[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 140 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8020-H8027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MARCH TOWARD A MORE PERFECT UNION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
be given 5 days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege to once
again have this opportunity to stand on the House floor and to anchor
the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order hour, where today we want
to discuss some of the issues and challenges confronting this country
that we hope this newly constituted Congress will be prepared to take
up.
As we move into the 114th Congress, there is still a lot of business
that is undone over the remaining few weeks that we have left during
this session, but a whole lot of challenges that we have got to
confront as we move forward.
{time} 1930
One hundred fifty years ago or so, President Abraham Lincoln publicly
pondered the question: How do we create a more perfect Union?
President Lincoln asked that question at a time when the country was
tearing itself apart in the context of the Civil War. Since the
conclusion of that war--since President Lincoln publicly pondered that
question--year after year, month after month, century after century, we
certainly have made some progress, significant progress, here in
America, but we still have a long way to go, and it is still relevant
for us to ask the question: How do we create a more perfect Union?
Where do we go from here?
So I am pleased that so many of my distinguished colleagues from the
Congressional Black Caucus have come to the floor today to share their
thoughts and their insights and their policy prescriptions in our
continuing march toward a more perfect Union.
Let me first just yield to the dynamic chairperson of the
Congressional Black Caucus, who has provided such great leadership to
this caucus, to this Congress, and to this country during her career,
the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio, Chairwoman Marcia Fudge.
Ms. FUDGE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I want to thank my colleagues Jeffries and Horsford for leading the
Congressional Black Caucus Hour. It is an issue that, I think, is
important to this entire country, and it should be a priority for all
Members, not just members of the Congressional Black Caucus--a
discussion on where Congress goes from here in pursuit of a more
perfect Union.
Mr. Speaker, even before the final ballots were counted from the
midterm elections, conservatives began sharing their priorities for the
upcoming Congress.
Instead of promising to improve our health care system, my colleagues
on the other side of the aisle began promising to renew their campaign
to repeal the Affordable Care Act--a campaign that has wasted millions
in taxpayer dollars, with 53 unsuccessful votes.
Instead of searching for common ground, they are still committed to
finding a way to impeach President Barack Obama.
Instead of using the next Congress to create more opportunities for
the American people, the decision has already been made to continue
efforts to obstruct and undermine the President.
None of these actions will move our Nation forward or do what is best
for the country. We must do something more than advance a partisan,
political agenda. It is irresponsible, Mr. Speaker, and is an insult to
the very public that gave us this awesome responsibility in the first
place. We were elected to represent the American people--all of the
American people. Let's write and pass legislation that will make their
lives easier and their futures more promising. It is time for this
Congress to unite and move forward together. This is not the time for
doubling down on the tactics of distraction, obstruction, and
confusion.
We have the opportunity now to lay a foundation for the 114th
Congress that is built upon bipartisan cooperation and a shared
commitment to doing what is best for all of our citizens. I urge my
colleagues to join the CBC in doing the people's work.
Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished chair for her observations
and, certainly, for pointing out that, while we should be coming
together to march toward perfecting our Union, there are some,
inexplicably, who want to march toward impeachment before even seeing
Presidential action, the same type of folks who, from the moment that
Barack Obama was sworn in as President, believe he exceeded his
authority just by raising his right hand and taking the oath of office.
So let's just hope that we can hit the refresh button on the
partisanship, on the obstruction, on the obfuscation and can come
together to do the business of the American people.
Certainly, the gentleman who I would yield to next has been a great
patriot. He has helped to bring our Constitution to life. For tens of
millions of Americans, he is one of this country's greatest freedom
fighters, a civil rights icon, and a distinguished Member of Congress.
It is my honor and my privilege to now yield to the distinguished
gentleman from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis.
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my colleague,
Congressman Jeffries, for organizing this Special Order.
Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for speaking up and speaking
out. Thank you for finding a way to get in the way.
Mr. Speaker, our march toward a more perfect Union has been long,
hard, and tedious, but we must continue to move forward. I know there
are forces that want to stop us, slow us down, and take us back, but as
a Nation and as a people, we have made too much progress to turn back
now. Through hard work, discipline, and with the blessing of the
Almighty, we can--and we will--move to redeem the soul of America and
create a more perfect Union.
The American people are ready.
They have grown by leaps and bounds to build bridges of understanding
between diverse communities. As their Representatives, will we follow
their lead? Can we work together in this body as one people, one
family, who live in the same house, one house--the American house? We
don't have to be mean to each other. We don't have to put each other
down.
My work in the movement taught me--my faith has taught me and many
others--to respect the dignity and the worth of every human being.
There is some good in the worst of us because everything that is was
made by our Creator. That is why we must respect the worth and dignity
and that spark of the divine in each one of us.
As A. Philip Randolph--a dean of Black leadership, the visionary who
planned the historic March on Washington in 1963 and the founder of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters--once said: ``We may have all come
here on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now.''
My colleagues, my brothers and sisters, we must keep the faith. We
must press toward the mark of the public good and put our personal
ambitions aside.
As Mr. Jeffries did a few moments ago, let me paraphrase the words of
a great Republican President who lived
[[Page H8021]]
in a more divisive time even than in our own.
He said:
Brave men, both living and dead, have consecrated the
American soil with their tears, their sweat, and their blood.
The world will little note nor long remember what we said
here, but it will never forget what we did here. We must be
dedicated . . . to the great tasks remaining before us . . .
and make sure they did not sacrifice in vain, that this
Nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that
the government of the people, by the people, and for the
people shall not perish from the Earth.
Thank you, Mr. Jeffries.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Thank you, Congressman Lewis, for those very eloquent
thoughts and for continuing to really function as the conscience of the
CBC as our caucus functions as the conscience of the Congress.
Mr. Speaker, it is now my distinct honor and privilege to yield to
someone who I served with on the Budget Committee. She is a
distinguished Member of the House of Representatives. She is a fighter
for the people, for the disenfranchised, and is a voice for the
voiceless. It is my honor to yield to the very distinguished
gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.
