Corrine Brown

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my Resolution to allow the Ceremony honoring the Montford Point Marines to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. As you know, I was honored to have introduced the legislation that granted the Montford Point Marines a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed for an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States. I was pleased to work with the General James F. Amos, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, in support of this resolution. Years before Jackie Robinson, and decades before Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., these heroes joined the Marines to defend their country and do their job. At the end of this month, over 500 Montford Point Marines will descend upon Washington and receive the honor that is due them. I am pleased to be able to make the Capitol available to them. The concurrent resolution was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. General Leave

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on this bitter sweet occasion. My heart goes out to Chuck's family and friends, too numerous to mention, and the City of Washington, DC that mourns with you. I could not let this moment pass without saying a few words about a man who was a great artist, consummate professional and wonderful man. I have been a public servant for 30 years and I truly believe that to whom much is given, much is expected. Chuck Brown is the ultimate example of that statement. Chuck believed in giving back to the community. He inspired young people through his mentoring efforts and positive music. His brand of ``Go-Go'' inspired generations of musicians. Over the past six years I have gained firsthand knowledge of the versatility and vastness of his works as he has performed for me and my colleagues at events surrounding the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference as well as the historic inauguration of our current president, President Barrack Obama. At each program the crowds double in capacity making his performance one of the signature events. I will tell you a funny story about how I discovered Chuck Brown's music. My long time friend and scheduler Darla Smallwood-Wran suggested I consider a local artist for entertainment during an event I host during an annual conference. She played the music for me over the computer and I liked it. Being from Florida, I had never heard of ``Go- Go''. I was so excited about what I heard that I began to tell my colleagues and friends I was having Chuck Berry performing at my event! My staff quickly corrected me and we all had a good laugh. Then I went to the event and I was filled with the warmth and love of his music and his character. He was always reliable, always professional and he always turned the party out. The only thing he asked in return was to take care of the ``family'' and the band that travelled with him. Chuck Brown was the sound of the people. His music transcended generations weaving the best elements of Black music into a sound that called to our African ancestry. Jazz, funk, soul, blues, Latin and African rhythms--Chuck took that new sound with its familiar notes that called to the soul of our people and he called it ``Go-Go''. He wrapped it up and gifted it to DC and it has been the sound track of the people of DC for more than 30 years. He was deeply loved and he will be sorely missed. I know, through my faith, that this is a time to rejoice because he has gone home to be with the Father where there is no more pain and suffering. God Bless you all.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, I rise today as the House of Representatives returns from Memorial Day events around the country to honor our Nation's servicemen and their families. On behalf of a grateful Nation, I want to thank our servicemen and - women for their sacrifices in defense of the freedoms we all hold so dear. As President Obama has said, it is important to follow these words with deeds, that we must do what we can for the veterans of past, present, and future conflicts. I am pleased to have been a Member of Congress in 2009 when a Democratic President, Democratic House, and Democratic Senate passed the largest budget in the history of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, we made sure that the VA was not subject to the whims of government shutdown, and the subject of the health care budget of the VA to advanced appropriations, removing the worry for our veterans that their health care would be available. I am looking forward to the ceremony to be held at the end of June to honor the Montford Point Marines. It is necessary to honor all of America's war heroes' service and sacrifice, and in particular those who served at Montford Point, the marines who were the last group to integrate who are about to be officially recognized as a rich legacy of our Marine Corps. They answered our Nation's call at a time when our society was deeply divided along racial lines. As our servicemembers continue to deploy, we need to ensure that we're doing everything we need to do to help the families. One item that has often been overlooked is the care of our servicemembers' children when they are deployed. H.R. 4201 would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to help protect the child custody rights of servicemembers being deployed overseas. This bill would protect a servicemember's custodial rights by requiring that temporary custody orders based solely on the servicemember's deployment will be exactly that--temporary--and that when the servicemember returns, the custody order in effect before deployment will be reinstated. This bill provides important safeguards and peace of mind to our servicemembers facing overseas deployment and puts the interests of children first. This bill was passed by the House last Congress, and we should do it again. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I don't have any other speakers, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Thank you, Chairman King and Ranking Member Thompson, for bringing this bill to the floor as we return from Memorial Day events with our constituents. When the TSA was formed in the wake of 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in the history of the United States, Congress was attempting to consolidate many of the Nation's security duties that were spread out over all of the Departments. We were dedicated to the proposition that this event should never be repeated. Our response was quick that our civilian transportation system should never be used for attack ever again. Out of the need for better airport security, the Transportation Security Administration was born. However, at the time, Republicans did not want to give the same rights to those Members of the Federal workforce as other Federal employees enjoy. One of those rights was USERRA, the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Under USERRA, individuals retain certain rights when that person needs to be absent from his or her civilian employment to serve in this country's uniformed services. This bill would require the TSA to comply with USERRA when dealing with air transportation passengers and property screeners. I support this legislation as a good first step toward giving the same rights available to all Federal employees. And let me just take this moment to thank TSA for their hard work and dedication in keeping us safe. Sometimes I know it is inconvenient to the traveling public, but remember that they're there to protect us and they would not be there if 9/11 had not occurred. Thank you for your service.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I say goodbye to a great artist, consummate professional and my friend, Chuck Brown. Chuck dedicated over 50 years to filling the hearts and spirits of both young and old with the infectious sound of his soulful music. No man, woman or child could remain seated when Chuck took the stage, as he played his signature brand of music that he coined ``Go- Go.'' While my friendship with Chuck only begin 6 years ago, the ``Godfather'' as he is affectionately known by DC natives, has been rockin' and rollin' since the early 60s. He was deeply loved and he will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to his family, loved ones and Washington, DC. We truly lost a legend yesterday.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Battered women like Marissa need support and counseling so that they don't find themselves in these situations. Jailing them for 30 years is unacceptable. This is the beginning, not the end. Along with the NAACP and other groups, we will fight to make sure we turn over this horrible ruling and stand up to the legal system that persecutes women who defend themselves. Those women need help, not prison.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, as I rise today to speak against this flawed Violence Against Women Act that the House is presenting, let me point out this picture. This picture is a picture of Marissa Alexander, a 31-year-old mother of three with a master's degree and no prior convictions, who received a 20-year sentence for firing a warning shot in the air to warn off an attack by her husband. At the time that it occurred, there was a restraining act. Let me point out that this shot did not injure anyone, yet she will be in jail until 2032. The imbalance in the system is obvious. Just minutes before she fired the shot Marissa's husband told her, ``If I can't have you, no one is going to.'' Sadly, millions of abused women have heard these exact words and not lived to tell about it. Battered women like Marissa need support and counseling.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman and Members of the House, I'm very excited that finally we have an amendment that I think everybody can support since everyone supports law enforcement. This amendment fully funds the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Program in the amount of $20 million. This program was designed to help local government respond to extraordinary law enforcement emergencies after they have exhausted their own budgets. The Emergency Law Enforcement Assistance Program authorizes the Attorney General to provide funds, equipment, training, intelligence, and personnel to alleviate the financial impact of unforeseeable emergency law enforcement situations. This program was authorized in 1984 but has not been funded since 1996. Had it been funded, this program would have helped a community in my district. In October of 2007, a 7-year-old girl, Somer Thompson, went missing on her way home from school. The Clay County sheriff's office followed garbage trucks and found Somer's body in a Georgia landfill 2 days later. Thanks to this quick thinking, her killer was captured and will never harm another child. Investigations like this one cost a lot of money. Overtime, lab tests, travel costs, and numerous unforeseen expenses can blow even the most prudent budget. Small communities simply lack the resources to pursue investigations on this scale. The sheriff told me he had exhausted his budget for the year on overtime just for this one case. I did what I could to help scrape together grants from other sources, but this program would have filled the gap. By the way, the sheriff and almost everyone in Clay County is a Republican, but this is not about party. It's about doing what is right. In an era when local government can barely afford the police they have, a major crime can wipe them out and leave the community more vulnerable. The basic purpose of government is to protect the citizens. This amendment will make sure police can do it without worrying about a crisis that will break their budget.