Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on December 11, 2012, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for Rollcall No. 620. Had I been present I would have voted:

Rollcall No. 620--``yes''--On approving the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, throughout my career in public life, and even before, nothing has motivated me more than a desire to end wars and violent conflicts. When I was a small girl saying bedtime prayers or making a birthday wish when blowing out the candles, I always asked for world peace. So it's no surprise that over a decade ago, I opposed the Iraq war before it even started. It was appalling that we would invade a nation that hadn't provoked us, had nothing to do with 9/11, and did not have weapons of mass destruction. It was a lonely fight at that time. But I didn't do it to be loved. It was a matter of principle.

Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, and I formed The Triad--Woolsey, Waters, and Lee--to organize our opposition. We held forums, we developed an Out of Iraq Caucus, we traveled around the country, and in January 2005, I offered the first amendment here on the House floor calling for our troops to be brought home. Some in my own party thought that it was a mistake, that we wouldn't get any votes--or enough votes--and that we would be embarrassed. Well, I told them that even if I were the only one voting to bring our troops home, I would not be embarrassed.

Well, as it happened, we got 128 bipartisan votes that very first time. So you see, Mr. Speaker, when you lead, people follow. Because of a handful of progressive leaders and progressives in our country that were vocal and fearless, eventually public opinion turned. It turned against the Iraq war and turned towards peace. If we and other outspoken advocates hadn't ignored conventional wisdom and hadn't pressed for peace, the war in Iraq could still be going on today.

In April, Mr. Speaker, of 2004, I started speaking from this very spot on the House floor about my strong anti-Iraq war convictions. Eventually, these speeches focused on Afghanistan, where we've now been waging war for more than 11 years, despite more than 2,000 Americans dead and nearly $600 billion wasted and even though we are undermining our own interests in failing to bring security and stability to Afghanistan.

Over the last 8-plus years, I've spoken here nearly every day that I could to drive home what a moral disaster and strategic failure these wars have been. When constituents and others call or come up to me or write and thank me, I say, But we're still there. I don't deserve thanks until all of our troops are home.

You know, Mr. Speaker, because you've been here for many of them, that my speeches haven't just been about bringing our troops home. They've offered a new vision for global engagement. From here I've outlined my SMART Security platform, which calls for development and diplomacy instead of invasions and occupations; civilian surges instead of military surges. SMART Security means helping other nations educate their children, care for their sick, and strengthen their democratic institutions. SMART Security says we can make America safe by building international good will and by empowering people with humanitarian assistance instead of sending troops or launching drone attacks. It's the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do. And it costs pennies on the dollar compared to military force.

So, Mr. Speaker, today I'm delivering that message for the 444th and final time on the House floor to speak on a 5-minute Special Order. This is the last of my Special Order speeches on war and peace and SMART Security. I'm retiring from Congress at the end of this year, and I believe part of my legacy will be that I worked diligently for peace and a safer world.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to acknowledge that sometimes I've been accused of wanting a ``perfect world.'' But I consider that a compliment. Our Founders strove to form a ``more perfect Union.'' Why shouldn't we aim for a perfect world? You see, I'm absolutely certain that if we don't work toward a perfect world, we won't ever come close to providing a safe, healthy, and secure world for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.

I thank my wonderful staff who have helped me over the last 20 years to work for a perfect world, which means peace, health, and security for all.

Thank you, George, for doing this. Thank you for honoring those of us that have been here and now are leaving.

I arrived feeling very green and feeling very good 20 years ago. I had no idea how little I knew about how to get something done in the Congress. I knew where I had burned in my belly, I knew what issues were important to me, and those issues have stayed important to me for the last 20 years. But I had the advantage of working with some very wonderful senior Members who generously helped me along, and I had the privilege of having very talented staff who built the stage that I could dance on. You can't do that unless it's teamwork, and I thank everybody that has been a part of these last 20 years. It's been quite a ride, and I'm glad I did it. Thank you very much, George.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, we observed World AIDS Day, a time to remember those lost to this horrific disease and to recommit ourselves to prevention, treatment and, ultimately, a cure. For more than 30 years now, HIV/AIDS has exacted a huge toll, killing more than 25 million people. Every 9.5 minutes in our country, someone is infected. But this is predominantly a disease of the developing world. A shocking 33.4 million people are living with HIV/AIDS today, almost all in the world's poorer countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Too many of them don't have access to the medication and overall health care infrastructure that they need.

