Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6328, the ``Jamie Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act,'' which Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to transfer unclaimed clothing recovered at airport security checkpoints to local veterans organizations or other local charitable organizations for distribution to homeless or needy veterans and their families. Moreover, it authorizes the Assistant Secretary to enter into agreements with airport authorities for disposing of such clothing.

In my home state of Texas, we have nearly 1.7 million veterans. I represent 18th District in Texas which is home to over 32,000 veterans. Of the 200,000 veterans of military service who live and work in Houston; more than 13,000 are veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Veteran homelessness has been a substantial problem going back to at least the Vietnam era.

An estimated 10-16 percent of our nation's homeless population (between 76,000-136,000) are veterans.

Nearly one in seven homeless adults are veterans, as of * * *

More than 67,000 homeless veterans were counted on a given January night in America last year. More than 4 in 10 homeless veterans were found unsheltered.

Almost half of homeless veterans were African American in 2008 despite the fact that only 11 percent of veterans overall are African American.

1.5 million veterans are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

30.2 percent of veterans ages 18 to 24 were unemployed according to unpublished 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Nearly 1 in 10 veterans with disabilities were not employed in 2010.

According to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a 2007 survey showed that more than one-third of employers were unaware of protections they must provide to servicemembers, and more than half spent less than 2 percent of their recruitment budget on military advertising and/or did not understand the qualifications of military service.

In that same survey more than half of all veterans were unsure of how to professionally network, and nearly three in four felt unprepared to negotiate salary and benefits and/or unable to effectively translate military skills.

More than 968,000 of veterans ages 18 to 64 had been in poverty in the past year in 2010.

More than 33,000 veterans were housed since 2009 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs in permanent, supportive housing with case managers and access to VA health care.

$31 million of SNAP/food stamps funding in 2008 was spent at military commissaries to help feed military members and their families who struggle against hunger.

A veteran lives in one in five households benefiting from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides heating and cooling assistance.

After serving this country and protecting our rights and freedoms, these veterans often sustain debilitating injuries or post-traumatic stress that make readjusting to life in the U.S. an arduous task. It is often difficult for them to find jobs and as they slip further into hopelessness, they become more susceptible to drug abuse and violent acts which can lead to homelessness.

This is a disturbing trend that must end. Surely, in this great nation, we can provide for those who fought to defend us. As our men and women in the armed forces have served us, it is our duty to, in turn, serve them.

H.R. 6328 is a step in the right direction towards finding creative solutions for the basic needs of certain veterans. By using unclaimed clothing that has been left at airports is a wonderful way to help ensure that veterans who have fallen on hard times have access to clothing.

With the epidemic of depression, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in our military, along with the burden of long and repeated deployment during our nation's most recent wars, we must be vigilant about combating the issue of homelessness among our nation's heroes.

Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have remained committed to meeting both the needs of veterans of previous wars, and to those who are now serving. Veterans have kept their promise to serve our nation; they have willingly risked their lives to protect the country we all love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our veterans.

I have introduced and supported legislation that increases medical services to our troops, veterans and their families. I recently introduced a measure that resulted in $500,000 additional funding for PTSD research and treatment. Yet, as we work to improve the physical and mental health of our returning heroes; we must also work to ensure that our service men and women retain their dignity when they return home, and providing them with access to clothes is the least we can do to honor their service. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6328, the ``Clothe a Homeless Hero Act,'' on Suspension.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate H.R. 5997, the ``Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act,'' which amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the use of Urban Area Security Initiative and State Homeland Security Grant Program funding for enhancing medical preparedness, medical surge capacity, and mass prophylaxis capabilities.

Moreover, this would involve the development and maintenance of an initial pharmaceutical stockpile, including medical kits, and diagnostics sufficient to protect first responders, their families, and immediate victims from a chemical or biological event.

As a proud Member of this body and as the Ranking Member on Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee on Transportation, I understand the importance of maintaining an unyielding commitment to keeping the American homeland safe from weapons of mass destruction by increasing our preparedness for dealing with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, whether they originate from individuals, terrorist organizations, and state sponsors of terror, or horrible accidents.

While much has been done to prepare our first responders for a nuclear, chemical or biological incident in the United States, the healthcare system in this country is not fully

prepared to handle the resulting mass casualties that would likely result from such an attack.

