Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, as I near the end of my Congressional public service, I rise today to recognize my constituent Dr. Shetal Shah, MD, FAAP of Syosset, New York for his sustained and expert advocacy in support of children's health. During my tenure representing New York's third Congressional District, Dr. Shah has been an indispensable resource to my office--and the entire Long Island Congressional Delegation, on issues related to children.

As former Legislative Chairman of the Long Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and an expert in the intricacies of children's health insurance, Dr. Shah worked with my office to staunchly defend the gains in children's health insurance coverage made as a result of passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. His vigorous advocacy, in partnership with several national medical organizations, assisted our office and other members of New York State's Congressional Delegation in preserving core provisions of this landmark legislation, including the expansion of Medicaid and pediatric-specific tenets of the essential health care benefits package.

He has also worked to ensure reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which in New York insures almost 750,000 of our state's children. Dr. Shah has been a vocal supporter of the need to reauthorize this program since its inception and worked with myself and fellow members of Congress to reauthorize this incredibly successful program again in 2018, safeguarding health coverage and access for all children covered by Child Health Plus.

A national pediatric leader in advocacy and child health policy. He has articulated the importance of providing robust federal funding

for major programs which impact children across Long Island and the nation. These include the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program, the PREEMIE Act, and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Act. His worked has been a supporter of legislation to increase access to pediatric subspecialty care and provide loan repayment to pediatric subspecialty physicians who care for patients from medically underserved areas in those branches of medicine.

Through lectures and scholarly articles in the medical literature, Dr. Shah also outlined the need to modernize the Vaccines for Children Program, advocating for legislation that would create incentives for more physicians to participate and provide routine childhood immunizations. This work closely aligned with his work to increase Medicaid payments to those of Medicare, creating more equity for children throughout our federal healthcare system.

Throughout the COVID pandemic, Dr. Shah had served as a leader in the state on the pediatric implications of the pandemic. At the pandemic's onset, Dr. Shah--now serving as President of New York Chapter 2 of the American Academy of Pediatrics, helped support pediatric immunization efforts by allaying fears about COVID vaccines, combatted the omnipresent vaccine misinformation that appeared across social media, reinforced the importance of wearing a facemask to prevent virus transmission, provided timely updates on changes to COVID protocols to over 1500 pediatricians across Long Island. Though fighting the pandemic as frontline physician, Dr. Shah hand-delivered over 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to pediatricians across Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. At a time when these resources were extremely scarce, these deliveries helped over 200 physicians across New York City and Long Island. In several cases, these deliveries allowed pediatric offices to stay open, so they could continue to care for children with chronic medical issues throughout the early months of the pandemic. Upon creation of the Paycheck Protection Program, he assisted practices representing over 100 physicians in applying, often working in their backyards so they could navigate the process of securing financial assistance and forestall layoffs or furloughs of office staff.

I was extremely proud to partner with Dr. Shah, who noticed that an initial draft of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, did not provide for payment of telehealth services for certain Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and high deductible health plans. As these plans cover a large proportion of my constituents across New York State, my office served as an agent for New Yorkers, working to certify they could use telehealth to access healthcare during the stay-at-home period of 2020.

We should take special note that all of this work is done as a volunteer, and independent of Dr. Shah's work as a specialist in neonatal-perinatal medicine, providing care for the most critically-ill and premature infants in our state at a Regional Perinatal Center, New York's highest designation for a neonatal intensive care unit. This work, made harder by the challenges of the pandemic, is among the most emotionally and physically demanding specialties in medicine, and we are fortunate that we have dedicated newborn specialists like Dr. Shah caring for our most fragile New Yorkers.

For this work with my office, his leadership, dedication and service to the members and children of the Long Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the chapter received the coveted 2020 Outstanding Chapter Award during his presidency, their first such award in over 57 years.

Madam Speaker, as I prepare to leave Congress, I wish to thank constituents like Dr. Shah for volunteering his time, passion and energy to provide advice on children's health issues. He serves as an example of how strong partnerships between engaged representatives and local experts in their districts can achieve better health for children. He has been among my most trusted advisors over the past 6 years on Medicaid, vaccinations and all aspects of child health policy. I take this opportunity to congratulate him, and the Long Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for their dutiful work on behalf of our children.

