Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Colorado for yielding.

I rise to urge the defeat of the motion on ordering the previous question on this rule.

Most Americans would be outraged to see the 113th Congress, on track to be the most unproductive Congress in this Nation's history, return from a 5-week recess, only to waste more time. Yet, that is what is happening today with the GOP's 53rd attack on the Affordable Care Act.

We could be doing so much more. We could stand up against special interests and advance the American people's priorities.

We could raise the minimum wage to prevent big corporations from paying workers starvation wages.

We could stand up to the gun lobby and pass background checks to stop criminals from buying guns online.

We could stand up to companies that use fancy corporate inversions to skirt their responsibility to pay taxes towards American infrastructure, American schools, and American research.

Yet, these priorities will just as surely go ignored this 113th Congress as they did in the 112th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, it is no coincidence that we are not dealing with the people's business today. Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, Congress has become mired in dysfunction. The people's House is now paralyzed by the threat of attacks from corporations and a handful of billionaires with their Super PACs and their secret front groups.

When Members spend more time fundraising and dodging Super PAC attack ads than working on bipartisan solutions and championing their constituents' priorities, our democracy is dysfunctional. And that dysfunction is a form of corruption. It is money from the left and the right, and it is only getting worse.

This year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in McCutcheon that the wealthy have a right to hold more influence over elected officials than actual voters. This idea threatens our entire system of elected self- government, and we have an opportunity to take action today.

I urge my colleagues to do the courageous thing, to do the right thing. Join me to support the Democracy for All Amendment, H.J. Res. 119, to amend our Constitution and overturn these destructive Supreme Court rulings.

In the Senate this week, our colleagues are considering Senator Udall's companion to my constitutional amendment. And while the Senate has this important debate about money and politics, this House is rehashing tired old attacks on ObamaCare that everyone is sick of.

The Democracy for All Amendment is simple. It says that the American people have a right to pass laws protecting the integrity of our elections by limiting money and politics.

It is time to get money out and voters in and end this ``pay-to- play'' democracy. I urge my colleagues to vote against the motion ordering the previous question, to allow consideration of the Democracy for All Amendment to overturn Citizens United, and allow the American people, and not the special interests, to once again set the agenda in Washington.

Mr. Speaker, our Bill of Rights guarantees free speech, but free speech is not free if only the wealthy can afford it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Gary Lesser, who has received the 2014 American Jewish Committee Judge Learned Hand award for his outstanding accomplishments in the legal profession and exemplary service to the community. Gary is an individual dedicated to maintaining the highest ethical legal standards and has displayed a level of commitment to his clients and profession that can be admired by all.

Gary Lesser is the Managing Partner of Lesser, Lesser, Landy, & Smith, PLLC, and concentrates in general personal injury matters. As a member of the Florida Bar Board of Governors and past chair of the Florida Bar Professional Ethics Committee, Gary has demonstrated an incredible commitment to the ethical practice of law. Highly regarded in the legal community, he is frequently called upon to lecture on personal injury law and various ethics issues and has been interviewed by local and national media regarding cases, important ethical and legal issues, and his service to the community. Aside from his successes in the legal profession, Gary is also a devoted member of the Jewish community. He has served as Chair of the Jewish Federation Business & Professions Cabinet and as Legal and Fundraising Vice President of the Arthur Meyer Jewish Academy, where he has been a member of the Board of Directors for over twenty years.

It is a privilege to represent a district with citizens who not only work tirelessly to help those in need but strive to achieve a higher professional standard. His passion and dedication is an inspiration to the Jewish community, and I have no doubt that we will continue to see great things from Gary in the future.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the GOP majority, our immigration system is still broken, offshore tax loopholes are still open, criminals can still buy guns on the Internet, and corporations can still pay workers poverty wages.

When you have no record to run on, when you have destroyed what little faith Americans have left for this institution, what do you do? You sue the President for doing his job, when the problem is that you refuse to do your own.

Mr. Speaker, the GOP is guilty of recklessly abandoning 3.5 million job seekers who need unemployment insurance to feed their families, guilty of putting gun industry interests ahead of public safety, and guilty of willfully neglecting the priorities of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, in the condominiums of south Florida, my constituents sometimes turn to Yiddish to find the perfect word. They have a message for the GOP majority: Stop this mishegas--craziness--and do your jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring up H.R. 851, the Bring Jobs Home Act, to jump-start the middle class, instead of this partisan lawsuit against the President.