AIDS is linked to many other problems of poverty, malnutrition, and other infectious diseases as well. It contributes to instability and a sense of hopelessness in countries that are already susceptible to violence and terrorism. If we don't contain and defeat this epidemic, it will undermine democratic governments, it will continue to impede economic growth overseas, and it will threaten us right here in the United States. In other words, this isn't just an economic issue or a health care issue; it's a national security issue.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, over the last decade, ``acting in our national security interests'' has come to mean invading and occupying foreign nations. The Iraq war lasted 9 years and was responsible for untold human misery. The Afghanistan war, now in its 12th year, continues to damage our national security interests instead of enhancing them. It hasn't defeated the Taliban, nor has it alleviated crushing poverty or produced a stable democracy in Afghanistan. And then there's the cost--some $10 billion a month. That would be a staggering amount of money for a successful policy. For a failed policy, it's downright scandalous. And it is rarely mentioned in all the conversations about so-called deficit crises and fiscal cliffs.

USAID and other civilian arms of government could do a world of good towards solving the AIDS crisis with a fraction of that money. Why does the Pentagon get a blank check while agencies that dispense aid have to fight for every single nickel that they receive? Why do we spend without restraint on wars and weapons that destroy lives but we squeeze those programs that save lives?

For many years now--and you have all heard me; this is my 443rd 5- minute speech on this issue. For many years now, I have been promoting the idea of SMART Security. SMART Security means protecting our interests not with military force or by maintaining a massive nuclear arsenal, but by investing in development and diplomacy and through humanitarian assistance and partnerships around the world.

At the AIDS Conference in Washington this past summer, there was a panel discussion on how, in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, we can do more with less. And what I want to know is: Why do we have to settle for less when it comes to HIV/AIDS? This is a humanitarian crisis. Our sense of moral decency should compel us to invest whatever it takes to bring an end to it.

It's not just the right thing, Mr. Speaker; it's the smart thing to do for our national security. Let's bring our troops home, let's implement SMART Security now, and let's have the resources available for what we really need to invest in around the world.

Mr. Speaker, on November 15-16, 2012, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for Rollcall Nos. 605-608. Had I been present I would have voted:

Rollcall No. 605: NO--On Ordering the Previous Question

Rollcall No. 607: NO--On Agreeing to the Resolution

Rollcall No. 608: YES--Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act

Rollcall No. 609: NO--Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleague, Congressman Mike Thompson, to acknowledge and honor Janet Orchard's record of public service upon her retirement from the Cotati City Council.

Ms. Orchard was first elected to the Council in 2002, re-elected in 2004 and 2008 and served as Mayor in 2002, 2006, and 2011.

During her tenure, the Council adopted the city's mobile home rent stabilization ordinance and formula-based fast food ordinances, and approved Cotati's first medical marijuana dispensary. She was also instrumental in helping shape the downtown area through her advocacy for the city's Downtown Specific Plan, the Cotati Arts Project and the establishment of the Cotati Historical Society Museum.

Ms. Orchard conducted all of the research needed to secure the adoption of a living wage ordinance, ensuring that all city employees would receive adequate pay, and was instrumental in the adoption of a policy allowing Cotati to recognize the Mexican Matricula as a form of identification.

Her most enduring legacy is the creation of Falleti Park in downtown Cotati. Slated for high density housing development, Ms. Orchard worked with the property owners and the County Open Space District to save the parcel as a reminder of the city's rural heritage.

Along with these accomplishments, Ms. Orchard represented the city on the Sonoma County Mayors and Councilmembers Association Legislative Committee, chaired the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, served as a Director of the North Bay Watershed Association and as liaison to the Association of Housing, Community and Economic Development Policy Committee.

Mr. Speaker, although Ms. Orchard is retiring from the Cotati City Council, we are confident that she will continue to be an active participant in civil life in her community. Accordingly, it is both fitting and proper that we acknowledge her today.

