Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Reverend Nehemiah Davis on his 50th anniversary as pastor of the historic Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. The church is in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, located on Evans Avenue, on the historical South Side.

While this year marks Dr. Davis' 50th year as pastor of Mount Pisgah, I would also like to congratulate him on his installation as president of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America.

Pastor Davis' dedication to the church and to his community is exceeded only by his devotion to his wife, Dorothy Nell Cole Davis, and his two daughters, Carol Michelle Davis Jackson and Nina Caron Davis, who have given Dr. Davis two grandkids.

Mr. Speaker, Pastor Davis has lived his entire life giving service to the community and preaching the faith, and he wanted everyone here to know today that out of all the things that he has accomplished over his lifetime, that he is also very proud of his domino-playing skills.

I ask my distinguished colleagues of the 113th Congress to join me in honoring Pastor Davis on his 50th anniversary as pastor of Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, as well as an exemplary life of service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Nehemiah Davis on his fiftieth anniversary as pastor of the historic Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church. The church is in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas and I am proud to represent this community in Congress. While this year marks Dr. Davis' fiftieth year as pastor of Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, I would also like to congratulate him for his installation as President of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America.

Pastor Davis is a native Texan, born in Centerville, and received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Mary Allen College in Crockett, Texas. He also received three degrees from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas including a Bachelor of Divinity, a Master of Divinity, and a Master of Religious Education. He is the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Guadalupe Baptist Theological Seminary.

As a regional and civic leader, Dr. Nehemiah Davis served for as a Trustee on the Board of the Fort Worth Independent School District, held various local and national leadership positions within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) including serving as President of the Fort Worth chapter for over 25 years, and has held a wide array of positions within the Pastor's Conference and the Minister's Conference of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America. He currently serves as Dean of the Congress of the North Texas District Association and a teacher in the Baptist Ministers' Union of Fort Worth/ Tarrant County and Vicinity.

Pastor Davis' dedication to the church and to his community is exceeded only by his devotion to his wife Mrs. Dorothy Nell Cole and his two daughters, Carol Michelle Davis Jackson and Nina Caron Davis, who have given Dr. Davis two grandsons.

Mr. Speaker, Pastor Davis has lived a life of service to people of faith and his community. I ask my distinguished colleagues of the 113th Congress to join me in honoring Pastor Davis on his fiftieth Anniversary as Pastor of Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church as well as an exemplary life of service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to recognize Adelfa Callejo, a legendary Latina civil rights leader in Texas who died Friday at the age of 90.

A Dallas lawyer and civil rights leader who was first exposed to activism as a girl interpreting for her father, Adelfa made a significant impact during her life.

Ms. Callejo became the first Latina to graduate from SMU School of Law and practiced in Dallas for more than 40 years, mentoring many Latino and Latina lawyers along the way.

Adelfa Callejo, La Madrina, or Godmother, as many called her, is well

known for her civil rights work to eliminate racial barriers, stop immigrant abuse, and improve education in the State of Texas.

During her dedication of an elementary school named after her in Dallas last year, Adelfa told the audience:

Only through education will we make the world a better

place than we found it.

May her commitment to improving education and her legacy of working on behalf of a better Texas continue through her family and all of those lives she has touched throughout the decades.

Madam Speaker, as we continue on our economic recovery and debate about raising the minimum wage for hardworking Americans, I want to talk today about raising the standard of living for women in America.

According to the latest BLS report, the monthly job gains were filled entirely by women in our country. This may seem like great news, but please understand that women's recent gains have been concentrated in low-wage sectors, like retail or hospitality. Women still tend to be driven away from the manufacturing sector, which, on average, pays 17 percent higher than non-manufacturing jobs. As a result, the pay gap between women and men in our country continues to be an issue.

Before Republicans deny an extension of unemployment benefits to job- seeking women everywhere, we need to take a multi-faceted, bipartisan approach to solving the pay and job discrepancies. That includes increasing access to STEM education for women and getting them more interested in these manufacturing careers. We have a manufacturing gap in this country that needs to be filled, and women can help do it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Fort Worth, Dallas, and Arlington chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, on their Founders Day for 101 years of dedicated service to our communities.

