Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, may we request an additional 10 minutes?

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Ms. LEE of California. I would like to yield to the gentleman Oregon, Congressman Blumenauer.

Ms. LEE of California. I would like to yield now to the gentleman from Indiana, Congressman Andre Carson.

Ms. LEE of California. I would now like to yield to the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Congresswoman Donna Christensen.

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield now to the gentlelady from Florida, Congresswoman Brown.

Ms. LEE of California. I would now like to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina, Congressman Price.

Ms. LEE of California. I would now like to yield to the gentlewoman from New York, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.

Ms. LEE of California. I would now like to yield to the gentleman from Illinois, Representative Danny Davis.

Ms. LEE of California. I would now like to yield to the gentleman from Georgia, Congressman Scott.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall votes 80 91. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``no'' on the Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule, ``no'' on H. Res. 566, ``yes'' on the journal vote, ``yes'' on the Thompson (CA)/Eshoo (CA) Amendment to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the McNerney (CA) Amendment (#3) to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the McNerney (CA) Amendment (#4) to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the Garamendi (CA) Amendment (#5) to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the Napolitano (CA) Amendment to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the Garamendi (CA) Amendment (#7) to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the Markey (MA)/ Thompson (CA)/Matsui (CA) Amendment to H.R. 1837, ``yes'' on the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 1837 and ``no'' on Final Passage of H.R. 1837.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for roll call votes 74 79. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted no on H. Res. 563, yes on the Grijalva amendment to H.R. 2117, yes on the Bishop amendment to H.R. 2117, yes on the Polis amendment #5 to H.R. 2117, yes on the Democratic motion to recommit H.R. 2117 and no on final passage of H.R. 2117.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote 73. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``yes'' on the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 347.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, first let me just thank my colleagues, Congressman Jones, Congressman McDermott, Congressman Ellison and others, for speaking out this morning clearly, saying that it's past time to bring the war in Afghanistan to a swift and orderly end. There's no military solution in Afghanistan. We need to bring our troops home now, and we need to make sure that we leave no permanent military bases. The American people are sick and tired of the past decade of war, and they want this war to end. At a time when tens of millions of Americans are unemployed and nearly 50 million Americans are living in poverty, the Pentagon is requesting almost $100 billion in the President's budget to fund Overseas Contingency Operations, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. First of all, we all thought the war in Iraq was really supposed to be over. So why in the world are we spending billions of dollars on a war that we are no longer fighting? Mr. Speaker, we've already spent over $1.3 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we cannot afford to blindly continue down this path. The reason, of course, that I voted against that original resolution in 2001 authorizing the use of military force was because it was a blank check for war against any nation, anywhere, anytime, any organization, and any individual. The situation we are in right now, being asked to spend another $100 billion on endless war, is exactly what we should have considered 10 years ago when we went down this path. This war without end must end. While everyone would like a stable democracy in Afghanistan, the facts on the ground suggest that we are not headed in that direction, yet we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars there. Instead of a stable democracy, we have a corrupt state that relies almost entirely on foreign countries for its budget. The reality on the ground in Afghanistan stands in stark contrast to the steady reports of progress we have been hearing from those who seek to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond. It's time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan--not in 2014, not next year, but right now. Later today, some of us will be meeting with the courageous Army officer Colonel Daniel Davis. Colonel Davis wrote a revealing account of the war in Afghanistan after witnessing the huge gap between what the American public was being told about progress in Afghanistan and the dismal situation on the ground. Colonel Davis' assessment is backed up by a recently released report from Afghanistan's NGO safety officer. The report warns NGO employees in Afghanistan not to take seriously the message of advances in security coming from the Pentagon. Mr. Speaker, I ask that this page from the Afghanistan NGO safety officer quarterly data report be inserted into the Record. AOG Initiated Attacks AOG initiated attacks grew by 14% over last year and demonstrated an enhanced operational tempo--with 64% of all operations occurring before the end of July (compared to 52% in 2010)--and then trailing off sharply once OP BADR ended over Ramadan. The tactical portfolio remained consistent with 2010, with close range engagements (SAF/RPG) making up the bulk of operations (55%) and IED/IDF operations at 44%. Suicide attacks remained at just 1% of the total yet caused close to 70% more fatalities this year, including roughly 400 Afghan civilians (230 in 2010). Throughout the year ISAF made a number of statements claiming a 3% reduction in attacks between Jan Aug when compared with 2010. We are not in a position to evaluate their data but, obviously, we do not agree with their finding and advise NGOs to simply