Mr. Speaker, it's the time of year when families reunite and renew their very close connections--connections that are actually, in most instances, the most precious parts of our lives. This Thanksgiving I know all of us were grateful for the company of those we love the most. But more than 2,000 American families sat at tables where there was one less serving of the Thanksgiving meal just a week ago. Those families lost a loved one in the deadly war in Afghanistan-- now more than 11 years long and a tragically reckless policy.

I'm personally grateful for the service of all of our Afghanistan veterans and for their sacrifice and for the sacrifice of our military families. But sometimes I don't know how we as a Congress and a Nation can look them right straight in the face after everything we've put them through. The benefits of this war don't come close to justifying the devastating human cost--not just fatalities, but disfiguring wounds, lost limbs, traumatic brain injury, and demons of post- traumatic stress. They all add up to tragedy at the utmost.

For too many of our veterans, the transition back to civilian life is a daily struggle. Many face not just health care challenges but joblessness, housing and credit troubles, and overall economic anxiety and stress. We've had enough of this. Why would we want to extend a war that has given so much misery and so much heartache and so few actual national security benefits?

The American people have rendered their verdict on the occupation of Afghanistan. Poll after poll shows they want it over. Who can blame them? In fact, the public opinion was so clear during the last Presidential election that both candidates for President in this year's campaign were saying that they would end the war. But the question, Mr. Speaker, is, When? The current 2014 timetable is not nearly aggressive enough--not when we're losing brave servicemembers every single week, not when our military presence is sustaining the very extremists we're trying to defeat, and not when American taxpayers are paying the bill to the tune of $10 billion a month, at least.

And now it seems that our policymakers might be planning for a significant military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014. According to a new New York Times article last weekend, one of the options on the table calls for 10,000 American troops and several thousand more NATO troops to remain on the ground after 2014. Sources say that General John Allen, our top commander in Afghanistan, prefers to keep as many as 60,000 troops for another year. As The Times editorial board points out, this is not the ``steady pace'' of troop withdrawal that the President has promised.

This is unacceptable. We ought to have a role in Afghanistan, but it cannot and must not be a military role. We need more humanitarian aid, more support for education, health care, democracy promotion, civil society, and so much more. But we will not make America safer and we will not make Afghanistan stronger by continuing this war. The only morally decent and strategically sensible approach is to bring our troops home now--certainly before 2014.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the Santa Rosa Symphony on the occasion of its orchestral opening of the Green Music Center. The Green Music Center is a recently-completed music and art venue on the campus of Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. Named after Donald and Maureen Green, it is comprised of the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Hall and the Schroeder Recital Hall as well as a multi-use education facility and an elegant hospitality center. The symphony made its debut performance as Resident Orchestra of the Green Music Center on September 30, 2012.

In 1998, the Board of Directors of the Santa Rosa Symphony marked a new era by joining Sonoma State University to raise funds for a new concert hall. Although this was no easy task, persistence paid off. Donald Green has been the spirit of the project; start-up financial support and leadership from Don and his wife Maureen, the vision of Sonoma State President Ruben Arminana, and the assistance of Sandy and Joan Weill plus hundreds of supporters of the Santa Rosa Symphony has made the Center a reality. With this project, the symphony enhances its dream of being one of the leading regional symphony orchestras in America.

Fourteen years later, the completion of the Green Music Center and Weill Hall is an impressive and important step towards fulfilling that vision. On September 30th, the Santa Rosa Symphony celebrated 85 years of music and stepped over the threshold of its new home at the Green Music Center. The symphony also recognized three talented individuals who helped develop and usher in this new era: Conductor Emeritus Corrick Brown, Conductor Laureate Jeffrey Kahane and current Music Director Bruno Ferrandis.

The first performance was mesmerizing as Maestro Brown conducted Beethoven's overture, Consecration of the House as an appropriate beginning in the acoustically-superb Weill Hall, and Maestro Ferrandis took the podium for the remainder of the program. It included Ravel's Bolero, Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto performed by Kahane, Copland's great Canticle of Freedom, featuring the 100-voice Symphony Honor Choir, and ended with three encores.

To mark this long-awaited moment, the Symphony also commissioned an orchestral work. by Petaluma resident and critically-acclaimed contemporary composer Nolan Gasser. His Sonoma Overture evoked the natural beauty of Sonoma County and recognized the energy and dynamism of its cities, industries and people.

