Al Green

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to thank the many persons across the length and breadth of this country who have spoken up with reference to the injustice that has occurred in Florida with reference to the young man, Trayvon Martin. I want to single out two people, however. The first, Joe Scarborough of MSNBC Morning Joe. When he spoke this morning, I literally had tears to well in my eyes as he took a strong position on this injustice. I beg that others would do likewise. I would also like to thank the Reverend Al Sharpton. He has lost his mother; and I along with other people of goodwill would like to extend our condolences and our sympathies. But I am so grateful to Reverend Sharpton. He has indicated that he will be at the rally tonight in Sanford, Florida. And I thank him for what he has done and is doing. May God continue to bless you, Reverend, and I look forward to being there with you.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am before the House with a very heavy heart. I am very much concerned about the circumstances in Florida involving Trayvon Martin. We live in a world, Mr. Speaker, where it's not enough for things to be right; they must also look right. And it just doesn't look right for a 17-year-old child to lose his life under the circumstances that have been announced. I would like to thank all of the many colleagues here for the bipartisan support that has been shown in calling for the Justice Department to investigate. I also thank those who say they support what the Justice Department is doing in terms of an investigation. It doesn't look right, and I believe it is not right.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give a great expression of gratitude to the Clooney family. Mr. George Clooney and his father, Nick, were among the many who were arrested on Friday, March 16, protesting over at the Sudanese Embassy. I am saluting them, and am grateful to them because not only of what they did that day but of what Mr. Clooney did when he went into Sudan, at some considerable risk I might add, to secure evidence of what was taking place there and what is taking place. Those who would like to see some of the evidence can go to www.enoughproject.org. You can actually see the video. I believe what he and those others who were arrested have done merits having a flag flown over the Capitol. We will fly a flag over the Capitol in honor of those who participated in the protest movement.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is styled such for a reason. Let us look back to 2009, at the time we embarked upon passing the Affordable Care Act. At that time in 2009, we were spending $2.5 trillion per year on health care--$2.5 trillion. That is a lot of money, and it is very difficult to understand $2.5 trillion. Well, $2.5 trillion is $79,000 per second. That's what we were spending on health care, $79,000 per second. I'll be quite candid with you: these numbers are so huge that sometimes I do confuse them myself. That's $79,000 per second. We were spending 17.6 percent of GDP on health care. It was projected that by 2018, we would be spending $4.4 trillion per year on health care. That would be $139,000 per second. As I said, big numbers. It's hard to always get them correct because they are so huge and they can be confusing. That's $139,000 per second. We had 45,000 persons per year dying because they didn't have proper health care. We had 21 million people who were working full time and did not have insurance. That is 21 million people. In my State of Texas, 6 million people were uninsured. Twenty percent of the State's children were uninsured. In Harris County in my State of Texas, 1.1 million people were uninsured. It was time for this Congress to act, and act we did. By passing the Affordable Care Act, we have reduced the cost of health care over the long term. It doesn't happen immediately, because the rising cost, as I've explained to you, was exponentially huge. It was almost unimaginable. To bring it down doesn't mean it comes down instantly, but over the next 20 years we will save a trillion dollars. Here's what we've done. Aside from lowering the cost, which is important, we also impact lives. Preventive care is there. We also do away with preexisting conditions. For those who did not know, pregnancy is a preexisting condition. We also make sure that women are not discriminated against. Women won't be charged more simply because they are females, because they are women. We equalize health care as it relates to the genders. We close the doughnut hole as it relates to senior citizens. I might also add that in '09, we were spending about $100 billion a year on uninsured persons, much of that in emergency rooms where persons had to go to the emergency room to get the care that they did not have by virtue of not having insurance. They were getting their primary care in emergency rooms. They were also getting their pharmaceuticals through emergency rooms. It was a time to act, and act we did. We passed the Affordable Care Act. I will close with this. We live in the richest country in the world. One out of every 100 persons is a millionaire. In this country, if you are an enemy combatant and we should capture you and wound you in the process, we will give you aid and comfort. In this country, if you are a bank robber and you're robbing the bank and on the way out we should harm you, when we capture you, we will give you aid and comfort. In this country, if you're on death row and scheduled to meet your Maker next week and you get sick this week, we give you aid and comfort this week and we send you to meet your Maker next week. In this country, if we can give aid and comfort to the enemy combatant, if we can give aid and comfort to the criminal who robs the bank, if we can give aid and comfort to the person on death row, surely we can give aid and comfort to hardworking Americans who do not earn enough to afford insurance. The Affordable Care Act does this. It does not require people who cannot afford insurance to buy it, but it does say that every person who can should buy insurance. The Affordable Care Act is making a difference in the lives of people. Children can stay on their parents' policies until they're 26 years of age. This was a good piece of legislation. I supported it then and I still support it now. The Affordable Care Act is affordable, and that is why we passed it.