First, let me thank the gentleman from New York, Congressman
Jeffries, for this very important moment and theme tonight of ``Where
do we go from here?'' But also for your leadership in conducting these
Special Orders to make sure that the American people really know the
truth about what is taking place here in Washington, D.C., and also to
hear the voice of conscience from the Congressional Black Caucus, such
as we just heard from our great warrior, Congressman John Lewis.
Also, I want to thank Congressman Horsford for being part of this for
the last couple of years in terms of his tremendous leadership.
Mr. Speaker, the other night, I had an event with young people in my
district. It is a lecture series that is sponsored by the Martin Luther
King Freedom Center. Congressman Lewis knows these young people. They
travel with me every year to Selma-Montgomery-Birmingham. We started
the center in the nineties, and these young people's mission in life is
to make sure that the new generation of leaders understands, one, that
violence is not an option and, secondly, that we all are in this
together and that we should be united as a country and fight for the
American Dream for all.
The topic of the lecture series of two nights ago was ``Where do we
go from here?'' We had White students in the audience. We had African
American, Latino, and Asian Pacific American young people, middle-aged
people, and old people. It was held at my alma mater, at Mills College.
It was really amazing. We had the cofounder of the United Farm Workers,
Dolores Huerta, and former State Senator Art Torres. We talked about
``where do we go from here?'' as a community in Oakland and also
throughout the country. What we need to do here is, really, to get back
to work for the American people, and that is what we heard over and
over and over at our lecture series.
Unfortunately, ever since the Republicans took control of the House
of Representatives, we see governing through extortion and
brinksmanship, including a government shutdown that cost the taxpayers
$24 billion. I hope that is not where we go from here. Now we are
looking at--or at least some are saying that they are eyeing--another
shutdown and are refusing to act on immigration while planning another
series of votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They have even gone
so far as to threaten impeachment because our President has continued
to lead where they have failed.
Where do we go from here, Congressman Jeffries? Let's hope not there.
I hope we go where the young people in my community talked about the
other night.
The threats about a government shutdown over immigration reform are
outrageous. My district is a very diverse and dynamic district. That is
what makes it, really, a great place for my constituents to live, work,
do business, and raise a family. Yet we have many, many pockets of
poverty. It is home to a vibrant immigrant community. Families from all
over the world, many of them--and they told me again the other night--
are feeling the pain each and every day of our broken immigration
system. It has been more than 500 days since the Senate passed
bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.
We need to have an up or down vote. Families deserve that. Time is
really running out. We have 3 weeks of session left, so we need to get
something done. That is where we need to go from here. If Congress
fails to act on immigration reform, our President can--and he should--
take action to keep families from being torn apart. Just like every
President since Dwight D. Eisenhower, our President should act, but as
the President has said, immigration reform should come from Congress.
It should come from us. That is what my community said in terms of
moving forward. Let's get it done in the next couple of weeks. We have
a bipartisan bill. Let's come together and have a vote. Our colleagues
across the aisle need to put our economy ahead of partisanship. That
means stopping their repeated attempts at eliminating access to
affordable, quality health care for millions of Americans.
{time} 1945
This past weekend marked the beginning of the second year of open
enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. Repealing the Affordable Care
Act and its protections for families would hurt all of our
constituents. It would make health care less affordable and less
accessible; yet every time Republicans vote to dismantle the Affordable
Care Act, they make it perfectly clear that they believe charging women
more for being a woman is okay, denying victims of domestic violence
coverage is okay, and allowing insurance companies to increase premiums
to increase profits is also okay. That is not what the American people
need.
Where do we go from here? Let's not go there. Millions have been
covered, and let's move forward to make sure our country has universal
accessible affordable health care for all. It is a basic human right,
so we need to get back to doing the work of the American people, the
work of forming a more perfect Union.
Finally, I just want to point out an article. There was a recent
editorial in The New York Times from Nicholas Kristof in which he
discusses the historical and structural issues that continue to
perpetuate racial disparities between Blacks and Whites today, and I
would like to submit that article for the Record, Mr. Speaker.
[From Op-Ed Columnist, Nov. 15, 2014]
When Whites Just Don't Get It, Part 4
(By Nicholas Kristof)
When I write about racial inequality in America, one common
response from whites is eye-rolling and an emphatic: It's
time to move on.
``As whites, are we doomed to an eternity of apology?''
Neil tweeted at me. ``When does individual responsibility
kick in?''
Terry asked on my Facebook page: ``Why are we still being
held to actions that took place long ago?''
``How long am I supposed to feel guilty about being white?
I bust my hump at work and refrain from living a thug life,''
Bradley chimed in. ``America is about personal
responsibility. . . . And really, get past the slavery
issue.''
This is the fourth installment in a series of columns I've
written this year, ``When Whites Just Don't Get It,'' and
plenty of white readers have responded with anger and
frustration at what they see as the ``blame game'' on race.
They acknowledge a horrific history of racial discrimination
but also say that we should look forward, not backward. The
Supreme Court seems to share this view as it dismantles
civil-rights-era rulings on voting rights.
As Dina puts it: ``I am tired of the race conversation. It
has exasperated me. Just stop. In so many industries, the
racial ceiling has been shattered. Our president is black.
From that moment on, there were no more excuses.''
If only it were so simple!
Of course, personal responsibility is an issue. Orlando
Patterson, the eminent black sociologist, notes in a
forthcoming book that 92 percent of black youths agree that
it is a ``big problem'' that black males are ``not taking
education seriously enough.'' And 88 percent agree that it's
a big problem that they are ``not being responsible
fathers.'' That's why President Obama started ``My Brother's
Keeper,'' to cultivate more prudent behavior among men and
boys of color.
