ways. He is constantly thinking of ways to meet unmet legal needs and has a unique ability to develop effective plans for meeting those needs.

As a young lawyer, Mike took on pro bono cases to represent persons with AIDS in the 1980s, a time when the general public was both fearful and uneducated about the disease. True to his style of leading by example, by taking on these cases and serving on the board of the Tampa AIDS Network he encouraged colleagues to take similar action.

After Category 5 Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992, Mike worked to pass Good Samaritan legislation that removed an impediment to lawyers providing pro bono help to disaster survivors. He also led legal relief efforts in response to Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and September 11. He founded the Greater Access and Assistance Project while chair of the American Bar Association's Young Lawyer's Division, modeling it after the Courthouse Assistance Project he created at home as a member of Bay Area Legal Services' board of directors.

Mike has worked to empower domestic violence survivors for more than 25 years. He was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women in 2002 and has served on numerous boards working to improve access and support for survivors. He worked with the Women's Caucus of the Peruvian Parliament to draft model domestic violence legislation.

Mike received his bachelor's degree with high honors from the University of Florida in Gainesville and served as student body president. He then completed his juris doctorate with honors from the University of Florida. He developed a program at his alma mater to recruit and retain minority law students. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Stetson College of Law.

Close to my heart and so many in the Tampa Bay area is Bay Area Legal Services that provides legal aid to people who need it. As president of the Board of Directors for Bay Area Legal Services, in 2015, Mike spearheaded a fundraising effort that created a $400,000 endowment for a veterans program. He also led the development and implementation of Bay Area's ``No Place Like Home Project'' to provide pro bono help to low-income homeowners experiencing title issues.

He is a partner in the Tampa office of the distinguished international law firm, DLA Piper. While Mike is much sought after in his specific area of practice, he was called to do more in service to his community and country--and we are better for it and grateful for his vision and commitment.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of America, the State of Florida and my neighbors across our hometown, I am proud to mark Mike Bedke's lifetime of leadership.

Mr. Chair, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has broad authority to protect consumers and is tasked specifically with targeting fraud, deceptive advertising, robocalls, identity theft, and online privacy.

Hardly a day goes by when personal private or financial data isn't lost to an online data breach or theft. Americans deserve to have greater privacy protections for what they do online. And we need an FTC that has the tools necessary to go after bad actors and hold them accountable.

I'd like to compliment the Appropriations Committee for providing the FTC with a $40 million increase from FY19. FTC needs more resources to protect our personal online data, but I remain concerned that the FTC will still struggle to fulfill its mission and hold companies accountable for violations of the law, data breaches and particularly our children's online privacy. Every week there is a new report of companies skirting the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. When the FTC does go after bad actors it is often too late and the penalties are too insignificant.

On the Energy and Commerce Committee, my colleagues and I are working to improve children's online privacy protections. Recently, as part of that work, FTC Chairman Simons testified that a FTC $5.7 million settlement with a company that illegally collected information on children, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, was the largest civil penalty in an children's online privacy case. Unfortunately, the penalty was too low to ensure online companies are following the law.

The video social networking app Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, settled very serious case where TikTok was collecting location data on children that was discernible to people in the neighborhood. TikTok made it very difficult for children and parents to close accounts. TikTok made it practically impossible to complain. And TikTok would not delete profiles after someone did close an account.

TikTok is now owned by Chinese company Bytedance, which is valued at $75 billion. That means that the FTC's record setting fine was 0.0076 percent of Bytedance's value. No CEO is going to blink an eye at a fine that inconsequential. Companies will just see small FTC fines as a cost of doing business and will continue to elevate profits over privacy, especially when it come to our kids.

The FTC also has launched a probe of You Tube for potential violations of COPPA and a broad consensus has emerged that many other bad actors violate the law on a regular basis.

One of the reasons for the lack of enforcement is too few resources focused specifically on children's privacy. Currently the FTC only has 40 full time staff devoted to protecting privacy and data security for the entire country. In comparison, the U.K. which has 1/5th the population of the U.S. has 500 full time staff in its Information Commissioners' office. Ireland, which has 1/65th the population of the U.S. has 110 full time staff in its Data Protection Commissioner's office. Something does not add up here.

