Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, people all over the world will be celebrating Valentine's Day, a day of romance when we express our gratitude to the ones we love. We look forward to our chocolate, our candy, our flowers, and our cards.

With that said, Mr. Speaker, the women in our lives deserve more-- equal pay for equal work. When our mothers, our daughters, our sisters put in a hard day of labor, they should receive the dignity and equity that they earn. Fair pay is the best gift we could give women and the families they cherish.

Mr. Speaker, Henry ``Hank'' Aaron is one of the great athletes to ever set foot on any field, renowned for breaking home run records and racial barriers.

With grit and natural talent, he became the home run king of baseball while playing at a time of ugly segregation, having to sleep in separate hotel rooms from his teammates and facing countless threats on his life.

On Saturday, a portrait of this extraordinary man I am proud to call my friend and neighbor will be unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery as friends and family join Hank and his wife, Billye, in celebration of his 80th birthday.

Cheers to you, Hammerin' Hank. Thank you for a lifetime of courage and inspiration.

Madam Speaker, we have a crisis, a crisis in Florida and across this Nation where our constituents are facing skyrocketing jumps in flood insurance premiums, making homeownership unaffordable.

Madam Speaker, floods are not partisan, and homeownership makes communities safer, more secure, and more economically vibrant.

Madam Speaker, let's fix this crisis now.

Madam Speaker, I found her. Forty years ago I found my friend, Flora, bleeding, near death. She was a victim of an illegal abortion, forced to turn to a back-alley practitioner. She survived, but many like her did not.

Today, my Republican colleagues are, once again, trying to take us back to those days with a new, radical bill to deny our mothers, our daughters, our sisters the right to obtain a safe and legal abortion.

I have a better idea. Madam Speaker, let's pass the Women's Health Protection Act that will allow all women, no matter where they live in this country, access to the tools and information that they need to make their own private health care decisions.

Madam Speaker, we cannot--we will not--go back.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Although some may think that this only happens in dark, remote corners of the world, human trafficking happens in our own backyard. The sickening fact is that it is a big, booming business-- trafficking a child for sex is often more lucrative than drug trafficking. This horrific crime can happen to anyone--girl, boy, rich, poor, U.S. citizen or not. We must work harder to protect our sons and daughters, leveraging community resources to find and rehabilitate victims and prosecute traffickers to the fullest extent of the law. In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, I would like to thank all of the dedicated community advocates in south Florida including Palm Beach County District Attorney Dave Aronberg, and the Junior Leagues of the Palm Beaches and of Broward County. I would also like to thank Katariina Rosenblatt--a courageous south Florida survivor of human trafficking who uses her experience to help other victims get their lives back. I look forward to working with all of them to protect victims in Florida and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, Dana Haverman from my home State of Florida is frightened.

Despite the fact that she got her first job at age 15, despite the fact that she worked continuously her entire adult life, despite the fact that at age 60 she lost a long-time job because of this country's economic downturn, despite the fact that she has been looking for a job every day and has not found one, despite all these facts, this Congress has failed to extend emergency unemployment insurance that would give her and thousands of Floridians a little bit of help in paying their electricity and water bills until they find their next job.

Mr. Speaker, let us vote today to extend relief deserved by America's job seekers.

Mr. Speaker, Dana Haverman from my home State of Florida is frightened.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 3824 to end the Republicans' very cruel refusal to end unemployment benefits that would protect more than 80,000 Floridian job seekers in my home State of Florida.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Numbers 2, 3, and 4, I was not present because my flight was canceled due to the extreme weather over the past few days. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' for all three votes.

Mr. Speaker, one of the cornerstones of America's security commitment to Israel is an assurance that the United States will help maintain Israel's capability to defend itself, by itself. We do this by safeguarding Israel's qualitative military edge (QME)--the ability for Israel to counter and defeat any threat that might arise from non-state actors, individual states, or even a regional coalition of states.

Four decades after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when a coalition of Arab states launched a surprise attack against Israel on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Israel continues to face hostilities on every border: rocket fire from Hamas and Hezbollah, spillover from the conflict in Syria, increased terrorism in Egypt's Sinai, and the ever- looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

That is why it is critical we redouble our efforts to ensure Israel has the tools necessary to counter any and all threats. H.R. 1992, the Israel QME Enhancement Act, is an important piece of bipartisan legislation that does just that, by preserving and strengthening Israel's QME. Specifically, this law would expand the definition of QME to include defense against cyber and asymmetric threats while also increasing the Administration's reporting requirements to Congress from every 4 to every 2 years.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1992.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 1965, the so-called Federal Lands, Jobs, and Energy Security Act. This bill would fundamentally undermine the way our public lands are managed by forcing us to prioritize oil drilling over all other land uses. Current law requires the federal government to manage public lands by taking into account a variety of uses, including recreation, wildlife habitats, and indeed, oil exploration. This bill would throw this successful historical precedent out the window and put the destructive practice of oil drilling at the top of the list. If this would happen in my home state of Florida, we would see devastating effects to the Florida panther--an iconic symbol of our state and also one of the most threatened species in the world. Panthers play a critical role in our ecosystem, but their habitat has been greatly diminished and now there are only 160 panthers. Fortunately, the government recognizes that we need to consider important species like the Florida panther when making land-use decisions. Today's legislation could destroy efforts to protect endangered species like the beloved Florida panther. That's why I urge a ``no'' vote and yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Whipple Warriors, a group founded by Ronda Bogani Ayala of West Palm Beach, Florida. This organization is dedicated to helping people with pancreatic cancer who qualify for a procedure known as ``Whipple'' surgery.

