[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 162 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6137-H6143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
     UNFINISHED BUSINESS: CBC TO REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP--DO YOUR JOB

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blum). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be 
given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add any 
extraneous materials relevant to the subject matter of the discussion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening along with my coanchor 
of the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order hour, with my 
classmate and my colleague, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries from the Eighth 
District of New York. It is an honor for me to stand here and be a 
coanchor with him.
  Tonight's topic, Mr. Speaker, is the Congressional Black Caucus' 
Special Order hour entitled ``Unfinished Business: Congressional Black 
Caucus to Our Republican Leadership--Do Your Job.''
  As the Congressional Black Caucus comes to the House floor this 
evening as voices to be heard on unfinished congressional business, let 
me pause for a moment first to pay respect to Gwen Ifill, who passed 
away earlier today.
  Ms. Ifill, an award-winning television journalist for NBC and PBS, 
helped pave the way for both women and men and African Americans in the 
field of journalism. Her voice will be missed. Her voice was a voice 
that we listened to as members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Mr. Speaker, today, the House of Representatives returned for the 
first day of the lameduck session of the 114th Congress. As the 
conscience of the Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus is committed 
to advocating for change to policies that adversely impact African 
American communities. Yet, Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 years, the 
114th Congress has been highly unproductive, passing one partisan bill 
after another, which then languishes with no chance of being passed by 
the Senate or being signed into law by President Obama. In fact, as of 
November 2 of this year, only 244 bills have been signed into law, and 
only 20 of those bills have been significant pieces of legislation.
  The American people really deserve more from their elected 
representatives. But the 114th Congress is not over, and we should use 
the remaining time wisely. The list of legislative items that this 
House should consider before going home for the year is robust--
legislation to fully fund the government's fiscal year 2017 for one. 
The American people deserve a fully funded government that invests 
resources in people, reduces poverty, and safeguards the social safety 
net programs.
  We are currently operating under a continuing resolution, Mr. 
Speaker, as you know, through December 9. While the current funding 
mechanism has been keeping the Federal Government doors open, it fails 
to fully recognize the importance of investment in programs which would 
benefit not just a few, but all Americans.
  In addition to the omnibus, we should bring to the floor legislation 
providing reform for the criminal justice system, voting rights, and 
gun violence prevention, just to name a few.
  You are going to hear from several members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus who have spent an inordinate amount of time crafting 
legislation, sitting in their committees, and going back home to their 
district and making promises that the American people are asking for.
  Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity starting today to use the last 
few weeks of the 114th Congress in a productive way to stand up for the 
constituents and to pass bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, how many times have we been in this Chamber and someone 
in that chair has said that we are going to work together for the good 
of the country or our constituents?
  That is what our constituents expect us to do.
  So let me just briefly take a moment to remind you, Mr. Speaker, why 
it is so important that we have a fully funded Federal Government and 
provide funding for critical programs--critical programs--like those 
that address ethnic and racial health disparities by improving 
diversity in the healthcare workforce and increasing the number of 
health professions in underserved communities, for example.
  Mr. Speaker, we have my colleague and friend who has served as our 
Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust chair, Congresswoman Robin 
Kelly, who is with us today and has fought tirelessly for health care.

[[Page H6138]]

You are going to hear from her tonight.
  It is well known that poverty and social economic status and health 
disparities are closely linked and latched together. Many of these gaps 
are shaped by generations of cultural biases, injustices, and 
inequality. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: ``Of all the 
forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and 
inhumane.''
  Mr. Speaker, for years, I have had the honor of serving on the 
American Heart Association Board where researchers have shared the 
alarming statistics of how African Americans are 30 percent more likely 
to die of heart disease and 60 percent more likely to be diabetic than 
white Americans. The cost of these types of health disparities is 
simply too high. Estimates indicate that health disparities cost our 
Nation as much as $300 billion a year, which results in too many 
Americans suffering unnecessarily because they do not have access to 
the care they need.
  Statistics such as these illustrate the increased need to address 
healthcare disparities by continued investment in Federal programs such 
as the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human 
Services and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities at NIH.
  We cannot shortchange these important Federal programs by putting 
them in neutral or on pause, Mr. Speaker. We must enact a fully funded 
omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2017 before leaving Washington--a 
real simple request of doing your job. This has to stop, Mr. Speaker.