I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel and especially Chairman Ros-Lehtinen for her partnership in this effort to call the world's attention to Hamas' use of innocent civilians as human shields. I also thank Casey Kustin of my staff, Eddy Acevedo of Chairman Ros-Lehtinen's staff, and the committee staff as well, for bringing this important resolution to the floor.

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and I were in Israel the night that the world learned the tragic fate of the three Israeli teens: Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali. We mourned with the families and tens of thousands of others at their joint funeral, and we were there just days later when 16-year- old Mohammed Abu Khdeir was brutally and tragically murdered.

In the wake of these heartbreaking deaths, violence escalated when Hamas began indiscriminately launching rockets at Israel, with the sole purpose of causing terror and death. Israel responded.

Every civilian death is tragic. We continue to mourn the loss of innocent lives on both sides of this conflict, but we cannot forget how this started, and we cannot forget who is responsible.

It is Hamas that has chosen to launch 2,600 rockets at civilians. It is Hamas that hides rockets and rocket launchers in UNRA schools, in mosques, and even in hospitals, using the Palestinian people as cover for their weapon stockpiles and their rocket launchers.

It is Hamas that chose to spend millions of dollars digging tunnels into Israel to launch terrorist attacks and fortifying underground bunkers for its terror commanders, instead of investing, so that the people of Gaza have a chance at a prosperous future.

It is Hamas that is responsible for the miserable condition of the Palestinians in Gaza, even before this military engagement started.

As former President Clinton said last week:

Hamas was perfectly well aware of what would happen if they

started raining rockets in Israel. They fired a thousand of

them, and they have a strategy designed to force Israel to

kill their own civilians, so that the rest of the world will

condemn them.

Mr. Speaker, while Israel warns the residents of Gaza of incoming attacks via text messages, phone calls, and leaflets, Hamas' spokesmen go on television to urge people to stay in their homes to act as human shields. This is a direct violation of the Geneva Convention. Let me be clear: the use of civilians as shields to protect military objectives is a violation of international law.

It is time for responsible nations to condemn this abhorrent behavior and condemn the use of innocent civilians as human shields.

Passing House Concurrent Resolution 107 won't stop Hamas from putting the lives of its citizens at risk as human shields, but it will make clear that the U.S. House condemns the terrorists who wants to destroy and murder Israelis--the terrorists who violate international law by using human shields.

I ask my colleagues to please support this resolution.

I thank my friend from New York (Ms. Meng). I appreciate very much your dedicating this hour to this important topic. I appreciate your leadership. I am proud to be here with you. I am proud to be here with my friend and my neighbor from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), a powerful and eloquent spokeswoman on these issues that means so much not just to the Jewish community but to all of America.

And I am glad to be here with you to condemn the increase of anti- Semitism around the world.

Anti-Semitism isn't a new issue faced by Jews. For centuries, Jews have been targeted, persecuted, sometimes by their governments, sometimes by their neighbors, used as scapegoats for economic downturns and disasters, and commonly accused of being disloyal to their home country.

But this hatred, unfortunately, is far from gone. It continues in a range of manifestations, from Holocaust denial to suspicion of Jewish influence over international affairs and, tragically, even in the shooting of innocent Jews.

In recent days, we have seen a new face on this age-old bigotry. We are seeing demonstrations around the world that claim to be protesting Israel's actions against Hamas but too easily and far too often, political opposition to Israel's policies and actual hatred toward Jews are conflated and are indistinguishable.

It is clear, unfortunately, that many people are using the current conflict, a facade of anti-Zionism, or anti-Israel sentiment, as a thin veil to cover up a much more deep-seated hatred toward Jews.

Let me be clear. It moves far beyond a political statement when your intention is to incite--incite violence and to incite violence against Jewish targets especially.

Since the military operation began on July 8, over 100 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in the United Kingdom alone. On July 18, four teenagers assaulted a rabbi in Gateshead, and separately, in Belfast, a synagogue was damaged when bricks were thrown through the windows.

France has also experienced a significant number of incidents across the country. In Sarcelles, a kosher store was the target of a Molotov cocktail, and last month, two Jews were sprayed with teargas.

In Paris, two synagogues were attacked on July 13 while the mob chanted ``death to the Jews.'' In Toulouse, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a Jewish community center, but thankfully, the attacker missed the target. Particularly in Toulouse, these incidents evoke memories of the awful shooting that happened 2 years ago when three Jewish children and a teacher were shot and killed at a Jewish day school.

