Donna Christensen

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. But the caps would be in place.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. They would be in place as part of the bill, but you couldn't raise any revenue.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. That happened so often with some of these bills. I thank you for taking us through the history of how we got to where we are, because there is a lot of rhetoric that tries to hide how we got here: the fact that hard votes were taken in '93, that President Clinton did leave a large surplus and that, by the end of President Bush's term, we were in a deep deficit and then in a recession--a recession that was not created by this President but inherited by this President. When they talk about, yes, President Obama has increased the deficit, what should he do--allow us to fall deeper into a recession?

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. They have never accepted increased taxes, not in any crisis.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you again for joining us and for laying out that history.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank you for adding that again. At this time, I would like to yield to the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Barbara Lee from Oakland, who is also chair of the Out of Poverty Caucus. A lot of times--well, even up to this weekend--nobody is talking about the poor. I thank you for starting the Out of Poverty Caucus and for leading us through an agenda that continues even today of pathways out of poverty and for bringing us to the floor every day for the last couple of weeks to talk about how the Republican policies, the bills that they are proposing and the way they're holding the debt ceiling hostage are hurting the poor in our country.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. I just want to mention that when we had our job summit about a week and a half ago, we passed out some information to those in attendance that added up about 30 job-creating pieces of legislation that just the CBC has introduced in this year. I don't believe that the Republican majority has brought any job-creating bills to the floor, and in this recovery, that's what we need, jobs. I know sometimes we were accused of class warfare, but we're not pitting the poor against the rich or the middle class against the rich. We just think that everyone needs to be on the side of our country. We are calling for shared sacrifice and for fairness. And really, this ought to be a clean raising of the debt ceiling. The cuts we're talking about that are going to hurt the people of this country are too important for us to be rushing through and using to hold the debt ceiling hostage. So let's not hold such a critical thing as our ability to pay our bills and take care of our seniors, our children, our people with disabilities, and preserving our creditworthiness not only for Americans but the whole world depends on us, and we cannot let them down. We cannot let the American public down, including my constituents. We cannot let our country down and all of the countries in the world who depend on us. With that, I thank my colleagues for joining me. I want to, once again, thank the AARP for their petitions and for their strong advocacy on behalf of not only seniors but all Americans and our country. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership has taken us to the brink of a default crisis by holding the debt ceiling and our ability to pay our bills hostage. Their latest slash, burn, and kill Medicare and Medicaid bill, otherwise known as Cut, Cap, and Balance, is putting the full faith and credit of our Nation at risk and threatening critical safety nets for our seniors, people with disabilities, and the poor, including our Nation's children. Medicare covers over 4 million African Americans, over 4 million Latinos, and close to 2 million of other people of color--citizens with higher poverty rates who have some of the most serious health problems. Our seniors and people with disabilities rely on Medicaid for long-term care and there are 9 million dual eligibles, low-income seniors and younger persons with disabilities, who are enrolled in and rely on both Medicare and Medicaid. Nearly three in every four poor or near-poor African Americans and Latinos are covered by Medicaid, but 64 percent of low-income black children and 63 percent of low-income Latino children are on Medicaid. Medicaid also provides critically important support to all Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn. In the Affordable Care Act, the Democrats strengthen Medicaid. And contrary to what you hear from our Republican colleagues, we use $500 million in savings identified in Medicare to strengthen it, to extend its solvency, and to begin to close the doughnut hole. In this risky standoff, it is clear that Medicare and Medicaid payments are at risk, and African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities, and the poor who are already underwater and who rely on them for coverage, will bear the overwhelming brunt of the cuts, as will the providers and facilities that care for them. This is unacceptable. Then the loss of the economic multiplier effect that States would experience as a result of Federal Medicaid cuts would be even much greater than the amount of the Medicaid cuts themselves. We're calling on the Republican leadership to do what we all know must be done to release the debt ceiling and all of the people who are being held hostage with it, the poor, racial and ethnic minorities who we stand here on behalf of today with the Out of Poverty Caucus. I quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.'' We must avert the default crisis. Colleagues, let's lift the debt ceiling, let's pay our bills, and let's avoid an economic catastrophe that the good people of this country do not deserve and cannot withstand.