[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 57 (Thursday, May 11, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H2559-H2560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DOING BETTER FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I took the 
opportunity to wish all of our mothers a very happy Mother's Day. Might 
I include my colleagues and their relatives, the staff of this House 
and this Congress, because this is an opportunity for us to simply say 
thank you, thank you to the many mothers who work every single day, 
whether in the home or outside the home. Whether they are your mom 
because they are related, or because they have just simply given you a 
greater opportunity in life, they deserve a thank you.
  Might I also offer my appreciation to the moms who are on the front 
lines in Iraq and Afghanistan and serving in the United States 
military.
  This is an opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to kind of recount where we are 
in this Congress and to ensure that we really are working on the kind 
of legislative agenda that really helps our families.
  I guess I would argue somewhat with the statement that we have worked 
as hard as we should have worked. For example, the tax reconciliation 
bill gives most of the benefit to the richest of Americans. If you make 
a certain amount, if you are a hard-working single mom, you might even 
get the minimal $9 tax break. I know we can do better.
  Then let me say as we look to the United States military, we should 
remember that they are on the front lines so that we might be free. I 
am very proud today that, almost unanimously, this Congress passed by 
415-9 an amendment that I offered to the defense authorization bill 
that will say happy Mother's Day to all the Reserve and National Guard 
families, because the amendment provides a clarifying feature, and that 
feature is that we will take into consideration the number of 
deployments one has had before further utilization of that particular 
soldier is enacted. We will take into consideration how many 
deployments there have been.
  I have heard from Reserve families all around the Nation, and 
particularly

[[Page H2560]]

in my district, that they have been redeployed one time, two times, 
three times. Yes, they are patriotic; but it is necessary to be 
considerate of the families, of the disruption in their income, and, of 
course, the children.
  So I hope as this defense authorization bill makes its way to 
conference, that this provision that considers the number of times 
soldiers have been deployed in order to make the determination whether 
to deploy again will help our families stay together.
  Of course, we know as well that pending is a deadline for the 
enrollment in Medicare part D. I have said to my colleagues that they 
know that I did not support the legislation that created a ``donut 
hole,'' where seniors would have a certain coverage, and then all of a 
sudden mothers and fathers and others would drop into a donut hole.
  But May 15 is the deadline. We will hold a massive citywide Medicare 
enrollment day in the city of Houston in the Communication Workers Hall 
on Jefferson. We are asking all of the citywide groups and 
organizations and adult children and others to bring their seniors to 
this place, because we will have almost an all-day registration. Eleven 
computers will be there for you starting at 11 a.m., and we will keep 
it open as long as necessary so that we can enroll those low-income 
seniors, some 55 percent who do not know that May 15 is the deadline.
  To those of you who may be listening, let's make Mother's Day just a 
little bit sweeter and ask that senior citizen whether or not they have 
been enrolled over 65 in Medicare part D. Remember, if it is not 
extended by the President, and I am going to ask the President by 
letter today to extend it by executive order, if it is not extended, 
you will have a lifetime penalty of 1 percent, 1 percent, which is a 
lot of money, for your lifetime, if you do not enroll by May 15, 2006.
  I hope, as I started out, that we will wish a happy Mother's Day to 
America's mothers and others around the world; and I hope that we will 
not only give them wishes, but we will also give them action.
  I believe the amendment that has clarified when you go back into duty 
based upon a consideration of how many times you have gone is a gift to 
our mothers and the families of Reservists all over America. But we can 
give a further gift by making the kinds of tax laws that benefit hard-
working Americans and increasing the minimum wage.
  Then finally we can do something that is important, cease the 
divisive debate on immigration and recognize that immigration is a part 
of America's fabric. We have a system of laws which we can follow. 
Amnesty is not the question here, because we are not talking about 
amnesty. We are talking about earned access to legalization, where 
those who are undocumented would get online and be able to begin to 
gain access to legalization. The same individuals who are on the front 
lines of Iraq who are not citizens, their families would have the 
opportunity to be documented. We can also provide job training from the 
fees that immigrants will pay to earn access to legalization.
  Mr. Speaker, I simply say, we have it in our power to make Mother's 
Day every day and make mothers happy by having the legislative agenda 
that gives a better quality of life for all Americans.
  Again, happy Mother's Day to all the mothers.

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