Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute today for Richy Masciarelli, a 2013 award recipient of the Teamsters Local 830 Scholarship Fund. Over the past 37 years, this important fund has awarded scholarships totaling over $2.7 million to talented young adults throughout our community. Because of the hard work of the members of Teamsters Local 830 and the employers of these members, students like Richy are able to make higher education possible.

Richy's father, Richard Masciarelli, works in the Maintenance Department of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. I greatly admire Colin's hard work at Pottstown High School and his aspirations to study business management and health & occupation. With his work ethic, I am sure Richy will be successful in whatever career he chooses.

I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Richy Masciarelli and his commitment to his community and studies that enabled him to become a 2013 award recipient of the Teamsters Local 830 Scholarship Fund.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great Philadelphian whom we mourn today. Joe Mahoney, Jr. was a man that everyone called a friend. As Executive Vice President of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Joe was the face of Philadelphia business. He was an eloquent and passionate advocate for the entire business community. But small business was his special love. He and his best friend, his bride Pat, owned a small business themselves. He personally understood the joys and challenges of building and maintaining an enterprise.

There are many adjectives you can use when you talk about Joe. Smart, dedicated, energetic, diplomatic, charming, and knowledgeable are just a few. But the fact that he and Pat were true partners in every sense tells you all that you really need to know. They worked together in support of our region, their alma mater, St. Joseph's University, and in support of local charity. That's the kind of guy Joe was.

Joe was especially gifted in the field of government relations. He worked equally well with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. He was at home in the Halls of Congress, the State Legislature, and City Hall. He understood and respected both the executive and legislative branches, as well as business, labor, and the non-profit centers. He worked as well in New Jersey and Delaware as he did in Pennsylvania. He was liked and respected in all of the region's counties. Joe understood how all the pieces fit together to form the complex mosaic that is the Delaware Valley. His life made that mosaic more beautiful. His loss leaves it less so.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to say that I knew Joe. I'm even more honored to say that Joe knew me. He was a friend to all. We all grieve his passing, even as we celebrate his life. I am sure that all of my colleagues join me in expressing our condolences to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Lana Felton-Ghee, a constituent of Pennsylvania's 1st District, for her 66th birthday.

Born, raised and educated in Philadelphia, Lana is well known for her successes in business and politics. Graduating from Temple University, Ms. Felton-Ghee led a longtime, high profile career in marketing and public relations. She established her own business in 1995, Lana Felton-Ghee Associates, Inc., and took on challenging projects in our area and throughout the country. Her expertise was recognized nationally, and she became a key consultant on campaigns for figures such as Mayor Ed Rendell and President Bill Clinton.

Throughout her busy and successful career, Ms. Felton-Ghee also made time for a fulfilling family life and is a proud mother of four and grandmother of ten.

I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Ms. Felton-Ghee and her birthday. Ms. Felton-Ghee is the epitome of a life-long Philadelphian and a model citizen. We can all learn something from her fortitude and her commitment to her career, her city and her family. She has been known to say that ``there is no place like Philadelphia,'' but Philadelphia would not be nearly as bright a place without her vibrant and dedicated personality.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Investigator Francesco Z. McBride, a constituent of my district, who has been chosen to receive the distinguished honor of the Amtrak Police Department's Officer of the Year for 2012 for his numerous and significant contributions to the department.

A resident of Sharon Hill, Investigator McBride joined the Amtrak Police Department (APD) in 2001 initially as an Officer, and is now an Investigator in Amtrak's Mid-Atlantic Division. He is a member of the APD Pipe and Drum Unit.

Investigator McBride's exemplary service has resulted in arrests in cases that have a combined monetary value of approximately $325,000. These cases include copper wire theft in Baltimore that has resulted in damage and serious disruptions to train operations; recovering Amtrak- owned tools and equipment from burglar's barn; and tracking down the culprits of the theft of copper materials in Philadelphia. These are just a few examples of Investigator McBride's invaluable work that has earned him the distinction of Amtrak Police Officer of the Year.

I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring the Officer of the Year, Investigator McBride, for his admirable work with Amtrak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Lana Felton-Ghee, a constituent of Pennsylvania's 1st District, for her upcoming 66th birthday on April 8th.