My amendment encourages the FTC to take enforcement action against companies that fail to protect children's privacy and encourages Congress to give the FTC the resources it needs to fulfill its overall mission.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chairwoman, my amendment is an important one for American families who are grappling with healthcare costs.

My amendment is an important one for the over 130 million Americans who have a preexisting health condition like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or Alzheimer's.

My amendment takes aim at a proposed rule by the Trump administration that encourages insurance companies to issue junk insurance plans.

Everyone calls them junk insurance plans because they often don't cover vital health services. They may not cover a trip to the hospital or the emergency room. They may not cover prescription drugs. They may not cover mental health services that you need.

They are often marketed as a good deal, but they don't show a person the fine print that they may cap benefits. What they do is they allow discrimination against our neighbors who have a preexisting health condition.

This is not in question because in committee, I asked the HHS Secretary Azar point blank, I said: ``These short-term, limited- duration plans known as junk plans, they allow insurance companies to discriminate against you if you have a preexisting health condition; right, Mr. Secretary?''

He said: ``Yes.''

The law of the land after we passed the Affordable Care Act says that no longer are we going to allow insurance companies to discriminate against our neighbors who have preexisting health conditions. So how can the Trump administration be moving forward?

Well, they are moving forward with a proposed rule that would allow these plans to operate for 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years. That is not a short-term, limited-duration plan. These are junk.

Just over a month ago, Democrats here in the House stood up for our neighbors back home and passed a bill, H.R. 1010, that would halt the Trump administration's dangerous expansion of junk health plans that weaken the protection for Americans who have a preexisting condition.

Today, we are building on H.R. 1010 by offering this amendment with my colleagues, Representatives Underwood, Barragan, DeSaulnier, Spanberger, Moore, and Slotkin, to prohibit any funds from being used to implement, administer, or enforce the administration's expansion of junk plans. We are going to safeguard families from Republican attempts to push them into junk insurance plans that don't cover the essential healthcare services that they need.

The mandate from our neighbors back home is clear. They value affordable healthcare and the bedrock protection of the Affordable Care Act that prohibits discrimination based upon a preexisting health condition.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, instead of ripping affordable coverage away, my Republican colleagues and the administration should be working with the Democrats to lower healthcare costs for American families and protect coverage for preexisting conditions. One way that we can do that is by supporting this amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), who is a healthcare champion.

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

Madam Speaker, after a number of years of consecutive blue team victories, I am here to congratulate the red team and my good friends Congressman LaHood and Congressman Bacon, the co- chairs of the Congressional Soccer Caucus.

Truly, the real winners are the kids across America, who we are able to raise charity funds for, to help make sure that they can all experience a beautiful game, the beautiful game of soccer.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation funds fields and equipment all across the country, particularly in the underserved areas.

Madam Speaker, I invite everyone to join the soccer caucus and help stand up for your kids back home.

I do have to say, on the eve of the Women's World Cup, with the defending World Cup champions, the U.S. Women's National Team, there is a little bit of girl power not only here in the House, but we intend to repeat the win of the Women's World Cup.

Let's cheer them on and cheer on what they have done in standing up for pay equity and equal treatment as role models for girls and young women all across this country.

Madam Speaker, I am saddened to hear of the passing of a truly

great Floridian, Sandy D'Alemberte. As it does for so many, his passing pains me both personally and for our state and country. Sandy was a voice for reason, the rule of law, decency and kindness--a ``necessary man'' for all his time and certainly for these times. It is enough to remember him as a brilliant legislator, president of the American Bar Association (ABA), Florida State University (FSU) president and Florida Constitutional scholar. And, much loved dean while I was at FSU College of Law. However, Sandy was indispensable in so many instances in Florida's history--both the big moments and some moments that most of his fellow Floridians might never know about but which were just as grand. One of the latter was his embrace of Jose Manuel Godinez- Samperio and his fight to be admitted to the Florida Bar. Jose graduated valedictorian of his class at Armwood High School in Hillsborough County, Fla. and went on to attend FSU College of Law. Jose made history when he graduated from FSU College of Law and passed the Florida Bar exam, but when he sought admittance to the Florida Bar as an undocumented immigrant, this great American Story almost came to an end. Sandy's belief in the law, fair play and young people caused him to take on this injustice. He brought together a team, including me, past presidents of the ABA, bipartisan members of the Florida Legislature and others, to successfully confront this quiet individual inequity just as he had taken on more large and public challenges for all of Florida. Like so many public officials, I can say that Sandy has helped make me a better representative for my neighbors in Tampa and throughout Florida. I sought his counsel for Florida's future as recently as last fall. The gracious efforts by Sandy on behalf of the small and the grand, and the foundation he has laid for the legal community, higher education, his state and his country will hopefully be of some solace to Patsy and his family.

