Nydia Velázquez

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I take back the balance of my time. On that point, I would say, then, how could the gentleman address the fact that subpoena powers have been given to a private citizen? How does the gentleman explain the fact that the chairman of the Committee on House Oversight in a press conference said that he would go after three other districts that have been duly elected, where Latino representatives were elected? How would the gentleman explain that?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to add by asking the gentleman from Massachusetts, based on his case where there was a recount, who had to prove that the voters who voted had the right to vote on his case?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Now I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr].

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues for coming here and debating this issue and raising the awareness of the American people in this country. I know that the Republican leadership will have a public relations battle ahead of them. They are going to lose this one, the same way they lost the WIC battle and they lost the disaster relief package debate.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, there is an unprecedented attack currently under way in this Congress. Right now Republicans are engaging in a war on women, on Hispanics and on the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez]. Last November the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] was elected to the House of Representatives for the 46th District of California, fair and square. The loser, Bob Dornan and the Republicans, have refused to concede defeat. The story about how far they will go to defeat this woman, Hispanic Member of Congress, is shameful. After 9 months and after spending $300,000 of the taxpayers money, they still have not given up. They have issued subpoenas at Bob Dornan's request, they have forced the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] to prove that the people who voted for her had the right to vote. Mr. Speaker, this is not only unprecedented, it is wrong. The burden of proof is on the loser. The Washington Post agrees. Yesterday they said that the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff, in this case Bob Dornan. The Post takes it further. They said that there is no credible evidence to change the outcome of this race. The message is clear: admit defeat and give up. That has not stopped the Republicans from harassing law abiding citizens though. They have subpoenaed INS records, and the result is that the INS offices has been spending all their time responding to the subpoenas and are unable to do their real work. But that is not all. The Republicans have used this so-called investigation as a way of harassing their political enemies. They have harassed Catholic Charities, they have examined the records of 20,000 community college students, and they have admitted targeting unions that employed immigrant workers. This kind of behavior is just outrageous. The Republican leadership is using the Committee on House Oversight to try to throw out the election of a Member of Congress without being able to prove any wrongdoing. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] should be allowed to do what she does best, represent the people of the 46th district of California. Instead she has been forced to bear the burden of proof of her innocence. This is a total abuse of power by the Republicans. This is not just a personal attack on the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez]. This is an attack on women, and it is a clear attack on Latinos. By using this opportunity to crosscheck voting records with records of the INS, the Republicans are trying to intimidate Hispanics and trying to keep them from voting. Mr. Speaker, I have news for the Republicans. Hispanics are here to stay. They are a growing economic force, and, as the Republicans are finding out, they are a growing political force. I will give the Republicans a bit of free advice: If they want to win elections, the best way to do it is to respond to the needs of the voters. Instead of trying to show that every Latino is an illegal and trying to deny them the right to vote, they should listen to what Latinos have to say. Instead of trying to intimidate women, they should listen to what they have to say. Mr. Speaker, instead of learning their lesson when they lose an election, as most people do, the Republicans are using their power to distort the democratic process. Is that what the American people want? Is that what the democratic process is all about? I do not think so. Now I will yield to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Lofgren].

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Does the gentlewoman know the demographics of Loretta Sanchez' district?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. And what type of message are we sending to the Hispanic community when the names that have been checked with the INS only are those of Hispanic Americans?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.

