Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you so much for your eloquence, Ms. Berkley, and for acknowledging that a lot of people think about the arrival of Jews in America as really being an infusion after World War I, an infusion after World War II; but we have 353 years of Jewish life in this country. And, unfortunately, much of our arrival followed persecution in other parts of the world: after the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms in Russia--that's when my family came initially in the 1800s--and then in the early 1900s fleeing Poland for a better way of life here. And it's so incredibly important that we tell our story. Jewish American Heritage Month allows us to do that now. President Bush proclaimed it 5 years ago. We had 250 cosponsors, of which you were one, of the original legislation that urged him to do that. And one of the things that I really think is important to acknowledge is there is so much partisanship here in the House of Representatives. I was the most proud at the time that we passed that resolution unanimously out of the House. With over 400 Members voting for it, we had 250 cosponsors, bipartisan cosponsors, and then we had a bipartisan effort across the Jewish community in this country to urge the President at the time to proclaim the first Jewish American Heritage Month. And they did so willingly, put aside party differences because they knew that it was incredibly important. And we have continued to be able to mark the occasion every year.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Me as well. And in that same vein, Emma Lazarus was by far at the time the leading Jewish literary figure in 19th-century America. And it's her sonnet which was called ``The New Colossus'' that is engraved on the base of the Statute of Liberty: ``Give me your tired, your poor, yearning to breathe free.'' And then the rest is history.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, America has been through tough times before, but we've always pulled together as a Nation to overcome our challenges. Just over 1 year ago, Democrats came together and faced the challenges that we were handed by the mismanagement of the Bush Republicans. Faced with massive job losses exceeding 700,000 a month just over 1 year ago, we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; and, since that time, we've reversed the job losses and spurred economic growth. One only needs to look at America's manufacturing sector to see the progress that we're making. American industrial production has increased a cumulative 6.8 percent during the past 10 months, the largest 10-month gain since 1997. Total industrial production continued to increase last month. Together with last month's jobs report, this suggests a strong start for the second quarter. The increase, which was slightly above market expectations, was led by a strong 1 percent growth in manufacturing output. As Americans, we can do it. We can turn our economy around. We have a ways to go, but we can get America back on track and, together, we are doing just that. And that's just the way it is.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5327, the United States-Israel Rocket and Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act. As a staunch supporter of the Jewish State of Israel, it gives me great pride to be a cosponsor of this resolution, which will provide Israel with the funding it needs to maintain the safety and security of her citizens. By authorizing funds requested by President Obama for Israel's Iron Dome defense system, Congress and President Obama's message to the people of Israel is loud and clear: Our commitment to Israel's security is unshakable. And, through this funding that will help Israel produce and maintain an effective defense against short-range missiles, rockets, and mortars such as those used by Hamas and Hezbollah, we are backing up our words with action. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on helping to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5327. And I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Nye) for his leadership on this very important issue.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. And, Mr. Heinrich, as we wrap up, we really want to talk about over the next weeks and months the choices that the American people will have. Over the next weeks and months, Madam Speaker, we'll be talking about those choices, the choice that the American people have to continue to go in the direction where we're nurturing our economy and helping it thrive or the direction that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would take us, which is to strangle our recovery in the crib. That's a very stark contrast that we will be presenting to the American people over the next few weeks and months, and we look forward to it.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Will the gentleman yield for a question?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I thank both gentlemen. Again, I think it's really important to stress the choices that we have in front of us. The American people have choices over the next few months about the direction that they want to go, whether they want to continue to go in the direction that the job creation chart that we just had up showed, whether they want to continue to go in the direction of the tax rate chart that Mr. Heinrich just had, or whether they want to go back in this direction because this direction shows us the history of Presidents and the deficit situation that the United States has been in under each President. So if you look at President Reagan, under President Reagan we had a $1.4 trillion deficit. Under President Bush 41, we had a $3.3 trillion deficit by the end of his Presidency. Then President Clinton was in office for 8 years and finished his second term with a $5.6 trillion surplus--a record surplus which he handed over to President Bush 43, who, in a very short period of time, handed off to President Obama an $11.5 trillion deficit. And that's because his focus was not on targeted tax cuts for the middle class, not on creating jobs and wealth for small