Ted Deutch

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, we've entered the 12th month of the Republican majority in this House, and if the past 11 are any indication, December will be a continuation of the GOP no jobs agenda. My colleagues in the majority have shown no interest in tackling America's real economic challenges, no interest in the fact that small business owners say that weak sales, not government regulation, are the main source of their struggle. No interest in the fact that it is tax relief for middle class families, not tax giveaways to corporations and to billionaires that our economy needs to boost consumer demand, and no interest in preventing the expiration of unemployment benefits for millions of struggling families and the havoc it would wreak on our economy. Mr. Speaker the majority's interest seems focused on one thing: an election still nearly a year away. Americans wants Congress to work for them. It's time we stand up for the middle class. Working families need us to work for them.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday marks the third anniversary since American U.S. AID worker Alan Gross was arrested and unjustly imprisoned in Cuba. It is the third year in a row that the Gross family will prepare to spend another holiday season without their beloved husband, father, and son. Alan Gross, a resident of Maryland and a long time international development worker, traveled to Cuba in 2009 to help the island's small Jewish community establish better internet access. Upon his arrival, Mr. Gross declared all of his electronic items with Cuban customs officials. Yet on December 3, 2009, he was arrested and subsequently detained for 14 months without any charges filed against him. Earlier this year, he was charged with ``acts to undermine the integrity and independence'' of Cuba. Mr. Gross, a non-Spanish speaking man in his 60's who has worked on development projects in over 50 countries, certainly was not trained or equipped to engage in subterfuge. Alan Gross has been sentenced to 15 years in jail. This preposterous sentence has caused tremendous emotional pain and financial hardship for his family, and devastated the Jewish community. Alan's daughter is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, and his 89 year old mother is in poor health and fears she will never see her son again. Alan's wife, Judy, has been caring for her ill daughter and mother-in-law while working full time to support her family. Alan himself is suffering from severe health problems due to a lack of medical treatment during his incarceration. In October, Governor Bill Richardson traveled to Cuba with the intent to discuss Alan Gross' release. During this visit, which had been approved by the Cuban Government, Governor Bill Richardson was denied even a single meeting with Alan to assess his health. Subsequently, the Cuban government refused to discuss Alan's case with Governor Richardson. The Castro regime has chosen to align itself with the most repressive and violent regimes in the world, counting among its friends the Venezuelan and Iranian regimes. These regimes have disregarded judicial processes in order to unjustly hold American citizens to use as leverage. We will not sit idly by and allow an American citizen to suffer at the hands of these tyrants. The Castro regime must immediately allow Alan to receive proper medical treatment and take the necessary steps to bring him home to his family as soon as possible. My colleagues and I will continue to speak out on behalf of Alan, his family, and the Jewish community, and continue to use every tool at our disposal to secure Alan's immediate release.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, for all of the talk of States' rights in this Chamber, H.R. 822 obliterates the rights of State governments to pass their own gun rules and protect their own citizens from illegal gun violence. In my own State of Florida, we have a right-to-carry law, but we require those who seek such concealed permits to prove basic competency. To protect our families, we deny concealed-carry permits to those convicted of felonies, to those committed to mental institutions, or those with a history of illegal drug use. H.R. 822 denies Floridians the right to protect their own families and set their own standards. If Floridians wanted gun laws as lax as those in Utah, they would adopt their own. I'm disappointed the Rules Committee blocked my own amendment to amend this bill to ensure that individuals with concealed weapons could only cross lines into States that maintain a national law enforcement database. Without a database system accessible 24 hours a day with criminal background information on individuals holding concealed weapons permits from other States, Florida's law enforcement will be unable to adequately protect the public under this bill. It is the safety of our communities and our families that are at risk as a result.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank my friend for yielding, and I thank him for the opportunity to come and join with him tonight to address an issue of great concern to many Americans. We're here tonight because Republican State legislatures across the Nation are passing laws to make it harder for people to exercise their right to vote. The story they tell is one of rampant voter fraud that threatens the integrity of our elections and the very foundation of our democracy. It's a scary story. Imagine--just imagine--mobs of illegally registered voters entering our poll booths and hijacking our elections. However, there is something far scarier than the story that's being told--and that's the reality. It's the reality that our electoral system is not under siege by voter fraud but, instead, by an historically deliberate and ongoing effort to suppress the votes of America's minorities, seniors, students, and other traditionally Democratic voters. Now, while this is a nationwide trend, there is no question that the recent voting law passed in Florida takes the cake for radically infringing on voting rights. Ask any Floridian. Florida doesn't have a history of voter fraud. Florida has a history of voter suppression. This is a State that didn't ratify the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, until 1969. This is the State where, in 2000, Secretary of State Katherine Harris eliminated 57,000 votes, mostly of minorities, simply because their names resembled those of persons convicted of crimes. They were wiped from the voting rolls. Now, our current Governor, Governor Scott, wasn't in Florida in 2000 when George Bush's legal team fought to stop counting the votes, when Katherine Harris certified election results without including the recount