Steven Horsford

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman, and thank you for your leadership and commitment on these issues. And I know we will continue to fight and advocate for the preservation of the Affordable Care Act and, as you indicate, the proper implementation of that act with the expansion of Medicaid and the other key provisions of the law which we need our local and State partners to work with us in providing quality health care for all Americans. General Leave

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of this Special Order.

Mr. HORSFORD. At this time I'd like to yield to the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' Health Brain Trust, the doctor in the House, the person who knows more about health care than most, the honorable gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you again to the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' health brain trust for laying out, again, the hard work that the Congressional Black Caucus has been involved with for many years in getting to the point with the Affordable Care Act now on the cusp of being fully implemented in January of 2014. So when our colleagues on the other side spend time bringing up legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act now more than 30 times after this legislation has been approved by Congress, it has been upheld by the courts, it has been signed by the President, and the American public are desperate for quality health care--that is why we are coming here today to say enough is enough. Thirty times to repeal the Affordable Care Act--how many more times will we waste the people's, House's and our time bringing these issues forward when we need to be working together to implement the Affordable Care Act in the way that it is intended? At this time, I would like to yield to the second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. She is a strong leader for her constituents, the gentlelady from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you to the gentlelady from New York, and I appreciate, again, all of her hard work and her commitment on these issues and her willingness to, again, reach across the aisle as you said. We are here to work with anybody who wants to work with us to find solutions to the health care crisis that exists in America. But we need them to understand that voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act is not that solution. There are many more things that we can do together to provide access to health care than we can by repealing this very important legislation. At this time, I would like to recognize, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Mr. HORSFORD. I'd like to thank the gentleman from Illinois and, again, just to highlight, as you indicated, the community health centers as an important provision of support within the health care delivery system. Both rural and urban communities suffer from the disproportionate distribution of health care resources and access to care. Community health care centers play an important component in overcoming that care, providing millions of health care services, particularly to people of color, access to high-quality and affordable care in both rural and urban areas. I know in my own district, in Nevada's Fourth Congressional District, we have 14 health centers throughout our region. From my rural parts to the urban parts, these are very important areas. But unfortunately, under the sequester, Mr. Speaker, these are still areas that are under attack because cuts to these health care centers are still being imposed because of the uncertainty of the sequester. In my district, Nevada health centers, they're looking at over $700,000 worth of reductions between now and September; elimination of nursing positions and elimination of services for children and seniors at a time when people are sick and they need it the most. So I would hope that, again, we can work together with Members on the other side to come up with solutions to replace the sequester and to fully fund community health centers, who are providing such good care to our citizens at this time. I would like to yield now, Mr. Speaker, to the gentlelady from Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentlelady from Texas. We stand with you and your colleagues here on the floor to continue to put pressure on leaders, not only in Texas but throughout the country, who do not see the value of expanding Medicaid. I'm fortunate in Nevada--we have a Republican Governor, but he has agreed to provide the expansion for Medicaid, because he understands that in Nevada a third of our population is currently uninsured, and with the expansion of Medicaid that's going to make sure that fewer people turn up in the emergency rooms through uncompensated care, which all of us as taxpayers end up paying for. So this is an issue where Republicans who understand the bottom line in terms of health care and cost can work together with us to implement good policy for the American people. We'll continue to work with Governors that have not seen the light, but we believe that this is a plan that will work very effectively. Mr. Speaker, can I ask how much time we have remaining?

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, I would like to turn to several of our new Members of the 113th Congress. I'm very pleased and honored to be serving with them. I've learned so much from all the Members here, but particularly have enjoyed getting to know the new Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. There are five new Members. I would now like to recognize my good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey, the man with the great legacy, who's carrying on the legacy of the late Congressman Payne, Representative Payne, Jr., at this time.

Mr. HORSFORD. At this time I would like to recognize the vice chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a leader on a number of key issues that the Congressional Black Caucus is facing this 113th Congress, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you very much to the gentleman from New Jersey. I would like to now turn to the gentlelady from Ohio. She has come to Congress, providing great perspective as a member of the Financial Services Committee specifically, but also in her background of higher education and in her working on a number of these issues, one of which being the need to create a workforce that's trained and ready, particularly in the health care sector. I would like to yield to the gentlelady from Ohio, Congresswoman Beatty.

