G.K. Butterfield

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I'm going to ask my colleagues if they would look very closely at this amendment. It's not a radical amendment. It simply empowers those recipients of SNAP to buy very simple and basic items that are related to nutrition, such as toilet paper and toothpaste and toothbrushes and the like. I ask my colleagues to please allow an up-or-down vote on this and to vote ``aye'' on the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I rise today to draw attention to the Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO being held here today. For my constituents in North Carolina, investing in new forms of energy and improving efficiency can create jobs and reduce costs. The estimated 850,000 jobs in renewable energy industries are continuing to grow. Triangle Biofuels Industries in Wilson, North Carolina, continues to expand each year; the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, located in Oxford, is working to replace 10 percent of the petroleum used in our State with locally produced biofuels; and a proposed Chemtex plant stands to bring more than 300 direct and indirect jobs and increase revenue for local farmers by $4.5 million annually. This project would not be possible without a $99 million loan guarantee from USDA.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Chair, let me first begin by thanking the chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member for their leadership on this committee. I've watched you over the years, and the two of you work together so well, and I thank you so very much. Over the years, I have led an effort here in the House to recognize a group of Americans who served our country during World War II. We refer to them as the merchant marines. They have not been properly recognized for their service, and I'm very sad about that. We are quickly running out of time to recognize the few remaining Americans that stood up for our country by serving as merchant marines when our country needed them the most during World War II. Without weapons or formal training, many risked their lives; and, tragically, too many gave their lives in defense of our great Nation during the Second World War. For those who are still living, we must not let their efforts go unrecognized while we still have a chance. The recent passing of Senator Lautenberg earlier this week, the last remaining World War II veteran in the Senate, is a strong reminder that our time is running out to recognize those who are lesser known but still contributed significantly to the World War II effort. Few have given more to this country than Senator Lautenberg, and I pray that his family has peace in the weeks and months to come. He will be missed. Because I believe that it is only fair to recognize merchant marines who served during this war, I reintroduced H.R. 1288, the WW II Merchant Mariner Service Act. To date, I have been joined by 81 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in support of this bill, and I encourage all of my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation that costs nearly nothing. This bill would award veteran status and limited benefits to a segment of the World War II merchant marines that has gone unrecognized. These men and women operated tug boats and barges in the territorial seas of the United States transporting raw materials, weapons, and troops that sustained the war effort. Though most of these individuals operated domestically, their duties were not without risk. A tugboat, the Menominee, was sunk by a German U-boat on March 31, 1942, about 9 miles off the coast of Virginia, causing the death of 16 of the 18 mariners that served aboard. I acknowledge that a point of order would be raised if I were to offer this legislation as an amendment today. However, the legislation before us does address funding that is utilized in the support of our Coast Guard and merchant marines, and I could not forgo the opportunity to address the dire need to rightly recognize the efforts of these individuals before it's too late. I thank you and my colleagues for allowing me time to speak on this very important issue. I strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring H.R. 1288 and in passing the legislation so these remaining Americans can gain the recognition they deserve. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, it has now been more than 2 months since across-the-board sequestration cuts were enacted, devastating so many important programs that Americans rely upon. Instead of working together to find compromise to fully reverse these automatic, indiscriminate spending cuts, House Republicans have voted for the Ryan budget, leaving these cuts in place and hurting our economy, just to gain political points. This is not President Obama's sequestration. The GOP effort to make sequestration a reality shows they are ready and willing to take our economy backwards at a time when Americans are desperate to move the Nation forward. In fact, sequestration will cost 750,000 jobs this year alone. House Democrats want sequestration repealed and replaced with a combination of revenue and cuts. The President has proposed $2 in spending cuts for every $1 of revenue. But Republicans remain dug in. Republicans refuse to address 70,000 children who could lose Head Start. They refuse to address the SNAP program, which is very important to feed the elderly and children. Republicans refuse to address the cuts to NIH and other very important programs. We must work together. We must repeal sequestration.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Absolutely.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Poverty is all around us, Mr. Horsford, whether it's in my district or in your district or in any of my colleagues' districts. Poverty is persistent, and it's all across America. It's within the shadows of this Capitol. When I drive home in just a few minutes here in Washington, I will go right through some very poor, low-income communities within blocks of this Capitol. We must do better. We have got to address as a Congress the whole issue of poverty.