Ted Lieu

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. That is why we would like to enter into the Record Article I of the United States Constitution.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Okay, so lesson one, Congress can actually pass legislation.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. No. You just need 218 votes in the House and 51 votes in the Senate.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Almost anything. As Speaker Ryan has stated, he thinks we need legislation to prevent the separation of families, of kids who were ripped away from their parents by the Trump administration. We agree. Democrats have introduced the Keep Families Together Act. That has not gotten a vote, and we think we should have a vote on that bill. In addition, there are numerous pieces of legislation that can make our economy better, that can help our healthcare, make sure that we deal with the opioid crisis, and numerous pieces of legislation such as investing in infrastructure, none of which has gotten a vote so far.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. We could do that, too. There are several pieces of legislation as well that the Republican- controlled majority will not let us have a vote on.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Exactly. It is called the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which has both Republican and Democratic support in both the House and the Senate.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. That is a great question. That is why we are here today, to explain to America that the majority is recessing for 5 weeks without completing its work on behalf of the American people. That is shameful.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Another thing Congress gets to do is, we get to hold hearings. The Judiciary Committee, on which I sit, has not held a single hearing on any of the issues that are important to Americans. Instead, we have done two hearings on whether groups like Diamond and Silk get enough Facebook likes. We also held a hearing on-- are you ready for this? Hillary Clinton's emails.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. It sure seems that way.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. The other thing the Constitution gives us a right to do is to issue subpoenas.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. It is very simple. It is a document that will require a witness to show up before a congressional hearing or to produce documents to congressional investigators.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. It sounds a little complicated. Can you explain how it works?

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Ah, so what that means is Congress could actually subpoena the translator who was in the private 2-hour meeting between the President and Vladimir Putin of which Americans have no idea what was discussed. Let me give an example of why that is bad for our country. Recently, the Russians attacked a U.S. general. Congressman Gallego and I both served on Active Duty in the military, and they are criticizing this U.S. general for allegedly not doing something that was discussed in that private, 2-hour meeting. It is certainly possible the U.S. general was wrong. It is also possible the Russians were making stuff up. We have no idea. Congress needs to exercise its proper oversight authority so we understand what is happening between the United States and the Kremlin.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. I agree with you. Why don't we now move on to our last lesson.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Okay. So just to recap, Congress can pass legislation, we can hold hearings, we can issue subpoenas, and now we can request investigations.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. So what can Congress do with these inspectors general?

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Ah, so, for example, we request an inspector general to look into Wilbur Ross's alleged insider trading. We can request an inspector general to look at all their waste, fraud, and abuse of various Cabinet officials in Trump's Cabinet of corruption where they are spending large amounts of taxpayers' money on luxury private travel. We could do that, right?