This was truly a transformative moment that seldom is afforded any American orchestra--to call a world class concert hall its home, rivaling the Vienna Philharmonic's Musikverein concert hall and the Boston Symphony's Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood.

In addition to being a home for the symphony, the Center will serve as a venue to showcase excellent music from around the Bay Area and beyond. In fact, just a day before the symphony's opening performance, renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang dazzled at the Green Music Center's grand opening with a one-night-only recital. And only a week later, on October 6th, Music Director Bruno Ferrandis partnered with the Kronos Quartet to perform Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute, Mahler's Symphony No. I, Titan, and the world premiere of Concerto for String Quartet, Orchestra and Electronics, The Last Internal Combustion Engine by composerin-residence Edmund Campion.

Mr. Speaker, we congratulate the Santa Rosa Symphony for all its hard work. Truly a new dawn is breaking for this orchestra and for Sonoma County that will both invite and challenge them to new heights of artistic excellence and community engagement.

Mr. Speaker, since the House last convened in late September, about 30 more Americans have given their lives in the war in Afghanistan. The total number of fatalities has now passed 2,000. And as of October 7, we've been at war in Afghanistan for a staggering 11 years. There are more than 2,000 families that will have an empty chair this Thanksgiving, more than 2,000 families with a void that can't possibly be filled--husbands and wives who will have to go on without their life partner, children missing a parent, parents who are suffering the terrible grief of losing a child.

The human cost has become too steep for our Nation to bear. We can't ask our troops and their families to endure any more sacrifice for a military occupation--now more than a decade old--which has not accomplished its goals and is undermining our national security as well.

And of course, the fiscal burden is one that rests on the shoulders of every single taxpaying American. The Afghanistan pricetag would be high even for a successful, well-executed policy that was actually making America stronger. But to waste the people's money to the tune of $10 billion a month on this failure is a national scandal.

To every one of my colleagues who has spoken on this floor about excessive government spending, it's time to look at the cost of foreign wars before we start cutting domestic programs that our very own people need to survive.

It's not just progressives like me who believe we need a change in policy, Mr. Speaker. There is a clear consensus among the American people. They agree that this military occupation is bad for America, bad for Afghanistan, and bad for the cause of peace and stability around the world. I think it was pretty telling that, during the recent campaign, even the Republican candidate for President ended up supporting a withdrawal of troops by 2014. But in my opinion, that's not nearly soon enough.

Now that the Presidential campaign is over, we must accelerate that timetable and end this war as soon as is safely possible because every remaining day that we have troops on the ground is another day that gives

strength to the very extremists that we're trying to defeat.

The time has come to invest in Afghanistan the right way, with humanitarian aid and civilian support rather than military force. It's time for a SMART Security approach that puts development and diplomacy first--not just in Afghanistan but throughout the developing world and in other nations where terrorism poses a threat. It's not only the right thing to do, Mr. Speaker; it's the most cost-effective way as well. It's pennies on the dollar to invest in humanitarian support for nations rather than military involvement.

On Sunday, many of us took part in Veterans Day parades back in our home districts. In doing so, we heard expressed that our Nation is so grateful for the service of these men and women, those who left their families and their communities to serve their country. I bow to no one in my respect for our veterans and those currently deployed overseas. But I believe the best way for us to support them right now and the best way to honor American values is to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.

Mr, Speaker, I rise today to honor a city in my District on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its establishment. Incorporated in 1962, Rohnert Park has become an integral part of Sonoma County's historical and cultural heritage.

The land that would become Rohnert Park was known as Rancho Cotate when it was granted by General Mariano Vallejo to one of his soldiers in 1844. During the next century, the land would change ownership many times and experience much development.

After World War II, when Sonoma County experienced a surge in growth, the City of Rohnert Park was conceived and developed by two Sonoma County lawyers, Paul Golis and Maurice Fredericks, who had a vision of a vibrant planned community in the heart of the valley. Their concept stressed the importance of ``neighborhood units'', groups of houses centered around schools and parks, in order to provide ample recreation to city-dwellers.

Through collaboration and hard work, Rohnert Park was established in 1962. Today it is proud to serve its residents with many recreational amenities and attractions. Rohnert Park is home to two municipal swimming pools, an 18-hole golf course, and bike, hiking, and equestrian trails. The city also contains Sonoma State University and the Green Music Center.

