Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, I was unable to vote on rollcall Nos. 494 and 495. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 494 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 495.

Amendment No. 117 Offered by Ms. Norton

Mr. Chairman, my, my, my. Here we go again. Another bill to protect the derrieres of big business, allowing them to hide crucial data from public scrutiny, information that would disclose pay disparities in the workplace.

It is a law, Mr. Chairman, that businesses must pay equal pay for equal work. So why is it that women and minorities make much less money than their white male counterparts doing similar work?

Mr. Chairman, let's pass this amendment. Root out pay discrimination, because it is time that all Americans are paid for their hard work and not for their gender or the color of their skin.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, this bill inexplicably defunds UN Women.

What is UN Women?

UN Women was created by the United Nations in 2010 to direct activities on gender equality issues. The organization helps meet the most urgent needs of women and girls by supporting women's full participation in their country's political, economic, and social life.

So as I said, this bill inexplicably takes away funding, $8.5 million, that we are trying to get back from this very important program. I think this defunding of this is wrong, it is unwise, it is immoral.

Let me tell you what happens when we abandon the UN Women, because this is what we are walking away from: providing services for survivors of human trafficking. We are walking away from registering women to vote and participate in their political system, including women in the peacemaking process. We are walking away from combating child bride kidnapping and fighting child marriage. That is what we are walking away from today.

I know we have a lot of issues here in this country. We have been battling the hurricanes, and I know our hearts go out to all those impacted.

There is something else that has been going on in this world for years now, which is the greatest humanitarian crisis that we have seen since World War II, and that is what is happening in Syria. You have millions of people fleeing into neighboring countries, running away from rape, from murder, from chemical attacks.

What is the United States doing?

Oh, well. We are abandoning the Muslims, we are trying to build the walls, while we have great allies like Jordan, for example, who have now taken in over a million Syrian refugees, including this very young girl who was at a program that I had an opportunity to visit when I was in Jordan at a facility run by the UN Women where they are working with women to give them skills, to teach them.

This young girl fled her home in Syria under rocket fire, leaving her family, her brother killed, and fleeing to Jordan, where she is now learning to be a journalist. We are defunding programs like that in this bill.

So we are putting so many women's lives at risk, like Zaad, the girl I just talked about, leaving women and girls vulnerable to sex trafficking, poverty, homelessness, and hunger; and we say we want to try to bring stabilization to these regions across the world.

Let me tell you what research shows. Research shows that when women are empowered, economies grow and societies are more stable with less violence. And our own U.N. Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said:

We want to make sure that our governments support girls and

support women, and we should encourage every country to

support these basic rights.

So what are we doing today?

We are defunding UN Women. As I said, it is inexplicable and it is wrong. I think it is actually idiotic.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), who I think can elucidate even more on this subject.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time, and I respectfully withdraw this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Arthur and Julia Bullard on their 50th wedding anniversary.

The Bullard's are beloved members of the South Florida community. They met at Roosevelt High School in West Palm Beach and married at the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where they remain important leaders of their congregation. Together they have three children and six grandchildren.

Both Julia and Art have dedicated their working lives to serving the public. Julia is a highly respected educator. She worked for the Palm Beach County school district for 30 years and was the Principal of Roosevelt Elementary school for 20 years. Art worked for the U.S. Postal Service for over 30 years and was a West Palm Beach City Commissioner. He capped his hard working career as Assistant to the Mayor during my eight years as Mayor of West Palm Beach. His friendship and guidance was invaluable to me and will always be cherished.

It is my honor to recognize Arthur and Julia today, and to join with their friends and family in celebrating this milestone.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition of House Joint Resolution 111 which would eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule prohibiting mandatory arbitration clauses in financial services contracts. These clauses, which are buried in the fine print of banking contracts, strip consumers who are scammed, cheated, or defrauded by big banks of their constitutional right to seek justice in our nation's courts. Instead, they force consumers to go through a secretive non-judicial process overseen by an arbitration provider chosen by the bank. According to a study conducted by the CFPB, when these disputes are resolved through arbitration, consumers receive relief in only 9 percent of claims and even when consumers do win, they recover, on average, only 12 cents for every dollar claimed. I support the CFPB rule and oppose this effort to allow big banks to deny customers access to the justice system.

The elimination of the forced arbitration rule protects the special interests of Wall Street and hurts consumers. I therefore urge my colleagues to vote no on this Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, on Roll Call vote 410, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

Mr. Speaker, I also give my thanks to Mr. Royce; Mr. Smith; and my colleague, Ms. Bass, for their leadership. I am very proud to be part of this bipartisan act to stop what we call modern-day slavery of men, women, and children.