But we in white society should be equally ready to shoulder
responsibility. In past articles in this series, I've looked
at black/white economic inequality that is greater in America
today than it was in apartheid South Africa, at ongoing
discrimination against African-Americans in the labor market
and at
[[Page H8022]]
systematic bias in law enforcement. But these conversations
run into a wall: the presumption on the part of so many well-
meaning white Americans that racism is a historical artifact.
They don't appreciate the overwhelming evidence that
centuries of racial subjugation still shape inequity in the
21st century.
Indeed, a wave of research over the last 20 years has
documented the lingering effects of slavery in the United
States and South America alike. For example, counties in
America that had a higher proportion of slaves in 1860 are
still more unequal today, according to a scholarly paper
published in 2010. The authors called this a ``persistent
effect of slavery.''
One reason seems to be that areas with slave labor were
ruled for the benefit of elite plantation owners. Public
schools, libraries and legal institutions lagged, holding
back working-class whites as well as blacks.
Whites often don't realize that slavery didn't truly end
until long after the Civil War. Douglas Blackmon won a
Pulitzer Prize for his devastating history, ``Slavery by
Another Name,'' that recounted how U.S. Steel and other
American corporations used black slave labor well into the
20th century, through ``convict leasing.'' Blacks would be
arrested for made-up offenses such as ``vagrancy'' and then
would be leased to companies as slave laborers.
Job and housing discrimination also systematically
prevented blacks from accumulating wealth. The Federal
Housing Administration and other initiatives greatly expanded
home ownership and the middle class but deliberately excluded
blacks.
That's one reason why black families have, on average, only
about 6 percent as much wealth as white households, why only
44 percent of black families own a home compared with 73
percent for white households.
The inequality continues, particularly in education. De
jure segregated schools have been replaced in some areas by
de facto segregation.
Those of us who are white have a remarkable capacity for
delusions. A majority of whites have said in opinion polls
that blacks earn as much as whites and are as healthy as
whites. In fact, black median household income is $34,598,
compared with $58,270 for non-Hispanic whites, according to
census data. Black life expectancy is four years shorter than
that of whites.
Granted, race is just one thread in a tapestry. The
daughters of President and Michelle Obama shouldn't enjoy
affirmative action preference (as their dad has
acknowledged), while disadvantaged white kids should.
Yet one element of white privilege today is obliviousness
to privilege, including a blithe disregard of the way past
subjugation shapes present disadvantage.
I've been on a book tour lately. By coincidence, so has one
of my Times Op-Ed columnist colleagues, Charles Blow, who is
African-American and the author of a powerful memoir, ``Fire
Shut Up in My Bones.'' I grew up in a solid middle-class
household; Charles was primarily raised by a single mom who
initially worked plucking poultry in a factory, and also, for
a while, by a grandma in a house with no plumbing.
That Charles has become a New York Times columnist does not
mean that blacks and whites today have equal access to
opportunity, just that some talented and driven blacks manage
to overcome the long odds against them. Make no mistake:
Charles had to climb a higher mountain than I did.
We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. We're in a
relay race, relying on the financial and human capital of our
parents and grandparents. Blacks were shackled for the early
part of that relay race, and although many of the fetters
have come off, whites have developed a huge lead. Do we
ignore this long head start--a facet of white privilege--and
pretend that the competition is now fair?
Of course not. If we whites are ahead in the relay race of
life, shouldn't we acknowledge that we got this lead in part
by generations of oppression? Aren't we big enough to make
amends by trying to spread opportunity, by providing
disadvantaged black kids an education as good as the one
afforded privileged white kids?
Can't we at least acknowledge that in the case of race,
William Faulkner was right: ``The past is never dead. It's
not even past.''
Ms. LEE of California. Kristof states that he has ``looked at Black-
White economic inequality that is greater in America today than it was
in apartheid South Africa, at ongoing discrimination against African
Americans in the labor market, and at systematic bias in law
enforcement.''
So young people of color, especially young men, have been left behind
in the economic recovery. It is leaving them behind, and far too often,
they are marginalized and forgotten. The poverty rate for African
Americans is 27.2 percent, more than two-and-a-half times the rate of
poverty of White Americans. Nobody in our country should have to live
below the poverty line. We are the wealthiest and most powerful country
in the world.
The African American unemployment rate is 10.9 percent, nearly twice
the national average. Young men of color are stopped and frisked at
will. They are more incarcerated than any other group. The jobs that
are available don't pay enough to get by while our safety net and
nutrition programs continue to be hacked and slashed by House
Republicans.
Beyond the lack of opportunity, police misconduct and the criminal
justice system are constant reminders of the tragic inequality which is
still persistent in the daily life of Black America.
Where do we go from here? Let's move forward, but we have got to
remember that the deaths of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and Eric
Garner and Oscar Grant--one of my constituents--their deaths are tragic
examples of the senseless murder of young Black men.
As the mother of two Black men and two Black grandsons, I have to
have many uncomfortable conversations with them, how to walk, how to
talk, how to interact with the police.
This is not just my reality, but the reality of millions of other
Black mothers and grandmothers and fathers and grandfathers. This is
something no parent should have to do. No one should be afraid of the
police who are sworn to protect and serve them. These are issues that
Members of Congress must take leadership in addressing. This is where
we must go from here.
Finally, let me just say the work of building a more perfect Union is
not just rhetorical. As Members of Congress, we really do have a unique
opportunity to do just that.
To quote our drum major for justice--who Congressman Lewis had the
privilege and honor to work with--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he said,
``A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of
consensus.'' We have the privilege tonight to remind this body that we
are the molder of consensus.
Thank you again, Congressman Jeffries, for the opportunity to speak
with you this evening.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Thank you, Congresswoman Lee, for your very eloquent
observations and for laying out a clear pathway as it relates to many
of the challenges that we have got to confront here in America and
certainly amongst those challenges that you spoke to, the notion that
we have got a broken criminal justice system that in far too many
communities has placed a target on the back of young African American
and Latino men in a way inconsistent with the democratic values of this
country and the notion that we were all created equally, and so I look
forward to partnering with you on many of these issues, as we all
collectively move forward in this wonderful body.
