Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to highlight and submit for the record my concerns regarding new costs for schools who serve primarily low-income children in a proposed rule, issued on January 13, 2011, to establish revised meal pattern and nutritional requirements for the National School Breakfast & Lunch Program. I commend the commitment to improving the nutritional profile of school meals. However, the proposed rule could have a significant effect on local schools that serve a high percentage of low-income children.

The preamble to the proposed rule indicates that it would increase the cost of serving school meals by $6.8 billion over the next five years--an increase of 14 cents per lunch and 50 cents per breakfast. With less than half of the increased cost for lunches and none of the increased cost for breakfast to be offset by increased federal reimbursements, the economic consequences of such large cost increases is a matter of great concern. Many of our local schools do not have resources that may be diverted to meet such large cost increases. Especially, considering the fact that the majority of the dollars that are supposed to be diverted for this cost increase would come from paid meals. Schools that serve a high percentage of low-income kids have little or no kids actually purchasing meals. Most children fed in these schools receive free or reduced priced meals.

School nutrition programs play a vital role in the healthy development of America's children. For many low-income children, the best, if not all, of their nutrition comes from the school breakfast and lunch programs. I sent a letter to Secretary Vilsack on October 12 2011, with 14 of my colleagues, to request that the final rule not adversely affect the budgets of local schools feeding the highest percentages of low-income children. The letter also urges the Secretary to prioritize the accessibility of school nutrition program improvements to all children.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the need to keep good-paying jobs in America. I voted ``no'' on the trade agreements passed in this House last night, but in that same vote I voted ``yes'' for American jobs, I voted ``yes'' for jobs on American soil, I voted ``yes'' for human rights and ``yes'' for labor protections.

The trade agreements will cost us jobs at a time when we should be investing in America, and they will lead to further decline of the middle class. These agreements are toxic for Ohioans who work in manufacturing and other sectors.

The U.S.-Korea trade agreement alone will cost almost 160,000 jobs in this country in the first 7 years. Stand with me for the middle class and against shipping jobs overseas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Up2Us--a leader in sports based youth development--on the occasion of its annual awards ceremony for its Coach of the Year contest to be held here in Washington, D.C.

Up2Us is leading a national movement to advance sports as a tool for addressing the critical issues facing youth in this nation, including childhood obesity, academic failure and anti-social behavior.

Up2Us accomplishes this by supporting a national network of nearly 500 member organizations operating in all fifty states. Together, these organizations serve 25 million youth through both traditional and non- traditional sports. As one way of serving this network, Up2Us launched an initiative called Coach Across America.

The Up2Us Coach Across America (CAA) program is an AmeriCorps program that represents the first nationwide effort to mobilize a workforce to promote positive youth development through sports. In partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service and Nike, CAA coaches use sports as a means to promote health and nutrition, education success, civic engagement and personal and social development among youth in some of the nation's poorest neighborhoods.

Last year, CAA placed 250 AmeriCorps members to serve as coaches in 105 youth programs across 20 states to work with more than 35,000 kids. In exchange for college tuition awards and a living stipend, coaches completed a total of 170,000 service hours (equivalent to $3.5 million in national service), recruited over 1000 program volunteers, connected roughly 500 new parents to their respective programs and conducted more than 250 service-learning projects totaling 35,000 hours of youth volunteer service effort.

The 35,000 kids served by CAA coaches have access to the programs they need for their full development; are provided a safe place to acquire new knowledge and skills; gain a heightened sense of competency and self-respect through working to make a difference in their communities; build relationships with caring adult role models; develop leadership skills on and off the field; and have a better understanding of healthy eating and the importance of physical activity and exercise.

In recognition of the powerful role that coaches have on the lives of youth, Up2Us runs an annual contest--Coach of the Year--to honor the unsung heroes who devote their lives to the positive development of youth through sports.

Mr. Speaker, as Up2Us and its participating members honor the winners of this year's Coach of the Year contest, I ask my colleagues to please join me in congratulating this year's finalists. They are among a distinguished group of individuals dedicated to improving the lives of our youth through sport.

Renato is the Executive Director of Access Youth Academy. He came to San Diego to join Access Youth Academy (formerly Surf City Squash) in May of 2007 from Harvard University where he was the Assistant Coach of the squash team. Originally from Brazil, Renato was a Brazilian Junior Champion and a top junior in South America. He represented his home country on the national team as its captain. Now, he is a role model, teacher and coach to hundreds of urban youth in San Diego.

