Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Nunes memo was released over the objections of the FBI, the Department of Justice, Democratic Members of the House Intelligence Committee, and several Republican Senators. This selectively edited document was political in nature from the outset, as is evident in the gap between what some of my colleagues claimed it contained and what the memo actually says.

The Nunes memo focuses on the most recent warrants for surveillance of Carter Page, who has reportedly been

under watch since 2013 for his relationship with the Russian Government, years before his involvement with the Trump campaign. Yet this document in no way questions those facts, while new reporting has since revealed that Mr. Page boasted of his role as a Kremlin adviser as far back as 5 years ago, when the first FISA warrants against him were reportedly issued.

As Oversight Chairman Gowdy has noted, the Nunes memo has no impact on the Russia probe, and Special Counsel Mueller's work must continue unabated to allow the American public to know the full truth.

Mr. Speaker, since before his inauguration last year, President Trump, his administration, and its allies have tested the independence and credibility of the FBI.

Since the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller, we have seen these efforts grow into an apparent attempt to stymie Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and protect the administration from potentially being held accountable.

We have seen several pressure tactics employed from the firing of former FBI Director Comey, the ongoing investigation into the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, and most recently, reports of the President's attempt to fire Special Counsel Mueller himself.

This is a clear sign that Congress must act to protect the independence and integrity of the special counsel's investigation. I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to come together in protecting the special counsel from baseless termination and ensuring that his investigation can follow the facts wherever they may lead.

Mr. Speaker, since the Trump administration announced the end of the DACA program in September, more than 16,000 people have already lost their protection from deportation and their ability to work. Each day we fail to act to protect DREAMers, 122 more people lose those protections and the ability to contribute to their country in the same way they have for as long as they have lived here.

These DREAMers teach our children, care for our loved ones, start businesses, strengthen our communities, defend our Nation, and believe that our country, their country, will see them for the Americans they are.

One of our country's proudest DREAMers, Jose Antonio Vargas, once said:

Citizenship to me is more than a piece of paper.

Citizenship is also about character. I am an American. We are

just waiting for our country to recognize it.

Jose is right. It is high time our country recognizes the DREAMers for the Americans they really are. It is time we show our national character.

Mr. Speaker, each January, we honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for all he did to help us live out the true meaning of our creed.

Dr. King dedicated his life to justice and equality, and he died for it. But even with his ideals, Dr. King would have never had the impact he did if it weren't for his willingness to dedicate his life to service. That path of service is open to us all.

As Dr. King said: ``You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.''

Dr. King knew that service isn't about your education or your background. It is about much more than that. He taught us all that all you need to serve is ``a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.''

That path is not an easy one, but it is one we can all take, and we should.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, the Members of the House will cast a vote on the tax conference committee report, the final version of the Republican tax plan.

The Republican leadership rushed this bill to the finish line at the expense of small-business owners and working families. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

As a former small-business owner, I understand firsthand the importance of tax simplification. Unfortunately, this bill does the opposite: it complicates our Tax Code while giving companies fewer than 2 weeks to adjust before it goes into effect. This creates serious uncertainty for small-business owners who create jobs and invest in our communities.

I support reforming our Tax Code, but I ask my colleagues to stop rushing this process and to put working families first. There is simply too much at stake.

We can simplify our tax system without exploding the national debt and spiking healthcare premiums. For the sake of our economy and our future, we need to kill this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman LaHood for organizing this Special Order. I am so honored to be a part of it.

As the Congressman mentioned, my name is Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Congressman representing the great Eighth District of Illinois, which are the west and northwest suburbs of Chicago

I am proud to join my colleagues tonight in celebrating Illinois' bicentennial--the 200th year--of statehood. There is something special in celebrating the anniversary of Illinois' entry into the Union, as it was the State which produced the man who would save it.

I am proud to be from the Land of Lincoln, but for all of its national and historic importance, my love of our home State is also very personal. I did not have the honor of being born in Illinois, but it is my home and always will be because our State welcomed my family with open arms, as it has for so many others over the last 200 years.

You see, I was born in New Delhi, India, and when I was 3 months old, my parents brought our family to the United States so my father could continue his education and our family could embrace all the opportunities of this great country.

