Joe Crowley

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Republicans aren't reconciling with us to work in a bipartisan way. They are not reconciling themselves to the fact that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and that it is helping people access quality, affordable healthcare insurance; and they are certainly not fooling anyone with what their true intentions are. They are not. Frankly, the only thing they are doing is wasting time. I have had enough, and I know the American people have had enough, too.

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the benefits it has brought to millions of Americans. While this is the 61st vote this House has taken to undermine health care, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that somehow this time is different. That is because this is dressed up in a process called reconciliation. But this isn't reconciliation. This is procrastination. This is a desperate attempt to avoid working on the real issues facing America today. I get it. Governing is hard. It is difficult. But that is not an excuse for giving up on your responsibilities and, instead, pursuing yet another repeal bill. But that is their plan, their only agenda, for America. The country is days away from defaulting on our debt? Time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Roads and bridges are falling apart? Maybe repealing the Affordable Care Act will help us. Seniors on Medicare are about to see their premiums skyrocket? Forget fixing the problem. Let's repeal the Affordable Care Act. They must think it is a better strategy than the previous 60 votes if they wrap it up with a bow and slap a fancy name on it. Actually, it is odd they call this reconciliation.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Pay China First Act. We should call it, in my opinion, Put America Last Act because that is exactly what this does. This bill will codify into law a new low. It will ensure U.S. taxpayers are forced to pay China and other regimes as well as foreign banks first. That means we will pay China before we pay veterans, before we pay for Medicare to cover our seniors, and before we pay our enlisted troops bravely serving overseas. It means we are going to pay these guys before we pay these guys. We are going to pay these guys before we pay these guys. Even Chairman Ryan, in a memo to House Republican colleagues, acknowledges that, in fact, China and other foreign debt holders will be paid before Medicare, before our elderly receive their checks, and before our troops receive their salaries. This whole bill is a sign of misplaced priorities. There are countless issues that Americans have called on us to address that we need to tackle to ensure this country remains healthy and strong, yet this is a bill the Republicans have chosen to bring to the floor. This is a bill that you have chosen to bring to the floor. At least now we know. We know this Congress is not serious about paying our Nation's bills because, under this bill, we resort to having the U.S. file, in essence, a bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy and walking away from debt obligations may work for Donald Trump, but it doesn't work for middle class Americans. Average Americans who work hard to pay their bills and live up to their financial obligations--and that includes American veterans and seniors--the Republicans would have waiting in line for their VA benefits behind Chinese bankers. I cannot support a measure that puts China above our veterans, above our seniors, and above our servicemembers.

