Danny Davis

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me commend and thank Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady for their cordiality and the outstanding way in which they have managed the affairs of the Committee on Ways and Means. That is one of the reasons that we are here today, for such an outstanding bipartisan bill, to talk about the welfare of children and families. For struggling families, home visiting is a life-changing experience. Research demonstrates that home visiting works. I have seen these successes in my home city of Chicago, parents and home visitors partnering to tackle big challenges and making children healthier and safer. My friend Jackie Walorski saw home visiting work in her district, too. Jackie was deeply committed to helping vulnerable children and families, and she was my partner in our committee's effort to preserve and strengthen home visiting. I really wish she was here today as we continue with the work that we did together. I also thank our colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee-- Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers, Health Committee Chair Eshoo, and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Guthrie--for their leadership on this bill. The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program for 5 years. Over that 5 years, the bill would double our Federal investment in evidence-based home visiting, bringing home visiting to more families and communities. This bill would more than double our investment in Tribal communities, where so many residents need home visiting but have been left out due to a lack of funding. It would invest in the critical home visiting workforce because it is the support and relationships that home visitors build with mothers, fathers, and children that make home visiting work. And it would ensure that States and territories have reliable, predictable funding and rules so that they can focus on helping more families thrive. The Ways and Means Committee passed this important, bipartisan legislation on a unanimous vote of 41-0. I urge all my colleagues to join us in supporting the bill today, as we work to enact it into law in the coming weeks. I also thank my colleagues at the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees for their input and support on the introduced bill. The bill also has the overwhelming support of home visiting stakeholders, including the Home Visiting Coalition, which endorsed the bill and wrote that it addressed every request the coalition made in a ``thoughtful and productive manner.'' We have an opportunity to make a real difference for children and families across America, and so I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and then work with us to enact the bill this year. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1499, I call up the bill (H.R. 8876) to reauthorize the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 8876.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a fierce defender of poor and disadvantaged people.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me, first of all, thank Dr. Wenstrup for his leadership. And I also thank all of those who have spoken to the virtues of the bill as well as the virtues of Jackie Walorski. I was able to attend her homegoing services, and I can assure you if you were in Mishawaka or South Bend, Indiana, you would hear the same words that have been spoken here today. She was indeed an amazing woman. Mr. Speaker, before I close, I would mention another amazing woman who has been legendary and become legendary in this institution, and that is our dearly beloved Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who has led this body for a number of years. And I think that this can indeed be one of its proudest moments. Mr. Speaker, I close by quoting Erika Beck, who receives home visiting services in Chicago. At one of the hearings Jackie and I held, Ms. Beck said, ``I know that our lives are changed forever and for the better because of Myia, our home visitor. She is helping me and Louis, my husband, help our kids succeed, and she is educating all of us.'' Such is the feeling of those who receive these valuable services. Mr. Speaker, I also take this opportunity to thank all of the organizations and individuals who have joined our fight to continue and expand home visiting. I thank the bipartisan Committee on Ways and Means staff: Staff director Morna Miller, Taylor Downs, Cheryl Vincent, and Andrew Gradison. I also thank the tremendous nonpartisan staff that my staff and I relied on so much throughout this process. Patrick Landers and Karen Lynch at the Congressional Research Service; James Grossman at the Office of Legislative Counsel, and Carolyn Ugolino at the Congressional Budget Office. Mr. Speaker, I also thank my legislative staff director, deputy chief of staff, Dr. Jill Hunter-Williams, who put in so much time, energy, and effort on this bill. I also thank all of us who worked with her. I have had some proud moments in this body, but I can tell you that there is no prouder moment that I have had than to be a force and to suggest when we vote for this bill, for this home visiting opportunity for thousands and thousands of children and mothers and families to experience the help that they need to become everything that America has the potential of helping them to be. Again, Mr. Speaker, it is an excellent piece of legislation. I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), an outstanding gentlewoman that many of us call the pride of the South.