from my own Palm Beach County, and when the Supreme Court stopped a manual recount of votes. Florida is the State where thousands of seniors, whom I am so privileged to represent today, headed to the polls on election day in 2000 and never had their voices heard. That was hard work. It was hard work silencing the voices of the voters. HB 1355, the Florida election law, the voter suppression law, makes it child's play. Florida is the State where, in 2008, when Governor Charlie Crist extended early voting hours, Republican officials decried the fact that better access to voting would likely cost them the election. Now Florida is the State that is serving as a model for Republican legislatures across the country that are looking for ways to suppress turnout at the polls. HB 1355 eliminates the ability of voters to update their addresses or names at the polls due to marriage, divorce, or even military base relocation. Those voters now have to cast provisional ballots, which will likely go uncounted. HB 1355 also cuts early voting from 14 days to 8 because of the fact that the United States of America is one of the few democracies in the world where not declaring election day a national holiday is simply not restrictive enough. HB 1355 also allows absentee ballots to be arbitrarily tossed out of elections because of poor handwriting. The men and women I represent who may suffer from Parkinson's disease or arthritis or from the aftereffects of a stroke will have their votes thrown out because their quivering hands make their signatures look sloppy. Perhaps most disturbing is how HB 1355 cripples the ability of third- party groups, like the Boy Scouts and the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, to run voter registration drives. In fact, any third party, including high school civics teachers, that offers to help students register to vote must turn in the registration forms within 48 hours or face fines. By passing HB 1355, Florida has provided States across the country with a blueprint for the voter suppression of minorities, seniors, students, and other Democratic voters. The voter fraud bogeyman may be a scary story, but it cannot compare to the very real and very blatant voter suppression efforts of Republican legislatures across America. Perhaps, because they know they can't win fairly, they need to suppress voters, not because of imaginary voter fraud, but because of real Americans--real Americans who have seen the true colors of a Republican agenda that ends Medicare, that slashes education, that eliminates jobs, and that limits economic opportunity for working families. Real Americans have had enough, and they have the right to express themselves by exercising the most basic, the most fundamental right in our Nation--the right to vote. I thank you for organizing this opportunity tonight for us to make very clear to all who are watching that we won't let them take that right away.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. DEUTCH. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, bipartisan unity may be rare these days, but if there is one issue we have consistently come together on, it is the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. That's why last year's body voted to enact tough new sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That's why 332 Members of this House are today cosponsors of new legislation to strengthen Iran sanctions law. And it is also why this body should join me on this final amendment to the bill so we do not reward companies that provide financial and material support to the Iranian regime-- because this bill, in its current form, will bolster Iran's illicit quest for nuclear weapons. This legislation awards U.S. land to Resolution Copper, a company owned by Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto also owns a majority stake in the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia, where it partners with the Iran Foreign Investment Company. The Iran Foreign Investment Company is wholly owned by the Iranian regime, and last summer the Treasury Department added it to the list of Iranian entities in violation of sanctions law. Quite simply, we are about to reward a company that partners with the Iranian regime to mine, of all things, the uranium it needs to become a nuclear-armed power. This Congress cannot be in the business of assisting a regime that plots an attack on U.S. soil, that kills brave American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threatens to wipe our ally Israel off the map. Iran has made its intentions clear. The Iranian nuclear program is not intended for peaceful purposes. Just last month, an IAEA agency report indicated ``increasing concerns'' about possible ``military dimensions'' to the Iranian program. The threat is real, and this Congress has always taken it seriously. We have watched Iran attempt to make a mockery of U.S. law by finding new ways to evade sanctions. And now we are going to help them do it? My amendment does one thing: It blocks any land exchange with a company or affiliate connected to the Iran Foreign Investment Company. Let me be clear. This amendment will not prevent the passage of the legislation. If adopted, it will be incorporated and we will vote on the final bill. We have come together against a nuclear-armed Iran before, and we can do it again today. Let's put bipartisanship aside. Join me on this motion to recommit and let's unite against the very real threat of a nuclear-armed Iranian regime. I am pleased to yield to the ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. DEUTCH. I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, it's not news that the majority refuses to address our jobs crisis. But passing time by attacking women's health is appalling. Despite Americans' overwhelming support for the American Jobs Act, today we have before us H.R. 358, a cruel attack on women's health. We could help jobless workers feed their families today. Instead, this bill grants hospitals the right to deny abortions even in life-and- death cases. We could cut taxes for small businesses today. Instead, this bill forbids Americans from using their own dollars to buy private health insurance that includes abortion coverage. We could put teachers back to work today. Instead, this bill denies abortion even for the thousands of women each year who develop breast cancer while pregnant and need an abortion to start chemotherapy to save their lives and retain the hope of childbirth. Americans don't want a war on women. They want a war on joblessness. They want us to work so that they can work. They want us, Madam Speaker, to take up the American Jobs Act. Oppose this rule so that we can get to work on their behalf.

