Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

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

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, as we close this debate, I would like to address my remarks to our distinguished chairman with whom I have worked for quite a while, and just once again, I would like to say this bill deserves a ``no'' vote. I look forward to working with you in a bipartisan way to pass a real comprehensive immigration reform bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip of the House.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to remind the distinguished chair of the Appropriations Committee that the reason the Senate could not bring a bill to the floor was because not one Republican will allow the procedural vote of cloture to bring it to the floor. Therefore, we are having a very important debate, but this bill, as you know, is going nowhere. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am proud to be a Member of the Congress of the United States of America because I have respect for the law. The comprehensive immigration bill has been sitting out there for over a year. If we could work in a bipartisan way, if we could show that we have respect for the law, we would have had a serious debate and really passed a law. This bill is going nowhere. As you know, the Republicans in the Senate wouldn't even bring a bill to the floor. That is why I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

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

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of Appropriations.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard), a member of both the Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Homeland Security Subcommittees.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the minority whip of the House.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I would just like to say to the distinguished chairman, I would have liked to have heard from these experts in hearings. Unfortunately, the majority has not had hearings, and we are bringing this bill to the floor without any hearings, without any witnesses, and without any information.

Mrs. LOWEY. I would be delighted to yield to the gentleman from Kentucky, if I have the time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I would also like to say to our distinguished chairman that it would have been helpful in having an analysis of the current statistics and the future prospects at hearings. But we are bringing this bill to the floor. The majority is bringing this bill to the floor without any hearings, without any discussion. This is really not the way to pass important legislation. And, again, we had a bill. We could have had comprehensive immigration reform that passed the Senate in a bipartisan way. I am now pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), the ranking member of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a member of the Labor, Health, and Human Services; and Foreign Operations Subcommittees.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume because before I turn to my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the ranking member, an expert on immigration on the Judiciary Committee, I just want to make one statement again. The Senate, after months of hearings, passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill. It is really very sad that today we can't get together, Democrats and Republicans, and review the work that had been done by the Senate and pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have prevented the emergency that we are trying to address today. The majority of the bill that is included in the supplemental should have been done through a thoughtful committee process. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), a member of the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise today to oppose this bill that, sadly, falls short in too many ways. The key Federal agencies tasked with responding to the humanitarian crisis on our borders are dangerously close to running out of money. These unanticipated costs are affecting the core functions at the Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services. Although the bill includes funding to hire additional immigration judicial teams and help set up new repatriation centers in Central America, the amounts provided are insufficient. The Justice Department and the State Department will not be able to handle their duties without significantly more resources. All four departments need more funding than this bill provides and fewer partisan immigration policy riders than this bill now contains. Our majority unwisely included legislative language to make sweeping changes to current law related to due process and immigration proceedings. Controversial legislation hastily added to an emergency supplemental is not the way to address a complicated problem. On July 8, the President requested $3.7 billion in emergency funding. The bill provides less than $700 million. The President requested funding through fiscal year 2015. This bill barely covers the remaining weeks in FY 2014, setting this House up to do this all over again in September. The President's request also sought emergency funding to combat a dangerous wildfire season. As of Monday, the Forest Service reported 26 large uncontained wildfires burning in eight States. As a Member from New York, a region devastated by Hurricane Sandy, I am acutely aware how important it is for the Federal Government to provide a robust response. With the House adjourning today, Federal agencies will be left to fight August fires without more funds. This bill also fails to provide funding to procure more Iron Dome interceptors for Israel as requested. Hamas has used the ongoing crisis in Israel and Gaza as an excuse to launch thousands of rockets at Israeli cities and towns. The Iron Dome missile defense system has proven highly effective at neutralizing the rockets. In addition to not funding important priorities, the majority offsets the funding that is provided with cuts to other programs. We should provide emergency funds in a crisis situation. Lastly, I strongly object to the majority's significant policy changes to existing law without any hearings