Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak against H.R. 5 and its impacts on STEM education.

As a physicist and someone who started a business in my parents' basement that manufactures over half the theater lighting equipment in the United States and provides hundreds of jobs in the Midwest, I know firsthand the importance of STEM education and driving our Nation's innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies, and new industries.

The impact of this underlying bill would be devastating to STEM education. Under H.R. 5, funding for STEM programs would be combined into a single block grant with 70 other education programs, with no requirements for a school district to actually spend any funding on STEM education.

I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the Miller substitute.

Over the past 10 years, the number of STEM jobs has grown three times faster than non-STEM jobs.

What's more, out of 34 industrialized countries, the U.S. ranks 17th in science education and 25th in math education.

It is clear we should do more to improve STEM education and encourage students to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

Unfortunately, this Republican bill does just the opposite.

H.R. 5 would place all dedicated funding streams for STEM education into a block grant with no requirement that those funds actually be used for STEM education.

In addition, the Republican bill provides no support for the recruitment and training of teachers in the STEM fields, despite the fact that research has shown that the single largest factor in student success is a well-trained and high quality teacher.

The Miller amendment recognizes the enormous need for STEM education in this country and creates a comprehensive program for STEM education.

Under the Miller substitute, schools would have the requisite funding to develop STEM programs, curriculum, assessments, or professional development for teachers.

This amendment also addresses the skills gap in our current education system by requiring grant applicants to incorporate their state's STEM workforce needs into their programs.

This provision mirrors a component of the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act, which I've introduced with my friend Joe Courtney, a member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

This legislation was inspired by the Illinois Pathways to Prosperity Initiative, a program underway in my home state of Illinois that has greatly benefitted one of the cities in my district, Aurora, Illinois.

In Aurora, elementary educators, local employers, and institutions of higher education have come together to determine how to develop STEM courses that combine rigorous academics with strong technical education to equip students with the skills and credentials to succeed in STEM careers.

Like the Miller substitute, my legislation would create a competitive grant program for school districts that work with employers and an institution of higher education to further STEM education and encourage students to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

It provides students with workplace experience and college credit that will improve their ability to compete in the workplace while encouraging them to continue their education.

This type of program is already being successfully implemented at school districts in Illinois and across the nation.

If America hopes to maintain its position as the global leader in scientific and technological innovation, we must heed the call of our nation's business leaders and employers and provide our schools with the resources needed to improve our STEM education system.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to present an amendment that addresses an imbalance in our efforts to promote the long-term economic and national security interests of the United States.

This amendment reverses the deep and harmful cuts to the Department of Energy's Office of Science and balances this by a corresponding reduction--amounting to 6 percent--in the nuclear weapons production and life extension accounts.

The greatest long-term threat that our country faces on both the military and economic fronts is the threat of losing our role as world leaders in innovation in science and technology. Nothing is more crucial to preserving that role than the fundamental and applied scientific research, at both universities and national laboratories, supported by the DOE Office of Science. This appropriations bill would cut funding for the Office of Science by $500 million below the President's request for the next fiscal year.

As a physicist who worked at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for over 20 years and collaborated with universities and other national labs all over the United States, I understand the productivity and the potential of the Department of Energy's national lab system and the wide range of basic scientific research that they support.

The Office of Science is responsible for supporting university-based research, but it also supports basic research facilities that are too big for any single company or university to develop.

The Chicago area that I represent is home to a number of scientific centers, including Fermilab, Argonne National Laboratory, and university-based centers. The economic impact of Argonne and Fermilab in Illinois alone is estimated to be more than $1.3 billion annually, and there are thousands of good-paying jobs that are supported by those investments.

Our national labs are a critical research tool to academics and industry alike. For example, Eli Lilly conducts nearly half of its drug discovery research in conjunction with the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne.

The Office of Science is also home to one of the Department's newest ventures, the innovation hubs, which seek to discover and develop the next generation of energy delivery. Programs like the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, headquartered at Argonne, and the Fuels from Sunlight Hub, headquartered at the California Institute of Technology, bring together multiple teams of researchers who are working to develop energy advancements that have the potential to transform our energy systems.