ignore it as practical security advice--a use for which it was likely never intended in any case. We find their suggestion that the insurgency is waning to be a dangerous political fiction that should be given no consideration in NGO risk assessment for the coming year. Interestingly, our data does find that this year's 14% growth rate (what you might call the IEA profit margin) is substantially lower than previous years (above right) suggesting that there has indeed been some serious reduction in the effort that the IEA is putting in. Whether this reduction has been forced upon them by ISAF or whether they consciously chose it--on the calculus that there is no point sprinting to the finish if everyone else has dropped out of the race--is unknown to us and, we suspect, to ISAF. The report reads: We find their suggestion that the insurgency is waning to be a dangerous political fiction that should be given no consideration in NGO risk assessment for the coming year. ``A dangerous political fiction''--that is how this organization dedicated to ensure the safety of NGO employees in Afghanistan characterizes the rosy reports of steady progress in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, if we're going to ask our brave men and women in uniform to continue to risk their lives in Afghanistan, the least we can do is be frank and honest about how we are doing in Afghanistan. Our soldiers deserve to know the truth, and the American people deserve to know the truth after spending the past decade fighting wars. The war in Afghanistan has already taken the lives of almost 1,900 soldiers and drained our treasury of over $500 billion in direct costs. Those costs will only go up as we spend trillions of dollars on long- term care for our veterans, which we must do. We are set to spend an additional $88 billion in Afghanistan over the next year while domestic cuts in education, health care, roads, bridges, and other essential priorities are sacrificed. Again, I repeat, it is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan, not in 2014, not next year, but right now. Let me conclude by saying that as the daughter of a 25-year Army officer who served in two wars, I salute our troops, and I honor our troops. Our service men and women have performed with incredible courage and commitment in Afghanistan. But they have been put in harm's way, and they have performed valiantly. It's time to bring them home.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, as a founder and cochair of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise again to sound the alarm about the crisis of poverty in America. While many of us are encouraged by the recent improvements in the unemployment rate, which fell to 8.3 percent, the rate of unemployment continues to be unacceptably high, especially for communities of color. For African Americans, the unemployment rate is 13.6 percent, and it's 10.5 percent for Latinos. The rate of unemployment for our youth is even more alarming, with over 23 percent of 16 19 year olds looking for a job. Without a job, Madam Speaker, how can we expect our youth, the future of this country, to develop the skills and experience they need to succeed and live out their American Dream. Encouragingly, President Obama understands that we cannot speed up economic recovery without investments that create jobs. I was pleased to see in his 2013 budget proposal critical investments to create good jobs and job training programs for communities hardest hit by our struggling economy. By targeting economic assistance where it's most needed, the President's proposed budget goes a long way to level the playing field to give every American the opportunity to succeed. There's a lot that my Republican colleagues can learn from the President's budget, especially this: that fighting poverty and reducing the deficit can be achieved together. But let me be clear. This budget is not perfect. There are cuts in this budget that would undermine some of the progress our economy is making. Cuts to safety net programs like the Community Services Block Grant, Low Income Heating Assistance, and affordable housing programs will hit already struggling families especially hard. During these difficult times, we really do need to protect programs that are a lifeline for the most vulnerable. We need to increase funding for programs like SNAP and WIC which keep millions of American families out of poverty. But keeping people from suffering the worst effects of poverty is not enough to restore our economy. Even with the recent increases we have seen in job creation, long-term unemployment remains at record levels, with 5.5 million workers who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. Until Republican leaders in the House can pass President Obama's American Jobs Act or put forth any kind of reasonable plan for job creation, we must ensure that the safety net is strong. So, Madam Speaker, again I call for an immediate up-or-down vote on Congressman Bobby Scott's and my bill, H.R. 589, which will give the millions of job seekers who continue to struggle to find a job just 14 more weeks of vital unemployment benefits. This would allow them to have just a little more time to find a good job and to support their family while our fragile economy continues to recover. Also, Madam Speaker, this Congress has a lot of work to do. We are just a few days away from when unemployment benefits are set to expire for millions of Americans across the country. Low-income families were hardest hit during the recession, and they cannot afford another year of a Republican Congress that fails to focus on jobs, refuses to strengthen our middle class, and tries to end the Medicare guarantee for all of our seniors. It is incumbent upon this conference committee to ensure that the bridge is strong enough to deliver us all, even our most vulnerable, over these troubled waters. Madam Speaker, let's put our Nation before our party. Americans really cannot wait, and neither should this Congress.