We have also been joined here today by another civil rights champion,
someone who has fought for the disenfranchised and to make sure that
everyone has equal opportunity under the law, the distinguished
gentleman from the Lone Star State of Texas, and I am pleased now to
yield to Congressman Al Green.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much, Congressman Jeffries. I
also thank in his absence the gentleman from Nevada, Congressman
Horsford. The two of you have been almost inseparable when it comes to
these Special Order hours. I want to compliment you on the outstanding
job that you have done.
I would also like to compliment Congressman Horsford for the
outstanding job that he has done on the Financial Services Committee.
He brought his talents. He brought his brilliance, and he has
represented his constituents exceedingly well, and I know that in the
annals of history, when they look back through the vista of time, it
will be said that he served us well in the Congress of the United
States of America.
With reference to the relevant question of the hour, as it relates to
a more perfect Union, as we ponder and query where we go from here, it
was appropriate, I think, that you introduced this topic by referencing
President Lincoln.
It was appropriate because you are eminently correct. It was a time
of great turmoil when he announced that he would issue the Emancipation
Proclamation, and in January of 1863, when he issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, the country was in the midst of a Civil War, being torn
apart.
There was much to be said about his announcement that he would issue
the
[[Page H8023]]
Emancipation Proclamation. There was great debate, and there were many
people who said that it should not be done, that it was not worth the
paper it would be written on, to be quite candid with you, it was said,
because it would only free the slaves in the States that had left the
Union, States that, quite candidly, at the time, he had no control
over.
But he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and I thank God that he
did, because by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, he laid the
foundation for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States of America that was in fact executed in December 1865.
But for the Emancipation Proclamation, I don't know that I would be
standing here in the Congress of the United States of America tonight.
By issuing that Emancipation Proclamation, he changed the course of
history.
Dr. King was right, ``The arc of the moral universe is long, but it
bends towards justice.'' However, it doesn't do it on its own accord.
It takes the hand of man and women to bend it, so I am pleased that he
did so.
I am also pleased that there was another opportunity for a President
to forge a more perfect Union. President Harry Truman had the
opportunity in 1948 to issue an executive order, as was the case with
Lincoln and the executive order for the Emancipation Proclamation. He
issued an executive order to desegregate the military.
There was much to be said about it. In fact, that executive order led
to the birth of the Dixiecrats. There was a split in the Democratic
Party because the Honorable Harry Truman decided that he would issue
Executive Order 9981, to desegregate the military.
He issued it, the military was desegregated, and I contend that this
was also one of the many reasons why the country itself moved along to
desegregation and integration.
These were two outstanding and well-noted executive orders issued by
Presidents of the United States. If President Lincoln could issue an
executive order--an Emancipation Proclamation--if Harry Truman could
issue an executive order--to desegregate the military--surely,
President Barack Obama can issue an executive order to liberate many
people who are living in the shadows of life, an immigration
declaration, if you will. I believe the President should issue this
order, notwithstanding all that is being said.
There was much being said and much being done when Lincoln issued his
executive order, much said and much being done when Truman issued his,
much said and much being done now, but I think the President should do
this, and I think he should be bold when he does it because he will be
lifting people out of the shadows of life.
I am confident that while many will be angry with him, God will not.
I think God will smile on the President for issuing this executive
order.
More than 15,000 executive orders have been issued. Not one President
has ever been impeached for issuing an executive order, not one. There
is talk of impeaching President Obama.
If we didn't impeach Lincoln and we didn't impeach Truman and we
didn't impeach Reagan and we didn't impeach many of the other
Presidents who have signed the more than 15,000 executive orders, I
don't think that we ought to impeach President Obama.
Finally this, as an aside: there is much talk about the President's
legacy and what he has done to form a more perfect Union while being
President, if you will, but all of this talk about his legacy misses
the mark, in my opinion, because there are many who think that the
Affordable Care Act will be the centerpiece of his legacy.
I think it is a great piece of legislation. I supported it. I still
support it. There are many who think that saving the auto industry
would be his legacy. I think this is significant, exceedingly so. I
supported what he did.
There are others who believe that his work in human rights and human
dignity, especially as it relates for equal pay for equal work for
women, will be his legacy. I think it is a great piece of work, and I
commend him for what he has done.
But the President's legacy in the eons to come will be that he became
President of the United States of America. The mere fact that the
Honorable Barack Obama was elected not once, but twice, speaks to our
efforts to form a more perfect Union.
I think that his greatest legacy will be his having served as
President of the United States of America. That fact alone will be
something that we will never, ever erase from history.
I thank you for the opportunity to visit with you, and I pray that
the President will be bold and sign the executive order, will lead with
the executive order that may lead to comprehensive immigration reform
and a pathway to citizenship for those who are living in the shadows of
life. God bless you.
Mr. JEFFRIES. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas for his
very thoughtful and eloquent observations.
I think it is so important that you pointed out the President's place
in the context of his legacy relating to his election because I believe
that also ties into his legitimacy in moving forward with executive
action on immigration.
This is the first Democratic President since FDR to be elected to
consecutive terms having secured a majority of the vote from the
American people, and so he has all of the legitimacy, all of the
electoral mandate to act in a bold fashion.
We know that President George W. Bush came into the Presidency under
questionable circumstances. He didn't receive a majority of the vote of
the American people, and I am not sure what took place down in Florida,
but certainly, there were significant questions as to the authenticity
of the final result.
He came into office under questionable circumstances; yet there was
no talk of impeachment, even as he proceeded to get us into not one but
two wars and jam a reckless tax cut to benefit the wealthy and the
well-off down the throats of the American people.
If you just take Iraq, for example, his administration lied their way
into a conflict that has cost the American people thousands of lives,
billions of dollars; international legitimacy has been jeopardized. No
one from this side of the aisle talked about bringing forth Articles of
Impeachment in any meaningful way against George W. Bush.
