Bill Pascrell

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to state that on March 3, 2016, I was detained in my district and missed roll call votes. Had I been present I would have voted: 1. NO--Roll Call No. 106--Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 4557. 2. NO--Roll Call No. 107--H. Res. 635--Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 4557--Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns (BRICK) Act of 2016. 3. AYE--Roll Call No. 108--S. 1826--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 99 West 2nd Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as the Lieutenant Colonel James ``Maggie'' Megellas Post Office. 4. NO--Roll Call No. 109--H.R. 4557--Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns (BRICK) Act of 2016.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to state that on March 2, 2016, I was detained in my district and missed the one roll call vote of the day. Had I been present I would have voted: AYE--Roll Call No. 105--H.R. 3716--Ensuring Access to Quality Medicaid Providers Act.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to state that yesterday, February 29, 2016, I was detained in my district and missed the one roll call vote of the day. Had I been present I would have voted: AYE--Roll Call No. 102--H.R. 4238--to amend the Department of Energy Organization Act and the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 to modernize terms relating to minorities.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, on March 1, 2016, I was detained in my district and missed the two rollcall votes of the day. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``Aye''--rollcall No. 103--H.R. 136--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1103 USPS Building 1103 in Camp Pendleton, California, as the ``Camp Pendleton Medal of Honor Post Office.'' ``Aye''--rollcall No. 104--H.R. 3735--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 Town Run Lane in Winston Salem, North Carolina, as the ``Maya Angelou Memorial Post Office.'' personal explanation

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the soldiers who fought to ensure that South Korea could achieve the prosperity and the fulfillment it enjoys today. Without our soldiers, that would not have happened. These soldiers deserve to be recognized for their contributions. That is why I am proud to cosponsor this legislation, which would expand the current Korean War Memorial to include a Wall of Remembrance in our Nation's Capital. This addition will honor the service and sacrifice of those who fought in the Korean War. I want to thank my good friend and committee mate, Congressman Sam Johnson, for introducing this legislation and, also, for his heroic military service to our country in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Through the Speaker, Sam, we owe you so much, and we could never repay you and the likes of Rangel and Conyers, et cetera, who put their lives on the line to not only defend America, but to defend the Korean people. In addition to a wall, this legislation will allow us to demonstrate our Nation's appreciation for the service of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, the Republic of Korean Armed Forces, and the nations of the United Nations Command, who were killed in action, wounded, listed as missing in action, or were prisoners of war. The Korean War Memorial Wall can ensure that future generations remember and honor the pride and dedication of those who served, the legacy they continued, and the freedom they preserved. You have heard the numbers about how many folks served, how many of our own brave soldiers and sailors and marines fought in the Korean war: almost 6 million; over 100,000 were wounded and over 36,000 gave their lives. So this is a fitting recognition for those who bravely served in defense of our Nation. I visited my brother-in-law the other day, who lives in a veterans' nursing home. He was a soldier in the Korean war, a victim. Many in that home fought in the same war, those who are still alive. Talking to them, one thing I noticed is they don't want to talk about their experiences ever. I remember talking to my brother-in-law, Joe, 30 years ago. He didn't want to talk about it. His brother, who served there, didn't want to talk about it. His other brother, Freddie, did not want to talk about it. He served there, also. So this is not only remembrance. More importantly, it is thank you. Thank you so much for what you did. Mr. Speaker, I mentioned their names before, Congressmen Rangel and Conyers. We owe them so much. I read Congressman Rangel's book twice about the experiences that he had in service to our country. We can never forget this. God bless, and I thank them.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. By the way, we were going to be marking up that budget this week; am I correct? I will stand corrected, Mr. Speaker, if I am wrong. We were supposed to be marking up that budget. Now, we have to ask: Why aren't we marking up that budget? We call on you to use this extra time during this delay to do your job and hold a hearing on the President's budget. It is the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. Gee, what does that mean? I asked you if you want to work in a bipartisan way. This would be a demonstration of how to do that.