Mr. VELAZQUEZ

Mr. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. On the question of the gentlewoman from California, the fact of the people who were, their files were requested to be with the INS, those surnames were Latino surnames. What kind of message are we sending to our Latino community? And yesterday on this floor there was the debate on the legislative branch where some of the Republicans were accusing us, the Democrats, of playing the race card. But how could you explain that, of all those who vote in California, the only names, the only voters that were requested to be proved by the INS were of Latino surnames?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I would like to add that this is the first time where I see that the burden of proof is not on the loser. They are forcing Loretta Sanchez to prove that the people who voted for her had, in fact, the right to vote. That is not only wrong, it is shameful.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say not only have we spent $300,000 of taxpayers' money, but also the INS has spent over $50,000, and just one office only is dedicated to dealing with this issue.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. At some point, the chairman of the Committee on House Oversight, months ago, announced that not only would they be going after the district of the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez, but he mentioned three more districts, all of them represented by Latinos. They get upset when we bring this issue onto the floor and they say we are playing the race card, but I was elected and I was sworn in and no one contested my race. Why did he have to mention the 12th Congressional District? Why did he have to mention three other districts represented by Latinos who were not contested by any opposition from their own districts?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this bill. The Republican leadership is using the Committee on House Oversight, funded by this appropriation bill, to harass a Hispanic woman Member of Congress. Three hundred thousand dollars of the taxpayers' money has been used to try to deny the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] the congressional seat that she won fair and square. And this is not just about the gentlewoman from California, this is about the growing influence, political influence, of Latinos in this country. This is about sharing power. As if that were not enough, the Republicans have forced the INS to launch an investigation against the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] without providing the funding to do so. They have literally given subpoena power to the loser in the race, Bob Dornan. The Republicans are trying to say that the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] did not win her seat fairly. There is only one problem. They cannot prove it. Instead, they are wasting taxpayers' money to harass a Member of Congress. It is outrageous, and it has got to stop. Vote no on this bill.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule. The Republican leadership is trying to fund its own partisan attack on their enemies while they are trying to deny Democrats the right to bring amendments to the floor. The Republicans are using the Committee on House Oversight to fund an unprecedented attack on the election of the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez]. They have spent over $300,000 of taxpayer money to attack a Hispanic woman and to intimidate Hispanic voters. This is a clear attack on the voting rights of minorities and an utter abuse of power. The Republicans have even subpoenaed the INS to try to dig up dirt on immigrants. Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership must not be allowed to trample the rights of Latinos. They must not be allowed to use their power to prevent Democrats from bringing important amendments to a vote. Vote ``no'' on the rule.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have made it clear that they want to offer tax relief to working families. The President has made it clear that he wants to offer tax relief to working families. The American people have made it clear that they know the Republican tax plan favors the wealthy. Now the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means tell us that he will not offer a $500-per-child tax credit to all working families, but he wants huge tax breaks for the wealthy. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans just do not get it. When they signed the Contract With America, they promised a $500-per-child tax credit to working families. Now they are breaking their promise to millions of working Americans. Police officers, nurses, teachers, firefighters, they pay taxes. Mr. Speaker, the American people need to know are the Republicans going to make good on the contract they signed or is this just another case of promises made, promises broken?

Mr. VELAZQUEZ

Mr. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Mink amendment. This proposal will encourage young and middle-aged women to receive valuable skills training in occupations that have traditionally been filled by men. It will allow them to get jobs with better pay and better benefits, and make it easier for women to support their families. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this important amendment. The Mink amendment will do all this by protecting the funds that States currently use for programs that ensure gender equity in vocational education. Make no mistake--without this protection, these programs will disappear. The evidence is clear--before 1984, when State grants were reserved for gender equity programs, only 1 percent of these grants were actually used for gender equity. Last year, Republicans passed a bill based on a twisted premise--that if you push people off the boat, they will somehow learn to swim. The Republican bill assumed that by shredding the vital social safety net, jobs would magically appear for people. This strategy is not only cruel, it is wrong--without help in learning to swim, many people will drown. If Congress is really serious about encouraging women to achieve financial independence, then Congress should make sure all women have the opportunity to obtain the tools they need to find a good job and support their families. The Mink amendment would provide these opportunities. I urge all of you to vote yes on the Mink amendment.

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago the Republicans signed a contract with the working families of America and promised to provide them with tax relief. They proposed a law called the American Dream Restoration Act, which calls for a $500-per-child tax credit for families making up to $200,000. This was item 5 on their Contract With America. Amazingly, the Republicans will give a $500-per-child tax credit to people making $200,000 but they want to deny this tax relief to families making $20,000. Yesterday the New York Times reported that the Speaker of the House might finally give the child care tax credit to all working families. Then he changed his mind. My colleagues, what is going on here? Are the Republicans going to keep their promise or not? Are the Republicans going to make good on their contract they signed or is this just another case of promises made, promises broken?

Ms. VELAZQUEZ

Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, today I introduced a bill that would designate the Lower East Side Tenement Museum an affiliate of the National Park Service, The Tenement Museum is located at 97 Orchard Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side, the heart of America's immigrant tradition. This building was erected in 1863 and, over the course of 69 years, served as the first American home for thousands of immigrants from around the world. Much of America's immigrant history begins in New York. The museum on Ellis Island explains how families from around the world journeyed to and arrived in the United States. While many newcomers set out to settle our Nation's rural frontiers, many more became urban pioneers--men, women and children who settled in the city. For this reason the next chapter of the immigrant tale, their lives in America, deserves closer exploration and recognition. Thus, in seeking a home for this story, the Museum sought the quintessential expression of urban, immigrant life--the tenement. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum bill recognizes the museum's efforts to preserve, maintain, and interpret the themes of early tenement life, the housing reform movement, and tenement architecture in the United States. Affiliate status would allow this private nonprofit museum to fully participate in the programs and activities of the National Park Service while complimenting the Park Services trinity of Ellis Island, Clinton Castle, and the Statute of Liberty at not cost to American taxpayers. My colleagues, this legislation enjoys wide bipartisan support among the New York State delegation and is supported by the city and State of New York, as well as civic leaders, small business owners, organized labor, the Wall Street community, and the National Park. I urge all of you to support this national treasure.