Jerrold Nadler

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, we have one final Speaker who will close for us, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished majority whip.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 2 of H. Res. 601, I submit the following materials into the Congressional Record as Explanatory Materials for H.R. 4. Taken together, these materials help explain the reasons why H.R. 4 is necessary as well as the reasons for the particular provisions in the bill. The materials are as follows: 1. A section-by-section analysis of H.R. 4, as perfected by the Manager's Amendment; 2. A memorandum explaining the inclusion of key provisions in the bill in light of the records developed in hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on House Administration; 3. Testimony of Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, explaining ongoing voting discrimination in certain states; 4. Testimony of Peyton McCrary of George Washington University Law School, explaining the data that supports the coverage formula in H.R. 4; 5. Testimony of Sophia Lin Lakin, Deputy Director of the Voting Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union, explaining the need for a revised preliminary injunction standard, a Purcell fix, and a burden-shifting test for section 2 vote denial claims; 6. Testimony of Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy, the Brennan Center for Justice, explaining the constitutionality of H.R. 4's geographic coverage formula; 7. Testimony of Jon Greenbaum, Chief Counsel of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, explaining the need for the incorporation of a retrogression standard in section 2 and the need for a prescriptive approach to assessing vote denial claims under section 2; 8. Testimony of Bernard Fraga of Emory University regarding evidence in support of the practice-based coverage formula and its demographic thresholds; 9. Letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and other civil rights groups in support of H.R. 4 and outlining the need for the bill; 10. Statement of Administration Policy in support of H.R. 4 from the Executive Office of the President; 11. Brennan Center--Racial Voter Suppression in 2020 Executive Summary, outlining the contemporary nature of voting discrimination; 12. Brennan Center--Representation for Some Executive Summary; 13. Brennan Center--Racial Turnout Gap Grew in Jurisdictions Previously Covered by the Voting Rights Act, outlining the reasons why focusing on increases in minority turnout, alone, masks a continuing racial disparity in voter turnout; 14. Brennan Center--Large Racial Turnout Gap Persisted in 2020 Election; and 15. A report prepared by the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration, outlining ongoing voter suppression efforts in various states.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4502, the Seven Bill Appropriation Minibus for Fiscal Year 2022. This critical bill is a massive down payment on the promises we have made to the American people. After years of disinvestment in our infrastructure, reductions in health care spending, and limits on climate research, after 18 months of a devastating pandemic from which nearly all of our communities continue to struggle, this bill represents a chance to create good jobs, secure our safety net programs, and address the impacts of climate change. The bill makes a massive investment in working families. It provides a $20 billion increase for high-poverty schools and a $3 billion increase in funding for special education programs. The bill dramatically expands funding for early childhood education and childcare. It continues our commitment to expanding access to higher education by increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $400, dramatically increasing funding to expand higher education opportunities, including TRIO programs and GEAR UP, and increasing funding for Teacher Quality Partnerships and other higher education programs. The bill also provides $106 billion for SNAP and includes provisions to ensure that SNAP will not run out of money and families will continue receiving benefits throughout the year. I am proud to see the dramatic increases in funding for key health care priorities and to address long-standing health disparities and inequities. First and foremost, this bill finally, after 45 years, repeals the racist, anti-woman Hyde Amendment to ensure that women are able to access abortion regardless of their income or where they live. The bill also provides a massive boost in funding for Title X Family Planning Services and for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, to ensure that these science-based, cost-effective programs continue to provide critical health and wellness services. In addition, the bill continues to increase our investments in life-saving research and public health infrastructure, including $49 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $10.6 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $1 billion in new flexible funding to improve the public health infrastructure, $1.8 billion for Health Centers, which includes a nearly l000 percent increase in funding to $50 million for school-based health centers. The bill makes a significant investment in our crumbling infrastructure while creating new jobs and ensuring that we finally address the climate crisis. In particular, it provides $105.7 billion to invest in transit passenger rail, airports and highways and provides $250 million to ensure those investments also reduce our admissions, benefit communities too often left behind, and increase the climate resiliency of our infrastructure. The bill also doubles investments in passenger and freight rail and