Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an old friend and personal hero, Robert Abramson of Cotati, CA, who turned 88 last month. Bob and his wife Barbara traveled the world for 17 years in connection with his work for the United Nations and the World Bank and were later active leaders in the United Nations Association of Sonoma County.

Born in San Francisco, Bob earned his BA in Sociology and Philosophy followed by an MA degree in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley. As a pilot in the Air Force in World War II, he flew 27 missions over Japan and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal Oak Leaf Cluster.

While at a Cessna aircraft factory in Kansas, Bob met local girl Barbara, and they married in 1945. The couple lived in the Bay Area for several years while Bob, with his social welfare background, worked as a parole agent. During this time, he was introduced to a program at the University of Southern California that led to him setting up classes in management training in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The United Nations recognized his special talents in this field, and he embarked on a career teaching management training internationally to government officials who needed to work together to help their countries thrive in a rapidly changing world. Barbara frequently traveled as his aide, learning the niceties of social icebreakers in a large variety of cultures, including Bangladesh, New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Brunei.

``Since Bob spoke only English fluently, we worked in former British colonies,'' says Barbara. ``The colonials had kept the people in menial jobs, and Bob trained them in modern methods of governance.'' He was committed to ensuring that the new leaders of fledgling democracies had the skills to run their countries for the benefit of their people.

Bob was also a Professor of Public Administration at the University of Pittsburgh where he trained leaders in U.S. agencies that worked abroad.

The U.N. had a mandatory retirement age of 65, but Bob continued to take short-term work assignments for a number of years. The couple retired to the Bay Area where their best friends lived in Sonoma County. Twenty-two years ago, they settled in Sonoma themselves and became active in the United Nations Association of Sonoma County, a group whose purpose is to build public understanding and support for the United Nations and to foster constructive U.S. leadership to make the U.N. more effective. Bob served as President for four years and Membership Chair for many more (``because he has a good head for details,'' according to Barbara).

The Abramsons have two children and two grandchildren. Daughter Julie lives in southern California, and son Bruce lives in Healdsburg. Growing up, the children lived in different countries with their parents and experienced a broad view of global culture.

Mr. Speaker, I admire Robert Abramson's respect for different cultures and the passion he conveys for demonstrating that the path to peace is to engage cooperatively with other countries. His work and his volunteerism have exemplified the best of this approach. Please join me in honoring him on this special occasion.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation is now in the 124th consecutive month of war. And while those of us privileged to serve in this body enjoyed time back home with our families for the holidays, there is no such holiday break for our servicemembers who are serving in harm's way.

Thousands of American families had a permanently empty seat around their table this holiday season because a son or daughter or mother or father was killed in one of these senseless wars that we've been fighting.

I would note as a bit of an aside, Mr. Speaker, how ironic it is that 2 days ago we celebrated a Federal holiday named for a man who was a proud and principled pacifist, who believed in the moral power of nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King once said, ``A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.''

Mr. Speaker, it's time we paid more than lip service to his dream; it's time we started living it.

It's time also that we paid more than lip service to our veterans who are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women who have courageously sacrificed so much for us are coming home to an economy that seems to have no place for them.

Yes, we're in the grips of a devastating job crisis that's affecting just about every community and every group in the United States, but veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are feeling the squeeze disproportionately. Even as the job numbers have picked up some for the rest of economy, because it has rallied slightly, veterans are slipping further behind.

Overall, unemployment dropped to 8\1/2\ percent in December for our country. But for veterans who've served since September 2001, the jobless rate is a staggering 13.1 percent. Is this

what we call a hero's welcome? Is this how our Nation shows its gratitude? Closing this gap must be at the top of our 2012 calendar.

There has been some progress. For example, in November, Congress passed and the President signed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act, which provides tax credits to employers who hire veterans. But, Mr. Speaker, we need to do much, much more because unless we take bold action, this problem is going to get much worse before it gets any better as the war in Iraq and, hopefully, the war in Afghanistan winds down and even more returning troops flood the jobs market.

We know what to do. There's no question. We need more job training. We need more technical assistance so that these skilled young people can find the work they need. We need more career counseling and job fairs. We need to increase our investment in veterans' housing initiatives. How about helping veterans become entrepreneurs by starting their own businesses? And basically, we need more jobs in this country.

