Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise to salute our veterans and to indicate to all of them that they are truly heroes walking amongst us.

I want to thank all of the armed servicemen and -women for their selfless dedication to the protection of this Nation every day, putting on the uniform unselfishly and standing in the gap.

I think it is also important to note the many families who are also a part of this freedom.

And let me acknowledge the 21.6 million brave men and women who are veterans of our Nation's military service: 30,000 of them in the 18th Congressional District.

But I want to take a moment--and I will be speaking about this tomorrow and on Saturday, Veterans Day, about POWs and MIAs. I want to salute Congressman Sam Johnson from Texas and Senator John McCain from Arizona, both of whom suffered injuries, whom you can even see now in the United States Congress, during their time as a POW. I honor them, and I hold them in high esteem.

And to the families of the MIAs from all of the wars, I want to say to them that we continue to pray for your loved ones.

As a sponsor of eight pieces of legislation and 35 pieces of legislation that I cosponsored to make lives of veterans better, today I salute you and say happy Veterans Day. God bless all of you, and God bless this free Nation, the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and risked their lives to defend our freedoms and way of life.

Veterans are truly heroes walking among us.

I want to thank all of our armed serviceman and women for their selfless dedication to our protection every day.

Each Veterans Day, Americans come together to remember those who have served our country around the world in the name of freedom and democracy.

The debt that we owe to them is immeasurable.

Their sacrifices, and those of their families, are freedom's foundation.

Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, Coast Guardsmen and women, and the National Guard and their families, our country would not live so freely.

I offer my deepest gratitude to our nation's troops and reservists, their families, and the 21.6 million veterans, including 29,126 here in the 18th Congressional District.

21.6 million brave men and women are veterans of our nation's military service.

Nine in ten military families believe the public does not understand or appreciate their sacrifices.

We use Veterans Day to show our veterans and military families how important they are to us and how grateful we are for them each and every day.

November is National Caregivers Month to show our caregivers how grateful we are for them.

It is only fitting that we thank those caregivers who serve our military today.

5.5 million spouses, parents, children, and other loved ones care for our wounded warriors and 15 percent of caregivers spend 40 plus hours a week providing care for our military families.

As a Senior Member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, I care deeply about our veterans.

In this Congress alone, I have sponsored 8 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 35 pieces of legislation that will positively benefit our veterans and their families.

On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind.

As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.

This day and every day, let us honor their service with actions that fulfill our commitment to our troops, their families, and our veterans--and that are worthy of our grateful nation.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I got buoyed in a little dance step in my walk, not because of partisan politics, but because people in America voted. They voted throughout the Nation and they made sizeable changes, not even on partisan politics, but what I love, about principles. Principles of rejecting divisiveness, the misinterpretation of the Constitution, and the wonderment of this Nation is what these voters stood for.

I also believe they recognize that they wanted direction that really worked for them. If we pass the tax bill, they didn't want it to be a tax scam where millions of middle class Americans would pay an increase in taxes or they couldn't deduct their medical expenses or student interest rates.

The vote yesterday was for a new direction, not for any of us to take it for granted, but for us to recognize that it is time now for the American people to lead. I am so grateful for the democracy of this Nation and for the values of the American people. They made a difference yesterday. Thank you for voting.

Mr. Speaker, let me give my greatest appreciation to the gentleman from New York, who will remain at the podium as he has yielded to me, and to thank him for the leadership that he has given to so many issues.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for the leadership work that he took to Puerto Rico that will need housing, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that will need housing. The neighborhoods that he has just mentioned, I am quite familiar with. I know those neighborhoods in New York. I have relatives in New York.

But I also know the neighborhoods in Texas, and I know the public housing developments. I want to join the gentleman in that terminology because, remember, it used to be the projects. But we know that public housing developments are where people live. It is where they raise their children. When you have a home in the public housing development, it needs maintenance, elevators, window reinforcement, hallways cleaned up, painting done, and, yes, debugging, and brick-by-brick repair, or it may be a new addition.

All of my life, I have met my classmates in public, elementary, and middle school, and they live in the housing developments, many of whom I could go back to, and they are doctors, lawyers, teachers, business persons, and Congresspersons. They are upstanding citizens. But we also know that they have said to us that you have allowed these public housing developments to deteriorate so that children of families who live there now may be subjected to violence and drugs, and it is not their home.

Let me tell you why we are in that predicament.

Right now, as we speak, they are marking up the tax scam. If you look at this pie, you will see that it will be impossible for any moneys to go for public housing or affordable housing because 80 percent of the tax cuts will go to the 1 percent. That means that we will lose $1.5 trillion in revenue.

