Chaka Fattah

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Gerlach amendment to H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 considered en bloc. This amendment recognizes the sacrifice of the Wereth 11, a group of eleven African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion of the United States Army who lost their lives in dedicated service to this country during the Battle of the Bulge in Wereth, Belgium. The adoption of this amendment would ensure that history remembers and pays tribute to these men, and I was pleased to work with Mr. Gerlach on this effort.

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the impact of the work of Dr. D. Walter Cohen. Dr. Cohen's career brought extraordinary accomplishments to both Philadelphia and the global medical community. He set the highest standards in education and forged international partnerships for the promotion of peace. Today, I am pleased to honor Dr. D. Walter Cohen's contributions to education and science. Dr. Cohen was born and raised in Philadelphia. He earned both his undergraduate degree and a D.D.S. from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing a research fellowship in Pathology and Periodontics at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, he returned to Philadelphia to commence a distinguished academic career. In 1951, Dr. Cohen returned to Penn as an associate professor and embarked on a career that would exemplify leadership, dedication, and the highest standard of innovation. During his tenure, he established Penn's Department of Periodontics and served as its first chairman, became a Professor of Periodontics, and ultimately became Dean of Penn Dental Medicine. As Dean, Dr. Cohen is widely credited for revitalizing the school's educational program by establishing a preceptor model of education, introducing new courses, recruiting a new faculty, and establishing a residency. His book describes the innovative program that changed the way Penn educates dental students; ``Educating the dentist of the future: The Pennsylvania Experiment.'' Dr. Cohen's career was ultimately recognized with the 2013 William J. Gies Award from the American Dental Education Association, which honored his superior achievements in dental education. His accomplishments have considerable international impact. In the 1950's, he initiated a fellowship exchange between the U.S. and Israel. After raising $500,000, he was able to bring over 18 full-time faculty members to train at Penn. The program's success paved the way for the creation of The D. Walter Cohen Middle East Center for Dental Education in Israel. The center allowed dentists throughout the Middle East to study at the Hebrew University Hadassah School in Jerusalem. The program strengthened the partnership between the U.S. and Israel while promoting peace and education. Dr. Cohen's exemplary leadership helped to unite 41 U.S. dental schools under the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders. The Alliance is committed to promoting peace through health education. By crossing borders, health providers build bridges among dental and health professionals around the world. These connections provide education, improve the state of oral health globally, develop leadership and advocacy, and promote collaborative research. His legacy will endure through lasting contributions and through those who have recognized them. He was awarded honorary membership by the British Society of Periodontology, and given the Legion of Merit Award from the French Government. The American Academy of Periodontology offers a grant in his name, the Dr. D. Walter Cohen Teaching Award. It is my privilege to recognize the distinguished career of Dr. Walter Cohen for contributing to peace and education around the world.

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, obviously, between the Garrett amendment on disparate impact and this, this is, I guess, not actually part of their effort to reach out for a greater fan base--the idea that local communities can't make decisions in their own interests and that we need the heavy hand of the Federal Government to herd them into some particular set of responsibilities that are actually our responsibilities. Immigration law is our responsibility. It is not a local community's responsibility. When the fire department shows up, it is supposed to put the fire out, not worry about where someone's papers are. I just think that it is somewhat contradictory of what we hear from the other team about where they are headed, but this might be representative thereof, rather than doing comprehensive immigration reform. We must do our job as the United States Congress. Now, the Senate has done its job. The President has said that he wants to sign a comprehensive bill. The Chamber of Commerce and all of the various religious and faith-based groups in our country have come forward, but rather than the Congress taking up a bill--any bill--on immigration reform, what we have is this constant effort to get at local communities that are just trying to make the best of a very tough situation that the Federal Government is creating. Now, we will burden them because we don't want to take our responsibility and enact a comprehensive immigration program. I am opposed to this amendment, but I am pleased that the gentleman has reminded us that this is, in essence, the immigration program that has some currency from the majority party. We should do something different than this, and we can. There are 218 votes on this floor that would do comprehensive immigration reform if we would bring it, then we wouldn't have to deal with these kinds of amendments year in and year out, bill in and bill out, because we would have dealt with the problem. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. I concur with the chairman. Maybe it will get approved, but not in our bill and not at this time because we don't completely understand it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. Madam Chair, this program has not been reauthorized by the Congress. So let's go back to that. This is a program that was created to provide support to local communities to be able to hire 1 million additional police officers nationwide, and it was put into place. It has operated well, and ever since this became the law of the land in the Clinton administration, the crime rate nationwide has gone down. We have not reauthorized it, but we have funded it each and every year because it is the right thing to do. On one level, the American public is paying taxes, and safety, to them, is having police officers in their communities and that when they dial 911, there is someone there to respond. At the same time that we have had this back and forth about the COPS program, we have provided well over $6 billion of the American taxpayers' money for police officers and training in Iraq and in places like Afghanistan to provide police officers in communities in countries far away from the streets of the gentleman's city, New York City, or my hometown of Philadelphia. Now, it is true that the Congress has not done its work. We haven't reauthorized the transportation bill or the education bill or the COPS program. There is a whole line of bills that we have not found the ability to come together around, and there are a host of programs in these appropriations bills that are being funded, even though the authorization has lapsed. So I think that in this particular instance, even though the point of order is correct and proper, it moves aside what should be the primary concern, which is to have cops on the street and connecting young people up with cops, which is the point of this amendment, to say that law enforcement officers are paid for under this grant program. I want to let every Member know that when this bill is finished, when it comes out of conference, there will be money for the COPS program. The only thing that this amendment seeks to say is that some of those cops should have, as their primary responsibility, interacting and intervening in the development of youth gangs because we know that if we can grab ahold of these young people while the concrete has not yet hardened, we can prevent them from taking on a life of criminal or antisocial activity. So I thank the gentleman for offering the amendment. I think it is correctly on point, and I appreciate the chairman reserving his point of order so that I can make the point that, even though unauthorized, we have the authority to appropriate this money--and we will, as we did last year and the year before and the year before that. Because at the end of the day, cops on the street, when someone dials 911, they are not dialing in the hopes of help. They are dialing because they really need help, and we need to have police officers who can respond. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Reclaiming my time, let me say: Let's work through it. We can work together. The chairman has given you his assurances that he will work with you, but there is no possibility that we can afford to cut this agency by 20 percent. I need to oppose this amendment. We would love to work with you to get you the answers because you are not trying to punish OSTP, you are trying to get legitimate answers to legitimate questions, and we want to help you and facilitate that.

