[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FLORIDIANS ARE HARD AT WORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, yesterday, March 15, was Florida's 
Day of Action to raise awareness about the sham elections in Sudan 
which are scheduled for next month. When the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement was signed in the year 2005, the dream of a united Sudan, 
where everyone--regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion--lived in 
freedom, it seemed possible. Elections were intended to usher that 
change.
  Unfortunately, the Sudanese Government has since proven that it will 
do anything to remain in power--including slaughtering civilians and 
stealing elections. Southern parties have committed abuses, but it is 
Sudan's tyrant--an indicted war criminal--who remains the greatest 
obstacle to peace.
  The time for wishful thinking is over. These elections are a sham, 
hijacked to legitimize the rule of a reprehensible, murderous regime. 
Responsible nations must work to ensure Sudan's butcher answers for his 
crimes before this process moves forward.
  So congratulations to the many Floridians who spearheaded the Day of 
Action yesterday.
  And speaking of Floridians, our State is hurting. Our economy is in 
serious trouble. Floridians ask what is the best way to put Floridians 
back to work without increasing our mounting national debt. The latest 
national unemployment record shows that we're still facing an almost 
10-percent unemployment statistic. And totally unacceptable is 
Florida's numbers. Florida's number, 11.8 percent unemployment rate in 
my home State of Florida.
  How can we fix this problem? Part of it deals with what U.S. Trade 
Representative Ron Kirk, said, and it was an important and very timely 
message. He said, Trade supports millions of U.S. jobs and expanding 
trade must be part of the U.S. economy. Congress needs to support long-
delayed trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, which will 
greatly expand access to oversea markets for Florida businesses.
  While these agreements are stalling here in Washington, our 
competitors are cutting their own deals to open more markets for their 
exporters. The European Union, for example, has concluded an agreement 
with South Korea--similar to the one that has been languishing here in 
Washington, DC.
  Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the trade industry. 
In my home State of Florida, we exported more than $47 billion in goods 
last year. South Florida is the gateway to Latin America, and it's a 
huge hub for trade with Colombia, which has already produced thousands 
of jobs in key industries, such as the flower-importing industry. Trade 
is a crucial part of our economic recovery and an ideal opportunity for 
Democrats and Republicans to work together on an important issue.
  It's so important to my home State of Florida, which brings me to 
another national issue that is crucial to my State of Florida, and that 
is a complete and accurate census count. We must mobilize everyone to 
participate in the 2010 census and help increase funding for education, 
health care, transportation, and other key programs while ensuring that 
our area will get the programs it deserves.
  Having represented a diverse area such as South Florida here in 
Congress, I know that we need to reach out to residents of low-income 
and minority neighborhoods, which are especially at risk of being 
undercounted in the 2010 census. Along with many other metropolitan 
areas, Miami-Dade County will have a bilingual, English and Spanish, 
census form, as well as a special census outreach effort to the 
Colombian, to the Haitian, to the Cuban communities, among many 
different ethnic groups in our community and in our Nation.
  Accurate data reflecting changes in our diverse and ever-changing 
communities will decide how over $400 billion per year is spent in 
Federal grants and how it's allocated for programs like new hospitals 
and schools.
  So your assistance, South Florida, with a complete census count will 
help ensure that essential social service programs like job training, 
after-school programs, school lunch programs, senior citizen centers, 
they will receive the funding they deserve. So please help us kick off 
our efforts to get the most complete census count in history. 
Floridians, get on board.
  And I am so proud of the many Floridians who do amazing things every 
day.
  In my congressional district of South Florida, Madam Speaker, 
extraordinary groups such as Teens Against Domestic Abuse, otherwise 
known as T-A-D-A--TADA--are working to raise awareness about domestic 
abuse. And TADA is a local student activist group run by a caring and 
passionate young woman, Emily Martinez-Lanza.
  So I thank the exemplary work of Floridians. From the Call of Action 
on Sudan, to the economy, to the census, to combating domestic abuse, 
Floridians are hard at work.

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