What Congressman Espaillat is talking about is that we will be losing and will not be able--as the budget that was passed evidences with $2.4 trillion in cuts in domestic discretionary spending, it will not allow the work that we are calling for today: reconstruction, new build, rehab, repairs, and adding to the housing stock in America for our people who are in need.

Let me show you this. It may not be exactly in our neighborhood, but it shows you what happened in a disaster. This is a house, or a place where people would be in a house. I could go to Texas after Hurricane Harvey and find houses in this condition. I could go to Port Aransas or Rockport. I can go to Third Ward or northeast Houston.

In our community, Mr. Speaker, we have what we call blue tarps after the hurricane, and they stay on because people are in houses that they cannot afford to repair. They need affordable housing.

Do you know what? They want to live in historic neighborhoods like Fifth Ward where Barbara Jordan grew up, Sunnyside, South Park, Third Ward, Acres Homes, northeast Houston, and Independence Heights, but they need housing.

So I join the gentleman in saying that this is a travesty. This is a disgrace. We need funding for affordable housing. Hurricane Harvey has made it even more disastrous because there are people in housing now right in my district--and I hear you in northeast Houston where the walls are pulled out and the mold is on because they need affordable housing. They need Section 8 vouchers and clean housing.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you about the affordable housing and public housing. I have lost 112 units through Hurricane Harvey in condemnation, and I may lose more out of a total of 201 in one particular two-story area of Clayton Homes; and then 2100 Memorial, we are fighting to not lose the housing that is needed there.

So I want to join and thank the Congressional Progressive Caucus and thank the gentleman for leading this Special Order. I want to make sure that I keep this picture up for America to know that unless we fight against these dastardly cuts, whether you are in a disaster area and have lost your home; or whether you are in a city like New York and are facing the deterioration of public housing, or the elimination of units taken offline; or whether you are in Houston, Texas, under the Houston Housing Authority and you are losing units, the cry is for the families of America.

Who do we care for? Some of them are families of Active-Duty soldiers. Some of them are families of veterans. So I would join the gentleman in crafting and working on stopping the bleeding of losing affordable housing for the many millions of Americans who need it and welcome it, and for the millions of children who deserve it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I thank him again for his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many things that the American people have to deal with, and I think you have heard many of us offer our sympathy and concern for the tragedy that happened in my State, and, clearly, one more thing that we don't want to deal with, the shooting of those people of faith praying on their day of worship, which is what happened in Texas on Sunday.

So, today, I am introducing H.R. 4268, the Gun Safety Not Sorry Act of 2017, that addresses a 7-day waiting period for purchases or sales of semiautomatic firearms, silencers, armor-piercing ammunition, or large capacity ammunition magazines for purchase or transfer.

And let me respond to those who offered mental health. The data shows that Americans have more mental health problems than do people in other countries with fewer mass shootings. But it shows that it is estimated that only 4 percent of American gun deaths could be attributed to mental health issues.

Let's not keep giving excuses or blaming people with mental health issues. I can assure you that is not the problem. As the article in the New York Times says, it is all about guns--guns, guns, guns.

I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 4268.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I couldn't have had a wager with a greater Member of Congress. I love his orange tie. I love him looking at this sign: Beat LA.

All of those players--LA Dodgers and the Houston Astros--had great character and great sportsmanship.

I love the sandwiches. Let's do it again. Let's see them in 2018 in the World Series.

Go Astros.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, November 3, 2017, I was unavoidably detained attending to representation duties in my district and was not present for rollcall votes 605 and 606.

I would like to have reflected in the Record, on rollcall vote 605, I would have voted ``yes'' on the motion to recommit with instructions for H.R. 3922, the Community Health and Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation Act of 2017.

On rollcall vote 606, I would have voted ``no'' on the passage of H.R. 3922, the Community Health and Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation Act of 2017.

On Friday, November 3, 2017, I was unavoidably detained attending to representation duties and was not present for Roll Call Votes 605 and 606. I ask the record to reflect that had I been present I would have voted as follows:

1. On rollcall 605, I would have voted ``yes.'' (On the Motion to Recommit with Instructions for H.R. 3922, the Community Health and Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation Act of 2017).

2. On Rollcall 606, I would have voted ``no.'' (On Passage of H.R. 3922, the Community Health and Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation Act of 2017).

Mr. Speaker, I am joining the Congressional Black Caucus to ask for an extension of the temporary protective status for Haitians.

I am absolutely appalled that this government would deny this extension and only allow it for 6 months. Apparently, they are not aware of the scarcity of food in Haiti and the cholera epidemic. All of these challenges are continuing since 2011.

