Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Well, I thank the gentlelady for her comments, and I just want to say, we have to look at what is taking place with everyone in our country during this economic downturn. Many have said, why would we do some of the things we did in the economic recovery package, such as many of the initiatives that you spoke of? How could we not do it? Otherwise we would leave millions behind once again. So that was a mandate that we had to do. Another area that you helped us so brilliantly on was the involvement of and ensuring the involvement of minority and women-owned businesses in the economic recovery package. Oftentimes, as difficult as it is when you lose a job and are unemployed, new opportunities open up. Small entrepreneurs now have the opportunity, those with creative ideas, to establish small businesses. We put I believe it was $35 million in a micro-loan program, so the small entrepreneurs, people who have been unemployed, who want to start a business, who want to start whatever type of a business, can go to the SBA now and apply for a loan without having to go through all of the rigmarole that oftentimes businesses have to go through. Now people who have been recently unemployed can have the opportunity to actually establish a small business so that they can take care of themselves and their families during this very difficult time. We also made sure that we put some very strong language in terms of the involvement of minority and women-owned businesses in all the Federal funding that was coming through the agencies in our package, for example, the Department of Transportation and the infrastructure money. Well, I am saying this loud and clear now to everyone in this country in terms of minority and women-owned businesses: that money that will be coming to these States, you have to make sure that you involve your minority and women-owned companies in contracts and subcontracts in this construction money, in this infrastructure money, because it is all well and good to be able to hire people for the jobs, but there are many who have the skills and the businesses who want to participate in the economic vitality of our country through the business route. So it is very important that our small and minority-owned and women-owned businesses are able to create the jobs themselves. That is a Federal requirement. Hopefully, States are complying with the law. But if they are not, we definitely have an oversight process that is going to be looking at this. I happily yield back to my colleague from Ohio.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise with sadness today to honor Albin Gruhn of San Anselmo, California, who passed away March 18 at the age of 94. Mr. Gruhn was a respected an beloved labor leader and consumer rights activist whose calling was the welfare of the working people of California. His 36 years as president of the California Labor Federation and his role as a founder of the Association of California Consumers were at the heart of a remarkable career. Mr. Gruhn was born in Eureka, California, in 1915. At the age of 19 he began working for the Hammond Lumber Co. where he joined the Sawmill and Loggers Federal Union. A strike shortly afterwards resulted in the deaths of three union picketers and deeply affected him, resulting in a life-long commitment to the labor movement. He was also blacklisted as a result of his participation in the strike but soon found employment in construction, joining the Laborers Local where his membership continued for over 60 years. At the age of 22, he became secretary of the Central Labor Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and led that council for over 20 years. In 1940 Mr. Gruhn was first elected to what is now the California Labor Federation as district vice president and became its president in 1960. He led with skill, enthusiasm, and passion until his retirement in 1996. He helped build the organization into a strong and effective advocacy group for the rights of workers, inspiring several generations of political and labor leaders along the way. During the 1960s, Mr. Gruhn was also a founder of the Association of California Consumers, California's first consumer group, and later became a founding officer and then president emeritus of the Consumer Federation of California. He also devoted some of his considerable energies to the California Apprenticeship Council and the California Constitution Revision Commission as well as serving on various state commissions. These were appointments over the decades by five California governors and covered a variety of issues from fair housing to air pollution. One of the commissions dealt with children and youth, reflecting his deep involvement in the annual scholarship program established by the California Labor Federation. Mr. Gruhn was always politically active as a means of supporting the causes he believed in. From campaigning for Franklin Roosevelt at the age of 17 to serving as an Adlai Stevenson delegate in 1956, he stayed engaged in the process. In 1944, he founded the Northern California AFL Political League. Mr. Gruhn was married to the former Dorothy Coon for over 37 years. Dorothy predeceased him in 2005, and the couple are survived by a large family of eight children, 14 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren. Madam Speaker, Albin Gruhn was proud to fight for working people, and all those with whom he came in contact--from family and friends to political leaders and co-workers--drew inspiration from his commitment. It is fitting in honoring him today to remember the remarks he always used to conclude his labor speeches: ``In unity there is strength. United we stand, divided we fall. An injury to one is an injury to all.''

