Date: 2015-05-15
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I am on a mission of mercy. a mission of mercy. Mr. Speaker. because a U.S. military helicopter has gone down in Nepal on Tuesday. May 12. They were on a mission of mercy. The United States of America always responds to those who are in need. those who are in harms way. This was no exception. Our very finest volunteer to serve in our military. Many of them will go to distant places. and some of them will not always return home the same way they left. Some will not return at all. I am honored to say that we should be proud of those who serve. Regardless as to how we feel about conflicts around the world. we ought to appreciate the service of those who are in our military. and we ought to want every one of them to return home safely. So today I stand in the well of the House on a mission of mercy for our military persons who have lost their lives in distant places. but more specifically in Nepal. We are there for a reason. Mr. Speaker. We are there because Ruth Smeltzer is right: Some measure their lives by days and years. Others by heartthrobs. passions. and tears. But the surest measure under Gods Sun. Is what for others in your lifetime have you done. We. in the United States of America. are doing things for others in the lifetime of people in this country currently. and we do it in the lifetime of our Nation. We want it said that we were there to help those in time of need. So. Mr. Speaker. there is a time of need for those in Nepal. On April 25. a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. 7.8. Thereafter. on May 12. a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. These earthquakes have devastated this country. Lives have been lost. more than 8.000 lives. People have been injured. more than 17.000. Millions have been displaced. nearly 3 million. Millions have been affected. more than 8 million. Four Americans lost their lives. The United States moved quickly. We committed the sum of approximately $10 million initially. but that has now grown to more than $32 million. The relief efforts from the United States are growing. Not only are we placing dollars into the relief effort. we are also placing our military equipment into these efforts. That is why the helicopter was there in Nepal. to help in this time of need. So I am proud to say that we are there to help. The need is estimated to be approximately $415 million. The number could go up. But if it is that amount. we can do as much as we can. and we should do as much as we can to help the people of Nepal. I want you to know that the people of Nepal and the Nepalese community in the United States of America across the length and breadth of our country are pitching in. In my district. the Ninth Congressional District of Houston. Texas. on May 2. 2015. we held a meeting. That meeting was to discuss how we can be of service. the congressional office. and how the community can come together to provide assistance for those in need in Nepal. At that meeting. I am proud to say we had a good many persons in attendance. It was a community meeting. In the true spirit of community. which has the word "unity" in it. there was unity within this community meeting. I am proud to say that the members of the Nepalese Association of Houston were present. The president. Mr. Ghimirey was there. and he gave a report. The secretary. Mr. Nepal. was there. He gave a report. The building that we were in was at the International Center owned by Mr. Wei Li. and we are honored that he opened the doors of his facility for this purpose. But it is important to know that the community was in unity on the effort to help those in Nepal. Some of the members of the community in attendance: the Bhutanese community was there. The Taiwanese community was there. The Latino community was in attendance. The Burmese community was in attendance. The Pakistani community. the Vietnamese community. all in attendance. Asian realtors were there. The Southwest Management District was there. There were Venerables there. those who are of the Buddhist faith. The Filipino community was represented. The community activists of all stripes. of different ethnicities were in attendance. The Jewish community was there. and a report was given in terms of how Israel has been involved. The Turkish community was there. the Indian community. The Lions Club was represented. The Chinese community was in attendance. And the African American community was there. as well as a representative of the NAACP. We had a crosssection of people all there for the purpose of becoming a part of the mission of mercy. for the purpose of making sure that we fulfill our obligation to help those in times of need. and I am proud to say that a goal of $100.000 was set for the purpose of aiding those in Nepal just from that meeting. There are many others who have other goals. some higher. some lower. but I believe this goal will be met because it was indicated at the meeting that approximately $60.000 had been