Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Keep Our Pension Promises Act.'' Pensions are one of the surest means to afford millions of middle class families an opportunity for security in retirement, to enjoy their golden years without being afraid that they haven't saved enough money or what they have saved could run out. Pensions guarantee our senior citizens will know they have a check arriving every month for as long as they live. This is true retirement security. For forty years the federal pension law has ensured that retirees are given the highest level of protection. For forty years, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, controlled that pension benefits in multiemployer plans should be cut only when a plan runs out of money--and even then, the benefits of retirees should be the last to be cut. This has held tried and true because it was the right thing to do. Retirees worked their entire life to earn the promise and benefit of a guaranteed pension. This was all uprooted by Congress' December vote on the Omnibus funding bill. A provision that was stuck into the 1,600 page Omnibus bill, at the last minute, forced a decision between shutting down the government and cutting retiree's pension benefits for the first time ever. An estimated 1 million participants, including retirees, are in multi-employer pension plans that federal officials say are in danger of running out of money in the near future. The provision Congress passed allowed for the first time for the benefits of current retirees to be cut as part of a deal to address the fiscal distress confronting some of the nation's multi-employer pension plans, having a direct impact on 1.5 million American retirees. This was wrong and today I introduce the ``Keep Our Pension Promises Act'' with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, to correct this short sighted effort. This Act corrects the injustices bestowed upon our most vulnerable retirees by restoring anti-cutback rules so that retirees in financially troubled multi-employer pension plans are protected from having their earned benefits cut. It will allow plans to partition off ``orphaned'' participants into a separate plan, giving participating employers relief from having to shoulder the full financial burden and risk of underfunded ``orphaned'' participants--ensuring the ability for plans to become financially secure once more. Recognizing that funding is the ultimate concern, the act shores up the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp and creates a legacy fund to ensure participants in partitioned plans will continue to receive the benefits they depend upon. The costs to create this fund are covered by closing tax loopholes the very wealthy use to accumulate expensive artwork and avoid estate and gift taxes. Further the bill ensures pension obligations are prioritized during bankruptcies, which will help the remaining employers in the plan by making it less likely they become responsible for underfunded orphan plans. Our pension system has allowed our senior citizens the opportunity to enjoy their years of hard work in retirement and receive the payouts they spent a life time to earn. This effort recognizes that shared sacrifices are the appropriate course of action to address weakness in pension plans. I encourage my colleagues to support this measure and correct the misguided action passed in last year's Omnibus funding bill.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a parliamentary inquiry.

Ms. KAPTUR. I would like to know, if Members vote in favor of the trade promotion authority currently before us, will Members be allowed to amend the underlying bill, the TPP? Could the chairman of the Rules Committee address that, please.

Ms. KAPTUR. Well, in what form could I ask the question that I could get a straight answer as to whether Members will be able to amend the underlying 1,000-page trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership?

Ms. KAPTUR. So, in other words, the chairman of the Rules Committee cannot answer my question? He is my friend. I think it would be important for Members to know that because it is my understanding that we are not allowed to amend the agreement if, in fact, TPA passes.

Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the ranking member, Ms. Slaughter, for yielding. I wish to say that if the underlying Trans-Pacific Partnership were such a good deal, then why is the Rules Committee limiting our ability to read it and vet it fully and amend it? By voting for the trade promotion authority, what we basically do is handcuff Members of Congress. So we should vote ``no.'' Why should we believe anything the executive branch sends up here? We have a right to read it fully and vet it fully. Let's look at the history of these trade agreements. Over the last 25 years, every time we have signed a so-called free trade agreement that benefits the 1 percent--not the 99 percent--America has lost more jobs. Post-NAFTA, look what happened. We used to have trade balances with these countries. They have all gone into trade deficit, which means they send us more goods than we are able to get into their markets. Here is what happened after the WTO. Then we got into the China PNTR deal. Then the Colombia deal. Then with Korea. There hasn't been a balanced trade account in this country for 30 years; 40 million lost jobs; $9.5 trillion of trade deficit, trading away one-fifth of our economic might to other places. And what did the American people get? Lost jobs, outsourced jobs, stagnant wages. The average income in regions like mine--$7,000 less a year than 25 years ago. Not a good deal. You can't create jobs in America and have free trade when you have closed markets abroad. Japan is closed. Korea is closed. China is closed. Europe limits 10 percent imports. We don't. We have an open market. You can't create jobs and have free trade when you try to trade with countries where their people have no rights, no legal rights. This Congress should vote ``no'' on this Trans-Pacific Partnership, the underlying bill, and the trade promotion authority because we have a right to read the agreement and openly debate it. Right now we have to go down to a secret room. We have people who monitor us. And we can't even talk to the American people about what is in it. What is free about that? The executive branch has totally overreached its power. Only four titles of the dozen in this TPP are actually about tariffs. This bill is a treaty. It should be considered as a treaty, openly read by the Senate, and it should be able to be amended and fully vetted. This is so important. When you have gone through a quarter century of job loss and income loss by the American people, why can't we produce a bill that benefits the 100 percent--not just the 1 percent, the ones that were able to pay the plane tickets to go over to Asia and help to represent very important transnational interests? But there are not just the interests of those companies. We have to represent the interests of the American people. Let's balance these trade accounts and develop a new trade model--not a NAFTA-based trade model, but a model that produces jobs in America, good wages, and balanced trade accounts for the first time in a quarter century. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, this afternoon, House Republican leaders used a trick to pass a new rule to revote the job-outsourcing, unfair, fast-track Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. They buried the revote in the intelligence authorization. Well, the Republican leadership wants to buy itself another month to make deals, trading favors and funding pet projects in this district or that district, in exchange for a vote against the best interests of the American people, jobs in America with good wages. Imagine Congress fast-tracking a bill to repair our roads, bridges, and harbors all across this country. Imagine a bill to be fast-tracked to renew the powers of the Export-Import Bank that actually increases exports and jobs in this country. Instead, fast track is being rammed through Congress with House Republican leaders bending the rules and breaking regular order. Intelligence authorization bills should not be another name for secret fast-track life support. No more delays. It is overtime for Congress to move on from fast track to a real fair trade deal that creates jobs and good wages in America for a change.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. I thank our distinguished ranking member, Mr. Levin of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this limited fast-track trade debate. Proponents of TPA are trying to lure votes for this Pacific deal by cynically adding $700 million to trade adjustment assistance to take care of millions more people who are going to lose their jobs as billions and billions more of our productive wealth is outsourced to other countries. What a fig leaf. It is too little for the damage about to be done. The eyes of working families in communities across our country are focused on Congress today, hoping we will finally stand up and do what is right for America. This latest job outsourcing trade deal serves only the 1 percent, rewarding the few at the expense of the many. It is a great deal for Wall Street, and it is a great deal for transnational corporations. But for Main Street, a shrinking middle class, and millions more of our workers, it is another punch to the gut.

Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, this week's scenario reminds me of the NAFTA fight. To pick up wavering Members back then, a deal was cut even to protect the corn broom industry, but in this deal, we don't protect people. In this deal, there is no protection against human trafficking. That has been stripped out. So we have protections for corn brooms but not for people. In return for securing votes for narrow interests to gain a majority for passage, a few thousand people may benefit handsomely from these little provisions, but America won't. We will continue to rack up massive trade and job deficits as world markets remain closed to us, as they have for four decades. State-run enterprises will continue to eat more of our lunch. And for America's working class, millions more of whom will be left out in the cold, the TPP will be a truly pathetic package. I urge ``no,'' ``no,'' ``no'' votes this afternoon. Stand up for America's workers for a change.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule because America's middle class and our workers have been under economic attack. I rise to voice my opposition to the very restrictive process being used to shove these job outsourcing trade deals through Congress. The Republican leadership has denied our House any amendment, even on currency manipulation, on legislation that is sure to impact every single American, turning our oversight role into little more than a rubberstamp. This makes a mockery of the House's clear, constitutional authority on trade and commerce. Worse still, this limitation is being pursued because Republican leaders simply do not want to go to conference with the Senate. This belies every American, every Member their right to be represented and have a voice in this process. Hundreds, however, of multinational corporations and lobbyists, the 1 percent, helped to write, amend, and draft the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, line by line. But today, years into the process and with negotiation in the final stages, Members of Congress were only recently given our first access. To read it, you have to go to a secure room, deep in the Visitor Center. We are supervised. Any notes we take are confiscated, and we can't discuss what we find with anyone unless they have top secret clearance. The trade deal is a secret deal because they want to fast-track it through Congress, hoping Congress really won't understand what is in it. And I find it hard to imagine a more dangerous or irresponsible approach than fast-tracking another trade deal through Congress. TPA, the authority to fast track, is a gateway to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Both will further harm workers and communities to a faster global race to the bottom, with more outsourcing of jobs, more lower wages, more dropping benefits, more lower standards for worker safety, compensation, and environment. We have seen that since NAFTA passed 30 years ago. For decades, I have fought against destructive trade deals that were brought down on our Nation's workers and communities.

