Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on December 17, 2012, I was attending to a sick friend and comforting his family and was unable to vote on rollcall vote 628.

If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on S. 3193.

Mr. Speaker, on December 17, 2012, I was attending to a sick friend and comforting his family and was unable to vote on rollcall vote 627.

If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on H.R. 4606.

Mr. Speaker, we're in these fiscal cliff talks, and the President and the Speaker are trying to work out a solution. They're talking about tax rates for the top 2 percent and taxing their wealth. That's something they should do because it's fair and it gives the other 98 percent tax relief. But at the same time they're talking about increasing the Medicare age from 65 to 67. That's taxing the wealth of the less fortunate people who are 65 and 67. For them and for everybody, your health is your wealth. Jimmy Copeland, a friend and semi-philosopher, said that ``your health is your wealth.'' If you raise the Medicare age from 65 to 67, you're going to sacrifice the health of people who are not the most fortunate. So while we tax the income of the most wealthy, we'll be taxing what wealth the less wealthy have--their health. That's wrong. Mr. President and Mr. Speaker should not increase that age and tax the poor.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I congratulated Joyce Banda on becoming the first female President of the Republic of Malawi. In her first 100 days, President Banda amassed an impressive list of accomplishments including securing Millennium Challenge Corporation investments, pledges for more support from USAID and strengthening Malawi's commitment to democracy. President Banda has now been named by Foreign Policy magazine a 2012 ``Top 100 Global Thinker,'' being accredited for ``stepping in--and up--to fix a broken country.'' I congratulate President Joyce Banda on this most recent acknowledgement of her success. Submitted here is the text of her prestigious recognition:

When Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika died of a heart

attack in April, it wasn't immediately clear what would

become of his vice president, Joyce Banda. The two had fallen

out in recent years, with the increasingly autocratic

president booting Banda from his political party in 2010.

Even Mutharika's wife publicly derided the smalltown veep--a

longtime grassroots advocate for women, children, and the

poor--scoffing, ``She will never be president. How can a

mandazi [fritter] seller be president?'' After a tense two

days in the wake of Mutharika's death, however, Banda proved

the first lady wrong, becoming Africa's second-ever female

president.

Governing Malawi--where an estimated 75 percent of its more

than 15 million residents live on $1 or less a day--presents

enormous challenges, to be sure. But in just seven months

Banda has largely thrown out her predecessor's playbook,

showing the world how to take charge and work to turn around

a troubled country. Within days of taking office, she

dismissed key members of Mutharika's administration,

including the police chief in power when 19 Malawian

demonstrators were killed at a 2011 opposition rally, and in

May, amid rising persecution of gays in Africa, she vowed to

repeal Malawi's laws against homosexuality. By devaluing the

Malawian currency by more than a third, a move Mutharika had

long refused despite the IMF's urging, Banda also secured a

much-needed $157 million IMF loan in June--a first step

toward rebuilding Malawi's debilitated economy.

Her work is cut out for her. So far, however, all signs

suggest Banda could become a new model for African

leadership--shedding the strongman syndrome and getting down

to business to help the poor. To prove it, she has cut her

own salary by 30 percent and put her predecessor's $12

million presidential jet and most of his fleet of 60 luxury

cars up for sale. ``I can as well use private airlines,'' she

said. ``I am already used to hitchhiking.'' But it's more

than that: ``I must demonstrate to Malawians that we are in

this together,'' she explained to Al Jazeera. ``I must be the

first person to set an example.'' For Malawi, and the world

over.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Bernard Joseph Lansky, a famed Memphis clothier. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Samuel Lansky on March 10, 1927. Bernard Lansky, and his brother, Guy, shared a passion for clothing. As business partners, their expressive clothing can be seen in some of Elvis' most famous suits, including the suit he wore during his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and his sparkling gold-lame jacket. Mr. Lansky also suited Elvis for his high school prom and for his funeral, saying that ``I put him in his first suit, and I put him in his last suit.'' This gained him the reputation in Memphis as the ``Clothier to the King.''

Bernard Lansky was one of nine children, who were all raised by their father alone. Mr. Lansky served the U.S. Army at Fort Knox during the Second World War. In 1946, Bernard Lansky's father gave him and his brother $125 to buy a consignment shop on Beale Street. The shop went through a few changes, first being a dry goods store and an army surplus store.

Realizing that he was a natural salesman with a talent for retail, Lansky and his brother opened a shop on Beale Street called Lansky Bros., which has since moved into the Memphis Peabody Hotel and expanded into four similarly named shops. In addition to dressing Elvis, Bernard clothed music royalty such as B.B. King, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. After admiring a new suit on a customer, Mr. Lansky often smiled at them saying, ``Clean as Ajax. That's as clean as Ajax.''

Bernard's passion and love for clothing extends to each generation of the Lansky family, as his son, Hal, and granddaughter, Julie, continue the unique designs so true to the original store. On November 15, 2012, Mr. Lansky passed away at 85 years of age. He was preceded in death by his brother and business partner, Guy, who died in 2005. Bernard is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joyce; two sisters, Mildred Krasner and Bernice Banes; two brothers, Frank and Alvin; a son, Hal; a daughter, Anise; and four granddaughters along with two great- grandsons. Mr. Lansky will be remembered as a life-long Memphian and pioneer in the clothing industry.

