Joe Crowley

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. We should be doing more, not less. What is really troubling is that I know there are some on the other side of the aisle who think this doesn't cut food assistance enough. Imagine that--there is $8 billion--$8 billion worth of cuts in this bill, and still that is far less than they wanted to cut. The fact that in some ways this bill can be considered a compromise option just shows how unreasonable the cuts proposed by the other side were. What have we come to when we argue about how much of a cut to hungry children and families is reasonable? Yes, this bill is not as bad as it could be, but it is not as good as it should be. That is why I will be voting ``no'' against this bill today.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. When I go home to talk to my constituents back home in Queens and the portions of the Bronx that I represent, there are a lot of issues that they bring up to me. They want to see unemployment insurance restored. They want to see jobs created. They want to see our economy strengthened. They want to see investments in infrastructure and building our communities. But not once has anyone ever said, Forget all about that. They have never said to me, Please raise my taxes if Uncle Sam objects to the health care plan I have picked for me, my family, or my business. Yes, that's exactly what this bill does. It raises taxes on individuals, families, and small businesses. I offered an amendment that would block this bill from taking effect if it would raise taxes, but the Republican majority, with yet another closed rule, refused to make that amendment in order. Why? Because they knew that if that amendment were to become a part of this bill, it would kill this bill. Because no matter how you slice it, this Republican bill will raise taxes on hardworking Americans. Small businesses will pay more taxes because if their employee health plan covers abortion or reproductive care, the business will be denied the small business tax credit. No one denies that. Families will pay more in taxes when they lose any tax credits they received to purchase a health insurance plan if the plan that works best for them happens to include abortion coverage. That is right. Families will have to give up on choosing their own plan. Stripping these health care tax credits will have the same effect as if we denied or stripped out similar tax credits like the child tax credit or the higher education tax credit. If this isn't a tax increase, I don't know what is. This bill interferes with personal choice and decisions. I find it ironic that my Republican colleagues claim to support ensuring Americans can pick a private health plan that suits their individual needs until the plan they pick covers legal services they find personally objectionable. I find it ironic that my Republican colleagues oppose every suggested tax increase out there until it is one that abnegates their social agenda. There is no question this is a serious issue and it deserves serious consideration. Yet on an issue as important as access to comprehensive health care coverage--and with such severe tax implications--it is outrageous that this bill was not first considered by the Ways and Means Committee. The reason for that is Republicans are rushing this new bill forward. Not because they are looking to make good policy, but because they are looking to make good political friends--good political friends who support a very narrow political agenda. I just wish the real issues that we need to be working on like extending unemployment insurance for 1.6 million Americans would get as much attention as all these made-up issues. With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time we have.

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CROWLEY. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, we are prepared to close, if the gentlelady has any additional speakers before she closes.

