Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address some of the many lingering issues surrounding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The bill passed by the House yesterday will help a significant number of Missourians who have been saddled with inconceivable rate increases, who cannot sell their property, and who run the risk of losing their homes. I have heard from one constituent in particular who told of an unexpected premium increase that jumped from under $1,800 to more than $11,000, a cost difference that she and her husband will have difficulty meeting. It is my sincere hope that this legislation helps to address these issues.

While I supported H.R. 3370, I regret that the bill presented no opportunities for an increased presence for the private insurance market. One of the primary public policy goals associated with NFIP has been to spur private insurers to enter the flood insurance space. As long as NFIP generously subsidizes risk, however, the private market will remain a secondary player in the program. We must create a program that becomes, over time, actuarially-sound and creates a greater role for the private sector while reducing the government's role.

Yesterday the House took a step towards ensuring that our constituents are not saddled

with impossible premium increases, but our work on this issue is far from done. More must be done to reign in FEMA, create more accountability in NFIP, and ensure the program is on sound footing. We must also demand more accountability from FEMA and NFIP and work to ensure that flood maps are accurate and not overly encompassing.

If NFIP has taught us anything, it is that Federal government should not be involved in the insurance industry. Many living in Missouri's Third Congressional District are in desperate need of relief, and NFIP is in desperate need of reform. Private insurance companies have a role to play, and the program should be changed to allow the private market to participate. I will continue to work to make the program sustainable, reliable and more functional than it is today, and hope that my colleagues will join me in the effort to increase the private sector role in flood insurance.

Mr. Chairman, my colleagues have done a good job of listing some of the problems of CFPB. I would like to give you an example of some of the overreach of this new agency already.

A small community bank in my district, they purchased a small lending company. With that lending company comes the lease of the building that they are operating their office out of. The CFPB comes in and says the lease is $300 per month over the course of 9 months over what the rate should be for that area. They go in and tell the bank that they are going to fine them $107,000 for this lease, which is nothing the bank made. It doesn't impact consumers, yet they are fined $107,000. The bank eventually settles for $80--plus $30,000 in attorneys' fees.

Mr. Chairman, this is an example already of this new agency's overreach. It has got to stop. H.R. 3193 does that. I urge support for that bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Laura Pam for receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). It is an honor to have such a fine educator in my district teaching this nation's next generation of leaders.

This award is administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It is given annually to teachers across the country who demonstrate outstanding achievements in teaching science and math to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Not only do these educators represent the very best in their field and have a true passion for math and sciences, but they instill that passion into their students.

Laura is one of 102 teachers to receive this award in 2013. She is the Assistant Principal at Green Tree Elementary School in Lake St. Louis, Missouri and has acted as an adjunct professor for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Primarily Math program. With funding from the National Science Foundation, she co-created and co-taught two graduate level mathematics content courses for primary teachers. These classes have become staples of the program. She also serves on the 2013 Louisville Regional Conference Committee for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

I am encouraged that the students of Missouri have educators such as Laura who can help them excel in the important fields of math and science at such a young age. The guidance and instruction of teachers like Laura are vital in producing the world's next leaders of innovative science, and I hope that this Chamber will continue to support the development of exceptional teachers in these fields.

Mr. Speaker, last month in Missouri, only 751 individuals signed up for the Federal exchanges as thousands of other individuals lost their health care. These numbers and the need to institute a fix that allows Americans to keep their current coverage further highlight that the President's health care law is a failure.

One of my many constituents who has been affected by the law is Stephanie Botkin of Barnhart, Missouri. Stephanie, her husband, and her two teenage youngsters are hardworking, healthy, and they do not use a great deal of health services. She told me that they have been extremely pleased with their current plan because it works for them in terms of cost and coverage. Now, thanks to the President's health care law, Stephanie has been told that her family cannot keep its current plan, and will be forced to buy a different plan with a premium that costs 66 percent more per month and that has a higher deductible and an exorbitant co-pay, in other words, a plan that costs more and covers less.

Today, the President announced yet another fix to the law, which he technically does not have the authority to do. The fix is for him to sign legislation the House will pass tomorrow that will protect Americans from this damaging law. For Stephanie and her family's sake and for the good of the American public, it is time the President does the right thing and works with Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Wilburn C. Rowden for his service to our country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. His service commenced on January 7, 1943 at Jefferson Barracks, and he went on to become a member of the 392nd Bomb Crew, serving as a radio operator on the B-17 Flying Fortress ``Sleepy Time Gal''.

