Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to welcome my friend, Rabbi Aaron Melman. Rabbi Melman has served the families at Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook, Illinois, for the past 9 years, where he works with children and adults to help them better develop their faith.

Previously, he studied and taught in New York City, where he served as a student chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. On September 12, 2001, he found a way to get to Ground Zero, and thereafter provided comfort and support to those first responders in need.

Rabbi Melman is devoted to helping others. He serves as the president of the Chicago Region of the Rabbinical Assembly; he provides valued education to families through his work as a board member for the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders; and he continues to support firefighters by serving as the chaplain to the Northbrook Fire Department.

Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to call Rabbi Melman my friend.

I do want to also congratulate Rabbi Melman and his bride, Elisa, on their 13th wedding anniversary, which they celebrated last night. We certainly appreciate you joining us and celebrating that with us today.

For the last 1,115 days, the United States Senate has failed to pass a budget. If any business, big or small, were to operate in this very fashion, I submit it would be out of business in a matter of months. Yet the United States Senate refuses to pass a budget blueprint to address what I would consider are the very serious challenges facing our Nation today. This is just unacceptable.

The American people are frustrated; and, frankly, I'm frustrated as well. With a skyrocketing debt of over $15.5 trillion and with trillion-dollar deficits happening year after year, we must come together to address the spending problem here in Washington, D.C. This is something we simply cannot ignore. We need to work in a bipartisan fashion to find common ground and to put people before politics and progress before partisanship.

Mr. Speaker, I supported the only bipartisan budget to hit the floor in decades because it took a step forward to adjust the problems facing our Nation. I would encourage the Senate to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, due to district business, I was unavoidably back in my Congressional District on May 15, 2012. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on H.R. 365, the National Blue Alert Act of 2011, ``yea'' on H.R. 3874, the Black Hills Cemetery Act, and ``yea'' on H.R. 205, the HEARTH Act of 2011.

This Memorial Day we will take time to remember those who have given their lives to keep our Nation safe and free. So many brave men and women have given the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we can enjoy the very freedoms and liberties that we all enjoy today. I want to thank all of those who are currently serving, those who have served, and their families for putting our Nation first. America is a stronger and better Nation because of your sacrifice and service.

Recently, veterans from Illinois came to Washington, D.C., and it was truly an honor and pleasure to meet the Illinois Honor Flight at the World War II Memorial, not only to hear their stories, but to have an opportunity to talk with these true heroes and learn more about their friends, those who made it back and those who didn't. The heroic efforts of the men and women of World War II--and I would argue from all of our conflicts--helped keep our Nation safe and away from harm's way. I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for our country.

Last month, I had the privilege of presenting two veterans from Illinois's 10th Congressional District with their medals that had not been presented. These men served their country with distinction and deserve the medals that they have earned.

George Ott, from Arlington Heights, served as an Air Force staff sergeant in the 6th Aircraft Repair Unit during World War II. He served from 1944 to 1946, serving in the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and Japan. I was able to present him with the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

Thomas Vana, of Des Plaines, was another veteran I was able to serve and present medals. He served as a sergeant in the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War. He served as an Active Duty medic from 1970 to 1974. I was able to present him with the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Korea Defense Service Medal.

Beyond working directly with veterans, Mr. Speaker, to ensure they receive the recognition that they have earned, my office is also working with veterans to document their stories. The Veterans History Project is an ongoing effort by the Library of Congress to collect stories and photos to learn more about those who have served in battle and conflict not only at home, but overseas. My office is open to anyone who would like to document their story and share their experiences with the American public. It's important that we preserve these records, Mr. Speaker, so that future generations know the sacrifices that our men and women in the military have made. I would encourage anyone from the 10th District in Illinois who has served to call the Northbrook office at (847) 272 0404 and share your story so that we can preserve it for years and years to come.

I want to thank all those who have served, those that are serving currently, and those that have given their lives to protect our country. This Memorial Day I believe that we must honor those who have fallen and never forget the sacrifices that they have made to make sure that our country remains safe and free.