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to honor the life of Alexander Aurrichio, a talented young Australian Rules Footballer who touched the lives of his family, friends, and community. Alexander's teammates describe him as a compassionate soul with a smile that would light up the room. Alexander's father, Lou Aurrichio, remembers his son as ``a leader of men, a teacher of children and a true motivator.'' Alexander Aurrichio grew up playing basketball at Half Hollow Hills West High School, in Suffolk County, Long Island and went on to play collegiate soccer and baseball at Columbia University. This June, Alexander will surely be missed when his Columbia University team and classmates come together for their 10- year reunion.

Nicknamed ``Rooch'' Alexander stood tall at 6'6'' and 220 pounds, Alexander is described as a big young man with an even bigger personality. According to his mother, Jill, he was born an incredible 14 lbs. and called Alexander the Great by all the nurses at the hospital. Not only was Alexander loved by his community, he had many close friends worldwide, especially in Australia where he had been playing football since 2014, with a dream to one day play for the AFL. He later played for South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) before moving north to join Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) club Waratah in Darwin.

Alexander's ``Australian brother'' Tom Fields remembered Alexander by saying ``Alex had the gift to enter into someone's life for a brief moment and instantly make them feel happier, safe, and better about themselves, to me that is the mark of an exceptional human being'' NBA star Tobias Harris played high school basketball with Alexander and tweeted, ``Alex was seriously one of the greatest human beings I've come across. I've lost a friend that I will forever miss.''

Alexander Aurrichio was riding a bicycle in Howard Springs on June 8, 2020, when he was involved in a fatal crash with a car. He was 30 years old. Alexander Aurrichio is survived by his mother Jill, father Lou and siblings John, Michael, Jillian, and Christopher. As we honor him today, we keep his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers, with the hope that all those he inspired will flourish as they keep his memory alive eternally in their hearts.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022. Everyone can agree that the American Dream should be achievable for anyone willing to work hard. The American Dream is the ability for families to one day own a home, provide an education for their children, and retire with dignity. The SECURE Act 2.0 does several things to help make retirement security easier for millions of hardworking Americans. I rise today not only in support of the bill, but to advocate for the inclusion of another bipartisan bill, the ABLE Employment Flexibility Act, as SECURE 2.0 progresses through the legislative process.

Along with my colleague Mr. Wenstrup, I introduced another practical solution that will allow more hardworking Americans the ability to participate in the labor force more fully by providing them access to benefits tailored to their needs. My bill permits employers to make tax-exempt contributions to ABLE (Achieving Better Life Experience) accounts in lieu of making contributions to existing tax-exempt defined contribution retirement plans. An ABLE account is established to pay expenses such as food, education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, and health care expenses of a designated beneficiary who is disabled. In other words, it will allow millions of Americans with disabilities to receive, and their employers the ability to provide, similar tax-preferred benefits as their fellow employees.

The ABLE Employment Flexibility Act would allow ABLE-eligible workers to permit an employer to make contributions to a 529A account in lieu of contributions to the employer's defined contribution plan. The legislation is needed because, under current law, an employer that offers employees with a disability the choice to have employer contributions that would be made to the retirement plan instead contributed to a 529A account would jeopardize the tax-qualified status of the retirement plan.

Many defined contribution plans permit an eligible employee to defer compensation into that defined contribution plan, with the employer sponsoring the plan providing for a matching contribution on such deferrals. The plan may also have nonelective employer contributions that are automatically made. Unfortunately, assets in these plans could adversely impact the availability of means-tested benefits. By eliminating this barrier, employers will be able to provide equitable opportunities to their employees to save for critical services while allowing them to retain critical government support and services.

Through the leadership of Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady, we are passing SECURE 2.0, a bill with overwhelming support. The bill has support from every stakeholder, from advocates for seniors to the retirement industry, and the practical solutions contained have garnered bipartisan support. Both things the American people are clamoring for in these hyper-partisan times. Like SECURE 2.0, the ABLE Employment Flexibility Act has received support from an array of stakeholders from disability advocates to associations representing the retirement industry.

I want to thank the Chairman, Ranking Member, their staffs, and the Joint Committee on Taxation for their willingness to work with myself and Mr. Wenstrup to address technical issues with the legislative text of the ABLE Employment Flexibility Act to achieve the underlying policy goal--help more Americans save effectively and efficiently to live and retire in dignity. I look forward to our continued efforts and hope that we can resolve outstanding issues as we advance the SECURE Act 2.0 to the President for his signature.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 52 hostages of the Iran hostage crisis that were released, after 444 days of captivity, 41 years ago today.

