Steve Cohen

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material H. Res. 1125.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of May, we recognize the struggles and triumphs of Jewish Americans, and we honor the indispensable contributions that the Jewish community has made to our Nation's civic life. Sadly, we also know that anti-Semitism continues to be a menace here at home and around the world. That is why I am pleased to support this important resolution condemning rising anti-Semitism. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, for being so vigilant over the years to recognize a particular month where we have particular appreciation of Jewish residents' contributions to our country, and for bringing this resolution to the floor to recognize this horrific rise in anti-Semitism. Since our Nation's founding, Jewish Americans have served in elected office, from local school boards to this building's hallowed halls, the Supreme Court, and other prestigious positions. They have done so in magnificent manners. They have made crucial contributions to the arts, the sciences, and to our collective struggle for a more just America. They even had a baseball pitcher, Sandy Koufax, who was better than any. Indeed, this resolution calls upon us to recognize the Jewish- American story, like the story of America itself, which is also marked by bigotry and hatred. Informed by this experience of prejudice, by the scourge of anti-Semitism, the Jewish Americans have worked so that the opportunities they have secured are extended to others. That is part of the Jewish religion. Part of what you do to have a good life is to help others have that good life, too. They have led movements for social justice, demanding civil rights, women's rights, and workers' rights. This work is far from over. Anti-Semitism violence is on the rise. This past weekend, we saw a deranged individual in Buffalo kill 10 African Americans and injure others. He had a hate for African Americans, but he also said he was anti-Semitic. He learned all this over the internet, and he learned a lot of that from rhetoric that has sprung up in different places and political circles around this country. It has spread, and it has influenced people to commit acts of violence.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, for collegiality purposes, I ask to withdraw the motion.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 1125.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Jewish Americans have contributed an immense amount to our country in politics, and in justice, and all fields of science, the arts, and the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, Sandy Koufax. So much has been contributed by the Jewish community, yet there has been much anti-Semitism. There has been anti-Semitism throughout history against Jewish people. It is sad. And it has been rising in America and continues to rise. We saw the killings in Buffalo, New York, aimed at African Americans, but the killer, in his manifesto, said he not only wanted to get rid of and kill African Americans, but he also considered himself anti- Semitic, and indeed he was. He fostered some crazy theory of replacement, some replacement theory that I had not really heard about, and he claimed that Jews were in favor of. Well, that is just malarkey. We need to fight this anti-Semitism, and nobody more than Debbie Wasserman Schultz, our colleague from Florida, has done more to have folks reflect on the contributions of Jewish people during Jewish Heritage Month, which she sponsored and passed and keeps alive, and then the passage of this resolution to bring anti-Semitism to our attention. It is important that we pass this, and that we understand Jewish American Heritage Month, which is this May, while we celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans and we reject hate whenever and wherever it appears. I thank Ms. Wasserman Schultz again--she has done so much, and she is a leader in this area and so many others as well--for bringing this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, May 18, 2022. Hon. Jerrold Nadler, Chair, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chair Nadler: In an effort to work cooperatively and to expedite consideration of H. Res. 1125, Condemning Rising Antisemitism, the Committee on Foreign Affairs agrees to waive formal consideration of the resolution as to the provisions that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Committee on Foreign Affairs takes this action with the mutual understanding that the Committee does not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in H. Res. 1125 or similar legislation, and the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as the resolution or similar legislation moves forward. Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding and ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during Floor consideration of H. Res. 1125. Sincerely, Gregory W. Meeks, Chair.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished leader of the House of Representatives, a gentleman who continues to amaze me each and every day with his vast knowledge, and his big heart, and his love for justice.

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), a great supporter of this resolution and the ideas contained therein.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I close and ask everybody to support this important resolution.

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, what is the rule for having a vote not be done by voice vote but have to go to the floor for a recorded vote? Is it not a majority of the group necessary to have a hearing? The majority of a quorum, it is 20 percent of the quorum, I believe.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is the rules require 20 percent of a quorum to be present to request and have a vote be done by the yeas and nays. Is that not accurate?

