Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a number of talented and dedicated high school students from my Congressional District who were chosen to be Semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS) as well as one who was named as a Finalist. These students are the future of our nation's research and I am so proud to recognize them today.

Mayuri Sridhar attends Kings Park High School in Kings Park, NY in my district and Intel has recognized her as a finalist in this year's competition. Mayuri is being recognized for her research project entitled ``Computational Analysis of the DNA-Binding Mechanism of the p53 Tumor Suppressor and its Inactivation through the R249S Mutation.'' In March, Mayuri traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the final round of the competition and compete for the top award of $100,000. While in the nation's capital, she was one of only forty finalists to display her work to the public as well as meet with notable American scientists. This extraordinary honor reflects Mayuri's commitment and dedication to her academic work and I know Mayuri will be successful in her future endeavors.

Additionally, I want to recognize the Intel Semifinalists that I have the honor to represent here in Congress. Long Island and Queens are fortunate to have so many top notch schools with dedicated teachers guiding these talented young students to success. The Semifinalists were selected from among more than 1,700 entrants to receive a $1,000 award for their outstanding research. In addition, their schools receive $1,000 to support further excellence in science and technology education. I am impressed not just by their scientific knowledge but also by their profound commitment to the scientific process and making discoveries that will help our country. The following names of the Intel Semifinalists represent the young students with bright futures ahead of them and the next generation of American innovation, science, and research:

Amanda Elyssa Ruiz of Bronx High School of Science; Puja Bansal, Rohan Goyal, Tammy Jin, Jonathon Kim, Abhinav Patil, Robert Tannenbaum of Half Hollow Hills High School East; Deriam Chirinos, Menglu Dong, Julia Zhuang of John L. Miller Great Neck North High School; Yonatan David of North Shore Hebrew Academy; David Kim, Cyrus Zhou of William A. Shine Great Neck South High School; Jacob Gary Wax of Harborfields High School; Sonia Joshi, Samuel Lam, Brendan Liu, Michael Shen, Raymond Wu of Jericho Senior High School; Wesley Cox, Kenan Mutlu of Kings Park High School; Nick Fiacco of Manhasset High School; Meenakshi Krishna, Benjamin Isaac Pleat of Herricks High School; Jongyoon Lee, Carolyn Yao of Stuyvesant High School; James Shamul, Sunny Zheng Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School; Drew Feldman, Minah Kim of Paul D. Schreiber High School; Arshia Aalami, Arvind Kumar, Ethan Levine, Alian Emil Sherman of Roslyn High School; Michelle Jiang Long, Jared Brandon Weiss of Syosset High School,

In closing, I again want to applaud the families, teachers and students that make all of these achievements possible. I commend you for all of your successes and I look forward to hearing more from all of you in the future. You will keep Americans globally competitive and at the forefront of innovation.

Mr. Speaker, this week Israel celebrated its 65th Independence Day. Since its founding on May 14, 1948, Israel and the United States have been steadfast allies and today we take a moment to celebrate Israel and recommit ourselves to the partnership between our two great nations.

Despite years of terrorist threats and attacks, intermittent war, and overwhelming odds, Israel has not only survived but flourished, developing into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Much like the United States, Israel values and protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, and most importantly the idea that government comes from the consent of the governed. These freedoms may seem commonplace to Americans, but they are rare in the Middle East and ensure that Israel remains a vigorous democracy.

Israel has also become a global economic leader, especially in the technology and science sectors where Israel's innovation and dedication allow it to achieve success despite its relatively small population. Israel leads the world in developing solar power technologies and its medical inventions have saved countless lives, including many Americans.

Israel's tremendous achievements since its founding are truly inspiring and I am honored to recognize our greatest ally's 65th Independence Day.

I thank my very good friend from Maryland, the ranking member of our Budget Committee. I thank him for his leadership, and for his common sense, and for advancing approaches that make the right investments in the right priorities in this country, investments that expand the middle class, investments that provide for a balanced approach and reduce our debt.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the RSC budget. As House Democrats, we believe that we need solutions-based budgets, not ideology-based budgets. We need solutions-based budgets that rest on three pillars:

Number 1, they take a balanced approach and reduce debt, because we need to reduce debt, but do it in a balanced way.

Number 2, they protect the middle class, because the middle class is still struggling. Make sure the middle class is protected.

And Number 3, they make the right and smart investments in the right and smart priorities, that don't ask us to forsake research and cures and treatments for disease, that don't allow China to move ahead of us in research and development, engineering, science and technology, that keep us competitive in the world.

So we want these solutions-based budgets that achieve these three critical priorities, and the way we get to those three critical priorities is through one thing, and that is compromise. It is the ability of both sides of the aisle to pursue these three priorities in a balanced way.

