Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. Oversight of the Unaccompanied Alien Children program has been and will continue to be critical under my watch as chair of this subcommittee. To be fair, my good friend, Mr. Cole, was also very supportive of our efforts to get reporting requirements in last year's Labor-HHS appropriations bill and in the end-of-year bill as well. If there is information that we are missing that we need in order to make better decisions about how this program is funded, I will work with my friend, Mr. Beyer, to get the best information we can from ORR. Congress and this Appropriations Committee will be vigilant in its oversight role of the Unaccompanied Alien Children program. And to those who will grandstand about their concern of the fate of these children who are in our custody, I say the following: Where were you? Where were your voices when children were separated from their families at the border? Not only that, when you take your clothes to the cleaners, you get a claim check. When you check your baggage at an airport, you get a claim check. If you go to a restaurant and leave your coat, you get a claim check. This administration had no claim check for the children they took away from their families. And to date, there may be youngsters who will never be reunited with their families because of this administration's policy. Where were they? Where were you? Crying out in help for these children. Don't come forward now and be political in what you are doing. We are going to provide humanitarian assistance, as we have in 2019 and in this budget, $1.8 billion, and moving forward with a supplemental. You have been silent, silent over these years because where are you now? I support the gentleman's amendment. I support the gentleman's amendment. Parliamentary Inquiry

Ms. DeLAURO. I will direct them to the Chair. Where were they? I support the gentleman's amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. I share the gentlewoman's concern about the lack of healthcare providers, especially in rural and underserved areas across the Nation. This bill provides an increase of $138 million for programs to support training for the next generation of healthcare providers. For example, the bill provides additional resources to support nurse training, including a new $20 million nurse practitioner residency training program. The bill increases funding for Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education by $25 million. The bill increases funding for Area Health Education Centers to expand the reach of healthcare networks and improve healthcare delivery in rural and underserved areas. The bill also includes two new programs, authorized last year in the SUPPORT Act, to support the mental health and substance use disorder workforce. All of these programs focus on the areas of practice and populations most in need across the country. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. Madam Chair, we know suicide is devastating our communities across the country; 47,000 deaths in 2017. The underlying bill that we are considering includes $20 million of new funding for suicide prevention efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and also at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This amendment increases funding for efforts to prevent suicide among youth at the places that many of them can be found: colleges and universities, youth-serving organizations. Through training and activities aimed at identifying youth at risk for suicide, screenings and the connection to appropriate services are preventing suicides and suicide attempts. The underlying bill that we consider tonight shows my interest and that I strongly support suicide prevention efforts. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this effort.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. We established over and over again this evening how suicide is devastating our communities across this country. While depression and other mental health conditions are a significant risk factor for suicide, less than half of the people who die from suicide have a known mental health condition. The underlying bill that we are considering tonight includes $10 million for a new effort at the CDC to explore the leading mechanisms of suicide deaths and identify prevention strategies to reduce deaths by suicide. This amendment increases the funding for this effort by $2 million to specifically focus on youth suicide awareness, research, and prevention efforts. I am committed to suicide prevention, and I appreciate the gentleman's support for the efforts that are focused on our youth. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman, and I rise in support of my colleague's amendment. As children detained at the border face increased medical needs, this amendment perfects the bipartisan provision that was included in last year's Labor-HHS bill, which allowed the Department to accept donations to assist in providing basic medical care and support for children in the Office of Refugee Resettlement's care. I believe it was an amendment by our colleague Representative Cuellar of Texas. The Congresswoman's proposal to include early childhood developmental screenings is a great one for those generous volunteers who want to help these children while they are in ORR's care. I also want to emphasize that we will not allow HHS or its grantees to abdicate any of their responsibilities to meet the standards that are set in law to care for these children. On numerous occasions, we, in fact, found, that the care was less than what was required by the agreement struck in 1997.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I strongly support the efforts of local groups to provide comfort to those suffering, and I commend the Congresswoman for her amendment. I might also add, for those who are speaking loudly about their support for children at the border, my colleague on the other side of the aisle voted ``no'' on the FY appropriations Labor-HHS bill, which provided $1.3 billion for dealing with the children at the border.