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2992.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2992, the TBI and PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act, is bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Justice to develop crisis intervention training tools for law enforcement training agencies so that they can better equip officers to respond to individuals with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. This is important for the training of law enforcement officials. When I was out of law school, my first job as attorney for the police in Memphis, and for 3\1/2\ years I taught the police in the training academy. This was not part of our training, and it should have been. It was before we got woke, and now that we are woke, we should stay woke, and teach officers about this problem and have them be able to identify it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 3.2 million and 5.3 million people live with a traumatic brain injury- related disability in the United States, and approximately 7 percent of Americans will experience such a disorder at some point in their lives. These illnesses are especially common among veterans and servicemembers. Despite the prevalence of TBI and PTSD, many law enforcement officers, and other first responders, are still not adequately trained on how to identify these symptoms. Since many symptoms of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, such as confusion, impaired thinking, or irritability, can be mistaken for intoxication and aggression. Law enforcement can misinterpret the behavior of some people exhibiting those symptoms and deadly consequences could follow for first responders and the people they encounter. This legislation would help ensure that officers are trained to identify those symptoms in order to respond appropriately to crisis calls and to divert individuals toward mental healthcare and treatment and away from the criminal justice system. Through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, agencies have access to training and resources from the Police Mental Health Collaboration toolkit. H.R. 2992 would enhance the existing program to include crisis intervention training on recognizing the signs of these illnesses and responding to the individuals in crisis. It requires the CDC to also study occurrences of concussion and TBI among law enforcement officers and first responders; many of whom suffer from this, and they need to be given treatment, if they are. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Pascrell, who is the leader of the Law Enforcement Caucus and a strong voice for law enforcement. I also thank Mr. Bacon and Mrs. Demings, a law enforcement chief, I believe, and Mr. Rutherford, a sheriff, for their dedication to law enforcement, first responders, and the citizens they serve. This important bipartisan legislation is broadly supported by numerous law enforcement and mental health organizations and would help protect the lives of first responders and the people they encounter. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask everybody to support this important legislation for law enforcement and for mental health. Vote ``aye''. No roll call. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6943) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize public safety officer death benefits to officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I want everyone to vote in favor of this legislation and not to go to the extraordinary efforts of having to have the yeas and nays, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022 is another bipartisan bill that would expand eligibility for public safety officers' benefits to include stress and trauma-related injuries and death by suicide for law enforcement officers and their families. According to research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, public safety officers are 25 times more likely to develop acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other mental health conditions than the general public. They have a tough job. Studies have shown that law enforcement officers could experience more traumatic events in 6 months than the average person will experience in a lifetime. The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, known as PSOB, provides death and education benefits to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders, as well as disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in the line of duty. Currently, this law excludes from eligibility families of officers who die by suicide and does not deem PTSD and other trauma-related disorders to be line-of-duty injuries. This limitation not only fails to recognize that mental health is physical health, but it also prevents the Federal Government from providing support to officers who put their safety and well-being on the line every day for the communities they serve. Former Representative Patrick Kennedy passed a bill to make mental health and physical health parity. He worked with Senator Ted Kennedy to get that done. Why law enforcement wasn't included was a mistake. We are rectifying that mistake today. The Public Safety Officer Support Act would right past wrongs and ensure that families of police officers and first responders receive critical financial assistance as they grieve the loss of their loved ones. It would also ensure that officers who are disabled as a result of traumatic events receive the support and care that they need. This legislation also brings this program into alignment with the provisions of Federal military death benefits for the families of military servicemembers who die by suicide. The need for this worthy and overdue change is even more apparent as we continue to grieve the tragic loss of four police officers who died by suicide after responding to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. They tried to defend us; they did defend us; and they, unfortunately, died by suicide as aftermath effects of January 6. In addition to expanding eligibility for death and disability benefits to officers and their families, this bill will require the GAO to study benefits provided under the expansion. This report will help us better understand the prevalence of traumatic events that law enforcement officers, first responders, and other public safety officers face and the need to further support their mental health needs. I thank Representatives Trone and Reschenthaler for introducing this bipartisan legislation and for their continued support for public safety officers serving communities across the country. This bill is broadly supported by both mental health and law enforcement groups, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Trone), the sponsor of this legislation and a gentleman aware of law enforcement's importance.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig), former ace Commercial Appeal reporter and now Congresswoman from the State of Minnesota.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, this is just one of the things that the Caucus and the Congress have been doing to help make the economy improve and help people deal with problems that COVID has caused us, supply chain and all, which has slowed down the opportunity to get products, and also causes inflation, but having the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to get people training, get them career services, get skills to perform jobs is so important. I think it was Mr. Courtney who mentioned how many more openings we have than people to fill the jobs right now. I went to Walgreens the other day and thought I got there early to get the drive-in, and they said: ``We don't have enough employees to have the drive-in open this morning.'' Everywhere you go, there is need for work, so we need to train people so they can fill the jobs that are made available. I am proud to vote for this bill, reauthorizing the program, which, unfortunately, expired in 2020. This would put us back on track and invest $78 billion over 6 years and retrain millions of workers per year by 2028. Memphis is a proud working-class city, and we must prepare our workforce and our community for the 21st century and for the jobs right now. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act will ensure that critical resources are provided for essential institutions like our Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps Center in Whitehaven. This transformational work should involve all of our local leaders and resources to ensure our programs and solutions are relevant and useful to our community. I offered an amendment, which was accepted, and I appreciate that. It will help ensure the subject matter experts in local agencies, local educators, and community leaders can be included as part of the workforce development boards. We look out for each other in Memphis, and we want to see us move forward in the 21st century. Madam Speaker, I encourage everybody to vote for this bill.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise to support this important legislation that Congressman Wilson and I have cosponsored. We have had bipartisan support on this legislation as well. It is important that we support Ukraine in every way possible. America does not have to give up its blood from our soldiers in this war, we only have to give our treasure. What a bargain that is for America. We supply and help Ukrainians fight the Russians. Putin sees this as a war against America and the West. We are fortunate. Eventually, it would come to NATO lands, and it will be our blood, not just our treasure that we would have to give. The Ukrainians are doing a great job, but they need our help and support. I hope they get airplanes, too. Every bomb that falls on the people in the hospitals and kills innocent lives could be prevented, and we should try to do all we can to prevent it. Madam Speaker, I met today with the President of Georgia. I met with the President of Kosovo. They both are concerned that Putin's got his eyes on their countries as well. And he does. He is looking at the Balkans. He is looking at the Baltic, where I visited Lithuania. I have been to Estonia and Latvia; he desires those countries, too. He wants to put together a repeat of what they had as the great Russian empire. And he won't be stopped unless we do it. If we can do it with Ukrainian men and women fighting, we are lucky and we are fortunate, and we should do all we can to help them. Putin is a bully, and you don't stop a bully with kindness and negotiations. You have to stand up to that person. Stand up to the bully. That is the only thing they understand and respect. We need to continue our sanctions and sanction him into oblivion. We need to support Ukraine or else this war will go on and America will be at risk of being personally involved. Ukraine is the battleground now. America will be next through NATO and other efforts of Putin. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the United States of America.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the one-year anniversary of the passing of Representative Alcee Hastings, a civil rights advocate and active leader of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) for more than twenty years. His work included promoting principled foreign policy, human rights, strengthened democracy across Europe, domestic and international election observations, and diversity and inclusion at all levels of government and foreign policy decision making. Alcee Hastings passed away on April 6, 2021.