Ms. KAPTUR. Over this period of time, every time one of these so- called free trade deals is signed, America moves into deeper and deeper trade deficit, deeper and deeper red ink, as more of our jobs get shipped abroad. I remember standing at the corner of Ohio and Michigan Avenues in Matamoros, Mexico, and looking at the TRICO windshield factory that was moved from the State of New York down there, and Parker Seals. It almost seemed like a movie set but for one thing, it was real. Last year alone, our trade deficit cost us 20 percent of our GDP. Is anybody here paying attention or are we all a part of the 1 percent and forget about the 99 percent who have had to bear the brunt of this terrible, terrible outsourcing of jobs? Average American wages across my region have dropped by $7,000. This trade deficit didn't happen by accident. Some people got filthy rich off of it. This is a time for America to say, ``No more. No more. We are going to do it right. We are going to create trade deals that create jobs in our country, create a stronger middle class, raise wages, improve the environment, here and abroad. No more taking it out of the hide of America's workers.'' We are here because we stand on their shoulders. Vote ``no'' on this rule and ``no'' on TAA and ``no'' on TPP.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Peterson for yielding me this time, and I rise in support of maintaining food labeling for the American people. Polls show 9 out of 10 Americans overwhelmingly support country of origin labeling. I certainly look for those labels when I go to the store. It ensures that the public knows the source of their food. What could be more important? In fact, American producers want to share that information because it is a way to differentiate their products in an increasingly international marketplace. Country of origin labeling is strongly supported by America's farmers and ranchers, who are proud of what they produce. Restoring local food markets, in fact, is a growing trend across the Midwest and the whole country. Farmers and ranchers know that people are demanding more and more information about their food. Restaurateurs are putting on their menus ``local beef,'' ``local pork,'' and ``local chicken.'' COOL allows farmers and ranchers the ability to market their products with pride because the label has integrity. The widespread support for country of origin labeling is what led to its enactment and implementation in the 2002, 2008, and 2014 Farm Bills. The trend is very clear. Current efforts in Congress to repeal country of origin labeling are simply veiled attempts to gut these laws for meat--for beef, for pork, for chicken, three arenas that are completely controlled by a few processing companies. It is just like the book that Upton Sinclair wrote at the beginning of the 20th century. We are back to the jungle. We are back to the jungle. Opponents are pressing for less information for consumers, not more. They want to hide the product's origin. H.R. 2393 is a premature attempt to undermine food labeling. They argue it is necessary because of the World Trade Organization decision that puts Canada and Mexico at a disadvantage. Well, this bill, as such, was never even raised in the WTO dispute, and labeling is supported by the WTO. The WTO dispute never addressed chicken. It has explicitly ruled U.S. labeling requirements for pork and beef are legal. And more importantly, Canada's claims of $3 billion in economic loss due to COOL are absolutely unfounded. The data is not even publicly available, and they are unsubstantiated. The bottom line is the rationale behind this bill is a clear example of what is wrong with our trade policy. Congress should not let a few meatpacking companies use trade disputes as an excuse to gut important consumer protections and the rights of farmers in this country. It is our duty to protect American consumers, American farmers, and American ranchers, not the trade interests of any other country. Our people deserve a right to know where their food is produced and where it comes from.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to this bill. Please allow me to acknowledge the tremendous work of Chairman Frelinghuysen, Ranking Member Visclosky, and the Appropriations staff in moving this Defense bill forward. This bill deserves better treatment by the leadership of this House than to have it cloaked in unfinished budget wrangling that could force future changes harmful to the defense of our Nation. The bill before us funds key priorities, such as assuring the strongest, most agile and resilient military on Earth; securing base and operational independence through energy innovation; improving defense health for the lives of our military and civilian forces; advancing cutting-edge research at our defense labs to improve efficiency on the battlefield and drive technology transfer to the private sector to grow our economy; and maintaining and upgrading essential defense facilities across our Nation and globe. Moving forward, our Nation must still address lingering veteran unemployment of over half a million Americans, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A majority are 45 years of age or older, but over 200,000 are between the ages of 18 and 44. The capabilities of our National Guard can be leveraged to address this imperative, engaging their talents to meet domestic needs. Globally, too, as leader of the free world, the United States holds a special responsibility to uphold commitments made in the Budapest Memorandum to Ukraine and our allies in Central Europe. This was recently reaffirmed by President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel at the G7 summit. A threat to liberty anywhere is a threat to liberty everywhere. Russia's invasion of Ukraine cannot be tolerated. Tough sanctions on Russia and enforcement of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act lay the base for liberty's advance. Those Members who in good conscience ultimately will vote ``no'' on this measure will do so to fight for a responsible budget plan that not only meets the needs of our men and women in unform, but builds up the Nation and citizenry they are fighting to protect.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a milestone in the long life of the City of Znin, Poland, of which I am proud to be an honorary citizen. June 3, 2015 marks 25 years of local self-government for the nearly 15,000 people of Znin. Znin, originating from the Polish word for harvest, is nestled on the river Gasawka in Poland. Though the region has been settled for far longer, the city itself is nearly 900 years old and was once a major town on the trade route known as the Amber Road. King Casimir the Great of Poland visited many times and it was also a favorite of bishops through the latter half of the 14th Century. Fires destroyed much of Znin in the later 15th Century, but the town was rebuilt and boasted the first windmill, orchards, breweries and businesses. The 17th and 18th centuries brought disease and more fires from which the town did not recover well. During the First Partition of Poland in the 1770's, Znin was annexed by Prussia. The town was liberated in 1794 through the Kosciuszko Uprising. It became part of the Duchy of Warsaw a few years later, but was returned to Prussia in 1815. The town's economy developed through the 19th Century, with modern infrastructure and its population growing to 4,500 citizens. Znin's residents successfully participated in the 1919 Greater Poland Uprising. A new town council was elected and Polish was reestablished as the official language of the town's nearly 5,000 residents. Between the two World Wars, the economy perked up once again and Znin boasted two colleges and both daily and weekly newspapers. On September 1, 1939, the Nazi Luftwaffe bombed Znin to start World War II. Nine days later, German troops overtook the town and once again Znin was wiped from the map of Europe. The Germans renamed the town and its streets, the children could not go to school and hundreds of people were deported or shot. After the war, with Poland under the brutal thumb of the Soviet Union as a result of the Yalta Conference, the people of Znin again faced repression and fear. Soviet industrialization brought development to Znin, but its citizens were forced to live under the Soviet regime while Poland was under the sphere of Soviet Communism. The people of Poland never gave up, though, and the ensuing decades saw uprisings as the people tried to liberate themselves. Finally, a group of shipyard workers in Gdansk brought light to the people of Poland. Over the course of a decade between 1980 and 1989, Solidarity moved forward culminating in the election of its leader Lech Walesa in 1990 and a free Poland. Thus, on its 25th anniversary of return to self-governance, the citizens of Znin look forward. The fires of the past drive them forth, but the light of the future carries them to new possibilities. I am so pleased to stand with my compatriots in Znin as together we celebrate 25 years of freedom. Naprzod!