I certainly want to thank my good friend from Illinois for her leadership and for her giving me some time, and I want to thank the ranking member, Ms. Waters, for her leadership as well.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H.R. 5740. The history of American flood disasters has clearly shown us two things:

First, an effective and proactive National Flood Insurance Program with paid-in premiums is a much better deal for taxpayers than after- the-fact Federal disaster assistance, which was the inevitable Federal response to flood disasters before this program's inception;

Second, any lapse in the program's authorization irreparably damages our mortgage and real estate markets, and avoiding that irreparable damage is particularly important right now when those markets are already so seriously challenged.

Although reauthorization is essential, we also recognize that the program needs meaningful reforms. We must gradually diminish taxpayer exposure to flood losses while improving the program's solvency and self-sufficiency; and we must work with the private sector to expand its role in protecting against flood disasters.

Under Chairwoman Biggert's leadership, a long-term reauthorization bill with these necessary reforms, H.R. 1309, passed out of the Financial Services Committee unanimously, 54 0, and then the same bill received nearly unanimous bipartisan support right down here where over 400 Members voted in its favor. With that kind of overwhelming bipartisan support, I must say that it's a little frustrating that we're here once again discussing a short-term reauthorization, largely because the other body hasn't considered the long-term bill, even though the long-term bill passed out of the Senate Banking Committee by voice vote.

One thing that seems clear is that the strategy of short-term authorizations, the corresponding temporary program lapses and uncertainty do not work to minimize taxpayer risk or to expand the private sector's role, but we must deal with the existing realities. To properly reform and strengthen this program, we need to reauthorize this program on a long-term basis, and we need to do so promptly; but the Senate hasn't acted, and we can't tolerate any lapse in the program.

So I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5740, which will avoid a destructive program lapse while we continue to work towards a long-term authorization.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to call attention to the NATO summit that will take place next week in Chicago.

NATO was founded with the signing of the Washington Treaty in 1949 to safeguard the freedom and security of all of its members. Since then, the alliance has been the mainstay of the transatlantic cooperation that has been an important part of this Nation's security.

All 27 of our NATO allies, along with 22 non-NATO partners, have served shoulder to shoulder with our brave men and women in Afghanistan, working to ensure that that country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.

In Chicago, we will continue important discussions on the transition of security responsibility from ISAF to the Afghans. Particularly in today's global economic environment, Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we recognize the value of NATO as a proven force multiplier. The alliance is working to ensure that NATO is well prepared for future challenges.

As we welcome our friends to Chicago on May 20 and 21, we affirm the vitality of this transatlantic bond and of our continued commitment to our common defense.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I certainly think this is an important topic because we talk about jobs and the economy as the number one issue that we face in this country.

Today I'm pleased to come down and rise in support of the Ex-Im Bank, as it is something that I think is vital, something that we worked on in a bipartisan fashion through the committee, and something that I think all of our colleagues should be supporting.

When we look at what the Ex-Im Bank does, most of us think oftentimes about large businesses, whether it be Boeing or others. The fact still remains that certainly across the country--and I know in my district, the 10th District of Illinois--83 percent of all the loans actually go to small business, but it does help big businesses.

Back in my district, we have one of the largest manufacturing districts in the country. Over 93,000 employees are in manufacturing, and well over 50,000 of those employees rely upon exports. The world today is flatter than it's ever been, and we need to make sure that our companies are competitive in the global marketplace. Again, I want to emphasize, 83 percent of those loans go to small businesses. But we can take a look at the big businesses, and we can take a look at Boeing. When a Boeing Jetliner 777 lands anywhere in the world, it lands with the help of 22,000 small businesses. Most of them are right here at home.

So when the minority whip talks about making it here in America, we do want to make it here in America. We want to make sure that American workers have a level playing field, and we want to sell American all over the globe. We want to make sure that we are giving them the opportunity. The Ex-Im Bank is going to be done at no cost to the taxpayer. We're going to bring dollars actually into the Federal Treasury. We want to make sure that we're giving our businesses an opportunity to compete, because what this is about is making sure we can sell American all over the globe. So I want to urge my colleagues to support this bill.

In 2011 alone, the bank supported over 288,000 American jobs and helped finance over 3,600 American companies. This is an important piece of legislation, and one that we should all be able to get behind. With every $1 billion of exports, they say 7,200 jobs are created. This is a jobs bill. When we talk about jobs and the economy, this is the time. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, in March, the United States recognized 10 women who were risking their lives to bring about justice in their countries. These women were honored in the United States as the 2012 International Women of Courage and visited Congress to share their stories and give a voice to the people of their countries who have nowhere else to turn.