Mr. TED LIEU of California. But, again, let me just remind people that my committee that I sit on, the House Judiciary Committee, actually did exercise that power, and they used that power to look into, again, ready for this? Hillary Clinton's emails. The last time I checked, Hillary Clinton is not President, nor is she running for President. It is another example of the Republicans in this House who are focused on the past. Democrats are focused on the future. We want to reduce healthcare costs, address the opioid epidemic, invest in infrastructure to increase wages, and get corruption out of government.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. It is really simple. At the end of the day, Congress should not be going on recess before we do the important work on behalf of the American people.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. As a veteran, I am pleased to offer this amendment, which increases funding for peer-reviewed traumatic brain injury and psychological health research to $150 million for fiscal year 2019. It is imperative that we prioritize and commit to medical research to address battlefield wounds. Funding for traumatic brain injury and psychological health research, including research on PTSD, suicide prevention, and other mental health conditions resulting from military service, has always been the highest priority for the Defense Health Program, and prior funding levels have reflected this priority. By increasing funding for traumatic brain injury and mental health research by $25 million, this will ensure that this research program remains the Defense Health Program's highest priority. Just last week, the VA released its latest national suicide data report. It is very depressing. The tragic figures remain unchanged. Twenty veterans and servicemembers commit suicide every day. These suicides can result from untreated mental health conditions and even can be caused by traumatic brain injury. Since 2000, almost 380,000 servicemembers have been diagnosed with TBI. Many of these servicemembers and veterans will need lifelong healthcare as a result of this injury. And these numbers do not capture the number of servicemembers, many of whom are now veterans, who may have sustained multiple TBIs that can lead to permanent brain injury, the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, and CTE, which can cause permanent memory loss and even suicide. These wounded warriors need cutting-edge treatments that will address this signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are seeing already the results of this research. Funding for DOD TBI research has resulted in improved treatments and diagnostic tests that clinicians can use to treat servicemembers when they sustain a traumatic brain injury. Clinicians know from this research program that it is important to immediately test and treat TBI when it occurs. As a result of research, clinicians now know that it is vitally important to prevent the chance that a servicemember will sustain another TBI before the servicemember has healed from their first. Investments in this research will pay dividends in the future so that our servicemembers and veterans receive the world-class care they need, and that must be made a top priority. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on making TBI research a top priority. I am going to conclude by noting that we are soon going to be heading off into our July 4th recess. As we sit here today, there are still thousands of babies and kids ripped away from their parents by the Trump child separation policy who have not been reunited. That is evil and it is shameful. No Democratic bills have been brought on this floor to resolve that. Have a nice vacation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the retirement of Ramona Cortes Garza, who served as the Executive Director of State Government Relations for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During her 30 years of service with UCLA, Ramona used her experience and expertise to be a true advocate and leader for the University as well as a compassionate ambassador to the community. Ramona's professional career at UCLA began in 1988, where she served as the Director of Outreach Programming within Public Affairs for the UCLA Alumni Association. After only two years in that role, she was promoted to Director of Community Outreach. Three years later she became Director of Community Relations. During her time at the UCLA Alumni Association, she founded the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program (SYETP), where she worked to help teens in under- served communities of Los Angeles obtain summer jobs at UCLA. SYETP is a federally-funded program by the Jobs Training Partnership Act through the City of Los Angeles. Through this program, youth are given the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience as well as educational enrichment. Additionally, Ramona spearheaded the Community Directory Initiative, which gave people access to the considerable resources that UCLA has to offer. Ramona transitioned to UCLA Government and Community Relations after over a decade at the UCLA Alumni Association, where she served as the Executive Director of State Government Relations for two decades. She formed essential relationships that helped advocate for the University to get their state priorities fulfilled including getting critical funding through the state budget. Ramona also led her team in hosting candidate forums and legislator visits to campus, coordinating district office meetings with legislative staff, and organizing advocacy days in Sacramento with legislators where she stressed the impact of their funding decisions on UCLA's future. She empowered student interns to help organize events, including advocacy workshops and panels covering various issues affecting UCLA, and tirelessly dedicated her time to mentor others, sharing her wisdom, knowledge, skills and expertise. Ramona also worked to establish the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCLA throughout her career. What started out as a small research center has grown and flourished into a nationally-recognized department that studies the historic experiences and cultural traditions of Los Angeles' largest and most prominent demographic. The Department has also been essential in fortifying the University's relationship with the Mexican-American community, which is integral to the history and future of my district. Ramona was a recipient of many university achievements and awards, including the ``Woman of the Year'' award by the Los Angeles County Commission for Women for her advocacy role on behalf of higher education. Outside of her work with UCLA, Ramona still found time to help her community as an Educational Advisory Board member of the Hispanic American Committee for Educational Resources (HACER) of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which gives young people the opportunity to pursue higher fields of study regardless of financial circumstances. Ramona's legacy is marked by the enduring and meaningful relationships she forged with the community, legislators, external organizations, student interns, fellow staff members, and campus departments for the benefit of the students, faculty, and alumni of one of the world's leading research universities and through the work of those she mentored. After retiring, Ramona will continue to be an active member of the community and an advocate for those that are underserved in education. I wish Ramona and her family many years of happiness and good health.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Madam Speaker, if the Statue of Liberty could cry, she would be crying today. As I stand here, there are 2,300 babies and kids who were ripped away from their parents by our government and are in detention facilities across America. America was a country founded by people fleeing persecution. We are a land of immigrants. President Ronald Reagan called us ``that shining city upon the hill.'' Unfortunately, Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen have perverted that grand legacy and have now engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. You can believe in any God or no God at all and conclude that ripping kids away from their parents is immoral. I believe in Jesus Christ. Every single thing in the Gospels and what Christ taught goes against the policy of family separation. Imagine being a mother and father and losing your child to the government and not knowing if you are ever going to see your child again, the horror of that. Imagine being a child; when you are young, your parents are likely the most important people in your life. Imagine being ripped away from your mother or father and not knowing if you are ever going to see them again, and then being placed in a detention facility with strangers. Imagine the horror and fear you will see doing that. What must that sound like? (Audio being played.)