Congressman Grayson said, “I am proud that Central Florida will be represented by such an outstanding young man. Jeff can now join that honorable ‘Long Gray Line’ of West Point students that includes two U.S. Presidents, and countless ambassadors, state governors, legislators, judges, cabinet members, generals, astronauts, engineers, and corporate executives.”
A New York Times article from June of 2009 reports a significant increase in applications to the military academies. That fact makes Jeff’s accomplishment even more impressive. If Jeff accepts the appointment, he will report to West Point on June 28, 2010.
Jeffrey Knutson, Jeff’s father and also the principal of Orlando Lutheran Academy, was overwhelmed after hearing the news of his son’s appointment. “My first thought was of gratitude for all of the blessings and talents that have been showered upon Jeff. He has in turn been a true blessing to our family. I then felt a sense of extreme pride in Jeff and what he has accomplished. He has worked very hard to achieve this, and his acceptance to West Point is a wonderful validation of his efforts,” Mr. Knutson said.
Jeffrey is one of 32 students in the 8th District who requested a Congressional nomination to one of the four military academies. The Congressman nominated 20 of those 32. Most students must receive a nomination from a Member of Congress or the Vice President in order to be appointed to an academy. See a list of the other nominees here.
Congressman Grayson would like to thank the volunteers who served on his Military Academy Nominations Board.
Congressman Grayson said, “The Federal Reserve has conducted secret bailouts that range in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Congress never voted on them, and the President never approved them. This cannot go on any longer. It’s bad enough that we have bailouts at all. But it is really bad if they are secret, with the Fed transferring money to banks without the public knowing about it.”
The amendment will be part of a larger bill aimed at reforming and regulating the financial markets, in order to prevent another massive collapse. Exposing how the Federal Reserve operates is a crucial component to any meaningful reform. “We need to figure out what they’ve done and then we can figure out how to respond,” Congressman Grayson said.
The non-partisan Government Accountability Office will conduct the audits. The Paul-Grayson amendment closely mimics H.R. 1207, the Audit the Fed bill. Representative Ron Paul first introduced the idea of auditing the Fed 26 years ago. It never garnered much support until this year, when Congressman Grayson became the first Democrat to co-sponsor H.R. 1207. He literally walked it around the floor of the House during votes, encouraging Members to support it. The bill now has 310 co-sponsors out of the 435 Members, including well over 100 Democrats and every single Republican.
The amendment passed the Committee by a vote of 43-26. You can read the entire Paul-Grayson amendment here.
“I did not support this because it is a Democratic bill or a Republican bill, I supported it because Ron Paul is right,” Congressman Grayson said.
Congressman Grayson said, “I promised from the start to vote for any bill that saves money and saves lives. This bill does both. This bill will help save the lives of the nearly 45,000 Americans who die every year because they do not have health insurance,” Congressman Grayson said.
Congressman Grayson never wavered in his support of health care reform. Leading up to the vote, he personally spoke with hundreds of constituents, to listen to their concerns and answer their questions. Since August, he has held three health care town halls, a health care telephone town hall meeting, and dozens of other open meetings; consulted with the members of his Health Care Advisory Board; and considered the overwhelming number of calls and emails from constituents.
Congressman Grayson said, “A lot of people say they love America. To them I say, ‘it’s not enough to love what’s in America. You cannot just love the Appalachian Mountains, the Mohave Desert, or the Gulf Coast. You need to love Americans as well. And loving people means taking care of them, sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick.’”
The Affordable Health Care for America Act received broad support from hundreds of important and influential organizations including the AARP, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and Voto Latino.
“For the second time in as many days, this country must deal with a heinous act of violence. Sadly, this time it is in the place we call home. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. As I watch the events unfold live from Washington D.C., I am convinced that members of the Orlando Police and Orlando Fire Department are doing everything in their power to tend to the wounded, ensure the safety of the public, and find the person responsible for this terrible crime.”
At the request of Congressman Grayson and the other members of the Florida delegation, the House of Representatives observed a moment of silence.
BACKGROUND: The scene of the shooting is in the 8th Congressional District, and is about one mile from the Congressman’s District Office. All employees and interns working in the Congressman’s office are safe.