The budget before us right now is not about compromise, it is about ideology. It is not about common sense and solutions, it is about extremism.

The American people have sent us here to get things done, to find solutions to move them forward.

Let's not go backwards, Mr. Chairman. Let's not continue gridlock, Mr. Chairman. Let's find a balanced approach that rests on compromise and supports the middle class. And that is why I rise today in opposition to the budget before us.

I thank my distinguished friend from Maryland.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of Edward H. Lockwood, an American veteran from Long Island. Edward recently passed away and our community is mourning this profound loss.

Corporal Lockwood enlisted in the Army in 1942, and remained for the duration of World War II. He served in the 824th and 691st Tank Destroyer Units at Normandy, the Rhineland, Central Europe, and finally Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge. Upon returning home to Glenwood Landing, Corporal Lockwood joined the American Legion Post 336 in Glen Head, New York, and worked for the Long Island Lighting Company until his retirement.

Mr. Lockwood joined the Glenwood Fire Company when he turned 18 and his only interval in service was substituted by his time in the Army. He served as Chief twice before being named Chief Emeritus, joining a privileged few who have been Glenwood Fire Company Chief three times.

Corporal Lockwood leaves behind three daughters and will be sorely missed by the Glenwood Landing community of which he was a part of for almost 92 years.

Edward was a true American patriot. In the wake of his passing, we should all remember the sacrifice our veterans make to keep us safe here at home. I am forever grateful for Edward's contributions as a serviceman and leader in his community on Long Island. I offer my sincerest thoughts and prayers to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Americans affected by Marfan syndrome and related heritable connective tissue disorders across the country.

As February marks National Marfan Awareness Month, it is important to raise awareness to this rare genetic condition. About 1 in 10,000 Americans carries a genetic mutation that impacts connective tissue throughout the entire body. Patients often have disproportionately long limbs, a protruding or indented chest bone, curved spine, and loose joints. However, these are not what most concern Marfan syndrome patients. Internal organs have connective tissue and in Marfan patients the aorta, the large artery that carries blood away from the heart, is weakened and prone to enlargement and potentially fatal rupture.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Orphan Drug Act. While we have made great strides in addressing rare conditions since the Orphan Drug Act first became law, we must not lose sight of the work that still needs to be done. Patients with Marfan syndrome and related disorders rely on us to provide investment in critical research activities so that treatment options can be improved and, most importantly, so that cures can be found.

I am proud to represent the nation's foremost organization working to support the Marfan community, the National Marfan Foundation, based in Port Washington, New York. The Foundation was founded in 1981 by Priscilla Ciccariello, and since then the Foundation has worked to improve the lives of those affected by Marfan syndrome and related disorders by promoting research, raising awareness, and providing support to those afflicted with Marfan.

I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing National Marfan Awareness Month. I look forward to working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to make critical investments in medical research and treatment to save the lives of people across the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a team of talented and dedicated students from Huntington High School in my Congressional District that recently won the Long Island Regional Science Bowl held at Brookhaven National Laboratory. These students are the future of our nation's excellence in the sciences and I am so proud to recognize them today.

Captain Brian Gilbert and teammates Aron Coraor, Marc Feldman, and Jacob Roday attend Huntington High School in Huntington, NY and on Saturday January 26, 2013 were named the Long Island Regional Science Bowl winners. The young men competed against twenty other teams from high schools around the region in a Jeopardy style contest. These students will compete in the National Finals for the Science Bowl in Washington, DC in April 2013.

This success reflects the hard work of these students, but also of their mentors, Huntington High School teachers, Ms. Dame Forbes and Ms. Lori Kenny. Ms. Forbes and Ms. Kenny coached the team and helped make this success possible. It is dedicated teachers like them that make a difference in lives of students and the well being of this country. I am sure there were many long days and hours of practice that made this all possible so both of these women deserve credit for their contribution to the team as well.

The National Science Bowl is one of the largest science competitions in the country and being recognized as a finalist is an extraordinary honor. I know that Brian, Aron, Marc, and Jacob have a bright future ahead of them and I wish them nothing but success in the National Finals this spring. They should be proud of all they have achieved so far and I know they will continue to excel.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan legislation on the floor today that will provide much needed relief for my constituents. H.R. 41 will replenish the National Flood Insurance Fund, which would otherwise run out of funds and be unable to pay out claims next week. That would be simply unacceptable for the homeowners and businesses that I represent who have already gone through so much.

New Yorkers were devastated by Hurricane Sandy and we are just beginning to recover. I am glad that the House Republican leadership has responded to the bipartisan outcry for action to help families, businesses and communities in my district. We must act swiftly on the remaining federal resource needs for the Sandy victims.