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentlelady from Ohio. At this time, I would like to turn to the gentleman from Texas, Congressman Veasey, and I would like to thank him again for his hard work and contributions to this new 113th Congress.

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentleman from Texas. I know we are wrapping up on our hour, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize the co-anchor for this hour, my good friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Jeffries), who will provide a bit of a synopsis.

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, thank you. We are pleased to come to this body at this time for this hour of power with the Congressional Black Caucus. This evening, we'd like to focus on eliminating health disparities in America. Health is a cornerstone of equal opportunity, which is why access to quality, affordable care is so important. Sickness not only decreases individual and social productivity, but without access to health resources, many get sick and never truly recover. Over this next hour, members of the Congressional Black Caucus will discuss our priorities, working together with the President, our colleagues on the other side and throughout this body, and in the other Chamber, to address the needs of health care for all Americans, and specifically to eliminate the health disparities in the African-American communities. I'd like to recognize the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Under her leadership, the CBC is advancing a number of priorities during this 113th Congress. I yield to the gentlelady from Ohio, Chairwoman Fudge.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, the sequester is still hurting our constituents. And despite votes today, Congress is continuing to turn a blind eye to many communities affected by these draconian, across-the- board cuts. Yes, we should not furlough air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. It's not smart, and I know as a Representative from Nevada that it is unnecessarily hurting tourism and local economies. But House Republicans continue to ignore the impacts of the cuts on Head Start, on Title I schools, and on the Meals on Wheels program for our seniors. Why is that? Why are these students and seniors still on the chopping block? Do their interests not count in the Halls of Congress? These mindless cuts are harming our kids' futures and our seniors' well-being, and this Congress is long overdue in paying attention to their needs. I've said before, Mr. Speaker, I'm willing to work with anyone from either side of the aisle to come up with solutions to replace the sequester, but we need to do it for all communities, not just one.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Representative Jeffries. And you provided the clear nexus. While the Congressional Black Caucus, working with our colleagues from the Hispanic Caucus and the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, supports comprehensive immigration reform, including provisions that allow the best and the brightest from around the country to immigrate to the United States and to contribute to making our country great, we also believe that there should be investment here in the United States to educate those of us here for these careers in the 21st century. Colleges and universities in our country will produce 3 million STEM majors in the next 10 years. Still, according to a 2012 report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, our economy will demand more students graduating with STEM degrees than we are currently providing. So what can we do? We need to increase funding in STEM education and follow the lead of many of our Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic- serving institutions which are producing a greater share of students with STEM degrees. Among HBCUs, currently, they produce about 19 percent of all STEM bachelor degrees, 38 percent of which are in the biological sciences, 31 percent in math, 35 percent in computer science, 34 percent in the physical sciences, and 22 percent in engineering. Now, the Obama administration has requested more investment for STEM teachers and additional funds to expand effective models of teacher preparation to help train 10,000 STEM educators per year. That's what the President's budget proposes. Those are the same priorities, they are the right priorities, and they're the priorities that the Congressional Black Caucus agrees need to be supported by this Congress. We need to invest in teachers that will train students for jobs in the 21st century. But let me be clear: you can't expect students to graduate with degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology if we're not doing more to invest in pre-K and to help students start with a strong foundation. And that's why the President has a historic level of investment in his budget for early childhood education and pre-K. We enroll most kids in this country at 5 or 6 years old. We should be starting them earlier; 50 years of research tell us that critical development and learning happen before the age of five. When schooling starts at kindergarten or first grade, it denies these young people chances to make the most of this critical period. Fundamentally reforming our education system begins with high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. In my opinion, pre-kindergarten is an antidote for the achievement gap. In cases where our kindergarten teachers are getting kids who've had, in some cases, 2 years of early education, they're seeing that the achievement gap has stopped or been narrowed. That's why we need to invest in programs like Head Start so that we don't have to play catch-up later or deny these young, bright minds the opportunities to go into the fields of the 21st century. So, Mr. Speaker, this is an and/also strategy, not an either/or. We believe that we can invest in both early childhood education, K-12 education and higher education, not cut, slash or deny these opportunities to America's children. These are our priorities, and it's what we'll continue to fight for for all of America's children.