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to announce that I am going to cosponsor H.R. 4169, the Sudan Security, Peace, and Accountability Act. I'm doing this, Mr. Speaker, because it has been called to our attention that there are atrocities still taking place in Sudan. People are suffering, people are dying, and there is a possibility of a humanitarian crisis developing. This bill will allow sanctions to be imposed. I would also like to thank Mr. George Clooney and his father for calling these atrocities to our attention. I hope to say more about this in the days to come.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Dr. Christensen. I especially thank you for chairing the Health Care Task Force and for the outstanding job that you've done through the years. You have shown a great deal of dedication to health care for all, and I believe that those who write history will be exceedingly kind to you when they record how you fought so that every person could have health care as a matter of right as opposed to as a matter of wealth. You have done your best to make sure health care doesn't become wealth care. I would also like to thank my colleague, Sheila Jackson Lee, who spoke just ahead of me and you, for the hard work that she is doing across the length and breadth of this country to help us with these issues concerning health care for all as well. The Affordable Care Act is called the Affordable Care Act for a reason. In 2009, when we were embarking upon this transformation in health care, we were spending about $2.5 trillion per year on health care. And $2.5 trillion is a huge number. It is very difficult to grasp $2.5 trillion. That $2.5 trillion is about $79,000 per second. That's what we were spending in 2009. That was 17.6 percent of GDP--$79,000- plus per second. And it was projected in 2009 that in 2018 we would be spending $4.4 trillion per year. A big number, $4.4 trillion. How much is it really? That's $139,000 per second, which equates to about 20.3 percent of GDP. That's $139,000 per second. We needed the Affordable Care Act. In the State of Texas, we were spending huge amounts of money because we had 6 million people who were uninsured--1.1 million in my county, Harris County, uninsured. Twenty percent of the State's children were uninsured. In 2009, we needed the Affordable Care Act. There was a reason why it's called the Affordable Care Act. Because upon passing it, it's projected still that it will--and this is per CBO--that it will save a trillion dollars-plus over a 20-year period. This bill, this legislation, reduces the cost of care. It was something that had to be done. But equally as important as reducing the cost of care, it spreads health care, about 50 million people who, but for this bill, probably would not receive some health care. I do believe that it's important that we not have 45,000 people per year die because they don't have insurance. That's a lot of folks who lose their lives. We were losing about one person every 12 minutes, I believe. This is an important piece of legislation to save lives. It saves money. But equally as important as saving money--in my world, more important--is the fact that it saves lives. It saves the lives of children. It will cause children to have the opportunity to stay on the insurance of their parents until they are 26 years of age. It closes the doughnut hole for senior citizens with their pharmaceuticals. We had a system that allowed you to pay a copay and a premium up to a certain point, and then you had to pay all of the costs of your health care, and then at another point you would again receive some additional assistance. This bill closes that doughnut hole for those who are in the twilight of life when you need pharmaceuticals the most. By the way, the insurance companies were not eager to take on persons in the twilight of life when there is much to be spent on health care. They don't go out looking for people to insure in the twilight of life. This bill covers people to make sure they get pharmaceuticals in the twilight of life. But it does something special for women. It is the discrimination that exists against women who get the same coverage, the same insurance that men get, but pay more because of their gender. There really is a gender bias in the insurance industry, and women pay more for similar coverage. This bill ends it. Women ought not be required to pay more because they are women. This bill ends it. It also helps us with persons in need of preventive care. And at some point in life, we all need preventive care, so theoretically I suppose it helps everyone. But preventive care is very important. Preventive care can hold down the cost of health care. If you can treat and prevent an illness, you don't pay that inordinate amount of money you have to pay once a person has an illness and has to receive medical attention. One such area of preventive care has to do with contraception. This is an adult conversation, and I want adults to know that men can receive their contraceptives in their neighborhoods, bus stops and truck stops. They