Susie Lee

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, while present in the House Chamber, I attempted to cast my electronic vote and vote ``yea'' on roll call 138. I then departed the House Chamber, though my attempted vote apparently was not recorded. I intended to vote in support of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. Had my vote been recorded without error, I would have voted ``Yea'' on Roll Call No. 138.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Nevada's Third Congressional District, I rise today to stand up for my constituents' access to healthcare and lifesaving treatments and support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. A constituent of mine, Mark, wrote to me recently. He is retired and on Medicare, and he is also a diabetic who requires insulin to survive. He told me that the cost of his insulin is going up 400 percent, with no warning or explanation. It is life or death for him, because he needs the insulin but can't afford it. This moment should give us all pause. Millions are out of work; thousands are sick and dying from a global pandemic; yet lifesaving medications are still out of reach for Americans who need them. It is unbelievable that this administration continues its campaign to take away people's healthcare. Seniors like Mark deserve better, Nevadans deserve better, and Americans deserve better. Medication costs, rising premiums, and junk insurance plans are forcing people to choose between lifesaving treatment and paying their bills. No one in this great country should have to make that choice. I urge my colleagues to vote for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, and give every American access to affordable health care.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to join me in overriding the Presidential veto of H.J. Res. 76. Last night, we took a historic vote for racial justice, the Justice in Policing Act. Time and again, Congress takes votes, votes like this one that will soon be forgotten in the media, but these are the votes that quietly perpetuate the systemic inequality and racism in our country. That is what this vote today is about. Communities of color, minority and low-income students, and veterans are preyed upon by predatory for-profit schools. They are manipulated. They are lied to and they are defrauded. Because we, the Federal Government, did not do enough to prevent that fraud, we established the borrower defense rule as part of the Higher Education Act as a way to give these students a path to justice and relief. But the Department of Education not only rewrote that rule to make justice for our students virtually impossible, it is also failing to hold these predatory schools accountable for their actions. Time and time again, we tell young students in this country education is the answer, and they believe us. But that system failed them. The system failed my constituent, Kendrick Harrison, a brave Iraq war veteran, a father, and a Black American. Kendrick and his family were left homeless after his for-profit school blew through his GI benefits and convinced him to take out $16,000 in debt right before shutting their doors. He is fighting to this day and working as hard as anyone to get his life back on track. I promise this story is not an exception. There are over 350,000 students just in recent years who were lied to, manipulated, and defrauded by predatory schools. So I ask my colleagues: Are you going to stand with these students? Are you going to stand with the system that perpetuates inequality and holds down brave Americans like Kendrick? Are you going to let these for-profit schools wreak havoc on the lives of these students and take advantage of American taxpayers? Because it is us, American taxpayers, who foot the bill for these bad actor schools because the Department of Education refuses to hold them accountable. I am ready to take a stand against this broken policy, and I need you to stand with me. Take a stand for the very communities who have been rising up in this country. These protests over the last several weeks are about police brutality, but they are about so much more. They are about decisions that we make in this body that perpetuate inequality and continue to stack the deck against Black Americans, student veterans, students in poverty, and working people who are just trying to better themselves. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote to override the President's veto. It is time to take a stand.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on behalf of Nevada's Third District, I rise today to recognize Mr. Kenny Belknap, an honors and AP government teacher at Del Sol Academy. For decades, Clark County schoolteachers have been forced to work with a tight budget. Like Mr. Belknap told me: ``We're just trying to keep our head above water.'' He is used to parsing materials and assigning two students to one textbook as they fight for space in an overcrowded classroom. And, unfortunately, that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is devastating State and local governments. In my home State of Nevada, the Clark County School District is expecting budget cuts of $38 million this year alone. It is classes like Mr. Belknap's that will hurt the most from this loss. Congress can help by prioritizing Federal funding to States, towns, and communities to relieve budget shortfalls so our education, healthcare, and public services don't suffer. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to help our States and local communities and give teachers like Mr. Belknap a chance to give his students the opportunities they deserve.