Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1911, Smarter Solutions for Students Act.

This is a truly devastating bill for every working and middle class family trying to achieve the American Dream.

If we do nothing before July 1st, we will be passively negligent.

If we pass this will today, we will be actively destroying our competitiveness and economic strength by taking dollars out of the pockets of our workforce.

The bill is as far away from ``commonsense legislation'' as we get. It makes the situation worse by making college education far more expensive!

According a Congressional Research Service report, under this proposal, a student borrowing the maximum loan amounts with a 5 year subsidized loan will pay more than $10,000. Even under the doubled rate of July 1, a student with the same loan would pay less than $9,000. Under the current rate of 3.4 percent, this student pays just over $4,000.

Those massive differences in repayment rates show that this bill was not written with students in mind.

The growing student loan-burden in our country is critical and must be addressed.

According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, student loan debt recently surpassed the $1 trillion mark. The 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances reported that 45 percent of all American families hold outstanding student-loan debt. This was an increase from 33 percent in 2007.

While the majority of student debt is held by people under the age of 35, increasing student debt affects every member of the family, especially in a time when nearly half of bachelor's degree holders under the age of 25 are unemployed.

However, addressing increased interest costs is only part of the solution. We need to begin to address the exorbitant prices of higher education. I understand that universities are trying to cope with the decreases in government funding and declining contributions as a result of the tough economic times. However, these institutions also have a role to play in ensuring that education is accessible and affordable to all students. If these institutions would like the government to continue to invest in students, they should do so as well, by doing everything in their power to keep tuition costs low.

I cannot stress enough the importance of making college education accessible. We all agree that education transforms people's lives. Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, crime, and violence in any community. It is the engine that will propel our families into the middle class and allow us to reinvigorate and grow our economy. We must act swiftly to remedy this unsustainable situation.

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here today is a failure to communicate.

I am truly disappointed in this House because the farm bill that we just voted on and that did not pass was not ready because it was not balanced and it did not follow the rules as it should have.

$20 billion from the mouths of the poorest children and families in America--that's one of the reasons I voted ``no'' on that bill. I also voted against the bill, in part, because we did not even debate an amendment that I also endorsed, which was the Denham-Schrader amendment. That would have been the appropriate thing to do, the proper order. We didn't take the proper order.

I think it's very important for all of us to understand that what we witnessed here today wasn't a failure of government; it was a failure of some individuals to do the right thing and to even follow the rules that they say they want to follow. That's why we don't have a farm bill that passed. Hopefully, we can get back on track, follow the rules and pass a farm bill very soon.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman McGovern for his leadership on an amendment to the FARRM Bill.

This farm bill will have a serious and devastating impact. It will damage the lives of millions of vulnerable, struggling, hardworking Americans. They are scraping by on the worst economy since the Great Depression.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle say 47 million Americans on food stamps is too many. I agree. Forty-seven million Americans on food stamps means too many Americans unemployed; it means too many underemployed living in poverty.

Rather than pointing the finger at these people, we need to point it at ourselves. What has the Republican-led House done to repair our economy? What bills have they passed to support our industries and create middle class jobs?

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Keep food on the table of struggling American families. That's what we should be doing, and we should support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, it's with great pride today that I rise to recognize the great achievements of three high schools in my district, District 29 in California.

I want to begin by congratulating Arleta High School for achieving a 92 percent graduation rate and setting the gold standard for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Opening in 2006, this school achieved this enormous feat in just 7 years. The Arleta Mustangs have the highest graduation rate of any traditional high school in all of LA Unified School District. This is a testament to all the hard work and support this community has invested in its children and their future.

I would also like to recognize departing Principal Dr. Linda Calvo for her unrelenting vision. She will be dearly missed, and I hope that her successor will continue the tremendous strides made on this campus and the surrounding neighborhoods.

I would also like to recognize LA Unified School District board member Nury Martinez, who actually went to one of the high schools that I'm going to recognize in just a minute. She's been a strong and tireless advocate for this community as a school board member for the last 4 years.

I commend the teachers for their commitment and dedication to their students; the parents for their love, support and involvement in their children's lives; and the students who have risen to the challenge and proved it is possible to reach your dreams.

Bragging rights are not limited to just Arleta High School. Located less than 4 miles away, the Sun Valley High School Wildcats can also be proud. I'd like to congratulate and commend the Sun Valley High School Robotics Team for being named the national champions of the 2013 Mini- Urban Challenge Competition. Sponsored by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, this challenge requires high school students to design and operate a robotic car to autonomously navigate a model city. One June 1, the Sun Valley Robotics Team competed against nine regional champions in Washington, D.C., and became the national champions.