Congressman Grayson welcomed the protestors. "I am delighted that people care enough to get involve and fight to determine the future of our country," he said afterward.
You can see some pictures of the meetings here.
One protestor praised the Congressman for being the only Member she visited who actually took the time to sit down with her and listen to her concerns.
Congressman Grayson was forced to ask several people to leave the office when they became unruly and threatening. One protestors even shouted, "You're dead," before leaving the office.
Congressman Alan Grayson plans to vote in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act.
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Congressman Grayson had reserved an hour on the Floor of the House for a “special order” on health care. When the hour began, Congressman Grayson noted that a Harvard study had concluded that 44,789 Americans die each year because they have no health insurance. He also noted that the Urban Institute had released figures on the number of uninsured in each Congressional district. Observing that every single House Republican had pledged to block health coverage for the insured, he then did the math:
“Alabama District 1, Congressman Jo Bonner, 114 dead.”
“Alabama District 3, Congressman Mike Rogers, 88 dead.”
Grayson continued for 23 minutes, from Alabama to Ohio. Then the
Republicans demanded that Grayson “yield.” Grayson said no: “my time is limited, and I intend to use it.” Flustered, the Republicans then asked that Grayson’s “words be taken down.” They threatened to call a roll-call vote, at 8 p.m., on whether Grayson should be sanctioned. This halted the proceedings.
The House staff informed the Republicans that Rep. Grayson had
violated no rule of the House. The Republicans then insisted on reviewing a recording of Grayson’s speech, reviewing it with a fine-tooth comb to see if there was anything objectionable. Then they asked to “ring the bells” before the proceedings resumed, wasting another 15 minutes. Finally, after an hour of Republican stalling, Grayson finished the list:
“Wyoming, Congressman Cynthia Lummis, 73 dead.”
For the remainder of his hour, Grayson then read real-life stories from the website namesofthedead.com. These are submitted by people who lost loved ones because they had no health insurance.
Asked to comment, Rep. Grayson said: “They used to call President Harry Truman ‘Give ‘em Hell Harry’. But President Truman said, ‘I don’t give them hell; I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.’ I’m telling the Republicans this: Lives are at stake. If you can’t stand the heat on health care, then get out of the kitchen.”
]]>Congressman Grayson said, “The credit card companies brought this on themselves. Instead of preparing to end all of their tricks, they used the time we gave them to accelerate their abusive practices.”
A recent report by the Pew Charitable Trusts concluded that unfair or deceptive credit card practices continue as Americans wait for the new reforms to take effect. For example, interest rates climbed an average of 20 percent in the first half of the year on credit cards representing more than 90 percent of outstanding balances.
Congress originally responded to concerns from credit card companies and agreed to implement the consumer-friendly Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights next year. Since then, Congressman Grayson has received dozens of complaints by constituents, who saw their rates nearly double, their accounts closed for no reason, or their credit card limits cut.
“The companies said they needed the time to get their computer systems set up correctly. Instead, they used the time we gave them to do all the things banned by the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights. They jacked up interest rates, raised fees, cut the grace period, and slashed credit limits. They forced us to crack down on them. We showed people that Congress can act with speed and determination when necessary to protect people from sleazy gimmicks,” Congressman Grayson said.
The new effective date of December 1st does not apply to prepaid gift cards (which are now all printed and on the way to retailers for the holiday season), and for small credit card companies with fewer than 2 million accounts. The six largest card issuers in the country control more than 80% of the credit card market.
The bill passed by a vote of 331-92.
“I offer my sincere apology to Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women.
“This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize.”
Congressman Grayson said, "A home is not only a roof over your head. It creates jobs for plumbers, carpenters and real estate agents; it's an investment and a savings account; and a paid-off mortgage means security for senior citizens. That's why we are trying to so hard to revive housing in Central Florida."
The group toured a foreclosed house that is being rehabilitated through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The City of Orlando bought the house for $125,000, using NSP funds from HUD. The City will spend another $20,000 on repairs and renovation. The City expects to sell the house for $145,000. The increased sale price will help boost property values of nearby houses.