Mr. DEUTCH. Will the gentlelady yield?

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Dr. Barbara-Ann Weinstein, recipient of the Leadership Broward Foundation's Outstanding Broward Leader Award. Each year the Leadership Broward Foundation honors a select group of individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and a commitment to our community. As President of Family Central of Broward County, Dr. Weinstein is the embodiment of these values. I can think of no one more deserving of this award than someone who has devoted her career to promoting the welfare of children and their families in South Florida. Dr. Weinstein has been a strong advocate for children through Family Central since 1985. Over the years, her guidance, support, and dedication led Family Central to provide a variety of educational services and family support in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade- Counties. For nearly 40 years, this organization has played a pivotal role in the lives of South Florida families by strengthening the social, emotional and economic ties that family members have to one another, as well as to their community. Last year alone, Family Central's vital services reached more than 130,000 South Florida clients. I am so pleased that Ms. Weinstein has been selected as an honoree. Her commitment to children and families has been essential to providing a strong foundation for South Florida's children.

Mr. DEUTCH

Mr. DEUTCH. And I thank you, Congresswoman Schakowsky. Your talk about the President's statement today is important. Equally important is what the administration has been doing leading up to that speech today, in the way that the U.N. Ambassador has continued to press our allies, in the way that this administration has been clear throughout that if this movement goes forward, if the Palestinians continue to go to the Security Council, that the United States will veto that resolution because it is not a way to achieve peace. I appreciate your sharing those thoughts and raising those issues with us. It is a great privilege for me now to turn over the floor and yield to my friend, who is one of the fiercest defenders of the U.S.-Israel relationship, one of the most outspoken Members of this body when it comes to standing up for the safety and security of the State of Israel and someone who has steadfastly remained engaged in this issue, even traveling to New York, before coming back to Washington, to speak directly to those who will be making decisions at the United Nations, a good friend and a great colleague, Eliot Engel.

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you for being here, Mr. Cardoza. It is my pleasure and honor to yield as much time as he may choose to utilize to my good friend from New York, Representative Joe Crowley.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank you very much, Mr. Engel, for your passionate words. I think it's important, as we wrap this up, to think about why it is and to remind our colleagues and the American people why it is that we are so committed to this bond with Israel, and we do it because the bond with Israel runs deeper than our interests in Middle East affairs. It runs deeper than mutual security interests. Our bond is born out of the values that our two nations share, the values of freedom, of respect, of human rights. We as Americans share those values with the people of Israel. They are universal values, American values. They span religious and political parties. They bring people together from all walks of life. They are the things that some of Israel's neighbors are losing their lives fighting for, the values that Israel holds dear as a great democracy in the Middle East and in the world. Israel faces one of its greatest challenges, a worldwide campaign to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. The United States must continue to remind the world why it is that we stand in solidarity with Israel. I urge our allies around the world to stand with us now in urging the Palestinians to abandon this misguided and dangerous quest. If Mr. Abbas seeks a state where the Palestinian people can truly prosper, a peaceful state, then he will look to Israel as a partner. He will understand why negotiations provide the only path to peace; and he will take his seat at the negotiating table. To our whip, Steny Hoyer, who helped us arrange this hour, and to my colleagues who participated, and to everyone who has tuned in even for a moment, I want to say thank you, thank you for giving us the opportunity to stand up at this most difficult and crucial moment in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship and remind our allies from around the world--and every nation from around the world--just how strong and unbreakable the bond between our two nations is. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank you, Mr. Crowley. The most important point to make right now in listening to you and listening to Mr. Cardoza and listening to the gentleman from California who spoke earlier from the other side, this is not a partisan issue. This is not a religious issue. This is a question of whether we stand together in support of democratic ideals, in support of the safety and security of our ally. That's what is at stake here, and I thank you for coming to so eloquently and passionately speak to that issue.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank the gentleman. Efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel at the United Nations must be opposed at every capital in this world. I thank you very much. It is my pleasure to recognize my friend and colleague, a passionate supporter of the State of Israel who hails from a community in Illinois with an equally passionate zeal for the safety and security of the State of Israel, Representative Schakowsky.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Engel, if the Palestinians were serious about peace, they would abandon their unity with Hamas. They would abandon this plan to move forward at the United Nations, and they would return to the negotiating table. But this doesn't seem to be the case, as we've discussed here tonight. They seem intent on, in fact, making a mockery of the United Nations by using it as a platform to delegitimize Israel. But we will stand up to that effort. We'll stand up against it. The fact is from the vile ``Zionism is Racism'' resolution of the 1970s to the biased and misleading Goldstone Report, the United States has, time and time again, stood up against such delegitimization efforts, loudly voicing our opposition and declaring that we won't tolerate such bogus and malicious accusations. And we'll stand up again for Israel this week in New York, but not just today and Friday. I would like to take a moment to talk about what is going to be happening tomorrow. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brings his campaign of hatred to the United Nations General Assembly, as he stands just miles from Ground Zero a mere 3 weeks after the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and blasphemously declares that the U.S. Government orchestrated the attacks to reverse the declining American economy, as he did last year, we will stand up for those brave men and women who lost their lives that day and every day since fighting for freedom. And when he stands at the U.N. and celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Durban hatefest that was an anti-Semitic rant against Israel, we will stand up for the freedom and democracy that Israel represents, the freedom and democracy that Ahmadinejad so brutally represses in his own country. That's going to be our role just tomorrow. And I know that you will look forward to standing in strong opposition to those statements from one who wishes to see Israel wiped off the map, one who could probably be tried for incitement to genocide for his statements, you will stand with me, as you always have, in opposition to the rhetoric, the hateful rhetoric, that we will be forced to listen to tomorrow.

