Date: 2016-04-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleagues for their eloquence but. more importantly. for the Congressional Black Caucus in its taking up the mantle of the moral compass of justice. One would argue that justice is tied to our committee. the Judiciary Committee. but as I look at this Congress and as I look at a very small document called the Constitution. one can anchor the responsibilities of this bodyof both the House and the SenateMr. JEFFRIES. in the Bill of Rights. I would like to just. very briefly. take us on a journey that indicates that our moral compass is broken because a budget that was supposed to be passed on April 15. by midnight. was not. To the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands. let me thank her. She will have her own distinctive story. in her eloquence. about the fairness to the territories. I listened. as I came in. to the presentation by the gentlewoman from Ohio. who knows full well that we need a budget to ensure that there is full employment in America. Then I work extensively with my colleague on the Judiciary Committee. and we will not pass or fund prison reform without a budget. I rise today. however. to weave in and out of my comments about the moral compass that is broken to indicate that my districtthe 18th Congressional District in Houston. Texas. and Harris Countyis under a terrible emergency disaster. We are underwater. We are again facing an enormous rainfall that has been listed as historic and. possibly. as catastrophic. Let me acknowledge my mayor. Mayor Turner. and county judge. Judge Emmett. for the work that has been done so far. and let me indicate two pastors with whom I have just gotten off the phone. Bishop Dixon and Bishop Bady. who are watching hungry people come to a site. looking for food. As I was speaking to the emergency leadership. they are indicating they were evacuating babies from apartments and people were being displaced. So what does that have to do with where we are today and no budget? Well. we know that the President introduced his budget a few months ago. Because of his responsibility. we know that Homeland Security was provided funding and FEMA was provided funding to deal with emergency declarations of a disaster. My district now needs it more than they have ever needed it. They need it in terms of providing for those immediate needs of vulnerable people without the resources to have stocked food. medical care. clothing. and also those who may be off work now because of the disaster. So we dont have a budget. We are not moving along to ensure that FEMA. which has seen a lot of disasters over the last 2 years. has the necessary funding to do their job. That is a broken moral compass. It also reflects the Constitution because we are owed an equal treatment under the law and due process under the Fifth Amendment. There is no due process when I hear that one area is under water and we are not able to get help. Let me also say that. as I watch a broken moral system. I also look at the predicament that we will be in with the Zika virus. Congressman JEFFRIES has mentioned the opioid crisis. and we cannot forget the water crisis in Flint. but there is also the water crisis across the Nation. There is hard work that is being done by the Members in Michigan and Mr. KILDEE. They need a budget to be able to fund the crisis or to help repair the crisis. restorative dollars. that a budget does to give a roadmap to the appropriators. I also know that we are facing another potential epidemic. if you will. the Zika virus that is taking control of places like Puerto Rico and other places in the Caribbean. places that we have not yet fully documented. I can assure you that the Gulf Coast States of Florida. Louisiana. and Texas are in the eye of the storm. The President a couple of months ago dutifully and responsibly introduced to this Congress a request of $1.9 billionno. I didnt say trillions. I didnt say 5 billion. I said 1.9 billionso that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can do their job.