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1315. This bill reeks of financial irresponsibility under the disguise of protecting the American consumer. H.R. 1315 weakens and not strengthens the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. H.R. 1315 would grant the same regulators who failed so spectacularly to protect consumers and stop the financial crisis broad leeway to block CFPB rules. Bank regulators did not bother to stop dangerous mortgage lending and credit card practices because they were not independent of the lenders they regulated. They put near-term profitability ahead of consumer protection. If we have learned anything from our current financial crisis is that strong consumer protections would have reduced, rather than increased, systemic financial risk. Consumers would have had less unsustainable debt. Banks would have fewer losses and been more financially stable. The real estate market would not have gone belly up. Families would not be finding themselves homeless. The economy would not have been pushed to the brink of collapse. Nonetheless, that did not stop the financial regulators like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) from claiming that protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices would harm bank ``safety and soundness.'' Mr. Chair, what about consumer ``safety and soundness''? H.R. 1315 would ensure that bank regulators who want to block the CFPB from preventing abusive but lucrative practices--like unjustified, burdensome credit card interest rate increases or exploding ARM loan-- have an easy excuse and a very good chance of succeeding. Less than one year after historic financial reform legislation was signed into law, Republicans are now trying to undermine the new CFPB. At a time when our economy is close to defaulting, we cannot continue to protect those who were responsible for our present economic situation. And Mr. Chair, I would be remiss if I did not use this opportunity to applaud and commend Professor Elizabeth Warren for being our inspiration on behalf of the people of this country and for her excellent and dedicated work in standing up the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. I urge my colleagues not to support this legislation.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be here this evening once again with my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues to talk about the need for jobs, jobs, and more jobs, and how we ought to be dealing with the debt limit and our debt crisis. Let me begin with jobs. That's not a new topic for the Congressional Black Caucus, because our communities unfortunately have a long-term and intractable history of unemployment. Every year that I have been here, and I'm sure for the 40 years of our existence, job creation has been a priority, and that includes summer jobs for our young people, something we still have not been able to get the Congress to recognize and fund as critical to the well-being of our young people and our communities. In this Congress alone, CBC members have introduced more than 30 job-creating pieces of legislation, and we've cosponsored many, many more introduced by our Democratic colleague. Need I remind you that the Republican leadership has still, today, done nothing to create one job. Meanwhile, unemployment remains a crisis in our country, and in the African American community it's a catastrophe. And where is the patriotism of our corporations who are sitting on billions of dollars and still not hiring? I would say that if there is uncertainty in that sector, the corporate sector, welcome to the club. As the gentleman from Arizona said, lack of confidence. But the cause of this lack of confidence in the corporate sector, in the banking sector and on Wall Street has got to do more with the gridlock, I think, that's caused by the Republican leadership who won't even consider the balanced approach that the President is asking us to take. And all this time the rest of the world is looking at us, watching this sorry mess that we're calling governing. I can't imagine that our allies in those countries around the world that look to us for leadership have much confidence in us either right now. I am pleased to be joined this evening, Madam Speaker, by several of my colleagues, but I'd like to begin first to yield such time as he might consume to a reverend, to the former mayor of Kansas City, now our distinguished leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you, Chairman Cleaver, and thank you for making it so very clear to those listening this evening what the real situation is in this country and how important it is for us to act to help the American people. You have heard Reverend and Chairman Cleaver talk about the job situation and the floods and other challenges the American people are facing. And now to add insult to injury, instead of passing a clean increase to the debt ceiling, as we have done in the past, our country and our good credit is being held hostage by Republicans, pushed by their tea party members, who demand drastic and deep spending cuts, cuts beginning in the last quarter of this calendar year, against the advice of some of our most expert economists in this country. The cuts in this new Cut, Cap, and Balance Act that we heard the talking points on this weekend and tonight, as our Budget ranking