I had the privilege of meeting with each of these women and listening to their stories and learning more about their fight to end human rights abuses and to make the world a better place. I was impressed with their strength, their courage, and want to share some of their stories with you here today so that we can continue to speak up for those who have no voice.

Maryam Durani is from Afghanistan. At age 27, she is the director of Women's Association for Culture and speaks out for the rights of women and girls in Kandahar province. Her life has been threatened numerous times, and yet she continues to fight for women in Afghanistan and has started the only female-focused radio station in the nation. She received the International Women of Courage Award for ``striving to give a voice to women through the power of media, government, and civil society.''

Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo is from Brazil. She is 34 and serves as the General Coordinator for Strategic Programs for the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Public Security. She is one of the most senior officers in the Police Pacification Units in her country and has worked to end drug-dealing operations in Brazil. She arrested a gang of criminals who had once kidnapped her and is working with the state and local governments to improve conditions throughout Brazil. She received this award for ``integrating previously marginalized populations into the larger Rio de Janeiro community.''

Zin Mar Aung is from Burma. At age 36, she is a democratic activist who was a former political prisoner and was held for 11 years because of her efforts to promote democracy, women's empowerment, and conflict resolution in Burma. She received this award for ``championing democracy, strengthening civil society, and empowering individuals to contribute meaningfully

to the political transformation of Burma.''

Jineth Bedoya Lima is from Colombia and at age 38 is an investigative journalist. While on assignment, she was repeatedly raped and left in a Dumpster. She was left in this Dumpster by her attackers and told that they were sending a message to the Colombian press. Since that horrific attack, she has spoken out against sexual violence and has become a role model for women in Colombia. She was given this award for ``her unfailing courage, determination, and perseverance fighting for justice'' all around the globe.

Hana Elhebshi is a 27-year-old architect from Libya who contributed to the proper documentation of the violence during the revolution in her country. She also is an advocate for women's rights in her country and received this award for ``courageous advancement of the cause of freedom of expression and promotion of women's rights during times of conflict and transition in Libya.''

Aneesa Ahmed is from Maldives and founded Hope for Women. She advocates for ending gender-based violence in Maldives and has served as the Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs. She received this award for ``courageous advocacy of women's rights and protection from domestic violence.''

Shad Begum is 33 and is from Pakistan. She is a courageous human rights activist. She provides political training, microcredit information and more to women in her country. There have been numerous attempts to end her life, but she remains committed to advancing women's rights and even won a local office in her country. She received this award for ``fearlessly championing Pakistani women's political and economic rights.''

Samar Badawi is from Saudi Arabia and at 31 monitors human rights in her country. She is the first woman in Saudi Arabia to file a lawsuit against the government demanding that women have a right to vote. She won this award for ``demonstrating significant courage in her activism while becoming a champion in the struggle for women's suffrage and legal rights in Saudi Arabia.''

Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih is from Sudan and is a human rights activist. Forced to flee Darfur, she lived in an internally displaced persons camp and has since spoken out against human rights abuses in these very camps and has advocated for women's rights in her country. She has been persecuted by the Government of Sudan and forced to flee her country. She received this award for ``giving a voice to the women and children of Darfur.''

Safak Pavey is a member of the Parliament in Turkey and is the first disabled woman elected to Parliament in her country. She is working to empower the disabled, women, and minorities in Turkey. She received this award for ``her personal dignity and courage.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to just simply say that these women act as a role model for all women across the country, across the world; and we must stand up for women's rights.

Madam Speaker, about 97 years ago, the government of the Ottoman Empire killed over 1.5 million people during the Armenian genocide. The Turkish state has never accepted responsibility for the acts of its predecessor government and maintains that the genocide never took place.

For the past 90 years, the Armenian people have sought justice, yet the Turkish Government has continued to actively obstruct any attempt to recognize what has happened to the Armenian people.

The United States can help bring closure to this longstanding moral issue by recognizing the Armenian genocide. That's why I'm proud to be a sponsor of House Resolution 304, which would formally recognize this atrocity. To date, 88 Members of this body have joined me in support of the resolution.

