Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of this rule and of the underlying legislation. H.R. 1913, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act allows for the Justice Department to assist local authorities, who are either unable or unwilling, with the investigation and prosecution of bias motivated crimes. Hate crimes not only hurt victims and their families, but can impact a community or even an entire nation. Perpetrators of violent hate crimes choose their victims based on an actual or perceived bias. It is a crime based on the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. This bipartisan legislation empowers the Justice Department with the authority it needs to combat the prevalence of hate crimes in our communities. Since the FBI began collecting hate crimes data in 1991, bias motivated crimes against LGBT Americans has tripled; though the federal government has not provided the necessary resources to stem this uptick. The destructive nature of hate crimes permeates throughout our society, and if we refuse to address it, then we are refusing to provide for the public safety of all Americans. Mr. Speaker, it's important to note that this legislation does not discriminate. All victims of hate crimes are protected by this bill: every race, every religion, every sexual orientation, every disability. I'd also like to commend Chairman Conyers and the Judiciary Committee for crafting a bill that provides both for the protection against hate crimes and for the protection of our constitutional right of free speech. Nothing in this legislation allows for speech, violent or otherwise, to be prosecuted. Hate crimes by de3finition must involve death or bodily injury. Speech alone cannot be prosecuted under this legislation. However, violent hate crimes are not constitutionally protected rights, and this legislation is needed to help reduce the divisive and sometimes deadly effects they have on communities across our country. This legislation boasts the diverse support of more than 300 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations and individuals, including the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to remind my colleagues that victims of hate crimes are targeted for violence and suffered attacks because of who they are. I'd like to tell you the story of Lisa Craig, a 35-year-old mother of two, from my own State of Massachusetts. In 2003, Craig was assaulted on the street by three teenage girls and kicked in the head multiple times, causing her brain to bleed and requiring 200 stitches in her head. Craig's partner and her two daughters witnessed the attack by these teenagers, who earlier in the evening had been shouting anti-gay epithets at the couple. This story is just one of thousands across our country, and to prevent more from occurring, I encourage my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. I reclaim my time. First of all, there is not a single tax increase in the budget. The budget that we propose cuts taxes for middle-income families by more than $1.7 trillion over 10 years. And again, our budget cuts the deficit by nearly two-thirds in 4 years. I am proud to defend our budget. I have talked about how it is going to create jobs. I have talked about how it is going to cut taxes. I have talked about how it is cutting nondefense discretionary spending. I have talked about how it is going to invest in affordable health care and college affordability and clean energy. I am out here very proudly defending this budget that we have. So all I am simply saying is that what the other side has proposed, quite frankly, in our opinion, is unacceptable. It will hurt more middle-income families. It will cause more people to fall into the ranks of poverty, more people without health care. It will cut back on education, on investments in our infrastructure. Those were the proposals that were presented. I think that is the wrong way to go. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boccieri).