member Van Hollen has said, put more Americans out of work while this country is still recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression. In the earlier hour, we heard a lot about Republican leadership, but I think they are leading us down the wrong path, the wrong path for this country and for most Americans. That bill, which will be on the floor tomorrow, would cap spending at the levels in the Republican budget that are below 2008 spending levels. It would make it near impossible, if not impossible, to make the investments that we need in education and health care, in research and infrastructure to secure our future. And it would still, with all of that, extend even more tax cuts to special interests. All it would do is hamstring our Nation's growth at a time when we are falling behind. It is not going to help to restore confidence, as the gentleman from Arizona said. Only lifting the debt ceiling will do that. I have heard my colleagues say that the bill on the floor tomorrow will protect Social Security, Medicare, and veterans payments, but I am not too sure about that because the cuts and the caps that they will impose are likely to lead us down a primrose path, with no way to fund those programs later on, causing us to have to renege on our promises to our seniors, our veterans, who have protected us, have been willing to make the sacrifices to protect the freedoms we enjoy. Also targeted in that bill tomorrow, or subject to the caps, are SNAP, or food stamps, at a time when their policies are leaving more of America's families and especially their children hungry. It would include cuts to unemployment when we should really be adding 14 more weeks of unemployment, as the bill that Barbara Lee has, as H.R. 589 would do. It would be cutting school lunches when sometimes that is the only meal that some children have that is really balanced. It would cut college loans and Pell Grants, as though we are trying to go back to a time we don't want to go back to when only the wealthy could afford a college education. We cannot move our country forward by denying education to so many of our people. And all of this without letting those tax cuts expire and continuing to let some of the wealthiest in our country go without paying their fair share of taxes. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act is not the way to go. Lifting the debt ceiling, doing it without having it being held hostage to cuts and bills like this balanced budget amendment, is what we should be doing. At this time I would yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas, who always comes with a lot of information and words of wisdom and inspiration.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank you so much for your charts. You're really pointing out who would be hurt by the Cut, Cap, and Balance, or as you call it, the tap dancing bill. Sometimes you have to call it what it is. So thank you, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, for joining us this evening. I listened to New York Times columnist Tom Friedman yesterday, and I think we ought to put his talk on with the one that he had with our Nation's governors on DVD and make it required listening for some of our stonewalling colleagues. He put an adjective on the debate or so- called negotiations that have been staged these last few weeks. He called the debate ``idiotic.'' Now, some may agree, some may disagree with that. But he further said, and this I do agree with, that it is not worthy of our country and a disservice to our children. So just like the other 74 times since 1962, 74 times that a clean, noncontroversial lift of our debt ceiling has been done, we should have done it a long time ago, and that's what we ought to do now. And then after that, whether we use Bowles-Simpson or Rivlin-Domenici or what's left of the Gang of Six--I guess it is now just Democrats--their plan is a starting point; we need to begin coming up with a solid deficit reduction plan that isn't done on the backs of our poor, our middle class, our children, our seniors, and our people with disabilities. And one that is as the President has called for, one of shared sacrifices. It's the only fair way. It's the only American way. And while important to securing the future, deficit reduction by itself is not enough. We are still in a recession, a recovery, but it's very slow, and it's uneven. What we need now are jobs, jobs, and more jobs. We need to continue the work of the Recovery Act and add to the 3 million jobs that we either saved or created with that bill and that act. We need to rebuild our manufacturing base as the Make It in America Democratic agenda would do. And we have to revive the housing market to help families stay in their homes and restore the opportunity for every American and those who came to live in this country to achieve what we call the American dream. We need to do what we have always done best--to create. We need to regain our place as the innovation capital of the world. And to do that and to secure a sustainable future for our children, we have to invest in the work of bringing our country back from 25th in science, 17th in math, 14th in reading, and 12th in college graduates. The issue should not be cut, cut, cut. I agree with Tom Friedman on that as well. But it should be how do we do what is necessary to bring our beloved Nation back to the first-place standing which is where it always must be and what our families and our children deserve. As the African proverb said--this is really what's happening now--the elephants are fighting and the grass is getting crushed. This should not be a fight over