Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, the federal budget is about much more than just dollars and cents. It is a moral document that reflects our values and our vision for our nation's future.

Unfortunately the Republican budget before us is a reflection of misguided priorities and values.

Instead of creating jobs and opportunity for the middle class and those aspiring to realize the American dream the Republican budget recklessly and unfairly protects the super wealthy and special interests at the expense of everyone else.

The Republican budget ignores the significant importance of investing in education, job training, research, innovation, modern day infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. In doing so, it will foolishly cripple our country's economic growth and the future potential of hardworking Americans and their families to create and successfully compete for 21st century jobs.

The Republican plan also jeopardizes the wellbeing of our seniors by proposing to turn Medicare into a voucher system.

In my state of California alone, this disastrous Republican budget would raise health care costs for seniors by ending the Medicare guarantee and forcing 358,862 seniors to pay more for prescription drugs. It would ransack our nation's commitment to education and push 21,140 Californian children out of Head Start and deny Pell Grants to 51,350 low income California college students. The Republican budget would also force California to turn more than 488,000 people away from job training, employment and job search assistance.

And, according to the non partisan Congressional Budget Office, it would stall our nation's recovery by cutting economic growth by 2.5 percent in the year 2015.

I am proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues who have a different vision for America that responsibly reduces our deficit. Our vision respects the American people, gives them opportunity through the creation of good paying jobs that build and strengthens the middle class, protects the future and wellbeing of our children and insures we remain the greatest country in the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Gloria Molina, who is retiring at the end of this year, after an impressive 40-year career as a public servant in the State of California.

On the occasion of Ms. Molina's retirement from public office, we wish to extend to her sincere congratulations for the decades of dedicated service that she has given to her nation, her State, her City, and her County, most recently as member of the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, where she has served with distinction as the First Supervisorial District Supervisor since 1991.

Through the Chicano Power Movement, the Women's Movement, and the national movement against the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s, Ms. Molina's interest was awakened to civic affairs. She was the first chief deputy for California State Assemblyman Art Torres in 1974 and later for the renowned California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. Ms. Molina also served in the Carter White House as well as the San Francisco Department of Health and Human Services.

Ms. Molina was first elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1991, the first Latina ever elected to the Board, representing the First District, where she is currently serving her fifth term. During this time, she also has served five times as Chair of the Board. Ms. Molina's tenure has produced dramatic results both because she has insisted that County services be streamlined for maximum effectiveness and because she has brought to fruition major capital endeavors that improve County residents' quality-of-life.

Prior to representing the First Supervisorial District, Ms. Molina was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982 and the Los Angeles City Council in 1987. Both times, she was the first Latina to earn this honor. Her triumphant leadership in the 1980s against the construction of a state prison in East Los Angeles is legendary, and it solidified her reputation--whether functioning on a local or a national level--as both a fighter and groundbreaker able to achieve victory despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

Named as one of the Democratic Party's ``10 Rising Stars'' by TIME magazine in 1996, Ms. Molina served as one of four vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 1996 through 2004. During the 2000 Presidential Election, Ms. Molina was one of 15 top women leaders nationwide to be named as a possible vice-presidential candidate by the White House Project--a non-profit, non-partisan group dedicated to raising awareness of women's leadership in American politics.

On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, the State of California, and the County of Los Angeles, I want to thank Gloria Molina for sharing her tremendous talents with us for so many years. We extend our gratitude to her for her remarkable contributions in public service throughout her illustrious career. With sincere best wishes, we congratulate Ms. Molina upon her retirement from elective office. We are pleased to join her many co-workers, family, friends, and associates in wishing her health, happiness, and continued good fortune in her future endeavors.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for organizing tonight's Special Order on the Affordable Care Act, which is helping to make health care a reality for millions of Americans across our Nation.

Luckily, California is one of the States that has a plan. It has bought into the Affordable Care Act. As a result, thousands of California are now benefiting from what we in California call Covered California, which is the ACA plan there.

By enrolling in the Affordable Care Act, parents and their children no longer have to endure illnesses or painful injuries because they can't afford a doctor. Parent don't have to worry about their children getting a preventable illness because they can't afford to have them vaccinated or treated for a chronic preventable disease.

Why? Because under the ACA, many immunizations and preventative services are free.

Seniors and adults are also eligible for free preventive services, including annual checkups, annual mammograms, prostate cancer screenings, and immunizations. Young adults, including 435,000 young Californians, don't have to worry about being a burden on their family if they get sick or are in an accident because they can remain on their parents' insurance until age 26, and get affordable insurance after that.

Also critical is the fact that under the Affordable Care Act, no one can be

denied health care coverage because of a preexisting condition.

The ACA is a wonderful opportunity, as you have pointed out, for uninsured Americans to get the health care that they need to improve the quality of life for themselves and for that of their family. And I would like to just give one example of that.

