Floor Statements

Mr Speaker, I rise today to address the need to increase the number of minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM-related fields. Throughout the nation, employment in professional scientific and technical services is projected to grow by 29% by 2020. Currently, African-Americans and Hispanics occupy only 6% of the STEM workforce.

This week, I introduced the Project Ready STEM Act of 2012. This legislation addresses critical disparities in student achievement in math and science at the middle and high school levels.

Without the opportunity to develop skills necessary to compete for STEM-related jobs, many students of color may be confined to a lifetime of lower wages. I urge my colleagues to support the Project Ready STEM Act.

I thank the gentlelady so much, and I thank you for your passion on this subject.

Mr. Speaker, there is a cold and cruel war being waged on the poor and hungry in America. I stand today with my colleagues as a voice for the more than 46 million Americans who depend on the food stamp program. I cannot and I will not stand by as my Republican colleagues attempt to balance the budget on the backs of these Americans.

Yesterday, the House Agriculture Committee unveiled the Reconciliation Act of 2012. The drafters of this legislation could have proposed cuts to any program within the Agriculture Committee's jurisdiction; yet they decided to satisfy reconciliation targets by cutting only one program: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. The proposal would cut more than $33 billion from SNAP over 10 years.

Some may try to make you believe these cuts only apply to administrative costs, or they will say that the proposal is an attempt to reduce fraud or waste. They are misleading the public, Mr. Speaker. A majority of the cuts will come from benefits. These cuts will take food out of our seniors' refrigerators and food from the mouths of babies.

Nearly half of all SNAP participants are children. The Republican proposal would not only affect children being fed at home. Oh, no. That would probably be bad enough. This proposal goes further. The Congressional Budget Office predicts this proposal would prevent more than 280,000 children from receiving free meals in school. A school lunch is the only meal many poor children have every day. Millions of children already go to school hungry, Mr. Speaker. Now my Republican colleagues want to exacerbate the problem. I wonder, what did children do to deserve these proposed cuts? Of all the programs that could be cut, why attempt to balance the budget on the backs of schoolchildren?

In Ohio, more than 1.5 million people depend on the SNAP program. These are our neighbors and our friends who live in rural, suburban, and urban Ohio. SNAP is a powerful antipoverty program that has helped make our economy stronger. SNAP is the safety net for millions of people who find themselves unemployed for the first time in their lives. Without SNAP benefits, the disabled would suffer. Without SNAP benefits, seniors would be forced to make the choice between food or a roof over their heads. Without SNAP, children would go hungry. The hungry and the poor and the most vulnerable people cannot afford these cuts. Mr. Speaker, they cannot pay all of our bills by themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 10 minutes of my time be controlled by Ms. Moore of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today, we debate and will vote on H.R. 2779, a bill that addresses a critical issue facing American businesses.

I want to thank my fellow Ohioans, Steve Stivers and Ms. Moore, and our collective staffs for all their hard work on this important piece of legislation.

This bill that I co-introduced with my colleague Mr. Stivers will exempt derivatives trades between two affiliates of the same corporation from clearing, execution, and margin requirements. This legislation would prevent internal, inter-affiliate swaps from being subject to requirements that were designed to apply only to certain external swaps. These internal swaps are used by many American corporations in multiple sectors of our economy.

Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, there is no distinction between inter-affiliate and external swaps. The regulation of inter- affiliate trade should reflect the economic reality that internal trades do not increase systemic risk. As our Nation's economic recovery is getting underway, we need to ensure American businesses remain competitive. We all remember the financial crisis and the pain of recovery that is still evident today. We cannot and should not return to the wild days of Wall Street. That is why I voted for the Dodd-Frank law and why I continue to support it.

However, we should allow American businesses acting in good faith to effectively manage risk. By failing to clarify these important distinctions within Dodd-Frank, we run the risk of stalling job growth and potentially passing costs on to consumers.

Together with our colleagues in the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Agriculture, we have strengthened the language of the bill to ensure it cannot be used to evade other financial regulations. H.R. 2779 was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 53 0, and the House Agriculture Committee passed it by unanimous voice vote.

It is possible for Democrats and Republicans to work together on legislation that stands to benefit American businesses and our Nation's economy. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2779, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Ohio for all of his work. I think it's an excellent bill, and I'm certainly happy to have cosponsored it with him.

I would now, Mr. Speaker, yield to my colleague and friend from the great State of Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

I continue to reserve, Mr. Speaker. I have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I just, again, want to thank everyone involved in this bill and ask my colleagues to please support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Christensen, for her work and continuing to anchor this CBC hour. I think it is very, very important. She is very special because she is determined to make sure that the United States knows that we, the CBC, are fighting for them every day. And I thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the devastating impacts that the Republican budget would have on the middle class and American workers, as well as students, seniors, and the poor.