We must not pinch pennies on veterans. We must not pinch pennies on their health care, and we must make sure that wounded veterans aren't victimized by job discrimination.

So let's get creative here. Let's put our money where our mouth is. If we can spend billions of dollars every month on wars, then certainly we can spend a fraction of that to help the Americans who fought those wars. When they come home they should have a seamless transition back to civilian life.

These wars have already taken too much from all of us, from our country. We can't let them also destroy the job prospects and the successful futures of the people who served so bravely on the front lines. It's time to bring our troops home and, at the same time, provide them with the jobs they need to support their families.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall Nos. 944-949. Had I been present I would have voted:

Rollcall No. 944: ``no''--On Ordering the Previous Question; rollcall No. 945: ``no''--On Agreeing to the Resolution; rollcall No. 946: ``no''--On Agreeing to the Resolution; rollcall No. 947: ``no''--Motion to Table; rollcall No. 948: ``yes''--Motion to Instruct; rollcall No. 949: ``no''-- H. Res. 501.

Madam Speaker, now that the war in Iraq is drawing to a close, this is the perfect moment to reset our national security strategy, to change our underlying approach to protecting America.

Unfortunately, on the very day that the President visited Fort Bragg to affirm our full military withdrawal from Iraq, this body approved-- without my vote--the National Defense Authorization Act, which will continue to dedicate billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars to warfare and weaponry.

While it's true that the bill represents some modest attempt at cuts, authorizing less than current law spending and less than the President requested, we're still talking about $662 billion in defense programs. $662 billion is a lot of money. It is particularly a lot of money at a time when the House majority won't part with a thin dime to create jobs and is committed to scaling back unemployment benefits.

The NDAA includes funding for the continued prosecution of the war on Afghanistan--a disastrous policy that proves to be a bigger failure with each passing day. We continue to spend enormous amounts of the American people's money on a war the American people don't support, and in so doing, more young Americans are either killed or maimed.

And to what end? For what benefit? For a policy that has emboldened the insurgents, inflamed anti-Americanism, and done little to bring peace, security, and stability to Afghanistan.

The authorization of military spending flies through the Congress while the domestic investments we need to put our people back to work are dead on arrival on the other side of the aisle. The authorization of war spending--exorbitant, excessive amounts of war spending--is rubber-stamped by this body when we could be spending pennies on the dollar to protect America more effectively with diplomacy, development, and other SMART Security tools.

To make matters even worse, the National Defense Authorization Act includes unacceptable provisions relating to the handling of detainees. It grants the President--any President--and the military broad powers to throw a U.S. citizen in jail indefinitely for suspected terrorist ties: without a swift civilian trial, without full rights of due process, without the proper presumption of innocence.

I emphatically reject the idea, Madam Speaker, that defending the Nation requires an assault on civil liberties and the rule of law. Madam Speaker, it makes no sense to say we are defending freedom by undermining freedom, to say we're going to defeat authoritarian forces by adopting authoritarian tactics of our very own.

Just the opposite, in fact.

We protect American interests and values by showing our Nation's compassion and honor--the better angels of our nature and not our darkest instincts.

United States security depends on winning hearts and minds around the world, but we'll never do it with military occupations and repressive detention policies. We'll do it by bringing our troops home and by immediately adopting the principles of a smarter security policy.

Mr. Speaker, since the spring of 2004 I've stood here in this very spot 415 times to call for an end to foreign wars and the start of a new, smarter approach to national security. In most of those speeches my tone has been one of insistence and beseeching. Seldom have I been able to echo good news or declare a sense of accomplishment, but Mr. Speaker, today is different. As the President will reaffirm in a speech at Fort Bragg today--and it moves me almost beyond words to say this--the war in Iraq is finally over.

After 105 excruciating months, after so much heartbreak and despair, after so many shameful episodes--such as the ``Mission Accomplished'' banner, Abu Ghraib, the outing of Valerie Plame, and so much more--our troops are finally coming home from Iraq, all of them.

Much credit goes to President Obama for making good on his promise. When he was sworn into office, there were 142,000 U.S. servicemembers deployed to Iraq; by the time the calendar turns in 2012, there will be zero; zero.