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very important milestone in the life of a church community in my District. Exactly 100 years ago today, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was incorporated. On June 27, 2015, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, will lead the congregation and our community in Holy liturgy to celebrate the occasion. Toledo, Ohio rose up as a city of immigrants. The city's Greek Americans arrived in Toledo in ever increasing numbers as the 20th Century dawned. These early settlers recognized the need to establish a church community. Bonded through faith and tradition, the community had been holding services in different locations in North Toledo. Upon incorporation, the move to build a church of their own began in earnest. In October of 1915 a house was purchased on the same lot on which the current church still stands. The remodeled house served as the church until a new church building was constructed. A splendid building in a Byzantine style, the church is truly magnificent. On Christmas Day 1920, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated for the first time in Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. The Cathedral itself serves to anchor the heart of Toledo in its near north end. Along the Cathedral's perimeter, visitors from near and far are welcomed to Toledo in sculpted letters carved into the landscape and a light shines forth from its entry foyer both day and night. Holy Trinity's congregants have built an institution worthy of its founders and vital to our community's character. Through the coming decades the church community grew. Even in the hardship years of Depression and Wars, the members of the church soldiered on. They sacrificed and prayed and the church thrived. As the years continued and the church grew, the Greek American Progressive Association organized a chapter named Parmenides Lodge No. 136, auxiliaries were formed, and federations including Pan-Arcadian, Tenedian, Cretan, Samian, Corinthian, and Sterea-Elias came together to preserve the culture. The ladies of the church organized under the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society. The Daughters of Penelope reactivated Dodona Chapter No. 24. World War II brought the formation of chapters of the Greek War Relief Association to help those suffering in Greece. The post-war years saw progressive leadership and a renewed spiritual activity. Choir and Sunday School were re-energized, The Hellenic Youth Organization was formed followed by the Greek Orthodox Youth of America. This time also brought a realization of the need for new church structures. Ground was broken in October 1951 for a new Education Building which was dedicated on September 13, 1953. In 1958, adjacent land was purchased. Improvements continued in the church culminating in a major renovation in 1966. The newly refurbished church was consecrated on May 22, 1966. With this consecration, a dream conceived so many years before became a reality. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church continued to grow and has been woven into the fabric of our community. It remains in Toledo's older North End near downtown and draws our entire community to its renowned festival each September. In 1987, the parish was elevated to a Cathedral. As the 20th century came to a close and a new century dawned, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral and its members remained integral to Toledo. Today, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral serves 450 families. The cathedral is part of the Metropolis of Detroit, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It serves as a beacon of light to the faithful and fulfills the promise in Ephesians 2:20-22, ``Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.'' I join with the members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral as well as our larger community in celebrating a century of faith.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life's work of Margaret Wuwert of Toledo, Ohio. After building the once-fledgling Children's Rights Council into the well-respected organization it has become, Margaret recently was retired from the organization which bears her imprimatur. Margaret Wuwert joined the Children's Rights Council in 1995 and was appointed as Chapter Leader in Toledo, Ohio. In just five years, by 2000 she had implemented one of the best Supervised Visitation/Access Centers in the United States. So many families have been able to visit their children at these visitation/access sites. Margaret recruited and mentored many others to start sites in other communities. Always, with the goal of helping children and families, Margaret's enthusiasm for her work has been boundless and infectious. Margaret has also been an honored member of the National Office in Washington, DC where her knowledge and experience have been much-valued at board meetings and conferences. Her passion is clear, endless, and passed on to everyone who met her. With money often a concern in keeping sites open, Margaret ``worked day and night trying to get grant money and many times she gave up her own salary in order to not close the doors to Children's Rights Council'' according to one of her colleagues. Working with the family court system, Margaret developed relationships with judges, CASA volunteers and community leaders to move forward the goals of the Children's Rights Council. In her quiet and earnest way, Margaret was able to make the system of court ordered supervised visits work in the best way possible for children and parents. As a colleague she mentored noted, ``The world is a better place because she cared about these children who had no way to see their other parent. There are not too many people like Margaret. If it were not for her. . . . life would be so much more complicated.'' Margaret Wuwert is a joyful soul who brought joy to families in tragic situations. Without her tireless efforts and dedication to her work, there would not be a Children's Rights Council able to offer the help to families it does today. For twenty years, Margaret Wuwert was the Children's Rights Council. She leaves shoes impossible to fill, but a strong organization which is integral to the needs of families who find themselves in the court system. We thank Margaret Wuwert for her compassion, her spirit and her unending efforts as a leader with the Children's Rights Council. We wish for Margaret in retirement time to spend with those for whom she cares and doing that which she most enjoys.