Pete Aguilar

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and work of Rabbi Hillel Cohn, a vital figure in the Inland Empire's Jewish community and of greater San Bernardino. As a representative of Congregation Emanu El of Redlands, Rabbi Cohn worked passionately to honor the precious customs and practices that have been cultivated by the congregation for over one hundred years. Rabbi Cohn has played a crucial role in our community, making incredible contributions to the interfaith sector of the Inland Empire, bringing our friends and neighbors closer together and fostering a deep respect and admiration for our respective backgrounds and traditions. Today we thank Rabbi Cohn for his contributions. His story and achievements will live on through those he has inspired and guided. I'm pleased to join members of the Inland Empire community in recognizing his incredible life legacy and wish him the best of luck and much happiness in his retirement.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer this amendment that would set aside $1 million for studying a neglected segment of suicides within our Armed Forces. Our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives every day to keep us safe and free, yet they often don't get the care that they deserve. While attention has been given to the subject in the past, we have recently seen a need for research that deals with high suicide rates among our female servicemembers and veterans. This week, the Los Angeles Times reported on a recently released study which found female military veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women. This new government research released in the journal of Psychiatric Services went even further, reporting that female veterans between the ages of 18 and 29 are nearly twelve times more likely to commit suicide than nonmilitary women. We need to do better by the women who risk their lives to protect our Nation. We cannot sit idly by while our female servicemembers and veterans suffer in silence. My amendment would set aside $1 million to study the possible causes for this level of suicides among our women in uniform. Service-related causes like traumatic brain injuries and PTSD, in addition to nonservice related factors such as adverse childhood experiences, financial troubles, and other external stressors, must be investigated if we hope to seriously confront this travesty head on. In addition, according to the VA, the suicide gap between men and women is shrinking. Men typically have higher suicide rates than women. When military service is incorporated, the gap between the two shrinks significantly. This is a serious problem and one that we don't know enough about to confront. Until we understand why we are seeing this horrific trend, we cannot help the women who bravely serve. When we are faced with rising generations where female veterans are twelve times more likely than nonmilitary women to commit suicide, we need to take action. My amendment will conduct a study to understand how we get here, so we can move forward and take real action to address this crisis. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and work of Christina Milian, a community activist and philanthropist from California's Inland Empire. As a local business owner, Christina Milian's dedication to her work and support of those around her in the San Bernardino and Rialto areas served as an inspiration to her friends, family, and neighbors. While she was certainly an accomplished businesswoman, Christina Milian was most widely known for her selfless acts and devotion to local organizations. She was a philanthropist to the very core. Christina was an avid supporter and organizer for groups including Les Confrer Auxiliary, the Assistance League of San Bernardino, and the Inland Women Fighting Cancer. While Christina is gone, her legacy and work will live on through the lives she touched. She was an inspiration to all who knew her. Christina will be dearly missed by her husband of thirty-five years, Arthur T. Milian; two sons Michael and Jonathan, grandchildren Isaiah, Ava and Caleb; her mother Juanita, her siblings Ray, Maryann, and Carol; as well as the entire San Bernardino County community.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, since taking office, my top priority has been to support policies that improve our economy and strengthen the Inland Empire's middle class. Last month I released my jobs plan, summarizing what I have heard from small-business owners, job seekers, and community leaders throughout San Bernardino County. Among the many issues people face is the skills gap, the disconnect that exists between potential employees and the available job market demands of those who possess specific or technical skills. That was one of the biggest problems that I heard. That is why yesterday I introduced the On-the-Job Training Tax Credit of 2015, a bill that creates a temporary tax credit for employers to use to help pay for the costs of training new hires. This will enable local owners to expand their businesses and empower employees with critical skills to help them succeed in the 21st century economy. Through apprenticeship programs, vocational schools, community colleges, and more, job seekers who have been locked out of today's economy will be retrained and brought back into the fold in the Inland Empire's economy. Studies tell us that approximately 3\1/2\ million manufacturing jobs will be open over the next 10 years, but we will only be able to fill 2 million of them due to the skills gap. It is time to retrain our workforce and build up the middle class. This bill will help us do just that.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, we have just 4 legislative days until the highway and transit trust fund expires on May 31. Once again, we have been pushed to the brink because of Republican leadership choosing to continue small, short-term patches, rather than a comprehensive and decisive planning document. We cannot gamble with our infrastructure and transportation network. Our streets, our roads, our bridges, our railways are crumbling and aren't up to par. We can't afford to wait any longer for a long-term plan. The highway trust fund supports critical projects in our communities. In my district in San Bernardino County, it would help fund the Devore Interchange, one of three routes in and out of southern California, improving transportation and increasing efficiency for channeling goods in and out of the region. The American people deserve better. They deserve safe streets and roads, dependable transit to get to and from work, and the opportunity for local businesses to grow and expand. Without a long-term plan, Congress is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, our men and women who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe and free deserve the utmost respect and admiration. They are tasked with a responsibility far greater than the rest of us. It takes bravery and honor to put their lives on the line every day to protect our Nation and to promote our ideals of liberty and freedom. I believe we can all agree on this. What I cannot believe or understand is that some of my Republican colleagues think that it is fair to punish those who want to take on this courageous responsibility simply because they have not yet been granted full citizenship. My colleague from Arizona's amendment passed out of committee and merely recognizes the willingness of DREAMers, young people brought to this country as children, to serve in the military for the country they love. For most, this is the only country they have ever known. We shouldn't allow our broken immigration system to stand in the way of their distinguished military service. I urge opposition to the Brooks amendment.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. I am, in its current form.

Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, this is a final amendment to the bill which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. This motion is simple. It requires the Army Corps and the EPA to ensure that important surface waters and wetlands are protected during the new rulemaking process this bill starts. This motion requires that the quality of public water supplies be protected. Around the country, we have seen drinking water sources contaminated, like the algal bloom in Lake Erie that forced Toledo, Ohio, to use bottled water. In California, the historic drought has reduced many surface waters to stagnant pools of water. Seven million Californians rely on these streams for their drinking water. We need to make sure these drinking water sources are protected to keep families and communities healthy. The drought in California has reached emergency levels, and this motion ensures that waters and wetlands that help mitigate the drought in the West are protected. These waters need protection under this rule because, if they are contaminated, then we have few other options to ensure communities in southern California have access to water sources. California is implementing water use restrictions to deal with the drought, but it doesn't make sense to take these steps if we don't make sure the wetlands and waters that recharge them are protected. Finally, this motion guarantees that water used for agriculture, including for irrigation, are safeguarded. California's agriculture industry depends on clean water, and this motion preserves the exemptions agriculture already gets under regulations. In short, this is a commonsense amendment to the bill to guarantee protections for water used for the public's drinking supply, for lessening the impact of the drought in California and the West, and for agriculture. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we marked 100 days in the 114th Congress. Since taking office in January, I have traveled across my home district in southern California, in San Bernardino County, on a jobs tour to meet with small businesses, community leaders, labor representatives, and job seekers about what we can do in Congress to put the Inland Empire back to work. After having many conversations with residents and businessowners, today, I am releasing a jobs plan--a strategy--for how we can get the Inland Empire economy back on the road to recovery. My plan calls for giving small businesses the tools they need to grow and thrive to create 21st century jobs in emerging sectors like renewable energy and biotechnology, connecting employers with job seekers and supporting job training programs and investing in our infrastructure to spur economic development. We have a lot of work to do, but if we focus on these areas, we can strengthen the Inland Empire and the California economy and put our residents back to work.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan compromise that we will address this afternoon over SGR will strengthen Medicare by lowering costs and by ensuring that seniors have the doctors of their choice. While this agreement has important provisions, including critical programs to help low-income seniors, families, and children, it does fall short in a few ways. As a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I am disappointed that this deal both ignores the need for women to have access to their healthcare providers and that it includes an antichoice provision. Today's bill falls short of measures to increase women's access to necessary health measures, such as annual exams or prescription medications. The other troubling aspect of today's bill is the inclusion of the Hyde amendment, as the gentleman from Massachusetts mentioned. This is clearly another attack to block access to reproductive care. The inclusion of this language is disappointing because it permits antichoice language in an otherwise pragmatic, bipartisan compromise in exchange for community health center funding. I plan to support this bipartisan compromise because it solves longstanding problems and is a step in the right direction.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, we saw encouraging news about our economy continuing to move back from the debilitating recession that we faced only a few years ago. While we still have a ways to go, we are certainly moving in the right direction. However, if the GOP budget revealed today should come to pass, it would have devastating effects on America's middle class and undo the progress that we have made. This budget will force middle class families to work harder and get less. The GOP has presented us with legislation that will keep paychecks stagnant, making it harder to buy a home; it would cut student loans, making it difficult for kids to afford college, and it would strip away the secure retirement by privatizing Medicare. We cannot afford to balance America's checkbook on the backs of the middle class. In the district where I come from--California's Inland Empire--families are struggling from the recession and are fighting to catch up with the rest of the Nation. I cannot and will not ask them to bear this burden because the GOP can't pass a budget.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, last week we were pushed to the brink of shutting down the Department of Homeland Security, the agency tasked with safeguarding our homeland from threats here and abroad, all because Congress couldn't do its job. Only weeks after horrific attacks in Paris and with news of ISIS every day, the House majority risked the national security of our country to play party politics. We cannot continue to govern in crisis mode, threatening the safety of American lives, jobs, and our homeland, so my colleagues can score political points. Enough is enough. Threatening to shut down DHS was reckless, unnecessary, and completely avoidable. The House majority's games have forced Congress away from its most critical priority, working for middle class families to create jobs, improve transportation and infrastructure, invest in education, and protect programs for our seniors. It is time to stop playing political games and get back to what the people elected us to do.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 861, the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would keep the Department open so that it can carry out its mission of keeping the American people safe.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and legacy of Larry Sharp, a community leader from California's Inland Empire. Over the course of his career, Larry Sharp was a consistent advocate for working families. From his leadership on crucial economic projects, to his devotion to public education, to his dedication to support local businesses, Larry was an integral part of our community. While Larry was the successful CEO and President of Arrowhead Credit Union, he was better known in the community as a leader, activist, father, and grandfather. He was a true community leader, never failing to stand up and defend his friends or neighbors when they were in need. During one of the most difficult times in recent memory, the 2008 economic crisis, Larry was at the forefront of helping Inland Empire residents facing housing and financial challenges. He worked with Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government, as long as it meant he was working on behalf of his community. Larry was a leader, an advocate, but most importantly--he was a dear friend and mentor. He served his community for decades, and we are so much better for it. He will be dearly missed by his wife Cassie, five children, four grandchildren, and the entire Inland Empire Community. We will always be indebted to him for his devotion and work that bettered the lives of San Bernardino County's working families.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, today, once again, we find ourselves on the verge of a shutdown--because Congress can't do its job and pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Speaker, over a year ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform plan--a commonsense plan--that the House failed to pass. The House has failed to pass anything to address immigration reform, forcing the President to act. And now, Congress is playing politics, trying to roll back the President's reforms and threatening to force the American people to pay the price for Congress' inability to agree on funding to protect our homeland. Mr. Speaker, we cannot risk American jobs, lives, and the national security of the United States. We need to pass the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. We face many threats around the world. We cannot play games here. To my colleagues I ask you: Is it more important to score political points, or is it more important to safeguard our national security? Mr. Speaker, I am urging you today to bring a clean appropriations bill to the floor so we can fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. I urge my colleagues to join this effort.