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady. The gentlelady from Kansas, my good friend, who I respect greatly, said the overall tax effect is negligible. I would ask, negligible to whom? If you are that person who can't get a needed tax credit, it is not negligible to you. It is very real. Part of what is so troubling about this bill is it is not only how much further it goes than current existing law, but how much further this kind of thinking could go. What other restrictions on medical procedures are next, as my friend from Washington said? If your procedure involves stem cells, prenatal care for teen mothers? Could hospitals lose funding for training doctors in necessary procedures that this majority may deem troubling? The question is, where does it end? How many other ways can the majority use our laws to punish hardworking Americans? Can they take away your student loans because your teacher wants you to read ``Catcher in the Rye''? Can they limit your tax benefits for buying a house in the wrong neighborhood? The slope is steep and slippery. Vote ``no'' on this wrongheaded bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, it is a shame we are not up here considering an extension of the unemployment insurance. American families are looking for some kind of sign that their Congress isn't going to leave town without extending unemployment insurance, and I don't think they are amused by this 48th attempt to undermine health care in our country. The fact is the legislation before us is supposedly all about the numbers. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are fixated on the numbers behind the Affordable Care Act. They seem to think they will find numbers that somehow discredit the law and the important benefits it provides. But you know what? It is true that numbers tell an important story, so here are some numbers that actually matter for the American people: Nine million, that is how many people have already obtained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act--9 million. It is also 9 million people who don't have to worry that a major medical incident could bankrupt them and their families; Twenty-five million, that is how many seniors on Medicare received free preventive care last year because of the Affordable Care Act--25 million. That is 25 million seniors who can get a mammogram or a cholesterol screening without financial barriers, so that serious diseases can be caught and treated earlier, saving taxpayers' dollars; Eight million--big number, 8 million--that is how many jobs have been created in this country since the passage of the Affordable Care Act--8 million. That is more than twice as many jobs created than were lost during the 10 years before the Affordable Care Act was enacted. These are just some of the numbers that tell the true story of the Affordable Care Act, not to mention the number of people with preexisting conditions who can no longer be discriminated against, or the seniors who are seeing reduced prices on their prescription drugs, or the small business owners who now have a way to provide insurance for themselves and their employees. These are the numbers. These are the numbers that matter to me because the Affordable Care Act is about helping the American people afford care in this country. So my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can go and play their numbers games as long as they want, but their fixation doesn't add up. These numbers do.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank my friend from New Jersey for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, there are so many truly pressing issues facing our Nation, so it is a shame that we are here once again wasting time on legislation like this. It doesn't even solve the issues the Republicans claim they are trying to address. The truth is, the bill we are considering today is far from a productive answer to anything. It is just yet another scare tactic to discourage people from obtaining health care--that is right. Here is a news flash for you: Republicans want to stop people from attaining health care. I don't think why we should expect anything else from a party with such little vision. Instead of creating opportunity, they have become the party that shuts things down. They shut down the government. They shut down unemployment insurance for people who are desperately trying to find work. They have tried repeatedly to shut down the Affordable Care Act. As a matter of fact, 47 times--47 times--they have attempted to shut down the Affordable Care Act. Heck, they are even shutting down bridges in New Jersey. The fact is, it seems like their agenda is just about shutting down things that actually work for American families. Republicans can't just slam the door shut again and again on the American people. It is time to end this shutdown mentality once and for all here in Washington and get back to working on issues of concern to the entire Nation.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, for many people, a new year marks a time of hope and optimism. But millions of Americans are, instead, beginning this year with fear and worry. They are wondering how they are going to make ends meet, pay their rent, or put food on the table. That is because they woke up just a few days after Christmas to find that their emergency unemployment assistance had been terminated, cutting them off from a needed lifeline. Now, that is just about the cruelest thing I can think of happening. It is mean. It is unnecessary. It is kicking people who are already down. It is just plain shameful. It is shameful. And it is not the kind of America I believe in. Shouldn't we be embracing policies like unemployment insurance that keep families afloat? Shouldn't we be looking at our communities, our neighbors, and saying, yes, America will be there for you in your time of need? Yes, we should say that. To every one of my colleagues, I say join us in doing the right thing and restoring these needed benefits today. We need to do the right thing and not the wrong thing, and we need to do that now.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, on January 7 and 8, 2014 I was in New York and was absent for recorded votes on four measures--a quorum call, H.R. 724, H.R. 3527 and H.R. 3628. I would have voted ``present'' on the quorum call and ``yes'' on H.R. 724, H.R. 3527 and H.R. 3628 had I been here.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I too rise to mourn the loss of these four individuals and all those who were injured in this tragic accident. In particular, I want to recognize the family of Kisook Ahn of Queens. The entire Korean American community in Queens and throughout the city and the tristate region mourn her loss. She was a resident of my hometown of Woodside, Queens. I particularly want to express our sorrow on her loss and all those who lost their lives or were injured, once again, in this tragic event of Sunday. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and all the victims and their families.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the Republican leader circulated his party's 2014 agenda--their vision for promoting private sector job growth, expanding the middle class, and strengthening our economy; their ideas for improving civil rights and bettering our immigration system; their path forward for ensuring our children and grandchildren inherit a better America. Now, I would like to read to the House and to the American people the 2014 agenda by the Republican Party. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read them all in the order in which they are presented.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Congressman Steve Israel, to commemorate the life and service of Honey Miller. Ms. Miller passed away in her 95th year. Honey Miller was a loyal and proud Democrat who dedicated her life to strengthening the party and serving her community. Honey began her distinguished career by working on Democratic Leader Louis Wallach's campaign for the State Assembly. When recalling the experience and her introduction to politics, she once said, ``a neighbor asked me to help out on the campaign and I never got out of it.'' She went on to work with the Queens Borough President's office for 17 years and then as a Coordinator for Community Board 11. She was promoted to Deputy Director of Community Boards for the Queens Borough and served as Chair of the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Party for two years. In 1972, she was elected as a Democratic Party official as the Queens Democratic District leader for the 24th Assembly District, where she was consistently reelected until her retirement in 2011. Honey was a tireless public servant for the Democratic Party in Queens. As District Leader she was responsible for selecting candidates, working closely with the Queens County Democratic Organization, and strengthening the Democratic Party. Honey founded the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club to increase the Democratic Party's involvement in the community. Mr. Speaker, Honey was an indispensable asset to Queens. She's been described by others as the ``bedrock of the Democratic Party'' and the ``grand dame of northeast Queens politics.'' With a career that spanned four decades, she truly exemplified the meaning of a public servant. The legacy that she leaves not only reflects her love for the Democratic Party, but also the admiration she had for the residents of Queens. Mr. Speaker, for her service to the people of New York and devotion to her family and friends, we ask all of our colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Honey Miller.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we can end this Republican government shutdown. It is time to shut down the shutdown.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding this time. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans continue to demonstrate just how far out of whack their priorities are. Here we are in the 11th day of the Republican government shutdown--a shutdown for the sole purpose of denying health care to millions of Americans. I guess America shouldn't be surprised. After all, last month, the majority pushed through severe, painful cuts to the nutrition programs for hungry families. We are now moving toward going to a conference with the Senate on these damaging cuts. By insisting on these nearly $40 billion in cuts, the Republicans have made clear where they stand, even clearer where they don't stand. Now, understand. I know that the gentlelady talks about the truly needy, but what she is really saying is that the somewhat needy, the sorta needy, the kinda needy, the ``needy'' needy need not apply because they are not in need of food stamps. When you look at the number of $20 billion, it was the original number, which is a block number, and it was without consequences to who they would hurt. When that failed, they said, What would work? Let's use $40 billion. Yes, $40 billion will do it--a nice, neat number without any consequences to who might get hurt. Someone had a bright idea on the other side and said that this number will work, and it was without a rationale for the number and without any understanding of what the impact would be. So we know where they stand. They don't stand with 900,000 veterans who receive food assistance each month. They don't stand with 2.1 million children who have been kept out of poverty by the food stamp program. They don't stand with the seniors who have to choose between food and medicine--or with the families of disabled children or with our military families who turn to food stamps to stretch their budgets. Heaven forbid we suggest taking away subsidies from Big Oil or tax breaks from owners of corporate jets. What does that say about Republican priorities and their vision? The fact is that their vision leads to a world in which millions more go hungry.