Mr. HORSFORD. Just to elaborate further on this point, education attainment is an economic imperative. Not only is it the investment in the individual that proves great dividends and a return on investment, but the failure to invest, based on the bottom line in red, for someone with less than a high school diploma the likelihood of them being unemployed is 14 percent. For those with a high school diploma who are unemployed, it's 9.4 percent. If you have a bachelor's degree, the unemployment rate drops in half, to 4.9 percent. And if you have a professional degree, the unemployment rate is 2.4 percent. So the correlation is clear that with education attainment come economic prosperity, opportunity, and a return on investment that is good for that individual, their ability to provide for themselves and their family, and for our entire country. And so, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about investment, we're not talking about investments in programs or systems. We're talking about investments in people. When we talk about Head Start, we're talking about 3- and 4-year-old children. When we talk about title 1 funding, we're talking about schools and children that are identified as having low-income needs and the disadvantaged. When we talk about funding for IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we're talking about individuals. And the more that we can invest in the individuals in America, the greater return we will have in the productivity of that individual, their family, the community they live in. And that will make for a stronger America for all of us. That is what we are aspiring to accomplish in this 113th Congress. We want to work with our colleagues on the other side. Where they can meet us in the middle to find solutions to make these investments, we look forward to working with them. But one thing we will not do is to slash, defund, or freeze the investment of the American children and the American family.

Mr. HORSFORD. To my colleague and dear friend, the Representative from the 8th Congressional District of New York, it's good to join you for this hour of power to talk directly to our constituents and the American people about the priorities that we're focused on here in the United States House of Representatives and that we hope our colleagues on the other side will join with us to advance. Today, we bring to the focus of this body the need to invest in opportunity through education. A pathway to a college education is a pathway into the middle class. And as a panel that was just convened, moderated by Wade Henderson, entitled, ``For Each and Every Child,'' they indicated that, while a post-high school education is not an economic cure-all, it does provide a steppingstone to a good job and stable wages. Now, every parent should be able to count on a good education for his or her children. As a father of three young children, I'm very focused on what my children need in the opportunities to advance in their lives and to be successful, as every parent is focused on, but, unfortunately, it is not always the case. We need to refocus the conversation on educational opportunity, as my colleague, Mr. Jeffries, just indicated, and making sure that our children's future is not determined by a ZIP Code. Our schools should not be structured like a lottery system where some luck out and others strike out--to continue with your analogy, Mr. Jeffries. Poor kids who are exceptional should be the norm, not the exception to the rule. They deserve the resources they need to be successful; and that's what we, on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, are bringing forward here today. In order to fix what's wrong right now, we need to change the way we think about our schools, because it's not simply schools that teach our students; it's actually the entire community. It is a community effort. In 2011, 78 percent of high school graduates from high-income families enrolled in college. The shares for middle- and low-income families were 63 and 55 percent, respectfully. We have to work to close this gap and open a pathway to college for all students. Now, today, we will hear from our colleagues who share with this need to invest in education. We would like to talk about the particular issue that's affecting our Black men and boys in education. We want to focus on the need to grow more science and math majors. We know we need to invest in pre-K, and we want to outline our priorities as they compare to the Republican budget that's been offered by the other side. And so as we enter into this hour of power to talk about education, I hope that we can cover these topics and others, and I look forward to this discussion.