Mr. Speaker, Rohnert Park is an important city in the heart of Sonoma County. Please join me in honoring Rohnert Park on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague Rep. Mike Thompson to recognize the outstanding career of John Lowry. John is retiring after 28 years of service with Burbank Housing. His inspirational leadership in providing affordable housing in Sonoma County, California has given thousands of disadvantaged and low-income Sonoma County residents a place they can call home.

Originally from New York City, John graduated from New York University and holds BA and MA degrees with majors in economics, politics and history. He later decided to obtain a general contractors license and build his own home. This sparked his interest in self-help housing, which he would later incorporate into Burbank Housing's Homeownership Program.

John began his career of providing affordable housing to Sonoma County California as a project manager on Burbank's first two projects. He was their second employee. Under John's leadership, the non-profit has grown to 140 employees who build, manage and maintain 2,700 affordable rental units as well as helping another 750 families own their homes.

John's work has been lauded by his peers, including being named an Inspirational Non-Profit Leader. The Sonoma County Housing Coalition has honored him with both their Lifetime Achievement Award and their Housing Hero Award.

John also serves our community by working with the California Coalition for Rural Housing and the Home Builders Association of Northern California. He has served on the board of Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California as well.

In retirement, John plans to continue working to influence state and local housing policies. Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we thank John Lowry for his many years of service on behalf of the people of Sonoma County. He has worked tirelessly to demonstrate his unwavering belief that low-income people of all ages, backgrounds and special needs deserve to live in decent, affordable housing. For this, he deserves our appreciation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Robert Berner, who will be retiring after 28 years as Executive Director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) in Marin County, CA. Bob's inspiring leadership has resulted in the protection of countless family farms and ranches and the preservation of thousands of acres of farmland in Marin County. Today, largely through his guidance, MALT is recognized as a national leader in agricultural land preservation.

Prior to MALT, Bob was Executive Director of The Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage and Vice-President of Finance at The Nature Conservancy. He is a founding member and current co-chair of the California Council of Land Trusts and a member of the steering committee of the Bay Area Open Space Council. He holds a law degree from Duke University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

MALT was founded in the 1970s by a unique alliance of environmentalists and ranchers who realized that development proposals for Marin County would destroy cherished farmland and beautiful open space. Bob took the reins at a time when much of the economic focus in the region and the nation had been on non-agricultural development. He proved that it is possible to foster growth and economic opportunity in agriculture. Thanks to his efforts, Marin is and will continue to be, home to renowned dairy, meat, and organic produce which are served in the Bay Area and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, Robert Berner's diligent work has helped establish an effective national model for agricultural land preservation, enabled countless Marin County farms to thrive, and provided consumers with organic, local produce, dairy, and meat. Please join me in honoring his distinguished career.

I thank the gentleman for leading this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we were debating work requirements under the TANF program. Well, after we've all listed the issues that the Republicans have refused to address in this Congress, we can say that we know a bunch of people who should be subjected to a work requirement.

They take home a lot of Federal dollars. They're actually on the public dole, but they don't seem to be doing very much work. And I'm talking about the do-nothing Republicans in this Congress. I don't blame them for wanting to hurry home for their campaigns because a lot of their jobs must be in jeopardy. On the other hand, when they get there, they might find their constituents pretty frustrated that they haven't done their jobs and they have not met their responsibilities.

Every single day that we're here, my colleagues across the aisle put forward bills that have no hope of becoming law and exist only to promote Republican talking points. Time and time again, they have chosen gridlock and confrontation over progress and cooperation. They haven't lifted a finger to pass the President's jobs package, even though it contains many, many ideas that the Republicans supported in the past. They want to destroy health care reform instead of building on it. They have refused to work with Democrats on education issues, failing to invest in our children, who are 100 percent of our future. They haven't done a thing to support the middle class and give them hope for the future. It's no wonder the Congress has record-low approval ratings.