Founded in 1913 by 22 women on the campus of Howard University, Delta Sigma Theta is an organization committed to scholarship, sisterhood, and service. Deltas are committed to service and provide assistance and support through established programs like Delta GEMS, a program the Fort Worth alumnae chapter hosts at T.A. Sims Elementary School each month,

which works to empower high school girls. In Arlington, Deltas help fight heart disease through Zumba and line dancing as a part of the Go Red Campaign. And in Dallas, Deltas provide free hair styling for senior citizens at their Joy Woodfork Beauty Salon.

I applaud the Dallas/Fort Worth alumnae chapters and the thousands of Deltas nationwide for their distinguished service to our country, State, and the world, and I wish them many more.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of over a million Americans who saw their unemployment benefits disappear on December 28. With our economy still struggling and unemployment remaining unacceptably high, now is not the time to take more money out of the pockets of those who are struggling to simply get by.

This week, Republicans would rather continue debating the Affordable Care Act instead of working to get our economy back on track by helping to raise the standard of living for the poorest Americans and provide assistance to the unemployed.

Democrats in the House and the Senate are working to offer solutions here in Washington and back in our districts. In the district I represent, I am helping constituents find jobs by hosting a job fair on January 24. The constituents I serve will have the opportunity to apply for jobs on site, network with employers, and attend professional development workshops.

Mr. Speaker, we need to address the job crisis in America, and Republicans need to get back to the business of fixing our economy.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 1, had I been present, I would have voted ``present.''

Mr. Speaker, as our Nation's economy continues to improve, we still need to have a serious discussion about jobs in this country.

As Congress will soon debate whether to extend unemployment benefits for needy Americans, we must remember that there are young people that are graduating from high schools in our country that are not ready to take jobs that are in high demand.

For instance, from an article I read in The Wall Street Journal last year, an estimated 600,000 skilled middle class manufacturing jobs went unfilled in this country. That is absolutely unacceptable. Much of that can be attributed to kids who are simply unprepared.

Mr. Speaker, improved education must be included if we are serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. And if we are really serious about looking out for the middle class, we have to do something about raising the minimum wage in this country. Any serious discussion about raising the standard of living in our country without addressing these two areas of education and raising the low minimum wage that we have is simply not addressing the issue seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to address these issues by having a job fair in my district on Friday, January 24, in Fort Worth at the Resource Connection. It is efforts like these and many others that will help get the middle class back on track in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I have risen before to talk about the fact that the congressional district that I represent has the highest uninsured rate out of any congressional district in the entire country.

About 40 percent of the constituents that I represent don't have health care insurance, and I wanted to talk today about how the Affordable Care Act is already helping many of those constituents in the very district that I represent.

Yesterday, I found out that a constituent who resides in the district I represent, Jason Roberts, had suffered from cancer and that he had been running out of options, but when the Affordable Care Act kicked in, he found out that his COBRA benefits would be saved.

Because of the options offered through the Affordable Care Act, Jason, who, again, had suffered from cancer, he actually dropped his monthly premiums by $251 and his deductible by $1,500. That is an overall savings of about $4,500 a year for what Jason describes as ``great coverage.''

The simple fact that he and so many others are actually able to keep their insurance, even if they have a preexisting condition like Jason had with cancer, is a true testament to the benefits of the health care law.

Let's work together to make sure that this health care law works for all of the uninsured like Jason and that it continues to work for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Proyecto Inmigrante on their 8-year anniversary on December 7. Proyecto Inmigrante is a nonprofit organization in Dallas and Fort Worth that, since 2005, has served our community by providing low-cost and reliable immigration counseling.

I admire the hard work and perseverance of its executive director, Douglas Interiano, and the entire staff and volunteers who work hard to help their clients navigate the immigration system to become permanent residents and citizens and to also help them apply for deferred action.

Proyecto also serves a very critical role in protecting a vulnerable immigrant community from fraud and abuse. These efforts take courage, conviction, and selflessness that, as the holiday season approaches, remind us that we should serve others and look beyond ourselves.