can receive contraceptives. It is easy for men to acquire contraceptives. If men can get them in their neighborhoods, women should be able to get them at Planned Parenthood. There is no reason why men should have easy access and women be denied access. These are matters for families to consider and individuals to make choices about, and I think that women ought to be able to make the same choices that men can make when it comes to contraception. I would add, as I close, that this bill is going to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people. And what I regret is that many people really don't understand the positive impact that it will have on them. And it's very unfortunate because there are many people who will benefit from this bill but who do not understand how it will have a positive impact on their lives. It is unfortunate that we sometimes don't know as much about a thing as we should so that we can speak about it in terms of knowledge that we have as opposed to what we have heard. Read the Affordable Care Act. Look at the summaries of it. No one denies--no one denies--that it allows you to keep your child on your health insurance until your child is 26 years of age. No one denies that it is closing the doughnut hole for senior citizens as it relates to their pharmaceuticals. No one denies that it will allow preventive care to take place such that people can receive treatment that will prevent them from having to go to the hospital, to give them an opportunity to remain healthy and not have to treat an unhealthy person. No one denies that it will help keep people out of the emergency rooms. We were spending $100 billion per year in emergency rooms in '09. People were going to emergency rooms for their pharmaceuticals and their treatments that they could receive at a general practitioner's office. This bill would end this. This is a good piece of legislation that will help people in the dawn of life when they are born with preexisting conditions and in the twilight of life when they're in need of special attention and treatment that the wealthy can now afford. I do believe that in this country, if we find you to be an enemy combatant and if we should mortally wound you in the process of taking you into custody, if we should wound you, perhaps not kill you but we wound you when we do capture you, if we don't mortally wound you, if we don't kill you, we will give you aid and comfort. We give aid and comfort to our enemy combatants, people who are trying to kill us. We will give them aid and comfort if we wound them in battle. In this country, if you are a bank robber and if, on the way out of the bank we should harm you physically when we capture you, we will give you aid and comfort. In this country, we give aid and comfort to criminals. In this country, if you are on death row and you are on your way to meet your Maker next week, if you get sick this week, we will give you aid and comfort and send you to meet your Maker next week. If we can give aid and comfort to the enemy combatant, if we can give aid and comfort to the criminal, if we can give aid and comfort to the person who's on death row who's going to die next week, surely we can give aid and comfort to hardworking American citizens who cannot afford health care but for the Affordable Care Act, which, by the way, mandates that every person who can afford health care acquire health care. It does not require people to buy health care who cannot afford health care. This is the richest country in the world. One out of every 100 persons is a millionaire. In spite of all that you hear, we still are. And in this, the richest country in the world, we cannot allow health care to become wealth care. I thank you for yielding to me, and I gladly yield back to you.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), AFL CIO Local 716 in Houston, Texas. IBEW represents members who work in a wide variety of electrical trade fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government. IBEW Local 716 was chartered March 12, 1912, starting with 9 original members and has since grown to represent 4500 members. IBEW Local 716 plays a major role in enhancing the quality of life for all electricians across the Greater Houston Area by negotiating contracts for electricians that secure top paying wages, high-quality health insurance and pensions and creating safer working conditions. IBEW Local 716 members have built some of our most memorable Houston landmarks that have vastly contributed to shaping Houston as the internationally known city it has become today. Some of which include: the original Humble Building, The Astrodome, the Texas Medical Center, most of Downtown Houston, Minute Maid Field, Metro Light Rail projects, The George R. Brown Center and the Toyota Center. IBEW Local 716 members are widely known in Houston for their volunteerism and community service, donating countless hours of their personal time in the restoration of the Heights neighborhood projects, including the S.H.A.P.E. Community Center and vast array of other community projects. I salute the courageous men and women who made IBEW Local 716 an organization which utilizes the skills of its members to make a better life for everyone. I congratulate IBEW Local 716 on 100 years of community building and union spirit, as well as their outstanding dedication to the labor movement and steadfast efforts to uphold workers rights to organize.