Gregory Meeks

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I yield 50 seconds to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As stated, now is not the time to walk away from the U.N. Human Rights Council. This amendment would do nothing to change the agencies for the better. It would only weaken our ability to influence the advancements we want to see. We can't be leaders if we are not at the table. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Plaskett for leading this Special Order on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus. It is extremely important that we first thank our Caribbean brothers and sisters, as my sister Yvette Clarke so eloquently stated, the history of so many individuals that have made substantial contributions to make this a more perfect union, who, but for their labor and hard work, we would not be the country that we are. But also as Representative Plaskett has indicated, when I think about the average, everyday person who came across to America from the Caribbean Islands--the schoolteachers, the plumbers, the lawyers, the doctors, the sanitation workers, and the individuals that come even just to cut grass--when you think about the contributions, what they have committed is those individuals have raised children who become Members of Congress, like Stacey Plaskett and Yvette Clarke, who continued that tradition of making this a much better place to live for all Americans, a shining example of what this great Nation is when it is so inclusive. Yvette Clarke talked about Alexander Hamilton and the contributions that were made from the very beginning. But when you look at that and when you think of who we are and the hemisphere that we share--you see, the Caribbean Islands are the same hemisphere, and we have to make sure that we are together in lockstep. We can never forget that, when America catches a cold, many individuals in the Caribbean now get pneumonia. So as a result of understanding the contributions that they have made in this country, and continue to make, we are really one on the same continent and we are only as strong as we are together. And so we would have to stop and think of our brothers and sisters from the Caribbean and those who are still living there as just places that we go visit for tourism and vacation. Yes, we want to make sure that we do visit there to strengthen those economies, but we want to also make sure that, as a government, as a people, we are also doing the appropriate investments there in their infrastructure, because it only helps us here in the United States of America. We are only as strong as we can be together. E pluribus unum, from many one, that is what this Nation is supposed to be, and I think that we have come a long way to accomplish it, which brings me to the second phase of what I want to talk about this evening, because this is not supposed to be a system of the haves versus the have-nots. It should not be where we have a reverse Robin Hood syndrome where you are taking from the poor to give to the rich. No, that is not the Nation that we want this country to be. In fact, people fled from a king who was wealthy and didn't care about the poor. So here we are now as a nation, when the most important thing to anybody is health, because if you don't have health, you don't have anything. I don't care whether you are Black or White, whether you come from the East or the West or the North or the South--health. The one thing that we have in common, everyone, is that we are human beings. And one thing that we know for sure, humans' bodies, at times, break down. So, yes, if you are young and healthy, and, yes, if you are wealthy, then maybe this bill that they are looking at on the Senate side is for you. But if you are young and healthy today, believe me, tomorrow you won't be young if you are lucky. And believe me, the human body gets sick. And when that happens, the question is: Will you have the ability to access the healthcare that you need to keep you healthy? Well, under this bill, based upon the American Medical Association, hospitals, AARP, you can go to almost any health provider, they will tell you that, no. 22 million Americans, as the CBO score showed, would lose their access to healthcare, and many of those are in the middle, the middle class. They talk about healthcare. We are not just talking about healthcare; we are talking about adequate health coverage so that when you are sick, you can go to a doctor and receive the care that you need and know that you are covered, because my Republican colleagues have forgotten where we were before the Affordable Care Act. You see, before the Affordable Care Act, more Americans were going bankrupt in trying to stay alive, for healthcare. These are middle class, hardworking, everyday individuals who thought they had coverage. But when they were sick, they went to the doctor, then they found out that what they thought they were covered for, they were not, and so they had to take out loans and re-mortgage and refinance their homes, give up everything that they had to try to stay healthy and alive. We don't want to go back there. Before the Affordable Care Act, we were not talking about making sure that those individuals with preexisting diseases were covered. If you listen to my Republican colleagues, they will tell you that the Affordable Care Act is the worst thing in the world. But before the Affordable Care Act, we weren't talking about children being able to stay on their parents' health insurance until they were 27 years old. Yes, indeed, before the Affordable Care Act, many seniors saw their coverage capped, and, after a certain amount of payout, they had to come out of their pockets, which were not deep, and just hang in there with their families and suffer and go bankrupt. So what we are talking about now is saving the lives of individuals. I want to thank my friend and sister from the Virgin Islands for leading this for the Congressional Black Caucus, because the camera of history is rolling and it is recording, and it will record her and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus standing on the right side of history.