business, not on making sure that we could focus on educational opportunities for our Nation's young people and focusing on investments and innovation and technology and energy, and particularly alternative energy--those weren't the focus of the Bush administration. Their focus was on the wealthiest Americans, the whole notion of trickle-down, which didn't work under President Reagan and clearly, as you can see, as big a red box as you are looking at here on this chart, didn't work under the Bush administration either. So the choice that the American people will have is to go back to big red boxes like this one and continue to bleed jobs, bleed money, and move in the wrong direction, or under President Obama and the Democratic Congress, continue to focus on job creation, on opportunities for young people, on investments in alternative energy, on weaning ourselves off dependence on foreign oil. I mean if what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico today doesn't prove that we need to do that, I don't know what would. But those are the choices that the American people have. But our friends on the other side of the aisle have choices, too, Mr. Tonko. They have choices, and they've repeatedly made them. They've repeatedly showed which side they're on. They've showed that they are not on the side of the American workers struggling to be able to get back to work and find a job. They've showed that they're only interested in coming back to power, and it's all--unfortunately, sadly, my observation is that that is the only thing that they care about, winning elections and focusing on power. Their agenda is tough to identify because other than siding with Wall Street, with big banks, with big corporations and the wealthy elite in this country, that's really the only side that I have been able to see that they appear to be on. Their voting records demonstrate that, and I think we have a pretty stark choice that the American people are going to be able to make come November.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Tonko, I really appreciate your comments. I know that the folks listening do as well. Madam Speaker, I think one of the important facts that we need to talk about tonight, as well, is the stark reality that we are in an election year, and in a few months our constituents are going to have a choice. Elections are, after all, about choices. And we have an opportunity here to present the choice that the American people are going to have to make decisions on. They can go back to the ways of the last 8 years prior to President Obama's inauguration in which the tax- cutting policy in America was focused exclusively on the wealthiest few and the middle class was essentially left out of the discussion. There was absolutely no focus on making sure that middle class tax cuts and job creation, targeted tax cuts and job creation would be focused on the middle class. I served in the minority and the majority during the Bush administration, and I can tell you that in neither 2-year period was there any discussion of how to get the middle class back to work, how to get small business back. Small business was never discussed under the Bush administration or the Republican leadership. Their focus was big business, corporate interests, as we saw with the collapse of Wall Street and, as a result, the collapse of our economy. And now when, as President Obama said, we have come in, President Obama was inaugurated and he is trying to clean up the mess he was handed, the Republicans refuse to even grab a mop. I mean, he is here mopping away, and not only do they refuse to grab a mop, to quote President Obama, but they also criticize the way he is holding the mop. I mean, it's just really--well, it's nothing short of brazen behavior. There is an expression for it, but on the House floor I won't use that expression. I think another important point, Mr. Tonko, that can't be overlooked is when I have been out there at home, I come from a State that does not have a manufacturing base. We are a service-based economy, a tourism-based economy, and our economy was quite focused and dependent upon housing. We had a tremendous bubble in Florida. The bubble burst, and now, because the housing market has not rebounded at the same rates as the rest of the economy, we are still struggling with a higher average unemployment rate. You will hear our friends on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Altmire, talk about, well, you can talk about all this fabulous job creation, but the unemployment rate still ticked up last month. Well, it's important to understand that the reason that the unemployment rate ticked up is because you have about 800,000 people who began looking for work again who had taken themselves out of the process because it was hopeless, because there was absolutely no chance of a recovery in their minds. And if they looked for a job, in their mind, it would have been pointless. So in an odd way, it's actually a good thing in the short term that the unemployment rate ticks up a little bit, because we know the unemployment rate has been artificially a little bit lower because of the people who have simply not been looking for work. And now because, as Mr. Altmire noted, U.S. consumer confidence in April reached its highest levels since September of 2008, we have an increase in the GDP, an increase in the manufacturing base, pending home sales up for the fifth straight month. All of these economic indicators are moving dramatically in the right direction. And as a result, we are going to be able to really begin to ramp up our progress, and it's very exciting. I want to spend some time tonight talking about, besides the Recovery Act, the other things that we have been doing to really put small businesses back in the black, make sure that they can have an opportunity to make hiring decisions and add to their workforce. With that, if the gentleman from New Mexico is ready, it's a pleasure to be joined by Mr. Heinrich of New Mexico.