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I thank the Members of the House. Madam Speaker, let me just say, in having served on the committee for 19 years, it is the House bill I am very disappointed with. Secretary LaHood stated it best: it's the worst bill he has seen in 35 years. Of course, it's the worst bill I've ever seen. I sat through that markup from 9 o'clock in the morning until 3 o'clock in the morning, and it was a nightmare, since many of the proposals dismantle transportation. I can truly say that people come to this floor often raving against the Senate. I now say thank God for the United States Senate because they have come up with a commonsense bill that we can fund and pass-- and go home. It's a bill that would fund transportation and really put about 2 million people to work. We have many projects in the Florida area that could benefit from our passing comprehensive transportation, but more than that, we have such a high unemployment rate in Florida-- 9 percent--that every $1 billion we spend in transportation will generate 44,000 permanent jobs. In talking about rules and regulations, visiting us today in the Capitol is the Hawk family, whose daughter was killed because of pollution. When we talk about regulations, surely we've got to strike a balance. We have regulations for a purpose. When we raise our hand to defend and protect the public, we're talking about the Constitution, but we also have a responsibility to make sure that we protect the public and have a balanced approach and not destroy all of the regulations pertaining to the environment, which is what the House bill did in the markup. We can go on and on, but let me just tell you as I close that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Pass the Senate bill.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage every Member to defeat the previous question so we can end this legislative circus and bring the bipartisan Senate transportation bill to the floor. Our Nation's infrastructure is at a critical juncture, and the traveling public and men and women who build our roads and rails don't have time for the games that the Republicans are playing with this bill. The Republican ``my way or the highway'' attitude is not how we should legislate. Transportation has always been a nonpartisan issue, but that has changed since the new Republican leadership took control of the House. In just 2 years, the Republican leadership has ruined a process that used to be bipartisan from a committee that used to be bipartisan. I think Secretary LaHood said it best when he said that this bill that the Republicans are bringing to the floor is the worst bill he has seen in 35 years. We are in danger of letting our transportation system fall into total despair, slowing the economy even further and putting the traveling public in harm's way. The American Society for Civil Engineers give America a D grade in infrastructure quality and has estimated $2.2 trillion is needed to bring our Nation's infrastructure to good repair. Transportation for America reports that there are 69,000 structurally deficient bridges nationwide. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the Nation will lose $336 billion in economic growth over the next 5 years due to inadequate infrastructure. The World Economic Forum ranks the United States of America 24th in infrastructure quality. We are the world's largest superpower and we should never be ranked 24th in anything. The Senate amendment that was offered by the Democratic leadership on the committee would fund 2 million jobs every year, provide continued dedicated funding for public transit, streamline project permitting in a responsible way, strengthen Buy America requirements, increase funding for safety programs, and--let me emphasize--is fully paid for. Transportation and infrastructure funding is absolutely critical to this Nation and, if properly funded, serves as a tremendous economic engine to job creation. The Department of Transportation statistics show that for every $1 billion we invest in transportation, it generates 44,000 permanent jobs.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Again, I would encourage every Member to vote ``no'' on the previous question. All we're asking for is an up-or-down vote on the Senate bill. When I was a kid, we used to say, ``I dare you.'' I double dare you, my Republicans. Bring the bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote. I heard someone on the floor yesterday talking about the Senate, that we need to do away with the Senate. I now thank God for the United States Senate, because they are behaving very responsibly. They passed a bill with over 80 percent of the Members voting for a bipartisan transportation bill. That's what we've always had in the 20 years I've been on the committee. Let's pick up that Senate bill. Let's pass it, send it on to the President to create jobs, and let's see what happens at the next election.