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in support of this amendment. Our country is facing medical provider shortages in many critical fields of care, including primary care. These shortages have a disproportionate impact in communities of color and in rural areas. The bill includes an increase of $138 million to support the Health Resources and Services Administration's health workforce programs, which are designed to fill gaps in the supply of health professionals in the areas with the most need. These programs prepare the next generation of healthcare providers with the goal of improving access to and quality of care. The gentlewoman's amendment will build further on these efforts, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chairwoman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and rise in support of this amendment. I just want to commend the gentlewoman for her commitment and dedication to rural America and to her community. The success of HHS programs to address rural health is enhanced when programs coordinate with other agencies that have a related mission. The committee report encourages the Health Resources and Services Administration, to coordinate--HRSA is a part of Health and Human Services--to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its forthcoming rural health liaison, which has been determined by the farm bill, to ensure communities have access to the spectrum of Federal resources available to them, to ensure that these resources are managed effectively and efficiently, and that people who are living in rural communities are not isolated and without the services they need for themselves and for their families, whether it be health, or whether it be broadband, whether it be a variety of other areas, to allow people to be able to have a good quality of life in some of the most remote areas. I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chairwoman, I rise in support of this bipartisan amendment in grants to States under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA. My colleague is right that the Federal Government has never met its commitment to special education, which is why the underlying bill includes $13.4 billion for IDEA Grants to States, a $1 billion increase over fiscal year 2019. This increase reflects the largest increase to the program in more than a decade. I am deeply concerned that the Federal share of the excess cost of educating students with disabilities has declined in recent years and intend for this historic investment to play a critical role in helping to reverse that trend. I appreciate that the amendment draws attention to this important program. I am happy to support it, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. The career and technical education program helps ensure that high school and community college students are well-prepared for further education and employment in high-skill and high-demand jobs in the 21st-century economy. Research by the conservative American Enterprise Institute found that students who take career and technical education credits in high school were more likely to be employed full time a decade later than those who did not. The adult basic literacy education program provides education and literacy assistance to low-skilled Americans, enabling them to acquire foundational reading, math, and English skills as well as career readiness skills for employment or transition to advanced postsecondary education. That is why the Labor-HHS bill provides an increase of $77 million for CTE and adult education, for a total of $2 billion, to further support the work that these critical programs do. Today, 70 percent of the people in the United States do not have a 4- year liberal arts college degree. We need to make sure that this 70 percent has the opportunity to realize their dreams and aspirations and provide them with educational opportunities that will give them and their families economic security for their futures. I appreciate that the amendment draws attention to these important issues, and I am happy to support it.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of Congresswoman Porter's amendment. It increases funding for the Senior Medicare Patrol program by $2 million. It provides important outreach, counseling, and education to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to detect and report fraud, a critical program. It protects seniors as well as taxpayers from criminal fraud, reaches nearly 2 million beneficiaries per year, and returns millions of dollars in savings to the Treasury. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. First of all, let me say a ``thank you'' to our colleague, the gentlewoman, for having the courage to tell her own story in such a public way. Intimate partner violence is a serious public health problem. It affects millions of women and men across the country. The HRSA strategy to address intimate partner violence focuses on agency- and system-wide efforts to improve the awareness about this violence, screening, and treatment. The related Project Catalyst is supporting these efforts at the State level. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the gentlewoman's amendment, which adds this requirement for monthly ACA enrollment information to be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, preferred language, age, and sex. The amendment will help States and their healthcare exchanges reach underserved and in-need populations that are not yet enrolled or are underenrolled. As the HHS's Office of Minority Health said in 2017: ``In the United States, it has been estimated that the combined cost of health disparities and subsequent deaths among racial and ethnic minorities due to inadequate and/or inequitable care is $1.24 trillion.'' We need to do more to eliminate these disparities and improve access to healthcare. This amendment is part of our efforts to be able to do so, and I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the Congresswoman's amendment. I commend Representative Mucarsel-Powell for her work to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in minority communities. The additional funding in this amendment will help to address an epidemic in communities most in need. Of all PrEP users, only 8 percent are African American, and only 9 percent are Hispanic. I might add that there is also a very low percentage of women who are able to access PrEP. There is a particular lack of access in the south. And the cost of PrEP is exorbitant, in some cases, up to $13,000. Only half of racial minorities living with HIV have a suppressed viral load. That is why the underlying Labor-HHS, Education bill that we considered tonight, or early morning, increases funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities by more than $500 million, including increases for the Ryan White program, to increase access to antiretroviral therapy, or ART, community health centers, to increase availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and the CDC for prevention activities. I support this amendment and, again, commend the gentlewoman for bringing it forward.