On November 4, 1979, Iranian student militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took Embassy employees captive. Despite mock firing squads, beatings, solitary confinement, lack of food, and psychological torture, the American hostages maintained their strength and resilience.

Back at home, Americans remained united in their support for the hostages, many tying yellow ribbons around trees as a sign of solidarity. The former hostages have never received proper recognition from their government for their sacrifices.

This bipartisan bill is a symbol of our Nation's ability to come together to honor these American heroes. As of today, the bill has over 166 cosponsors.

Special thanks to Commission 52 and Chairman Brock Pierce for helping to gather support for the bill. It is a true public service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and everyone who has worked so hard on this, including Chairman McGovern.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you as chair of the Congressional Uyghur Caucus and as a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China to support passage of the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

We need to wake up from our torpor. It has been reported for years, but I don't think most Americans realize exactly what is going on in China.

It was almost 50 years ago that Nixon went to China, and we have always believed that the more the Chinese Government and the people were exposed to the United States and the West, our way of life, our democracy, and our economic system, the more they would become like us, the more they would adopt concepts of freedom of expression, free markets, and minority rights.

Well, that simply hasn't happened. Everyone in this body has seen reliable reports and clear documentation of crimes against humanity: forced labor, forced sterilization, mass surveillance, government-run detention camps, mass detention, sexual violence, and torture against the Uyghur people.

The Chinese Communist Party is even forcing people to eat pork during Ramadan, even though it violates people's religion.

It is hard to imagine that in today's world, that forced labor camps are happening, and we know about it. And today, we are standing up to do something about it.

The Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable. We have rules in place now that say you can't use forced labor. But this bill is a major step forward in mandating that everything that comes out of Xinjiang in China will be presumed to be using forced labor and, therefore, ineligible to be sold into the U.S. supply chain. This is going to have a tremendous impact.

An overwhelming amount of cotton in the world comes from China, for example. Mr. Speaker, 84 percent of that cotton that comes from China comes from the Xinjiang region. Some people are going to say, Oh, my gosh, if we don't do business with Xinjiang, then the cost of products are going to go up. Well, that is too damn bad. This should shock everyone's conscience.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do everything we can to stand up for our values. The world is watching us, and it starts with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act becoming law. Let's do this, and let's do it together.

We recognize here in our country that we went through a period of slavery. That is why it is so offensive to us now to see slavery actually happening in the world as we speak, where both administrations, the prior administration and this administration, have both said this is genocide. Standing up together in a bipartisan way is so important.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Janis Schachter, a dedicated and passionate educator at Northport High School. Janis Schachter is a leader and innovator in the academic discipline of News and Media Literacy. As a journalist and Social Studies teacher, Janis uses her talent and professional knowledge to engage young people in learning about the essential role of journalism in protecting our freedoms, and their shared civic responsibility to be active and informed participants in our democracy with civility and mutual respect.

Through her affiliation with the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University, the Law Youth and Citizenship Program of the New York State Bar Association, and Project PATCH, the Law and Civic Education Program of the Northport--East Northport Union Free School District, Ms. Schachter has provided training in News and Media Literacy to hundreds of teachers in the United States and around the world.

On September 15, 2021, Janis Schachter was recognized with a prestigious international teaching award by Global Youth & News Media which awarded her their Silver Prize for excellence and leadership in the field of News and Media Literacy. Her excellence as a teacher is also evident in her recognition as ``Distinguished Social Studies Educator'' by the New York State Council for the Social Studies.

I am proud to recognize Janis Schachter for her invaluable contribution toward education as she continues to empower young people and fellow teachers with the knowledge, skills, and values that sustain and support our democracy.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Levin for yielding and for organizing this special order. We are so grateful to you for making sure we take this time to stop and honor the great legacy of Rich Trumka.

I first came to Congress in 2017, and one of the first things I did was request a meeting with Rich Trumka, and he took me to breakfast. I have always been a prolabor person through my time as mayor and county executive of Nassau County. And I talked to him, and he made it very clear that what he was looking for and what the labor movement is looking for are champions that will be with you no matter what; not with you on some issues and not on other issues, but with you 100 percent.

Everything he said to me that morning really resonated with me. And I decided from that moment on that I would make it clear that I would be a true friend of labor because of the instruction of Rich Trumka.

