Floor Statements

I rise to support the tax compromise that will be coming to the floor for a vote this week.

I represent the State that has the highest unemployment rate in the country. In my district, almost one in five people that I represent, 20 percent, are unemployed. The extension of those unemployment benefits is critical to the survival of thousands of the families that call Las Vegas home.

In addition to that, I represent a working class town. People think of Las Vegas as glitz and glitter, but it's glitzy and glittery because of all the working men and women that call Las Vegas home. I represent waiters and waitresses and busboys and Keno runners and cocktail waitresses and valet parkers and showgirls. They're all middle-income wage earners, and to extend that middle-income tax cut is critical to them.

The alternative minimum tax extension is important to 33,000 Las Vegans that will be ensnared by that alternative minimum tax if we don't pass it. The earned income tax credit, the marriage penalty tax credit, the child care tax credit, for the people I represent, so many of them single women with children and working, they need this child care tax credit.

Let's all vote for it.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is outdated and it's unjust. No individual, especially those in our Armed Forces, should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation. Our troops fight honorably to protect our freedom. The least we can do in return is to fight to protect their rights as well. My hometown of Las Vegas includes Nellis Air Force Base, one of the premier Air Force bases in our country. The courageous men and women who serve there deserve to be treated with equality and dignity and respect that they have earned, regardless of their sexual orientation. This unjust and unnecessary practice is also unsound. It makes no sense for our military to discharge valuable servicemembers, especially during a time of war, when we need every American who is willing and able to serve.

My colleagues, this is the easy stuff. If a fellow citizen volunteers to don the uniform of our Nation, no matter what their sexual orientation, we shouldn't be discriminating against them. We should be thanking them for their service. Don't Ask, Don't Tell does nothing to contribute to our national security. It only undermines the strength and integrity of our military. I believe this practice should be repealed immediately. Its time has come, not only for the benefit of our Armed Services, but for the security of our great Nation.

I would like to thank the gentleman from California for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership on this issue and on our committee for the last several years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for this important resolution because I am deeply concerned about the chances for Middle East peace. Over the last year, instead of negotiating directly with the Israelis, Palestinian leaders have turned their backs on peace talks. They have come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid negotiations, demanding that Israel stop construction in all settlements, including Israel's capital, before they'll even sit down to negotiate. When Israel took the courageous and difficult step of agreeing to a 10-month moratorium, that wasn't enough. They waited 9 of the 10 months, only coming to the table at the last possible moment. Meanwhile, rather than negotiating, the Palestinians have decided to pursue a unilateral strategy, seeking global recognition for their ``state'' instead of making peace with the State of Israel. Shamefully, several countries have even rewarded the Palestinian stonewalling instead of urging them to return to the negotiating table where they belong. The negotiating table is the only way to bring a true and lasting peace to the region. All peace-loving nations must reject this Palestinian manipulation and insist that they return immediately to negotiations. There is simply no other path to peace.

It is the Palestinians that have the most to lose if there isn't a negotiating path to peace. While Israel has a strong country and a good education system, a vibrant economy, a national identity, a cultural identity and a strong democracy, the Palestinians, because of their poor leadership, have absolutely none of those. And they will never get any of that until there is peace between the parties. The only way to do that is to sit down and negotiate in good faith. If I was Abu Mazen, you couldn't drag me away from the negotiating table. I would sit there until I delivered for my people a Palestinian State. It occurs to me that maybe that's not what his motives are. If he was interested in it, with a 10-month moratorium he should have started on day one of the moratorium instead of waiting until the end.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5012, the Weekends Without Hunger Act. I want to personally and forcefully thank Congresswoman Dina Titus for introducing this important piece of legislation.

Congresswoman Titus and I share southern Nevada as our adjoining congressional districts. Let me tell you what's happening there. We have a serious economic problem. Almost 20 percent of the people I represent have no work. That translates and transfers down to their children, who are having very serious times, as are their parents.

For so many children in the Clark County School District, the only meals they are getting, the only hot meals they are getting, the only meals and nutrition of any kind, are the ones they are receiving in school. So, many of the schools in Clark County are now not only serving a lunch to their schoolchildren, they are also serving breakfast as well. So many of our youngsters are showing up at school with an empty stomach because they have nothing to eat at home. Try learning when you're 5, 6, 7, 8 years old, when your tummy is grumbling as you sit in your class. It's not possible to do.

I attended a school, Whitney Elementary School, and went into one of the trailers that the principal escorted me to. It was filled with food. And I commented, Why is there so much food in this trailer? And she told me 70 percent--let me say that again--70 percent of the children in this elementary school are homeless. They are living on the streets with their parents. They are living in cars. They do not have a stable home. If they don't have a stable home, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that they haven't got anything to eat.