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of his amendment. The mission of the Office of Inspector General is to ``conduct independent and objective audits, investigations, and other activities to promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department's programs and operations.'' We must insist on a strong ethical framework and invest in robust oversight of our Federal Government. That is why I am pleased to say that the underlying Labor-HHS bill provides an increase of $2.3 million, for a total of $63.4 million for the OIG. Over the past several years, we have witnessed a collapse of predatory for-profit colleges; publicly-traded Corinthian and ITT Technical Institutes were among them. The Department of Education Inspector General issued an audit report that evaluated the ways in which the Department is monitoring these institutions. It concluded that the existing Borrower Defense regulation will help the Department better mitigate potential harm to students and taxpayers. It is critical that we heed the information and recommendations that come from these reports, and we must protect the integrity of the Borrower Defense rule. It uncovered the mismanagement and the lack of oversight of the student loan serving industry by the Federal Student Loan Office, harming millions of students across this country. The work carried out every day by the OIG across agencies is fundamental to maintaining the integrity and the efficiency of our government programs. I commend the gentleman, and I am happy to accept this amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I rise in support of her amendment. I will take less than 45 seconds. Madam Chair, my view and what I think this amendment does is it further increases resources for the Health Centers program. The underlying bill is $50 million, but it expands it to provide the opportunity for school-based care. What we need in this Nation is mental health services in every school in this Nation to be able to recognize telltale signs of adverse effects that children are experiencing, whether it be trauma, whether it be food insecurity, whether it be violence or abuse, in order to be able to prevent what could happen as a result of those adverse experiences. Madam Chair, I support the gentlewoman's amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record this article by Ms. Zoe Baird and Mr. Denis McDonough concerning creating opportunity for American workers. We Need To Give U.S. Workers More Real Power Over Their Futures (By Zoe Baird and Denis McDonough) Even in the midst of a historically strong job market, jarring economic transformation is leading presidential candidates to be defined as capitalists or socialists. If the political debate continues in this shorthand, it will miss the principal issue that has animated voters' views in recent elections: The American Dream is no longer viable--or is at least deeply at risk--for wide swaths of the population. Voters want candidates whose proposals will generate market power for individual workers. The issue is critical given the biggest social and economic challenge facing the world--the dislocation of workers by artificial intelligence and automation. This transformation is exacerbating the crisis of inequality. So far, the answer from politicians of both parties is simply for those individuals to ``re-skill.'' This is a mistake--and one we've made before. In addressing the last major disruption--globalization-- policymakers' attempts at labor-market reform lagged behind rapid economic transformation, thus undercutting workers. Today, expanding access to skills must be part of a broader agenda that results in workers obtaining power in the marketplace; they should share in the wealth their know-how creates and benefit from the data their engagement provides. This is what will bring back income growth and career security and preserve the dignity of work. To start, employers need to make their employees' talents more transparent, so workers can capitalize on their value. Today, people trained on the job have no way of marketing the skills they have gained to potential new employers. An experienced auto mechanic, for instance, is viewed as just that by the labor market, even though his employer values him for his in-depth knowledge of intricate machinery, electrical systems and computerized diagnostics. If that auto mechanic wants to get a job he is surely qualified for as a repair tech at an advanced manufacturing company, he is nearly powerless to do so. Some may point to licensing as a solution (about 30 percent of U.S. workers require a license to do their job), but licenses rarely reveal the underlying skills necessary to a job. However, if employees were provided with a skills transcript--a verifiable account of all the skills in their job--they would not be constrained by their job title and could pursue any job that needed their unique collection of skills. As technology transforms the workplace, such a transcript could be a passport to opportunity; individuals could market their skills portfolio, and employers would gain access to a broader pool of talent. Our lack of transparency around skills is far from the only way that skills have been systematically undervalued by the labor market. Employers routinely use the traditional four- year college degree as a catchall