Mr. Chairman, Democrats are doing everything that we can to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, so I strongly support the act that is on the floor today. It contains two bills that I authored.

First is H.R. 1010, which prohibits the expansion of these junk insurance plans. Junk insurance plans are the ones that do not cover preexisting conditions. You can often be tricked into buying one of these plans and find out it doesn't even cover the trip to the hospital.

In fact, I asked Secretary Azar, in committee, about this. I asked him: You are aware that these junk plans do not cover preexisting conditions?

He said: That is correct.

The bill also contains another section that I authored, the ENROLL Act, to restore funds to our independent navigators who are helping American families choose the right health insurance options for them. Agents and brokers are important, but they are no substitute for independent navigators who are trusted in the community.

We have got to pass these bills today to lower healthcare costs for families all across the country and lower prescription drug costs. I am very proud to have authored two portions of this.

Let's not let them expand these junk plans and leave you on the hook. Let's make sure that families have the independent advice that they need to choose what makes the most sense for them.

Mr. Chairman, we are trying to turn back the sabotage of the Trump administration on people's healthcare for the folks back home who we represent. The Trump administration has done everything they can to make it more expensive, whether we are talking about prescription drugs or that all-important health insurance policy.

Don't just take it from me and my Democratic colleagues. Take it from folks who are on the side of our families day in and day out: the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association. I could go on and on.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record letters from over 20 health groups that represent our families back home who say: Pass this bill.

May 15, 2019.

Hon. Kathy Castor,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Castor: The 23 undersigned

organizations, representing millions of American patients,

providers, and consumers, write today in strong support of

H.R. 1010, To provide that the rule entitled ``Short-Term,

Limited Duration Insurance ``shall have no force or effect,''

which is now included in H.R. 987. Our organizations strongly

support providing protections for patients from short-term,

limited-duration (STLDI or short-term) plans and support

preventing action on implementing or enforcing the ``Short-

Term, Limited-Duration Insurance'' final rule (83 FR 38212,

published August 3, 2018).

Our organizations remain concerned about this final rule

which expands the maximum

duration of short-term health insurance plans from three

months to 364 days. Previously, short term plans were

available to fill a temporary gap in coverage, such as gaps

in employment. However, since the rule was finalized, the

growth and availability of these products continues to

threaten patients with pre-existing conditions because

insurers offering these policies can either deny coverage or

charge higher premiums to individuals with pre-existing

conditions. Expanding access to these policies could cause

premiums in the marketplace to increase, as younger and

healthier individuals choose to enroll in the short-term

plans. This forces individuals with serious or chronic

conditions into a smaller, sicker risk pool to obtain the

coverage they need to manage their health. Premiums for these

comprehensive plans would likely skyrocket, making insurance

unaffordable.

Short-term plans also lack patient protections guaranteed

by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), severely impacting

individuals with serious or chronic health conditions. Plan

providers are permitted to consider pre-existing conditions

in decisions to deny coverage, charge higher premiums, or not

cover certain care and treatments. After enrolling in a

short-term plan, providers are permitted to rescind or amend

coverage based on new health issues. Short-term plans are not

required to cover all of the Essential Health Benefits (EHBs)

categories outlined in the ACA, potentially forcing

individuals to pay out-of-pocket for expensive treatments.

These plans can also impose lifetime and annual limits on

coverage and do not require limits on out-of-pocket expenses

and deductibles.

H.R. 1010 would both protect patients and consumers from

substandard insurance products and assist in stabilizing the

marketplace. The decreased up-front costs of short-term plans

may be more appealing to younger, healthier individuals,

thus, dividing the individual marketplace risk pool.