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. If the gentleman would yield, because I want to focus on results. We have been talking about the facts tonight. We have been talking about the impact and results of Democratic policies, the policies of the Democratic Congress, the policies of Democratic President Barack Obama, and the results that have occurred. And I think this chart right here is very illustrative of the direction that we continue to go in. If you look at the very ugly red end of the chart, that is an indication of where we were in terms of household wealth under the Bush administration. And if you look through those years, we had household wealth that dramatically, dramatically declined, so much so that people were in absolute dire straits. So we had an economy that was reeling, spiraling ever downward; we had deficits that were exploding from a President who was handed a record surplus, and that was the mess that President Obama found himself in. The additional mess that he found himself in was a plummeting statistic of household wealth. If you look at the progress that we have made and the direction that household wealth is going in now, as evidenced by the right side of the chart, you have an indicator that, since the Recovery Act took effect, we have gained nearly 30 percent back of household wealth that was lost under the Bush administration, $5 trillion in growth in household wealth, compared to $17.5 trillion in household wealth that was lost. We have gained in just 1 year $5 trillion of that back.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Yes. So, again, it is about choices. The American people have a choice. It is a very stark contrast. They can side with the people who voted 93 percent in this instance with Wall Street and big corporations and continuing to pad their bottom line; or they can vote with the middle class and make sure that we can continue to boost small business and get our economy moving again and put folks back to work. It really is a very stark contrast with a very clear choice.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I am glad you asked. I believe it was approximately 93 percent of Republicans voted against that legislation.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I am thrilled that we are joined by the gentleman from Ohio. He might still be getting organized. So while he does that, I wanted to focus a little bit. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act clearly is sort of the jewel in the crown, the linchpin to the beginning of our economic recovery, and all the indicators demonstrate that. But it is sort of a ``but that's not all'' type thing. We had the Recovery Act, which gave us a huge boost, but we also passed and continue to propose numerous pieces of legislation designed to focus on different aspects of the economy: small business, the energy sector, technology and innovation, making sure that we cover as many bases as we can, because we know that there are so many potential gaps in the economy and you don't want to leave anybody behind. So in addition to the Recovery Act, Madam Speaker, we also passed the Worker Home Ownership and Business Assistance Act, which was legislation that expanded that first-time homebuyer tax credit and gave people an opportunity to purchase a home when they had been unable to previously, provided that tax relief for small businesses.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, tonight and beginning each week, we will begin the week talking about the accomplishments of both President Obama, as well as the Democratic leadership in the legislature. The efforts of the Democratic Caucus over the last year and a half, particularly since President Obama was sworn in have truly been remarkable. The efforts have been remarkable, but also the accomplishments. And I think it's important that we continue to talk to the American people about those accomplishments, particularly when compared to some of the commentary that's out there in the media because, from watching some news programs, one would think that we were all here in the Chamber sitting in our chairs, fast asleep, as opposed to working and keeping our heads down and being very focused and working under the leadership of President Obama to make sure that we can turn the absolute nightmare that we were handed by the former Bush administration into the new direction that we talked about and that the American people elected us to take this country in. And so tonight my colleagues and I are going to spend some time outlining those accomplishments. But I think it's important and instructive to first look at where we were, and then talk about where we are now. So that's some of what we're going to do this evening. If you look back to January of 2009, which was the month, Mr. Tonko, that President Obama was sworn in, during that month the economy was yet again bleeding 700,000-plus jobs. And I think we have a chart here that I can use to illustrate that. But I think the most illustrative example of where we were, versus where we are today is this chart. If you look back, this chart begins in December of '07, and you can see through the end of the Bush administration, Mr. Speaker, that the economy was steadily getting worse. We were bleeding jobs. By the time President Obama took office in January of '09, we literally were at 700,000-plus jobs lost, and that continued all the way up until February of '09 with the passage of the American Economic Recovery Act. Now, I've heard a lot of malarkey in the news media out there, and particularly quite a lot from our friends on the other side of the aisle, about the supposed absence of job creation that the Recovery Act generated. Well, the numbers don't lie, Mr. Speaker. If you look at the direction that job creation has gone in, and our economic recovery has begun, you look at the blue line beginning in February of '09 with the passage of the Recovery Act, and you progress all the way up where we were losing month by month fewer and fewer jobs; and we talked about how, obviously, any job losses are unacceptable, until we reached this most recent month in April. And I think actually this chart--it doesn't even, the numbers are even better, Mr. Altmire, than we have on this chart. But this chart shows it up through March where we added 167,000 jobs. In April, Mrs. Dahlkemper, we actually added 290,000 jobs in April. The vast majority of those were private sector jobs. We do know that we have some Census jobs that are temporary. But the point is that, as a direct result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we are moving in the right direction and beginning to turn the economy around. And I think it's incredibly important that we show the American people the results of our policies. And, Mr. Altmire, I'd be happy to yield to you.