The Office of Science also invests in fusion, a safe, clean, and sustainable energy source that has the scientific potential to provide the United States with energy independence and a nearly limitless zero- emissions energy supply.

Currently, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is building the most powerful fusion facility of its type in the world. Through the Office of Science's Biological and Environmental Research programs, we have become world leaders in biofuels research. This research is laying the foundation for a revolution in biofuel production that will help to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

Study after study has shown that there are few investments that government can make that provide as high a return on investment as scientific research and development. The cuts proposed by Republicans in this underlying bill will have a wide-ranging impact, both to the local economy in Illinois and to our national economy. And with wages as a percentage of our economy at a record low, it is not time to retreat and to stop investing in American innovation. We need to maintain a competitive advantage now more than ever.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today because we must continue to invest in American innovation and to fully fund the research and development conducted through the DOE Office of Science.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I would actually like to respond a little bit about the offset for this amendment. This amendment is offset by reducing the $7.7 billion budget for the NNSA nuclear weapons account by $500 million. This is a 6.5 percent reduction.

I want to make it clear that the intent of this amendment is not to reduce the large amount of high-quality research that goes on in NNSA- supported programs; but a large fraction of the funding in this account goes to production and future production facilities for weapons systems that serve no clearly defined strategic purpose in today's geopolitics, or they go to programs for which the cost estimates, the project management, or both have come under repeated criticism when they come under external independent review.

To take two examples, the underlying bill funds the B61 life extension program at $23 million more than requested. This program has ballooned in cost, from $4 billion 2 years ago to over $10 billion. A recent independent cost estimate commissioned by the Pentagon called even this estimate into question.

Another example is the overall size of the nuclear weapons stockpile. We have, today, more than 5,000 nuclear weapons. Even if the United States and Russia were to cut our arsenals by a factor of 10, our countries would still have significantly more nuclear weapons than our nearest competitors. The reason you spend money on nuclear deterrence is to deter rational actors and to reassure our allies.

To those who oppose this 6 percent cut, I would ask: Is there any example of a rational actor who would not be adequately deterred by a stockpile of, for example, 1,000 deployed and deployable nuclear weapons? Is there any one of our allies who would not consider our ability to release, say, 10 percent of that arsenal in retaliation to an attack on them to be a sufficient ability to respond? Yet we are redesigning production facilities and spending money on them when the strategic quantities required to be produced have not been established.

Earlier this year, the GAO added that NNSA was:

again included on GAO's high-risk list in recognition of

the potential for vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and

mismanagement in contract administration and management of

major projects.

And the cost remains uncertain. From the text of this very Energy and Water Committee report accompanying this bill:

The committee notes that the full extent of the

consequences of the NNSA's project management problems,

especially at the largest of the NNSA's construction

projects, is still coming to light. As the administration

gains a more complete understanding of cost increases and

construction delays, it must take the lead to determine

whether a new long-term budget plan is needed to meet the

Nation's strategic objectives.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak out against the drastic cuts proposed to the SNAP program, a lifeline that millions of Americans rely on.

The FARRM Bill being debated today would cut over $20 billion over 10 years from SNAP, a program that ensures that children, seniors, and families struggling to make ends meet don't have to go without food.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that these cuts would leave 2 million Americans without essential food assistance and cut 200,000 children from the school lunch program.

Food pantries in all corners of my district tell me that they are already struggling to keep up with the need. The Interfaith Food Pantry in Aurora, Illinois, provides food assistance to 750 families each week. Forty percent of those families also get SNAP benefits, which are, unfortunately, insufficient to meet their food needs.

If these SNAP cuts are implemented, more families will be forced to turn to volunteer-run pantries, which are already stretched dangerously thin, and many people will have nowhere to turn.

Madam Speaker, there is a long list of Federal programs for which the benefits are uncertain or for which the benefits are certain to be delivered to narrow groups for which the need is unclear. SNAP is not one of these, and I urge my colleagues to reconsider these drastic cuts.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to congratulate students from Neuqua Valley High School, in Naperville, Illinois, for placing 2nd in the 10th annual national SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game or ``Capitol Hill Challenge.'' This marks the 3rd year in a row that students from Neuqua Valley High School have placed either 1st or 2nd, earning them a trip to Washington, D.C.