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and also for standing up for women's health, not only today and during these very difficult times, but each and every day of her life. As a former devout practicing Catholic, I fully understand and respect the Church's doctrine on contraceptives. Even though I disagree with it, I fully respect it and I understand it. Also, I know that the separation of church and state is a fundamental principle that we must maintain. Mr. Speaker, the administration's decision to provide choices to access quality, affordable health care, family planning services, including contraceptives, are vital for women's health and well-being. This is really not about a mandate. The rule would not force anyone with a religious objection to use or prescribe FDA-approved contraception. The fact is that Catholic bishops know that the 335,000 religious institutions and organizations and churches and places of worship are exempt. In fact, no woman will be required to use contraceptives or to even access contraceptives if she does not want to do that. This ruling is about women making their own decisions as to whether to use contraceptives or not. It's about access. Religion must not force discrimination and discriminatory policies against, for example, an employee who works in the cafeteria of a hospital who chooses to plan her family. She should not be denied this coverage because of where she works. Low-income women finally-- finally--will have equal access to contraceptive services if they choose. So we want to make sure tonight that the facts are presented appropriately. Yes, we've witnessed this war against women systematically come against women's health for the last year now, and it's about time we start really being truthful to the public and get the facts out there and not allow the misinformation to really put women, once again, in a position of not having access to contraceptive care. So I believe that this decision was right. I know that it allows for religious exemptions. And this rule should now allow for employees, for nurses, for health care workers to access contraception when they want to, and if they choose not to. They don't have to. But we should not allow discrimination to take place anymore. I yield now to the gentlelady from California, Congresswoman Lois Capps.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. First, let me thank my colleagues Congressmen McGovern and Jones, Congresswomen Woolsey and Waters, and Congressman Honda for their efforts to bring the war in Afghanistan to a swift and safe end. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to remind my colleagues that there is no military solution in Afghanistan. It is time to bring our troops home and to make sure that we leave no permanent military bases. While many, and a growing number, of my colleagues have come to this conclusion, there are still those who claim that Afghanistan is going well and that we should stay there indefinitely. We are gathered here this morning to give some real and important insight into the reality that nothing could be further from the truth. We are here to discuss very important revelations brought to light by a brave Army officer, Colonel Daniel Davis. Colonel Davis has honorably served this country for over a quarter century, and has received praise from his commanders for his maturity, determination, and judgment. He recently made the brave decision to release an unclassified account of the war in Afghanistan after witnessing the huge gap between what the American public was being told about the progress in Afghanistan and the dismal situation on the ground. Declassifying the National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan is a necessary step so that our policy is based on accurate information. In an article published this past Sunday in the Armed Forces Journal, Colonel Davis asks: ``How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding and behind an array of more than 7 years of optimistic statements by United States senior leaders in Afghanistan? No one expects our leaders to always have a successful plan, but we do expect--and the men,'' and women, I must add, ``who do the living, fighting and dying deserve--to have our leaders tell us the truth about what's going on.'' Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve to know the truth after spending the past decade on failed military strategies which have cost us over $450 billion in direct funding. The costs, of course, have been even greater in injuries, lives lost, and in the trillions of dollars we will need to spend on long-term care for our veterans, including hospitals, clinics, job training, post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, housing assistance, and homeless services. But we must spend these resources for our veterans. The American people, though, are sick and tired of these endless wars. Fully two-thirds of Americans support ending combat operations in Afghanistan in 2013, and three out of four Americans favor a speedy withdrawal of all United States troops out of Afghanistan. We are set to spend an additional $88 billion, mind you, $88 billion in Afghanistan over the next year while domestic cuts in education, health care, roads, bridges, and other essential priorities are sacrificed. We cannot afford an indefinite stay in Afghanistan. We need to ask what we have to show for the past decade of war. Instead of a stable democracy, we have a broken state which is completely dependent on foreign countries for its budget, with rampant corruption and widespread violence. For the fifth straight year, civilian casualties rose in Afghanistan. In fact, 2011 was a record year for the number of Afghan civilians killed. There were 3,021 Afghan children, women, and men who were caught in the crossfire between an insurgency and the heavy presence of NATO troops. The reality on the ground in Afghanistan stands in stark contrast to the steady reports of progress we have been hearing from those who seek to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond. It's time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan--not in 2014, not next year, but right now. Congress authorized the use of force in 2001, which I voted against because it gave the President--any President--a blank check to use force anytime, anyplace, anywhere in the world for any period of time. We should have had a debate 10 years ago when Congress failed to consider the implications of giving the Pentagon a blank check in the rush to war. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Colonel Davis for his courage and risking his career to speak out to try to let the American people and their elected representatives understand the true risks we are taking in Afghanistan. To understand what is at stake in Afghanistan, I again call on the Pentagon to declassify the National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan so that we can have an informed discussion moving forward. It is time to bring our young men and women home. They have performed valiantly, with incredible courage, and have done everything we have asked them to do. [From the Armed Forces Journal] Truth, lies and Afghanistan (By Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis) I spent last year in Afghanistan, visiting and talking with U.S. troops and their Afghan partners. My duties with the Army's Rapid Equipping Force took me into every significant area where our soldiers engage the enemy. Over the course of 12 months, I covered more than 9,000 miles and talked, traveled and patrolled with troops in Kandahar, Kunar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika, Kunduz, Balkh, Nangarhar and other provinces. What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground. Entering this deployment, I was sincerely hoping to learn that the claims were true: that conditions in Afghanistan were improving, that the local government and military were progressing toward self-sufficiency. I did not need to witness dramatic improvements to be reassured, but merely hoped to see evidence of positive trends, to see companies or battalions produce even minimal but sustainable progress. Instead, I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level. My arrival in country in late 2010 marked the start of my fourth combat deployment, and my second in Afghanistan. A Regular Army officer in the Armor Branch. I served in Operation Desert Storm, in Afghanistan in 2005-06 and in Iraq in 2008-09. In the middle of my career, I spent eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve and held a number of civilian jobs-- among them, legislative correspondent for defense and foreign affairs for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. As a representative for the Rapid Equipping Force, I set out to talk to our troops about their needs and their circumstances. Along the way, I conducted mounted and dismounted combat patrols, spending time with conventional and Special Forces troops. I interviewed or had conversations with more than 250 soldiers in the field, from the lowest ranking 19-year-old private to division commanders and staff members at every echelon. I spoke at length with Afghan security officials, Afghan civilians and a few village elders. I saw the incredible difficulties any military force would have to pacify even a single area of any of those provinces; I heard many stories of how insurgents controlled virtually every piece of land beyond eyeshot of a U.S. or International Security Assistance Force (ISAP) base. I saw little to no evidence the local governments were able to provide for the basic needs of the people. Some of the Afghan civilians I talked with said the people didn't went to be connected to a predatory or incapable local government. From time to time, I observed Afghan Security forces collude with the insurgency. from bad to abysmal Much of what I saw during my deployment, let alone read or wrote in official reports. I can't talk about; the information remains classified. But I can say that such reports--mine and others'--serve to illuminate the gulf between conditions on the ground and official statements of progress. And I can relate a few representative experiences, of the kind that I observed all over the country. In January 2011, I made my first trip into the mountains of Kunar province near the Pakistan border to visit the troops of 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry. On a patrol to the northernmost U.S. position in eastern Afghanistan, we arrived at an Afghan National Police (ANP) station that had reported being attacked by the Taliban 2\1/2\ hours earlier. Through the interpreter, I asked the police captain where the attack had originated, and he pointed to the side of a nearby mountain. ``What are your normal procedures in situations like these?'' I asked. ``Do you form up a squad and go after them? Do you periodically send out harassing patrols? What do you do?'' As the interpreter conveyed my questions, the captain's head wheeled around, looking first at the interpreter and turning to me with an incredulous expression. Then he laughed. ``No! We don't go after them,'' he said. ``That would be dangerous!'' According to the cavalry troopers, the Afghan policemen rarely leave the cover of the checkpoints. In that part of the province, the Taliban literally run free. In June, I was in the Zharay district of Kandahar province, returning to a base from a dismounted patrol. Gunshots were audible as the Taliban attacked a U.S. checkpoint about one mile away. As I entered the unit's command post, the commander and his staff were watching a live video feed of the battle. Two ANP vehicles were blocking the main road leading to the site of the attack. The fire was coming from behind a haystack. We watched as two Afghan men emerged, mounted a motorcycle and began moving toward the Afghan policemen in their vehicles. The U.S. commander turned around and told the Afghan radio operator to make sure the policemen halted the men. The radio operator shouted into the radio repeatedly, but got no answer. On the screen, we watched as the two men slowly motored past the ANP vehicles. The policemen neither got out to stop the two men nor answered the radio--until the motorcycle was out of sight. To a man, the U.S. officers in that unit told me they had nothing but contempt for the Afghan troops in their area--and that was before the above incident occurred. In August I went on a dismounted patrol with troops in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. Several troops from the unit had recently been killed in action, one of whom was a very popular and experienced soldier. One of the unit's senior officers rhetorically asked me, ``How do I look these men in the eye and ask them to go out day after day on these missions? What's harder: How do I look [my soldier's] wife in the eye when I get back and tell her that her husband died for something meaningful? How do I do that?' One of the senior enlisted leaders added, ``Guys are saying, `I hope I live so I can at least get home to R&R leave before I get it,' or `I hope I only lose a foot.' Sometimes they even say which limb it might be: `Maybe it'll only be my left foot.' They don't have a lot of confidence that the leadership two levels up really understands what they're living here, what the situation really is.'' On Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the infamous attack on the U.S., I visited another unit in Kunar province, this one near the town of Asmar. I talked with the local official who served as the cultural adviser to the U.S. commander. Here's how the conversation went: Davis: ``Here you have many units of the Afghan National Security Forces [ANSF]. Will they be able to hold out against the Taliban when U.S. troops leave this area?'' Adviser: ``No. They are definitely not capable. Already all across this region [many elements of] the security forces have made deals with the Taliban. [The ANSF] won't shoot at the Taliban, and the Taliban won't shoot them. ``Also, when a Taliban member is arrested, he is soon released with no action taken against him. So when the Taliban returns [when the Americans leave after 2014], so too go the jobs, especially for everyone like me who has worked with the coalition. ``Recently, I got a cellphone call from a Talib who had captured a friend of mine. While I could hear, he began to beat him, telling me I'd better quit working for the Americans. I could hear my friend crying out in pain. [The Talib] said the next time they would kidnap my sons and do the same to them. Because of the direct threats, I've had to take my children out of school just to keep them safe. ``And last night right on that mountain there [he pointed to a ridge overlooking the U.S. base, about 700 meters distant], a member of the ANP was murdered. The Taliban came and called him out, kidnapped him in front of his parents, and took him away and murdered him. He was a member of the ANP from another province and had come back to visit his parents. He was only 27 years old. The people are not safe anywhere.'' That murder took place within view of the U.S. base, a post nominally responsible for the security of an area of hundreds of square kilometers. Imagine how insecure the population is beyond visual range. And yet that conversation was representative of what I saw in many regions of Afghanistan. In all of the places I visited, the tactical situation was bad to abysmal. If the events I have described--and many, many more I could mention--had been in the first year of war, or even the third or fourth, one might be wiling to believe that Afghanistan was just a hard fight, and we should stick it out. Yet these incidents all happened in the 10th year of war. As the numbers depicting casualties and enemy violence indicate the absence of progress, so too did my observations of the tactical situation all over Afghanistan.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, as the founding cochair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, I rise to recognize National Black HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day. While I believe every day should be HIV awareness day, February 7 is an important day to recognize the effect this epidemic has on African Americans. Although only 14 percent of the U.S. population, African Americans account for almost half of those living and dying with HIV and AIDS in this country. This year's theme is ``I am My Brother's Keeper, I am My Sister's Keeper.'' People of faith know it is unacceptable that a woman of color in the United States is 15 times more likely to be living with HIV than a white woman her age. People of faith know that it's unacceptable that our young men, particularly gay and bisexual men, are most affected in this country. We cannot allow this crisis to continue. We have the tools we need to end the AIDS epidemic. I urge everyone to get tested and take steps to protect themselves from the virus. I call on members of the faith community, the private sector, health organizations, community leaders, teachers, parents, and the media to come together like never before. The story of African Americans is one of resilience. I have great hope and expectation that we can once again persevere and we can stamp HIV and AIDS from the face of the Earth.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor Mrs. LaVerda O. Allen as she turns 80 years old. On behalf of our diverse Bay Area community, I would like to personally wish Mrs. Allen a very happy birthday surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and community leaders. Her efforts to advance equal education and work opportunities for women and people of color have spanned over 6 decades. Mrs. Allen is truly an icon in the African American community, and the broad reach of her influence continues to touch communities, both near and far. A long-time Oakland and East Bay resident, Mrs. Allen moved to Oakland with her family in 1943. After graduating early, with honors, from Oakland Technical High School, she attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University, where she received a B.A. in Social Work and an M.A. in Education Administration. During her early career as an educator, Mrs. Allen helped to develop curriculum throughout the Berkeley Unified School District and Peralta Community College District. She also assisted in developing the first financial aid program for state community colleges. Together with her husband and business partner, she ran Bay Cities Beauty Supplies, an entrepreneurial enterprise focused on hair care products for African Americans. Furthermore, her trailblazing experience as a woman and minority business owner led her to a path of advocacy that would pave the way for countless others to follow. For more than 20 years, Mrs. Allen has been Owner and Principal of The Allen Group, LLC, (TAG) a project and construction management firm committed to advocating on behalf of minority businesses in the engineering-construction industry. She is a stalwart leader in the development of minority, woman-owned and