Mr. HORSFORD. I say thank you to my colleague from New York. Before I elaborate further, let me say that first you have to understand that there is a problem in order to address the problem. I think far too often some of our colleagues on the other side fail to recognize the fact that so many families who are struggling to help their students obtain a college degree are having to do so through student loans and rely greatly on Pell Grants for that assistance. Maybe it's because they don't have that same experience that they don't understand why these are important. This is what the House Republican budget would mean for those very programs that you're talking about. First, the Republican budget freezes the maximum Pell Grant for the next 10 years, even though Congress already enacted and paid for mandatory annual inflationary increases in 2010. With this one step, they slash higher education funding by $83 billion. The House Republican budget allows the interest rate on need-based student loans to double this summer. The House Republican budget eliminates the income-based repayment program, which provides that Federal student loan borrowers can cap their loan payments at 15 percent, going down to 10 percent in 2014 of their discretionary income each year. The reason that this is so important is because of constituents like the ones I spoke to on Sunday in my district. We were talking about the immigration issue. But as we were discussing that, many of them came to me and said, Well, you know what? I've had to borrow $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 in student loans to acquire this degree, and I'm now working in the field I'm in, but unfortunately it's taking $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 a month of my income to pay back those student loans. At the very time these families are struggling to do that, the Republican budget proposes to slash it further. Not only does it slash support for individuals and families who rely on student loans, as I said, they also freeze the maximum Pell Grant, which so many low-income families and students desperately depend on. This is a real issue, and it's a real difference. That is why we are here today to bring attention to the differences between the two sides. I hope that as we move forward, we can find common ground. Mr. Speaker, I want to say something, because sometimes I know when we talk about the needs of educating Black children, that people will say, What about other communities? My answer to that is that if we can help improve the education for Black children in America, we will improve education for all children in America, whether they be Latino or White or Asian. And so that is why we need to have an investment in education in America, not to defund, not to slash, not to reduce or not to freeze funding, but to invest in the very things that we know work and that will improve the successes for young people to succeed in life.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the ranking member for your hard work on these issues, and I stand before this House to ask that all Members reject this rule. I had an amendment, which was not approved, which is germane to H.R. 1549 and follows CutGo and would have prevented defunding of the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Unfortunately, the Rules Committee rejected this amendment in order to keep this bill purely about political posturing. My constituents sent me here to work together to solve problems, not to relitigate legislation which has been adopted by Congress, approved by the President, upheld by the Supreme Court, and the American people support. The Prevention and Public Health Fund, among other things, helps reduce minority population health disparities and supports health care for chronic and costly conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. There are medically underserved communities in my district and across the country that need better access to care. My amendment would prevent siphoning of resources needed to reduce health disparities among minority populations. During the 112th Congress, the House voted repeatedly to cut this very program. Now the Rules Committee has rejected my amendment. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule. We need an open process, not more political gamesmanship that hurts the American people who need access to quality health care.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Yesterday was a tragic day. In our thoughts and prayers are those who lost their lives or were injured during the Boston Marathon, as well as the families and friends of those affected. The character of our country was reflected in the Boston police and firefighters, the first responders, the nurses and the medical providers, the people donating blood, the residents offering shelter and care, the thousands praying for healing, and everyone opening their doors in Boston to care for those in need. Today, we are all Bostonians. There are no words to console those who have lost loved ones, but Congress will assist those in Boston and Massachusetts in any way possible. As we await answers, we will continue to make emergency preparedness, responsiveness, and caring for those in need a priority.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, today is an important day in women's history and our country's history. It is the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, a reminder of the progress we have made in the fight for equality, and a reminder that the fight is not over. Nationally, women earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male coworkers. In my State of Nevada, it's 85 cents to the dollar. No matter the degree of disparity, unequal pay for equal work is wrong. Women head over 125,000 households in Nevada. Closing the wage gap would provide needed and deserved income for these families and all families across the country. I'm the father of a bright young daughter. I want the best for her and for young women across the country who have great contributions to make to our Nation, and that's why I urge passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. I come to the floor with a heavy heart today. I am deeply saddened by the loss of life as the result of an explosion during a live-fire training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot last night, which is located in the northwest part of Nevada's Fourth Congressional District. I had the honor and privilege of visiting the depot in January and meeting with the fine men and women who work there. The families of those affected are in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope for the recovery of those who are in critical condition and who are receiving medical care as I speak. The losses we have learned about this morning are painful. We have lost seven marines. Others are wounded. My office is in contact with the Governor of Nevada, local officials, and military command to receive updates on the situation. My thoughts and prayers are with the community of Hawthorne. I will be leaving as soon as possible to return to Nevada to be with our grieving community and servicemembers. I ask for this body's prayers and thoughts for our men and women in service.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the remaining time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn to two of our members on the Budget Committee, people who have heard firsthand the devastating cuts from the House Republican proposal and who have worked so hard to lay out the alternative proposal for the Congressional Black Caucus. First, Representative Bobby Scott from Virginia, thank you for your hard work and that of your staff. And after him, Representative Jeffries from New York.