Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Thank you, sir. This was discussed in the Rules Committee the other day. And there is a need for expediency here. We are talking about televisions that are going out and people losing the ability to view it.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. In the Rules Committee yesterday we had several amendments.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 107 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas and my colleague on the Rules Committee, Mr. Sessions. All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 107 provides for consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. I rise in support of House Resolution 107, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. I again wish to thank Speaker Pelosi who has been an unrelenting champion on this important issue. I also want to thank Chairman Rangel and Chairman Dingell for sponsoring bills that were vetoed in the 110th Congress, and Chairman Waxman and all of my colleagues for their leadership on this issue in this Congress, and I want to recognize everyone's efforts to bring this bill to where it is today. Although I began my House service only a few weeks ago, I have received hundreds of letters from constituents who have serious concerns about health care cost and coverage. Too common is the story of hardworking, low-income moms and dads forced to choose between buying groceries and visiting their family doctor. I have heard from those who have either lost their health care coverage or feared that they will lose it because they simply can't afford it. I have heard from parents who are denied necessary health care by their insurers, and as a result, their children are suffering too. I have heard from caregivers who have been laid off losing not only their health coverage, but that of their children's as well. This is a serious problem that we can no longer afford to ignore. No longer can we lay the blame at the front door of the White House. With the change in administration, we can ensure that this legislation passes the House today and reaches the President's desk as soon as possible. With our approval, President Obama has indicated he will sign this bill into law today and change the lives of millions of children and families. Delay is simply not an option. A large majority of Americans of all political persuasions support this important bill. It's a fiscally responsible way to not only extend the number of children in our Nation who will receive health care, but to improve the quality of that care. This bill relieves the burden of taxpayers who currently subsidize millions of costly and inefficient uninsured emergency room visits. By encouraging preventative care for children who lack insurance today, we can actually reduce costs from the system and provide healthier outcomes for young people. This bill is just common sense, given the Nation's skyrocketing health care costs, coupled with our current economic challenges. It is an investment where the return is a generation of healthy, happy and productive Americans. This legislation will provide health care coverage for more than 11 million children nationally. Tomorrow morning, 170,000 children in my home State of Colorado wake up without health insurance. That is 170,000 too many. This bill will change that terrible statistic for the better by giving States the vital tools needed to reach out to uninsured children who are eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid, but not yet enrolled. This is not only critical to Colorado, but to all our States and territories. Madam Speaker, the epidemic of the uninsured is not just a consequence of our struggling economy, it is a component of it. Under a new administration, with the political will of this new Congress, we have the power to set this particular wrong right. A healthy economy is supported by healthy people. Providing health care insurance for millions of uninsured Americans is an important beginning to keeping our people and our economy healthy. But it is just a beginning. Protecting the health of our Nation's young children is of paramount importance to society and the security of our Nation. A recent military study reveals that one-third of American teenagers are incapable of passing a basic physical test. This legislation will help give every child a chance at a healthy start. With rising unemployment, a battered economy and more layoffs coming every day, the plight of the uninsured is likely to only get worse. Next month, Madam Speaker, SCHIP will expire. Our failure today would add millions of children to the rolls of the uninsured. To me, my constituents, and hopefully to my colleagues, as well, this is unacceptable. Today we have an opportunity to protect millions of children across the Nation who don't have a voice and to safeguard their future. I urge you to vote for this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, as you know, children do not control what family they are born into. And an important part of the meritocracy that makes our country great is that every child should have the opportunity to succeed. Establishing healthy habits and a healthy life early in life, regardless of the parent's station, is an important part of making sure that a child has the opportunity to climb to whatever station they are capable of. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, a brief history on the SCHIP legislation and why this is so critical for us to pass here today. This rule before the House would permit the House to concur in the Senate amendment because this legislation has been considered repeatedly and thoroughly in the House in this Congress and the last. In July of 2007 the House considered H.R. 3162 to reauthorize and amend SCHIP and the bill passed. In September 2007 the House considered H.R. 976 to reauthorize and amend SCHIP. The bill passed. The Senate also passed the bill and it was presented to President Bush and received a veto. In October of 2007 the House again tried to reauthorize SCHIP. 3963 was the House bill. Passed the House, passed the Senate. The President again vetoed the bill and the House was unable to override the veto. Ultimately, legislation to merely extend SCHIP as it was enacted into law will expire next month. Children's lives are at stake. That's what's so critical about passing this bill today. When people lack health care insurance they often don't seek preventative care and are forced to use emergency rooms as their primary care provider. Not only does this cost more, this also provides for worse health outcomes, and conditions that could have been dealt with less expensively and more successfully in the onset are instead deferred, and incur more expense and worse health outcomes. By passing this bill today, we can ensure that hundreds of thousands of poor children across our country receive adequate health care and are able to succeed and grow in school and be able to succeed in their lives. Madam Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I am proud to back a plan to help improve the health and chance for success of 11 million children. It also reduces the more costly nature of emergency room use, and moves us closer to providing every child in our Nation with affordable, high quality health care. This bill also extends health care coverage to 4.1 million additional low-income children who are currently uninsured. A healthy child is better prepared for learning and success. Studies show that early childhood health is indicative and can, in fact, impact the learning processes, the special education needs of the child and indeed, even the IQ of the child as the child matriculates through education. By making sure that children have health care coverage, we can, in fact, prevent a lot of gaps within our education system from arising before they arise, and ensure that children, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to succeed in our country. This is the change that America needs. Providing health care coverage for children and indeed, all Americans, is one of the reasons that I ran for Congress. Providing health care to 4 million more children will be a clear demonstration that change has come to Washington. This is legislation that President Bush vetoed twice in the 110th Congress. Today we have the opportunity to send this bill to a new President who has committed to sign it this very afternoon and begin implementing it immediately to help cover 4.1 million additional children in our Nation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California, a member of the Appropriations Committee, Ms. Lee.