Betty Sutton

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate two outstanding public servants who have dedicated their lives to serving others and working for social justice in our community. Judges Thomas and Linda Teodosio will receive the 2012 Bishop Cosgrove Justice Award, which will be presented by the Catholic Commission of Summit County. This award is bestowed upon exemplary individuals and organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice in accordance with biblical values. I have known the Teodosio family for many years and I am honored to call them my friends. Over the years, they have so generously given of their time, talent, and resources to numerous organizations in our community. What strikes me the most in this moment is how the Teodosios have chosen to use tragedy to make a positive impact. I will never forget where I was the day I learned of that terrible accident that took Andrea's life back in February 2011. Andrea Rose Teodosio was a beautiful woman whose kindness enveloped you like a warm ray of light. Her smile always beamed brightly. Andrea lived her life with compassion and selflessness. She always looked for opportunities to help others, and would do so in a manner that preserved their dignity. Her mother, Linda, recounted a story of how Andrea at age 16 asked if she could give their pizza to a homeless man. Andrea tapped the man on the shoulder and said, ``My mom and I have all these packages and can't carry this pizza. Do you mind taking it?'' Andrea helped others, but never elevated herself in the process. She treated people with dignity. Today, Andrea's memory and legacy lives on through the Andrea Rose Teodosio Foundation, which was established by Judges Thomas and Linda Teodosio and is administered by their son Christopher. Now, the Andrea Rose Foundation has already made a significant impact on the lives of so many. This organization works to demonstrate the values that Andrea held so dear--assisting the underprivileged and the elderly, actively addressing environmental issues, and promoting community service and education. The Teodosio Family's service to our community is truly commendable and their example will continue to inspire others to give of their time, talent, and resources to those who are in need. Judges Tom and Linda Teodosio deserve our recognition and appreciation for their diligent work to bring the Andrea Rose Teodosio Foundation to fruition. I congratulate them both for receiving the 2012 Bishop Cosgrove Justice Award and thank them for all that they do to make our community stronger.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary individual who has tirelessly advocated to save the lives of children and others by getting life-saving automated external defibrillators, AEDs, placed in schools across the nation. Dr. Terry Gordon is the 45th recipient of the Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award given out each year by the Akron Community Foundation to an individual or couple who best exemplifies selfless dedication to humanitarian causes in Akron, Ohio. A Cleveland Clinic trained cardiologist, Dr. Gordon practiced invasive cardiology at Akron General Medical Center for over 21 years prior to his retirement. In 2000, while serving as President of the Summit County American Heart Association, a 15 year old football player at Barberton High School by the name of Josh Miller collapsed on the field and suffered sudden cardiac arrest. There was no AED on site and, sadly, Josh died of sudden cardiac arrest. The tragic loss of this young man full of promise was devastating to not only Josh's parents and family, but to the entire community. Upon learning of this tragic loss of life and realizing the school did not have an AED on site, Dr. Gordon began raising funds to place AEDs in every junior and high school, making Summit County, Ohio, the first county of its size to do so and earning him the National Physician of the Year award for 2002 from the American Heart Association. His efforts also resulted in AEDs placed in every police, highway patrol and sheriff's vehicle in Summit County. Dr. Gordon continued his advocacy at the state level, and in 2005 helped procure $2.5 million from the State of Ohio, which in partnership with the American Heart Association and Akron General Medical Center, placed over 2,200 AEDs in schools throughout Ohio. He later worked with the Ohio General Assembly to allocate an additional $2.5 million needed to complete the task of placing 4,500 devices in Ohio schools. In 2007, I was proud to partner with Dr. Gordon on this important mission and introduced the Josh Miller HEARTS Act. Named after the Barberton High School football player who we lost to sudden cardiac arrest, the bill establishes a grant program to get automated external defibrillators into elementary and secondary schools across the nation. The Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in both the 110th and 111th Congress and is pending action in the 112th Congress. In addition to his work advocating for AEDs in schools, Dr. Gordon remains actively engaged in our community, serving on various volunteer boards. He was a founding member of Stewart's Caring Place, a facility of wellness for those with cancer and their loved ones. He has been a member of The Youth Motivational Task Force for many years, has been a long-standing board member of the American Heart Association and is co- host of `Docs Who Rock', a fundraiser for the Summit County United Way. Dr. Gordon is also an accomplished author, whose work includes the book No Storm Lasts Forever. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the selfless dedicated service of Dr. Terry Gordon and in congratulating him on receiving the 45th Polsky Humanitarian Award.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, due to problems with travel, I was unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 537, ``yes'' on rollcall No. 538, and ``no'' on rollcall No. 539.