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Thank you, Chairman Mica and Mr. Rahall. I will vote for this 3-month extension. But I have got to tell you, the Republican leadership has turned the House floor into Frankenstein's laboratory. Instead of bringing up a transportation bill that could get the support from both sides, they brought a bill to the floor that couldn't get support from either side. Now, after they couldn't convince the Tea Party Members that transportation is actually very important to our economy, they're taking parts from different bills and creating the monster that they call ``transportation.'' It's a very sad time for transportation in the House of Representatives. The Republican leadership has ruined a process that used to be bipartisan, from a committee that used to be bipartisan. This is not the way to run the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is clearly not the way the American people want it to be run. I've been on the Transportation Committee for 20 years, and it has never been partisan. We were the committee that moved people, goods, and services, and put millions of people to work. Now we gut funding, abandon core programs like transit and hazmat safety, and argue about issues that aren't even germane to transportation. The Republican leadership has had a war on our Transportation Committee from the very beginning. First, they removed the firewalls from the trust fund and would no doubt be raiding it if we had any money in it. They cut the size of our committee in half. Then they gave us all freshmen Members, many who don't know how to say anything but no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then for 2 straight years they've gutted transportation funding in the Ryan budget. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. President Barack Obama said recently that Republicans used to like to build roads. All of our stakeholders support a comprehensive transportation bill, and I am hoping that we can pass--I hate to say it--the Senate bill--we used to do the work--but I hope we can pass the Senate bill. I really want to say thank God for the United States Senate because finally we have some people that are pulling together a transportation bill that really will put the American people to work.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, let me just say one thing. You know, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time; and I can tell you, the Republican budget is not fooling anybody. I just want to talk about one aspect of the President's budget on transportation. We know for every billion dollars that we spend, it generates 44,000 jobs. However, the Republicans refuse to pass a budget. The Transportation Committee, throughout the history, has been bipartisan. We have worked together. The Republicans and the Democrats over in the Senate have passed a bill. The Republicans refuse to take up the bill on transportation because, for once, you don't want to put the American people back to work. I say again, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I want to first thank the Congressional Black Caucus for their leadership. The fact is that they are the conscience of this Congress. Thank you so very much. Let me say that transportation and infrastructure, if adequately funded, will generate thousands of jobs. In fact, for every $1 billion we invest in transportation it generates 44,000 permanent jobs and $6.2 billion in economic activity. With the CBC's initial investment of $50 billion in infrastructure funding, this budget would create over 2 million good-paying jobs. It would also allow us to fix our failing bridges, aging transit systems, and crumbling roads. In addition, let me mention one thing about the VA. The Republicans often mention, What did the Democrats do when they were in charge? We passed the largest VA budget in the history of the United States of America. Republicans often talk the talk. Democrats walk the walk.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Thank you, Mr. Rahall, for your leadership on this transportation bill. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. When President Barack Obama came to the floor, he mentioned to the House that Republicans used to like to build some roads. Well, it is a sad state of affairs in this House of Representatives and a sad day as far as the committee is concerned because we used to have a process that was bipartisan. We worked together. We can't pass a transportation bill. The only thing we passed was a new bridge for Minnesota. We had to transfer 30 acres of land in one individual congressional district. But the leadership of the Transportation Committee of this House of Representatives can't find floor time to debate a piece of legislation that would create and maintain millions of good-paying jobs for hardworking Americans. Republicans refuse to work with Democrats in crafting a transportation reauthorization bill that has caused us the opportunity to deliver much-needed relief to the States and to the traveling public. Certainly, at a time when our Nation's unemployment rate remains at 9 percent, an adequately funded 6-year surface transportation reauthorization bill is critical. What our country needs is a surface transportation bill. But let me be clear: we don't need a 5-year bill with 2-year money. Transportation and infrastructure funding is absolutely critical to our Nation. We know for every billion dollars we spend, it generates 44,000 permanent jobs. We need and deserve a long-term transportation bill, but the Tea Party members won't be happy until we are riding horses on dirt roads again. We need to pass the Senate transportation reauthorization bill and add some sanity to this process and send a bill to the President that actually helps the traveling public and puts the American people back to work.