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, the refusal of my friends on the other side of the aisle to hold a hearing on the President's budget is an unprecedented show of disrespect. The lack of respect I have seen for this President is abominable, it is disgraceful, and it does not represent the American character. Chairman Price of the Budget Committee, Mr. Speaker, recently remarked he wanted to ``save the President the embarrassment'' of having his Budget Director come testify before the Congress. Save him the embarrassment? He should be embarrassed. This is the first time, Mr. Speaker, since 1975 that the Budget Committee has not given the basic courtesy of reviewing the President's budget, regardless of politics, regardless of whether we had a Democratic President or a Republican President, or regardless of whether we had a Democratic Congress or we had a Republican Congress-- since 1975. This crass display of partisanship diminishes the ability of Congress to do its job. It certainly doesn't help us in reaching across the aisle, or maybe I am missing something. Had the committee held a hearing on the President's budget, you would know that it creates opportunity for all, not just those at the top. It invests in growing the economy and ensuring the United States is competitive in the 21st century. Look, we set the parameters in December, just a few months ago, and now what you want to do politically is tell us you can't live within those parameters. That is what you are telling the American people. We agreed to that. We voted on it. Now the majority has punted--to use the term--its responsibility and postponed releasing a budget as it tries to cater to the extreme rightwing of its party.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention the outstanding achievements of Mr. Bruce DeMolli, who was being honored by the Murray Family and the New Jersey Department for Persons with Disabilities at their 46th Annual Dinner Dance on Sunday, February 21, 2016. Bruce joined the Our Lady of the Highway Knights of Columbus Council 3835 in Little Falls, based at Our Lady of the Holy Angels Church in 1984 and has been an active member ever since. He was installed as the N.J. Knights of Columbus State Deputy, becoming the state CEO of the Knights for the next two years. Bruce became a state officer 10 years ago when he was elected State Warden. He was instrumental in forming two new councils: Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Number 11943 in Wayne, New Jersey and the Immaculate Council Number 12211 in Clifton, New Jersey. From 2004-2006, Bruce served as the Chairman of the Paterson Federation Knights of Columbus. The Paterson Federation is a representation of the Councils in the counties of Morris, Passaic and Sussex. The Federation is dedicated to serving and providing all the councils within its boundaries the assistance needed to help them excel in all areas of Columbianism. In recognition for his faithful service to his church and community, Bruce was honored by Pope Benedict XVI as a Knight of Saint Gregory. Bruce has been married to his wife, Anna, for more than 40 years and they have one daughter, Bree, and two grandchildren, Tyler and Maya. Bruce's wife serves as director at Diocesan Catholic Charities' La Vida Childcare Centers I & II in Paterson. The Murray House is a great organization which supports a cause that is near and dear to me and my wife Elsie. They are the longest running group home in the State of New Jersey for adults with developmental disabilities. The fact that they have chosen to honor Bruce at their annual Dinner Dance is only fitting as he is a great servant in the cause of helping others. The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the achievements of dedicated individuals such as Bruce DeMolli. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Bruce's family, friends, and all those whose lives he has touched, and me, in recognizing his leadership, dedication, and loyalty to serving his community.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman on the other side has no more speakers, I am prepared to close.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Indiana for introducing the amendment. I know it is in good faith. I am looking at my favorite chart since I have been here about what causes the public debt. I hear all of these folks talking about it--in both parties running for President--about the public debt, and I don't know what public debt they are talking about, to be very frank with you. Let me tell you what the public debt is all about that we are talking about: $19 trillion and rising. Most of the debt that we carry from year to year--and we have to pay interest on that debt, as you well know--comes from either the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 combined with the two wars we never paid for. I mean, those are the facts. I didn't make them up. So we have very little in the discretionary part of the budget. It is only 30 percent of the total budget. We do have a solution to part of the problem in that we extended Medicare for one of those mandatory costs for 12 years. That is what the ACA did. I am telling you we ought to learn what the facts are, and then maybe we would reduce the number of bills as well as the amendments.