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I want to be clear that this final amendment does not kill the underlying bill. It only improves it. So regardless of whether you intend to vote for the legislation or against it, you will have the opportunity to do so today. In a little more than a week, we will be getting back to our districts for the August work period. Some of us will have the opportunity to sit down with seniors to talk about the issues that affect them. Some will visit job sites or national parks. Regardless of where you go, there are basic protections that ensure the safety and the security of the people you'll meet with. If you represent a district with a high foreclosure rate, there are commonsense protections that stand between your constituents and predatory subprime lenders. If you represent a district that borders one of our Great Lakes, like I do, there are basic protections that aim to keep invasive species, like Asian carp, out of our Great Lakes, protections that not only preserve and protect our natural species but thousands of jobs and the futures of the people from Illinois to New York. If you represent a district that has even one senior, as we all do, there are critical protections to ensure that their prescription drugs are safe and that the care they get must be safe as well. In a week, we will all face our constituents, constituents who rely on these protections to stay safe, to stay healthy, and to hold onto their share of the American Dream. What this motion to recommit does is to allow us to recommit ourselves to those essential protections for the people whom we serve. It ensures, while middle class Americans are paying their fair share and are playing by the rules, that those at the very top can't simply hide their money away in foreign bank accounts, because those who do well in America should do well by America. It also ensures that we have the protections we need to protect the financial futures of our middle class families and that we have cuts for them, for the middle class families--those who really need it. It ensures that those protections that hold invasive species at bay, while allowing future generations to enjoy America's environmental wonders, will be upheld. It ensures that our prescription drugs for our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our grandchildren are safe and that home ownership is still the American Dream, not a subprime nightmare. If you vote for this final amendment to the bill today, you will be able to honestly tell your constituents that you have voted to protect them, to protect their families, and to protect their futures. Mr. Speaker, the days left in this Congress are quickly coming to an end. What we have here is an opportunity to accomplish what our constituents sent us here to do nearly 2 years ago--to put politics aside and to put our neighbors first. For the good of our country, let us join together in this moment to pass these commonsense protections. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this commonsense, balanced final amendment to the bill. Then we can immediately vote on final passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SUTTON. I am opposed in its current form.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to cast votes last night. Had I been present-- I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 514. I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 515. I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 516. I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 517. I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 518.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the laborer and the steelworker. I rise today for the small business owner and the working family. I rise today to support this motion to instruct because we should all rise and we should all strive to support our working families and create jobs right here in this country. We know that one way to do that is to ensure that the money we spend to rebuild and strengthen our transportation and infrastructure, if we spend it here, it leads to jobs here. If we invest in American iron, steel, and manufactured goods, we are investing in the people who produce those products. While it's easy to stand up here on the floor and talk about the need to support our workers and create jobs, this motion takes those words and turns them into action. By closing loopholes and strengthening Buy American provisions, we come one step closer to ensuring that every American taxpayer dollar spent on transportation and infrastructure will be spent on an item proudly stamped: ``Made in America.'' Last year, I was proud to introduce the American Jobs First Initiative, a series of four bills to strengthen Buy American laws and level the playing field for American manufacturers and workers. I introduced them, Mr. Speaker, because every day I hear from Ohioans who are ready to get back to work. Every day I hear from Ohioans who just want a chance at a good-paying job and a slice of the American Dream. And every day I hear from Ohioans who want this Congress to act to make sure that when their taxpayer dollars are being used, that we will use American iron and steel and manufactured goods to build that infrastructure. This is our chance, Mr. Speaker. Vote ``yes'' on this motion to instruct. Vote for jobs. Vote for working Americans. And vote to give our constituents a fair chance at the American Dream.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, as a strong supporter of the Export-Import Bank, I regret that I was delayed in a constituent meeting and unable to reach the floor to cast my vote on rollcall No. 224, and I am glad to see it passed overwhelmingly, as I have advocated for. Had I not been delayed, I would have voted ``yes,'' consistent with my position of working to create jobs and economic opportunities for working families.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Thank you, Mr. Doyle, for your leadership. This is a great amendment. It's a commonsense amendment. Now we don't know if the XL pipeline will be built. Many have strong opinions on whether or not it should be built at all. But one thing that we should all agree on is, if it is built, it should be built with materials made right here in America. You see, when we talk about producing energy in America, that doesn't just mean oil, gas, wind, nuclear, and other sources that power our homes and businesses. It means materials used to extract, refine, and transport that energy. And why does it have to happen that it needs to be American-made materials? Because it means jobs, good-paying jobs that can help to strengthen our middle class. It means stronger communities and a stronger economy at a time when we need that now more than ever. And it means a future with more security and more certainty for the next generation. This pipeline is going to run through America; it should be made of American iron, steel, and manufactured goods. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense amendment and supporting the American middle class and in supporting American jobs.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 880, a vote on H.R. 527, I inadvertently and mistakenly voted ``aye'' on passage of the bill, when I intended to vote ``nay.'' I have always stood by our working families to defend critical regulations that protect our environment and public safety, and believe that a ``no'' vote on final passage properly reflects my record and the priorities of my district.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to this bill, but let me begin by saying that this final amendment, if adopted, will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. Instead, the bill, as amended, will immediately be voted upon for final passage. We may strongly disagree on the bill in question, but surely no one in this Chamber can disagree that, in these hard times, working families in this country deserve a fair shake. Unfortunately, the underlying bill, as written, is fundamentally unfair. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, in my home State of Ohio, voters, in an exercise of direct democracy, voted to overwhelmingly repeal the infamous senate bill 5, which was a fundamentally unfair and extreme attack on workers. In a resounding victory for middle class Ohioans, many Democrats and Republicans alike went to the polls and soundly rejected the union-busting effort that would have unfairly silenced workers and stacked the deck against them. At a time when public officials across every level of government should be focused on getting Americans back to work, the underlying bill before us today, like Ohio's recently repealed senate bill 5, would unfairly stack the deck against our workers and American jobs. But the good news, Mr. Speaker, is that it doesn't have to be that way. Right here, right now, Democrats and Republicans together, like so many voters in Ohio joined together, can stand up for fairness and the middle class, and can pass this amendment. Our amendment would improve the bill in three very important ways: First, it would level the playing field between employees and corporate boards. It's only fair. When workers choose whether to organize a union, they're choosing who their representative will be in the workplace. When a board of directors takes a vote on whether to hire a CEO, it's choosing management's representative in the workplace. I doubt that proponents of this bill would ever think of leaving a corporation voiceless or would ever think of throwing obstacles in the way of a corporate board of directors' ability to choose its next CEO. Yet that's exactly what this bill before us does to workers. It's not right. Workers shouldn't have to wait any longer than a corporate board of directors. So this amendment levels things out by saying that nothing in this bill will impose any longer of a waiting period for workers to vote for a union than any State law imposes on a board of directors voting on a CEO. Second, this amendment will make sure that elections proceed legitimately and fairly. Everyone can agree that workers deserve to be fully informed. So this amendment requires that, when a petition for an election is filed, the board must ensure an equal opportunity for workers to hear from all sides. Under current law, Mr. Speaker, only one party--the employer-- can engage in what is called ``captive audience meetings.'' Only one party can force the voters to attend campaign speeches, rallies, and meetings or be fired. Under this motion, under this amendment, the parties would agree to equal access to voters. It's only fair. No more captive audience meetings unless the parties agree, unless there is fair and equal access to voters so that all sides may be heard and so that workers can judge for themselves and make fully informed choices when it comes time to vote. Finally and importantly, this amendment discourages job outsourcing. With 9 percent unemployment in the country and with our economy barely growing, the last thing we want to do is reward companies that ship jobs overseas. The underlying bill provides employers with a nasty weapon for tactical delay. It allows employers to drag out preelection hearings indefinitely, preventing an election from ever happening. Employers can raise any issue at a time prior to the end of the hearing, even issues that have nothing to do with the conduct of the election or the question of whether there should be an election at all. Outsourcers should not have the benefit of a tactical delay to help ship jobs overseas. We should not allow it. This amendment says if you have outsourced jobs or announced plans to outsource jobs in the past year, you don't get that privilege. You have to do what every party to a Federal case must do: state your claims at the beginning of the hearing. We shouldn't extend privileges to outsourcers. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this final amendment to the bill.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and I thank her for the motion. What's it going to take to get this body to focus on priority one, which is getting America back to work? Why, Mr. Chair, are we here yet again debating an anti-worker bill when we should be working together to help foster jobs? Instead of trying to disempower workers and further weaken the middle class, why aren't we trying to create opportunities for them and their families? Every day that the focus is on attacking workers instead of generating job opportunities is one day longer we're mired at unacceptable rates of unemployment, and it's one more day that far too many unemployed Americans will struggle. And yet here we are debating this extreme and lopsided bill to give big corporations the upper hand over working families, a bill that does nothing to bolster our recovery but does a lot to stack the deck against American workers. We have seen this fight before, as the gentlewoman has pointed out, in other places, and the American people are voicing their opposition to these types of fundamentally unfair attacks that stack the deck against workers. In my State of Ohio, we saw a Governor try to silence our firefighters, teachers, our police officers, our nurses, and other people who serve Ohio. Instead of focusing on jobs, the Governor and his allies pushed the bill through and unleveled the playing field for working families. It wasn't right there and it's not right here, and the American people urge the defeat of this bill.

