Alcee Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for a unanimous consent request to my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis). (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) for a unanimous consent request. (Mr. STARK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, moving right along, I am pleased at this time to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), my good friend.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time. Mr. Speaker, I will be asking Members to vote ``no'' on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will amend this rule so we can vote on the Schiff amendment to help victims of identity theft. It will exempt from the bill's means test those consumers who are victimized by identity theft if it means 51 percent of the creditor claims against them are due to identity theft. This is a very reasonable and much-needed amendment, being debated in the Senate I might add, not on the bankruptcy measure, was offered in the Rules Committee last night, but unfortunately was blocked by the Republican majority by a straight party line vote. Voting ``no'' on the previous question will not stop the bankruptcy bill from coming to the floor today. S. 256 will still be considered in this House before we leave for the weekend. However, a ``yes'' vote will preclude the House from addressing one of the most serious consumer issues in this country, identity theft. And I ask for a ``no'' on the previous question. We owe it to our constituents to take action on this serious and escalating problem. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) for a unanimous consent request. (Mr. OLVER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) for a unanimous consent request. (Mr. SANDERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), for a unanimous consent request. (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for a unanimous consent request to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson), for a unanimous consent request. (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, my good friend, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for a unanimous consent request. (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for a unanimous consent request to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown). (Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield for a unanimous consent request to my good friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard). (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for a unanimous consent request to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro). (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume before yielding to the distinguished ranking member to respond to my colleague from Georgia by indicating, the last time I looked at the rules, it allowed that individual Members have a right to make amendments, and we are not required to offer a substitute. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), my good friend. (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks, and include extraneous material.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry, what is the ruling of the Chair?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for yielding me the time. Before yielding myself such time as I may consume, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) for a unanimous consent request. (Mr. STARK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Further parliamentary inquiry, so the gentlewoman from New York's request to put in the Record the material?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, there is objection to a Member's placing in the Record, a Member who had made a statement supporting the things that she asked to be submitted, that is being denied?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, with the Speaker's permission, I ask unanimous consent that the extraneous material offered by the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) be made a part of the Record following her remarks.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it was barely 20 years ago when the nation first became concerned with minority communities and the disproportionate impact from polluting facilities. At that time, we referred to this problem as environmental racism. This was a term which strongly depicted the harsh reality and the disparities of environmental policy or practices affecting individuals, groups, or communities based on race or color. In the last decade, the pursuit against environmental racism has been transformed into an effort to achieve environmental justice in all socio-economic communities, suggesting that we are making wiser environmental policy decisions and engaging in a proactive approach. On February 11, 1994, President Clinton signed Executive Order (EO) 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. EO 12898 required that all appropriate federal agencies collect data on the health and environmental impact of their programs and activities on ``minority populations'' and ``low-income populations'' and to develop policies to achieve environmental justice. EO 12898 also requires federal agencies and their funding recipients to fully comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by conducting their programs and implementing policies in a nondiscriminatory manner. Despite EO 12898, federal efforts to achieve environmental justice have been minimal at best. In fact, in 2002, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held hearings on the issue and concluded that due to organizational and financial limitations, ``there is inconsistency and unevenness in the degree to which agencies achieved integration of environmental justice into their core mission.'' It also noted that ``current funding and staffing levels [at federal agencies] undermine meaningful Title VI enforcement at a time when there are increasing judicial barriers to enforcing Title VI.'' I come to the floor today to introduce legislation that expands the definition of environmental justice, directs each Federal Agency to establish an office of environmental justice, reestablishes the interagency Federal Working Group on Environmental Justice, and requires that EO 12898 remain in force until changed by law. My legislation represents a significant step in ensuring that current and future federal policies reflect the intentions and goals of EO 12898 and protect minority and low-income communities from poor environmental and energy decisions and policies. I ask for my colleagues support, and urge the House Leadership to expeditiously bring this critical legislation to the House floor for consideration.