EC from DC - July 18, 2014

Our right to vote is precious. That right is at the very core of the foundation of our country. And the right to vote must be protected. Now perhaps, as vigorously as ever, as our access seems to be under attack in many ways and on many fronts.

With this in mind, this week, I introduced the EASY (Equal Access to Support Youth) Voting Act.

EASY is legislation that will allow a student to vote in a federal election using his or her current student photo identification. The bill will also make it a federal crime for anyone to purposely discourage a student from voting by providing false or misleading information.

Students make up an integral part of the American electorate. Yet, their voting rights are under attack across the country, as state legislatures have, and continue to, propose laws targeting college students.

• 11% of Americans don't have current government issued photo identification
• 18% of Americans between the ages of 18-24 years old don't have current government issued photo IDs
• The 26th Amendment expanded our electorate by lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years old
• Young people should be encouraged to vote -- not misled, confused, or barred outright from voting

We often hear stories that are exaggerated or imagined altogether about voter fraud. They are meant to scare, but in fact, there is little evidence of the occurrence of voter fraud. And instead of protecting our electoral system, photo identification laws do far more harm than good because they disproportionately prevent one of our most vulnerable communities from voting -- students.

Voting is a fundamental right, and we as representatives of the people, should encourage and embrace the participation of all eligible citizens. The integrity of our political process must be, above all, beyond reproach. Make no mistake, our nation's strength and spirit springs from our enduring commitment to a fair and accessible democratic process.

At this time in our history, when voting rights have been restricted and constricted all across the country, I will continue to be an outspoken advocate to protect and promote participation in our political process.

I believe the EASY Voting Act is one way we can do this.

As a young boy who first lived in a shack without running water, and subsequently considered his move into public housing a huge step up, I have a keen interest in the issue of affordable housing for all.

This week, I joined several colleagues from both sides of the aisle, to introduce legislation addressing that very issue. The Pay for Success Affordable Housing Energy Modernization Act will not only reduce utility bills for consumers, it will also increase energy efficiency and help our environment. And all of this will be done at no cost to the taxpayer.

This legislation, Pay for Success, will provide the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the authority to establish a demonstration program, and enter into agreements for multi-family housing that will decrease water costs and increase energy efficiency.

Teaming up with private sector investors to upgrade housing and lower costs is a win-win. Upgrades would include things like adding insulation, replacing drafty windows, and eliminating inefficient light and water fixtures.

This bipartisan legislation will save money for families and for the government, while conserving energy and reducing pollution. It's a common sense effort to use taxpayer dollars in a smarter way, without using more of them.

Stick with me on this next story please. The topic can be dry, confusing, and give the most normal person on the face of the Earth a bit of a headache. But it's so important to each of us, our community, and the health of our country overall. Quite simply, it's about a topic we can all relate to, and that's money. Specifically, it's about the Federal Reserve, how it views our economy at this very moment, and the pursuit for full employment.

This week, the House Financial Services Committee, a committee I am honored to sit on, got a personal report from the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen. This was the second time she has given us this type of required testimony since she was sworn in as Chair earlier this year.

There are two terms you often hear in these types of reports -- monetary policy and fiscal policy. If you find them confusing, don't worry, you're certainly not alone.

Monetary policy relates to the supply of money and is generally implemented by a central bank. Fiscal policy relates to spending and taxing, and is formulated by the national government (in our case, Congress).

Monetary policy and fiscal policy are two tools to help policymakers strengthen and support our economy. Unfortunately, in this "do-little" Congress, we do-little and make little policy.

In my view, it is helpful to have a strong monetary policy to increase economic growth and stability in our financial system.

My questioning of Chair Yellen focused on the current unemployment situation. As you know, I believe creating and maintaining jobs is one of the most important issues facing Missouri's Fifth District, and our country as a whole, right now. I wanted to hear her thoughts on whether current unemployment is structural or cyclical.

If we are talking about people being unemployed because of cyclical factors, I fear if this problem goes unaddressed, they could remain unemployed for such a long period of time that they could lose the ability to rejoin the workforce. As we saw in our last employment report, real GDP has dropped significantly early in the first quarter of the year, but economic growth has rebounded in recent months.

The unemployment rate has fallen 1.4 percentage points over the past year, the sharpest year-over-year decline in nearly three decades. But the unemployment rate remains elevated because of an unacceptably high prevalence of long-term unemployment. These ongoing strains in the labor market are a persistent reminder of the severity of the Great Recession, which was the deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression. That is something I know I don't need to remind you of.

Yes, it is very good news that employment is increasing. But having said that, I strongly believe we can and should do more to create jobs. And I will continue to fight to do just that.

Over the two years that I have been sending these communiqués on human nature and civility, I have mentioned my Aunt Edna several times. She was my mother's only paternal relative whom my three sisters and I knew. She was smart. Very smart.

In fact, as an impressionable young boy, I believed her to have been the most intelligent person alive, with the exception of Superman, of course.

Our family's weekly Tuesday evening visit to Aunt Edna's home was one of the highlights of my childhood.

That was, until the evening she taught us a nursery rhyme, that went like this:

• There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
  She had so many children she didn't know what to do.
  She gave them some broth without any bread;
  And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.





 
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Perhaps it was because I took to heart everything that Aunt Edna said, even nursery rhymes, but that evening when we returned to our house, I couldn't think of anything but those hungry and hurting children.

Why, I wondered, won't someone move them into a house? Even if it's just a shack, like the one we lived in?

Man, I was losing my front teeth worrying about the living conditions of the woman and those kids. I envisioned her to be as old as dirt, maybe 30 or 35 years old!

Eventually, I came up with an idea: I'd ask my grandmother to cook them some hoe cakes. I knew I couldn't find them a place to live, but I could try to get them something more than broth. I made the request and my grandmother, as wonderful as she was, seemed completely confused.

So my confusion continued as well.

Today I believe that my entry into the ministry, and later into the political process, was influenced in part by my concern for the old woman, her kids, and all of those people out there just like them. The problems we are called to solve are no longer nonsensical nursery rhymes—they are problems of real people, affecting real communities, and they are real tough.

We may not be able to solve all of the overcrowded shoe problems, but we must search for solutions. Some problems may seem distant or too complex, but this must never, ever stop us from trying to solve them.

And we must realize that the mother and her kids in the shoe are our raison d'être (the reason Congress exists).