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. McGOVERN. Reclaiming my time. Yes, the Democrats did, but unfortunately with a President who vetoed every decent piece of legislation that we tried to pass, vetoing children's health care, and a whole bunch of other things that would have helped the economy. Right now we have a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President, and we are going to pass a budget that reflects what the American people want, the values of the American people. We are going to get this economy back on the right track. Enough. Eight years of failed policies is enough. The same old, same old doesn't work anymore. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, President Kennedy also said if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. And that's been the problem over the last 8 years is that the emphasis has been on the rich. The tax cuts, the extravagant tax cuts, for the wealthiest individuals that have contributed to our deficit; spending on the war that they wouldn't even pay for that was covered up under emergency spending procedures so it would mask the size of our growing debt. Yes, they made cuts in programs that helped kids and veterans and our elderly and investments in job creation and things that would help stimulate this economy. I don't think that's a record to be proud of. So we're turning the page. We're actually going to a new chapter here. We have a budget before us that I am proud to defend. This is a budget that creates jobs with targeted investments in affordable health care, clean energy, education. It cuts taxes for middle-income families by more than $1.7 trillion over 10 years. It cuts the deficit by nearly two-thirds in 4 years, and it paves the way for an affordable health care plan. Forty million of our fellow citizens are without health care. That's a national scandal. And you know what? That reality is one of the reasons why health care costs are soaring. We need to get that under control. We need to deal with the issue of college affordability so we have the best trained, best educated workforce in the entire world. We need to invest in clean energy so we can actually make this transition to clean, renewable sources of energy so we're not dependent on foreign oil, we're not dependent on the same old, same old kind of energy that we have here, that we have relied on for so many years in this country. So we can either do what my friends on the other side of the aisle have done for 8 years or we can go in a very different direction. And I urge my colleagues that it's time to move in a different direction. Madam Speaker, I will be offering an amendment to the rule. The amendment provides for timeout authority in this rule which will allow the debate on this conference report to take place over 2 days, giving Members adequate time to read this important report before voting. I hope Members will vote ``yes'' on the amendment and on the previous question and on the rule. Amendment Offered by Mr. McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment to the rule at the desk.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the amendment and on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. I am not going to yield at this time. I didn't interrupt you during your closing statement. The fact of the matter is that people are tired of a party that says ``no'' to everything. That was demonstrated loud and clear in the last election. We need to move in a new direction. I think what the American people are hearing, quite frankly, is they are hearing that help is on the way. That is why 56 percent of the Americans polled agree with the priorities in this budget. They are hearing that help is on the way for all Americans, not just the wealthy few, the wealthy few who have benefited greatly over the last 8 years. Things are different. Change is happening here in Washington, and I am proud to be part of this process. So I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and on the rule. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, let me first begin by saying something about the process. The Democratic leadership promised that Members would have 24 hours to review the budget before it was voted on. There will be more than 24 hours to view this budget. This budget has gone through a long process. We had more than 14 hours of markup in the Budget Committee. I've lost count of how many amendments were offered. Again, there were four substitutes that were made in order and debated and voted on this floor. We had an open conference committee meeting that produced this final product. We are going to have over 24 hours to review it. So I guess if people want to complain for the sake of complaining, there is not much we can do on this side to deal with that. But the fact of the matter is this has been a fair process and this has been a good process. I want to commend Chairman Spratt and Ranking Member Ryan and the staffs, both Democratic and Republican staffs, for their incredible work, their tireless work on this budget. I am proud of the budget we are going to vote on. This is a budget with a conscience for a change. This is something that our constituents from the east coast to the west coast, I think, are going to find things in here that they can cheer about. This is a budget that creates jobs with targeted investments in affordable health care, clean energy, and education. It cuts taxes for middle-income families by more than $1.7 trillion over 10 years. It cuts the deficit by nearly two-thirds in 4 years. And it cuts nondefense discretionary spending as a percent of the economy. We are going to deal with health care. For years, ever since I came to Congress--I got elected in 1996--the number one issue that every poll shows that Americans want us to deal with is health care. We are going to be able to deal with it, I believe, this year. We are going to deal with college affordability so that everybody who wants to get a college education can get one, and nobody is denied a college education because they can't afford to get one. We are going to deal with the issue of clean energy. We are going to actually begin to invest in renewable, clean, alternative sources of energy so we are not reliant solely on the oil industry or on foreign imports for our energy. So there is a lot in this budget I think that we all can be very proud of. You are going to have 24 hours to review the budget. Even if you had 124 hours, my guess is that my friends on the other side of the aisle would be against this budget. They have been against virtually everything this new President has proposed. I think their kind of rationale there, their philosophy for regaining political power is to deny this new President any victory, any accomplishment.