Stephanie Jones

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Before you leave, I want to congratulate you on your choice of prayer breakfast speaker. Dr. Clifford Jones out of North Carolina was a wonderful speaker, and his theme, ``Somebody Pray for Me,'' I think hit right home with all of us, and we had a wonderful, wonderful time in praise and worship Saturday morning. You would have actually thought we turned the convention center into a church on Saturday morning. It was a wonderful experience.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I wasn't part of the choice, but I knew a minister named Jones had to be a really good person. Thank you so much for the choice.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. He was excellent. He was excellent. Wow.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Why don't you tell us a little bit about Neville Peter? Some people across the Nation may not know about him.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Yes, now it's personal. We remarked, as we were sitting at the table listening to him, that his look was much like a Stevie Wonder look with the braids. When he turned to the side, the profile was much like Stevie Wonder.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 914, I missed this vote, because I was stuck in traffic. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker I rise today in support of H. Res. 95, a bipartisan resolution that I, along with Mr. Whitfield, introduced to establish September as Campus Fire Safety Month. This legislation encourages administrators and municipalities across the country to provide educational programs to all students during September and throughout the school year on fire safety. Additionally, the resolution calls for evaluation of the level of fire safety being provided in both on- and off-campus student housing and taking the necessary steps to ensure fire-safe living environments through fire safety education, installation of fire suppression and detection systems and the development and enforcement of applicable codes relating to fire safety. In June, the Senate adopted a similar resolution, sponsored by Senator Joe Biden, that also encourages campus fire safety across the Nation. Nationwide, 113 people have been killed in student housing since January 2000, as identified by the Center for Campus Fire Safety, a nonprofit organization that compiles information on campus-related fires. Almost 80 percent of the fire fatalities have occurred in off- campus occupancies such as rented houses and apartments. Common factors in a number of these fires include: lack of automatic sprinklers, disabled smoke alarms, careless disposal of smoking materials, and alcohol consumption. According to the center, April and May, followed by August and September, are the two most dangerous periods of time for student housing fire fatalities. So far 31 States have issued proclamations declaring September as Campus Fire Safety Month. Historically, September is one of the most fatal months for campus fires, but for the first time since 2000 there were no fatalities last September. H. Res. 95 is supported by the Center for Campus Fire Safety, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Congressional Fire Services Institute, National Fire Protection Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fire Sprinkler Association, International Code Council, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, International Association of Fire Marshals. For the past few Congresses I have introduced H.R. 642, known as the College Fire and Prevention Act. This legislation would establish a demonstration incentive program within the Department of Education to promote installation of fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, in qualified student housing or dormitories, and for other purposes. The Congressional Fire Services Institute, the National Fire Sprinkler Association and the American Fire Sprinkler Association have endorsed this fire prevention legislation. Fire safety and prevention is an issue that needs to be addressed across this country. Over these few years we have seen many tragedies involving fire at colleges, places of business, entertainment venues and places of residence. We must begin to put in place suppression measures against fires and increase support and resources for our fire fighters to ensure that no more lives are lost to fires that could have been prevented. I am pleased to say that this institution adopted this resolution in the 109th Congress and will do so again today. It is encouraging that we remain committed to bringing awareness to this issue in order to prevent more needless deaths of our students. I encourage my colleagues to pass this legislation so that we can increase awareness about this problem that affects us all.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subjects of the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order message hour today that will focus on SCHIP as well as the Jena Six.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his comments. Today, as I said previously, under the leadership of our Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, this is the CBC's special message hour. Today our message is on the SCHIP program and the Jena Six. It gives me great pleasure to yield time to my colleague and good friend from the Virgin Islands. She is a medical doctor. Prior to coming to Congress, she practiced medicine right here in Washington, DC. She is the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus health brain trust. It gives me great pleasure to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands, Donna Christensen.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands. It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield for comment to my good friend from the great State of California, former ambassador to Micronesia, a now Member of Congress, such time as she may consumer. We are glad to have her here. She is in her third term, the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Diane Watson.