A constituent of mine from the city of Bell by the name of Roberto Rivas is in his mid-twenties. On December 21, 2013, he arrived at 6 a.m. to enroll in a health insurance plan before going to work at KFC, where he is not offered any health insurance. He is also a full-time student at Trade Tech studying chemistry. He would like to use his education to study proteins and to research viruses such as hepatitis and other infectious diseases.

Until the age of 21, along with his 10-year-old sister, he was covered by his mother under Medi-Cal. When he turned 21, he was no longer eligible for Medi-Cal. He lost that insurance and was left completely without any health insurance whatsoever.

Shortly after, he began suffering from breathing problems. He went to a doctor and found out that he had pneumonia. Later, after being treated for that pneumonia, he received a medical bill for $4,663. He had no insurance to cover that. He even asked for charity care services to help cover his expenses, but was denied that request.

Robert said:

As a minimum wage worker and a full-time student, it is

hard to get health insurance.

Thanks to ObamaCare:

Now I can go to school and not stress about getting sick

and ending up in the hospital.

I'm calling everybody in my family to tell them I'm

enrolled in health care and that they need to come out and

get covered, too.

Robert Rivas was also astounded by the service, the friendly faces, and the applause he received when he enrolled; and he says:

To know so many people actually care about me getting

health insurance is great.

This is just one example of the millions of Americans who are benefitting from what we call ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act.

I am hoping that more Californians who have not applied, and Americans across the country who are uninsured and can benefit greatly by enrolling in health care, that they don't miss out.

There are only 5 days left until the enrollment deadline of March 31. I hope that, today, they will visit healthcare.gov or use any services which you have already outlined to enroll in the Affordable Care Act for themselves and for their families.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent due to illness and was not present for rollcall votes on Monday, March 24, 2014. Had I been present, I would have voted in this manner:

H.R. 3060--A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 232 Southwest Johnson Avenue in Burleson, Texas, as the ``Sergeant William Moody Post Office Building''--``yes.''

H.R. 1813--A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 162 Northeast Avenue in Tallmadge, Ohio, as the ``Lance Corporal Daniel Nathan Deyarmin Post Office Building''-- ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 3824 to end Republicans' refusal to extend unemployment benefits that protect 238,855 workers in California.

Madam Speaker, the low level of funding in the omnibus bill for the Labor-HHS Subcommittee is far from meeting the needs of our country. Nevertheless I will support the bill because this compromised measure does make important improvements in health promotion, medical research, Head Start, and Job Corps.

I commend Ranking Members Lowey, DeLauro, and their staff, who passionately fought to protect the programs decimated by sequestration. I am particularly grateful the bill fully funds STOP Act programs so we can continue the progress we have made against the public health crisis of underage drinking. I am pleased it funds newborn screening programs that save the lives of babies with genetic disorders.

Madam Speaker, spending bills are a statement of our values and our priorities as Americans. Unfortunately, this bill falls short of truly reflecting those values in critically underfunded programs like Healthy Start and Hispanic-serving institutions.

My hope is that our 2015 appropriations bill will, in fact, reflect our commitment to investing in a better future for all Americans, including the most vulnerable among us.

Far be it from me to debate too much about what goes on in the United States Senate, but I do think it is worth adding for the record that, since July of this year, Republicans in the Senate have been allowed to submit exactly four amendments. So I think we know who holds the world's record in terms of keeping the minority off the floor.

With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), my distinguished friend, colleague and former chairman on the Interior Committee and the new chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to commend Congressman Pocan for his leadership and his hard work on this very, very important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 1.4 million Americans who lost their emergency unemployment insurance during the holiday season and the millions of Americans who stand to lose their benefits in 2014 if Congress fails to extend unemployment insurance.

It is an insult to the American worker to oppose the extension of these benefits on the premise that emergency unemployment insurance provides a disincentive to work and that it makes unemployed Americans content to live off of the taxpayer-supported benefits.

The reality is, Mr. Speaker, that Americans have a strong work ethic and are the best and most productive in the world. And the reality is that in spite of their efforts to find employment. There are still 1.3 million fewer jobs today than there were when many of these Americans lost their jobs due to our country's economic downturn. It is unconscionable to punish those who lost their job through no fault of their own and continue to actively seek work.

With nearly three job-seekers for every available position, American workers are unemployed not because they are not motivated to work, but because there are simply not enough jobs for everyone who needs one. This problem is magnified in my home State of California where there are 400,000 fewer jobs available today than there were 6 years ago.

Unemployment benefits average $300 per week and replace less than 50 percent of prior earnings. Yet these benefits can make the difference between homelessness and hunger. They are often the only means of keeping a roof over one's head and putting food on the family table. For example, in 2012, unemployment benefits kept an estimated 2.5 million Americans, including 600,000 children, out of poverty.