A budget, Mr. Speaker, is a reflection of priorities. It exemplifies objectives and goals. The Republicans' priorities are clear: cut taxes for the most wealthy Americans while achieving deficit reduction through drastic spending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and other important programs. The Republican budget would abandon the economic recovery we are in and implement policies that ship American jobs overseas.

It would assume deep cuts in transportation spending next year, ignore job creation, and reject sensible proposals for economic growth and future competitiveness.

The Congressional Black Caucus will present a budget this week--thank you to my colleague, Mr. Scott--that

would protect seniors who rely on Medicare, the disabled who need Medicaid, and the unemployed who would go hungry without SNAP. It would support our economy through investment in transportation and infrastructure and would encourage American innovation. The Republican budget would reject investments in innovation by cutting funding for research and development. It would ignore the benefits of these investments on future generations.

Should the Republican budget go into effect, we would miss a great opportunity to support American innovation and to develop emerging technologies that create the jobs of the future. In addition, the Republican budget would fail our students by proposing drastic cuts that would devastate education funding and increase costs for college students. It would allow higher interest rates on student loans starting this year and eliminate the income-based repayment plans that help graduates manage their loans.

In contrast to the Republican budget, the CBC budget would increase the maximum Pell Grant by nearly $1,000 and invest an additional $25 billion above the President's budget in education and job training in fiscal year 2013, alleviating State and local education budget cuts and protecting jobs for teachers.

Even the middle class is not spared from the Republican cuts. The Republican budget would outsource jobs through tax policies. It would actually encourage multinational companies to ship thousands of jobs overseas while costing the American economy billions of dollars.

By contrast, the CBC budget would ensure that Wall Street bankers pay the same tax rates as working Americans by taxing carried interest, dividends, and capital gains as ordinary income. The CBC budget would close corporate tax loopholes, adding approximately $1.3 trillion in revenue over 10 years.

Just like last year, the Republican budget would end the Medicare guarantee and shift costs to seniors. Rather than having the guaranteed coverage of benefits, seniors would receive a voucher. Yet the voucher will not grow as quickly as health care costs--simply shift costs on to seniors. As the AARP pointed out:

The premium support method described in the Republican

proposal would likely ``price out'' traditional Medicare as a

viable option, thus rendering the choice of traditional

Medicare as a false promise.

The CBC budget would support our seniors, working Americans, and the middle class. And the CBC budget will reduce the deficit by an additional $3.4 trillion as compared to the President's budget over the next decade.

The Republican budget would repeat last year's attempts to drastically reduce SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, for struggling families. It would slash SNAP funding by roughly $130 billion over 10 years and completely eliminate categorical eligibility. SNAP is currently serving 47 million people, nearly three-quarters of whom are families with children. Throwing people off the rolls would make it practically impossible for people to afford a nutritionally sound diet.

For 2 years in a row, we've seen Republican priorities in the Republican vision for the Nation. Mr. Speaker, the Republican budget is the wrong plan for American workers; it is the wrong plan for families trying to put food on the table; it is the wrong plan for unemployed Americans; the wrong plan for students; and the wrong plan for seniors.

I urge my colleagues to support the budget presented by the Congressional Black Caucus and to vote ``no'' on the proposed Republican budget.

Mr. Speaker, the National Women's Law Center recently reported that 90 percent of the best selling health plans charge women more than men for the same coverage. In addition, insurers have classified millions of women as having preexisting conditions because of a previous cesarean section or having been pregnant, even for being a victim of domestic violence.

For decades, women have unfairly been charged excessive costs for their health care. Well, that changes now. Because of the Affordable Care Act, the discriminatory practice known as ``gender rating,'' or charging women more than men for care, will be prohibited starting in 2014; and women in private plans can obtain free lifesaving procedures, such as mammograms and colonoscopies.

The Affordable Care Act bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime limits on care, so Americans will not go bankrupt simply because they are trying to be healthy.

And in 2014, because of health care reform, women cannot be denied access because of a preexisting condition.

There is no better time than today to stand up and demand quality, accessible health care for women.

Thank you so much. And I want to thank Representative Christensen for continuing to host this hour. Thank you very much for your leadership.

Mr. Speaker, for far too long, hardworking Americans have paid the price for policies that handed free reign to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. We all want to be in charge of our own care, and it is not too much to ask. The Affordable Care Act forces insurance companies to be responsible, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick or billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit.

For the first time, under Federal law, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. The law also bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits on health benefits, freeing cancer patients and individuals suffering from other chronic diseases from worrying about going without treatment.