We all can agree that this recovery needs to be bold and it needs to be implemented quickly--and that's what we are working on. Together, both sides of the aisle from the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Congressional delegations have come together to address this immediate and urge need to meet the needs of flood insurance claims by all of our constituents.

FEMA has said there are a total of 120,000 flood insurance claims payments that will be delayed until Congress increases the borrowing authority for the program--of which 115,000 are related to Superstorm Sandy. Any delay is unacceptable and that is why I urge swift passage of this bill and prompt action in the Senate.

I implore my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. We simply need to help my constituents and allow all of those who have been devastated by this storm to move forward with their lives and rebuild stronger than ever.

I thank my very good friend and colleague from New York for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule.

It has been 80 days. For 80 days New Yorkers and other Americans have been waiting for help. Their businesses have been damaged, their homes have been damaged, their land has been damaged, their co-ops and condos have been damaged. They need the help.

It is one thing to be devastated by a weather storm; it is another thing to be devastated by a political storm. We need to put both storms behind us and move on and provide this help.

We have shown bipartisanship in my area, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from New York (Mr. King), a Republican, and I and other members of our delegation have worked with Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie and with Mayor Bloomberg to move forward, despite the politics and despite the political winds.

We have our two county executives from Long Island--County Executive Bellone and County Executive Mangano--in Washington today, with residents who are Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, and independents. This isn't about party; this is about solutions.

This is not the time for recriminations about what went wrong. It is the time for recovery, about how to get this right. This is not the time for partisan posturing. It is a time for solutions.

We are cautiously optimistic that in a few hours both the political storm and the weather storm will finally be behind us, that the help will come, the assistance will be provided, that all Americans will provide the help that we provide them when times get tough for them, and that people back home who are counting on us will get the help they need.

I thank the gentlewoman again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the bipartisan conference agreement for the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013. The conference report authorizes critical resources for our men and women in uniform and the defense of the American people. While I do not agree with every provision in this bill, I'd like to commend the conference committee for including in its report the Israel King amendment which was passed in the House in May 2012.

This bipartisan amendment would improve the coordination of research, treatment, education, and outreach of mental health, substance use disorders, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) among members of the National Guard, Reserve and their families. All Americans have a moral obligation to provide the best care possible to our veterans when they return home after so bravely serving their country.

Mental health and substance use disorders and TBI affect nearly 20% of all the service members who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Even more disturbing is that an American veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes. This is unacceptable. We must act now to ensure our veterans have the support services and access to care that they deserve.

While many active duty service members return from deployments to military bases and have access to quality mental health services, members of the National Guard and Reserve often return from a tour of duty and transition into civilian life far from military bases and without easy access to the care they need. Members of the National Guard and Reserve who have mental health, substance use disorders, or TBI are more likely to have a difficult time transitioning back into family life and their careers.

And those who do seek care in their community may not always receive the most appropriate and effective treatment options. This amendment would allow the Department of Defense to carry out a pilot program with public-private partnerships based on a competitive, merit-based grant process. We have learned that the government cannot meet the needs of our veterans alone. That is why these innovative partnerships are so critical.

Again, I thank the conference committee for including this important amendment in the final bill. American veterans and their families have already sacrificed so much for our country. I encourage all Members to support this critical care for our veterans which they not only need but deserve. We owe them nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in honoring Chairman Emanuel Cleaver. I have never had to wait so long to say something nice about a colleague of ours, and that gives you a sense of how wonderful Chairman Cleaver has been as the chairman of the CBC, as a Member of Congress, and as a human being.

This is a place of hard elbows and harsh tongues, and Chairman Cleaver has always worked to make us better, a better Congress and better as individuals.

He and I found common ground very early on in our tenure together. I created the House Center Aisle Caucus, and he reached out to me and we tried to figure out ways of injecting respect and tolerance and sensitivity into our discourse on the floor of the House. We share the value that listening is better than shouting and that bringing people together is a more valued tradition than driving them apart.

His leadership of the CBC has inspired so many of us, his ability to drive the CBC forward and, at the same time, to reach even higher. And I know that the incoming chairperson, Chairwoman Fudge, will pursue those goals with equal tenacity and equal vision.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would say this. Although Emanuel Cleaver ascended to the highest position in the Congressional Black Caucus, although he has become a senior Member of this Congress, he has never forgotten that our fundamental ability is to work for those we serve, and he has reminded us every single day that no matter how high you are at any given time, there is always a higher calling. And for that we are forever grateful to Chairman Cleaver, for his service to the CBC and his continuing service as a Member of this body. He has made us a better Congress and a better country, and we look forward to continuing to work with him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate Martin and Rhoda Ellner, the parents of one of my constituents, on reaching a true marital milestone today: their 60th wedding anniversary.