The country has changed so much from the time from when he served as president of the United Mine Workers Union in the 1980s. And since the 1980s, we have seen tremendous growth in wealth in America. We have seen the Dow Jones go up 1,900 percent. We have seen the GDP go up 900 percent. But workers' wages during that same period of time have gone up less than 20 percent. So we have created enormous wealth in our country, but we are not sharing it with the men and women who go to work every day.

Rich Trumka has reminded us how important it is that for this great system of capitalism to survive in our country, the best system that has ever been in human history, which has created more wealth, more innovation, has lifted more people out of poverty, for it to survive for the long-term future, we have to learn how capitalism and our economic system can share the great production of wealth with the people who go to work every day.

Because the American Dream is based upon a very simple concept: if I go to work, I will make enough money. And with that money I can buy a home; I can educate my children; I can have health insurance; and I can retire one day in security without being scared.

Rich Trumka reminded us of that every day of his life, that we need to recreate the American Dream for people in this country; that hard work will be rewarded with sufficient wealth so that you can live the American Dream.

So my condolences to the Trumka family. Thank you to my colleague for setting this up. And thank you to Rich Trumka, a good and faithful servant, who has made our country a better place. And let's honor him by making

sure we do everything we can to support the labor movement in this country.

Madam Speaker, I have two unrelated topics that really got me going this morning.

The first is vaccinations. Over 40 percent of Americans are still not vaccinated. I mean, come on, what is going on? We need to wake up, America. We need to get vaccinated.

People are saying, ``I want to live free or die.'' Well, people are living free and other people are dying. We need to get everyone vaccinated. Cases are rising every day. It is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

Madam Speaker, 97 percent of hospitalizations are unvaccinated; 99 percent of the COVID deaths are unvaccinated. We need to wake up.

There are people using social media poisoning the American people's minds and jeopardizing their health in the process. We need to work together to convince people that vaccinations are safe and that it makes sense to get vaccinated.

I want to applaud Steve Scalise and Mitch McConnell for getting vaccinated and promoting it to the American people. We need everyone in this body to please do the same. You need to get vaccinated, not only for yourself, not only for your family, do it for other families, do it for the country, do it so the economy can stay strong.

Please, get vaccinated.

DACA Program

Madam Speaker, the second topic I would bring up is the Dreamers; the DACA program.

So many families are living every day with so much stress and anxiety because of their immigration status.

Last week, a Federal judge ruled that DACA must end, causing more anxiety and stress for these families. Congress should fix this. Give a pathway to legalization and citizenship, for Dreamers, for TPS recipients, and for the farm workers and other essential workers that make our country work. This is personal for me.

Madam Speaker, 100 years ago, August 22 of 1921, my father was born in a small medieval village on the mountains of Southern Italy. He immigrated to the United States as a young boy. He was the first kid from the neighborhood to go to college. He fought in World War II as a navigator on a B-24 and got the Distinguished Flying Cross. He came home and went to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill.

My father would always say, ``What a country.'' He went on to live a great American success story. So, like I said, this is personal for me.

Twenty-seven years ago, I served as the young mayor of my hometown, the city of Glen Cove, New York. I addressed the growing issue of new immigrants from Central and South America who were gathering on street corners looking for work by creating the

first day-workers site anywhere on the East Coast of the United States of America in 1994.

I relied on a fundamental American principle: All men and women are created equal. It is not that all men and women with a passport are created equal, or all men and women with a green card are created equal. Every human being should be treated with human respect and dignity, and we have failed to address this problem for 30 years.

Those same men who gathered on the street corners 27 years ago now have their own businesses, own their own homes, and their children went to school with my children.

One Dreamer graduated high school with my daughter, went on to graduate from college with a degree in biomedical engineering, got a master's degree in biomedical engineering, and is now pursuing a doctorate in the same subject. But, now, he is suffering every day, worrying about his immigration status, worried about how this court ruling will affect him and his family.

Dreamers have been shaken yet again. Let's fix this. Let's do it. Dreamers are ready to live the same American success story that my father lived.

Let's give Dreamers, TPS recipients, farmworkers, and other essential workers a path to citizenship, and let's do it now.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Madam Speaker, tonight, over the next hour, I, along with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, will rise to advocate for the repeal of the unjust and unfair SALT cap and the full restoration of the SALT deduction. There are five basic arguments that I, along with my colleagues, will flesh out over the next hour.