Thousands of lives could potentially be saved if our medical personnel are adequately prepared and trained for such an occurrence.

The Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) provides funding to State and local governments to assist in preparing for and responding to mass casualty incidents resulting from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other events.

Using the grants, jurisdictions develop response plans, conduct exercises and training, and acquire medical countermeasures and personal protective equipment for dealing with biological events that occur on a large scale.

As it stands, the MMRS program has not been reauthorized or appropriated funds due to recent budgetary constraints.

MMRS Characteristics include: Integrated medical response system; detailed system response & operations plans; specially trained responders at all levels; specialized response equipment; specialized medical equipment and pharmaceutical cache; enhanced medical transport and treatment capabilities.

MMRS has 12 MMRS Capability Focus Areas, which include the following: Strengthen Medical Surge; strengthen Mass Prophylaxis; strengthen CBRNE Detection, Response, and Decontamination Capabilities; strengthen Interoperable Communication Capabilities; strengthen Information Sharing and Collaboration Capabilities; expand Regional Collaboration; triage and Pre-Hospital Treatment; medical Supplies Management and Distribution; mass Care (Sheltering, Feeding, and Related Services); emergency Public Information and Warning; fatality Management; volunteer Management and Donations.

H.R. 5997 would authorize use of Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) funding toward the enhancement of medical preparedness, medical surgery capacity, and mass prophylaxis capabilities.

This would effectively allow to MMRS program to continue using these funds, which provide important measures such as a pharmaceutical stockpile, medical kits, and diagnostics that will help to protect first responders, their families, and immediate victims from a chemical or biological act of terror or accident.

As Americans, we must ensure that we are adequately prepared for whatever challenges that we face in our Nation; and nowhere is that more true than with the potential for large-scale disasters.

Preparing for large and debilitating disasters has become an inconvenient but necessary facet of modern America, a task that our government has met head on since 9/11. This bill will help to ensure that the resources are there in order to make those preparations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate the Senate Amendment to H.R. 915, the ``Jamie Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act,'' which amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which shall establish units to enhance border security by addressing and reducing border security threats and violence.

More specifically, this Border Enforcement Security Task Force will achieve its goal of border security enhancement by (1) facilitating collaboration among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to execute coordinated activities in furtherance of border security and homeland security; and (2) enhancing information-sharing, including the dissemination of homeland security information among such agencies.

As the Representative for the 18th Congressional District of Texas, I am deeply concerned about spill-over violence along the border between my state and Mexico. The recent increase in drug trafficking-related violence in Mexican cities, such as Juarez and Nuevo Laredo, is cause for concern, particularly in the neighboring U.S. cities of El Paso and Laredo, TX.

In fact, in 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a safety alert to law enforcement officers in the El Paso area warning that drug trafficking organizations and associated gangs may target U.S. law enforcement.

The BEST program is currently administered by DHS, and involves information sharing and law-enforcement operations between personnel from federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law-enforcement agencies to combat criminal activity near the United States borders.

There are currently 34 BEST units.

Since inception in June of 2005, these DHS-led task forces made 10,024 criminal arrests; 6,541 administrative arrests; 5,802 indictments; and 4,999 convictions.

They seized over 88,500 pounds of cocaine; 870,748 pounds of marijuana; 4,669 pounds of methamphetamine; 4,383 pounds of ecstasy; 1,404 pounds of heroin; 3,866 vehicles; 14,243 weapons; 2,920,155 rounds of ammunition; and in excess of $111.8 million in U.S. currency and monetary instruments.

Additionally, BEST units have initiated approximately 8,490 investigations.

Jamie Zapata was a Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent from Brownsville, Texas who was killed in the line of duty on February 15, 2011 while serving on assignment in Mexico for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This bipartisan bill, named in Jamie Zapata's honor, seeks to enhance our nation's abilities to deal with the dangerous activities occurring near our borders and, hopefully, prevent the tragic deaths of more of our agents. These are men and women who put their lives on the line in order to protect our country's interests.

We know that this program works and has provided American citizens with improved border security and greater security throughout the United States.

I urge my colleagues to support the ``Jamie Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act,'' which will ensure that our agents tasked with securing our border, who work under extremely perilous circumstances, are better protected through enhanced information sharing and greater collaboration between agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5913, the ``DHS Accountability Act of 2012,'' which establishes an independent advisory panel in the legislative branch to: (1) comprehensively assess the management structure and capabilities related to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and (2) make recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of DHS management.

