Steven Horsford

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. As you indicate, 70 percent of the American people agree with the CBC plan to have a balanced approach, one that helps to preserve and protect the very programs that you just mentioned and that gets our economy on the focus of what we should be dealing with, which is the jobs deficit in this country, not the so-called ``budget deficit.''

Mr. HORSFORD. Good evening, Mr. Speaker. It's my privilege to join with my colleague, Mr. Jeffries, the gentleman from New York, to coanchor this hour along with the Congressional Black Caucus and my colleagues from the CBC to talk about something very important right now to the American people, and that is the budget and who we will balance the budget on as far as how we move forward for the American people. Less than 1 month after the sequester, Republicans have presented a carbon copy budget of their austerity plans of the past. The American people spoke loud and clear last November. They believe in investing in our recovery, turning our economy around, and getting people back to work. They reject balancing the budget on the backs of our children, seniors, and the middle class. Yet the Ryan budget starts with the premise that the sequester is good policy, that the ultrawealthy deserve another tax break, and that we don't really need to invest in our children or their future. So tonight, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, the Congressional Black Caucus and I will lay out why the Ryan budget is a failed proposal for the American people and why we need to support an alternative offered by the Congressional Black Caucus and those who have worked hard to craft it. I would like to recognize our chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentlelady from Ohio (Ms. Fudge).

Mr. HORSFORD. Continuing on, as the chairwoman of the CBC just talked about, the Congressional Black Caucus budget is an alternative budget for fiscal year 2014. It puts forth a plan that both reduces the deficit by $2.8 trillion over the next decade and creates millions of jobs through significant investments towards job creation that will accelerate our economic recovery and ensure that it's felt in every community across America. The CBC budget also cancels the economically disastrous sequester that is currently costing between 750,000 to 1 million jobs. So the CBC budget creates jobs, while the sequester and the Republican budget, which adopts the sequester and makes it permanent, cut jobs, and the CBC budget pays for it. To elaborate further is the vice chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you. Over the weekend, Speaker Boehner said: We do not have an immediate debt crisis. We have one looming. It's not an immediate problem. Well, what we do have right now is an immediate jobs deficit, and we should be focused on getting the American people back to work. That's what the Congressional Black Caucus alternative budget does. And to talk about the focus on jobs and investing in our future, the woman who fights for the people of Florida, the gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Brown).

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Congresswoman. As you indicated, in addition to the CBC alternative budget, which focuses on the jobs--maintaining the jobs we have and creating new jobs--the CBC budget also preserves and protects Social Security and Medicare. It rejects the idea of voucherizing care for those who have paid into these programs their entire lives. Instead, it strengthens these programs to guarantee a safe and secure retirement for our parents and our grandparents as well as for the generation to come, which is something that you and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus have fought for for many years in this body.

Mr. HORSFORD. These are vital safety programs that save millions of families, many of whom we serve on the Congressional Black Caucus. These programs save them from poverty, like SNAP and TANF--they are enhanced, so that those who are struggling to get by are given not a handout but a hand up in meeting their needs, so that they and their families can survive for themselves, and we will continue to fight to preserve and protect these programs.

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I would now like to turn to the physician who is in the House. We have one of the experts in health care, someone who knows how important the Affordable Care Act is and the preservation of the Affordable Care Act. I find it interesting that the House Republican budget calls for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but still they take the money and use it to balance their budget. So how can they balance their budget and repeal the Affordable Care Act at the same time? I yield to the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Representative Christensen.

Mr. HORSFORD. Congresswoman Christensen, let me thank you again for your hard work in fighting for quality health care for all Americans. My grandmother suffered a stroke when I was only 9 weeks old, and she went into a coma. When she came out of that coma, she was paralyzed on the left side of her body. For the next 27 years, she lived in a nursing home, and it was that nursing home that allowed her to have the quality of life that she did have until she passed away in 2000. Now as a young boy, I visited my grandmother virtually every week in that nursing home. I didn't know whether it was Medicaid or her disability that was providing for her care, but that's the reason she was able to live as long as she did. I know now that there are parents and grandparents depending on those programs more now than ever before, and that's why the CBC budget works to preserve and protect these programs. It's the people's budget, as you refer to it, and our values are the values that protect those who are not able to always protect themselves, versus an austerity budget that looks out more for special interests and corporate interests than it does the people's interests. And so I want to thank you again because it is my grandmother's legacy, and so many other parents and grandparents who are in her situation, that remind me every day what it is we are supposed to be doing here in the people's House. So thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to now turn to Representative Barbara Lee from California, someone who I know this week, particularly as we talk about ending the war in Iraq, she is someone who stood early on saying we didn't need to go into war, and the deficit spending that occurred in the previous administration is the reason that we have the deficits that we do. And now they want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor and not take responsibility for the decisions that were made in the previous administration, so thank you for standing up and standing tall. I yield to the gentlelady from California.