I rise in strong support of this legislation because it will mean jobs in Memphis and will make Russia, which is potentially our most important bilateral relationship, a stronger one. I also rise as a cosponsor of the Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act. We must hold Magnitsky's killers accountable as well as others who have been responsible for human rights abuses in Russia.

I am particularly concerned about the case of an all-women's punk rock band that staged an unauthorized concert in a church to protest President Putin. They were arrested and charged with hooliganism, motivated by religious hatred. They were sentenced subject to a trial that was little more than a farce. They were not allowed to testify and weren't allowed testimony by witnesses on their side. They were sentenced to a 2-year prison sentence in a penal colony far away from their families and far away from Moscow.

I recently met with their legal team and with the husband of one of their members, and I found their story troubling as they are the latest victims of the Russian Government's brutal crackdown on dissent. Those responsible for this miscarriage of justice should be held accountable, which is why this bill is important. The band was prevented from exercising First Amendment rights and also from having a fair trial.

These are exactly the sorts of victims contemplated in this legislation. I hope the State Department will give strong consideration to their case when compiling the list called for in this legislation. Russia should be a partner and friend, but we cannot stand by while they continue to violate the rights of their people with these abuses.

I thank Mr. Levin, and I also want to thank the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Berman--a great Congressman. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, we are indeed back here in a lame-duck session with the most important issue facing us, which is a deadline on taxes and revenue. By previous action, we have to act or certain conditions will be created that will cause us to lose jobs and hurt our economy and raise taxes on everybody.

The President, the Senate, the Democrats, and the House are all in agreement that 98 percent of the country needs tax relief that has been given through the Bush tax cuts, and they should be extended.

I think everybody agrees that we don't need to make draconian cuts to services for people, Social Security or Medicare, or defense. The only issue is my colleagues on the other side, the Republicans in the House, who seem to continue to want to give tax relief to the upper 2 percent. That's what divides this Nation and this Congress right now, tax cuts for the richest 2 percent.

I call on my Republican colleagues to work with Speaker Boehner and allow him to lead this country in working with President Obama and to resolve this situation.

Mr. Speaker, as countries in the Middle East undergo drastic change, they are redefining their political systems, looking to other countries in the region, like Turkey, to serve as examples of positive transition. In Turkey, November 10th is a date remembered for the premature death of Kemal Ataturk, the leader of modern Turkey who transformed that country from an agrarian society caught in the past to a modern, secular and forward looking western model. While the changes were recognized at the time as stunning, given recent developments in the region, Turkey's transformation is even more relevant and noteworthy today.

President John F. Kennedy noted:

The name of Ataturk reminds people of the historical

successes of one of the great individuals of this century,

the leadership that gave inspiration to the Turkish nation,

farsightedness in the understanding of the modern world and

courage and power as a military leader. It is without a doubt

that another example can't be shown indicating greater

successes than the birth of the Turkish Republic and ever

since then Ataturk's and Turkey's broad and deep reforms

undertaken as well as the confidence of a nation in itself.

His leadership contributions were noted internationally. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, also wrote:

Ataturk's death is not only a loss for the country, but for

Europe is the greatest loss, he who saved Turkey in the war

and who revived a new the Turkish nation after the war. The

sincere tears shed after him by all classes of people is

nothing other than an appropriate manifestation to this great

hero and modern Turkey's Ata.

As Co-chair of the Congressional Turkey Caucus and on behalf of Turkish Americans, I join my friends in paying tribute to a great man and a great leader. I congratulate the people of Turkey, and continue to work to remember Ataturk's legacy and his contributions to world peace and to the region.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this moment to congratulate a high school in my district, the Hollis F. Price Middle College, for receiving the U.S. News & World Report Bronze recognition as one of 2012's Best High Schools in the country.

U.S. News & World Report ranked nearly 22,000 public high schools across the country, and I'm proud that one of Memphis City Schools was recognized. This school was named after the fourth president of LeMoyne-Owen College, an Historically Black College and University in Memphis. Hollis-Price is a collaborative effort between Memphis City Schools and LeMoyne-Owen to improve graduation rates and provide accessibility for students to attend college.

I want to commend Principal Daphne Beasley, all the faculty, and the staff for their hard work and dedication. And surely the students I want to congratulate, too, and their parents on their great achievement. I was proud to speak at their graduation a few years ago. It's a great school. Continue to make Memphis proud.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for its 35th anniversary. Over the past 35 years CMF has aided this body so that the Members can provide our constituents with better services both here in DC and in districts all across this nation.

Through online webinars and publications on best practices, CMF provides many services that improve communications between DC and district staffers. Keeping it Local--the Congressional Management Foundation's detailed guidebook on managing state and district offices--allows local managers and staff to maximize their involvement and productivity with constituents.