  I am privileged to be joined this evening by so many members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus. I am joined by my coanchor, as I mentioned, 
and you will hear from him shortly.
  At this time, it gives me great pleasure to have the privilege of 
yielding to Congressman G.K. Butterfield. He is the Congressional Black 
Caucus chair from the First District of North Carolina. He is someone 
whose history and past leadership in fighting for justice and against 
disparities are far too long for me to appropriately say tonight. So, 
Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield to Congressman G.K. Butterfield.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Let me begin, Mr. Speaker, by thanking the 
gentlewoman so very much for yielding time tonight. I thank the 
gentlewoman for her friendship. Most of all, I thank the gentlewoman 
for her extraordinary leadership here in the Congress. I have been 
observing the gentlewoman's work since the first day that she came to 
this House, and I can tell my colleagues that she has worked 
relentlessly on behalf of the people of the Third Congressional 
District of Ohio. I thank the gentlewoman for anchoring this Special 
Order hour tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, before I get into the other part of my remarks tonight, 
I just want to digress for a moment to recognize a great American that 
we lost today. I recognize the life and legacy of a dear friend, a 
friend of the Congressional Black Caucus and a personal friend of mine, 
Gwen Ifill. She was one of the Nation's leading journalists, regarded 
as one of the most prominent African American journalists in the 
country, and indeed a prominent journalist among all journalists.
  Mrs. Ifill began her career in the 1970s during a time when there 
were very few African Americans and very few females in journalism. 
Gwen was a trailblazer in her profession. She was a bestselling author 
and moderator of two vice presidential debates. Gwen Ifill was among 
the Nation's finest political correspondents as she was gracious and 
poised when addressing some of the most pressing issues facing our 
country. Her voice will be missed in the media, but her legacy--her 
legacy--will continue to have a lasting impact on how we view news 
broadcasts. We offer our sincere condolences to Ms. Ifill's family, her 
friends, her followers, and colleagues all around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, we are at a crossroads right now in our great country. 
That is undisputable. But I want my colleagues to know that the 
Congressional Black Caucus is up for the challenge. The CBC is poised 
in the 115th Congress to have a record number of 49 Members of 
Congress. Currently we have 46. Their number will go to 49. The CBC 
vows to continue to be the voice of our communities, representing more 
than 30 million Americans.
  We will continue to have conversations in all of our communities, and 
we will zealously represent our constituents. We will stand strong as a 
caucus. We will stand strong against any Republican effort to reverse 
the progress that we have made over the past few decades. We are facing 
some tough times ahead, Mr. Speaker, but we are going to continue to be 
clear on our priorities.
  We are going to continue to talk emphatically about promoting 
economic growth that will create jobs and stability in our communities. 
We are going to continue to talk about the need--the critical need--for 
criminal justice reform. We will continue to debate and talk about and 
to legislate on creating educational opportunities and reducing student 
debt.
  Don't you think that we have forgotten about the Voting Rights Act. 
We will continue fighting for the full restoration of the 1965 Voting 
Rights Act. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, this was the first election that we 
have had without the protection--the full protection at least--of the 
1965 Voting Rights Act since it was implemented. Finally, we are going 
to continue to ensure diversity in the corporate arena, the workforce, 
and even in classrooms.
  Mr. Speaker, there are peaceful protests taking place in many 
communities across America.

                              {time}  1945

  As I drove into Washington, D.C. this afternoon, I even saw some here 
in Washington. We understand the protests, we understand the pain, and 
we understand the pain in all of our communities due to the negativity 
and the division that they have seen over the last 12 months.
  We say to House Republicans that our communities are reeling with 
discontent and you need to understand this discontent. Now is the time 
to take up legislation that will help to lift those around the country 
that need us desperately to act. We have unfinished business presently 
before this Congress. Let us act and let us move legislation that will 
help those that need our voices the most.
  Mr. Speaker, we have the capacity to do this. Congresses in past 
years have worked in a bipartisan manner, and they have succeeded. We 
can do the same. We must work together as Democrats and Republicans on 
behalf of the American people. Compromise, Mr. Speaker, is not a bad 
word.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Butterfield not only 
for his words but for his leadership as our chair of the Congressional 
Black Caucus.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), another 
member of the Congressional Black Caucus, who stands strong and sure-
footed with us as we talk about our unfinished business, a member who 
has no problem coming to the mic and sharing her intellect and giving 
us a direction of where we should go. It is, indeed, my honor to yield 
to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a leader on criminal justice 
reform and judiciary issues, from Texas' 18th Congressional District.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Mrs. Beatty) for her leadership and dynamic message she gave this 
morning when we were discussing in the district and the area of our 
colleague Congressman Hank Johnson and John Lewis the issue of economic 
empowerment and economic empowerment as it relates to women, and 
particularly women of color. Let me thank the gentlewoman for that, and 
as well for leading today, along with Mr. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, 
this very important Special Order of unfinished business.
  Let me say that all of us, and you will hear certainly this 
repetitive refrain, have been challenged in this last election. Now, 
let me be very clear for those of our colleagues who may be listening 
or those who may be hearing, I am by no means whining. What I do speak 
to, of course, however, is, and will be over a period of time, whether 
or not there were fractures in the Democratic process that were driven 
not by candidates, for candidates can say and do, as much as you may be 
offended by them saying or doing, but whether or not there were 
actually systems that undermined the voting process. Starting first, of 
course, with the Supreme Court's extinguishing of section 5 of the 
Voting Rights Act and the