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, may I confirm how much time we have remaining?

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time I'd like to yield to the gentlelady from California, Representative Bass, who, as a former legislator like myself, has dealt with these types of brutal across-the-board cuts as proposed and having to work across party lines in a bipartisan way to find commonsense solutions. I think that it is common sense that we need a little more of here in Washington, D.C. I am pleased to yield to the gentlelady from California.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Congresswoman Bass. Mr. Speaker, to focus on jobs and investing in our future, the fact that this is pro-growth, pro-people, and that 70 percent of the American people support this type of an approach is why the CBC is offering this as an alternative to the House Republican majority. And to speak further on the pro-growth needs of this budget, my colleague in the new freshman class, it has been a delight to get to know her, the gentlelady from Ohio, Representative Beatty.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Congresswoman Beatty. We appreciate your leadership and your hard work. Mr. Speaker, can I just confirm our remaining time, please.

Mr. HORSFORD. I think you should be back.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Congressman Scott. Again, thank you for your very hard work and that of your staff in bringing this forward. To close this out, to lay out the two options and approaches that are before us, we have what I would like to coin as the Compassionate People's Budget, offered by the Congressional Black Caucus, and we have the Austerity Budget. Now, the Compassionate Budget is focused on the people and the Austerity Budget continues to protect special interest and corporate interest. And to talk more about that, the gentleman from New York, Representative Jeffries.