It wasn't easy and there was struggle, but my family came to know that the American Dream of building a better life was possible because the people of Illinois made it so.

We had our challenges, but everything changed for the better when my father was offered a position as an engineering professor in a mysterious place called Peoria, Illinois. They did not know where Peoria, Illinois, was at the time. They unfurled the map, found out where Peoria was, packed the U-Haul in New York State, and started driving and driving and driving. They made it to Peoria, but that was when the golden years in our family started. That is where they educated their two sons in wonderful public schools. That is where they bought their first home. That is where they entered the middle class.

Every night, my father would say something at the dinner table along the lines of: Think of the greatness of this country and of Illinois, and make sure that the governments in both places are there for the next families who need it.

My father began teaching. My brother and I went to school in Peoria, and Peoria became our home. More than three decades have passed. My father is still teaching at Bradley University, and he and my mother still live in the house I grew up in.

Though I went away for college, I always knew where I would be when it was time to start my own family. My wife, Priya, and I were married in Illinois, and all three of our children are being raised there. It will always be our home, for all the joys of the Cubs' wins and for all the challenges of its winters.

As I look back on the opportunities my family had, that I have had, and that my children will have, I will feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, this week the Republican leadership will reconcile the House and Senate tax proposals. In doing so, I strongly urge my colleagues to put politics aside and put working families first.

To do this, we need to enable employers and workers to invest in new skills for emerging jobs in our evolving economy. We need to spur infrastructure investment. We need to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and new business formation. We need to ensure that every American has access to a quality education that prepares them for a successful career.

We need to do all of this without exploding the national debt. The plans before the committee do not pay for themselves. Unfortunately, they do not guarantee against cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security either, and they do not put working families first.

For the sake of our economy and for the sake of our seniors, students, and working families, I strongly urge the conferees to produce a bill that focuses on their needs.

Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, this Chamber passed a tax plan that would raise taxes on millions of Americans and explode the deficit. Now the Senate is having its turn. Their proposal would devastate working families through tax hikes and undermine Americans' healthcare through the stealth repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Just as the House Republican plan included a huge middle class tax increase, so does the Senate's. By 2027, 82 million middle class households would see a tax increase.

But the damage of the Senate plan goes beyond that. It would cut Medicare by $25 billion next year alone and add $1.4 trillion to the deficit, and it would destabilize healthcare for millions of Americans.

The Senate plan would leave 13 million more Americans without healthcare, while those keeping theirs would see premiums jump up by 10 percent per year for the next decade.

Republican Senators have already spoken out against this bill. The truth is we all should.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose the rule and the underlying bill.

This is a tax increase on the middle class, and it drops a ticking tax bomb on the American people. While it falsely claims to provide tax relief for working families and the middle class, in reality, it will raise taxes on 38 million Americans, and it will explode the deficit by over $1.5 trillion.

A typical family in my district in Illinois would see their taxes increase by over $1,100.

According to the CBO, H.R. 1 is so irresponsible, that it will result in an immediate $25 billion cut to Medicare.

Americans recognize that incomes are not keeping pace with the cost of living, and parents question whether their children will have the same opportunities they had.

Our constituents need responsible tax reform that strengthens the middle class and raises wages for working families. They do not need a tax increase, and this bill does just that. It increases taxes on the middle class.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this ticking tax bomb.

Mr. Speaker, today I honor the lives of Dr. Zia Hassan and Mr. Abdul Hameed Dogar who passed away on October 29 this year of natural causes.

Dr. Hassan and Mr. Dogar were widely known for their work in both their home and Muslim-American communities.

Abdul, affectionately known as Dogar Hasib, immigrated to the United States in March of 1962. As a civil engineer, he worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation designing roads that link our communities and move millions of people in the Chicagoland area every day. In addition, he served as a Director of the Islamic Foundation of Illinois for over 40 years.

