Elizabeth Esty

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I find it particularly ironic that we are here talking about suspicion of the public, talking about accountability. I will tell you, that is why my colleagues are here today, that is why several hundred Americans came to the Capitol today: to demand accountability of this body, to demand action by this body, because in 3\1/2\ years since the slaughter of schoolchildren in my community of Newtown, this body has done nothing, nothing at all. Today, we are bringing up another useless messaging bill to provide fodder for TV ads in the fall, rather than responding to the needs of the American people. They are here. Ninety of them die every day when we do nothing about guns. So, in fact, we do need to be talking about accountability. But it is the accountability of the elected Members of Congress to bring forth reasonable, commonsense legislation, bipartisan legislation, that will help save lives. This is about immediate needs of the American people that have been going unanswered now for 3\1/2\ years. That is the sort of accountability we should be talking about today. The two bills we are asking for action on are simple. No fly, no buy. If you are too dangerous to get on an airplane, you pose a threat to the American people and national security of this country and you should not be legally allowed to buy an arsenal. And second, and critical, the basis, and it is, frankly, about accountability, we need to have background checks on each and every commercial sale of guns. If we aren't asking a question, we are not going to know if we are keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The Internet has now become the go-to place, whether you are a terrorist, a domestic violence abuser, a felon, or dangerously mentally ill. It is our responsibility to take action to close these loopholes, to do our best to actually write the laws that our law enforcement are charged with enforcing. So with all due respect to my colleagues about important issues about Federal employee accountability, we need to be accountable in this institution. It is our job to protect and defend the American people. That is why we are here today and that is why we are going to be here every day we are in session to raise these issues.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, this House's silence on preventing gun violence and keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals is a betrayal of the American people. Americans are 25 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than in any of our peer countries; and since the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in my district, in the last 3\1/2\ years, 100,000 Americans have lost their lives to gun violence. Think about that--100,000 Americans. That is the size of a good-sized American city, every single one of them dead because of a gun. And this House-- this House--has done nothing. We are elected to respond to the needs of the American people. We are elected to keep Americans safe; and right now, felons, domestic violence abusers, even suspected terrorists can buy a gun of their choice without a background check, no questions asked. And the bad guys are well aware of this big, gaping loophole in our laws. Here is what an al Qaeda spokesman said in a propaganda video in 2011: ``America is absolutely awash in easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault weapon, without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?'' The real question is: What are we, what are we in this Chamber, waiting for? We have the no fly, no buy bill, a bipartisan bill to close the terror loophole, and we have a bipartisan bill to strengthen background checks so that they apply to all commercial sales of guns. Now, I know many Americans assume that the laws we have on the books are strong enough, it is just a question of enforcement; but, sadly, that is not true. That is not true. Somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of all gun sales right now do not go through background checks at all, not at all, so the bad guys just have to go to an unlicensed dealer or go online. And let's be very clear. Twenty years ago, when Congress passed the background check bill, when they passed that bill, people didn't buy guns online. People didn't buy much of anything online, so Congress didn't even have it in its head to close a loophole it wasn't aware of. But it is now this Congress', it is now our job to respond to the needs of the 100,000 Americans who have died in the last 3\1/2\ years and to take action to save lives. Now, no single law--no single law--can end gun violence, but we do know that laws work. They work, and improved background checks save lives. For example, in Connecticut, our permit-to-purchase law has reduced gun homicides by 40 percent. That translates into 296 lives saved over a 10-year time period. In States that have closed background check loopholes, 46 percent fewer women are killed by domestic partners, and 48 percent fewer on- duty police officers are shot to death. That is half of those lives saved. And each one of those lives saved is precious. Each one has a family. Each one has loved ones. Sometimes we forget that when we are talking about thousands of this and hundreds of that and millions of dollars and trillions of dollars. Each and every life is important and precious, and we are sworn to help the American people. Here is the bottom line. Better laws work, and background checks work to save lives. The bill that the majority is bringing up this week doesn't really help. In fact, it addresses the terror gap in ways that will hamper the FBI's efforts to keep us safer. But let me be very, very clear. Without background checks on every single gun sale, no matter what we do on closing the terror gap, it won't matter, because the bad guys will continue avoiding the law, whether it is domestic violence abusers, felons, the dangerously mentally ill, or suspected terrorists. Mr. Speaker, there are steps we can take to make our communities safer; there are steps we can take to save lives; and I call on this House to call up, this week, the bipartisan bill to expand background checks.