ms. jackson lee: i thank you. in the houston, harris county, and surrounding counties last week, eight of our fellow citizens lost their life. i want to offer our thoughts and prayers on behalf of the families of german antonio anco, claudia melger, tanika bikus, pedro morales, charles dward odom, koresh kamar kalamuri. all loving members of a family who now have lost their life and families are saddened by their loss. in the course of this, i want to thank the first responders for their courageous efforts in, one, seeking to find these individuals, and second, helping those who have been impacted by the flooding. the efforts of houstonians who came to the aid of their neighbors saved more lives and provided comfort to those impact. offer thanks to the generosity of the houston community who fed households left hunger. we are grateful for the presence and laudable work of the red cross wells houston and harris county, the mayor and county judge, all participating in this effort along with other elected officials.

let me now yield to representative sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: let me thank my colleagues for their eloquence, but more importantly, for the congressional black caucus, for 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 i look at a very small document called the constitution, one can anchor the responsibilities of this body, both the house and the senate, mr. jeffries, in the bill of rights. and i'd like to just very briefly take us on a journey that indicates that our moral compass is broken. because the budget that was supposed to be passed on april 15 by midnight has not. to the gentlelady from the virgin islands, let me thank her. she'll have her own distinctive story and her eloquence about the fairness to the territories. i've just lisped as i've come in to the -- listened as i've come in to the presentation by the gentlelady from ohio who knows full well that we need a budget to ensure that there is full emp

ms. jackson lee: i ask to use such time as i may require. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: let me start by saying that this is evidence of the important commitment that the judiciary committee has to the issues of criminal justice, but as well, recognizes the title of this committee, that covers crime, terrorism and homeland security and investigation. so i want to thank the chairman, mr. goodlatte, for working with me and his staff, along with mr. conyers, the ranking member and his staff and of course, mr. radcliffe for his support of my legislation h.r. 4240, no fly for foreign fighters act. i want to thank the staff because as they well know, my late staff, worked hard with staff members as well on this legislation. so here we are today with an important initiative coming out of the judiciary committee working collaboratively and i believe that is extremely important. as a senior member of the committee on homeland security and ranking member on, the topic of threats to homeland security has always

ms. heila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentlelady from new jersey who has led these special orders, communicating to the american people, and the congresswoman from chicago, illinois, who has a history and record of reform. thank you, congresswoman, for your very well-stated challenge in our message and our effort. let me also thank those hundreds who have seen the inside of a washington, d.c., jail. and they've done so in the name of those who cannot speak for themselves. the millions of americans who sit languishing because decisions are made against them and not for them, because unfortunately big money and the congress not doing its job has taken the dominant place in american history. hundreds of democracy spring protesters were arrested on capitol hill. we heard them repeatedly over the last week, and having had the experience of standing before the sudanese embassy, standing in fight for immigration reform myself, and as well participating by way of fight and registering people to vote i

ms. jackson lee: and the american people's interests first. it is now time, pass the emergency supplemental and save lives. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new hampshire seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to highlight the connection between drug and human trafficking at the southwest border, where mexican cartels control both. last week i traveled to texas and new mexico to learn more about this connection. mr. guinta: the president's disregard of our immigration laws is encouraging people to risk their lives to enter the united states. enriching the same cartels that smuggle deadly heroin. last year in new hampshire, my home state, more than 400 granite staters died of a heroin or opiate overdose and nearly 50,000 in the united states last year that number is unfortunately trending upward. de

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of h.r. 4509, and i thank the gentleman from new jersey for his astuteness, look with mr. walden, for a very important initiative. having been on the homeland security committee since the tragic terrorist attack against the united states, i have watched the formation of this department and the issues that are important to secure america. i've lived through various processes and various disasters that are not terrorist related to know how important these grants overall are. and the grants in particular that are dealing with this bill and planning committee are extremely important to add to the planning committee those individuals who are beyond the very abled work of our fight fighters and police officers -- firefighters and police officers. those are our first responders. it's important to engage the community, such as schools, medical professions and beyond. i hope as this legislation passes, we'll also look to have on the plan

ms. jackson lee: i believe we have no other speakers and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, in concluding a lot of thanks goes to, as i indicated, the chairman, chairman goodlatte, ranking member conyers, and mr. ratliff, who is a member of the committee. my colleagues on homeland security as well who have a great interest in this legislation. our commit n-this legislation is to leave no stone unturned, no page unturned, and no iota of information that will be necessary to make this list a more viable and secure list. and that work now will be done by this legislation. no fly for foreign terrorists. it will help to make the terrorist screening center an asset, further asset to our homeland security infrastructure. we want to make certain that those men and women have the tools they need to contain and keep the nation -- to continue to keep the nation safe with 30,000 foreign fighters and others going every day, 250 americans

ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman from georgia and i thank him for his leadership along with mr. conyers for the introduction of a very important initiative, h.r. 4899. many would think, particularly as we have watched the mediation and arbitration process grow, as a newly developed practice amongst lawyers and one that businesses and others have seen -- seemed to adopt, that that was in fact helping consumers by allowing the concept of arbitration to be able to be utilized, thereby allegedly lowering the cost of litigation. in a 2010 survey, 27% of employers covering over 36 million employees or 1/3 of the nonunion work force reported they required forced arbitration of employment disputes. the practice of forced arbitration is widespread and damaging. for example, the ability to obtain key evidence necessary to prove one's case is often restricted or eliminated in arbitration proceedings. and it can be nearly impossible to appeal adverse decisions by ash traitors -- arbitrators. we know that in the bill of rights and the constitution there is a right to a trial by jury. a jury

ms. jackson lee: it devastates good paying jobs, education, american infrastructure and again it repealed the affordable care act and dismantled the affordable care act for 20 million people. even with those poison pills, to draw in support for some kind of budget that would fit within the law, their responsibility, or the responsibility of this congress, they're in the majority, they could not pass or get on the floor a budget. clearly the compass is broken, the moral compass is broken, but more importantly it denies equal protection under the law in my interpretation of millions of americans depending on congress doing its job. i appreciate the gentleman. mr. jeffries: i appreciate those thoughtful observations. we want to bring representative bobby scott and representative stacey plaskett into this conversation in terms of the stunning inability to present a budget and as representative jackson lee said, what else is there to do in terms of satisfying the extreme elements of your party? privatize social security and throw all the people out of their home across the country? what else c

ms. norton: i yield my good iend from texas, representative sheila jackson lee, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me as i begin my remarks, and i know that my colleague would understand my sense of pride, in acknowledging in my district the victory early college high school in acres home and part of the all dean independent school district, a public school, will be celebrating the national blue ribbon award ceremony this morning. i offer them congratulations and express my disappointment for not being there, but obviously they have been recognized as one of two schools in houston nationally to earn a distinction of a national blue ribbon school at an award ceremony in washington, d.c. for closing the achievement gaps. may i remind my colleagues that that is a public school system. so i rise in opposition and join my colleague from the district of columbia to oppose 4901 which would re-authorize the district of columbia private school voucher program. and the opportunity scholarship program for f

ms. jackson lee: i was detained with a meeting off campus at the white house and i would like to i ask unanimous consent to place it appropriately in the record, for the waters amendment, i ould have voted eye and for s. 1890, i would have voted aye. i ask respectfully to have my votes placed in the record and i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman's statement will appear in the record. are there any further one-minute requests? or what purpose does -- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new mexico seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize april 30 as [speaking spanish] celebrating young americans. this serves to celebrate the importance of young children. when translated means day of the children helps bring hispanic families nationwide to recognize the importance of literacy. recognizing this day highlights the growing presence of hispanic youth and the lasting impact of hispanic impact on the cultural fabric of this nation. this

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i ask to address the house and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. in the dark of night on this very day two girls at the early age of 11 to 17 were preparing for sleep in nightgowns, getting ready for the exams that would opening the doors of opportunity as they were told by their nigerian parents. one girl had rushed back to school from a weekend trip because her father said, you shouldn't be home. you must go and take your exam. and that night terrorists came and rounded them up and threatened them and took them into the bush upwards of abuja. they have now been gone for two years. and i have stood alongside frederica wilson, lois frankel, myself who went to nigeria within weeks of their kidnaping. and we were making the committing that isil that is now boko haram, boko haram that is now isil, will come if we are not vigilant to find them and quash them to the shores of america. we must find the girls. they deserve our constant refrain and study to realize th

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, a few days ago in harris county, in houston, and in my congressional district, and many other places, again the state of texas experienced a terrible rain. it was not a hurricane. it was not a tornado. but a downpouring of 20 inches-plus. people were standing on furniture, babies had to be rescued and people died. today i want to call the names of eight people who died untimely in this terrible, terrible storm. next week i'll ask my colleagues to stand with me for a minute of silence. but i wanted in this week to call their names. they were mothers and fathers, truck drivers, mechanical engineers, teachers, they were americans, they were houstonians, they were texans. unfortunately they died. the government must work better to ensure that there are flashing lights on underpasses and many other solutions and we look forward to the declaration of disaster to help the people remaining. my sympathy to their families. german antonio flankow, pedro, sinica, majara, terry. seresh, m

ms. jackson lee: thank you, mr. speaker. this morning, i had the privilege of participating with the union theological center in new york to speak about how faith -- about our faith and our legislation. it causes me to come to the floor today to act upon that very strong faith. in the good samaritan that means that we are in fact brothers' and cystest' keeper. we have a devastating disease in the zika virus that's been announced as being more devastating than had been expected -- had been expected. causing severe brain damage. and my state and gulf states are in the target line. we recently had a zika virus hearing in our -- and our infectious disease experts told us this is a devastating disease. so i'm asking this congress, yes we can take money from someplace else, barro -- borrow from peter to pay paul but i'm asking for the spirit of the good samaritan and pass the president's emergency supplemental request of $1.9 billion. i'll be asking the sec retear of health and human services to come to texas, sit down with our la