committed. I am proud to know that the community. in the spirit of unity. has come together. We announced at that meeting that our congressional office. working with other Members of Congress. we have filed a bill. H.R. 2033. to accord. to provide temporary protected status for the Nepalese community in Texas. in the United States of America. if you are a citizen of Nepal. If you are a citizen of Nepal. and you find yourself here on some sort of visa. if you are here lawfully in the country. temporary protected status would extend the stay for those who are lawfully in the country. It will not change the immigration status of a single person. It will simply extend the stay. This is the American way. It is not the first time we have done this. This is the American way. When people are here and their visas expire. and they are subject to going back into harms way or going back to their country. which would place them in harms way. we have done the honorable thing. the right thing. We have on many occasions allowed them to stay here rather than send them into harms way. That is what this bill would do. H.R. 2033. It would permit them to stay in this country and not return to a country that has been devastated by not one. but two earthquakes. a 7.3 and a 7.8. These two earthquakes have left much damage across the length and breadth of the country. The country is recovering. We need to make sure that we do all that we can to help the people of Nepal. This is why the bill was introduced. and I am proud to say that a good many persons have joined this mission of mercy. The Honorable MIKE HONDA is an original cosponsor. but there are others who are cosponsors. and in our tradition we like to thank people. It is a tradition of the House to thank people who are a part of a process that is helping someone. When you have people of goodwill who have put their names on the line. you ought to acknowledge that they are doing it. So I am proud to acknowledge people of goodwill. members of the United States House of Representatives who are a part of this mission of mercy. who have signed on to H.R. 2033. I want to mention each and every name. There are others who will sign on. This is not an allinclusive list. but as of today: The Honorable MIKE HONDA. who was an original cosponsor. the Honorable RRAD ASHFORDand by the way these are alphabetizedthe Honorable KAREN BASS. the Honorable MIKE CAPUANO. the Honorable TONY CARDENAS. the Honorable JUDY CHU. the Honorable YVETTE CLARKE. the Honorable EMANUEL CLEAVER. the Honorable JAMES CLYBURN. the Honorable STEVE COHEN. the Honorable JOHN CONYERS. For those of you who may just have joined us. these are the people who are on a mission of mercy. These are the people who are on H.R. 2033. a bill designed to help people stay in this country and not go back into harms way to Nepal. By the way. this bill would impact about 10.000 to 25.000 people. It is very difficult to count. but this is a guesstimate at best. the number of people who might benefit by staying in this country. I said the Honorable JOHN CONYERS is on this mission of mercy. the Honorable JOSEPH CROWLEY. the Honorable HENRY CUELLAR. the Honorable DANNY DAVIS. the Honorable JOHN DELANEY. the Honorable SUZAN DELBENE. the Honorable MARK DESAULNIER. the Honorable TAMMY DUCKWORTH. the Honorable KEITH ELLISON. the Honorable MARCIA FUDGE. the Honorable ALAN GRAYSON. the Honorable GENE GREEN. the Honorable RACIL GRIJALVA. As I continue with this list. let me make mention of this: This is not the first time. as I have indicated. that we have had temporary status granted to other countries. It was done under the Clinton administration. and it was granted to Montserrat. It was done under the Clinton administration as well for Nicaragua. following a hurricane. as well as for the Honduras. It was done with the Bush administration for El Salvador. It was done for the Obama administration for those who suffered from an earthquake in Haiti. So these are some of the people: the Honorable TAMMY DUCKWORTH. the Honorable KEITH ELLISON. the Honorable MARCIA FUDGE. the Honorable ALAN GRAYSON. the Honorable GENE GREEN. the Honorable RACIL GRIJALVA. the Honorable LuIs GUTIIRREZ. the Honorable DENNY HECK. the Honorable SHEILA JACKSON LEE. the Honorable HAKEEM JEFFRIES. the Honorable EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON. the Honorable HANK JOHNSON. the Honorable DANIEL KILDEE. the Honorable BARBARA LEE. the Honorable JOHN LEWIS. the Honorable ZOE LOFGREN. the Honorable JIM MCDERMOTT. the Honorable GRACE MENG. the Honorable GWEN MOORE. the Honorable GRACE NAPOLITANO. the Honorable JARED POLIS. the Honorable CHARLES RANGEL. the Honorable CEDRIC RICHMOND. the Honorable BOBBY RUSH. the Honorable LINDA T. SANCHEZ. the Honorable LORETTA SANCHEZ. the Honorable BOBBY SCOTT. the Honorable JOSt SERRANO. the Honorable BRAD SHERMAN. the Honorable CHRIS SMITH. the Honorable JACKIE SPEIER. the Honorable BENNIE THOMPSON. the Honorable CHRIS VAN HOLLEN. the Honorable MAXINE WATERS. and the Honorable