Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Chris Smith and Karen Bass, for spearheading this important bill and for really putting tremendous energy into it.

Mr. Speaker, far too often, it is our children who fall victim to the horror of human trafficking. As you have heard this afternoon, we must do everything that we can to stop this injustice.

Often it has been said of human trafficking that it is hiding in plain sight. Advocates and survivors are always telling me that it is important to punish traffickers, but we also need to focus on prevention.

The reauthorization of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act strengthens what we need in this holistic approach. It includes my bill, the Empowering Educators to Prevent Trafficking Act. This language in the bill creates a training program that I think you have heard about that empowers educators to spot the signs of trafficking and, in turn, teach their students how to protect themselves from becoming victims.

With the passage of this bill, our schools can join the resistance in the fight against trafficking. Armed with knowledge, students and teachers can join the battle lines against the injustice of modern-day slavery.

I want to thank all those who have participated in this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to commend the dedicated bipartisan work of the House Armed Services Committee in recognizing our subcommittee chairs, members, and the staff as well in bringing this critical bill to the floor.

But as it has been stated earlier, the budget numbers that we are talking about contained in the bill are, unfortunately, aspirational. We have not passed a budget resolution, and the Budget Control Act is still the law of the land.

While it is true that the BCA was a bipartisan failing--we can all take credit for that--pointing fingers does not solve the problems. We are on an uncertain and dangerous path, one where we have not been honest with ourselves on many levels and where we continue to play games with our men and women serving in the military.

We must recognize that the only path to solving these issues is bipartisan collaboration and legislation to repeal the BCA. Continuing resolutions and unrealistic, deeply partisan budgets amount to nothing more than professional malpractice.

I have to say, Mr. Chairman, that I was encouraged to see that the Senate included a proposal similar to the one I introduced during markup to continue paying the widows of servicemembers who died in defense of our Nation. Their personal compensation is not just a small gesture but our fundamental responsibility.

I am also encouraged by the promise our chairman made regarding this issue. He said that the issue ``has to be fixed and will be,'' but there are, as he acknowledged as well, ``difficult tradeoffs that have to be made.'' I completely agree. We will all have to contribute to the solutions. I am prepared to do that, and I know that my colleagues are as well. We all have to hope together that we move forward and be prepared to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a widely respected public servant who is set to retire on June 30th. Through his inspirational leadership he has touched the lives of thousands of students in San Diego County.

It is fitting that at this time, as we celebrate the graduation of thousands of students across the nation, that I should rise to speak of Superintendent Ernest (Ernie) Anastos.

Ernie is a graduate of Brandeis University, and holds a master's degree in Special Education from Bridgewater State College. He has been a dedicated educator for over 45 years.

Ernie's life of public service began in 1972, as an elementary school teacher. His years of experience lent to a successful transition into school administration.

He served Sweetwater Union High School District for 20 years, working at Chula Vista High School, Hill Top High School, and Mar Vista High School. Ernie was named principal to National City Middle School in 1992, and to Rancho del Rey Middle School in 1997. Under his direction, both schools achieved the title of California Distinguished Schools.

His time at Sweetwater Union High School District also included a term as the Area Superintendent in charge of Instructional Support Services and Student Support Services from 2002 to 2005.

Ernie was named the Superintendent of Lemon Grove School District in 2005. On April 28th, 2017, the Association of California School Administrators named Ernie as Superintendent of the Year in the San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Under his leadership, Lemon Grove School District has created a number of highly successful, specialized schools including the Dual Immersion Academy at Mount Vernon Elementary, the San Miguel Arts Academy, and the Lemon Grove Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Ernie has been a stalwart in the push for quality public education.

The Lemon Grove Academy campus is an example of the success that arose as a result of Ernie's inventiveness. Ernie sought to create schools that could serve as community centers. Through a partnership with UC San Diego, and the Lemon Grove Library, a joint-use facility was created which featured medical and dental clinics to serve students and their families.

As I reflect on Ernie's career, I am inspired by his dedication to promoting student achievement. I am truly encouraged by his commitment to bettering the lives of those around him.

Ernie's dedication to students, commitment to excellence, and ingenuity truly made him a remarkable leader. Under his guidance, Lemon Grove School District has emerged as a mecca for innovative education. I wish him congratulations on his upcoming retirement.

Mr. Chair, I am proud to support this amendment which would align the TANF program and the federal work study program.

TANF, or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, was created to help struggling families become self sufficient.

We know that the best way to achieve this goal is to give people the resources they need to find quality jobs.

This amendment would allow states to align employment efforts by coordinating with schools to help more students access work-study opportunities.

And we know that these students are not the 18 year olds of decades past--they are older students with children, dependent parents, and more financial responsibilities.

Helping these students elevates entire families; helping these families elevates entire communities.

