Gene Green

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 708, ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 709, and ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 710.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise for the thousands of hurricane disaster victims in our district in Houston and Harris County, Texas, along the Texas Gulf Coast, who are suffering this holiday season due to the Federal Government's inaction and Congress' delay in passing an adequate disaster supplemental bill. People from Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are all U.S. citizens. Hurricane Harvey's destruction was beyond anything witnessed in living memory in Texas. The Houston area typically gets 49 inches of rain throughout the year. A record 52 inches of rain fell in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding in our Nation's fourth largest city. Harvey damaged over 300,000 homes and apartments in the city of Houston alone. Statewide, nearly 600,000 homes have been inspected by FEMA for flood or wind damage. Most tragically, 88 Texans lost their lives in Harvey's wrath. Texans are a proud and independent people. We take pride in our self- reliance and can-do attitude. This was best seen in the actions of our brave first responders and countless volunteers from all over the country who rescued their neighbors during the worst flooding. Unfortunately, many Harvey victims, and especially our seniors and low-income families, continue to be in great need and must rely on others for help. A report released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that African-American Texans, Hispanic Texans, and Texans with lower income were the most likely to have suffered property damage or loss of income due to Harvey. The same report found that over 50 percent of all Harvey disaster victims in Texas have been denied assistance from the Federal Government or are still waiting for a final answer. To date, the Federal Government has provided just $10 million in aid for Harvey victims. Much more Federal aid is needed to rebuild Houston, Harris County, and the Texas Gulf Coast. After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, Congress responded by passing a series of disaster spending bills that provided $120 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas. The Governor of Texas has requested $60-plus billion. Three months after Sandy made landfall, Congress passed a $50 billion disaster relief bill to help New York and New Jersey rebuild. Yesterday, I learned the House leadership is planning on delaying the disaster supplemental for Harvey and the other hurricanes that ravaged Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands for another month, until after Christmas and New Year's. These funds are needed now. December 25, Christmas Day, will mark the 4-month anniversary of Harvey's landfall. Mr. Speaker, the people of Texas deserve better. Today, thousands of Texans in my district and throughout Houston and the Gulf Coast are living in tents, in their cars, and in flooded, moldy houses that are unsafe for our children and the elderly. America can do better than this. During this season of giving, Congress must act and help these disaster victims in need or Texas will suffer a second man-made disaster by the United States Congress.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to act and pass much needed supplemental appropriations to help victims of the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented destruction to the Texas Gulf Coast, dropping a record 52 inches of rain and causing catastrophic flooding in Houston and all along the Gulf Coast. Earlier this week, a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Episcopal Health Foundation found that one in nine Texas Gulf Coast residents remain displaced, three months after Harvey's landfall. Four in ten Texas Gulf Coast residents report sustained damage to their homes and nearly half of affected Texas Gulf Coast residents said they are not receiving the help they need to recover from the hurricane. To date the federal government has provided $10 billion in aid to Harvey victims in Texas, mostly advance payments through the National Flood Insurance Program. However, far more federal aid is needed to rebuild Houston, Harris County, and the Texas Gulf Coast. After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, and Hurricane Sandy impacted New York and New Jersey, Congress responded by passing substantial disaster supplemental bills. In 2013, Congress provided over $50 billion for recovery and rebuilding efforts as a result of Sandy, and $120 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas. I cannot and will not vote for a continuing resolution until House leadership puts disaster relief front and center and passes a substantial supplemental disaster bill that will help Texans fully recover from Harvey's destruction and prepare the Texas Gulf Coast before the next major storm strikes. We cannot continue to kick-the-can down the road while thousands of families in Texas and other parts of our country continue to suffer, months after these terrible storms made landfall. I urge my colleagues, regardless of state and party, to join me in standing up for disaster victims and calling on House leadership to pass a substantial emergency supplemental.