Respecting our immigrant community and working hard to enact comprehensive immigration reform should be an urgent national priority for the country. I look forward to continuing that fight, and I am honored that our Nation will have Proyecto Inmigrante as an ally in that effort. Keep up the good work, and good luck on future years of service.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will mark 50 years since President John F. Kennedy's tragic assassination in Dallas, Texas.

As Americans pause to remember President Kennedy's legacy of public service and fight toward achieving racial equality, north Texas will host events related to the occasion, both in Dallas and Fort Worth.

A dear friend and mentor, former House Speaker Jim Wright, who accompanied the President on that fateful day, will be a special guest at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce High Impact 50th Anniversary Breakfast at the Downtown Fort Worth Hilton. Formerly known as the Hotel Texas, it is where President Kennedy spent his last night and delivered one of his final two speeches.

President Kennedy defied a tumultuous era of racial and gender discrimination by promoting forward-thinking policies for the sake of progress. Kennedy also defined the civil rights crisis as moral, as well as constitutional and legal.

As we commemorate President Kennedy's life and the historic impact he had on the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the Nation, I call upon my colleagues to work together to ensure that the legacy that inspired a generation lives on.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk to you today about the importance of responsible budget-making in our government. Budgets are moral documents that reflect our priorities as a Nation. For the sake of our economy, this Congress must turn back from the current brinksmanship and obstruction, and must return to the practice of negotiation and compromise.

The proposed budget and across-the-board spending cuts to domestic programs are continuing to slam families, children, seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities in the congressional district that I represent. Impacts to Texas include $9 billion in cuts to SNAP benefits over 10 years, almost $32 billion in cuts to health care for Texas seniors, and the loss of over 5,000 jobs for our Texas educators.

We should focus on improving our education, on strengthening old infrastructure, on investing in advanced domestic manufacturing, and in paving the way for the future.

Let's show the American people that compromise and negotiation are not a thing of the past and that Washington can work together on their behalf. As elected leaders, we owe it to the American people to do the jobs we were sent here to do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of a truly remarkable woman, Ruby Session, who passed away earlier this month.

In 1985, Ms. Session's son, Timothy Cole--a veteran, a student at Texas Tech University and a Black man--was wrongfully convicted of the rape of a woman in Lubbock County and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He died there of an asthma attack while incarcerated. In 2009, DNA evidence proved

that Tim Cole was wrongfully convicted; and in 2010 he received the first posthumous pardon in Texas history.

Ms. Session fought for justice for her son, but throughout all of that, she still fought for justice for everyone in the State who had been wrongfully convicted. Thanks to her efforts, Texas now has additional safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions and to provide restitution to former prisoners who have been exonerated of their crimes.

I am honored to have known Ms. Session and to have supported her pursuit of justice while I served in the Texas Legislature. Her spirit lives on in her reforms and in the many individuals whose lives she has touched.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of Dr. Claude Robert Platte, a man who dedicated his life in service of his family, community and nation. Dr. Platte grew up in Fort Worth, Texas where he attended James E. Guinn elementary and graduated from Fort Worth's historic I.M. Terrell High School. Mr. Platte went on to Tuskegee Institute where he received a Degree in Mechanical engineering with a Minor in Aeronautics.

Dr. Platte joined the military where he was assigned to the 301st Fighter Squadron. Dr. Platte served as primary flight instructor, training over 400 blacks to solo and fly PT13s, PT17s and PT19s. The pilots he trained amassed an unmatched military record as fighter pilots. He broke racial and educational barriers in the military as the first black officer to be trained and commissioned in the newly reopened Air Force Pilot Training Program. He was trained at Randolph Field AFB Texas. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of Captain in 1965 after 18 years of service.

After his military service, Dr. Platte continued his work in the community as a Member of Guardianship Services, an organization that supplies court appointed guardians for people in need, and the Knights of St. Peter Claver Court 89, a Catholic organization that provides community services nationwide.