I want to recognize also Principal Paul Del Rosario for his leadership and continuous support of the team; Mr. Hicks and Ms. Yamagata for guiding and assisting the team through the project and to the victory; the volunteers who invested their own time and money to help the teams, as well; and the students for their perseverance and creativity.

The success of California's 29th District high schools doesn't end there, and it doesn't end just in the classroom.

I would also like to congratulate San Fernando High School's baseball team on winning their second city championship in 3 years. On June 1, San Fernando defeated Cleveland High School 2-1 in Dodger Stadium to claim their championship for a second year in a row.

Under the leadership of Coach Armando Gomez, the Tigers have done a phenomenal job of playing as a team and putting in the extra work to build a successful program at San Fernando High School.

All of these students are a great source of pride to our community, and prove that hard work, sacrifice, and commitment pay off. They are the future of our country and also of the San Fernando Valley.

I think it is important for us to understand that today I stand not only to congratulate the young people, but to congratulate all of the adults that surround them who've given of themselves and gone the extra mile to make sure we bring out the best in our children.

I also would like to take a point of personal privilege to welcome our little ambassador who's here to talk to me and other Members about children's hospitals. You might know him as Lil Vader, as he was in a commercial during the Super Bowl game. He's with me today as a young ambassador, showing leadership at his young age. I think it's important for us to recognize at moments like this that our young people, our young Americans, our teenagers, or maybe they're little kids, but you too can be a leader at any age. You don't have to wait until you're a little older, like us.

Mr. Chairman, I'd also like to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also want to thank them for allowing me to speak on my amendments, even though they will be considered later on today.

The three amendments that I have offered will strengthen our Nation's cybersecurity so we can effectively defend our Nation, economy, and innovation.

We all know that cyber-based terrorism, espionage, computer intrusions, and fraud are not going away any time soon. These attacks occur far more frequently and far more rapidly and are more sophisticated than most people would care to know. Anonymity makes it difficult to trace the origin of these attacks and prosecute criminals.

These attacks are not only intended to steal defense secrets and technology, but are also targeted at some of our most critical industries. According to a Mandiant study, those industries include construction and manufacturing; media, advertisement, and entertainment; financial services; health care; food and agriculture; and education. This is not only a national security issue but also an economic issue as well.

My first amendment strengthens our preparedness and ability to fend off attacks by expanding our understanding of the economic impact of cyber intrusions on the U.S. defense industry. It also requires the Department of Defense to identify ways to protect our intellectual property when attacks occur.

My second amendment directs the Secretary of Defense to establish an outreach and education program to educate small businesses on cyber threats and assist them in developing plans to protect intellectual property and their networks.

My third amendment ensures that the comprehensive mission analysis of cyber operations mandated in this bill also includes an assessment of the retention, recruitment, and management of the cyber workforce.

The Department of Defense must provide appropriate incentives, opportunities, and professional development paths that will encourage civilians and servicemembers to enter and hone their technical skills that they need to be part of this cyber field.

These amendments will strengthen our national security, and I urge their passage.

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

This is the 37th time Congress is wasting time attempting to repeal this law. My friends across the aisle could focus on putting this helpful and urgently needed law into effect.

Forty-one million more Americans will have the opportunity to get health care under this law. One in four of them are hardworking Latino Americans who want to protect their families and provide for them. They will finally be able to live without fear that they are not one illness away from going into bankruptcy. Now you want to take that promise away from them.

Earlier this year, my friends across the aisle committed themselves to engaging Hispanic Americans. How can they say they genuinely want to address our needs when they vote to destroy a law that is vastly going to represent 41 million Americans having access to health care and, of those, 10 million Latinos having access to health care?

A point of personal privilege, Madam Speaker. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my wife for being married to me for 21 years. Today is our anniversary, and here I am on the floor working. Hopefully, we will have some good work done today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to House Resolution 202 and H.R. 807 because the last time Congress did something this dumb it cost the American public $19 billion over the next 10 years. Why? Because our credit rating was downgraded for the first time in the history of the United States. Let's not do something like that again.

That does not help the economy, and it doesn't put anyone to work. All it does is make sure that everybody around the world who loves to buy American-backed paper just gets more money for it, which means more money out of the pockets of Americans for one reason and one reason only: to have the optics of politics of a bill like this that actually basically states that we are not going to back the paper that people buy.

That is something that is not within our American values. That's something that doesn't even need to see the light of day. And it's a shame that we would play politics with the American dollar and we would play politics with the reputation of this great country by having these two bills before us.

Mr. Speaker, today, in recognition of the National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man, created in 1975 to remember the victims of inhumanity, specifically the Armenian people who lost their lives in the early part of the 20th century, I would like to note its importance to our nation.