Along with the Haitians, I understand that they have now taken away TPS from 300,000 Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Salvadorans as well. This is an outrageous act, and it is important for them to act immediately.

I also stand against the scam tax plan. The scam tax plan would, in fact, take away opportunities for Americans to have higher education, build the deficit way beyond one's recognition, would not create jobs, would send jobs overseas, would allow for 80 percent of the benefits to go to the top 1 percent, and, frankly, would provide no benefits for middle class, hardworking Americans.

This plan is not tax cuts and jobs; it is a tax scam with no jobs.

I ask my colleagues to vote against this tax bill, and I ask this administration to do what is right and provide humanitarian relief and extend the TPS for Haitians and all others similarly situated for 18 months.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committee, I rise today to express my strong objection to the announced intention by the Trump Administration not to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, Honduras, and El Salvador.

On May 24, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) re- designated Haiti for 6 months of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), rather than the full 18 months requested by the Government of Haiti, Haiti experts in the United States, and the Congressional Black Caucus, among others.

DHS' decision did not reflect the realities on the ground in Haiti, which include Haiti's food scarcity crisis, cholera epidemic, and the ongoing challenges posed by the unprecedented 2010 earthquake.

In a letter sent this past Friday, November 3, 2017, the Congressional Black Caucus urged DHS, once again, to fully extend Haiti's TPS designation for 18 months by the November 23, 2017 deadline in light of the aforementioned conditions in Haiti, as well as the exarcerbated damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

In a report published in October 2017, the highly regarded Global Justice Clinic concluded that conditions justifying Haiti's qualification for TPS in 2011 remain as acute today as they were then.

The study also found that 40,000 Haitians uprooted by the 2010 earthquake are officially displaced and that many more likely remain unofficially displaced in dangerously inadequate shelters.

The cholera epidemic that was tragically caused by international efforts to aid Haiti in 2010 more than doubled following Hurricane Matthew and is expected to directly affect more than 30,000 people by the end of 2017.

Hurricane Matthew also exacerbated the food insecurity crisis in Haiti, placing 2.4 million Haitians--22 percent of its population--in the grips of an acute food insecurity crisis.

The Haitian government has been working diligently for years to improve its economy, public health conditions, and infrastructure in coordination with the United States government and international community.

In order to accomplish this task, Haiti relies in large part on remittances that its citizens receive from TPS beneficiaries in the United States.

Therefore, the negative consequences of terminating Haiti's TPS designation would be twofold.

It would end essential remittances that significantly contribute to Haiti's recovery while also forcing the poorest republic in the Western Hemisphere to absorb the cost of reintegrating thousands of citizens all at once.

Such actions could be catastrophic to Haiti's recovery efforts and run counter to Congressional efforts to improve American relations in the region through the recently-passed United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act (Public Law 114-291).

Finally, it is essential to note that Haitian TPS beneficiaries directly contribute to the United States.

They pay taxes, spend money, contribute to Social Security and Medicare, and help promote American prosperity in numerous sectors, such as the restaurant and food service, construction, and hospitality industries.

About 30 percent of TPS beneficiaries are homeowners, stimulating the real estate industry and contributing to the local property tax base.

Also, one in nine TPS beneficiaries in the labor force is self- employed, meaning they not only create jobs for themselves, but also create jobs for others.

A recent report found that the expiration of Haitian TPS would cost the United States economy more $2.8 billion over a decade in lost gross domestic product.

Mr. Speaker, we need to be both smart and compassionate when it comes to extending TPS for Haiti.

The compassionate thing to do is extend TPS for Haiti.

But just as important, extending TPS for Haiti is the smart thing to do because it strengthens the American economy and advances the national interests of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I also join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in drawing attention to the Republican Leadership's latest plan to hurt the American taxpayers, especially those who did not support the President during the election.

The Republican tax cut would result in the biggest increase in the deficit by any President in the history of the United States, likely growing it by the annual sum of $1 trillion from now on.

Some may wonder if the President would stoop to punishing people because they did not vote for him--I would point them to the Republican Tax Proposal and say the answer is found in the 429 pages of H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Americans who send their children to private school will be able to do so--at the expense of taxpayers who send their children to public schools courtesy of the Republican tax cut plan.

The Republican Tax plan amends Title 26 of the United States Code Sec. 529 that deals with Qualified tuition programs.

The Code was intended to encourage persons to attain higher education and provide incentives for persons who pursue doctorates.

Most people know that going back to school to obtain a degree is a difficult choice to make with full time jobs and family obligations.

Having a degree can substantially increase income and provide choices that would otherwise be unattainable to the recipient of advanced degrees.