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Third Congressional District of Florida, I want to express my condolences on the passing of Ms. Ada Sharpton on Thursday, March 23, 2012, in Dothan, Alabama. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this loving and devoted mother. With great reverence, I add my voice to the chorus of praises and sincere appreciation for the lifetime works and experience of this extremely passionate and loving soul, inspiration, and friend to all. Few people have the opportunity to influence so many in their life. All who came into contact with Ada were especially blessed. Her intensity was born of love, her insistence was driven by her determination to ensure we have the tools to succeed; her style was to embrace our souls, hearts, and even squeeze a little harder, just to get our attention. As we join with her loving family, we see in their eyes this boundless love and the meaning of her life, so richly captured by their individual and collective accomplishments, and for whom she served as the driving force. From a very young age, she encouraged her son Al to preach the word of God and to stand up for the rights of those who have no voice. As Ms. Ada Sharpton transitions home again, we say thank you Ada and we thank God for you, always and forever.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Before I begin, let me just mention that today, visiting us in the Capitol, is the former mayor of Jacksonville, Mr. Peyton, and I want to welcome him to his Capitol. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Miami for her comments and, really, all of our colleagues from both sides of the aisle. This is a very tough time for us, being the Representative from Sanford, Florida. I want to commend, first of all, the mayor, Mayor Triplett, and the county commissioner, Ms. Williams, and the city manager. We met Friday for over 5 hours, discussing what we could do to bring some kind of clarity to this situation. This is a tragic situation. In having met with the family, met with the mother, it was very, very difficult to talk with the mother and father and know that I truly feel that justice has not taken place. In the society that we live in, it's very important that we have to feel that the criminal justice system is fair and is fair to all parties. I cannot stand before you today and say that I feel that the system has operated fairly. One of the first things I asked to happen is that there be an arrest. Well, we don't have an arrest. It's 25 days. The second thing I asked is that we release the tapes, and we have released the 911 tapes. I've got to tell you, it has taken on a life of its own, because the things that were told to me in the meeting are not the things that were reflected in the tapes. So you have the media looking into it, and I call them the fourth branch of the government. They can verify what's on the tapes. They can verify whether or not you would take someone's comment as to what they said happened when this young man is not there to tell his side of the story. We have a person that everyone talks about was over the Neighborhood Watch. I want to point out, self-appointed over the Neighborhood Watch--self-appointed. That means, was not trained. Clearly, if you listen to the tapes, the police dispatcher told him to stand down. Less than 5 minutes later, this young man was dead. He was just walking at the time. He was a black African American that on the tape said looked suspicious. It was raining, and you're looking suspicious in a neighborhood when just walking on the sidewalk. He started following him, and the dispatcher said clearly, more than once: We need you not to follow this young man. We are on the way. We will handle it. Less than 5 minutes later, this young man is dead. This is not acceptable in this society. I have asked that the Justice Department--and I want to thank all of the tri-caucuses for weighing in on the importance of having an independent investigation, and that's the Justice Department. They've committed that there will be no stones unturned and that they will look into what has happened as far as the violation of his civil rights, whether it's a hate crime. But, in addition, we want to make sure that we have an independent review of how the police force has handled this situation. I have some grave concerns when I discuss some of the things that have happened. For example, he was drug tested. He was tested. He had alcohol in his system. Yet, the person that did the shooting was not tested in any manner--no drug tests, no alcohol tests, no lie detector tests. It is just his word that he felt threatened. So, therefore, he shot to kill. That's unacceptable. We are a better society than that, and we are going to work to make sure that this will never happen again. To whom God has given much, much is expected.