ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentleman from texas and the -- acknowledge that i was pleased to help out the gentlelady from guam and i want to indicate that these are two amendments that stand on their own right and i close by indicating the purpose of the amendment offered by jackson lee to again refer to finney, a woman who tried to get a home and she stayed in a program and completed the criteria needed to qualify, earn wages of at least $20,000 and got that credit score, established a savings account of $1,000. this is what we're talking about about supportive services and what we want to do is emphasize employment counseling, financial education, growth, child care, transportation, youth recreational activities and other supportive services. i'm glad to have the support of the coalition for the homeless of houston-harris county and the heartline alliance to be able to say this makeses for a better road map for getting housing to people who are in need. i celebrate the fact that w

ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i restate my earlier premise that science is the work of the 21st century because when you are innovative and do research you create jobs and opportunities. this amendment establishes that basic research is in the national interests of the united states. let me suggest to you that with all of the universities that we have in this country, when i travel, i always hear individuals seeking to come to be taught in american institutions of education -- of higher education. it is because of the creative thought and the research that is done whether in medicine or all the forms of science, technology because we have a free-flowing basis upon which people can think and invent, i want that to continue and i want the national science foundation to be the cornstone of that. i have in my hand why declining research threatens u.s. innovation deficit. i ask unanimous con

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: as a sitting member of the house judiciary committee, ranking member of the scombheet on crime, terrorism, homeland security, and investigations, and a representative of houston, i am privileged to be able to support this legislation. legislation that i'm very glad to say had been included in our draft prison bill, bipartisan bill, but because of the urgency of this matter, i'm very glad to be on the floor of he house with the co-sponsors, sponsors, and chairman of the full committee, mr. goodlatte. and the ranking member of the full committee, mr. conyers, as well, joins us -- joins in the importance of this effort. my heartaches for eric williams' family. and it aches for the circumstance that caused him to lose his life. obviously this young man was committed to public safety. the criminal justice city. and the rehabilitation of those who were incarcerated. even in high-risk circumstances. i rise to support s. 2

ms. jackson lee: are you the last speaker? mr. wittman: yes. ms. jackson lee: let me ask my colleagues to take into consideration the importance of our responsibilities of preservation. trophies, money. i can assure you there are a bounty of humane organizations that will provide any amount of dollars to do the research that is necessary to protect this vulnerable population. they are enlisted on the endangered species afpblgt they are vulnerable. these trophies should not be an indication of the american people bringing polar bears who may themselves find that they are extinguished and no longer because we believe that trophies are more important than studying the species, growing the species to the extent that scientists and others can restrain them and make sure that we do have a population within the realm and reason of supporting the echo cycle we need. i ask my colleagues to support the jackson lee amendment. with that i yield. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. -- the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time.

ms. jackson lee: i will finish very quickly. april, 2014, a nonscientist, i came out of the rules committee on a science initiative legislation, just made a decision to go to flint river. had no anti-corrosion plan and their there lies the sources of the problems of the cities that you indicated -- you had one with none toxics and just breaking the law. out of that, of course, to save 5 million has come a billion dollar plus to try and salvage this great city. the governor, of course, no accountability, and just to show emails that e of were released and very difficult to read these. the governor indicates this was not relevant to the issue. the main point is while we are talking about the infrastructure that we have and i do support mr. kildee's effort to help his effort, 770 million, we must hold ourselves accountable, this body of republicans and democrats who know we must invest in the infrastructure. i sent a letter early in january for an investigation, the f.b.i. is now investigating, we want to make sure there is a revie

ms. jackson lee: thank you very much. the chair: it is now in order to consider amendment number five printed in part b of house eport 114-420. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition? ms. delbene: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 5 printed in house report 114-420, offered by ms. delbene of washington. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 609, the gentlewoman from washington, ms. delbene, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington. ms. delbene: thank you. mr. chairman, i rise to offer this amendment to ensure the national science foundation can continue investing in the development of an american work force that is globally competitive in computer science and information technology. this has been a bipartisan goal in the past and i'm hopeful everyone in this chamber will be able to support it. computing technology has become an integral part of our

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i do want to say to the gentleman that as you well know, the judiciary committee in many machinations over the years have looked that the question of choice and the constitutional right that comes from roe v. wade and unfortunately, our voices, those of us who are there, who argue the constitutional premise, have not been heard. let me stand in opposition to, again, a groundhog day announcement which is again trying to repeal the affordable care act. the good news is, this is my daughter's birthday, so i can celebrate february 2 in a good way. but this approach to again try to take away from the millions of people in texas who are uninsured the right to be insured, to have insurance, with pre-existing conditions and this horrible provision to defund planned parenthood which is a health prospect and a health project that gives good health care to women is absurd. let me also say, mr. speaker, that we face some troubling times when people are unemployed and planned parenthoo