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Horsford, I think the question that has been raised by the gentleman is a very pertinent point. We have seen over the last 18 to 24 months some very deep cuts in our Federal budget. There are some who believe that discretionary spending is too much and that we need to engage in what I call ``draconian cuts'' to discretionary spending. Because of that, we've seen discretionary accounts reduced significantly, and it's going to affect what the gentleman has in mind. It's going to affect not only higher education but public education as well. Mr. Horsford, I want to thank you for allowing me to say a few words here this evening. This is a very appropriate conversation for the Congressional Black Caucus to have. I want to thank you and Mr. Jeffries for coming to the floor each week and for lifting up the issues that the Congressional Black Caucus feels are so vitally important for us to debate here in this Congress. Ms. Fudge has left the floor, but I certainly want to thank Marcia Fudge of Ohio, the chair of our caucus, for all that she does. She somehow just stays in perpetual motion, and her staff works so very closely with her. I just want to thank her publicly for all that she does, not only for the people of Ohio, but for us here in the Congress. And what can I say about Barbara Lee? Barbara Lee has been talking about issues of poverty ever since I came to this place 9 years ago, and I just want to associate myself with everything that she has said and with everything that Congresswoman Gwen Moore said just a moment ago. Mr. Horsford, I don't know much about your State of Nevada, but I can tell you a lot about my State of North Carolina. I can tell you that these are some tough times. These are tough times for poor people. These are tough times for rural communities all across America. I represent one of the poorest districts in the whole country in which one in four people in my district, Mr. Speaker, including 36 percent of children, live at or below the poverty level. That's a statistic that is worth bearing. I want to repeat it: 36 percent of the children who live in my congressional district live below the poverty level. That is unacceptable. The poverty problem in America is actually getting worse. At a time when it should be getting better, it is actually getting worse. There is a huge difference, there is a huge gap, between the haves and the have-nots. The poverty rate now is the highest that it has been in the last 20 years; and in rural North Carolina, median household incomes have dropped since the year 2000. My district has vivid and unfortunate illustrations of poverty. For example, nearly one in 20 homes in some counties does not have a telephone or a kitchen. A lot of my friends in urban communities cannot relate to that, but nearly one in 20 homes in some counties does not have a telephone or a kitchen. Many of my constituents are still living without indoor plumbing in the year 2013. The time to invest in our children and in our Nation's future is now. We must first undo the cuts from sequestration. The gentleman who sent us the message a few moments ago may have been referring to sequestration. We must undo the cuts that we are seeing involving sequestration. They are devastating to our communities all across the country. Sequestration has slashed Head Start funding, impacting thousands and thousands of children. It has cut job search assistance for thousands of people. It eliminated millions of dollars from the meals for low-income seniors program. Sequestration cut nutrition funding for 600,000 women and children all across the country, housing and emergency shelter funding for nearly 100,000 homeless people and emergency unemployment compensation benefits by nearly 11 percent. Instead of indiscriminately cutting funding for critical economic development programs, we must invest in programs. I think, Mr. Horsford, that's what you've been saying each week that we have this conversation. We must invest in programs which give people a hand up toward making it on their own, important programs such as emergency unemployment insurance, the Workforce Investment Act, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children--we call it the WIC program-- which gives people the ability to provide for their families. The House version of the farm bill, which has been alluded to by the two previous speakers, cuts $20 billion from the SNAP program. That is unthinkable. The House version of the farm bill has cut $20 billion from the SNAP program. SNAP is not a government throwaway or a handout. SNAP moneys go directly to needy families that are in need the most. We are talking about seniors and children and families who need it the most. Republican proposals to slash funding for a program that feeds poor people is simply unacceptable. There is hope on the horizon for some of our country's poor and uninsured. We can be encouraged that the Affordable Care Act will be fully implemented in just a few months, helping some of the one and a quarter million uninsured people in my State qualify for affordable health coverage through the marketplace. I will say in closing that the Congressional Black Caucus is very concerned about poverty. We have constructed a plan to address persistent poverty. We are alarmed that so many communities all across the country have experienced a poverty level that exceeds 20 percent and that has persisted now for more than 30 years. So our plan in the Congressional Black Caucus is to target Federal resources and Census tracts that have high levels of unemployment and high levels of poverty. We call it the 10-20-30 plan. We must do it. We have to do it for the sake of America.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Well, let me thank you, Mr. Horsford. I have a few points that I want to make. Do you have an idea of how much time we have remaining so I can allocate my time?