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, how soon do we forget? The bill before us today is an affront to the American people. This bill is fatally flawed. It would set America up for more severe financial crises in the future. It is plain and simply the wrong choice. Let me give you one example. Under the ``Wrong'' CHOICE Act, many banks would be free from regulatory oversight if they merely maintain a 10 percent leverage ratio. Let's break that down for the American people. If this bill was law in 2008, one-third of the banks that eventually failed would be free from regulatory oversight altogether. To be clear, 125 banks that failed during the crisis would meet the bill's low requirement for regulatory relief, not according to me, but to an independent clearinghouse analysis. You don't have to be a financier to realize that this proposal is dangerous and an insult to American families who lost nearly everything. I am talking about those families in rural and urban America who saw their household net worth drop $10 million, the largest loss of wealth in the history of the United States of America.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the camera of history is rolling, and here on the House floor it is recorded. So I want to make sure that we are clear. When I think about going back into the nineties, it was Bill and Hillary Clinton that put forward a healthcare plan. My colleagues on the other side had the goal of stopping it. And they did. We had nothing. For 6 of the 8 years that I was here--from 2000 until 2006--they controlled both the House, the Senate and the Presidency, and they did nothing in reference to health care. It took 2008 and Barack Obama to come up with the Affordable Care Act, which gave 20 million Americans health care that didn't have it. It made sure that those that had a preexisting condition could continue to make sure that there was no discrimination against women and girls, so as to make sure they had equal health care. It also made sure that you removed the caps so that Americans would not be caught, as they were beforehand, going bankrupt, disturbing families and separating families who did not know how to make it until tomorrow. It was the Affordable Care Act. Yet, here, history will record that our colleagues are prepared to vote on Thursday to take those 20 million Americans that did not have access to health care away from health care and back to the bad, old days. We can't go there.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is often called the conscience of the Congress--the conscience of the Congress. They don't say we are just the conscience of Black people. They don't say we are just the conscience of some people. We say that we are the conscience of the entire Congress because we want to work to help all of Americans, particularly the least of these. Many of us run around and we talk about our various religious beliefs. And no matter what your religious belief is, it teaches us that we need to take care of those who do not have. So we are here in what we call the people's House, and one of the things that we should make sure that happens with the people's House taking the lead is that we end poverty. Poverty does not discriminate. Poverty does not look at which section of the country you are in or what religion you have. You can find poverty in rural America and urban America. We should be here to do our jobs to help all Americans. When, in fact, you have individuals who are still drinking bottled water, we need to pass a water resources bill, not only for a small section of individuals but for everyone. Because when we look at what is taking place now, we see and we are finding--we even found it right here in the United States Capital--a problem with water. Water equals life, and everybody's life is important. Why we have got to pass this budget is so that we can make sure that everybody has certainty that they receive the items that they need. What are the most basic needs of any human being? You cannot live without health care. So we have got to continue to make sure that we are providing for health care. I know some were talking about eliminating ObamaCare, but 20 million Americans who did not have any health care at all now for the first time in their lives have the same or have access to health care. We cannot end that. Education. We know today that education is more important than ever before. We must pass this budget that has education at its core to make sure that every American has a chance to live up to her or his dreams. Criminal justice reform. We have got to make sure that it is fair and equitable for everyone. When you think about this budget, stability is important. The government relies on stability. We must fund the government so that we don't have short-term uncertainty. We have got to take care of our military. We have got to take care of emergencies like storms that hit my district. We are still recovering from Sandy. There must be stability in the budget and not these short-term things that we continue to do so our country can move and prosper. So let's stay and do the job that the American people have elected us to do. Let us understand, even though this election, that there has to be, as Chairman Butterfield said, compromise because