Judy Chu

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Yesterday, Congressman Paul Ryan introduced the Republican Party's fiscal year 2012 road-to-ruin budget. We have been back to work in the House for 14 weeks. And for 14 straight weeks, the Republican majority has done nothing to create jobs. They haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor. In fact, their proposed spending bill for 2011 actually costs America 700,000 jobs. Now, Congressman Ryan and the Republican leadership want to extend their job-killing policies and permanently eliminate the middle class. The Republicans' road to ruin is nothing short of an attack on working families, seniors, students, and children. It attacks America's seniors by ending the Medicare guarantee and putting your fate in the hands of private insurance companies. It attacks America's workers by not doing anything to create jobs and by gutting job training. It attacks America's students by cutting education and raising college costs for nearly 10 million students. Now, no matter what side of the aisle we are on, we can all agree that deficit reduction is important. But the question is how do we do it. What we can't do is balance the budget on the backs of America's middle class, our seniors, our students, and our children. But I do know some things we can't afford. At a time when middle class families can't pay their bills, we can't afford to keep spending billions in subsidies for Big Oil and giveaways for special interests. At a time when our senior population is growing, we can't afford to slash funding for nursing homes and put health insurance companies back in control of health care. At a time when our economy needs an infusion of the best and brightest workers, we can't afford to cut public education while protecting tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas and spending billions of dollars in tax breaks on people already making upward of half a million dollars. A budget isn't just about dollars and cents; it's about priorities and values. And as representatives of the American people, our priorities and values should reflect their values: Jobs, a secure retirement, the promise of educational opportunity, and the certainty that if your child is sick then you will be able to afford to see the doctor. If you vote for this bill, then who amongst us could go home and look senior citizens in the eye knowing we ended Medicare as we know it? Who could look an unemployed worker in the eye knowing we didn't do anything to create jobs? Who could look a student in the eye knowing we took away their opportunity to succeed with a quality education? I want to reduce our deficit. I know it's vital for our fiscal future. But I also want to look my constituents in the eye and tell them I stood up for their priorities and not those of Big Oil, international corporations, and special interests. The truth is we can do both. We can get our deficit under control. And we can do it without cuts that hurt hardworking families.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Yesterday, House leadership pushed through H.R. 471. I voted ``no'' because it does nothing to create jobs, hurts public education, and adds to the national deficit. We have been back to work in the House for 13 weeks, and for 13 straight weeks the Republican majority has done nothing to create jobs. They haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor. In fact, their proposed spending bill actually costs America 700,000 jobs. Now, Speaker Boehner has brought his own pet project bill to the House floor that imposes his desire to privatize public education in the District of Columbia, and he doesn't even represent the District. This bill would reauthorize the failed Washington, D.C., private school voucher program and open it to new students, funneling millions in new Federal spending to private schools at taxpayer expense. And yet, for the last 5 years, the voucher program has proven to be flawed and ineffective. The voucher program has not been successful in raising student academic achievement. It has had no impact on student motivation and engagement. The program has had no effect on student satisfaction with their schools or on whether students view their schools as safe and orderly. And voucher students were less likely to have access to important services, such as programs for English language learners, programs for students with learning problems, counseling, and tutoring. Vouchers are an experiment that has been tried and has failed. This anti-education bill comes at a time when the Republican leadership is proposing drastic reductions in Federal spending, including a House-passed bill slashing billions from core education programs. Vouchers are not real education reform. They don't solve problems. They ignore them. Rather than offering an empty promise for a few, we should be ensuring that every child has access to a great public school. And instead of taking money out of public schools for private schools, Congress should be investing in strategies to improve school achievement. Our focus should be on strategies proven to increase student achievement, such as increasing parental involvement, strengthening teacher training, and reducing class size. And our goal should be to prepare all students for the jobs of the future, not to allow a few students and parents to choose a private school at taxpayer expense. When public schools are struggling and teachers are being laid off, the last thing we need is to spend scarce taxpayer funds on private schools. And that's exactly what this legislation will do. Speaker Boehner's bill will increase the deficit by $300 million, $300 million that could go towards making sure America's public school students and public school