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, the American people expect us to act to protect them. We need a tough and smart counterterrorism strategy to go after ISIS, and that has to include taking commonsense steps to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. In a 2011 propaganda video, an al Qaeda spokesman encouraged radicals to buy guns in the United States, saying: America is absolutely awash in obtainable firearms. The overwhelming majority of the American people support reasonable fixes to prevent terrorists from buying guns and to expand background checks for all commercial gun sales. Yet, in the 3\1/2\ years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the House has not held a single vote on legislation to prevent gun violence. In that time, gun violence has killed more than 100,000 Americans. It took a 25-hour sit-in and thousands of Americans rising up and demanding a vote, but here we are finally voting on something. It is a step forward. Unfortunately, the bill we are voting on this week was written by the gun lobby, and it won't do anything to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. So let's keep working. Let's send bipartisan legislation to the President's desk, because the American people are demanding action. We should listen and we should act.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, we need to act. We need to act to save lives as 100,000 Americans have died in the last 3\1/2\ years since Sandy Hook--since 6- and 7-year-olds were killed in my district. What has this House done? Nothing but hold moments of silence. Do any of my colleagues on either side of the aisle think that moments of silence are responsive to the needs of 100,000 American families who have lost loved ones in the last 3\1/2\ years? There is no other crisis we wouldn't be responding to. That is why that sense of frustration and urgency is what caused 150 or more of my colleagues to come to the floor 2 weeks ago to demand that we vote on two commonsense, bipartisan bills. These are bipartisan, and they will save lives. Background checks on all commercial sales work. They have stopped over 2 million felons and domestic violence abusers from buying weapons in the last 20 years. Those are all lives that are potentially saved; so they actually work. We also have bipartisan no fly, no buy legislation. The no fly, no buy legislation would also help keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. With all due deference to other legislative matters, 100,000 American families have borne the ultimate loss of their loved ones while this body has failed to act. The time to act is now. We should call up these two bills and vote on them this week. We will continue to push these bills.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, the American people sent us here to solve problems. They sent us here to work together to help the American people. Frankly, the American people are getting pretty frustrated. We noticed a little bit of frustration break out on the floor of this body 2 weeks ago, and they did that because, although we are hearing today about the consumer reigns supreme, the American people are afraid. They are afraid right now because you have to worry when you are praying in a church, when you are teaching or have your child in a first grade classroom, when you are playing in a park, walking down a street, or enjoying a Saturday night at a nightclub that a dangerous person with a gun may cut you down. That is the most fundamental right we all have as Americans, our right to our very lives, and we have not been allowed the opportunity to even debate this matter in the 3\1/2\ years that I have been in Congress. The time has passed. The time has passed for handwringing and for moments of silence. We have two bills. They are bipartisan bills. They will make a meaningful difference and save lives. We should call them up this week. The time is now. If you are too dangerous to get on an airplane because you are dangerous to the national security of this country, you should not be free to buy an arsenal. We should pass no fly, no buy. Fundamentally, we need to have expanded background checks on all sales of guns. None of this other legislation works. If we don't ask whether you are a dangerous, forbidden, prohibited person from buying a weapon, then even closing the terrorist watch list will be of no meaning because you can just go online, as so many Americans now do, and avoid the law. It is our job to help fix problems and to make things right. We are not doing our job if we are not debating--much less even voting on-- legislation that will save lives. The time has come to act. The time is now: no fly, no buy this week; expanded background checks this week.