Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day, a day without women. I am going to join millions of women in recognizing the important economic power of women in the United States and around the globe.

In a few minutes, I will exit this Chamber with colleagues to show solidarity with our sisters, who are staying away from normal duties and mainstream commerce to call attention to the inequities that women and gender nonconforming people continue to face. We are wearing red to signify our love for our sisterhood and our passionate energy to pursue measures that will advance the lives of women and families, such as equal pay, paid family leave, quality affordable child care, access to Federal health care, and freedom from violence.

In Congress, Democrats will resist efforts to take us back from hard- earned gains, standing strong against the unrelenting attempts by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defund Planned Parenthood, and block access to full reproductive care. In the words of the Women's March, today we raise our voices to say that women's rights are human rights, regardless of a woman's race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, and so forth. When women succeed, the world succeeds.

Mr. Speaker, Russia is an alarming force in the world, a nuclear power with an authoritarian President, menacing our European allies with invasion into Ukraine and threats of incursion into other Baltic states, lifting mass murderer Assad in Syria, interfering in democratic elections around the world and here in our country, and now evidence is mounting that the White House-Putin connections run deep.

Michael Flynn's shady dealings and lies to the Vice President and the public--what did the President know? When did he know it?

Answers to these and other questions are critical to our national security. We must have an independent investigation. The American people deserve nothing less.

Madam Speaker, for women to thrive in the economic and social opportunities of our Nation, we must have the ability to control our own reproductive lives with full access to healthcare choices.

Now, here we go again: another Republican bill aimed at taking us back to the dark, dangerous days when women were prisoners of their own bodies; back to 50 years ago when Katy, a nurse in Florida, had no access to legal contraception or abortion. She was a mother of two, recently divorced.

Pregnant and unable to responsibly raise another child, she made an appointment on the phone with a nameless person who met her on a lonely street corner in Miami. She blindfolded her, hid her under a rug in a car, and took her to a garage where she had an abortion.

But Katy was one of the lucky ones. She survived. Not so fortunate were the women who threw themselves down stairs or inserted chemicals or coat hangers into their uteruses in order to terminate their pregnancy.

Madam Speaker, we will not go back to those dark, dangerous days.

Mr. Speaker, on roll call vote 77, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``NAY.''

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado.

Madam Speaker, for women to thrive in the economic and social opportunities of our Nation, we must have the ability to control our own reproductive lives with full access to real healthcare choices.

Republican unrelenting efforts to force unwanted pregnancies and eradicate affordable, safe abortion will not save lives. Repealing the Affordable Care Act, defunding Planned Parenthood, and now driving insurance coverage for abortion into extinction will

return women to the days of coat hanger medicine. Allowing women to be killed and maimed in back alleys is not pro-life. It will not make America great again.

Women of America are on the march, and, Madam Speaker, we will not retreat.

Mr. Speaker, the age of coat hanger medicine has returned.

It may be a new year, a new Congress, a new administration, but Republicans are taking us back to a dangerous past, one where women were maimed and killed by back-alley abortions.

Today, our new President signed an executive order restricting safe abortions for women around the world. And tomorrow, Republicans will vote to block American women from access to full reproductive care.

Our government is about to enter our bedrooms and take the lives and liberty of our women and our families.

With every breath, we must fight back.

Mr. Speaker, on roll call votes 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54, I was not present because of an urgent family matter. Had I been present, I would have voted: on Roll Call Vote 46: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 47: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 48: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 49: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 50: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 51: NAY, on Roll Call Vote 52: NAY, on Roll Call Vote 53: AYE, on Roll Call Vote 54: NAY.

Mr. Speaker, on roll call vote 6, I was not present because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``NAY.'

Mr. Speaker, on roll call no. 59 had I been present, I would have voted No.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 469, Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2015. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. This bill would make it possible to accurately identify and help children from the child welfare system who are trafficked into the sex trade.

The sickening fact is that human trafficking is a big, booming business--trafficking a child for sex can be more lucrative than drug trafficking. This is why I am glad to join my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, in taking additional steps to protect our sons and daughters from this horrible crime.

As we recognize January as Human Trafficking Awareness month, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan legislation so that we may protect our most vulnerable children, including those in the foster care system, who have been victimized through no fault of their own.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the Record that the House should vote for bigger paychecks and better infrastructure instead of attacking women's access to health care.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding.

I, too, rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill.

Today, on the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we should be celebrating it, not dismantling it. I heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about pain.

Well, do you want to know about pain? Think back in horror to the perils for our mothers, our daughters, and our sisters in the days before the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to make our own personal health care decisions.

Back then, our country faced a public health crisis as women were maimed, made sterile, and lost their lives as a result of self- inflicted or illegal abortions. I remember finding a friend who was near death as a result of a back alley procedure.

Since Roe v. Wade, State after State, including Florida, my home State, has passed onerous laws criminalizing doctors, requiring unnecessary tests, and other insidious obstructions to prevent access to abortion.

Today, Congress again piles on to the damage hurting the poorest of our citizens.

Here is a much better way to make lives better for our children, and that is to allow their mothers to live full, productive lives; and instead of this bill, pass the Women's Health Protection Act to ensure that no matter where a woman lives, she has access to the resources needed to make her own health care decisions.

We cannot and will not go back.

Amendment XI:

``The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.''

Mr. Speaker, on August 8 of this year, we went to war with ISIL. Since that day, we have launched over 1,700 airstrikes, we have put thousands of men and women in harm's way, we have committed billions of dollars, and the President has said this effort will take years.

Many of my colleagues and I have waited patiently for Congress to deliberate on the Authorization for Use of Military Force; yet all of these months later, we have not had a single debate. We recessed this summer without debate. We passed a defense bill last week without debate. And now, once again, we are leaving town without debate.

Mr. Speaker, it is the duty of this Congress to make determinations of war and peace, and we are shamefully ducking this responsibility. America deserves better.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Daniel Kraft of Boynton Beach and congratulate him on his retirement

after 34 years of dedicated service to the children of South Florida.

From his days as a volunteer physician with the National Service Corps to his long tenure as a private practitioner in West Palm Beach, Daniel has dedicated his career to improving the lives of children in our community.

His passion for service goes well beyond his practice as a doctor. In his limited free time, Daniel developed the Support Group Network, a computerized database of medical support organizations. Additionally, he is a founding member of the Drowning Prevention Coalition and both a founding member and former President of the Palm Beach County Pediatric Society.

A classical music and piano enthusiast, Daniel enjoys traveling around the world and is fluent in Spanish and French. Daniel has obtained multiple degrees, including a medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins.

In honor of his invaluable contributions to the children and families of South Florida and on behalf of my district, I am pleased to recognize Dr. Kraft for his amazing achievements and I wish him a long and fulfilling retirement in the company of his wife and three daughters.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, The Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. This legislation will create a coin to honor Boys Town's longstanding commitment to the needs of at-risk children and struggling families in communities across America.

Driven by the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, Boys Town serves children of every race, color, and religion. In my district, South Florida Boys Town provides incredible opportunities to help children achieve success and pursue their dreams.

I am pleased to honor Boys Town and I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation and I yield back my time.