Elijah Cummings

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, as I listen to the gentlewoman, I cannot help but think about the fact that we do have to make sure that during this time of war and this time of terrorism, since 9/11, that we make sure that we preserve the rights that are granted to our citizens under the Constitution of the United States of America. I have often said that although we are facing very difficult circumstances, we do not want to be in a situation where, when all the dust settles and the war is over, that we have given up so many rights that we, the country, do not even look like a pre-9/11 country. So I agree with the things the gentlewoman has been talking about and bringing to bear. The gentlewoman has been a staunch supporter of the Constitution and making sure that we stick to it and that we do not allow it to be set aside in these difficult circumstances to collect dust, and then later on, for generations yet unborn, they look back and say, what did you all do under your watch. I just want to applaud the gentlewoman for that.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, it was the theologian Swindoll who said it is what you do when you are unnoticed, unknown, unappreciated, and unapplauded that means so much. And as I listened to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), I could not help but think about all of those people that he talked about, people getting sand in their teeth, like he said, and sand blowing in their eyes and going through very difficult circumstances right now, and our prayers are with them. There is another thing that the gentleman talked about, Mr. Speaker, and that is balance. And one of the things that we are always concerned about in our Nation is housing. Housing is extremely important for all of us, and when we look at again that balance that we are talking about, supporting our troops, but we also want that balance when it comes to making sure that Americans and those soldiers, when they do come back, that they have housing. And one of the sad things that has happened is that when we look at the President's budget, we have zeroed out under HUD the Hope VI program, zeroed it out; and what that means to Baltimore, we have been able in the city of Baltimore to tear down at least five high-rise public housing projects and replace them with beautiful low-rise neighborhoods, and as I said to a friend of mine the other day, when I ride through there, Mr. Speaker, I feel like I am on ``Andy of Mayberry.'' They are so beautiful, right smack dab in the middle of the seventh congressional district. So when we have a situation where we have a budget that zeroes out programs that allow that to happen, it certainly concerns the Congressional Black Caucus, and I think it should concern all Americans. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure and privilege to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from the great State of Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I listened to the gentleman from Florida very carefully as he talked about a person from Florida who gave his life. Before he came on the floor tonight, I had talked about a young man, not from my district but he lives very close to me, within actually about 10 minutes, Sergeant Kendall Waters-Bey, who was one of the young men who was killed in the helicopter accident, I guess almost in the first 24 hours of this war. I am so glad that you said all the things you said. You are absolutely right. Our soldiers and their families, they do give a lot. Every time I see the news footage of our soldiers going off to sea and see the small children tugging on daddy's leg or mother is crying as she gets on the bus and has to leave her loved ones behind and not even knowing whether they are going to return, and if they do return, whether they will be disabled. Every time I see that, it just reminds me that we have a lot of truly, truly great Americans. I just want to thank the gentleman for what he said, because I think so often as we watch what is going on on television in Iraq, that sometimes we have a tendency to forget about those families, but the gentleman is absolutely right. Those families still have to struggle here at home. They still have to do without a parent here at home. There have been some situations, I am sure the gentleman is well aware, where it may have been a single head of household who then had to have loved ones take care of the children. To all of them, to the families and certainly to our troops and to all of those, as the gentleman said, who were there, we have so many veterans who have given so much. We see them all the time in our districts, at our town hall meetings, at our veterans meetings, and I always try to remind them that we shall never forget them because they stood up for this country, they stood up for us when we could not even stand up for ourselves so many times. I really appreciate what the gentleman said.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. I want all people to know that the Congressional Black Caucus wholeheartedly supports our troops. When I move throughout my district and I have an opportunity to talk to the many men and women in the grocery store, the hardware store and simply stopping at a gas station and hear Americans talk about their sons and daughters and friends that are overseas now fighting for us, my heart definitely goes out. Over the last few days we have seen a few of our men and women taken as prisoners of war; and every time I see those pictures, I cringe because I cannot imagine what they might be going through and what they might be feeling. So while we stand concerned about the budget situation in our country, while we stand concerned about our cities, many of which need that $1.6 trillion like Iraq will need to be reconstructed; as we stand concerned about young children who are still reading from textbooks printed when Jimmy Carter was President; as we stand still concerned about children who can actually go through high school without ever looking through a microscope; as we stand concerned about so many elderly people who cannot afford prescription drugs; as we stand concerned about people who cannot get medical care because they simply do not have the insurance; as we stand concerned about the National Institute of Medicine's report on ``Disparity in Health Care,'' that shows if one is African American you get one type of treatment and if you are white you get another type, and Hispanics gets another type, and that an African American if they have the same insurance, they have the same level of ailment, they are the same age, and if they have diabetes, for example, they have a four-times greater chance of having an amputation below the waist; as we stand concerned about the many homeless people in our Nation; as we stand concerned about the many people who unfortunately have tried their very best after being put off of welfare and because of our economy are unable to find a job; as we stand watching children who should have an opportunity to go into Head Start but because of budget cuts will not have that opportunity; as we stand looking at so many people who have over and over and over again begged us, begged us for the Hope VI program which would allow them to have decent housing; as we stand where there are schools not very far from here where children sit with rain falling on their heads; as we stand here tonight concerned about all those things and many, many others, I say we stand for our troops. It gives me great pleasure, Mr. Speaker, to say this, that so often I think what happens is that we lose a sense of balance. I have often said that it is extremely important that we protect ourselves from outside forces and that we protect ourselves from terrorists. I think that is extremely important, and I know that 9/11 and those planes flying into the Twin Towers is embedded in the DNA of every cell of America's brains. But the fact still remains, Mr. Speaker, that we must not only worry about outside forces and, by the way, some homegrown ones, but we must also worry about the implosion of our country from the inside. So the Congressional Black Caucus comes tonight simply saying that we stand for our troops, but we also stand for America, and we stand for balance. Because we realize that on 9/11, that horrible day when some demented people flew planes into the Twin Towers and brutally and maliciously killed so many of our fellow Americans, we understand that we have to make sure that that never happens again. But, at the same time, we also have to make sure that all the people that I just talked about, that we take care of them, too. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), a young man who has come from Florida and has already made a name for himself and who is working very, very hard to uplift his district and to uplift the American people.