During a mission over Berlin on March 8, 1944, the aircraft Mr. Rowden was serving on was damaged by enemy air fire. The crew was ordered to bail out, during which Mr. Rowden was wounded by gunfire. Following this, Mr. Rowden was taken prisoner by armed German Air Force troops. Mr. Rowden was held as a Prisoner of War in a German prison for 14 months.

On November 2, 1945, Mr. Rowden was honorably discharged with the rank of a Technical Sergeant in San Antonio, TX. Beginning in June 1947, he worked as a technician for the Missouri National Guard. He retired from the Missouri National Guard in April 1983 as Chief Warrant Officer, 4th grade, receiving a retirement certificate crediting him with 38 years of service to his country.

The medals, ribbons, and awards Mr. Rowden has received are numerous. He was awarded a Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Award, and Silver Start Patriotic Service Award--just to name a few. Mr. Rowden has been married to Launa for 68 years and they are residents of Jefferson City, Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring Wilburn C. Rowden for his service to our country. It is an honor to represent him in the United States Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Hensarling for all his fine work on this issue, as well as other financial services issues.

I also would like to thank my good friend and neighbor in Missouri, Mrs. Wagner, for introducing this legislation and all her hard work on it. What she is trying to do here is propose legislation that tries to solve a problem that we have got in the situation here with these two agencies--DOL and SEC--trying to coordinate and propose a regulation which they don't seem to be willing to do or do it in the right way.

As usual, when the bureaucracy tries to propose things, there always are unintended consequences of those actions and those rulings. We have here some of those unintended consequences, which Mrs. Wagner in her legislation is trying to mitigate.

This proposal has the potential to drive up the cost and availability of investment services and products for investors, particularly those with low and moderate incomes. I will give you an example. I recently spoke to a broker-dealer in rural Missouri who I represent, who is one of only a handful of small brokers in a two-county radius. If the Department of Labor rule moves forward, he, like many other small broker-dealers, will have no choice, because of the way this rule is written or being proposed, that they will stop offering his services to clients, and many Missourians are going to be without or have limited access to financial products and advice.

This hurts not only the big investors, but this hurts the small investors. As I said earlier, you are talking about the low- and moderate-income folks and, particularly, one of the most basic investments that we have, which is the IRA. How basic can you get to not allow people to be able to utilize an IRA if this goes into force?

So it is important today that we take this action. I, again, thank the gentlelady from Missouri for her efforts, and I urge my colleagues for support.

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall 546 on the Peterson Motion to Instruct on H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, my vote was incorrectly recorded as ``aye.'' I intended to vote ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, today I come to the House floor to speak on an issue that is on the minds of many of my constituents and Americans across the country, and that is ObamaCare.

Enrollment is set to begin in only 5 short days, yet there is far too much confusion about how hardworking Americans will purchase their health insurance through ObamaCare exchanges. One constituent from Missouri's Third District recently contacted my office in a panic about how ObamaCare is going to impact her personally as well as her small business. She has reached out to her accountant, insurance broker, and health care provider, and guess what, Mr. Speaker? Nobody has a clue how this is all going to play out.

Unlike the Federal Government, she is forced to balance both her family's and her business' budget. But when she has no idea how much health insurance is going to cost, she has a very large hole in both her budgets that makes it nearly impossible to plan for other things-- whether it's new prescription glasses for her child to see the board at school or hiring a new employee for her small business she hopes to expand.

Mr. Speaker, this is not an isolated incident. I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls expressing real fears from folks about ObamaCare. From what I'm hearing and seeing

firsthand, the Affordable Care Act is neither affordable nor caring.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the prodigious service of the members of the 529th Military Police Company Honor Guard, first activated in July of 1945, which served at and protected the United States Army in Europe (USAEUR) Headquarters and handled internal security for the USAEUR Commander-in-Chief's command building and residence.

The 529th had the responsibility and privilege of honoring notable figures such as President John F. Kennedy, President Charles de Gaulle of France, General William C. Westmoreland, and Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor.

Beyond its important work to protect U.S. interests and dignitaries in Europe, this talented and dedicated MP company spent many long hours practicing the drill team manual, including perfecting the ``click-tap- click'' of the ``Deuce Nine.'' In addition, the unit was assigned three 105mm Howitzers which formed their salute battery, and successfully fired 742 rounds without a misfire.