In Germany, long touted--appropriately so--for its extensive protective policies against anti-Semitism, Jews are witnessing anti- Semitic slogans and chants that now seem so out of date and out of place.

Only a few days ago, a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke was assaulted on the streets in Berlin and hit in the face. In Essen, a group of anti- Israel protesters, reportedly on their way to attack a synagogue, were arrested for conspiracy to commit a crime--and the statements, the screaming, in Frankfurt, ``You Jews are beasts;'' in Paris, ``Death to the Jews;'' Gelsenkirchen, Germany, chants of ``Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas.''

All over the world, not just statements, but the vitriol found on social

media as well is not only abhorrent, it is chilling, but these incidents, as my colleagues have described, are not taking place only abroad.

Just this past weekend, as my friend from Florida related, a synagogue in her district was vandalized with the words ``Hamas'' and swastikas spray-painted on the front column. Nearby, a Jewish family woke up to find one of their cars completely covered in eggs, and on another car was written ``Jew'' and ``Hamas.''

Yesterday, outside my own office in Boca Raton, Florida, during a rally, a few angry individuals screamed, ``Throw the Jews into the sea.''

A former employee of mine recently posted a story of an occurrence that happened to him last weekend. He said:

Today, I was walking home alone from synagogue, minding my

own business. When I got to the crosswalk, I waited for the

light to turn, so I could cross safely. While waiting, a car

pulled up in front of me where a young man rolled down the

window and yelled, ``Jew, Hitler was right,'' and then drove

off.

I remind you this was not at a rally. I was wearing a

yarmulke and was walking from synagogue, and I was enjoying

Shabbat.

There are many more examples domestically, including a Jewish summer camp in California where graffiti was found that read, ``Jews equal killers,'' and ``Jews are children killers.'' It is unacceptable that radical groups have used the conflict between Israel and Hamas as pretext for their own anti-Semitism.

Last month, I proudly joined my colleagues in a letter to Secretary Kerry, urging the State Department's continued focus on combating anti- Semitism worldwide. I applaud the statements of condemnation by European leaders, including those in France, in Germany, and Italy, and their stated commitment to ensuring the safety of their own communities is to be admired, but there is more that needs to be done to rid societies of this baseless hatred toward Jews.

A number of Jewish leaders in the U.S., Europe, and Israel have expressed serious concern about the rise in the number of incidents in hate speech and violence, and many believe that this animosity has risen to the worst level seen since the Holocaust.

We must continue to speak out on these issues, which is why I am so grateful to have this opportunity tonight. We have to use this opportunity to educate and to combat anti-Semitism in all of its forms.

When we combat anti-Semitism, we stand not just against hatred for the Jews, we stand against hatred, and it affects not just the Jews, but when we stand against anti-Semitism and we speak out against hatred, ultimately, every minority group that is the target of hatred-- every one of those groups benefits from our willingness to speak out.

I am glad to have that opportunity to do that here on the floor tonight, and, with that, I, again, would like to thank my friend, Ms. Meng, for bringing us together today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Laura Scher of Delray Beach, who turns 90 years old on August 2, 2014.

Laura Frankel Scher was born on August 2, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents. Along with her three siblings, she was raised to understand the value of hard work and education. After her high school graduation Laura began working as a legal secretary and married Seymour Roy Scher in 1944. Laura and Roy soon welcomed three daughters to their family--Carol, Judy, and Sandy--and raised them in East Meadow, Long Island. After a successful career working as the Executive Assistant to the president of Hofstra University, she retired and moved with Roy to Florida in 1986. Today, Laura lives in Abbey Delray South, a community where she has had the opportunity to be involved in some of her favorite hobbies, including gardening and painting, and enjoy the fruits of a full and wonderful life.

Laura is truly an exceptional woman whom I am proud to represent in Florida's 21st District. I join her friends and family in celebrating this wonderful milestone, and I wish her good health and continued success in the coming year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus, which began a conflict that continues to this day.

Since July 20, 1974, Turkey has occupied the northern territory of Cyprus, denying thousands of Greek Cypriots the right to return to their homes and imposing severe restrictions on their property rights and religious freedoms. They continue to block the exhumation of mass graves, even under UN supervision, leaving hundreds of cases of missing people unresolved.