This program, this pilot program that Congresswoman Dina Titus has introduced, would provide a 5-year pilot that would provide commodities to eligible institutions, such as schools and food banks, to carry out projects

that provide nutritious food to at-risk schoolchildren over the weekend and school holidays.

It is incomprehensible to me that in a country of such wealth and great abundance that we have literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of children going to bed hungry and having to depend on their schools in order to get anything to eat. This school backpack program that provides children with food to take home over the weekend is going to be the difference between their survival and not. I cannot tell you how much I admire Dina Titus for introducing this. I wish I'd thought of it myself.

Let us pass this bill, and let's pass it fast.

I rise today in support of H.R. 5012, the Weekends Without Hunger Act. I want to thank Congresswoman Titus for introducing this important piece of legislation.

Across the country, almost one out of every four children is at risk of going hungry. Many of these children depend on school meals as their main source of food throughout the week. While school meals help provide low-income children with nourishing meals when school is in session, there is currently no targeted federal child nutrition program available to provide these children with food during the weekend or extended holidays when they do not have access to school meals.

In my home State of Nevada, Three Square Food Bank has been addressing weekend hunger since 2008 with its Backpacks for Kids program. The program provides a bag of kid-friendly, shelf-stable foods to children who lack adequate food over the weekend. Every week during the 2009-10 school-year, Three Square provided weekend bags to more than 4,800 at-risk children in 187 Clark County schools, both public and private.

Congresswoman Titus' bill builds on the important work that food banks and others are doing across the country. This legislation would establish a five-year pilot program that would provide commodities to eligible institutions, such as schools and food banks, to carry out projects that provide nutritious food to at-risk school children over the weekend and school holidays during the school year.

It is vital that Congress continue to make investments to increase low-income children's access to nutrition programs, especially during weekends and summers.

I rise in enthusiastic support of this legislation.

Every year my office receives dozens of calls in May from youngsters 17-18 years old. They have recently graduated from local high schools, been accepted to college--many at UNLV applied for a millennium scholarship, available in Nevada to the best and brightest of our Nevada high school graduates. According to state law they have to demonstrate proof of citizenship. They go home, ask their parents for their birth certificate--then they learn the truth--when they were 6 months, 1 year, 2 years old--their parents came over the border and brought their child with them.

Now, 18 years later, these children are Americans. They think like Americans, live like Americans, speak like Americans; were educated in our schools side by side with our children, they know no other country, they did nothing wrong, they have broken no law intentionally.

We American taxpayers have invested a great deal in these youngsters. Our tax dollars have helped educate them. They are smart, talented, hardworking Americans, ambitious, just the kind of people we want and we need for the future of our own beloved country.

Others are willing to don the uniform of our Nation and fight for us in Iraq and Afghanistan--brave, strong men and women--the very kind of people we want and we need for the future of this country.

Let us pass this bill and provide a path to citizenship for the best and the brightest of our youngsters, those willing to volunteer to fight and possibly die for the United States of America. Let us share the American dream with these youngsters who have no other Dream but ours.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution and to thank my colleague from Florida for her leadership on this resolution supporting the survivors of the Holocaust.

It has been 65 years since the horrors of the Holocaust came to a close, leaving in its wake six million dead Jews as well as millions of displaced persons, orphans and widows, some of the most vulnerable and victimized people the world has ever known. Impoverished and starving, many of them arrived at our shores with little besides the clothing on their backs and their resolute determination to rebuild their lives. They started families, built businesses, synagogues and community centers and became not only contributing members of our society, but even national leaders. We all remember and miss our good friend Tom Lantos, whose dedication to human rights was so unparalleled that Congress named our Human Rights Commission in his memory.

These survivors are not only models of resilience, but are a living reminder of the horrors that evil people, if given the chance, will visit upon the defenseless. Every year we lose more and more of these heroes, who by their mere existence remind us that it is our collective responsibility to prevent genocide from ever occurring again. With Israel under threat from all sides, this message is needed more than ever before.

Sixty-five years after the Holocaust, the remaining survivors are once again entering a vulnerable time in their lives. They are growing older and relying more on government and communal services. Now is not the time to turn our backs on these survivors, whose legacy and leadership is an inspiration to us all. We must heed the call of the Old Testament Psalm: Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

I urge support for this resolution.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I rise in support of this legislation. Today's vote is an affirmation of this Congress' commitment to middle class Americans and a crucial step in getting our economy back on track.