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this holiday season the Republican majority has been working overtime on a tax plan that gives permanent tax cuts to wealthy families and corporations funded by raising taxes on middle class families. As the Republican majority tries to disguise its tax plan as a beautifully wrapped gift, the American people need to know that there are negative healthcare effects hidden inside the plan. By passing this tax plan, there would be automatic cuts to Medicare to the tune of $25 billion a year. In addition, this plan could cause an extra 13 million people to become uninsured. The tax bill will explode our debt or will cut Medicare and Medicaid. It has been more than 2 months since Congress should have reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program and federally qualified health centers. This is the first time in history that these programs have been held hostage to the legislative process. Instead of racing to reauthorize these popular bipartisan programs, the Republican majority instead has neglected children across the country solely to provide tax cuts to corporations and wealthy individuals. Mr. Speaker, this plan is not for the many, but it is only for the few.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I oppose H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. While I am opposed to restricting law abiding citizens' access to firearms, I feel that this bill does not adequately address many of the requirements that states have instituted in passing their own concealed carry laws. I am a big supporter of concealed carry and was the lead author of a bill in 1991 in the State Senate to create local concealed carry. The way this bill is written would strip many protections that are currently afforded to Texans. Texas has many requirements for a person to be able to get that license including live-fire training. As a state, we also bar convicted domestic abusers and those convicted of violent crimes and stalking. Under this bill, an individual who had committed those crimes could conceal carry their weapon in Texas if they got their permit from a neighboring state that lacked these requirements for concealed carry like Mississippi. It is for these reasons that I do not support this bill as it is currently written. If we are going to create a federal reciprocity standard for concealed carry it should be a standard that takes into account many of the protections individual states have created. I would proudly vote in support of a bill that addressed these standing issues.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remind every American that the window to purchase health insurance on healthcare.gov will close in 10 days. I encourage anyone who doesn't get insurance through a job or government program to apply before December 15. Financial assistance is available, and the Department of Health and Human Services has said before that 8 out of 10 consumers qualify for a plan that costs less than $75 a month. Although the signup period was cut in half by the Trump administration, nearly 2.8 million people have already enrolled so far this year compared to 2.1 million this time last year. That is an increase of 33 percent, and this doesn't include numbers from States that have their own exchange. Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, and I urge my Republican colleagues not to harm the ACA by including provisions in the tax bill and, instead, work with Democrats to improve the law. Millions of Americans depend on us to do the right thing, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3017, the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act. This legislation will strengthen the Brownfields Program, an important program created by Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 that assists communities with the cleanup of brownfields sites and encourages economic redevelopment. The EPA has estimated that there are 450,000 brownfield sites nationwide. Through the lifetime of the program, nearly 64,000 acres have been revitalized. Every federal dollar spent on rehabilitating brownfields leverages over $16 on average. To date, the Brownfields Program has leveraged nearly $24 billion and created over 124,000 jobs across the United States. Houston is home to one of the country's best known brownfields success stories, Minute Maid Park, home of the World Series Champion Houston Astros. Minute Maid Park was built on a former 38-acre brownfield site in Downtown Houston. Our district, which is home to dozens of abandoned and former industrial sites in need of environmental cleanup and redevelopment, needs to see the expansion of the Brownfields Program so we can have more success stories like Minute Maid Park. I hope that appropriators will fully fund the Brownfields Program at the authorized levels set in this bill, including $200 million annually for grants to assess and clean up brownfields properties and $50 million annually for grants to assist states and Indian tribes establish and enhance their own cleanup programs. We have seen funding for Brownfields drop steadily in recent years, which has impacted local communities' ability to assess and clean up sites in Texas and around the country. This legislation received strong bipartisan support in the Energy and Commerce Committee and passed by voice vote. I ask all of my colleagues to join me and vote in support of the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the tax bill. Again, we find ourselves faced with a bill that will impact every American, but my Republican colleagues are rushing through. They won't even wait for the Congressional Budget Office to show us what the cost will be, to assess what this bill will do to our economy, to our children and our grandchildren. Why the hurry, Mr. Speaker? Is it in hopes that Americans won't notice the repeal of the estate tax, a tax that only applies to people so wealthy that entire States don't have someone affected by it in some years. Is it so that Americans won't notice that this bill repeals the State and local tax deduction for families, but not for businesses? Or is it so that Americans won't notice that it won't tax businesses earning income abroad, but it does tax individuals working abroad? Eighty percent of the tax cuts in this bill go to the top 1 percent of Americans. Republicans may pretend to hope that the money will trickle down to the average American, but we know it won't work. Trickle-down does not work.