But this day would not have come unless some very brave people had spoken up for peace at a time when the polls and the conventional wisdom said that President Bush and his Iraq policy were unassailable.

I've been proud to work in particular with my friends, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, in establishing the Out of Iraq Caucus. Many of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle stood shoulder to shoulder with us, including our late friend, Jack Murtha, who's opposition to the war represented a major turning point in the Iraq debate.

Of course, no one displayed more courage than the heroic men and women who served in Iraq with honor and selflessness. They present the best our Nation has to offer. I only wish that their elected leaders had served them better over the last decade.

But, Mr. Speaker, we must be careful. We must be careful about turning this into an occasion of triumph or celebration. The end of the Iraq War is welcome, but tragically, overdue. Too much has been lost in precious American blood, in badly needed public treasure, and in our moral core as a Nation. The end of this war comes too late for nearly 4,500 Americans whose parents, spouses, children, and friends will miss them desperately this holiday season and every other day of the year.

Many thousands more are home from Iraq with broken minds and bodies, with scars they will carry for the rest of their days. We must keep our promise to them to provide the benefits that they so need and deserve.

I don't know how we atone for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. Our military occupation in Iraq is over, but our bilateral engagement with Iraq most certainly will go on. There is still plenty of human need in Iraq, and we must have an obligation to help alleviate that.

It is critical that the United States be a peaceful and constructive partner with Iraq, investing in development, providing the civilian support that will empower its people, and strengthening its democratic institutions. Now is the moment. Now, more than ever, we must move to a smarter security in Iraq.

Finally, it is critical to remember that the end of the Iraq War does not mean we are a Nation at peace. The war in Afghanistan lingers on, violently and senselessly, still undermining our national security and weakening our country. We must, Mr. Speaker, move more quickly than ever to end that conflict.

It is time to bring our troops home, all of our troops, safely home, now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mary Donovan, a valued Marin County employee who is retiring after over 36 years of service. As the Program Manager II of the Employment and Training Branch within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Director of the Workforce Investment Board of Marin, Ms. Donovan's skilled management and expertise has made a significant contribution to the effectiveness of this department.

In September, 1975, Ms. Donovan began her career with the County as an Eligibility Worker and earned repeated promotions over the years. Along the way, she was recognized for her calmness under pressure, delegates work well, has ability in a leadership role and her truly amazing ability to change roles, assume new tasks, learn new programs, and gain the respect of all around her. In 1994, she was named Program Manager II and continued to make full use of all these skills.

In her years of work within the County Ms. Donovan has managed many social service/public assistance programs including Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, MediCal, County Medical Services Programs, Job Training Partnership Act, Workforce Investment Board, and CalWORKs Welfare to Work. While serving on the newly formed Marin Child Care Commission, she provided key expertise in the navigation of the new CalWORKS program.

Originally from Pittsburg, PA, Mary Donovan was the oldest of 13 children. She is very family oriented with three children, all of whom were born in Marin. Jared, the oldest, works in Washington, DC; Logan is an actor in Southern California, and Margo works to travel. Mary, too, plans on traveling as well as enjoying a healthy lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking Mary Donovan for her years of service and wishing her well in retirement.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Well, I've walked in the shoes of those who are needy. I know what it's like to go without. I know what it's like to struggle. Forty years ago I found myself--no fault of my own--a single mother with three young children all under the age of 5 and barely a dime to my name. I was one of the lucky ones; I had a good education. And so I was able to get a job, and I didn't need unemployment benefits. But my job wasn't enough to feed those three little kids. I needed AFDC just to make ends meet.

Nobody asked me to take a drug test, nobody asked if I had a GED. I was in trouble, and a generous, compassionate government helped me get back on my feet. That was over 40 years ago, my friends. And I can assure you that my children and I have more than paid back for that generous help that we received.

The Republican bill is not consistent with American values as I've lived them and understood them during my 74 years on this Earth. We're all in this together, I believe. There but for the grace of God go I.

It's time for this Congress to stop coddling millionaires and start standing up for all families and all children who are suffering in today's economy.