[[Page H6139]]

long, how should I say, journey of members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus and the Democratic Caucus and others of goodwill to restore 
section 5 or, in essence, a fix to section 5, and the long period of 
time that we had, Congresswoman Beatty, to fix it, but it never got 
fixed before the election, which means that there are a number of 
jurisdictions that face a high mountain of trying to be able to vote. 
People were purged off of lists in a number of States. Individuals, 
unfortunately, had challenges with respect to what local officials may 
have been doing.
  We will get all of this out in the wash, but we would have been much 
better off if we had section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In my own 
jurisdiction, even though it ultimately was fixed under the auspices of 
they were not ADA compliant, we consolidated and closed a lot of 
precincts that we had to correct because on election day people were 
going to their home precincts and they didn't exist.
  So clearly fixing section 5, fixing the Voting Rights Act, is not 
unfinished business. It is a requirement. It is adamantly necessary to 
do. Let me quickly say that we only did one out of the 12 
appropriations bills, so Agriculture is not done, Commerce-Justice is 
not done, Defense, Energy and Water, Financial Services. All of these 
impact the lives of Americans.
  We are still in the dilemma of the Flint water crisis. We have gone 
to Flint. We as members of the Congressional Black Caucus have spoken 
to those people who are hurting. They have various ailments--one woman 
with a rash, hair loss, children with cognitive issues--and we have 
still not resolved that. Protecting children with disabilities, access 
to public education.
  My State alone has been an embarrassment for they were only providing 
for 7 to 8 percent of children with disabilities as opposed to the 
national average of 13 to 14 percent. We need to make sure that we 
ensure that those children are protected under Federal law. My State 
says they are immediately stopping the capping, but I prefer that we 
have it institutionalized into law and make sure it works.
  Immigration reform. We have to worry about the DACA young people who 
are working in our economy and now with the potential that they may be 
on the deportation list.
  Funding for the Louisiana flooding is crucial, whether those dollars 
have gotten--after our colleague, Congressman Richmond, worked so hard 
and told us of the trillions of dollars of flooding that occurred in 
his constituency. They need help, and we must get them help.
  Funding for the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. That is, of 
course, in Princeville, North Carolina, areas that I remember going to 
with my colleague, the Honorable G.K. Butterfield, the great chairman 
of the Congressional Black Caucus, and, nonetheless, improving 
cybersecurity of the Nation's critical infrastructure.
  I finish on this point, and that is on criminal justice, which I know 
a number of members will speak of. As the ranking member on the 
Criminal Justice Committee, I want to thank all of the many members who 
have offered legislation and thank the members on the Judiciary 
Committee, particularly under the leadership of John Conyers and 
certainly those who have worked with the chairman. We must pass police 
reform and accountability, the law enforcement trust and integrity 
bill. We must pass the sentencing reduction bill that will codify some 
of the work that needs to be done, prison reform that will turn prisons 
into true institutions of rehabilitation, and also a new matrix in 
juvenile justice to stop punishing our young people, but to provide a 
corrective rehabilitative approach, which is reauthorization of the 
juvenile block grant legislation, along with antibullying and bullying 
intervention.
  We must do these things because the American people have sent us here 
to do our job. We must do these things because they are right. We must 
do these things because the American people need this legislation. We 
must simply do these things because, Mr. Speaker, we must do our job.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
  Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor to yield to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Meeks), from New York's Fifth Congressional District. There 
are so many things that I could say about him. I am honored that I 
serve with him on the Financial Services Committee. I am honored that 
he is a soldier in the battle. When I think of some of the words that 
President Barack Obama said, it reminds me of Congressman Meeks when 
President Obama said, ``Justice is not only the absence of oppression, 
it is the presence of opportunity.''

