Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In recent weeks, thousands of families in Puerto Rico were forced from their homes, schools were flattened, roads and infrastructure were severely damaged as earthquakes racked an island still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Maria and Irma. While President Trump has finally released some of the aid that Congress appropriated for those hurricanes, more support is clearly needed. We must act now on our shared responsibility to assist Americans in need. This emergency supplemental would provide $4.67 billion in targeted assistance to help families and communities recover from these devastating earthquakes and put Puerto Rico on a better path to long- term recovery. It includes: $3.26 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds; $1.25 billion for repairs to damaged road systems; $100 million to restart school operations; $40 million for disaster nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico; and More than $20 million to help address the island's energy needs. In addition, this bill would provide Puerto Rico with flexibility to use this funding in conjunction with earlier disaster relief resources. Critically, it also takes swift action against the Trump administration's outrageous withholding of vital aid to Puerto Rico. This bill would require detailed spending plans and mandate that funding be released in a timely manner. Finally, the bill carries a number of tax-related provisions in the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means that will complement the emergency appropriations and support working families and encourage economic growth. Madam Chair, our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico need our help. Unless we step up to the plate right now, we further jeopardize their safety and security. With this bill, we can provide families and communities swift relief and put Puerto Rico on the path to long-term recovery. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the distinguished chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield the gentlewoman from Ohio an additional 30 seconds.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the distinguished chairman who came to Congress at the same time I did and is now chair of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. NEAL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on Small Business, who has been an eloquent, persistent speaker in favor of this aid because she understands that her homeland, where family still resides, needs this money now, and we have an obligation to provide it now.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield an addition 1 minute to the gentlewoman.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to remind the gentleman from South Carolina, who is on his way out, that this bill has $25.7 million for South Carolina to deal with the destruction and the needs. I would also urge the gentleman, because he did give a thoughtful analysis, to perhaps visit Puerto Rico as many of us have. See the tarps on the homes, people without roofs, kids that are not in school, homes that don't have water, and don't have heat. I would be happy to work with the gentleman to analyze, visit Puerto Rico, see the needs, and I am happy to come to South Carolina if there are unmet needs that have not been provided for. We are happy to work together. But again, in this bill, there is $25.7 million for South Carolina. Madam Chairwoman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan).

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Chair, this emergency supplemental is critical to help Puerto Rico get back on its feet and build a better future. In a demonstration of unprecedented hostility to Puerto Ricans, President Trump has turned his back on the island. This Congress must not do the same. With this legislation, Madam Chair, we can feed the hungry, repair damage, rebuild roads, restart schools, and keep the lights on. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote for this critical assistance. It is absolutely essential. I do wish more of my colleagues had visited the island, seen the tarps on the homes instead of roofs, tried to get back through those roads that are so slushy, walking through, driving through, and talking to the people. It is essential that we pass this critical assistance. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I am pleased to support this excellent amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, in the engrossment of the bill, H.R. 5687, the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections and conforming changes to the bill, including the change I have placed at the desk.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Last week, I was honored to join the Speaker's congressional delegation to Poland and Israel, where we visited Auschwitz and participated in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum. We cannot fight the scourge of anti-Semitism without remembering the horrors that can occur when hate is allowed to flourish. As we commemorate this important day, we remember those lost, and let the lessons from the Holocaust guide our work today. As a co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti- Semitism, I will continue to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to identify long-term solutions to this age-old problem.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, Michele Kernizan is an Air Force veteran and a constituent of mine. After serving our country, she enrolled at Kaplan University. Kaplan misled Michele about her GI Bill benefits and persuaded her to take out loans to cover tuition. They offered a so-called stipend for books and supplies, but it wasn't a stipend. It was additional student loans. By the time Michele learned the truth, she had $42,654 in student debt and no degree. The 2016 borrower defense to repayment rule created a process to help defrauded borrowers like Michele access student debt relief. Secretary DeVos' rewrite guts protections for students and taxpayers in favor of shielding bad-acting institutions from accountability. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support today's CRA so veterans like Michele have a fair process.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 765, I call up the bill (H.R. 1158) to authorize cyber incident response teams at the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, 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 House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1158.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the national security appropriations minibus combines four bills: Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial Services and General Government, and Homeland Security. Madam Speaker, I would like to highlight a few key successes that our cardinals have secured: $7.6 billion, $1.4 billion more than President Trump proposed, to ensure a fair and accurate 2020 Census; $425 million for election security grants to States, a key priority for Democrats for a program that was not funded last year; robust funding for initiatives to improve the quality of life of our women and men in uniform; and a 3.1 percent pay raise for Federal civilian employees. Unfortunately, the President and Senate Republicans insisted on funding a wasteful border wall while simultaneously blocking Democratic policies that would make our immigration system more humane. However, I am pleased that we have established an immigration detention ombudsman tasked with protecting the rights of individuals in DHS custody. Madam Speaker, this is not the bill I would have written on my own, but I am proud that we have been able to do so much good in this political environment. I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.