I urge all of my other colleagues to support what is a very important resolution.

If we do nothing, the victims of this horrible genocide may be forgotten. We cannot allow that to happen.

Mr. Speaker, just minutes ago I had an opportunity to be outside

and see the space shuttle flying around the United States Capitol on its way to Dulles, which brought back memories. Certainly those who study history realize that back in the '60s it was President Kennedy who said that the United States will take a man, deliver him to the Moon, and bring him safely back to the Earth. Consequently, the space race took off at that point in time and literally hundreds of thousands of people became more engaged in science and technology, engineering and mathematics, something that I think that we need to rekindle today.

Mr. Speaker, I represent one of the largest manufacturing districts in the United States; and when I tour small businesses throughout the 10th District of Illinois, employers continually tell me that they have got job openings available, yet they can't find people, individuals, workers, able to fill those roles, roles that need to be filled by those who have taken science and technology, engineering and mathematics courses, or the STEM fields.

In the depths of this recession that we have been going through, manufacturing associations have statistics that say 600,000 jobs across our Nation went unfilled. They went unfilled because not enough people were trained in the STEM fields. These are not low-paying jobs, Mr. Speaker. These jobs, on average, pay $77,000 annually. We must empower our students and job-seekers to pursue STEM education so that they can fill these good high-paying jobs right here at home.

Certainly one of the pillars of my Main Street Jobs Agenda is that of STEM education. If we can prepare our students and those who are looking for work, we can help empower these people to find good-paying jobs and keep our manufacturing and innovation right here at home.

The College of Lake County, a college in my district, has teamed up with local manufacturers to help provide education, education that is necessary in the STEM fields for those who are unemployed or wanting to pursue a manufacturing career.

I am pleased to say that one of the local manufacturers actually went to the College of Lake County and said we're actually pulling students from Iowa and Ohio, is there any way you might be able to offer courses here at the College of Lake County so that we could start hiring people locally to fill these jobs. They were all too happy to oblige.

I recently held a STEM field trip where I took interested students from high schools all across the 10th District to different high-tech organizations in the region. These students learn how they can apply their education firsthand and pursue advanced careers in this field.

Just last week, I hosted the first-ever Manufacturing and Education Summit to bridge the gap between educators and manufacturers. We had folks from high schools and colleges. We had manufacturers there trying to say what it was that they needed, what were they looking for in students who were going to be graduating from either high school or college. This is exactly what we need to be doing right now.

One of the success stories of bridging the gap between education and manufacturing is that of Wheeling High School principal Dr. Laz Lopez. He has worked with local businesses to find out what the actual needs are in the community and offering students options in pursuing a STEM education.

Today, Dr. Lopez has been recognized as starting one of the most successful STEM high schools in our country. Just this last Friday, I joined him and other STEM students from various high schools around the area while they competed in a STEM competition, focusing on nanotechnology and high-powered computing. These are extraordinarily bright students who are better prepared for the 21st-century workforce.

STEM education is and should be a bipartisan idea. I believe that this is an area of common ground and that we should be promoting local efforts all across our Nation to help manufacturers fill open jobs and better prepare our emerging workforce for 21st-century careers. We must not stand idly by and hope that this happens. Rather, we must be proactive and work to spur our local economy by demonstrating the success of STEM education.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is one way we can help spur our economy to get our country back to work. I would encourage my colleagues to get involved in their local schools and communities, local colleges, to find out more on how they can better prepare students for a career in the 21st century through STEM education.

It was not too long ago that John Kennedy gave us a charge to bring a man to the Moon and safely back to this Earth, spurring on STEM education. We have to do it again today. We have to make sure that we have that pipeline of students to be able to make jobs right here at home.

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Chicagoland region hit a record--a record high for gas prices. Gas is $4.51 a gallon in the 10th District of Illinois and is about $4.67 in the city of Chicago. At a time when family budgets are stretched to their limits, rising gas prices are contributing to many things, including that of rising food prices and skyrocketing bills at the pump.

My energy plan includes investing in domestic energy and in implementing an all-of-the-above approach because these are bipartisan ideas that we can and should support. Not only will this help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it will help create jobs right here at home and lower the cost of energy for small businesses and families across the country.