Dr. Hassan, a widely published engineer and businessman, immigrated to the United States in 1956. He was the Dean Emeritus of The Illinois Institute of Technology's Stuart School of Business, Chairman Emeritus of the Islamic Foundation of Illinois, a Fellow of the American Society for Quality, and served as an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Together, their passion for community work drove them to found the Islamic Foundation of Illinois, now one of the largest Islamic Centers for religious practice and education in America. Their dedication to their communities helped Muslim-Americans in the Chicago area pursue educational and professional achievements to further the development of our community.

I want to recognize Dr. Hassan and Dogar Hasib for their accomplishments and hard work on behalf of their friends, family and the

Muslim-American community at large. They will be dearly missed and remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I hope we all keep in our thoughts and prayers the friends and family of Dr. Hassan and Dogar Hasib. I celebrate the happiness and joy they brought so many people and reflect on the significant impacts they had on their friends, their families, and their communities.

Mr. Speaker, the tax plan that has been proposed by the House Republican leadership fails to support working families while making them foot a $1.5 trillion bill.

Nonpartisan research projects that this legislation would raise taxes on 38 million hardworking Americans. The impact would be far and wide as the tax plan would end deductions for seniors facing growing medical expenses, young adults working to shrink their student debt, and families paying State income and sales taxes.

This legislation would also have enormously damaging economic consequences as it would leave our children to pay off its $1.5 trillion price tag. We need tax reform that puts working families first, but this clearly isn't it.

For the sake of our economy, seniors, students, and working families, as well as the middle class, we must defeat this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I remember and honor the life of Sruthi Srinivasan who unexpectedly passed away on October 24th this year at the young age of 34.

So many people knew Sruthi's passion for design and her amazing ability to dance. Sruthi's laugh, smile and warm soul could light up a room. She was easy to love and will be missed beyond measure, not only in the community of Downer's Grove, but across the nation.

Sruthi was known as an incredible designer at her work with Ted Moudis in New York and was successful in the variety of roles that she had in the design industry. She was generous, kind, and her spirit was infectious.

The Srinivasans and my family have known each other for decades, and they are all cherished friends. Mr. Speaker, I hope we might all keep in our thoughts and prayers the Srinivasan family and friends as they mourn their loss. In that spirit, I celebrate Sruthi's life and think about what an impact that life made on so many people.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the first charges of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation had been filed against President Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his business associate Rick Gates.

But just as importantly, we learned that former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his attempts to contact the Russian Government. The investigation is gaining momentum and must go on.

In the Senate, Majority Leader McConnell has refused to commit floor time to legislation to protect Special Counsel Mueller's investigation from outside interference. If the Senate refuses to act, the House must. It is imperative that we allow the investigation into Russian interference in our democracy to continue unimpeded and unhindered.

Yesterday's news may be the first public revelations, but they cannot be the last. The investigation into the Russian Government's attempts to sabotage our democracy must continue. I urge Speaker Ryan and the House leadership to commit to safeguarding the independence and integrity of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation.

Mr. Speaker, recent media reports have suggested that the House will consider a plan to cap employees' 401(k) contributions as part of tax reform. I urge all my colleagues in the strongest possible terms to reject this proposal. This cap on 401(k) contributions would present a crippling and unnecessary burden on working families across the country by making it harder for everyday Americans to save for retirement.

There is already growing bipartisan opposition to this proposal as President Trump tweeted against it this morning, and in September, the majority leader said that this plan would punish people when they are actually saving for their own retirement.

I agree with the majority leader. Working families already face enormous challenges in saving for retirement. This proposal would create another, and I urge all of my colleagues to strongly oppose it.

Mr. Speaker, since 1997, the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, has provided low-cost health insurance for millions of children across the United States of America.

Unfortunately, in another apparent sabotage to our Nation's healthcare system, Congress failed to reauthorize CHIP funding before it expired on September 30. Without immediate action, States will soon have to curtail care for our neediest children.

In my home State of Illinois, alone, over 295,000 children rely on CHIP for everything from routine checkups to immunizations. Congress' continued failure to reauthorize this critical program is jeopardizing the well-being of millions of America's children.

Congress will be going into recess again next week without taking any action to reauthorize this bipartisan and essential program for children. Meanwhile, millions of kids could go without care because of our failure to act. We must do better.