An anniversary such as this shows us all the power of love, but also serves as a reminder that a marriage takes patience, respect, and understanding. Each day that Martin and Rhoda go forward they remind us of the commitment they have made to one another, and also serve as an inspiration to those who know them with their remarkable dedication to each other.

According to their son, Andrew, Martin is a ``concentration camp survivor who's proud to be an American'' and Rhoda is a ``Brooklyn born superhero who's proud to have survived raising Martin and her 4 sons.'' These are two truly remarkable people who have demonstrated to the world what a loving partnership looks like.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Martin and Rhoda Ellner on 60 years of wedded bliss, and wish them many more happy years together.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three remarkable nuns who have dedicated their lives to helping the poor and sick, and educating the youth of Long Island. These nuns, and the organization they are part of, represent the absolute best of all of us.

Sister Francis Gerard Kress, Sister Edward Joseph Murphy and Sister Alice Francis Young, all nuns with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, have served the communities in my district for the past 80 years.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood's history in America began in Carondelet, Missouri in 1936, where the Bishop called on the Sisters to establish a school for the deaf. The Congregation soon spread from Missouri, and in 1856 the Sisters were called by the Bishop of Brooklyn to come tend to the needs of the city. Mother Austin Kean, along with Sister Baptista Hanson and Sister Theodosia Hegeman, came and established what is now the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York. Since the establishment of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood order, over 2,500 Sisters have served, with 588 of those Sisters currently serving or in retirement around the United States.

All three Sisters are 80th year Jubilarians this year, and in that time have done tremendous things for our communities. Sister Edward Joseph Murphy has devoted her life to educating children, instilling in them a lifelong love of learning, as well as community service. As a part of the Order's English as a Second Language program, Sister Murphy helped some of the newest arrivals to our nation.

Sister Francis Gerard Kress has been an active proponent of the environment and health care for her 80 years in the Order, even coming here to Washington D.C. to testify before the United States House of Representatives about the environmental dangers surrounding Newton Creek in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Her work to protect our world's natural resources has helped to shed light on the importance of the Clean Water Act and other environmental protection legislation to all Americans.

Sister Alice Francis Young has dedicated her life to early childhood education, something we know is so important to the development of our young children. She helped start the first Head Start program in New York, worked as a professor of Child Study at St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn for over 40 years, and a Master Teacher there for 20 years. Sister Alice's work has impacted and bettered, both directly and indirectly, the lives of thousands of students in New York and around the country.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on about the accomplishments of these three amazing nuns. They have worked to protect our environment both locally and nationally, provide key support to the newest members of our communities, and educate our children. Their work has been tireless, and I sincerely appreciate it.

Mr. Speaker, these nuns have devoted their lives to bettering not just the communities in my district, but those around the nation. I would like the United States House of Representatives to recognize and honor Sisters Francis Gerard Kress, Edward Joseph Murphy and Alice Francis Young for their work, and to help me in congratulating them on their 80 year jubilees.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend Congressman Jerry Costello, and to thank him for his 24 years of service in the House of Representatives working on behalf of the people of the 12th congressional district of Illinois.

Jerry has worked tirelessly during his time in Congress to create jobs and improve the lives of the people of Southwestern and Southern Illinois, as well as in his role on the Aviation Subcommittee. His leadership in aviation is best illustrated by the passage of The Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009 in the House, the strongest aviation safety bill passed in 50 years.

I wish Jerry the best of luck in his future endeavors, and know that I speak for many other Members when I say he will be dearly missed.

Madam Speaker, today we learn that American athletes competing in the Olympics will wear uniforms made in China. That not only hurts our pride; it hurts our economy.

``Made in America'' is not just a label; it is an economic solution. Today there are 600,000 vacant manufacturing jobs in this country, and the Olympic committee is outsourcing the manufacturing of uniforms to China. That is not just outrageous; it is just plain dumb. It is self- defeating.

I understand and my constituents understand the hard work, the skills, and the dedication of athletes competing in the Olympics. I think the Olympic committee has to understand the hard work, the dedication, and the skills of America's apparel manufacturers, designers, and small businesses. That's why today I'm calling on the Olympic committee to reverse this decision and make sure that American athletes competing in the Olympics are competing with labels that say ``Made in America.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.

House Republicans began the majority by passing a budget that takes Medicare away from seniors. They are now trying to end their majority by passing a repeal of patient protections for everyone else in the middle class.

With this bill, they will take away a woman's protection against an insurance company's decision to deny coverage because breast cancer is a preexisting condition. They will take away coverage of kids on their parent's policy until the age of twenty-six. They will take away the prohibition against lifetime and annual limits.

House Democrats want to move forward to pass comprehensive legislation to help small businesses create jobs and strengthen the middle class. House Republicans want to move backwards to repeal patient protections in order to help big insurance companies and weaken the middle class.