Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to remember a stalwart leader in the Japanese American community, Grayce Uyehara, who passed away recently on June 22nd.

Grayce was a leading force in organizing and drawing attention to the Redress campaign--with her well-known Action Alerts and grassroots mobilization efforts--during her tenure as the executive director of Japanese American Citizens League's Legislative Education Committee.

Her commitment to the Japanese American community, as well as this country more broadly, was a stunning display of courage and dedication in seeking justice for injustices throughout.

Her legacy will be one not only of justice and fairness, but of true leadership and perseverance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dan Bernstein, a columnist for The Press-Enterprise in the Inland Empire who recently retired.

Dan began his career thirty-eight years ago in 1976, and has covered business, government, and politics for our community. His column has informed, enlightened, and entertained his readers for decades.

His wife, who he calls his ``unofficial editor-in-chief,'' pushed him to write a column in his voice, with his point of view. This established a connection and a bond with his readers that lasted for years, and I'm sure many in Riverside County would agree with me that his retirement from The Press-Enterprise creates a void--as his voice informatively and candidly filled the homes of the Inland Empire.

We will surely miss Mr. Bernstein and I congratulate his long- standing career.

I wish him the best of luck in retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I'm deeply saddened to have learned that Richard Tegley, a force in our community, passed away earlier this month.

Richard lived a remarkable life--first bravely serving his country in the Air Force for 22 years, then on to an illustrious career as a real estate broker in the Inland Empire, where he quickly became a leader in the community. For decades, Richard was an advocate for the people of Moreno Valley and Riverside, whom he cared so deeply for.

He was a trusted friend who helped ensure that I would be able to stand here in the House today. I always knew that I could turn to him to get a perspective on the issues facing our community, and I will miss his dedication and passion for others.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 15, a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill to properly address the humanitarian crisis at the border to the floor.

I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the legislation being put forward by the House Republicans, which is an insincere attempt to address the humanitarian crisis at our border.

This bill is misguided, unreasonable, and wrong. It does very little to address the actual root of this problem and cuts important funding from the Department of Defense, FEMA, and the State Department's Economic Support Fund.

I oppose this legislation and urge my colleagues to return to the drawing board, so we can help these children and fix this issue.

(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)

The proposed legislation is ill-conceived, and does not solve the main problem.

I am opposed to this legislation and ask my colleagues to propose a solution that really helps these children.

Thank you.

La legislacioon propuesta estaa mal planteada, y no resolveraa el problema principal.

Estoy opuesto a esta legislacioon y pido que mis colegas propongan una solucioon que realmente ayudara a estos ninnos.

Gracias.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report. I want to thank Chairman Miller for the gracious way that he has conducted the committee hearings, and I thank Ranking Member Michaud for his hard work.

Principally, I am very pleased that this conference report also includes 1,500 funded graduate medical school education slots at veterans facilities around this country. It was a good thing that we approved access to non-VA care for those servicemembers, those veterans who have been on waiting lists for far too long. But that would not be satisfactory to those areas of the country that are experiencing physician shortages. This is a huge, huge accomplishment for a Congress that is so partisan to approve these 1,500 funded GMEs.

I urge all my colleagues to support the conference report.

I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for yielding.

Earlier today, your colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) released his long-awaited antipoverty plan. This is a bold step for Mr. Ryan because, if you look at the history of the Republican Party, there is a clear and undeniable pattern of implementing policies that help the top 2 percent but that do nothing for those struggling to make ends meet. Of course, they have proposed various ``reforms'' over the years, but those initiatives were never anything other than safety net cuts or ineffective, recycled ideas disguised as reform. I am thinking of a childhood jingle, ``Jack and the Beanstalk''--Fee-fi-fo-fum. I smell the budget of faux reform.

That appears to be the case here.

Mr. Ryan calls his new plan an ``Opportunity Grant,'' as it would consolidate safety net programs such as food stamps and housing vouchers into a single grant to States.

If that sounds familiar, that is because an ``Opportunity Grant'' is nothing more than block grants under a new name, and block grants have been shown to have limited impact in helping to lift people out of poverty.

Now, if Mr. Ryan really wanted to lift people out of poverty, he would support a raise in the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage will increase the take-home pay for more than 28 million workers, add $35 billion to the economy in higher wages through 2016, and create 85,000 new jobs as a result of increased economic opportunity.

At the very least, I know that my colleague, Barbara Lee from California, is, as I am, undertaking the challenge to live on a minimum wage by living off of $77, the average amount of money left over for full-time minimum wage workers after taxes and housing expenses.