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the life of Fred Miller of Toledo, Ohio. Passing from this life at the age of 88, Fred lived life to the fullest. Fred Miller was born on March 28, 1925 to Mattie and Roy Miller. A lifelong Toledoan, he graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1943 and soon followed graduation with service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Europe until after World War II. Upon his return home, he enrolled in the University of Toledo where he graduated in 1949 with a degree in electrical engineering. A few months later he married his wife Dorothy. Dorothy and Fred were married 64 years and together raised three sons. Fred Miller built his career at the Toledo Edison Company, giving the company 38 years of service. A man of faith and service to others, Fred was an active member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church where he served on the finance committee for many years. He also found time to serve as a Boy Scout leader. Retirement saw Fred furthering his skills as an angler, fishing all over North America from Alaska to the Florida Keys. He and Dorothy were fortunate to travel the world. He was also able to indulge in his hobbies of photography and building model airplanes. Fred Miller was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He was a man who gave fully to his family, his faith and his community. May those who loved him find peace in the memory of his spirit and the imprint he leaves on their lives.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Trade Review Accountability Needs Sunlight and Preview of Any Regulations and Exact Negotiated Components Resolution, or the ``Trade TRANSPAREN-C Resolution.'' Congress has granted the last eighteen presidents the authority to negotiate trade agreements withdrawing significant Congressional participation in the process. The recent past has seen a transformation in this authority, originally established to serve as negotiating guidelines. Today, it is little more than Congressional consent to be a rubber stamp as this implementing legislation sometimes referred to as ``Fast-Track'' or ``Trade Promotion Authority,'' grants sweeping authority to the Executive branch to negotiate trade deals. And it undercuts the Constitutional responsibility of Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations as outlined in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Instead we are allowed merely an up or down vote. Today, I introduce this resolution to take back our Congressional authority, and to shine light on the negotiation process and final text of these increasingly massive trade deals. The Trade Promotion Authority currently under debate would usher through the top secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. It would also grant that fast track authority for up to six years. During that time we would be prohibited from any Congressional amendments or hearings, and given at most 60 days to review any proposed trade deal. This is a very short window if you consider that the draft TPP is between 800-1000 pages. My Trade TRANSPAREN-C Resolution will put a hold on consideration of any implementing ``Fast-Track'' bill for any trade agreement until the full, final text of that agreement has been available to the public for no less than 60 days. This includes the secretive TPP. In its current form, the TPP would outsource good jobs, degrade global environmental and working standards and allow investor rights to overrun the rights of workers. The TPP is also packed with special- interest perks thanks to the more than 600 transnational corporations that weighed in on, and in some case wrote, the agreement in secret. Meanwhile the American people have still not been allowed to read it. For six years the U.S. trade representative has kept the TPP buried under a top secret classification. Even Members of Congress can only read it in a secure room under the watchful eye of a security monitor. I visited that room to review several sections of the deal and was not allowed to make copies, keep notes, take pictures, or share anything I learned with anyone unless they have Top Secret security clearance, all under threat of prosecution. Despite the secrecy, this deal has provisions the American people need to know about. The Trade TRANSPAREN-C Resolution will reaffirm Congress's Constitutional authority to set the terms for international trade. It will allow the American public time and sunlight to see the Trans- Pacific Partnership and future trade deals for themselves. As Members of Congress, we have a duty to our constituents to play the role mandated by the Constitution. Not allowing the people access to the full discussion would be a disservice to them. I urge my colleagues to support the Trade TRANSPAREN-C Resolution to ensure U.S. trade policy reflects American principles of representative governance.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment, respectfully, and I implore the majority to take a close look at where they have obtained the money for this important Amtrak investment. Amtrak is important to Ohio, to the Pennsylvania-Ohio corridor, and there would be nothing I would do to hurt Amtrak. I have been one of Amtrak's greatest advocates. Of the $9 million to fix this problem for Amtrak, you don't take the majority of it, $3 million, from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Administration, the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. In effect, what they have done is they have taken $3 million of the $9 million they need for Amtrak out of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, which is, in effect, a 10 percent cut to the smallest entity inside of the Department of Transportation. Why is the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation important? First of all, the current funding level is the smallest budget within the Department of Transportation. Our amendment inside the full Committee on Appropriations allowed that budget not to be cut any further. The seaway is the only binational instrumentality between Canada and the United States. It connects an entire region of the country from Duluth to Massena, New York, to global markets. They have threatened problems within the seaway, such as locks collapsing and inadequate areas for our ships to pass through. Sailing on the Great Lakes can be very, very dangerous, as many of our sailors know. That corridor is the shortest distance between Europe and the United States, and last year, the seaway had an 8 percent increase in its shipping growth. It serves a part of America that has been battered economically. Manufacturing has been fighting its way back. This really isn't the time to tamper with the seaway's budget. I understand the problems of Amtrak, and I know that it needs funding, but I am just asking the majority to please look at the budget you have offered. Your offsets in the case of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation are truly unacceptable, and in doing so, the seaway will be harmed. It will harm ports like Erie, Pennsylvania; Massena, New York; Duluth, Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Gary, Indiana; Toledo, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan. The list is a very, very long list. We have an aging infrastructure in the Great Lakes as well. We don't have the power of the Intracoastal. We wish we did. But I have to raise my voice in strong objection to the offset related to the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. I respect very much the gentleman from Pennsylvania. I know what you are trying to do for Amtrak. I want to help you in that effort, but not at the expense of the seaway. I am hoping that the respective staffs can work together as this bill moves forward to find a more reasonable offset. I have many more ideas about that, but the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation should be allowed to remain functional and not be harmed by a 10 percent cut.