teachers have the resources they need to succeed. Speaker Boehner's bill offers no offsets. It is an ideological effort to recreate a program that was ended years ago because it did not work. It is time for Republicans to stop playing political games with our public education and America's economic future. And so I ask my colleagues across the aisle to join with Democrats to reduce the deficit, protect our public schools, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, the effects of the foreclosure crisis and economic downturn have had a devastating impact on American families. Because of shoddy business practices and enormous risks taken by big banks, our housing and financial systems have utterly collapsed. And in the wake of this destruction, millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes and their quality of life. As the casualties rose and homeowners clamored for some relief, the government stepped in to do what it could. But with the scope of the problem, government foreclosure relief programs alone just aren't enough. We should do more--more to fix the housing market and more especially to create jobs, because putting people back to work will do more to right our economy, help people pay their mortgages and get the banks back to lending than anything else. But the Republican House leadership hasn't gotten the message. In the last 10 weeks since the Republicans took control of the House, they haven't created a single job. What's worse, they haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor. Instead of creating jobs, they are slashing them. The GOP spending plan eliminates 700,000 jobs and stifles economic growth. Rather than moving the Nation forward, they are forcing America backward. And this week is no different. Republicans are making things worse for American families as they continue their assault on the middle class. They want to completely abolish four programs designed to help homeowners keep their houses and avoid foreclosure. Republicans have no interest in making these programs work better for the American people. By offering nothing in their place, the GOP is simply abandoning hardworking homeowners who are underwater and struggling to find jobs to pay the bills. Now, we all know that government foreclosure programs are not perfect. But why are we completely dismantling programs that have helped thousands of Americans stay in their homes? Though not perfect, why are we targeting the victims of the foreclosure and financial crises instead of helping them by fixing these programs? There's a lot that we can do better without giving up on people like Francisco. Francisco is from Duarte in my district. After a year, he was underwater, and, at the height of the recession, he tried to modify his home loan. He visited his servicer and was pushed back and forth between customer representatives. After 2 years of fighting for help, he only had four pieces of mail from the lender to show for it. He was eventually denied the modification, and he can't even appeal the decision. And though we should be doing more to help him, the Republican plan of doing nothing means that he is completely out of luck. Commonsense improvements can be made to make the government foreclosure program better, ones that could provide relief to Francisco. Take the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP. Simple fixes like having a case manager assigned to each case will allow for better communication between the customer and the bank. If a customer is denied a loan modification, it would be more effective to appeal the decision instead of having to reapply all over again. And we can do more to provide incentives for banks to complete modifications and ensure that servicers complete due diligence before denying modifications. These are reasonable solutions that servicers have been slow to adopt, if at all. And if we don't make changes to these programs and instead just throw them away, what will struggling homeowners be left with? They will be left to the banks whose bad policies caused this financial crisis in the first place. They will be left with unstable communities strewn with abandoned homes, and they will be left without a home and no one to turn to for help. It sounds like Republicans would rather return to old policies that we know don't work rather than trying to fix the policies we know that can work. Struggling Americans deserve better than that.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. So be it. That's what Republicans are saying to 700,000 American workers who will be needless casualties of their gutting and slashing funding bill. So be it. That's the Republican attitude to a government shutdown if they don't force more cuts, destroying more jobs. So be it. That's the Republican message to one out of every eleven Americans struggling to find work. The GOP continuing resolution does nothing to create jobs. In fact, it takes a step backward, weakening our economic recovery. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. Over the last 8 weeks since the Republicans took over control of the House, they haven't created a single job. What's worse, they haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor. So while Republicans say so be it, I say stop the war on working families and show me the jobs.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Thirty thousand. That's how many people were violently slaughtered by the Mexican drug cartels in just 4 short years. One of them was Bobby Salcedo, an American citizen and rising star from my district. He was kidnapped and murdered last year with a semiautomatic rifle. I oppose this amendment because it makes it harder to stop these types of violent acts. This amendment will prevent the tracing of bulk sales of the military-style rifles, popular with cartels, that have resulted in tragic murders like Bobby's. Last year, the U.S. military announced that, if the drug war continues, it could cause the Mexican Government to collapse, and the cartel war could spread over the border into the U.S. This amendment makes the drug war worse. Every day, people are dying from this war, even American citizens. We must stop it, and we can by opposing this amendment.