The law also ensures that everyone pays their fair share and gets affordable insurance because, when people without insurance get sick, the costs get passed down to the rest of us. Despite other claims, you can keep the coverage you have if you want it, or, if you like your plan, you don't have to keep it. You can pick an affordable insurance option so that you can take responsibility for your health and your family's health.

Having everyone take responsibility for their own care started as a Republican idea, but unfortunately they have abandoned it in an effort to dismantle the new health care law. We know that the American people strongly support what the new health care law does, even though Republican rhetoric has encouraged many not to support the law. When you ask about specific provisions, you get a much clearer picture.

According to a poll done by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 85 percent of people support the discount seniors will get in prescription drugs, which began this year. Seventy-nine percent support subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people buy insurance, which is scheduled to start in 2014. Seventy-eight percent support tax credits to small businesses to offer coverage to workers. The credits are available starting this year. Seventy-one percent of people support prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions, a provision that goes into effect in 2014. Sixty-six percent support making insurers meet a threshold of spending on actual medical care as opposed to administrative costs and profits. This provision goes into effect this year. Sixty-five percent support the law's provision making some preventive care services free to Medicare beneficiaries. It's now in effect. I won't keep going, but I could, Mr. Speaker.

Americans support the provisions of the Affordable Care Act because it gives them the reins. It gives them the ability to choose, not the insurance companies. Americans overwhelmingly agree that the health care system we had before was broken.

The Affordable Care Act is already helping millions of Americans as well as small businesses. 105 million Americans have had the lifetime limit on their coverage eliminated. Seventeen million children who have preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage by insurers. Two and a half million additional young adults now have health insurance through their parents. 360,000 small employers used the small business health care tax credit to help them afford health insurance for 2 million workers in 2011. $2.1 billion is the amount that seniors in the doughnut hole have already saved on their prescription drugs. That's an Average of $604 per senior.

Another fundamental element of the law is the support it provides to community health centers. The Affordable Care Act increases the funding available to 179 existing community health centers in Ohio alone. Health centers in Ohio have received over $53 million to create new health center sites in medically underserved areas and enable health centers to increase the numbers of patients served. The funds can be used to expand preventive and primary health care services. And for so many Ohioans, including my constituents, community health centers are absolutely vital.

For many reasons, this law will improve care and make Americans more healthy. It helps us keep costs under control, encourages prevention, and lets American families focus on things other than whether they will be able to get the type of care they need or go bankrupt. This bill saves lives.

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Breakfast Week, and every child should start the day with a healthy breakfast--whether it's served at home or at school.

A healthy breakfast provides the fuel a young body needs to stay alert. Studies have consistently shown that children who eat breakfast do better in school than those that go to school hungry.

Eating breakfast not only can help children improve their academic performance, but statistics show it improves their behavior and results in fewer school absences.

Unfortunately, breakfast is not always on the menu for millions of American children.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one in five children live in a home where food is not always available. Finding workable solutions to the problem of hunger in America, and feeding America's children is a top priority.

The ``Share Your Breakfast'' program--a partnership between Kellogg's and Action for Healthy Kids--is working to achieve this goal. The ``Share Your Breakfast'' campaign seeks to provide one million breakfasts to kids by increasing participation in school breakfast programs across the country.

I encourage my colleagues and all Americans to Celebrate National Breakfast Week by sharing their breakfast with a child in need.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Young Audiences, as they celebrate National Young Audiences Week, March 12th thru March 16th 2012. Young Audiences was founded in 1952 and serves as our nation's leading source for arts-in-education services.

National Young Audiences Week was created by Leonard Bernstein in 1971, who wanted the entire country to understand the contributions Young Audiences was making to the cultural education of children throughout the United States. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of Young Audiences, and the first celebration of National Young Audiences week since 1991.

Annually, Young Audiences reaches more than five million school children. Their many programs enable students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, imagination and creativity, discipline, alternative ways to communicate and express feelings and ideas, and cross-cultural understanding.

In my Congressional district, Young Audiences serves approximately 21,860 students in my district in 14 different school districts. I am proud to recognize Young Audiences for their work, and will remain a strong advocate for arts-in education services.

Madam Speaker, on March 6, 2012, Congressman Donald Payne of New Jersey passed away due to complications from colon cancer. Today, along with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, I pay tribute to the memory of Congressman Payne. While today marks the end of his work on earth, the results of his labor will live on for many years to come.

