Gwen Moore

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3717, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 10, which reauthorizes our Nation's charter school program. I would just like to start out by saying this is a great improvement over the charter school legislation that we have seen in past times. When the charter school movement began, as many of you may recall, lawmakers exempted those schools from many of the rules governing traditional public schools in order to allow educators their ability to explore new, innovative methods and models of teaching. This yielding of exempting them from this rule yielded some unintended consequences. There have been stories in many States, and you just heard Ms. Castor of Florida talk about financial waste, fraud, murky funders or managers, conflicts of interest. It is a problem, notwithstanding our desire to see innovation. This has got to be addressed because taxpayer dollars are, in fact, lost along with private funds, as well as innovation. The greatest cost, of course, is our children, who become, sometimes, puppets of other folks' financial interests. A new report from the Center for Popular Democracy and Integrity in Education released just this month examined 15 of the largest charter markets and found $100 million in losses to taxpayers since charter schools entered these markets. It is very important to put sensible oversight into place to ensure that public funds are not being wasted or misused. This amendment does just that. It simply requires that States receiving charter school grants must set aside 2 percent of that grant to provide financial oversight of charters of publicly funded money and to disclose private contributions that they receive. I just want to say, anticipating some rebuttal, that the funds would be set aside and the authorizing agencies of these charter schools, be they the State or the local education agency, would be able to use the set-aside for appropriate financial oversight. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I think it is unfortunate that the gentleman from California is opposing this amendment as well and my Republican friends opposing it, because we often find ourselves talking about unfunded mandates. What my amendment does is try to make sure that we are providing not only the guidance and insistence that there be audits, but that we actually provide the ways and means for it to be done. It is one thing to say, oh, yeah, they are going to audit themselves. With what? Audits cost money. So I find it unfortunate that they would pass this unfunded mandate on to these chartering agencies. I would urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment. I think it improves the bill. I think it provides the needed resources for this accountability, these accountability activities. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, I missed rollcall vote No. 212 on the Castor Amendment to H.R. 10--``To amend the charter school program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' Amendment No. 8 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, as the designee of the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, I am so proud to be here with my distinguished colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus to present our budget for fiscal year 2015. We have spent the last week, 2 weeks analyzing the House Republican budget, and you have heard here on this floor today the flaws in this budget: it doesn't reflect the needs of our Nation; it achieves deficit reduction by imposing more austerity provisions at the expense of our most vulnerable populations; and it stifles economic growth and our ability to compete on a global scale. But instead of just criticizing the majority's budget, the Congressional Black Caucus once again has done the due diligence to put together a budget alternative which we believe meets the highest priorities of all Americans. First of all, it reduces the deficit responsibly. Secondly, it constructs a meaningful job creation package, something Americans desperately need. It invests in our infrastructure and education so we can grow our economy. It ends the ongoing threat of spending cuts due to sequestration. It raises revenue through the Tax Code fairly. We just cannot cut our way to prosperity. And, finally, it extends a compassionate hand towards those who live in poverty, which is the signature and the heart of the Congressional Black Caucus budget. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the assistant minority leader.

Ms. MOORE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I am very happy now to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus' Budget Task Force.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 20 seconds.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I am so happy at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the chair of the Democratic whip's Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, and also a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I am so pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), a freshman on the Budget Committee.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, I thank all of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus who have worked hard on this budget. I was so happy that the chair of the Budget Committee came to the floor. We, obviously, don't have time to continue this conversation on poverty, and I think that there is much to talk about since we shouldn't blame poverty programs or blame the poor; but we need to look at inequality, the state of our economy, and an unfair Tax Code. Indeed, 2007 and 1928, 2 years that ushered in the Great Depression and the Great Recession, chronicled the highest inequality in our country, and that might, in fact, talk about where our budget priorities ought to be. I urge my colleagues to vote for the Congressional Black Caucus budget. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, the Reverend Doctor, Charles Everton Thornhill will celebrate his 85th birthday on Friday, April 11, 2014. He will be celebrating this special occasion with members of his congregation, colleagues, family and friends. The Reverend Dr. Charles Everton Thornhill is pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Reverend Thornhill said that God chose his mate, Mary Catherine Thornhill, and they have been married for over 56 years. Dr. Thornhill was born April 9, 1929 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was educated in the Cambridge Public Schools. He graduated from Zion Bible College in East Providence, Rhode Island, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Doctorate of Ministry from St. Martin College & Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a Doctorate of Divinity Degree from the Urban Bible College in Detroit, Michigan. Reverend Thornhill has been a pastor both preaching and teaching for over 50 years. The first church he pastored was Zion Mission which he led for two years in Hyannis, Massachusetts. This was followed by his leadership at Beulah Temple Church for four years in Louisville, Kentucky. He moved to Milwaukee to join his friend, the late Reverend Kenneth Bowen pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. Rev. Bowen was also a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Reverend Thornhill served as the Assistant Pastor of Mt. Moriah for 12 years. He left Mt. Moriah to become Pastor of Greater Mount Eagle Baptist Church in Racine, Wisconsin where he served for 24 years. Reverend Thornhill was asked to return to Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and has continued to pastor for nearly 20 years. Dr. Thornhill is in the midst of a rebuilding and renovation program for their worship facility. In April, 2014, a chapel will be completed where the Mt. Moriah Educational Building once stood. Further, the current church building will be razed and be replaced with a new church building. The chapel constructed in 2014 will then be converted to the fellowship hall. Dr. Thornhill is in great demand as a speaker around his community, city, and this country. He is an instructor at the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education and the Wisconsin General Baptist State Congress of Christian Education. He teaches a theology class every Monday night in ``Milwaukee to Pastors.'' He has served on boards of various social, economic, educational and philanthropic organizations. Pastor Thornhill has announced that this is his ``Caleb Year'' because Caleb was 85 years of age when he and descendants were rewarded by God with their promise. Caleb awaited his promise for 40 years remaining faithful and displaying triumphant faith; like Caleb, time has neither dimmed Reverend Thornhill's faith nor his spiritual vision. Mr. Speaker, I rise to praise Reverend Dr. Charles Everton Thornhill who is my pastor and my friend. I honor his many accomplishments and life time commitment to the entire Milwaukee Community and the 4th Congressional District.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. This is just a little short ditty because I am very concerned as a person who lives in an inner city environment, I have become intensely aware of how environmental injustice affects the health and safety of our communities. So I just wanted to talk a little bit about fracking this evening. As we frack, under intense pressure, we force a fissure through the delicate veins of our unbound Earth and a black hole forms, poisoning the valley and streams of our spirit. Man, don't you fear it? Wrecking the ecosystem and trekking recklessly over pristine black loam. Man, don't you hear it? The harsh acid rain as it drains into the vital marsh of our existence. Oh, but, of course, the coarse priority of wealth strips our Earth's fertility and reservoir of life. Fracked and cracked, lost, perhaps for all eternity. Alas, it is true, there is none so blind as he who will not see.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and honor a mother, volunteer and veteran, Anna Mae Wilson Robertson. Mrs. Robertson, a long-time resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will celebrate her 90th birthday with family and friends on March 8, 2014. Annie Mae Wilson married John Robertson, who passed away in 1982, and their 33 year union produced 8 children. Mrs. Robertson work history included jobs at Marquette University and St. Camillus Health Center. Mrs. Robertson enlisted in the Army in 1945 and served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion (The Six Triple Eight). The 6888 comprised of 855 women has a long list of firsts and accomplishments, including the first African American all- female battalion and the first and ONLY all women battalion to be deployed overseas. The 6888 confronted life threatening German U Boats on route to Europe in February, 1945 and upon their arrival in England were greeted by Buzz Bombs. Letters and care packages vital to the morale of soldiers were delayed across Western Europe. The 6888 developed a new mail system housed in three air hangars from floor to ceiling for distribution to the 7 million Army, Navy, Marine Corps, civilian and Red Cross Personnel in Europe. The task was daunting with many letters addressed improperly; some letters were over two years old, and nearly 7500 Robert Smiths to be properly identified. The working conditions were abysmal with no heat in the hangars, windows blacked out due to air raids and the poor light contributed to eyestrain. However, the 6888 successfully processed 65,000 pieces of mail on each of the 3 shifts, 7 days a week. The 6888 operated under the challenges of ``dual segregation'' being women and African American; they were not allowed to sleep, shower or eat with other female personnel or soldiers while in Birmingham, England. They were housed in a former boarding school and out of necessity operated their own mess hall, hair salon, and motor pool adding to their workload. The 6888 completed their assignment in 3 months instead of 6 months and were then reassigned to Rouen, France. While in France, they no longer faced the challenges of segregation. Again the 6888 completed their assignment in 3 months in Rouen, France and were reassigned to Paris, their last assignment with the war ending a short time later. Three women of the 6888 lost their lives overseas and were buried in France. The 6888 was shipped home to Fort Dix and immediately disbanded. Anna Mae Robertson Wilson was a member of this ``Band of Sisters'', who served honorably, and whose story was largely untold and its successes not celebrated. Mr. Speaker, Anna Mae Wilson Robertson and the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion performed above and beyond expectations. I am proud to celebrate her 90th Birthday and her accomplishments as a veteran and resident of Milwaukee.