Across the nation and the world, U.S. military police provide an important duty to protect and serve not only our nation but also their colleagues. The tireless and selfless dedication of the 529th Military Police Company Honor Guard and all military policy companies must not be overlooked.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing all the members of the 529th Military Police Company Honor Guard our sincerest thanks and appreciation for their valiant service.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 429 I had to step out of the chamber and missed the opportunity to vote on this amendment.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment that expresses the sense of Congress that States and local education agencies should maintain the rights and responsibilities of determining curricula and assessments for their students. Local control is the foundation of American education, providing the diversity of thought and practices that has propelled our education system forward.

As many parents and teachers will tell you, the people closest to the child

are the ones best suited to deliver the highest quality education. No Washington bureaucrat, through top-down mandates or regulations, should determine what is best for each of our Nation's more than 100,000 schools and their nearly 50 million students.

Unfortunately, in recent years the Federal Government has vastly expanded its influence over local education decisions. Through efforts to push Common Core State Standards, the Department of Education has incentivized and pressured States into adopting common national standards and assessments favored by the Department.

Although initially billed as a simple framework, these standards and assessments will ultimately influence the curricula and instructional materials that are used in classrooms across the Nation. As Federal bureaucrats attach more strings to what the schools are able to do, they lessen the ability of parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members to determine the most appropriate ways to help students learn.

In addition to producing bad practices, this increased Federal influence over our classrooms threatens to run afoul of numerous Federal laws. The General Education Policy Act, the Department of Education Organization Act, and No Child Left Behind all include statutory language prohibiting the direction, control, and supervision of curricula and instructional materials by the Federal Government.

Every school is different; every classroom is different; every student is unique; and the quicker we recognize and understand this dynamic, the more able we will be to help our children succeed. Maintaining the right of States and local school boards to set curricula allows for competitive excellence and innovation in our education system. Respecting the historic role of local communities while adhering to high standards will produce the superior outcomes that we all desire.

It is imperative that we give States and local agencies the right to reclaim their education decisionmaking authority. When included in the underlying legislation, this amendment will help roll back the Department's role in Common Core by clearly reaffirming that teachers, parents, and local school districts should maintain the authority to determine what their children are taught.

I thank Chairman Kline for his efforts and for including another way to address Common Core in the underlying bill. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and support H.R. 5.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 354 I was not present due to a flight cancellation and subsequent late arrival.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 355 I was not present due to a flight cancellation and subsequent late arrival.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 356 I was not present due to a flight cancellation and subsequent late arrival.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

The Missouri and Mississippi River basins have faced major challenges over the past few years due to both extreme flooding and droughts. This devastation, combined with the sluggish economy and our aging inland waterways infrastructure, means that now more than ever we must be focused and responsible with taxpayer-funded river projects.

My amendment would prohibit funding for the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study, also known as MRAPS. This $25 million earmarked study comes on the heels of a comprehensive $35 million, 17-year study that showed that the current authorized purposes are important and should be maintained.

This Congress and this administration need to focus on protecting human life and property by maintaining the safety and soundness of our levees. We also must support the important commercial advantages provided to us for our inland waterway system.

The Missouri River moves goods to the market and is an important tool in both domestic and international trade. That's why American Waterways Operators, the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River, the Missouri Farm Bureau, and the Missouri Corn Growers Group support this amendment.

This study puts in jeopardy not only the lower Missouri River but also the flow of the Mississippi River, which could create devastating consequences for navigation and transportation, resulting in barriers for waterway operators, agriculture, and every product that depends on the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers to get it to market.

The current authorized uses of the Missouri River provide necessary recourses and translate into continued economic stability not only for Missourians, but also for many Americans living throughout the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins. This study is duplicative and wasteful of taxpayers' dollars. On this exact issue we've already spent 17 years and $35 million on hundreds of public meetings and expensive litigation.

I offered identical language during our first debate on the fiscal year 2011 continuing resolution. That amendment passed by a vote of 245-176. In the fiscal year debates of 2012 and 2013, the exact amendment respectively passed by voice vote and by a vote of 242-168, and was later signed into law by President Obama. I appreciate my colleagues who offered their support and hope to have their support again.

Madam Chair, there's no doubt in my mind that water resources receive too little funding. It is time for the Federal Government to refocus and reprioritize to create safer, more efficient infrastructure for our inland waterways and stop spending hard-earned taxpayer dollars unnecessarily.

I ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the dais.

Madam Chair, from extreme flooding to extreme drought, the United States has been hit very hard over the past few years. The families who live and work along the Missouri River have endured great hardship.