This tax cut extension does not exclude anyone. What it does is permanently extend middle-income tax relief, which will provide much- needed certainty to our small businesses and our entrepreneurs and create conditions for long-term growth while still dealing responsibly with the Federal deficit--and let us not forget that it is a burgeoning deficit.

This legislation ensures that on January 1 every American will be paying lower taxes than under current law. It will extend relief from the alternative minimum tax for 2 years and provide permanent relief from the marriage penalty. It also permanently extends tax credits like the improved child tax credit, simplified earned income tax credit, and numerous benefits for education. For our small business owners, we are also permanently increasing the amount they can expense so they can quickly realize the benefits of their capital investments. These provisions are critical to Nevada's economic recovery. It is good for my congressional district, the city I represent of Las Vegas that is really hurting, and the people of the great State of Nevada.

We owe it to our fellow citizens to pass this bill and ensure that we are creating conditions for renewed economic growth. The certainty of this legislation creates and will bolster consumer confidence, provide businesses with tax certainty, and foster long-term investment. Nobody can argue or quibble with its benefits.

These economic conditions are essential to the health of consumer-led economies like Las Vegas. We still have a whole lot more work to do, both in terms of promoting jobs and removing uncertainties in the Tax Code.

Thank you very much.

We also have to work on our estate tax to pre-2001 levels. I look forward to that discussion with the bill I introduced with Congressman Brady as a basis for the debate.

Let's get moving. This is the easy stuff. This we should pass without any uncertainty or concern that we're not doing the right thing for the American people.

Madam Speaker, the incoming House leadership has signaled that they are once again resurrecting Yucca Mountain as a solution to this Nation's nuclear waste problem. This is the height of insanity.

Let me remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we are talking about shipping 77,000 tons of lethal, radioactive nuclear waste across 43 States to be buried in a hole in the Nevada desert where we have groundwater issues, seismic activity and volcanic activity, and it is 90 miles from a major population center--Las Vegas.

There are no EPA radiation standards. There is no way to protect the shipments from terrorist attacks. It requires millions of gallons of water. We are in the desert; there is no water. We are in the middle of a drought.

This is a waste of taxpayer money. Let's bury this ridiculous idea and figure out what we are going to do with this Nation's nuclear waste before we continue to produce more nuclear waste that we still don't know what to do with. Let's forget this nonsense and figure out how this Nation is going to become energy independent. Nuclear is not the way to go.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about an impending crisis in our health care system. If this Congress can't figure out a way to reimburse the doctors that take care of our older Americans, our follow citizens, our mothers and fathers and grandparents that are on Medicare, this Nation is going to be in a world of hurt. It is time that we put aside petty politics, figure out how we're going to reimburse the doctors and keep the Medicare system going.

There are millions of Americans, certainly hundreds of thousands of seniors in the district that I represent, that depend on Medicare to have their health care needs met. You take away their doctors, you take away any chance they have of getting medical care.

Let's get moving on this and provide a permanent fix to reimbursing the doctors, and let's help our seniors stay on Medicare.

Six months ago, I said the three most important issues in this country are jobs, jobs, jobs, and I said it 6 months before that. I say it now. But while we are working to restore our economy and put people back to work, we must extend unemployment benefits to the millions of Americans, our fellow citizens, who, through no fault of their own, find themselves unemployed.

In my congressional district of Las Vegas in the State of Nevada, we have been particularly hard hit. People, through no fault of their own, they're not spoiled, they're not lazy, they've worked every day of their lives. They've got no job because the economy is so bad. These are the people, our fellow citizens, our next-door neighbors, our family members that we need to help by extending unemployment benefits.

If we do not do this today, 27,000 Nevada families will have no way to put food on their families' tables. Their children will do without. They will not be able to pay their rent or put food on the table.

We have an obligation to our fellow citizens that we must help them until we get this economy back where it needs to be.

Madam Speaker, today I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the achievements of Robert L. Forbuss, a native Nevadan, for his lifetime of service to Las Vegas.

Robert L. Forbuss began his professional career in Las Vegas as a teacher at Bishop Gorman High School from 1972-1981. He served on the Clark County School District Board of School Trustees from 1979-1986. Currently, he is the Senior Vice-Chairman of the Board for The Public Education Foundation, and he has been serving on that board since 1997. Throughout his life, Bob's biggest achievement is that of ``Teacher.'' Whether the students were enrolled at Gorman High School, on the debate team, learning history or political science or just learning the ropes in the world of politics in Nevada, Bob was always happy to help mentor anyone with a little

initiative. A member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1985, he served as the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Chairman twice and Chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Bob's influence is felt throughout Nevada and the nation and is most importantly represented in the elementary school that bears his name.

