Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National School Breakfast Week. We know that the simple act of a child eating a healthy breakfast can have dramatic effects, not only on their health, but on their academic performance.

I am cochair of the Congressional School Health and Safety Caucus, and I was honored to join the Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign discussing last week, in a briefing, the importance of the School Breakfast Program.

I was proud to vote for the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that helped to expand the School Breakfast Program, but I'm disheartened that only about half of eligible students are participating in the program. We can do better.

I spent years as a school nurse, and I saw, firsthand, how hunger can cause children to lack focus in school, often get sick, and eventually fall behind. And that's why students are encouraged to eat, and often provided with a breakfast on the day of a big test. But we need to make sure they eat breakfast every day.

We've put the School Breakfast Program in place, and now we need to increase awareness and ensure access for all eligible students. That's why I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing National School Breakfast Week because, after all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of my fellow nurses within the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) as they celebrate their 27th anniversary. HPNA is the Nation's largest and oldest professional nursing organization and has consistently been a leader in excellence in the field.

Nurses are truly the backbone of our healthcare system. As our Nation ages, we will increasingly depend on the skilled care of hospice and palliative nurses to help our loved ones through difficult times. Their tireless dedication to patient education and care sustains our communities.

Last year I spoke at a briefing on Capitol Hill with hospice and palliative care nurses, families, caregivers, and patients to encourage discussion on this very important, yet often overlooked area.

Palliative care is a patient-centered philosophy that provides quality, compassionate end-of-life care. By honoring informed patient choice, palliative care nurses help make a challenging time a little easier for patients and their loved ones. I hope this topic continues to be part of our professional and personal dialogues.

This is important work and I hope you will join me in recognition of these leaders in aging and long-term care. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to quality nursing. I congratulate my hospice and palliative care nursing colleagues and wish them continued success.

Madam Speaker, I thank my leader for yielding, and I rise today in opposition to the Republican amendment that would undermine key provisions in the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, and to urge strong support for the underlying Senate bill which protects our young people on our school campuses.

VAWA is a vital program addressing violence against women holistically: through prevention programs, survivor supports, and provisions to hold perpetrators accountable. But it is also a symbol that relationship violence and sexual assault is real and that it's unacceptable. It has been a symbol in this Congress that we can put aside our differences and come together to do what is right for violence victims and survivors. And as we saw in the Senate--and we will hopefully see it here in the House--this is still true.

Our daughters, sisters, and mothers, no matter where they are, including on our school campuses, deserve to live without fear of abuse, and we cannot delay their safety any longer. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the Senate bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in addressing the immediate and increasing threat of climate change. States and localities are beginning to respond to this threat, but they can't do it alone. That's why I'm introducing two bills to help our communities prepare for the future impacts of climate change.

The first is the Coastal States Climate Change Planning Act. It provides funding to coastal States and communities so they can plan and implement climate change mitigation projects, such as seawalls, habitat buffer zones, and flood control systems. The second bill is the Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act, which provides funding for local water agencies. Water agencies are very concerned about the need to increase the resiliency of our aging water infrastructure systems because they're going to be impacted by climate change. These critical infrastructure projects will not only improve public health and safety, but they will also help our local economies grow by providing jobs.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to take action on climate change, so I hope we can work together to pass these and other commonsense measures to address such a critical issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, a critical law that has helped Americans balance the demands of work and family for 20 years.

Over these last two decades, FMLA has helped to foster strong family relationships, ensuring parents could take time with a new child, allowing workers to care for older family members, and permitting military families the time to prepare for new deployments. For this, we are all grateful.

But we must remember that FMLA is only the first step to helping our working families. Too many are still without FMLA's protections, and millions who are eligible can't afford to take unpaid leave.

As we reflect on 20 years of great success, let's recommit to improving this program going forward to help keep all American families strong.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 225, the National Pediatric Research Network Act.

I want to associate myself with the remarks of our committee chairman, Mr. Upton. He has a family dear to his heart, as I have one too; and they reflect families across this country for whom this bill will provide a stronger glimmer of hope for the future.

This is a bipartisan bill. It will improve research in clinical trials on pediatric diseases, train future pediatric researchers, and disseminate research findings quickly so that all children may benefit.

It does not replace our current pediatric research investments, but instead builds upon the work already being done at the National Institutes of Health and at so many research centers across the country by creating research consortia to form a nationwide network of pediatric researchers. This is important to make sure that we are always working with the most current science and that this information is quickly shared and verified.