One, the SALT cap was specifically and unjustly targeted against the residents of New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and other congressional districts with high local and State taxes.

Two, middle-class families, which in these States can earn between $100,000 and $200,000 per year, are disproportionately impacted in a negative way.

Three, these same middle-class families, as well as wealthy families, are incentivized by the loss of the SALT deduction to leave States with high State and local taxes, thereby leaving a gaping hole in the revenues that are used by these same States to fund their programs. When wealthy individuals and families leave our States because they have been incentivized to leave because of the loss of the SALT deduction, it is middle-class and low-income people who are left behind to hold the bag. Because of the gap in revenues, they will either face higher taxes, which is unacceptable and unsustainable, or reduced services, which is unlikely.

Four, the SALT cap is anti-union because one of the main reasons that taxes are higher in SALT States is because we pay our teachers and our public safety and our civil servants significantly higher wages than our low-tax competitor States.

Five, many States with high State and local taxes that have been negatively affected by the SALT cap are net donors to the Federal Government. That is, these States contribute more to the Federal Government in income taxes than they receive in Federal programs and contracts. They are donor States.

Why are the taxes higher in New York, California, and other SALT States? Why are the taxes lower in Florida, Texas, and other low-tax States?

The reason for our higher taxes is because we insure our children. New York State and California have some of the lowest rates of uninsured children in the Nation, while Texas and Florida have some of the highest rates of uninsured children in our country. We adopted the Affordable Care Act; they refused to.

Our States have the highest rates of union employees. Our low-tax competitors don't like unions. In fact, they actively oppose them. They have right-to-work laws. They don't pay their teachers well.

In States like New York, we have one of the greatest mass transit systems in the world that delivers the lowest carbon footprint per capita of any city in the world. In California, they have been implementing policies to address climate change for decades. Yet, in low-tax States, they have no mass transit to speak of, and they are still debating whether climate change is a hoax.

Secretary Yellen has said that we need to stop the international race to the bottom by creating a global minimum corporate tax. Well, we need to discourage a race to the bottom right here in the United States of America.

It is cheaper not to insure your children. It is cheaper to use nonunion labor. It is cheaper to have lax environmental regulations, unregulated utilities that shut down in cold weather, or septic tanks instead of sewers that cause red tide in your waterways.

Each State, each city, each laboratory of democracy has decided how they want to govern, what services they want to provide, and how much in taxes they will collect. By removing the SALT deduction, the first deduction in the Federal income tax code, a deduction that has been in place for over 100 years, by capping this deduction, we are crippling the very States, cities, and local municipalities that are the economic engines of our Nation.

By capping the SALT deduction, the long arm of the Federal Government is reaching into our States and local governments to try to determine what programs they should provide, how much they should collect in taxes. They are breaching the covenant of federalism that has been in place for over 100 years.

That is why, tomorrow, will be holding a press conference with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and the National Association of Counties to showcase how the SALT cap is devastating our local governments.

Last week, we held a press conference with unions to show how they are negatively impacted by the SALT cap.

That is why, tonight, so many of my colleagues are here to join me in our call to repeal the unfair and the unjust SALT cap.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate Congresswoman Kim so much and thank her for being here this evening.

You have been hearing about the SALT cap and the effect on your constituents. Have they been talking to you about this a great deal?

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim) for the purpose of a colloquy.

And are people talking about leaving the region because of the effect of the taxes? I yield to the gentlewoman.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kim for her comments.

At this time, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), who has been a real leader on the issue of SALT, and who has been outspoken ever since 2017 on this issue. We are grateful to him.

Well, I thank Mr. Pascrell very much for his comments. I wanted to mention that the gentleman served as the mayor of his hometown. I yield to the gentleman.

And you talk about President Lincoln when the Federal Tax Code was first adopted, and the idea was that we didn't want the Federal Government stopping local governments and State governments from being the laboratories of democracy.

And so they put a deduction in place for State and local taxes so that State and local governments could govern the way they wish.

Madam Speaker, I know that the gentleman has always been a strong proponent for law enforcement, for the firefighters, and public safety officials, and they are very dramatically negatively affected by this. Is that right?

Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Pascrell very much for his comments.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), a good friend and a leader, not just on this issue but in Congress.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on this and for being such a fierce advocate for the middle class.