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, it is said that a politician will always rise to the occasion, and the Honorable Don Payne did rise to the occasion on many occasions. But it is also said that a statesman makes the occasion. Don Payne was more than a politician, he was a statesman. He made the occasion in Darfur, where he went to make sure those who were suffering, among the very least, among the very last and the lost, that they would have an opportunity to have a better quality of life, and he was to this day still working to help the people of Darfur. He made the occasion when it came to AIDS, $50 million, $50 million to help those who are beset with this disease. He made the occasion when it came to working with his colleagues, pulling us together, helping us unite to do things collectively that we could never do apart. He developed a symbiotic relationship among his many relationships. When I think of Donald Payne, I will always remember that he was a person of honor. He honored his word. To his friends his word meant something, but more importantly, he honored his word to foes, people who disagreed with him. Once they had his word, they had a word they could count on. I will remember that he was a person who respected this institution. This institution meant something to the Honorable Don Payne. What this institution stood for and how we could utilize this institution to make a difference in the lives of others was important to him. He was a person of valor. He would stand with you. He was determined. He was a fighter. He came under fire, I'm told, in Africa as he was trying to help others. And finally, I will say this: I truly do believe that God is good all the time. Even under circumstances such as these, I believe God is good because we didn't have to have him for 77 years. We didn't have to have him in this House for 12 terms. I didn't have to have him as a friend for 8 years. I believe that God is good all the time, and I am so proud that God allowed him to come this way and I had the benefit of calling him my friend. Don, we love you, and I know that wherever you are, there is a statesman there who is making the occasion.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the rights of women. I do this, Mr. Speaker, because we live in a world where it's not enough for things to be right. They must also look right. And it doesn't look right for us to conduct a hearing dealing with the rights of women and not, N-O-T, and not have a woman on the panel. We would not dare conduct such a hearing discussing the rights of men and not, N-O-T, not have a man on the panel. It is not enough for things to be right. They must also look right. Some may argue that was right. I will always argue that it was not, and that it did not look right. We must make the adjustments so that women can make decisions about their rights.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. Mr. Speaker, there is an effort afoot to move Medicaid from a needs- based program to a block grant program. This, of course, by some estimates, would save approximately $180 billion. Yet the question is not really how much money will it save. The question is, How many people will have their bodies healed by virtue of a reduction in the moneys that would go to Medicaid? How many lives will be saved is the question we have to ask ourselves. In a country that is the richest in the world, the rich must pay their fair share of taxes so that all can benefit from the tax coffers and so that those who are poor and those who need health care can get a fair amount of health care. I remind you again of what Kennedy said: If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much for yielding to me. I greatly appreciate it. And, of course, I want to thank all of the members of the CBC for the stellar work that has been done in this area of publishing the history of Africans in the Americas, known as African Americans. I'd like to, tonight, just address a very simple topic that has a lot of meaning, the whole notion that great people will always rise to the occasion. However, it also takes great people to make the occasion; and on occasions such as this, we often mention the great ones: the great Thurgood Marshall, the great litigator that he was, winning more than 29 cases, I believe, before the Supreme Court of the United States of America. But in talking about the cases that he won, approximately 29 is what I recall, we also should remember that there were other persons who helped to make the occasion for the great Thurgood Marshall who went on to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. One such person would be Charles Hamilton Houston. A great story about Charles Hamilton Houston, he was the person who produced the strategy that the Honorable Thurgood Marshall followed to help the NAACP litigate the cases that went before the Supreme Court, more specifically, the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which helped us to integrate society by way of desegregation. There's a story about Thurgood that many people are not aware of. He applied to the University of Maryland Law School and he was denied access because of his color. And I'm not angry with the University of Maryland. As a matter of fact, it was because they rejected him that he went to Howard University, where he met the Honorable Charles Hamilton Houston. And it was there that their friendship blossomed such that Thurgood acquired this intelligence about the strategy to use the Constitution and litigation to bring about a more perfect Union. The interesting story, however, is not complete unless we go on to talk about how Thurgood, who graduated at the top of his class, went on to practice law, and one of his first cases involved a person who was denied access to the University of Maryland. He won that lawsuit. So history has a way of causing persons who have been rejected to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other persons who may be similarly situated. I am so honored that Thurgood Marshall finished at Howard University