“We have a lot more to do for American families – particularly here in Florida, which is ground zero when it comes to the foreclosure crisis,” said HUD Secretary Donovan. “In addtion to providing much needed relief to families facing foreclosure through the Making Home Affordable program and helping to stabilize home prices through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, we need Congress to pass the President’s plan to modernize our financial system and create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that will protect American families who buy financial products and services every day – from mortgages to credit cards.”
Orlando homeowner Juanita Roberts also joined the tour. She is among the more than 500,000 American families who have taken advantage of the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program. Roberts was two months behind on her mortgage. The program enabled her to modify her mortgage and, as a result, her monthly payment dropped by about 60 percent.
"For every government program, the only test that matters is what it does to improve the lives of ordinary people. That's why these HUD programs are so important -- they help keep families in their homes, they stave off foreclosures, they help make home ownership affordable, and they provide shelter to people who cannot afford a home. These programs are a helping hand, held out to some of the neediest, most vulnerable people in America," said Congressman Grayson.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was originally created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, provided $3.92B for the acquisition and rehabilitation of vacant, foreclosed homes that have been taken into possession by mortgage lenders. Homes are then resold at affordable levels (no more than 120 percent of Area Median Income, with 25 percent restricted to even lower incomes) to pre-counseled homebuyers. The program aims to mitigate the effects of vacant, foreclosed homes on the surrounding neighborhoods where they exist, and is targeted to communities with high concentrations of high-cost lending and foreclosures. The second round of NSP, which received $2B under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, will be allocated through a competition that considers capacity and innovation as a key requirement for making awards.
Making Home Affordable, a comprehensive plan to stabilize the U.S. housing market, was first announced by the Administration on February 18. The three part program includes aggressive measures to support low mortgage rates by strengthening confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; a Home Affordable Refinance Program to provide new access to refinancing for up to 4 to 5 million homeowners; and a Home Affordable Modification Program to reduce monthly mortgage payments for up to 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners. Last week, Secretary Donovan and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that over 500,000 families had modified their mortgages through the Making Home Affordable Program.
Background on Juanita Roberts: She came to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, Inc. office in Orlando, FL on August 14, 2009, when she was two months delinquent on her mortgage with CitiMortgage. The mortgage was a conventional loan with an interest rate of 6.875%. She purchased the home in 2007 and the monthly mortgage payment was $1,644.00.
At the time the home was purchased Juanita’s daughter lived with her and was providing financial assistance. Juanita’s daughter later relocated to the Bahamas and was unable to provide the same level of financial assistance, which left Juanita unable to afford her mortgage. Juanita contacted her lender and was unsuccessful at lowering her payment, her lender then advised her to contact CCCS.
CCCS helped Juanita to lower her mortgage through a trial modification plan and her payments have been lowered to $653.49.
There are 200 spots open to the public. People who live in Lake County are preferred. Reservations will be taken by phone on a first come, first served basis. To register, people in Lake or Marion County can call 1.866.939.3737. People in Orange or Osceola County can call 407.841.1757.
Those who register will receive a RSVP confirmation via email or fax. They will need to bring the confirmation page and a photo ID to the event to be admitted. No signs, banners, or flags will be permitted. Bags are subject to search.
Members of the media are welcome. Due to space limitations, please call Press Secretary Todd Jurkowski and confirm your attendance and requirements for parking of a live/satellite truck, if applicable.
]]>The Travel Promotion Act will establish a non-profit corporation to promote travel to the United States. The bill gives the new organization $200 million a year in public and private funding, all to promote travel.
Congressman Grayson said, “This is the best thing to happen to the Central Florida economy in years. It’s a blockbuster. Orange County has the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Florida has Visit Florida. This will be a worldwide extension of the work they do. America now will promote Florida tourism to the world. A coordinated national effort to promote travel to America will be a tremendous breakthrough. It will be a huge boost to our economic base.”
Congressman Grayson approached the House Leadership, urging that the Travel Promotion Act come up for a vote without any amendments. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on September 9th. Any changes to the bill could have scuttled successful passage. Last year, a similar bill passed the House, but the Senate did not act on it.
