Floor Statements

I thank my friend for yielding, and I would like to thank my colleagues, Congressmen Jeffries and Horsford, for once again leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour.

Mr. Speaker, this week, the House and Senate conferees will begin deliberations to produce a budget for the first time in 4 years. Mr. Speaker, these deliberations, which are long overdue, are critical because they may provide a long-term plan that will continue to move our country forward out of our economic recession and towards a stronger America. There is a long overdue discussion needed.

For so many around this country, the barriers to economic opportunity and mobility have become insurmountable. The American people are looking to Congress to provide leadership and to turn our economy around. Unfortunately, some in Congress have put austerity before economic recovery, draining resources that might otherwise have improved our economic outlook.

While many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are focused on shrinking the government at any cost, the CBC is focused on making our government smarter and its programs more efficient. It is time to prioritize projects that will not only turn our country's economy around, but that will also open the doors of opportunity for future generations.

No longer can we ignore high levels of unemployment among those living in poverty and the disproportionately high unemployment rates among people of color.

We cannot pretend that our current investments in education are sufficient, while report after report details our country's academic shortcomings and our declining international standing.

We must acknowledge the fact that one in five children are hungry, and nearly 50 million Americans live in households suffering from food insecurity.

We must face the reality of a crumbling transportation infrastructure and the fact that improvement costs rise every year we delay investments.

Congress can spend the next month-and-a-half hiding from these truths and hoping for an improved economy that will magically fix these problems, or we can directly address our issues through bipartisan cooperation and with a common goal to make our country better.

Congress can place a renewed focus on investing in the American people through quality programs that promote access, equality, and accountability. All this can be done while we cut wasteful spending, preserve the Affordable Care Act, and set the stage for meaningful tax reform.

Admittedly, that may seem like a lot of priorities to tackle for one Congress, much less this one, but we can. We can do this if we move past the usual partisan bickering and do what is most important for the Nation.

Of course, as they say, the devil is in the details. A very smart, ambitious, and detailed plan is necessary to make it work. Luckily, the Congressional Black Caucus has just the plan to make this work: the CBC budget.

The CBC budget cuts wasteful spending, invests in education, preserves the ACA, provides the resources to rebuild our transportation infrastructure, addresses crippling poverty, creates jobs now, and ensures America is a leader in the high-growth industries of the future.

I want to thank Congressman Bobby Scott for all of his work on the CBC budget.

By considering ideas and proposals from the CBC budget, Congress can stimulate the economy while expanding the middle class. From the dark days of the government shutdown, this opportunity is now a bright spot for Congress and this country. We can rebuild America using the principles on which our Nation was founded: that everyone, no matter their background, should have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

To my colleagues in the House and Senate, we have the opportunity and a blueprint. Let's build a better America together.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I would like to thank my colleagues, Congressmen Jeffries and Horsford, for once again leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, here we stand, nearly 72 hours before the United States Treasury reaches the debt limit. We are 72 hours away from compromising our

ability to make Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans benefits payments. We are 72 hours away from risking default on our international debt obligations; 72 hours away from the potential of stocks plummeting and interest rates soaring, reversing recent gains in the housing, automobile, and banking markets. Our Nation is 72 hours away from the possibility of a severe economic disaster both at home and abroad.

Unfortunately, the House majority's inability to move beyond partisan politics has created one economic crisis after another. Our country is still feeling the effects of the economic downturn and subsequent recession that began in 2007. Communities around the country continue to struggle with high unemployment, less access to loans for small businesses, and a fragile housing market. It is irresponsible to do further damage to our economy by even threatening to allow America to default on its bills.

We must first do no harm, Mr. Speaker. Yet that is exactly the position we are in because of House Republicans.

Now, don't be misled by Republican talking points that would lead you to believe that raising the debt limit leads to more spending. This only allows us to pay debts that have already been accrued, debts that have already been authorized by this Congress.

While both parties have politicized the debt limits in the past, we have never--and I repeat, never--seen this degree of brinkmanship. Prior to this dysfunctional Congress, the debt limit debates never contemplated an actual default. Members of Congress never faced the impact of crossing that threshold and artificially forcing the Nation into the depths of economic disaster. And ultimately, when legislative language was attached to the debt limit, it was a part of a package that passed with strong bipartisan support.