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I consume. Let me apologize to the gentleman, again, for him getting what he wants. The Democratic leadership promised 24 hours for Members to be able to review this bill before there was a vote. They are going to get more than 24 hours. Let me also point out to the gentleman when he talks about this kind of unpopularity of President Barack Obama's ideas and his budget, maybe he hasn't seen the recent polls. By a 56 percent to 32 percent margin, Americans believe that the Obama budget sets the right priorities. I think what is difficult for the gentleman to accept and members of his party is that the people have spoken. The people have had it with Bush economics. They've had it with the Republican priorities of the last 8 years. They want a change. This budget represents a change, and they are going to get it. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes at this time to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reclaim my time. I would say to the gentleman that I not only hold President Bush accountable for the last 8 years and for the disastrous economy that we now have, but I also hold accountable the Republican leadership in Congress, which voted for some of the worst economic policies that have literally driven this country into debt and into a ditch. At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews), a member of the Budget Committee. (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just so that the record is clear--and this is according to The Wall Street Journal--as for jobs created per year in Office, George W. Bush was the worst since the Great Depression. Let me read them. Jobs Created Per Year in Office: Truman, 1.1 million; Eisenhower, 438,000; Kennedy, 1.2 million; Lyndon Johnson, 2.3 million; Nixon, 1.7 million; Ford, 745,000; Carter, 2.6 million; Reagan, 2 million; Bush I, 625,000; Clinton, 2.9 million; George W. Bush, 375,000. This is the very conservative Wall Street Journal, hardly a paper of liberal ideas and thoughts.

Mr. McGOVERN. I reclaim my time, Madam Speaker. I appreciate the gentleman's commentary. The fact of the matter is that we are in such trouble right now that in order to get out of this ditch, in order to get out of this terrible debt that we are in, we are going to have to grow our economy, which means in the short term we are going to have to invest in our people and invest in our country. That is the rationale behind the Democratic budget, behind the budget that President Obama has put forward. But, look, one thing is clear, Madam Speaker, the same old, same old is not what the people want. And for the last 8 years, the Republicans and President Bush have driven this economy into a direction that people have rejected soundly during this last election. At this time, Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. I am happy to yield to the gentleman.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it's a little difficult to hear lectures from a member of the other party, the party that inherited from Bill Clinton a record surplus and then over the next 8 years presided over an economy that turned that surplus into a record deficit, that ruined, that forced this economy into the ditch that we are now trying to dig ourselves out of. I want to apologize to the gentleman for the Democratic leadership's desire to actually accomplish something, to get things done. That's exactly what we are trying to do here. We have done enough talking. There has been enough speechifying. The American people voted for action. They voted for change. They voted for a new direction. They didn't vote for more speeches. They didn't vote for more obstructionism. They didn't vote for more of the same of what we had over the last 8 years. On this budget, just so it's clear, we had more than 14 hours of markup in the Budget Committee. I was there, because I am also on the Budget Committee. We had a full debate on the House floor. Four substitute amendments were made in order. People had an opportunity to vote for budgets to the left and to the right and everything in between. So there was ample time for discussion. We had an open conference meeting. The gentleman is going to have over 24 hours to read the budget. Now, for someone who hasn't read the budget, he is spouting out a lot of facts and figures. But he is going to have over 24 hours to read what the conference committee produced, because we are not going to vote on the budget until tomorrow.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H. Res. 365 permits same-day consideration of a rule providing for consideration of the conference report on the budget resolution, S. Con. Res. 13. This budget is a critical document and comes at a critical time in our country. We all know this budget is a blueprint of the priorities of the Obama administration and this Democratic Congress. This budget sets the framework for most of the legislation that we will consider this year--everything from the annual spending bills to improvements in education to health care reform to deficit control. I'm not surprised that my friends on the other side of the aisle aren't pleased with this budget. Republicans voted against the recovery package, and now they are going to oppose this budget. It's no secret that the Republicans have fundamental differences in the way they would govern this country. But that's why we have elections, Madam Speaker, and the American people spoke loud and clear about what they want their country to stand for. And those principles are set in this budget. Madam Speaker, this budget must be adopted in order for this Congress to start working on the agenda the American people want us to enact. I am proud to support this budget. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record.