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Does the gentleman recall how many of our friends on the other side of the aisle voted for the Recovery Act?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I think it was none.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I think it was none. Goose eggs. And that was the Recovery Act that gave 98 percent of Americans a tax cut, the same one that created a situation where we have the lowest, as you said, the lowest tax bills, the lowest tax rate since 1950, the one that created a situation where the triangle that Mr. Tonko referred to a few minutes ago enabled us to go from bleeding more than 700,000 jobs prior to President Obama being sworn into office to gaining almost 300,000 jobs in this last month. So we, on our side of the aisle, created, conceived, passed, and President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law, and our friends on the other side of the aisle all said ``no.'' Is that right?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Okay. I just wanted to make sure that that was accurate. Mr. Tonko, do you have something to add?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Again, Mr. Tonko, we talk about choices. This is as stark a choice, Mr. Heinrich, as we can illustrate. We could go back to policies that got us in the ditch in the first place and give the keys back to the people who drove us into the ditch; or we can hold on to the keys that we wrested from them in November of 2008 and continue to drive this economy in the direction that the American people want it to go.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the indulgence of my colleague from Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise a little off topic to honor two extraordinary young women who are here with us today in the gallery, Lauren Henschel and Taylor Davis, for receiving the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. At age 12, Taylor found out that due to budget constraints her school was considering canceling art education. So she sent handwritten letters to 45 art supply CEOs in United States and Europe, securing $30,000 worth of donated art supplies. Now 13, Taylor has started a nonprofit called The Traveling Canvas to provide arts education to students around the world. At age 14, when Lauren saw her father struggling with psoriasis, she took action, spearheading the country's first psoriasis fund-raising walk. In the last 4 years, Lauren's vision has spread nationally, raising more than $750,000 for the National Psoriasis Foundation. And in the spirit of this legislation and promoting research, I know we are all proud of her accomplishments. When Lauren herself was diagnosed with psoriasis--and remember that she is 14 years old--she said the following: I now understand that if anyone on earth should have been diagnosed, it was me, so I could use all of my abilities to make a difference for the millions of sufferers around the world. Lauren, Taylor, through your actions, you remind us that our capacity to help others is truly limitless. Congratulations, you are both truly the pride of the Sunshine State. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, in reclaiming my time, I believe that this legislation would at long last give the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity that they have not been given before. It authorizes the government of Puerto Rico to conduct an initial plebiscite. It gives the people of Puerto Rico a chance to weigh in on whether they wish to keep their status the same or to change their status. Congress needs to give the people of Puerto Rico access to participatory democracy, and this legislation does exactly that. It will create a process for the citizens of Puerto Rico to decide their own political status. If the majority of voters cast their ballots in favor of a different political status, the government of Puerto Rico would be authorized to conduct a second plebiscite which would include independence or statehood. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 2499.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the amendment because I believe it will muddy the waters of an otherwise clear choice that would be presented to the voters of Puerto Rico. I also rise with tremendous respect for my colleagues and friends, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Luis Gutierrez, while at the same time rising in strong support of H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory for 111 years, and its residents have been U.S. citizens since 1917. Puerto Ricans have a rich history of service to our Nation. They have served honorably in our military as Federal officials and as ambassadors. Our newest member of the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, is of Puerto Rican descent. Yet, in all of this time, the people of Puerto Rico have never been given the chance to express their views about the island's political relationship with the United States in a meaningful vote sponsored by Congress. Because H.R. 2499 embodies the commitment to democracy that defines our Nation, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes.'' I am proud that 20 of the bill's cosponsors hail from my State of Florida. The bill has received overwhelming bipartisan support from my State's delegation because of the close relationship between Florida and Puerto Rico. My district alone is home to more than 30,000 individuals of Puerto Rican descent, many of whom travel frequently to the island to visit family members. Companies in my district and across Florida regularly conduct business with those located in Puerto Rico. Despite the close family and business ties that bind many in my district with Puerto Rico, our two peoples are different in one critical respect: The residents of Puerto Rico, despite being citizens of the United States, cannot vote for President and do not have voting representation in Congress. They also cannot access all Federal programs to the same extent as can the residents of the States. H.R. 2499 would at long last give the people of Puerto Rico this opportunity. The bill authorizes the government of Puerto Rico to conduct an initial plebiscite. Voters would be asked whether they wished to maintain the current status or to choose a different status. The rationale for this plebiscite is simple.