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, the almighty God has called to his eternal rest Mr. Lawrence Butler, Jr. Mr. Butler was the only son, one of three children, he had two sisters, Clara Butler Watts and Regina Butler Davis, and after attending Southern University in Baton Rouge Louisiana, he moved to Chicago, where he lived with his Uncle Harrison Shaw. Lawrence fell in love with Chicago and quickly went to work making a life for himself in the windy city. He went to work as a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority and was drafted into the Army where he served as a military policeman. After serving his country, he returned to Chicago and joined the Chicago Police Department. He wore the badge with pride and honor for 34 years and enjoyed protecting and giving back to the city that he so cherished. Lawrence's life truly began when he met and fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Beverly. Lawrence and Beverly married September 21, 1975. Shortly afterwards, they purchased what would become their home, a beautiful Victorian in the historical Austin Shock District. Lawrence and Beverly have two daughters, Mary Ellen and Hilaree. Lawrence and Beverly and their daughters were neighbors of my family for many years, and I treasure their presence in our village and commend Lawrence for his service to our country, our city and our neighborhood where we live, work and pray.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, as the Chairman of the Ways and Means Worker and Family Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Supplemental Security Income Program--or SSI, it is an honor and privilege to recognize the 50th Anniversary of this essential program that serves as our nation's fundamental safety net for low-income seniors and people with disabilities. The charge that a humane society should care for its vulnerable is long-standing. The Chinese philosopher Confucius said: ``In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.'' The Jewish teaching of tzedakah advocates treating every person with righteousness and justice. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, ``As you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.'' And, Mahatma Gandhi indicated that ``the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.'' In the 20th century, our country established and improved programs that created the foundation of a system to care for vulnerable Americans--such as FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, and the hundreds of laws to strengthen these programs. Fifty years ago, many low-income Americans with significant disabilities experienced painful hardship because they lacked the monthly income to support themselves. No federal program met their needs; rather, each state had separate rules for who could receive benefits, for how long, and for how much. In 1972, a Democratic Congress and a Republican President recognized the challenges faced by low-income people with severe disabilities and amended the Social Security Act to replace the inadequate, inconsistent, state support system with a permanent, national benefits program that offers a minimum, monthly income. As a federal program, SSI consolidated several state and federal elderly anti-poverty and disability programs into one program to support the most vulnerable. Today, SSI provides food, shelter, heat in the winter, and dignity to more than 7.6 million American seniors and those with severe disabilities. In Cook County, Illinois, which includes my Congressional District, over 140,000 people rely on SSI to help buy food, pay rent, keep the lights on, and pay out-of-pocket health care costs. Importantly, SSI eligibility often increases eligibility for other important benefits--such as state public assistance, Medicaid, and SNAP--to also assist with critical expenses, like hospital stays, doctors' bills, and prescriptions. In addition to supporting seniors and adults with disabilities, SSI benefits also help many children with disabilities and health conditions access the specialized care and treatment they need. Further, SSI helps compensate for the loss of income that is common for parents managing their children's complex care. Over 33,000 Illinois children receive these vital supports each month. As we reflect on the strengths of SSI, we also must recognize the need for improvement. Given that SSI represents the only income for more than half of SSI recipients, we have a responsibility to ensure that the program truly protects disabled and elderly Americans from poverty and hardship. Further due to our country's history of systemic racism, including in employment and health care, people of color disproportionately experience poverty and disability compared to their peers. Consequently, policymakers need to modernize the SSI program to promote stability for the most vulnerable Americans. We must improve monthly benefits to protect the elderly and disabled from suffering in poverty. We must adjust the asset limits for inflation. Currently, the program caps monthly savings at $2,000 and $3,000 for participating individuals and couples. If we adjusted asset limits for inflation since 1972, the asset cap for individuals would be $9,000. Raising assets limits would allow millions of beneficiaries to appropriately save for emergencies, rather than having to make immoral choices between food or shelter or health. Additionally, we need to increase the outdated income limits that remain the same as they were 50 years ago. In short, we must modernize the SSI program so that it effectively supports the poorest Americans, bolstering dignity and well-being. I am especially proud that, as we mark the 50th anniversary of SSI, my colleagues and I at the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support continue working closely with the Social Security Administration to improve outreach to those missing seniors and people with disabilities as they reopen their field offices, but there is much more we need to do to help reconnect those whom the pandemic disconnected from SSI, either from applying for initial benefits or being separated from current benefits. As we celebrate five decades of the SSI program, I would like to recognize the amazing local disability advocates who tirelessly provide the on-going, vital help for vulnerable individuals in Chicago. These organizations serve as points of access for long-term supports and services, including home health care and assistive technology. They help expand and defend people's rights, including supporting self- advocacy groups and legal assistance. A few of these wonderful organizations are: Access Living The Arc of Illinois Chicago ADAPT Chicago Health Advocates Equip for Equality Health and Disability Advocates Ilinois Council on Developmental Disabilities Illinois Department of Aging Legal Counsel for Health Justice Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities Voices for Illinois Children In closing, I celebrate the first 50 years of the Supplemental Security Income program, and I promise to continue to fight for dignity for our most vulnerable citizens to make SSI's impact even bigger over the next 50 years.