Moreover, the advisory panel is tasked with directing the panel to examine: (1) the efficiency and effectiveness of the management structure and capabilities (2) the extent to which unnecessary duplication exists in such management structure and capabilities and how any such duplication negatively affects the mission of protecting the United States; (3) the extent to which management of key homeland security missions is centralized under DHS; (4) options to reduce or eliminate harmful waste and duplication of effort in DHS; and (5) measures to evaluate DHS's progress in reducing and eliminating waste and duplication from its management structure and capabilities.

As the Ranking Member of Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation, I am familiar with the challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the various agencies within the Department work to ensure the safety of all Americans. Like most other agencies, DHS and the agencies within it are facing budget cuts amidst the rising cost of ever present threats.

I want to recognize the outstanding work and progress that this body, in cooperation with the United States Senate and the executive branch, has made in learning from the events of 9/11. Together, we have taken steps toward the implementation of policies that have made our nation more secure from terrorism, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002.

With over 200,000 employees and encompassing numerous agencies and various other components, DHS is the 3rd largest cabinet level department.

There were certain flaws in our security apparatus that failed us on 9/11 which include the lack of information-sharing between agencies charged with determining who should and should not be permitted to enter our borders, as well as friction and difficulties that resulted from some of the overlapping responsibilities of those agencies.

DHS was created to resolve some of those difficulties, and although it has made great strides, more work remains to be done.

The advisory panel created by the H.R. 5913 will be instrumental in assisting Congress and the Department of Homeland Security in achieving missions vital to America while trimming waste and improving its efficiency and efficacy.

It is essential that this Congress work in tandem with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that the nation is protected from threats to our homeland. Because it will help to facilitate this important process, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5913, the ``DHS Accountability Act of 2012.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate H.R. 6025, the ``Mandatory Operational Control Reporting and Performance Measures Act of 2012,'' which provides for annual reports to Congress from the Secretary of Homeland Security on the status of operational control of the international land and maritime borders of the United States, as well as, unlawful entries through those borders.

As a Ranking Member of Homeland Security Committee Transportation Subcommittee, I recognize the essential role that the Committee and this Congress play in securing our borders from terrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration. This goal involves the substantial efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as Congressional creation of effective border policy. I recognize that this bill seeks to provide additional information to Congress that will be helpful to that process going forward.

Section 2 of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to ``take all actions the Secretary determines necessary and appropriate to achieve and maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime border of the United States.'' The section defines operational control to mean ``the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.''

As the Representative for the 18th Congressional District in Houston, Texas, border security and integrity are of paramount importance to both me and my constituents. The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of public and private facilities located just a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. Its services link Houston with 1,053 ports in 203 countries.

The port is ranked first in the United States in foreign waterborne commerce, second in total tonnage, and sixth in the world. It generates about $11 billion annually and provides over 287,000 direct and indirect jobs in Texas. As the port plays such a large role in the US economy it is crucial that we maintain its integrity and security.

H.R. 6025 is designed to gauge the performance of the Department in achieving operational control, so that Congress may provide additional legislation, tools, and resources as necessary.

More specifically, this bill will provide for annual reports on (1) the number of miles of the international land and maritime border between the United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico that are under operational DHS control, cumulatively and by sector; and (2) the estimated number of individuals who unlawfully enter the United States annually, the estimated number of individuals unlawfully present in the United States as of the date of each such report, and the number of individuals unlawfully present in the United States who voluntarily exited the United States in the preceding year.

Border security and immigration enforcement are enormous tasks requiring extensive resources. The Federal Government aims to, and must, work with State and local authorities to share the responsibilities and the common goal of a safe and secure America.

Despite the many examples of successful initiative and cooperative efforts, there are plenty of legitimate concerns that must be taken into account when discussing the best

way to ensure that America's borders are secure. Significant improvements in technology and infrastructure have been made to the efforts the Federal Government is making to improve border security and immigration enforcement. Reports like the one proposed today are important to achieving our long term goals.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose H. Res. 821, the Rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 6429 ``STEM Jobs Act,'' a bill which eliminates the Diversity Visa Program.