Lisa Hawk is the Exercise & Health Science Department Chair, Athletic Director and lacrosse coach at the Preuss School at UCSD. The Preuss School is a nationally recognized school that serves a low income diverse population. Lisa is an advocate for sports as a tool for positive youth development and is changing lives through her work. Her athletes recognize how special Lisa is: ``She sees the potential in each of her players and does not quit until that spark she sees within us is released for the public eye to see. She has helped me through the turbulence of a teenage life to the hectic lifestyle at home and has given me a comfortable place to go as well as someone to turn to.''

Ktrice McNeill is the 2011 Coach Across America Coach of the Year recipient. Ktrice recently completed his year of service coaching basketball at Edenwald Community Center in New York. Ktrice is a NY native influenced by his parents who reminded him daily that ``without education you have nothing.'' Growing up in an inner city where gang violence and drugs were prevalent, Ktrice understands first-hand that ``sports give me and other young people in my community a safe haven to feel secure and feel like there's not a care in the world.'' As a coach, Ktrice aims to use his voice to teach young people that ``failure is not an option.''

Faye Stevens-Jett is a Physical Education Teacher and Athletic Director at Morton School of Excellence in Chicago, Illinois. For the past eleven years, she has coached double dutch, cheerleading, and pom- pom. In addition to her many city championships, she has impacted many young lives through her work. Faye received several nominations highlighting her work ethic and commitment to her students: ``Faye goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure her students have the things they need. She is consistently incredible.''

I also want to recognize Up2Us' entire staff of employees and volunteers. They are all to be commended for their work to keep Up2Us the vibrant and strong organization that it remains today; I extend to all of them my best wishes for many more successful years ahead. Indeed they are demonstrating that advancing the lives of our youth is a team sport.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the job crisis in our Nation.

While we operate in a divided Congress, Americans are struggling. Millions are unemployed, underemployed, and without the skills to be employed. More than 1.4 million Americans have been out of work for more than 99 weeks. These Americans want jobs. Most Americans don't understand the delay. Many can't afford to wait. So why haven't we passed a jobs bill?

President Obama introduced his jobs plan with many of the provisions previously supported by both Republicans and Democrats. What is stopping this Congress from passing a jobs bill?

I want every unemployed American to know that some of us really are working to get a jobs bill passed. We feel your pain, we know your struggle. We must act now.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Christensen for anchoring today's timely CBC Special Order on unemployment in the African American community and on job creation.

It is no secret that the unemployment rate for African Americans is almost twice that of the national unemployment rate. Studies show that 16.7 percent of all African Americans are unemployed. It's probably closer to 20 percent when you take into consideration those who have given up looking for jobs or who are severely underemployed. In some cities, it is nearly three times the national unemployment rate.

Mr. Speaker, the people I represent are not talking about budget cuts, and they're not talking about continuing resolutions. The people in my community are talking about being laid off, and they're talking about losing their homes while they're still trying to provide food for their families. We are in a crisis that will undoubtedly affect our children and our grandchildren as 11 percent of all American children have at least one parent who is unemployed.

What does that mean for them?

It means fewer opportunities, and it means fewer meals.

As a Nation, we have always prided ourselves on defining ``success'' as providing a better future for our children. That's why my colleagues and I are speaking out today. That's why it is absolutely essential that we begin to make changes that will help our people get back on their feet. We must do something to create jobs, and we must do it now. I hosted a telephone town hall on the economy a few weeks ago.

Seven thousand people from around my district joined the call to ask questions about resources for small businesses or how to find job training programs. These people, like so many others, are looking for a way out of this situation, and it must come now.

It's clear to me that we have settled for short-term solutions to a problem that demands a long-term strategic resolution. We need to retrain workers for the jobs of today. Surprisingly, there are millions of positions that go unfilled in an economy where Americans are unemployed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 3 million job openings on the last business day of May 2011, yet the unemployment rate at that same time was 9.2 percent. There were enough jobs available to employ just over 20 percent of all of these unemployed Americans. So there is an obvious disconnect.

Many people searching for work lack the job-specific skills they need to be competitive for many of the job vacancies. Technology is outpacing the Nation's current approach to job-related education and training. The difference between white collar and blue collar jobs is fading because, traditionally, blue collar jobs are more specialized than ever before.

As a solution, I've introduced H.R. 2742, the Hire, Train, Retain Act of 2011. This bill will give employers tax incentives for hiring unemployed Americans and providing job training to fill job vacancies specific to that employer. Employers will also receive a ``hire retention tax credit'' of up to $1,000 for each qualified employee retained for 52 weeks.