This bill will also expand the geographic scope of research, giving sick kids easier access to research programs and clinical trials. Moreover, this bill will help a wider variety of institutions participate in this critical research while providing training grounds for our next generation of pediatric researchers.

Another key feature of this bill is that it will place an added emphasis on researching children's rare diseases and develop new treatments to fight them.

My colleagues have heard me talk before about diseases like spinal muscular atrophy just referenced by our committee chair. This does not just affect a sick child, but it also fundamentally changes the daily lives of their

family, their school, their community. The low prevalence of such diseases makes them particularly hard to research. But for those affected, a new cure or treatment could mean a world of difference.

The National Pediatric Research Network Act will be an important step forward to helping these families and those who may develop these diseases long into the future.

I am a nurse, a mother, and a grandmother as well, and I am very pleased to have authored this bill that will help bring more treatments and cures to many children.

Children have unique health care experiences, treatment needs, research challenges; and while public and private research has come a very long way on pediatric diseases over the years, we know that we are still far behind on important diagnostics, cures, and treatments for far too many of our ailing children, which is why this bill is so important.

I especially thank Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers for co- leading this bill through two Congresses with me and for all her hard work on children's health issues. I want to thank the leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Chairman Upton I have referenced, but I also thank Ranking Member Waxman, Chairman Pitts, Ranking Member Pallone, and their staffs for their dedication to this bill. I especially thank Ruth Katz for helping us move this bill through the committee quickly. I thank my colleague Congresswoman DeGette, who has worked on this bill with me for many years.

Finally, I would like to thank my constituents Bill and Victoria Strong for their tireless work on behalf of their daughter, Gwendolyn, and all the children with spinal muscular atrophy and other rare diseases. For them, I wear a particular bracelet, which reads: ``Never give up.'' Gwendolyn, who it was once thought would never live past age 2, is now in kindergarten. The work her parents, Bill and Victoria, do day in and day out to make their daughter's world a little better is so inspiring. The dedication of her parents and their medical team truly allows Gwendolyn to live life to the fullest. They have shown how entire communities can come together and fight diseases like SMA.

I urge my colleagues to follow their example. Come together, and support this bill today so we can do all we can to make it law.

Mr. Speaker, the National Pediatric Research Network Act is an important bill, not just for current and future researchers, but for sick children and for their families. It is a bipartisan measure that received overwhelming support in the 112th Congress, and it's the right thing to do, so I urge its full support.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. This landmark decision granted American women the right to make their own personal health decisions, in consultation with their family and their faith, and without government intrusion.

However, this right has been under steady attack in recent years, with a clear goal: to make it so difficult to obtain a safe and legal abortion that it's become de facto illegal. But I'm among those who remember what it was like when women were pushed into the

shadows to get care, and we cannot go back to that dangerous time.

The truth is, none of us can walk in the shoes of each woman facing an unwanted pregnancy, so let's use this anniversary to renew our commitment to ensuring that every woman in America can make her own decision and walk her own path.

Mr. Speaker, I was not able to be present for the following rollcall vote on January 14, 2013 and would like the record to reflect that I would have voted as follows: rollcall No. 8: ``yes''; rollcall No. 9: ``yes''; and rollcall No. 10: ``no''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my disappointment that House leadership is again playing political games instead of getting our work done. With time running short, they've decided to prohibit a vote on extending the middle class tax cuts for families making up to $250,000 per year. Instead, we will only be voting on the so-called Republican Plan B.

Plan B is yet another giveaway to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans and at the expense of middle class families. It forces middle class families to pay $1,000 more a year in taxes in order to give millionaires a $50,000 break. That's not what the American people voted for in November. They sent a clear message that they wanted us to put aside our differences and work together to pass a balanced plan that protects middle class families and ensures that everyone pays their fair share.

We agree. We all agree that families making up to $250,000 should not see their taxes go up on January 1. We could pass that bill today and give millions of families across this country peace of mind, but we're not even getting to vote on that bill. Instead, we're taking a symbolic vote that solves nothing. My constituents--all of our constituents-- deserve better.

I do want to acknowledge the gentlelady in the chair as my partner in the Capps-Emerson lectures and as my neighbor and a real friend.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act. This is an important bill to improve the health outcomes of pregnant women and their babies, and it shows our Nation's commitment to addressing the costly and emotionally troubling incidence of preterm birth. While this is enough reason for me to support this legislation, I would like to highlight two additional sections of the bill that will improve the health and well-being not only of newborns but of our children as they grow.

First, it includes the reauthorization of the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program. This is a critical investment in both the health of our kids and in the health of our economy by bringing new, talented individuals into the health care workforce.

From my years as a school nurse, I know the difficulty that children experience, especially those with special health care needs, when they look for a pediatric specialist. Over the years, we have seen how CHGME programs have made a measurable impact in alleviating that burden, allowing these children and their families to focus on healing. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation and will continue to champion it in the House.

While we must ensure that the providers are available for our kids, we are still far behind on too many important diagnostics, cures, and treatments for many of our ailing children. That is why this bill also includes the National Pediatric Research Network Act, which is a bill that I coauthored with my colleague, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

This legislation will help strengthen and coordinate our Nation's research on pediatric diseases. It will disseminate research findings quickly so that all children may benefit, especially those who have rare diseases; and it will expand the geographic scope of research, giving sick kids easier access to research programs and to clinical trials. Moreover, this bill places an added emphasis on researching children's rare diseases, like spinal muscular atrophy, as my colleague Mr. Upton has noted, and on developing new treatments to fight them.

The low prevalence of these diseases makes them particularly hard to research, and yet these diseases have such a marked impact on the lives of far too many families and communities, like the Strong family of Santa Barbara. My constituents Bill and Victoria Strong have worked tirelessly on behalf of their daughter, Gwendolyn, and all children with spinal muscular atrophy and other rare diseases. The work they've done to help raise the profile of pediatric rare disease research is going to help families all across the Nation. I thank them.

I also thank the leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee-- Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Waxman, Chairman Pitts, and Ranking Member Pallone--for their dedication to this bill. I thank the staff, especially Ruth Katz, for working across the aisle and across the Capitol to bring a strong bill now to the floor.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. I urge its swift passage in the Senate so that we can improve the health and well- being of all infants and all children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 833, and in support of the greater Newtown community in the wake of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Twenty seven lives have been lost and countless others have been affected by the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 15, 2012.

Twenty first-graders were killed in their classroom.

And teachers and school administrators died while protecting their students.

As a nation, we are heartsick.

As a mother and grandmother of eight, I cannot even begin to fathom what the families of Newtown are going through.

As they have just begun the long and slow process of grieving and healing, our nation's hearts, prayers, and deepest sympathies are with them.

This horrible crime reminds us that our time here is precious and short.

And it reminds us that even though we cannot prevent every single senseless violent act, we must come together to all we can to reduce the gun violence that contributed to these losses.

For too long we have neglected to take the steps necessary to stem the damage and harm inflicted by gun violence.

I pray that this horrific event will remind us that our highest priority is to keep our children safe--and right now we are not doing enough.

There is so much more that we can do to protect our families and communities from gun violence.

But there is also much more that we can and must do to strengthen our mental health care systems--to treat those in need, avert future violence, and support those whose lives have been affected by it.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, and as time passes for the community of Newtown, the nation will reflect on this tragedy.

I hope that through this soul searching we will conclude that we have a moral responsibility to take strong, effective action to reduce the harm caused by gun violence.

We owe it to the victims and their families to take every step possible to prevent another horrific tragedy like this one.

If not now, when?

Mr. Speaker, I was not able to be present for the following rollcall vote on December 17, 2012, and would like the record to reflect that I would have voted as follows:

Rollcall No. 627: yes.

Rollcall No. 628: yes.

Sequestration would be a huge blow not only to middle class families but also to our clean energy innovators and entrepreneurs.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, sequestration would impose an across-the-board cut of nearly 10 percent to critical clean energy and innovation programs. That would mean a $148 million cut to the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program alone. These cuts would tremendously damage our ability to develop the clean energy technologies of tomorrow, technologies that lead not only to lower energy bills for our constituents but also to new businesses and middle class jobs. I see it every day in my congressional district, where cutting-edge companies like LaunchPoint Technologies and Transphorm use Federal funding to develop exciting new ideas that would otherwise languish on the drawing board.

Mr. Speaker, the threat of sequestration and the fiscal cliff is very real. It's time for us to come together and pass a balanced package that continues building for a clean energy future.