Human trafficking is a global crisis of epic proportions. After drug trafficking, it is the number two criminal enterprise on Earth. Yes, it happens right here in our own backyard.

Recently, I met Shandra. She is a mother; a college graduate; and formerly a banker in Indonesia, until a financial crisis hit. Looking for a better life for her family, she came legally to the United States, taking what she thought was a job in the hospitality industry. The minute she landed in the United States of America, her hopes turned into a living hell. It is hard to put what happened to her in words.

Shandra's new employer held her by force. With threats of violence, he drugged her and sold her into prostitution day after day, for years. Finally, after multiple attempts to escape, she actually climbed through a bathroom window and went to safety.

Mr. Speaker, shockingly, as we speak here in this room today, there are millions of innocent victims like Shandra who are held in some form of cruel servitude. Our effort today will save lives and prevent horrific suffering. I am proud to be part of these efforts.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 341, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Engel and Chairman Royce for their leadership.

Like my colleague, who just spoke, over the last 4 years, I have been privileged to help represent the United States at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to borrow a line from a very well-known poet who said, ``No man is an island,'' recognizing that human beings do not thrive when isolated from others, a concept that is recognized by all religions.

This is more true than ever as our world becomes increasingly dangerous. And, more than ever, the United States of America needs friends to stand strong and stand up for our mutual democratic values.

So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution, committing the United States to NATO article 5 collective defense.

Mr. Speaker, after 18 years of a loving partnership, my friends, Tim and Mike, were finally allowed to do what billions of men and women have been doing for many centuries, enter a legal commitment called marriage.

Yesterday, I had the joy of celebrating LGBT Pride Month on the National Mall with Tim and Mike and hundreds of thousands of people of all genders and sexual orientations. We rejoiced our common humanity and the right for each person to be their true self. Miley Cyrus, the festival headliner, said it best: It was a party in the USA.

And, yes, our country has come a long way from the Stonewall riots of June 1969. The thing is, there is more work to be done.

Today, we remember the horrific Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting 1 year ago. We must keep striving for a world where all people can live away from violence and free to love who they want to love without recrimination.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding contributions of Rabbi Michael C. Simon to the Jewish community and the South Florida community at large.

For thirteen years, Temple Beth Kodesh in Boynton Beach, Florida has been blessed by Rabbi Simon's wisdom and leadership. Thirteen is a spiritually meaningful number in Judaism, repeated numerous times throughout the Torah, oral law, and liturgy. I would like to join the congregation in celebrating Rabbi Simon's milestone.

In addition to his leadership of the congregation, Rabbi Simon is the author of a book that focuses on Jewish life from a variety of different perspectives, and is an Adjunct Professor of Rabbinics at Gratz College and an Adjunct Professor of Jewish History at Florida Atlantic University.

I congratulate Rabbi Simon and his family for their exemplary service to the Jewish community in South Florida, and wish them many years of health and happiness.

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for yielding.

Today, I rise as the proud cosponsor of this important legislation with my friend and colleague from Indiana, Susan Brooks. I want to thank her for her work on this, the Judiciary leadership, and, of course, Senator Diane Feinstein.

Mr. Chair, imagine you are a 10-year-old girl and you have a dream. Your dream is to stand on the podium at a summer Olympics with a medal around your neck, and you are saluting the American flag. You are willing to do a lot for that. You are willing to give up all the kinds of things that little girls like to do in their youth. You are willing to spend hours practicing your skills, to get bumps and bruises, but it doesn't stop you. Your parents trust your dream to a coach you call ``Grandpa.''

Here is the thing: Your dream becomes a nightmare. The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act comes after devastating reports that at least 368 gymnasts have been sexually abused by their coaches and trainers over the course of 20 years. It is almost unimaginable.

Although USA Gymnastics received allegations of abuse, they turned a blind eye. Why? Because it was more important to them to win medals and protect their star coaches.

We have read and heard lots of stories. I am going to give you an example of one, while trying to protect the confidentiality.

By the time she was in seventh grade, our gymnast has developed an eating disorder, coping with the fact that the coach she called Grandpa made her hate her body. By the time she got to college, she had difficulty maintaining relationships, believing that she would never like being touched or physically embraced by others.

Here is a postscript. Over more than a decade, the coach we call Grandpa was able to move from gym to gym abusing girls and recording videos of them. He installed secret cameras in changing rooms and recorded 469 videos of gymnasts, many of whom were naked.