{time} 2000
You have a democratically elected President, Barack Obama,
overwhelming electoral college landslide. He has got a mandate to act,
and there are some Members on the other side of the aisle who just
can't help themselves, who are itching to try and delegitimize this
President. Shame on you. Let's just hope that we can move forward in a
more productive fashion as it relates to how we interact with the
executive branch. The whole world is watching, and they expect us to
behave responsibly as we move forward.
Now, in terms of how do we move forward, how do we create a more
perfect Union, and how do we act potentially in a bipartisan fashion, I
think there are at least four areas where there should be opportunity
to find common ground. I think we should be able to find common ground
as it relates to immigration reform and dealing with our broken
immigration system. We should be able to find common ground as it
relates to giving America a raise. We should be able to find common
ground as it relates to criminal justice reform.
I have been encouraged as a member of the House Judiciary Committee
bipartisan task force on over-criminalization by the willingness of
Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressives, to try to
work together to solve this issue of a broken criminal justice system
that we have got in America.
There are areas where we should be able to find some common ground.
Let me start by dealing with this question of the executive order on
immigration, because there is a lot of hysteria in this town now about
how some people in the Congress are going to react to the President if
he decides to issue some form of executive order on immigration, as if
this President would be doing something extraordinary.
The history, in fact, tells us that since President Eisenhower, every
single occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has issued executive orders
related to immigration. In fact, there have been 39 such orders from
Eisenhower all the way through to President George W. Bush related to
the topic
[[Page H8024]]
and subject matter of immigration. In fact, if you look at some of the
executive orders that were issued by President Ronald Reagan and
President George H.W. Bush related to undocumented immigrants from
Central America and the need in their view to try to keep families
together, they were some of the broadest executive orders issued by any
President in the area of immigration.
Where was the impeachment talk back then? Why are we subjecting this
President to such reckless conversations? I thought that we were trying
to come together in the aftermath of these elections to see if we can
have a productive 114th Congress, because certainly we know that the
113th Congress was or is on track, I should say, to go down as the
least productive Congress in the history of the Republic. That is quite
a designation. I mean, the least productive Congress?
If we go down memory lane and think about some of the highlights,
this is a Congress that brought us a reckless, irresponsible government
shutdown that cost the economy $24 billion in lost economic
productivity all because of this clinical obsession with the Affordable
Care Act. We flirted with a default on our debt for the first time in
our Nation's history, threatening the full faith and credit of the
United States of America. It is a Congress that brought us
sequestration, $85 billion in randomly spread out cuts across the
government in a way that put hundreds of thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
We failed to renew unemployment insurance, leaving millions of
Americans on the battlefield of the Great Recession. These are the
highlights of the 113th Congress. I don't think that is a record to be
proud of as we move forward.
So I think we could all benefit from a reduction in the rhetoric in
an effort to try and find common ground. If you don't like what the
President may do on the issue of immigration, you are going to control
the House of Representatives and you are going to control the Senate.
Just act. Do something. Stop talking. Fix our broken immigration
system. You have the power to do so.
The Senate acted in a bipartisan fashion last year passing a
comprehensive immigration reform bill that was not perfect but
certainly was a good faith attempt to try and address the problem.
There were 52 Democrats, 2 Independents, and 14 Republicans, if my
recollection serves me correctly. They partnered together to pass a
bipartisan piece of legislation.
So I am just hopeful that the House will come together and
legitimately try to tackle an issue and just stop throwing out the word
``amnesty'' to apply to everything that you don't like. I mean, in this
country's greatest tradition, we have never had dual citizenship, and
we shouldn't have dual citizenship moving forward. We should just try
to find a way to bring these 11 million undocumented people out of the
shadows in a fashion that independent economists have said will be
beneficial to the American taxpayer and result in dramatic reductions
in our Nation's deficit. That is immigration reform. I am hopeful we
can find some common ground in that area.
The second area where I think we should come together in our march
toward a more perfect Union has to do with giving America a raise.
Right now, the Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. In other words,
in the wealthiest country in the world, in our great Republic, under
that Federal minimum wage, you can have somebody who works full-time,
40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and at the end of the day, with a
family of three, find themselves below the Federal poverty line. That
is the classic definition of ``working poor.'' Why would we cement that
into law?
So I think that the responsible thing to do is for us to try to
figure out how we can come together and raise the minimum wage. We
couldn't get a vote in the House of Representatives on H.R. 1010--this
Congress--that would have raised the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour
over the next year or so. Let's hit the refresh button and try to get
something done next Congress. And this is not just something that
Democrats embrace. This is not simply something that blue States
embrace. This is not something that progressives simply embrace. If we
are going to take a message from the outcome of the election earlier in
November, we can't pick and choose what message we want to take.
How about we draw some lessons from the fact that the voters of
Alaska came to the polls and overwhelmingly supported an increase in
the minimum wage in that State; the voters in Arkansas came to the
polls and overwhelmingly supported an increase in the minimum wage in
that State; the voters of Nebraska came to the polls and overwhelmingly
supported an increase in the minimum wage in that State; and the voters
of South Dakota came to the polls and overwhelmingly supported an
increase in the minimum wage in that State. Those are four deeply
conservative, deeply red States.
America wants a raise. If we are looking for issues where we can find
common ground beyond immigration reform, perhaps we can start there.
One of the reasons why I think we should start there is because, if you
look at what the minimum wage really means in real terms right now, we
are falling behind in terms of where we once were and also in terms of
making sure that we are giving the people who are working for the
minimum wage a fair shot to pursue the American Dream.
If you were to look at this chart that is before us, you will see
that in 1968 only 17 percent of the people who fall or fell into the
category of a low-wage worker had some college experience, but in 2012
that number has shot way up: 46 percent of the people falling into the
category of a low-wage worker with some college experience. No wonder
there is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about the future of America
amongst the people we represent all across the country when you have
got folks with some college experience falling into the category of a
low-wage worker.