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my ranking member for yielding time to me. I rise to oppose H.R. 3922. I got elected to Congress to expand access for healthcare. I am not a doctor, I am not a nurse, but as Members of Congress, we can do as much damage as someone who isn't a doctor or nurse by legislation that we see today. And while I strongly support extending funding for the Children's Healthcare Insurance Program and federally qualified health centers, delaying cuts to disproportionate share hospital payments, advancing our other bipartisan healthcare programs, this legislation includes offsets that undermine access to cover these services. Again, my goal in Congress was to expand healthcare, and this bill restricts that access. Two-thirds of Medicaid dollars go to children. If you cut Medicaid, you are cutting those children's benefits. This bill cuts children from Medicaid, and it gives money to the children who are less poor on CHIP. We need both programs. We don't need one or the other. Both CHIP and FQHCs are bedrocks of our healthcare system, providing health insurance to almost 9 million lower-income children serving on the front lines by providing high-quality primary and preventative care to more than 25 million Americans. Congress let funding for these programs expire last month, the first time in our history, since the 1960s, that the FQHCs and the CHIP program were not bipartisan. That is the step this House is making today by doing this. It should be bipartisan because it has always been bipartisan. Unfortunately, instead of bipartisan negotiations looking for a compromise, the process was derailed. The bill cuts, again, Medicaid. Two-thirds are children, to help poor children, and limit their access. The Prevention Fund funds the Centers for Disease Control. We have any number of future illnesses that we need the CDC to have the ability to fight that, and here we are, cutting vaccinations in our communities. We are cutting infectious disease detection and prevention. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and let's expand access and not restrict it.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the Houston Astros for winning the World Series and giving some folks in Houston and southeast Texas something to cheer about. We have had a tough few months, but you could see from last night that there is a lot of cheering in Houston. But I am here to talk about a major issue that is really important: the Children's Health Insurance Program--the CHIP program--and the federally qualified health centers. Both programs are bedrocks of our health system, providing health insurance for over 9 million lower income children, and serving on the front lines of primary care, providing high-quality primary and preventative care for 25 million Americans. Congress let funding for these programs expire more than a month ago, and we must act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen and sustain them. Both CHIP and community health centers have always had strong bipartisan support since their creation 20 and 50 years ago, respectively, but not this time. We should not cut Medicaid to fund these two programs. You are taking money away from the poorest children to give to the less poor children. We need to support vaccination programs, infectious disease detection and prevention, and chronic disease prevention. We need to make sure this bill is bipartisan, and it is not right now.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, beginning today, millions of Americans have the opportunity to buy or change their healthcare plan through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The open enrollment period ends December 15, so consumers need to act now. We only have 45 days to shop around, receive assistance from local organizations, and make a final decision. But many people may not know that because the Trump administration has taken several administrative actions to undermine the ACA. Cutting the open enrollment period in half, to slashing advertising and outreach funding by 90 percent, to announcing a shutdown of healthcare.gov on Sundays during open enrollment and other sabotage efforts, the Trump administration and the Republican majority have tried to restrict the access to healthcare for Americans. I encourage every American who needs health insurance to visit healthcare.gov and get covered. Financial assistance is available, and about 80 percent of the enrollees who pick plans on healthcare.gov will be able to get insurance for $75 a month or less.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we are one week away from the open enrollment period--an opportunity for Americans to purchase health insurance for 2018. President Trump ended the cost sharing reduction--the CSR--payments, which reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income working families. A Congressional Budget Office analysis says ending these payments would likely increase premiums by 20 percent next year and by 25 percent by 2020. In the Senate, there is a bipartisan agreement, led by Senators Alexander and Murray, to stabilize the marketplaces by funding the CSR payments and increase resources for open enrollment outreach. Last night, unfortunately, a couple of the Members in the majority added partisan objectives to the bill, cutting mandates, which will keep costs low, and adding anti-abortion restrictions to CSR payments. Mr. Speaker, I urge the majority to drop the poison pills and work with Democrats to bring the Alexander-Murray bill to the floor as soon as possible to stabilize markets and lower costs for American families. The failure to fix the health reform will cause millions of Americans to lose healthcare, and, that is, ``No Care TrumpCare.''