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding, for his generous comments, and for your leadership. And a couple of things I'd just like to say as I was listening to the discussion tonight. First of all, and Doctor, Congressman McDermott, I'm very pleased and delighted that you laid out why a public option is necessary to reduce health care costs. That fact, I think, is often missed in this health care reform debate. I personally think that single-payer--and I have to applaud Congressman Conyers and all of those who are supporting H.R. 676.

Ms. LEE of California. That's where we should start. That's where we should start. And whether one agrees or disagrees with single-payer, that option has to be on the table for us to even move toward universal affordable health care for all. But I hope that we end up with single- payer. And when you look at Medicare and when you look at single-payer, it works. It has worked for many of our veterans in terms of cost containment of medical costs. The VA is allowed to purchase pharmaceuticals and drugs at a price that is lower than on the open market, and so it just makes a lot of sense. So a public option is absolutely necessary, and I'm very proud of the fact that the Congressional Black Caucus has gone on record calling for a public option. Also, let me just mention the importance of closing health care disparities. I was listening to Congresswoman Watson earlier talking about that. When you look at the disproportionate rates, for example, of HIV and AIDS or of diabetes or of other diseases in communities of color and, of course, on top of that, we have the poor, and rural communities. So, if we don't look at closing health care disparities and look at a strategy for that and at health care reform, we're going to end up with another two-tiered system. We will have health care reform for those who can afford it, but we'll have the millions of people who have historically had these disparities, because of the economics of their lives and because of the circumstances of their lives, who won't be included at all in any new health care reform effort. I, personally, don't believe health care should be an industry. I mean profits should not be made off of sicknesses and illnesses. We should begin to understand that, as we keep health care as a profit motive only, we'll never have the type of system that's affordable and accessible for all. Prevention: What is it? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We have to focus on prevention in any health care reform. Many of us have ended up in emergency rooms with our families, and we see what happens in emergency rooms. Many people, especially in communities of color, end up going to emergency rooms for primary care or they go to emergency rooms when it's really too late and when they could have had some form of preventative treatment. So we have to look at prevention as key in this reform debate. Also, community clinics: Community clinics provide access to the poor and to rural communities as well as to urban communities and to communities of color. So I hope, in any debate and in any health care reform we have, that community clinics become central in that effort. Mental health care: Congressman McDermott, you are a psychiatrist by trade, by profession. I'm a clinical social worker. We've fought for years for mental health parity. Now mental health parity, thanks to Congressman Patrick Kennedy and to Senator Kennedy, it's the law of the land. In any health care reform efforts, we have to include mental health as being as important as one's physical health. So, Congressman Ellison, I'm really pleased that you're continuing to beat the drum for the Progressive Caucus on the issue of health care reform. You are putting forth our vision of health care reform, which is really a vision that addresses the majority of Americans in our country. It actually affects all Americans and it impacts all Americans. So the progressive promise, which the Progressive Caucus laid out several years ago, is a promise for the entire country. Tonight, once again, we're talking about that promise. Hopefully, that promise and that dream will be realized as we move forward and provide health care for all.

Ms. LEE of California. Yes, I will yield.

Ms. LEE of California. Sure. The chronically ill should be a priority in our health care reform effort. Unless one has health care insurance--which, of course, in any health care reform plan, one can maintain one's health insurance. So, if one has the insurance to cover chronic illness, that's great and that's fine. That coverage will be maintained. For the chronically ill who have run out of funds and who don't have any money and who don't know what to do next, we have to include the chronically ill in our health care reform package. We have to include long-term care and other types of provisions and policy initiatives for our senior citizens, for example, or for the disabled, who deserve long-term care. This has got to be covered. This is a must. I believe the Progressive Caucus gets it, and I think the rest of the country gets it. So we have to make sure that this is part of our effort and of our legislation.