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I have some excellent news to share. Just last week, the CMS' independent actuary released an analysis of the health care reform legislation that we passed last month here in this Chamber. Their report shows that we are strengthening Medicare. Indeed, according to the Office of the Actuary, the Affordable Care Act will help extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by an additional 12 years to 2029, compared to 2017 today. It closes the prescription drug doughnut hole by 2020, with an immediate rebate this year of $250 and a 50-percent discount on brand-name drugs next year. It lowers annual premiums by nearly $200 per beneficiary. It lowers annual average coinsurance by over $200 per beneficiary, and it provides preventive wellness care visits for free. When we passed health care reform, Democrats stood up for seniors by strengthening Medicare and closing the prescription drug doughnut hole that was wide open and would be left wide open under the Republicans' plan. Under their radical plan to repeal health care, we will move in the wrong direction.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of my colleagues the work of Take Stock in Children. This organization offers extraordinary educational and mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth throughout the state of Florida. Enrolling students as early as sixth grade, Take Stock in Children offers each child a college tuition scholarship, a volunteer mentor, a case manager, and long-term support. The children in the program sign performance contracts agreeing to get good grades; exhibit positive behavior and; remain drug and crime free. Through their programs, Take Stock in Children aims to reduce the number of high school drop-outs and increase the number of students who finish college and enter the workforce successfully. Since its inception in 1995, Take Stock in Children has served over 16,000 children in 67 of Florida's counties, graduating 92 percent of its scholars in comparison with the state average of 65 percent. In my home county of Broward, over 900 low income students have received scholarships since 1996, with 550 volunteer mentors meeting with the students at their schools every week. I would like to congratulate the 72 Take Stock in Children senior scholars who will be graduating and the 85 new scholars who will be entering the program next week in Broward County. They join students graduating from around the state, 88 percent of which are first generation college-going students, empowered by the financial and moral support that this important program has provided over their high school career. I am proud today to honor the important work that Take Stock in Children continues to do paving the way to better lives for many disadvantaged children and helping them pursue the American dream of a college education.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Yom HaAtzmaut, the 62nd anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel, and to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our two democratic nations. Sixty-two years ago, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel declared sovereignty and independence as a homeland for the Jewish people. With little resources and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Israel has become a thriving and prosperous democracy, and has made worldwide contributions in technology, medicine, agriculture, and environmental innovation. Despite this progress, Israel continues to face threats from hostile actors such as Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. This was strikingly clear when I led a congressional delegation to Israel this past January. Meeting after meeting we heard from strong and resilient Israelis who have lived their lives under the constant showering of rockets and continued suicide bombing attacks. Put simply, we would not allow our government to stand idly by as hundreds of rockets and mortars came crashing down on the heads of our citizens, and we cannot expect Israel to sit idly by either. I believe the Government of Israel has not only a right, but also an obligation to protect its citizens. And I firmly stand by this right and obligation. Israel's commitment to democracy, freedom of religion, and human rights is a testament to the world view it shares with the United States. We face the same threats in an unstable region. But above all, we share a deep commitment to stand by each other and face the challenges ahead. One of those challenges that we faced together was the devastating earthquake in Haiti. I commend the efforts and generosity of the Israeli people who worked on the ground in Haiti, the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Israeli people for their outstanding contributions to earthquake relief in Haiti. In a world of great uncertainty, Israel has been a key partner, ally, and friend of the United States, and I look forward to our continued work together based on these shared values. Before I close, I would like to take a moment to recognize the Jewish community of South Florida, where I call my home. These inspiring men and women continue to work tirelessly with me so that we can be sure the Jewish State of Israel is secure and prosperous. And it is with them in mind that I say these next three words with gratitude, passion, and resolve: Am Yisrael Chai! The Nation of Israel lives!