The benefit to the economy and our nation's leadership in the sciences rests with the number of people who attain undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The Republicans have gone into this section 529 of the tax code and extended the tax write-offs to those sending their children to K-12 private schools.

Other ways the Republican Tax bill hurts taxpayers who pursue college educations for themselves or their children.

Repeal of Lifetime Learning Credit;

Repeal of the Student Loan Interest Deduction;

Repeal of the qualified tuition reduction;

Repeal of educational assistance program;

Termination of private activity bonds; and,

Creation of a new excise tax on endowments at private colleges and universities.

The Republican leadership of the House is also causing problems for private sector investments in Colleges and Universities.

The tax bill threatens tax write offs for donations to colleges and universities and will limit tax credits associated with university- industry partnerships.

The Republicans claim that their Child Tax Credit proposal would help working families, but it simply does not do enough.

The House tax plan proposes a nonrefundable $600 increase in the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and would make more families earning six figures eligible to claim the CTC.

This proposal wouldn't help the women who need it most.

In addition, whatever benefits this CTC proposal would provide pales in comparison to those that would be received by the wealthy and corporations under this tax plan.

The bill cuts taxes for major corporations who already pay far less than their fair share.

Republicans claim that economic growth will more than pay for the lost revenue but we've tried this before.

When trickle-down economics fails again and this bill explodes the nation's deficit, Republicans will call for huge spending cuts to critical programs that hardworking Americans depend on to make ends meet.

The plan's negative impact on the Lone Star state would be particularly hard.

Independent analyses show the Republican plan would actually raise taxes on about 1.5 million Texas households, or 12.4 percent of households next year.

On average, families earning up to $86,000 annually would see a $794.00 increase in their tax liability, a significant burden on families struggling to afford child care and balance their checkbook.

According to the IRS, 23 percent of tax filers, or 2.8 million Texas households, deduct their state and local taxes with an average deduction of $7,823 in 2015.

The Ryan-McConnell plan eliminates this deduction, which would lower home values and put pressure on states and towns to collect revenues they depend on to fund schools, roads, and vital public resources.

Placing further strains on middle-class Texans is the elimination of the personal exemption, which deducts $4,050 for each taxpayer and dependent on a return from taxable income.

In 2015, roughly 9.3 million dependent exemptions were claimed in the Lone Star State.

The GOP's reckless and irresponsible tax plan is made all the more obscene by its disproportionate and immoral handouts to the wealthiest few.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, millionaires in Texas, 0.31 percent of filers in 2015 would receive almost 57 percent of the benefits from the tax plan.

Texans deserve a tax plan that puts working and middle class families first, not more deficit-exploding tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

We need bipartisan tax reform that creates jobs, fuels economic growth, and puts more money into the pockets of hard-working American families.

A recent Pew Research Center report found little support for cutting taxes for high-income households, which is defined as more than $250,000 or large businesses and corporations.

In fact, 43 percent favored raising taxes on high-income households and 52 percent said corporate taxes should be raised.

The Republicans persist with their scheme of raising taxes on hard- working middle class families to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

It is reckless to explode our deficit which according to the Tax Policy Center, would skyrocket by $2.4 trillion over the first decade.

The wealthy must pay their fair share, but the GOP tax scheme offers them a free lunch at the expense of those who are most in need of a helping hand.

The power of the purse rests with the House of Representatives and it is our job to make sure that the American People are treated fairly.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on House consideration of H.R. 3922, Championing Healthy Kids Act, which would reauthorize the State Children Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).

As the founder and chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am well aware of the work that went into creating this important program.

I joined with members of the bipartisan Children's Caucus to champion the worthy goals of S-CHIP.

Congress and President Clinton responded to the needs of 10 million children in the United States who lacked health insurance, S-CHIP was created in 1997 to insure children in families with too much income to qualify for Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance.

I voted for the S-CHIP program when it came to the floor for a vote as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

I worked tirelessly along with other members of the House to make sure the S-CHIP program was created.

I voted to extend the life of the program when Congress reauthorized S-CHIP in 2009 under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act and again when it became part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

The program represented a grand bargain that allowed Democrats and Republicans to agree that healthcare for the nation's children was a laudable and achievable goal.

H.R. 3922, Championing Healthy Kids Act, is not a reauthorization of the S-CHIP program it is political theater at its worse.

The leadership of the House is betraying all that this body has done for 20 years to sustain and improve S-CHIP.

The bill before the House is political theater and not real legislating--a partisan attack against Medicare that has no place in a real bill about healthcare for children.

I am a strong supporter of S-CHIP and would vote for that program any day it is brought to the House Floor.

This imposter S-CHIP bill is not worthy to be considered by this body.