Ms. LEE of California. Health care is big business. It's profit- driven. It's big business such as any corporate entity in our country. In any health care reform package, we have to make sure that it is not the profit motive that's driving health care reform. All of us have instances where we know of either constituents or of family members who have to wait on an account executive to make a medical decision for them, and that account executive has to go back to the corporate officials to determine whether or not this individual will be allowed a certain medical treatment. That is wrong. It's really unethical. It's hard to believe that that is still happening in our own country. Let me just say that I lived in England for 2 years, and I'm not saying there is any system that we need to look to as a model, but I have to just tell you that I lived in Great Britain. My first son was born in Great Britain. I've lived under a different health care system, and I know what that system provided, not only to British citizens but to me, and I was a U.S. citizen who was living there for 2 years. It was a system that was much further advanced than, I think, we have ever had in our own country. I say that because there are other ways to do this, and we need to look to see what the best ways are in terms of health care systems throughout the world. It's being done differently, and people are benefiting in other countries, and we just need to know that there are other options.

Ms. LEE of California. Well, let me just say that, by any stretch of the imagination, I don't believe that England is a socialist country, and I'm not talking about socialized medicine. I know what ``socialized medicine'' is. What I'm talking about is making sure of our values as American people, as people who care, the least of these being ``I am my brother's keeper;'' ``I am my sister's keeper.'' I'm talking about the most powerful, the most wealthy industrialized country in the world having 47 million people uninsured, and it's growing. There are 10 million more now as a result of this economic downturn that has resulted from these last 8 years of Bush's economic policy. So come on. We have to begin to look at how we begin to reflect our values as Americans in this great democracy, and we have to begin to say that we're going to be concerned about everyone who deserves health care but who does not have health care. So, no, that's not socialized medicine. Trust me. I know what socialized medicine is, and I don't think anybody on this House floor would want to see our country enact a socialized medical system. What we want is a universal, accessible, affordable health care system for all regardless of one's ability to pay, regardless of one's disability, regardless of preconditions, regardless of one's ethnicity, regardless of one's economic status. As long as people don't have the money to purchase a large health care policy, then they should at least be provided with a public option so they can live. This is about, you know, life. This is not about counting beans. This is about life and death issues. Thank you.

Ms. LEE of California. Yes. I would just like to say that the question has to be asked of the public: Why would companies with big bucks run these advertising campaigns? It's to try to scare people. This money that's going to be put out there is very, very--I would say--wrong. Again, Congressman McDermott said that it's almost preying on the most vulnerable when they need help, when they need something. So it's sinister to mount that type of a campaign and to believe that any of us would want socialized medicine. It's a scare tactic. I think we all have seen this before. I thank you, Mr. Ellison, for having these Special Orders, because we've got to sound the alarm and beat the drum and let people know that no one is talking about socialized medicine. I hope the country hears us loud and clear. No one is talking about socialized medicine. We're talking about affordable, accessible health care for all with choice as being central to that policy.

Ms. LEE of California. You can't tell me that the 47 million uninsured in our country are all in Democrats' districts. You can't tell me that it's only Democratic Members' constituents who are uninsured. The lack of health insurance is an equal opportunity destroyer. So just as with the economic recovery package, I said over and over again, people have lost their jobs not only in Democrats' districts but in Republican districts. And so the public wants health care reform. I don't care what party they're registered with and who represents them. We have to also remember that given this economic downturn, the first reason for bankruptcies, the top of the list, health care. Health care. That's the reason people are filing bankruptcy. The first reason, the cost of health care.