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker. this morning i spent some time and last evening communicating with leaders of my transit system, houston metro, that has received numerous awards and i applaud them for working very hard, sometimes gets odds, to provide mobility for the great citizens of the houston-harris county metroplex area. but i had a particular issue that we had been working on since last november. and that is to give disabled veterans in this very vast territory of texas the ability to ride on what we call the h.o.t. lanes for free. and my premise is simple. when we ask our men and women in the united states to put the uniform on, we ask them with no qualifications, meaning no restraints, that they are expected to defend the united states to the utmost. and in the course of that, some fall in battle. lose their lives. or are veterans who ultimately come to their demise by their age and illnesses. and therefore i think it is enormously important that when they make a request that helps them in their mobility, w

ms. jackson lee: ms. speaker, without objection, the gentlewoman senseless gun violence over the past weekend in our community, a young man, 19 years old, worked in a pose rhea, was gunned -- in a pizzeria, was gunned down. the story says as he worked in this robbery, he attempted to respond to the killers' demands but 9/11 spite of that, he was gunned down, murdered. we have listened to the sad eloquence of our colleagues from michigan, vicious gun violence, a person with 11 guns in their home and yes as many a, people kill, guns don't. but they use guns to kill. it is time for this congress, as many police officers have said to me, to get their hands around the rampage of guns and gun violence, senseless killings, bad guys, some good guys, killing people with guns. it is important to close the gun show loophole. to be able to use and demand science and safety restraints. but i am just appalled, but i am outraged. enough is enough. innocent people, killed, gun violence. i yield back. the speaker pro temp

ms. tsongas: i yield an additional two minutes to congresswoman jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentlelady and manager. to be able to know that in the midst of those hallowed streets, dr. king came. i don't know whether he parked a car or walked to that office and, of course, all the other surrounding areas and other names of historic persons had the ability to walk down those streets and in that area. we take great pride in the preservation of our national park areas and i must compliment the national park service because it has a love and affection for all those lands that it takes care of. you can see it when you are able to visit these national sites, so many throughout our country, so many that we've had a chance to visit. and now in my colleague's district will be a place, an added place for dr. martin luther king's resources, where his hands touched and what an appropriate time in our history to be able to, again, thank this man of peace, of nonviolence and to remind ourselves that america

ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. almost two minutes ago, i led a to assess delegation haram. ess boko it was after the taking of the girls. boko haram was doing the kind of raiding and rebel rousing that may have been part of burning villages. that time has passed. boko haram poured gas on children and burned them. ey are a crusading, vial and evil and vicious group. takes in nigeria, cam rune, and niger. and it is important for us to call upon these nations to collaborate. they have pledged their support to isis. and in the course of the homeland security, judiciary committee, boko haram is not going to get away. but we must stop boko haram because they are killing children all in africa and they are committed to violence against a civil society. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal request. e clerk: leaves of absence quested for representative kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for 60 nutes as the designee of the majority

and with that, i yield the balance of my time to the congresswoman, sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentlelady for yielding and i'm delighted to yield her on the special order focusing on the congressional progressive caucus to ensure every american can vote. we have worked with the congressional hispanic caucus and worked together with the congressional black caucus and work together with the democratic caucus and i encourage the entire house to be committed to the very values of this nation. this should not be a republican or democratic issue of which it has become. we stand here as democrats arguing for the empowerment of voters all over the nation, but yet legislative initiatives have been introduced by members of the judiciary committee and others. i have joined a number of those legislative initiatives and these initiatives cannot be heard or voted on. and the american people need to know that. and there is no other reason than the republican majority does not want to have empowered voters. and this is unlike what we did in years past. i have had t

who has been a constant fighter for everyone's rights, including women's rights, congresswoman jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentlelady from new jersey and i thank her for her leadership as well and i thank my colleagues who are here on the floor of the house that have joined us together. let me associate myself with the comments of the gentlelady from new jersey as she relates to louisiana. let me be clear, as i stand here as a constituent of the state of texas, as a representative of the state of texas, and as a woman who lives in texas. texas state law h.b. 2 has led to the closure of more than 20 abortion facilities in the state, taking the number, the total number of providers from 40 to 19. its true purpose, to take every woman's right to -- to take away women's rights to make their own health care decisions and it couldn't be more blatant. again, to take away every woman's right. the right to choose. no one stands on this floor tonight to promote and coddle an abortion but we do stand on the floor to protect a woman's right to choose her health and her sacred r

ms. jackson lee. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and ranking member, and i want to say that. and i want us to remain a country of immigrants and laws and keep the values that we were founded on. >> thank you, ms. jackson lee. and the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. >> thank you for the work that you do every day to support the primary role of the federal government, that being to provide for the common defense and to keep america safe from evolving threats. right now the evolving threats from radical islamists jihadists are constantly on the minds of the nearly 700,000 texans that i represent and for good reason. the terrorist attacks in paris and in san bernardino and in other places prove that those extremists intend to exploit, if possible, both the refugee and the visa processes to carry out mass killings against innocent people here in the united states and abroad. so, i know you agree with me. we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal to ensure that the people coming to the united stat