Under the guidance of Kevin Geers, this year's participating team members, Manas Gosavi, Fahad Khan, Manish Lakkamsani, Colin Pinto and Tyler Rund, produced a portfolio with a value of $246,823.00, a return of over 138 percent.

During the 14-week competition, students invest a hypothetical $100,000 in listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, with the objective of learning the value of investing and saving. The Capitol Hill Challenge allows students to enhance their understanding of the global economy, while simultaneously strengthening their knowledge of our government.

I am delighted to see students taking an interest in expanding their financial literacy and awareness of the capital markets. As a businessman who understands the value of financial planning, I know how rewarding it can be to discover what you can accomplish if you start with a plan.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Neuqua Valley High School, not only on this remarkable feat, but also on their ongoing efforts to generate enthusiasm in the fields of economics and business. They truly embody their mission of ``commitment to excellence.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration marking the end of slavery in the United States.

It was not until June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, that Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the war had ended and the slaves were freed. Since then, Juneteenth has been celebrated nationally, serving as an important opportunity for friends, families and neighbors to come together and rejoice in our shared heritage. It's an important reminder both of the great tragedy of slavery and of the courage and resilience of all those who fought for change.

I am proud to look back on this day at my own family's tradition of fighting for civil rights in this country. My great grandfather led one of the first units of African-American soldiers into battle, where they risked their lives and their own freedom to bring greater freedom to all Americans of every skin color. That tradition carried on through my family to my father who joined the civil rights struggle of the 1960s and went on to write much of the enforcement language behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Recently, I attended a ceremony commemorating the life of civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. His legacy is a reminder of the courage of individuals who fight for freedom and opportunity. While we have made great strides since that day in 1865, the struggle for equality is not over.

As I commemorate this historic day, I would like to urge my colleagues to honor the memory of all who have fought for freedom and equality and stand with all who continue the struggle today.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to honor Amma Sri Karunamayi, a Hindu spiritual leader who has devoted her life to serving humanity.

Amma has devoted her life to the service of others, through her charitable works in India feeding the poor; building free schools, housing, an orphanage and a hospital; and through her efforts to teach meditation and peaceful living. Since 1995, Amma has been making trips to the United States to lead public meditation programs and share discourses on peace, tolerance and religious harmony.

This weekend she will travel to the Balaji Temple in Aurora, Illinois, to share her message of peace, tolerance and harmony.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Amma Sri Karunamayi, whose commitment to helping others has served as inspiration around the world.

I rise today in support of this amendment, and I would like to thank my colleague from Florida (Mr. Deutch) for joining me in the fight on this important issue.

Our amendment would end the costly and inhumane practice of imposing arbitrary immigrant detention requirements by striking the language in this bill which mandates that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, maintain 34,000 immigrants in detention every single day.

Mandatory detention comes at a high cost both for taxpayers and immigrant families who are needlessly torn apart. Immigration detention costs the United States $2 billion a year. That's $5.4 million a day or $164 per day per detainee. Despite the availability of

other proven cheaper methods, including ankle bracelets and supervised release that cost the Federal Government anywhere from 30 cents a day to $14 a day, we continue to use detention as the primary method for immigrants facing deportation. Not only is this quota fiscally irresponsible, but it makes it impossible for DHS to make rational decisions about detention based on enforcement priorities and needs.

There is also a high human cost. Most immigrants in detention are held in county jails or facilities run by private prison corporations often hundreds of miles from anyone they know. Human rights abuses have been well documented in facilities across the country. Many immigrants in the system have strong ties to their communities and no criminal records; yet they must fight their cases from a distant jail all because of this arbitrary quota. No other law enforcement agencies in our government have such quotas. Rather than a per-day bed quota, ICE's use of bed space should be based on actual need, which is the approach used in every other law enforcement context.

In his letter from the Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King, Jr., said:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Mandatory detention quotas distort our system of justice and are a threat to freedom and justice in our country. Mr. Chairman, I rise to end this costly and needless injustice, and I urge my colleagues to support our amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this bill.

When my colleagues speak about the burdensome cost of regulations, I would like to remind them of the high cost of deregulation and inadequately funded regulators that we witnessed in 2008.

