Al Green

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. In my city we have a rock-crushing company. It yields dust, particulate matter. That is something that is a concern to rural people as well.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. With all due respect, the world is larger than Colorado, and there are other States and other organizations.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Reclaiming my time, because supporting something is not empirical evidence as to whether or not it will do a certain thing. I respect all who are supporting it. By the way, I don't disrespect you. I believe your heart is in the right place. What I'm trying to get you to see is if you utilize the scientific method, you will get your empirical evidence after you have given this an opportunity to be enacted. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Reclaiming my time, the question is whether you will actually have the opportunity to hurt your toe, as you put it. There is no need to avoid things that don't exist. Let us get the actual raw empirical evidence and use that to draw our conclusions as to whether this bill creates or saves jobs. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Reclaiming my time for just a moment, you say before. You see, empirical evidence under the scientific method is best acquired after you have the actual evidence. So what you would do is utilize speculation to come to a conclusion and then call that a fact. This would eliminate speculation. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I yield to my friend from Colorado.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you. It is an opinion, well stated, and I appreciate the opinion that has been well stated. However, the best way to ascertain whether jobs are being created or eliminated is to utilize empirical evidence, empirical evidence developed after the fact as opposed to before the actual implementation of the bill. If you believe, and I believe your heart's in the right place, if you believe that this is an opportunity for us to dispel any myths, to dispel any speculation, then let's have a study done after the bill has passed and after there has been some time for implementation. I'm willing to extend the time. I'm willing to have GAO do the study. My heart's in the right place. I want us to have proof positive that this bill does or does not eliminate jobs. I want to eliminate the speculation. I believe I have enough time left to engage my friend in a colloquy. How much time do I have, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have?

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, there are unsung heroes and heroines among us. These are the persons who overcome great challenges just to do the ordinary. They're not born into plenty--they're often born into poverty--but they have lives that are rich in that they overcome great obstacles in life just so that they can be of benefit to the lives of others. One such heroine was born on January 26, 1934. She passed last week on November 9, 2011. Her story is one that I would hope we would remember simply because it exemplifies the life of a person who met challenges, who did everything that was required, who played by the rules--and sometimes these persons go unnoticed. Lola Mae Bolton Davis was born in Anderson, Texas, to Arllie Pratt Sanders and Charlie Bolton. She was their second born. She attended Allen Farm School up to the eighth grade. She joined Rockwest Baptist Church. At the age of 16, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she acquired her first job as a housekeeper. At the age of 18, she met the love of her life, Ruben George Davis, Sr. A year later, they had their first child, Pamela. She went on to attend Franklin Beauty School. Eventually, she opened her own business, and it was known as the Lola Davis Beauty Nook. She later had three additional children--Ruben, Paula and Renwick. She was hired by Texas Instruments in 1969. While she was working there, she received her GED. Later, she received her associate's degree from Houston Community College. She enrolled at Texas Southern University and graduated with a degree in education. She taught in the Houston Independent School District. Mind you, this is a person who dropped out of high school, who received a GED, who went on to get an associate's degree, who got her degree in education, and now she's teaching in the Houston Independent School District. She was known as ``Grandma Davis'' to her students. Her son Ruben became a constable in Harris County. He is still a constable, but is now in Fort Bend County. Her children have done well. She played by the rules. She did not receive all of the awards that one might receive who has excelled and made a great contribution by way of an invention or maybe made a great contribution of having been elected to public office, but she did do this--she was a good citizen who did the right thing: took care of her family and produced offspring who have done well. So, today, I salute her as an unsung heroine. Thank God for the many unsung heroes and heroines who are at the very foundation of what makes this Nation great. God bless you. God bless the United States of America, and God bless our unsung heroes and heroines.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, America continues to be the land of the free because America continues to be the home of the brave. I think it most appropriate that this House take up legislation today that will include the Hiring Heroes Act. This legislation is exceedingly important because our brave heroes, our troops, go to distant places, and they risk their limbs and their lives to protect great and noble American ideals. They do not ask why. When the clarion call comes, they respond by going to their various assignments and doing their jobs. When they leave home, they many times will leave home a wife that is with child. Many of their children are born while they are in distant places protecting our great and noble American ideals. They will leave behind them children who are about to take their first steps. They never get to see the first step or hear the first words spoken. When a troop goes to war, that troop has that family with him or her. A family goes to war, not directly, but always indirectly, with the troop that goes to war. And they do their jobs. They have done their jobs in Afghanistan. They have done their jobs in Iraq. And they will continue to do their jobs. But it is sad to note that of those veterans who have done their jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12.1 percent of them are unemployed. This is not a partisan issue. This issue transcends the lines that generally separate us. If