Mr. PASCRELL. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, from a few speakers today on the other side, I have heard ``Apocalypse Now.'' Both sides of the aisle, I think, want to get to a day when we balance the budget. We did it several years in a row at the end of the Clinton administration. I believe my friends on the other side of the aisle are well- intentioned in drafting this legislation. I believe they wanted to focus attention on the ways to address our debt and deficit. I agree. I believe that instead of toying with default--because that sends a horrible, horrible message to the world economy--we should do our job as Members and discuss real, long-term solutions to our budgetary challenges. In fact, I think my good friend from Texas would agree we had an outstanding discussion in the Rules Committee because I never heard that discussion on the floor of the House. Maybe I missed it. I don't know; did I miss it? Our discretionary spending, which we use to make critical investments in the infrastructure, education, and laying a foundation for our Nation's future for our kids and our grandkids' economic growth, that discretionary spending is at the lowest level since 1940. Even the gentleman from Virginia, who started to refer to it anyway, said a few moments ago, only talked about 30 percent discretionary money. But it was wrong what he said. We have not done anything to our insurance programs or entitlements. The Affordable Care Act here rears its head again, extending Medicare for 12 more years. I think that is a pretty big deal in talking about one of these mandatory costs that we have, 12 years more because of the Affordable Care Act. By the way, if you get rid of the Affordable Care Act, what are you going to do with the people who don't have insurance anymore? What are you going to do about the 12 years we have extended for Medicare? Perhaps that is all in this phantom budget we have out there. Cost increases moving forward will be driven by mandatory programs-- you know it, and I know it--like Social Security and Medicare, mostly due to an aging population. We started to address this problem with the Affordable Care Act. We have a long ways to go. Many Members of this body have reasonable proposals to address the growing cost of health care and Social Security on both sides of the aisle. So I believe we would be better served working together and debating together than sitting here today talking about another report that tells us what we already know. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, as I read it, this amendment requires the Treasury to notify Congress about which obligations it would be able to pay were Congress to choose to default and prioritize debt as a vision in the Pay China First bill, which the House has twice passed on a party-line vote. First, a bill that plans for default sends a very disturbing signal to the world economy. Here is what we have with us: the gentleman, apparently, through the Speaker and the sponsor of this bill, in good faith, wants to pay China first before vets, before Medicare payments, before salaries for our troops, et cetera. The gentleman wants to pay China first. Of all of the people lined up who are going to get paid, the gentleman wants to pay China first. Excuse me for repeating myself. The intent of the amendment is to accuse the Treasury of deceiving Congress about its ability to prioritize debt payments. The Treasury does not currently have the capability to prioritize between types of payments in the event it does not have enough cash on hand to pay all of the bills due on a particular date. That is how it works. In such an event, Treasury would likely hold all of its bills until it has enough cash on hand to pay those bills. This would repeat daily in a cascading fashion. The result would be disastrous, a first-time immediate default on U.S. credit. Let me repeat the 14th Amendment. It is clear, simple, and concise. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, section 4, says: ``The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law''--that is us--``including debts incurred for payment of pensions . . . shall not be questioned.'' I think that to even entertain the idea of default is counterproductive. To entertain the idea sends a real message to the financial markets all over the world, including our own. I think that is a disturbing thing. I don't think you want it, and I don't think we want it. Now, when you look at how the debt was incurred, when you look at that graph about what contributed to this $19 trillion, zillion, gabillion dollars, you are talking about, it could be very interesting in case of history--history is important here. History 101--what contributed to that debt: two wars unpaid for, two tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 unpaid for, plan B Medicare prescription drugs unpaid for. Look, we passed legislation on this floor. We are all culpable here, Democrats and Republicans. So when you stand up and pontificate--you don't have to be in a Presidential election either--and you pontificate about those guys simply want to tax and spend, you have short memories. You have selective memories. We have that at times, too, ourselves on our side. Well, you are talking about something pretty darn fundamental, and that is the budget, and that is the deficit of this country. This is an absolutely unnecessary amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member and the chairman and, of course, my good friend from Texas (Mr. Marchant). I yield myself such time as I may consume. This week, the President sent his fiscal year 2017 budget to Congress and released it to the American people. His budget included numerous proposals to reduce the deficit by $2.9 trillion and grow our economy. In fact, under President Obama's leadership, we have seen deficits shrink to stark lows, the smallest it has been in 7 years. However, the chairman of the House Budget Committee has refused to hold a hearing on the President's budget with the