In 1968, about 48 percent of the people, low-wage workers, had a high
school diploma or GED. That number has shot up. In 2012, 79 percent of
low-wage workers had completed high school or obtained their GED.
Americans are more educated now than we were 45 or so plus years ago in
terms of the workforce but earning less. That is a fundamental problem
that we have got to confront in this country, and raising the minimum
wage is one way in which to do it.
The other thing that we should take a look at related to the minimum
wage is the fact that the people who are on it in large measure are
actually trying to support themselves on a full-time basis or support
their families. One of the most popular myths put forward by those who
are determined to do everything possible to stop America from getting a
raise like to say, well, people who work for the minimum wage are
teenagers, or they work part-time after school and live with their
parents. All they are really doing is trying to earn some extra
spending money. It is a cute argument, but when you actually evaluate
it using some objective factual analysis, you see that these are simply
myths designed to undermine the effort to raise the minimum wage for
people who are actually struggling to support their families.
{time} 2015
Unlike the popular mythology that is put forward that these are
teenagers or afterschool workers or people who are trying to get some
spending change to go to the movies, the reality is the average age of
people who are working for minimum wage numbers in America is 35 years
old. Eighty-eight percent of the people working for minimum wage right
now are not teenagers, they are 20 years or older. More than a quarter
actually have children, and 55 percent of these individuals, as this
chart illustrates, work full time. So let's have an evidence-based
discussion about the need to increase the minimum wage that is rooted
in objective, factual analysis and not hysteria or mythology designed
simply to evade the discussion.
And the fact that the minimum wage increase has been embraced by
deeply conservative voters in Arkansas and Alaska and Nebraska and
South Dakota I think provides us with a starting point to move forward
and attempt to find common ground in doing something that makes sense
simply for America.
So I have mentioned immigration reform as a possible avenue of trying
to identify common ground. I have mentioned the minimum wage. I think
we
[[Page H8025]]
also have to try to deal with the issue of our broken criminal justice
system. If you think about the fact that in America there are more than
2 million people incarcerated in our country, that is a tremendous
waste of human capital. It is a tremendous waste of our economic
resources and results in a dramatic loss of human productivity.
So I have actually been pleased over the last several years that
people on the left and on the right, progressives and conservatives,
are finding their way toward common ground to deal with a criminal
justice system that clearly is broken, and starting perhaps with the
notion that we have had a failed war on drugs that has resulted in
putting people behind bars far too often, and disproportionately
African Americans and Latino men, but putting nonviolent drug abusers
behind bars--a dramatic waste of taxpayer dollars in a manner that has
proven to be ineffective from a criminal justice standpoint.
As a member of the bipartisanship task force on overcriminalization
chaired by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner)--the
Democratic leader of the effort was the distinguished gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott), one of the things that was striking as we moved
forward with our exploration was the fact that in the Federal system
more than 50 percent of the people who are currently incarcerated--more
than 50 percent--are there for drug or substance abuse crimes. Only
about 8 percent of the current occupants of Federal prisons across
America were convicted of violent crimes. Something is wrong with that
picture.
I am thankful, actually, that States, particularly in the deep South,
conservative States with Republican Governors and Republican-held State
legislative bodies, have recognized the failure of the excessive law
and order policies brought to us in the late 1980s and the early 1990s,
the fact that it was costing their taxpayers dollars, wasting
resources, and they have come together to reform the criminal justice
system. It has happened in Texas. It has happened in South Carolina. It
has happened in Alabama. It has happened in Kentucky. It has happened
in Louisiana. It has happened in Georgia. Again, these aren't blue
States. These are not traditionally Democratic States, these are
traditionally conservative States recognizing the need for criminal
justice reform.
So I am hopeful that as we move into the 114th Congress, we can find
our way toward dealing with this issue. We have got Senators from the
other side of the aisle who have expressed an interest in tackling this
issue. And we have Democratic and Republican members of the House
Judiciary Committee and beyond who have indicated a willingness to try
to fix our broken criminal justice system: to eradicate mandatory
minimums; to restore discretion to judges; to focus less on punishment
as it relates to nonviolent drug abusers; and to provide treatment and
rehabilitation so we can help people successfully reenter our society.
We have to finish the job as it relates to the disparity between
crack and cocaine. It was 100 to 1. This Congress acted; it is now 18
to 1, but there is still no pharmaceutical reason for there to be any
disparity between crack and cocaine. And we should make our reforms
retroactive so we can free thousands of people unnecessarily behind
bars right now for a law that this Congress has deemed to be unjust. So
criminal justice reform, a third area where perhaps we can work
together.
And lastly, as we prepare to wind down this Congressional Black
Caucus Special Order, I also want to express my thanks to my good
friend and colleague, the distinguished gentleman from Nevada (Mr.
Horsford) who throughout the last 2 years courageously stood on the
floor of the House of Representatives coanchoring the CBC Special
Order, and we know that the best is yet to come for Congressman
Horsford, but the last issue that we have to perhaps tackle in a
bipartisan fashion is fixing the damage that was done to the Voting
Rights Act by the Supreme Court.
We all should want to encourage Americans to vote and participate in
our great democracy. It is that participation that preserves the
integrity of the democratic Republic that has been created in this
great country. Why anyone would want to suppress the vote is beyond me,
with the exception of noting that some view it as a partisan means of
maintaining power, a Pyrrhic victory perhaps, because at the end of the
day, these efforts to disenfranchise people are bad for America.
This is a chart that illustrates the fact that in the aftermath of
the 2010 election, some people interpreted that midterm election as a
mandate to suppress the vote. And so in 41 States, 180 voter
suppression-type bills were introduced all across America. In every
State that is represented with a red color, laws were introduced to
suppress the vote. That is how the 2010 elections seem to have been
interpreted by some.
I am hopeful that coming out of the 2014 midterm elections that we
will actually come together. There is a bill in the House of
Representatives--it has Republican support and it has Democratic
support--to help Americans who want to vote vote and undo the damage
that was done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court.
