Floor Statements

Congressional Republicans threaten to take us back to the failed policies that created the economic crisis, siding with special interest, Wall Street banks, credit card companies, Big Oil, and insurance companies. These Bush economic and fiscal policies created the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, with job losses of nearly 800,000 a month, and nearly doubled our national debt. Democrats in Congress are working to create American jobs and a strong new foundation for our economy, protecting Main Street and the middle class, not siding with the insurance companies and Wall Street.

This week's news provides evidence that American families are beginning to feel some effects of an economy headed in a better direction. USA Today headlines read: ``Economists say recovery looks stronger than expected.'' Bloomberg says: ``Companies in U.S. plan to increase employment, survey shows.'' The New York Times says: ``From the mall to the docks, signs of rebound.''

No matter how much they try to side with Wall Street, Democrats will side with the American people and build a recovery and an economy that will work for them.

I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on this extremely important issue. I rise in strong support of this resolution. This Thursday, April 28, 2010, millions of workers and their families throughout the world will gather to commemorate Workers' Memorial Day. We will remember and honor those injured or killed on the job, and we will renew the call for stronger workplace protections.

Since 1970, when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed, more than 410,000 workers' lives have been saved due to improvements in working conditions. However, the number of workplace-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths remains far too high. In 2008, more than 4 million workers were injured and 5,214 workers were killed due to job hazards. In Ohio, 168 workers lost their lives in the workplace in 2008; 168 Ohioans went to work and lost their lives as a result of workplace hazards. One hundred and sixty-eight men and women went to work and never returned to their families. This is about more than statistics. This is about lost lives.

This Workers' Memorial Day we pause and remember the thousands of lives lost in workplaces around the world. In the past 3 months alone, we have witnessed four major workplace tragedies that claimed the lives of 41 workers. Eleven workers are still missing after an oil rig explosion last week. We must act to ensure our workplaces are safe and our workers are protected. We must continue to fight to create well- paying, safe jobs for the American people. We must continue to fight to protect our workers' safety and health and to hold those who put their employees at risk accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Cleveland Heights Police Officer Thomas Patton II.

On March 13, Officer Patton was on patrol when he began chasing down a suspect. Tragically, he collapsed during the chase and died shortly after the incident. He was only 30 years old.

Officer Patton was the only son of my friend and our community leader, Ohio State Senator Tom Patton, and his late wife, Evelyn.

Officer Patton leaves behind a loving fiancee, Tricia, and beautiful 8-month-old daughter, Kayleigh Evelyn. Thomas meant the world to his family and was even nicknamed ``Precious'' by his five sisters.

It was without question what career path Thomas would take. He came from a family with a strong tradition of police officers that began with his grandfather, who joined the Cleveland Police Department in 1946. As a child, he would dress up in old police uniforms and dream of what it might be like to be a patrolman.

Thomas grew up in Strongsville, Ohio, in the heart of the 13th Congressional District, and he attended Holy Name School.

He saw the dedication and commitment that his grandfather and uncle made as police officers and decided to take that step for himself. He knew the challenges and risks, and he fully embraced the spirit of the job. He loved the excitement of working nights. He loved serving others, and he died doing what he loved. He died serving and protecting the rest of us.

Officers from nearby communities gathered outside his hospital the night he died, and many more at his memorial service. The sea of blue uniforms was a testament to the fraternal brotherhood of police that he embraced.

His spirit and dedication to his community will be sorely missed, but his service and sacrifice will never be forgotten. He will live on as a hero to his family, to Ohio, and the Nation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and service of Elyria Police Officer James Kerstetter.

On March 15, Officer Kerstetter was tragically shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic call. He made the ultimate sacrifice, putting his life on the line to protect another.

Officer Kerstetter was a committed public servant. He was a member of the department for 15 years. He was a member of the SWAT team and taught the rookie officers at the department. He was the lead crash investigator, and prior to joining the police force he served with the Lorain County Sheriff's Department.

But even more importantly, he was the loving and devoted husband of wife Tammy and the proud father of three daughters--Misty, Shelby, and Bailey.

James Kerstetter was known as ``Sponge'' to his fellow officers and was affectionately called ``Jimmy'' by his family. Jimmy was a humble family man, a loving husband, father, son, brother, and uncle. He never wished for the spotlight, but he touched the lives of people all across the community with his outgoing spirit. His death has been a shock to his family, the city of Elyria, and numerous communities throughout Ohio.

Over the past weeks, we have seen just how much he meant to so very many. Jimmy knew that his family and the city of Elyria are worth the service that he dedicated himself to, a community he grew up in, he served in, and he embraced. His memory will live on in the hearts of family, friends, and the community of Elyria that he touched so very deeply. He is and always will be a community hero, a national hero.

Thank you very much, Mr. Garamendi, and thank you for leading us here on the floor tonight to talk about such important things, you know, what we're doing to help the American people in this time of challenge as we pull together and pull forward.

And I guess I appreciate that introduction. I think that the point is I, like you, my colleagues who are here on the floor tonight, am willing to do what it takes to make things work for the people I'm honored to represent in the 13th Congressional District of Ohio.

Well, it's outside of Cleveland. I represent Lorain County, Summit County, Medina County and part of Cuyahoga County as well. So it is the salt of the Earth.

That's right. And you should visit. We'd love to have you. Come out and see all of the great things and all of the potential that those who I am so privileged to serve have and what our area has to offer.

But thank you for bringing us to the floor tonight to talk a little bit about some of the tax benefits that exist in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and just in general to talk about the American Recovery Act, because we all know that it was critically important at the time it was passed back in the early part of last year, that all the economists from across the board were saying that we have to keep our economy from going off of the edge, and we stepped up to the plate and we acted. And it's really important that people understand what it is that this bill actually did.

You know, it was all about fostering our Nation's economic recovery, creating and saving jobs, providing services to people affected by the recession. And, of course, as you point out, part of that was about these tax credits and these tax benefits. And we all know that this was a huge middle class tax cut, families getting up to $800.

Certainly in Ohio, I would just share with you in the 13th Congressional District, many of our families were beneficiaries of these tax cuts. So the mission to improve the lives of the families in northeast Ohio who I serve during these challenging times continues.

But it is worth noting that the Council of Economic Advisers has reported that the Recovery Act created or saved as many as 2.4 million jobs nationally and up to 79,000 in Ohio. And for me, probably like all of you here tonight, jobs, jobs, jobs is what I am most interested in delivering to the American people and facilitating opportunity for them to go to work and be able to raise a family and have the kind of life that makes this country so very great.

So I know we're just getting started in our discussion. I look forward to talking more about the tax benefits and the other great things that were in this bill and all of the other pieces along the way that we are putting into place for the near term and to generate that sustainable growth that we need in both our economy and in the job market out there, because far too many people are, unfortunately, still hurting.

Absolutely, I will be honored to do so; and I appreciate, Representative Tonko, your bringing up the tax credit. I want to point back, before I get to what we have teased about a little bit here----

We are not going there quite yet, but what I want to talk about first is that, in the recovery stimulus bill, one of the things that was put to use where I live in Elyria, Ohio, was a Department of Energy investment to create a BASF catalyst plant. So we are now creating the largest lithium ion facility in North America right in that district outside of Cleveland, Ohio, in Elyria, Ohio, positioning Ohio to be a leader as we move to the next generation of vehicles powered by lithium ion batteries, because that's the biggest market for the future.

So we get the jobs to build the factory, then we get the jobs to work in the factory, and then we get all the jobs down the road that are sustainable as we develop this. And we, in the meantime, of course, are producing cars. They were going to produce these batteries that are going to be good for consumers because they are going to be more cost- effective and efficient for them.

It's going to improve, obviously, our environment, but it puts us ahead. This is what America is about. It's about innovation. It's about moving forward with new products and ways but powered by American workers.

So I definitely come from a part of the country where the domestic auto industry is a very important piece of our puzzle. We have a lot of families that depend upon the domestic auto and related industries for their livelihood, and, okay, we will finally get to it. One of the things that I was so proud of and that was actually in some ways funded in part, at least, by the recovery stimulus bill was the CARS Act, more commonly referred to as the Cash for Clunkers Program.

I was indeed. And, as I indicated, it was called the CARS program, but it was really about people. It was about our friends and our neighbors that number in the tens of thousands in every State, not just Ohio or Michigan but across the country, those people who rely upon the auto and related industries for their livelihood, to put food on the table, to reach the middle class and stay in the middle class.

With the CARS Act, the Cash for Clunkers Program, the goal was multiple, the goals were multiple. What we did was, obviously, the results are in. We have seen study after study. What we did is we put about 60,000 or so people back to work because of the CARS Act, because of Cash for Clunkers in the auto and related industries. We moved the GDP as a result of the program from a range of $3.8 billion to $6.8 billion, an increase in GDP just due to that one very limited program of less than a month, less than a month.

What we also did, we just got another study back with the program that provided incentives to consumers to, of course, trade in their old gas-guzzling cars, to get more fuel-efficient cars, gave them incentives to do that, helping them in this time of need to get something they needed but couldn't afford, get those jobs shored up, get the improvements in the environment.

We saw an environmental gain in the cars turned in from the ones that were turned in to purchase of 60 percent. So those consumers are going to continue to save for years to come, somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand dollars a year. Seven hundred to a thousand dollars a year is the estimate. So this was a program that was win/win/win.

And we saw a recent study, if that wasn't good enough.

Sure. Absolutely. Part of the recovery stimulus act also provided that taxpayers can deduct the State and local sales tax they paid for new vehicles purchased from February 17 of 2009 all the way through December 31 of 2009 under the vehicle sales tax deduction. And then in those States that don't have a sales tax, there are other taxes and fees that may be deducted. So you have to ask your tax preparer or look into that if you're in a State that doesn't have sales tax.

So not only did we offer the incentives that were very effective in shoring up jobs, improving our environment, getting older, unsafe cars off the road; we also provided the opportunity to deduct that sales tax.

And I just can't let this go, Representative Garamendi, because a moment ago when you were talking about going to the dealership and trying to trade in your car and it wouldn't qualify----

But what we did find out--and this is really welcome news and it's pretty recent, and I'm not sure that all of you have had a chance to look at it--but according to the Maritz Automotive Research Group, they concluded that Cash for Clunkers created significantly more incremental car sales than previously estimated--and this is the important part--without negatively impacting future automotive sales. About 90 percent of the cars purchased under the program, about 542,000 consumers bought vehicles specifically because of the program. And, further, they reported that people like you, perhaps, another 223,000 people came to dealerships after hearing about the program to see if they qualified. They discovered they didn't qualify, and they bought cars anyway, sending those ripple effects out there to the benefit of us all.

223,000.

Well, thank you for supporting the economy.

Thank you, Representative Garamendi, and thank you for getting us down here to the floor to talk about these important points.

The question really is do we want to continue that path towards positive job growth. We started last year. Eight hundred thousand jobs a month we were bleeding because of the failed economic policies of the past administration, but now we are at a place where we are seeing that positive growth. We also saw a headline today in our local paper entitled ``Deficit Falls Dramatically in March.''

So the bottom line is this. We have to act responsibly to take us from those failed policies to a place of renewal and an economy that doesn't just work for the privileged few who enjoyed those tax cuts, the top 2 percent who enjoyed those deficit-funded tax cuts under the Bush era. We have to take us to a place where it is an economy that the folks that I am proud to represent in Lorain and Akron and Barberton will indeed join in the vitality of this Nation, of our communities, of our economy, of the opportunity, all that we have to represent in this country.

So I am glad to be here. I am glad to do the work that it takes every day to put one foot in front of the other and fight with the spirit of the people that I represent to take us responsibly to a place that is positive not just for us here in the Capitol, but most importantly, for them at their homes.

I rise in support of this historic legislation.

Mr. Speaker, every year 45,000 people in this country die because they do not have insurance coverage, and in this great nation it should not be that way. And, on this day, in this moment, we have been called to stand up and vote to put an end to that sad reality.

This is the moment when we will finally take the long-overdue step of ending the unconscionable practices of the insurance companies, who through their greed and disregard have enjoyed record profits even as American families have suffered, sometimes fatally because of their actions.

I support this legislation because it will put a stop to the discriminatory practices by insurance companies that deny care based on pre-existing conditions and impose outrageous premium increases on American families.

I support this legislation because it will cap out-of-pocket expenses that insurance companies impose on our constituents forcing many into bankruptcy when they or their children are stricken by illness or injury.

I support this legislation because it is a vote to stop insurance companies from inflicting lifetime caps on people who have paid for insurance, only to find that it was not there for them when they needed it most.

I support this legislation, because it will strengthen the solvency of Medicare, lower drug costs and close the donut hole for our seniors, and has the support of the AARP.

This legislation will make health insurance more affordable and accessible for small businesses and individuals.

This legislation will finally curb the perpetual, skyrocketing costs of health care that have been drowning far too many American families for far too long.

This measure will reduce our deficit by more than $1.3 trillion in the next two decades.

I support this legislation because within the 13th District of Ohio, which I am so honored to serve, it will improve coverage for 420,000 of my constituents with health insurance.

It will give tax credits and other assistance to up to 154,000 families and 13,200 small businesses to help them afford coverage.

It will improve Medicare for 107,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole. ``It will extend coverage to 33,500 uninsured residents of the 13th District.

It will guarantee that 9,000 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.

It will protect 1,700 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs. ``It will allow 45,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents'' insurance plans.

It will help support 3 community health centers in the 13th District and reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $34 million annually.

For all of these reasons, this is the day, this is the moment, and I am honored to support this health care measure.

Mr. Speaker, health care reform is critical to ensure that women have access to affordable health care. Currently, women can be charged higher rates simply because of their gender.

The Joint Economic Committee has estimated that 64 million women do not have adequate health insurance coverage today. 1.7 million women have lost their health insurance coverage since the beginning of the economic downturn, and 39 percent of all low-income women lack health insurance coverage.

Women are also more likely to deplete their savings accounts paying medical bills than men. The health reform legislation being considered by Congress will help address all of these critical issues, and more. It will eliminate insurance coverage discrimination based on gender, provide access to affordable policies to all Americans, it will prevent bankruptcies due to medical costs by capping out-of-pocket payments, and it will prohibit insurance companies from discriminating based on preexisting conditions, including the despicable practice of calling domestic violence victims preexisting conditions.

It's time to pass this.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and for your strong leadership of the Populist Caucus and the mission that we are on to restore the promise of the middle class, to stand up for the middle class, and to stand up for those who aspire to the middle class, to make our country work for those folks who are aspiring to the middle class.

We are not something that is complicated. The Populist Caucus believes that strong, immediate action must be taken to create jobs in the United States and to put an end to the excessive greed of Wall Street that brought us to the brink of disaster. And so I am proud to join with you, Representative Braley and Representative Kagen, to stand up and speak to the American people about the fight we are waging on their behalf because that's what being a populist is really about.

When I go home, as when you go home, I hear all about the need to facilitate employment opportunity for the people that I represent in northeast Ohio. All they want is a government that will work with them and for them, to facilitate those jobs, jobs, jobs that are so needed out there. We have heard recently that there is a recovery underway, and there are some signs of recovery, and we have certainly seen a lot of signs of recovery on Wall Street, but there can be no such thing as a jobless recovery, and we have started to hear that term bounced about.

The Populist Caucus is here to say that there is no recovery if our folks

don't have jobs, because this is not just about a country that stands up for the well-to-do. This is the People's House. This body is about making sure people have opportunity, ordinary people have opportunity. And what we will discuss, and when we look back a little bit, it becomes apparent that the economy, even before the excesses of Wall Street came to their full fruition, even before the economy was not working for ordinary Americans, we saw a decade of flat wages in this country while we continued to see skyrocketing health care costs. We saw the GDP rise, and we saw productivity rise in this country, but the American people who were doing the work were not sharing in the prosperity.

So we look forward to developing policies--and that's what the blueprint is all about--that will help deliver sustainable, quality jobs for the American people that will fairly compensate them and put an end to the excessive and disparate compensation that those at the top of the food chain have been taking for far too many years at the expense of everyone else.

And so with that, I yield back to the gentleman. And I thank you again for your leadership; it's been stellar on this subject. I look forward to the mission ahead.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Infrastructure creates such ripple effects in our economy and spurs economic development and opportunity for the people that we represent. Every time I go home, people beg, Please, please, invest in our Nation's infrastructure. We know that the need is tremendous.

One of the bills, in addition to the National Infrastructure Bank bill, which I think we should talk about more, but you mentioned Representative DeFazio's bill, the bill entitled Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act. I think this is also a bill that deals with infrastructure, because when we get the money from those transaction fees of those risky trades that are something that we would really like to have cut back on, we are going to use it to invest in infrastructure and all the good that goes with it.

But we also have in that bill, and I think it is important to tell people, that part of the revenue that would come in in addition to that huge amount going to invest in Main Street, you know, Main Street, after all, is who bailed out Wall Street, and we didn't do it because we were fans of their behavior. We did it so they would start lending. As we discussed, they didn't start lending, so we need to continue to push until things are right. But also in that bill, there is a part of the revenues raised that are going to go to deficit reduction. So we often hear this argument that it is all about the deficit.

Well, it is about jobs and the deficit. In order to get rid of the deficit, people do have to have jobs. Frankly, obviously people need to have jobs, because

this is the United States of America, and that is the American dream, having a job and raising your family and aspiring to a quality of life that is second to none across this country. So, in that bill, in addition to putting money into infrastructure, we also take a piece of that money and let Wall Street help to pay down some of the deficits that were created by helping Wall Street get out of the mess that they were in.

So, back to the other bill that you mentioned, which is critically important, and you asked how important it was back in Ohio, in my district. It just can't be overstated. Just yesterday, I received a whole list of infrastructure projects that are ready to go that need funding.

The thing about infrastructure is that we all know that it can't be ignored indefinitely, right? But oftentimes we come to a place where we don't address it until a crisis occurs. And that doesn't make any sense either. So if we can put people to work doing that work that we know has to be done and spur greater economic development and recovery, why wouldn't we do that?

This National Infrastructure Bank legislation is a critical component of taking the idea, the concept that we all know makes sense, and really maybe that is what the Populist Caucus represents more than anything; it is about the common sense. People know what we need to do for our country, to strengthen the middle class and put people to work rebuilding our infrastructure. Other countries are building their infrastructure. They are investing massively in their infrastructure, because they know the value that it creates beyond the jobs that are put forth just in doing the construction.

With that, I yield back to the gentleman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, to repeal the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies.

For far too long, the health insurance industry has been exempted from playing by the rules that most other American businesses must live by. Since 1945, they have been operating beyond the reach of these important consumer protection laws. The result has been excessive consolidation in the health insurance industry and the insurance companies taking advantage of honest, ordinary Americans. This legislation will finally put an end to insurance company collusion, and it will bring much needed competition to the industry.

According to the Consumer Federation of America, repealing these antitrust exemptions will save consumers more than $40 billion in insurance premiums. I, for one, want consumers to save that money. The families that I proudly represent have the right to be confident that the cost of their insurance and the actions of their health insurance providers are reflective of competitive market conditions, not of collusion.

This bill is a historic step to ensure competition in the insurance industry and to provide access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Now, who would be against that?

The choice is clear and easy. It is a two-page bill, easily understood, hard to mischaracterize. A vote for the bill is a vote for our constituents. A vote against the bill is doing exactly what the insurance industry wants. Let's think about that. For our constituents versus for the health insurance industry. It's an easy choice. Because the American people need all of us to be on their side, I urge people on both sides of the aisle to vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, last fall, at the end of the last administration, we all know that America's largest financial institutions and companies were on the brink of collapse, and the Federal Government, and more importantly, the American taxpayers came to their rescue. But let's be clear: We did not do that because we were fans of their behavior. We did not appreciate even then the excessive greed that was driving Wall Street without any sense of responsibility. We helped them because ordinary citizens were being crushed, and we hoped to get the credit flowing.

So what has happened? Wall Street has experienced recovery, but Main Street still needs help. Wall Street needs to help pay for the revitalization of Main Street, and that is why I support the Wall Street Bonus Tax, which is going to levy a tax on those excessive bonuses that the Wall Street banks have the audacity to continue to give out even as the plight of our middle class is suffering.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do everything we can to stand up for the American taxpayers and the people who live in our communities.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time and for your leadership.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Res. 1009. Today we are honoring the seven members of our intelligence community who were tragically killed on December 30 and their colleagues who were injured by a suicide bomber at our CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan. In honoring these brave men and women, we also seek to express our deep support and appreciation to all the civil servants who dedicate their lives to protecting our Nation. We mourn the loss of all of these seven brave heroes.

Along with the Congresswoman from the 13th District of Ohio, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the loss of Scott Roberson, an Ohio native who was among those killed in this tragic attack. Scott dedicated his life to serving and protecting. He spent many years as a police officer before serving with the U.N. Security Forces in Kosovo. He also served several tours in Iraq as a security officer before his assignment in support of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

Members of Scott's family reside in my district. When I had the deep honor of attending his memorial service some days ago, as I sat among his family and friends, I listened to those who knew him best speak of his character and unwavering commitment to protecting the safety and security of all Americans. By all accounts, Scott was an exceptional person who, along with his selfless colleagues, sacrificed beyond measure to protect us.

He left behind a loving wife expecting their first child, a child who will know her father through our hero's family and friends and through this resolution passed in honor of the service and sacrifice that he and his colleagues have given on our behalf and on behalf of our great Nation.

For those families who cannot publicly mourn their loss, please know that our hearts, our thoughts, and our prayers are with you. And to all of the families, know that the sacrifice of your parent, your child, your sibling or spouse does not go unrecognized and will not be forgotten.

I am pleased to be here with my colleague from New York, Representative Paul Tonko. I am Betty Sutton, and I proudly represent the 13th Congressional District of Ohio.

I am a member of the Task Force On Job Creation of our caucus and, in fact, I am the co-Chair. Mr. Tonko serves on that committee, and we are here today to talk about just that. We are here to talk about the need to create jobs, jobs, jobs in this country, both in the near term and for the long term that will be sustainable for our constituents and people across this great country.

As we move forward, we have to make sure that we secure an economy that will work for and with ordinary Americans, because we may recall that before the Bush recession began, the Republican recession began, the reality of it was we had an economy that wasn't working for many Americans already before it went off the cliff.

As we revitalize our economy, it's incredibly important that we don't just go back to the old ways where Wall Street ran rampant and Main Street suffered, but that we create and--facilitate, I guess, is a better word--facilitate an economy that will work for and with ordinary Americans, and that the prosperity of this great Nation and the promise of a middle class will be restored. That is what America is at its best, where the promise of a middle class is vibrant and well and thriving.

So before the recession, before the Republican recession hit, the reality is productivity and profits were up, and as I said, Wall Street was reveling. And ordinary Americans, what was happening to them? Their wages were flat, at best.

So the task force is here to say enough is enough. We need an economy that offers economic opportunity to people who live in neighborhoods across this country, who live in rural areas across this great country, not just those who make a living on Wall Street.

So, though the actions that we've taken already, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, have been helpful to many, and, in fact, the CBO has estimated, actually found that it has already created or retained 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs, we still have an unemployment rate that is staggering at 10 percent and nearly 16 million Americans out of work. So, far too many Americans across the country are without a job and far too many more are concerned about what tomorrow will bring. Forty percent of those who are unemployed have been jobless for at least half a year.

So we know, Representative Tonko and I, that we have to put people back to work, and it is not a simple task but it is an ongoing task. In fact, I'd say it's a mission because, you know, I have heard it said that we're in a jobless recovery.

Have you heard that, Mr. Tonko?

Representative Tonko, I know this is your first term, but it's hard to believe. I have to tell you, we are very inspired to have you here, and you didn't arrive a moment too soon.

The point that you make about the deficit, turning the surplus that was well established under President Clinton into such an extraordinary deficit under the last administration is a point that is a reality and, unfortunately, is one that we have to deal with; right? Because, you know, fighting two wars that weren't paid for and, as you point out, a lot of the costs done offline that weren't budgeted for.

But it wasn't just an economic deficit that was created; it was this jobs deficit that was created that we also are here to deal with not only tonight but until we resolve it. It has to be our mission.

Well, Representative Tonko, you put it well, and I know that you speak for your constituents and so many people out there in America who are feeling what we're speaking to and about. And you're absolutely right. They know that they cannot wait any longer, that we can't have inaction because inaction is far too expensive. It's far too expensive in not only lost wages, in, of course, being held hostage to foreign regimes that are unfriendly to us in the area of energy.

We need to pass measures, some of which we already know are tried and true and are necessary. We need to invest in things like our infrastructure, because we know that investment in infrastructure puts people to work right away and also is accomplishing the creation of real value.

You know, one of the things that was pointed out by you and is such an important fact about how we got to this level of a jobs deficit in this country was the loss of manufacturing and the loss of this country's investment in creating real value, and, instead, so much was put on Wall Street. Wall Street took hold of the opportunity, with very little hindrance on greed being the operative way of proceeding, and as a result, they ran rampant, creating pretend value, trading and pretend value. And as a result, in Ohio, for example, bad trade policies and this reckless way on Wall Street, the lack of attention to manufacturing and its importance to the strength of our Nation and, in fact, the national security of our Nation, Ohio, since 2001, lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. That was long before the recession began.

So we know that there are certain things that will help us, and, of course, the job creation task force supports this idea, that we have to build and strengthen our Nation's crumbling infrastructure. And I'm inspired by your words about the innovative spirit and all the potential that exists in this Nation. Well, some of that potential needs to be applied to our legislation, because while some of the ways that we have pursued things in the past are tried and true and we need to move forward in those veins that work, we also need to think creatively.

You talked about the environment. Representative Tonko, you're well aware that I was the sponsor of the CARS Act, which became known, affectionately, I hope, as the Cash for Clunkers bill. But the thing about Cash for Clunkers was it shot down the old paradigm that it's either about jobs or the environment. It was about jobs and the environment. And we shored up the jobs in the auto and related industries that people across this country depend upon for their livelihood and the ramifications and the ripple effects, taking people off of unemployment, giving them the dignity and the opportunity to work a job, and at the same time achieving improved environmental integrity and helping consumers to get something that they need during these difficult economic times, and it went right to them.

So it matters where you aim. No more just aiming at Wall Street, because we can't have a jobless recovery. There is no such thing, in my view, is there, Mr. Tonko, as a jobless recovery that's meaningful?

That's exactly right, Representative Tonko.

As you point out, these initiatives have massive effects for the good of the whole. You get the benefit of the R&D jobs, and you get the benefit of all of the spinoffs and the manufacturing. I mean, that is what built this country. That is what built this middle class that we aspire to.

I'm the youngest of six kids from a working class family. My dad worked in a boilermaker factory his whole life. Somehow, from those roots, in this great country, I was able to come to the House of Representatives of the United States. I take that responsibility so seriously because I know it's an unlikely story. It's an unlikely story that someone not born to wealth and privilege can sometimes come, in this great country, to a place like this to be a voice for people out there who only want a chance to do a hard day's work for a fair wage. We've gotten away from that in this Nation.

As to manufacturing, though, we might not make all of the things we used to make, but we will make other things--green energy products. We used steel to build the windmills, but right now, we're not using steel or our ingenuity, but there are so many out there in the United States with the capacity to do it and the desire to do it. They're just looking for a government that will work with them. That's what we're about--finding ways to work with them to accomplish these goals, to create the opportunity and to build the potential of this country that we all know that it has and that it shall always have.

So it is really a pleasure in the sense that the challenges are hard but that the potential is greater. The potential that we have before us outweighs the difficulties that we face, and we have to make that the case. That is our job here in Congress.

So I am glad to be down here tonight to talk about these issues with you because, among all of the highest of high priorities, in my view right now, as a Member of Congress, for the people whom I represent, it's jobs, jobs, and jobs.

Well, I am humbled by your words. You are very generous.

I have to say that there are those out there who, on the other side of the aisle--and sometimes we hear about how bad things are and, Oh, my goodness, but we don't hear solutions. You know what? It doesn't take a lot to identify the problems. The American people know what this recession has brought us. They know what happened as the deficit skyrocketed under the

last administration and when the Democrats took over from the Republicans, who were in control of everything for many, many years. Now all we hear sometimes is just about how bad it is. Well, how do you think we got here?

So we are about solutions, and we are about continuing to work on it until we accomplish what we need to for the American people, because nothing ever gets done just by identifying problems. We have to make things happen because we get the results that we create.

Right now, we are living and are trying to fix the results that were created, not by the party of ``no,'' as sometimes people refer to those on the other side of the aisle--because they weren't the party of ``no.'' They were the party in control. They were in control when wages were flat for the American people, when productivity was through the roof and when the GDP was rising as well. So people were working harder. They were working longer, and they were getting less.

In fact, Representative Tonko, I'm going to go down to the well here because I have a graph that will show exactly what was going on.

Representative Tonko, last year, when the so-called ``meltdown'' occurred, there were a lot of people where I live, as they listened to the experts say, Oh, we didn't see this coming, who were all saying, What? Are you kidding me? Because we've been living this for quite some time in Ohio.

Part of the reason they felt that way is that, if you look at this chart which is right here, it is entitled: Everyday people were struggling before the great recession began. Productivity, GDP, and median household incomes are reflected on this chart.

And what you will see is that while we saw for many, many years, while here is where our recession hits in a big way, according to the experts, what was happening as we built up to our big recession? Productivity and GDP were going through the roof, and this line down here with this big gap in between these two, this is what household incomes were.

That's a very descriptive way of explaining what happened. Wall Street was having a party and the American people were in many cases in the position of using credit even to pay for their most basic needs. Then, of course, we know what happened. There were a lot of people in this country who also were subject to ever-escalating fees and all kinds of issues that they faced as those credit issues mounted or they, for goodness sake, got hit with a health issue. Even those with insurance, we know so many were forced into bankruptcy. Why? Because their wages and everything were way down here. As productivity and GDP, somebody was making a lot of money, but it wasn't the American people.

Representative Tonko has put it very well in identifying that there are many facets to what we have to do to provide the economic opportunity that the American people need and deserve.

What we see here is that even before the recession, they weren't getting the economic opportunity that they need and they deserve, because their wages were flat, while those at the top were, as I say, reveling in the process and their productivity, the productivity of the American worker.

The gentleman from New York is right. It goes completely flat before it falls off the cliff. It has been a struggle for a long time, in no small part because of what you point out. I have heard it said that there was no sheriff and so people robbed the banks. Well, then there was no sheriff and the banks robbed the people. We saw some of that in recent times.

And the American people are smart. They know what was going on, and they know how the economy was working for them. Now it was working a little better than it is for a lot of people now, but the reality is they still deserve better. And so we don't really want to necessarily go back to this place where there's a big gap and all the wealth is concentrated necessarily up here with the American people still not able to get by working two or three jobs.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We want people to make money in this country. We want capitalism to flourish in this country. We want to facilitate that. But people who work and

contribute should be paid a fair wage, and they need to know the security of a job that is going to be there, that opportunity will be there for themselves and for their families, that they will have access to the health care coverage that they need.

That's a point I will yield on.

I thank the gentleman again for his generous words and his points that are right on the mark.

You started out by talking about the costs of health care and how they've been just skyrocketing as the American workers' wages and American families have been flat; the burden that that has placed on people and the fact of the matter has led so many into bankruptcy. We all know these stories. We all know about those who can't get the care they need when they need it, and it is because of cost.

We hear people out there, some of the same people who brought us the Republican recession and this economy where wages were so flat for ordinary Americans, and they talk about how we shouldn't do this health care reform. The reality of it is, well, you know, no health care reform really wasn't working for the American people whose costs continue to skyrocket; and if we do nothing, the costs are going to continue to skyrocket.

The same is true about energy. There are those who may argue about the merits of what we do, but to do nothing is going to result in the same results that we've gotten from doing nothing, or not taking aggressive action, that brought us the Republican recession. And energy costs are going to go up and up and up while this economy has remained down here.

The good news is, as we take action to fashion this mission of job facilitation for the ordinary American families in this country that are its great strength, that it doesn't have to be this way, that we can all prosper, those who make the most as well as those who are in the middle and those who aspire to the middle class. That's the great promise of this great country.

You've pointed out a lot of the things that we need to do, in investing, research and development and innovation and infrastructure. You've pointed out how other countries in the midst of this global recession are doing that. That, too, is a factor that we can't ignore. We cannot stand still in these days. And to those who participated in bringing us the Republican recession that ended not only in such an increase in the deficit in this country but also resulted in the jobs deficit in this country, some of those same people, Representative Tonko, will stand here and say that it should be all about jobs, that we should be working on jobs.

Well, we are working on jobs. And I know that the CBO has said that through the ARRA, that we have saved or created 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs. And I say to those who have been complaining about jobs, who didn't vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, who brought us the skyrocketing deficit and the jobs deficit of the Republican recession, you didn't vote for the ARRA, so how many jobs have you delivered or saved for the American people in this short time as we pursue, as Americans, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans, a path to recovery for ordinary families who need and depend upon us?

Representative Tonko, we thank you for your leadership of all those you represent in New York and all those you speak for across the country. This is something that we can do in this great Nation, and we can do it together. We can do it. All of us within this Chamber have an interest in seeing our country prosper, and that's what the job creation task force is all about. And we will be back. We will be working in the meantime to make sure that we realize and we do our part to put forward the economic opportunity that the people that, as I said, we're so very honored to serve and represent, what they need and what they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 948, I inserted my voting card to vote ``aye'' and my vote failed to register. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Chair, I rise today, along with my colleagues Representative Matsui and Representative Castor, in support of the Matsui amendment.

Before Wall Street collapsed, before anyone ever heard of ``credit default swaps'' and before AIG became a four letter word, homeowners across this country--and especially in Ohio--were already hurting. Responsible Americans were sold mortgages with indecipherable terms, with smoke-and-mirror provisions and with ``gotcha'' fees. Some lost their jobs and were unable to make payments, and some homeowners are still suffering. Last month, one in every 417 homes in this country received a foreclosure filing. The Making Home Affordable program has helped some homeowners but not enough, and it is time we saw some numbers.

This amendment requires Treasury to post on their Web site important data on mortgage servicer and lender participation in the program so we can hold mortgage servicers and lenders accountable, and so we can ask them ``why.'' Why are you not helping homeowners out of this mess that you created?

This is an important step toward helping Americans stay in their homes. I urge a ``yes'' vote.