Though it's one of our Nation's greatest resources, the Missouri River would produce extreme, erosive regular flooding and be mostly unfit for navigation if not for aggressive, long-term management by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Congress first authorized the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project (BSNP) in 1912 with the intention of mitigating flood risk and maintaining a navigable channel from Sioux City, Iowa, to the mouth of the river in St. Louis. Though the BSNP's construction was completed in the 1980s, the Corps' ability to make adjustments as needed remains crucial to this day.

President Obama, in his fiscal year budget of 2014, requested $72 million for the Missouri River Recovery Program, which would primarily go towards the funding of environmental restoration studies and projects. This funding dwarfs the insufficient $8.4 million that was requested for the entire operations and maintenance of the aforementioned BSNP. It is preposterous to think that environmental projects are more important than the protection of human life.

I do not take for granted the importance of river ecosystems. I grew up near the Missouri River, as did many of my constituents. Yet we have reached a point in our Nation where we value the welfare of fish and birds more than the welfare of our fellow human beings. Our priorities are backwards, Madam Chair.

My amendment will eliminate the Missouri River Ecosystem Recovery Program, MRERP, a study that has become little more than a tool by some for the promotion of returning the river to its most natural state with little regard for flood control, navigation, trade, power generation, or the people who depend on the Missouri River for their livelihoods.

The end of the study will in no way jeopardize the Corps' ability to meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. MRERP is one of no fewer than 70 environmental and ecological studies focused on the Missouri River. The people who have had to foot the bill for these studies--many of which take years to complete and are ultimately inconclusive--are the very people who have lost their farms, their businesses, and their homes.

Our vote today will also show our constituents that this Congress is aware of the gross disparity between the funding for environmental efforts and the funding for the protection of our citizens. During the debate on fiscal year 2012 and 2013 appropriations, the House passed this exact language, which was ultimately signed into law by President Obama. It is supported by the American Waterways Operators, the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River, the Missouri Farm Bureau, and the Missouri Corn Growers Association.

It is time for Congress to take a serious look at water development funding priorities, and it is time to send a message to the Federal entities that manage our waterways. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and to support our Nation's river communities and encourage more balance in Federal funding for water infrastructure and management.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's widespread collection and use of data.

At this time, Washington is flooded with scandals over mass surveillance and political targeting. Over the past

few months, Americans have seen and continue to see the potential for personal information to be misused and compromised by the government.

Now another government agency that has touted itself as being transparent is spending millions of dollars to collect and store information on potentially millions of U.S. citizens.

Even more troubling is that in today's hearing, the Acting Deputy Director of the CFPB couldn't even give a broad estimate of the number of Americans having their data monitored.

Americans have a right to know that their government has gone too far. It is time for the CFPB and the administration to answer questions from Congress, allow for greater transparency, and safeguard the privacy and constitutional rights of American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a truly great man, a great baseball player, and a decorated veteran, Stan the Man Musial.

Growing up a Cardinals fan, I recall watching Stan Musial from the stands of Sportsman's Park as a boy as well as sneaking my transistor radio into my bedroom late at night so I could listen to Cardinals games and my mom and dad wouldn't know I was up late.

In 1938, Musial was signed by the Cardinals as a free agent at the age of 20. He led the Cardinals to a World Series victory the following season. In May of 1944, during the midst of World War II, Musial put down his bat to serve his country for 2 years in the Navy--a service for which he would later receive the Navy Memorial's Lone Sailor Award.

After serving his country, Musial went on to play for 20 more seasons as a Cardinal. After his 22 seasons, Musial was ranked number one in singles, doubles, and triples among records with a single team--all records he still holds to this day. He was selected to a record 24 All- Star games and was named the National League's Most Valuable Player three times, winning three World Series championships with the Cardinals. One of Musial's most famous feats was hitting five home runs in 1 day during a double header. Musial was a first-ballot inductee to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. But not only was Musial a great Cardinal, the greatest to ever play the game in St. Louis, he was also a great philanthropist, an integral and valuable member of the St. Louis community. And for this humanitarian commitment and his athletic achievements, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May of 2011 by President Obama.

Though he passed away in January of 2013, Musial is remembered dearly in the hearts and minds of not only Cardinals fans, but also in the entire baseball community.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise in support of naming the I-70 bridge after Stan the Man and in honor of all of our veterans. I urge Members of this House to stand with me in unwavering support of the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.