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I am about to yield some time to a really good friend of mine who in fact was the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when I was a trial lawyer at the EEOC with my earlier career. But before I do that, I want to make a statement with regard to Jena Six. I have been blessed in my lifetime to have a lot of opportunities in the law. I was an assistant county prosecutor, criminal division for 2\1/2\ years; I was a municipal court judge for 2 years; I was a general jurisdiction judge for 8 years; and I also was the Cuyahoga County prosecutor for 8 years before I came to Congress. And I give that statement, my background, so you understand the breadth and the experience that I have. The prosecutor in Jena, as I have come to understand, as with every other prosecutor in this country, has an ethical obligation, and it is very difficult when the light is shone on you. Here we have a young man who has been in jail more than a year, a juvenile. Now a court has said to them that his trial should be overturned. That prosecutor, the prosecutor in Jena, should be saying to himself, duh, should I be rethinking the position I have taken? Should I not encourage the judge to do justice? Should I not say to that judge, grant this young man bail until we work this out? I'm confident it's tough on him because he's got all these other people saying, hold your ground; do what you've been doing. It's a lot easier to hold your ground than to do what's right. And I'm calling upon that prosecutor, the prosecutor in Jena to rethink, go back in a corner in his office all by himself without all the pressure, and contemplate why he was put in office. Prosecutors are some of the most powerful people in this country, and I'm going to encourage young people who are listening to me to become an assistant county prosecutor. When you are the prosecutor, you are vested with so much discretion that you would have the opportunity to reconsider what's happened with this Jena Six. But as I move forward, I want to say to this prosecutor, all of us talk about justice and what's happened in our judicial process, in the judicial system. Young people need to see in judicial officers and prosecutors justice so that they will have faith in the system. Again I'm calling upon this prosecutor to rethink what he did. You know, it's very easy to overcharge. When you overcharge, then you can say to the people, well, I charged him with this, but I was able to get a plea bargain. Justice requires, ethics require that the prosecutor apply the law to the facts and then make a decision with regard to what the charge should be. In this instance, again, I call upon this prosecutor to take a look at the circumstances. High school kids. And we've seen fights among high school kids where the fights get rough and damage occurs and injury occurs. And I'm not saying by any stretch of the imagination that there should not be some question or responsibility for the conduct that was engaged in. But I call upon the prosecutor again, you do justice. Don't wait for the judge to do justice. Don't wait for God to do justice. It's in your hand to do justice, to use the power that you have, that you've been vested with, that the people of America expect you to do your job; and your job will be to rethink the decisions you've made in this case and make sure that justice applies. And it's in your power to do so. It gives me great pleasure, at this time, to call upon my good friend, one of the great lawyers in the Congressional Black Caucus who's shown leadership in every area that I can think of, my good friend, the Delegate from the District of Columbia, Eleanor Holmes Norton, for such time as she may consume.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, today 50 million Americans have no health insurance, including more than 8 million children. Eight out of 10 uninsured Americans either work or are in working families. Sadly, many of those uninsured and underinsured are African American. Being uninsured means going without needed care. It means minor illnesses become major ones because care is delayed. Tragically, it means that one significant medical expense can wipe out a family's life savings. There are millions of working uninsured Americans who go to bed every night worrying about what will happen to them and their families if a major illness or injury strikes. In my home State of Ohio, there are currently 1,362,000 uninsured, an increase of 18,000 people since 2003. We have also seen the strain on many of the local hospitals in my district when people are forced to use emergency rooms as their source of primary care. The problem is getting worse. As the price of health care continues to rise, fewer individuals and families can afford to pay for coverage. Fewer small businesses are able to provide coverage for their employees, and those that do are struggling to hold on to the coverage they offer. It is a problem that affects all of us, and we cannot sit idly by while the people of this country continue to go without health insurance. Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to expand one of the most effective government programs implemented in the last decade, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. SCHIP is a joint State- Federal program created in order to provide health insurance to children in low-income households whose income, although meager, was still above Medicaid eligibility. Currently, the program allows for States to provide health insurance to families whose household income is up to 200 percent of the poverty level. In 2006, SCHIP provided coverage to over 6.7 million children, and although it has been successful since its inception, there are still 9 million children without any health insurance, many of whom are minorities. Currently, more than 80 percent of the uninsured African American children and 70 percent of the Hispanic children are eligible for SCHIP but not enrolled. It gives me great pleasure to lead this special hour this evening on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I'm pleased at this time to yield time to my colleague and good friend Barbara Lee from California.