Mr. HORSFORD. The CBC budget refocuses the priorities where it should be, on the middle class. The CBC budget will save up to 2 million public and private sector jobs just from the cancellation of the sequester alone. Bottom line, Mr. Speaker: job creation is our number one priority with this budget. We put Americans back to work, we protect the vital social programs they rely on, and we call on everyone to contribute to growing our economy and strengthening our recovery. This is a balanced approach that the American people are calling for. We're urging our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us to craft a commonsense budget proposal that creates jobs, that moves our country forward, and that protects the middle class and the poor. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. I will work with anyone from any party who has a good idea for how we can get the American people back to work. Unfortunately, H.R. 803 is not that bill.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you to the ranking member for his leadership and the committee members, as well, for working so hard to try to find a balanced approach and a bipartisan approach to a very important bill, which is job training and developing America's workforce. The latest employment report for Nevada came out this morning, and while we added 6,600 seasonally adjusted jobs, and are on the right path, we cannot shortchange our workers at this critical time. I've heard from my local elected officials who serve on workforce boards, and they don't support the approach of H.R. 803, and that's why I strongly oppose the bill as well. Before coming to Congress, I ran a joint labor management training academy in Las Vegas that helped train thousands of Nevadans--youth, adults and dislocated workers--to find careers in the hospitality industry each and every year, so I know the value of quality training for prospective workers. I'm opposing the so-called SKILLS Act because it's a partisan bill that's dressed up as a workforce investment act legislation. It would block-grant 35 work programs, pitting youth, older workers, and workers with disabilities against each other for funding, and it would freeze job-training investment for 7 years, even though funding for workforce programs has already been cut in half since 2001, this at a time when there's a growing demand for training and placement of workers. The Democratic alternative to this bill builds partnerships with the private sector, with labor, with community colleges. It evaluates the efficiency of workforce programs, and it expands the use of on-the-job training and incumbent worker training.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. I just want to add that this debate begins and ends with the American people. We want to hear and listen to their views. We want you to know that you can go to # Be Careful What You Cut and tell us the impacts that you are seeing with this sequester and how it is affecting you. That way we can share those opinions and views with our colleagues to hopefully convince them that a balanced approach, working across party lines, both Chambers, the Senate and the House, coming together for the good of the American people is what we desperately need at this time. Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing us to speak this evening and for the American people allowing us to be their voice in this representative government.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Madam Speaker. To my good friend and colleague, Representative Jeffries, thank you for co-anchoring this special hour, and to all of my colleagues who joined us tonight to discuss the impact of the sequester. You know, far too often, talk of the so-called sequester ignores the very real people who feel the pain of unfair cuts. Our job, as Representatives, is to be the voice of our constituents. Well, tonight, I hope that we can have a frank discussion about what these cuts really mean to all of our communities. My colleagues talked about the 750,000 to 1 million job losses that could result as a result of the sequester. Any day, Congress can pass a reasonable, balanced deficit reduction solution to avert these devastating, across-the-board cuts. That's what the American people are asking for, in fact. According to a USA Today/Pew Research poll, three out of four Americans surveyed said that Congress should focus on a balanced approach to the deficit, with a combination of spending cuts, strategic spending cuts, and additional revenue. Now, I know here in Washington, sometimes the focus is more on scoring political points, or seeing who can win the blame game. Well, Madam Speaker, the American people are watching, and they are fed up with the broken ways of Washington. They came out and they voted in November, and they sent a very clear message to all of us here in Congress that it is time for us to work together to put partisanship aside and to put our Nation first. So, if all parties would come to the table, like we are supposed to, we can minimize the impact of the sequester on working families like mine in Congressional District Four. If we do our jobs, like the American people are rightfully demanding, we can reduce our debt in a responsible way and get our economy moving again. So I call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Come to the table, help find a solution, and let's fix some of these deep cuts that were never supposed to happen. I wasn't part of the Congress that enacted the sequester. I know my colleague, Mr. Jeffries, was not either, but we are here now, and we want to do our jobs on behalf of the constituents who sent us here. This is victory for no one and a horrible loss for the American people. Now, if we let the sequester continue, our economic recovery will be thrown in reverse. A study by George Mason University projects a loss of 2.14 million American jobs if we fail to act. Half of those jobs will come from small businesses, businesses that are the engines of our economy. Perhaps most unfair, as part of the sequester, our schools and our students will be hurt. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I voted, along with many of my colleagues, to not adjourn this body, to stay here throughout the so- called District Work Week to work with my colleagues across the aisle to try to come up with a balanced solution to avoid these devastating cuts. But the leadership, the Republican leadership, decided to adjourn. And so, instead of spending time with our families, we went out and met with our constituents to listen to them about what these cuts mean in their everyday lives. So let me talk to you about what this means in my home State of Nevada. Nearly 300 Nevada children will lose Head Start and early Head Start services. These are programs that provide critical early education programs. At a time when we talk about wanting to close the academic achievement gap and allowing every child to start school ready to learn on day one, these impacts would deny services to 300 Nevada children. In fact, I already have 400 children who are on the waiting list for one of my Head Start providers, and families can't even get in to be served. Primary and secondary education in Nevada would be cut by $9 million, putting around 120 teacher and teacher aide jobs at risk. Funding for title I schools would be slashed. One particular elementary school that I visited, Matt Kelly Elementary School, over 50 percent of their allocation from the school district is title I funding. How is that school supposed to maintain the services that they're providing to these young and deserving children? Services like nutrition programs, full-day kindergarten, a parent center so that we can actually have parental involvement in our schools, that is what is under attack with these mindless, across-the- board cuts. About 14,000 fewer students would be served, and approximately 10 fewer schools in my district would even receive funding under title I. Disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents. When we talk about helping people get back to work, one of the biggest impediments for many families is having access to child care. Schools and families in my district need these programs to provide hungry students the meals that they need to focus in class, to fund math and reading intervention programs, and to keep their teachers employed. We can reduce unnecessary spending, Madam Speaker, but these are the wrong places to cut, and everyone knows it on both sides of the aisle, in both Chambers of this Congress. Now, some of these cuts won't heal. And as Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund has aptly noted, we better be careful what we cut because some cuts don't heal. We don't get a second chance at Head Start. We don't get a second chance once our kids have moved on to the next grade, with or without the schools that they need. We don't get a second chance at the whole formative experience of education that so heavily influences the paths of our lives. Opportunities are just that. They're there for a moment, and they disappear if you don't