I hope we can come together to support this amendment and support more working Americans.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 25, 2017, my vote was not recorded due to a technical error. I intended to vote YES on H.R. 1761 the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for bringing this forward.

The Marines United website was a disgusting breach of trust, and I immediately called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. I appreciate General Neller coming to Congress earlier this year, taking ownership of the problem, immediately establishing a task force, and conducting multimedia and personal engagements across the Marine Corps.

He said he would deal with this immediately and decisively, and we demand nothing less. I take him at his word, and he was clear in asking to be held accountable.

While the Navy and Marine Corps have updated policies regarding social media and established no-tolerance policies for nonconsensual pornography, these still need to apply across all the services and must be codified into law. For this reason, I support the PRIVATE Act, and I hope that we continue to work together with my colleagues to ensure that this bill becomes law.

Mr. Speaker, as the scandal unfolded, it became clear to me that, even from initial recruitment, servicemembers must be held to the highest ethical standard online, and prevented from joining the military should their behavior fail to meet that standard.

Our children live their lives online, and the laws need to be updated to reflect that. The issue of nonconsensual pornography, unfortunately, is prevalent across our society. It has no place anywhere, but especially not in our military ranks.

Mr. Speaker, every day men and women in the police force put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Let me tell you about one of these extraordinary heroes: San Diego Police Department Officer Jonathan De Guzman, or JD, as his friends knew him.

JD dedicated his life to protecting the San Diego community he loved. His bravery shows the kind of unique selflessness found in police officers. After suffering a brutal stabbing from a suspect, JD went back to the force, and that same year he won the San Diego Police Department Purple Heart award for bravery in the line of duty.

Tragically, on July 28, 2016, Officer De Guzman, a 16-year veteran of the force, was shot and killed, a hero taken from us too early.

There is a special honor in representing those who serve us every single day, those like San Diego's own JD, Officer De Guzman. Thank you to the brave men and women of our police force. Your sacrifice and your strength keep us safe.

Mr. Speaker, recently I met with leaders of the San Diego medical research community who had a unified message: We need to end the cuts in research that have slowed medical innovation for the last decade.

This year I was proud to lead the bipartisan effort, along with over 200 of my colleagues, to push for an additional $2 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health.

This is a very personal issue. Almost all of us know someone who is struggling with a disease where NIH funding is used to find a cure. That person could be a mother, father, family friend, or even more heart-wrenching, a child.

I am thrilled that the spending bill before us this week avoids the cuts proposed by President Trump and actually increases NIH funding by $2 billion. We have seen what can happen when leadership takes a bipartisan approach: top priorities like medical research actually get funded.

This isn't the bill that I would have written, but it is a compromise that I am very happy to vote for. Let's hope that Speaker Ryan has learned from this experience and will work with us on health care, on transportation, and other priorities moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 217.

Mr. Speaker, it looks like my colleagues have wasted no time moving back to familiar territory after their healthcare disaster last week.

Instead of fighting over how many people should lose health coverage, they decided that it is easier to unite around the shared cause of climate denial. This week President Trump announced plans to gut President Obama's landmark Clean Power Plan, and the House will vote on legislation to block the EPA from reviewing peer reviewed scientific research when forming regulations.

So think about that for a second--the majority couldn't agree on how many people should lose healthcare coverage; so they are united around the shared cause of climate denial. The President likes to claim that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese.

Well, I know that the President and his party have developed a disdain for fact-checkers, but silencing the scientific community takes things to a whole new level.

Mr. Speaker, I have to ask: Can my colleagues handle the truth?

Mr. Speaker, it has been hard keeping up with all the changes over the last 24 hours. This process has been far from transparent.

The CBO released a revised score last night that said that the changes made to appease the Freedom Caucus will cost about $200 billion more without doing or adding anything to increase coverage.

So how is that possible?

The latest edition to this healthcare disaster, the elimination of minimum essential benefits, is something that I want to focus on very briefly.

This change hits women especially hard. Insurance companies will no longer have to cover maternity care, provide direct access to an OB/ GYN, or cover preventative services like cancer screening or birth control.

Mr. Speaker, do we call this a mommy tax? Is this a mommy tax to finance a millionaire tax cut?

I don't know.

Earlier this week, I gave my colleagues the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to women's health in a related bill, and, Mr. Speaker, they didn't even allow a vote. I hear my colleagues claiming that these changes are about choice. Forcing women to pay more for the care they need is a choice I think we could do without.

Mr. Speaker, I urge opposition to this healthcare disaster.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that major laws often have winners and losers. Unfortunately, I am struggling to figure out who wins under this healthcare plan.

We have seen who stands to lose: 24 million fewer people will have insurance; States will lose billions, forcing painful cuts to education and other services; California, alone, will lose $6 billion in 2020 and much more in the years that follow; hospitals and clinics will have to cut back on services and investments.

