Floor Statements

Offered By: Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois

Amendment No. 584: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois

Amendment No. 584: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois

Amendment No. 445: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 514, an extension of these provisions.

The most important job of the Federal Government is to protect our country and to protect its people. My most important job in Congress is to ensure that I am giving the law enforcement community, within the bounds of the Constitution, the tools that they need to make sure that we stay secure, to make sure that we stay protected.

That is what I consider the utmost call in Members of Congress and the utmost call in members in the military and the law enforcement community.

You are going to hear throughout this debate and you have already heard from so many people that have used these tools in the practice and in implementation in taking out terrorists and taking out organized crime units.

Let me just say, I'm an Air Force pilot. I have been overseas, and I understand the enemy that we face and the determination that they have to bring what we saw on 9/11, to bring that back to the shores of the United States. I also understand that the only thing standing between another 9/11 and a peaceful country like we have been feeling for about the last 10 years is our law enforcement community and our United States military. That makes it essential to listen to those individuals and understand what we need to ensure that we are bringing down terrorist cells where they exist in the United States, and we are continuing to protect ourselves from infiltration overseas.

On the tragic day on 9/11, Americans were united in our understanding that we must work together as a Nation to defeat those who would destroy our way of life. Now it is essential that, even though we haven't been attacked, that we understand that sometimes in the quiet lies the biggest threat, and we never forget that this threat is very, very real.

So I ask my colleagues to rise and join me. I ask my colleagues to ask themselves, which side do they want to be on? Do they want to be on the side that doesn't necessarily understand and recognize that we are going to continue to be assaulted for generations from a group overseas that wants to destroy and harm our way of life? So I ask for your support.

Offered By: Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois

Amendment No. 158: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Madam Speaker, for the last 10 months, I have traveled around my district and I've heard from people through the campaign and then now as a Member. I heard from people that we need to repeal this health care bill. The folks back home get it. They understand that this is a budget-busting bill that is going to add mountains of debt on our children, and it's job killing to the tune of hundreds of thousands of jobs a year.

Recently, 200 economists came out and recognized that this is a ``major barrier to job growth'' and ``creates massive spending increases and a crushing debt burden.'' The path to affordable health care starts with being able to buy insurance across State lines, providing reduced premiums, and also we have to have lawsuit abuse reform. That is a key element to getting health care costs down. Ultimately, we have to have reforms, though, that will protect the doctor-patient relationship that is so sacred in America and in medicine.

So today we begin working to carry out the voice of the people by implementing health care solutions that will reduce costs, increase accessibility, and protect American jobs. Today we begin advocating for the next generations of Americans, not advocating for the next election in America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 22. In fact, it is an honor to give my first speech in the House of Representatives on this issue.

When I went around in the campaign, I heard from the people of the 11th District of Illinois repeatedly about a number of things, but at the forefront, it was ``cut spending.'' We have a massive deficit. We have lived the last few years acting like we can just spend money and never worry about it; but we saw a massive change in the last few months, and it is time for us to heed that message. How better to do it than to lead by example?

As well as hearing about our needing to cut spending, I heard about humility a lot and about a majority that needs to lead with a sense of humbleness. I think this is key, to lead by example, but we need to wrestle the beast of spending. I don't have kids yet, but someday I will, and when I do, I don't want to live with the responsibility that I continue to shovel debt and debt on top of them and make them have to handle that now.

As a member of the military--and I've been doing that for 8 years--I also understand what sacrifice is, and I understand that folks have been fighting on the outside for the defense of our country. It is time for us now to fight on the inside for the defense of our country. $35 million isn't going to solve all of our budget problems, but it's a good first step. This is the first step in a probably very painful process where we have to understand and wrestle with this beast and where everybody is going to have to sacrifice, but it is the first step and a very necessary step to ensure that we are leaving our children a Union, a country, far better than the one we inherited.

So to the people of the 11th District of Illinois and to the people of America, let me say the freshman class and the Republican majority have heard your voice. We heard what you said on November 2. We are going to seriously cut spending, and we are going to start with our own budget. We are proud to do it, and we are going to step forward and lead and make you proud.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to address this issue.