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, people who are watching may wonder: What are these folks talking about? They are talking about a rule. What is this about? If you just tuned in, I will tell you what it is about. One hundred thousand Americans have died from guns in the last 3\1/2\ years, and this body--this House of Representatives, this U.S. House of Representatives, the people's House--has done nothing, nothing at all, not one little thing. The time has long passed for marking the deaths of Americans by guns when we could help to prevent them. The time has passed for moments of silence. We need to take action, and the action needs to be now because, while we wait, Americans die. What makes the news are the mass shootings. Sadly, they are becoming more frequent, and they are becoming more horrific. Every single day, Americans are dying in small towns, in big cities. They are dying in bedrooms, dying in domestic violence arguments, dying on the streets of Hartford and Chicago. It often doesn't even make the news, but, believe me, those families know their loved ones are gone. Their friends know-- their friends at church, those in the neighborhood. It is in the ripple of those deaths that we could do something that has us here--that has us here all day, that had us here all night 2 weeks ago. We will keep raising our voices because the American people depend on us to not just talk but to take action, and that is within our power. Ninety-three percent of the American people support background checks. Ninety-three percent. That is more probably than like chocolate ice cream. We can do this. More than that support, keeping guns out the hands of terrorists, there is nothing controversial about these proposals. It seems to have become an article of faith that, if the gun lobby is opposed to it, that it is too dangerous for politicians to act. I will tell you what is too dangerous. It is too dangerous to our constituents for us not to act. It is too dangerous for them to have this institution not listen to their cries, to their weeping, to their pleading. It is time for us to be strong, to be resolute. And whether it is the gun lobby or whatever it is that keeps you from protecting American lives with passing bipartisan commonsense legislation, it is time to let go of those fears because the fears of the American people depend on us relieving them, and we can only do that by taking action. We are the body that is elected to do that. And the States are trying, but they can't get the job done without our help. It is up to us to do what our sworn duty is to do, to protect and defend the American people. We can't defend them from all harms, but we can do our job with this. Background checks work. They save lives. They save uniform police officers. They save folks in domestic violence situations. It is time for us to do our job.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to call on the U.S. Congress to call on this body, the United States House of Representatives, to do its job: to vote this week to keep guns out of the hands of would-be terrorists and to ensure that all commercial sales of weapons go through a background check. Since the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in my district in 2012, more than 100,000 Americans have lost their lives to gun violence. Think about that. Think about a town in your district. Think about where your mother lives. I think about my hometown of Cheshire, with 30,000 people. Three Cheshires lost. Every single person--children, parents, teachers, grandparents--lost to gun violence. And this House does nothing. In the 3\1/2\ years that I have been here, we have not been allowed one single, solitary vote to take commonsense, bipartisan steps to help prevent gun deaths in this country. Congress' silence, our failure to act in this House, and the refusal of the leadership in this House time again to allow a vote is wrong, it is shameful, and it must stop. Since my colleagues', Senator Murphy and Senator Blumenthal, historic, nearly 15-hour filibuster last week, Americans from all walks of life have risen up to say, ``Enough.'' Enough sons and daughters lost, enough families torn apart, enough of absurd loopholes that make it easier for people on the FBI's terrorist watch list to buy guns than it is for your 16-year old to get a driver's license. Reforms to stop terrorists from purchasing guns and extended background checks to all commercial sales are commonsense, bipartisan solutions to help prevent gun violence and to save lives. Outside of Washington, these ideas aren't the least bit controversial. In fact, they are simply common sense. The American people get it. The overwhelming majority of Americans support the no fly, no buy rule that would allow us to close this absurd loophole that someone on the terrorist watch list can go in and legally purchase a gun anywhere in America, and to have background checks on each and every commercial sale. Yesterday, on Monday, a majority of Senators decided to protect the interests of the gun lobby, rather than protecting the American people. Now is the time for this House to lead. The House has remained silent for too long, for far too many acts of gun violence that have claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. It is unthinkable, unconscionable that this House would look to recess to celebrate the 4th of July, the freedom day, our Independence Day in this country, when we have yet to hold a single, solitary vote since Sandy Hook, when 100,000 Americans have died from gunshot wounds in 3\1/2\ years. We must take up action. We must act this week. It is time for Congress to vote. It is time for Congress to act.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to drill down a little bit on the remarks of my good friend and colleague, Mr. Thompson, about why these two bills, why the no fly, no buy bill, and the expanded background checks, are so important and why they are so critical for this House to take votes on them this week; because keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people--and let's remember who these people are: convicted felons, domestic violence abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill, and the no fly, no buy would add would-be terrorists to that list--I think is something the overwhelming number of Americans and, frankly, people living anywhere in the world would agree would make sense. Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people not only makes sense, but it works. Since background checks were instituted, over 2 million purchases of guns were stopped by would-be buyers who submitted to a background check and it came back with a rejection saying, You are not authorized; and the gun was not sold. So it does work. It doesn't work perfectly, but it works. And why does it matter that we expand background checks? Well, let me tell you a little bit of something that I learned when I was elected to this job and the horrible murders happened in Newtown. I learned about the details of our present system. When the background check system was put in 20 years ago, nobody bought guns on the Internet. In fact, most of us didn't buy much of anything on the Internet, but now we do. Now nearly 40 percent of the sales go through the Internet, and almost none of those go through background checks. That was surely not the intent of our colleagues 20 years ago. It just wasn't the way anyone bought anything. Simply to keep up with the times, to reflect the way Americans purchase guns, ammunition, and everything else, we need to close the Internet loophole because it is not just gun shows, more importantly, it is the Internet. But let's also understand what it means now to have this loophole. I am going to tell you the analogy that a former ATF official--Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms official--told me when I first started working on this issue, now 3\1/2\ years ago. He said this: Elizabeth, imagine you arrive at the airport. People flew in today. Imagine you arrive at the airport, and there's somebody loaded up with a suicide vest and a gun standing next to you in line. But there are two lines you can go to get on the plane. One of the lines is the one we're customarily used to. We put our things through, metal detectors, x-ray scanners, backscatter scanners. But there's another line. The other line you can choose, and you could just walk right onto the plane, take your gear with you. And if that gear happens to be bombs, if it happens to be a suicide vest, it if happens to be guns, you could just walk right onto the plane. Now, I think we could all agree that that would be incredibly dangerous, incredibly irresponsible, senseless. And yet, that is the system we have right now for guns. If you are a terrorist, if you are a domestic violence abuser, if you are dangerously mentally ill, and, most importantly, if you are a convicted felon, all you have to do is go online, or all you have to do is go to the gun show and go to the booth that doesn't list that it is a federally licensed firearms dealer. Folks, that is just too easy. It is too easy for the bad guys to get their hands on guns. It is up to us to take action, the simple action of passing these two important pieces of legislation to close these loopholes. Now, some will say it is too hard, this Congress is too gridlocked, and we can't get anything done, but I want to tell you what hard is. Hard is what Mark Barden does every day. Mark Barden's son, Daniel, was murdered in his classroom 3\1/2\ years ago, and Mark Barden gets up every morning. He tells me he can't even go and have breakfast with the rest of the family because that was his special time with his son. He can't do that now. It is too painful. So he gets up, he goes out of the house, he makes phone calls, and he does email because he can't be alone in his house with the rest of the family sleeping because his son is no longer there. Mark Barden now is one of the growing number of American citizen activists, because this Congress has failed to act, these American heroes who fly around the country, pound the pavement, go to churches, synagogues, mosques, meet in schools, and go to chambers of commerce and plead with their fellow Americans to pressure this body, the House of Representatives, the people's House, to take action to defend the people. What we do is not that hard, not compared to what Mark Barden does every day, not compared to the heartache of those in Chicago where you have dozens dying on a given weekend. Folks, it is not that hard. We can take the votes. We should take the heat, and we should act to save lives.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I will stand here for the remainder of my time to protest the appalling silence of this House and its refusal to act in the face of this terrorist act.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind this House that Martin Luther King, Jr. said: A time comes when silence is betrayal. Early Sunday morning, 49 Americans were murdered and 53 wounded, gunned down at a gay nightclub in Orlando. As a nation, we grieve for the 49 Americans who were taken from us that day. Our hearts and prayers are with their loved ones and with all those who were wounded. Yet while we grieve, we must also act. This heinous, hateful attack had three important aspects, each of which we must acknowledge and address. Orlando was a hate crime. It was a terrorist attack, and it was committed with a gun that this individual should never have had. This terrorist attack was a hate crime, and if we ignore that brutal reality, if we are silent about it, then we disrespect the victims of this tragedy, their families, and LGBT Americans across this Nation. So let's be very clear. On Sunday, an individual set out to kill LGBT Americans simply because of who they are. It was a direct attack on the LGBT community in a place where they gathered for safety and fellowship, and it was an attack on the Latino and Hispanic community as well. As the sister of a gay man, this attack is personal to me, but in reality, this attack is personal to all Americans. It is an attack on our families, our friends, our values. It