The motion to recommit this bill should be supported so that the offensive offsets could be removed so that the bill can be brought back to the full House for consideration.

After weeks of negotiations to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Community Health Centers (CHCs) and other important public health programs, which have always been bipartisan priorities, House Republicans have decided to bring a partisan bill to the Floor.

This bill will only further delay the reauthorization of these programs, many of which expired on September 30th.

The bill passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee at the beginning of October with no Democratic support.

Democrats in Committee instead offered a package that invests in our children and safety net providers, and does not sacrifice the nation's health.

Democrats have made it clear for weeks that the pay-fors in this bill are problematic.

Rather than working toward a bipartisan agreement, Republicans revised their bill to include even steeper cuts to public health programs, in addition to undermining the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The bill includes woefully inadequate funding for Medicaid programs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are facing unprecedented demands on their health care systems following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello last week requested $1.6 billion annually to deal with the state's underfunded Medicaid program that is expected to be further strained by the short- and long-term health implications of the natural disaster.

The approximately $1 billion over two years in Puerto Rico Medicaid funding included in the Republican bill is not only insufficient, but it would also require Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to match those dollars at a time of increased demand and revenue collapse in both territories, exacerbating delays in recovery.

This bill also seeks to cut $6.35 billion to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF).

The Prevention Fund was created by the ACA to make national investments in prevention and public health, to improve health outcomes, to enhance health care quality, and reduce health care costs.

It has been used to increase awareness of and access to preventive health services, such as cancer screenings, tobacco cessation and childhood vaccines--as well as concentrating on preventing chronic disease to help more Americans stay healthy.

Cutting these funds will have a devastating impact on public health initiatives at the federal, state and local levels.

Republicans are also shortening the grace period for missed premium payments from ninety days to thirty, which would result in up to 688,000 people losing health coverage.

House Republicans are insisting that in order to provide some of our most vulnerable Americans with coverage, it must be paid for by cancelling the health insurance of other Americans after a single payment is missed.

While Republicans are pushing for tax cuts for the wealthy that explode the deficit, when it comes to health coverage for children and low-income Americans, Republicans are insisting that it be paid for at the cost of weakening our health care system and pushing other Americans off health insurance.

States have begun to use emergency funding, cut benefits, and will soon begin sending disenrollment notices to thousands of families if CHIP is not reauthorized.

Republicans' decision to advance a partisan bill rather than a compromise has very real consequences for families across the country.

In 2016, 35,626,329 children in the United States had healthcare coverage under S-CHIP or the Medicaid Child Program.

In 2016, although the state of Texas had 38 percent of our children covered under the S-CHIP program, there were still 9.2 percent children without health insurance coverage.

Paying for this package by weakening health care in America:

Shortening the grace period for missed premium payments will cause up to 688,000 Americans to lose their health coverage.

Cutting $6.35 billion from the Prevention Fund will have a devastating impact on public health initiatives at the federal, state and local levels.

Requiring Medicare means testing of 100 percent for beneficiaries making over $500,000. This provision will take away a benefit American seniors have paid into their entire lives.

These offsets are even more egregious since they are being considered just one week after House Republicans began the process of passing tax cuts for the wealthy that is not offset and will add $1.5 trillion to the deficit.

Instead of reauthorizing these programs, House Republicans wasted time attempting to repeal the ACA.

There are better ways to pay for S-CHIP that do not put the guarantee of Medicare at risk our nation's seniors.

1. Reduce tax expenditures for the top 1 percent of income-earners-- Our current tax code imposes higher tax rates on income earned through hard work while providing preferential treatment to unearned financial gains and allowing billions of dollars of stock profits and other capital gains to pass tax-free to heirs of multi-million-dollar fortunes. Reducing the benefit of these tax expenditures would help rebalance the tax code so that it stops favoring wealth over work. CBO has determined that 17 percent of the benefits of major ``tax expenditures'' go to households in the top one percent of income earners at a cost of more than $1.5 trillion over ten years. We could reduce this benefit to pay for needed national priorities.

2. Cancel the tax break for corporate jets--Repeal tax breaks such as those for corporate jets, which are allowed a faster depreciation

schedule than passenger and freight aircraft. Based on past Joint Committee on Taxation estimates, repealing the tax break on corporate jets alone would raise $3 billion over ten years.

3. Restrict deductions for egregious CEO bonuses when employees don't get a raise--Repeal the exemption to the $1 million limit on compensation for CEOs and other specified corporate employees that a publicly traded corporation can deduct as a business expense, unless their workers are getting paycheck increases that reflect increases in worker productivity and the cost of living. Based on Joint Committee on Taxation estimates, just limiting the deductibility of excessive CEO compensation would raise $12 billion over ten years.