Nearly 15 million people, representing about 20 million with family members included, registered late last year for the 2012 Diversity Visa Program under which only 50,000 visa

winners were to be selected via random selection process.

Each year, diversity visa winners make up about 4% of all Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) admissions.

Mr. Speaker, just about 40 minutes or so ago, we were in the midst of a debate concerning STEM, which is something that most Americans have come to now understand as the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.

As a longstanding member on the Subcommittee on Immigration and on Homeland Security, STEM is now a basis for expanding visas to ensure or to give opportunities to young people who are graduating from our research institutions of higher learning who have been born in other countries and to give them the ability to be able to stay here in order to help create jobs and to build this economy. That's a good thing. Yet on November 6, 2012, I think America spoke and said, We're ready to do more and go further.

I voted ``no'' on the rule because I believe we are ready for comprehensive immigration reform, not something that will hurt us, but something that will help us. For those who appreciated the Statue of Liberty that welcomed the poor and the downtrodden, that welcomed the Irish and the Germans and the Italians, we know that comprehensive immigration reform is the right way. This rule, H. Res. 821, is not the right way. So I ask my colleagues to look to comprehensive immigration reform, and I will speak about this bill tomorrow.

I thank the distinguished gentleman. And, of course, who could help but listen to that very potent message. And we are better for the fact that you and the distinguished gentleman from Arizona have come together again to--I call it standing in the gap and reinforcing to individuals who have never walked these Halls.

The thing I want to just reinforce very briefly is how much all of us who have the privilege of walking these august Halls, sometimes on occasion looking at these ornate murals and recognizing the historic features and the history of this body, the largest democracy but the longest democracy, extending democracy in the world, that is the United States of America. And for this place called the House of Representatives, this honored place to be called the people's House is for the very reason that we are the defenders. We are those who will stand in the gap. We will be there when others cannot and when others' voices cannot be heard.

So let me give you a picture of America because, for some reason, if we are not tied to the latest social media or maybe to our favorite cable stations, we can't imagine what happens across America, from California to New York, from the furthest State going to the North to our southern friends, including the great State of Texas.

Every morning, every morning some family, some single mother, some single dad, some mother and father rise at 4:00 or 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. And on some tables, there may be more than one would expect for breakfast; on some tables, there is no breakfast. They rush to prepare for the day's work. They rush sometimes to get their children to schools that are far beyond bus stops. And the reason why I say that is many school districts have even cut out school buses. So that means that these hardworking Americans have to rush and get their children to school. And they go off to jobs that are 8, 10, 12 hours long, where they work all day. And maybe they had someone--a grandmother or someone--pick up the child, but maybe they did not, and, therefore, they have to either have extended public care or wind up picking up those children. But what I will say to you is that they toil and work every day.

So this fiscal deadline--deadline--is very serious to the Progressive Caucus and those of us who really believe that we would not be the patriots that we claim to be if we did not recognize the millions of Americans--with great humor, people were making jokes to the gentleman from Minnesota about the Powerball last night and how many people had tried to sign up for it--not out of greed. When they interviewed people, they were talking about charity and their friends and helping Mama get a better house and helping themselves get a better house.

And something was said in our discussions today that the people who are trying to get into the middle class are the ones that we should be able to say to them, Your desires, the service you have given to your country, the work you do when you get up in those early mornings--some of them are park attendants. Some of them are working in bus barns. They may not even be bus drivers or they may not be conductors. They may be working around. They may be working in the great work that we could not survive, we call it Departments of Sanitation, the same group of men at that time that Martin King went to Memphis for.

And the reason why I call out what it's like every morning before dawn when people get up and go to work is that they don't have time to do social media. They don't know when we are in negotiations about the fiscal deadline, but they're hoping someone is here standing in the gap.

And Social Security is earned. It is earned by these people, whether they're in coal mines, as I said, whether they're sweeping streets, whether they are children who are disabled, whether they are children of the deceased who the only thing that kept them going or is keeping them going is a Social Security death benefit that they got from their deceased parent.

So it is important as we look to what we will be doing is that we understand that it is not those of us in this place that we speak of. And as we speak of the hardworking middle class, we must put into the mix those individuals that keep the lights on, those individuals that keep the streets clean, those individuals that are assisting those who are at home--our nurses, attendants, and aides--those who are working in daycare centers, those persons who, when a fire in my district burned down a daycare center or something occurs, then you can be sure that there are workers who cannot work.

