Alan Grayson

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is identical to other amendments that have been inserted by voice vote into every appropriations bill considered under an open rule under the 113th and 114th Congresses and, in the last few weeks, under a structural rule. If it is accepted, I will not ask for a recorded vote.

Mr. GRAYSON. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAYSON

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

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Luis Daniel Conde of Haines City, Florida. Luis was a resident of my district whose life was cut short in the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, in Orlando. Luis was a talented makeup artist and owned a beauty salon with his partner of 16 years, Juan Rivera Velazquez. Luis and Juan were partners in business and in life. They grew up in the same small town in Puerto Rico, and even attended the same school, Jose Campeche High School in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. At their salon, Juan created hairstyles, while Luis--never the shy one--touched up clients' make-up and kept the techno music playing. Former clients and friends remember them as wonderful people who loved helping others and frequently provided their services free of charge to women who were victims of domestic violence. It was widely known that they loved people and lived to help others. Luis Daniel was 39 years old. He died alongside Juan the night of the shooting. Luis will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, friends and relatives eventually find solace and comfort and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, a resident of my district who lived in Kissimmee, Florida. Yilmary's life was cut short during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, June 12, 2016. Yilmary was married to race-car driver Juan Borges and was a mother of two, including a three-month-old son, Sergio. She worked at a Wendy's in Puerto Rico before moving to Florida. Yilmary was enjoying a night out at Pulse with her friend Jonathan Camuy and her brother-in-law, William Borges. The group decided to go to a gay club because they believed them to be safer after an incident at another club. Before a gunman opened fire, Yilmary had smiled into a camera, posing for a photo with her brother-in-law and friend. Jonathan died trying to protect his friend Yilmary. She was 24 years old. Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. Her memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew her. May her family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may she rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, a resident of my district who resided in Orlando, Florida. Luis lost his life during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016. Luis, who was also known as Danny, liked to wear black and grow his sideburns long while growing up in his small town in Puerto Rico. He encountered many bullies, but never retaliated with hate. His friends and family remember his loving, positive energy and spoke of him as a protector and confidante. Danny moved to Vero Beach, Florida, on his own in 2004. Once there, he quickly learned English and landed a job at a shoe store. Danny earned a promotion to store manager, was dedicated to his work and attended church. Danny eventually met the love of his life, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, a salesperson at the shop, Perfumania. Their friends described the moment as ``love at first sight,'' and the beginning of their nine-year relationship. The two shared a home, frequented their favorite Hispanic restaurants and loved going to Latin Night at the Pulse club. Luis Daniel and Jean Carlos died alongside one another that night in Orlando. Luis was 37 years old. Luis will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, a resident of my district who lived in Kissimmee, Florida. Rodolfo lost his life during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016. Rodolfo was a biologics supervisor at a blood donation center in Orlando. He would have been working the morning of the shooting helping the victims after thousands of people throughout Central Florida turned out to donate blood that day. Instead, he was one of the victims. Rodolfo, who was also known as Rodney, had recently been promoted to platelet supervisor. A native of Puerto Rico, he was a skilled salsa dancer and loved all kinds of Latin music. His family and friends remember him as a compassionate man dedicated to his work. He was a prankster and could rock a bow tie. Rodolfo was a well-loved human being and had a bright future ahead of him. He was enjoying Latin Night at Pulse nightclub the morning of the shooting. He was 33 years old. Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez of Kissimmee, Florida, a resident of my district who lost his life on June 12, 2016, during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Simon Fernandez came to the United States from Venezuela a decade ago. He was an accounting student and worked as a manager at a local McDonalds. His colleagues admired his attention to detail and leadership style. He never forgot a co-worker's birthday and would always bring a cake to celebrate the occasion. He took great pride in his career. Simon and his partner, Oscar Aracena, purchased a home last year where they lived together with their three lovely Chihuahuas. They enjoyed traveling together, dancing, riding their bikes and going water skiing. Simon and Oscar had been vacationing in Canada and New York earlier the week before the tragedy. Friends enjoyed seeing their photos posted online from their stop in Niagara Falls. The couple had just returned to Orlando earlier in the day before heading out with friends to Latin Night at the Pulse club on the night of the attack. The two died alongside one another at the club. Simon was 31 years old. Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Oscar Aracena-Montero who was a resident of my district and lived in Kissimmee, Florida. Oscar's life was cut short in the early hours of June 12, 2016, during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Oscar was a business management student and worked as an assistant restaurant manager. He moved from the Dominican Republic with his father as a child and grew up in Central Florida. His friends describe him as a sweet guy who was the type of person who gets along with anybody. They remember him as a charismatic person who always looked on the bright side of things. Oscar was excited about the prospects of a career after completing his college degree. He and his partner, Simon Fernandez, purchased a home last year where they lived together with their three lovely Chihuahuas. They enjoyed traveling together, dancing, riding their bikes and going water skiing. Oscar and Simon had been vacationing in Canada and New York the week before the tragedy. Friends enjoyed seeing their photos posted online from their stop in Niagra Falls. The couple had just returned to Orlando earlier in the day before heading out with friends to Latin Night at the Pulse club on the night of the attack. The two died alongside one another at the club. Oscar was 26 years old. Oscar Aracena-Montero will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Juan Rivera Velazquez of Kissimmee, Florida. Juan was a resident of my district. His life was cut short in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, during the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Juan died at the club alongside his life partner of 16 years, Luis Daniel Conde. The two grew up in the same small town in Puerto Rico, and even attended the same school, Jose Campeche High School in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Juan Rivera Velazquez was 37 years old. Juan and Luis were co-owners of Alta Peluqueria D'Magazine Salon & Spa in Kissimmee where they enjoyed a loyal client base and frequently offered their services to victims of domestic abuse, free of charge. The pair were known to friends as exceptional people and a loving couple. While Juan is remembered as the shy, quieter half, driven and focused on the work, Luis was more the jokester, who was always making people laugh. They valued their clients as friends with their encouraging words, always reminding them that they look `beautiful' and `amazing' before leaving the salon. Juan Rivera Velazquez will never be forgotten in our pursuit of a more just and loving world. His memory and acts of kindness will live forever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him. May his family, relatives and friends eventually find solace and comfort, and may he rest in eternal peace.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I represent Orlando, the site of the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States: 49 dead in a matter of just minutes. So far, there has been no action by this body to address any grievances. For instance, we have no action on Peter King's bill, the no fly, no buy terrorist gun bill. We have no action on Peter King's second bill, H.R. 1217. We have no action on David Cicilline's bill to reinstate the assault weapons ban, H.R. 4269; no action on Sheila Jackson Lee's bill, H.R. 4316; no action on the second bill that she introduced, H.R. 5470; no action on Mike Thompson's recently introduced bill, H.R. 5504; no action on my own bill to reinstate the assault weapons ban; no action even to show our respect for the dead by passing H. Res. 789, stalled in this body for a month. I don't think we should be doing anything unless we are going to do something about making the American people safe again. Therefore, I move to adjourn in respect of Stanley Almodovar, one of the victims, and the remainder.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, if we are not going to do anything about gun violence today, maybe we can do something about it tomorrow. I move to postpone this question to a date certain tomorrow.