We simply cannot afford the catastrophic consequences of a government default. It is time for Congress to put the American people first, work together to find a solution, and put partisan bickering behind us. Our Nation has worked too hard to put us on the path to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to move forward. The American people expect Congress to do its job. The CBC stands ready--ready to work with our colleagues to raise the debt ceiling, reject the politics of brinkmanship, and get our economic house in order.

I thank my colleague, Mr. McGovern, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I just had the opportunity with 10 of my colleagues to go to a community shelter today to serve lunch to some of the poorest people in our community. The community shelter is So Others Might Eat, and I listen to my colleagues talk about waste, fraud, and abuse.

I am disappointed and embarrassed to serve in a House in which we would not want to take care of the poorest people in this Nation. Some of the poorest people in our Nation, many of them children, seniors, and veterans, depend on SNAP. SNAP puts food on the tables of struggling parents who need to send their children to school properly nourished. It also gives low-income working families--by the way, who represent nearly half of all SNAP recipients--and seniors the necessary support they need.

Last month, this House passed a bill that cut nearly $40 billion in food stamps. It is both inappropriate and inexcusable to cut food assistance when more than 7 percent of the Nation remains unemployed and when we will not pass a jobs bill. Our economy is struggling to produce enough jobs so that families can eat without needing this assistance; and we all know that, beginning on November 1, SNAP recipients will see a reduction in their benefits when the 2009 Recovery Act's temporary benefits end. According to the CBO, benefits will be reduced by as much as $300 per year. This cut will result in less food for more than 47 million Americans.

Mr. Speaker, at some point we have to be honest with ourselves. We either have to believe that we are doing our jobs by taking care of the people of this country or that we are only taking care of a few.

So I say to those of you who believe that all of this is about fraud, waste,

and abuse: go to the same shelter that I went to today. Go into your neighborhoods and your communities, because we all have them. There are poor people and hungry children everywhere. I want you to go and tell them that it is okay for you to cut $40 billion in food stamps.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the FARRM Act, which is H.R. 2642, reauthorizes Federal farm, rural development, and agricultural trade programs through fiscal year 2018, or 5 years.

However, H.R. 3102, the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act, which passed last month, reauthorized nutrition programs for only 3 years. This separation is problematic, and it needs to be addressed.

Farming and feeding go hand in hand, and a comprehensive farm bill recognizes this connection. We can restore this connection by ensuring a 5-year reauthorization for all programs that come under the farm bill.

I urge my colleagues to recognize the link between nutrition and farm communities. Support a farm bill that meets the nutritional needs of all Americans.

I thank my colleague for yielding, and I thank you, as always, for continuing to lead this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I wish I could stand on this House floor today and say that Republicans are playing with fire when they refuse to fund the government, but I can't do that because what they are doing is much worse. They are playing with people's very lives. They have made it abundantly clear that they care more about scoring political points and embarrassing this administration than addressing the needs of the American people.

A government shutdown has had an immediate impact on many people across this Nation: furloughing more than 800,000 Federal workers; stopping nutritional and clinical support for women, infants and children; and delaying lifesaving research at NIH.

My office continues to receive calls from distressed constituents about the status of Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. While we can reassure them that such programs will continue to operate, their concern and anxiety demonstrates the price every day Americans must pay when Congress fails.

Over the past few years, no issue has consumed more of the public's attention than health care reform; but, unfortunately for the American people, much of what has been said bears no relation to reality.

Republicans have tried to make the case that health care reform will raise health care costs catastrophically and drive up the cost of Medicare or increase the deficit. These claims are simply not true. The truth is the Affordable Care Act will slow overall health care spending, decrease Medicare spending, and decrease our deficit. All this will be accomplished while expanding health care coverage, cutting costs for seniors, and eliminating health disparities for communities of color.

Unfortunately, Republicans are so focused on preventing the expansion of health care that they are willing to hurt individuals in communities that are still struggling to rebound from our economic downturn. Already, as many as 19,000 children in 11 States have been left out of Head Start programs because grant money ran out on September 30. Several large defense contractors have started placing workers on notice that they may be furloughed. The 9 million mothers and children who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC, are facing the possibility that they may lose their benefits. And our local Federal courts may be crippled by furloughs as soon as next week.