But, Mr. Speaker, most disappointing of all to me is the Republican Congress's failure to lead on issues of national security and war and peace. While we're on recess, the war in Afghanistan will turn 11 years old. Eleven years--and more. More than 2,000 Americans are dead, thousands more are wounded, and taxpayers are out more than half a trillion dollars, all for a policy that continues to undermine our national security goals instead of advancing them. The brave servicemembers who are putting life and limb on the line in Afghanistan don't get a recess.

When we adjourn, they will continue to be very much ``in session.'' Their ``district work period'' is in districts in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is poised to strike--some at the most dangerous places imaginable. The war isn't just morally reprehensible; it's fiscally irresponsible. And the very same Members who want to cut every domestic program to the bone have barely blinked an eye when it comes to billions and billions of dollars in misplaced war appropriations.

When is the Congress going to catch up with the American people? Certainly not between now and the election, because we've gone home. The people we work for know that it makes no sense to continue military occupation, that it's doing more harm than good, creating more terrorists than it's defeating, making us less safe, not more. The American people have made it abundantly clear: they want us to be here. They want us to be debating this war. They're done with this war. They want us to vote to bring our troops home safely.

The country faces huge challenges. Our people are crying out for leadership, and the Majority wants to turn out the lights. Actually, they have gone home. Americans desperately want the Congress to do something to create jobs and jump-start the economy, something to create peace and security; but the Republicans in Congress have gone home. They have left the work site. They're gone.

Mr. Speaker, in April of the year 2004, I rose in this Chamber to speak for 5 minutes about my conviction that the war in Iraq was a dangerous, immoral policy, and it was hurting America and our national security.

Since then, I've delivered a similar message nearly every day that it was possible when we were in session, and once the Iraq war finally drew to a close, I moved on to focus on the ongoing military occupation of Afghanistan, which soon will be in its 11th year, costing us more than 2,000 American lives and more than half a trillion dollars and counting.

Today is my 440th 5-minute Special Order calling for an end of these wars and the safe return of our troops to their families right here at home. I'm not proud of having reached that number. I would much prefer that the speeches were no longer necessary.

But since I'm retiring from the House at the end of this year, my 20th year in Congress, one of my biggest disappointments is that we haven't shown the leadership, the courage, and the resolve to finally secure peace.

We are still mired in this Afghanistan conflict, even though the evidence is overwhelming that it's doing more harm than good, even though it's emboldening terrorists and insurgents rather than defeating them, even though it's breeding resentment of America instead of winning hearts and minds. We are still mired in this conflict, even though a clear majority of the American people no longer want any part of it.

I will not return to the House in 2013, so this will be one of my final opportunities to press this point. But as long as our troops remain in harm's way, and as long as this dreadful policy continues, I will continue to speak out and speak up.

I know there are many proud and fearless opponents of this war on both sides of the aisle who will continue to lead this effort right here in Congress. Time and time again what I have advocated is not just an end to these wars, but the beginning of a new approach to combating terrorism and keeping America safe.

We need to lead with American cooperation and compassion around the world, not American weapons and brute force. We need SMART Security, a plan that puts the focus on development and diplomacy. We need a strategy that gives people hope and improves their lives instead of invading and occupying their lands.

This is not only the humane approach, Mr. Speaker, it's also the more pragmatic one, the one that will truly advance our national security goals, and it's a lot more cost-effective. Helping people costs pennies on the dollar compared to waging war. A lot of people have said to me over the years, Woolsey, your problem is that you think we can have a perfect world. Well, consider me guilty as charged.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with idealism and ambitious goals because I'm absolutely certain that if we don't strive for a perfect world, we won't ever come close to providing a safe, secure, and peaceful world for our grandchildren and their grandchildren, and that's our job here in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that my team came in second to Tennessee. Tennessee was the only team that beat them--but beat them twice. They did a stand-up job. So did our kids in Petaluma.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I took part in a moving naturalization ceremony as 50 new people from 20 different countries took the oath that made them Americans--225 years to the day that the Founders signed the U.S. Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, there's no constitutional right more precious than the right of self-governance. These new Americans were excited for the very opportunity to vote in this upcoming election. That's why we should do everything possible to ensure that every eligible American can do just that. Unfortunately, several States are throwing up barriers to voter participation, restricting ballot access to silence peoples' voices.

Mr. Speaker, guess who is disenfranchised by strict photo ID requirements and the like? It's not Republicans. It's communities of color and low-income families.