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge Congress to help the neediest and most vulnerable flood victims from our Nation's recent hurricanes. Our district in Houston and Harris County, Texas, is familiar with hurricanes and disaster recovery. We rebuilt our communities after Allison in 2001, and again in 2008, after Hurricane Ike. Texans are proud and independent people. We take pride in our self- reliance and can-do attitude. However, many members of our community-- low-income families, seniors, and disabled Americans--are in the greatest need and must rely on others for help. Current rules can prevent the neediest victims from receiving assistance they need to recover and rebuild their homes, including denying individuals Federal assistance for being able to afford flood insurance premiums that can exceed over $4,000 a year. That is out of range for most of these folks. As America's elected representatives, we have a moral responsibility to act and protect our Nation's most vulnerable disaster victims, especially our seniors and disabled, from being left with nothing.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to stand with the hundreds of thousands of Texas families victimized by Hurricane Harvey, and urge our state and federal officials to use available resources to help our fellow Americans in their time of need. With nearly four-and-a-half feet of rain and 130 mile per hour winds, Hurricane Harvey is the largest and most expensive natural disaster to hit Texas in living memory. At least 270,000 homes and residences were damaged in our state. Most tragically, over 75 innocent people lost their lives as a result of Harvey, most of them in Harris County. Later today the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on a $36.5 billion disaster supplemental bill to sustain relief and recovery efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is not a perfect bill. I would have strongly preferred Congress provide dedicated funds to rebuild Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, especially dedicated funding towards our region's flood control infrastructure and immediate housing needs for hurricane victims. However, this supplemental will sustain the current recovery efforts till the damages caused by these devastating hurricanes can be fully assessed. Today's supplemental is on top of $15 billion in emergency funding Congress passed last month in the immediate aftermath of Harvey. The bipartisan Texas Congressional Delegation is committed to securing the substantial federal funds Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast need to rebuild and be prepared for the next big storm before the holiday season. Our local officials, in particular the Governor of Texas and the state legislature, have the opportunity right now to act and ramp-up rebuilding efforts through our state's Economic Stabilization Fund. Popularly known as Texas's ``rainy day fund,'' the ESF currently has over $10 billion available for emergencies. There can be no question that the destruction caused by Harvey and the immediate needs of tens of thousands of Texans are an emergency and are the reason why our state has been investing in a rainy day fund in the first place. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner have already called on Governor Greg Abbott to use his authority to tap the rainy day fund and help Texans in need and rebuild our infrastructure. I join Judge Emmett and Mayor Turner in calling on the governor to immediately authorize emergency funding through our rainy day fund and help rebuild Houston and Harris County.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Eastwood Academy and Lyons Elementary School in Houston, Texas, as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017. The U.S. Department of Education selects blue ribbon schools each year from across the country based on their overall academic excellence and progress in closing the achievement gap. Lyons Elementary and Eastwood Academy are 2 of just 342 schools selected nationwide this year. Lyons Elementary and Eastwood Academy were selected as exemplary high-performing schools based on State and national assessments while serving the historically disadvantaged communities of Northline and Eastwood. I thank the parents, teachers, and administrators of Eastwood Academy and Lyons Elementary for their hard work and commitment to building a brighter future for our children and our community. Finally, I wish to recognize the students at Lyons Elementary and Eastwood Academy for their diligence and academic excellence and wish them best in their future endeavors.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Members, I also want to join my colleague from Houston in prayers for Houston police officer Nestor Garcia and his family, but I rise today in support of the 68,000 DREAMers that are in Houston, Harris County, Texas, and throughout our country, and call on congressional leaders to bring up the Dream Act for immediate vote. DREAMers and young men and women who were raised in America know no other country and are an integral part of our schools, our colleges, our workforce, and our communities. During the worst days of Hurricane Harvey, DREAMers helped rescue neighbors and save lives throughout Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast. DREAMers are now and will continue to be serving a key role in rebuilding our city. President Trump's announcement this month to end the DACA program was a gut punch to DREAMers who are helping their families and communities recover from Harvey's destruction. Congress has a moral obligation to honor the hard work and aspirations of the current and earlier generations of immigrants and DREAMers, and bring up the Dream Act for our immediate consideration.