4. Close loopholes in the U.S. international corporate tax system that encourage companies to invert, and ship jobs and profits overseas--Prevent U.S. companies from ``inverting'' and pretending that they are based in other countries purely to reduce their taxes. Enact proposals that would limit the ability of corporations to reap substantial tax benefits by shifting operations, capital, intellectual property, and jobs overseas for tax purposes or to shelter their profits from U.S. taxation in foreign tax havens. Based on estimates of past proposals, over $500 billion over ten years could be raised under such proposals.

5. Close the ``carried interest'' loophole taxing hedge fund managers' compensation at lower capital gains rates--End the loophole which allows certain investment managers at hedge funds and private equity firms to pay capital gains tax rates (up to a maximum of just 20 percent) on income received as compensation for services they provided, rather than ordinary income tax rates up to 39.6 percent that all other working Americans pay on the compensation they receive for their labor. Past estimates show closing this loophole would raise over $19 billion over ten years.

States have begun to use emergency funding, cut benefits, and will soon begin sending disenrollment notices to thousands of families if CHIP is not reauthorized.

It is time for the House Leadership to stop playing politics with health insurance coverage for our nation's most vulnerable children and pass a clean S-CHIP bill.

Mr. Speaker, good morning, America. What about those Houston Astros?

As Representative of the 18th Congressional District in the great city of Houston, let me thank the Houston Astros for taking a Harvey- worn community to the highest lengths. We had never won the World Series.

Minute Maid is a fine stadium and the L.A. Dodgers were a very fine competitor. Let me thank all of them for the great sportsmanship, the character that was shown.

It shows what America is about. You can be two great adversaries on the battlefield of baseball, but you can still be great friends and colleagues and part of the great American pastime.

Thank you to the mayor, the county government, the State government, all of those fans out there. Thank you to George Springer and Altuve, who caught the final out. Oh, I was so excited.

Congratulations to those southern boys, the boys of the south, the boys of the southwest. They did a great job. Yes, we are the World Series champion, the American League champion. Go, Houston Astros.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your kindness. I am so excited. They are great young men.

Madam Speaker, let me make a proclamation here on the floor of the House, and that is that all the sweat and tears of the Democratic Members, although we offered the opportunity to our Republican friends to do something about healthcare, all of our sweat and tears proved to be a successful response to the 25 million uninsured Americans.

No matter how much our friends on the other side of the aisle try to nitpick and pick away at a successful affordable care program, they simply cannot do it.

To the American people: It worked. It worked because we included and supported healthcare for children with CHIP. It worked because we supported and expanded community health centers. It worked because we had IPAB, which is not going to be in effect until 2021 and not to do anything but preserve Medicare.

On the other hand, today we have a pronounced tax bill that will jeopardize the Medicare trust fund, will take millions and billions away from Medicaid. The last hammer in the coffin will be the destruction of the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health clinics.

Let me be very clear: I happen to be in an area in the southern part of Texas, from Corpus to Port Aransas, to Rockport, to Beaumont, to Houston and Harris County, where Hurricane Harvey devastated our community.

Healthcare is crucial. Many of our hospitals were under water. People were not able to access healthcare. The community health clinics are the best neighborhood source of healthcare.

Madam Speaker, the legislation by my friends is to destroy Peter to prop up Paul, rather than take the Pallone amendment-- which I want to thank Ms. Slaughter for offering in the Rules Committee--to provide real funding and that would find a way to effectively support the Children's Health Insurance Program and, of course, the community health clinics, which, in the State of Texas, has been a lifesaver for all of our communities.

We were the poster child for having the largest number--a quarter of our people in Texas--who did not have health insurance. With the Affordable Care Act and, of course, the community health clinics, we were able to do it.

Let me finish by saying it was a bipartisan effort in 1997, with a balanced budget, that we created the Children's Health Insurance Program. It has been an effective, strong armor, if you will, around children's health.

Everywhere I go, such as the Texas Children's Hospital, they are raving about the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. Today or tomorrow, we are going to break that system by taking money from somewhere else to destroy another healthcare program and putting in this program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 849, the so-called ``Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017,'' which repeals the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), that was established under the ACA in response to high rates of growth in Medicare expenditures and charged with developing proposals to ``reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.''

I opposed this bill when it came to the floor as H.R. 1190 in the 114th Congress and I oppose it now because by repealing IPAB, the bill would eliminate an important safeguard that will help reduce the rate of Medicare cost growth responsibly while protecting Medicare beneficiaries.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 849 is nothing but another attempt, in a long line of House Republican efforts to undermine both the Medicare guarantee and the Affordable Care Act.