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. CUMMINGS. I thank the gentleman for yielding that time to us. Mr. Chairman, how much time do we have left with our 10 minutes?

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\3/4\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/4\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey). (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the Republican budget resolution and in support of the joint Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus budget alternative. This alternative budget, entitled the Leave No Family Behind Budget Act, focuses national attention on spending on priorities that benefit all Americans. It does this by funding key domestic priorities which address the needs of middle-income and working families, while fully supporting the national defense and protection of our homeland. These priorities include education, health care, housing, child care, transportation, worker safety and protection, and business development. It would immediately repeal tax cuts for the upper-income brackets and would implement tax cuts for all families earning less than $50,000 per year. The CBC and the Progressive Caucus budget proposal involves several balanced components. It provides Medicare For All, it provides a $300 billion economic stimulus package which includes an extension of unemployment insurance, and implements state revenue sharing; and it yields a balanced budget by 2008, at least 4 years earlier than the Republican budget. This fiscally responsible budget freezes the 2001 tax cut in order to generate greater revenue. As such, our budget provides $528 billion for a Medicare prescription drug benefit and restores the deep cuts in education by increasing funding by $20 billion over the Republican budget proposal. This means more funding for after-school programs, Head Start, Pell grants, child care programs, TRIO, Gear Up and the Leave No Child Behind Act. This means a prescription drug benefit that our seniors so desperately need. Mr. Chairman, our budget alternative is feasible, balanced and fiscally responsible. It will get our country on the road to recovery while funding meaningful national priorities for our children, for our seniors, for our veterans and for our communities. It reflects the guiding principle that as a Nation we must come together and share the sacrifice that is required to strengthen our economy and put us on a better fiscal footing. Unfortunately, the Republican budget is devoid of any recognition of this required sacrifice, because it provides $1.4 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent of American taxpayers. I say sacrifice this tax cut, restore funding for crucial domestic programs, and get our country back on the road to economic recovery. I have to admit that I am astonished that at a time when our economy is struggling, the Republicans continue to pursue tax breaks for the affluent at any cost. Their plan is both astounding and irresponsible. The Republican budget resolution would only prolong our country's economic downturn at a time when we need the greatest investment in our infrastructure and in our people. Mr. Chairman, in these difficult and troubling times, we have a tremendous responsibility as a Congress to protect and provide for the needs of all Americans. But I and many of my colleagues believe that the Republican budget plan callously throws that responsibility aside. The Republican-proposed $1.4 trillion tax cut is a reckless measure to pursue at this time, especially as we face war in Iraq and a continued war on terror to defend our homeland and our hometowns. The Republicans and the President claim that tax cuts will serve to stimulate our economy, but the evidence does not support this assertion. The trickle-down tax cuts of 20 years ago did not revitalize our economy, and similar tax cuts today will not fare better. In fact, the CBO estimates that the Republican budget will add $1.7 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years after completely depleting the surplus of the Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds. The Republican budget balances itself on the backs of Americans who can least afford it. It cuts Medicare by $214 billion over the next 10 years, Medicaid by $95 billion, veterans programs by $15 billion, while giving a meager prescription drug benefit of $28 billion to our deserving seniors. These cuts are unthinkable, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject such recklessness. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) who was the architect of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus resolution.