So, who are the winners? It is hard to find any, except, of course, for insurance companies and millionaires who will get almost all of the tax relief included in this package.

Do Americans really think that we should pass a bill that cuts coverage in order to give millionaires an average tax cut of $49,000?

We can do better. I hope we will.

Mr. Speaker, I missed votes because I was asked to give a eulogy for a leading Councilwoman and State Senator, who had been a dear friend and mentor. It was a significant tribute and event in my district and for my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 138, NAY on Roll Call No. 139, YEA on Roll Call No. 140, YEA on Roll Call No. 141, YEA on Roll Call No. 142, YEA on Roll Call No. 143, YEA on Roll Call No. 144, YEA on Roll Call No. 145, YEA on Roll Call No. 146, YEA on Roll Call No. 147, NAY on Roll Call No. 148, YEA on Roll Call No. 149, YEA on Roll Call No. 150, YEA on Roll Call No. 151, NAY on Roll Call No. 152, YEA on Roll Call No. 153, YEA on Roll Call No. 154, YEA on Roll Call No. 155, YEA on Roll Call No. 156, YEA on Roll Call No. 157, and NAY on Roll Call No. 158.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a beloved and widely respected public servant who died at the age of 94. Through her visionary and inspirational leadership she brought forward generations of leaders dedicated to the public good and the growth of the City of San Diego, and the State of California.

It is fitting that at this time, as we celebrate the history of the contributions of women throughout the month of March that I should rise to speak of Senator Lucy Killea.

Lucy's life of public service began during WWII, working as a military intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and as an aide to First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1946, during the first General Assembly of the United Nations.

She and her husband John Killea, served ten years as U.S. diplomats in Mexico, which no doubt influenced Lucy's commitment to foster dialogue and collaboration between the United States and Mexico. After their diplomatic service Lucy, and her husband, moved to San Diego, where she completed a doctorate in Latin American History from the University of California, San Diego. Lucy had a full career prior to running for political office.

In 1978, San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, appointed Lucy, to an empty seat on the City Council. In 1982 she was elected to the California State Assembly, where she established the first bipartisan women's caucus in the legislature, and won election to the California State Senate in 1989. She championed the environment, women's health, and ethical governmental practices. She honored her constituents and placed their interests above her own.

As I remember Lucy, I think of her not only as a dynamic and committed public servant but as a mentor, a role model and a friend. She worked tirelessly to support women and young people in their efforts to win public office. I count myself among the many Californians involved in public service, who, when confronted with tough political situations, often ask themselves, ``What would Lucy do?'' We recall how she left the Democratic Party and ran as an independent when she no longer believed that she could serve her constituents with a party label.

The word trailblazer is often used to describe her political leadership and it is in many ways inadequate to describe how much she has contributed to San Diego, her adopted city, and the great State of California.

Lucy's honesty, integrity and respect for civil discourse made her a remarkable leader and a dear friend to many. She truly represents the ``best of us,'' and is dearly missed.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to protect student loan borrowers. Protecting our young people should be a priority for every single Member of this Chamber. A major way that we are able to defend our students is through the safeguards that are at stake today.

These protections, like provisions which ensure students are able to find gainful employment or have recourse if a school misleads them, have been integral in the wake of unethical practices by certain schools. We have seen the damage that schools like ITT Tech and Ashford University have done in districts like mine. And as a military town, the students in San Diego are particularly vulnerable to bad actors in the for-profit education industry.

I can tell you, Mr. Chair, I have heard from students who can't get the degrees they need to provide a better life for their families; veterans who write to me imploring us to protect the men and women who would have spent their lives protecting us; students who write to me frustrated by this Chamber's insistence on deregulation for deregulation's sake; and many more who write letters saying, education is important to us. And we believe it should be important to you as well.

Let's prove them right, Mr. Chair. Let's show that education is important to us, and let's commit to keeping key provisions for students intact.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to suppose the ESEA title I protection amendment.

We all know education, at its core, is a civil rights issue. We have a responsibility to ensure that every student has access to a world- class education, and this is especially true for children who come from families with limited means.

For our working class families, a quality education can be--and actually is--the ladder which raises an entire family's prospects. The protections that we are debating today ensure that these students and their schools are not shortchanged from the resources they need in order to be successful. These are resources that they are entitled to by law.

Last year's Every Student Succeeds Act was a very successful bipartisan compromise, so let's not gut the protections that are crucial for its effective implementation before it is even given a chance.

A student's ZIP Code should not determine the quality of his or her education. A family's income should not determine their child's career prospects, and a school's location should not determine its resources.

Let's come together to protect our most vulnerable students because, as we all know, today's investments in education will determine our future.