This bill would increase the operating costs of the SEC without any increase in the agency's budget. Just yesterday, the chairman of the SEC warned the Financial Services Committee that this bill would divert resources from enforcing investor protections. And last year, former- SEC Chairman Schapiro said that a nearly identical bill would ``significantly impede the SEC's ability to administer the securities laws.''

I would remind my colleagues that the failure to administer the security laws and regulate our financial system has cost us $16 trillion. That's the amount that families in America lost during the financial crisis. That is more than $50,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.

During the financial crisis, in the last 18 months of the Bush administration, the average American family lost a quarter of its net worth. Compare that to the onset of the Great Depression where families lost only about 12 percent of their net worth during a 5-year period. So by that measure, our last financial crisis was twice as big and twice as fast as the onset of the Great Depression.

But the cost of inadequate regulation does not stop there: $1.6 billion, that's the amount that disappeared from customer accounts at MF Global in 2011; $17 billion, that's the amount that in 2009 Bernie Madoff was convicted of scamming investors out of; $1 trillion, that's the amount of wealth that disappeared and reappeared in less than 20 minutes during the flash crash of 2010.

To put these figures in perspective, let's consider and compare them to bank robberies. Every year, banks lose $38 million to robberies; yet we spend $24 billion every year on armed guards, vault doors, and FBI investigations. So for bank robberies, we spend 600 times more on prevention than on actual losses. Just imagine if we applied that

same factor of 600 to investor losses from securities fraud and market manipulation. The budgets of our regulators would be hundreds of times larger than they are today. The cynic in me can only conclude that what's really going on here is that the bank robbers just have really crummy lobbyists.

But seriously, if we can spend 600 times the amount of actual losses to prevent bank robberies, why will my colleagues not support the President's request to spend one-ten-thousandth of the amount that families lost in the financial crisis on the SEC's annual budget?

I challenge my colleagues who support this bill to commit to supporting the President's request to increase the SEC's budget. I remind them again of the high cost of inaction which led to far too many of our constituents losing their homes, their retirement funds, and their small businesses a few years ago.

By shortchanging the security of our financial markets, my colleagues are endorsing the same irresponsible path.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and sacrifice of Captain Brandon Cyr of the United States Air Force. Captain Cyr died in the Zabul province of Afghanistan when the MC-12 Liberty aircraft he was commanding crashed on April 27, 2013. He was a member of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron within the 375th Air Mobility Wing.

Captain Cyr, a former Oswego, Illinois resident, grew up in a military family. From a young age, he knew he wanted to serve his country, and in 2009 he was assigned to Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois. Over the course of his four deployments, Captain Cyr accumulated more than 1,700 hours of flight time, 900 of which were in combat. Commander Colonel David Almand, of the 375th Air Mobility Wing, called him ``an outstanding pilot, and a dedicated airman.''

Captain Cyr's patriotism, commitment and service are an example to us all. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, and his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of his friends and family.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering Captain Brandon Cyr. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, especially his parents, Phillip and Debbie Cyr. He will be deeply missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the courageous actions of Kevin Sanders, a native resident of Plainfield, Illinois, who passed away earlier last month. Kevin was one of the first responders who gave their lives in the evacuation efforts when a fire broke out at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas on April 17, 2013.

Kevin was an extraordinary individual who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting others. From a young age, he looked to heroes like Superman for inspiration. He was an individual who truly lived to serve others, as exemplified by his participation in the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency in Illinois and the Bruceville-Eddy Volunteer Fire Department in Texas.

His heroism lives on through his wife, Sarah, and his 3-month-old son, Reeve. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a true hero--Kevin Sanders, a real life man of steel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome and congratulate students from the Oswego East High School Rocket Team and the Nequa Valley High School Rocket Team.

The Oswego East and Nequa Valley Rocket Teams are coming to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Team America Rocketry Challenge National Fly-Off competition on May 11th. They qualified for the National Fly-Off by finishing in the top 100 out of 725 teams that competed nationwide to build a rocket that could carry a raw egg 750 feet in the air, and then use a parachute to return the egg uncracked.

These students have spent many hours designing, building, testing and launching model rockets in order to create the entries that qualified for the National Fly-Off. I am proud of their hard work, perseverance, and creativity, and I commend them on this achievement.