Cyprus should not be expected to accept anything less in terms of fundamental democratic rights than any American would accept. A final resolution must be determined by the Cypriots and for the Cypriots.

I am encouraged that both parties agreed to a Joint Statement which lays the foundation for future resolution talks, and I applaud President Anastasiades' proposed confidence-building measures as helpful ways to facilitate the negotiating process.

I also wish to recognize the incredible achievements by Cyprus despite the ongoing conflict.

Cyprus has flourished as a nation and grown as a democratic stalwart in the eastern Mediterranean. This ally of the United States has helped progress U.S. interests in the region, including their integral role in the removal of chemical weapons from Syria.

As a member of the European Union, they helped push the body to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Their recent discovery of offshore natural gas will not only provide a significant revenue stream for the country, but also creates opportunities for cooperation with Israel and offers an alternative energy source for the EU.

As a co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic-Israeli Alliance Caucus, I will continue to promote greater collaboration between Congress, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus.

This conflict has continued for far too long, and I call on both parties to resume negotiations and work toward a permanent resolution.

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

Mr. Chairman, it is no surprise that I oppose H.R. 4899. However, my amendment is not an attempt to sabotage the bill. It is an honest attempt to fix a major drafting error within this legislation that could have drastic consequences on our Nation's district courts.

My amendment would strike section 10702(a)(3) of the bill, which mandates that cases involving oil and gas leases ``take precedence over all other pending matters before the district court.''

I am grateful for the opportunity to explain the serious implications of this provision. The provision seems to be directed at concerns that individuals and communities, small businesses, other interests that are not party to the production of an oil and gas lease may file lawsuits to prevent or delay an oil and gas lease from moving forward.

Now, I believe that people have an important interest in the production of oil and gas leases that could impact public health, property, and environmental injuries in the area of release.

I don't support the principle of locking people out of the courtroom. In our Nation, where the courts protect and ensure that individual rights and private property rights are not violated, this provision eliminates court protections of these most basic rights.

The bill, as drafted, is so broad that it does so much more than that, and here is where I hope that opponents and supporters of this bill can come together to fix this error.

As drafted, this language requires cases involving oil and gas leases to skip ahead of ``all other pending matters before the district court.'' That means everything--all pending cases, even cases already on the dockets of each of the judges sitting on the district court.

Because it was so broadly drafted, it contains no language to ensure that the case involving the production of oil and gas leases only receives precedence over pending matters before the district court judge who has been assigned to the oil and gas case.

Is it really the intention of Congress to mandate that legal disputes over oil and gas leases take precedence over every single case already pending in our district courts, including national security cases and high-profile criminal and civil cases? Surely not.

H.R. 4899 already lets oil and gas companies choose between the local district court that oversees Federal property for the leases in question or the District Court for the District of Columbia.

This section, therefore, allows oil and gas cases to bump some of the most important legal cases in the Nation off of the D.C. district court's dockets.

Do the oil and gas industries get to butt in line ahead of victims of massive Ponzi schemes? Do they get to bump ahead of litigation over drone strikes? Do oil and gas companies get to jump ahead of litigation, like the dispute between the House GOP and the Department of Justice over Fast and Furious?

Clearly, that is not what my friends on the other side intended.

Do oil and gas companies get to jump ahead of the prosecution of terrorists, like the mastermind of the appalling attack in Benghazi that claimed the lives of brave and dedicated Americans?

I just cannot fathom that that is the intent of my colleagues, and the implication of this poorly-drafted addition goes beyond the D.C. district court.

The Eastern District Court of Virginia's recent hearing in the case of the individual who plotted to bomb the U.S. Capitol should remind us that, across this country, there are district court hearings--important cases that

shouldn't be put on hold because Congress wants to please Big Oil.

Even with my amendment, H.R. 4899 still includes language that requires cases involving oil and gas to be resolved as expeditiously as possible and not more than 180 days after the claim is filed. Isn't that enough?

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would strike this poorly-drafted provision from the bill. We shouldn't let oil and gas litigation skip ahead of some of the most important national security cases, civil cases, and criminal cases of our time.

At the very least, I would urge my friend, Chairman Hastings, to revisit this provision to ensure that it is consistent with the intent of the overall legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, just to respond to a couple of points, the Judiciary Committee may have waived jurisdiction. As my friend knows, there was no vote to waive jurisdiction. Had there been, I would have raised this very issue then, as a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Secondly, if the purpose of this legislation is to streamline lawsuits--and that was the whole idea behind the legislation--then having language that requires these to be heard as expeditiously as possible and not more than 180 days, that does that. That is in the bill, even after this amendment passes.