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, if you ask the American people, ``Who should be paid first, these guys or these guys?'' I suggest they would agree with us. These guys should get paid first. Oppose this Pay China First Act, and let's keep America first. Let me also add this, Madam Speaker. Have you ever heard of dine and ditch? This is the biggest dine and ditch I have ever heard of. When I was a kid, some of my friends wanted to go to restaurants, eat as much as they could, and then run out before they paid their bill, and I would never let them do that. I felt it was immoral. That is exactly what we are suggesting we do today. Who got stuck paying for that bill? The waitress. Who is the waitress in this case? The American people. The American people, they get stuck when you dine and ditch on them. Even suggesting for a moment that we may not pay our debt and that we may default sends the wrong message to America. It sends the wrong message to the world. Defeat this measure.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I wish I could count how many times Members of Congress have come to this floor about the need to ``never forget'' September 11, 9/11, its victims, and our first responders. Members have offered resolutions, have given speeches, have come to the floor with shocking images that are already seared into our minds forever. Through it all, we hear this refrain of ``never forget.'' I know I will never forget. I will never forget the friends and the family member I lost that day. I have constituents who will never forget. They will never forget the phone call they may have received that day of a loved one lost or the neighbor they saw for the very last time. When I visit a firehouse in Woodside, in Maspeth, in Sunnyside in Queens, or in Throgs Neck in the Bronx, I know they will never forget. I also know this is not just about my constituents, not just about my city of New York, not just about my State of New York, but this is about the United States of America. I know that Americans will never forget the days, the weeks, the months spent, by the men and women who worked on the pile, trying to rescue and save lives, the recovery, and the eventual cleanup efforts that took place in Lower Manhattan. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the only people I believe who seem in danger of forgetting are my colleagues right here in the House of Representatives. That is the only explanation I can give for why they let the James Zadroga 9/11 Health Act expire last week. They are forgetting the promise that this Congress, that our country, made to these first responders, the survivors, and other volunteers in the days that followed September 11. We all made a promise to them that they would not be left behind, they would not be ignored, left to fend for themselves. It took far too long for the Zadroga Act to become a law in the first place. Those are difficult years to have to keep telling 9/11 heroes: Just wait a little longer. We will get there. But, eventually, we did get it done because it was the right thing to do. It would be easy for my colleagues to shrug their shoulders and say they did their part, to think that we have wiped our hands of the entire issue. But the need is still there. The pain and the suffering are still there. So we must act and we must act now. A few weeks ago hundreds of first responders came to Washington, D.C., from all over the country--not just New York--who were affected by 9/11 to look Members of Congress in the eye and ask them to renew this worthy program. They had meetings. They held press conferences. They even brought a celebrity spokesperson to draw attention to their cause. Toward the end of the day, one gentleman said that he probably wouldn't be coming back to push Congress on this issue in the future. Now, I wish that none of them would have to come back because we would be able to tell them that we took action and permanently established this program. But the reason he is not going to be coming back is because he has stage 4 cancer, stage 4 cancer as a result of his work on the pile, looking for his friends. He may not be coming back at all. That is what this is about. That is who we are talking about. Every day first responders, cleanup workers, and volunteers are struggling with health conditions caused by the effects of the attack of 9/11. They have doctors' appointments, tests, treatments, chemotherapy. And they can't do it alone. That is why we put this program in place in the first place, to help those who can't do it alone, to not just thank them for their service, but to give back to them what they have given to us. These heroes should be thanked every day for what they have done. They deserve our thanks. They deserve to be honored and applauded and to have floor speech after floor speech given in their name. But they deserve more than just words. They deserve action by this House, action that we must--not just should--but we must take to ensure that this program will continue to be there for those who need it. Our heroes deserve better. We hear a lot about ``never forget.'' I want to suggest that we never use the term ``never forget'' here on the floor, ``never forget 9/11,'' until we pass a permanent extension of the James Zadroga Health Act.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Thirteen years ago, I stood here in the House of Representatives and I gave the benefit of the doubt to the then- President, and he took us to war. I will give today the benefit of the doubt to your President to take us to peace.

Mr. CROWLEY. Mike Kelly is a good man. I like Mike. I admire him. But I think he did a disservice to the House and to this debate by bringing up the issue of 9/11. I do thank him for honesty for at least showing that that is what this is all about, having this debate today and this vote today to stir the emotions of the American people. My emotions are always stirred on this day. Fourteen years ago, I knew people who died that day. My cousin died. My friends died. I don't need to be reminded of that. But it will not cloud my decisionmaking on this important issue. Today I stand in support of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This has been a difficult decision for me, and I know it has been for many of my colleagues as well. There are those who came out against this deal before you even read it. But for those of you who took the time to read the agreement and came to a different conclusion, you have my deep and profound respect because we both share the same goals. After carefully studying this agreement, I believe it is important to give diplomacy the opportunity to succeed. The agreement takes important steps to address Iran's nuclear program. Under this agreement, both the current uranium and plutonium paths to a bomb are addressed and all of Iran's operating uranium enrichment will be centralized into a single facility that is penetrable by U.S. air power. This agreement does not constrain the United States from bolstering our allies and aggressively pushing back against Iran's other nefarious activities. There is more we can do and must do, including strengthening Israel, Jordan, and our other allies in the region. Israel is the only country being threatened with annihilation. I know that. So it needs and deserves a quantitative and qualitative military advantage. And if this deal doesn't work or Iran's leadership somehow gets the idea that they can attack us or wipe out our friends, the United States and our allies will have the capability, the will, and the power to confront Iran's nuclear program and destroy it. We have the best military in the world. We have the best intelligence service in the world. America will always be prepared. The fact is no one here can predict whether Iran will give up its program, not Republicans nor Democrats. If they don't, we have options. But we can do this and give this plan the opportunity to work, and I am prepared to do that. Now, after all this discussion and talk about bipartisanship, a real profile in courage would be for one of you to support your President, one Republican to stand and support your President.