I now introduce a good friend of mine from California, who really had a district that was devastated by COVID. People lost their jobs at one of the greatest entertainment facilities in the country, and now he wants to tell us about how SALT is affecting his district.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal).

Madam Speaker, I just want to--some people, when they hear you talk about this, and they hear a home worth $500,000, $600,000, $700,000, $800,000, they think, boy, that person must be really rich.

What they don't seem to understand is that in my State, in your State, and many of the States represented here, those are actually middle-class home values.

So we have to recognize that the country is not the same all over. If you make $150,000 in your household, you are in the top 20 percent of the income earners of the country.

However, if you make $150,000 in your district or my district, you are not a rich person. If you make $150,000 in Oklahoma or in Iowa or North Dakota, you may be a wealthy person. So we have to recognize these regional differences.

People say: Well, why should we be subsidizing what you are doing?

And the gentleman points out so clearly in what he just spoke about that we are, in fact, in our States, subsidizing the rest of the country. We are net donors and they are net takers.

I thank the gentleman for being such a fierce advocate.

Madam Speaker, I want to travel across the country from California now

to New Jersey, to another fierce advocate; someone who served in the U.S. military as a Navy helicopter pilot for 5 years both in the Middle East and in Europe; someone who has been one of the fiercest advocates for the reinstatement of the SALT deduction.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms. Sherrill).

Congresswoman, you have been an amazing advocate. You mentioned in your remarks at the end there about this being a double tax. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

So you are getting taxed on the taxes you have already paid.

So if a family makes $100,000 in your State, and they have to pay $20,000 in taxes, between their property taxes and their income taxes, that leaves them with $80,000 of that income.

However, if they are in a low tax State where they don't have as good services, they start with $100,000, but they only pay $5,000 in State and local taxes, they have got $95,000 left in income.

But they are being taxed the same at the Federal level.

Madam Speaker, now I want to go across the aisle again to Congresswoman Michelle Steel from California, who is also being accosted by her constituents. They are talking to her about the fact that they need the SALT deduction back.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel).

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here tonight and for speaking out on this very important issue. We are grateful for your presence here tonight.

Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to go to the middle of the country, to the State of Illinois, where my good friend who serves on the Ways and Means Committee really is one of the brightest minds in Congress today, who wants to speak to us about the SALT deduction and its effect on his district.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).

Congressman, I want to thank you so much. You hit on the topic of fairness so many times. Many of our States and our local governments have relied on this deduction for literally a hundred years, and it was suddenly taken away in 2017. It has had a dramatic effect.

Can you briefly touch on fairness one more time?

Thank you, Congressman. It really galls me sometimes when I hear people boasting about the fact that they are leaving our States and moving to other States, when, in fact, we are subsidizing the rest of the country with our tax dollars. Thank you so much for your leadership on this issue. We are very grateful.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter), one of the most progressive Members of the United States Congress, and also one of the great intellects who has been so passionate about this issue and has some very interesting things to share with us.

Congresswoman, I ask you, please go into it a little bit further about this concept of double taxation. We have heard it several times here tonight. Just explain what you mean by double taxation.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the Congresswoman for a colloquy.

It is very important, Congresswoman, what you point out. This is a mandatory payment. You are not spending the money to go on vacation; you are not spending money to go out to dinner; you are not building an addition onto your home. This is a mandatory expense that you must pay, as you said, to your county, to your village, or to your State. That is no longer available to you.

In other States where the overall income is exactly the same, but the mandatory taking is much smaller, the tax bill is not as burdensome.

Congresswoman, I want to thank you so much for being here. We have had some Republicans across the aisle here tonight. We have had some moderate Democrats here tonight. And we have progressive Democrats, such as yourself, here.

I think it is important that we point out that actually the SALT deduction

is in keeping with progressive policy, because it supports those States that want to promote progressive policies within their States.

Congresswoman, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being here this evening to talk about this.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), back across to the other side of the country, one of my neighbors and good friends who serves as the chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus. He has been one of the strongest advocates for the reinstatement of the SALT deduction and the repeal of the SALT cap.

Congressman Gottheimer, thank you so much for pointing out all of those important points.

I want to go back to one thing that you have mentioned here tonight. We have heard from Senator McConnell and from others the concept of a blue State bailout, the idea that the SALT deduction is some sort of advantage for blue States. But you talked about how your State is actually a net donor to the Federal Government.

Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman for a colloquy.

Madam Speaker, Mr. Gottheimer has been a great champion on this issue. I am grateful to him for pointing that out.

I know, in the case of my State of New York, in the past 5 years, New York has sent $150 billion more to the Federal Government than they have received back in Federal services or Federal contracts, whereas Mitch McConnell's State in the past 5 years, this same period, they have received $150 billion more in services and contracts than they have put back into the system.

The gentleman's advocacy on this issue has been stellar. I am grateful to him for being here tonight.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the time that my colleagues and I have had tonight to make these different points.

I want to close by saying this is about fairness. It is not fair.

It is not fair that the State and local tax deduction has been in place for over 100 years so State and local governments have relied on this deduction in order to fund the programs that we have.

It is not fair that people are being taxed on taxes that they have already paid.

It is not fair that the taxes that are being paid in these States are no longer deductible on people's income tax returns.

It is not fair that, after all these years of relying on this deduction, it is no longer in place, and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been boasting about people leaving my State and going to their States while we are, in fact, subsidizing those very States.

This is a battle that is going to continue. Hopefully, over the next few months, we will be able to build a coalition, together, of Democrats and Republicans who recognize that this unfairness has to be addressed and that we need to restore the State and local tax deduction for the benefit of the residents of my State and people throughout the United States of America who are relying on basic fairness.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a giant of the judiciary; a member of the Greatest Generation; an independent advocate for the least, the lost, and the left behind.

Yesterday, the Eastern District of New York, the residents of Great Neck, his family, and all justice-seeking people lost a giant intellect and champion.

Judge Jack B. Weinstein was 99 years old.

Judge Weinstein served as a Navy lieutenant during World War II. After the war, Weinstein graduated from Columbia Law School on the GI Bill and went to work for the NAACP; clerk for the Court of Appeals; teach at Columbia; serve as the Nassau County Attorney; and, in 1967, President Johnson appointed him to the Federal bench.

My father, also a World War II veteran and member of the State judiciary, always pushed me to seek out and learn from this brilliant jurist when I clerked in the same courthouse. Judge Weinstein encouraged me throughout my career.

Judge Weinstein created the concept of a special master in complex mass tort cases. He protested mandatory sentencing guidelines that he believed betrayed the concept that the punishment should fit the crime, especially in drug cases.

Time does not permit me to properly extol his intellect, compassion, and impact, but on behalf of the people of the Third Congressional District of New York, I offer my condolences to his family and I hope they will take comfort that his life will never be forgotten.

Madam Speaker, today we have the opportunity to begin to right a century-old wrong. I rise to support the creation of a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the Harlem Hellfighters.

Thousands of Harlem Hellfighters were African-American soldiers who signed up to join the U.S. Army in World War I. Sadly, but predictably, White soldiers were unwilling to serve alongside Black soldiers, and these brave men were assigned to join the French Army. But that didn't stop them.

The Harlem Hellfighters, wearing U.S. uniforms but issued weapons and helmets by the French, went on to face more combat time than any other regiment during World War I. No Harlem Hellfighter was captured as a prisoner of war, and they never gave up any ground.

The bravery, dedication, and sacrifices of the Harlem Hellfighters who served 191 days under near-constant enemy fire impacted the outcome of World War I, but instead of receiving a hero's welcome, they returned home to racism and race-fueled violence.

There were three dozen Hellfighters who came from my hometown of Glen Cove. In 2019 the family of Sergeant Leander Willett came to tell me about their father and grandfather. He had served in France and had been stabbed by a German bayonet and been the victim of mustard gas attacks, but never received a Purple Heart. He returned home and died in 1956 without ever being properly recognized and honored for his service to our country. He joined his fellow comrades who have been lost to history.

In November of 2019 we surprised the Willett family with a posthumous Purple Heart for Sergeant Willett for wounds received as a result of hostile actions in France on October 4, 1918.

I then approached my colleague Adriano Espaillat, who represents Harlem, and the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Joyce Beatty, about collaborating together to attain a Congressional Gold Medal. They both immediately and enthusiastically agreed. We went on to obtain 310 bipartisan cosponsors of this bill and expect strong support today.