In 1988, Donald Payne became New Jersey's first African American to be elected to the U.S. Congress. As a public school teacher, the first African American President of the National YMCA and most recently as a Member of Congress for over two decades, Donald was a tireless advocate for children, working families and senior citizens. He was a leader and a role model, who dedicated his life to, among other things, closing the achievement gap, providing equitable funding for public schools and making healthcare more affordable. In the 112th Congress, he was a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He was a key player in the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which cuts interest rates on Stafford loans in half, increases Pell Grants and provides loan forgiveness to public service employees with student loan debt. Donald was also a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, most recently serving as the highest ranked Democrat on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.

Donald will always be remembered as a champion for human rights and a strong advocate for humanitarian aid for developing countries, especially African countries. Beyond his work in Africa, he traveled throughout the world serving as a voice on issues impacting the social conditions of the global community. He was a former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and, most recently, served as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. The absence of his passion, leadership and compassion will not go unnoticed. He will be greatly missed.

I was blessed to count Donald as a colleague, and as a dear friend and mentor. I will always treasure his support and guidance during the past few years. My heartfelt prayers

are with his family, staff, and constituents. May the thoughts and prayers of many give solace to his family and friends during this trying time.

Mr. Speaker, forty-seven years ago, 600 civil rights protesters en route from Selma to Montgomery were stopped at the Edmund Pettus Bridge where state and local policemen attacked them with billy clubs and tear gas, driving them back to Selma. I was honored to vote for a resolution on March 1, 2012, calling on Congress to collect oral histories from current and former members of the House who lived through that chilling day

known as Bloody Sunday. We must not forget the courage of my esteemed colleague, Congressman John Lewis, and others during the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in March 1965. Non-violent marchers led by Lewis and Hosea Williams were brutally beaten, opening the eyes of the Nation to the struggle of African Americans to win the right to vote. Let us resolve to protect the voting rights for which participants of that march suffered such brutality, and honor them for their commitment to non-violence. They are an inspiration for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to address the epidemic of hunger in this Nation. Nearly 49 million people in the United States suffer from hunger. That is one in six in the U.S. population, including more than one in five children.

Feeding America recently reported that 46 percent of households served by its agencies must choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and paying for food. Thirty-nine percent of households said they must choose between paying their mortgage or rent and paying for food.

Hunger is real in this country. We know that, yet some still demonize SNAP and other feeding programs. Preventing hunger is a moral imperative that should be shared by people in every party, every demographic, and every religion.

I encourage my colleagues to visit a local food bank in their district, or take the SNAP Challenge. Find out what it is like to live for just 1 day or 1 week as someone who struggles with hunger.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address the need for jobs in this country. On Wednesday, we will have reached 400 days since the Republicans took control of the House without a jobs bill, even though my colleagues and I have been calling for and demanding action.

The President has set forth a jobs plan that would allow Americans to get to work and for us to invest in this great country by focusing on improving our infrastructure, fixing our roads, schools, and bridges; by providing incentives to hire veterans by giving small businesses the support they need to grow and expand; and by cutting payroll taxes for 160 million workers, leaving more money in the pockets of consumers.

The members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority are on the Hill this week to be a voice for the jobless, to ask Congress to do what is in the best interest of Americans still trying to find jobs.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting job growth and investment in this Nation now.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the Rules Committee and I thank the chairman for making this amendment in order.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 3582, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2012.

The Pro-Growth Budgeting Act requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide an impact analysis, in addition to a score, when legislation would have a budgetary effect greater than one-quarter of 1 percent of

Can the Chair tell me how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Chairman, let me just say for the record that I did not talk about class; my colleague did. Let me as well say to you that if you talk to the American people, they believe in fundamental fairness. I don't think that the American people do not believe in fairness. I further don't believe that the American people live in a Nation where they don't believe that they can ever accomplish the American Dream. I don't believe that the American people believe that they cannot climb the ladders to success. I do not believe that we live in a Nation where people do not believe that they can rise above their circumstances.

So let me just say to my colleague, it's not about class. It's about the Nation in which we live, the Nation where people come from all over the world wanting to see what it means to be great, what it means to realize the American Dream. That's the America that I'm talking about.

This is not frivolous, this is what is right. This is what the American people want, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor to H.R. 3784.

Today I rise to address the importance of setting our priorities as a Congress.

It seems that some of my colleagues have lost sight of what is important. We should be focused on putting teachers, firefighters, and construction workers back to work; creating jobs by investing in infrastructure; improving America's schools; giving the middle class a tax cut; putting money in the pockets of consumers; helping small businesses thrive and grow; keeping Americans in their homes; committing to our veterans and making sure they can get jobs when they return from duty; protecting Social Security and Medicare; and making sure we are investing in this great Nation so our children have an opportunity to get ahead.

It's time we take a step back and reevaluate our priorities. The American people deserve it.