Mr. CROWLEY

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

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, again, let me thank Mr. Nunes, the chair of the committee, as well as the ranking member, Mr. Schiff, for their support of this valuable amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment. I appreciate the support of my colleagues from California, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and New York, who are coleaders on this effort. They are Mr. Bera, Mr. Engel, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Schweikert, and Mr. Holding. I also thank the chairman and ranking member of the Intelligence Committee for their support of this amendment. This amendment is about expanding the cooperation between the world's oldest democracy, the world's largest democracy, and a true democracy within the Middle East. That is the United States, India, and Israel. In recent years, the United States has expanded relations with Israel, as well as with India, in a number of areas. We have also seen India and Israel work more and more together on a bilateral basis. Of course, that is because a lot of their interests overlap, but it is also because many of our values overlap. There is so much that our three countries can be doing together in the realm of scientific cooperation, research, best practices, national security implementation, defense, and much, much more. There is also a lot that we can learn from each other, whether it is about drip irrigation to build food supplies, desalinization to address water shortages, or refrigeration practices to prevent the kind of food spoilage that leads to hunger, not to mention how much potential there is in technological research and economic development. This amendment, of course, just deals with a narrow portion of these areas because the underlying bill is limited to security issues, but it is a needed start. I truly believe that the United States-India relationship has the potential to be the world's most important ``big country'' relationship in the 21st century. As our ties with India grow, it is important to see the India-Israel ties increasing as well. Here in the United States, as a former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I have met with many members of the Indian American community, and I have consistently heard from visiting members of India's Government that there is a genuine desire to expand relations between India and Israel now and in the future. In fact, it has already been reported that, in the coming months, India's Prime Minister will become the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to travel to Israel. We are going to see the leader of what will be the world's most populous nation visiting and engaging with one of the smallest nations. The sky is really the limit on this effort going forward, and that is why the amendment asks the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a plan on how to grow the U.S.-India-Israel national security relationship. This is a real possibility, and I hope the DNI can identify a solid number of ways to work together even more in the future. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).

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

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, like many of my colleagues, I am focused on growing educational opportunities for young Hispanic Americans, particularly in the areas that will be so critical to our Nation's success in the years ahead. Last month, the House approved a bipartisan amendment to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act designed to increase opportunities for Latinos in the STEM fields. The amendment I am offering today with my colleagues, Mr. Serrano and Mr. Curbelo, builds upon that effort and would further expand opportunities for Hispanic students. Our proposal would allow the Director of National Intelligence to offer grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions of higher education for advanced foreign language education programs that are in the immediate interest of the intelligence community. It would also promote study abroad and cultural immersion programs in those areas, which we all know are crucial to truly understanding the intricacies of other languages and other cultures. This is a time when we need to be encouraging more of our young people to enter careers aimed at making our Nation safer. Of the nearly 2 million Latino students enrolled in college today, the majority attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions. With these targeted grants, HSIs would be able to help increase the ranks of Latinos going into the intelligence community, where they are underrepresented today. This amendment would not only promote diversity in national security and intelligence communities, but it would also strengthen our youngest and fastest growing minority, Hispanic Americans. We must ensure that these young people are prepared with the knowledge and skills that will contribute to our Nation's future strength, security, and global leadership because, when education is available to everyone, our entire Nation is a stronger nation. I want to thank my colleagues who have worked with me on this issue, Mr. Serrano and Mr. Curbelo, who have cosponsored this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman from Florida's comments on this bill and his support. At this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his support of this amendment as well as the ranking member, Mr. Schiff, for his support of this amendment, and all the Members who have worked on this amendment. I think the amendment speaks for itself. It is providing a great opportunity for a growing minority community within our country who want to serve our country in this capacity. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, on June 1, 2015 I was absent for recorded votes #264 through 267 due to a weather-related flight delay. I would like to reflect how I would have voted if I were here: On Roll Call #264 I would have voted yes. On Roll Call #265 I would have voted yes. On Roll Call #266 I would have voted yes. On Roll Call #267 I would have voted no.