The growing economic impact of this shutdown is extremely difficult to measure. The human and social impacts like the loss of money for food, housing, or educational opportunities are impossible to quantify. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, passed by both Chambers of Congress, signed by the President, and confirmed as constitutional by the Supreme Court. Until Republicans accept this fact, the government will be shut down and the American people will have been let down by the majority party of this body.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the beginning of a new era in American health care. In less than a week, Americans across the country will be able to enroll in health insurance marketplaces, more commonly known as health exchanges. Americans will no longer be subjected to annual limits on their coverage or refused insurance because of a preexisting condition. We as a Nation will be that much closer to ensuring that every American has access to high quality and affordable health care.

The United States is undoubtedly home to the world's best doctors, hospitals, and health care providers; and, starting January 1, more than 6 million children, seniors, women, and men will be able to access world-class care at less than $100 a month. I certainly believe that's something worth celebrating.

Mr. Speaker, I extend my congratulations to AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service on celebrating its 20th anniversary on September 21, 2013.

In communities across America, committed AmeriCorps members are making an impact and a powerful difference on some of the most critical issues facing our nation: poverty, hunger, education and much more. Since its inception, more than 820,000 men and women have taken the AmeriCorps pledge, serving more than one billion hours and improving the lives of their neighbors and our communities.

In the 11th Congressional District of Ohio, AnneriCorps members are serving with long standing community organizations including the Akron- Canton Regional Foodbank, City Year, the Cleveland Foodbank, The Literacy Cooperative and others. Sequestration has severely impacted the program's budget in 2013 and curtailed hiring of AmeriCorps associates. This is a loss for both the community and the AmeriCorps members who leave the program with valuable skills, tested leadership abilities, experience to help jumpstart their careers and a deeper understanding of community problems and how they might work to address them.

I support efforts to ensure continuation of this much needed program and urge everyone to join me in celebrating the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record the story of Adam, a disabled man from Ohio, a face of hunger in America.

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

I ask my colleagues in this House, Why are we here today? The original farm bill, H.R. 1947, passed out of the Agriculture Committee with bipartisan support. While this bill eventually died when it came to the floor, I have to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their leadership and desire to work together for the common good of all of the American people.

Today's exercise is nothing more than a waste of our time and an insult to every American in need. The Cantor bill includes the same toxic amendments that derailed the farm bill's passage the first time around. The fact that we are considering this legislation makes me question whether the Republican leadership even wants a farm bill to pass.

The Cantor bill guts nutrition for those most in need and says to the poor, to hungry children, to the disabled, seniors and our veterans, You don't matter. You are not worthy of our help.

They deserve better.

I've heard the stories from my constituents who struggle every month on whether to pay for medicine or food because they cannot afford both. SNAP recipients will already see a reduction in their benefits beginning November 1 when the 2009 Recovery Act temporary benefit boost ends. It will be reduced by as much as $300 per year for some people. That is a staggering amount.

Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle look at SNAP purely from a dollars-and-cents standpoint. Earlier this year, I participated in a panel on poverty. One of the young ladies from Witnesses to Hunger said:

People do a lot of talking about us. They refer to SNAP

beneficiaries as statistics. But I'm not a statistic, I'm a

real person struggling to get by.

This bill would abandon 5.7 million people during a time when they need us the most. No one can justify a bill of $40 billion in cuts when 47 percent of all SNAP recipients are children under the age of 18. I cannot justify such cuts when 16.5 percent of all SNAP households include seniors. This bill is more than a sucker punch to those in need. It may be their fatal blow.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Let me just say that I find it's not theatrics that 5,000 Active Duty families would be kicked off of food stamps if this bill passes as it is given to us today.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), our assistant Democratic leader.

Madam Speaker, let me just say that the First District of Arkansas, which my colleague represents, has a SNAP recipient percentage of 18.2 percent.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman

from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), one of my fellow subcommittee ranking members on the Agriculture Committee.

Madam Speaker, I just want to say to the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees SNAP--who has not called one meeting all year--that he has 10 percent SNAP recipients in his district.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa), another of my fellow subcommittee ranking members on the Agriculture Committee and a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague. Job training is great, but there is nothing in this bill that ensures any money will go towards job training.

I also want to say that in Mr. Davis' district, 12.8 percent of his residents are on SNAP.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), one of my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee.

Madam Speaker, yes, Colorado has been a leader, but the bill specifically gives States the ability to spend savings any way they choose.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Negrete McLeod), another one of my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee.

Mrs. NEGRETE McLEOD. Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose the proposed cuts offered by H.R. 3102.

