Daniel Kildee

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I have heard a number of my colleagues point to the red tape and the unnecessary burdens that are placed on a company that wishes to provide stock compensation. Let me be clear about what it is that we would require. This is what is required for a company that exceeds the threshold: That they provide a copy of the compensation plan or a contract, if they disclose that; a copy of a summary plan description, if it is an ERISA retirement plan or, if not, a summary of the plan's material terms; risk factors associated with the stock; and the company's most recent financial statements from the last 2 years, which don't need to be audited. This is important information for anyone receiving stock as compensation in order to understand the value of that stock and not a burdensome requirement on a company, particularly a company of the size that would be required under the increased threshold that is being proposed by this law. If there is any aspect of this debate which is common sense, it is common sense that a person receiving compensation ought to have information that tells them the value of that compensation. Mr. Speaker, I think this is an important debate and discussion. It is one that this body is well-served by taking on. I do agree, as I said, that this is an important direction for us to take as a nation. And it certainly makes sense that, in order for us to fully all participate in the economy, employee ownership is a value. It creates more productive companies, more competitive companies. It provides better compensation, and, as has been pointed out, it creates more stable organizations less likely to lay people off, more likely to be sustainable companies. That is all good, and that is important. It comes down to the question of transparency. Employees deserve to know the state of their employer's finances, if they are to accept stock in lieu of monetary compensation. They deserve no less protection than other investors in the company. We shouldn't fear that kind of transparency. A company that wants its employees to accept stock instead of monetary compensation should embrace this sort of compensation. If they want to empower those employees and they want to make them a part of the company, they should provide them with the information that helps them understand the value of that ownership. Transparency is important for individuals to make informed choices, not informed choices coming from a dictate from Washington but information that they have the right to have. It empowers them with knowledge that allows them to make choices about the form of compensation that they would accept. That is what this legislation really is about, and that is why I oppose the legislation and encourage my colleagues to join me in that. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, when House Republicans withdrew TrumpCare, it was a victory for American families. It was a victory for 24 million people who would have lost coverage under that plan. It was also a victory for the millions of Americans who attended townhall meetings, who wrote letters and emails, who spoke up. Their voices were heard. But we have more work to do, Democrats and Republicans, in order to make sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care. We need now to turn our attention to doing what we can to improve the Affordable Care Act in a bipartisan way. We have ways to make this work better. It is not a perfect bill; of course it isn't. Nothing we do here is perfect. It needs improvement, significant improvement. We have ways to make that happen that I think Democrats and Republicans can come together on. For example, improving access to prescription drugs by reducing the cost of those drugs in the marketplace. There are so many things we can do, Republicans and Democrats. We have got to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, well, here we are. Today is the day when this House will vote on whether or not access to health care is a fundamental right in this country or should be limited to those of means who can afford it, whether access to lifesaving preventative care is something that Americans ought to be able to depend upon. Now, we haven't seen the final language of the bill--it is still being worked on--although we are voting on it today, but here is what we know: It will result in higher costs. It will force families to pay higher premiums and higher out-of- pocket costs. It will provide less coverage; and, in fact, just in the last couple of days, even less coverage, by eliminating essential health benefits like preventative care, like hospitalization, like prescription drugs. Somebody might have a healthcare card, but it won't provide them health care when they need it. It will have a crushing age tax. If you are 50 to 64 years of age, get ready. You will pay enormously higher costs as a result of this ill-conceived piece of legislation. This steals from Medicare, undoes the promise. This is a bad piece of legislation. It ought to be rejected.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, today is the day. In hearing my friends on the other side of the aisle describe their efforts to improve health care, I just wonder if we have the right bill on the floor. Because looking at all the external analysis--the CBO, which I know you want to discount, but there are many other organizations--what do they say about this legislation? It is a terrible bill. It increases costs that Americans will bear. Despite the fact that we hear about decreasing premiums, all the reports say that this will increase premiums and increase out-of-pocket costs that Americans will have to put out in order to protect themselves from disease. It will provide less coverage. Twenty-four million Americans will lose coverage. But even for those who might be able to have health insurance without essential benefits assured, that will just be a health insurance card, but not access to an emergency room, not access to maternal care, not access to prescription drugs, not access to hospitalization. Basically you will be able to get diagnosed, but you won't get health care. This is a terrible bill. We ought to reject it today.