It is also worth noting that unemployment benefits do more than provide a critical lifeline for out-of-work Americans. It is estimated that each dollar of unemployment insurance generates $1.50 in new economic activity. This means our economy is losing $400 million every week Congress refuses to extend these benefits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also estimates that the economy will lose 200,000 jobs if emergency unemployment insurance is not extended.

Unemployment insurance is a moral imperative that will also keep our economic recovery moving in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, we are a country of hardworking Americans. We must not turn our backs on those who need this critical Federal assistance as they struggle to find work.

I strongly urge Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor to schedule floor action on extending emergency unemployment insurance benefits without delay.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight the positive impact

the Affordable Care Act is having in my home State of California.

A woman by the name of Melanie wrote the following letter to the L.A. Times:

My daughter and I have been without health care for 3 years

following my loss of employer-provided insurance. In that

period, I have paid handsomely for those times when my

mother-ministrations were not sufficient and I had to seek

the care of a very expensive doctor. I've been waiting

eagerly for ObamaCare for the two of us since the law was

enacted in 2010.

Did I run into problems when I first tried to sign up in

California? I did.

Did I persevere? I did.

Did I finally get through? I did.

In January, I'll be able to take care of a condition I've

ignored for the last 2 years, and my college-age daughter

will be covered as well. Although the subsidy certainly

helps, I will be paying something for coverage we haven't had

for years. To those who cry foul, I say ``score.''

Mr. Speaker, I couldn't have said it better. The reality is that because of ObamaCare, millions of vulnerable Americans now ``score.''

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by commending Congressman Green for his leadership in helping to highlight the tragedy of domestic violence in our country and for arranging today's Special Order.

While it is true that we have made some progress toward addressing violence against women, the fact remains that nearly one-third of women in the United States still report being physically or sexually abused by a partner in their lifetime. Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking lead to severe social health and economic consequences for women and our communities, with the estimated cost of violence exceeding $70 billion each year.

Our Nation's economic crisis has hammered home the sad truth that financial concerns often keep victims in abusive relationships. Studies indicate that economic independence is a key predictor of whether a victim will be able to break the cycle of violence and leave her abuser.

Far too often, it is difficult for victims to maintain employment in the aftermath of domestic violence, especially if they require time off for medical appointments, court appearances, and for their own safety. As a result, women who experience domestic violence are more likely than other women to be unemployed, to suffer from health problems that impact employability and job performance, to report lower personal income, and to rely on welfare. These poor economic outcomes often perpetuate the abuse.

For the last 16 years, I have introduced legislation that would help ensure victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking have the financial independence they need to break free from their abusers.

The Security and Financial Empowerment Act, or SAFE Act, would allow survivors to take unpaid time off from work to make necessary court appearances, seek legal assistance, and get help with safety planning without the fear of losing their job. The SAFE Act would prohibit employers or insurance providers from basing hiring or insurance coverage decisions on an individual's history of abuse, and ensure eligibility for unemployment benefits should a survivor be forced to leave her job due to circumstances stemming from domestic violence.

The SAFE Act empowers victims of domestic violence with greater employment protections and increased economic stability to break the all-too-common cycle of dependence and abuse.

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to an end, let us not forget the victims of domestic violence. I ask my colleagues to join me in ensuring financial freedom for those suffering from domestic abuse by cosponsoring the SAFE Act, and I encourage my colleagues to support Congressman Green's H. Res. 392 to make sure that we continue to highlight this tragedy of domestic violence in our country so that one day there will be no domestic violence; it will be unnecessary for us to be here in the Halls of Congress talking about this tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent due to the passing of a close friend and was not present for rollcall votes on Wednesday, October 23, 2013. Had I been present, I would have voted in this manner:

Ordering the Previous Question--H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013: ``no.''

H. Res. 385, Rule Providing Consideration of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013: ``no.''

Amendments to H.R. 3080--No. 2. Reps. Peter A. DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Sheila Jackson Lee, Et al.: ``yes''; No. 3. Rep. Bill Flores: ``no''; #6. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings: ``no''; and No. 16. Reps. Cedric L. Richmond and Steve Scalise: ``no.''

Final Passage of H.R. 3080--The Water Resources Reform and Development Act: ``yes.''

Journal Vote: ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was absent due to the passing of my close personal friend and was not present for rollcall votes on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. Had I been present, I would have voted in this manner: H.R. 185--To designate the United States courthouse located at 101 East Pecan Street in Sherman, Texas, as the ``Paul Brown United States Courthouse''--``yes''; H.R. 3205--Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act--``yes''; Journal Vote--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we can end this Republican government shutdown today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the latest in a long line of disingenuous bills that won't bring us closer to ending the dangerous and reckless Republican shutdown.