As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I am greatly concerned that this is a $39 billion cut to our Nation's most powerful antipoverty tool--a tool because each month SNAP helps feed 3.4 million households with elderly individuals.

In 2011, 4.8 million Americans over the age of 60 lacked access to food. Some seniors are already making the decision between food and their medicine. Cuts to SNAP will only intensify the problem, setting seniors into deeper destitution and hunger. I ask the bill's supporters: How will these Americans eat without the means to afford food?

I urge my colleagues to remember the most vulnerable constituents in their States and to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I just want to say to my friend that able- bodied work has always been in the farm bill. What has changed by this bill is that it takes away the opportunities for Governors to request a waiver when their unemployment rate is very high.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Lujan Grisham), another member of the Agriculture Committee.

Madam Speaker, I do consider Mr. Southerland a friend, but I would just say that we cannot pick and choose what we take out of the Bible. The Bible mentions the words ``poor'' and ``hungry'' more than 200 times.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), another member of the Agriculture Committee.

Madam Speaker, I just want to say that one in eight Virginians are on SNAP and that able-bodied adults without dependents already work if there is a job. We all know that there are three people for every available job in this country.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Meng).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that, in Mr. LaMalfa's district, 10 percent of all households are on SNAP.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck).

Mr. Speaker, would you tell us how much time is still left in debate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi), another of my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee.

(Mr. GARAMENDI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the Democratic whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas), another member of the Agriculture Committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege and pleasure to yield 1 minute to our Democratic leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

(Ms. MOORE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel).

(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time I have.

I thank the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

I yield to the gentlelady from Texas for a unanimous consent request.

(Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Chairman Lucas, for all of his work on the farm bill.

I want to ask, though, why did we play this charade on the American people today? Why would we use hunger and poverty as a political football, a game, some kind of sport? This is the people's House, so let's do what is best for the American people.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that the time is always right to do what is right. And to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I know there's been a lot of arm-twisting to get you to support this bill; but, fortunately, I have many friends on that side of the aisle. And my friends are known to be people who are compassionate, caring patriots. And I implore

you to do what is right. Hopefully, you will all muster the courage to vote your conscience and do what is morally right because if you do it, the others who may not have as much courage as you will follow. You will set them free to do what is right.

It is time to stand up for the American people. Vote ``no'' on this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this week, I will reintroduce a resolution recognizing September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. September marks an opportunity for Congress to raise awareness of the issue while also discussing ways we can engage our families and communities on how best to curb this unhealthy trend.

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in the United States have tripled. Today, nearly one in three children are overweight or obese. These numbers are even higher in minority communities, where nearly 40 percent of African American and Hispanic children are overweight. Children today experience a different lifestyle from 30 years ago, when kids ate less and exercised more.

Many groups have stepped up to the plate to improve nutrition and physical activity for our children. Community partners like the Campaign to End Obesity, Cheer for a Healthier America, YWCA, and HealthCorps have taken the charge to achieve the healthiest lives we can give them.

Let us use the month of September to elevate the issue of childhood obesity and recognize our community partners.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues Congressmen Jeffries and Horsford for once again leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour.

African Americans have had a long history with the labor movement.

Within the labor community, African Americans joined with individuals of other races to advance efforts to create ladders to prosperity in an environment of economic and racial discrimination.

In the 1800s, such efforts led to African American union visionaries, such as Isaac Myers, who realized the collective power of African Americans within the Trade Union movement.

Under Myers, an organized group of ship caulkers purchased and operated the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company in Baltimore.

Within months, the cooperative employed 300 African American caulkers and received several government contracts.

Nearly 100 years later, A. Phillip Randolph would organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Randolph was instrumental in uniting the African American Civil Rights community and the labor movement with the shared ideals of collective prosperity and economic security.

Randolph proposed a 1941 March on Washington that heavily influenced the economic and social themes echoed by Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others who were instrumental in making the 1963 March on Washington a success.

During celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington last month, we recalled the message of social and economic justice that union leaders spoke of in 1963.

Dr. King was noted for saying, ``it's not enough to have a right to sit at a lunch counter if you can't afford to buy a meal.''

This message echoed the call of labor leaders who asked ``what good is it to be able to serve at the counter when you can't afford to buy a meal?''

Sadly, today, we must still ask this question.

As the wealth gap continues to grow, income and food insecurity remain prevalent.