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Ms. CHU. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I rise to support Mrs. Lowey's amendment to restore title X funding. At a time when we need to come together around jobs and the economy, the Republicans are, instead, focusing on bills attacking women's health. The Republican gutting and slashing spending plan isn't about Federal funding; it's about undermining women. This bill is an unprecedented display of disrespect for American women and shows no concern for their health. And all this raises the key question: Isn't the Republicans' real goal here just to end women's access to birth control? Preventing unintended pregnancies and thus the need for abortion should be a goal on which both pro-choice and anti-choice lawmakers should agree. But the Republicans' anti-women continuing resolution includes language that dismantles Federal funding for family planning, attacks successful organizations that provide critical women's health care, and jeopardizes women's access to affordable birth control. Now, this is a program that affects real people, and these drastic cuts will only hurt American women when they need help paying for these basic services the most. Title X funding helped Shania, a woman who received care at Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles. She learned a terrible lesson when her mother broke her hip, was brought to the hospital, and then was discovered to have stage 5 cervical cancer, too late for a cure. But thanks to Planned Parenthood, her daughter is with us today, because after learning about her mother's illness, doctors urged Shania to get checked for the same diseases. Unemployed and without health insurance, she couldn't afford to go to a regular doctor. Instead, she walked into that clinic, which indeed did the testing and found her cervical cancer early enough to save her life. Title X funding helped Beth, a volunteer soldier in our military who put her life on the line for our country. But in the military, they do not provide family planning services for our hardworking servicewomen, forcing them to look elsewhere for the care they need and deserve. When Beth needed help, Planned Parenthood and the title X fund was there for her even when the military wasn't, and she was able to get the help she needed for birth control. This Federal money is a critical health care safety net for women around the country. It has helped improve the quality of women's health, given women free choice, and saved lives. What will Republicans tell Shania when she can no longer get the lifesaving checkups she needs? What will they tell Beth when she no longer has access to her reproductive choices despite serving her country? It is clear that the real Republican agenda is to roll over women's health and steal away their rights. This Congress and this bill should be about creating jobs, not attacking American women. Instead of working on the economy, Republicans are working to limit women's choices. Instead of doing the bidding of ideological extremists, let's address the true needs of the American people. I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment No. 111 Offered by Mr. Barletta

Ms. CHU. I move to strike the last word.

Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I rise in support of Ms. Bordallo's amendment and to protest the gutting and slashing of more than $6 million for the insular areas. This will hurt American families and communities all across the country, from the Northern Mariana Islands to the northern border of Maine. It hits our outlying territories particularly hard and the American citizens and families who live and work there. This bill takes more than 7 percent out of the Assistance to Territories Account which funds critical programs at the local level in Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These communities have unique needs and this account helps them address those. It helps fund disaster mitigation programs, particularly important in low-lying islands susceptible to tropical storms. It helps ensure a strong and robust judiciary in American Samoa, a crucial program to ensure that the American Constitution and U.S. laws are upheld in every corner of our Nation. It helps these areas make needed infrastructure repairs, which creates jobs that are critical during this tough economic time. This amendment would restore this funding; and just because these communities may be farther away does not mean that they are any less American and in any less need of the services this funding provides. Just because these communities are farther away does not mean that the slashing of programs will go unnoticed. As chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I want to express my strong support for the amendment offered by Ms. Bordallo and oppose the cuts to the Assistance to Territories Account offered by the Republican majority in H.R. 1. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CHU. Mr. Chair, I rise today to strongly support investing in America's future. I rise to present the Chu-Moore-Jackson Lee amendment to restore full funding to the Pell Grant program. With this CR, the Republicans slashed the very funding that ensures every American has the opportunity to go to college. H.R. 1 does something that is shocking, especially in these tough economic times. It deprives millions of students of the financial support that they need to go to college. At a time when people are losing jobs, when people can't find jobs, when people are scared about whether they have a future, Republicans are cutting Pell Grant financial aid by 15 percent for students across the board. This is an astounding number. If the Republicans gut this program, there will be 9 million students who will have cuts in their financial aid, endangering their ability to go to college. It is the largest cut in student financial aid in history. This will hit the neediest students hardest. In California, my home State, one-third of undergraduates--nearly 65,000 students--get this money for college. And most come from families making less than $30,000 a year. But this is about more than just numbers and statistics. This is about real people and real students, whose real futures are at stake. Students like Chris Hamm who attends the University of Cincinnati. Chris' Pell Grant pays for a quarter of his college tuition. Without this money, Chris doesn't think he will be able to afford school and will be forced to drop out, leaving him few options in this tough economy. Today, we know we are no longer in an arms race. Today, we are in a brains race. Every year, we are falling further and further behind other countries. Fewer Americans are getting a college degree compared to those from other countries. We don't have all the science, math, and talent we need to compete. America's ability to remain competitive in a global modern economy hinges on our ability to encourage and grow a highly educated workforce. Gutting Pell Grants in this bill will only compound our future economic challenges and undermine the dream that we have for our young people to join the middle class. Pell Grants aren't just an investment in an individual student but an investment in the future of our Nation. We need a comprehensive approach that makes strategic cuts in investments with an eye to the future. Instead, the Republicans are taking a meat ax to programs that are crucial to American competitiveness. This strategy is senseless and it is tragic. It is tantamount to telling our young people, You will not have a future. Instead, we must win the future by out-innovating, out-building, and out-educating the world. We must train all Americans from every class and background to succeed in the economy of tomorrow. We must give them the financial aid that they need. So I ask Members to support this amendment and restore Pell Grant funding to our students. I yield back the balance of my time. Point of Order

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. I rise today to oppose this rule. The underlying bill will extend provisions of the Patriot Act that continue to deny Americans their civil liberties. Mr. Speaker, we should not be extending these provisions. We should be fixing them. A delay even of 3 months will only incur more violations of the civil rights of American citizens. Take the so-called ``roving wiretaps,'' which allow our government to spy on a nebulous array of people and technology. If the FBI wants to wiretap a phone, they don't even have to know who they're listening to. They don't even have to get a court's permission to tap a phone before they start listening. Now, last year, I voted on a bill that would at a minimum require the government to name the place or person they want to listen to. But does this bill include that simple protection? No. These provisions, including the provision to allow the FBI to access your private information, even the books that you read, make a mockery of our civil liberties--letting the government spy on whomever they want for any reason without letting Americans know or without giving them a chance to challenge that order in court. It has been a full decade since these overly broad provisions were passed, and I don't think we should extend them without commonsense changes. We need to fix them and fix them now and protect American privacy and personal information from government overreach. So I urge the other side to come back to the table and work with us on a bill that protects our national security without undermining Americans' civil liberties and constitutional rights. And if they can't find a way to work with us on a bipartisan basis to protect the American people, then all of my colleagues should oppose this rule and the underlying bill.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. This Saturday, Japanese Americans will take a moment to remember the tragic events that imprisoned their community 69 years ago. In 1942, President Roosevelt signed one of the strongest acts against American citizens, Executive Order 9066, imprisoning 120,000 Japanese Americans with the stroke of a pen. Half of those incarcerated were children posing no threat to our national security. But these concentration camps were labeled a military necessity, and so they, too, were rounded up and forced to live their childhood in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Families were forced out of their homes, made to leave their jobs and abandon their positions. Families were torn apart. This unconstitutional act was a blatant violation of Americans' civil rights. And all of this occurred at the hands of our government oppressing individual freedom for years without any factual basis and without due process. That is why I plan to introduce a bill tomorrow to institute a National Day of Remembrance to annually observe the signing of Executive Order 9066. This brings back painful memories of a period in American history, but it is important for us to remember because it also provides an ongoing reminder about the value of protecting the civil rights of all people. The Day of Remembrance also honors all who fought and continued to fight for freedom and equality among all people. So this Saturday, I will take a moment also to remember this time and to hope for a better future.