[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2138-H2139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES OF THE DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Yesterday, the guest chaplain asked that 
the House of Representatives be blessed and that each Member of the 
House of Representatives be blessed. In our opportunity to be free in 
our expression of religion, I ask that each of us bless this Nation. 
For that reason, I set this morning to discuss just a series of issues, 
hoping that we can improve the quality of life of not only Americans, 
but people around the world.
  First, we have to clean up our house. And so I express outrage of the 
actions of two former TSA workers--TSO officers and two present TSO 
officers.
  All of us can fall short because we are human, but the outrage of 
participating in drug trafficking right here in the United States as an 
official of the United States Government should be condemned by all of 
us, and I will call for immediate hearings to ensure that the culture 
of TSO officers, besides their frontline duty, is to respect the job 
and the task. As a champion of their work, believing that their work is 
vital to the security of this Nation and the fact that we have not been 
attacked on our soil since 9/11, I call for immediate investigation and 
response.
  This morning, as well, we determined that the Secret Service, who 
finished quickly an investigation of the Colombian debacle dealing with 
sex workers, prostitutes, we now have discovered through a contractor 
that, in fact, actions occurred in El Salvador. We thought it might not 
be the culture. But let's own up and begin, as necessary, to purge 
those who are reckless in their behavior. Thank you to the men and 
women of the Secret Service who have always done their duty. But to the 
dastardly deeds of these who think it's a playground: Get out now. 
There is no tolerance for this kind of behavior.
  Let me move immediately to the work in Syria. I was the first Member 
to go to the Syrian Embassy to ask for the fall, or the removal, of Dr. 
Assad, and we have been moving along while others have been 
slaughtered. Meetings and discussions at the U.N. National Security 
Council, a special envoy--``do this and do that''--while women and 
children are being slaughtered, it is time for there to be a stronger 
statement on the removal of Dr. Assad and the increase in U.N. 
peacekeepers. The people need your help in Syria. The bloodshed 
continues and the fear is insurmountable, almost. It is necessary on 
behalf of their human rights to be able to move quickly in Syria.
  As the Supreme Court has discussed the Arizona law, I hope that we 
can bless America by having comprehensive immigration reform. I hope we 
can understand that there are laws that work well. Just helping a 
Korean student who was shot in my jurisdiction whose father was denied 
entry because of his language and didn't understand, he now has been 
granted humanitarian parole. Let's have comprehensive immigration 
reform so that we don't have States who are stopping families who are 
U.S. citizens in the streets of Arizona, profiling them because of this 
dastardly law, that we don't have police officers having to become 
immigration officers while they need to be rescuing people and saving 
people. Let's do the decent thing. Let's bless America and have 
comprehensive immigration reform.

[[Page H2139]]

  Then, of course, the Senate is debating the issue of the Violence 
Against Women Act, an act that as a new Member of Congress I had the 
pleasure of both cosponsoring and writing amendments as a member of the 
House Judiciary Committee, and it is sad that we have a divide on the 
Violence Against Women Act that has bipartisan support. This House 
should take up the Leahy bill immediately as it passed the Senate. Do 
you realize how many women are being killed a day, an hour, because of 
the domestic violence that this particular act helps to outreach, 
provide resources, counseling and opportunities to be able to nurture 
those women and to be able to ensure that they are safe?
  As a former board member of the Houston Area Women's Center that has 
been a living example of protecting women against dastardly violence 
and, of course, men who are subjected to domestic violence, it is, 
unfortunately, a form of an epidemic in this country, as we have seen 
with bullying. We have to be able to bless America and have people turn 
internally. Let them seek help. But why stall the passage of the 
Violence Against Women Act which, in fact, will provide the nurture, 
comfort, and resources and the national statement that we abhor and 
stand against violence against women and others who are being impacted 
violently against this Nation.
  As a Member who stood along Chairman Hyde many years ago, the late 
Chairman Hyde, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, a 
Republican who stood alongside of us to say he stands with legislation 
to protect women, get the Senate to do its business and let the House 
do its business. Let us bless America.

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