Ms. LEE of California. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the billions of dollars going for administrative cost that drive up the cost of health care is what I'm talking about when we're talking about the profit motive and the fact that there are big bucks being made in the health care industry. And that is what is driving up the cost of health care in many respects. So we have to get to a system that allows for, yes, profits for those who want to make profits, for those who have those types of health care, you know, who can afford those types of health care premiums. But also we've got to have some fairness and some justice in this health care system for those who can't afford those kinds of plans. And, in fact, single-payer, as Congressman McDermott said earlier, it's been shown that you drive down the cost of health care if you have single-payer. And I think the American people need to believe this and understand this, and if they just look at what you just showed us earlier in terms of the cost of health care and if you have a system that is fairer, then you will drive down those costs and then everyone will be able to afford health care. And that has nothing to do with running any company out of business. I support companies, the business sector, making money, making profits. I was a business owner for 11 years. So I get it. But I don't get how in the world can you do that at the disadvantage of 47 million-plus who are desperate for some kind of health care coverage. So we have to deal with this quickly.

Ms. LEE of California. I will tell you as a former small business owner, had we had single-payer, my business would have thrived a little more. Small businesses need help. Small businesses want to insure their employees because they know that a happy workforce, a workforce that has good benefits, good wages, decent wages, living wages, that's how productivity is ensured. When you have businesses that are struggling to survive because they can't afford the cost of health care, they need some help. A single-payer system would help small businesses with their health care costs. And I have talked to many, many, many small businesses about health care reform, and many of them agree they need some help because they know that health care reform could drive their costs up and they don't want that, they don't need that. And we have to make sure that our small businesses are treated fairly and that the employees have health care coverage. And the single-payer system would certainly help small businesses move forward and insure their employees.

Ms. LEE of California. You know, right now people are worried. First of all, in a country as great as ours; in a country that spends over $600 billion for defense, and more; in a country that spent close to a trillion dollars on wars that should not have been fought, it is a shame and disgrace that a person has to fear and worry about losing a job and health care. I can't understand this. I can't believe that our values are there. I think that this is a debate that has ethical and moral dimensions for us as a people. And I can't imagine any Member on this House floor wanting to see a person lose a job, and then health care, and not want to do something about it immediately. So I want to thank you for your leadership. I want to thank the Progressive Caucus for their leadership. And we're going to stick with this public option. We want disparities closed. We want community clinics, we want prevention. There's big, big pieces of this health care reform bill that we're insisting on. Thank you, Mr. Ellison.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was first established in 1978 through a joint congressional resolution. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two key anniversaries--the arrival in the U.S. of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Fourteen years later, Congress expanded the week to a month-long celebration. Today, I am proud to join with all Americans in celebrating the tremendous contributions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander, AAPI, community in to this country. The AAPI community is the fastest- growing minority group in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates that by 2050 more than 33.4 million Asian Americans will live in the United States. I am extremely proud to represent several emerging AAPI neighborhoods in my District representing cultures from Vietnam, Korea and China just to name a few. In particular, the Chinatown neighborhood located in Oakland, California has grown and evolved into one of the most cohesive and vibrant business and arts communities in the, Ninth Congressional District. As we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I encourage the people of my district and this nation to learn about the rich and proud heritage of Asian Pacific Americans.