Born, raised and educated in Philadelphia, Lana is well known for her successes in business and politics. Graduating from Temple University, Ms. Felton-Ghee led a longtime, high profile career in marketing and public relations. She established her own business in 1995, Lana Felton-Ghee Associates, Inc., and took on challenging projects in our area and throughout the country. Her expertise was recognized nationally, and she became a key consultant on campaigns for figures such as Mayor Ed Rendell and President Bill Clinton.

Throughout her busy and successful career, Ms. Felton-Ghee also made time for a fulfilling family life and is a proud mother of four and grandmother of ten.

I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Ms. Felton-Ghee and her birthday. Ms. Felton-Ghee is the epitome of a life-long Philadelphian and a model citizen. We can all learn something from her fortitude and her commitment to her career, her city and her family. She has been known to say that ``there is no place like Philadelphia,'' but Philadelphia would not be nearly as bright a place without her vibrant and dedicated personality.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the majority that this election contest should be dismissed and that it stands before us without merit. The Contestant notified the House that he should be the winner of the election not based on the finding of any solid evidence but based on rumors, conjecture and hearsay.

Contestant also raises accusations of misconduct by law enforcement and election officials without proof. The Contestant does not support any of his arguments with specific creditable evidence. Based on this, I am voting to grant the Contestee relief by disposing of this contest.

My only regret is that the House was not able to dismiss this frivolous contest earlier in the 113th Congress.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his work on the committee. I am pleased he is managing this bill today. It's good for the next generation of Members to learn the procedures of the floor this way--putting them right in the line of fire.

I would also like to thank the chairman for how she handled our marathon hearings. I've had her job and know how difficult it is to be juggling the schedules of all our fellow Members and of our fellow chairmen and ranking members.

Mr. Speaker, I rise, though, in opposition to this resolution. We have cut committee funding for the last 3 years. We are past the point of cutting what we want, and we are now into cutting what we need--our ability to attract and retain expert staff.

I asked the same question to every ranking member and every chairman who came in front of us. I asked them, if they're into cutting their personnel, whether or not they've thought in their own minds if it would hurt them in the jobs that they could do and in the jobs they do for the American people on those committees. Every man and woman said it would be an issue for them, that they would have a problem. Again, we cut in 2012 and gave people positions at lower salaries. These people, without question, make double, triple, four times the amount of money they can in the public sector. They're dedicated--they're dedicated people--but sometimes dedication doesn't pay the bills that they do acquire and that they do have.

Their main concern was keeping people on their staffs who had institutional knowledge, people who had the knowledge of how this House works. As you all know, when you first get here, it can be a quagmire-- you don't understand what's happening; it moves too fast--but these men and women who are here for many years, they do know that, and they keep this train running. To hurt them and not be able to retain them would be a major, major disservice with just the institutional knowledge that they have.

Again, I get it. I understand the cutting. I understand we've got to cut some other people, but if we cut these staff members--the people who have been here--and try to attract other people who can do the jobs that our committee staffs do, I think that it would be hurting the American people.

We need to defeat this resolution and give the committees the appropriate resources that they need to do their basic work and to do what the people sent us here to do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Philadelphia's own, Bernard ``The Executioner'' Hopkins. On March 10, 2013, Bernard became the oldest boxer to win a major title. A champion both in and out of the ring, Bernard is among Philadelphia sports' greatest icons.

Breaking his own record from two years earlier, Bernard beat 30 year old Tavoris Cloud for the IBF light heavyweight championship. At 48 years old, Bernard proved that age is just a number as he out moved his opponent, something he has done many times before. After the fight he said, ``Tonight was one of the bigger fights of my career.''

Bernard has been a champion for a long time--he won the Pennsylvania Junior Olympics at age nine. He is among some of boxing's greatest like Sugar Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Oscar De La Hoya once said that Hopkins is ``one of the great talents we've had in this generation.''

His latest win is his 53rd professional win, 32 of which came by knockout. This is also not the first record Bernard has shattered. His record of 20 successful title defenses has been unbreakable since he reached the milestone in 2005.

Bernard is not just a champion in the ring but a champion to Philadelphia, the city he always called home. He works tirelessly with the city's youth to help them get on and stay on the straight and narrow. He is a husband and a father and great American.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues join me in honoring a great champion, and an even greater person, Bernard Hopkins.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Shen Yun Performing Arts' upcoming visit to the tri-state area and the company's significant contributions to the advancement of the arts in the Philadelphia area.

