Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor), the ranking member of the Transportation-HUD Subcommittee. (Mr. PASTOR of Arizona asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader of the House.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the ranking minority member of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. I want to thank all of the authors of this bill for your important work, and I appreciate your bringing these issues once again to the attention of my colleagues and to all of those who are watching us this evening. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act. During a period of tremendous turmoil in the Middle East, the passage of this important legislation sends a strong signal to our steadfast ally that the United States Congress remains fully committed to its security. This bill, which I cosponsored, supports greater U.S.-Israeli cooperation on a number of fronts, including energy, cybersecurity, homeland security, and agriculture. It also extends the authorization for U.S. weapons to be stored in Israel in case they are needed by either of our countries to respond to an emergency. Additionally, this bill provides for the greater congressional oversight of Israel's qualitative military edge over its neighbors, a status that remains absolutely critical to Israel's ongoing security needs. Lastly, this bill encourages Israel's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program and supports a greater engagement with Israel on meeting the program's requirements. I remain committed to making it easier for young Israelis to travel to the United States. As I have said before, our visa policies should reflect the unbreakable bond between our nations and people. Supporting Israel, our strongest ally and the only democracy in the region, remains a vital component of protecting U.S. national security interests. As ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, I will continue to fight to provide Israel with the resources it requires to secure its borders and protect its citizens.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Brad Goldberg, who is being honored by the Humane Society of the United States for his dedication to the animal protection movement. After a 35-year career in investment management in which Mr. Goldberg became senior vice president of Jennison Associates, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, he retired to pursue his passion--animal welfare. Since 2001, Mr. Goldberg has run Animal Welfare Trust, an organization he founded, which works to increase grant-making and capacity building for animal welfare groups. He has devoted himself to this organization, which has been involved in numerous animal welfare related initiatives, including support for a Florida ballot measure outlawing gestation crates, as well as the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, which advocates for a plant-based diet in schools. Mr. Goldberg is also the Chair of HEART, a charity sponsored by Animal Welfare Trust that educates children to be compassionate and considerate of all living beings. As Chair of HEART, he has also given major gifts to support animal studies and animal law, and has funded fellowships for lawyers to work at nonprofits like the Humane Society. It is for this work in particular that Mr. Goldberg is being awarded the Compassion in Action Award by the Humane Society of the United States. In his personal life, Mr. Goldberg is a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. Activism and volunteerism are priorities for Mr. Goldberg and his wife Sunny, and animal welfare is one of many causes to benefit from their devotion to community and the common good. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Brad Goldberg for his hard work and devotion to the animal protection movement and congratulate him for receiving the Compassion in Action Award.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize StayUNITED, a nonprofit organization based in Rockland County, New York, and its founders, Mark and Ismini Svensson. StayUNITED is devoted to improving the quality of life for children and youth across the country and throughout the world. Their recent initiative, ``50 Acts of Giving Back,'' promotes volunteerism while highlighting the power of social media to promote good causes. Mark and Ismini Svensson, both constituents of the New York 17th District, are traveling across the country, visiting all 50 states, to perform 50 acts of kindness. At the same time, they are using social media platforms to inspire others to become active members of their communities by performing their own acts of kindness. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Mark and Ismini Svensson for their hard work and devotion to improving the lives of children across the globe. Their charitable journey is an inspiration for others and, through their hard work and kindness, has made the world a better place.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. While it was my sincere hope that we could have completed action on all 12 appropriation bills before the end of the fiscal year, I understand Chairman Rogers' desire to quickly pass the CR and prevent another disastrous government shutdown. This continuing resolution gives the House and Senate Appropriations Committees roughly 3 months to reach agreement on each of the discretionary bills and the important programs they fund. Of great importance in these negotiations will be the funding levels in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill. Unfortunately, it has the dubious distinction of being the only one not even brought to the full committee for markup, denying Members on both sides of the aisle the opportunity to offer amendments and have a full, open debate about these critical programs. Yesterday, Ranking Member DeLauro and all the Democratic members of that subcommittee introduced our version of the bill that we hope will help clarify our priorities for the process in the coming months. The CR portion of this legislative package contains much-needed funding to address urgent crises, including the spread of Ebola, ensuring critical work continues to develop and manufacture treatment therapies, as well as work on a vaccine. However, I do regret that the majority's proposed CR resorts to one of the worst legislative mechanisms to reduce scoring, an across-the- board cut. This type of provision shirks one of the most fundamental responsibilities of this committee, making difficult decisions about program levels. Worse still, it is misleading to the public and creates an illusion that program levels remain at last year's level, when they are, in fact, lower. I also have concerns with the length of the extension of the Export- Import Bank. The President spoke forcefully about the threat of ISIL last week. There is a clear need for an international coalition to execute an aggressive, targeted strategy aimed at degrading ISIL, and later this afternoon, the House will begin debate on the administration's request for narrow title 10 authority. Lastly, the rules of this CR added three technical changes to the underlying text that were needed and which I support. Additional language was needed on the Ebola funding, on the LIHEAP money, and on recreation fees. Mr. Speaker, obviously, no appropriator ever wants a CR, but none of us want to repeat last year's shutdown. It is my sincere hope that if this CR is enacted we can use the coming months wisely to craft agreement on all 12 bills by December 11. There is absolutely no reason to punt our responsibilities into the new year and the new Congress. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, having no further requests for time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a member of the Labor, HHS, and Foreign Operations Subcommittees of Appropriations.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), ranking member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