I am also thrilled to see students embracing a project that involves elements of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As a scientist and manufacturer, I know how rewarding it can be to research and explore, and to discover what you can accomplish when you design and build things from scratch.

This country needs more young people who are excited about studying and working in the STEM fields. STEM graduates are critical to a thriving national economy, but at present, our education system is not producing nearly enough STEM graduates to meet the private sector's need for highly skilled employees. I'm pleased to see that there are contests like the Team America Rocketry Challenge that are encouraging students to explore STEM fields through fun, hands-on projects, and I'm proud of the students from my district who took on this challenge. I hope that this will be only the first of their accomplishments in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Susan Burtnette of

Woodridge, Illinois, who passed away Sunday morning after an abbreviated battle with lung cancer.

Susan was a remarkable member of the Woodridge community, where she lived for 35 years. Her love for her community was evident in the passion and dedication she had for leaving this world a better place. In addition to being elected to the position of Village Trustee earlier this month, Susan was an active member of the League of Women Voters, Woodridge Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Woodridge Jubilee Committee.

Her memory lives on through her three children Brad, Scott, and Kristina, and her grandchildren Riley, Reese, Carson and Landon, and the countless lives she touched. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering Susan Burtnette. She will be deeply missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the long and distinguished career of Marilyn Michelini. For more than 24 years, Marilyn has served the Montgomery community with great devotion and integrity. Through more than 30 years of professional experience in public service, Marilyn has proven herself to be a staunch advocate for the people whom she represents.

After 12 years in office, Marilyn will serve her last day as the Mayor of Montgomery, Illinois on Monday, May 13. When first elected, she represented a little more than 5,000 constituents. As we stand here today, that number has grown to more than 18,000. Under her leadership, the Village of Montgomery undertook projects to widen Orchard Road, Route 30 and the construction of a new Village Hall.

Marilyn started her political career in 1982 when she agreed to complete the remaining 2\1/2\-year term of a retiring board member on the Kane County Board. Five years later, she became the first woman to be elected to the Board of Trustees for the Village of Montgomery, where she earned the reputation of always ``doing her homework.'' In 2001, Marilyn was elected as Village President, a position that would allow her to utilize her professional experience to best serve the people of this rapidly changing village.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. Marilyn Michelini and her service to the constituents of Montgomery, Illinois. There are some people you meet and know instantly that they are trying to leave their community and this world a better place. Marilyn is one of these people. I am humbled by her commitment, and I wish her the best of luck in her well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to congratulate the city of Naperville, Illinois on its ``Sunny Award'' for local government transparency. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, ``Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,'' and I believe this statement applies to all forms of government.

The ``Sunny Award,'' awarded by the Sunshine Review, honors the most transparent government websites in the nation. The organization found that the Naperville website contained comprehensive information on meetings, elected and administrative officials, audits, lobbying, public records, contracts, taxes, and the budget.

This honor was received by only 247 of the 7,000 government websites that were ranked during ``Sunshine Week,'' a period of national recognition among civic organizations and the media for achievements in open government. The Naperville government earned an A+ rating.

I would also like to acknowledge the city's continued efforts to establish transparency. A portion of their website is now dedicated solely to updating citizens about how their tax dollars are being spent.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the City of Naperville, not only on this honor, but also on its ongoing effort to govern transparently and provide its constituents with unfettered access to information.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduced the National Fab Lab Network Act of 2013. I introduced this bill because America needs a well-trained workforce for advanced manufacturing.

When I go home, people ask me, Where are the jobs? But when I talk to manufacturing groups like the Tooling & Manufacturing Association in Illinois, they tell me there is a mismatch between job openings and students and workers with the right skills to fill them.

Fab labs can help bridge that skills gap. Fab labs are workshops equipped with computer-controlled machine tools that allow children and adults to build almost anything. The first fab lab was started at MIT, and they have spread worldwide.

My bill would create a Federal charter for a nonprofit organization called the National Fab Lab Network. This chartered status would be similar to that enjoyed by Little League Baseball or the Veterans of Foreign Wars. My bill would help American manufacturers fill job openings and encourage students to become more active in STEM fields, all at no cost to taxpayers.

I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this initiative and to cosponsor the National Fab Lab Network Act of 2013.