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the Record. Earlier in my remarks, I stated that the Department of Education's automated loan discharge for these loans had been stalled. While they were stalled for three months, the department has resumed forgiving hundreds of millions of dollars in student loans owed by veterans with severe disabilities. This bill will require the Secretary to continue matching borrowers with data from Veterans Affairs to identify and automatically discharge the debt of matched individuals, eliminating burden on our veterans.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3598, the Federally Requiring Earned Education-Debt Discharges for Vets Act or FREED Vets Act. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Conor Lamb, Brian Fitzpatrick, and all the other coleads for their work to ensure that those who have served our Nation, and are now totally and permanently disabled, do not face additional burden to get relief from their student loan debt. This legislation will improve the lives of nearly 40,000 veterans who have a service-related disability by requiring the Secretary of Education to automatically discharge their Federal student loan debt. The Higher Education Act of 1965 requires the Secretary of Education to discharge the Federal student loans of individuals who are totally and permanently disabled but does not establish a process. For too long, veterans with a service-connected disability have fallen through the cracks. Because of that, they have been forced to navigate a complicated and confusing system, while being straddled with debt. We owe our disabled veterans a better option. So, in 2018, the Department of Education launched a data-sharing initiative with the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify borrowers eligible for relief from their student loan debt. In 2019, the Department of Education started to automize loan discharge for these veterans, but it has been stalled. This bill will require the Secretary to continue matching borrowers with data from Veterans Affairs to identify and automatically discharge the debt of matched individuals, eliminating burden on our veterans. These brave individuals who served our country and are now totally and permanently disabled should not have to carry the burden of their debt, especially when we have the information and the ability to eliminate all sorts of bureaucratic and, quite frankly, unnecessary red tape. I am proud to support this legislation which creates a clear process for disabled veterans to receive the relief they are entitled to under the law. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Lamb), the sponsor of the bill.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As my colleagues have heard today, this legislation would require the Department to continue ensuring that veterans who are totally and permanently disabled can have their student loan debt discharged without unnecessary complexity. Think about it, without unnecessary complexity. All this legislation does is streamline a process so those who have been totally and permanently disabled can have peace of mind and economic freedom. We owe it to those who have served our country to make this process as simple as possible, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3598) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to automatically discharge the loans of certain veteran borrowers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 3598, the FREED Vets Act.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks, and insert extraneous material on S. 760, the Support for Veterans in Effective Apprenticeships Act of 2019.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 760, Support for Veterans in Effective Apprenticeships Act. This legislation is a commonsense approach to helping men and women who have laid their life on the line for our freedom. So many of our veterans transition to civilian life and need to develop a skill to get good-paying jobs. Yet, many are not suited for traditional education pathways. This is where registered apprenticeship programs are so important, and this legislation takes important steps to increasing veterans' access to complete financial assistance they can use to connect to a registered apprenticeship program. Registered apprenticeships are our Nation's most successful federally funded workforce development with a 94 percent placement rate for workers who complete a registered apprenticeship, and an average starting salary of $70,000 a year. The bill would ensure more veterans access to these high-quality programs by: One, requiring the Department of Labor, DOL, to ensure employers are working with their State veterans affairs agencies to obtain education benefits available for veterans; Two, improving the coordination between the DOL and the VA, requiring the DOL to provide information to the VA on newly registered apprenticeship programs to enable the VA to be more proactive in outreach to registered apprenticeship programs not yet approved for GI bill benefits; and Three, ensuring that employers grant advanced standing or credit, and provide increased wages commensurate to such standing or credit to veterans or other eligible individuals who can demonstrate competencies or experience, training or skills through their military service. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation, which will take real steps to improve veterans and their families access to high-quality registered apprenticeship programs. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, if the gentleman from Kansas is, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. The Support for Veterans in Effective Apprenticeships Act, S. 760, will assist our veterans and their families in accessing the high- quality pathways that registered apprenticeships provide. As I said before, we owe it to our brave veterans to set them up for a life of self-sufficiency and dignity. This legislation does not create another bureaucratic layer that veterans must navigate, instead, it requires coordination. Coordination between the DOL and the VA that will reduce barriers for employers and veterans and accessing financial assistance they can use in connection with the registered apprenticeship program. We have all heard stories of veterans having to navigate complex requirements to access benefits that, quite honestly, they have earned and deserve. This legislation proves that this Congress has heard our veterans, and we are taking concrete steps to reduce barriers by cutting red tape. Mr. Speaker, I don't know why anyone would be opposed to that, which is why I urge my colleagues to support the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 760) to enable registered apprenticeship programs to better serve veterans, and for other purposes.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, today I am here on behalf of the people of Nevada's Third Congressional District, and I rise to recognize the Miller Middle School eighth grade class, with whom I met earlier this week on their trip to Washington--and the timing couldn't be better since it is Public Schools Week. We talked about topics from STEM education to encouraging creativity in the classroom. They had some terrific questions, but one really stuck out. One student asked me: Is investing in public education really worth it? It is a tough question, a fair question, especially coming from a Clark County student. But the answer for me is overwhelmingly, undoubtedly yes. I just had to look around that room and see each of those students, whether they came from different backgrounds, having access to education. And the answer is not just about investing, but it is about if we invest in public education as the national priority that it should be. In a time when public schools are being called upon to help kids beyond the classroom, investment in education should be our national priority.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 790, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 76) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to ``Borrower Defense Institutional Accountability'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.J. Res. 76.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am here today for one reason: to ask that my colleagues in this House stand with me to make clear to the American people that we care more about defending students than enriching predatory schools. That is what my joint resolution, H.J. Res. 76, is all about. In 1992 Congress added a rule known as borrower defense to the Higher Education Act to give students a legal right to seek forgiveness on their Federal student loans because of fraud by their schools. Predatory school misconduct in the eighties was so rampant it was painfully clear to Democrats, Republicans, and everyone in between that we need protections in place for students who are scammed and cheated by their institution, and that is just as true today. Corinthian Colleges, ITT Tech, University of Phoenix, and Dream Center--350,000 students have filed claims alleging they were defrauded by these schools. They were lied to about the job prospects they would get from these schools, they were lied to about the transferability of their credits, and they were lied to about the quality of education they would receive. The only thing they got was a useless degree and a mountain of debt after these schools abruptly closed because of rampant misconduct. The most painful part is that these are mostly students from low- income communities, people of color, and veterans. These are Americans we should be standing up for, not taking advantage of. In 2016 the last administration created a new borrower defense rule to streamline the process to help these students. It sounds pretty good, right? Not to Betsy DeVos. She then rewrote the borrower defense rule to make it almost impossible for a defrauded student to get relief on their student loans. Even in cases where schools clearly violated the law, the burden of proof on the defrauded student is so absurdly unrealistic that a student would need to hire a team of lawyers to have a shot at proving intent and misconduct from the school. But the point made by proponents of this borrower defense rule that is most insulting is that the new rule saves taxpayer dollars. That is simply false. The new rule severely weakens the early warning system that ensures predatory schools, not taxpayers, cover the cost of debt relief. As a result in the few cases where relief is rewarded under the DeVos rule, taxpayers will be the ones to foot the bill. Beyond that, the only reason you can say that this rule actually saves money is because we are denying relief to every legitimately defrauded student. Let me be clear: if Betty DeVos' 2019 borrower defense rule goes into effect, more students will become victims of fraud with no way to climb out of the hole that our government dug for them. This puts my colleagues in Congress on the record. Members have a choice to make, and if they choose to vote against this resolution, then they will have to go back home and tell thousands of students, veterans, and their constituents in their district that they choose to be on the side of predatory schools over them. I think the choice is clear. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis).

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.