Among the many pieces of advice Keeping it Local has to offer, some of the most important items include its step-for-step instruction on how to establish and carry out a coordinated agenda, manage citizen outreach, organize district events while also maintaining superior communication networks between offices. The materials provided in this book and other CMF publications have helped my staff run our offices more effectively both at home and on Capitol Hill. On behalf of my staff, I would like to personally thank CMF and congratulate them on their 35th anniversary of serving Congress.

Madam Speaker, as we commemorate the 11th anniversary of the attacks on our country, we should recognize the men and women who have fought so bravely for our country over the last decade.

This weekend, I had the honor of holding a welcome home ceremony in my office for Sergeant Major Marvin L. Hill. Sergeant Major Hill enlisted in the Army on January 18, 1978, and served this country in a wide variety of roles for 35 years. Most recently, he was selected by General David Petraeus to serve as Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and United States forces in Afghanistan--a great honor and a very important job.

Command Sergeant Major Hill's numerous awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal for Valor, among many others.

Our city is proud of Sergeant Major Hill and all the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. I want to particularly express appreciation for all the noncommissioned officers who put their lives on the line every day and defend this Nation.

As we bring the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to an end, I look forward to welcoming home all of our brave men and women serving to protect our freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, due to my primary election I was detained from voting on Thursday, August 2, 2012. If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on the following rollcall votes: Rollcall 550, rollcall 551, rollcall 553, rollcall 555.

I would have voted ``nay'' on the following rollcall votes: Rollcall 549, rollcall 552, rollcall 554, rollcall 556.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight and remember the life of Gore Vidal, a celebrated American literary and cultural icon, who passed away this week at the age of 86. A writer famed for his acerbic wit, elegant style, tough-minded radical views, and versatile talent, Vidal's incredibly varied career boasted over 20 novels, in addition to memoirs, essays, plays, television dramas, and screenplays.

Vidal was impressively characterized by the inimitable and revered Christopher Hitchens as being a 20th century answer to Oscar Wilde, a tribute to Vidal's cleverness and eloquence. As British author Martin Amis said in praising Vidal, ``he is learned, funny and exceptionally clear-sighted. Even his blind spots are illuminating.''

In 2009, Vidal won the annual Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Unlike many of his intellectual contemporaries, however, he saw his role as a public intellectual not as a sidelined observer, but rather as an active participant in democracy and public affairs, contributing frequently and prolifically to the American political debate.

This weekend, I will travel to New York to see a revival of his play ``The Best Man,'' starring my fellow Memphian, Cybill Shephard. I ask everyone to join me honoring Gore Vidal for his many contributions. His was a life well lived.

Madam Speaker, today the House will take up a bill on the Bush tax cuts. The Republicans want to extend the Bush tax cuts to everybody, but tax 25 million Americans by not extending certain credits that they get right now. The Democratic proposal, which I will support and which I'm here for today, despite the fact that my election is tomorrow, will extend tax cuts to everybody and raise taxes somewhat on people who make over $200,000 individual and $250,000 married. Those people still get a tax cut, but just not as much.

Madam Speaker, 93 percent of the income growth in the last decade went to the top 1 percent. That's the people who can afford to pay more taxes. And the fact is, to deal with the deficit, we've got to have both income and cuts to wasteful spending.

Republicans and Democrats have agreed. Economists Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz have called on both revenue and cuts. And so have Martin Feldstein, an adviser to President Reagan, and Hank Paulson, Treasury Secretary to President Bush. So did Simpson-Bowles. They've all said you need both revenue and cuts. That's what President Clinton recommended in 1993, the Democrats supported, and we had a surplus-- wasted on Bush tax cuts.

I urge support for middle class tax cuts.

Madam Speaker, this week there was some disturbing news about Members of the House. One of our finest, longest-serving Members, Mr. LaTourette of Ohio, a Republican, announced he wasn't going to run for reelection. He said he couldn't run for reelection because of the gridlock and the difficulty getting things done.

He was for income, revenue--not for Grover Norquist's pledge that most of the Republicans have signed. And because he was for revenue, which is what the Democrat plan is, in taxing the wealthiest and most financially blessed in this country, he gave up because he said, you couldn't get things done. That's a shame.

People ask, why is there partisan gridlock? This is a perfect example. The two sides agree that people making $200,000 a year or married couples making $250,000 a year should get continued tax breaks. We should pass that, as the Senate did. We know that can become law and guarantee those tax breaks. The difference that we have is whether people making over $200,000 single and $250,000 married get tax breaks. They will get tax breaks on that amount of income but not on the income over that.

I have been blessed in my life, and I have had sufficient monies to do the things I want. But I have never made $250,000 a year. I consider that a lot of money.

On the Democratic side, we call that middle class tax cuts. The reality is, in my perspective, it's upper-middle class tax cuts and middle class tax cuts. The only people at the top who are having to pay a little more are the very wealthy and predominantly millionaires.

When I grew up, a millionaire was somebody who had a net worth of $1 million. Today it's somebody who makes $1 million--rock stars, business tycoons, bankers. They can afford to pay it. They're not spending that money. We need Americans who spend their money to stimulate our economy. We need purchasers.

So that's why I am against the Republican plan and for the Democratic plan. It will activate our economy.

I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding the time.