I can't believe that it was the intention of the drafters of this legislation to put these oil and gas disputes ahead of cases that involve plots to kill Americans, as is the case with the mastermind of the Benghazi attack, individuals who have important civil cases, important criminal cases.

I just can't imagine the dispute between the House GOP and the Justice Department over Fast and Furious--clearly, it wasn't the intent to say that the oil and gas companies are more important than seeing that case through.

Mr. Chairman, I hope that this amendment will pass. We don't need to fine-tune the bill. It is clear enough already. I ask my colleagues to support this.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, this year we mark the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer, when hundreds of Americans traveled to Mississippi to fight discrimination and advance voting rights and equality under the law.

Today I rise to recognize three Americans who gave their lives in that struggle: James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. On June 21, 1964, these three activists--one African American and two Jewish--were kidnapped and murdered for working to register Black voters.

Their lives, the lives of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, were claimed by hate, yet their faith in equality and justice and the right to vote lives on today through the historic Black-Jewish alliance born out of the civil rights movement.

I proudly support honoring these three activists with a Congressional Gold Medal and would like to thank the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding for championing this cause.

For 25 years, the foundation has advanced the values shared by the Jewish

and African American communities, including tolerance, equal rights, and justice. As a Jewish American, it is an honor to fight for these values here in Congress today and every day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Shannon Mathew, a graduating senior from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who has received the Miami VA Healthcare System's James H. Parke Memorial Fund Youth Scholarship for her commitment to the veterans of South Florida. As a public servant and the son of a World War II veteran whose bravery motivated me to serve in Congress, I am so proud of Shannon's dedication to our community.

Shannon has devoted every summer of high school volunteering at the Physical Medicine and Rehab Unit of the William ``Bill'' Kling VA Clinic. In addition to providing encouragement, emotional support and a warm smile to all the veterans receiving treatment at the clinic, Shannon also assists administratively in keeping the physical therapy department running smoothly. Her supervisors describe her as spirited and helpful and veterans seeking treatment at the center have said that her presence encourages them to push through their pain. Shannon will begin her undergraduate career at the University of Florida this fall and plans to volunteer at the VA clinic in Gainesville in her spare time.

Representing a district home to veterans of every major conflict since World War II, I know very well the sacrifices that our military men and women and their families have made for our country and the importance of honoring them. Shannon Mathew's passion for serving our veterans is an inspiration to me and my district, and I have no doubt that she has a bright future in store.

Mr. Speaker, there have been 74 school shootings since the Sandy Hook tragedy:

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School; Taft Union High School; Stevens Institute of Business; Hazard Community College; Chicago State University; Lone Star College; Price Middle School; Morehouse College; Indian River State College; Hillside Elementary School; Henry Grady High School; the University of Central Florida; Davidson Middle School; New River Community College; Elizabeth City State University; Grambling State University; Stillman College; La Salle High School; Santa Monica College; Alexander Dreyfoos School of the Arts; Northwest High School; Ronald McNair Learning Academy; Westside Elementary School; North Panola High School; Carver High School; Savannah State University; New Gloucester High School; Agape Christian Academy; Lanier High School; Sparks Middle School; Algona High School and Middle School; North Carolina A&T; Stephenson High School; South Dakota School of Technology; West Orange High School; Arapahoe High School; Edison High School; Liberty Technology High School; Berrendo Middle School; Martin Luther King Elementary School; Delaware Valley Charter High School; Widener University; Purdue University; South Carolina Staten University; Tennessee State University; Eastern Florida State College; Cesar Chavez High School; North High School; Bend High School; Salisbury High School; Brush High School; Union University; Raytown Success Academy; McDaniel College; Madison High School; University of Wisconsin; University of Delaware; Savannah State University; Kent State University; Eastern New Mexico University; East English Prep Academy; St. Mary Catholic School; Provo High School; Iowa Western Community College; Marquette University; Horizon Elementary School; Paine College; Georgetown College; Georgia Gwinnett College; Clark Street School; Seattle Pacific University; and Reynolds High School.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 22 outstanding teachers from my district who have been selected Teachers of the Year. Through their incredible devotion to their students, these exemplary teachers have displayed a level of commitment to public service that can be admired by all.