disadvantaged business enterprise programs, and has been a consultant developing agendas to empower architects, engineers and construction contractors in this field since 1971. She and TAG have held management roles in large- scale, complex projects that have been critical to the future of sound Bay Area infrastructure. Among her many accolades, LaVerda Allen has received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She is an active and prominent member of myriad organizations advocating for the rights of children and the mentally ill. She co-authored the Nation's first Affirmative Action program that called for minority participation by craft, has served on the San Francisco Human Rights Advisory Committee, and was instrumental in the passage of the San Francisco Minority and Woman Owned Business ordinance in 1988. She was a cofounder of the National Association of Minority Contractors, served as the chair of the Berkeley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Education and Labor Committee during the civil rights movement, and was a board member of the Berkeley Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Therefore, on behalf of California's 9th Congressional District, Mrs. LaVerda O. Allen, I salute you for your amazing achievements and on this remarkable milestone. Thank you for your many continued contributions to equality, prosperity and justice in our communities. I wish you much more success, happiness and well-being in the coming years. And, once again, Happy Birthday.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with Chairman Emanuel Cleaver II and my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, CBC, to honor the extraordinary life of Mr. Ofield Dukes. A trailblazing public relations titan known far beyond the communications world, Ofield Dukes will be remembered as a civil rights champion, an inspiring educator, a skilled mentor, and a trusted advisor to the world's most prominent leaders. With his passing on December 7, 2011, we look to Mr. Ofield Dukes' political legacy and the outstanding quality of his life's work. Born in Rutledge, Alabama, Mr. Dukes graduated with a degree in journalism from Wayne State University after having been a journalist while serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. He soon made a name for himself as an award-winning writer for the Michigan Chronicle and, in 1964, Mr. Dukes was hired as Deputy Director of Information for President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Within two years, he had become communications adviser to Vice President Hubert Humphrey. In 1969, Dukes founded Ofield Dukes and Associates (ODA), one of the most enduring and successful public relations firms in the country, specializing in minority, African-American, African, and political affairs. ODA elevated the profiles of artists, business people, students, Civil Rights heroes, Members of Congress and Presidents, alike. During an era still marred by the scourge of racism and segregation, Mr. Dukes utilized brilliant public relations strategies to galvanize support for the Civil Rights movement and to get out the vote in the African-American community after the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Moreover, without his tireless work, the CBC would not be ``the conscience of the Congress'' it is today. He was the organizer of the first CBC dinner, and a CBC Foundation Board member for 14 years. His vast political experience and guidance helped expand the CBC from its original 13 Members of Congress in 1971 to 43 Members today. Mr. Dukes also orchestrated the 1981 national march on Washington, D.C. to make the birth date of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a national holiday. Furthermore, Mr. Dukes brought the wealth of his experience to the classroom, spending over twenty years as a professor at Howard University and nearly a decade at American University. It was there that he instilled young minds with the powerful public relations tools necessary to create new generations of social justice. Renowned for his professionalism, teaching prowess and strong sense of loyalty, Ofield Dukes encouraged hundreds of African-American students to enter the field of public relations. He was a gatekeeper for African-American reporters needing access to the White House for every Democratic administration since the 1960s, a founding member of the Black Public Relations Society of Washington, D.C., and the first African American to receive the Public Relations Society of America's Gold Anvil, the industry's highest honor. For over four decades, Ofield Dukes' career and influence spanned CBC milestones ranging from their boycott of President Nixon's State of the Union address to demand White House recognition in 1971 to his articles celebrating the CBC's 40th anniversary in 2011, under the historic leadership of President Barack Obama. He was a friend to the CBC every step of the way, and the Congressional Black Caucus could not have asked for better guidance and company. Therefore, the Congressional Black Caucus salutes and honors the life of this outstanding man, while mourning the loss of an incredible partner in the pursuit of justice and equality. The great Ofield Dukes and his masterful contributions to the success of progressive and talented leaders throughout the world have helped to change the course of history. His legacy and light will forever live on, and he will be deeply missed.