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring much-needed attention to summer meal programs for food insecure families. A new collaboration of community organizations in Lucas County, Ohio called Summer Meal Partners is working to raise awareness and increase participation in summer meal programs in that county. This group can be a model for similar collaborative efforts supporting under-served communities around the country. Summer Meal Partners will hold their official kickoff event on May 30th of this year. Today in Lucas County just eight percent of the 54,135 children that are eligible for free or reduced price school meals participate in readily-available summer meal support. This support could make a real difference in the lives of tens of thousands more families but a lack of awareness, transportation and enrichment programming have limited participation. Families without reliable access to sufficient affordable nutritious food face increased health, mental and behavioral issues. Hunger undermines a child's ability to learn. Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies also put children at risk for serious and permanent problems with attention, cognition and behavior. They undermine natural growth and development and lead to compromised immune systems. With most primary school students on break, the summer can be a challenging time for working parents. Relief is available in the form of summer meals but only a small fraction of eligible families take advantage of this important initiative. I congratulate Summer Meal Partners for their important work and for their upcoming kickoff on May 30, 2015.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, we cannot thank our public servants enough for the job that they do for this country day in and day out. The Federal Government simply cannot function properly without good leaders who are committed to the world and security of our Nation. BG Dennis Doyle distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious service and superb achievements to the Office of the Surgeon General and the United States Army from 1 November 2005 to 1 November 2015 while serving in a succession of several high positions of great importance. His outstanding leadership, passionate pursuit of excellence, and tireless efforts greatly contributed to the overall readiness of the Army, the transformation of Army Medicine to a System for Health and the delivery of high quality health care to our Armed Forces. During his tenure as Commander of the 10th Combat Support Hospital (CSH) in Fort Carson, Colorado, BG Doyle was hand selected to also command the 43rd Area Support Group (Rear) while the 4th Infantry Division deployed. He superbly commanded both organizations ensuring the Group sustained a high level of readiness in support of Fort Carson tenant units. He proved a staunch supporter to the installation, community, and all post operations supporting deployed Fort Carson units in combat. While deployed with the 10th CSH, BG Doyle delivered world class combat health care for nearly 40,000 patients, which included 4,000 admissions and over 8,500 operating room procedures with many of these involving the most difficult combat trauma cases in the world. His success in this tremendously challenging mission was recognized as magnificent not only by his chain of command but also by the U.S. Ambassador, the Commander of Multinational Forces-Iraq, the Commander of Multinational Coalition-Iraq, the Iraqi Prime Minister, and many U.S. and Iraqi government officials. BG Doyle served as the Deputy Commander for Administration at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). During that time, Walter Reed was the largest military treatment facility in the Department of Defense and flagship for Army Medicine and Home of Warrior Care. During his tenure, BG Doyle's results-oriented approach ensured the command's success in every facet of customer service, operations, personnel readiness, and adequacy of human and monetary capital. He oversaw the establishment of a one stop welcome center to ease the logistical burden for our Warfighters and their Family Members. His keen administrative acumen and innovative problem solving were the driving force in over $24M in facility renovations, $4M in housekeeping service enhancements, improved logistics customer response times, and the establishment of a 24/7 operations cell. Following Walter Reed, BG Doyle was centrally selected to command the 30th Medical Command (MEDCOM) in Germany. Despite assuming command just nine days before deploying to Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, BG Doyle expertly led his team to quickly assume its critical role as the first Theater Medical Command for Afghanistan, Task Force 30th MEDCOM. Combat seasoned, creative, articulate, technically and tactically proficient, and solution oriented, BG Doyle consistently provided sound, balanced operational advice as the medical Task Force Commander and USFOR-A Surgeon. His joint service command assessed the USFOR-A medical infrastructure and organization and took action to ensure the finest care was provided for all U.S., Coalition, and Afghan forces by a deliberate redistribution of scarce medical resources. He directed a comprehensive analysis of health service support for Regional Command West expansion efforts resulting in the development of force request that met the regional commander's need. BG Doyle led a joint team that provided unmatched combat health service support across the Combined Joint Operations Area--Afghanistan and delivered the highest war time survival rates up to that point in the conflict. A strategic thinker, BG Doyle also forged solid international relations with ISAF medical partners and host Nation assets to ensure unity of effect and effort for all medical assets in the area of responsibility. After Europe, the Surgeon General hand selected BG Doyle to command the William Beaumont Medical Center (WBAMC) in Fort Bliss, Texas. During this period, he also served as the Deputy Commanding General (DCG)-- Readiness for Western Regional Medical Command (WRMC) and Chief of the Medical Service Corps. BG Doyle quickly transformed the William Beaumont culture to fully support the Fort Bliss transition from a TRADOC installation to the Army's largest and busiest FORSCOM power projection platform. He exploited partnering with the Veterans' Affairs for a mutually efficient use of limited resources resulting in the award of the largest Fiscal Year 12 VA/DOD Joint Incentive Fund project valued at over $5M. His team also opened a new WTB campus, established a collocated Integrated Disability Evaluation System site, and launched Embedded Behavioral Health, and Child and Family Assistance Centers. The Surgeon General recognized BG Doyle as a transformational leader and once again hand picked him to command the Pacific Regional Medical Command knowing that he possessed all the skill sets required to direct and influence the right Army Medicine capabilities in support of the Army's and DoD's rebalancing strategy. He was also designated as Commanding General, Tripler Army Medical Center, U.S. Army Pacific Surgeon, Chief, Medical Service Corps, and Manager for the Hawaii enhanced Multi-Service Market (eMSM). His overall