qualification. Indeed, that experienced auto mechanic likely wouldn't even be considered for that advanced manufacturing job without a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. The almost 7 in 10 Americans without a college degree are screened out of many jobs in the digital economy despite marketable skills and capacity to learn. Employers are beginning to accept nontraditional certifications as credentials, which is encouraging, but we must do more. After all, a self-taught coder may be just as good as one who took a 12-week course at a local boot camp, and a carpenter who learned in a friend's garage may be just as good as one who completed a class at a community college. Much like how colleagues can use Web-based tools to ``endorse'' an applicant's skills, we need an infrastructure that allows for skills gained through such channels to be endorsed, displayed and valued. State and federal governments wield a tremendous amount of power to support workers and encourage companies to do the same. They can increase and direct financial support for lifelong education and training, and promote improved data- sharing among sectors and states, so educators know what kind of skills they need to teach and individuals can decide which training programs are worthwhile. When viewed through a lens of workers gaining power in the labor market to advance themselves, the tax code appears ripe for examination. A first step would be creating pretax ``skills accounts''--like health savings accounts, but with the money to be used for education--and expanding use of training tax credits. We should look for ways to treat employees as a highly valued asset, not just a cost. Unions can also contribute to individual workers' market power as well as their collective power, through training, job data and advocacy. Because many jobs in the new economy fall outside the scope of unionization, unions need to look at how they also can support nonunion workers in achieving market power. In the past, we've evaluated economic policy proposals from a politician or a CEO on a variety of metrics. But in an economy in the throes of transformation, it's time that we adopt a new measure: Does it give U.S. workers more real power over their future?

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to join the New Haven community in extending my heartfelt congratulations to Knickerbocker Golf Club as members gather to celebrate the organization's 75th Anniversary--a remarkable milestone for this unique community treasure. Founded in 1944 by Charles Dorsey and Alex Smith, the Knickerbocker Golf Club is one of the oldest African-American golf clubs in the nations. Since then, the Knickerbocker Club has been another proud example of an African-American institution that has flourished in the midst of and despite our nation's long-history with segregation. Augusta National, the storied golf club in Georgia which opened in 1932, did not accept its first African American member until 1990. Charlie Sifford--the Jackie Robinson of the PGA Tour--was never once invited to play at there. But, he was welcome at the Knickerbocker Pro- Am, and, the club continues its welcoming spirit today. Well ahead of its time, the Knickerbocker Golf Club not only provided a place for African Americans to play golf, but it also provided a safe and encouraging environment for young men in the community. Founding members acted as mentors, giving young people an outlet--a place to go instead of the streets or local pool halls. That tradition continues today. The Knickerbocker Golf Club not only provides this place of mentorship but scholarships which have allowed many young people to pursue a higher education and realize their dreams. Sports have long been a great equalizer in America, and, as the Knickerbocker Club continues to demonstrate, they provide our young people an opportunity to learn discipline, focus and commitment while fostering a longtime hobby and lifetime love. It is for those reasons that the Knickerbocker Club has been so important to our community for the last seventy-five years, and why it remains so. In Italian we have a saying ``Cent' Anni''--to one hundred years. It is my great honor to stand today to congratulate the Knickerbocker Golf Club on the celebration of their 75th Anniversary and extend my very best wishes for many more years of success.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the American Legion as they mark their 100th Anniversary. As we mark this extraordinary milestone, I am honored to have this opportunity to extend my deepest thanks to the American Legion Posts across Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District whose members work so diligently to both support our veterans and ensure that our communities never forget the sacrifices made by those who chose to serve in our nation's military branches. Chartered by Congress in 1919, the American Legion has evolved into one of the most influential and effective veteran advocacy organizations in the country. Over the course of the last century, the American Legion has left an indelible mark on our nation. In 1921, the Legion's efforts resulted in the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of the Veterans Administration and in 1923 the first ``Flag Code'' was drafted during a Legion conference in Washington--a code which Congress adopted in 1942. In 1946, the Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary presented a small, struggling organization called the American Heart Association with a $50,000 grant. That grant became the catalyst for the success of the now nationally respected organization focused on prevention and treatment of rheumatic heart disease. It was the American Legion that partnered with the Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Museum to develop an exhibit for the bomber Enola Gay, which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and it was the Legion who donated the single largest contribution to the construction of the Vietnam Memorial. From financing and implementing a study of the effects of Agent Orange on soldiers to the creation of the Family Support Network to assist families of servicemembers deployed