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is often 
called the conscience of the Congress--the conscience of the Congress. 
They don't say we are just the conscience of Black people. They don't 
say we are just the conscience of some people. We say that we are the 
conscience of the entire Congress because we want to work to help all 
of Americans, particularly the least of these. Many of us run around 
and we talk about our various religious beliefs. And no matter what 
your religious belief is, it teaches us that we need to take care of 
those who do not have.
  So we are here in what we call the people's House, and one of the 
things that we should make sure that happens with the people's House 
taking the lead is that we end poverty. Poverty does not discriminate. 
Poverty does not look at which section of the country you are in or 
what religion you have. You can find poverty in rural America and urban 
America. We should be here to do our jobs to help all Americans.
  When, in fact, you have individuals who are still drinking bottled 
water, we need to pass a water resources bill, not only for a small 
section of individuals but for everyone. Because when we look at what 
is taking place now, we see and we are finding--we even found it right 
here in the United States Capital--a problem with water. Water equals 
life, and everybody's life is important. Why we have got to pass this 
budget is so that we can make sure that everybody has certainty that 
they receive the items that they need.
  What are the most basic needs of any human being? You cannot live 
without health care. So we have got to continue to make sure that we 
are providing for health care. I know some were talking about 
eliminating ObamaCare, but 20 million Americans who did not have any 
health care at all now for the first time in their lives have the same 
or have access to health care. We cannot end that.
  Education. We know today that education is more important than ever 
before. We must pass this budget that has education at its core to make 
sure that every American has a chance to live up to her or his dreams.
  Criminal justice reform. We have got to make sure that it is fair and 
equitable for everyone.
  When you think about this budget, stability is important. The 
government relies on stability. We must fund the government so that we 
don't have short-term uncertainty. We have got to take care of our 
military. We have got to take care of emergencies like storms that hit 
my district. We are still recovering from Sandy. There must be 
stability in the budget and not these short-term things that we 
continue to do so our country can move and prosper.
  So let's stay and do the job that the American people have elected us 
to do. Let us understand, even though this election, that there has to 
be, as Chairman Butterfield said, compromise because the majority of 
the American people voted one way, the electoral college had another 
decision, which means that we have got to all work together to move 
this country forward. We can do that, and we will be stronger doing 
that together.
  So I want to thank Congresswoman Beatty for engineering this evening 
because we must meet with our voices louder. We know the members of the 
Congressional Black Caucus will talk loudly and clearly to make sure 
that we represent the people that vote for us every 2 years, but we 
know that we are the conscience of the Congress and that we have a 
responsibility to the American people.
  And I say to my Republican friends, you too have a responsibility, 
and that responsibility is to come and let's pass this budget so that 
we can keep this government moving and keep it stable moving forward. 
We can do that because this Congress is stronger if we work together.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Greg Meeks for lending

[[Page H6140]]

his voice to tonight's Special Order hour.

                              {time}  2000

  It is now my honor to ask Congressman Donald Payne from New Jersey to 
come and lend his voice tonight. He is someone who brings a message to 
us. He is someone who advocates for our financial needs; he advocates 
for our children; he is a father; he is a husband; and he is someone 
who understands, in the time that we are having now, the value of 
quality education and the value of removing our children from poverty 
because he understands that all lives matter.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentlewoman from Ohio 
for this opportunity to speak during this Special Order hour and to 
also thank my other classmate, the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries from New 
York, for this opportunity to speak at this time on unfinished 
business.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been my great honor to represent the 10th 
Congressional District of the State of New Jersey for the past two 
Congresses, and I have seen a great deal of angst. I have seen some 
accomplishment, but not as much as the American people are due.
  We come here week after week. We get here on Monday nights, like 
tonight. We come in and meet with our staffs, and then we are told of 
the proposed votes that we have that evening. On most nights, it is 
two. Now, I understand it is a night of travel and of making sure all 
Members have the opportunity to get here; but what does it say about 
Tuesday when there could possibly be two or about Wednesday morning 
when there will only be two votes? There is unfinished business, Mr. 
Speaker, in the House of Representatives. There are so many issues that 
we could discuss, and I think they are all being hit by my colleagues.
  Zika is a frightening prospect for this Nation in its moving forward. 
Yet and still we are unable to get the level of funding that the 
President has asked for to try to understand and stop this disease, to 
do the research needed to figure out what is going on or how to prevent 
it. We just go home for recess. Not until it enters the continental 
United States or certain Members' States will they take it seriously. 
There is the whole issue around gun control, of commonsense gun 
legislation--unfinished business.
  My colleague Mr. Meeks spoke about the issue of water, the most basic 
necessity of life. We traveled to Flint as the Congressional Black 
Caucus, along with Leader Pelosi and Mr. Hoyer. We talked to that 
community about what they were going through, about how they didn't 
know who to trust anymore because their elected officials had misled 
them to believe that something with a brown discoloring was drinkable. 
We found out, Mr. Speaker, that it was not drinkable. In fact, it was 
poisonous. How do we do that to American citizens? We are given the 
obligation to stand in the gap for them, to make sure that we take care 
of them at every turn; but yet and still, because it was cheaper to use 
another water source, it was done to these people.
  I traveled back to my district in Newark, New Jersey, and I talked to 
several mayors in my district.
  I said: You know what I saw in Flint? You need to pay attention to 
what is going on with your water source.
  That was on a Friday evening. By Tuesday morning, they had found lead 
in 88 schools in Newark, New Jersey, so they had to switch over to 
bottled water. The testing continued, and more schools were involved. I 
created legislation for testing for lead in school systems around the 
country, because it is not legislated anywhere in the country to test 
for lead in school systems. I moved forward on that legislation, but 
one wouldn't know it because the majority wouldn't allow it to hit the 
floor.
  So here we are, going back to our offices in the Cannon House Office 
Building, frustrated with this issue in our knowing that it is just 
going to continue to grow. Lo and behold, 5 months after my legislation 
is suggested, we find there is lead in the water in the Cannon House 
Office Building, where the Members of Congress' offices are; so now 
there is bottled water, and water fountains have been sealed off. This 
is something that we need to understand, that needs to be addressed--
unfinished business.
  I could just go on and on and on. Mr. Speaker, we will continue to 
raise these issues for as long as it takes. We are part of this body, 
and we are not going anywhere. Our voices will be heard on the 
unfinished business of this House.
  Mrs. BEATTY. I thank so much the gentleman--my classmate and 
colleague--from New Jersey's 10th Congressional District.
  Mr. Speaker, it is, indeed, my honor to yield to Congresswoman Robin 
Kelly from the Second District of Illinois. We have heard that common 
creed that says, ``I am my brother's keeper.'' She is my sister's 
keeper. When I think about her work, I am always so happy because I 
admire her. I remember the day that she sat down when we stood up. She 
reminds me of what Rosa Parks did in 1955 when she decided, if she sat 
down, it would start a movement. Robin Kelly sat down on the House 
floor because she said we should do more than just stand up when 
someone loses his life to gun violence. So it is, indeed, a great honor 
for me to yield to Congresswoman Robin Kelly.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. I thank Congresswoman Beatty and Congressman 
Jeffries because they have held it down for a long time now and have 
made us proud to be members of the Congressional Black Caucus because 
of how they present themselves in the Special Order hours and how they 
have taken on the responsibility. I thank both of them so very much.
  When I think about unfinished business, one knows where I am going. I 
think about the gun violence that is still occurring in, what I 
represent, the Chicagoland area. We are up to 618 deaths and 3,273 
shootings. Now, I don't know about today, because it is occurring every 
day. I know it is not just about the legislation, but we do need 
background checks; we do need a national straw purchasing bill and 
bills that pass; we need gun trafficking bills.
  We need to improve, as you have heard, police-community relations, 
but we also need to invest in people. We need to invest in underserved 
communities: we need to make sure that people have decent housing, 
decent educations, that they get the job skills they need so that they 
can have jobs. There are too many who are still unemployed, and that is 
why the violence occurs. We need more mentors.