performance and contributions were nothing short of stellar. Balancing five hats, he effective established connections, and strengthened and influenced strategic partnerships with PACOM countries including Korea, Japan, Philippines and Thailand. His PRMC team provided unmatched support to USARPAC and USPACOM interests in the Asia-Pacific. His strategic leadership inspired trust in the health system throughout the Pacific achieving consistent patient satisfaction rates of over 85 percent. In addition, PRMC's Integrative Pain Management Center ranked as the best in the Army because of the close clinical collaboration with multiple disciplines and an emphasis on weaning Soldiers off their pain medication drugs. PRMC was recognized as one of the most productive Regional Medical Commands exceeding patient safety standards and quality measures as well as leading the way in an external accreditation survey and Risk Management oversight spanning the entire PACOM area of responsibility with facilities in Korea, Japan, and Hawaii. The Surgeon General personally selected BG Doyle to serve as her Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7 based on unequalled operational experience, strategic acumen and proven leadership. His transformative excellence was deemed an imperative during a period of significant cultural and organizational transformation. Upon assuming his role, BG Doyle was immediately faced with operationalizing The Surgeon General's transformation from a healthcare system to a System for Health. He infused irreversible momentum in promoting the Performance Triad, the primary mechanism to influence readiness and health by targeting Sleep, Activity and Nutrition behaviors for Soldiers, Family members and all 3.9 million beneficiaries. In the Total Army Force concept, BG Doyle has also been instrumental in driving toward COMPO 2 and implementation with full support from the Chief of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. The nuances of implementation in the Reserve Components have been fully explored to ensure that this is executable for our Citizen Soldiers. Furthermore, BG Doyle's operational perspective was instrumental in ensuring the direct correlation of Army Medicine command structures with supported Army Corps and ASCC commanders. The decisions currently being enacted represent the largest organizational changes in the past few decades and will ensure that MEDCOM is a balanced, agile and streamlined organization postured to support Army Force 2025 and Beyond concepts. In parallel with the command's deliberate, strategic initiatives, BG Doyle served as the single mission command focal point synchronizing and integrating TSG/CG, MEDCOM command guidance for the command despite geographic dispersion across five continents and supporting roles to COCOMs and ASCCs. This superb operational coordination/synchronization was accomplished through the Army's largest Direct Reporting Unit, a complex, integrated Army-wide health service system. BG Doyle's bold, transformational leadership was the driving force for the brilliant translation of command intent and communication throughout the staff and major subordinate commands and was affected in an extremely dynamic environment immediately following OTSG/MEDCOM OneStaff reorganization. His passionate desire to lead the preeminent healthcare force in the world: the best led, trained and equipped for without peer, has raised the collective skill level and efforts of the entire headquarters. As a result of tireless, direct engagement on the part of BG Doyle, the command now functions with superior efficiency in establishing core or functional crisis action teams and integrated process action teams to respond to a wide array of complex problem sets. All of Army Medicine's System for Health efforts are grounded in the imperative to optimize performance. Every provider to patient interaction will be viewed through the lens of improving the development, performance, resilience and accelerated rehabilitation of the Professional Soldier Athlete. Through his efforts BG Doyle has established the MEDCOM G-3/5/7 function as the preeminent staff element of its kind in support of the Army's largest direct reporting unit. He has ensured the success of the MEDCOM through the essential task of synchronizing the efforts of the command and communicating the mission, vision and intent of the commander. His impact on this command and the Army is immeasurable. BG Doyle represents the very best of Army and Nation. Brigadier General Doyle's distinctive accomplishments reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Department of Defense.''

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz for the time. I rise in strong opposition to the Ratcliffe amendment. If anyone has been watching, you have seen Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now, more than ever, it is critical to engage with rising stars in the former Soviet Union because the old tactics of Soviet Russia are still being employed. This program belongs to Congress. Yes, it is a legislative branch program, so it is small; it is efficient; it is ours. It is our one tool to reach out to these countries to their rising leaders to expand accountable governance and the rule of law. Who better to teach it than those engaged, those of us who communicate with citizens in these countries that so very much want to be free? Open World directly connects us with changemakers in this very, very fluid region of the world. It reaches beyond the big cities, into the country side. I personally have greeted some of the leaders that have come from several countries, including Moldova and Ukraine. Let me tell you, it will be our generation and the next that will pay the price if this amendment is passed. We simply must engage with this part of the world. We cannot leave her in the hands of the Russian bear. I urge very strong opposition to the Ratcliffe amendment.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, Members of Congress attend many events. And over the weekend, I was very privileged to be a part of the 125th anniversary celebration of United Allied Trades, Local 50 Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Allied Trades in northern Ohio--125 years of building America forward. Over 1,500 people came into this mammoth hall, and we remembered those who had come before us and had been a part of building, of plumbing, of pipefitting, of building America forward--in our refineries, in our nuclear power plants, in the natural gas lines that are laid. The power of America was before us in the hands and minds of those who have the skills to build for us. The training academy they have built at local 50 is probably the finest in the country, at least one of the finest. And I am just so proud of the younger men and women who are coming up in the trades. They have a decent wage. They can earn enough to join the middle class. They have retirement plans. They have health plans, including the one they built from scratch, serving thousands and thousands and thousands of people. Congratulations at 125 years to United Allied Trades Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 50 in Ohio. God bless you. You have blessed America.