Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Even though the Senate may take up this ill-fated measure, the President has promised to veto it. So what we are doing here today is another messaging bill that distracts the American people perhaps from the more important issues of the day, such as the spreading of this public health crisis, the Zika virus, which is afflicting almost 17,000 Americans infected by mosquitos carrying the Zika virus--17,000 people--200 babies born, 1,600 infected women. This is a crisis that is going to cost the American people from a public health perspective. It is going to cost the lives of the unborn whose mothers are afflicted with this virus, giving birth to them, and they have the virus and suffer from microcephaly, a shrunken head and brain which renders them severely developmentally impacted as they make it through life and add a severe burden to the taxpayers. Instead of dealing with this issue, we took a 7-week vacation and refused to come back to work to deal with the Zika virus. At the same time as we have got the Zika virus, a public health issue afflicting the Nation, we are also seeing more and more and more people dying from opioid abuse in this country. This Congress has been insufficient in dealing with this, applying the resources to deal with that issue. We have got the issue of Flint, Michigan, where lead was found in the water.…
Share & report
More from Hank Johnson
Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purposes of closing. Madam Speaker, by reallocating the judicial docket across the district, this bill ensures that 2.8 million residents of the Northern District of Alabama have…
Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the reauthorization of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was first passed by Congress in 2008. FISA codified what had been a…
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7316, which makes a number of technical amendments to title 54 of the United States Code, while making no substantive changes. Mr. Speaker, I support the legislation. I urge my colleagues to do the…
Commuter rail is a crucial component of the public transportation network, offering efficient, safe, and climate-friendly transit for millions of people in major metropolitan areas.