political ideology. Democratic leaders have shown their willingness to compromise on many of the programs we hold sacred. What those compromises are and how large they are I think will determine where the CBC stands when the time comes to vote. But there can be no compromise, as you've heard from my colleagues tonight, on Social Security, which has nothing to do with the deficit whatsoever, or on Medicare, which we have done so much to strengthen and lengthen in the Affordable Care Act, or on Medicaid, which would not only cause undue but grave harm to the poor and all of the States and territories that we represent. So I say to my fellow Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the Capitol, let's raise this debt ceiling. Let's forget this crazy debate about cutting programs that hurt our fellow Americans and do it in a clean vote so that we can get back to the important critical business of creating jobs, of rebuilding our country, of putting in place a strong foundation for our future, of restoring our image in the world and holding on to our position of leadership. I yield the balance of my time to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. What you are saying, though, is we would never be able to raise any revenue because it takes two-thirds of both bodies to be able to do anything to increase revenue.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank the gentlelady from Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Thank you. I invite the ranking member to enter into a colloquy with me on an important health issue for our military. Taking more lives each year than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined, today's lung cancer death toll is beyond unacceptable. It is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women across every racial and ethnic group and has a very low 5-year survival rate of only 15 percent. And this situation can be attributed to both resource limitations in programs dedicated to lung cancer research and the absence of a coordinated and comprehensive plan to reduce lung cancer mortality in this Nation by focusing on the entire lung cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and care continuum. Today, 80 percent of new lung cancer cases affect people who neither have smoked or those who have quit smoking, many of them decades ago. This is true of smokers and nonsmokers, and those populations such as racial and ethnic minorities, women, and low-income Americans who are disproportionately affected by lung cancer. But it is especially the case for our brave men and women who defend this Nation and put themselves in harm's way to protect our freedom. Veterans, whose service has put them at high risk for lung cancer, have lung cancer needs that have been and remain unmet. They also suffer from a higher incidence of lung cancer and mortality than nonveterans. Additionally, the rate of lung cancer is nearly twice as high among those in the military compared to the larger U.S. population. As a physician, I know that success against lung cancer requires that we approach lung cancer comprehensively, just as we do other major illnesses. Prevention and wellness, coupled with early detection, treatment options, and research must be adequately funded and coordinated, just as we do for heart disease, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and others. That is why I introduced H.R. 1394, the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2011. We must coordinate activities that combat lung cancer in vulnerable populations, including our active military, and ensure that for them, as well as for others, that early detection, treatment, and research is adequately supported with benchmarks to gauge progress. We owe it to our Nation's heroes to coordinate early screening, treatment, and care, and reduce lung cancer mortality among members of the Armed Forces and our veterans, whose exposure to carcinogens during active duty service is a known contributor to their increased lung cancer risk. I would seek the help of the ranking member to pursue this work in the Defense Health Program within the Department of Defense.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. With that, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, as the month of June draws to a close, I rise to recognize the celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month. The past, present and future of the Caribbean is closely associated with that of this country, as our islands exist between two great continents and are affected by the social, economic and political decisions that are made by our neighbors to the north and to the south.The Caribbean, and Caribbean Americans were there at the founding of this great country and continue to be a part of its evolution into the 21st century. As it relates to the territory that I represent, the U.S. Virgin Islands, from the rum trade that helped to fund the American Revolution, to the first salute of the colors of the newly declared nation to being the place where the young Alexander Hamilton spent his formative years, our contributions to the American story are well documented. Less known, is that our territory was purchased from Denmark almost 100 years ago in conjunction with the building of the Panama Canal as a means to defend that and other American interests in the region. Also less known are the contributions of our citizens who left the islands to live in this great nation and to contribute as average citizens who are teachers, doctors, and businessmen, and as standouts in the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement in this