the majority of the American people voted one way, the electoral college had another decision, which means that we have got to all work together to move this country forward. We can do that, and we will be stronger doing that together. So I want to thank Congresswoman Beatty for engineering this evening because we must meet with our voices louder. We know the members of the Congressional Black Caucus will talk loudly and clearly to make sure that we represent the people that vote for us every 2 years, but we know that we are the conscience of the Congress and that we have a responsibility to the American people. And I say to my Republican friends, you too have a responsibility, and that responsibility is to come and let's pass this budget so that we can keep this government moving and keep it stable moving forward. We can do that because this Congress is stronger if we work together.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I recognize the life of my constituent, West Point Cadet Brandon T. Jackson, a brilliant young man who tragically passed away on September 11, 2016, in an automobile accident in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Brandon was born on April 17, 1996 in Flushing, Queens. He was a proud ``A'' student graduate of Holy Cross High School in Flushing and was an exceptional member of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School Class of 2015. This bright young man was a proud member of West Point's Military Class of 2019, E Company, Second Regiment. His mother, Morna Davis, a veteran of the Iraq War, a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and a New York City Police Department Detective, inspired Cadet Jackson to commit his life to service to our country. Brandon loved Army football from a young age and, beginning in his freshman year, earned a spot as a starting member of the Army football team in the position of corner back. Brandon excelled in his role as a defensive lineman, attained impressive stats, and played a key role in the team's victory over Rice University on Saturday, September 10. Brandon was equally driven academically and was an exemplary student as a Management major in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. He was a member of West Point's Cultural Affairs Club and, in his free time, enjoyed playing chess and basketball. Brandon is fondly remembered by all who knew him for his warm smile, engaging manner and quiet grace. He loved to help others, was a mentor to younger players and treasured his family, especially his mother. His short life was one of achievement and excellence and this proud member of the Long Gray Line exemplified the watch words of West Point--Duty, Honor, Country. There is no way to measure our loss of this incredible young man with such great promise who was dedicated to a life of service to our great nation and its citizens. I offer my deepest condolences to his family.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, let me see. Let's look at this bill. H.R. 5461 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to Congress on the estimated total assets under the direct or indirect control by Iranian leaders and certain senior political and other figures regardless of whether such individuals are subject to U.S. sanctions. So what will that do? By creating this report, it would place a substantial time and human resource burden on the Treasury and, in fact, divert critical energy and resources away from targeting sanctionable conduct and compliance over existing sanctions tied to human rights, terrorism, and ballistic missiles. Moreover, since the report would not be tied to any prohibition or legal action, it would have little use as a compliance tool and, in fact, would likely confuse the Office of Foreign Assets Control's regulated publicly. Finally, such a report would undoubtedly be seized upon by Iran--and quite possibly by all of our P5 allies--as an intended effort to discourage international investment in Iran, which, in turn, could be viewed as a violation of the expressed U.S. commitment under the JCPOA to prevent interference with the realization of the full benefit by Iran of the JCPOA and, therefore, undermine the continued support for the JCPOA with Iran. So I know some people on the other side of the aisle don't believe that this is the right thing, but it is clear JCPOA prevents an armed nuclear Iran. We should vote against H.R. 5461.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation, to honor the memory of Tyreke Borel, who was 17 years old, a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of action on the House floor.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, Tiarah Poyau was young and full of life, like my daughters. She was the same age as many of the interns in my office. Like them, she had big dreams and she was full of promise. She completed her bachelor of science at St. John's University in my district and was pursuing a master's degree. She dreamt of being an accountant. At 22, she had the promise of being a successful young woman and an outstanding and upstanding member of society. But those dreams and that promise, they ended this past weekend. They ended when Tiarah's life was cut short by a bullet in New York City. That same night, less than a block away from where she was shot, 17- year-old Tyreke Borel was gunned down--less than a block away. Behind every gun death is a person like Tiarah and Tyreke, a person with dreams and with promise. These victims of gun violence and their families and friends have received thoughts and prayers from this Congress, but because of the Republican majority, they haven't received action. Victims and their loved ones deserve better. They deserve a debate and a vote on commonsense gun reform on the House floor. In this Nation, we encourage our kids to dream big. We tell them that with hard work, they can transform their potential into success. We let them down if we fail to protect them, and so far, that is exactly what we have done.