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the lady is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: thank you. mr. speaker, i want to tell the story of texas southern university. started out in houston, texas, in the early 1920's to educate then, of course, the colored or negro population and they've grown into the 21st century. but in 1940, they were expanded because a young man by the name of sweat attempted to attend the university of texas school of law and he was prohibited, he was prevented. the law school was established that is now named thurgood marshall. but i really rise to say this school is a texas asset, and yet the state of texas publically has underfunded this university. in 2000, i helped settle a desegregation lawsuit of which that school had sued because it was discriminated against. sadly, i rise today to ask for another investigation by the department of education civil rights division because the state of texas is now again discriminating against the students and

ms. jackson lee of texas for today and mr. heights of georgia for today and for tuesday, february 2. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the requests are granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. beatty is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mrs. beatty: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members be given five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add any extraneous materials relevant to the subject matter of this discussion. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. beatty: mr. speaker, it is an honor and a privilege for me to rise this evening as co-chair along with my distinguished colleague who represents the eighth district of new york, congressman hakim jeffries, for this congressional black caucus special order hour. an hour of power. addressing the state of our .nion, dr. king's dream congressman jeffries is a scholar, a distinguished member of the judiciary committee, he continues to be a tireless advocate for social and economic justice.

jackson lee. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman from virginia for his leadership, mr. beyer, and the service that he's given to this congress. we're so delighted to have him join us. i thank the manager, his colleague out of virginia, mr. wittman, as well. but let me -- coming from texas and knowing many of those who seek recreational hunting, shing and participation on lands, private and federal, you know, you wonder whether or not we could have found a way to deal with the concerns of our friends of whom i support, environmental groups, humane society and just a litany of individuals from the alaska wilderness league, alliance for the rockies, endangered species coalition, environmental investigation agency and tional society, kentucky heartwood and just a whole array of individuals which i'll offer into the record at another time but yet this bill comes and specifically interferes with what i believe is the important protection, if you will, of managers of items that impact our wilderness. this

ms. lee, from texas 3 1/2 minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much to the ranking and chairman of the full committee. mr. chairman, just a few minutes ago the judiciary committee, the ranking and judiciary committee chairman were in a hearing that exuded bipartisan expressions for fixing the chal lection that -- challenges that we have with the location of data and international request for data being held by america's technology companies. it was an interesting and open discussion which i juan wapt to evidence on the record -- which i want to evidence on the record. the judiciary committee is continuing and has had over the years bipartisan approaches to a number of difficult questions. which we have solved. including our approach to criminal justice reform. i want to thank the chairman and ranking member for that. i also want to acknowledge that we have some challenges as was evidenced by comments by the gentleman from tennessee on the restoration of the voting rights act, and we find ourselves again in a challenge that i h

ms. jackson lee: i ask to address the house unanimously -- for one minute. i thank the speaker very much. i rise today with great enthusiasm to honor and salute yo landa adams. and enormous and wonderful talent of gospel music. and to celebrate her 10th anniversary of the yolanda adams morning show. many, many know that i introduced legislation to make september gospel music heritage month. to honor the many talented americans who enjoy, sing, write and provide inspiration in gospel music. even elvis presley, who won his first grammy through gospel music. i remember young yolanda adams swinging -- singing in a church in houston and the inspiration she gave even then. a young teacher who worked until they finally knew that her talent was worthy of presenting it to the american people. yolanda adams rose to fame as one of gospel music greats, making her debut in 1988. i remember that. since then she's been a wowing gospel audiences, she's been before the president of the united states and all over the world. but yet she's a humble person. following a musical c

ms. sheila jackson lee is -- [ inaudible ] -- is recognized for five minut minutes. >> let me thank the chair and the ranking member for, again, upholding their authority and upholding, if you will, the authority of the united states congress for their bipartisan approach to this. one cannot help. i sit on the house judiciary committee -- but be nothing but angry as a mother and an american. and i want to say to this mother that is here, we've already called you a hero of which you would wish not to be. because you have a child that has been impacted. as i sit here today, the memories of a jim jones, who gave a poisoned concoction to children causes me to say there is a jim jones in michigan who gave a poison concoction to children and their families. if any of us should demand accountability, we should. i want to ask mr. edwards before i pursue a questioning of mr. creagh. mr. edwards, you have given a recounting of just not putting phosphate in water. and i know that you are not a judge or a jury and i know you're a man that believes in the constitution. but if you had to reflect, would you

ms. waters: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: i'm very pleased to jackson lee two minutes to another outstanding member of our committee, the gentleman from texas, mr. williams. the chair: the gentleman from texas virginia tech for two minutes. mr. williams: mr. chairman, thank you for the time. i rise today to support h.r. 766. the financial institution customer protection act of 2016. as a small business other for 44 years, i have seen it all or at least i thought i saw it all. i'm deeply trouble over a federal government program i believe to be at best immoral and at worst illegal, operation choke point. the obama white house has single-handedly cut itself from financial institutions and perfectlyly legitimate businesses which they serve. this congress has not passed any legislation granting the executive branch such immense power. mr. speaker, all of us here have born witness to the obama administration's willingness to bypass the lawmaking branch of our government, but this is a new low. operation choke point is the worst example of the obama white house t