  I have a bill like my past colleague just said, the Urban Progress 
bill. The bill was presented, but it never went anywhere, which was 
just like the background check bill. It is a bipartisan bill--190 
cosponsors--but the bill never gets called to the floor. We have spent 
time--I believe 68 times--in trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, 
but we have never sat down to see: What are the problems? Where do you 
think it should be improved? No. We just tried to repeal everything. 
There are great things about that bill. There are so many more people 
covered who would not have been covered.
  I am the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' Health Braintrust. 
African Americans die from 8 of the top 10 diseases, and that is 
because of a lack of access to places. The Affordable Care Act has 
definitely helped in that arena, but we need to do more. We need to 
send funding to NIH, and we can do more.
  We are the wealthiest country in the world, yet we have the amount of 
homelessness we have and the amount of violence we have. We have a lack 
of affordable college education. Our students are suffering. They 
cannot live the American Dream because we are not doing the right thing 
in Congress--so much unfinished business. We talk about people pulling 
themselves up by the bootstraps, but they have to have the straps on 
the boots to be able to pull themselves up. It seems like we don't have 
the American heart, that we don't have the caring.
  Immigration--there was a bill we could have passed in the House, but 
we just don't call the bills to the floor. We are just, really, 
ignoring so many things, and I don't see how we could feel proud when 
we go back to our districts when there are so many things that we 
haven't done. I hope in this, as we call it, lameduck session it is not 
too late and we can call some of these bills to the floor. We can save 
lives by calling bills to the floor.
  In Flint, they can drink clean, quality water if we do what we are 
supposed to do. We cannot sit and rest on

[[Page H6141]]

our laurels. When we go into 2017, if we want cooperation and if we 
want the spirit of unity, we need to see that cooperation and unity 
now, not just in 2017.
  I thank the gentlewoman for giving me the opportunity. Let's do our 
jobs.
  Mrs. BEATTY. I thank so much Congresswoman Robin Kelly.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman from 
New Jersey's 12th District. I am so honored to serve with her. She 
stands in this same space as the Special Order hour chair for our 
Progressive Caucus.
  Earlier today, I benefited from her wisdom as she said to me: I am 
used to being in charge and I like being in charge, so I am going to 
stay tonight and lend my voice to the Special Order hour on our 
unfinished business.