Nearly 100 years ago, the hatred of one race toward another spilled over from politics into the murder of more than 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman soldiers. This day not only recognizes those murdered in that genocide, but also the staggering inhumanity and atrocious acts of violence committed so often throughout human history. This day should serve to not only remind us of millions of lives lost, but that we must act with vigilance to ensure that atrocities are not allowed to ever occur again.

As we remember this dark period in history, we should remain hopeful, because goodness exists and that it is possible to prevent such horrific losses. I stand united with the Armenian people and the rest of America to take up that challenge.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the number of times that Congress has dropped the ball when it comes to our budget. But I'm also here to say that we can fix it.

Last year, Congress passed the only law I have ever seen that was designed to never be enforced. It's called sequestration.

Sequestration was actually designed to cut spending across the board in a way that was so offensive and so illogical that it could never survive as a law. It was a law that was meant to unify both sides of the aisle in an effort to develop a comprehensive deal to fix the economy and our deficit.

A responsible Congress could have stopped those ridiculous cuts. In fact, I agree with Senator Mark Warner, who happens to be a former Governor, who had to balance his State of Virginia's budget, and I quote, he called this ``stupid.''

Mr. Van Hollen, whom I work with on the Budget Committee, introduced commonsense legislation that would have responsibly reduced our deficit and ended the sequester. Unfortunately, the Republican majority refused to allow an up-or-down vote on this floor for that straightforward legislation. They doubled down on irresponsible policies based on an economic math that we now know is completely flawed.

It reminded me of a story. Two guys are in a lifeboat, and the one holding the oars says, ``This is a bad situation, and one of us ain't gonna make it.'' It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the guy with the oars is talking about.

All of us are in this lifeboat together, and we know where the majority stands. They're not rowing for the middle class. They're just fighting to protect millionaires and make sure their special interests keep their tax breaks.

We know families, businesses, and communities continue to be hurt by what we do or don't do here in Washington. You've all seen it. FAA furloughs are causing flight delays, just one example of how we're continuing to hurt our economy.

We can do better. We can write a legitimate, measured budget for this country.

Mr. Speaker, return this House to regular order. Our House has a budget. The Senate has a budget. Let's go to conference and start negotiating a real American budget. The American people deserve some certainty, and they certainly deserve to know what priorities are important to their elected representatives.

For those watching at home, why is a conference committee so important? Because there are vast differences between the budgets currently on the table. A conference committee negotiates, in full view of the public, on principles and priorities that set funding for the next fiscal year.

Let's talk about this like my Republican colleagues' favorite thing to talk about. Let's talk about it like people do at the kitchen table.

If paychecks are cut or an unforeseen emergency happens in a family, families don't just pay 10 percent less on their mortgage or require 10 percent less of the medications they depend on. Instead, we make smart cuts. We stop buying the things we don't need, but we don't stop educating our children. At least in my house, my wife and I don't decide what's important to us and ignore everyone else.

That doesn't work in families, and it doesn't work in Washington. We sit down like adults--at least we should in Congress--around some kitchen table and figure out what we can buy and what we can't. We work through today's needs and plan for our future. We don't stop investing in our families. Like Senator Warner said, that would be stupid.

The House and the Senate need to get around the table--any table. If you can't find a table here in the Capitol, come to my kitchen table. We must create an American budget that invests in job growth and educating our future workforce. We can make cuts--but cuts that make sense. Let's root out the waste, fraud, and abuse and cut tax loopholes to make sure everyone pays their fair share.

The American people have shown us what to do. Let's get around a table. Let's name conferees and show the people who sent us here that we can be responsible and keep the promise of the American Dream a reality.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been honored to be elected at the State legislative level in California, I have been honored to be a council member, and now, since January of this year, I have been a Member of this body. And I'm very, very disappointed. In business, at home, and in elected office, I've never seen a situation so stagnant, so stale and damaging to the people who sent us here to represent them.

Last week, right here in D.C., I hosted farm workers from all over this country that only ask for fair treatment and compensation as they do their work. As they chanted ``Si, se puede''-- yes, it is possible--with 20 of us congressional Members, I saw the look of hope on their faces--hope that they would soon have a pathway to citizenship, fair wages, and adequate worker protections. I saw the same hope in the eyes of my parents who came here as farm workers.

With the introduction of the Senate's immigration bill, farm workers are one step closer to gaining legal status and the right to feed their families as they feed America. However, as any legislation moves forward, I will remain vigilant against any effort to legalize farm worker mistreatments.

I look forward to working with both sides of the aisle and both of our Houses to make sure that we fix this broken immigration system.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 249.