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to congratulate Mr. Richard Koepke of Oak Park, Illinois, on his retirement earlier this year from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). With its headquarters in Chicago, ISTSS is the premier, global, interdisciplinary, professional organization promoting the advancement and exchange of knowledge about traumatic stress. As Executive Director of ISTSS for over two decades, Mr. Koepke worked tirelessly with ISTSS leaders to advance the traumatic stress field and promote healing and recovery among survivors of trauma. Prior to joining ISTSS, Mr. Koepke served in other non-profit management roles across Chicago, including with the American Hospital Association and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. As a social worker, Mr. Koepke also provided front-line clinical services for mental health consumers and their families. I join the members of ISTSS in congratulating Mr. Koepke on his outstanding career, and wish him much health and happiness in his well- deserved retirement.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures. If I were present for roll call votes, I would have voted Aye for the following votes: Roll 461, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 4900--SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022. Roll 462, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8466--Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act of 2022, as amended. Roll 463, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 3470--End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act of 2022. Roll 464, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2551--AI Training Act. Roll 465, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 958--Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) Health Care Act. Roll 466, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 6965--Visit America Act, as amended. Roll 467, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 7321--Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act, as amended. Roll 468, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, House Amendment to S. 3662--Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act. Roll 469, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8888--Food Security for All Veterans Act. Roll 470, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2794--Supporting Families of the Fallen Act. Roll 471, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, As Amended, H.R. 8446--Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022, as amended. Roll 472, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 8463--Millennium Challenge Corporation Eligibility Expansion Act. Roll 473, September 29, 2022: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass Certain Bills and Concur in the Senate Amendments on H.R. 8956, H.R. 6967, H.R. 8163, H.R. 4081, H.R. 6889, H.R. 1638, Senate Amendment to H.R. 5641, H.R. 3304, H.R. 8875, H.R. 8510, H.R. 8681, H.R. 4821, S. 1198.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens) as cosponsor of H.R. 8876, the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairwoman for her outstanding leadership of this committee. It has been a pleasure to serve with you and under you and know that your interests go far beyond anything that I have heard this evening. As a matter of fact, the Census is very important for far more reasons than just apportionment or just for looking at one issue or looking at immigration. I guess I have been involved in Census-taking for about 40 years, and every 10 years we go through this angst in my community, whether or not we are going to get a fair and accurate count, whether or not the people who are there are going to be counted so that resources which come as a result will flow back to the area. Well, that has not happened. And even after the expressions of the last round, it was determined that there were undercounts, that there were people missed. And so everything that we can do to try and make sure that the Census taken is fair, accurate, and comprehensive, we need to do that.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chair, as the designee of the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), I rise to offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support these amendments. Black, Latino, and indigenous communities all were significantly undercounted in the 2020 Census. One of the key provisions of this bill is to codify the Bureau's National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations in order to help reduce these undercounts. Ms. Jackson Lee's amendment will enhance this objective by ensuring there is a senior employee within the Census Bureau who is dedicated to enhancing racial and ethnic equity in the decennial Census. The Constitution requires an enumeration that is fair and complete, one in which all people are counted so that all communities obtain the representation and services that they deserve. This amendment will help achieve that. I also support the amendment offered by Representative Case, which requires the Census Bureau to submit a report to Congress on the agency's process for consulting and engaging with jurisdictions and local partners in conducting the decennial Census. We know that certain communities are traditionally harder to count, including groups that are mistrustful of the government, students and transient populations, minority communities, migrant communities, and communities with unique geographic challenges. Engaging with local stakeholders is essential to reaching these communities and ensuring that the Census counts everyone in the United States, regardless of where they live. This amendment will increase transparency around the Bureau's process for engaging with jurisdictions and local partners and ensure that Congress and the American people can support the Census Bureau in this crucial effort. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the Hice amendment.