is an attack on our diversity and our freedom. As Americans, we do not back down from our values. We unite around them. We do not respond to hatred with hatred. Today it is more important than ever to stand up proudly against discrimination in all forms, whether it is based on sexual orientation, on gender identity, religion, race, or anything else. This was also a terrorist attack that requires a counterterrorism response. We need to strengthen our intelligence efforts at home and abroad. At home we need to identify potential lone wolf attackers and stop them before they become radicalized. Our political leaders, or those seeking to become political leaders, need to stop singling out Muslim Americans for hatred and violence. Targeting Muslim Americans with violence and discrimination isn't just un-American; it makes our entire Nation less safe. It gives ISIS a recruiting tool to radicalize individuals in this country and around the world. It puts families in this country in greater danger, and it puts our troops at greater risk. We need the Muslim communities throughout this country that are standing up against terrorism and against dangerous radical perversions of their faith. We rely on their cooperation to identify potential attackers before they attack. Finally, we need to close the gaping hole in our laws that allow suspected terrorists who are on the FBI's terrorist watch list to walk into a store and buy a firearm. This issue is only controversial in this House and in Congress. Among our constituents, it is common sense. If you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to own a gun. Quite simply, no fly, no buy. The time for silence is over. We in Congress have a sworn obligation to protect the people of the United States. Every day we fail to act is a failure to carry out our most basic duty. So, Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 1076, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the legacy of State Representative Mary Fritz, who will be retiring from the Connecticut House of Representatives. Rep. Fritz's retirement will mark the conclusion of her fifteenth term and more than three decades of public service. As a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Rep. Fritz has worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Cheshire and Wallingford. Rep. Fritz began a lifetime of public service on the Board of Education in the Town of Wallingford, Connecticut. In November of 1982, Rep. Fritz was first elected to represent the 90th District in the Connecticut General Assembly. Since Rep. Fritz's inaugural term, she has established herself as a consummate leader, serving as Deputy Majority Leader, Deputy Speaker, and Assistant Deputy Speaker over the course of her long and distinguished tenure. As a legislator, Rep. Fritz has successfully pushed for and passed legislation on a broad array of issues including crime, education, healthcare, senior care, and taxation. During her first term, Rep. Fritz helped establish high school graduation requirements that called for Connecticut high school students to complete a course in civics. This marked the first of many hard-won reforms through which she enriched the lives of her constituents and strengthened our community. It gives me great pleasure to recognize the service of my friend and former colleague, State Representative Mary Fritz. On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I thank her and wish her the very best in retirement.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that on Monday, May 23, I unfortunately missed two roll call votes in order to attend my daughter's graduation. Had I been present I would have voted: 1. No--motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4889 (Roll Number 229). Had I been present, I would have voted no on H.R. 4889 (Roll Call 229). 2. Aye--motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3998 (Roll Number 230). Had I been present, I would have voted aye on H.R. 3998 (Roll Call 230).

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Connecticut Beekeepers Association, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this weekend. The Connecticut Beekeepers Association is vital to promoting and protecting honeybees in communities across Connecticut. The appreciation our state's beekeepers receive doesn't come close to matching their impact on our health and our economy. Honeybees pollinate one-third of the food on our plates and roughly 90 crops found in the United States. To give you an idea of the role honeybees play in our food security, picture walking into your local grocery store and finding the produce aisles half-empty. That's what a future without honeybees would look like. Unfortunately, honeybees are dying off at an alarming rate, due to Colony Collapse Disorder and stressors such as disease, habitat loss, and pesticides. The Connecticut Beekeepers Association is working tirelessly to save our pollinators. It's bringing together beekeepers, farmers, businesses, and consumers and educating the public about the importance of honeybees. The Connecticut Beekeepers Association knows that the best way to engage people in this important work is to keep it fun. They even brought live bees to a New Britain Bees baseball game to show kids how hives work. I am proud to support the Connecticut Beekeepers Association's efforts for a healthy, sustainable honeybee population in the future. On this historic anniversary, I commend the Connecticut Beekeepers Association on 125 years of excellence in beekeeping and environmental stewardship.