“Congressman Grayson understands how important this bill is for his district, and he advocated strongly for it. I was pleased to bring it to the House Floor for a vote,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
“As the number one tourist destination in the world, we stand to benefit the most. It means jobs, jobs, jobs. The new tourists will stay at hotels, eat at restaurants, and visit the theme parks and attractions. Those businesses will need to hire more people to service the additional customers,” Congressman Grayson said.
The Travel Promotion Act of 2009 was part of today’s Suspension Calendar in the House. A bill voted upon under the Suspension of the Rules requires a two-thirds majority to pass. Representative Grayson rounded up bipartisan support for this bill.
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Today was the last day to provide “legislative history,” instructing the courts and the Executive Branch on how to interpret it. According to “Thomas,” Congress’s website on legislation, Grayson is the only Member of Congress to provide such instruction on this bill. His “extension of remarks” now becomes the official interpretation of what the bill means.
“The purpose of this bill is to cleanse federal contracting and grant-making, completely and permanently. The purpose of this bill is to put an end to the invidious practice of rewarding those who steal taxpayer money by giving them more taxpayer money. The bill imposes, and is intended to impose, a corporate death penalty on contractors who fall within the scope of its prohibitions,” Congressman Grayson wrote in his “extension of remarks.”
Congressman Grayson made it clear that H.R. 3221 effectively defunds every organization that cheats the Government. The scope is staggering. According to the Project on Government Oversight, all ten of the Top Ten contractors have done so. Yet for them, the federal gravy train has continued to roll.
After filing his Legislative History with the House Clerk, Congressman Grayson said, “Finally, we have a bill that defunds the crooks. It’s simple: If you cheat the government, you are cut off. And if you’re honest, you have nothing to worry about. That’s justice, and it applies to everyone, not just ACORN.”
The defunding measure had overwhelming bipartisan support. The vote was 345-75.
“I urge everyone to contact their representatives and senators, and demand this bill gets sent to the President’s desk in its current form,” Congressman Grayson added. The Congressman encourages people to report companies covered by the bill. They can do that by filling out a simple form, at grayson.house.gov.
Congressman Grayson said, “More teenagers can name the judges of American Idol, and the 3 Stooges, than can name the three branches of government. The Constitution is the highest law in the land. If we are not teaching our children the Constitution, what are we teaching them?”
The passage of the “Teach The Constitution Week” resolution comes three days before Constitution Day. Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.
The resolution also encourages seniors to petition the government on an issue of personal importance to them to demonstrate their understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the United States.
“Too many people have no concept of the principles of this historic document. That is a true disservice to our nation and its citizens, and is the reason that we should promote a better understanding of the Constitution on the part of our nation’s youth,” Congressman Grayson added.
A vast majority of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives agree. 222 Members co-sponsored Congressman Grayson’s non-partisan resolution, including 40 Republicans.
The resolution passed on a voice vote.
“Tonight, the President laid out his plan for health care reform that will bring stability and security to health care in America. He and I both want it to deliver peace of mind for everyone. If you change jobs, lose your job, or lose your health, you should be able to get affordable health insurance. Under the President’s plan, you will be able to.
Recently, I held four “town hall”-type meetings and a telephone town hall meeting during eight days in August alone. Health care questions dominated these forums. During those events, I corrected many misconceptions about health care reform. Tonight, President Obama likewise dispelled the countless myths spread by those bent on defeating this reform at all costs. People need to judge health care reform on the facts, not on fears stemming from something that is nowhere in the bill.
Clearly, the need for health care reform is on the minds of the people I proudly represent. According to the Marist Poll last month, only six percent of America favors doing nothing. Doing nothing is not an option. As we move forward, I look forward to working with all sides to ensure the best ideas become part of this essential reform.
Finally, I often get asked if I will support a bill that does not include one provision or another. My answer is simple: I will support any bill that saves money and saves lives.”
“Here in Winter Garden and across the country, community health centers are providing care to patients in need and achieving great results while keeping costs down,” said Secretary Sebelius. “The Recovery Act helped support these critical centers. Now, it’s critical that we enact health insurance reform so we can ensure Floridians have the quality, affordable health care they deserve.”
The Winter Garden Children’s and Family Health Centers are a part of Community Health Centers, Inc., which received two Recovery Act grants totaling $2,778,210. The grants are being used to protect services for patients by preventing layoffs, restoring work hours and salaries, and expanding facilities at the organization’s ten clinics in Central Florida.