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from the great State of California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield time to my good friend from the great State of New Jersey. He is a leader in international relations and is now the Chair of a new subcommittee called Global Health as part of the International Relations Committee. I give you my good friend and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Donald Payne). (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Absolutely, please proceed.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. If I could reclaim my time for a moment, in my notes with regard to Jena Six, after the new situation where the white students or whoever hung the nooses from the tree, the African American students decided to protest. So here, then, the district attorney, accompanied by the police, comes to the high school and says to them, I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with the stroke of a pen. My position would have been, again, and I say this very clearly, that this prosecutor knows that he has power and people know that he has power. But there is this piece of poetry that says that when you are talking to young people, in essence, what they say to you is, I would rather see a sermon than hear one every day. And this district attorney should be setting the example by engaging in conduct and setting justice as his point of entree with these students versus sitting down and saying to them, along with the police, cut down what you are doing because I can be your worst enemy or your best friend. And he truly can, but being someone's worst enemy or best friend is not the gauge by which we would hope that prosecutors in this Nation engage in their conduct and official responsibilities. I yield to the gentlewoman.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia. And I want you to know, and the people of the District of Columbia to know, we are for your having representation and a vote in the Congress, and we are going to be vigilant and keep working on that very issue.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am currently serving on the Ways and Means Committee. As many people have said this evening, I am blessed to be the first African American woman in the history of this country to serve on this committee. I am pleased this year to work my way to the Health Subcommittee. And on that committee, as a part of that committee, I have had the opportunity to work on the recent legislation passed by the House on August 1 that took a vital step towards ensuring the future health of America by approving the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act. It was called the CHAMP Act of 2007. On the Health Subcommittee, I have had the opportunity to talk with my colleagues and listen to testimony from doctors and those in health care and those who provide kidney dialysis, et cetera, to help me begin to formulate my position on many issues. One of the things that has been clear to me, however, is if we don't provide health care to our children, we are writing our future. I recently had the opportunity to go to university hospitals in my congressional district to participate with some young people in what's called the Healthy Children program and their focus on obesity, one of the biggest problems that faces children in our country and particularly minority children whose diet tends to be not as healthy, low-income folks, as folks who are able to choose fresh vegetables, fruit, et cetera. And as I was playing with these children, and we were doing exercises and we were rolling around the floor with these exercise balls and these various types of strings to help us lift and move our arms, I noticed that these young people were motivated, motivated, to change their eating habits as well as their life-style. Obesity has claimed so many of our children. Back in the day when I was in school, I remember there was this President's requirement that you had to do so many sit-ups, you had to run so many laps, and you had to be involved in activity. And somehow we have to get our children back to that activity. We have children with high blood pressure. We have children with diabetes. We have children who are working their way to kidney failure as a result of the lack of health care and the lack of preventative health care. So there should be no surprise on the face of any person in the United States of America that we need to have health care coverage for all of our children. Now, the controversy becomes how do you pay for it. And right now we are in this Congress where we are saying we want to be concerned about pay-fors. We want to be fiscally sound. So we either have to come up with a way to tax and change it, or we have to be able to reduce expenditures in other areas. I am one of those who believes that it is time to expend the money that we need to expend for health care, health care for all Americans, because I know we are spending much more than that as we fight this war in Iraq and we provide health care to the people of Iraq and still question whether we provide adequate health care to the veterans of our country who have been injured and maimed over there. But today on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, it has been my pleasure to host this message hour. We have had an opportunity to bring to the attention of the American public our concerns about the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which will be debated on the floor of this House tomorrow. I encourage America to tune in, listen in, and call in and raise your complaints, raise your concerns, and let Members of Congress and Members of the Senate understand how important you know that health care for children is. And, lastly, I will focus back one more time on the Jena Six. It was great to have an opportunity with my colleagues to address that particular issue. And on behalf of our great Chair, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of the State of Michigan, I thank the Speaker for granting us this Special Order for today.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 879, I actually attempted to vote with a malfunctioning voting card. I was present and on the floor. I would have voted ``yes.''