I would like to thank my colleague, George Miller, for setting aside this hour. He just asked about the amount of time, and I will take that to heart as I make my comments because we could all go on for great lengths about all of these dear people who won't be with us in the next Congress. And I add my congratulations for their service, Republicans and Democrats, all of us alike, but I will speak now for the six of our Democratic colleagues who will not come back.

I want to start with our dear friend, Lynn Woolsey, to whom I get compared. My progressive constituents often say to me, Now, Lois, why don't you vote more like Lynn Woolsey?

She was one of the first people I met. Her story is compelling as a woman Member of Congress. I don't know how it would be to raise kids by yourself. She is a good voice and advocate for all mothers, all working families, and particularly those who carry extra burdens themselves. She's put her heart and soul into her work in Congress, and it shows.

As I met you early on when I came here, you were kind and befriended me. I know that you have served your constituents in the same passionate way, and I thank you for the role model you've provided me.

Howard Berman has provided another kind of role model for me. My husband, before me, came to Congress, in part, to work on Middle Eastern issues; and there's a go-to person in this Congress that I have always relied upon for advice and support in that area, and that's Howard Berman. He's a Congressperson's Congressman, in my opinion. My Human Rights Watch folks have held him in such high esteem.

It has been a very great honor to serve almost as a neighbor to him. With his district in the Central Valley, San Fernando Valley, and mine on the coast, it has been a real joy to have him as a colleague here. I will treasure always his role in getting me elected and also keeping me here.

I also came to Congress from the health care field, and so the name I heard often was Congressman Pete Stark. He's been here since the seventies, knows all about health care and through all of the intricacies.

I'm pleased, Mr. Stark, that you have been here through the passage of the Affordable Care Act. That's a crowning jewel for you and for all of us. But you've been through many health care ups and downs through the years. You've been a role model for me being on the Ways and Means Committee and in my role on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Thank you for your service and your friendship.

It's hard to go through this list, Mr. Miller. This is a wonderful privilege to say thank you. The countless hours that you could add up for the service to constituents and the tremendous leadership within this body and these Members who have given their all and now will not be back in the 113th, it's important to say their names and to honor them and give them credit for what they've done.

Joe Baca has been a fixture for the Central Valley and agriculture, as someone who has agriculture number one in my district as well, but we can't say his name without thinking of the baseball team. There's much to remember Joe Baca for, such as his contributions in agriculture and on the Financial Services Committee as well.

My former colleague now, Bob Filner, who has already assumed another position within our government as mayor of San Diego. When I think of Bob Filner, I think of veterans' issues, and also the fact that he was a college professor before he came to Congress, as my husband was, and they reached out to each other in that capacity. He has worked hard on veterans' issue. I have about 50,000 veterans in my district. So

the GI bill is often something I can give him credit for but also work with my veterans with.

Finally, Laura Richardson. When I think of Laura, it's my daughter's name, but I also think of her beautiful singing voice. I know that I shouldn't say that first to my colleague who has shown tremendous leadership within Congress as well, but she'll take her beautiful voice with her. I have been able to work with Laura on transportation issues as they relate particularly to our ports because she is known for her work with the Port of Long Beach, and I have ports in my district as well. She also will be missed on the women's softball team.

We are friends here. We are colleagues here. We bring our human qualities, and we bring our leadership skills. The California delegation makes me proud every day, and in the next Congress, it will be the memories and the service that has been given to us from these colleagues of ours. That's why I thank you, Mr. Miller, for setting aside this hour for us to share our thoughts. Thank you.

I rise today to congratulate Teach Elementary School in San Luis Obispo on becoming a National Blue Ribbon School.

For 30 years, the Department of Education has bestowed this coveted award for outstanding academic achievement, and I am delighted that one of our local schools on the central coast of California was awarded such a tremendous honor.

This distinguished recognition highlights the hard work and dedication of the entire staff at Teach Elementary, and I would specifically like to note the outstanding leadership of Principal Dan Block.

For Teach Elementary to have such remarkable results--particularly during these tough budget times--is truly commendable. At a time when we must

invest in high-quality education in order to strengthen our Nation's economic vitality, it is important that we recognize and replicate the successes of schools such as Teach Elementary.

Our students are our Nation's greatest resource, and it's our responsibility to provide them with high-quality schools that put them on a solid path towards success.

San Luis Obispo, California, is truly fortunate to have a remarkable school such as Teach Elementary.