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, let me start by saying straight out that I do not support the underlying bill. I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment that would lessen the negative budget impact of this bill and exempt any rules issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development from additional judicial review and delay. I think this is important for all of us in the House, whether we be Democrats or Republicans. First, in dealing with the overall bill, it would severely hamstring and weaken our country's regulatory agencies. Dating back more than 100 years, regulatory agencies have executed congressional directives or identified public problems and fixed them utilizing their agency's expertise. This bill undercuts agencies' ability to do both of those things. It also throws out of balance our systems of checks and balances. Recently, we witnessed a public health crisis in Flint, Michigan, where thousands did not have access to safe, potable drinking water. Is the natural response to this crisis to hinder the very agencies who are supposed to protect the public? It is not the natural response. It is the wrong response. We shouldn't tie the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies whose main objective is to protect our citizens. In attacking Federal agencies that protect the public with safeguards, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are actually attacking the public interest. One of these agencies that advances the public interest is the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD. HUD provides rental assistance, affordable housing, and community development block grants, all of which are enormously important for people throughout our great Nation. I grew up in public housing, so I know the importance of programs that put a roof over a family's head. Also, community development block grants are helping to rebuild cities like New York in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which devastated so many families. Furthermore, HUD prevents discrimination in housing and in lending. It ensures that landlords cannot deny housing to someone based on his or her race, religion, national origin, or disability. HUD also helps low-income families secure housing. Prospective buyers receive HUD assistance when buying their first home, which is oftentimes the biggest investment they will make in their lifetime. HUD, therefore, offers the opportunity for wealth accumulation and gives folks the pride that comes along with owning a home. Indeed, HUD keeps the American Dream of home ownership alive. For our veterans, who have served their Nation with honor and deserve our unending support, HUD helps them secure housing. HUD provides homeless individuals with necessary resources to help them overcome homelessness. Individuals who suffer domestic violence also receive assistance from HUD, and we must continue to provide these victims with a safe space, protected from their abusers. All of these populations deserve continual and robust support from HUD and our Federal Government. These are just a few examples of the impact of HUD's work and all of the people it helps. I could honestly say that it is one of the most visible and beneficial agencies that serves all of our constituents. So I am a supporter of HUD, and I believe in all of its good work. I offer my amendment to protect HUD, as it has protected so many Americans and their families. My amendment would exempt rules issued by HUD from being included in this bill. I encourage my colleagues to vote for my amendment to relieve HUD from these foolish attacks. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, let me say, first of all, this bill is not going anywhere, fortunately, because this deceptively named Separation of Powers Restoration Act is something that really would hurt America and the American people. So I urge to let's make the bill better by passing my amendment and other amendments that you have heard earlier. But the underlying bill is a bad bill. It is bad for our people, and we should vote ``no'' on the underlying bill also. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation to honor the memory of Davon Jones, a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on this House floor.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation, to honor the memory of Laseam Hogan from my district, a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of action on this House floor.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I am here today simply because it is time. It is time to save lives. It is time to close the gun show and Internet loophole. It is time to make sure if you are on the no-fly list, you can't buy a gun in America. It is time for the American people to know where their representatives stand. It is time to find out who will prevail, the people of the United States, or the NRA. It is time to end moments of silence and move into legislative action to save lives. Mr. Speaker, don't you think it is time to give the people a vote? Mr. Speaker, it is time for you to do the right thing for all American people and help save lives throughout the United States of America. It is time to do the right thing.