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007. I commend the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the author of this bill, for their leadership on this issue. The meltdown of the mortgage industry, predatory lending practices and excessive foreclosures is an opportunity for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to reassert its traditional role of meeting unmet mortgage market needs. H.R. 1852 is intended to increase the market share of mortgages insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and to encourage greater stability in the mortgage market in coming years. It raises loan limits for FHA-backed loans, boosts loan limits in high- cost areas, allows the agency to vary the premiums it charges borrowers based on their credit risk, modifies disclosure requirements to provide more information concerning mortgage choices, and allows for lower monthly payments for borrowers who make on-time payments for the first 5 years of a loan. It also extends the maximum loan term on FHA single- family loans to 40 years from 35 years. Predatory lending is a leading cause of foreclosures across this country. It compromises the opportunity to own a home and hinders economic stability, creating greater disparities in wealth. In my home State of Ohio, new foreclosure cases grew by 24 percent in one year. Cuyahoga County led the State in new cases with 13,610 new filings last year. This ranking has attracted national attention with Ohio's foreclosure rate currently at 18 percent which is higher than the national average of 17 percent. Subprime lending provides affordable mortgage credit to borrowers with less than perfect credit histories, but who are still creditworthy. Predatory lending occurs when lenders impose excessive rates and fees, prepayment penalties, and reset terms that can result in exorbitant interest rate increases. I believe that FHA could serve subprime borrowers at more attractive rates and provide fairer mortgage opportunities than predatory lenders. I applaud provisions in the bill that require FHA to provide ``payment incentives'' for borrowers that make on-time payments for at least the first 5 years of a loan. The measure authorizes the department to offer these incentives to borrowers after a period of 3 years of on-time payments. I am especially pleased and support provision in the bill which authorizes funds from FHA profits, to be used for an affordable housing fund. This fund is key because it would provide grants to support affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities for low- income families. Over the past 2 weeks, I have participated in home preservation workshops, where I have had an opportunity to meet with various organizations and lenders in my congressional district to discuss loss mitigation plans for homeowners that are in loans set to readjust to higher rates as well as those that are facing foreclosure. Representatives of lenders, servicers, housing counseling agencies, and State, county and Federal housing officials have been on site to meet with individuals to discuss their personal situations. To help stem the tide of growing foreclosures, I have reintroduced the Predatory Lending Practice Reduction Act, H.R. 2061. This legislation calls for Federal certification of mortgage brokers and agents and stiffer penalties for violation of Federal law. Additionally, it will authorize funding for Community Development Corporations to provide training and counseling on the home buying process. Not all subprime lenders are predatory, but most predatory loans are subprime loans. This legislation would work to weed out the bad actors that are responsible for equity stripping and other predatory practices. I am pleased that the Financial Services Committee brought this bill to House floor for a vote today. It is a great piece of legislation which I support wholeheartedly. I look forward to working with the Financial Services Committtee to advance my legislation, H.R. 2061 which would protect borrowers from unscrupulous lending practices. One of the first steps toward creating wealth is homeownership and I want to make sure that everyone is given the opportunity to not only attain but retain that goal.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am so happy to have the opportunity and the honor to rise this evening to lead the Special Order of the Congressional Black Caucus. We are going to be talking about Iraq. I want to recognize first for comment the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, my colleague and good friend, the gentlelady from Detroit, Michigan, Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, and to thank her for her leadership of her wonderful caucus.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. In conjunction with what my colleague has already said, can you imagine that of the amount of money we spend in Iraq, we could put in place 4,072,709 additional housing units nationwide? In Ohio, we could put 142,849. Imagine this, right in the city of Cleveland where we have 2,185 homeless, we could take care of them and they would not have to be homeless. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield time to my colleague and good friend who has been at the forefront of issues around this war, the Congresswoman from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. And I yield to her 5 minutes.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Thank you, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Quick statistics. Of the young men and women who have been killed in Iraq, total 3,734, 885 were less than 22; 1,013 were between 22 and 24; 1,007 between the age of 25 and 30; 445 between the age of 31 and 35; and older than 35, 445 It gives me great pleasure at this time to yield to my good friend and colleague from the great State of California, the Chair of the Out of Iraq Caucus, Congresswoman Maxine Waters for such time as she may consume.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I'd like to thank Congresswoman Waters for her statement. For the Record, I have a statement from Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson to be submitted for the Record. Listen to these statistics. Of the percentage of persons serving in the military, 60 percent are white, 23 percent are African American, 10 percent are Hispanic, 3 Asian American Pacific. Of those serving in the Navy, 62 percent are Caucasian, 19 percent are African American. Those serving in the Air Force, 72 percent are Caucasian, 15 percent are African American, in the Marine Corps, 66 percent are Caucasian, 12 are African American. Let's look at the statistics with regard to deaths as a result of this Iraq war. Of the 3,734 who have been killed in this war, 40 are American Indian or Alaska Native, 69 Asian, 350 African Americans, 405 Hispanic, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 440. Totally in 2007, Caucasian, a total of 3,734. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure at this point to yield to my colleague and good friend from the great State of Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Thank you, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. Did you know that there are proportionately more African American and proportionately fewer white servicemen in the military than in the comparable civilian workforce? In other words, there are greater numbers of African Americans serving in the military than in the workforce of the United States of America. That presents a problem. I will go on with other statistics as the hour goes along, but it gives me great pleasure to yield to my colleague and friend from the great State of Georgia, the gentleman, David Scott.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Scott) for his statement. General Leave For the Record, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order today.