Office of Management and Budget. This is the first time in 40 years that the President's budget will not be granted a hearing. We separate the powers, but we never separate respect. Ignoring the fact that the President just sent deficit reduction proposals to Congress, rebuffing the OMB Director's request to testify, the House has instead gone to consider legislation that requires the administration to submit deficit reduction proposals and come and testify about the debt limit and the deficit. Something doesn't quite add up here. I have tremendous respect for the sponsor of this bill. I think he is acting in good faith--I think it is logical, but I don't think it is true; not everything logical is true, you know--the author of the bill and my colleague on the Ways and Means Committee. But I believe this legislation misses the forest for the trees. When nearing the debt limit, the most important thing for Congress to know is the catastrophic consequences of a default, yet this bill makes no mention of such a report. Instead, the legislation before us today asks the Treasury Department to report to Congress on things that Congress is most equipped to know. So they are asking us to hear what we already should know. The drivers and composition of future debt--that is us--and how the United States will meet its debt obligations, that is what is important to us and that is what is important to the American people. Just a reminder of our constitutional roles: the Congress has the responsibility to enact spending and revenue measures; the Treasury Department, part of the executive branch, executes the laws that we enact--not vice versa. They can't spend money that we haven't authorized. This bill would create new statutory requirements for the Treasury Department that are unnecessary and duplicative. The Secretary of the Treasury regularly corresponds with the Budget Committee about the debt limit and provides regular updates about the status of our ability to meet our debt obligations. If I might add just at this point, we know what the Constitution says about the debt limit. The 14th Amendment is very clear, section 4: ``The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions . . . shall not be questioned.'' That is what the Constitution--you know, we refer to the ``we,'' constitutionalists, only when it suits our purpose and supports our arguments. I think we should look at the Constitution as a document which affects everybody at any time in any place within our borders. Now, the Treasury provides us with the following: the budget, the Mid-Session Review--in fact, it is online; the Daily Treasury Statement, online; the Monthly Treasury Statement, online; the Monthly Statement of the Public Debt, online; the Schedule of Federal Debt and the Financial Report of the United States Government--all of which, I am saying again, are available on the Internet. At the time this legislation was brought before the Ways and Means Committee in September of 2015, Republicans were considering a default on the full faith and credit of the United States. A default would have catastrophic consequences, including a collapse of world credit markets and a destruction of job markets. Should Congress fail to raise the debt limit, the Treasury will not be able to pay veterans' benefits, pay doctors, pay hospitals, take care of Medicare patients, pay salaries to our troops or Pell grants to students who need them. These are expenditures that have already been authorized by the Congress, but if we don't act on the debt limit, we simply can't pay them. We can't. Fortunately, we were able to come together. We worked together, believe it or not. We suspended the debt limit through March of 2017. The report triggered by this bill, H.R. 3442, will be wholly duplicative of information Congress has already received from the Treasury Department, the Office of Management and Budget. So much for government efficiency. Well, I believe, my good friend from Texas, what we can and should do is come together in a bipartisan manner on a budget--what we can and we should do. But I believe that we will instead see a deeply partisan and ideological budget for my good friends on the other side that has no chance of garnering any Democratic support. I hope that is not the motivation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PASCRELL. How much time is remaining, Mr. Chair?

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I just want to remind the young lady from the other side of the aisle, my good friend, that everything she has asked for is pertinent and important, but it is already on the Internet. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), a distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. PASCRELL. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), who is a member--a distinguished member, at that--of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. PASCRELL. I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, during the rollcall vote No. 72 on the Duffy Amendment, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 7 Offered by Mr. Grijalva

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just heard something from my good friend from Illinois that bears repeating, which is to have the administration come and testify on their deficit plan. The President's budget includes $2.9 trillion in deficit reduction. You have refused a visit from the administration to discuss it. How is that for provocation? I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I just heard something very interesting. When I hear things interesting, I like to repeat them. So, we are going to save the President the embarrassment. The ranking member, Sandy Levin, mentioned that. He said today that is less than a lame excuse: to save the President embarrassment. You should be embarrassed balancing the budget on the money from the Affordable Care Act, which you have recommended we destroy. How is that for embarrassment? I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.