And let me be clear: Since there was a tragedy in my community, I was not speaking of that specific tragedy. I'm talking about if something stops you from working, something happens to your business and there are workers there, those workers are unemployed, but they had paid into Social Security. Which brings me to a couple of other points, and I will yield back to the distinguished gentleman.

It is important that we maintain the extension of unemployment benefits because I'm glad to say that I feel a surge in this economy. Things are getting better. We've had some great Thanksgiving sale days, and people went out even on Thanksgiving Day. Then we had Black Friday and then Cyber Monday. And everybody is telling us that things are on the move.

But it is important to recognize that the country churns if you keep the important safety nets of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. And that must be what we do. And then to add unemployment, unemployment insurance. You always have to say over and over again, the word ``insurance'' means that you've gotten some insurance to get you through a rainy day. It's not a handout. It's a hand up. But it is insurance, and you've earned it because you have worked and you are now unemployed and you are looking for work. So the unemployment insurance is to be something that we need to count as a safety net and one that is of great need.

Now let me finish by trying to, again, reemphasize the importance of bipartisanship. And progressives are those who recognize what a great country this is, and we are progressive by the nature of some of the issues that we support. But we do not have a wall in front of our face and say that we don't believe in bipartisanship or we haven't joined with some of our colleagues to make a difference for America.

I truly believe that every set of policies have, maybe, relevancy as their past, and some policies--and I'm going to add the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act--have an unending life. But when you come to fiscal policy, because the economy churns and it goes in cycles, sometimes we're up, and sometimes we're down.

Tax cuts of the nineties and earlier than the nineties with President Bush, before President Clinton and then thereafter with President Bush who came after President Clinton--sometimes economic policies say it's time for a rest; and those tax cuts, the top 1 and 2 percent, it is time for a rest.

To be able to shore up, to say to every American that you will get a tax cut for $250,000 of your income, which includes 97 percent of small businesses is a reasoned response to the changing economy. The protection of the safety net is a reasoned response to the changing economy. And the recognition of the importance of Social Security, the recognition of the importance of Medicare and Medicaid, and the recognition of the importance that if you're unemployed of extending the unemployment, responds to the people who don't get their news on a regular streaming basis. They don't know

what's going on up here. They're counting on us to stand in the gap and to make a difference in their lives. Some of them are working and some are on assistance, but they're not defined by anything except that they are Americans that love their country.

I hope as we go into 2013 and as we have the privilege of being sworn in again, that we will look at issues like a wealth tax, that we will look at issues that address equalizing the impoverished in this Nation, most of them children. We're not there yet, but I think that we would be even a greater country--we're a great country and the greatest country in the world--if we recognize that there is value to lifting all boats, that there is value to saying that you're on hard rubble times, and this great country wants to lift the boat so that any children that you are raising have the equal opportunity to achieve their greatness.

To the gentleman of Minnesota and the cochair of the Progressive Caucus, let me thank you for your wisdom and your sense of--I think the characterization that I've heard you state in many different instances and the characterization that I made today. We have an obligation to the people whose daily life is simply about trying to make it to the next day. I hope this Congress and I hope this process of negotiations and media debate and discussion don't ignore the fact that sometimes you've got to make sure that you respond to those who are now busily filling in those 12 hours of work, and the only thing they're looking forward to is whether they will have enough for a dinner at home and to pick up those children and get ready for the next day. As Americans, many of whom have served their Nation, I feel an obligation to make sure that we stand in the gap on their behalf.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman for his leadership.

If the gentleman will yield for a moment.

The Congressional Budget Office even indicated that there is no such thing as a ``cliff.'' There will be expiring deadlines that will allow deliberative thought. That's what you're talking about. Let's have deliberative thought. When you act and your hair is on fire or you're running out of a burning building, you will take any water hose you can find; and that may not be the good water hose that will keep us going.

I just wanted to mention my late colleague, Mickey Leland. This is his birthday this week. It was November 27. I just wanted to mention it on the floor of the House. Congressman Mickey Leland served in this Congress in the late 1970s until 1989, when he died in Ethiopia trying to feed the starving Ethiopians who had been impacted by the drought. At the same time, he helped cochair the Hunger Select Committee because at that timeframe there was an effort to try to extinguish hunger in America and hunger in the world. Lo and behold, here we are in 2012, and I bet we can have a vigorous debate on hunger that still exists in this country.

