Debbie Dingell

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, there are only 2 legislative days left until the highway trust fund expires on May 31, and we do not have time to waste. Across the country, 6,000 critical construction jobs are in jeopardy, and 660,000 good-paying construction jobs are hanging in the balance. In Michigan, we know how desperately this funding is needed. Seventeen percent of our roads are rated in good shape--only 17 percent; 38 percent of our roads are in poor, some dangerous--not fair, but poor, condition. It is unacceptable. We must work together to find a long-term solution to repair our roads, bridges, and transit. Today our Republican colleagues have introduced a plan that just kicks it down the road again. This must be the last time. Funding the highway trust fund is about this Nation's future. It is about our competitiveness. It is about providing businesses and local and State governments the certainty that they need, and it is about good-paying jobs for working families. It is time to end this culture of crisis and bring to the floor a long-term, sustainable solution to authorize the highway trust fund.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, today, I attended the funeral of Rachel Jacobs, a wife, mother, daughter and a native Michigander, who was taken far too soon. Rachel's parents are friends of many of us in the Michigan Congressional Delegation and we watched her mature into an incredible young woman. Last week, Rachel was on her way home to New York to her husband and two-year-old son when her Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing Rachel and seven other passengers. This was a senseless tragedy. Rachel's life was cut short when she was just making her mark on this world. She had recently started a job as CEO of an education software startup and was enjoying the success of running her own company. Rachel was an incredible businesswoman, but more than that, she was kind, generous, compassionate, caring and a true advocate for priorities she cared about. She touched countless lives from Michigan to New York. This weekend at a Memorial Service in New York City, her friends called her a ``beacon of light.'' Those sentiments were echoed today at her funeral in Southfield, Michigan. Her friends spoke of her zest for life and her infectious energy and enthusiasm. Rachel used that energy and enthusiasm to give back to the hometown she loved. She founded the non-profit, Detroit Nation, to bring together former Detroit residents in support of the economic development and cultural innovation of the region. Rachel lived a life worth celebrating. No words can make this better for her family or loved ones, and no action can bring her back. Her parents today were torn by grief and looking for answers they could not find. All of us in this chamber have a moral responsibility to do what we can to understand what happened to cause that accident on the railways and ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. We must hold ourselves accountable for fixing this--for ensuring the transportation systems America depends on are safe and secure and no more families or friends are robbed of the people they love and no more communities are left with a hole of losing someone who was the glue for so many. We owe it to Rachel and her family, and to all those who lost loved ones in this senseless tragedy, to understand the problem and pledge to never let this happen again.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen). Mr. Chairman, Members of the House, I rise in support of my amendment, No. 103, contained in this bloc, which expresses the sense of Congress that the President should exercise all available authority to evacuate U.S. citizens from Yemen as soon as possible. My district is home to the highest concentration of Yemeni Americans in the United States. Since hostilities began in Yemen, my office hears daily from Yemeni Americans who are terrified, frustrated, desperate, and have no idea how to exit the country. These are United States citizens in Yemen, with nowhere to turn. This week, NPR told the story of Rhonia Aladashi, a 16-year-old girl from my hometown of Dearborn, Michigan. She had traveled to Yemen to visit her father when the hostilities began, and she tried multiple options to escape. She tried to cross the border at Saudi Arabia and got turned back into hostile areas because she did not have a man traveling with her. Ultimately, she ended up on a private fishing boat, going with no food or water on board. My constituents and their families stuck in Yemen need hope, and they need to know that American citizens are not being forgotten. We do not in any way want to put American military in danger, but we need to tell Americans there is hope. I thank Mr. Larsen and Chairman Thornberry.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize HAVEN and its staff and volunteers for their 40 years of service to domestic and sexual violence victims and their families. HAVEN is a nationally recognized non-profit leader whose survivor-centered services honor survivors as experts of their own experiences. HAVEN empowers nearly 30,000 people each year by providing shelter, counseling, advocacy and education programming. HAVEN's vision of promoting a world of safe, equal and accountable communities is inspiring and moves us ever closer to eradicating sexual assault and domestic violence, especially against women and girls, who are disproportionately victimized by their partners and others. Their programs educate our community about recognizing abusive behaviors, understanding the problem and our role in prevention, and how we can refuse to contribute to a culture of domestic abuse. I join them in asserting their guiding principle, that we all have a right to live without fear. HAVEN should also be commended on their recent groundbreaking for a new facility. The new campus will only expand their ability to provide medical, legal, educational, and economic support to survivors and their families. When they opened in 1975, there were no laws to protect victims from stalking or assault. This new facility will serve as a beacon of hope and a statement that their community will support and protect them. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today to honor HAVEN for their 40 years of leadership in combating domestic violence and sexual assault. I thank them for their commitment to our community and wish them many more years of success.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the Republican budget we are going to consider later today is a step in the wrong direction for students. At a time when student loan debt is at an all-time high, we need to be doing more to help students, not less. Unfortunately, the Republican budget will make students work harder for less. It will hurt low-income students by cutting $89 billion for Pell grants. It will dramatically cut back the loan repayment programs that help all student loan borrowers pay affordable rates. And for Americans in job training programs, more than 2 million may be turned away from the critical training programs they need to change careers or secure advancement at work. Students of all types deserve access to quality, affordable education, but this Republican budget cuts critical programs that help our students get ahead. Mr. Speaker, our young people are 25 percent of our population and 100 percent of our future. We can and must do better.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the Record that the House should focus on the real priorities of working men and women instead of another attack on women's health care.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the conference report before us today is deeply flawed. It forces hard-working families to work more and take home less and puts our country on the wrong path. It concerns me that the budget put forth by my Republican colleagues does not address the deep, arbitrary, and damaging budget caps we are facing right now. These caps, which are so bad that they were never meant to become law, are now a reality, a reality that we are gutting our military and harming working men and women and their families in multiple ways. The gimmicks in the conference report do nothing to address the long- term structural problems that budget cuts have created at the Pentagon, and they do nothing on the nondefense side to help hard-working families buy a home, send their children to college, or enjoy a safe, secure retirement with adequate health care. Democrats have a better way, a better budget, one that creates greater opportunity for a secure future. We need a secure budget, and we shouldn't stand for anything less.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, last week Michigan lost a true statesman: former Senator and State Supreme Court Justice, Robert P. Griffin. Senator Griffin represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate for more than 20 years, where he set an extraordinary example of honesty and integrity, and held himself and those around him to the highest level of ethical standards. As his son Judge Richard Griffin said, he always strove to do the right thing--whether no one was watching or the nation was watching-- that was simply the kind of person he was. That quality made Senator Griffin an effective and respected leader, and I was honored to have the opportunity to learn from him firsthand. Senator Griffin was my first boss, and he taught me the importance of integrity in the political process, of keeping your word and working with members on both sides of the aisle. He inspired me and countless others, and he spent his life trying to instill in young people the value and importance of serving. Senator Griffin was a champion for Michigan. He loved our state. And we can all pay tribute to his legacy by striving to serve our state as well as he did.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, this week, Michigan lost a true giant. Alfred Taubman was a great businessman who revolutionized the way America shops, but he will forever be remembered as a passionate philanthropist whose generosity touched lives in our state and around the world. Al Taubman cared deeply about Michigan. He cared about people. And his contributions made our communities stronger and more vibrant, our schools and universities more innovative, and our research institutes more prepared to find cures for the most devastating diseases we face. His generosity made possible the Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan. He supported the Detroit Institute of Arts and helped improve design education at Detroit's College for Creative Studies. And he contributed actively to schools and universities across our region, including Wayne State University and his alma mater Lawrence Technological University, among many others. Al Taubman changed Michigan for the better, and while he will be greatly missed, his vision and generosity will live on in the many lives he touched. In the words of his son, Robert, Al Taubman was a ``great American story.'' He is right. And all of us in Michigan are so glad that he was ours.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Democratic alternative budget we are discussing today, which addresses the many issues working families are dealing with, but there is one provision in particular that I want to highlight on long-term care. As the ranking member and too many Americans know, long-term care is a concern that nearly every American family is confronting or will confront in the coming years. We have made great strides to improve our health care system in the last few years, but what we have a strong need for is a comprehensive, long-term plan for how seniors can get the day-to-day help they need for the basic tasks of living, like meal preparation, eating, bathing, and getting dressed in the morning. Too many seniors today are relying on a complex, disconnected system full of barriers that doesn't work. It is a system designed for the 20th century, while we are living in the 21st century. Addressing it will save money and can improve the quality of life for many.