Another proven way to get Americans working is through infrastructure projects. That is why I recently introduced the School Athletic Facilities Restoration Act of 2011. This bill authorizes the allocation of grants to local educational agencies for the construction, renovation, or repair of school facilities used for physical education. The funds will facilitate construction hiring while improving safe places for children to exercise and play.

In closing, I want to mention that every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus has sponsored job creation legislation. The best way to reduce our deficit is to create jobs. That's why, in August, the CBC took our message on the road and connected job seekers with employers at job fairs across the country, and we listened to the voices of our constituents during town hall meetings.

Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress to be a voice for struggling Americans. My number one priority is job creation and economic development. I am working hard to create jobs, and time is of the essence. This is not a time for political posturing and partisan bickering. The American people need help. They need our help and they need it now.

Mr. Speaker, I spend a lot of time at home talking to my senior citizens. On one of my visits home, they gave to me a package of 25,000 signatures, asking if I would pledge to support Social Security. I want them to know that I am going to pledge to do that. I also want to say to them that, yes, we need to make some changes, but it is not a Ponzi scheme. I want for them to understand that those who get by keep food and shelter because of Social Security. It is not a Ponzi scheme.

Yes, we need to make some changes, but do you know what, Mr. Speaker? We just need to raise the cap. We don't need to say that it can't be fixed, that it's broken. We need to raise the cap. Again, I am going to say it is not a Ponzi scheme. It is something that hardworking Americans deserve when they have finally retired after working for 25 or 30 or 40 years. It is not a Ponzi scheme.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the devastating effects of the Republican agenda on the poor. Debt reduction plans that gut social safety net programs will put millions of low-income families at risk.

According to the U.S. Census, the number of people in poverty in 2009--43.6 million--is the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates have been published.

In my home state of Ohio, 15.2 percent of the state's population lived in poverty in 2009. Among African-American seniors, 67 percent are at or below the poverty line, and 12 percent of African Americans rely on Medicare to survive.

Cuts to Medicaid will disproportionately affect African-American communities. In 2009, 27 percent of African-Americans--approximately 10 million people, including 6 million children--were covered by Medicaid.

When everyone talks about the budget, all you hear about are numbers. Behind those numbers are people: hard-working Americans or the unemployed or those who are just getting by.

There is an urgent need to resolve the debt ceiling issue and it is beyond irresponsible not to raise the debt limit. We all agree that we have to responsibly reduce the deficit, but not on the backs of the most vulnerable. My job in Congress is to be a voice for the voiceless and I will fight to help these Americans by opposing the Republican budget.

Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order against H. Res. 358 because the resolution violates section 426(a) of the Congressional Budget Act. The resolution contains a waiver of all points of order against consideration of the bill, which includes a waiver of section 425 of the Congressional Budget Act, which causes a violation of section 426(a).

Madam Speaker, I raise this point of order not necessarily out of concern for unfunded mandates, although there are likely some in the underlying bill, H.R. 1315, but because this bill will put consumers and the American economy at risk.

A year ago today, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

into law. This law creates a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB, that will protect consumers, especially the poor and the most vulnerable, from unscrupulous practices in the financial industry.

The Dodd-Frank law levels the playing field. The CFPB has taken steps to protect Americans against abuses by the financial industry, like payday lenders and debt collectors, that we were unable to monitor before the passage of the law.

I oppose the underlying bill because it removes these protections. This bill, H.R. 1315, is designed to cripple the CFPB before it is up and running.

Voters across party lines solidly support the Wall Street reform law. The American people want safeguards to help the economy and protect them from deceptive financial practices and predatory products. By trying to weaken the CFPB, Republicans in Congress just confirm how out of touch they are with the concerns of the American people.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from New York, Yvette Clarke.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentlelady from California, Jackie Speier.

Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from New York, Carolyn Maloney.

Madam Speaker, in closing, this underlying bill, H.R. 1315, is trying to gut the reforms we fought for and won in the new Wall Street reform law. The CFPB is set to begin work today as the cop on the financial beat protecting American consumers and the economy from Wall Street greed.

Republicans want to delay, defund, and dismantle the Dodd-Frank law. Make no mistake, Madam Speaker: Republicans want to remove protections for consumers and investors. Republicans want to return to a time where consumers, investors, and the entire financial system are at risk.

I urge Members to vote ``no'' on this question of consideration.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address bills pending or already signed into law in 47 States that will disenfranchise voters. These bills will prohibit address changes at the polls, end volunteer- run voter registration drives, eliminate same-day voter registration, and limit the ability of absentee voters to cast their ballot. Many of the bills include highly restrictive voter photo identification requirements.