I would like to especially thank Chairwoman Waters for her and the Financial Services Committee's support. On behalf of the Willett family, the families of dozens of Harlem Hellfighters from my hometown, and a grateful Nation, we say thank you to this body for putting aside partisanship and helping to right a century-old harm. It is never too late to do the right thing.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rabbi Ian S. Jacknis who, after 28 years is retiring as Rabbi of the South Huntington Jewish Center. His dedicated and compassionate tenure as Rabbi has touched the lives of many in his congregation through the years. He is admired by many and I join his congregation in wishing him the best as he moves on to the next chapter in his life.

I include in the Record the following tribute to Rabbi Jacknis that was prepared by the South Huntington Jewish Center:

On the Occasion of the Retirement of Rabbi Ian S. Jacknis

as Rabbi of the South Huntington Jewish Center, celebrating

his 28th anniversary as our beloved Rabbi, we honor Rabbi

Jacknis for his excellence and

service to his congregation and the Melville community. We

hereby recognize and acknowledge his tenure as Rabbi by

sharing some of his biography and contributions.

Rabbi Jacknis brought his love of Judaism and unique blend

of warmth and spirituality to the South Huntington Jewish

Center in the summer of 1993, and quickly became known, both

inside the synagogue and throughout the surrounding

communities, as being welcoming, responsive, insightful and

compassionate. During his tenure he has fostered a renewed

feeling of unity and enthusiasm in the congregation, as well

as a marked increase in membership. Shabbat services,

especially, are infused with his special spirit, and he has

brought a variety of new initiatives to SHJC.

Rabbi Jacknis is highly respected by his congregants and

his peers. He is a Past President of the Rabbinical Assembly

of Nassau-Suffolk as well as the Suffolk Council of Jewish

Organizations. The Rabbi also serves as the Jewish Chaplain

to the Melville Fire Department.

Rabbi Jacknis attended the undergraduate Joint Program of

the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia

University, receiving two bachelor's degrees in 1977. He

later attended the Seminary's Rabbinical School, taking

classes at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish

University) in Los Angeles, at Neve Schechter in Jerusalem

and at the Seminary's main campus in Manhattan. In May of

1983 he received both his Master's Degree and Rabbinic

Ordination. Recently, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by

the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Rabbi Jacknis is married to his wonderful wife, Suri

Jacknis, who serves as Director of Educator Networks at The

Jewish Education Project. She is a progressive leader in the

Jewish world, and SHJC is fortunate to have had the two of

them as leaders of their community.

Together, Suri and Rabbi have three children, a son Noam

(married to Candace), a daughter Yael, (married to Jacob

Davidson) and another daughter Nava (married to Natanel

Fuchs). Rabbi and Suri are the proud grandparents of Ethan,

Braydon and Liat.

Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago, my father was born in a small medieval village in the mountaintops of southern Italy.

He came to America as a young boy, and in his St. Dominic's High School senior yearbook, he wrote that his goal in life was ``to become a real American.''

Twenty-seven years ago, I served as the young mayor of my hometown of Glen Cove. I addressed the issue of a growing population of new immigrants from Central and South America who gathered on street corners looking for daywork by creating the first day-worker site anywhere on the East Coast of the United States of America.

Today, those same men who gathered on street corners have their own businesses, own their own homes, and their children went to school with my children.

One Dreamer from El Salvador, who graduated high school with my daughter, went on to graduate from college with a degree in biomedical engineering, got a master's in biomedical engineering, and is now pursuing a doctorate in the same subject.

Today, I will support the American Dream and Promise Act, for Mario, for Nelson, and for all the other Dreamers whose goal is, like my father's, to become a real American.

Madam Speaker, 100 years ago my father was born in a small medieval village in the mountaintops of southern Italy. He came to America as a young boy, and in his St. Dominic's High School yearbook, he wrote that his goal in life was to become a real American.

Twenty-seven years ago, I served as the young mayor of my hometown of Glen Cove. I addressed the issue of a growing population of new immigrants from Central and South America who gathered on street corners looking for daywork by creating the first dayworkers' site anywhere on the East Coast of the United States of America.

Today, those same men who gathered on street corners have their own businesses, own homes, their children went to school with my children. One Dreamer from El Salvador who graduated from high school with my daughter went on to graduate from college with a degree in biomedical engineering, got a master's in biomedical engineering, and is now pursuing a doctorate in the same subject.

Today, I will support the American Dream and Promise Act for Mario, and for Nelson, and for all the other Dreamers whose goal is like my father's, to be a real American.