Mr. AGUILAR

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, natural gas pipeline explosions do happen. Last week, a pipeline exploded in Mississippi. Last year, pipelines exploded in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Kentucky. In 2013, a pipeline south of Dallas exploded. Reports described the massive explosion as ``shooting flames high in the air and prompting evacuations from nearby homes and a school district,'' with black smoke visible for some 20 miles. In 2010, a natural gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, in my home State, causing an explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. Even as technology has improved, pipelines have failed. We should make clear with this legislation that, in the event of the catastrophic failure of a pipeline, taxpayers are not liable for the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in damages that these explosions can cause. Companies are responsible for the safety and reliability of their pipelines, and we should ensure that they are also liable for the damages caused by those pipelines. Last year, when this very bill came before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the president of the Pipeline Safety Trust testified. This group is a national, independent, nonprofit watchdog organization created using funds from a settlement reached in the aftermath of a pipeline explosion in Washington State that killed three people. The Trust's president testified that ``rushed, or worse, incomplete reviews resulting in automatic approvals pose a threat to public safety.'' To be clear, this is not an organization that opposes new pipelines. They only focus on pipeline safety, and they have serious problems with this bill and its effects on public safety for new pipelines. Their president pointed out that this bill treats a ``10-mile pipeline across a barren desert the same as a 1,400-mile pipeline that crosses multiple ecosystems and through dense population areas where it could pose a threat to the life or property of citizens living nearby.'' Mr. Speaker, pipelines can fail. And those failures can have disastrous effects on communities and the environment. This commonsense amendment would protect taxpayers from ever having to pay the costs of a pipeline explosion. I hope we never see another natural gas pipeline explosion, but that would require that history not repeat itself. I urge my colleagues to vote for this motion to recommit and to vote against the underlying bill because of the danger it poses to the communities and the environment.

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.