and went to become chief litigator for the NAACP; but all of this was predicated upon his having a great relationship with another person who made headway, did not necessarily make the same kind of headlines, the honorable Charles Hamilton Houston. We talk about the Honorable Rosa Parks and how she took a seat and ignited a spark that started the civil rights movement, but there was another person who took a seat before Rosa who was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail. She was a 15-year-old girl. Her name was Claudette Colvin. She, too, suffered the same fate as the Honorable Rosa Parks, but she didn't make the headlines. She did make headway such that when the Honorable Rosa Parks was arrested, it become more of a story. Of course, Rosa Parks had status in the community, and that was, in no small way, a contribution to her receiving the attention that she did. And, by the way, Rosa Parks wasn't just tired. She was tired in the sense that she was tired of injustice, and she took a stand against injustice because she was tired of injustice. The interesting thing about this story is that the bus boycott that took place didn't end because of the boycott alone. I think that had something to do with it because it probably helped to shape public opinion. But there were three other females who filed a lawsuit that made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States of America: Browder, McDonald, and Smith. It was that lawsuit that they won, they made headway. They didn't make the lasting headlines, but they made the difference in the Montgomery bus boycott. And, of course, we always talk about Dr. King, and we should, because he paid the ultimate price. He made the ultimate sacrifice. But we should not forget that before Dr. King marched from Selma to Montgomery, there were others who set out to march from Selma to Montgomery, and they did not make it across. Well, they made it across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but that was where they met strong resistance from officers who had billy clubs, and they resisted the marchers. They didn't resist them; they actually took them on, and they beat them all the way back to the church where they started. I enjoy hearing John Lewis tell the story not because of the suffering, but because he tells it in such a way as to cause me to have some degree of appreciation for what they went through on Bloody Sunday and how they paid a price. There were many people there on Bloody Sunday. The Honorable John Lewis was among them. They made headway and they made headlines, but their names have not been mentioned. And these are the people who made the occasion such that the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King would come to Selma and proceed with the march that eventually took them from Selma to Montgomery. They made headway. They didn't always make headlines, but they made a great contribution. And, of course, we know of the Honorable Barack Obama, the first African American President of the United States of America, who did not get there because of his color. He is President because he is capable, competent, and qualified. But before he ran, there was a woman who ran, the Honorable Shirley Chisholm. She was the first African American to run for President from a major political party. She didn't get the nomination of the party, but she did run from a major political party. So we should remember that for every James Chaney, there were persons who were in the shadows who made a difference. John Lewis was one of them. For every Thurgood Marshall, there's a Charles Hamilton Houston who mentored, who made a difference in the life of a Thurgood Marshall such that he could go on to do the great things that he did. For every Rosa Parks, there is a person who is in the shadows, who made a difference, who helped to make the occasion such that Rosa Parks could rise to the occasion by taking a seat and igniting a spark that started the civil rights movement. Let us remember not only the persons who made the great headlines that we continually recognize, but let's remember that there were other persons who made great headway who don't get the recognition today that they merit, but they were a part of this great movement for liberty and justice for African Americans across the length and breadth of this country. At some point, I shall talk about persons who were of many hues who also participated in this great movement, because we didn't get here by ourselves. There were many persons of many colors who marched and protested. Many of them gave their lives to this movement as well--John Shillady comes to mind, who was beaten in Austin, Texas, and as a result of that beating lost his life. He was an NAACPer, he was Anglo. Of course we know about Goodman and Chaney and Schwerner. And two of them, of course, were not African Americans, Schwerner and Goodman. So I think that on occasions like this we should always celebrate the great and noble African Americans who made great sacrifices, remember those who were in the shadows, and also remember that there were others of many hues, of many ethnicities and many religions who were right there with us to help us arrive at this point in our history. And I thank you so much for this time to mention some of the great ones, and some of those who were great but did not receive the acclaim that they richly deserve. And I thank you again. God bless you, and God bless America.