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Thank you for yielding. Let me say once again as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus how grateful I am to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, the gentlelady from Ohio, for continuing to lead our Special Orders on Monday evening and for continuing to keep our caucus very focused on the key issues addressing and facing our Nation today. And also let me thank you for your sacrifices and everything you do each and every day to make sure that this hour is solidified so the rest of the country really understands the Congressional Black Caucus's agenda as the conscience of the Congress. Thank you, Congresswoman Fudge. Let me thank and acknowledge our colleague, Congresswoman Donna Christensen, who Chairs the Congressional Health Caucus Health Brain Trust and also serves as the second vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. She has been such a phenomenal leader in leading the House of Representatives and, really, our country to address racial and ethnic disparities, health disparities in our country. Let me take a moment to thank Representative Danny Davis who co- chairs the Congressional Black Caucus' Health and Wellness Taskforce along with Congresswoman Christensen. Together they have developed a very comprehensive set of principles with regard to health care reform, and I would like to insert, Mr. Speaker, a copy of those principles for the Record this evening. Congressional Black Caucus Health and Wellness Taskforce Benchmarks for the 111th Congress 1. Every measure must apply equitably to American Indian tribes and the Territories. 2. The elimination of health disparities of any population group must be a central goal of any healthcare reform process, and the process must be coordinated within HHS and across all agencies at the state, local and community levels. 3. Coverage and every other provision must extend to everyone residing legally in this country. 4. Communities must be engaged from the identification of the challenges to the crafting of solutions and their implementation. They must receive the funding, education and technical assistance to fully carry out this role. 5. In this process, health and health care must be comprehensive and include mental and dental health services fully and equitably with physical health. 6. Creating and expanding a diverse workforce on all levels must be a priority, and these efforts must begin in concert with efforts to improve K through 12 education and with outreach efforts beginning at least in junior high school with underrepresented minorities including those with disabilities. 7. There must be increased focus and spending on prevention, irrespective of any offset. 8. Recognizing that the traditional ``medical home'' has been the office of the family and other primary care provider, efforts must be undertaken to increase their numbers and their reimbursement and they must be an integral part of the implementation of this program. 9. Health information technology (HIT) must be an integral part of any reform effort and access to it by all providers must be supported where needed so that every provider and all communities enjoy its benefits and savings. Additionally, all HIT systems included and subsequently implemented must ensure patient privacy, as well as robust penalties for any violation of such privacy. 10. There must be an increase in research that is community based, looks at the causes of disparities and includes minorities in clinical trials. Beneficial findings must be fast tracked into practice. 11. The collection of data by race, ethnicity, language, geography and socioeconomic factors must be mandated and uniform. 12. Reform must be done within the context of and include provisions that address the social, ambient and built environmental issues affecting health. Also, let me thank and recognize Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this health care debate. As a registered nurse, she has been very involved in health care reform for many, many years. First, let me just say as one who personally supports a single-payer form of universal health care, I also believe that health care must be and should be a fundamental human right. But I also know that whatever form health care reform takes, that we must have a public option very similar to that of Medicare. Forty-seven million people lack health insurance in America, and although racial and ethnic minorities account for about one-third of the American population, they account for about half of the uninsured. In my district alone in Alameda County--and also throughout the country--there are very profound inequities in health insurance coverage between various racial and ethnic groups. Among non-elderly adults 18-64 years of age, Latinos are five times as likely as whites to be uninsured; African Americans and Asian-Pacific Islanders are also more likely than whites to be uninsured. And because medical costs have been steadily rising, medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. In today's economic climate with unemployment numbers--for instance, in my own State of California reaching over 11 percent--that means that millions more are falling into bankruptcy every day, and, of course, that means millions more are losing their health care coverage. And, of course, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian-Pacific Islanders, unfortunately, are disproportionately affected. The statistics are irrefutable. African American women are nearly four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women from pregnancy complications. Nearly half of all those living with HIV and AIDS in the United States are African Americans, and the AIDS rates for African Americans are nearly 10 times that of whites. And a recent study by the CDC found that nearly one in two young African American girls is infected with one of the four more commonly sexually transmitted infections as opposed to one in four among the general population. African Americans are two times more likely to have diabetes than whites, and African Americans are nearly 3\1/2\ times more likely than whites to have an amputation as a result of the diabetes. African American men