Segmenting the market in this way will result in increased

premiums for comprehensive ACA-compliant plans in the

marketplace, decreasing marketplace stability, and reducing

affordable access to insurance.

It is for these reasons we enthusiastically endorse your

legislation and urge Congress to act swiftly to limit the

sale of short-term insurance plans. People with pre-existing

conditions need access to adequate, affordable health

insurance. Again, our organizations thank you for your

leadership on this critical issue for people with pre-

existing conditions, and we support your efforts to expand

access to affordable health insurance.

Sincerely,

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American

Heart Association, American Lung Association, Arthritis

Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation,

Hemophilia Federation of America, Leukemia & Lymphoma

Society, Lutheran Services in America, March of Dimes, Mended

Little Hearts, Muscular Dystrophy Association.

National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Coalition for

Cancer Survivorship, National Health Council, National

Hemophilia Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society,

National Organization for Rare Disorders, National Patient

Advocate Foundation, National Psoriasis Foundation, Susan G.

Kamen, The ALS Association, Women Heart: The National

Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.

Mr. Chair, I wanted to make one more important point. I have heard so much misinformation today from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have denigrated our navigators. They say agents and brokers can do the job of helping to sign up our neighbors for health insurance.

Boy, that is not the case. Yes, agents and brokers are important, but we heard expert testimony in our committee that the navigators provide independent, trusted advice. They are our community-based folks at community health centers and groups like the American Cancer Society, who I mentioned, that understand how important it is.

A lot of the agents and brokers send their customers over to navigators to sign up because the agents and brokers are not interested in going over to folks who rely on Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in admiration and respect to honor the life of true civil rights champion, James Hammond. Retired Lt. Col. U.S. Army James Hammond was born on November 11th-- Veterans Day, a fitting beginning for a man who would give so much to our state and our country. A pioneering civil rights leader, Mr. Hammond helped shape my hometown of Tampa and we will remember his legacy for the stands he took, the differences he made and the lives he touched.

Born in Tampa, FL, Mr. Hammond graduated from Middleton High School and later attended Hampton University earning a degree in electrical engineering. He served his country in the U.S. Army in Texas, Germany, England and Washington, rising all the way to the rank of lieutenant colonel. While serving in the Army he created the Hammond Electric Company. He became Tampa's first African-American, licensed, class-A electrical contractor. He would go on to use his experience in business to help create the Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan--working to bring affordable housing and business incubators to underserved areas.

Mr. Hammond served as the First Commissioner of Community Relations for the City of Tampa. In that role he was tasked with working towards racial equality during the mid-60s. He worked to bring people together, while constantly pushing our community to improve. His work led to more training and jobs for African-Americans in city government. He partnered with U.S. Congressman Sam Gibbons to secure a federal grant to create our county's first preschool program. He worked to integrate Tampa's downtown businesses. Where there was discrimination, he worked for change; where there was injustice, he worked to overcome it; and where there was an opportunity to improve the lives of his neighbors, he seized on it.

Mr. Hammond's commitment to education lasted throughout his life. He and his beloved wife Evelyne established a scholarship fund at their alma mater, Hampton University. At the elementary school named for him, students and families would often see him at school events. As Hammond Elementary School principal Sheri Norkas described, ``He would tell the students to repeat after him, and they happily repeated, `I will be somebody.' ''

Mr. Hammond was part of the fabric of the Tampa community, helping improve lives every day. He served as Chairman of the Civil Service Board, District Chairman Boy Scouts of America, Board of Director Member of The Greater Tampa Urban League, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and Community Federal Savings and Loan Association. He was a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the NAACP. He has been honored on this floor before, when my friend Congressman Alcee Hastings proclaimed May 4th as National James A. Hammond Day.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of America, the citizens of Florida and my neighbors across Tampa Bay, I am proud to honor James Hammond for his courage and selfless devotion to the people in our country and our community. The time and energy he put in to improving the lives of every person he met are unmatched. Today, we all pledge to carry on his work and practice what he preached, the ``Three P's'' of patience, persistence and positive thinking. He lifted up others and inspired our greater Tampa community to bridge our differences for the benefit of all. He walked humbly and was full of grace.