Mr. CROWLEY

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

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Chairman, 8 years ago when the House first considered the America COMPETES Act, I offered an amendment with my then-colleague Gabby Giffords as well as Congressman Jerry McNerney to correct a longstanding inequity at the National Science Foundation. Unlike their counterparts in higher education, Hispanic-Serving Institutions have not benefited from a specific program at the NSF to provide them with grants for research, curriculum, and infrastructure development. The amendment corrected this inequity, requiring the NSF to create a separate program for HSIs. It was adopted, and it became law. But to this day, the NSF has not implemented the program as codified in law. This bipartisan amendment would correct that and require the HSI program to finally be implemented within 4 months of the enactment of this measure. Hispanic-Serving Institutions serve the majority of nearly 2 million Latino students enrolled in college today. In my district alone, about 10,000 students attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions offering degrees in these fields of science. Without access to targeted grants, HSIs have difficulty increasing the ranks of Latinos in the STEM fields, where they have been historically underrepresented. We must ensure that Latinos, the youngest and fastest growing ethnic group in our Nation, are prepared with the knowledge and skills that will contribute to our Nation's future economic strength, security, and global leadership, because when education is available to everyone, our entire Nation is stronger. I want to thank my colleagues who worked with me on this issue: Mr. Serrano, who has a stand-alone bill to make this fix permanent, and Mr. Lujan, Mr. Hurd, as well as Mr. Curbelo, who have cosponsored this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comments from the chairman. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), my friend and a cosponsor of the amendment. (Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank Mr. Hurd for his comments. I want the Record to reflect that I was willing and expecting to be yielding the gentleman 1 minute. Since the cooperation is running so smoothly, Mr. Chairman, thank you for yielding the 2 minutes to Mr. Hurd. With that, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan).

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, let me just use the remaining time to thank Chairman Smith for his cooperation and that of his staff, as well as the cooperation of Ms. Johnson and her staff. I do think that this amendment is the final tooth we need to make this law work and to drive the money and the resources to the people we intended for them to go to, and that is Latino or Hispanic young men and women who want to strive to succeed in the fields of science and medicine to help make our country an even better country. I thank you both again for your cooperation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank the gentleman from Washington, my good friend Mr. Larsen, for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, the effort to expand U.S.-India relations has always been and continues to be a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank both sides of the aisle in acceptance of the amendment that I put forward. Over the past two decades, we have seen the relationship between the United States and India flourish and blossom under both--I should say starting with President Clinton's Presidency, followed by President George Bush's Presidency, and we have seen how advanced it has become under the Presidency of Barack Obama. I had the opportunity to travel with the President earlier this year to India, and the incredible reception that the President and the delegation received was like no other experience I have ever had in India, and this relationship continues to grow. This is the first time we have had an opportunity to express the support of the House and of the Congress of this burgeoning relationship, especially as it pertains to mil-to-mil cooperation, and I believe that this is the most critical relationship that we will have this decade in the world. India and the United States, we have shared values of civilian control of the military. It is a very important aspect when you consider the part of the world we are talking about. We share that same value with India. India's quest for securing peace not only within her region, but around the world as well, is something that we share with her. India's commitment to democracy and rule of law is something we also share with India and, overall, using democracy and the quest for peace, trying to bring stability throughout the world. I also want to thank the Indian diaspora in helping with this effort. This is truly, as I said earlier, I believe, the most important alliance the United States will have this century.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding. No greater love is there than to lay down your life for another. It is a paraphrase. It is biblical, secular. Here, we have individuals, the DREAMers, who are American in every way possible. They have been schooled here in America, raised here in the United States. Their dream is to become American citizens, and they want to give back to a nation that has helped make them who they are. I want to congratulate Mr. Gallego for his amendment and his success in committee. I want to congratulate the bipartisan Rules Committee that saw this amendment through here to the floor. I want my Republican colleagues to question the motivations of those who would try to strip this out. No greater love--we hope that it never comes to actually sacrificing one's life, but please don't deny those who want to help serve and protect the interests of our country and deny them the opportunity to serve in some capacity and to sacrifice maybe their lives for this country, the country that we love, the country that they love, the only country that they have ever known.