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, thousands of my constituents have contacted me very concerned about the Republican healthcare bill--TrumpCare-- which would mean higher costs and worse care for hardworking families. On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump promised that ``everyone would be covered'' under his plan. We now know that is a broken promise, that under TrumpCare 24 million Americans will lose their health insurance--24 million people. What kind of promise is that? Then-candidate Trump promised that there would be no cuts to Medicaid, but he will cut $880 billion from Medicaid. What kind of promise is that? A broken promise. Seniors overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, but he has already forgotten them, imposing an age tax on them. If you are 50 to 64, fasten your seatbelts. You are going to pay five times what a younger, healthier person would pay for worse coverage. This is a terrible bill. Democrats and Republicans should reject it.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, my constituents have been calling all weekend. They do not support the Republican health care bill, TrumpCare. Over the weekend, we received 750 calls or emails. Ninety-three percent of those have contacted me to say that they are against TrumpCare, and here is why: Higher costs for less care; $2,400 annually for an average American family. Millions kicked off health care. The Congressional Budget Office says 24 million. Some might say they are way off. So maybe it is 20 million. Maybe it is 30 million. Lots of Americans lose health care as a result of this plan. An age tax. If you are age 50 to 65, fasten your seat belts; $6,971 in increased costs for lesser health care. And huge, huge tax breaks for millionaires. The 400 richest Americans would get an average $7 million tax break. This is not the right direction for this country. It is not the right direction for health care. We should reject it.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. KILDEE. I am opposed.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. My motion to recommit is quite simple. It exempts class action lawsuits that are brought to protect public water supplies. I know some of you have heard me speak of this. I am from Flint, Michigan, and we know, in my community, what happens when we fail to protect drinking water. In the course of the day, most Americans take for granted that water that comes from the tap is safe. But for my community of 100,000 people, that is not true. It hasn't been true for years. Since the State government switched to a corrosive water source, the Flint River, they have not been able to drink water out of the tap. This terrible decision poisoned the city's water supply with corrosive water, resulting in high levels of lead leaching into their water system, going into their pipes, into their homes, into their bodies, 100,000 people, 7,000 children under the age of 6. Nearly 3 years later, those same families are still reeling from this crisis. It is unacceptable. It is an injustice. Lead is a potent neurotoxin. There is no safe level of lead. Lead exposure can lead to serious health effects felt for years. But the impacts are not limited just to health. Those high levels of lead also damaged Flint's infrastructure, and we now have to remove thousands of pipes in order to provide safe water. Thankfully, this Congress, Democrats and Republicans, came together to provide necessary help for my hometown to fix those pipes. But Flint residents will continue to suffer. That was important, but not enough. There are lots of health effects. Just recently we learned that many cases, in fact, many deaths that we thought were attributable to pneumonia, were, in fact, Legionnaires' disease, traceable to the bacteria caused by this terrible crisis. A dozen people have already died as a result of Legionnaires' disease, and others, whose deaths may be reclassified, could bring that number much higher. The corrosiveness of that water not only had health impacts, but it literally destroyed people's homes from the inside out. So, in addition to those service lines, people's plumbing in their homes, their water heaters, their washing machines destroyed, ruined, and their lives potentially ruined as well. So where does the support, where does the funding come for those losses experienced by residents of my hometown? It comes from the justice system. This bill would create more barriers for people in my hometown to access that justice system, to seek justice for what happened to them. They have suffered a terrible crisis, and they should be able to seek justice and restitution. Unfortunately, this bill could prevent people from Flint, and other Americans, from seeking justice, and that is what my motion intends to correct. In order to receive justice from the harm that they have experienced from this public water source, residents have filed class action suits. This bill severely curtails their access to the courts to seek redress, to seek that restitution. This bill would weaken their access to justice. My motion is simple. It would allow lawsuits that are brought to protect our precious public water supplies to be exempt from the additional hurdles, from the additional barriers that this underlying bill sets out. Having safe drinking water is a human right, and the access to that and the access to justice related to that basic human right ought to be completely unfettered. My motion to recommit would assure that, and I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to have Dr. Mona Hanna- Attisha, the daughter of Iraqi-American scientists, the physician who helped expose the Flint water crisis, as my guest at the joint session and the address by the President tonight. Simply put, Dr. Mona, as her patients call her, is a hero. Her persistence exposed a terrible manmade crisis that poisoned my