I would challenge Mr. Ryan to step inside the shoes of someone who is living on that minimum wage. Although I know I could never fully understand what it is like, this challenge will give me a small glimpse into the lives of many people in my district.

So I would like to invite Mr. Ryan to participate in the challenge so he can, for a brief moment, understand what it is like for people in poverty to live on such a wage. Perhaps then Mr. Ryan will understand that the same old recycled ideas will not help those who really are in need.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the humanitarian crisis that is happening at our border.

Since October of last year, more than 50,000 children have fled their homes and turned themselves in to the United States Border Patrol. These children are fleeing extreme violence, extortion, and poverty. As they await their hearings, some are being transported to my district in the Inland Empire.

Several weeks ago, the first wave of buses transporting these children was scheduled to arrive right outside my district. I was disappointed and disturbed to see some of my fellow Americans curse, spit at, and block one of these buses filled with women and children who have endured traumas many of us will never understand.

Mr. Speaker, this is the United States of America. We are a nation of laws and compassion. As this body determines its course of action, we should ensure that every one of these children is taken care of and treated with dignity.

I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to give praise to the gentleman from Florida, Chairman Miller, for the way in which he has conducted the hearings and conducted the business of the Veterans'

Affairs Committee. In no way do we wish to imply that the House has not done its due diligence.

As my colleagues have mentioned, the motion before us to instruct the House conferees to accept the bipartisan McCain-Sanders bill--and I want to emphasize it is a bipartisan bill--that passed the Senate by 93 votes, would allow veterans to seek care outside the VA health care system if they face long wait times or if they live far from a VA medical facility. It also allows the VA to hire more doctors and nurses and authorizes leases for 26 new major VA facilities, which I do not believe the House language contains. It improves access to health care for military and sexual assault providers. Finally, it includes several nonhealth-related provisions, such as the provision of in-State tuition for all veterans at public colleges and universities. This is a provision that was authored by my friend, Mr. Miller.

The revelation that numerous VA facilities manipulated data with respect to wait times is disturbing. It is even more disturbing to learn that those practices may have resulted in the deaths of dozens of our veterans.

Our veterans have sacrificed so much, and we owe it to them to make sure that they receive the best possible care from a system that is accountable and transparent. I urge my colleagues to support the motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Congressman Farr's amendment that would remove the waiver that would exempt schools from providing even half a cup of fruits and vegetables to their students for lunch. More than 200 education and nutrition organizations oppose the weakening of nutrition standards. While it may be difficult to get kids to eat healthier, it is possible, as 90 percent of schools are already meeting the standards.

Rodney Taylor, the food service director at Riverside Unified School District, which is in my district, sent me a letter about the importance of nutrition standards, saying:

Children in our district and many others are enjoying meals

that meet updated school lunch requirements from the USDA,

proving that it is possible to have healthy children and

healthy budgets. Letting schools opt out

of these standards will not help them move forward and will

be detrimental to the children they serve.

I thank Congressman Farr for introducing this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it, so we can move forward in the fight against childhood obesity.

Mr. Speaker, today I take to the floor to ask Congress to act and pass legislation that will help millions of working families.

We need to pass legislation that will raise the minimum wage and reinstates unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed.

We need to pass legislation that will protect future property owners from abusive lenders.

We need to pass legislation that will improve our education system to help our children go to college and ensure them a successful future.

We need to pass legislation that will fix our broken immigration system, and will include a path towards citizenship.

It is our duty to help our communities. I ask the Republicans to support these policies so that millions of people can have the opportunity to realize the American Dream.

Senor Presidente de la Camara de Representantes,

Hoy, tomo la palabra para pedir que el Congreso actue y pase la legislacion que ayudara a millones de familias trabajadoras.

Tenemos que pasar legislacion que aumente el salario minimo y reinstale el seguro de desempleo para quienes han estado desempleados por largo tiempo.

Tenemos que pasar legislacion que proteja a futuros propietarios de prestamistas abusivos.

Tenemos que pasar legislacion que mejore nuestro sistema educativo-- que ayude a nuestros hijos a ir a la universidad y asegurarles un futuro exitoso.

Tenemos que pasar legislacion que arregle nuestro sistema inmigratorio quebrado, y que incluya un camino a la ciudadania.

Es nuestro deber ayudar a nuestras comunidades. Pido que los Republicanos apoyen estas polizas para que millones de personas tengan la oportunidad de realizar el sueno americano.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Kirkpatrick) for introducing H.R. 2942, which will have an important impact on the lives of our servicemen and -women separating from the military.

I also want to extend my thanks to Chairman Miller for the bipartisan way in which he leads our committee.