But Bob didn't stop there. He has also been recognized as a national Emergency Medical Service (EMS) leader. Bob was instrumental in educating and implementing new levels of EMS care for citizens, specifically Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic, and Critical Care Paramedic. He served on the Clark County EMS Medical Advisory Board for decades and was a founding member of the national American Ambulance Association. He was also a founder of the national Commission on the Accreditation of Ambulance Services and served as the American Ambulance Association's president and member or ex-officio member of every American Ambulance Association leadership committee.

Mr. Forbuss has served as faculty for the American Ambulance Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and traveled as part of ACEP's special EMS envoy to Russia. He belongs to the National Association of EMS Physicians, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, EMS Today, EMS EXPO, and many other EMS related educational entities. Additionally, he served as Vice Chair for the National Registry of EMTs and served as faculty for the Japan Ambulance Association.

Mr. Forbuss led the ambulance response during two of Clark County's major mass casualty events, the MGM and Hilton hotel fires, as well as the PEPCON explosion in Henderson, Nevada.

Robert L. Forbuss received the EMS Today, EMS Administrator of the Year Award; the American Ambulance Association's President's Award and The Man of the Year Award. Also under his leadership, Mercy Ambulance received the United States Senate Quality and Productivity Award.

As the Representative for Nevada's First Congressional District, it gives me immense pride to recognize Robert L. Forbuss' lifetime of outstanding achievements and contributions to Las Vegas, and specifically on the occasion of the 2010 American Ambulance Association's Annual Conference, for his dedication and professionalism to the ambulance industry. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this outstanding American.

I want to particularly thank Chairman Filner for shepherding this very important piece of

legislation through the Congress. I know it wasn't easy, but it was a very important task, and he did it very well.

I rise today in support of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3219, the Veterans' Insurance and Health Care Improvements Act. It is this Nation's responsibility, indeed, it is our honor, to provide care to the brave men and women who have served this Nation so well and have sacrificed much on behalf of the rest of us. This legislation goes a long way to address many of the needs of our veterans.

About 13 years ago when I was first contemplating running for Congress, I met with a group of veterans, and then I met with another group, and I met with another group, all in the Las Vegas area. And I wasn't particularly surprised when they told me they didn't think they got the quality of care that was due them through the VA, and I wasn't surprised when they told me we didn't have a VA hospital in the southern Nevada area, or we had a large number of homeless veterans.

But what surprised me more than anything was family after family spoke of how difficult it was when the time came to bury their family member who was a veteran, that they had a difficult time finding the money so they could make a decent burial for this veteran.

I couldn't understand exactly why that was. I knew that we were providing veteran benefits in order to bury our veterans and to give them grave markers. Then I came to Congress and I started serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and I learned that the original bill that provided this funding was not indexed to inflation, and consequently the value continued to diminish with every passing year.

We have not changed the amount of money that we provide families for burying their veteran family members since the early 1970s. This bill finally, after introducing legislation year after year that I have been here in Congress, finally this piece of legislation provides the funding and moves us in the right direction so that families don't have a tremendous hardship when they bury their family members who were veterans and have fought for this Nation.

I could not be happier that we are doing this. It is an important piece of legislation. People don't realize it until you are in that position yourself. I am glad that the Veterans Committees in the House and the Senate have all recognized the importance of increasing these benefits. We have included these provisions today in the bill before us. Our veterans deserve to be laid to rest with the full recognition of their military service. This bill is a step in the right direction.

We always talk about supporting our veterans. You hear it here. Each one of us talks about supporting our veterans. This is a piece of legislation in which we can actually demonstrate our support of our veterans.

It is going to be completed at the end of 2011 and opened in 2012.

I hope you join us for the grand opening.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.

This is a very important piece of legislation for the people that I represent. Nevada is in a world of hurt. I've got the highest unemployment rate in the country and the highest mortgage foreclosure rate in the country. Small businesses are either folding or they don't have the revenue in order to continue, and certainly new businesses have entrepreneurs that wish to start new businesses but don't have the wherewithal.

This piece of legislation provides critical funding to the SBA to ensure that people who want to start a small business have access to capital that will get their businesses up and running, creating jobs and bolstering the economy. It creates a $30 billion lending facility for small businesses and will create the credit available to small businesses and ensure that they can access resources necessary to create and to build on what they already have and particularly to hire.

The provisions in this legislation can make all the difference in the world to the community that I represent and to its people. We need to get people back to work. This small business funding bill will do exactly that.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I especially want to thank Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp for providing the resources our Nation's veterans desperately need and for providing additional funding for FY2012. This advanced funding helps the VA avoid disruption of critical programs. We must take care of our brave men and women who serve this country, and this funding goes a long way to address many of their needs.