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

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I just want to take a moment to say that there are a lot of people suffering in our Nation tonight. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus believe very strongly that we must have a very balanced approach to addressing our budget concerns. On the one hand, we must be clear to protect ourselves against terrorism, and we must be clear with regard to supporting our troops. On the other hand, Mr. Chairman, we must be clear in taking care of the people who have worked so hard to make this Nation the Nation that it is. We must work hard, Mr. Chairman, and this is what the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus budget does, to help folks like Mr. Shapiro in Baltimore, who said he had been working for years on a prescription drug program, but give me something that is meaningful, because I am about to die. But maybe you can do this for my fellow people in my housing project. Or perhaps it is for the little girl in the eighth grade at West Baltimore Middle School in my district, who still is reading from a textbook where Jimmy Carter is still President. Or it might be the students who are in the honors class at another school in my district, who have no microscopes on their desks, but they are supposed to go on and become great biologists. Then the question becomes, are we taking care of all of our people? I have often said that we have to protect ourselves from the outside, but we have to be very careful that we do not implode from the inside. So the fact is that the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus have presented a budget tonight which is one that takes care of our health needs. It is one that truly leaves no family behind. It is one that makes sure that the young people at Morgan State University in Baltimore, where we have to let go 1,000 students every year because they do not have the money, it makes sure that they have the Pell grants that they need. So, Mr. Chairman, I would urge the House to support the Black Caucus- Progressive Caucus budget. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my good friend the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) for yielding part of his time to us. We really appreciate it.

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings). (Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis). (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen). (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. CUMMINGS

Mr. CUMMINGS. I want to thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert into the Record the Congressional Black Caucus' principles on United States military action in Iraq. They are as follows: We oppose the unilateral first strike action by the United States without a clearly demonstrated and imminent threat of attack on the United States. Only Congress has the authority to declare war. Every diplomatic option must be exhausted. A unilateral first strike would undermine the moral authority of the United States, result in substantial loss of life, destabilize the Mideast region and undermine the abilities of our Nation to address unmet domestic priorities. Further, any post-strike plan for maintaining stability in the region would be costly and would require a long-term commitment. Mr. Speaker, I rise at a moment when America stands at the brink of war. Our actions in Iraq will define our moral standing in the world for this generation and for generations yet unborn. I have given my oath to do everything within my power to support our men and women in uniform. We have a great American tradition that when we engage in combat, we support our troops. I will fulfill that solemn obligation. However, I also have pledged my commitment to ensure their sacrifice is warranted and just. That obligation does not allow me to remain silent tonight. Mr. Speaker, the President has declared that he will allow no more time for a negotiated disarmament of Iraq. We all know the terrible consequences of that decision. The stakes are enormous. Many human beings will be harmed and others will die. In the course, American foreign policy could be seriously changed. So before a single shot has been fired, I must again raise what I consider to be the fundamental question about this preemptive war: By what authority, by what right does this Nation justify the taking of life in Iraq? Mr. Speaker, the American people have created the strongest military force in history. We in this Congress will continue to support our troops. We will continue to ensure that they are the best trained and equipped in the world. Yet as a people, Americans have never subscribed to the proposition that our might makes us right. America has never led by military power alone, but by our devotion to principles and the legitimacy of our mission. And now that principled foundation of our national security has been placed in jeopardy and the legitimacy of our mission, and therefore the credibility of our Nation, is challenged by a significant part of the global community and our own citizens. The administration regrettably has failed to achieve the U.N. approval and broad-based international support that are critical to achieving our objectives and protecting our men and women in uniform in the Middle East. We have an obligation to ask why the administration has failed to make its case. If the President's rationale for war were self-evident, a broad-based multinational ``coalition of the willing'' would have indeed materialized. At the heart of the administration's failure, I am convinced, is the absence of clear and convincing evidence that Iraq poses an imminent threat either to the United States or other nations of the world. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, the administration has yet to adequately explain the consequences of going to war to the American people. Have we received clear and convincing evidence that the President's decision will not destabilize the Middle East, will not make our defense against terrorism more difficult, and will not undermine our ability to meet the compelling domestic needs of Americans here at home? Where is the administration's comprehensive plan for the political and economic stability of Iraq once hostilities have ended? Where is the President's evaluation of the cost of military conflict and reconstruction? Where is the President's analysis of the impact upon our economy? Will both affluent Americans and working-class Americans share fairly in that sacrifice? The answers to these questions raise the classic conflict between whether we pursue questionable international missions or spend the resources for urgent domestic priorities. Mr. Speaker, that is why we have not yet received the administration's answers to any of these critical questions. Fundamentally, however, the issue of war remains one of morality. Following President Bush's ultimatum last night, the Vatican offered this response, ``Whoever decides that all peaceful means that international law has put at our disposition have been exhausted assumes a serious responsibility before God, his conscience and history.'' I submit that the heavy weight of this responsibility is shared by the President and every Member of this House; and that realization should give us pause, that we have pursued the right course and that we are doing the right thing by this military action. So tonight, as I speak, tens of thousands of religious congregations throughout the world, women and men of every faith and tradition, are praying that peace will prevail for the good of our country and the enlightened progress of humanity. May God protect our men and women in uniform and all the innocents who now stand in harm's way, and bring them safely home. And may God guide America during these dangerous times. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his statement, and I want to make it clear, as the gentleman has made and all of us will make, that we strongly support our troops. They are our sons, our daughters, our sisters, our brothers, our friends, our fathers, our mothers. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).