Mrs. DINGELL. So, to address this problem, the Democratic budget contains revenue-neutral language that would allow the House to consider legislation today to begin to resolve the long-term care crisis in our country. It is an important priority, and it is important that it has been included in our alternative budget. My hope is that we can all work together on this soon in a bipartisan way. Not dealing with it is not going to make it go away, I thank the ranking member for working with us.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, as the House begins to prepare to discuss the next year's fiscal budget, we need a budget that supports hard- working Americans, not one that puts our families in jeopardy. The GOP budget ends Medicare as we know it; it cuts Pell grants; it decimates Head Start, and it doubles down on policies that put working families further behind. One thing that we all need to fear in this budget is the harmful, arbitrary budget caps on both our nondefense and defense programs. These caps hurt all Americans and make our military vulnerable. Our military leadership has made clear that the budget caps are harming our national security. Michigan is an important northern border State, and at too many places, like at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, our men and women in uniform face dramatic cuts to the critical training and equipment they need to defend our country. We can't afford more unrealistic budget gimmicks or plans that just kick the can down the road. We need to take up a serious budget, which the Democrats will offer this week.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the Republican budget released today would deny working families the opportunity to earn a fair living that used to ensure a strong middle class in this country. Their budget would hurt seniors, as Republicans have proposed four times before, by ending Medicare as we know it. It would place the burden of balancing the budget on the poor and keep arbitrary spending caps that hurt young and old alike by decimating Head Start and denying homebound seniors access to meals. It would cut Pell grants, hurting students seeking higher education, and it would leave our military lacking the critical resources we need to defend our country. Mr. Speaker, our Democratic budget will honor our promises to seniors and will give someone who worked hard the opportunity to earn a fair wage so that they can raise their family. It will keep health care affordable and help students seeking to better themselves attain an affordable education, and it will invest in our future by repairing our crumbling roads and bridges that are vital to a growing economy. Our budget stands for protecting Medicare, earning a fair wage, and rebuilding our infrastructure, because a strong middle class is a strong America.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 861, the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would keep the Department open so it can carry out its mission of keeping Americans safe.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Azizah al- Hibri, a distinguished women's and human rights advocate, on receiving the prestigious ACCESS Purple Rose Award. As a Member of Congress it is both my privilege and honor to recognize Dr. al-Hibri for her many years of service and contributions which have enriched and strengthened our community. Dr. al-Hibri is the Founder and Chair of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. KARAMAH is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting human rights throughout the globe, especially focusing on gender equity, religious freedom and civil rights in the United States. KARAMAH translates as ``dignity'' in Arabic and the stated vision of the organization is ``Dignity for All.'' In 1993, Dr. al-Hibri, then a law professor and noted Islamic scholar at the University of Richmond, was inspired by the verse which reads: ``We have given dignity to the Children of Adam.'' With faithful commitment to the idea that this verse establishes the fact that human dignity is bestowed upon all human beings, Dr. al-Hibri has committed herself to advancing this understanding of the unalienable rights of women, a cause she continues to champion today. Dr. al-Hibri has dedicated her life to education, legal outreach and advocacy. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. al-Hibri is a Fulbright scholar and is the founding editor of the journal Hypatia, which is dedicated to Feminist philosophy, particularly as it relates to Muslim women. Recognizing the national importance of her voice and contributions, in 2011 President Obama appointed Dr. al-Hibri to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a truly deserved honor. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today to honor Dr. al- Hibri for her many contributions to our community and her leadership in advancing Human Rights. I wish her many more years of health, happiness, and productive advocacy.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. I may be new to this Chamber, but it sure seems like Groundhog Day around here to me. This is the 56th time my friends on the other side of the aisle have tried to repeal or weaken this landmark law, and the puzzle for me is that I know that they believe in so many of the provisions and support them. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, millions of people who didn't have insurance now have it and have signed up for the marketplace plans; 299,000 in Michigan alone. I know my friends on the other side of the aisle believe that nobody's health coverage should be dropped when they suddenly get diagnosed with cancer. I know my friends on the other side of the aisle don't want to tell 129 million Americans that they are going to be denied insurance because they have a preexisting condition. I know my friends don't want to kick young people off their parents' insurance plan, and I know they never want to go back to the days of lifetime caps on health coverage or tell seniors they have got to start paying more for their medicine again. This is why I am totally perplexed, because if this bill were to pass, over 9.5 million Americans would be hurt and left behind without access to quality, affordable coverage. The ACA may not be perfect. The last perfect law that there was agreement on was the Ten Commandments; and honestly, in today's climate, I am not sure we could get it through the Congress today. I urge my colleagues to work together with us on how to improve the law instead of constantly trying to do something they don't believe in.