This bill would bar individuals who work for the Federal Government and who have a tax lien from being employed by the Federal Government. I agree with Congressman Chaffetz and the supporters of this bill that all citizens, including our Federal employees, should pay their taxes. However, this bill is far more focused on attacking Federal employees than on actually resolving problems. This bill, H.R. 249, is a political document, not a policy solution.

The IRS says that the tax delinquency rate for our Federal employees is half that of the average American taxpayer. This legislation is the wrong approach and is destined to be grossly ineffective because it makes collecting outstanding taxes difficult--by firing the very people we'd like to pay their taxes. As a former business owner myself, in putting people into homes, I used to find out time after time that the IRS would violate their agreement. It's the IRS that violates the agreement sometimes when somebody says, I'll pay it on a regular basis, and the IRS changes that agreement without notice. That will and does happen to employees all the time.

I thank the gentlewoman for giving me the opportunity to speak on this matter.

H.R. 678 could easily be a bipartisan, noncontroversial bill. But Republicans insist on including an unnecessary provision to waive environmental review. It sets the wrong precedent. Nearly 100 days have passed since the 113th Congress has been sworn in, and not one bill has been brought to the floor that would have a measurable effect of reinvigorating our manufacturing sector. In fact, quite the opposite has happened.

Democrats have announced the Make It In America initiative to focus on four areas to help our economy grow. In order to strengthen the economy, this Congress must: adopt and pursue a comprehensive manufacturing strategy; promote the export of U.S. goods; encourage innovation; and train a 21st century workforce. In addition to these four core components, we must work together to address the equally important task of getting our small business owners access to capital they so desperately need. Without capital, our businesses are stagnant, cannot invest in their own growth, and will not hire that unemployed person who has been searching for a job for months.

We must do more to get the financial institutions back to lending in this country. Now it's up to Republicans and Democrats to work together to enact and pass Make It In America legislation and help secure America as the world leader when it comes to job creation and when it comes to innovation. When it comes to hydropower, it's very important for us to understand yes, we need more hydropower, yes, we need innovation, yes, we need to make sure the small and large hydropower actually moves forward. But doing it at the expense of the environment by waiving environmental review is just not the right way to do it.

Many people in these Chambers speak constantly of making sure that we don't put things on the backs of our children and our grandchildren. Every time we waive environmental review, every time that we don't do things carefully, we move in a direction where it takes sometimes a year or 2 or 3 to go in the wrong direction, it takes decades for us to correct those environmental problems.

So environmental review should be part of the process and, yes, it should be streamlined and, yes, we need to make sure that we do things in a fashion that does put people back to work, but we have to do it carefully and responsibly.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to literally take a minute to congratulate all of the runners and the families and the supporters of the Los Angeles Marathon. But the unique and beautiful thing about the Los Angeles Marathon is that close to 3,000 young people on this past Sunday finished 26.2 miles--26.2 miles. In preparing to do that, millions of miles were walked and run by the children of Los Angeles.

I'd just like to say thank you to the Students Run L.A. program because they literally got my daughter off the couch last October. And Alina Cardenas ran her first marathon, and never before had she run a marathon or been a runner; so did her little cousin, Kyle Herrera, as well.

So I just want to congratulate and thank all of those young leaders for doing a wonderful job and all of those men and women who helped them get there.

Mr. Chairman, my friends across the aisle constantly say we should act like families and small businesses who balance their budgets. So let's look at families and businesses in this country.

The fact is that most American families don't have a balanced budget. When you graduate college, you get a mortgage or you go into debt, either way. Many families are suffering through unemployment or underemployment or even foreclosure. When you lose your job or your house, you don't just pack it in and say, Well, I don't have a job anymore, so no more

food for me. No, you get your suit cleaned, get out there and interview. You get your resume professionally printed. You invest in training courses to make yourself more marketable. You spend money to make money.

It's the same thing for businesses. Small businesses are not profitable right away. Businesses take time to pay off a lot of start- up costs like equipment, inventory, insurance, and training. Businesses have to invest to make business work. Sometimes your business goes into a slump. So you train your employees, you buy new inventory and invest in your company so it will grow. You don't just stop investing.

Mr. Chairman, the logic that they use to create this fiction that responsible businesses and families are always in balance is simply not true. Just like folks who are out of work or need to clean their suit and improve their skills, we need to build infrastructure and train our workers. Just like businesses who need new inventory and new ways to sell, we need to find new technologies to build here at home and invest in the education of our future workforce.

The very examples that they use of families and small businesses are simply examples that demand investment, not austerity. You dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. Let's pass a budget that invests in our country, in our future, starting today.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 59, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''