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question. It has nothing to do with the bad bill, as indicated. Mr. Speaker, for years Democrats in this House and a majority of the American people have demanded a vote on gun safety bills. After hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their lives to a gun, Republican leadership is bringing up an NRA-written bill that does little to make our communities safer. Republicans aren't serious about gun reform, not even preventing suspected terrorists on the no-fly list, like the one in Orlando, from buying a gun. It is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous that suspected terrorists can still buy guns at gun shows or online without completing a background check, and it is downright irresponsible for this loophole to continue to put guns in the hands of those who shouldn't have them. It is just as irresponsible for Republicans to allow the NRA and gun manufacturers to dictate how the gun industry is regulated. That is insane. Should we also allow the tobacco industry to write a bill regulating cigarettes? The answer to that is no. We should protect the people who elected us, not the interests of the gun lobby. With 33,000 friends and family members dying by a gun every year, it is truly upsetting that these bills fail on very short or real reform that would protect American lives. During the civil rights movement, when legislation was slow in moving, Dr. Martin Luther King asked the question: How long? He said: No matter how difficult the moment or how frustrating the hour, not long. And so today the question is: How long before someone who is on the no-fly list can no longer buy a gun? I say not long because truth crushed to Earth will rise again. How long before the NRA run the Republican Congress? Not long because no lie can live forever. How long before the Republicans keep good bills from the floor? Not long because you shall reap what you sow. What we have and what we will have is legislation that will help reduce gun violence because the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, and justice requires us to have a vote that will save American lives because Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired of gun violence.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. I thank the gentleman from Louisville. Mr. Speaker, when I heard of the greatest of all time's passing, my heart was filled and heavy because he was very significant in my life. When you just think of him--and I got to meet him first as a young boy. I was about 10 years old. My dad was a professional boxer. He is one of 49, one of 49 individuals to get knocked out by Rocky Marciano. But that also brought him into the area where he got to know many of the boxers in training, et cetera. He would train in the same gym in New York where Sugar Ray Robinson was, and where Bundini and Youngblood were, who were always in Ali's corner. So I got to see Ali, this Cassius Clay train at an early age, and fell in love with him immediately. Number one what you could do when you saw Muhammad Ali, at that time you saw a young man who was confident. And yes, as I hear my colleagues talking about his athletic ability and skills, he had all of that. But what I would like to talk about briefly tonight, what was the highest of esteem for Muhammad Ali was his brain. There is nothing that Ali did that he didn't think about. Everything that he did, there was a reason for it. When he first saw this wrestler and how people hated him, this George guy, but he saw how all the people were coming to watch and paying all of their money because they were talking, he was talking. He said here's a good way to promote myself and to make sure that he could make some money, and so he did that. Then he thought about calling and naming the round that he was calling people in and all of that. And so he did all of those things, but there was a reason for it. He was a promoter. He knew what it took. People at that time, many of them wanted to go see the Louisville Lip shut up, but each time he would win. What I just want to say about Ali, though, his brain and his heart, his brain and his heart. Because throughout my lifetime, I had several times to be with him and to get to know him a little bit. I will just, for brevity of time, talk about one real quick. I can recall I used to drive him at times when he was in New York. So I would get in the car, and he would get in the car. Of course, he is the funniest guy in the world. He would be telling jokes and doing everything else. So we were driving down the street in Brooklyn, New York. I remember it like it was yesterday. I stopped at a light. All of a sudden, Muhammad is looking around, and he jumps out of the car. He jumps. There were some kids on the corner. He jumps out, and he goes and starts shadowboxing with them. The kids are saying: Oh, the champ, the champ is here, the champ is here. He would just talk to them. He was encouraging them to go to school and encouraging them to do good things. I know because when you listened to all of the stories afterwards, individuals were giving personal stories. Never would you see an individual as popular and well known as Ali where an individual could actually talk about a personal story, because Ali wasn't one that was hidden behind bodyguards or this one or that one. He was one that always wanted to be the man on the street involved with people to make a difference in their life. He set an example for individuals. So I think of the example, too, because of the size of Ali, I heard somebody talking about the rumble in the jungle. I used to go up to the camp and watch them train in Deer Lake. I was there when he was training for George Foreman. I was there, stayed up there for about a week. There, again, talk about consciousness, he had these huge rocks, talking about all of the great African American fighters before him because