Reviving the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture, Shen Yun is a world-class dance company that has performed in cities across the United States and abroad. The company's performers practice the Falun Dafa spiritual discipline and are hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations around the world. Founded in 2006, Shen Yun has graced many of the world's greatest stages in its short tenure, including Lincoln Center in New York City, The Kennedy Center in D.C., Royal Festival Hall in London, and Le Palais de Congres in Paris.

Philadelphia has been blessed with a vibrant and active Chinese community, one that has been bettered through the contributions of Shen Yun. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Shen Yun and their upcoming trip to the Philadelphia area. I am thrilled that my community will be able to enjoy the beauty of this dance company in the upcoming months.

Mr. Speaker, the unveiling of the new statue of Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall marks an historic moment. No American man or woman has stood taller than Rosa Parks when she refused to stand and move to the back of a legally segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The first full-sized statue of an African American to be approved and funded by Congress since 1873 honors the actions of this humble Black woman which triggered the Montgomery bus boycott. The boycott ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1956 decision declaring segregation on municipal buses unconstitutional.

As Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, it was my honor to shepherd the process through Congress and to manage passage of the enabling legislation which was written and introduced by introduced by former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. It was humbling for me, and my colleagues, to make decisions that would help shape and preserve her legacy including working with Architect of the Capitol on selecting the final design. The artists captured her quiet dignity, and hallmark strength. She'll forever appear as steady and unmovable as the rock she sits upon.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the work of Congressman Jackson who brought the need for this statute and the need to name Emancipation Hall to the House's attention. I was moved by the statement that Mr. Jackson prepared to deliver today.

The Unveiling of Rosa Park's Statue in Statuary Hall--Speech Prepared

by Jackson Before He Went on Medical Leave, June 10, 2012

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

I would like to thank Chairman Miller and her staff for working in a bipartisan fashion on this legislation.

As the chairman mentioned, we created this competition so Members can help promote STEM education in a way that has a direct impact on their constituents. It is this very type of learning that will be essential to continue revitalizing our Nation's economy. The time and energy we invest now in advancing STEM education will only strengthen our Nation's economic posture in the future. This competition is one small way to do that.

I look forward to continuing to work with the chairman as we develop regulations for this program and implement this competition.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from California, Anna Eshoo.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

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

Yes, I'd just like to also deviate, for a moment or two, on our issue here. Tomorrow we will be honoring Rosa Parks with a statue. And as our Chairman Miller can start to understand, being the chairman of the committee, we won't get an opportunity to say anything, but it is our committee that had this happen.

I would like to thank Mr. Lungren, the former chairman and ranking member of our committee. Because of that we will be honoring Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall tomorrow, which we would not, again, have a chance to say that.

I would like to thank, also, Jesse Jackson. Without his efforts every single day, every week, pushing to have that statue done, we would not be in that Hall tomorrow honoring her. So I need to give credit where credit belongs, and I appreciate the moment to be able to say that.

Again, I wish to thank the chair for her cooperation on this bill. I look forward to working with her as we implement the program's regulations.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Helen Agnes Weaver, a constituent of my district, who celebrated her 101st birthday on August 1, 2012.

A native of Philadelphia, Mrs. Weaver is devoted to her community and family. She is the proud mother of two children, the grandmother of seven grandchildren, and the great-grandmother of twenty-three great grandchildren, and the great-great-grandmother of seventeen great- great-grandchildren.

I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring the significant occasion of Mrs. Weaver's 101st birthday. Mrs. Weaver is the epitome of a life-long Philadelphian and a model citizen. We can all learn something from her fortitude and her commitment to her city and family. She will remain an inspiration for many generations to come.

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

This bill is not a serious or viable attempt to address the debt ceiling issue and is merely another way to avoid dealing with the difficult choices we need to make.

We have been here before. We know what happens when we govern with this kick-the-can-down-the-road mentality. The most troubling effect, again, is the constitutionality of this bill is also dangerously unclear.

I was not on the floor last week when my colleagues read the Constitution. Maybe they didn't reach the 27th Amendment. I am not a constitutional attorney. I am not an attorney in any way, and I make no apologies for that. But it's real easy:

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the

Senators or Representatives, shall take effect, until an

election of the Representatives shall have intervened.

``Varying'' is the, again, as my friend did say, operative word. If you aren't getting a paycheck in a month and you're going to wait for 18 months, that's varying. So it could be--and, in my opinion, it is--a constitutional problem.

But be that as it may, I do commend the majority for recognizing that Congress must pay its bills, that raising the debt ceiling isn't about spending more money, it's about paying for bills we already incurred.