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the men and women of Local 50 of the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics' 125th anniversary. I join in the union's celebration and add my congratulations to the chorus in recognizing this remarkable milestone event. The union's original 37 members were granted a charter on December 1, 1890 after previous association with the International Association. Aggressive organizing efforts brought the city's pipe craftsmen together and the union grew to nearly 90 members by 1897. During this time the local worked not only to increase its membership, but also the wages of its members who had been earning on average 30 cents an hour in a sixty hour work week. The Local's history reports that one of its first major construction projects was the Nasby Building, Toledo's first skyscraper at six stories tall. By the end of its first decade, Local 50 craftsmen also helped to build Toledo landmarks the Gardner Building, the Spitzer Building and the Lucas County Courthouse. During this time of its initial establishment and growth, the Local's history explains that its leadership was able to work with are contractors and business owners while adhering to its primary objective: ``Solidarity among workers for the benefit of all.'' As the new century dawned, there were rivalries between the UA and other unions which ultimately weakened the relationship between Local 50 and contractors and resulted in wage and overtime differentials among the crafts. However, these early power struggles eventually served to strengthen Local 50, which emerged from the battles a strong and powerful leader in Toledo's labor movement. Through World War I, fears of Communist infiltration, tensions between management and labor, violent strikes, Prohibition and the Great Depression, Local 50 suffered, but survived. Then came the 1934 Electric Auto-Lite Strike. The Local 50 history notes, `` `The outcome of the Auto-Lite Strike strengthened the Toledo Central Labor Union, its affiliate locals and the Lucas County Unemployed League, leading to further organizing activity in the city.' The strike also led to the creation of the Toledo Industrial Peace Board, which would go on to become a national model for strike resolution.'' President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal saved Local 50. Its members were employed by many of the public works building efforts the New Deal initiated, including the city's Collins Park Water Treatment Plant, completed in 1941 and still operating in testament to the members' skills. World War II brought increased work and technological and training improvements. As the union grew, progressive changes were initiated for its membership. The Health and Welfare Fund was created in 1952 followed by pension, holiday and retirement plans. Beginning in the 1950s, the union's membership was kept busy with many new buildings going up along Toledo's downtown skyline and new buildings at the University of Toledo. In 1970, the members of Local 50 began the biggest project in its history: the building of the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant. The history reports that during the eight-year building project, ``Local 50 members dismantled and rebuilt components of nearly every piping system installed in the plant.'' Local 50 then joined with other unions in the Northwest Ohio Building Trades to strengthen further its efforts on behalf of its membership. This coalition was crucial to the unions during the economic downturn of the 1980s and the subsequent fallout of the challenges to working families brought by that economy. The Local's history explains the union was able to remain strong ``by `drawing on the highest traditions of craft unionism and moral guidance provided by the hearts and minds of its membership.' The 1990s saw the centennial celebration of Local 50 as well as employment in large construction projects and a renewed emphasis on continual training. As the new century began, the jobs were still going strong. A new union hall and training center opened on August 12, 2003 with a state-of-the-art training center completed in 2009. Through the first years of the 21st Century, Local 50 members were again an integral part of major building efforts at universities, industries and public construction in our region. The January 4, 2000 edition of ``The Pipe Line'' Voice of the Building Trades printed this truth which summarizes the U.S. labor movement and the journey of Local 50: ``When Local 50 was born, there were no pensions, no hospitalization, no scholarships, no picnics, no dinner dances, no apprenticeships, no Journeyman training and no credit union. Each of these benefits grew through struggle and dedication. `We stand on the shoulders of those who came before.' I don't know who said this, but it is certainly true of Local 50 . . . Over the last 100 years, labor has changed the face of this nation. We have weekends, Social Security, living wages, Health and Welfare, pensions, 8 hour days, safety provisions, and other benefits which are a direct result of labor's struggles.'' I am reminded of labor leader Richard Trumka's statement that ``There is nothing stronger than the American labor movement. United, we cannot and we will not be turned aside. We'll work for it, sisters and brothers. We'll stand for it. Together. Each of us. To bring out the best in America. To bring out the best in ourselves, and each other.'' The brothers and sisters of Local 50 in Northwest Ohio have done just this for 125 years, helping to create the middle class and bringing out the best that is in us. United, its members have stood strong over three centuries. United, its members will stand strong and in solidarity in the centuries to come.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to bring light to the secretive, job-killing global trade pact called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the TPP. Supporters want to rush it through Congress using a procedure called fast-track authority, which forces a vote with no opportunity to amend the deal. This should alarm all Americans. In its current form, this deal would outsource even more of America's good jobs out from under our working families, degrade global environmental and working standards, and cause investor rights to override worker rights. It propels a global race to the bottom. The trade ambassador and the administration assert that the TPP has strong and enforceable labor standards and environmental commitments. The TPP includes four nations--Mexico, Brunei, Vietnam, and Malaysia-- that are notorious labor and human rights violators. They are already out of compliance with the standards supposedly in TPP. Frankly, our U.S. Trade Representative has had a bad habit of sweeping trade violations right under the rug. Our history of trade agreements in Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia show the need for stronger obligations and a rigorous plan for implementing and overseeing them. Including commitments in the final agreement is not enough. These nations have to change their laws and practices, and we have to enforce them. Mr. Speaker, we should vote against TPP because what is going to happen is more American workers will be cashed out, and exploited workers around the world will find life gets harder.