Just this month, Mr. Speaker, the Ohio State Legislature passed and Governor Kasich signed into law one of the most draconian voter measures in the Nation. Ohio's House bill 194 invalidates a vote where a voter properly marks the ballot in support of a particular candidate but also writes in the name of that same candidate. These bills dramatically reduce the time allotted for early voting and eliminate the requirement that poll workers direct voters to the correct precinct. These new policies are a clear attempt to prevent certain predetermined segments of the population from exercising their right to vote.

To be frank, Mr. Speaker, these efforts have an all too familiar stench of the Jim Crow era. The bill pending in my State and all the others are the works of covert opportunists seeking to disenfranchise and suppress the rights of American citizens. I'm here today to tell you that we will not relinquish our constitutional rights, and we plan to fight to uphold the franchise others fought and died to protect. We will not lie down.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from North Carolina, Mr. G.K. Butterfield.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to my good friend, the Congresswoman from Florida, Corrine Brown.

Mr. Chair, I'd like to thank my colleague from California for allowing me to join him in offering this very important bipartisan amendment.

As we are discussing fiscal issues and trying to make responsible spending cuts, I'm confused as to why ARPA-E is even on the table. It is one of the most effective and efficiently run programs in the Federal Government. It is an example of what we are doing right. An example of a place where we not only should be investing in scientific research, but where we need to be investing.

Let's look at the internet. We all know that the internet is a product of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. DARPA was established in 1958 in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik. Back then, Congress knew that it was government's role to address what was not only a matter of national security, but also pride.

Now, let's look at the energy industry today. We have lost our technological lead, we are no longer number one in innovation, our competitors are rapidly outpacing us in advanced energy fields. Worst of all, we're addicted to foreign oil. Moreover, we are consuming more energy than we are producing, and it is not sustainable.

No matter what combination of sources you think is the answer, there's no arguing the energy crisis in this country is today's Sputnik.

Yet instead of working together to make sure that future generations will have electricity, we're voting to ban efficiency standards for light bulbs. Where are our priorities?

Most of us know, and all of us should know, that we cannot rely the private sector to invest in basic research. Companies need to make profits, and they need to minimize risk. Basic research is risky. However, the return on investment is often smaller compared to the return to the economy as a whole. That's why it's the role of government to make these investments, especially now, as we are coming out of a recession.

Google recently released a comprehensive report which examined the potential impact of what breakthroughs in energy technology could mean for the United States. They found that certain key innovations could: grow the U.S. economy by over 155 billion dollars in GDP per year; create over 1.1 million new jobs; save consumers over 942 dollars per year; reduce U.S. oil consumption by over 1.1 billion barrels per year.

ARPA-E will allow us to make the breakthroughs needed for these outcomes. If anything, we should be increasing funding for this vital program.

Take, for example, one of the projects that Case Western Reserve University is working on in Northeast Ohio. It involves high-power titanate capacitors for power electronics. This project will develop novel capacitors for power electronics in the hybrid electric vehicle and consumer electronics markets. The capacitors are designed with metallic glass that allows spontaneous self-repair. This self-repair allows the devices to be driven to higher voltages and thereby achieve higher energy density. The market for capacitors in power applications is 1.6 billion dollars per year.

Research like this is what will make this country prosperous again. We cannot afford to cut this program, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Speaker, it is time that we get back to talking about what people in this country really need: the chance to live a healthy, prosperous life. Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security should not be on the table at all.

After reckless spending sprees, Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. This is unconscionable, and I will not be silent nor complicit. We need to take care of people in this country, not promote policies that perpetuate a cycle of poverty.

Communities like those in the 11th District of Ohio need jobs. The Democrats have introduced many job-creating measures. The other side has not, and we are still waiting for the jobs Republicans promised.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of my constituents who, because of her service to the students of Northeast Ohio, has been bestowed a great honor by her community. On June 28, 2011, Marsha Dobrzynski will receive the 51st annual Cleveland Arts Prize.

The goal of the Cleveland Arts Prize is to support and encourage artists, and to promote public awareness of artistic creativity in Northeast Ohio through the work of Arts Prize recipients.

The oldest award of its kind in the United States, the Arts Prize is a testament to the standard of excellence and quality of artists in Northeast Ohio. In addition to artists, the Arts Prize honors individuals who have expanded the community's participation in the arts and helped make the region more hospitable to creative artistic expression.