Congressman Grayson said, “These are hard times. By giving almost $3 million to these community health centers under the Recovery Act, we are demonstrating that we will never abandon the sick and the needy, even in the worst of times. It shows our strength of character that we devote our limited resources to a just cause like healing the sick."
One grant saved three important patient care and support positions slated to be eliminated as a cost-cutting move. As a result, CHC is able to treat 1,500-1,800 additional sick children every year. The money is also being used to restore work hours and salaries of CHC’s 295 staff members. Both salaries and work hours were cut five percent this year.
“Clearly there will be an extremely positive economic impact due to the federal stimulus dollars; moreover, this support directly translates to the provision of greater levels of needed health services to underserved and uninsured individuals in our community and to infrastructure improvements that will produce benefits for years to come. Fundamentally, these dollars represent an important community investment and a blessing to many in Central Florida,” said Mark Williams, CEO of Community Health Centers, Inc.
CHC Recovery Grants By The Numbers:
Number of Grants: 2
Amount of Grants: $2,778,210 total
1) $870,470 – ARRA grant for Increase Demand For Services (IDS)
2) $1,907, 740 – ARRA grant for Capital Improvement Program
IDS Grant Improves Access For People In Need
• Prevented layoff of one staff Pediatrician, which equates to more than 1,500 appointments with sick children each year.
• Restored work hours previously cut by 5 percent
• Restored 5 percent salary cut
• Results of the restored staff hours and averted layoffs:
1,591 new patients (1,500 medical, 91 dental)
4,728 new appointments (4,500 medical, 228 dental)
Capital Improvement Grant Details – 3 projects between 6/9/2009 and 6/28/2011
• Project 1: $990,756 - Apopka Dental Center Construction Project: This project will include construction of a brand-new 6,284 square foot Apopka Dental Center and the establishment of new and expanded Pediatric dental services for the Apopka community. Through this construction project, CHC will increase dental operatories from four to ten, add new pediatric services, increase dental staff, and improve patient satisfaction and care. We will more than double the size of the practice with the new building. We will be able to serve an additional 2,518 children, providing 5,760 additional pediatric dental encounters through this project.
• Project 2: $651,123 – Apopka Health Center’s Construction/Renovation Project: This project will involve renovations and the addition of a 4,370 square foot new wing to the health center. Through this project, CHC will increase the number of patient exam rooms from twelve to twenty, enlarge the pharmacy, and improve patient access, utilization and continuity of care. This expansion and renovation will allow CHC to open up one hundred patient appointment slots per week in the Family Practice side and open up forty patient appointment slots per week in the OB/GYN side of the practice.
• Project 3: $265,861 - Community Health Centers, Inc. Telecommunications System Upgrade: This project will involve the purchase and implementation of a Telecommunications System Upgrade to be installed throughout CHC’s eleven medical, dental and administrative sites. The current disparate phone systems are a barrier to patient access. Through this project, CHC will improve overall management of call volume, facilitate prompt patient telephone appointments, and increase and improve patient care access.
Congressman Grayson said, “Our goal is very simple. We want to be able to help people save their homes. We want to make sure that the American dream, the dream of owning a home, does not turn into a nightmare. Some people in Central Florida lost their home, moved into their car, and then lost their car. We need to ensure that everyone has a roof over his head. It’s one of the most basic of human needs.”
A panel of experts discussed the current state of the housing market in Central Florida, and answered questions from the crowd. People in dire situations had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a housing counselor. One of the items discussed in the meetings was Orange County’s mandatory mediation program for foreclosure cases. Congressman Grayson formally requested that Chief Judge Belvin Perry implement the plan. The plan requires lenders to meet with homeowners face-to-face, along with a certified mediator, to attempt to work out a solution other than foreclosure.
The summit also highlighted the successful $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s tax credit now offered by the federal government.
“Much like Cash For Clunkers, this program helps solve our economic crisis by spurring demand. The tax credit can make the impossible seem possible for someone looking to buy his or her first home,” Congressman Grayson said.
During this challenging time in our country’s history, Congressman Alan Grayson is committed to ensuring that everyone’s basic human needs are met.