Pancreatic cancer is a heart-breaking disease with a very low life expectancy. About 3 out 4 patients die within the first year of diagnosis. Whipple surgery can help increase the life expectancy of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, though only about 15 percent of patients qualify for this dangerous and complicated procedure.

In January 2010, Ms. Ayala received the devastating diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. However, she was a candidate for the Whipple surgery. After her procedure she found very few resources for support and guidance. She decided to create an organization called the Whipple Warriors in 2011

The Whipple Warriors provide support to patients in many countries, allowing patients to discuss their experiences and share ways to cope with the cancer. Additionally, Whipple Warriors members participate in research to study the long-term effects on the body. They provide much- needed resources to the growing community of survivors around the world.

In honor of Ronda and her organization's tireless work for the pancreatic cancer community, I am pleased to recognize the Whipple Warriors and wish them continued success in this important endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jerold ``Jerry'' Klein who earned an Air Medal, Bronze Star, and Silver Star for his heroic service as a soldier in the Vietnam War. On Monday, November 11, Jerry was the first veteran to be honored on CBS 12's week-long segment, Veteran Hall of Honor. Jerry is a remarkable member of our community, and I am proud to represent him in Florida's 22nd District.

Jerry has been an unrelenting ambassador for veterans, spending most of his time as a veterans' services volunteer. He helped establish the Palm Beach Veterans Court and earlier this month served as the Co-Grand Marshall in the West Palm Beach Veterans Day Parade, which drew thousands of veterans and civilians to the downtown area.

Before Jerry was fighting for our veterans here in South Florida, he was fighting for our country in Vietnam. On May 1, 1968 Jerry helped rescue comrades in combat. ``My company was ambushed in the A Shua Valley which is on the Laotian border,'' Jerry recalls. ``We took about a dozen casualties. On that day I was involved in helping to rescue a number of my comrades and months later I was

told that I was being awarded the 3rd highest award for valor that the nation can grant--the Silver Star.''

In honor of his service to our nation, I am proud to recognize Jerold Klein and thank him for his commitment to the South Florida community of veterans.

Mr. Speaker, the veterans' disability claims backlog is simply unacceptable. American service members who risk their lives to protect our freedoms should not have to wonder if they will receive the basic benefits they deserve. Today, more than 405,000 veterans are waiting for their benefits in this tragically backlogged system. These aren't just numbers. These are real people--heroes who served our country.

Take for example Jeff Colaicovo, a veteran living in my district in South Florida. Jeff received two Purple Hearts for his courageous service during the Vietnam War. He sacrificed for his country, and unbelievably, our claims system failed him.

Until his case was brought to my office's attention earlier this year, Jeff had made little progress towards receiving the benefits he has earned. In fact, he and his wife spent over two years struggling with bills that his benefits should have helped cover. Finally, after reaching out to my office, Jeff began receiving his far-overdue benefits in June. Jeff, along with all of our nation's veterans, deserves better.

Thankfully, today, we took an important step towards helping our veterans by passing H.R. 2189.

Part of the reason veterans often wait so long for their benefits decisions is that the average number of conditions afflicting our veterans has grown significantly. This was true for Jeff whose conditions include PTSD, loss of hearing, irregular heartbeat, and severe back problems. In fact, our service members currently returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan submit an average of 8.5 separate conditions, whereas WWII veterans typically submitted less than three.

Under the current system, each medical condition is individually adjudicated and the veteran only begins receiving benefits once the entire claim has been processed.

H.R. 2189 will address this issue by requiring the Veterans Administration to pay benefits as each element of a veteran's claim is reviewed, rather than when the entire package has been processed. This would allow veterans to begin receiving benefits checks much sooner.

While much more still needs to be done, this is an important step to help repair a broken system.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 563, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Chairman, I stand in support of this bill, and I want to thank the chairman and ranking members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for extraordinary leadership in bringing this bipartisan and very important bill to the floor.

Transportation moves our economy, and our waterways play a vital role. This bill is about jobs for America, and as a Floridian, I am pleased to support this legislation that promotes our ports and protects our most precious wetlands, the Everglades.

Today's proposal will allow Florida's east coast ports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Jacksonville to advance in preparation for the widening of the Panama Canal. Accommodation of larger and heavier loaded post- Panamax freight ships is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs with a multibillion-dollar impact to Florida's economy.

Today's bill also authorizes important projects that help restore Florida's most important watershed, the Everglades, with a four-to-one return on every dollar spent.

This restoration means improving water quality for millions of people, protecting our natural habitat, increasing property values, expanding recreational opportunities, and boosting tourism for Florida. As this bill progresses, I hope we can work together to extend the period of authorization, as in years past.

Mr. Chairman, this is a very good bipartisan bill. It is good for Florida, and it is good for our country. I urge its support.