act. There is no reset button for your education. Once our children are in those classrooms, we set them on a track for success or failure. We tip the scales for or against them in the moment that they walk through the front doors of the schoolhouse. We ask our students to study hard, meet deadlines and do their homework. That's their end of the bargain. We, as parents, are asked to be involved, to foster our children's growth and to pay attention to their needs. As Members of Congress, our end of the bargain is to make sure that our children's schools are well-funded institutions of learning. Well, if anyone is grading Congress right now, we're not doing our job, Madam Speaker. We even gave ourselves a 2-month extension, but we missed our deadline and let cuts go into effect that Members from both parties have described as dumb, avoidable, and painful. Congress didn't make the grade. When it comes to fixing the deficit, you have to be careful what you cut. As I said, according to the Children's Defense Fund, eliminating early education investments now would increase a child's chances of going to prison later by up to 39 percent. Paying for that prison will cost nearly three times more a year than it would have cost to provide them with a quality early learning experience. Simply put, our kids are being shortchanged by adults here in Washington. This is an adult problem, and it's time for adults to be adults and to come into this body and work together and solve this for our children and their future. Let's make the right choice--adequately fund our schools and look out for our children. I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you to my friend and my colleague from New York. And as you aptly noted, the history of how we got to this point needs to not be lost in this debate. And I know there are some who also want to now talk about the cuts that were made in agreement with the administration last year, along with those additional revenues which were approved in January, as somehow the answer for why there needs to be no additional revenue. That doesn't take into account the $85 billion of cuts that are now upon us under this sequester. I'd like to just hit on three additional points, if I could. One is the unemployment impact. We're focused on growing the economy, putting people back to work. In my home State of Nevada, we still have an unemployment rate above the national average. While our numbers are coming down, we don't need to add anyone to the unemployment lines. Under the sequester, some 750,000 to 1 million Americans will end up losing their jobs unless this Congress comes together and finds a solution--a balanced approach, as you indicate. In Nevada, that's 10,000 lost jobs. And of those jobs, the main areas that will be affected are the civilian positions at our Air Force bases--Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base, and the Hawthorn Army Depot. It's estimated that some 1,400 furloughs will occur to civilian jobs, amounting to $11 million in lost wages. These aren't just lost wages to these individuals and their families; it's $11 million less of economic recovery that we so desperately need. Then when you talk about our tourism and the impact to travel, the FAA will be required to cut its operational activities by nearly $483 million. As a consequence, all FAA employees could be furloughed for 11 days, meaning as much as 10 percent of the FAA's workforce of 40,000 would be on furlough on any given day. So for those of us who travel, States like ours, yours in New York that rely on tourism to fuel our economies, that is going to affect our ability to recover. On top of that, Nevada will lose funds for job search assistance to help those who are currently looking for work. Nevada could lose upwards of $300,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral and placement, meaning that 10,000 fewer people will get the help that they need for the skills to help them find another job. So these are the dire impacts that we see, talking to our constituents. These are the real impacts that we believe need to be addressed by this Congress in a balanced approach.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. No woman should have to live in fear of violence in this country. One of my first actions in Congress was to cosponsor the Violence Against Women Act, which was authored by my colleague, Gwen Moore. Her bill took critical steps to strengthen the ability of our local law enforcement and service providers to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Her bill went to great lengths to ensure that all women in our country would be protected under the bill. The Senate passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis her bill. That is why I find the political game being played by some Republicans today to be frustrating, my colleagues find it to be frustrating, and my constituents find it to be frustrating. I do not understand why, Madam Speaker, you would eliminate provisions to protect women from immigrant communities--many of which I represent in my district in Congressional District Four--and women from Native American communities, or inappropriately discriminate against women based on their sexual orientation. I urge my colleagues to pass the bipartisan bill. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Washington, DC, February 1, 2013. Re NAACP Strong Support for S. 47, To Reauthorize the 1994 Violence Against Women Act Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Leahy: On behalf of the NAACP, our nation's oldest, largest and most widely-recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization, I would like to sincerely thank you for your leadership in introducing S. 47, legislation strengthening and reauthorizing the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As strong and consistent supporters of VAWA, the NAACP recognizes that this important legislation would improve criminal justice and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the United States. As you know, the NAACP supported the passage of VAWA in 1994, and its reauthorization in 2000 and 2005. We have witnessed VAWA change the landscape for victims of violence in the United States who once suffered in silence. Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking have now been able to access services, and a new generation of families and justice system professionals has come to understand that domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking are crimes that our society will no longer tolerate. Your bill will not only continue proven effective programs, but that it will make key changes to streamline VAWA and make sure that even more people have access to safety, stability and justice. Thank you again for your continued leadership in this endeavor. Your thoughtfulness and tenacity in this area over the years has improved the lives of millions of Americans. Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at my office at (202) 463-2940. Sincerely, Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau & Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, we now have only a matter of days to prevent serious damage to the U.S. economy by the so-called ``sequester.'' These mindless, across-the-board cuts will hurt the country and my home State of Nevada. There has been a lot of talk that these cuts won't be that bad, but let me tell you about just one school in my district that I visited last week, the Matt Kelly Elementary Empowerment School. In terms of funding, over 50 percent of its school allocation is title I funding. It is a high-achieving, five-star school, where teachers are doing the best that they can with the little money that they receive, but the sequester would hit them hard. They would have to cut back on full-day kindergarten, fire teachers' aides, eliminate reading and math intervention programs for struggling students, reduce meals to hungry kids, and defund their family community center. This is a model school that is working hard to improve our students' academic achievement. Now, as their reward, because some in this body can't come to agreement, Congress will take a sledgehammer to their budget. The sequester is not fair to the children and families in my district. It is not about trimming fat. It is about the children, and that's who we should focus on today in this House.

Mr. HORSFORD

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Representative Payne, Jr. We appreciate your remarks. I now yield to the distinguished Member from Maryland, Representative Cummings, who is the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the committee that has jurisdiction on voting reform issues.

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Mr. Butterfield. We, again, appreciate your leadership as the vice chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and look forward to working under your leadership, as well as Chairwoman Fudge. At this time I now yield to my colleague and friend, the distinguished Member from New Jersey, Representative Payne.

Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.