                              {time}  2015

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honor to be here 
and standing with Congresswoman Beatty and with Congressman Jeffries as 
you bring forth truth to power here in what you speak of. It is 
definitely a timely topic to be discussing unfinished business, what we 
can do.
  People need to realize that we have but 15 legislative days left in 
this congressional session, and there are so many things that need to 
be done that haven't been appropriately addressed.
  I want to associate myself with the comments that were made by those 
who came before me as it relates to gun safety. I want to remind us 
that back in 2012, in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, 
Connecticut, someone went in there and killed 20 children and 6 adults 
and killed himself. Since that time, there have been at least 1,100, 
close to 1,200 mass shootings, at least 1,300 deaths, and at least 
4,700 that have been wounded; and that is just since November 6th.
  There are so many commonsense gun safety bills that are just waiting 
to be voted on. I know that, if given the opportunity, the majority in 
this House would vote appropriately and properly, taking into 
consideration the safety and security they represent to our 
communities.
  There are other things that we need to be thinking about. We need to 
ensure that we are protecting the environment; that we are protecting 
the environment against unnecessary fracking and unnecessary pipelines. 
We need to make sure that we are reforming criminal justice, that we 
are educating, not incarcerating; that we are putting our resources 
where we get the best value.
  We need to increase the minimum wage so that people can have a 
livable wage, raise their families, take care of their homes, and 
ensure that they have a little bit of money to spend so that they can 
churn up this economy.
  We need to restore the Voting Rights Act. We need to ensure that 
voting is accessible; that people have the opportunity and the 
encouragement to vote when they are supposed to and when they could.
  Finally, one last thought from me, we need to look at the kinds of 
protections that we have had in our banking system, protect just 
everyday families with their investments. We need to make sure that we 
are investing in the 21st century Glass-Steagall Act. Those are the 
things that the people, everyday working families, look for us to do 
our work. Together, we can do those things and make it better for each 
and every one of us.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Bonnie Watson 
Coleman.
  Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my honor to yield to my coanchor, my 
classmate, my friend, the Congressman from the Eighth Congressional 
District of New York.
  I wanted to pause for a moment and think about what I would say as he 
will come as the coanchor, an individual who serves in this Congress, 
one of Congress' best orators.
  When I think about him, I thought I would introduce him this way, Mr. 
Speaker: He is brave and brilliant. He is strong and strategic. He is 
always prepared and persistent.
  I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), my coanchor.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague and 
good friend from the Third Congressional District (Mrs. Beatty). She is 
always elegant, eloquent, and effervescent, an erudite, anchor of the 
CBC Special Order who has made us all proud in the manner in which she 
has conducted herself on behalf of the people that she represents, as 
well as the entire Congressional Black Caucus and, of course, the class 
of 2012.
  Once again, it is my honor and my privilege to stand on the House 
floor and participate in the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order 
hour where for 60 minutes we have an opportunity to speak directly to 
the American people about issues of great significance. I can think of 
no more profound moment by which we need to address the people 
throughout this country, who we are privileged to represent, than in 
the aftermath of the most recent election.
  I think it is important first to reflect upon the fact that in this 
country we already have made significant progress over the last 8 
years. A lot of folks--some of our friends on the other side of the 
aisle--they don't want to acknowledge that fact. The reality of the 
situation quantitatively is very different.
  Under 8 years of George W. Bush, this country lost 650,000 jobs. In 
almost 8 years of Barack Obama, we have gained more than 15 million 
private-sector jobs, 79 consecutive months of private-sector job 
creation. The deficit has been reduced by more than a trillion dollars 
under the Presidency of Barack Obama.
  When President Barack Obama came into office, the unemployment rate 
was at 10 percent. Now, it is at 5 percent. When Barack Obama took 
office, the stock market was at 6,000. Now it is over 18,000. More than 
20 million Americans who were previously uninsured now have health 
coverage, and more than 300 million Americans don't have to worry about 
being denied health coverage because of a preexisting condition, all as 
a result of the Presidency of Barack Obama. I could go on and on, but 
America is a better place today because of the 44th President of the 
United States of America.
  Of course, now we find ourselves in a situation where we have to 
continue to address the issues of great importance to the American 
people. In this democratic republic, time marches on. As Abraham 
Lincoln once referenced, we are in a constant march toward a more 
perfect union.
  So the question, of course, is: Well, what are some of the issues 
where we can find common ground here today?
  In the aftermath of one of the most divisive elections in our 
Nation's history, let me suggest that there are a few CBC priorities 
where some of my good friends on the other side of the aisle seemingly 
should take interest in addressing.
  The first thing, of course, relates to poverty. Despite what we have 
heard from the President-elect throughout the campaign, poverty is not 
simply an inner-city problem. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is a testament 
to the fact that so many folks who live in great cities like Columbus 
are incredibly professional, built wonderful lives, pursued the 
American Dream.
  Poverty is not an inner-city problem; it is an American problem. In 
fact, a majority of persistently poor counties in this country--
parenthetically, that is defined as counties where 20 percent or more 
of the population has lived below the poverty line for 30 or more 
years--are represented by House Republicans. I don't know if the 
President-elect realizes that.
  So poverty and making sure that every single person in America has an 
opportunity to pursue the American Dream isn't a Democratic issue or a 
CBC issue. It is an American issue. Maybe we can figure out a way 
collectively to deal with this problem because it doesn't just impact 
the people I represent back home in Brooklyn.
  The second issue that I think we can find common ground on, 
hopefully, is criminal justice reform. The House Judiciary Committee 
has already passed bipartisan legislation unanimously to deal with our 
unjust sentencing laws, as well as to make sure that everyone has an 
opportunity for a second chance in life once they have paid their debt 
to society.
  There has been great cooperation from many of my friends on the other 
side of the aisle, leaders on criminal justice reform, people like 
Jason Chaffetz, Trey Gowdy, and Raul Labrador. These are people where 
there may be issues that we don't have a lot