for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; from the formation of the Persian Gulf Task Force to enhance service for a new generation of wartime veterans, thousands of whom suffer from illnesses linked to their service in the region, to the launch of the national ``I Am Not A Number'' campaign to identify and document the delays veterans face in obtaining medical care from VA, decade after decade, the American Legion has strived to ensure that veterans are receiving the care and respect they have so rightfully earned. The American Legion has shaped the way our country treats its veterans. That was perhaps best demonstrated in 1943 when Past National Commander Harry W. Colmery started to write in longhand, on Mayflower Hotel stationery in Washington, the first draft of what will later become the ``GI Bill of Rights.'' Signed in 1944 by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the original GI Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act, is appropriately considered the Legion's single greatest legislative achievement. And it is not just in Washington where the American Legion has made its mark. With over two million members in more than 13,000 posts worldwide, the Legion works to ensure that our servicemembers--their achievements and their sacrifices--are both remembered and celebrated. Whether through sponsorship of local sports organizations, scholarships for young people, organizing and participating in parades and community events, the Legion is making a real difference in community after community across the country. I want to extend a special note of thanks to the more than 200 American Legion Posts in Connecticut, and particularly the 28 located in my District, whose members' invaluable contributions make our communities better places to live, learn, and grow. My heartfelt congratulations on your centennial celebration and, as the Italian saying goes, Cent' Anni--to another one hundred years.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to join family, friends, colleagues, and the Wesleyan University community in extending my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Gary W. Yohe as he marks his retirement from Wesleyan University after more than forty years as a dedicated member of their faculty. I have had the good fortune to know Gary for many years and I have no doubt that in his retirement he will be missed by colleagues and students alike. Over the course of his remarkable career, Gary has achieved a myriad of triumphs and earned countless accolades. One of the world's foremost expert on climate change, he received a share of the 2007 Nobel Prize as a senior member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and served as Vice Chair of the National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee under President Obama. Gary has served as a member of the New York (City) Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), created in 2008 by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help the City respond to the risks of climate change, and he has testified frequently before Congressional committees. He is also the author of more than 175 scholarly articles, several books, and has contributed to countless media articles on climate issues as well as providing numerous opinion pieces. His extraordinary body of work will long stand as an inspiration to scientists, policy-makers, and advocates who will no doubt build on the solid foundation of his legacy. I would be remiss if I did not add a personal note of congratulations to Gary as he celebrates this milestone. I first met him many decades ago and have fond memories of the opportunities we had to work together. I, like so many others, am in awe of all that he accomplished throughout his professional career. Though he marks his retirement today, I am confident that Gary will continue to make a difference in our world. He has left an indelible mark on his field and his expertise will certainly continue to be called upon. I wish him all the best for many more years of health and happiness as he begins this new chapter of his life.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I had an unavoidable family commitment and so I missed Roll Call vote number 218 regarding the ``Intercountry Adoption Information Act (H.R. 1952).'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes.'' I also missed Roll Call vote number 219 regarding the ``Denouncing female genital mutilation/cutting as a violation of the human rights of women and girls and urging the international community and the Federal Government to increase efforts to eliminate the harmful practice (H. Res. 106)''. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes.''

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the centennial of the 19th amendment. Such an achievement as women's suffrage, long overdue, was not the result of one grand swoop of action. It took a million little steps from women across the country. A million little steps from women who wore the sash or carried the torch in their own way, a million little steps from those who marched in the streets or stood up for their place in the direction of our country. Let us follow their example today. I am reminded of my mother. In 1933, at the age of 20, she wrote a charge for women. It was just over a decade after the 19th amendment. She wrote, and I quote: ``It is not my intention to be critical, rather my motive in writing this article is to encourage the female members of this organization to take a more active part in its affairs. We are not living in the middle ages when a woman's part in life was merely to serve her master in her home, but we have gradually taken our place in every phase of human endeavor, and even in the here-to-fore stronghold of the male sex: politics. ``I have noticed that the girls, unlike the men, are timid in asserting themselves, and many a good idea is lost, having been suppressed by its creator. Come on girls, let's make ourselves heard.'' It will take another million little steps to move this cou--ntry forward in all the ways it must. On health care, on reproductive rights, on equal pay, on education, and more. So, come on girls, let us make ourselves heard.