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

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

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. As we have no further speakers either, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask if my friend has any further speakers on his side.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Then I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I inquire as to whether the gentleman from Ohio has any additional speakers.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from New York (Ms. Slaughter).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. First, let me thank Mr. Waxman for yielding time and thank him for his extraordinary leadership on our committee. Let me also thank Mr. Latta and Mr. Matheson for working together to try to get this legislation to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1919 and urge its passage. Since the Prescription Drug Marketing Act was signed into law some 25 years ago, a patchwork of varying State pedigree laws has evolved, leaving our drug supply chain very vulnerable. Resources should focus on up-to-date and adaptable technology using global serialization standards. In the past 25 years, industry stakeholders have been unable to agree on a uniform Federal solution, but today I'm happy to report that it does exist. The fact that so many members of the industry have finally come together to embrace new, commonsense regulations speaks to the importance of getting this done soon. If we fail to enact drug distribution safety legislation soon, my fear is, Mr. Speaker, that we will miss the opportunity to significantly enhance patient safety for all Americans. The House bill has improved since its introduction. And while I strongly support some of the provisions in the Senate companion bill, including a date certain to reach unit-level tracking, the House bill represents a good step forward and advances the ball toward one ultimate goal. Hopefully, some of these concerns can be addressed in conference. My constituents, like all of yours, deserve to know that the prescription drugs that they use to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease are not stolen, misbranded, or counterfeited. This bill--and the Senate counterpart--addresses the very real concerns that spurred the introduction of this legislation. While the House bill isn't everything many of us want it to be--and Mr. Waxman spoke to that earlier--I am hopeful that once the House and Senate bills move to conference, we will see a final version that will protect consumers and better protect the prescription drug supply chain. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues today in the Senate to proceed with deliberate and swift action so that we can pass a workable solution as soon as possible so as to better protect the American people. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 1919.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I thank the gentlelady for yielding time, and I thank her for her leadership on this issue and here in the Congress. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule for H.R. 1911. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule to prevent this flawed legislation from moving forward. We have a student loan debt crisis to be sure, but this is not the solution. A free market approach will not solve this problem, and Mr. Miller was so accurate in his statement just a moment ago. For my constituents in eastern North Carolina, paying for higher education has never been more difficult. I represent a very low-income district. One in four people in my district lives below the poverty level. While the economy is recovering, my region's 8.9 percent unemployment rate remains higher than the national average. At the same time, the cost to attend our colleges and universities has been steadily increasing. The cost to attend college is 1,100 percent more expensive than it was 30 years ago. Access to affordable Federal student aid can be the difference between constituents attending college or not. Just last year, despite strong opposition from Republicans, Congress voted to continue to keep interest rates on federally funded Stafford loans at 3.4 percent, instead of doubling to 6.8 percent. If those rates had doubled, Mr. Speaker, more than 7 million students each would be saddled with an average of $1,000 in additional debt. Once again, the rates are set to double on July 1 unless we act. I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule and this misguided approach. This legislation would tie loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note but require that rates adjust each year. That variability, Mr. Speaker, would lead to higher interest rates and increase the debt our students face. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service indicates that students will pay more than if interest rates were to double. Mr. Miller was absolutely correct in that assertion. That's right: passing this rule and this bill would be worse than doing nothing at all. This bill is a step in the wrong direction and will saddle students and families with unnecessary debt.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the deep cuts once again being proposed by Republicans to the SNAP program in the House farm bill. In July 2012, the House Agriculture Committee reported a bipartisan farm bill that included $16 billion in food stamp cuts. Guess what? The Speaker and the Republican majority refused to schedule that bill for a vote. And so the Agriculture Committee has now marked up another farm bill, this time with $20 billion in cuts to the SNAP program. Why are you so determined to attempt deficit reduction on the backs of the poor and less fortunate in our society? The SNAP program helps families that have fallen on hard times and helps them feed their families until they can get back on their feet. I am very upset by these proposed cuts. I ask my Republican colleagues to take a fresh look at what they're proposing and reconsider these cuts, cuts that will affect 2 million poor people, many of whom are children and the elderly. Mr. Speaker, we are a Nation that helps the less fortunate. This is not who we are as a country. We are compassionate people, and we should feed the hungry in times of need.