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor with a simple message for the leaders of this House: Do your job. The majority has refused to even vote on a budget--our most basic duty--and has failed to address over $3 trillion of needed infrastructure across the country. This is National Infrastructure Week. Forty-one percent of the roads in my home State of Connecticut are rated in poor condition. Bad roads cost the average Connecticut driver over $660 per year in unnecessary repairs and expenses. A great nation does not respond to crises with duct tape. A great nation does not tell 110 pregnant citizens with the Zika virus that they should make do with one-third of the necessary funding. For our infrastructure, for Flint, for the Supreme Court, for Zika patients, and for gun violence victims, the call to the leaders of this body is clear: It is time to lead. Do your job.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a motion which would instruct the appointed conference committee to prioritize prevention, treatment, and recovery programs for folks suffering from prescription opioid or heroin addiction, but all of the good legislation that we worked on so hard this past week in the House is close to futile without appropriate Federal funding. It is all too easy for us to say we support helping folks who suffer from addiction to get the treatment and resources they so desperately need or to support community programs that spread awareness about the dangers of prescription drug use or to instruct and support medical professionals about the risks of opioid addiction, but it is time for us to put our money where our mouth is. This year, the President requested that we appropriate $1.1 billion to help the American people to prevent and treat addiction. It is time for us to act on that request. It is not enough to adopt important policies that we have this week on prevention and on treatment; we need funding. We must provide adequate Federal funding to prevent addiction from occurring in the first place by expanding our prescription drug overdose prevention strategies. We must provide adequate Federal funding to help save the lives of those who have intentionally or accidentally overdosed by improving access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone and support targeted enforcement. And we must help our local law enforcement by supporting targeted enforcement activities. Families across my district in Connecticut and across this great Nation are reaching out to our offices asking for support and help, asking us to come together and to address this public health crisis. Recently, I was contacted by a family from my hometown about a young woman who was a classmate of one of my three children. They have lost track of this young woman. She has fallen into the grips of addiction and has disappeared for years from her family. They are trying to seek her out, find her, and get her treatment. We were successful in finding her in a court. We were successful in getting her a bed. Sadly, she turned down treatment at this time. That is the story of what addiction does to families. We are hopeful that she will heed the voices of her family, that she will come back in and get treatment. But that is also why prevention matters. Because it is so hard to treat addiction, we need to do everything we can to prevent folks from getting addicted in the first place. That is why some of the provisions I included in this bill are so important: to make sure the public understands the risk of prescription drug addiction, to make sure that our medical professionals get continuing medical education to understand their responsibility to look out for their patients, to seek out alternative pain management strategies, and to understand those risks. The sad truth is we don't have enough treatment beds. The sad truth is we don't have dissemination of best practices. The sad truth is we don't have the funding right now to address this crisis in the way that the American people want and need us to do. So let's work together. Let's work together to prevent our children, our families, and our friends from being so poisoned by this addiction on our streets. We can't do it without funding. It is just unfair. Not just unwise, it is unfair to claim credit for solving a problem and addressing it without the funds that need to go there. So let's work together to provide funding. In our conference with the Senate, let's seek to put the resources there to back the wonderful policies that we adopted this week in this House. So, again, I urge my colleagues to support this motion to instruct our conferees. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct conferees at the desk.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), my friend and fellow Nutmegger.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as previous speakers have already noted, 30,000 Americans are likely to die this year from drug overdoses. In the small cities in my district, like Waterbury, a town of about 100,000 people, 38 people died last year from drug overdoses. In New Britain, Connecticut, it was 31 people. Each one of those individuals had friends and family and loved ones. Each one of those deaths was mourned. Each one of those deaths was an unnecessary tragedy. Our constituents send us to Washington to work together to solve problems, and this is the most basic and fundamental issue we deal with, literally, matters of life and death. I am pleased that my good friend, my colleague from Indiana, Susan Brooks, has worked so hard and that the majority has worked hard with the minority this week on it. But at the end of the day, our budgets are also our priorities. We have to find a way to provide the resources so that these wonderful programs and the good policies that we adopted this week are reflected and put into place to actually save lives. We cannot claim credit for good policies when we do not provide the resources to the first responders on the streets, to the