The Teacher of the Year Award is presented to teachers who have been recognized by their principals for excellence in teaching. These teachers not only excite their students in the classroom but help them make connections to the real world and prepare them to move forward successfully in their education. As a parent and a public servant, I understand the need for a commitment to a globally competitive education for all of our nation's children.

Congratulations to District 5 Teachers of the Year Agnes Nemeth, Jasmin Deboo, Rachel Bennett, Bethany Garena, Allison Bradley, Fara Krinsky, Sue Mochtak-Heller, Katie Schmidt, Marisa Schweder, Twila Saupe, Renee Frias, Nora Buck, Evelyn Temple, Nirmala Arunachalam, Sue White, Michelle Gunning, Charles (Kevin Turner), Allison Lazarus, Judith Schachleiter, Bonnie Sonenson, Maria Aparicio, and Lisa Finn. I am proud to honor them as a sign of my appreciation for these outstanding teachers and the countless other dedicated teachers across the country. I hope that they can continue to inspire South Floridians to live by their example.

I thank my friend, the gentlelady from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, we have learned a great deal, since the allegations surfaced, that IRS officials discriminated against political-leaning groups that were seeking tax-exempt 501(c)(4) status. I joined with many of my Republican colleagues in condemning the notion that politics in any way influenced the behavior of the IRS.

We learned that the IRS kept a list of key words that triggered extra review, a misguided practice that we are grateful has since stopped. We also learned that the IRS targeted more liberal-leaning groups than conservative ones, meaning there was no conservative witch-hunt.

What my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have apparently failed to learn, however, is that the clear solution to this problem is to get the IRS out of the business of evaluating political conduct.

I wholeheartedly agree with my colleagues that the IRS has no business meddling in our elections, but we don't need a special counsel to make this stop.

Applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status exploded after the Citizens United decision because special interests found a new way to secretly funnel money into our elections. Let me tell you how it works.

Because these groups aren't required to disclose their donors, wealthy special interests that are bent on influencing the political process for their benefit anonymously give to the 501(c)(4). The 501(c)(4) then funnels the money to the super-PAC; and, voila, there are millions of secret dollars influencing our elections.

We ought to be working together in a bipartisan way to get secret money out of our elections. I asked the Treasury Department to review the murky regulations on the books, to revise the rules to restore integrity to 501(c)(4) status and to ensure that taxpayers are never again forced to subsidize blatant political behavior.

I would have hoped that my colleagues in the majority would have joined me in that effort. Instead, Republican leaders responded by attempting to block Treasury from fixing these broken rules and from forcing these secret givers to tell us who they are and what they want from this Congress.

I am afraid there is only one explanation for this latest partisan resolution. I hope I am wrong. I hope I am wrong in that my Republican colleagues don't actually want to protect secret money in our elections. I hope I am wrong in that the GOP does not want to protect the billionaires and the corporations that want to conceal themselves from the American people and believe that they have the right to funnel millions of dollars through 501(c)(4)'s into super-PACs in order to corrupt our elections.

I ask my colleagues to prove me wrong. Prove me wrong by working in a bipartisan way to protect the American people from helping sham special interest groups influence elections on the taxpayers' dime. Let's bring transparency and accountability back to our elections. Reject this sham resolution, and prove me wrong.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Broward County District 7 School Board Member Nora Rupert, a devoted teacher and mother and a dedicated community advocate. Her hard work improving our county's schools and bettering the futures of our children is an inspiration to education leaders in South Florida and across the country.

After Nora graduated from Florida Southern College and the Star Program at FAU for alternative education certification, she served as a substitute teacher with the School Board of Broward County and taught Language Arts and Reading at Piper High School for four years. She was elected in 2010 to serve as School Board Member for District 7 and has been a champion of education reform ever since. After adopting three children, she has gained invaluable experience advocating on their behalf through Exceptional Student Education and gifted issues in public schools. Finally, among many other organizations, Nora

is a Broward School Board representative on the Council of Great City Schools, National School Board Association, and Council of Urban Boards of Education and serves on the boards of the Coconut Creek Elementary School Advisory Form and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Education is fundamental to the long-term success of Florida and our nation. As a parent and a congressman, I understand the need to make an unwavering commitment to the education of our children. Nora Rupert has demonstrated this commitment through decades of compassion for the children of South Florida, and she inspires all of us to live by her example.