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. If I may reclaim my time. I do welcome comments about the past, my dear friend. But I'm asking you, given that you do have some degree of influence given that you're in the majority, why can we not do now what was not done? I'm not privy to all of what wasn't done and should have been done. But why can we not do now what wasn't done? Why can we not now work to mend, rather then end, something that can benefit persons who cannot help themselves? Why can we not do it now? What prevents us? I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. May I ask for the unanimous consent now, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I ask unanimous consent to continue briefly this dialogue with the gentleman.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I ask that I be extended the courtesy that the gentleman from Georgia received when he received an additional 5 minutes. I don't need an additional 5 minutes. I would just like to continue this dialogue that we have had, and he did receive an additional 5 minutes earlier.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Before I leave the podium, if I may, I would like to prevail upon my friend whom I am having a colloquy with to show some sense of desire to continue this and reach some sort of----

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I would ask the Chair for a ruling first as to whether the Chair has the authority to do it. Then, if I am incorrect, let the record always reflect that I will extend an apology when I have made a mistake. So if I have made a mistake, I will do so; but I do ask that the Chair give a ruling as to whether or not we can have the unanimous consent request granted.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, when it comes to health care and those who need it and can't afford it, I constantly remind myself that but for the grace of God, there go I. You don't believe in God? But for the grace of chance and circumstance, but for the goodness of luck, there go I. The question we have to ask ourselves is what kind of country are we going to be? Are we going to be a country wherein health care becomes wealth care? Where only the wealthy can afford what is available? The technology's available. The pharmaceuticals are available. But only the wealthy can afford that which is available in the richest country in the world. Are we going to be a country wherein pregnancy is a preexisting condition; if you are pregnant and you don't have insurance, you cannot get it? Is that the kind of country we are going to be? Are we going to be a country wherein senior citizens who are in need of pharmaceuticals cannot get them because they can't afford them, but if you're wealthy, you can. But for the grace of God, there go I. No one deserves the status in life to which he or she is born. Born wealthy? You didn't earn it. Born poor? You don't deserve it. The question is whether we will understand that it can happen to any one of us and that we are a country that can afford to make a difference in the lives of those who are sick and cannot take care of themselves. So the issue today has not been whether we can afford it or whether we can do it. The question is, do we have the will? We can find the way. I would yield to my colleague from Georgia, whom I have great respect for and for whom I hold no animus. I just would like to ask you, is it not true, my dear friend, that we can work this out and find a way to get it done? Is it not true? Can we not find a way to get this done?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, I, along with my colleague Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee attended an event in Houston, Texas. It was styled ``Byron Nash Live.'' This event was well attended. As I approached the venue, there were literally hundreds of people outside. Most of them were young people, and it was raining as I approached the venue. I did ask one of the young people if he was going to be able to go in, and I was told that there was an overflow crowd, that it was standing room only, and that as a result, he would have to stand outside. But he assured me that he would be there for the duration of the event. He was there for ``Byron Nash Live.'' Byron Nash, a 24-year-old comedian, was giving a performance, if you will. This performance was attended by his mother, Gwen Nash; his father, Michael Nash; his grandfather and grandmother, Reverend James and Mrs. Nash as well. This event was a lively event. Byron received several standing ovations, and his life was spoken of throughout the entirety of the event. This, in a sense, may have been his last performance in the physical world, for you see, Byron Nash made his transition, and this was his home-going celebration. It was truly a celebration. There were many who did mourn his death, but we all were there to celebrate the life that he lived. His life, while it was short, was a meaningful life because the true measure of one's life is not how long one lives, but rather, what does one do with the time that God gives. In his short lifetime, Byron Nash made a very positive impression on a lot of young people--a lot of older people as well. But I was proud to see so many young people in attendance, so many young people who were there to pay their last respects to a young man who lived a life that we were, of course, eager to celebrate. While his life is no longer in the physical world, we believe that his spiritual existence is one that we should celebrate continually, and we will remember him. There is good reason for his life to symbolize something, because he passed because of a rare type of cancer styled renal medullary carcinoma. As of 2009, there were 120 cases--I'm sure more since then, obviously more, but 120 cases. Victims of this type of cancer live 1 to 7 months, thereabout. Not a lot of empirical evidence has been acquired. This type of cancer seems to attack those who suffer from sickle cell. If his life can mean something to those who still live and symbolize something