Repealing IPAB would cost over $17.5 billion during the course of a ten year period according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Mr. Speaker, Republicans do not even make an attempt to find an offset for this $17.5 billion increase to the deficit resulting from repeal of the IPAB, while at the same time they plan to bring to the floor a partisan bill to reauthorize CHIP, Community Health Centers, and other public health extenders by cutting Medicare and slashing funding for programs relied upon by Medicaid recipients, low and middle income families with Affordable Care Act health coverage.

After more than seven years under the Affordable Care Act, more than 20 million Americans have gained health coverage; up to 129 million people who could have otherwise been denied or who faced discrimination now have access to coverage.

Mr. Speaker, given the real challenges facing our nation, it is irresponsible for the Republican majority to continue bringing to the floor unpaid for bills that would do serious harm to millions of Americans if they were to be enacted.

House Republicans have tried more than 65 times to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which has enabled more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans to know the peace of mind that comes from having access to affordable, accessible, high quality health care.

Their batting average to date is .000; they have struck out every time because the American people appreciate and strongly support the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to look at the facts and abandon this misguided effort to undermine the ACA and impose significant negative impacts on Americans currently insured.

The Independent Payment Advisory Board is to recommend to Congress policies that reduce the rate of Medicare growth and help Medicare provide better care at lower costs.

IPAB membership by law is to be made up of 15 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and been comprised of the non-partisan CBO, economists, and health policy experts as contributing to Medicare's long-term sustainability.

Mr. Speaker, the IPAB is already prohibited from recommending changes to Medicare that ration health care, restrict benefits, modify eligibility, increase cost sharing, or raise premiums or revenues.

Under current law, the Congress retains the authority to modify, reject, or enhance IPAB recommendations to strengthen Medicare, and IPAB recommendations would take effect only if the Congress does not act to slow Medicare cost growth.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me point out to our friends across the aisle that according to the CMS actuary, IPAB will not be triggered until 2021, so the timing of today's repeal is premature and politically motivated.

IPAB was enacted as a backstop to the other cost saving and quality improvement efforts in ACA, such as accountable care organizations, patient-centered care models like medical homes, programs that pay for quality not quantity, and value based purchasing.

Because of the ACA and these programs, Medicare spending growth has slowed and Medicare's solvency has been extended.

Increasing the deficit by $17.5 billion as a result of repealing the IPAB would is fiscally irresponsible, especially now that Republicans have introduced a tax package that will saddle our country with $1.5 trillion of debt in order to give tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.

Mr. Speaker, despite the Supreme Court's upholding of the law's constitutionality, the reelection of President Obama, and Speaker Ryan's admission that ``Obamacare is the law of the land,'' Republicans refuse to stop wasting time and taxpayer money in their effort to take away the patient protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Speaker, I call upon House Republican leaders to stop wasting our time trying to take away healthcare protections that Americans depend on and to start addressing pressing national priorities.

And they should start with working with Democrats on a bipartisan and responsible plan to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (``SCHIP'') which insures more than 9 million kids and fully funding the relief efforts needed to help American communities recover from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting against H.R. 849.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is appropriate this morning to rise to share my passion and my love for this country, but also my frustration. I will use this graphic to set the tone for my remarks this morning.

Although the Republican tax proposal will be introduced tomorrow, I believe, if you look at this graphic and the headlines, it says that 80 percent of the tax relief will not go to you and you and you and to the American people, or maybe even staff and Members who are here who are Americans, salaried individuals; it will go, 80 percent, to the 1 percent of Americans.

Now, I am not going to talk about the tax legislation this morning. I want this to be a symbol of the wrongness of the direction of this country and the leader who leads this Nation. We are going down a wrong path.

Many of us thought we had come together in unity, we had overcome the divisiveness because we were different,

we had recognized the beauty of all of us, rural citizens in West Virginia, Ohioans in the mountains of the Appalachian area, Midwesterners, Southerners, Northerners, Westerners, Far West, immigrant and nonimmigrant. But, unfortunately, in 2016, although some lost and some won, as we moved toward a new administration with the hopes and dreams of those who had voted, we looked for the unifying of what I know that all Presidents have done.

It has been a privilege of mine to work with President William Jefferson Clinton, who didn't have an easy time but sought to unify the country. I worked with President George W. Bush, who did not have an easy time or an unconflicted election but sought to unify the country, in fact, was an enthusiastic signer of the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act; and President Barack Obama, who rode in on a sense of hope and unity. That is the task of a President.

In the midst of this, again, having been appointed to the Homeland Security Committee in the ashes of 9/11, having gone to Ground Zero while our brave first responders were recovering, were still looking for remains--it will penetrate my soul forever--unity was what we sought in spite of our difference of opinions.