hometown, and she has been an incredible partner in the fight for resources to help fix the problems in Flint. Her personal story of coming to America from Iraq reminds us of the many important contributions that immigrants make. In Donald Trump's world, though, Dr. Mona may not have been there for Flint kids. She is an Iraqi immigrant. In Donald Trump's world, she would actually have been turned away. She would not have been the hero to thousands of Flint families. She is the epitome of what makes America great and what it means to be an American citizen. She stood up for what was right. She exposed the facts in Flint, Michigan. In the face of bullying, she spoke truth to power, and she persisted. She is a hero. She is what makes this country great. She is what is good about the United States of America-- an immigrant to this country who stood for the people of my hometown. She is a message, and her presence here today is intended to send a message to the President of the United States and to the rest of the country that that is what makes America great. She adds to the fabric of this country, and I am grateful to have her here today.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for her incredible leadership on this issue. Rather than working across the aisle with Democrats to grow our economy, to rebuild older communities, to create new jobs, Republicans are, again, focused on attacking women's health, undermining healthcare programs that provide preventive care for over 4 million Americans, many low-income women who would otherwise be uninsured. Eliminating this rule makes it harder for women and families to have access to lifesaving cancer screenings, for example, birth control, and other vital health services. These funds are providing necessary health services, Madam Speaker, and everyone in this debate knows what this is about. These dollars do not support abortion. We know Federal law prohibits these dollars from being used for that purpose, but to hear our friends on the other side, they would imply that is the case. Now, there is and should be a legitimate debate on that subject, but it has been the law and it continues to be the law that these dollars are not used for abortion services. This is about health care. This is about lifesaving health care for women, and it ought to be preserved.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's resignation is no substitute for answers to the serious questions that remain over President Trump's questionable connections to Russia, to Vladimir Putin. Federal investigators believe that Flynn, who held secret communications with Russia's Ambassador, could have been compromised, or even the subject of blackmail. The Justice Department disclosed this danger to the White House weeks ago, yet the President allowed Mr. Flynn to continue in his position as National Security Adviser, after having that information disclosed to them. This conduct could only be the tip of the iceberg. There are serious, unanswered questions that remain, and our national security is at stake. Americans deserve answers. Did the President or others know or direct Flynn's secret communications with Russia? Why did the White House sit on its hands for weeks, even after being told its National Security Adviser could have been compromised? Were Trump campaign officials colluding with Russians? These are questions that the American people deserve answers to. We need a bipartisan, independent commission to examine these questions. The credibility of our government is at stake. Congress must act.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are moving ahead with the repeal of ObamaCare--but years later, after all the talk, they still have no replacement. Six weeks into control of this Congress and of this government--all branches--there is no plan. From today's Politico, it reads: ``House conservatives . . . are plotting a major push to repeal the law immediately without simultaneously approving an alternative.'' The consequences of Republican repeal without replacement are devastating: 30 million Americans would lose health coverage. People could be kicked off their coverage. They would not be allowed coverage if they have a preexisting condition. Young people could be kicked off their parents' plans. In recent weeks, Republicans have been bombarded with messages from their constituents sending a clear message that the Affordable Care Act repeal would be devastating to their family. It would be devastating to real people like Jia Ireland, my constituent, who, before ACA, had no health insurance. Because of Medicaid expansion, she and 600,000 other Michiganders have coverage. We cannot lose access to health care in this country. We ought not do that.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, this is not who we are. The executive order that the President is executing does not reflect our American values. It is not consistent with a clear statement in our Constitution that we do not discriminate on the basis of national origin, that we do not discriminate on the basis of religion. Read the executive order. It does those precise things. But there are other foundational documents that contradict what the President is executing. Matthew 25: ``I was a stranger, and you invited me in. . . . '' This policy is morally bankrupt. It is an attempt to pander to narrow voices to which this President promised a Muslim ban. He went to Rudy Giuliani and asked how to do a Muslim ban, and this is what they came up with. Make no mistake. This is not who we are. Not only is it morally wrong--against everything we have been taught about who we are as a country--but this administration has been dangerously incompetent in how it is even implementing this misguided policy--secretive. I saw a White House spokesman this morning admit that they kept this secret from the very people who are going to be asked to implement this wrong- headed policy. It is morally wrong, and it is being administered in a dangerously incompetent way. Most importantly, this policy will not make us safe. This