Mr. CROWLEY. In New York City alone, the Republicans' cut would result in 130 million fewer meals. That is unacceptable to me, and it ought to be unacceptable to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. The fact that it is not unacceptable tells us something we need to know about our Republican colleagues' view of struggling families in this country: they don't care about their struggles. They wouldn't recognize a needy person if they tripped over him on the street outside the Capitol.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues may be aware, September 2013 is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. This month gives us a valuable opportunity to call attention to this issue and what we can do to support people living with spinal cord injuries. There are approximately 270,000 people living with spinal cord injuries in the United States. In particular, an estimated 100,000 of those people are veterans who sustained a spinal cord injury while serving as members of the Armed Forces of the United States. Approximately 12,000 new spinal cord injuries occur in the U.S. each year. In fact, every 48 seconds in our country, a person becomes paralyzed. A majority of these injuries occur from work-related accidents, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries and falls. The impact of spinal cord injuries is felt throughout our society. The estimated lifetime medical cost of a spinal cord injury can range from $1 million to $5 million, depending on the level of injury, and the ripple effects can be felt throughout other sectors, such as housing, job training and transportation. Increased education and investment in research are key factors in improving outcomes for individuals with spinal cord injuries. Better treatments, therapies and access to the right equipment and services can go far toward both improving their quality of life and ultimately finding a cure for these injuries. Throughout this month, awareness efforts have been taking place across the country to highlight the need to expand and build support for programs and initiatives that help people with spinal cord injuries. I thank everyone who has participated in this month's activities, and I applaud the dedication of local, regional and national organizations, as well as the researchers, physicians, volunteers and people across the United States who are working to improve the quality of life of individuals and their families living with spinal cord injuries. My hope is that we not only continue to make progress in this field, but that we also take every opportunity to elevate this issue and work toward finding solutions to help these thousands of people. I hope my colleagues will all join me in recognizing National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, let's cut through the static and stop throwing around terms like CR, shutdown and numbers like 988 and 1058. Let's get to the crux of what's happening here tonight. Congress has two basic jobs: Passing a budget; and Paying its bills. The Republican Congress, right now, is refusing to do either. They're refusing to do our most basic duties and putting the American economy at risk in the process. Here's what failure to keep the government running means for average Americans. Tomorrow, Americans will continue to pay their taxes--same rates, same costs. But tomorrow, Americans will get far less in return. Tomorrow, the backlog at the VA will get worse; as Veterans Administration claims workers are furloughed. Tomorrow, our troops will have to keep fighting on the frontlines in Afghanistan, but they will no longer get paid for their service. Tomorrow, loans to American small businesses will stop. Yes, Americans will pay their taxes tomorrow. They will do the right thing. Yet we won't honor the taxpayers who sent us here by doing the most basic jobs we were entrusted to do. If Americans still have to pay their taxes, we should still do our jobs. The Republican House is holding hostage: benefits for our veterans, pay for our military, aid for American small businesses--all in the name of denying access to health insurance for hardworking Americans. Let's do the right thing for those hardworking Americans--let's do our jobs and keep government running.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, the last time we considered devastating cuts to nutrition programs, I brought messages my constituents had written on paper plates, telling stories of how much the SNAP program has helped them. I read aloud each plate's personal, heartbreaking story of the difference food assistance makes for a parent, a student, or a family, but today I have an empty plate because that's what so many of my constituents would see if this bill became law--in fact, 27,000 to be specific. I thought about bringing 27,000 plates down here--like this one--to make my point, but I decided not to create that kind of a waste just to make a point that is already so obvious. The Republicans want you to believe that we don't have the money to feed hungry kids but that we can afford subsidies for Big Oil and tax breaks for corporate jet owners. It is ridiculous. If this week doesn't show the backward priorities of the Republican majority, I don't know what will. This shortsighted, slash-and-burn approach to governing won't get this country moving forward. Taking food away from children? The sad truth is, all that's being served up by the Republicans is a lack of vision.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of America's working families, and against this bill. I'm just baffled as to why we would take away tax credits that help working families, for the first time in many instances, afford insurance, particularly as this majority seems to have never met a tax break they didn't like. Well, at least not until today. Time after time, the Republican majority defends special interest tax breaks, tax breaks provided to owners of corporate jets, subsidies for Big Oil, tax writeoffs for big corporations, even as they're laying off American workers, and moving more of their operations overseas. But where is that same zeal today in defending middle class tax cuts for middle class Americans? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this majority has repeatedly tried to undermine this tax credit since its inception. They've even sought to require hardworking Americans to pay the entire credit back if they get a slight increase in pay or a bonus for good work. My colleagues, the majority has crossed some bizarre threshold today, going from principled opposition to dangerous obsession. Now, I know some Republicans will say they're doing this because they have issues with the IRS. Should we expect a bill on the floor when we come back after the August break to stop the IRS from sending people their income tax refunds? No, because this is just an excuse they're using. This bill is 100 percent about denying Americans access to affordable health care. In New York 1.5 million people will be denied tax credits if this bill is enacted.