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, sequestration--we must repeal the sequester now. Americans have lived under these budget cuts for over 2 months, and one thing is clear: sequestration is hurting Americans; it is hurting constituents in your district and in mine, damaging the American economy and killing American jobs. We must totally repeal sequestration now. Democrats are prepared to vote for full repeal. Madam Speaker, a piecemeal approach to reversing these cuts is simply the wrong way forward. We should not be in the business of picking winners and losers when it comes to restoring funding, like when we reversed the cuts to TSA because the delays created made front-page news. Our actions should not be driven by who makes the most noise, but rather what is best for the country and the American people. Lifesaving medical research funded by NIH has taken a $1.6 billion hit. Are we to think that research for cures to cancer, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes are less important than how quickly we move through airport lines? Madam Speaker, we need to send a clear message to the American people that we will not stand for arbitrary cuts. We must fully repeal sequestration now.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the retirement of Morris L. Rascoe, a devoted public servant who worked for 36 years in service to the First Congressional District of North Carolina. A North Carolina native, Mr. Rascoe graduated from Bertie High School in 1973 and matriculated to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) University in Greensboro, NC where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 1977. Mr. Rascoe is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Mr. Rascoe began his career in public service as a social worker within the Bertie County Department of Social Services. While there, he worked to improve the quality of life for families in his eastern North Carolina community. Mr. Rascoe's exemplary 10-year service helped promote him to the position of Director of the Department of Social Services. Remarkably, during his tenure at the helm Mr. Rascoe was also appointed as Assistant County Manager of Bertie County, a position which he held simultaneously while he led the Department of Social Services. After nine years, Mr. Rascoe was promoted to interim County Manager. In this role, Mr. Rascoe continued to display exceptional character and due diligence. In 2012, the Bertie Board of Commissioners confirmed Mr. Rascoe as the County Manager. As Secretary of the Choanoke Area Development Association Board, past Chair of the Choanoke Public Transportation Authority Board, Commissioner of the State Personnel Commission Board, and Parliamentarian of the Workforce Development Board, Mr. Rascoe continues his commitment to the community. Mr. Rascoe was inducted into the North Carolina Community Actions Hall of Fame and was also named a NAACP Outstanding Citizen by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Mr. Speaker, next month Mr. Rascoe will retire from public service. For 36 years, the people of North Carolina have been fortunate to call him a friend and ally. I am honored to congratulate Mr. Rascoe on his retirement, and ask my colleagues to join me in thanking him for his service to the people of North Carolina.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Let me thank you, Mr. Horsford, for yielding time this evening, and thank you for your leadership not only here in the Congress but in the Congressional Black Caucus. You have come to this Congress, and you've done so much in such a short period of time. Thank you, Mr. Jeffries and Ms. Fudge as well, for your leadership. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to start this conversation this evening by talking about a 1985 report. President Ronald Reagan was President at the time, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement. They called health disparities in the United States of America ``an affront both to our ideals and to the ongoing genius of American medicine.'' It's disgusting, Mr. Speaker, that in this year, 2013, health disparities still exist in the richest and most powerful country in the world. African Americans are disproportionately less healthy. Life- threatening diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are ravaging our population. Oftentimes African Americans that live in rural communities, like the one that I represent in North Carolina, don't have insurance, and they have difficulty finding a regular primary care doctor, and so they go without an annual physical or regular checkups. Sometimes their only interaction with a health care provider is when they call 911 because their unchecked blood pressure resulted in a heart attack or stroke. By then it's too late. If that same person suffering from a stroke would have had access to care, their high blood pressure may have been diagnosed early. They may have been put on medication meant to regulate their condition, making a heart attack or stroke less likely. Many African Americans do play an active role in their health care, but the quality of the care they receive can be much worse than their white counterparts, further widening the gulf of disparities. A significant driver of these disparities is the lack of health insurance, and that's what the gentlelady spoke about a moment ago. African Americans make up 13 percent of the entire population, but account for more than 50 percent of all people who are uninsured. African Americans are also likely to have disproportionately lower access to primary care and often receive poorer quality care and face more barriers in seeking treatment for chronic-disease management. The Affordable Care Act that we're all so proud of was designed to put a premium on quality of care, increase access, and encourage and reward good health care outcomes. I am a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act, and my constituents in North Carolina are as well. Every person should have access to affordable quality health care, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how much money they have in their bank accounts. Before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, 50 million people lived without health insurance. An additional 38 million people had insurance, but it was woefully inadequate and charged them exorbitant coinsurance payments and huge copays and completely unmanageable out- of-pocket expenses, essentially making them uninsured too. That means nearly one-third of all Americans were without the very basic insurance needed to see a health care professional and receive care at an affordable price. When President Barack Obama proposed, and Congressional Democrats introduced, the Affordable Care Act, Republicans stirred up for a battle. And they would scream in the town hall meetings all