He was Founder of the DFW Tuskegee Airmen Chapter established in May 2005 to provide educational assistance to youth. Dr. Platte along with other Original Tuskegee Airmen traveled around the world sharing their story with children, inspiring them to reach their goals. In 2008 the Claude R. Platte Future Pilots Flight School was established to continue the legacy of all of the Tuskegee Airmen by teaching different aspects of aviation which includes flying, building, designing and maintaining aircraft to the youth.

Dr. Claude R. Platte received several honors for his service. He received the Good Conduct Medal and Service in The European War Medal while in the military. On February 23, 2006 he received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Tuskegee University. On March 29, 2007 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the President of the United States for his service to the country as an Original Tuskegee Airmen.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues please join me in honor and remembrance of Dr. Claude Robert Platte whose kind spirit and dedicated service touched many lives. He is survived by his wife Erma Bonner Platte; stepson Alfred M. Williams; Marie Platte Godsey; cousins, Edwina Higgins and Lois Platte, Nathaniel George Hagler, Dr. Nathaniel G. and Royace Hagler, Jr. and the Rev. Gaylan Hagler; nieces Alyssa Godsey, Ginger Platte, Attral and Arwa Platte, Jr., Gary Platte; sister in law Johanna McCully Bonner; and a host of great nieces, great nephews, other relatives and friends. I offer my condolences and deepest sympathy to his wife and family. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the time to thank my friend from New York and the gentleman from Nevada for helping to put together this special hour on what is really important in this country. We know just how vital and vibrant we want our economy to be, and it is hard to do that if we are not taking care of our credit. I appreciate both of these gentlemen for taking this hour to talk about this.

I would also like to thank my colleague from Texas, Sheila Jackson Lee, who spoke so eloquently on so many different areas in government that would be affected if we were to have a shutdown and how the Affordable Care Act is helping Americans--helping working Americans do better.

Whether you are from Houston, where she lives, or the north Texas area where I am from, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, people are concerned. People are starting to get very worried about the very dangerous prospect of approaching the legal debt limit since we are only 3 days away from default.

In 2011, the credit agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history. S&P said this back then:

The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights

what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming

less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what

we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the

threat of default have become political bargaining chips in

the debate over fiscal policy.

Now, following that particular downgrade, it is estimated that job growth took a 28 percent nosedive. Can we afford a 28 percent nosedive right now? I think not.

This also cost Americans more than 200,000 jobs right when we are starting to do better. The economy is starting to be kicked into motion from what was a very bad period over the last several years. We can't afford 200,000 jobs right now. We have to do everything we can to get ourselves out of the situation that we are in right now.

Also important is that consumer confidence dropped to levels mirroring those during the Great Recession, which had a negative impact on economic activity. The GAO found that taxpayers paid $1.3 billion in additional interest. Let me repeat that: the GAO found that hardworking taxpayers paid $1.3 billion in additional interest costs because of the delayed 2011 debt limit increase. Is that what we want, the hardworking taxpayers of our country to have to pay additional taxes because we can't get our act together, because Republicans can't get their act together on the debt ceiling?

Two years after S&P's bleak assessment and the clear economic data, here we are again brought to the brink. We must be clear on what exactly the debt limit is and what it is not. Increasing the debt limit does not increase the Federal debt. It does not give a blank check to our government to spend all it wants. Increasing the debt limit will simply allow the Federal Government to pay bills that Congress has already accrued.

Some of the payments that the Federal Government must make are interest payments on Treasury bonds, Social Security and Medicare benefits, military Active Duty pay, retirement and VA benefits. If the Tea Party refuses to allow the government to honor these financial obligations that are so

dear to many Americans, to our family members, to people in our communities, then investors will likely lose faith in the government and demand higher interest rates for Treasury bonds. We cannot allow our country to become a deadbeat Nation that doesn't pay its bills.

Let's move beyond these silly, partisan games. We have the American economy at stake here. And more importantly, we have the economic livelihood of every American in our hand. The full faith and credit of the United States should not be up for negotiation. It is time for Congress to raise the debt limit--like they have in the past so many times before--and for Republicans to end their losing game of brinksmanship and realize that they are damaging American lives every day.

Let's do more for the hardworking taxpayers in our country that make our country great.