Mr. DEUTCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Congresswoman Lowey. There are few in this body who understand as well as you the importance of weighing the decisions to allocate United States' foreign aid and where that money goes. You have been such a vocal and passionate supporter of aid to Israel in order to give Israel the ability to defend herself. I think you spoke eloquently about the questions that will be raised if the P.A. continues to move forward on this gambit at the United Nations, calling into question their commitment to negotiation and ultimately raising the reevaluation of aid to the Palestinians. I thank you very much for sharing that with us.

Mr. DEUTCH. I appreciate the opportunity to be here following those series of speeches delivered that lead perfectly into the discussion that we're here to have. This is a crucial moment for the State of Israel, for the United States, for the relationship that binds us together. This is an important moment for those who believe in democracy and for those who believe in peace. We will all be watching what transpires at the United Nations in the coming days as the Palestinians continue to move forward with an ill-fated attempt to create a state that can only be created by negotiation. I appreciate the opportunity to engage in a discussion with some of my colleagues, and I would like to start by recognizing my neighbor and my friend, the gentlelady from Florida, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz.

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you very much. The same to you. I would note the President also spoke today at some length about the need to recognize Israel's security interests. The fact that Israel is a country that is surrounded by enemies, that has faced rocket attacks, barrages, at times on a regular basis, that it is imperative that all of our allies around the world who understand the security threats that Israel faces, that they understand that it is in Israel's interest to take the action necessary to defend herself even as they move toward the negotiations with the Palestinians. That's something that every nation would understand. I appreciate your bringing that up today. It is my pleasure and my honor to yield time to the impressive and wonderful former chair and now the impressive and wonderful ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Lowey from Westchester.

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you very much, Representative Berkley. If there is going to be peace, you are absolutely right: that is peace that will come through negotiations. And I am not sure what type of negotiating tactic it is to, on the one hand, say that there is a commitment to negotiating, but at the same time to run to the United Nations to unilaterally declare a state in a way that only seeks to delegitimize your so-called peace partner. Israel is committed to peace. We've seen that time and time again. Prime Minister Netanyahu is set, ready to negotiate. It is time that the P.A. moves forward with negotiations. I appreciate your insight and your commentary. I would tell that you that as you spoke about Hamas, the P.A. made a decision also to move into a partnership with that terrorist organization, a terrorist organization that still holds Gilad Shalit captive and refuses to let the world see him, meet with him. He should be released. This is a message that was given to Hamas, to the P.A. directly, in a meeting that I was privileged to participate in on a bipartisan trip to Israel some months back. I was pleased to be on that trip with our friend from California, Representative Cardoza. I am pleased to yield the gentleman as much time as he desires.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank the gentlelady from New York. It is now my honor to yield such time as she may consume to a colleague and friend who has often been described as the great pro- Israel Member of the United States House of Representatives, the Representative from Nevada, Shelley Berkley.

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank my friend from California. There are a lot of opportunities that we as Members have to participate in the process and to see the impact of the decisions that we make. The opportunity that we had to spend some time in the community that had just been attacked with that rocket fire reminds us of what we are doing here this evening, what President Obama did at the United Nations earlier today, and what our allies throughout the world hopefully will do in standing up to support the one great democratic nation in the Middle East, why that is so vitally important.