or markups. Three-quarters of this appropriations bill is straight authorizing legislation. Clearly, many factors led these desperate parents to hand off their children to complete strangers, with the hope they make their way to safety here. We ought to consider the complicated policy questions and provide a carefully considered solution, yet these policy changes reveal a knee- jerk response coupled with another bill to deport children who are already in the U.S. In addition to emergency appropriations, we should consider bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform passed by the Senate over 1 year ago, which could have helped to prevent the current humanitarian crisis along our southwest border by increasing border security personnel and nearly doubling the number of immigration judges. The two measures we will consider today are deeply disappointing. Madam Speaker, we should provide sufficient funding to cash-strapped agencies quickly and without the baggage of controversial immigration policy riders. I regret we will not do that with this bill, and I regret even more the consequences of our failure. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished ranking member of the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mrs. LOWEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Mr. Edmund Cook for his many years of service to American Legion Post 506, and to veterans in Westchester County, New York. Born in Lithuania in 1945, Edmund Cook was separated from his family in the closing days of World War II. After being found and fed by American soldiers, he was put in a ``displaced persons (DP)'' Red Cross camp for five years until he was adopted by an American family. The kindness shown to him by those American soldiers would have a lasting impact on Mr. Cook, and would lead to a lifelong career of helping veterans. After receiving a masters degree from Fordham University, Edmund joined the Veterans Administration (VA) at the Montrose, New York, VA Hospital facility as a Clinical Social Worker. In 1991, he was transferred to the White Plains, New York, Veterans Center to help soldiers suffering from PTSD in the aftermath of the Iraq War. He soon started treating veterans from all wars, and has worked tirelessly to ensure they all receive the care they need. He would even go to homeless shelters to seek out veterans in need of medical treatment, and would collect clothes to give veterans. For the past 30 years, Mr. Cook has chaired the Boys State Program for Ossining Post 506 American Legion. This program offers high school boys the opportunity to learn how our government works, from the local and state level to the Federal Government. It is an important learning experience for young men who might one day seek opportunities in government work. Mr. Cook has infused his passion for helping others into this program, and he continues to inspire young men every year. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Edmund Cook of Ossining, NY, for his lifetime of service to the veterans and youth of my district. His work has inspired others to help those in need, and he has truly lived up to the Veterans Administration motto, ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle.'' I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring his tremendous accomplishments.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). LSC was established by Congress in 1974 to provide civil legal aid to millions of Americans who would otherwise be unable to afford it. Congress gave the Corporation the mission of ensuring equal access to justice for all Americans, and the Corporation has worked tirelessly to achieve that goal. With nearly 800 offices serving every Congressional district and U.S. territory, LSC offers support to mothers trying to obtain child support, veterans seeking the benefits they earned, and to many other individuals facing an array of issues. It is noteworthy that three out of four legal aid clients are women, and domestic violence is one of the top issues LSC clients face. Without the efforts of legal counsel from LSC, victims across the country would have no way to seek legal recourse for domestic disputes, enforcing child support payments, or maintaining custody of their children. In addition, during Superstorm Sandy, when thousands of Americans had their homes and belongings damaged, LSC provided storm-related services to low-income victims to assist in filing claims with insurance companies and help retrieve documents such as insurance and mortgage paperwork that had been lost or damaged in the storm. Mr. Speaker, every American, regardless of wealth, deserves quality representation before the courts. The work that LSC does to ensure that those most in need receive legal counsel and due process before the courts is invaluable. I am proud to recognize the Legal Services Corporation and LSC-funded attorneys for the vital work they do every day on behalf of Americans who desperately need their counsel. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring their tremendous accomplishments.

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, July 20th marks the 40th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. In 1974 over 200,000 Greek Cypriots were driven from their homes, becoming refugees in their own country. The legacy of this occupation still weighs heavily on the northern third of the island, which remains occupied by Turkish troops. There is consensus in the international community that a unified, sovereign Cyprus is the only solution to rectifying decades of injustice. I believe the United Nations-led negotiations currently underway are the best means to achieve a fair and permanent settlement which will reunify the island. We are at a critical juncture in the pursuit of peace and prosperity for all Cypriots, and I urge all parties to move toward a peaceful resolution and reunification effort that will build a more united and prosperous Cyprus. Cyprus is a strategically important ally of the United States, and Cyprus has proven itself to be a reliable partner in efforts to counter terrorism. I look forward to a reunified and prosperous Cyprus where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can live together in peace, security and stability.