When we put our hair on fire, then we start looking and digging deep and we start ignoring the peace dividend and resources that we could get from that, from an expedited withdrawal for our hardworking military that are in faraway places such as Afghanistan. The point is that then we begin to do things like look at the minimal subsistence that people get in order to survive. Social Security is a different line of funding; but as you well know, I mentioned that sometimes you get it on disability and sometimes you get Social Security as a death benefit for a deceased parent that keeps those children going. Then you have people who get payments because they are ill or have no way of working or have children, need assistance; and people start looking at that.

We need to be deliberative in our attempt to do the things that we want to do in a bipartisan way, which is reduce the deficit, to make sure we tighten our belt and act accordingly to churn this economy, and we're fair in our tax policies. My friends, we can do all that, but let us not do that with hysteria that starts looking at the basic safety net of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. As my friend said, Social Security is 2037 and Medicare is 2024. That means your house doesn't have to be on fire. You don't have to get a skinny hose that is just drip, drip, dripping, and then you just burn up.

You can be deliberative. We can deal with this immediate fiscal issue of deadlines with tax issues and begin to build on what the revenues will be.

Let me say good morning and wish America a wonderful season, but more importantly I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. That is what I'd like to speak about, this whole idea of giving thanks and recognizing where we are today. Before I start that, very briefly let me encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the Congressional Gold Medal for Malala.

We often speak of children, but we often as well fail to recognize children. Malala is a little girl in Pakistan who was willing to stand up to the Taliban to say that we too deserve an education. She is being promoted as the person of the year. I hope Congress will celebrate her, as well.

I mentioned Thanksgiving, and I believe it is important to focus on that because I call upon my colleagues to gather their wits about them as we reflect on what will approach us in January of 2013. It will not be the decline that everyone is being frightened about, because in essence they do not start those cuts right at the beginning. Why don't we be deliberative? Why don't we lay down on the table that we will protect Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, what people have earned? Why don't we explain to people that everyone at $250,00 and below will get a tax cut, everyone will, no matter what your wealth level?

Why don't we stop throwing at each other various stones and other things and be deliberative on behalf of the American people. We should be thankful to live in the great country that we live in.

Mr. Speaker, today is a good day. We get to honor a great and magnificent American--my friend, our friend, Ralph Hall.

In the moments and minutes and hour to come, there will be many who will rise to recognize the extraordinary public service, but I want to add, in addition to the extraordinary public service, a man who has seen numbers of Presidents. As an American who has worked, spoken and achieved under all of them, Ralph Hall today reigns as both the oldest Member of Congress and the oldest House Member known to cast a vote on the House floor.

But that is not his only definition, for he is one who has a heart and who recognizes the value of service to the American people.

Oh, he loves his great State of Texas. He is truly a tall Texan. He is a faithful public servant who has dedicated 32 years of service to representing the constituents of the Fourth Congressional District; but he started his life by the service to the United States in the United States military--in the United States Navy. Yes, 1942.

So he has seen this Nation in her ups and her downs, but Ralph Hall has never been down. What a great leader of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. What an opportunity to serve with him. What a servant as he worked with Presidents like Lyndon Baines Johnson, making difficult and tough decisions--not a partisan but a lover of America.

Yes, I can stand here today and say not only is this great hero and American and Member of the United States Congress--young in age but old in numbers--wise, dedicated, but I can also say that he is a lover of his family: his late wife, his grandchildren, his children. I was able to join him at a time when he had to visit a grandchild. I was glad to be able to have Ralph in our city, not for the cause that he was, but to be able to say, Ralph, you're a friend, and we stand with you during this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an American hero and also to a friend and a great leader on this floor, someone from whom I wish years and years and years of service. As a fellow Texan, I join my Texans and others to say, Thank you, Ralph Hall, for the friendship, the leadership, the courage--and, yes, you are an American hero.

Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and honor the extraordinary public service commitment of Congressman

Ralph Hall, the Science, Space, and Technology Committee chairman, the dean of the Texas Congressional Delegation, and my long serving colleague.