they can go to distant places and risk their limbs and their lives for us to do their jobs for us, we have to provide jobs for them when they come home. This is about doing the right thing for people who answer the clarion call to serve without reservation or equivocation. They merit jobs when they come home. This is why I'm proud that this House will take up legislation that will accord tax credits to businesses that hire our veterans. If a business hires a veteran who has been unemployed for 4 weeks, there is a $2,400 tax credit available. If that veteran has been unemployed for 6 months, there is a $5,600 tax credit that's available. If the unemployed veteran has been unemployed for 6 months and has a service-connected disability, there is a $9,600 tax credit available to the business. This is the business of America: putting our veterans to work. This piece of legislation merits our consideration for other reasons as well. The legislation will allow approximately 100,000 veterans of wars of other eras to be helped with job training and other programs. This piece of legislation is the least a grateful nation can do for those who answer the clarion call to serve in distant places. I am honored to say I will vote for the legislation. I believe in our country. I believe in the American service people--the troops that go to distant places. I want to make sure that they have every opportunity to recapture what they lost when they left their homes, left their jobs for years on end. If they can leave their jobs here and make sacrifices for us, we've got to make sacrifices here so that they can have jobs when they return home. America will continue to be the land of the free as long as we continue to make sure that we have jobs for those who are brave enough to serve us in distant places. God bless America and God bless our troops.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Perlmutter, and I thank Mr. McHenry. I rise in support of H.R. 2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act. I'm standing where I'm standing because I'm honored to celebrate the bipartisanship associated with this act. For those who are at home who may not be able to see and understand, normally I would be standing to my right; but I do unconventional things, and I think it's appropriate today to stand where I'm standing. Mr. McHenry, I'd like to thank you for the spirit that you have shown as we have tried to make this a better bill. I'd also like to echo these same expressions of appreciation to Mr. Bachus. I think that Mrs. Maloney merits an expression of appreciation as well. And I especially, notwithstanding all of the other persons that I've had a chance to thank, including the ranking member, but I do want to thank the staffs who worked with us because they did outstanding work. Mr. Grimm and I were able to craft a bipartisan amendment that would aid and assist in the effort that Mr. Perlmutter has called to our attention, making sure that the persons who handle the dollars, that these persons are not persons who have been convicted of either State securities fraud or Federal securities fraud. And this amendment would require that the SEC construct appropriate measures, regulation or rule, to prevent these persons from handling the money, if you will. And I'm honored to say that, with this amendment, I find this bill much better than it was initially. But I also have to say that Mr. McHenry never rejected the bill, the amendment, and I'm grateful that it has worked out to the extent that it has. So today we will have greater transparency. We will have small businesses in a position such that they can use this thing called crowdfunding to fund their efforts. And also, we give persons who cannot invest in a large way an opportunity to invest in a small way and hopefully enter into the capital markets for equity purposes.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Representative Fudge. And thank you, Mr. Speaker. Friends, although the faces change, the fight remains the same when it comes to the black vote. The Emancipation Proclamation didn't do it. The 13th Amendment didn't do it. Although the faces change, the fight remains the same. In 1870, the face was that of President Ulysses S. Grant, and the fight was the 15th Amendment and the right to vote. It passed. Although it passed, the faces changed but the fight remained the same because in 1944 it was the NAACP and a great lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, that took Smith v. Allwright to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, and they won that case, which eliminated the white primaries in the State of Texas, by the way, in Harris County. The faces changed but the fight remained the same because it was in 1953 that the NAACP had to go back to court to eliminate the white pre- primaries imposed by the Jaybirds in the State of Texas. The faces changed but the fight remained the same, because even though we eliminated the white primaries, the white pre-primaries, in 1965 the faces were those of the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on what we now know as Bloody Sunday. They were beaten back to the church where they started the actual march. The faces of those marchers happen to include the Honorable John Lewis, Member of Congress. In 1965, the face was that of LBJ, President of the United States of America. He had the opportunity and did sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The faces changed, but the fight was still the same. We had to have a Voting Rights Act, notwithstanding all of the amendments to the Constitution, and notwithstanding Smith v. Allwright and Terry v. Adams. In 2006, the faces changed. George Bush, President of the United States of America, reauthorizes the Voting Rights Act because we still find that there are cases of invidious discrimination when it comes to voting in the United States of America. The faces changed, but in 2011 the fight remains the same. The faces are those of the 25 percent of African Americans who don't have photo IDs, the faces of the 18 percent of elderly persons 65 or older who don't have photo IDs. The faces have changed consistently, but the fight is still the same. We still have to fight for this precious right to vote; and this is why we're here tonight, to make sure that we all understand, and the message goes out and the clarion call is there to those who would help us and make sure that on election day we protect the right to vote. Notwithstanding the fact that the faces have changed, the fight remains the same.