Date: 2011-12-06
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I want to applaud the gentleman from Texas . the ranking member. and my colleague from Missouri. and to echo the comments of Mr. CONYERS on his father. but also the stellar work that he is doing. As a member of the delegation. we can always count on Missouri to test the Constitution and to ask the United States to do what is right. I am rising to support this compact. Frankly. I want to really embrace it because it is maybe one aspect of legislation. Madam Speaker. that we are actually bipartisan and supporting it without hesitation. I. frankly. believe that the Federal Government should not overreach as it relates to compacts that have been between States. But I do think that regulation is key and crucial to give States extra leverage. So let me congratulate Mr. CLAY. And I look forward to supporting this legislation. I will add. as well. that when I think of bonds. I think of opportunities for building. using resources to restore. And by the very nature of that. Madam Speaker. were talking about creating jobs. So I add another applause to this particular legislation coming out of the Judiciary Committee because. for once. among many bills that we have been debating from the Judiciary Committee. this bill might enhance opportunities for jobs. I think of bonds. I think of jobs. I think of utilization of funds from bonds as they mature. And this is a good thing. Im sad to say that in the course of the time that weve spent. maybe over the last 3 weeks. when we could have actually engaged in reasonable debate on how we raise the payroll tax. how do we extend the payroll tax cut. and how do we extend the unemployment benefits. we have not been able to do that. So let me just share my assessment of the folk who are needing unemployment benefits. Personal savings have gone. Family savings have gone. Theyve exhausted the 401(k)s and they have tapped every other fungible amount of dollars that they might have. maybe even to the kiddies saving account that started with 25 cents. leaving many individuals in this harmonious. humble holiday time. desperate. desperate for a job. desperate for assistance. desperate for being able to pay their mortgage. desperate for paying their rent. Madam Speaker. maybe we should also say. desperate in getting one more allotment of food stamps. Maybe were not aware that there are 46 million families on food stamps. and most of them wait all the way to the exhaustion of those food stamps. find themselves. before the next opportunity for food stamps. literally drinking water. making tea. and eating crackers. There was an expose on this just recently on one of our cable stations. families waiting until 12 midnight to watch and see if their account has in it the amount of money they needed to enter a grocery store to feed their children. I dont believe that we can leave this sacred and august institution without. one. providing relief on extending the payroll tax cut. giving $1.000 and $1.500 to the American working class. And clearly. I dont believe that we can leave without providing for unemployment. Every dollar invested in unemployment insurance yields $1.52 in economic growth. and at least 200.000 jobs will be lost if Republicans block extension of the unemployment insurance. In fact. frankly. I know that Scrooge would not find a place of comfort in this House. We have always risen to the occasion of helping the most desperate. Whether it has been under Franklin Delano Roosevelt in World War II. where he had to put the apple sellers back to work. or whether it was when our President had to stop the bleeding with the $800 billion stimulus. we have always risen to be able to find a way to move our economy. And if we would tell the truth. we would see that our economy is percolating along. So in the tribute of President Obama. who speaks today in Kansas in the same place that President Teddy Roosevelt spoke about opportunity for Americans. Im asking for the Members of Congress to come to the floor and give opportunity for Americans. I will close by saying to my friends. there are many good friends who are running for President. Many of us have worked with them. And anytime an American wants to offer themselves to serve this country. I have no angst with them. no matter how much I disagree with their policy. But let me be very clear. as a child that grew up poor. lived with neighbors who were poornot in our minds. but certainly by our economicsI want to make the record very clear: poor children have role models because poor families get up every day and go to work. And the solution to poor children being the best that they can be is not a Donald Trump apprenticeship. and it sure isnt to get rid of the working janitors who are supporting their families and put the poor children to work. I hope that we can do better than that. Madam Speaker. and get back to work and make sure we extend the payroll tax for working families. And lets extend the unemployment insurance for the 99ers.