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Ms. LEE of California. Let me first thank Congresswoman Gwen Moore for her very passionate and very clear statement. I thank both she and Congressman Ellison for their unwavering leadership and conviction on the real issues facing the American people today. As a former cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and as a cofounder of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise in strong opposition to this bill. Mr. Chairman, members of the Progressive Caucus are here because, once again, the Republican leadership would rather attack the President than help the millions of struggling seniors, people with disabilities and their families who are faced with a system that fails to meet their very basic needs. This should really be a nonpartisan issue, but we are here today because Republicans are more focused on ending Medicare and repealing a long-term care program than they are on creating jobs to put Americans back to work. Last year, the Republicans' first order of business was to eliminate--mind you, eliminate--the Medicare guarantee for America's seniors under the Ryan budget proposal. This year, it's the same old story. Instead of focusing on jobs or on extending middle class tax cuts, unemployment assistance, or fixing the Medicare physician pay rate, this Tea Party Congress continues to waste time on pointless bills just to score political points. Repealing the CLASS program will do nothing--nothing--to address the long-term crisis for the 10 million Americans who need care now and the 5 million more who will require it over the next 10 years. Killing this program without offering any alternative is, frankly, irresponsible. The law may not be perfect, but repealing the bill does not make the problem go away. We should be doing everything we can to ensure that senior citizens and the disabled also have a shot at the American Dream. We should not destroy this for them just because of their ages or their disabilities. Why in the world would the Republican Tea Party want to throw them under the bus? We should work to find a real solution that meets the needs of the millions of baby boomers who are retiring now, of the senior citizens and the disabled, and we should work to ensure that they get the long- term care over the next decade that they will need. Rather than repeal this bill today, we need to give experts time to identify changes that would make the CLASS program stronger, and Congress needs to focus on the real priorities of the day, which are jobs and the economy. We have work to do, and we don't have a minute to waste. Let's not waste another year without a jobs bill and without extending vital unemployment benefits and payroll tax reductions to millions of Americans while our economy continues to recover. It is time for the Republican Tea Party to stop walking away from our senior citizens and the disabled and to work with us to continue middle class tax cuts, unemployment assistance, and to ensure that seniors can keep seeing their doctors. We need to come together now to enact bold programs and policies that provide equal opportunity and equal access for every single American no matter their race, no matter their employment status, no matter their humble beginnings, no matter their ages, no matter their disabilities. Americans can't wait. This Congress should not wait. We need to really figure out a way to do the right thing on behalf of our senior citizens and the disabled, but I have to say that today, unfortunately, this bill moves us in the wrong direction. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, as the Co-Founder of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise in strong opposition to this shameful bill, H.R. 3567. This is a distasteful and misleading bill that tries to make it seem like every American in poverty is somehow immoral or criminal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of TANF recipients want nothing more than a good job to support their families and build a bridge to reach their American Dream. Now, no one wants TANF dollars to be spent in casinos or in adult entertainment venues, but this bill does nothing to actually prevent that. Shutting down ATM's in those locations doesn't stop the money being spent there. In addition, this bill would force states to certify nearly every small business as a non-liquor store and how are the standards to be established and maintained? This bill would create an entire nation wide bureaucracy to address a problem that affects less than 4 one hundredths of one percent (.04%) of all TANF funds and would completely fail to save any money at all. Instead of passing a jobs bill, Republicans are once again just looking to distract from the real issues, this time by attacking American families in need. This bill is just a sad attempt to divide our nation by mimicking the Ronald Reagan myth about the Cadillac driving welfare queen. It was untrue then and it is still untrue today. As a single mother who once relied on food stamps and assistance to get by during a very difficult period in my life, I am appalled to see Republican politicians attack struggling American families just because they need a helping hand. TANF benefits keep children in homes and in school. TANF benefits keep American families from suffering abject poverty. What we should be doing is helping these families reignite their American Dreams, not making blanket accusations against every low income family in America.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, as the founder of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise today to continue talking about the tide of poverty sweeping across this country. Americans who are struggling to find work cannot wait. Americans whose homes are underwater cannot wait, and the nearly 50 million Americans who are living in poverty cannot wait. We must act, and we must act now to extend vital unemployment benefits and the temporary payroll tax reduction while our economy continues to recover. We should be coming together now to enact bold programs and policies that provide equal opportunity and equal access for every single American, no matter their race, no matter their employment status, and no matter their humble beginnings. Instead, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this Tea Party-led Congress continues to do nothing but distract from the real issues and waste the American people's time. The Republican caucus failed to pass a single jobs bill last year, and by the looks of this week's calendar, it looks like they might be committed to doing more of the same. This Nation cannot afford any more of this do-nothing Tea Party Republican House. Instead of passing a jobs bill, Republicans in the House today are attacking American families in need. This bill that's coming up today, H.R. 3567, is really a distasteful and misleading bill that tries to make it seem to like every low-income family is somehow criminal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Very few people want to qualify for welfare. They don't want to be distressed enough