Madam Speaker, on December 7, 2011, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for Rollcall No. 898. Had I been present I would have voted:

Rollcall No. 898: ``Yes''--Jackson Lee of Texas Part B Amendment No. 6.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in sadness today to honor my friend, Dr. Edward Waite Miller, who passed away October 27, 2011, at the age of 92. He was a prominent surgeon and writer in Marin County, California, as well as a loving family man.

Born in Oyster Bay, New York, in 1919, Dr. Miller studied at Union College in Schenectady and at Cornell Medical School with an internship at Boston City Hospital. He then served at the US Naval Hospital in Corpus Christi and in the South Pacific during WWII. He was awarded the American Theatre, Asiatic-Pacific, and Victory Medals. Reactivated in 1953, his service varied from making training films in the California desert to witnessing nuclear testing at the Bikini Atoll. He then received the Korean Service, United Nations, and National Defense Medals.

Dr. Miller also had a distinguished medical career. While working as a research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Willem Kolff in the 1950s, he published some seminal studies on the angiography of the heart that led to research in the new practice of coronary bypass surgery. He later worked as a surgeon in Mann General Hospital in Greenbrae, CA, and Children's Hospital in San Francisco, CA, and as a physician at Novato Community Hospital in Novato, CA.

In retirement Dr. Miller became well known in the community and around the world for his writing in the Coastal Post newspaper, a Mann County publication that gave him free rein to speak out on issues he was passionate about. From advocacy for peace and human rights to his sometimes controversial pro-Palestinian stance, he penned opinion pieces that reflected his deeply held beliefs and his great knowledge of world events.

I had many conversations with Ed Miller about these issues, and, although I sometimes didn't agree with him, I always enjoyed our time together and appreciated his commitment

and his compassion. He loved discussing everything from politics to poetry (which he quoted from memory) with friends and family.

A long-time resident of the Lucas Valley area, Dr. Miller enjoyed landscaping his yard, and he was a board member and President of the Lucas Valley Homeowners' Association.

Dr. Miller is survived by his wife Fusae Ito Miller; his children and stepchildren, Trudy Vriethoff, Susan Ray, Lori Callahan, Jeffrey Miller, Grace Bransford, and Robert Fleming and their spouses; and 5 grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I always looked forward to seeing Ed Miller and will miss our lively discussions. Please join me in offering condolences to his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, the violence rages on in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, suicide bombers struck in three different cities, in each case targeting Shiite worshipers who are observing a religious holiday.

The death toll is at least 63, according to a news report; and a Pakistani extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. One eyewitness told The New York Times: ``We saw 30 or 40 people on the ground missing arms or legs.'' Another said the Kabul

blast was timed to wreak the maximum havoc, as the bomber detonated at the moment that the crowd was largest, when one group was going into a mosque and another was exiting.

In the 10 years of this war, it's the first attack specifically against Shiites, adding a sectarian angle and religious tension that hadn't previously been prevalent in the Afghanistan conflict.

Mr. Speaker, how can we call our occupation of Afghanistan a success when, after 10 years of attacks like this and making a young woman like BiBi who was talked about on the other side of the aisle earlier this morning, make her victimization and her terrorization commonplace. When this is commonplace, we cannot be having success in Afghanistan.

The truth is our continued military presence is aggravating the violence, not containing it, and certainly not stopping it. I'm not saying that Afghanistan will be magically transformed when the last of our troops leaves; but our best hope for peace, for security and stability there is a swift end to this war.

But here's another important thing, Mr. Speaker. If we do this right and have an end to the war that is meaningful, it would mean the beginning of an even more robust engagement with Afghanistan, an engagement based on the principles of SMART Security, in other words, a peaceful partnership based on mutual respect, assistance to strengthening Afghanistan's democratic infrastructure, not with military force, but with civilian support.

SMART Security would empower the Afghan people investing in their hopes and dreams, instead of bringing further violence to their country. Military redeployment out of Afghanistan can't and won't mean a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.

So I hope that every single one of my colleagues who has eagerly rubber-stamped war spending year after year, even while complaining about the United States budget deficits, will show the same enthusiasm and the same support for a humanitarian surge in Afghanistan.