Now, the Voting Rights Act has a great bipartisan history. It was
enacted into law in 1965. We are going to celebrate its 50th
anniversary next year. It was signed and championed by Lyndon Baines
Johnson, with the support of civil rights leaders, Dr. King, and of
course our own Congressman John Lewis. But every time the Voting Rights
Act was reauthorized, it was reauthorized by a Republican President. It
was reauthorized in 1970, signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
And then it was reauthorized again in 1975, signed into law by
President Gerald Ford. And then the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized
again in 1982, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. And then it
was reauthorized again in 2006 and signed into law by President George
W. Bush. It has a great bipartisan history.
If we are looking for areas where we can find common ground, where
there is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans, for
conservatives and progressives to work together, we have got a lot of
options. We can fix our broken immigration system. We can deal with
criminal justice reform. We can give America a raise, and we can fix
the Voting Rights Act on the occasion of our celebrating the 50th
anniversary of its passage.
And so I am hopeful that we can put the dysfunction and the
obfuscation and the government shutdown and the impeachment talk and
the sequestration and the serial flirtation with the debt ceiling and
defaulting behind us and come together, find common ground, and march
toward a more perfect union in the 114th Congress.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
highlight our Nation's struggle to achieve a more perfect Union. As we
look upon the political landscape this fall, it is impossible to ignore
the backward steps we have taken.
In years past, elections signaled a time of hope and renewal: Hope
that partisan politics would be put aside and renewal of our working
relationships across the aisle and across the Capitol.
However, even as election results were being tallied earlier this
month the new Republican majority was already highlighting the divisive
actions they planned to undertake in the next Congress. Among these
plans are efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, and to shutdown
the federal government or impeach President Obama over his immigration
reforms.
Mr. Speaker, I see nothing but divisiveness and partisanship in these
plans. In fact, investigations into the creation of the Affordable Care
Act or the President's immigration policy do nothing to advance the
needs of everyday Americans who continue to struggle making ends meet.
I urge my Republican Colleagues to abandon these frivolous efforts
and instead focus on expanding opportunities for every American and
creating a more perfect Union.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues of
the Congressional Black Caucus to speak to the issues that members of
the 113th Congress must address.
I thank my colleagues Representatives Steven Horsford and Hakeem
Jeffries for leading this evening's Congressional Black Caucus Special
Order on ``The March toward a More Perfect Union: Where Do We Go from
Here?''
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general
[[Page H8026]]
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our a
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
These words are powerful and unforgettable--they are the preamble of
the Constitution of the United States of America.
What is most striking about these words are the first 3, ``We the
People.'' They remind us that we are here in the ``People's House'' to
do the people's business.
The Supreme Courts over the centuries looked to these words for
guidance or evidence of what the founding fathers intended for the
Constitution's meaning and its ultimate purpose.
This places the preamble in a unique role as time has separated us
from the words and thoughts of those who drafted the document, which
governs our form of government today.
The Supreme Court, in its decision in Ellis v. City of Grand Rapids,
looked to the preamble in reaching its decision in this eminent domain
case. The Court decided that the use of land to provide additional land
for the expansion of a hospital would be in the interest of the people
and should be allowed under the constitution.
We the People, two years ago re-elected President Obama to the
Presidency of the United States with 57.5 of all eligible voters voting
for him to serve a second term in 2012.
He ran on the issues of retaining the Affordable Health Care Act,
infrastructure investments, and rebuilding the middle class.
His re-election was no fluke; it was an affirmation by the people of
the United States of a decision they made nearly 4 years earlier when
he defeated his Republican opponent and become President.
In 2008, President Obama won 53% of the votes in the election that
saw voter turnout at 62.3 percent of eligible citizens voting.
During the hard fought campaign then Democratic Presidential
Candidate Obama said that he would focus on health care reform,
repairing the economy, which was in shambles, and ending the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our troops home.
Once President Obama entered office in January 2009, he was given the
full picture of how bad the economy really was and how much work would
be needed to repair the damage and restore economic vitality.
Since 2008, the economy has made tremendous progress, but more work
needs to be done and I invite my colleague to commit in earnest to
doing the work held to help the people of this nation.
On March 23, 2010, with the stroke of President Obama's pen, the
American people received this part of the ``Fair Deal.'' This bill did
not become law in the dead of night, but in the full process this body
affords serious consideration of legislation. There were committee
hearings, staff and member meetings, amendments and a final vote in
both the House and the Senate before it was sent to the President's
desk.
The Affordable Care Act has been affirmed to be law by every means
provided by our nation's constitution:
On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the ACA,
affirming the constitutionality of the law--leaving intact the majority
of the incentives to expand healthcare coverage to millions of
Americans.
The Affordable Care Act was a central issue in the Presidential
election of 2012. President Obama who signed the Affordable Care Act
into law won the election by 51.1 percent of the popular vote and 62
percent of the electoral vote.
Republican Victory on November 4, 2014 was no mandate
The voter turnout on November 4 was lowest voter turnout in 72 years
according to the New York Times. National voter participation was 33.9%
for the 2014 mid-term elections.
Although some are trying to call the election a mandate, that
argument cannot be made if these same people refused to treat as a
mandate the victories of Present Obama in two elections with a vote
well over 50% and voter participation of 60% or more.
The Affordable Health Care Act is the law of the land; we have 10
million people with health care, who otherwise would not have the
financial security that brings to them and their families.
November 15, 2014-December 15, 2014 is open season for the Affordable
Care Act, which allows those without health insurance the opportunity
to purchase insurance for themselves and their children.
The Affordable Care Act is not going anywhere and if the Republicans
want to use taxpayers dollars on continuing to argue over it that is a
waste of precious legislative days that the people of this nation
cannot afford.
Republican threats of shutdown over Immigration Reform
The Republicans shut down the government a year ago in October and
the consequences were devastating to the American workers and seriously
damaged the financial recovery the nation was experiencing.
The Shutdown of 2011 cost the nation $24 billion.