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

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 10 seconds.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran), the ranking minority member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and a senior member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), a member of the Homeland Security and Foreign Operations Subcommittees.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this emergency supplemental furthering our commitment and support to our steadfast ally through critically-needed funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel is currently embroiled in a devastating war on terrorism. For weeks, Hamas, an internationally-recognized terrorist organization, has indiscriminately fired thousands of rockets into Israel and has built miles of tunnels to launch vicious land attacks. Just yesterday, in a dastardly breach of the humanitarian ceasefire, Hamas operatives reportedly surfaced from a tunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers, and abducted a third, Hadar Goldin. I join the Administration in demanding his immediate and unconditional release. We are all heartbroken by the devastating loss of human life on both sides. But the fact remains, Hamas is responsible for this war, cowardly booby-traps in UN-health clinics, hiding rockets in UN-run schools, instructing Gazans to ignore Israeli warnings to relocate to protect its weapons instead, and repeatedly violating internationally- backed ceasefires. Innocent Israelis and Palestinians have already suffered an enormous toll. Yet Hamas remains committed to wreaking fear and havoc on as many civilians as possible. That is why this measure is vital. Iron Dome has already protected millions of Israelis who must have our full backing. The additional $225 million will accelerate production of Iron Dome to counter short-range rockets. I urge immediate passage.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise today to oppose this outrageous bill and the ridiculous process that produced it. Just yesterday, this House attempted to consider a bill that went too far on policy and not far enough on funding levels, but apparently even that wasn't bad enough for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's bill vanished into thin air, and in its place, we now have this haphazard mess. This bill is the result of some sort of auction with members of the majority. The bill also paves the way for another piece of legislation to be approved tonight--a brand-new bill on the so-called DACA--deferred action on undocumented children program--related to young people who were brought here as minors by 2007 and only know the United States of America as their home. This new bill has not been approved by any committee and contains language that would throw thousands of young people into legal limbo. This new supplemental funding bill would add an additional $35 million to reimburse States for deploying the National Guard to the border, which is pointless. In other words, U.S. taxpayers will pick up the tab for Governor Perry's campaign stunt. The bill also would change the initial screening process used by Customs and Border Patrol. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes the change, noting: It would make crippling changes to current U.S.-trafficking victim protection law that we fear would send these vulnerable children, and others in the future who have fled trauma, exploitation, and violence, back into harm's way, likely resulting in continued degradation, injury, and death for many of them. I insert the letter into the Record. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Migration, Washington, DC, August 1, 2014. Dear Representative: I write to reaffirm the opposition of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to H.R. 5230 and express our opposition to H.R. 5232. Our opposition to H.R. 5230 stems from four troubling aspects of the measure. First, it would make crippling changes to current U.S. trafficking victim protection law that we fear would send these vulnerable children, and others in the future who have fled trauma, exploitation, and violence, back into harm's way, likely resulting in continued degradation, injury, and death for many of them. Second, it would not provide adequate funding for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to enable it to care for vulnerable unaccompanied children in U.S. custody. Third, its level of funding for ORR is so low that it would severely hamper the agency's ability to fulfill its responsibility to care for refugees, asylum seekers, special immigrants, trafficking victims, and torture victims. And fourth, the measure contains no provisions to address the root causes that have compelled so many children to make the arduous journey from their homes in Central America to the United States and elsewhere in the region. Our opposition to H.R. 5232 stems from its elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It is our view that this program has helped protect a vulnerable group of children who for all extensive purposes are Americans. It would subject them once again to removal to countries they do not know. We urge its defeat. How our nation responds to this humanitarian challenge is a moral test of our national character. We ask that you oppose H.R. 5230 and H.R. 5232, which we feel fail to live up to that test. Sincerely, Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, WA, Chairman, USCCB Committee on Migration.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, this House majority needs to make up its collective mind. Do they want to provide emergency funding to enable our Federal agencies to respond to the humanitarian crisis on the border? Or do they wish to rewrite current law on immigration, political asylum, and due process? We can't do both in an hour of floor consideration. The House should have already taken up bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform the Senate passed more than 1 year ago, with the support of Democrats and Republicans, the labor and business communities, evangelicals, law enforcement, and many others. We would have been proud to work together with our Republicans on the other side of the aisle to give thoughtful consideration to this immigration process. The Senate did it. We had an opportunity to do it, and instead, we are rushing through tonight to put a bill on the floor that has changed many times as it has proceeded through the process. That bill, the comprehensive immigration bill, would have helped prevent the crisis on the border today. If we had passed this 1 year ago, we wouldn't be in the desperate situation we are in now. Now, we are at a point where it requires emergency supplemental funding that we should provide cleanly and quickly without the baggage of extraneous policy that caused so much political division. This package crossed the line from being a supplemental spending bill and became a controversial revision of immigration policy with limited funding thrown in as an afterthought. That is a shame. That is really sad because we know that the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Health and Human Services, and State need this money to do the job. Mr. Speaker, just last year, this body allowed a small vocal minority to push a government shutdown over controversial policy ideas. This process today causes me to wonder whether many have learned the perils of such recklessness. I urge my colleagues to oppose this package and start over. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gallego).

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a member of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Foreign Operations Subcommittees of Appropriations.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter).

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader of the House.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington, Adam Smith.