across the country, and even right here on this House floor, about how the bill would create death panels that would decide if a person was worthy of receiving treatment for a particular disease. That was not correct. They would insist that the bill would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicare. Not correct. In fact, the Affordable Care Act specifically prohibits cuts to the guaranteed Medicare benefits. They would bring out charts on this floor and graphs that showed how the Affordable Care Act will be a ``job killer'' worse than we have ever experienced before. That turned out to be a lie. The cost of health care has risen each year, insurance coverage has decreased each year, and the amount of uncompensated care has increased every year. Mr. Horsford, here's a statistic that really stands out with me: in 1970, the United States spent $75 billion on health care. That was 7.2 percent of GDP. In 2010, health care spending represented 17.9 percent of GDP and, if not for the Affordable Care Act, was expected to reach 20 percent by the year 2020. The U.S. spends more of its dollars for health care-related expenses than any other country in the world, and the uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care would have been completely unsustainable if not for ObamaCare. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law and, with the stroke of a pen, revolutionized health care in America. Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions or charge them more than anyone else. There is now no lifetime dollar limit on what insurers will pay for claims. Preventative visits to health care providers are now free, yes, free, and even include some free vaccinations. Young adults can now stay on their parents' policy until they're 26 years old. And all new group health plans now have to cover all recommendations by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. Now, millions of people in our country, and in my congressional district and, Mr. Horsford, in your congressional district, who were living without the most basic health insurance can benefit from the most advanced health care technology in the world. My only disappointment, Mr. Speaker, is that some of our Republican Governors and State legislatures across the country are refusing to participate in the expansion of Medicaid. Shame on them. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I am confident that because of the Affordable Care Act the delta of health disparities in America will begin to shrink. No matter the color of your skin or the amount of money you have, each and every American deserves high-quality health care so they can live long and prosperous lives. Mr. Horsford, I thank you so very much for yielding time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to promote Minority Health Month and spotlight the health disparities that plague our communities. In a 1985 report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) called health disparities in this country ``an affront both to our ideals and to the ongoing genius of American medicine.'' Now 28 years after HHS released that landmark report, health disparities still exist between black and white and rich and poor. A significant driver of these disparities is the lack of health insurance. For instance, African Americans make up 13 percent of the entire population, but account for more than half of all people who are uninsured. Blacks also have disproportionately lower access to primary care, often receive poorer quality of care, and face more barriers in seeking treatment for chronic diseases. That is why I am pleased that the month of April is designated as National Minority Health Month. It provides an opportunity for all Americans to learn that healthcare disparities still exist. It also provides an opportunity for government, industry, non-profits, and advocacy organizations to combine efforts to help curb healthcare disparities. My fellow colleagues, every American deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life regardless of economic means or ethnicity. It is this belief that led the Obama Administration to pass the Affordable Care Act. Following in the President's footsteps, I will continue to promote Minority Health Month during my district work period by visiting the Metropolitan Community Health Services, the Halifax Regional Medical Center, the Roanoke Rapids Clinic, and several other healthcare facilities in the First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in advancing health equity in every community. As leaders, we have an obligation to reverse health inequality through awareness and championing the importance of preventative healthcare.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, today it is with profound grief that I rise to commemorate the life of Edward R. Jagnandan, a great leader, public servant and personal friend who will be greatly missed in his community of Wilson, North Carolina, and throughout our great state. A righteous advocate of low-income families, senior citizens and the disabled, Mr. Jagnandan served dutifully as Wilson Housing Authority's chief executive director for 6 years. During the course of his illustrious tenure, I had the unique opportunity to watch Mr. Jagnandan successfully embark on building a brighter future for Wilson residents who rely on subsidized housing. Mr. Jagnandan's indelible contributions to Wilson include securing a competitive federal stimulus grant that awarded more than $7 million to build a new, energy-efficient 68-unit apartment complex serving low- income residents. While championing the value of homeownership, Mr. Jadnandan spearheaded programs that would make owning a home affordable to even those with modest means. Though not a native of Wilson, his contributions to our community make Mr. Jagnandan a son of Wilson. As a member of the Wilson Rotary Club, Mr. Jagnandan regularly supported civic volunteer and fundraising initiatives and served as president of the Wilson chapter of the International Rotary Club. Ed Jagnandan was born in Guyana to Wilfred Jagnandan whose job as a Presbyterian Missionary brought his wife Helen and their children to the United States. After arriving as a teenager, Ed earned his Bachelor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Mississippi State University. Mr. Speaker, as a devoted husband, father, brother, friend and public servant Ed Jagnandan's untimely passing will surely be felt by all of those whose lives he touched. He will forever be missed but never forgotten in the city of Wilson and across North Carolina.