I have to shake my head, Mr. Speaker, every time I hear someone say we can't afford such generous foreign aid. Talk about penny wise and pound foolish. Last fiscal year we spent roughly $2.5 billion on development assistance in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, we go through that much war spending in Afghanistan every single week. The bottom line is that smart investments provide more security at a fraction of the cost, pennies on the dollar compared to waging war.

Allowing extreme poverty and widespread unemployment to prevail throughout Afghanistan imperils our national security as much as anything else. Where there's hopelessness, that's where insurgents get a foothold. Nothing breeds terrorism like hardship, deprivation, and despair.

Mr. Speaker, because it's the right thing to do and because it's the best way to protect America, let's bring our troops home and make the transition to SMART Security. And let's do it now.

I thank our great ranking member for allowing me this time.

It is ironic; we're here today debating a bill supported by those in the Congress who won't cut taxes for the middle class, but won't budge when it comes to making permanent the tax cuts for the very wealthy.

Why are we not here today talking about extending the payroll tax cuts? Why are we not here talking about extending employment benefits? Why are we not working on a jobs bill? That's what we should be doing.

This Congress cannot--and I echo the words of our leader. This Congress cannot leave for the holidays without ensuring jobless Americans have the security of unemployment benefits that will make their Christmas, their holiday, the rest of their year livable.

I know firsthand what it's like to fall on hard times and need a hand up.

Forty years ago, when I was a single mother raising three young children--my children were 1, 3, and 5 years old--I was lucky enough to have a job; so I didn't need unemployment benefits. But I did need Aid for Families With Dependent Children just to make ends meet. My family needed the compassion of the government and my fellow citizens just to survive. Without that safety net, I don't know what we would have done.

We cannot abandon people who have been victimized by this sluggish economy. These are proud people, who aren't just willing to work; they're desperate to work. There are roughly five unemployed Americans for every available job. These folks need a life preserver.

Extending unemployment benefits is not just a moral imperative. It will pump life back into the economy. It will give people money for their pockets that they can spend in their local communities and in the shops and grocery stores and other businesses that they will inhabit and support if they have some money in their pockets.

And I can't believe that there are some on the other side of the aisle who have been resisting this extension, sticking their finger in the eye of jobless Americans, while protecting lavish tax cuts for millionaires and for billionaires. That flies in the face of common sense and does violence to the very values of who we are as American people.

One Republican Member even said just recently that, and I quote him, he said, ``Congress ought to concentrate on paying people to work, not paying people not to work.'' Except his party hasn't lifted a single finger to do a single thing about creating jobs in this country. You can't pay them to work when there is no work.

So I ask you, having experienced what it means to have little kids that depend on you during hard times, I ask you, do not let these families down. Extend unemployment benefits. Pass a big, bold jobs bill. Put Americans back to work, and stop wasting time on the REINS bill.

Madam Speaker, this week, representatives from several nations will meet in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the future of Afghanistan. The Bonn Conference comes exactly 10 years after the first Bonn Conference, which established the Karzai government. So right now is the perfect moment to assess and reflect on where we are and where we're going in Afghanistan.

By any measure, Madam Speaker, the war we have been waging in Afghanistan for the last decade has been a failure. Our hard-earned tax dollars have been tragically wasted on a policy that has projected the worst image of America to the rest of the world. It has undermined our interests and damaged our national security--and let's not forget the human cost. More than 1,800 American families will sit at their tables over the holiday season--tables with a person missing. If we want to eliminate fallen warriors, we must bring them home while they're still alive.

Hopefully, the Bonn Conference will pivot us to the next phase of our Afghanistan engagement: from military occupation to constructive partnership, from waging war in Afghanistan to helping in the spirit of peace and friendship. Ten years after we supposedly liberated them, the people of Afghanistan have enormous humanitarian needs. We need to help them rebuild their infrastructure, strengthen their democracy, and safeguard the rights of their people, all of which can be done for pennies on the dollar compared to spending military dollars. In short, we need the SMART Security approach that I've been advocating for years.

In Bonn, President Karzai is saying that Afghanistan will require foreign economic assistance for at least the next 10 years. The estimated cost of $10 billion a year, which sounds like a lot for that support, makes you realize, however, that we're spending at least that much, probably more, every month in Afghanistan. As a nation, we should eagerly embrace the responsibility to make these relatively modest investments in nonmilitary aid to Afghanistan. It's the right thing to do, and in the long run, we'll discover it's a far greater investment than 10 more years of war.