Mr. FATTAH. Yes.

Mr. FATTAH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. FATTAH. This is an extraordinary and important amendment, and the issue is important not just in Tennessee, but throughout the country. So I also support the amendment, and I urge its adoption. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. I rise to object to the amendment, not because of the purpose thereof, but because of the offset. The Byrne-JAG Grant Program has enjoyed a great deal of support in the chairman's mark, and obviously we need to do more, if we could. But the gentleman seeks to take money away from the research efforts at DOJ, and I want to make a point about this. The notion that we should continue to do what we have been doing as a country flies in the face of all the facts. We imprison more people than any other country on the face of the Earth on a per capita basis. We have created a circumstance in which we have violent crimes at levels that are not seen in any other developed country on Earth. We need to be thinking anew about this. That is what the Criminal Justice Task Force that the chairman and I have worked on has been created to do. That is why we moved to evidence-based justice investment activities, so that we can measure safety of communities based on what is being done. The idea that being tough on crime is going to make our families safer hasn't worked out all that well. What we need to do is to be smart on crime. So the idea that we want to take money away from researching and understanding what works and what doesn't work works against-- normally--the position of the other team. The other team usually is here on the floor saying that we should fund those things that work and not fund those things that don't work. The research efforts at DOJ are designed exactly for that purpose. They are designed to determine what is actually working. I met with the heads of court systems and criminal justice efforts throughout our country, Democrat and Republicans alike. They say that this research effort has enabled them to focus in on what can make communities safer in terms of policing in criminal justice and prison- related activities. So I support his goal, but I reject his offset. I would ask for Members to oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. There is no one in this House that has been more focused on the problems of gangs and has talked about it more than Chairman Wolf. So when he says that this is a matter he is concerned about, he has shown that over the years. This is an important effort. It is a program that, if we can find a way to fund it, we should. My colleague, who served as mayor of one of America's great cities and is now a Member of the Congress, is right to point this out. I look for an opportunity where, perhaps as we move to complete this bill in conference, we can see if there are other resources available. I think in the offset there probably is some wiggle room, but we need to pay a little bit closer attention to it. So I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment, but I may have some concerns about the offset. And whatever the result of the amendment, you have heard the chairman say--and I join in--that we would be glad to work with you on this effort. Thank you for offering the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. I enthusiastically support the chairman's decision to accept it. I thank the gentlelady from Texas, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, in rural areas, a lot of times, these challenges go without the same notice that they might bring in a large, metropolitan area. I think it is so useful that the gentleman has brought this matter to our attention, and I am glad that we were able to work through this. I indicate our support for this amendment, and I thank the gentleman. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, early one morning, I went over and visited the ATF and met with Todd Jones, the administrator, and met a large number of his critical leaders there at the agency. They are doing an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances. The chairman points out that they have had success where they have been able to focus. I would be willing to work with the gentleman on his area of concern to try to get some focus. But to deal with his broader point, it is true that we need to be doing more to make the lives of Americans safer. We have 1,000 marines off the coast of Libya today because we are going to evacuate Americans. We have had eight or so hearings, and we have a new investigation, over the tragic attack that took place that took the lives of our Ambassador and three others in Libya. But we saw a shooting right here in America over the weekend in California, and you won't see a big clamor here for us to have hearings or to do a lot. And we do need to rebalance these issues. We need to be doing more. It is our responsibility to do more to protect the American people not just when they are abroad but here at home. The ATF and these other agencies play a critical role. This amendment, its offset is problematic. I would hope, as the chairman said, that we can work with you on this so that we can try to provide more resources to ATF and not necessarily take it away from this particular activity in terms of what we have to do in terms of a commercial crew. I hope that the gentleman will find a way to work with us on this rather than proceed forward with a vote. He would have my pledge that we would work with him and the chairman as we go forward into conference. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.