country. The Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean have contributed and continue to contribute soldiers, historians, activists, legislators and yes, Members of Congress. Mr. Speaker, this year, the Institute of Caribbean Studies led by the indomitable Dr. Claire Nelson has recognized Members of Congress of Caribbean American Heritage who served in the past and who serve now. In addition to myself, the Honrable Barbara Lee, the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, the Honorable Yvette Clarke and the Honorable Frederica Wilson who proudly serve now, they also recognized former Members, the Honorable Mervyn Dymally and the late, great Shirley Chisholm. Caribbean American members continue to serve this country in every walk of life in entertainment, in law, in finance, in economic development. The countries in the Caribbean Basin continue to be friends and allies of our great nation. It is only fitting that Caribbean American Heritage be a relationship that is honored and recognized on an annual basis.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Chair, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 1249--a smart bill that fixes an anomaly in the patent law by addressing the confusion around the deadline for filing patent term extensions. This bill--which has broad bipartisan support in both chambers--will ensure that if the FDA notifies a company after normal business hours that its drug has been approved, then the time that the company has to file a patent term extension application does not begin to run until the next business day. I support this bill not only because it protects the rights of patent holders, but also because it will help inspire greater investments in the development of new drugs that not only could save millions of lives, but also could play a pivotal role in reducing racial and ethnic health disparities. Take, for example, a blood thinning drug that was proven very effective in treating and preventing stroke--the third leading cause of death in the nation, and a cause of death from which African American men are 52% more likely to die than white men, and African American women are 36% more likely to die than white women. But for an unintentional one-day filing delay, the developer of this drug would have been entitled to secure a patent term restoration. And, with that term restoration, the company would have been positioned to invest the additional resources to qualify the drug for the treatment and prevention of stroke and for expanded use in heart surgeries. This medical advancement would undoubtedly have saved countless lives and improved the health and wellbeing of tens of thousands of Americans. Absent the correction provided by this bill, however, none of what could have--and should have--happened ever did happen, and, as a result, a great medical advancement never came to fruition. This bill would ensure that the situation that occurred with the promising blood thinning drug does not happen again. And, this bill fixes an anomaly that not only jeopardizes the development of life-saving drugs, but also jeopardizes the health and wellness of innocent, hardworking Americans. I urge all of my colleagues to be a key part of the solution to this problem by supporting this bill.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Derek M. Hodge U.S. Virgin Islands Public-Private Investment Act. This legislation would create an innovative pilot program to leverage private pension assets to raise approximately $250 million a year dedicated to the infrastructure of the U.S. Virgin Islands, while simultaneously raising an additional $500 million a year for the U.S. Treasury. In short, the bill would allow taxpayers a onetime transfer of existing IRA, 401k, and other tax deferred investments--up to a total limit of $50 billion--into a special fund with no tax or penalties at the time of the initial transfer. The transferred funds would receive ``Roth'' like treatment at retirement if taxes are paid as follows: For the first ten years, a 1.5 percent tax would be collected by the U.S. Treasury and divided 1.0 percent to the U.S. Treasury and 0.5 percent to the Virgin Islands. During the second ten years, a 1.0 percent tax would be divided equally between the U.S. Treasury and the Virgin Islands. After twenty years, a 1 percent tax would be continually collected only for the benefit of the U.S. Treasury. The tax funds allocated to the Virgin Islands would be deposited in an escrow account. The Department of Interior would approve the release of the escrowed funds to pay for projects set out under an approved reconstruction plan. Under my bill, the Virgin Islands would receive a twenty-year dedicated source of revenue that would enable it to build a modern infrastructure to move the islands toward self-sufficiency and reduce unemployment. Mr. Speaker, the Virgin Islands has neither the tax base nor will it receive sufficient federal assistance to make the necessary investments in basic infrastructure like water, sewer, storm-water, roads, telecommunications, and electric grid. The current infrastructure is not ``hardened'' against frequent tropic storms, and therefore must be repaired often--further exacerbating the unwillingness of the private sector to invest in basic industries on the islands. These investments would substantially mitigate the federal government's cost for rebuilding after tropical storms and are essential to job creation and providing basic services to the citizens of the Virgin Islands. Mr. Speaker, the legislation I introduce today is named in honor of former Virgin Islands Lieutenant Governor and former President of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Derek M. Hodge, who recently passed away. Derek was the driving force behind this bill and he dedicated the last several years of his towards its passage because of what it would mean for his beloved Virgin Islands. There would not be a more fitting tribute to his life's work than the enactment of this bill into law. In these days of budget cuts and growing unwillingness to fund for essential infrastructure, my bill will ensure the necessary investment in the Virgin Islands through a wholly voluntary funding source--a win for the citizens of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the American taxpayers.