Marsha Dobrzynski, the Executive Director of Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio, an integrated program with more than 30 arts, cultural, philanthropic and educational institutions will receive the Martha Joseph Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Since 1994, Marsha has continually demonstrated her unsurpassed dedication to ensure that children throughout Northeast Ohio have equal access to the arts and the consequent benefits experience in the arts can bring to their personal growth and education.

Her bold leadership and tireless efforts throughout her tenure at Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio have made it possible to incorporate arts education into the lives of more than 242,000 children a year, providing the much needed framework for a strong education in the arts and a path for arts-based careers through her introduction of the ArtWorks program. The extraordinary value that she has brought to this important discipline strongly reflects the principles of this award and her championship of arts in education is rightfully recognized.

Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the underlying bill.

A mother's greatest fear is not being able to provide food and security for her children, not being able to provide nourishment for her kids to grow up and to learn. She worries about where she will find their next meal. Each morning, she is greeted by growling stomachs and an all-too familiar sense of anxiety. This mother is desperate to provide food for her hungry children and depends on our local food banks. But when she arrives at the food bank, she finds that the shelves are empty. That is the time at which her anxiety turns to fear and desperation.

Some of you might think that I am exaggerating, but if you come to my district and visit the city of Cleveland and other parts of my district, you can meet people who, for them, this is their reality, just as it is the reality for people throughout this Nation who rely on essential nutrition programs like TEFAP, WIC, and SNAP.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program, better known as TEFAP, provides food to low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief through food banks. This bill caps TEFAP funding at $200 million, which is a $51 million cut; and, in addition to that, another $12 million in grants for TEFAP for storage and distribution equipment is also being cut. These cuts affect the storage of food that requires refrigeration, forcing many food banks to only provide unhealthy, nonperishable foods.

And to my friend Mr. Kingston, there is, indeed, a correlation between hunger and obesity. Twenty-five percent of the food distributed at Cleveland food banks is from TEFAP, and it is some of the most nutritious food they have available. Even without the cuts that are proposed in this bill, food banks are facing a shortage of food, impairing their ability to provide for their communities. Parents turn to food banks especially in the summer when school is out, when their children no longer have a guaranteed breakfast and/or lunch 5 days a week.

And it didn't stop at TEFAP. Also on the chopping block is funding for WIC

and SNAP. Nearly 50 percent of the babies born in this country each year rely on WIC. The proposed cuts to SNAP and WIC would result in hundreds of thousands of low-income women, infants, and children losing needed nutrition assistance. These massive cuts to WIC would force vulnerable families to go hungry, to be completely dependent on food banks which, unfortunately, are losing vital funding through this legislation.

WIC provides food to almost 9 million low-income pregnant and nursing women and young children. This bill cuts WIC by over $800 million; and it's estimated that, because of these cuts, between 350,000 and 475,000 mothers and young children will be eliminated from the program. If we can just get rid of the tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires for 1 week, as my colleague has said, we can pay for the entire WIC program for an entire year. These cuts will cripple families and could have a detrimental effect on the futures of these children.

A quarter of the people in my district have difficulty accessing affordable food. But the chairman, Mr. Rogers, indicated, ``this legislation reflects hard decisions to cut lower priority programs so that our Nation continues on the path to fiscal recovery.''

To a hungry child, SNAP and WIC are not low-priority programs. These cuts will not set our Nation on a path to recovery but, rather, make it significantly more difficult for mothers to ensure the safety and health of their children.

So what we are doing is punishing children for being poor. That is what we are doing. We're not talking about, necessarily, adults. Children have done nothing to us. I don't know how we sleep at night. The Bible tells us--and I know my friends like to talk about faith, and I am a person of strong faith. The Bible tells us that the poor will always be among us. So we need to make a provision to take care of the poor.

First, Republicans came after seniors who rely on Medicare, and now they're coming after children and mothers who rely on food assistance. Who's next, Mr. Chair?

I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation and protect our children and pregnant women.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I am deeply concerned about my community's ability to address its emergency response needs.

FEMA SAFER grants are designed to assist cities with maintaining first responders on the street. The challenge is that FEMA has a stipulation that cannot have employees in layoff status.

The cities that are most in need of these funds are financially challenged. It is difficult for them to avoid laying off employees when they have no funds in the budget to retain them, as required by the FEMA grants.

This is a situation that people in my community are being confronted with. The city of Cleveland applied for and received two grants from

Mr. Speaker, I inadvertently cast a ``no'' vote during the rollcall vote No. 356 on amendment 42 to ``H.R. 1540--The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.'' I would like to change my vote on the amendment to ``yea.''