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is straightforward. It simply provides a sense of Congress that acknowledges the tremendous work done by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as it was originally conceived in Dodd-Frank and how it has been operating to this point. The agency, Mr. Chair, has refunded $3 billion to 9.7 million victims of unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices in financial markets. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has helped people, and fraud has been curtailed. The message has been sent to the next generation of financial hustlers that there is a dedicated cop on the beat in financial markets. The singular and dedicated mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is to protect consumers of financial products from schemes, and it inspires trust in our markets that attracts capital and promotes allocations of that capital to productive, legitimate endeavors. My amendment affirms that the current management, oversight, and funding source, as enshrined in Dodd-Frank, are the best way to preserve the integrity and independence of the agency, and to ensure that we don't return to the bad old days and bad old ways that put the ox in the ditch by creating the 2008 financial crisis and the $700 billion bailout. Now, H.R. 3193 openly acknowledges that it would alter and neuter the agency's mission because H.R. 3193 would rename the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Financial Product Safety Commission, removing, Mr. Chairman, consumers from the equation, both in name and function. It would subject the agency's funding to protect consumers to the unwieldy appropriations process, sequester, defunding amendments, instead of the outside independent funding vis-a-vis these powerful financial institutions. Now, whether intentional or not, Republicans, Mr. Chair, have shown their hand with the omission of consumers in H.R. 3193, and despite the euphemistic name of the bill as written, this bill would alter the mission and cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by focusing on protecting financial products rather than consumers. Whatever the intent, Mr. Chairman, consumers would be thrown under the bus by removing the cop from the Wall Street beat. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I always enjoy the chairman of the Financial Services Committee and his lavish explanations. I just want to clear up some of the confusion and bewilderment that he seems to be under with regard to minority and Latin borrowers. He has said over and over and over again, he has talked about and referred to the Qualified Mortgage standards under the new rules. The new standards have just taken place, and I think that minorities will find that 95 percent of the mortgages today will fall within the Qualified Mortgage standards. Now having said that, I will just say that the chairman should look at something other than the PATH Act toward restoring the GSEs, if he is very concerned about minorities, and I would join him in that to be able to get mortgages. I would say that to clear up his bewilderment here, I just want to congratulate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because it is a fact that they have supported the refund of $3 billion to 9.7 million victims of unfair practices. I agree with him: the purpose of this bill and the reason that they won't accept this amendment is because they don't want to go on record that they support consumers over all of these very, very lucrative financial products that are out there, and they want no regulation, which is why we saw the 2008 meltdown, the no rules of the road. They want to return to the days when there was an ability to drive the economy over the cliff and to deceive consumers to the point that they could and would become victims. So I can understand the chairman's reluctance to accept this language. Mr. Chairman, I enter into the Record our defense of our claims, and I yield back the balance of my time. Response to CoreLogic Analysis of Qualified Mortgage (QM) Standards, CRL Issue Brief; February 20, 2013 The recently released CoreLogic report ``The Mortgage Market Impact of Qualified Mortgage Regulation'' has received a lot of attention due to its finding that 48 percent of the mortgage market would not qualify as a ``safe loan'' under new Qualified Mortgage (QM) guidelines. Corelogic uses a ``waterfall'' analysis to estimate the proportion of 2010 mortgage originations that do not meet one or more of the QM criteria. While a waterfall approach is a reasonable methodology for estimating the proportion of recent originations that fall outside of QM standards, there are problems both with the specifics of CoreLogic's model and its assumptions about the expiration of the GSE exemption that significantly undercut the usefulness of its estimates of the impact of the QM rule. Removes Loans with Credit Scores less than 640: As part of estimating the impact of QM, CoreLogic included a restriction on credit scores. Specifically, the waterfall analysis first removes loans with credit scores below 640 ``because they resemble subprime loans.'' In fact, five percent of originations are removed solely based on this criterion. This exclusion is not warranted because the QM guidelines do not place any restrictions on a borrower credit score. Assumes that borrowers who received loan products with prohibited QM features would not be able to access QM- eligible loan products in the future: The other waterfall layers used to estimate the QM impact are: total debt-to- income (DTI) ratio over 43 percent; whether the loan was negatively amortizing, balloon or interest only; low- or no- documentation; and loan terms of greater than 30 years. These restrictions result in exclusions of 24 percent, 1 percent, 16 percent, and 2 percent respectively. Based on this analysis, while it might be reasonable for the report to estimate that 43 percent of 2010 originations did not meet these new QM guidelines, it is not reasonable to infer that none of these borrowers could have received QM loans if the rule had been in place in 2010. While having a high DTI may be a difficult barrier that many borrowers cannot overcome, the