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment because it doesn't do anything to create jobs. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. Over the last 6 weeks since the Republicans took over control of the House, they haven't created a single job. In fact, they haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor. With this mindless job-killing Republican spending bill, they are hurting the American people. This bill senselessly cuts over 1 million jobs at a time when we need them most, at a time when we can least afford it. This is nothing more than a Republican pink slip for America. This bill doesn't get our broken American economy back on track. Instead, Republicans are hitting American workers where it hurts. These merciless Republican cuts mean, if you work in manufacturing, no jobs; if you are a cop, no jobs; if you are a nurse, no jobs; if you are a teacher, no jobs; if you are a firefighter, no jobs; if you are a construction worker, no jobs. Republicans aren't just ignoring jobs. They are slashing them. And that means pink slips for Americans across the country and across almost every industry. If we aren't helping real Americans, where is this money going? Right into the pockets of big defense contractors. While Americans across the country are finding themselves out of work due to mindless Republican spending cuts, the military industrial complex will actually be making more money. While they slash jobs and safety net programs, Republicans are actually increasing funding to the Department of Defense by $10 billion. This spending is excessive and way out of proportion with the needs of the American people. Even Defense Secretary Gates has found $100 billion in cuts and savings to the Department of Defense while still keeping America safe. That's the entire cost of the job-killing cuts Republicans are asking for here today. Instead of expanding our economy and growing the middle class, Republicans want to make you, the American people, pay. They want to make you pay to line the pockets of defense contractors, make you pay for Big Oil's billion-dollar subsidies, make you pay for higher drug prices, make you pay taxes to start a small business, make you pay for CEO salaries, make you take a hit while Wall Street gets a bonus. We need to look out for constituents first, not corporate friends. And this bill isn't even about reducing deficits, because we all know that the best way to reduce the deficit is to put Americans to work, not carelessly gut government programs. Instead, we need to rebuild America and focus on winning the future. Today's bill is a choice between cutting the deficit or putting Americans back to work, and I am voting for jobs. We need to invest in our Nation so that we can out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. I want to see the words ``Made in America'' again. The American people voted for jobs, and all they are getting with this gutting and slashing funding proposal are pink slips. This is a heartless and careless plan that cuts real American jobs and hurts real American families. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. So far the Republican majority hasn't created a single job. In fact, they haven't even put a jobs bill on the House floor. Instead, they are focusing on partisan priorities that just don't help the country come out of this recession. Instead of putting people back to work, they are restricting women's reproductive rights. Next week they will gut Title X funding for family planning. This Federal money is a critical health care safety net for women around the country. It has helped improve the quality of women's health, given women free choice, and also saved lives. Title X helps low-income women afford Pap smears and STD testing. It helps reduce unintended births and abortions. And who doesn't want to do that? It's month 1; and instead of working on the economy, they are working to limit women's personal choices. Instead of doing the bidding of ideological extremists, let's join together and address the real needs of the American people--jobs.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. I rise today to oppose House Resolution 72. This is a meaningless gimmick that only wastes time. While I do not oppose its spirit, I do oppose spending House floor time debating a bill that is wholly and completely redundant. It is already the job of committees to review Federal regulations and laws, and, in fact, the Committee on Small Business has been actively doing this. But this bill doesn't do one thing to help small business. It does nothing to actually reduce real regulatory burden on small businesses. It does not reduce paperwork nor limit government requirements on the business community. In fact, it only sets up a bureaucratic process here in Congress with a goal of producing an inventory of regulations, something we already do. We have already passed strong bills, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and, most recently, the Dodd-Frank bill, which sets up a very strong protection, something that has not been done before. The Consumer Protection Agency must meet with small businesses before any new regulation is passed. So why aren't we doing something to actually help small business come out from this tough recession? Why haven't we voted on a single bill creating jobs since the Republicans took over the majority? Why haven't we voted on a single bill to help small businesses? Small businesses are responsible for two-thirds of net new jobs. But if this resolution is the best we can do, small businesses will have to wait a long time for real relief, and that's not good enough for our economy or the American people.