he never forgot who he was or where he came from, but he had these rocks there, and he was in the gym training. I can remember he would get up on the ropes. He put his hands up, and Angelo Dundee would say: Get off the ropes, champ. Get off the ropes. Get off the ropes, champ. You are going to get killed on those ropes. About the second round of training, he went over, and he said to Angelo: Shut up. I know what I am doing. Nobody knew what he was doing, but he knew what he was doing. He always outthought everyone. He outthought them. That was the key to this thing, the greatest of all time. So, Ali, I say this--I say this because I remember you saying this one time to someone: If you want some gin, I'll get you in 10. If you like wine, it will be round number nine. If you think you're great, you'll fall in eight. If you want to go to heaven, it will be round number seven. But if you want to mix, I'll get you in six. Talk that jive, you'll fall in five. If you want to go like old Moore, I'll get you in four. Mess with me, I'll reduce you to three. If that won't do, you'll fall in two. If the crowd wants some fun, you'll fall in one. Why? Because I float like a butterfly, and I sting like a bee. That's why nobody mess with Muhammad Ali. Ali, we love you. We thank you for your contribution not only to Louisville, not only to the United States of America, not only to African Americans and to Africa, but to everyplace on this planet. You are, indeed, God's gift to this great planet. We thank God for your life and times. You will live on forever as the greatest of all time-- and the prettiest.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, as I often do, I reached out to my constituents to find out what issues are most important to them. I sent out a survey, and thousands responded. The top three issues on the minds of folks back home are affordable housing, gun control, and police-community relations. In every Congress since I have been here, I have pushed to raise funding for HUD and NYCHA so that we can renovate housing and increase both the amount of section 8 vouchers and affordable housing units in New York City and this country. On gun control, I have cosponsored nearly every gun violence prevention bill in Congress, and I will continue to stand up to the NRA and the rest of the gun lobby. I am keenly aware of the need to improve police-community relations. We need to force an honest dialogue with police and the communities they serve. So to the folks back home, I want to reassure you I hear you loudly and clearly and I will continue to stay focused on the issues most important to you. Thank you for participating in the survey we sent out. I will continue to fight for you, as I always have.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution passed earlier today condemning the heinous acts that occurred in Brussels yesterday. Whenever such cowardly attacks take place against innocent people, we all are victims. Of course, the attacks in Brussels are not isolated and, sadly, remind me of the recent attacks of terror in Paris, in Nigeria, in Kenya, in Turkey, against people of all faiths. I shall not recite all of the cities that come to mind in what has become a new normal. As a global community, we must continue to unite against this threat abroad and at home until we have brought the extremists who perpetuate such crimes to justice. Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by reminding us all here in this Chamber, as well as our European friends, that during these difficult times, we should remember what brings us together. The resolution passed earlier is not just about Belgium-U.S. relations, nor is it about the recent attacks in Brussels. The resolution also reminds us that the nature of the response is what brings us together. The solutions to terror are to be found only with an emphasis on the Democratic and individual rights that we humbly work to protect.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend my colleagues for passing H.R. 1471, the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015. This important legislation authorizes appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for FY2016-FY2018 for management and administration. It also, directs FEMA, through the National Advisory Council, to undertake and report on a comprehensive study of disaster costs and losses. H.R. 1471 includes provisions that I introduced that extends the authority of FEMA's Administrator to waive debts associated with an overpayment of individual assistance, so long as the overpayment was not a result of fraud. This issue received national attention when about 30 residents at the Belle Harbor Manor, an assisted living facility in my district, received collection notices related to assistance provided by FEMA in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. FEMA's Administrator, Craig Fugate, later cancelled their debts. However, he is limited in canceling the debts of others who are in the exact same situation. H.R. 1471 fixes this and provides FEMA's Administrator with expanded authority to waive debts of thousands of Super Storm Sandy survivors, as well as the debts incurred as a result of future natural disasters. I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Lou Barletta and Representative Peter DeFazio, for their assistance in developing this language. I would also like to thank New York State Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder for his tireless advocacy on behalf of Super Storm Sandy victims. It is my hope that this measure will receive speedy passage in the Senate so it can be signed by President Obama, and survivors of Super Storm Sandy can finally recover for this horrific act of God.