So I rise to thank the first responders and the quick response of the NYPD and Fire Department on yesterday's terrorist act. Yes, it was a terrorist act. We live in a different world. But rather than rise to the occasion, this morning the words come from the White House:

The terrorist came into our country through what is called

the ``Diversity Visa Lottery Program,'' a Chuck Schumer

beauty. I want merit-based immigration.

You tell me how many immigrants, how many Italians, how many Irish, and how many of those who escaped the Holocaust, who came before that from the Jewish community, how many of them would have met any test of merit. Did the slaves who were brought here as slaves meet a test of merit? All of these individuals helped build this Nation.

And on the morning when people are mourning of their lost loved ones, rather than bringing the country together, there is a politicizing, calling out names of Members. We are working on merit based.

Does he even understand what merit based is? Absolutely not.

Taking away from the conspiracy charge against Manafort, taking away from the conspicuous collusion with Russians that George Papadopoulos has indicated, oh, he is worrying about him lying. But I am worrying about him telling the truth, and he is. They wanted dirty stuff on the opponent; they wanted to work with Russia; they wanted to work with Putin; and they wanted to conspire against the United States of America--as well as the misunderstanding or the devastating comments of his chief of staff about the civil war and NFL players being called inmates in a prison.

Mr. Speaker, I am fed up with dividing this Nation. We are going in the wrong direction, and I am not going to accept it. I am taking a knee with all of those who believe in justice and what is right. I did it before. I do it now. I take a knee.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained with constituents when rollcall vote No. 592 was cast on the floor of the House, the motion on ordering the previous question on the rule. If I had been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, before I start, I would like to express my sympathy and concern for those who lost their life in New York through an alleged terrorist act and to pray for their families.

Let me also make mention of the fact, Mr. Speaker, that tomorrow, November 1, begins the open enrollment. We know that this President has tried to sabotage the Affordable Care Act; but, in fact, you have until December 15. We believe that more than 12 million people will register.

This is a very important opportunity because, many times in the past, under the previous affordable healthcare structure, you wouldn't have this time to apply. But the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, and we should extend that law for everyone to be able to enroll.

Finally, let me thank the Texans for taking a knee in recognition of opposing language where football players were called inmates in a prison. I, frankly, believe I wanted to come to the floor to make that point. Later in the week, I will take a knee on this floor to acknowledge them.

Finally, I would like to indicate that I hope that there will be an apology coming from General Kelly for Congresswoman Wilson.

Finally, I want to be able to say something good, which is, Go Astros, the greatest team in the world. Go Astros.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, November 1, 2017 marks the beginning of the fifth ``Open Enrollment Season'' for the Affordable Care Act.

During open enrollment people can sign up for health insurance coverage for 2018.

Open season ends on December 15, 2017, so I encourage all Americans to act without delay to ensure that they and their loved ones are covered.

More than 12 million people nationwide have selected individual healthcare plans through federal and state marketplaces.

If you held individual or family health insurance, and we all do, now is the time to sign-up.

Under the Affordable Care Act--more commonly known as ``Obamacare''-- you can sign up for health insurance on your state's health insurance exchange or individual marketplace but only during an annual open enrollment period that this year starts November 1 and will end on December 15.

The only other times you may purchase health insurance is following a ``qualifying life event,'' such as getting married or divorced or having a baby.

If you buy health insurance through your workplace, your employer will inform you about its open enrollment period.

The following information is for people buying health insurance on their own.

If your are buying health insurance on your own, you have several options for purchasing a policy:

From your state's health insurance marketplace--check Healthcare.gov to find the market place for your state;

Directly from a health insurance company;

From websites like Insure.com that offers health insurance quotes from multiple carriers; or

From a health insurance agent.

We know the Trump Administration is attempting to sabotage enrollment during this year's shortened open enrollment period by cutting back on the outreach needed to inform the public about Open Enrollment Season.

The Center for American Progress estimates that under good-faith management of the marketplaces and the open enrollment process, 2018 marketplace enrollment would hold steady at about 12.2 million plan selections.

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration's repeated actions to destabilize insurance markets, repeal the ACA, and undermine open enrollment, threaten this progress and are designed to depress enrollment in 2018.

The President is creating uncertainty in the nation's health insurance marketplaces, which prior to January 20, 2017 were on track for continued growth in the number of people with health insurance.

This weekend, if you have health insurance take time to make sure that your relatives have enrolled.

The most important thing that Americans can do to preserve access to affordable health insurance is to enroll in a health care plan before the December 15, 2017 deadline.