Floor Statements

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Chair, this amendment that I am offering today would repurpose just 1 percent of the funding for the Federal prison system and restore funding for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Madam Chair, the underlying bill zeros out both title II formula grants and title V discretionary grants for prevention and early intervention programs, which were funded last year at approximately $70 million. To ensure that our State juvenile justice systems are not irreparably damaged, this amendment would take just 1 percent away from our Federal prison systems, approximately $70 million, to maintain our commitment to prevention and early intervention.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th Anniversary of the Old Dominion Bar Association (ODBA), of which I am proud to be a member. Members will be gathering next week in Glen Allen, Virginia for their annual conference and to celebrate this historic milestone. The ODBA traces its history to a December 1940 incident where an African American lawyer was asked to move to another section of the law library of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Frederic Charles Carter, Esq. was working in the law library when he was ordered to move to another section because of an alleged new Supreme Court policy limiting African American attorneys to a specific section of the law library. Carter refused to move and the head librarian summoned a police officer to demand Carter see him in his office.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, 50 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced from the White House Rose Garden that enrollment would begin for an early childhood education program called Project Head Start. For the last half century, Head Start has been more than just an education program. It not only includes quality preschool but also critical support services, including family engagement, health services, and good nutrition. Studies have found that children in Head Start do better academically, have better behavior, and better health status than their peers.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 43. This resolution would express Congress' disapproval of the District of Columbia's legislation that would protect employees from discrimination based on their reproductive health decisions. Just last month, the States of Indiana and Arkansas attempted to pass so-called ``religious freedom'' bills that are really an attempt to permit discrimination. Tonight, we are debating a resolution that would allow employers to fire or refuse to hire workers because of their private reproductive medical decisions, notwithstanding the protection provided to the employees by the District of Columbia.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of First Baptist Church, Berkley in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1865, thirty members of Bank Street Baptist Church began praying in a tent abandoned by Union soldiers after the culmination of the Civil War. These meetings were later moved to the homes of the various members. On April 15, 1868, these individuals received letters of dismissal from Bank Street Baptist and left to begin a new church led by Reverend Samuel S. Jones.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a significant milestone that occurred 50 years ago this week. On April 11, 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The enactment of the ESEA followed the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, guaranteeing all children equal educational opportunities. Unfortunately, communities with high concentrations of poverty have never enjoyed equal rights. So, for the last 50 years, the ESEA has remained the single-largest Federal resource for schools that teach our most vulnerable students.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Congressional Black Caucus budget, which is a more credible and responsible alternative than the underlying Republican budget. A nation's budget reflects its priorities, but the Republican budget continues to highlight the wrong priorities. The underlying Republican budget is not a serious plan. It contains trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but claims to be revenue neutral, without showing a dime's worth of tax increases that will be necessary to make it revenue neutral. It includes trillions of dollars in unspecified cuts, and many of the specified cuts will not be made. For example, are we really going to repeal Medicare as we know it?

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the underlying Republican budget for fiscal year 2016, and I also rise to commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) for his strong opposition. Mr. Chairman, this budget is not a serious plan. It contains trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but it doesn't show a dime's worth of tax increases when they say it is going to be revenue neutral. It includes trillions of dollars in unspecified cuts that will not be made. For example, are we really going to repeal Medicare as we know it?