Ms. SUTTON. I am in its current form.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Representative Garamendi, if you'll yield just a moment, the name of the bill, just to set the record very clear, is Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act. The whole point of that bill is when we are building our infrastructure, our water and sewer systems, as you point out, that really need to be built in this country, and of course it would put people to work, it would help our communities, spur our economy; and if we do it using U.S.-manufactured goods and iron and steel, which is what the bill would require, then we put even more people to work while we're strengthening our community. So it's the Stop American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act.

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentleman. Representative Garamendi, you have done a tremendous job in leading the way and showing the American people, because we all know that things don't have to be the way that they are. We all know that we can invest in the things that have always made our country strong, things like education, that we know not only strengthens the individual but is key to the success of our future, investing in policies that will enable us to make it in America. And when we talk about make it in America, Representative Garamendi and Representative Tonko, I know that we are often talking about manufacturing. And coming from Ohio, manufacturing of course is not just a part of our past and our history. It is a strong part of what is going to make us successful in the future. I will tell you, I'm excited because in the coming days I'll be introducing a number of bills that are all related to how we can strengthen U.S. manufacturing and bolster U.S. manufacturing for our workers and our productivity right here in the United States. So I'm grateful to be down here with you. I can just tell you, I went out and talked to our folks and there is a growing belief that there is a better way. There's a comprehensive understanding that things have not been fair, that the deck has been stacked, and that there are still those here who are trying to protect the wealthiest and the most privileged at the expense of the others. And that's why I'm so grateful to have the chance to be here and fight alongside you and Representative Tonko and others, like Representative Jackson Lee from Texas who has just joined us. In the last election, we heard over and over again the refrain that people don't want a government on their back. And I agree, and I know you do, too, that people don't want a government on their back. But they do want a government on their side, and that's what we're here to make sure that they get, because that is not what they're getting with the Republican legislature as it exists today. So carry on, Representative Garamendi, and count me in as somebody who supports those investments in education and in making it in America.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentleman for the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and get back to the work of really creating jobs in our country. Every week I go home to Ohio and I meet with countless men and women who are ready to get back to work. They're ready to prove something that we already know--that the American worker is the most productive and innovative in the world. Right now there are thousands, an estimate of a million Americans, who could be put back to work if we held China accountable for manipulating its currency. By rigging the system and giving the manufacturers, their manufacturers, an unfair advantage, China has placed a roadblock in our road to economic recovery. The Senate has already taken action. They passed a bill to hold China accountable and give our workers a level playing field on which to compete. If House Republican leaders are really serious about significant actions to create jobs, they can bring this bill to the floor right now, right here today. We can do something big to help people in Ohio and across the country. I urge defeat of the previous question so that we can bring the currency manipulation bill to the floor and bring jobs back to the United States.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. It is my honor and my privilege to stand up for the people of Ohio and for the veterans you were just speaking of. I just have to say, those veterans, those men and women who were on the battlefield, they weren't just fighting for Wall Street; they were fighting for the United States of America and all that it stands for. They weren't just fighting for the top 1 percent; they were fighting for all of us. Now they're coming back, and we have an obligation. We have a promise that we have made to them, part of which would be fulfilled if we could get the American Jobs Act passed. So it is incumbent upon us to beat back. We hear a lot of rhetorical terms. In the last election we heard over and over again, Oh, we could create jobs if we could get government off the backs of the job creators. Well, look, the refrain, people don't want government on their back, I agree they don't want government on their back. But you know what? They do want government on their side. And that is not what they have been getting and that is why we have to be here, to stand up for the middle class, to stand up for those veterans, for those seniors, for those college students, for those workers, for those firefighters and those police officers, those teachers and those nurses who have suffered far less growth as, we know, Wall Street continues to flourish with record CEO bonuses and all of those profits. We just want people to pay a fair share, and we want the American people to have a fair shake. Thank you for your leadership. You have been tremendous.