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today is World Contraception Day, which provides us an opportunity to talk about the importance of access to contraceptives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called contraception one of the greatest public health interventions of the 20th Century. They improve overall health and well-being, reduce maternal mortality, and allow women to have greater control over their bodies and their lives. The Affordable Care Act mandated contraception coverage with no co- pays, and the evidence of the value of this protection is clear. We should build on this success and ensure all women--both here at home and across the globe--have access to affordable, live-changing contraception.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the millions of Americans whose health coverage is once again being threatened by efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The American people have spoken. They do not want repeal. They certainly do not want the ACA replaced by Graham-Cassidy, the latest, cruelest version of TrumpCare. Nearly every health organization in America, from the insurance providers to doctors, to hospitals, to patient advocacy groups, oppose Graham-Cassidy because it will result in skyrocketing premiums and copays and loss of coverage for millions of Americans, particularly older Americans who need the care most. It is time to abandon the rhetoric of repeal and replace and to work together to stabilize our healthcare markets. Senators Murray and Alexander were working together on a bipartisan bill to fix the ACA before the Republican majority abandoned their efforts for Graham- Cassidy. Mr. Speaker, I hope we return to bipartisan efforts as soon as possible to stabilize markets and improve access to healthcare for all Americans.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 931, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017. Yesterday we recognized the sixteenth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. The tragic events on that day exhibited the heroism our firefighters and other first responders display as they run toward disaster while everyone else runs away. The long-term health consequences on September 11, including several forms of cancer and chronic respiratory conditions among first responders, also serve as a reminder of the unique health risks firefighters face. As firefighters run into burning buildings and other environments, they often do not know whether carcinogens or hazardous materials are present. Such exposures have resulted in cancer becoming the leading cause of line of duty death among firefighters. My grandfather was a captain in the Houston Fire Department and died of cancer. We still do not fully understand the relationship between firefighters and cancer risk. That is why a more comprehensive approach is needed to understand this relationship. H.R. 931, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, will create a voluntary cancer registry of firefighters to collect data on their cancer risks and outcomes related to their job exposures. This registry will inform research into the health risks facing firefighters, as well as ways to mitigate such risks. That evidence will allow us to implement new practices and develop new tools to protect the health of individuals who courageously put their lives at risk to protect the public. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Harris County and all along the Texas Gulf Coast, and urge Congress to immediately pass the $15.25 billion dollar emergency aid bill before us today. For six days, the Texas Gulf Coast was hammered by Hurricane Harvey, bringing destruction beyond anything witnessed in living memory in our state. The storm dropped four feet of rain on Greater Houston. Over 100,000 homes and residences were flooded in Harris County alone. Authorities believe at least 70 Texans were killed due to Harvey, and that number will continue to rise. Houstonians and Texans are a proud and independent people. We take pride in our can-do attitude, as witnessed by our brave first responders and countless volunteers who rescued neighbors during the worst of the flooding. Full recovery from this unprecedented disaster will take years, but right now we need Congress to pass this emergency relief bill that will help the people of Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast sustain current relief efforts and onto the road to recovery. God bless America and God bless Texas.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Harris County and throughout Texas and call on Congress to immediately pass emergency funding to help victims with this unprecedented disaster. Our district in east side, north side, and southeast side Houston, Harris County, is familiar with hurricanes and tropical storms. We were hit hard by Allison in 2001, again by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Harvey's destruction is beyond anything witnessed in living memory in Texas, flooding over 100,000 homes in Harris County alone, killing at least 60 people, 12 innocent victims in our own district. Countless lives in Houston and along the Gulf Coast have been on hold: families who cannot return to their flooded homes, children whose schools are damaged, mothers and fathers who can't get back to work. I urge my colleagues to vote for this critical emergency funding bill today that will help the people of Houston and Harris County and Texas on the road to recovery.