There is widespread, bipartisan acknowledgement of how difficult and serious the fiscal challenges before us have become. However, this proposal is just another attempt to yet again put the discussion off for another day.

Madam Speaker, I came here and I saw the sign, ``No Budget, No Pay.'' It probably should say, ``No Budget, Delayed Pay,'' but it sounds better when you say ``No Budget, No Pay.'' That means we may not be getting paid, but we're going to get paid; it will be delayed, but we're going to get paid.

Every year in this house we do pass a budget; although, it's a budget that I can't vote for. It's a budget that hurts the middle class, the working class, the want-to-be-working class, and it also hurts the American people's safety net. We know again this year we will pass that budget. So our friends on the other side of the aisle are putting up a No Budget, No Pay quite well knowing that they will probably pass their budget and we probably will get paid.

On another thought, as my good friend, Mr. Doyle, from Pittsburgh has said to me, why not no gun control, no pay? Why not no immigration reform, no pay? Why not no DISCLOSE Act, no pay?

So, Madam Speaker, in my opinion--and I think in a lot of my colleagues' opinion--it's a gimmick bill. No Budget, No Pay has no teeth.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

It is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York, Hakeem Jeffries.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the distinguished Democratic leader, Ms. Nancy Pelosi.

How much time do I have remaining, Madam Speaker?

I would like to yield 1 minute to my dear friend from right across the river from me, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York, Mr. Jerry Nadler.

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

Madam Speaker, it's my honor to yield 1\1/ 2\ minutes to the assistant Democratic leader, Mr. Clyburn.

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

As I have no more speakers, I'm prepared to close and yield myself the balance of my time.

I heard the previous speakers on the other side talk about no budget, no pay. It's no budget, delayed pay. They are trying to fool the American people by saying we're not getting paid, which is not true. We are going to be getting paid--which I doubt also--at the end of 18 months. So we're going to get paid.

The reason why I doubt that is because every year my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do pass a budget. Do we pass a budget that we can agree with? No. Do they hurt the middle class? Yes. Do they hurt the working class? Yes. Do they take away safety nets? Yes. Do they hurt our veterans? Yes.

Without question, I will make a bet with anybody who would like to that there will be a budget passed in this session. When that happens, they will try to put some pressure on the Senate, which can easily pass anything they want to pass, and then that makes this no budget, no pay, no teeth.

With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Union League of Philadelphia which will commemorate its Sesquicentennial Celebration on December 27, 2012. This occasion will reflect on the great history and traditions that have helped sustain the League, and have made it one of the great civic institutions in Philadelphia.

In late 1862, during some of the darkest and most turbulent days of America's Civil War, a group of patriotic Philadelphians resolved to create an organization to assist President Abraham Lincoln and the North to save the American Union. By early 1863 The Union League of Philadelphia was diligently printing and distributing anti-secession literature, financing military regiments, and devoting its talent and resources to the protection of southern Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia from the menace of invasion. Following the northern victory in April of 1865, the Union League found a new and continuing purpose as it demonstrated its support for Reconstruction legislation and new amendments

to the U.S. Constitution, positive political action, and election reform.

Into the twentieth century and the present day, the legacy of the Union League includes an outstanding record of 150 years of civic, philanthropic, and cultural activities. Today, its 3,300 members continue to sustain the Union League and its ethos of patriotism and service.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the Union League of Philadelphia for its 150 years of service to the city of Philadelphia and the Union.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Roberto Marmo for his years of success both politically and professionally in the United States and Italy. For much of his life, Roberto Marmo has enjoyed great success both in politics and his entrepreneurial endeavors.

Mr. Marmo's career in politics spans several decades beginning with his time as a provincial councilor of Canelli in the 1980's. In the following decade, Mr. Marmo served the comune of Canelli as Mayor. From 1999 until 2008, he held the position of President of the Province of Asti. Currently, Mr. Marmo is a member of the Chamber of Deputies serving the people of Italy as a member of the Commission on Budget and Treasury.

In addition to his political successes, Mr. Marmo is an accomplished entrepreneur in the Piedmont region of Italy. He holds the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cantina Sociale di Canelli-Cooperative as well as the President of the Cellars of Canelli

Winetrading Ltd. After taking over at the Cantina Sociale di Canelli in 2004, a company on the verge of bankruptcy, Mr. Marino has guided the business to a position of financial stability. In recent years, the