Mr. GRAYSON. I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

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

Mr. GRAYSON

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chair, this language strikes the anti-abortion language in section 613, which restricts abortion coverage for those who participate in Federal Employees Health Benefit plans. In other words, Federal employees. Singling out abortion care and requiring its exclusion from health insurance plans is discrimination. Federal employees commit their lives to public service, and they should not be penalized because of the source of their health insurance and who their employer happens to be. Government employees contribute to the cost of their coverage, and they pay their out-of-pocket expenses. They deserve the same benefits and access to comprehensive health care as those in the private sector. This ban separates public servants from private-sector employees and treats them as unequal. All Federal employees should have equal access to health care that other employees receive in the private sector. Here, we are saying that one employer, the government, is free to deny care to its employees, something that we would generally not allow in the private sector. We are also prohibiting these Federal employee plans from covering abortions, and that constitutes political interference in a woman's personal decisionmaking. Restricting abortion coverage in these plans is a bad policy that harms women. Sometime during the course of pregnancy, for instance, one might find out that the fetus is abnormal. That is a personal decision whether to terminate that pregnancy or not that should be made personally, and the government should not weigh in in one way or another in making that decision. If a woman does decide--either because her life is threatened or because of fetal abnormalities or some other reason--that she wants to terminate the pregnancy, she could be looking at tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars of unreimbursed health expenses. We shouldn't pretend that we are covering people's health coverage needs while allowing them to fall subject to a bill that could be tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, lifting this ban does not mandate abortion coverage. It simply permits the Federal Employees Health Benefit plans to cover abortions. I think we need to get to the heart of the matter, which is this: the most fundamental right of anyone, a man or a woman, is the right to control your own body, and that includes a womb. If liberty means anything, if freedom means anything, that is what it means. That is true for me and it is true for you. It is true for men, and it is true for women; and that includes pregnant women and women who happen to be Federal employees. Abortion has to be fully legal or women are not fully equal. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield for a moment to my friend from New Jersey, if he will answer a single question. And the question is this: Does the gentlemen believe that women who have abortions should be incarcerated?

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, again, addressing a question to the gentleman from New Jersey: If you maintain that abortion is murder--which is pretty much what you just said--then why do you not believe that the women who have these abortions should be incarcerated? Why do you not believe that?

Mr. GRAYSON. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.