unconstitutional executive order will make us less safe. What is the message we are trying to send--that we are an intolerant Nation? that, if you happen to have different beliefs, you are not welcome here? People who are literally being handcuffed are people who have a legal right to be in the United States of America. We cannot normalize this. We cannot accept this as simply a difference of opinion over how to secure our borders. It makes us less secure to send a message to the world that we are this narrow and-- yes--bigoted Nation. We are not that. Even for many of those people who supported this President, this is not what they voted for. I ask my colleagues to, for God's sake, speak up. Join the faith leaders who are speaking up against this terrible, unconstitutional policy. Join the business leaders who are saying this is wrong. Join your own Republican colleagues--many in an increasing number--who are having the courage to stand up against the President of their own party and say ``no.'' This is not who we are. This does not reflect who we are. This is morally wrong. This is constitutionally wrong, and this is dangerous. History will judge where people who sit in this House stood on this day on this question. Stand with your fellow Americans. Stand with the Constitution. Stand with those who are willing to speak up and speak truth to power and say this is wrong, that this is not America. This must end now. Add your voice to that chorus. Be on the right side of history.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. Madam Speaker, like many of us this past Saturday, I marched in Washington with millions of women across the country claiming their human rights and claiming their basic individuals rights. Madam Speaker, the previous speaker on the other side made mention of the fact that the Hyde amendment is the law of the land and that it has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. We know. We get it. That is not what this is about. This is about going well beyond that and actually limiting what women can do and what individuals can do with their own money when acquiring health care that includes the reproductive health services that are the subject of this debate. How many times do we have to come to the floor to make the point that choices about women's health care should be made between a woman and her doctor, not somebody in Washington dictating to women what they can do with their own money and with their own bodies? Do you know what else is the law of the land? Do you know what else has been upheld by the Supreme Court almost a half a century ago? That fundamental right that women have over the determinations they make for themselves about their own bodies. That has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court as well.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I was really disappointed that, on his first day in office, President Trump took action through executive order to make it more difficult for hardworking families to own a home. With this executive order that the President signed, again, on day one, he canceled a scheduled FHA directive that would have saved American homeowners hundreds of dollars a year. Under President Obama, millions of Americans were set to receive hundreds of dollars in reduction in those fees, saving on their mortgage payments, saving on their monthly payment. Under this executive order, not only will Americans with mortgages pay more than they would have, but it will also prevent many Americans from being able to own a home. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, 40,000 American families who could have purchased a home will not have access to that part of the American Dream because of this executive order by President Trump. This has a real impact. Rather than obsessing about the size of crowds at inaugurations, we ought to focus on this. This is real news.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, last night, President Obama delivered his farewell address to the Nation. Today, I rise to thank President Obama for his steady and his strong leadership over the past 8 years. He has served this Nation with dignity, with purpose, and helped us achieve some important successes during his tenure. When he took office, this country was on the brink of a depression, facing a financial crisis unlike anything we have experienced. He has helped to put us on the right track, rebuilding the American auto industry and steady private sector job growth. Now, we know we have a lot left to do, as he said last night. But he has given us the opportunity and the tools to continue that good work. No country, no nation, and certainly no government is dependent on any single individual. As he said, it is up to all of us, not just those of us in Congress or in public office but all citizens, to continue to work together to create the great society that we are all committed to. But it would be a mistake to not take this moment to thank that individual, to thank President Obama, for the clarity of his moral leadership, for his grace, and his class. We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New York (Mr. Tonko) for yielding and for his work advocating on behalf of the people of my hometown, Flint. I also want to thank colleagues on both sides of the aisle: Leader Pelosi; our whip, Mr. Hoyer; the Speaker who committed to help make sure that we get this Flint provision through; as well as other colleagues who have stood with me as I have fought now for a year and a half for the people of my hometown. Flint is a city of 100,000 people who still can't drink their water. This is not a question of access to water. The water flowing through the pipes in Flint has poisoned that city: 100,000 people, 9,000 children under the age of 6 affected permanently by high levels of lead being delivered to them through their municipal water system, caused by careless, thoughtless decisions based on an obsession with austerity by the State government. And then they were told the water was safe to drink, when that same