with colon cancer are more than 40 percent less likely than white men with the same condition to receive major diagnostic and treatment procedures. While medical science has made a lot of advances over the last 10 years, the gains made by the discovery of new drugs and treatments have not passed on to all segments of our population. For example, going back to my own district in Alameda County in California, from 2001-2003, we had an average rate of 2,033 people die of coronary heart disease, a mortality rate of about 160 per 100,000 people. Across every category, African American men and women in my district had higher mortality rates than any other group: 286 per 100,000 for African American men and 199 per 100,000 for African American women. While the overall mortality rate has declined in my district by 7 percent since 1998, the gap, mind you, the gap between African Americans and the overall county rate has grown dramatically. In 1990- 1991, the African American rate was 16 percent higher than the county rate. In 2002-2003, it was 50 percent higher. Something is seriously wrong. The story is the same with cancer and with diabetes, and these statistics are not only in my district but they are reflected throughout the country and all of our Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus members' districts. It is a shame and a disgrace. This is a serious health care crisis that warrants a clarion call immediately. Our Nation has failed to guarantee what is often federally funded, health research, which fully benefits everyone across the Nation. So that is why we're here tonight, Mr. Speaker, to speak with clarity, with one voice, to demand health care reform now and to demand an end to the factors that perpetrate racial and ethnic health disparities in this country. We can't do one without the other. I'm sure that Congresswoman Dr. Christensen is going to review tonight the Health Equity and Accountability Act. Let me mention a couple of the provisions. It will bolster efforts to ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate health care and remove language and cultural barriers to health care; it will improve workforce diversity; it will strengthen and coordinate data collection; it will ensure accountability and improve evaluation, and it will improve health care services in general. This is the Health Equity and Accountability Act which Congresswoman Christensen has worked so hard on with our tri- caucus for several years. It will help put our country back on track to eliminating health disparities in our country. So I must applaud again Congresswoman Christensen and her staff for spearheading the development of this initiative, and I look forward to its introduction in the next few weeks. Finally, let me just say we all know that the profit motive has driven the health care industry. It should not be an industry. It's an industry that has rewarded and provided profits for the wealthy and for the insurance industry; yet it's been, unfortunately, at the expense of the people it's intended to serve. And so as the conscience of the Congress, we are insisting that the public health option or a public health option similar to Medicare be part of any health care reform package and that closing health care disparities be part of any health care reform effort. These are central principles that we are making sure our perspective incorporates as it relates to whatever health care bill that comes out because, quite frankly, we can't have some of the same old business in the health care business. So thank you again, Congresswoman Fudge, for this evening. And let me just say we're sounding the alarm once again that members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we're not going to stand for any health care bill that doesn't include closing health care disparities which our community, unfortunately, has suffered under since our presence here in the United States of America. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Fudge.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much for yielding. This does not prohibit the drone attacks. It does not include a strong regional approach, which the situation demands, including a strong nuclear nonproliferation effort in Pakistan. The supplemental appropriations bill does not reflect a new direction. Therefore, I cannot support it. Let me just mention that our friend and colleague Congressman Pete Stark is unable to be here today for this important debate. So I wish to conclude by reading one sentence from his statement. He said, ``President Obama is moving America's foreign policy in a better direction, and he has shown superior judgment to President Bush on when we should send our troops into harm's way. However, I cannot support any more funding for these wars.''