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I especially thank you for placing things in a proper historical context. It's greatly appreciated. Having taught a class myself in trial simulation, one of the things that we discussed was the origin of the concept of the State. And it evolved to the extent that you've called to our attention, but it also became a ``we the people'' country. Our country is a ``we the people'' country. And sometimes if we substitute for the State ``we the people,'' because it becomes the people in many places against the defendant, and I think it's appropriate that it be the people against the defendant. I think we as a society have some things that we will not tolerate, and, as a result, we have codified these things into laws that carry penalties with them. And these penalties, in my opinion, have to be imposed so as to maintain an orderly society. I would mention, to my friend, this. You have said $82,000 for rape. I just have to make sure that I go on record saying I agree with you; $82,000, I cannot imagine how someone managed to conclude that $82,000 was the worth of a person having been raped or that crime itself. I support the notion that we must compensate victims. Victims ought to be compensated appropriately, which is one of the reasons why I have supported the Violence Against Women Act; and I'm hoping that we'll get it reauthorized, because it does establish a fund so that victims of crimes of this nature can have their perpetrators pay money into this fund so as to make sure that victims are properly compensated. I think you and I together, today, want to make sure that the people--we the people--are heard, and we the people in the courts of this country can take the necessary steps to not only prevent but also to compensate the victims of these dastardly deeds.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his comments. I greatly appreciate the time that you took from your time to continue to elaborate on this. It means a lot to the people that we both represent, and I thank you again.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his comments. At this time, I am honored to bring to the floor a very dear friend from the State of California who has been an outspoken supporter of all of these bills to help victims of domestic violence, the Honorable Lynn Woolsey.

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

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the lady, especially for citing the statistical information. It is important for our Nation and our country to understand that these are real people who are being harmed and that this is not something that occurs in some segments of society. This crosses all lines--economic lines, gender lines, political lines--and it's up to us to have bipartisan efforts to end this. I'm honored that my friend, Mr. Poe, has joined us today, as this has been a bipartisan effort. But we've got to get this message back to the communities because indifference is what allows this to continue to a certain extent. No one should be indifferent. Everybody has a duty to report it, everybody has a duty to condemn it. And if we do this, then we can make every person who performs an act of violence persona non grata in our communities. I want to thank the Speaker for the time. One hour is never enough to cover all that we should cover, but I'm grateful to the leadership for giving us the 1 hour that we've had.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, would you please make me aware of the amount of time that remains to us.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and as a compliment to my colleagues who just left the floor, I'd like to compliment them for the bipartisanship that was shown. And perhaps bipartisanship is becoming in vogue because this is a bipartisan effort as well. It is my firm belief that our Nation, while we have some differences on many issues, we do want to unite around issues that are crucial and critical to all of us. I salute what they have done, and I look forward to this hour of bipartisanship as well. I'm honored to be joined today on the floor by my colleague, the Honorable Ted Poe from Texas. He and I have been sponsoring this resolution on domestic violence for some years--since 2005, I believe-- and I am honored that he is here with us today. I will be giving a statement. And after my statement, I will yield to my good friend from the State of Texas, in the Houston area. Thereafter, we have other Members who are present who would of course want to weigh in on this subject. But before I do, let me just thank the leadership on both sides of the aisle for making this time available to us. It's important that we have this opportunity to address this issue not only here in Congress, but address it in such a way as to make it clear to our friends and our constituents at home that this is something that is exceedingly important to us, the issue of domestic violence. So Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the time. I thank the leadership for the time. And I thank all of the Members who will be appearing today for the time that they will share with us. I'd like to, at this time, present my opening statement. Thereafter, I will yield as I have indicated. Mr. Speaker, there are several Federal actions that have been instituted over the past 20 years to combat the issue of domestic violence. I shall highlight some of the many actions that have been taken. Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first observed 22 years ago in the month of October. This month provides an opportunity for our communities to recommit themselves to keeping the victims and the families of domestic violence safe while holding the perpetrators accountable for their actions. I'm honored to say that the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which was championed by then-Senator Joe Biden, has created a new culture for police officers, judges, and those who work in the courthouse to treat this crime as the serious crime that it is, and it is a serious crime. I look forward to supporting the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. And I want to say, by way of a little bit of commentary, that I was a lawyer practicing before we had a change in this culture. And I saw how this culture that existed at that time devastated the lives of many persons who were victims of domestic violence because there was this thought that this was something that was a family issue, that it was something that people should resolve themselves, they should try to work things out. I thank God that that attitude no longer exists, and that if it does exist in some quarters, we are working to change it. I would also add that the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act supports emergency shelters, crisis intervention programs, and community education about domestic violence. This Congress has done much to try to reach out not only to the victims, but also to the various communities against the length and breadth of the country to make sure that communities are well prepared and equipped to help those in need of some assistance. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided law enforcement with the tools it needed to protect families. It specifically included $225 million for Violence Against Women programs and $100 million for programs that are a part of the Victims of Crime Act. These funds will supplement Federal dollars so that local providers can retain and hire the personnel to serve victims and hold offenders accountable. We also provided critical funding for law enforcement to keep cops on the street and to support law enforcement programs and services through the Byrne Grant program. In 2010, 854 local domestic violence programs received stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which allowed them to maintain or create 1,384 jobs. Awareness of domestic violence is growing. All over this country and over the last several decades the work of many individuals and organizations has created a sea of change in the way we as a society look upon the issue of domestic violence. Police, courts, and the public used to consider it a private family matter, as I indicated previously. Not surprisingly, domestic violence was close to, if not the, number one underreported crime in this country. Today, there is much more awareness. And we have started to pass critical legislation at both the State and Federal levels so that we can combat domestic violence properly. We have made a substantial impact on the lives of domestic violence survivors through laws, programs, services, and funding, but our jobs are not yet done. We have seen much progress. However, there is still much more to be done. In the year 2010, a survey was done by the National Network to End Domestic Violence. This survey found that in one day, while more than 70,000 people received help from domestic violence programs, over 9,000 requests for help went unanswered because of a shortage of resources. Many victims continue to suffer in silence, and for many others who do come forward, there simply are not enough resources available. Victims of domestic violence should have access to medical and legal services, counseling, transitional housing, safety planning, and other supportive services so that they can escape the cycle of abuse. The problem of domestic violence is not confined to any one group of people but crosses all economic, racial, gender, educational, religious, and societal barriers, and it is sustained too often by societal indifference. Make no mistake about it, when domestic violence occurs, it has a long-term damaging effect. And it has this effect on the victim, but not only the victim; it also leaves a mark on the family of the victim, the friends, and the community at large. In my home State of Texas, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence--and this is a special report; it indicates that 37 women in Harris County, a county where my district happens to be--37 women lost their lives due to domestic violence in 2010. One hundred forty-two women were killed by their intimate partners in 2010. There were 56 occurrences of murder-suicides in Texas in 2010, which often left children without one or both of their parents. Three 17-year-old high school students were murdered in Texas in 2010. Five pregnant women were murdered in Texas in 2010. No year is a good year for the victims of domestic violence, and 2010 was no exception. The current statistics are staggering. One in every four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. Three women are killed by an acquaintance or former intimate partner each day in America, on average. The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, including $4.1 billion in direct health care expenses. Domestic violence has been estimated to cost employers in the U.S. up to $13 billion annually. Sexual violence is intolerable in our society because it creates a cycle of violence. As many as 15.5 million children witness domestic violence every year in our country. Children who are exposed to this sort of violence are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs, run away from home, engage in teenage prostitution, and commit sexual assault crimes. Men exposed to physical abuse, sexual abuse, and adult domestic violence as children were almost four times more likely than other men to have perpetrated domestic violence as adults, according to a large survey that has been reported. This is a call to action. Let us rededicate ourselves to the goal of ending violence against women and helping heal the lives of domestic violence survivors and their families. No one should have to live in fear in their own home, and we must continue to work to eliminate these acts of violence from our society. Nearly 1.3 million women will confront violent acts this year. America's leaders and our Nation's families must not let this stand. Let us continue to work to end domestic violence and make every home a safe home. I urge my colleagues to stand with us and support the survivors and their families by supporting the programs that target this insidious ill of domestic violence. At this time I am honored to yield to my colleague and friend from Houston, Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the lady. I now yield to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Speier). I would also add that this is a colleague who served with me on Financial Services, and I found that she has been a strong advocate for the rights of women.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you very much. At this time, I yield to another Californian, the Honorable Jim Costa.

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I am honored to say that I was one of the cosponsors of the request for the Congressional Gold Medal for the marines. And I did so for them, I did so because of the history that it represents, but I also did so because when you support any of our military people, you're supporting all of them. It was important to send a message that we support those persons who made it possible for others to have opportunities, but at the same time we're supporting those who are serving today in faraway places who desire to be at home with their families. We support their families who are supporting them. And regardless as to how people feel about various wars, every person ought to want all of our troops to come home safely. I support them. I support what we're doing to let the world know that what they have done should be recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal.