Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Senator Bob Kremer on his induction into the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement for his long and valuable service to agriculture.

The Hall is an organization whose primary purpose is to acknowledge and preserve the records of those citizens of Nebraska who have made outstanding contributions to the well-being of Nebraska's agricultural way of life.

Bob, a farmer and cattle feeder, served in the Legislature from 1999 to 2007. He was Chair of the Agriculture Committee from 2003-2006. Throughout his service to our State, Bob was a leader in policy related to property taxes, grain bonding and warehousing commodity check-offs, and beginning farmer incentives. He is also Chairman of Nebraska 25x'25, a coalition dedicated to increasing the use of renewable energy derived from agricultural sources.

I have known Bob for a long time. He has been a tireless advocate not only for Nebraska agriculture, but for America's agriculture industry as a whole. I have always been impressed with his ability to look to the future while holding on to what makes Nebraska's way of life so great. I am anxious to see what he will accomplish next.

I want to thank Bob for his service and once again, congratulate him on this honor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Senator Cap Dierks on his induction to the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement for his long and valuable service to agriculture.

The Hall is an organization whose primary purpose is to acknowledge and preserve the records of those citizens of Nebraska who have made outstanding contributions to the well-being of Nebraska's agricultural way of life.

A rancher and veterinarian by profession, Cap was elected to the State Legislature in 1986 and served as the Chair of the Agriculture Committee for 10 years.

I had the pleasure of serving with Cap in the Legislature, and he is extremely deserving of this honor. I've seen his dedication to Nebraska agriculture firsthand, and his spirit and verve were always an inspiration. He was always there with advice or simply a friendly word of encouragement.

I want to thank Cap for his service and once again, congratulate him on this honor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Kearney High School's Trent Steele, who has recently been named assistant principal of the year by the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals.

Trent supervises and advises the senior class, curriculum, and is in charge of teacher evaluation and supervision. In addition, he co-chairs the Kearney High School Behavior/Safety Committee, which is responsible for development and implementation of school wide behavior policy.

Prior to his service at Kearney High, Trent served as assistant principal at Beatrice Middle School, and as K-12 principal at Anselmo- Merna Public School.

With a background in education myself, I know the dedication and responsibility required by Trent and other educators. He is a credit to Kearney High and the people of Nebraska.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, we celebrated Global Youth Service Day--an annual campaign which celebrates the millions of young people who improve their communities each day of the year through service and self-discovery.

Established in 1988, GYSD is the largest service event in the world and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries.

As part of this effort, I have the pleasure in recognizing two young people who are making a difference in Nebraska communities.

Sydney Swanson, a senior at Alliance High School, organized the first ``Coats for Kids'' drive in Alliance. This year, she expanded it to three additional cities, collecting a total of 875 coats for children in need. Sydney also created a website with instructions for teens to start ``Coats for Kids'' drives in their own communities.

Jordyn Lechtenberg, a senior at Ainsworth High School, founded and directly recruited 20 other high school students for the Youth Community Development Force, a group interested in community and economic development. She also served as interim executive director of the North Central Development Center while the director was on maternity leave.

Young people like Sydney and Jordyn are essential assets and resources not only for their communities, but for our entire country. They have set a high benchmark, and I challenge every American to follow their example.

Mr. Speaker, despite assurances the health care bill would actually lower costs for the American people, actually things are quite different. An independent CMS report released last week concluded America will spend $311 billion more on health care under the new law than we would have without it. It increases taxes on the middle class. About 3 million people will have to pay the insurance mandate penalty tax. It also kills jobs through mandates on small businesses.

The American people have said this is not the direction in which they would choose to go. Health care reform should be patient-centered to increase access to care and reduce costs without bankrupting our Nation and limiting our liberties. We should, rather, allow individuals to band together across State lines to allow deductibility to everyone for the cost of premiums, and to crack down on junk lawsuits.

The Third District of Nebraska is one of the largest agricultural districts in the country and is home to more than 30,000 farmers and ranchers. Yesterday, the House Ag Committee took the first step on the road leading to a new Farm Bill.

Taking a comprehensive look at the agriculture sector requires us to be direct about the impact of policies coming from Washington to those 30,000 Nebraskans and agriculture producers throughout the country. Measures like the House-passed cap-and-trade bill will have dire consequences for agriculture. As higher energy prices hit other areas of our economy, farmers and ranchers will pay more for seed, fertilizer, equipment, energy, and other supplies.

My goal is to create policies which will strengthen U.S. agriculture and provide long-term stability for our Nation's producers who feed America and the world. We must not continue to saddle producers with onerous regulations which stand in the way of growth and only lead to more uncertainty.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is Tax Day, a deadline dreaded by millions of Americans currently finishing up their tax returns.

Congress owes it to the American taxpayer to act in a fiscally responsible way. Unfortunately, this Congress has not lived up to this burden. At a time when 15 million American remain unemployed and many more are struggling to make ends meet, this administration and Democratic Congress continue to push through measures which increase taxes and add to government spending, which is already out of control. Strong-arm tactics and economic sleight of hand should not be used to jam through legislation which will impact the life of every American.

The solution is not taking more money from the American people. The answer is fiscal discipline in Washington and tax relief for working Americans. We can't tax and spend our way back to a growing economy, and we owe the American taxpayer better.

Mr. Speaker, today the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources is holding a hearing examining the Obama administration's policies of increasing taxes on and reducing funding for American energy production.

Finding solutions to our country's dependence on foreign energy is a top priority for me. Now is not the time to further delay advancement of American energy. Yet, the administration's budget proposes increasing fees and taxes directly on oil and gas operations here in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, these funds do nothing to expedite or improve the permitting process on Federal lands. Instead, these policies stifle our economy, create more red tape, and block expansion of our energy portfolio. Simply put, these policies are wrong for America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this flawed health care bill.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize a group of Nebraskan students for doing their part to help in the Haiti relief efforts. Pershing Elementary students in Lexington, Nebraska decided to get involved and each class took part in a penny drive in order to provide money to the victims of the earthquake.

While the entire elementary school took part in the fundraiser, it was the third grade class which was the driving force behind raising money for Haiti. The students had seen images of the victims and the horrible destruction which took place on the island and they took it upon themselves to go classroom to classroom, raising $877. The third graders raised money so the victims could ``buy supplies and build hospitals.''

I am extremely proud of the elementary students in Lexington. Their efforts to help those in need are inspiring; and I thank them for helping spread Nebraska generosity. I am grateful to have such excellent students in my district.

Madam Speaker, the American people are speaking, and I think we should listen even as the House leadership again prepares to force through a partisan government takeover of health care.

The bill includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes and more than $1 trillion in new government spending. Strong-arm tactics and legislative gimmicks should not be used to jam through a bill which will impact the life of every single American.

We need to focus on true reform which lowers health care costs, limits unnecessary lawsuits, and expands access by allowing purchasing across the State lines for health insurance, not simply a takeover which we already know will not control costs.

That is the type of reform Americans want, not this one-size-fits-all approach, putting bureaucrats between doctors and their patients.

Madam Speaker, National Agriculture Week is dedicated to celebrating the impact agriculture has on our Nation and our everyday lives.

Agricultural products are America's number one export, and about 17 percent of raw U.S. agriculture products are exported yearly valued at over $43 billion. The industry generates 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, and one-fourth of the world's beef and nearly one- fifth of the world's grain, milk, and eggs are produced in the United States.

Nebraska has 47,000 farms and ranches, with many located in the Third District. I am proud to represent a district which truly embodies the spirit of this celebration, and I am proud to be a co-chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus, a bipartisan group of Members who work together to address the challenges facing our Nation's agriculture producers.

Agriculture is integral to our Nation, and I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating its contribution.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 113 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, offshore energy development is an important step toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating new jobs, and putting our economy back on track.

In 2008, by ending the decades-long ban on offshore exploration, we opened 500 million acres containing an estimated 14 billion barrels of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration immediately instituted an extended public comment period, delaying progress.

Despite public support for increased offshore drilling, Secretary of the Interior Salazar recently stated the Obama administration will now wait until 2012 to put a new plan in place. This means the administration's initial 6-month delay has turned into a 3-year moratorium on new offshore exploration.

With the potential to create 1.2 million jobs and add $8 trillion to our economy, it is irresponsible to continue to ignore the economic potential these areas hold.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a rare achievement, the pursuit of which took years of hard work and dedication. On February 27, 2010, Curt Tomasevicz became the first born and raised Nebraskan to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. The gold medal ended a 62-year drought for the United States in the 4-man bobsled event.

Curt Tomasevicz was born and raised in Shelby, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he walked on to play football for the Cornhuskers and was named to the Academic All Big XII team in 2002. He began his bobsledding career in 2004, just two years prior to being named to the United States 4-man bobsled team.

Curt made his first appearance in the 2006 Olympics, when he and his team brought home sixth place. With this first taste of competing on the world stage, he used his Nebraskan spirit and work ethic to strive for excellence in the 2010 games. The United States bobsled team, known as the ``Night Train,'' set records as they accumulated a time of 3 minutes, 24.46 seconds which proved to be nearly four-tenths faster than second place.

He has made all of Nebraska and America proud and is an inspiration to younger generations. His intensity, work ethic, and service to the country was on display for all the world to see during the Winter Olympics. His efforts and accomplishments are remarkable and I thank him for his dedication to the country and excellent example to our State.