Today, Congressman Hall reigns as both the oldest Member of Congress and the oldest House Member known to cast a vote on the House Floor. I am pleased to say that Congressman Hall will also become the oldest person ever elected to a new House term, during the 113th Congress.

Congressman Hall, a lifelong native of the great State of Texas, has been a faithful public servant and has dedicated 32 years of service to representing the constituents of the 4th Congressional District of Texas.

In 1942, Congressman Hall became an aircraft pilot for the United States Navy and served our country during World War II. Congressman Hall soared to the top of military rankings, becoming a senior grade lieutenant.

Congressman Hall, thank you for your service in the Armed Forces in efforts to protect our freedoms and to ensure America is the greatest country on the Earth.

Congressman Hall also served the great State of Texas in both State and local government.

In 1950-1962, he served as County Judge of Rockwall County, Texas.

In 1958-1959, he served as President of the State Judges and Commissioners Association.

He served in the Texas Senate from 1962 to 1972, where he served as President pro tempore for a year.

In addition to a successful early political career, Congressman Hall is an accomplished businessman. He served as:

The President and CEO of Texas Aluminum Corporation,

The General Counsel of Texas Extrusion Company, and

He was a founding member of Lakeside National Bank in Rockwall County.

After his service in State government and achievements in the private sector, Congressman Hall decided to run for U.S. Congress. In 1980, he was elected to serve the Fourth Congressional District of Texas and has been re-elected each succeeding Congress.

Some say that his long tenure in Congress is related to his love for the Fourth Congressional District of Texas. I can attest that Congressman Hall loves his District, and he certainly loves the United States of America. Congressman Hall is often quoted, saying, ``I'd rather be respected at home than liked in Washington.''

Congressman Hall, we need more politicians like you who value the demands of the American people and recognize, we as elected officials, are accountable to those who elect us to office.

While in Congress, Congressman Hall has been the recipient of numerous awards. Among Congressman Hall's many achievements:

He has been credited for helping to advance research and development for new technologies to keep America competitive.

Congressman Hall has worked to utilize abundant domestic energy resources and helped explore alternative energy sources that would lower costs.

He has also played an integral role in ensuring America's preeminence in human space exploration.

I stand proudly before this body of Congress to honor Congressman Ralph Hall. He has contributed so many great things to our country, and he is the epitome of a great leader. I pray that you serve as the oldest Member of Congress for years to come.

First, I think it is appropriate to welcome back my colleagues and to congratulate all of those who have chosen again, if reelected, to serve this great, great Nation, and for those for the first time who have the honor and privilege of being in this storied institution.

Now words are that we can come together and make a difference in the lives of Americans and we can, in fact, find a way to help the most vulnerable, the impoverished, and those who work every day. I know that we can solve this problem of sequestration.

I lead now into something that is quite contrary to the idea of America's issues and problems and ask my colleagues to join me in supporting a Congressional Gold Medal for Malala Yousufzai. This is the little girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan standing up for education for our children and for her fellow boys and girls. What an amazing young lady now healing in a British hospital.

Sixty-one million children worldwide are not enrolled in school. We're advocating, or many around the world are advocating, for a Nobel Peace Prize for her. I believe that the Congressional Gold Medal symbolizes those who are willing to suffer for others and to make a difference. I ask my colleagues to join me.

The United Nations declared Saturday, November 10, 2012, as Malala Day, to highlight the lack of access to education for 32 million girls. I think that we can join together and say we stand with girls and boys around the world and we stand with our children.

Support a Congressional Gold Medal for the little girl who was willing to stand up to the Taliban.

Mr. Speaker, there's so much that we can acknowledge and respect as we come back to work on behalf of the American people. I'd like my colleagues to allow me, for a moment, to raise the issue of the recognition of introducing a legislative initiative to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Malala Yousufzai, the little girl in Pakistan who had the courage to stand up against the heinousness of the Taliban.

On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot and nearly killed by Taliban operatives because she advocated simply for educating girls in Pakistan. Her shooting has sent shock waves through the region and around the world. Leaders across the globe have condemned her shooting, while Taliban leaders remain unrepentant. In fact, as she heals in a British hospital, they have continued to threaten that she will be shot again if she comes to the soil.

Sixty-one million children worldwide are not enrolled in school, of which 32 million are girls. Pakistan has the second highest number of girls who are not attending school in the world.