Ms. SUTTON. The gentleman makes such an important point. Here we are. We're coming up on Veterans Day. It is not enough to just go out to ceremonies on Veterans Day and express our appreciation, although that should happen. We should be expressing our appreciation to veterans, not just through those ceremonies but through our policies. We have all of these veterans out there who are returning from the current wars, and we have other veterans out there looking for opportunities. The American Jobs Act will help us to create those opportunities that they so richly deserve. Let's be clear: the people who are fighting our wars, they are part of the 99 percent. Very few are part of the 1 percent. So it's really, really important that we do focus on giving them the opportunities, the American Dream, the fact that if you work hard and if you try hard and if you play by the rules that you'll be able to make it in America. That is part of what they were fighting for. So I could not agree more. We've got to focus on getting help to our veterans.

Ms. SUTTON. Representative Garamendi, I couldn't agree more with the idea that this is the voice of the people, that this is a referendum. They said to the Republican Governor and the legislature there, You've gone too far. Our firefighters and our police officers and our teachers, they're not our enemies. They're our heroes; they're the people who we look up to, who do good work on behalf of all of us, not just those who are the privileged few. And this is where we make our stand: on this referendum. It's so important that the American people look at what's going on, frankly, in Ohio, and that we have a strong voice. Just to make sure that we have a correct record, a ``no'' vote on that issue is going to repeal that bad bill. We'll see what the people in Ohio do, but I am confident that we're speaking up together for one another and for police and firefighters and teachers.

Ms. SUTTON. Thank you so much, Representative Garamendi. It seems there are some here in this body, and, with all due respect, there are a lot of folks who come to Congress and they're fairly well- heeled themselves. It seems that some who are here, they seem fixated on protecting those tax breaks that ship jobs overseas. They seem very concerned about that top 1 percent, the billionaires and the millionaires. It seems as if they almost believe that we can fix this country's economy without making most Americans better off, which is a backwards proposition. It's almost like they think that the top 1 percent is who built this country, and that that's where all of our policies should be aimed. But I disagree and I know, Representative Garamendi, that you do as well. We understand that when we have people working, building infrastructure and making things and manufacturing, that that has a way of rippling out, right? And then we have those taxpayers who of course are energizing our economy. And then we have the revenue that comes into our communities that can put our firefighters and our police officers and our teachers into a salary that they have earned and they deserve for doing the important work that they do. But instead of doing that, instead of making the choice that those at the top should pay a fair share, they want to take more out of those firefighters and teachers and police officers and nurses. Right now as we speak, we're a week away from a referendum in the State of Ohio. If that issue, Issue 2, is voted down, it will be a really big moment because what that would do is it would repeal a bill that was passed by the State legislature there. And that bill is aimed at attacking our firefighters, our police officers, our teachers, and our nurses by reducing their collective bargaining rights, their ability to even have a voice at the table, to be part of the solution, which they always are because they know what's going on in America. They didn't go into those jobs because they thought that they would make tons of money. They went into those jobs because they had a commitment to service, to teach our kids, to run into our homes when they're burning to try and save us, to go out on our streets and make them safe. And yet they're the ones that some are looking at to get money back? It wasn't our teachers or our firefighters or our police officers, it wasn't the seniors on Social Security or Medicare, it wasn't the students and their Pell Grants that drove our economy off the cliff. It was Wall Street that drove our economy off the cliff. And it's time that they pay a fair share so middle class America can start to breathe a little easier again knowing that they'll have opportunities in this country.

Ms. SUTTON. Absolutely. Ohio is in need, and I think it's important that we look at not just the cost that we're experiencing today from the failure to put people to work doing this work that needs to be done in our schools, building our Nation's infrastructure, which needs serious attention, according to all of the estimates and all of the surveys out there. The fact of the matter is, it's important to look at the long-term effects, too. Because those schools, if we fail to invest in education, whether it's in the physical facilities or education in general--which is another place that some of our colleagues across the aisle want to cut back. The American Jobs Act is going to put more teachers in the schools. One of the things that we do is we choke off our future because other countries, make no mistake, they're investing in education because they know that that creates a better future, not just for the children and the students themselves, but for their Nation and the strength of their Nation. They're also investing in their infrastructure for the same reason, because having an up-to-date, a state-of-the-art infrastructure is going to strengthen their competitiveness. It's going to strengthen their place in the world. And while others are doing that, here we are with all of this work that needs to be done that would add to the value of our Nation which is so great in the first instance. But there is no substitute for creating real value. In this last recession, we saw the very risky proposition of people on Wall Street moving money around, not creating any real value. You would think that more would have learned the lesson, because we need to have strong infrastructure. When you put people to work building things, you're creating real value. When you put people to work in manufacturing and you take something of lesser value and you turn it into something of greater value, that cannot be replaced with the smoke-and-mirrors trading that we saw going on before the recession.