substance abuse counselors, to the coaches who need to understand the risks for their young athletes, to parents to understand those risks, to our dentists who are doing wisdom tooth extractions. All our work is for naught if it is simply a bill passed that appears in lawbooks. Our job is not yet done. So I urge my colleagues in the strongest possible way to continue our good work and to put into effect the resources so that these policies adopted in the Senate and the House have the impact we all want and the American people need, which is to help save lives, to prevent our fellow citizens from becoming addicted to prescription drugs or to heroin, and to actually help them remove themselves from that addiction and return to life in its fullest form. So, again, I urge my colleagues to take these instructions and take this charge to heart in the meeting in the conference committee. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment, which would empower the interagency task force to help communities spread awareness about the dangers of drug addiction through consumer education, and help medical providers more effectively and safely address patient pain management. Along with my colleague, Representative Knight, I proudly introduced this amendment that was inspired by bipartisan legislation that I introduced earlier this year, with Representatives Knight and Costello, and that was identified as a legislative priority by the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic that I proudly serve on with so many of my colleagues here in this House. Mr. Chairman, there is not a community in this great country that hasn't been touched by drug addiction, not one. Addiction knows no bounds. It knows no race, no gender, no economic status, no party affiliation. In January, I was honored to have James Wardwell, the Chief of Police in New Britain, Connecticut, join me for the President's State of the Union Address, and he came to join me because of his leadership and his concern about the need to address this growing public health crisis. Chief Wardwell, and many other first responders, medical professionals, substance abuse counselors, family members, and recovering addicts, have worked with me to help craft legislation to address our growing epidemic of prescription drug and heroin addiction. I am glad that today, this House is taking action. Today's legislation is an example of what we, in Congress, are supposed to be doing. Our job is to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to address the needs of the American people. Whenever I go home to central and northwest Connecticut, at community forums in Torrington, at Congress on Your Corner events in Waterbury and the Farmington Valley, constituents come up to me and ask: What are you in Congress doing to help our families with the heroin epidemic? The families in Connecticut and across this country who are losing loved ones to drug addiction cannot afford for us to wait. We need to act now. Recovering from addiction is possible, but it is hard. So much of our effort to combat drug addiction is focused on helping folks get the treatment they need, and that is important, but it is not enough to treat the crisis. We must help prevent people from getting addicted in the first place. Our bipartisan amendment does just that by directing the interagency task force to establish guidelines that help prescribers more effectively and safely manage their patients' pain, and that strengthens consumer education about opioid addiction. Our amendment takes an important step toward preventing drug addiction. Those who prescribe narcotics would benefit from an increased education about the dangers of addiction and ways in which they can help minimize the risks associated with prescribing narcotics. Those hardest hit by this epidemic would benefit from having access to educational materials in our schools, community centers, and from local law enforcement, that help warn people about the dangers of opioid use and possible addiction. I am very encouraged that the House and Senate are taking action to address this public health crisis, and I will continue doing everything within my power to make addiction prevention a priority. Opioid and heroin addiction have already taken so many young lives and needlessly torn apart so many families. We can't wait for more lives to be destroyed before we take action. So let's work together today to prevent our children, our students, our patients, our neighbors, our families, and our friends, from becoming victims of this terrible public health crisis. Let's work together today to stop drug addiction before it begins. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Chairman, again, I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Knight, for cosponsoring this amendment. I would like to thank the bipartisan leadership for taking up this issue, and my good friend, the gentlewoman from Indiana, Representative Brooks, for her leadership. I would like to thank the advocates in Connecticut who have worked so tirelessly with me, Chief Wardwell and Shawn Lang, among others. Shawn Lang recently was recognized by the White House for her advocacy and leadership on this issue for many, many years. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize today's Polish Day celebration at the Connecticut State Capitol, and to congratulate the Polish people in celebrating the 225th anniversary of Europe's oldest written constitution. Poland adopted the first written constitution in Europe on May 3, 1791. With the leadership of King Stanislaw August, Poland's constitution established many of the same principles of freedom and democracy ratified in the United States, like freedom of religion, the separation of powers, and political equality. I am proud to represent New Britain, Connecticut, which has more residents of Polish descent than any other community in our great state. Polish-Americans have made invaluable contributions to the social, cultural, and economic life and history of communities in central and northwest Connecticut, and throughout our great state. As a member of the Congressional Caucus on Poland, I am committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship between Poland and the United States. Those bonds of friendship date back centuries, and have only grown stronger through solidarity in the Cold War and continued collaboration to expand economic opportunity and promote security in the region and around the world. So Mr. Speaker, on this Polish Constitution Day, it is my privilege to join neighbors across Connecticut and the entire United States in celebrating the 225th anniversary of Poland's first constitution. I know that this House joins me in honoring the many contributions of the people of Poland and those of Polish descent in developing democracy and furthering the cause of freedom throughout the world.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize April 28 as Workers' Memorial Day, and to honor the men and women around the world who have suffered injuries or lost their lives in the workplace. In Connecticut, the unions of the AFL-CIO are observing Workers' Memorial Day today with ceremonies on the steps of our State Capitol in Hartford and at the Workers Memorial in the Town of Groton's Washington Park. Last Saturday was the 29th anniversary of one of the worst workplace disasters in Connecticut's history. On April 23, 1987, L'Ambiance Plaza, a 16-story building under construction in Bridgeport, collapsed. Twenty-eight construction workers lost their lives. This disaster was preventable, and it was a wakeup call for Connecticut--and for our nation--that we can never afford to take workplace safety for granted. We've made some progress in the three decades since the L'Ambiance Plaza tragedy, but in the United States, 13 workers still die on the job during an average workday. In Connecticut, 33 men and women died due to workplace accidents in 2014. That's more than two workers every month, just in my state, who don't return home to their loved ones at the end of a shift. Nearly half of these men and women worked in the construction, transportation, and warehousing industries--industries that sustain thousands of Connecticut jobs. These workers are powering the economy of our state and of the nation, and we have a responsibility to keep them safe. Today, on Workers' Memorial Day, we honor the memories and sacrifices of the thousands of men and women throughout the world who have been injured or lost their lives while doing their job.

Ms. ESTY

Ms. ESTY. Mr Speaker, last weekend, the State of Connecticut lost a true champion, and I lost a friend, with the unexpected passing of Francis E. Cirillo III. A lifetime Waterbury resident, Frank passed away just days before his 56th birthday. A graduate of Wilby High School, Frank proudly served our country in the U.S. Navy during the Cold War. He served aboard the USS Ranger from 1978 to 1982 and earned the rank of Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class. He was awarded the Naval Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. After his military service, Frank returned home to Waterbury where he began his civilian career at Connecticut Light and Power (now known as Northeast Utilities). Frank fell in love with Milena, his wife of 31 years, and together they raised a wonderful family, which he was immensely proud of--as anyone who spent time in Frank's office immediately learned through photos and mementos. After 20 years at Northeast Utilities, Frank became a full-time union official in March 2004. He was famous and admired for his strong advocacy for the members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 420 in Waterbury. Frank's outspokenness and passion served him well in his positions with the CT AFL-CIO, the Western CT Central Labor Council, the New England Utility Council, and the Local 420's COPE. His commitment to working families helped ensure that they received the services, benefits, and recognition they deserved. In 2013, he received the Paul A. Loughran Memorial Award for Outstanding Leadership. Frank was frequently recognized for his hard work and community service. He was actively involved in civic and charitable organizations, serving as Waterbury's Good Jobs Liaison Commissioner, a member of the Waterbury Democratic Town Committee, and a member of Waterbury's American Italian Civic Club. He was honored in 2014 by the Waterbury Veterans Memorial Committee for his outstanding service to the city, state, and nation. And I also note that Frank was frequently ``recognized' as Al Pacino--his resemblance to the famous actor was so striking that Frank proudly hung a large Godfather poster behind his desk. Frank will be sorely missed by all those who were fortunate enough to know him. His contributions to the City of Waterbury and the State of Connecticut will not be forgotten. My heart and condolences go out to his family and friends as we remember the legacy and the glorious life of Frank Cirillo. On a personal note, I will miss Frank's friendship, his directness, his guidance, and his love of life. He inspired and challenged me in all the best ways. And it simply will not be October without chilly Saturday morning door knocking with Frank. It's hard to imagine that Frank is not still with us--passionately advocating for working families, cracking jokes, and freely offering his assessment of anyone who he believed to be ``full of it.'' I have no doubt that Frank is stirring things up in heaven, letting St. Peter know exactly what he thinks.