We must continue to explore environmentally friendly forms of energy while utilizing the resources we have here at home. Let's come together on this important issue so that hardworking taxpayers and hardworking families can be assured that we are listening and are putting their concerns above political rhetoric.

I certainly thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this. I also want to take the opportunity to thank my friend, Paul Ryan, for his work on the budget which I think is so critical. As we look at budgets right now, there are not so many of them over in the United States Senate, and when I think about running a business or the families across the country that need to put together a budget, I think it's wrong that the United States Government doesn't have one.

Mr. Chairman, my children were on the floor today. They were here in Washington, D.C.; and when I think about why I came to Washington, D.C., it's because of them, about the American Dream for my children, about providing a country that's better off for them.

We've got $15.5 trillion in debt; we borrow 42 cents of every single dollar. It's time that we put people before politics and progress before partisanship so that we can get something done. It's about providing solutions for our country so that we can come together, have a document that we can use to be able to move the country forward. We need to cut back and rein in spending. We need to be able to provide that certainty for American businesses that are out there.

This is our time. We, Republicans and Democrats alike, have to put the party bickering aside. We have to focus on the solutions that are out there. Am I going to like all of it? The answer is, no, I'm not going to like all of it.

Mr. Chairman, I certainly thank Mr. LaTourette.

The point is simply this, Mr. Chairman, for my children and yours, for the children of the next generation, the time is now. We have to stand up, we have to put together a budget, we have to do so, and we have to find the common ground and move forward. We have to lower our corporate tax rates so that we can be more competitive in the global marketplace. This is our time. I'm asking everyone for a ``yes'' vote on the LaTourette-Cooper amendment.

I thank my colleague from Tennessee for his leadership and my colleague from Ohio, as well.

I certainly want to thank the chairman for yielding. I think it's important, and I'm delighted to be able to speak here on this bipartisan piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, as part of any jobs agenda, I believe that increased access to capital for small businesses is absolutely critical. That's why I'm a supporter of this bipartisan JOBS Act. When we empower small businesses to grow and expand, we enable them to create jobs and get people back to work.

As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I cosponsored several of the bills that are in this package because they allow small businesses to increase capital formation, spur the growth of small businesses, and pave the way for our small businesses and entrepreneurs to create new jobs.

Two-thirds of all net new jobs, Madam Speaker, are created by small business. We have 29 million small businesses in our Nation. If we can create an environment here in Washington, D.C., that enables half of those businesses to create a single job, think about where we'd be then.

Finding new ways to spur the economy is not a Republican idea or a Democratic priority, but it certainly should be an American priority. As a small business owner, I know that we have to start putting people before politics and progress before partisanship and remain focused on finding solutions for the barriers that stand in the way of entrepreneurs and job creators. I want to encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, pieces of this legislation, aspects of this bill passed this House with over 400 votes. We hear a lot about the gridlock that's going on in Washington, D.C. When we can get legislation that passes this body with over 400 votes, that is wildly bipartisan, things that I believe that the American public are asking for us to do: come up with solutions to the problems that they face; to try to stem the 8.3 percent unemployment, which we know is much larger if we count the underemployed and those that have left the workforce.

We certainly need the Senate to act. It's absolutely critical. And I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, find common ground, and move our country forward.

Madam Speaker, our national debt now exceeds $15.5 trillion. I think it's fair to say that Washington has a spending problem. Republicans and Democrats alike have overspent over the years.

In the past 4 years, Washington has spent over $5 trillion of taxpayer money that we don't have. The degree of how much this actually means to the American public, I think, is incomprehensible. Most people that I talk to just say that's a heck of a lot of money. I talk about the deficit of $1.5 trillion that we spent this last year and they say I just think it's a lot of money. It works out to be about $3.4 million a minute in deficit spending.

But if we take eight zeros off these numbers, to put it in perspective for the American family, I think it gives them a good idea about what their budget would look like. The annual family income would be about $22,280. The money the family would spend in a given year would be $37,080. New debt on the credit card would be $14,800. The outstanding balance, which I think is important, is $155,000, and the total discretionary budget cuts that were put in for 2011 for this family, $398.

Madam Speaker, that's what we're facing. We must pass a budget that takes the step necessary to rein in the out-of-control spending that our country has today and put ourselves on a path to economic prosperity. We have no other choice.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 120, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''