[[Page H6142]]

in common, but who recognize, along with a whole host of other folks, 
that we have an overcriminalization problem in America when we have 5 
percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's 
incarcerated individuals.
  We incarcerate more people in this country than any other country in 
the world. And if you take China and Russia's population combined, it 
is in excess of a billion individuals. Yet, we incarcerate more than 
those two countries put together.
  I would say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: I think 
that dealing with mass incarceration in America fits squarely within 
your philosophical approach to a whole bunch of things. I am not asking 
you to become a Progressive Democrat.
  Fiscal Conservatives should object to the fact that we spend 80-
billion-plus dollars a year wasting economic resources, opportunity, 
and human capital, as States in places like Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, 
and Louisiana have done, not blue States like New York or California; 
red States who recognize that the fiscally conservative thing to do 
without sacrificing public safety is to deal with overcriminalization 
in America.
  I would also suggest that many of my friends, Christian 
Conservatives--I am a Conservative, I guess, in the sense that I am a 
proud member of the Cornerstone Baptist Church. I don't know what the 
distinction is, but Christian Conservatives, I guess, is the lingo and 
the language that is often used--all of us who believe in some form of 
religion, particularly those, of course, who define themselves as 
Christian Conservatives should embrace the notion that you should have 
a second chance in life. Because theologically underpinning your 
religious beliefs is the notion of redemption, that we are all sinners 
in the eyes of God, with the exception of one person who has walked 
this Earth. And once you pay your debt to society, you shouldn't have a 
permanent scarlet letter that prohibits you from being able to 
experience the American Dream.
  So I think criminal justice reform fits squarely within the 
philosophy of my fiscal Conservative friends, my Christian Conservative 
friends. I would also suggest that my Libertarian friends, as Rand Paul 
and Raul Labrador have already illustrated, should also object to the 
mass incarceration problem that we have got in America.
  I understand you don't like overtaxation. We can argue about what is 
the appropriate rate. I understand you don't like overregulation. This 
is all about government overreach. You should have a problem with 
overcriminalization because there is no area where the government can 
do more damage than when they have the ability to take away your life 
or your liberty.
  So we stand here as members of the CBC talking about unfinished 
business, not urging you to cross over and adopt our philosophy. Adopt 
your philosophy and apply it to criminal justice reform.
  The last issue I would suggest as we talk about unfinished business 
is the notion of the Voting Rights Act having been decimated. I am 
disappointed that so many of my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle think that this should be a partisan issue. If there is a 
Republican advantage, let's be honest, that is why we don't want to do 
anything to fix it. Because when you look at the proud history of the 
Voting Rights Act, it has always been bipartisan in nature. It would 
not have passed this Congress without support from moderate Republicans 
in the House and in the Senate. That is a fact. There were Members of 
the Democratic Party, so-called Dixiecrats, that opposed it with 
everything they had. It would not be law today without Republicans.
  Every time the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized, it was signed back 
into law by a Republican President: 1970, Richard Nixon. 1975, Gerald 
Ford. 1982, Ronald Reagan. 2006, George W. Bush.
  We are not asking you on the House floor to act like Progressive 
Democrats. Just act like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who 
recognized that voting rights is not a Democratic issue or a Republican 
issue; it is an American issue.
  So, with that, I would just conclude by saying this: It would be a 
mistake for my friends on the other side of the aisle to interpret too 
much from this election. I am trying to figure out what exactly is the 
mandate when it appears that more than 2 million Americans will have 
supported, in terms of the popular vote margin, the candidate who lost.