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I rise today to commemorate the life of the Honorable Juan Francisco Luis, the third elected Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands who passed away on June 4, 2011, at the age of 70. In office from 1979 through 1986, Governor Luis was the longest serving elected chief executive of our island territory. Governor Luis served at a time of growth and change in the Virgin Islands. He was a popular governor known as a leader who was responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens, who was always willing to listen to their individual concerns. According to Profiles of Outstanding Virgin Islanders, he will be remembered for significant infrastructure development in the islands, in particular, the establishment of modern health care facilities on all three islands, the initial expansion and financing of the airports on St. Thomas and St. Croix, the construction of a new container port on St. Croix, acquisition of land on St. Croix for homeownership and agriculture and several capital construction projects. Mr. Speaker, Governor Luis first ran for public office in 1972, when he was elected to the Tenth Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands and served as chairman of the Legislative Housing and Planning Committee, Vice Chairman of the Recreation Committee and member of the Committees on Finance, Public Safety, Health and Welfare, Labor and Veterans Affairs. He was chosen by the late Governor Cyril King to be his running mate in the 1974 gubernatorial election. The two won, and when Governor King died unexpectedly in 1978, Luis became Governor of the Virgin Islands. Originally a member of the Independent Citizens Movement, and later as an independent, Luis was elected in his own right in 1978 and again in 1982. Born on the neighboring island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, he moved with his family to St. Croix when he was two months old. He was the valedictorian of the then Christiansted High School in 1958 and went on to attend Inter-American University in Puerto Rico. He served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1968 as a sergeant. He later taught at the then Christiansted Grammar School and worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I have two special recollections of personal interactions with him as Governor. He made time to meet with me when there was a controversy surrounding the naming of the park in Frederiksted. Several of us had decided to ask him to consider vetoing the bill as passed by the Legislature and he did. I don't exactly remember the details of his negotiations with the HESS refinery. But at the time it seemed to me that he was not getting the support he needed and so in an attempt to rise above party politics, I secured the signatures to call a special meeting to urge the Territorial Committee of the Democratic Party to support him during the negotiations. My efforts were not successful, but I know he appreciated the attempt. I believe that history will be exceedingly kind to the memory of Governor Luis as we can see his contributions in the health care system, in education, in the economy and in other aspects that affect the daily lives of Virgin Islanders. His efforts were sincere and those of us in office today build on the foundations that were set during his tenure. With the passage of time people have the chance to assess the contributions of those who live their lives in service to the public. It can be said of Governor Juan Luis that he had a clear vision and that he worked diligently to accomplish his intended goals and that we the people, were better off for it. Mr. Speaker, my family, staff and I extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Mrs. Luz Luis and his children Juan, Jr. and Carlota Amalia. May Governor Juan Francisco Luis rest in peace.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, It is with deep sadness that I rise to pay tribute to a lifelong friend and political colleague from my district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, our former Lt. Governor and President of the 16th Legislature, the Honorable Derek Michael Hodge who passed away on May 31, 2011 after a lengthy illness. Mr. Speaker, Derek Michael Hodge is being eulogized as a ``man of integrity and enthusiasm, a brilliant attorney and politician,'' and I can testify that this is true of the man who spent his adult life serving his community in the public and private sector. After higher education at Michigan State University and Georgetown University Law Center, he returned to the Virgin Islands in 1972 and joined his brother's law firm, the legendary Hodge, Sheen and Finch. He entered the world of elective politics in 1974 and became District Chairman of the Democratic Party. He first ran for governor in 1982, and though unsuccessful, it was seen as a win for all of us who worked for him as it gave the Virgin Islands electorate a glimpse of his