As a cochair and founder of the Pakistan Caucus, the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, I urge my colleagues to rush toward this legislation and sign on. The United Nations declared Saturday, November 10, 2010, Malala Day, and many are advocating for a Nobel Peace Laureate.

I ask my colleagues to join me in advocating to recognize this brave little girl who stands for the children of the world.

Mr. Speaker, on August 3, 1962, a life changing decision was made by Dr. Denton Cooley in the founding of the Texas Heart Institute.

As I listened to the words said this morning, he chose wisdom over ignorance with respect to diagnosing cardiovascular disease, the most devastating killer of Americans, killing a life every 33 seconds, 2,600 lives each day, and nearly 1 million lives each year.

Dr. Cooley was honored this past week with tributes from President George Bush and President William Jefferson Clinton, joined by his wife and extended family. Over the years, he has been able to help men and women and children. He has done a magnificent job with respect to the amount of surgeries that have been performed. He performed more than 118,000 open-heart operations, 258,000 cardiac catheterizations, and 1,270 heart transplants.

The Texas Heart Institute, along with St. Luke's Hospital, continues to serve the world and continues to do research to improve the lives of those who suffer from heart disease. Dr. James Willerson is the new CEO. His demeanor and temperament, his research abilities, and his leadership has taken this great institution to the 21st century.

What a great honor to be with those who honor Dr. Denton Cooley for his wisdom and his ability to challenge medical profession science to be able to save lives. Today, children live, families are reunited, and we are stronger in our health because of the existence of the Texas Heart Institute. It is my privilege to congratulate them for 50 years of saving lives.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this is an amendment, I believe, that common sense would allow us to work together and pass.

This amendment would simply maintain the current deadline that existed under the previous administration of 90 days under the Clean Air Act by striking section 503 of the bill which artificially limits agency comment periods on water quality permits to 30 days with no possibility of extension. This existed under President Bush's administration.

Why, then, would my friends on the other side of the aisle not join with me to say let's have regular order? Let's ensure that we give everyone a reasonable opportunity for a response on their quality of life.

On the surface, the intent of H.R. 3409 appears to be to prevent the Interior Department from revising a Bush administration midnight regulation that significantly weakened mountaintop protections on the destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining. Let me remind you, they did not alter the comment period. Mountaintop removal mining, as many of us know, is a very challenging, environmentally difficult process. For many, they say, it creates jobs.

What we are trying to do is to ensure that there is a balance between that industry and, as well, the fairness of allowing those to be able to comment. As it's presently drafted, this bill would reach, in fact, it would make it much more difficult, if you will, to deal with the question of rulemaking.

The people in the State of Texas and the city of Houston appreciate the ability to drink cool, fresh water. So does everyone else. The idea of not being able to comment on the impact of this particular process is challenging.

I ask my colleagues to consider the importance of coming together and extending, or going back to, the 90-day comment period to balance, if you will, the timeframe and to ensure that all are heard on any aspects that would impact the environment, impact the environment of this particular procedure.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time remains.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch).

Mr. Chairman, let me just clarify what is happening with this legislation. It eliminates the EPA's authority to apply minimum Federal water quality standards sufficient to protect human and aquatic life, and it is weaker than State standards in many places. It strips the EPA's authority to object to the State discharge permits that fail to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

Now, this is not about creating jobs, Mr. Chairman. I ask, on the names of our children yet unborn, to be able to have a quality of life, quality of water and quality of air that the requirements that they are trying to eliminate in this bill, the proponent of this bill, to the extent that they will narrow the comment period to 30 days rather than 90 days.

Why is that not a simple request if my good friend could not say, Congresswoman, we support the amendment. I hope that's what he will say. The difficulty that I have is I would rather, Mr. Chairman, be doing Medicare, tax breaks, jobs, urgent priorities that are needed.

I just ask for a little bit of consideration on recognizing that the Nation is better when we have provided a quality of life for all Americans. Who are we to speak of the needs of the people who have coal in their region? What we have asked is that we put in the four parameters of common sense and reasonableness.

My amendment is that. It expands back to its regular order the existing comment period, Mr. Chairman, to 90 days. It strikes the provision, and this bill that limits it to 30 days.

I ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment that speaks to the health and good quality of life for all Americans and America's children.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.