During my time as ranking member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, I have seen how transitioning servicemembers can struggle to find employment. Life beyond the military can be complicated, as we found out from employers who attended a March veterans employment roundtable hosted by myself and our committee's ranking member, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud).

These are men and woman who have real work experience, but are still struggling to find steady, meaningful employment. Meanwhile, when they return to their communities, people are shaking their hands and thanking them for their service, when what they really need is a job.

Many employers have recognized the skills veterans bring to the table, but there is still so much more work to be done. By passing this legislation, we will be sending a clear message of our respect for military members' service and their experience as professionals.

Reestablishing the advisory committee on professional certification and licensure will ensure veterans get the broadest and most comprehensive support to acknowledge the skills they have earned and the experience they have gained while in the military.

By supporting this legislation, we will help ensure these men and women can be our next nurse, electrician, or plumber or engineer or any other professional they are qualified to be.

Please, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment in the House Republican leadership for blocking the ENLIST Act.

The ENLIST Act is the type of legislation that should receive support from both parties, as it allows undocumented immigrants who enter the United States before they turned the age of 15 to join the military. After their service, they would become legal permanent residents and would be eligible to apply for citizenship. This legislation was introduced by a Republican Member and has 24 Republican cosponsors, including House Majority Whip McCarthy.

There are thousands of young people willing to serve and potentially die for our country, and the House Republican leadership has no desire to help them become citizens. This shows the depths of the dysfunction of the Republican Caucus. It must stop, and we must allow a path to citizenship to those who want to serve our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for two amendments I am submitting to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The first I am offering would require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress no later than 30 days after the enactment of this law on the barriers to implementing audit reporting requirements and recommendations in order to ensure reporting deadlines are met. This would ensure that taxpayer money is being well spent.

The second, offered by me and Mr. Cook, would create a pilot program to take the California National Guard's Work for Warriors job placement program nationwide.

Since the State of California created the program in 2012, more than 2,500 Guard members have been placed in jobs and at only $500 per placement, far cheaper than any other employment programs, which can cost as much as $10,000 per placement.

Placing 2,500 California guardsmen in jobs is a great start, but I know that that number can multiply many times over if the Work for Warriors program is expanded nationwide.

I urge my colleagues to support these amendments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the enhanced equity, accountability, and transparency measures in H.R. 10, the Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act. This legislation would require charter authorizers, charter management organizations, and charter schools receiving grants through the charter school program to adhere to higher standards and become more accountable.

Too often, charter schools are unwilling to take the most at-risk and in-need students, or give up on these students far too soon. That needs to end. With H.R. 10, applicants for CSP grants would be required to describe how they would serve students with disabilities and those who are English learners. It would also require grant recipients to assist sub-grantees in enrolling, recruiting, and retaining traditionally underserved students at rates comparable to public schools.

My vote today on H.R. 10 is not a vote in favor of charters. Charter schools are a part of our education system, and my vote is to make them more equitable, accountable, transparent, and of high quality.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding time to debate the rule.

Pop quiz. There is a piece of legislation that will give more than 25 million Americans a pay raise, bring nearly 1 million Americans out of poverty, and lower total food stamp aid by $4.6 billion.

What do you do? What do you do? If you are the House Republican majority, you schedule a vote for H.R. 627, the National Park Service 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, and not legislation that accomplishes the items I just mentioned by raising the minimum wage.

What is it going to take for my Republican colleagues to do something that will actually help the economy? They came into the majority after the 2010 midterm elections saying that priorities one, two, and three were jobs, jobs, jobs. But this body hasn't seen anything substantive that would show that to be the truth.

Since 2011, the House Republicans forced the shutdown of the government, threatened the full faith and credit of the United States, and developed an obsession with repealing the Affordable Care Act. They have done nothing to help the American people.

No American working full-time should live in poverty. Raising the minimum wage will increase the take-home pay for more than 28 million Americans. It will add $35 billion to the economy and higher wages through 2016. It will create 85,000 new jobs as a result of the increased economic activity.

But make no mistake. Those statistics are not likely to change their minds. No facts likely will because their refusal to give millions of Americans a raise is not about facts or economics; it is about keeping their sugar donors happy--sugar donors like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson.

And while these sugar donors are throwing 10s of millions of dollars away on campaign ads in select toss-up districts, regular, hardworking Americans are struggling just to keep their heads above water.

For our country to move forward and continue to grow, we must do more for those who need help. President Franklin Roosevelt once said:

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the

abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide

enough for those who have little.

To provide enough, we must raise the minimum wage.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can bring the minimum wage bill to the floor and get to work growing our economy and helping working families.