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to City of Hope for reaching a milestone achievement, as its doctors performed their 10,000th bone marrow transplant, on January 13, 2011. City of Hope is one of the first biomedical research institutions in the world to reach this milestone. They give people battling diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma with a second chance at life. City of Hope is a biomedical research, treatment and education center located in my district, the 32nd California Congressional district. Since its founding in 1913, City of Hope has achieved numerous scientific breakthroughs and pioneered many lifesaving procedures that benefit patients worldwide. It is one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers, the highest designation bestowed by the National Cancer Institute. This institution is a pioneer in the field of bone marrow transplantation. In the nearly 35 years since City of Hope physicians performed one of the nation's first successful bone marrow transplants, the institution has helped transplantation evolve into a gold standard treatment for several diseases. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants typically include intensive high-dose chemotherapy and radiation, followed by weeks or even months of recovery in the hospital. The return on these hundreds of hours of treatment is the possibility of a renewed life cured of the disease. City of Hope scientists continue to make transplants safer and more effective, and help extend the length and quality of patients' lives. New transplant procedures are improving cure rates, extending the procedure to older patients and expanding the use of transplants to diseases beyond leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. As an example, researchers at City of Hope are developing a transplant based gene therapy for AIDS-related cancers that may be able to treat both the cancer and the HIV infection. Today, City of Hope has one of the largest and most successful bone marrow transplant programs in the country. It is because of their dedicated physicians, nurses, and researchers who have helped transplantation evolve from an investigational procedure into a lifesaving treatment for people here and around the world. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing City of Hope for reaching their 10,000th bone marrow transplant and providing hope to so many cancer patients--and their loved ones-- worldwide.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, 112th Congress, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to City of Hope, a renowned biomedical research and treatment center in my district. On January 13, City of Hope reached a milestone few in the world have ever achieved. Doctors performed their 10,000th bone marrow transplant, 34 years after they completed one of the most successful transplants ever, and it was the first. But this is more than just another milestone. This is a time to remember the thousands of children and adults who have benefited from City of Hope. Patients like Rodrigo Nunez, a Mexican immigrant who, at the age of 17, became ill. After a transplant and the kindness of the community, he graduated from college. He has proudly spent over two decades as a nurse at City of Hope. Please join me in congratulating City of Hope for their achievement and wish them luck on the next 10,000.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. The health care repeal act will hurt many people, but especially seniors. It raises cost for prescriptions and preventive care. It weakens Medicare. And it takes away your freedom to make your own decisions, returning your health back to the hands of insurance companies. At the start of this year, seniors began receiving free preventive services such as mammograms and an annual exam, while, if repeal succeeds, good-bye free check-ups and free life-saving tests. Today, seniors in the Medicare doughnut hole are getting half off many brand-name drugs; but if repeal passes, your prescription drugs are going to double. And those who get a $250 check to help cover high drug costs might even have to pay it back. The original health reform bill extended Medicare's life until 2029; but if we repeal it, the Medicare Trust Fund becomes insolvent in 6 short years. The Patients Rights Repeal Act hurts seniors. It's dangerous for America's health.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, this weekend, a horrible tragedy befell the city of Tucson, the State of Arizona and the Nation. One of our own, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, was doing her duty as a Member of Congress. She was out in the neighborhood, talking face to face with her constituents about their concerns and their problems. ``Congress on Your Corner'' was an event she had done before with success and she wanted to start the New Year with an open door to her constituents. When she arrived at the local Safeway, dressed in a red blazer, black slacks and black pumps, she greeted those in attendance, hugged each of her staff and gave a short speech. Then, constituents began asking questions, getting their photo taken, and asking for help. It was then, only minutes after the event began, that a young man, armed with a semiautomatic handgun with 33 deadly rounds, directly faced Gabby and shot her point blank in the head. But he didn't pause; he kept shooting. With such rapid fire, those waiting in line to speak to Gabby had no chance to escape his wrath. What happened in Tucson was not just about unspeakable tragedy. It was about heroic actions. When the gunman turned