Mr. Chair, to continue this, we have to ask this question: Could these young girls have been spared this trauma had proper procedures been in place? And, of course, today our answer is, hopefully, yes.

This legislation is a step in a long journey to change the culture around

sexual abuse. Too often institutions, whether they are our colleges, our military, or, here, in this case, an athletic organization, prioritize preserving their reputations and their brands over the people they protect.

This legislation will require national sports bodies like USA Gymnastics to file reports of abuse as soon as possible. It will establish mandatory training and require the enforcement of policies preventing, reporting, and addressing these kinds of allegations because protecting our athletes must be a priority. Let their dreams come true.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my great colleague from California and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their leadership on a subject of urgency.

Mr. Speaker, in the strongest terms possible, I urge support of this bipartisan legislation called the PRIVATE Act that makes it illegal for military members to share explicit photos without consent.

Our Democratic Working Women's Group recently held a bipartisan hearing regarding the Marine United Facebook page where male marines posted thousands of nude photos of female servicemembers and veterans without their consent.

At this hearing, we heard the testimony of two courageous female marines whose privacy was violated with the nonconsensual posting of intimate photographs. They described their embarrassment, their anger, and the vitriolic harassment by their marine brothers that followed, with threats of rape and violence, and stomach-sickening posts like: ``We should throw female Marines into a tub of acid and rip off their eyelashes.''

Mr. Speaker, I am the proud mother of a United States Marine veteran, so I can tell you, I understand firsthand the selfless sacrifice a marine makes when he or she puts on their uniform.

So I say to those warriors whose honor was violated: We stand with you today to declare that you were targets of behavior that we will not tolerate; and we will seek to punish those who offended and prevent similar conduct in the future because that conduct is not only degrading to brave patriots, it threatens the safety and security of our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Connolly and, of course, the chair of our committee for his fine work and our ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, as we have heard already, human trafficking is a global crisis of epic proportions. An estimated 12 to 20 million men and women around the world are being subjected to slavery of some sort. In fact, it is the number two criminal enterprise on Earth.

I have seen the effects of this human trafficking up close. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a couple visits I made.

When I went to Peru, I went to a couple shelters there, which were now the homes of young girls who had been trafficked. The first one I went to, there were girls in their mid-teens who had been raised in families that were very, very poor. Their families were approached by these traffickers, who told them they would take their children, take their daughters to ``the promised land.'' They were going to take them to an area in Peru where they would be educated, well fed, and well nourished.

What they really ended up doing was taking these young girls and basically enslaving them. They found themselves in people's homes where they would be locked up, literally, for years. From the time the Sun came up to the time the Sun went down, these children told their stories of having to, for example, peel potatoes, peel potatoes day and night. No education, no mingling with their peers, just deprived of the joy of childhood.

At another shelter we went to, we visited young girls, again, who had been saved from their slavery. They had been kidnapped off the streets--they were now teenagers--when they were 9 and 10 and 11. I mean, it was just hard for me to hear these stories. I am sure it will be hard for you to hear these stories. When they were preteens, they were kidnapped off the streets. Some of them were locked in trunks. They were beaten. They were forced in submission to become sex slaves to miners. Again, children deprived of their education, deprived of their innocence.

I am not only haunted when I think back on them, I am haunted because I remember looking in their eyes--looking in their eyes--and saying to myself: How could this happen? How in our civilization do we let this happen to innocent children?

Mr. Speaker, when I returned home to the United States, I heard a story from a young woman named Shandra, who had a work visa to come over here from Indonesia to work in a hotel. On her way over, she was kidnapped by traffickers and forced into commercial sex slavery for 2 to 3 years on the I-95 corridor. The way she escaped was through a bathroom window.

I thank Mr. Royce for letting me have an opportunity to join him in this legislation, which is going to target these sex and labor traffickers, give a powerful tool to stop what we call modern-day slavery. I am very proud to support the TARGET Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Diana J. Matty, who will become the first woman Fire Chief of West Palm Beach when she is sworn in on Monday.

Since joining the department in 1994 at the age of 18, Diana has risen through the ranks and held almost every position from firefighter to assistant fire chief. She is a decorated fire officer with multiple Firefighter of the Year awards to her name, and has traveled the nation as a hazmat instructor. Her promotion to Fire Chief marks the achievement of a career-long goal, and one that is unquestionably deserved.

I have known Diana since my time as the Mayor of West Palm Beach and I am thrilled to see such a well-deserving firefighter serve in this position.

Diana is a great role model for any aspiring firefighter, and I am pleased to honor her today and wish her the best of luck as West Palm Beach's new Fire Chief.