Mr. CROWLEY. My colleagues, I am tired of this dog-and-pony-show. Yes, Members return to their districts for a few weeks, but political red meat is not what this country needs. We need a Congress with a vision for tomorrow, a vision focused on creating jobs and strengthening our economy, not a 40th vote on a new, even more dangerous way to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. CROWLEY

Mr. CROWLEY. I thank my friend and colleague and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee for yielding me this time. I do appreciate and I don't want to call into question the motivation of how this bill came to the floor, but I find it hard to believe that we are here on this particular issue dealing with individuals who work at the IRS and what would be deemed as a fireable offense and somehow not be related to the ongoing investigation into the IRS and the political motivations behind not the gentleman but my Republican colleagues as a whole in bringing this bill to the floor without a hearing in committee. That it just happened to fall onto the floor this afternoon and has no tangential connection to what is happening, I find a little bit difficult to believe. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill because it is not an attempt at better governance, but rather it is a solution in search of a problem. In the months of investigations into the IRS targeting of nonprofits, here is what we found without a doubt: Progressive groups were targeted alongside Tea Party affiliations. There was no interference or coordination in the targeting scandal by anyone at the White House or at the Treasury Department. No IRS agents have ever been cited or even been accused of forcing their own personal political ideology onto the process of granting nonprofit status. In fact, the person who was in charge of the IRS nonprofit office in Cincinnati self-identifies as a conservative Republican. Those are all facts. So this bill is a solution in search of a problem. But still, Mr. Speaker, I recognize the sensitive powers at the fingertips of IRS employees, and I would be open to looking into whether we should add something to this as a fireable offense. But the Ways and Means Committee, as I said before, held no hearings on this bill. We've had many hearings of testimony on the issue of the IRS, but not on this specific bill. It was never considered in committee. It was drafted at the last minute to fulfill, in my opinion, the Republican Party desire to say how awful government is. What better way to do it than to use the IRS? And when you govern like that, these are the kinds of bills we get on the floor. But worse, I believe this is just a ploy being used to cover up the facts surrounding this IRS problem, and I believe it actually harms our ability to address the real management issues at the IRS that were the basis of the problem to begin with. So once again, Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, bills don't just fall out of the sky and land on the floor of the House without a hearing in committee.

Mr. CROWLEY. Bills don't just fall out of the sky, Mr. Speaker. They don't. They're here to meet a purpose. The purpose was to evade the committee process in regular order and to bring this bill here before we break for the summer recess, the last week in Congress before the summer recess, for a political purpose. I've stated it. It's not worth restating again, but I do suggest that the notion or idea that this bill is on the floor and has nothing to do with the ongoing investigation, in my opinion, is very hard to believe.