A CNN poll found that 69 percent of Americans--including 52 percent
of Tea Party supporters--thought the Congressional Republicans were
``acting like spoiled children,'' and 46 percent said they would blame
Congressional Republicans for a shutdown.
Sixty-eight percent of the American public said the shutdown of a few
days would be a bad thing for the country; that number rose to nearly
80 percent for a shutdown lasting a few weeks.
Sixty percent say it is more important for Congress to avoid a
shutdown than to make major changes to the new health care law. [9/30]
According to the Office of Management and Budget, the last Republican
Government Shutdown hurt the American people.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees immediately and
indefinitely furloughed, and many Federal employees and contractors
that continued to work were not paid during the shutdown.
Housing loans to low and middle income families in rural communities
were put on hold, as would start-up business loans for farmers and
ranchers.
SBA stopped approving applications for small businesses to obtain
loans and loan guarantees. In a typical month, SBA approves over $1
billion in loan assistance to small businesses.
All facilities and services in our national parks were closed, along
with the Smithsonian, impacting the hundreds of thousands of people
that were on or heading to vacations. This had a severe negative impact
on the surrounding local communities that rely on the revenue generated
by travel and tourism to these destinations.
Important government research into life-threatening diseases,
environmental protection, and other areas were halted.
The government stopped issuing permits to conduct drilling operations
on Federal lands, and would stop or delay environmental reviews of
planned transportation and energy-related projects, keeping companies
from working on these projects.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees suddenly did not have a
pay-check coming and had no idea when the shutdown would end.
Veterans were left without access to vital services.
It was irresponsible then and it would be far worse knowing what the
reality was then for this Congress to do this to the American people
again in less than 2 years.
Immigration Reform Long Overdue
The immigration reform bill that came out of the Senate does much to
improve family immigration, but I am concerned that the bill contains
some fundamental changes to our immigration system that move us away
from the principle of family reunification.
In my role as a Senior Member of both the House Judiciary Immigration
Subcommittee and Homeland Security Committee, I will continue working
to strengthen the provisions in the bill that impact families and work
to restore other important provisions which help families, particularly
those immigrants of limited means--every immigrant cannot be a
millionaire tech entrepreneur or bear the lineage of some landed
gentry--America is the ultimate egalitarian society where opportunity
waits for those rich and poor who seek it.
Nearly everyone agrees that our immigration system is badly broken
and in dire need of fixing, and the bill that came out of the Senate is
a step in the right direction.
What we need is immigration legislation that establishes a path to
citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.
We must address the lengthy backlogs in our current immigration
system--backlogs that have kept families apart sometimes for decades.
We must grant a faster track to the `Dreamers' brought to this
country as children through no fault of their own, and to agricultural
workers who are an essential part of our communities and work so hard
to provide our nation's food supply.
We need immigration legislation that will make important changes to
the visas used by dairy farmers and the tourism industry and by
immigrant investors who are making investments in our communities.
Dreamers grew up in the United States, but were brought here
illegally through no fault of their own. Nearly 300,000 Dreamers have
been granted legal status in the past year, giving them the ability to
live their lives in our communities by working and going to college
without fear of deportation.
Most Americans agree that we need a comprehensive immigration reform
plan that includes a pathway to citizenship. Nearly 9 out of 10
Americans (87%) believe that it would be better to offer undocumented
workers an opportunity to earn citizenship after they have met the
necessary requirements than to deport them.
If the House had seriously considered comprehensive immigration
reform it would not be
[[Page H8027]]
necessary for the President to use his legitimate and lawful Executive
authority by the end of this year to minimize the damage caused by
Congress' failure to act.
Providing legal status to the undocumented immigrants currently in
our country would grow our GDP by a cumulative increase of $832 billion
over 10 years. According to the Center for American Progress,
immigration reform would create 121,000 new jobs each year in the next
decade. Legalization would increase immigrants' income, an additional
boost to our economy.
We must also do something to protect our borders. I am an original
cosponsor of H.R. 1417--the Border Security Results Act of 2013. This
bill has received accolades from the Wall Street Journal and The Los
Angeles Times as a commonsense approach to protect our borders.
I believe the border security legislation that we put forward can be
the solution that allows real immigration reform to move forward
because it will provide the security at the border that the American
people are demanding and deserve.
The Border Security Results Act would require a comprehensive
outcome-based strategy that includes deployment of more surveillance
technology for gaining full situational awareness of the border, use of
that data to allocate manpower and other resources along the border and
the creation of metrics to set progress in achieving border security.
Those metrics may be based on the number of apprehensions of illegal
aliens relative to the number of illegal crossings.
Over the years I have introduced the Save America Comprehensive
Immigration Act and much of the Senate passed bill was included in my
immigration bill; the Senate bill would address some of the toughest
issues on immigration reform and would offer many innovative and
considerate solutions that will help to repair some of the most broken
parts of our immigration system.
So the passage of the Senate bill is a major leap forward in human
rights in America. Now is the time for the House of Representatives to
continue this crucial fight for immigration reform and a secure
America.
If we let the immigration reform debate focus primarily on minute
elements we lose sight of the broader picture--many other important
things we need to do to fix our broken immigration system. It has been
estimated that approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants live in
the United States.
The vast majority of them are hard-working and law-abiding persons
who have become productive members of our society. It serves no purpose
to keep them in the shadows of our society praying for lawful status.
It is not good for them, and is not in the best interests of the United
States. Comprehensive immigration reform will require leadership from
the Administration, the Senate, both parties in Congress with a
willingness on everyone's part to work together.
The American people will hold accountable those that stand in the way
of making comprehensive immigration reform.
When the House and the Senate passes comprehensive immigration reform
the President will sign it into law. This is something that would be
permanent and provide the stability America needs as we move toward a
more prosperous future.
This special order is an opportunity to make the case for continuing
on the course set by the Obama Administration and the need to not take
the recent election as a mandate for major changes.
____________________