Ms. LEE of California. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Also let me thank Chairman Obey and Chairman Murtha for their hard work on this bill and for including provisions that I offered, prohibiting the establishment of permanent bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. I opposed the 2001 resolution authorizing the use of force because it gave President Bush and any future President an open-ended blank check to wage war anywhere on the globe, starting in Afghanistan. Nearly 8 years later, I continue to oppose the supplemental appropriations bills for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because it continues us down the wrong path and can lead to war without end. Unfortunately this will continue to happen if we don't repeal that 2001 authorization. I oppose this $94 billion supplemental because it favors military activities over diplomatic, development and reconstruction efforts by a ratio of 9-1. Afghanistan will not be stabilized through military action. As noted by the Carnegie Endowment, the presence of foreign troops is the most important element driving the resurgence of the Taliban. This is counter to our national security interests. This does not include an exit plan for Afghanistan. It does not fully fund the redeployment of troops out of Afghanistan.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. I want to thank Mr. Brad Miller and Mr. Mel Watt for sponsoring this important legislation and for being a champion for consumers and borrowers. I also want to thank Chairman Frank for his commitment to finally bringing real reform to our mortgage markets and ending predatory lending and misleading and abusive lending practices. I served for 8 years on the House Financial Services Committee with my colleagues and we repeatedly warned the, then majority, Republicans, the Bush Administration, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve about the need for stronger oversight and critical reforms that would end the pattern and practice of predatory lending. Our warnings fell on deaf ears. They chose to allow kickback schemes like yield spread premiums which put the mortgage lender's financial incentives in direct conflict with the interests of the consumers they are supposed to serve. They chose to allow the reprehensible act of ``steering'' lower income, senior and minority borrowers into higher rate sub-prime and alt-a loans than they qualify for. They chose to blindly trust financial institutions to ``regulate themselves''. And we and our entire nation know where that got us. It is long past time that we bring sound, reasonable regulation and oversight to our mortgage markets. And this bill will do that. I am also very pleased that this bill will protect renters and tenants who have been silently suffering due to the wave of foreclosures. Too many renters who have paid their rent on time have been finding out for the first time that the property they live in is being foreclosed when the sheriff delivers an eviction notice. Innocent tenants should be protected and let me thank Mr. Ellison, Mr. Miller, Mr. Watt and Mr. Frank for acting on behalf of innocent renters. I encourage my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 1728.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution honoring the historical significance of Cinco de Mayo. This holiday, as we all know, recognizes Mexico's remarkable defense against foreign intervention, a feat marked by great courage, sacrifice, and devotion to the right of self-termination. But as we also know, the day transcends a single battle at the City of Puebla, where, many years ago, Mexican forces defeated a far more advanced and well-equipped military force. For Americans, the holiday has come to symbolize the rich and diverse experience of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. It is a day on which we celebrate the rich and varied contributions of Americans of Mexican ancestry to the history, culture, and progress of the United States. Whether you celebrate the day by watching a mariachi performance on the National Mall, or by listening to a lecture on the activism of Cesar Chavez, or by simply going to a backyard barbecue with your family and friends, you know that this holiday is, at its essence, an American holiday. In my home state of California, in fact, Americans have been celebrating this day as far back as 1863, just one year after the historic Battle of Puebla. Thus as we commemorate this day, let us honor our brothers and sisters who have contributed to the rich diversity of the United States. Let us remember that this diversity, far from being a recent phenomenon, or a distinct chapter in American history, has been with us since our Nation's founding, and has enriched our country throughout each and every chapter of our history. Let us continue to celebrate this diversity, and recognize that it will continue to be the great blessing and strength of our country.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and congratulate the people of Israel as they celebrate the independence of their country. I am hopeful that this year we make substantial progress to the goal we all share which is to see Israel and its neighbors living side by side in peace. To achieve this goal, it is important that the parties, aided by the United States acting as an honest broker, address and resolve all of the major issues standing in the path to peace. The appointment by President Obama of former Senator George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace is an outstanding gift from the United States to Israel on the occasion of its 61st birthday.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. I certainly thank you for your very strong statement. I just want to mention that originally, as I understand it, this bill did contain a 3-month window following the date of enactment. And I want to thank Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York for her leadership on this bill, who really understands the need to do this as quickly as possible. The fact is, as the chairman noted, the banks know that the handwriting is on the wall. They're boosting up fees and rates on consumers now, and we have a lot of evidence of that. And the longer we wait to ban these practices, the more our constituents will suffer.