as we go forward, it should be that we must do more to fight this type of cancer. His grandfather has dedicated his life to a continuing effort to get the word out, get the message out that this type of cancer does claim the lives of young people. We can do more here in the Congress of the United States of America to help fight cancer in general and this specific type of cancer that is known to few. It is my hope that we will continue to allocate resources to fighting cancer such that this type of cancer can move to the front burner. We've got to do more to prevent, to educate, and to make sure that cancer becomes a disease of the past in our lifetimes. It is my hope that Byron Nash's life would become the genesis for us to do more to fight not only cancer in general but for this specific type of cancer known as renal medullary carcinoma. I will leave these words with all of those who are within the sound of my voice here and those who may be viewing at home, and especially to his family: I want you to know that we will do all that we can to make sure that he not only lived a decent life--as he did, and that is as recognized--but also that we will do all that we can to fight this dreadful disease and bring it to an end.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is important that we remember the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen in protecting our freedom and way of life during World War II. These heroic World War II veterans just recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of their first training session on July 19, 1941. It is important that we constantly remind ourselves of the sacrifices of veterans in pursuit of our liberty. The Tuskegee Airmen were not only heroes but pioneers, becoming the first African Americans to pilot and instruct others on how to fly combat aircraft. Though only approximately 140 Tuskegee pilots remain, it is essential we celebrate their accomplishments as a realization of the American Dream that inspired millions of African Americans, as Congress did in 1998 by establishing Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen fought courageously for their country at a time when they were denied vital freedoms and liberties at home. They endured segregation and hostility from the local community, and especially stringent standards meant to exclude as many of them as possible from the piloting program. When they finally reached combat, they fought in segregated units, but still managed to distinguish themselves--engaging in over 200 bomber escort missions, damaging or destroying 409 German aircraft, and sunk a battleship destroyer. Their prowess became so legendary they were nicknamed the ``Red Tails Angels,'' by the pilots they protected, as only the red back end of the aircrafts were visible while they flew in front of U.S. air bombers on their vital missions. After the desegregation of the military in 1948, the Tuskegee Airmen went on to make exceptional individual contributions in the integrated U.S. Air Force. I had the pleasure of attending the Tuskegee Institute of Technology, now Tuskegee University, the site of the training program for these brave young men, as an undergraduate. Tuskegee University has provided me and a multitude of African American youth with the most precious commodities in life, education and self-esteem.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I support a one-year extension of the payroll tax holiday, unemployment insurance and protecting seniors' access to their Medicare physician. However, both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate of the United States voted overwhelmingly to extend these expiring provisions for two months, so that Congress might have adequate time to negotiate a longer term extension for the American people. House Republicans' refusal to vote on the Senate compromise puts at risk American middle class families at a time when we must do all that we can do to support them.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There has been much debate as to whether this bill will create or save jobs. There is much speculation based on whether this bill will create or save jobs. When you have few facts, you, generally speaking, can have much speculation. This amendment addresses speculation. There is some sense in this country that our approval rating is low in Congress because of much speculation. Speculation can breed distrust. Speculation can lead to fact-free debate, a term my good friend, Emanuel Cleaver, Representative from Missouri, uses--fact-free debate. This amendment can help us eliminate fact-free debate. This amendment contains less than 100 words, and it addresses the elimination of fact- free debate. It reads: Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall transmit to Congress a report estimating the increase or decrease in the number of jobs in the United States that will occur as a result of the enactment of this act. This amendment eliminates fact-free debates and speculation. So if you really want to eliminate fact-free debates and speculation, then you should support this amendment. If you believe that this bill really does create or save jobs, then you should support this amendment. If you believe that Carlisle is right, that no lie can live forever, and this will eliminate the possibility of things being done with malice aforethought, you should support this amendment. If you believe that William Cullen Bryant is right, that truth, when crushed to Earth, can rise again, you should support this amendment, because this amendment will help us to repeal what the truth is. If you believe that fact-free debates ought to be eliminated, you ought to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I demand a recorded vote.