State government knew it was not. Look, we know where we stand. No bill is perfect. This bill is far from perfect. Many of the provisions included in this legislation I disagree with. But I have been fighting for my hometown and have been told to wait and wait and wait, and the people of my community can wait no longer. Drinking water is a basic human right, and that should be a human right exercised by the people everywhere, including the people of my hometown of Flint. Every day that passes, every week that passes, every month that passes that Flint does not get the relief they so deserve is a day we don't get back. More people leave. More businesses fail. The city gets more poor and poor and poor and incapable of moving forward. That has to stop, and it has to stop right now. It has to stop before this Congress adjourns. We can't count on the next Congress to get this done. Time matters. This bill would provide relief to my hometown. It would put it on a path, and it would send a signal that it is okay to invest in Flint. It is okay to stay. The water will be fine. That is a responsibility we have. This is a moral obligation that we have. It also makes sure that there is no more Flints, by including in this legislation the Kildee-Upton bill that passed this House nearly unanimously. It is long past time for us to act. I ask you to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. I thank my friend and colleague, the ranking member, for yielding and for her work on behalf of my hometown of Flint. She has been one of the strong advocates. Mr. Speaker, no piece of legislation that I have yet seen in the 4 years I have been in Congress and that has come before this floor is perfect, and this bill is included; but the people of Flint today--the people of my hometown--cannot drink their water because of actions by the State government and, frankly, as we know, because of the failure of the Federal Government, through the EPA, to alert the citizens of Flint to the crisis. The fact that their water had been poisoned has caused this community to face the biggest crisis that it has faced in all of its years. I am a product of Flint, Michigan. I grew up in Flint. Everything I have, everything I am, I owe to that community--and it has faced some terrible struggles over the years: the loss of manufacturing jobs, 90 percent of those manufacturing jobs are gone; the loss of half of its population, blight and abandonment. It is a community that had just begun to rebuild itself when this water crisis caused Flint to face the toughest times it has ever faced. It needs every level of government to step up to provide relief. This bill includes necessary funding to put Flint back on a path that allows its citizens to have the basic human right of clean drinking water. So I ask my colleagues, as we go forward, obviously consider all of the elements of all legislation, but also keep in mind this is the last day of this session of Congress in the House of Representatives, this is our last chance to provide that much-needed help to my hometown. This is why I was sent to Congress: to fight for the people whom I represent, to make sure they have what they need, and to make sure, at this moment of their greatest need, that every level of government responds to them. That is why I will support this bill, and I would hope my colleagues will join me in that.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay respects and remember Officer Collin Rose, who was killed in the line of duty last week in Detroit while on patrol near Wayne State University. To the Rose family, including Collin's fiancee, Nikki, I am terribly sorry for your loss. At just 29 years old, Collin was taken from your family and this world far too soon. Our community, our State, and our country are all standing with you during this difficult time. His fellow officers described Collin as always being kindhearted and hardworking. One officer said that Collin always had an engaging smile and generous spirit. Another officer said that he was the hardest working person he had ever met. His grandfather, Clifford Rose, told a local news outlet that at the age of 8, Collin knew he wanted to be a police officer. As an officer at Wayne State, Collin was most passionate, though, about canines and training Clyde, his rottweiler, and Wolverine, a German shorthaired pointer. ``His passion was training those dogs,'' said one of his fellow officers. This is a terrible loss, and I ask all of my fellow Members of the House of Representatives present to join me in observing and honoring the memory of Collin Rose, his service, and his sacrifice.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for her leadership and for yielding. Let's just be clear. We know what this is. This is yet another attempt to fund with Federal taxpayer dollars a Republican messaging effort to attack Planned Parenthood. More than 2.5 million people--2.5 million women--every year rely on Planned Parenthood for lifesaving cancer screenings and for other health services. We have important legislative work to do, and we ought not be using taxpayer dollars to fund this effort which has clearly been described in all sorts of lofty tones but is essentially a political witch hunt after an organization that provides essential services to women. The majority cannot deny the chilling effect that this effort has had on medical research. It has already been revealed that this is also an attack on stem cell research. You just have to listen to the debate.

Mr. KILDEE. We need to make sure that we are pursuing scientific research to fight diseases like diabetes, like Alzheimer's, and like multiple sclerosis, a disease my wife, Jennifer, has been fighting for 18 years. We are one of those families that, when we hear about medical research and we hear about stem cell research, in particular, our ears perk up because we know there is hope in that research. This effort--no matter what anybody wants to say, it is well documented--has had a chilling effect on that medical research, and we ought to shut this down.