to flee, a brave but wounded bystander grabbed the shooter, as others came to his aid. One courageous older woman, Patricia Maisch, tried to wrestle a second magazine full of another 33 deadly bullets from him to protect others from his indiscriminate gunfire. She began shouting at him, even as she remained in danger. She raised the questions many of us asked when we heard of his horrible actions: ``How could you be so hateful? How could you do this?'' As the paramedics and emergency responders attended to the scene, the true sorrow of the event became clear. Twenty patriotic Americans were shot, many severely. Six of them lost their lives for no reason other than that they participated in the democratic process. This tragedy has touched our Nation to its very core. The fact that this horrific event would occur during such an open democratic event has chipped away at our innocence as a country. The fact that some would rather turn to bullets instead of words to address differing opinions makes us feel as though our democratic process is under siege. However, it is my hope that the lives of those six brave souls will not be lost in vain, and that we can become even stronger as a Nation. Our Nation was founded on the premise that the American people have the right to elect their own leaders, to have their voices heard, and have a say in their own government. We fought, and many died, to protect that right. And no one is allowed to take that away from us. The American democratic process should not be one of anger and hateful words, but of discourse and discussion. After all our country has been through to protect our freedoms, we must maintain respect for one another and understand that the ability to share differing opinions is at the core of what makes our Nation so great. So it is in the spirit of respect and democracy that I support this resolution. My prayers go out to the families of the victims, all of the survivors, and to my friend Gabby Giffords, for a speedy and full recovery. To those who lost loved ones, words simply cannot express my feelings of sadness at such a devastating loss.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the reading of the American Constitution on the Floor of the House of Representatives. Our founding fathers spent nearly four months debating the original Constitution during the summer of 1787. They spent the following two and a half years securing the support of each of the thirteen original colonies. Since the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, the Constitution has been debated and successfully amended a total of 27 times. Today, we take an important step by recognizing this important history of debate and change. When it was originally drafted, the American Constitution laid out a framework of government that reflected their best of understanding of the world as it existed in 1787. That document included many important insights and compromises, but the drafters realized that the Constitution--and the great Nation it created--would only last if the Constitution could adapt and change to meet the challenges of the day. That is why the drafters included a mechanism in the Constitution to change the very document they spent months crafting. As we are all aware, the first exercise of this amendment mechanism concluded in December 1791 when our young Country ratified the Bill of Rights. Those ten amendments embody some of our most important protections from government power including the freedom of speech, protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the guarantee of due process. During the 19th and 20th Centuries the American people amended the Constitution by adding to Congress's express constitutional powers and ensuring Congress has all the tools necessary to address national problems and protect the rights of all Americans. Shortly after the U. S. Civil War, the Constitution was amended to abolish slavery, guarantee the equal protection of the law to all Americans, and guaranteeing the right to vote. With these changes, ``We the People'' expanded the power to Congress to protect the promises of freedom and equality for all Americans. I could go on, but my point is not to give a history of the Constitution but to explain how the Constitution has changed for the better. Without these changes, a Chinese-American woman, like me, would never be able to vote in this Country much less serve as a member of Congress. With these powers, Congress has not only been given great power by the American people, it has also been given great responsibility. That responsibility includes ensuring that all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, creed, gender, gender identification, or sexual orientation, have the opportunity to pursue their own version of happiness. I welcome this reading today as a symbol of the Constitution as a living document. Our understanding of the Constitution is constantly changing and evolving just as the words of the constitution have changed over time. If anything has remained constant, it is the principles espoused by that great document. Those principles ensure that we will have a representative government, ``of the people, by the people, and for the people,'' and that this government will protect the core values of liberty, equality, and opportunity. I look forward to working with my friends across the aisle to ensure this Congress uses its broad powers to promote these values.

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. ``A quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.''

Ms. CHU

Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, I was absent on December 22, 2010. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 847--James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.