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 and want to thank Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Obey, Chairwoman Slaughter and all of my colleagues for their timely and decisive leadership on this issue. Like most Americans, I am distressed about the state of our economy and the impact of our recession on hardworking families. My home State of Colorado and many of our school districts, faced with draconian budget cuts, are seeing reductions in critical services when they are needed most, workers are being laid off left and right, and there is a massive scaling back of statewide investment. Tens of thousands of Coloradans lost their jobs in October and November alone. The time has come to set aside partisanship and ideology and to forcefully tackle these underlying conditions and factors that have frozen economic activity in our Nation. That's why we must ensure that this legislation passes the House and Senate and reaches President Obama's desk as soon as possible. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to be part of the solution and be part of supporting this measure to rebuild our Nation's infrastructure, both physical and human infrastructure, and renew confidence in our economy. As some of you may know, before joining Congress I served as chairman of our State Board of Education in Colorado and superintendent of the New America Charter School. As an educator, I can tell you that education is the most meaningful medium and long-term investment that we can make to stimulate the American economy. This bill lays the foundation of an education system and green economy for the 21st century by investing in our future. It builds high-tech green schools, reaches out to at-risk kids and children with disabilities, and increases Pell Grants and Work Study aid to help students afford college. Without it, we risk losing precious ground in our fight to close the gap in education. In my district, Adams County has suffered enormously from the economic downturn, experiencing the 10th highest unemployment rate out of Colorado's 64 counties with over 16,000 unemployed workers. This historic bill will immediately prevent further job loss in hard-hit places like Adams County. I urge support of this bill on behalf of American families.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. I yield an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Obey.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. I thank the chairman for his explanation. I appreciate the consideration that this Chamber has given to improving the protections and opportunities afforded to women seeking to take care of their families in this very challenging economic time.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Mr. Chairman, I would like to engage Chairman Miller in a colloquy for purposes of illuminating the intent of the job training and worker diversification provisions of H.R. 1, the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Earlier in the month, I, along with 12 of my colleagues, sent a letter to then President-elect Obama seeking to promote gender equity in the infrastructure job creation spurred by the economic recovery funding. With women holding less than 10 percent of construction jobs, the letter asked for additional funding for the Department of Labor program known as WANTO, which trains women for higher-wage nontraditional jobs, and to strengthen the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs so it can effectively enforce current laws that require contractors to reach out and recruit women into jobs in which they're underrepresented.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. I'd like to thank the gentlewoman from Maine for the time. First, on the rule, before I get into the merits of the issue, which is a very important issue we all care about, with regard to the rule on this item, we did discuss it and debate it as part of the initial rules for the House of Representatives which we put in place. So this was discussed both within caucus and debated before the House as a whole. I heard many objections from my colleagues on the other side, perhaps including the gentleman from Florida, with regard to the rules package, around the recommit issue, around the terms limit issue. I did not hear at that point extensive disagreement about the rules for this particular item, which were included in that initial package. I would like to thank Chairman Miller for his leadership on this issue of equality and fairness in the workplace and Representative DeLauro for her continued work on this issue. This bill restores and clarifies important protections that are a long time coming. This bill corrects a wrong that has cost our working women more than just the dollars they have earned. Today's bill ensures that every worker, whether male or female, is given equal opportunity to fight against discrimination in the workplace. When someone's pay is based not only their ability, not on their creativity, not on their personal drive, not on the value they create in the economy, but rather on their chromosomes, we cheat ourselves and we cheat our entire economy and all American families. Pay discrimination, whether based on gender or any nonperformance factor, means the best and the brightest within our society are being held back. Discrimination is a cancer of economic inefficiency that eats away at American prosperity. When we fail to promote those who show leadership, we stifle the innovation and progress that make our country great. And while our country has made great strides, tremendous strides towards equality, we have a long way to go, and particularly women still continue to suffer for less pay for the same work than men across our Nation. Pay discrimination furthers inequalities. And that is why I strongly support the Lilly Ledbetter Act. It gives women the legal hammer they need to continue to break the glass ceiling.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. POLIS of Colorado

Mr. POLIS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I can think of no more important issue to make my first floor speech on. I rise in support of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, and I want to thank Speaker Pelosi, who has been an unrelenting champion of this issue. I also want to thank Chairman Rangel and Chairman Dingell for sponsoring the legislation in the 110th Congress, and Chairman Waxman for his leadership on this important issue. I have already received numerous letters and contacts from constituents who are worried about loss of health care coverage. We have heard from those who have lost their health care coverage or fear they could lose it because they can't afford it. The lack of affordable health care in this country for families is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. We must ensure that this legislation passes the House and Senate and reaches the new President's desk as soon as possible. This legislation would provide health care coverage for more than 11 million children. In Colorado, there are over 100,000 uninsured children who are eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid but are not yet enrolled. This is critical for our State and for our country. Children can't help what family they are born into. To ensure that every American has the opportunity to succeed, we need to make sure that children have access to health care insurance regardless of their family background. This is an opportunity to protect millions of children who do not have a voice and safeguard their future, and that's why I urge you to support this legislation.