                              {time}  2030

  And it was a mistake when others interpreted too much from an 
electoral college victory. Hubert Humphrey won the popular vote in 
1968. The electoral college sent us Richard Nixon, and we got 
Watergate. Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000, and I think there was 
too much of a mandate interpretation. We got two failed wars and the 
worst economy since the Great Depression.
  So the question is: Are you going to learn from recent history or are 
you just going to celebrate this unexpected victory where you lost the 
popular vote? I would suggest let's just find common ground, maybe on 
some of the areas that we have laid out here today.
  We are not asking you to change your philosophy, change your 
ideology; but in areas like poverty where you have got just as much at 
stake based on your constituents as we do, or criminal justice reform 
where your philosophy is consistent with dealing with mass 
incarceration and overcriminalization in America, or the Voting Rights 
Act, which has a proud bipartisan history, let's start there and see 
what we can do as it relates to addressing the business of the American 
people as we go into the next Congress.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, let me just end with these words. This may 
be my last time as the lead anchor, so I cannot leave this Chamber 
without saying thank you, thank you to President Barack Obama for 
giving us 8 years of changing this country; thank you to President 
Barack Obama, whose legacy 10 or 20 years from now will go down in 
history as one of our greatest Presidents for making change.
  Mr. Speaker, let me now say thank you to Congressman Jeffries for 
reminding me of where we are now. If we really are going to finish our 
unfinished business, the President-elect, who said, as I paraphrase, 
gangs roaming the streets, African American communities being decimated 
by crime, you walk down the streets and you get shot, well, Mr. 
Speaker, we could take care of that in the 114th if we really believed 
that. We could do a crime bill; we could do a voters' rights bill; we 
could do 10-20-30.
  Mr. Speaker, as my time comes to an end, I include in the Record 
statements from Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Congresswoman Eddie 
Bernice Johnson.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, with just sixteen 
legislative days remaining during the 114th Congress, there is still 
plenty of work that the Republican leadership must accomplish during 
the lame duck session. The House and Senate will need to finish its 
work on the FY2017 Omnibus before the continuing resolution expires on 
December 9. However, this Congress can also work to pass comprehensive 
gun violence prevention measures, pass tax reform legislation, or 
tackle the ever-important criminal justice reform bills that this 
Congress has pledged to consider.
  Serious criminal justice reform in the United States is long overdue 
and I fear that with the new administration, our opportunity to pass 
real reforms is closing fast. I do not believe that it is in the 
national interest to doom many of our people to a lifetime of suffering 
and condemnation for one or two poor life choices. Effective criminal 
justice reform will focus on reintegrating people back into society and 
reducing recidivism rates across the country. Instead, the United 
States has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates in the 
world.
  The costs to our society are too great. It is not only the financial 
burden on our country to put people in jail, it is the opportunity 
costs and futures that we are denying to our youths and others. Even 
more alarming is the fact that mass incarceration has been shown to 
disproportionately impact minority populations. For example, African 
Americans are incarcerated for drug offenses at a rate ten times 
greater than that of whites. This is in spite of the fact that both 
segments of our population--blacks and whites--use drugs at roughly the 
same rates. Today, roughly half of the 205,000 inmates currently in 
federal prison are serving there due to drug offenses. This is bad 
policy.
  Mr. Speaker, true systemic reform will be multifaceted in its 
approach. This includes not only reforming our criminal justice system, 
but also community resources and education

[[Page H6143]]

available to individuals. The Republican Congress has an opportunity 
not only to address these issues now during the lame duck, but will 
also be uniquely positioned during the 115th Congress to make good 
faith efforts and bring about real reform across our country.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I stand in solidarity with my 
colleagues to demand that the Republican Leadership do its job and 
prioritize the needs of the American people.
  The criminal justice system is desperately in need of reform, gun 
violence has become an epidemic problem in America, the FY2017 Omnibus 
is inexcusably incomplete and the American vote is still not protected.
  I have only begun to name the extensive amount of work that has been 
left undone by the Republican Leadership and the American people are 
suffering because of it. The people of this country who rely on this 
Congress to fight for them will continue to suffer because of the 
inaction, indifference and insolence of the Republican Party.
  Congress has repeatedly failed to pass legislation to help make the 
citizens of this country feel safe from violence and secure in their 
rights and liberties. We need greater investment in higher education 
and our HBCUs. We need more anti-poverty programs and we need to 
address the problems of the rise of drug costs and access to healthcare 
facilities.
  There is simply too much incomplete work that cannot be ignored. 
There has been too much suffering, sadness, blood and tears--and we 
need action now.
  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, ``The time is always 
right to do what is right.'' Now is the time to take action to unite as 
one great nation and work together to secure liberty and justice for 
all Americans. Unfinished business cannot become ``business as usual.''

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