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 240, the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2015. Without further action by Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will face a shutdown on February 28, 2015. Everyone agrees DHS should receive robust funding to carry out their mission of keeping the American people safe, and I'm pleased to see there is bipartisan, bicameral agreement on funding levels for the agency. However, I am very disappointed that the Republican majority had decided to add poison- pill amendments to this legislation related to the President's actions on immigration. This is putting the American people at risk and is unacceptable. Global tensions remain high following the terrorist attacks in France, and we should not be letting down our guard at this critical time. Yet this is exactly what we are doing by passing H.R. 240 today. This legislation has no chance of being signed into law, as President Obama has already said he would veto the bill. If my friends on the other side of the aisle are so concerned about immigration, they should work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner on comprehensive immigration reform. I stand ready to work with them on this critical issue. I want to address the DeSantis Amendment to this legislation. As a woman who is active on domestic violence issues, I will always do everything in my power to protect victims of abuse. However, this amendment is misleading and I am afraid it could have unintended consequences if adopted. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that this amendment would discourage victims of domestic violence from reporting abuse to the proper authorities. I also spoke with domestic violence groups in Michigan, and they have pointed out the unintended consequences of this amendment as well. We need to make it easier to report incidents of domestic violence, not harder, which is why I am opposing the DeSantis amendment today. In the meantime, we should pass a clean DHS appropriations bill so the operations of this critical department can continue uninterrupted. Their mission is simply too important to jeopardize. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 240.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon regarding Fast Track authorization. There are many reasons to oppose Fast Track, but the first and foremost is that Fast Track is an abdication of Congress' fundamental responsibilities. The Constitution authorizes the Congress, not the executive branch, to regulate commerce between nations. This deal was negotiated by the administration, in secret, without the proper input or oversight from the Congress. The grapevine tells us-- because they are not talking to us directly--that it will do nothing to address currency manipulation, the mother of all trade barriers. Just one consequence is an $8,000 cost advantage to a Japanese vehicle sold in the United States, which is then used to subsidize parts, advertising, or to undercut the cost of a vehicle in the marketplace. In fact, Toyota made more in profits last year from currency manipulation than Ford made last year in its entire worldwide operations. What I know about the domestic auto industry is that they can outcompete any of their competitors in the world, but they cannot outcompete the Bank of Japan or the Japanese Government. Those who care about the constitutional responsibilities of Congress should oppose Fast Track.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act. While I welcome an open and transparent debate about whether building this pipeline is in our national interest, that is not what this legislation is about. Instead, we are being asked to circumvent the administration's permitting process and pass legislation that has been rushed to the House floor, without consideration by any committee or proceeding through regular order. This is no way to legislate. The people of Michigan sent me to Congress to fight for our shared values. And no one knows better than the people of my state the importance of protecting our natural resources. This legislation puts those resources at risk by exempting the operators of the pipeline from paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which helps the federal government respond to oil spills. It also waives all the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, both of which contain critical environmental protections that cannot be ignored. I simply cannot support legislation which sets these landmark laws aside. Congress needs to have a real and thoughtful debate on how we promote clean energy in the United States. I am ready to have that debate, but until then, I cannot support flawed legislation that puts our natural resources at risk. I urge all my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 3.

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. ``Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.''

Mrs. DINGELL

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 30, the so- called Save American Workers Act. I continue to have high hopes for bipartisanship and working across the aisle, but am very disappointed that the Republican majority brought up another partisan bill to undermine the Affordable Care Act, just when this landmark law is finally delivering for Americans. In fact, we just saw real evidence of the success of the law--the uninsured rate dropped to 12.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, down from 17.1 percent in 2013. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect, but H.R. 30 is not the way to fix it. While it might seem like common sense idea to raise the threshold for ACA employer coverage to 40 hours a week from 30 hours a week, this misguided legislation would give employers a greater incentive to cut workers hours. Experts at UC Berkeley estimate that this policy would result in 6.5 million workers being vulnerable to cuts in their work hours. Furthermore, this legislation would increase the deficit by $45.7 billion. We need to build off the successes of the Affordable Care Act, not roll them back. I hope the 114th Congress can come back soon to consider real reforms to our health care system that increases access to care, reduces costs, and decreases the deficit. H.R. 30 does none of those things, so I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing it.