promotes safety through investments in transit state of good repair and expanded transportation safety and inspection workforce. Finally, after the House passed an amendment I offered, the bill will provide $6 million in grants for security and maintenance at 9/11 Memorials and Museums. Taken all together, these investments will create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs and help our economy continue to recover and grow. Access to housing remains a major concern in New York, and this bill will take some steps so that more New Yorkers are safely and affordably housed. The bill expands housing choice vouchers, or Section 8, to help 125,000 more individuals and families find affordable housing in their community and ensures that all 4.8 million families currently receiving housing assistance can stay in their homes. The bill also matches my request for $600 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/ AIDS (HOPWA), a $170 million increase, so that New York City and other major cities do not face a massive funding cut this year. I am, however, very disappointed the bill provides just $3.4 billion for public housing capital needs, which is not even enough to cover the massive repair backlog at NYCHA alone. As I have said many times before, the ongoing underfunding of public housing capital needs is not sustainable for NYCHA or other large public housing agencies. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the New York Delegation and across Congress to address this concern as quickly as possible. In addition to all of these critical investments, the minibus funds eight critical community projects in my district, totaling over $9.2 million in direct funding to NY-10. These projects include a new Parenting Center at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, elevator repairs at Harborview Terrace Housing Development, expansion of mental health and substance abuse program at the LGBT Center, and funding for the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center. I am proud to be able to deliver this funding and bring new jobs, better health outcomes, and improved financial stability back to my district.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 3985.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3985, the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021, or the ALLIES Act, makes essential changes to the Afghan special immigrant visa program to ensure that the lives of those who served faithfully alongside American troops in Afghanistan are protected. The special immigrant visa program allows those individuals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. Government in Afghanistan, or for the NATO International Security Assistance Force in support of the American mission, to seek lawful permanent residence in the United States. To be eligible, applicants must establish qualifying employment in Afghanistan for 2 years, receive approval from the Chief of Mission, and undergo rigorous background checks and national security vetting, a process that, on average, takes 3 years. Our 20-year mission in Afghanistan will formally come to an end in just a few short weeks. Each day that we continue to draw down our military presence in Afghanistan, threats to the lives of Afghans who supported our cause are increasing exponentially. The Biden administration has committed to relocating certain applicants to a third country. Some who have passed the national security vetting process will be transferred to the United States to complete visa processing. These evacuations, which are scheduled to begin at the end of this month, are a critical component of our withdrawal strategy. But evacuations alone are not enough. Congress must do our part to protect those whose lives are at risk because of their support and service to our Nation. First and foremost, we must ensure that enough visas are available for eligible applicants. H.R. 3985 increases the number of visas that may be issued to qualifying Afghans by 8,000, which would ensure that all qualified applicants who are currently undergoing processing can immediately receive a visa if they are approved. Second, we must streamline visa processing to the greatest extent possible, without compromising national security or program integrity. H.R. 3985 does this by reducing duplicative paperwork requirements and modifying the requirement that applicants prove the existence of an ongoing serious threat to their lives; to reflect the fact that Afghans who worked in support of the U.S. mission now face an obvious threat as a direct result of their work. Third, the bill strengthens protections for certain groups of Afghan nationals, including surviving spouses, and children of deceased principal applicants, individuals employed by NATO in support of the U.S. mission, and individuals whose work was funded by a U.S. Government cooperative agreement or grant. Collectively, these changes will ensure that no one whose lives are at risk because of their support to the American mission are abandoned or forced to wait for Congress to act to authorize more visas. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this important bill. I thank Representative Crow for championing the cause of our Afghan allies and working across the aisle to build consensus and support for this legislation. We must keep our promises to these brave men and women. Their lives depend on it. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3985, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 535, I call up the bill (H.R. 3985) to amend the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to expedite the special immigrant visa process for certain Afghan allies, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).