ideas and his intellect. Never one to give up, he successfully became the top vote getter in the race for the Virgin Islands Legislature in 1984. Although a freshman, his colleagues recognized his political and legal acumen, and elected him President of the 16th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. His skill and his love of the Virgin Islands was recognized by the late Governor Alexander Farrelly and he tapped Derek to be his Lt. Governor, a post that he held for eight years and to which he brought professionalism, innovation, efficiency and accountability. As Lt. Governor, he spearheaded efforts to improve the territory's infrastructure, improving the airport, health care facilities, and hazard mitigation projects. As Lt. Governor, Derek served as the territory's Commissioner of Insurance, Chairman of the Banking Board, Overseer of the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Tax Assessor's Office and Corporations Division. He has been credited with reestablishing the territory's bond rating in the municipal bond market which bolstered the Virgin Islands capital improvement program. Throughout his lifetime, Derek wore many other hats, to include college professor, center on the Virgin Islands national basketball team, and President of the Virgin Islands Bar. His life was one of commitment to his beloved Virgin Islands. Mr. Speaker, Derek's passing is a personal loss for me. He was ``like a big brother,'' as we grew up together in St. Croix and were political allies and friends who worked on many issues and campaigns together including each other's campaigns for office. I will miss his friendship, his counsel and most of all his sense of humor which could soothe and tickle as well as sting. I extend my condolences to his wife Monique, his children Marisol and Jonathan and the wider circle of his family and many friends. Derek lived with passion and integrity. His days among us were well spent and while we will sorely miss him, there are many memories that will make us smile, laugh and be glad that we are among the fortunate ones whose lives he touched along the way. May he rest in God's comfort and peace.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Chair, I rise today, fully disappointed that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to move forward with this bill. This bill has no merit; in fact, it is little more than a part of a larger, ill-conceived strategy to undermine the progress we have made and will likely continue to make as a result of the historic health care reform bill that was enacted last year. While on its face it seems harmless, we all know the reality of what this bill will do. And, it is crucial that the very individuals who elected us to represent them--the large majority of whom will be directly and indirectly affected by this and in a very negative way-- also know that this bill does nothing to ensure fiscal responsibility or improve the medical education system in health centers, and does even less to ensure that there are trained and qualified health care providers in their communities to serve their communities. In fact, it jeopardizes ongoing and forthcoming efforts to ensure that there are highly-trained and qualified health care providers practicing in every community--especially those that suffer due to a shortage of health care providers--across the country. If this bill were to pass and become law, then the already-planned primary care training programs that will be operated by community-based entities, like community health centers, will not likely continue beyond their first planned year because turning this program into a discretionary one offers no guarantee of future funding. Further, making this program discretionary will serve as a disincentive to other community-based entities that are considering launching similar graduate medical education programs for the same reasons. The unfortunate element in all of this is this: These programs train individuals who will practice in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, general dentistry and geriatrics--the very areas of medical care where the provider shortages are the greatest. Further, the individuals trained by these programs are very likely to serve most underserved communities--a disproportionate number of which are rural, low-income and/or racial and ethnic minority--across the Nation. Why, I must ask, would we want to end these programs, when provider shortages are not issues that affect only our side of the aisle; it is a public health crisis that touches every district across the Nation. In fact, during the health care reform debates, my friends on the other side of the aisle continually argued that there are not enough physicians in the country to meet our current primary health care needs and to address our current primary health care challenges. So, it seems counterintuitive to, then, seek to compromise and put an end to the very programs that were designed and funded to address this very problem. We have had and continue to have very serious health care challenges in this country, and our primary care workforce shortages fall into that category. All of these serious health care challenges warrant even more serious solutions--many of which are being implemented thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, this bill--H.R. 1216--is not a serious solution and, if passed, will only become a serious part of a serious problem. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to vote, ``no'' on this bill. And, in doing so, you will be voting yes for the improved and strengthened primary health care workforce across the Nation.