disqualifying loan terms, such as negative amortization options or terms of greater than 30- years, can easily be avoided in most cases by simply Re-structuring the loans into amortizing 30 year loans. Similarly, most borrowers who received no-doc or low-doc loans in 2010, the origination year analyzed in the report, likely could have documented their incomes. Therefore, the inference that none of the 19 percent of borrowers that had disqualifying loan products could have received QM loans is unwarranted. Assumes the GSE exemption expires: As the report recognizes, most of the 24 percent of loans to borrowers with high DTIs are currently being made by GSEs or insured by FHA and these loans automatically qualify as QM under a temporary exemption (up to seven years). Indeed, the report acknowledges that the impact of the QM rule on loans currently being made would be'' minor''. Given the uncertainties concerning GSE reform and mortgage finance that will need to be resolved over the next seven years, it is not at all clear that the temporary exemption will in fact end in seven years.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and honor a young student from my district, Noah Katz, who has achieved national recognition for exemplary volunteer service in his community. Noah Katz, who hails from Whitefish Bay, was named one of the top honorees in Wisconsin by the 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. This is an annual honor conferred on the most impressive student volunteers in each state and the District of Columbia. Mr. Katz is being recognized for his work and leadership with the organization ``Boxes of Love.'' The organization has 183 young volunteers who bake, pack and ship treats in order to raise funds to help others. They raised more than $63,000 and donated the funds to help build a school house through Free the Children and built a well in Kenya. Mr. Katz should be extremely proud to have been singled out from the thousands of dedicated volunteers who participated in this year's program. I heartily applaud Mr. Katz for his initiative in seeking to make his community and the global community a better place to live, and for the positive impact he has had on the lives of others. He deserves our sincere admiration and respect. His actions show that young Americans play important roles in our communities. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards was created by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 1995. The mission is to not only inspire young people to volunteer, but to impress upon all youth volunteers that their contributions are critically important and highly valued. Over the past 19 years, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level and is the nation's largest youth recognition effort based solely on community service. Youth volunteers like Noah Katz are inspiring examples to all of us, and are among our brightest hopes for a better tomorrow. It is extremely important that we encourage and support the kind of selfless contributions that these young citizens have made. Mister Speaker, I commend Mr. Katz for his work. America's community spirit continues to hold tremendous promise for the future and shines because of his efforts.

Ms. MOORE

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a published composer, arranger, educator, guest conductor, saxophone soloist and composer in residence. He was a highly successful and visible educator at all levels of school bands both as a conductor and clinician. On February 2, 2014 Dr. Nicholas J. Contorno passed away leaving his wife Lucille, two daughters, Camille and Gina, and a host of family and friends to remember his many accomplishments. Dr. Nicholas J. Contorno retired in 2007 after 24 years as the Director of Bands and Orchestra at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was granted a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his teaching career in 1961 as an Instrumental Music teacher in the Glendale (WI) Public Schools and also served as Director of Bands at Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. He served as Music Curriculum Supervisor and Director of Bands at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin. Dr. Contorno's work with young musicians made him one of the most beloved composers for concert and jazz bands. Dr. Contorno was an A.S.C.A.P. award winning composer and arranger. He is listed in ``Leaders of Secondary Education'' (1972), ``World's Who's Who of Musicians'' (1977), and ``Encyclopedia of Band Composers'' (1991). As an active professional musician, he performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Holiday on Ice Orchestra, Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus Band, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, and Les Elgart Orchestra. In addition, he performed with many national shows and artists, including ``Annie,'' 42nd Street,'' Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, Manhattan Transfer, Vic Damone, Johnny Mathis, Mel Torme, and Sonny & Cher, to mention a few. His many honors include the Hugo Anhalt Music Achievement Award (1973); National Band Association Outstanding Jazz Educator Award (1982); and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Music Alumni Achievement Award (1990). Dr. Contorno also held memberships in numerous professional organizations, such as the American Federation of Musicians--Local 8, ASBDA, the National Band Association, and the Wisconsin Bandmasters Association. He served on the board of directors of the Festival City Orchestra of Milwaukee and the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra. He was the musical coordinator of Festa Italiana-Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1982 to 1998, served as the Musical Director/Conductor of the First Brigade Civil War Band of Wisconsin from 1970-1982 and The Milwaukee Concert Band from 1996-2002. In addition, he served as guest conductor of the Goldman Band of New York and the ``President's Own'' United States Marine Band. Dr. Contorno has a music school named after him in Gonaives, Haiti. Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I am honored to a tribute to Dr. Nicholas J. Contorno. Dr. Contorno's contributions have greatly benefitted the citizens of the Fourth Congressional District, the State of Wisconsin and the global community.