This bill represents an irresponsible approach to the serious challenge of defending the homeland in an increasingly dangerous world. This bill purports to protect the public; yet, it leaves critical functions of the Department of Homeland Security unfunded.

For example, there is no money for TSA to keep the flying public safe; there is no money for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to identify terror plots that endanger American lives; and there is no money for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to guard the homeland against smuggled weapons of mass destruction.

Clearly, Republican obstructionism is undermining our American democracy and threatening our American national security.

Mr. Speaker, the Boehner shutdown and Republican gamesmanship are hurting American families and endangering the American public. Let's defeat this bill, vote, pass a clean budget, and get all our government working to serve and defend all the American people and our American way of life.

Mr. Speaker, I join the National Head Start Association in opposing this bill.

At a time when our Nation's at-risk families are suffering on multiple levels due to sequestration and the Republican government shutdown, a piecemeal approach like this one is not in anyone's best interest. This disingenuous Republican effort would selectively fund some education programs while failing to provide funding for others that poor children and their families rely on.

The National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Title I, after-school, special education, and rural education programs, among others, are all left out of this bill. It's unconscionable that our Nation's most vulnerable children are being denied Head Start services because of Speaker Boehner's refusal to bring to the floor a clean bill to open the government.

Let's stop this charade of pitting seniors against children, veterans against families, one group of Americans against another. Let's open the government and serve all our countrymen.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friends Pat and Jerry Epstein on the October 12 celebration marking both their wedding anniversary and Jerry's 90th birthday.

Jerry was born on August 29, 1923, in New York, and this year he turned 90 years young. Pat and Jerry were married in her native home town of Atlanta, Georgia, in December 1948, and this year marks their 65th year of marriage. The October celebration is halfway between Jerry's birthday on August 29 and their wedding anniversary on December 26.

Pat is an active sculptor. For many years she worked with alabaster, but her latest works are composed of paper mache. Her work is on display at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica and the Jewish Home for the aging in Los Angeles. She also participates in a number of charitable activities, most notably for Hadassah and the Irene Dunne Women's Guild for St. John's Hospital.

Jerry is a true patriot. From his participation in three Pacific island invasions as a soldier in World War II, through his Reserve career after the war, and continuing through his active civic involvement on local city, county and state commissions for the past forty or more years, Jerry Epstein is a ``Horatio Alger'' who has always believed in giving back to his country and community.

Jerry has been involved with Marina del Rey since its inception in 1955. He participated in the Master Planning process even before dredging began to create the Marina del Rey Harbor in 1958. He was among the original developers to bid on County of Los Angeles ground leases when the new community was developed through a then-unique public private partnership in the mid-1960s. Today Marina del Rey is the largest single income-producing asset owned by the County of Los Angeles, and Jerry is currently co-General Partner of Marina Harbor Apartments and Anchorage as well as Managing Partner of Shores.

Jerry's vision and tenacity extends beyond the creation of the community of Marina del Rey to his leadership on transportation and other public infrastructure issues in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California. He has served as President of the Board of Airport Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles; Chair of the California Transportation Commission; Vice Chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and President of the Los Angeles State Building Authority. Jerry has also served as President of the St. John's Hospital Foundation and was honored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Boys and Girls Club of Venice, among other charitable activities and honors.

Together Pat and Jerry have an interest in American historical documents. Jerry's interest in American historical documents reflects his patriotism. They have donated a collection of these documents to Colonial Williamsburg, including a rare stone imprint of the Declaration of Independence. The Colonial Williamsburg web site includes information on the Pat and Jerry Epstein Collection of American Historical Documents.

Mr. Speaker, I admire and am proud of Pat and Jerry's involvement and commitment to our community and our nation. Their generosity and civic engagement is an example we can all emulate and is one from which we all benefit.

I am honored to call Pat and Jerry my dear friends and I wish them my sincerest congratulations on sixty-five years of marriage, my best wishes for many more happy years together and a very happy 90th birthday to Jerry.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to yet another disingenuous legislative charade by my Republican colleagues to appear

as if they are doing something about their unnecessary government shutdown.

The fact is, Republicans can open the government today by bringing a clean continuing resolution to the floor. Instead, Republicans are targeting the WIC program to try and fool the American people into believing they are concerned about the painful effects of their government shutdown.

The National WIC Association sees through this charade and is urging Members of Congress to oppose the bill, calling it ``a cynical ploy to use low-income, nutritionally at-risk mothers, and young children as political pawns for political ends.''

The NWA also stated it has sufficient operating funds through October and ``will not tolerate efforts to leverage the nutritional health and well-being of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, their babies and young children to satisfy the political ends or strategies of policymakers.''

I could not agree more. I urge my colleagues to heed their words and vote ``no'' on this bill.