The past 10 years of war have done little to improve the lives and to advance the rights, for example, of Afghan women. Many of us are familiar with the story of the Afghan woman who was raped and then impregnated by a male relative when she was 19 years old. She was then sent to jail for the crime of adultery. Her initial sentence was 3 years; then, after a second trial, it was increased to 12 years, but a judge offered her clemency under one condition--she had to marry the man who raped her. At long last, Madam Speaker, after a petition drive organized by the woman's lawyer yielded 6,000 signatures, President Karzai granted the woman an unconditional pardon--she will be released from prison without having to spend her life with her attacker.

It's a relief that moral decency prevailed in this one case; but the fact that this qualifies as a human rights victory in Afghanistan reveals just how far we have to go. There are many more Afghan women like her who suffer humiliation every single day, who have no control over their destinies. The true measure of American leadership is what we do to help these women and so many other Afghans who want nothing more than to live a decent life of hope, freedom, and relative comfort. We won't help by extending a war that has already failed these people and has violated our most fundamental values. It's time to bring our troops home and to make the transition to SMART Security now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in sadness today to honor my friend, Dr. Edward Waite Miller, who passed away October 27, 2012, at the age of 92. He was a prominent surgeon and writer in Marin County, California, as well as a loving family man.

Born in Oyster Bay, New York, in 1919, Dr. Miller studied at Union College in Schenectady and at Cornell Medical School with an internship at Boston City Hospital. He then served at the US Naval Hospital in Corpus Christi and in the South Pacific during WWII. He was awarded the American Theatre, Asiatic-Pacific, and Victory Medals. Reactivated in 1953, his service varied from making training films in the California desert to witnessing nuclear testing at the Bikini Atoll. He then received the Korean Service, United Nations, and National Defense Medals.

Dr. Miller also had a distinguished medical career. While working as a research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Willem Kolff in the 1950s, he published some seminal studies on the angiography of the heart that led to research in the new practice of coronary bypass surgery. He later worked as a surgeon in Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, CA, and Children's Hospital in San Francisco, CA, and as a physician at Novato Community Hospital in Novato, CA.

In retirement Dr. Miller became well known in the community and around the world for his writing in the Coastal Post newspaper, a Marin County publication that gave him free rein to speak out on issues he was passionate about. From advocacy for peace and human rights to his sometimes controversial pro-Palestinian stance, he penned opinion pieces that reflected his deeply held beliefs and his great knowledge of world events.

I had many conversations with Ed Miller about these issues, and, although I sometimes didn't agree with him, I always enjoyed our time together and appreciated his commitment and his compassion. He loved discussing everything from politics to poetry (which he quoted from memory) with friends and family.

A long-time resident of the Lucas Valley area, Dr. Miller enjoyed landscaping his yard, and he was a board member and President of the Lucas Valley Homeowners' Association.

Dr. Miller is survived by his wife Fusae Ito Miller; his children and stepchildren, Trudy Vriethoff, Susan Ray, Lori Callahan, Jeffrey Miller, Grace Bransford, and Robert Fleming and their spouses; and 5 grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I always looked forward to seeing Ed Miller and will miss our lively discussions. Please join me in offering condolences to his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, on December 1, 2011, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall No. 872. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea''--On Motion to Recommit with Instructions.

Mr. Speaker, it's bad enough that the people who control this body aren't interested in creating jobs for the American people. But now, if people want new leadership in the House, if they want a Congress that will finally focus on job creation, they're foiled by restrictive election laws designed to suppress the vote.

Guess which populations are disenfranchised by strict photo ID requirements and other barriers to political participation?

It's not the wealthiest 1 percent. It's not the affluent and the comfortable. It's not, frankly, the base of the Republican Party. It's disproportionately communities of color and low-income families who are having their rights undermined and even stripped away.

These laws, passing in State after State, are underhanded. They're an attempt to consolidate political power. They are unfair, undemocratic. And voting rights are among the most precious privileges that we have as citizens, and they must be protected.