The ladders to prosperity that Myers, Randolph and King spoke of are still inaccessible to many in our society--whether they are African American or another race or ethnicity.

Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle speak of disbanding labor unions and limiting collective bargaining rights.

I proudly stand with our labor allies to fight these efforts because I know weakened organized labor means continued erosion of the middle class.

The Members of the Congressional Black Caucus will continue to oppose devastating cuts to programs that will only increase economic despair.

Together we will continue to propose and support policies that create economic opportunity for all people rather than for a select few.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I want to thank you, Congressman Jeffries, for leading the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour on this very important topic tonight, a topic that has once again captured national attention and sparked a dialogue in communities across this Nation.

On Friday, President Obama helped provide context to the emotion Americans--and particularly African American men--have had around the tragedy of Trayvon Martin. Over the weekend, people of all ages and races gathered at Federal Government buildings in their

cities to stand together, to rise up for justice and in honor of Trayvon.

To many, the verdict we all heard on Saturday, July 13, was a miscarriage of justice, a consistent failure of our system that we've seen in this country one too many times. But tonight, I want to broaden this conversation on race and justice in America. I want to talk about how the emotion and discontent we are seeing from the average community and people of other races in this country is about much more than the Zimmerman verdict.

Much of the emotion we are seeing is in response to the continual attack on the rights and the closing of doors to opportunity for millions of individuals in this country. I'm not just talking about African Americans tonight. I'm talking about people who come from poor families, who are trying to find their way out of a cycle of poverty. I'm talking about students who are doing all they can to pay for school, but who have to choose between being in the classroom or paying back loans that are becoming a source of profit for the government to help decrease the deficit.

I'm talking about thousands of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities who had to leave school because of changes to loans their parents took out to help them get an education. These changes were made without any consideration of how they would hurt these young people. I'm talking about tonight, Mr. Speaker, immigrants of Hispanic, African, Asian, and European descent who are working in this Nation but have no rights. I'm talking about people in communities across this Nation who must now fight harder to have their voices heard in our democracy because others will use subversive, and now permissible, tactics to make it harder to vote.

And, yes, to the Supreme Court of the United States, this is still a problem. You see, what we are experiencing and talking about right now is not just about Zimmerman. It is not just about race in America. It is about a system that should be just in creating and protecting the conditions for everyone to succeed, but instead it continues to favor some over others.

Since its inception in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus has stood against injustice in our society so that inequity in treatment and opportunity under the law comes to an end so that all people are treated equally. Today, we continue that fight and ask America to join with us, not so that one group of any particular race can win, but so that, in the end, we all win.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5, the Letting Students Down Act. This legislation fails our students, teachers, and families. It is a step back for our country's education system at a time when we should be running forward.

I have many concerns with H.R. 5.

The bill turns Title 1 funding into a block grant program. This change will disproportionally harm many disadvantaged low-income students. Schools across the country, including some in my Congressional district, rely on these funds to help ensure that all children meet state academic standards.

In addition to block granting Title 1 funds, H.R. 5 weakens current accountability measures for students, teachers, and schools.

The Republican bill does not require states to set high standards to graduate students college and career-ready. It also does not require low-performing schools to work towards improvement; instead, it eliminates all current school improvement requirements.

Every student in America has a constitutional right to a high quality education. It is the job of this Congress to secure that right without delay.

The bill before us falls short in providing the quality education that our students deserve, and I refuse to take part in supporting legislation that fails our students and their families. I oppose H.R. 5 and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when one-third of our nation's children are overweight or obese, educating them in physical competence, health-related fitness and healthy behaviors is critical to their development and long-term success as productive citizens.

Unfortunately, my Republican Colleagues fail to address this need in

Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated as 100 years of sisterhood, scholarship and service is celebrated in our nation's capital--the home of the Sorority's founding. Tomorrow thousands of women will convene on the National Mall to kick off the sorority's 51st National Convention.

I pay tribute to 100 years of trailblazing in honor of the sorority's 22 courageous and visionary Founders, and its members who have also served in Congress, including Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Carrie Meek and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.

A sisterhood called to serve, Delta Sigma Theta has developed and implemented many programs to promote educational and economic development, improve physical and mental health, and increase international and political awareness and involvement.

I welcome my Sorors to the Nation's capital, and salute a century of distinguished serve here at home and around the globe.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

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