Date: 2014-04-28
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me thank the gentleman from New York for convening this dialogue with our colleagues and. through our colleagues. the American people and Mr. HORSFORD as well as the Congressional Black Caucus and the passionate words of our colleague. the gentleman from New York . and others who have come on this floor to challenge our colleagues. I think the backdrop of this whole discussion is the Ryan budget. which we debated before we left for the work recess. And I think it is important that we not allow that budget to just pass with a vote and let it not represent the moral document that now the Republicans have tied themselves to. Interestingly enough. while we were away. it seems that America caught on fire. For some reason. the season generated a number of unfortunate and sad incidents that really reinforce this wealth gap that is so very important. I have 10 points that I would like to succinctly mention in the backdrop of the Ryan budget. which cuts drastically the social network of America which really makes America great. Some of us had the opportunity to be in countries outside. countries as we were. during the recess. South and Central America. Europe and other places. You come back to this country and you thank God for its greatness. and I still do that. But I also know that it is great. or it was great. because people pull together and realize there is no shame in a social safety network because it was people of all backgroundsCaucasians. Hispanics. African Americans and otherswho were in this country who celebrated the creation of Social Security under Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Medicare and Medicaid back in the 1960s. This is the 50th year of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. and so it is tragic that we still have to look at numbers that show the wealth inequality. It is more tragic that we compound this discrimination with ugly words that really suggest that there is a lack of understanding for why these numbers exist. I might say to Mr. Bundy. who suggested that government subsidies is all that African Americans receive. and that we would be better off as slaves with a garden and picking cotton: maybe if there had been a fair distribution of wealth at the end of slavery. as it was supposed to be. there would have been the investment in that nowfree population where you could look at them and say. Why didnt you succeed? Well. if you read your history books. you know that we lived under a discriminatory society for much of the 20th century. And in actuality. there was not an equalizing or trying to equalize rights until the 1960s. Even today. the decision that was just rendered on affirmative action. some people would shout for joy. but in actuality it undermines Americas great quality. and that is diversity. It takes away from Hispanic and White students and African Americans students and Asian students an opportunity to go to school together. a very unfortunate decision in affirmative action. compounded. of course. by the atmosphere and the attitudes of the likes of the owner of the Clippers. who today. in 2014. suggests I dont want to be sitting next to. taking a picture with. dont promote it. whatever his heartbroken situation might have been with an exgirlfriend. it still sets a tone that speaks. if you will. to the discrimination that exists in wealth. Some would say. how do you tie that together? We have to change our attitudes about all of us. And frankly. unemployment rates emphasize the discrimination in employment: African Americans. 12.4 percent and higher among young African American men. Hispanics 7.9 percent. I dont want unemployment in any group. I fight for full employment for everyone because I know that is what America is about. giving opportunity and creating the working middle class. That is what we should fight for. and I hope our discussion focuses on the fact that we want that to occur. Decline in wealth. We can clearly see that the decline in wealth has gone to some 53 percent in the African American community. And then of course bankruptcy filings. likewise. you can show that the highest amount is in African Americans. Let me conclude by simply saying the budget that Mr. RYAN has will never answer the question of solving the problem of lifting the boats of all Americans. I thank the gentleman for having yielded to me. The challenge tonight is clearly to find a solution that ends the evilness of racism. but more importantly lifts the boats of all of our fellow Americans because they deserve the kind of equality and wealth opportunity that goes for poor Whites. Hispanics. African Americans. and Asians. A solution must be found.