Nydia Velázquez

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in strong opposition to the Republican budget and in support of the Democratic substitute. The Republican budget resolution is terribly flawed. It fails to protect Social Security and Medicare and makes cuts in vital areas, such as housing, transportation and the environment, to provide a tax break to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. In addition to the cuts targeted at those who can ill afford to lose any more, we are asking the hard-working men and women who run our Nation's small businesses to bear an unfair burden of this budget. Although the Republicans continue to claim that they are providing tax relief for small businesses, the truth is that what is contained in the Republican budget resolution is not a tax break for small businesses, but a tax increase by imposing new fees for SBA loans and technical assistance. Ask any business owner, and he or she will say that these fees are nothing more than a tax. To add insult to injury, small-business owners, who have seen their businesses destroyed in a flood, earthquake, hurricane or some other disaster, will be expected to pay almost $10,000 more for disaster assistance, effectively prohibiting many business owners from rebuilding their life's dream. Is this what the President means when he talks about compassionate conservatism; kicking someone when they are down? The Democratic substitute is fair and realistic. It continues to protect and fund this Nation's priorities while providing sensible tax relief to all Americans. Therefore, I will urge my colleagues to support the Democratic substitute and vote down the Republican budget.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the President's tax plan. My colleagues, we are here today to talk about tax cuts, but let us spend a little time examining how the President is going to pay for this tax cut. The President says his budget will increase access to capital and expand opportunities for small businesses throughout America. But let us be clear. This tax proposal is paid for on the backs of this Nation's small businesses. To pay for what we are voting on today, the President's budget tacks on exorbitant fees for SBA loans that increase the costs on small business owners by up to $2,400 for each loan and $7,000 over the life of the average loan. Ask any small business owner and they will tell you that ``fee'' is code word for ``tax.'' But small businesses needing access to capital are not only the only ones being taxed. To add insult to injury, the President's budget proposal goes after those small businesses that have their businesses destroyed through a natural disaster. Many of the Members of this body have seen the effects of natural disasters. The assistance provided through disaster loans gives hope for small businesses. But the President's budget effectively kicks them when they are down by forcing them to pay an additional $7,000, making it impossible for them to ever rebuild their businesses. I ask and I urge the Members to vote ``no'' on this ill-conceived tax plan.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut for this motion. I rise in strong support of this motion. I ask my colleagues, on behalf of millions of needy families, that we maintain the current funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP. It is of critical importance to the families in my district and across the Nation. Although current funding for the program is low, this conference report lowers it even further. I do not believe that any of my colleagues wants to be held responsible for a family or an elderly person living in the cold because they cannot afford heating this winter, especially in this prosperous country. The Republican majority has cut this program every year. While they are warm in their own homes they slash this program with cold hearts. The purpose of LIHEAP is to help pay the winter heating bills of our most needy low-income and elderly individuals. Two-thirds make less than $8,000 a year. They are the poorest of the poor. Last year, this program helped 4.4 million households. Mr. Speaker, we are not just talking about comfort here, we are talking about the health and sometimes even the lives of some of our citizens. The Boston City Hospital reports that the number of clinically underweight children increases dramatically following the coldest months, and we all know the tragic stories each year about some elderly person dying in an unheated home. LIHEAP is most crucial during the peak winter heating season when high energy bills eat up to 30 percent of a family's budget. And this winter, heating oil prices are expected to rise 20 to 40 percent, consuming even more of the average budget. Without LIHEAP, many low- income families and elderly people will have to choose between heating their homes and paying for food, medicine, and rent. I rise in strong support of this motion.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Lowey motion to instruct. School construction is an issue with broad bipartisan support. This week, we had the opportunity to pass the President's school construction bill. It would reduce class sizes in early grades, hire 20,000 new teachers, raise student achievement and make urgent safety and help repairs in 5,000 schools in low-income areas. Instead, Republicans did their own version, a watered-down version, that postponed any school construction for up to 4 years and did little for our needed schools. I want to remind my colleagues, it is one thing to play games with sham legislation here in Congress. It is another thing to send a child to school in the boiler room or a broom closet or the hallway of a broken-down school, like we in New York and too many any other communities Nationwide. Too often, those affected are at-risk children living in minority neighborhoods. This is not the way to treat our most precious resource, the young people who will follow in our footsteps in this great institution. Mr. Speaker, I support and I urge my colleagues to support this motion to instruct.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price). (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the conference agreement for H.R. 2614. Last August when the House passed H.R. 2614, we took the first step in strengthening a program that would provide countless businesses across this country the access to the capital they so desperately need to succeed. Fourteen months later, instead of a bill that offers opportunity, we now have a bill full of misguided priorities. At a time when this Nation is experiencing an affordable health care crisis, this conference report meets this growing deficiency by increasing payments to already wealthy HMOs at the expense of our hospitals and rural communities. This legislation will also shortchange our children by once again failing to address the need for school construction. In every community across this country, there are kids who are being taught reading, writing, science and math in trailers, makeshift classrooms, and in hallways within neglected school buildings. I am astounded that in today's world when it is hard enough to help our at-risk kids to keep pace, forcing them to learn in Third World conditions is simply disgraceful. What distresses me the most, this Congress has passed despite, all their lofty promises, only half of what the President asked for in his budget request. It is unfortunate that this bill faces a veto from the President because, to be perfectly frank, there is much in here that will help our communities by funding valuable small business programs, including enacting the new markets community renewal programs. I would like to thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent) for all he has done to bring valuable investment into our Nation's low- income communities. His leadership has helped provide small businesses and entrepreneurs a stronger foundation which will help them grow and prosper. But one issue is clear. The sum of legislation outweighs the good this bill could do for so many in this country. This is not how we should be ending this Congress. We are leaving at a time when there is so much more that can and should be done. Unfortunately, the 106th Congress is ending with far too many promises made and far too few promises kept. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman). (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time each side has remaining.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire of the other side how many more speakers they have.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have one more speaker, then I am ready to close. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones). (Mrs. JONES of Ohio asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)