Ms. LEE of California. First, let me thank the chairman for yielding and for his tremendous leadership in bringing this very important bill to the floor today. Mr. Chairman, I believe that the critical protections contained in this legislation will strengthen the regulations issued by the Federal Reserve, and I strongly support its passage. However, Mr. Chairman, I am concerned that during these incredibly difficult and challenging economic times, our constituents are increasingly being squeezed with egregious fees and dubious business practices by the very banks that their tax dollars have been bailing out. The newspapers are rife with stories about consumers being gouged, mind you, gouged by banks that have been suddenly jacking up their interest rates on their credit cards or imposing new monthly service charges or reducing credit limits with little or no explanation. In most cases these tactics are being used on consumers, although they carry a balance from month to month, they pay their bills on time, they're playing by the rules, and they make at least their minimum payment. We've heard countless, countless stories of bait-and-switch tactics by credit card issuers who suddenly raise interest rates because a consumer is a few days late in paying another creditor. This is just downright wrong. It's outrageous. Years ago I worked with now-Senator Sanders on legislation, and this was when I was on the Financial Services Committee, to address this practice of universal default. I am pleased that this language is included in this bill, but it's critical that the protections banning this practice are put into place immediately. Mr. Chairman, the Federal Reserve has already determined that the use of these unfair bait-and-switch profit-maximizing tactics must end. I believe that we can and we should end these practices at the earliest possible date, like now.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentleman for yielding and for your steady and very fair leadership as a member of the House Rules Committee. Also to Chairman Conyers, let me thank you for your leadership in making sure this important legislation gets to the floor today. I also want to acknowledge the indispensable contributions of the LGBT Caucus, on which I serve as a member, which is led so ably by our colleagues Chairman Barney Frank, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, and Congressman Jared Polis. This legislation is long overdue. In the long history of the United States, there is much to admire and to celebrate. But, regrettably, there have been episodes in our history that are tragic, violent and shameful. Among the most horrific are violent crimes motivated by hate. The notorious race riots in Greenwood, Oklahoma, and Rosewood, Florida, in the early years of this last century, to the church bombings and attacks on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, are painful reminders that we still have not perfected our Union. Whether it has been the color of their skin, their religion, gender, disability, national origin, or their sexual orientation or identity, the sad fact is that too many persons have been the victims of violence, often ending in death, simply because of a characteristic of birth. Sadly, many of the recent attacks based on sexual orientation have been against gay black men, like Michael Sandy, who was beaten and robbed in New York by four men and lay in a coma for several days before he died. In court proceedings, it was revealed that his attackers viewed gay men as prey. Fortunately, New York's hate crimes law now includes sexual orientation as a protected class. And closer to my home, right outside of my district in Newark, California, a young high school student named Gwen Araujo was viciously beaten to death by four young men and buried simply because she was born a male. Gwen was comfortable as herself, a transgendered woman, and had lived her high school years as a girl with the love and support of her family, particularly her mother, Sylvia Guerrero. Gwen's story really resonates with me. Children are entitled to be free from hate-motivated violence in schools. That is why when I was in the California legislature, I authored and Pete Wilson signed into law the California Hate Crimes Reduction Act. Members of the clergy support this bill, the Congress of National Black Churches, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Democratic budget. This budget makes the vital investments that America needs to stabilize the economy and lay the groundwork for a new environmentally sustainable and energy independent green economy. Let me thank the Chairman for his hard work on a budget that makes many hard choices and I thank him for his consideration of the budget priorities of the Congressional Black Caucus which augments and strengthens the President's budget. The Democratic budget contains many of the shared priorities with the CBC and makes targeted investments in strengthening education, healthcare, clean energy, transportation, and strengthens foreign aid during a critical downturn in the global economy. We must pass a budget that will continue the anti-poverty investments that we made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is critical during this economic crisis, which we inherited from the Bush Administration, that we pass a budget that will lift up the millions of Americans who have fallen into poverty. Our budget must continue our economic recovery and return our nation to the fiscal responsibility that we last saw with the budget surpluses under President Clinton. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the Democratic budget.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much for yielding. And let me just thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for that very comprehensive, succinct, and very clear statement. I think it summarizes many of the issues that the Congressional Black Caucus believes are important as we move forward with our comprehensive energy legislation. And I must say you highlighted the involvement of minority- and women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in this effort, also the role of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The role of the Congressional Black Caucus, as many know, is to make sure that no one is left behind, that no community is left behind. And the Congressional Black Caucus historically has been and continues to be the conscience of the Congress. So, Congresswoman Fudge, I'm really pleased that you have laid out for us tonight what the Congressional Black Caucus sees as important in this energy legislation as we communicate it to our great chairman, who is doing a fantastic job, I must say, Chairman Henry Waxman. And we have communicated this to him, and we are very confident that as this energy legislation moves forward that the Congressional Black Caucus's views and input and ideas to expand this legislation to make sure it's comprehensive and that it includes all communities in our country will be part of that. Thank you for your leadership tonight. That was a very wonderful presentation, Congresswoman Fudge. The Congressional Black Caucus is very proud of you.