I also want to thank the chairman and ranking member for including report language on veterans' burial benefits. I am deeply concerned about the eroding value of the plot allowance and burial benefits provided to our Nation's veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because the benefits are not indexed to inflation, their value continues to diminish with each passing year. As a result, families and State veterans' cemeteries have been left to cover the increasing costs.

In FY09, the subcommittee included my report language urging the VA to assess the viability of increasing the plot allowance and burial benefits to cover the same percentage of veterans' burial benefits that they covered in 1973, when they were first initiated. The Department of Veterans Affairs has still not yet heeded our recommendations. I'm glad the subcommittee recognizes the importance of the issue and has again included the burial benefits report language.

However, we need to move on this, and I think having it included once again is a step in reminding the VA that this is an important issue.

This Congress I have reintroduced the Veterans' Burial Benefits Improvement Act, H.R. 4045. This bill would increase the plot allowance from $300 to $745 for the burial costs of veterans who are buried in a State veterans' cemetery or a private cemetery; increase burial allowance benefits from $2,000 to $4,100 for veterans who die as a result of service-connected injuries and are buried in a national cemetery; increase the burial allowance from $300 to $1,270 for a veteran who wishes to be buried in a national veterans' cemetery and whose cause of death is not service-connected.

I urge my colleagues to become a cosponsor of this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 266) expressing the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be accorded observer status in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 266, expressing the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be accorded observer status in the International Civil Aviation Organization, the ICAO.

As cochairman of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, I have seen firsthand the amazing progress that Taiwan has made in its economic and political development. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Taiwan's economy grew by more than an amazing 10 percent per year and is now the United States' ninth-largest overall trading partner, with two-way trade in 2008 valued at $61.6 billion. Taiwan also is the sixth-largest destination for U.S. agricultural exports, about $2.5 billion annually.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has developed one of the strongest democracies in the region, having had several peaceful, democratic transfers of power. I have met their current President, President Ma Ying-jeou, who is a well-spoken, Western-educated leader who has worked very hard to reduce tensions between Taiwan and China and concluded an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with the PRC Government recently.

All the while, however, Taiwan has been shut out of participating in international organizations like the International Civil Aviation Organization. Founded in 1947, ICAO's goal is to ``meet the needs of the peoples of the world for safe, regular, efficient, and economical air transport.'' These goals can only be reached through a cooperative approach that brings together the world's leading economies to share best practices and information. We need look no further than this past Christmas for a reminder of how our aviation security transcends national boundaries and can only be addressed through a cooperative, international strategy.

Mr. Speaker, Taiwan deserves to be brought into the ICAO as on observer.

Over 174,000 international flights travel to and from Taiwan each year, carrying more than 35 million passengers. Their air traffic controllers now provide service to over 1.3 million flights each year. By cargo volume, Taiwan has the eighth-largest airport in the world.

Yet Taiwan has been excluded from ICAO since 1971, which has impeded Taiwan's efforts to maintain civil aviation practices that keep up with rapidly evolving international standards. It is unable to even contact ICAO for up-to-date information on aviation standards and norms, nor can it receive ICAO's technical assistance in implementing new regulations or participate in ICAO technical and academic seminars.

Despite these impediments, Taiwan has made every effort to comply with ICAO's standards, but their continued exclusion from such an important organization is nothing short of absurd. It not only hurts Taiwan, it puts us and the entire world at risk. With such a heavy volume of flights, Taiwan's exclusion has prevented ICAO from developing a truly global strategy to address security threats based on effective international cooperation. And regardless of one's position on the One-China Policy, ICAO's own rules allow for ``noncontracting countries'' to participate through observer status.

With this resolution today, we call upon the world community to grant Taiwan observer status at the ICAO, not only to help Taiwan but to ensure ICAO can fulfill its own stated mission and address threats to aviation security. We call on the U.S. government to take a leading role at ICAO to assist Taiwan in gaining this status and look forward to working with our administration officials to track the development of these efforts.

Mr. Speaker, enough is truly enough. It is time for the international community to recognize Taiwan as one of the world's leading economies, democracies, and responsible actors. It is a beacon of hope and liberty in a very difficult region, and we should be embracing, not excluding, these peace-loving people at every opportunity.

I hope ICAO will be only the beginning of Taiwan's reentry into the world community, to ICAO, to the World Health Organization, and other international organizations as appropriate.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the great State of Oregon, Congressman Wu.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.