to meet these qualifications. This is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act which is being attacked today. That's what it's called today. Actually, it's called TANF. TANF recipients are struggling through the most difficult time of their lives, and they want nothing more than a good job to support their families. This bill that's coming up again today is really a sad attempt to re-create the Ronald Reagan era about the Cadillac-driving welfare queen. It wasn't true then nor is it true today. TANF benefits did not pay for Cadillacs to fund lavish lifestyles. Mr. Speaker, as a single young mother who once relied on food stamps and public assistance during a very difficult period, I'm really appalled to see Republican politicians attack these families just because they are facing hard times and need a helping hand. TANF benefits keep children in homes and in schools. They keep American families from suffering abject poverty. What we should be doing is helping these families by creating jobs, by removing these obstacles and barriers, and we should be helping them to reignite the American Dream, not insulting them, which is what this bill does. This Congress should be working together to create more opportunity for the long-term unemployed and the millions of Americans suffering in poverty. We should at least extend unemployment benefits for the chronically unemployed who have hit the 99-week limit, can't apply anymore because they are ineligible, and we should be voting, for example, for the bill, which Congressman Scott of Virginia and myself have written to help those looking for a job and who can't find a job. We have to remember now that there is only one job for every four individuals looking for a job. But, unfortunately, instead of working together to make economic justice a reality for every American, this Republican Tea Party will waste another year without a jobs bill, without extending any help to the millions of Americans in need, and without helping American retirees. So we should be putting our Nation before our party. Americans can't wait and neither should this Congress.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and also for her tremendous leadership. Mr. Speaker, I rise to encourage all the conferees on H.R. 3630 to fully consider the chilling effect on the economy of any failure to fully extend unemployment benefits. While we are all pleased to see the economy slowly improving, unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high; and, yes, there are four individuals looking for every one job. This job recovery still has not created enough jobs in our country. I have participated in many job fairs in my district, along with the Congressional Black Caucus; and we have witnessed thousands and thousands and thousands of people lining up for the jobs that existed. People want to work. It's not that people are sitting around waiting for their unemployment benefits. If there were jobs, people would work. So we need this bridge over troubled waters until we find out a way to create the jobs that people deserve. We must immediately extend all expiring unemployment benefits. The conferees should also strongly consider adding an additional 14 weeks of tier 1 unemployment benefits for the millions of 99ers who have completely exhausted their benefits. We don't remember that even with the extension of unemployment, there are between 2 and 3 million people who will not be eligible because 99 weeks is the limit. So we can't abandon those individuals. We have to pass, and we're asking for Congressman Scott's bill and my bill, H.R. 589, to be included in any final legislative agreement. So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleading for this body to really understand that until we figure out a way to create jobs, people want to work. It is our moral responsibility to create this extension of unemployment benefits to include an additional 14 weeks for people who have hit the 99-week mark. That's our duty and our responsibility, and I hope that you'll put this in our package. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, January 23, 2012. Hon. Dave Camp, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Longworth HOB, Washington, DC. Hon. Max Baucus, Chairman, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, Dirksen SOB, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Camp and Chairman Baucus: As you and your colleagues on the conference committee address the extension of payroll tax relief and unemployment compensation benefits, restoration of Medicare payments to physicians, and other matter, I urge you to fully consider the ongoing impacts of the crisis in unemployment and long term unemployment, not only on the millions of affected individuals and families who are living life on the edge, but to also consider the impact on our nation's struggling economy. While we see some slow improvements in the jobs numbers, unemployment rates continue to be unacceptably high and the rates of long term unemployment as well the length of time that the unemployed are out of work are both at record highs. We must immediately extend the expiring emergency unemployment benefits to the maximum authorized levels and we should also immediately add an additional 14 weeks of tier I unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have completely exhausted their benefits while struggling to find work. Far too many Americans have exhausted all of their unemployment benefits and are still unable to find work. Abandoning these job seekers will only further depress the economy and will fail to reduce our deficits as these so called 99er's will begin to fall into poverty and begin to be eligible for other needs based federal benefits. With nearly 50 million Americans in poverty and half of all Americans in low income households, we must take bold action now. It is only by providing these millions of struggling American families with adequate and immediate relief and a genuine long term pathway out of poverty that we can put America back on track to prosperity and economic growth for all. I strongly urge the members of the conference committee to consider my legislation, H.R. 589 for inclusion in any final legislative agreement. Sincerely, Barbara Lee, Member of Congress.