Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 6098) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve the financial assistance provided to State, local, and tribal governments for information sharing activities, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill just considered.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act for 2009. This bill provides vital funding for our national security needs by including regular appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also provides continuing funding for the regular operations of other areas of the Federal Government to prevent any interruption in vital services for our citizens.

As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I am proud that this bill keeps our commitments to our troops and their families, those who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas around the world and those who have served our Nation honorably in this war or previous times of strife.

H.R. 2638 provides $487.7 billion for our military needs. It addresses equipment shortfalls for our troops, improves training, and ensures that our military men and women, and their families, receive first class medical care. The bill increases military pay by 3.9 percent, rejects the President's attempts to increase TRICARE fees, and continues our commitment to the well-being of our soldiers. It provides critical support to the people who support our troops, making $2.8 billion available for family advocacy, education, and daycare. It improves barracks and military hospitals with a $734 million increase over the President's request, ensuring our soldiers have quality facilities when they serve our Nation.

Like the House-passed Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, H.R. 6599, this bill makes veterans a top priority. It includes a total of $47.6 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 10 percent over last year's appropriation. $41 billion supports the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans Medical Services, which expects to serve more than 5.8 million patients next year. To improve access to care for our veterans, particularly in rural areas without a VHA facility, the bill provides $200 million for fee-based providers where VHA services are not available. This bill also helps our soldiers returning today from Iraq and Afghanistan, increasing funding for traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder treatment, as well as supporting prosthetics and new prosthetic technology.

As the Representative of Fort Bragg, one of the largest United States Army bases in the country, I am pleased that this bill addresses the needs of our military installations. H.R. 2638 includes $25 billion for military construction. With a commitment of $8.8 billion, this bill addresses the costs of implementing the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), which is bringing unprecedented growth to Fort Bragg.

As a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I am pleased that this bill makes investments in our security needs while cutting funding for low priority and poorly managed programs. It also demands long-needed oversight for contracting and procurement to ensure taxpayer funds are well spent. Homeland security begins with hometown security, and this bill provides $4.2 billion, nearly twice the funding requested by the President, for first responders who provide the first line of defense against disaster, whether natural or man-made. It provides funding for a record number of border patrol agents and other Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, enhancing our ability to enforce our laws and keep our borders secure. The bill pays for 4,361 new CBP personnel and 1,400 more detention beds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and adds $1 billion for ICE's enforcement efforts and $775 million for border security fencing and technology. Overall it includes nearly $40 billion in funding to keep Americans secure and ensure that our Nation is prepared for every emergency.

H.R. 2638 provides additional money for Community Development Block Grants, Social Services Block Grants, and disaster relief to address the emerging needs of communities responding to recent natural disasters. It also provides an additional $2.5 billion over last year for Pell Grants to prevent cuts that were facing college students in the middle of the year.

This is not a perfect bill, and compromises needed to be made in order to ensure our Nation's vital priorities can be addressed. I am disappointed that H.R. 2638 does not include any restrictions on offshore drilling, ending 25 years of Congressional protection for our beaches and shorelines, and allowing oil rigs to be built just three miles from our coast. I am disappointed that this bill does not include a balanced energy strategy, like that in the House-passed H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, to give states control over their coastlines and target drilling and exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) beyond 50 miles of our coastlines. I am disappointed that this bill does not significantly address our desperate need for school construction and modernization, as our schools are bursting at the seams and our economy could use the new jobs it would create. I am disappointed that in this time of financial crisis, this bill does not address state shortfalls for Medicaid and other pressing needs. I look forward to working to address these shortfalls when the 111th Congress takes up appropriations for the rest of FY2009 in the new year.

I support H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act for 2009, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1343, Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008. This bill fulfills America's promise to its citizens by protecting access to high quality health care.

Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008 will continue Congress's commitment to our Nation's 1,200 community health centers that provide high quality, affordable primary health care to more the 18 million Americans in over 7,000 communities nationwide. Numerous studies have shown that health centers are particularly effective because they remove barriers to care and deliver services in a manner adapted to the patients of individual communities. Health centers improve outcomes and mitigate health disparities, resulting in better health care for their patients and savings for the health care system. In fact, there is evidence that people who get most of their primary care from a health center have 41 percent lower overall health care costs than others, saving Federal taxpayers $10 to $17 billion in 2007 alone. The Community Health Centers program has been consistently rated as one of the most effective programs in the Department of Health and Human Services by the Office of Management and Budget.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1343 will ensure that the millions of Americans who rely on health care centers continue to have access to high quality and affordable health servIces.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 1343.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2816) to provide for the appointment of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2816.

This measure seeks to change how the Chief Human Capital Officer is appointed by the Department of Homeland Security. It will bring DHS in line with other Federal agencies who are able to choose whether they have a Chief Human Capital Officer that is a career employee or a political appointee. Granting this authority now is important to transition to the next administration.

The Chief Human Capital Officer serves as the Department's lead executive for all matters relating to workforce management. Among the responsibilities of the Chief Human Capital Officer are strategic planning, training and development, recruitment, compensation, benefits, and employee relations.

The task of serving as the CHCO at DHS is particularly challenging when you consider that since DHS' inception, it has faced a series of personnel challenges, including; merging 22 separate agencies into one cabinet-level agency with a combined workforce of over 200,000 people; promoting integration among employees and an appreciation of their role within DHS; and confronting ongoing recruitment and retention challenges.

Low employee morale has been a chronic issue for DHS since it was established in 2003. In fact, in both its 2004 and 2006 workforce surveys, the Office of Personnel Management found that DHS' employee morale ranked among the lowest of any cabinet-level department.

In the 2006 OPM survey, the Department was rated ``dead last'' in job satisfaction among its peers and received very low marks on leadership and management capabilities.

Just last year, the Department's own internal Employee Survey revealed that poor morale remained a major problem. Workers cited pay, performance, and promotion practices as some of the sources of their discontent.

Moreover, documented incidents reveal that the management within some of the most prominent DHS components do not value diversity in their operations. This, too, contributes to low morale. These results are clearly unacceptable in our government. The next CHCO has to make it ``job-one'' to tackle the underlying causes of the discontent.

With the change in administration, the next CHCO has an enormous opportunity to turn things around. The Department must properly address employee dissatisfaction by focusing and implementing career development for its employees. DHS should also ensure that its employees receive proper training and adequate resources necessary to get their jobs done.

DHS must recruit the best and the brightest because we're asking them to do one of the most important jobs in the Federal Government, protect this country. These efforts can only be achieved through an effective Chief Human Capital Officer. Unfortunately, over the past 5\1/2\ years, six people have held this office at DHS. That is a tremendous turnover. Stable leadership will help DHS address the magnitude and multitude of its workforce management challenges. This legislation will help provide that stable leadership.

I stand in support of this legislation, and urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, DHS has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to managing its workforce, as we know in the committee. This bill gives the Secretary the authority to put someone into the position that has a career and workforce development in the Federal Government. This is an important step.

I urge passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1429) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the employees of the Department of Homeland Security, their partners at all levels of government, and the millions of emergency response providers and law enforcement agents nationwide should be commended for their dedicated service on the Nation's front lines in the war against acts of terrorism.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1429 was introduced by Congresswoman Clarke of New York to recognize September as National Preparedness Month.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Nation observed the somber anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and we watched Hurricane Gustav and Ike batter the gulf coast. Therefore, September is an appropriate month to commend the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security and the State and local first responders who form the first line of defense against these and other threats. I have always said that you can't have homeland security unless you are prepared to have hometown security, and that preparedness starts a community at a time.

This month is a good opportunity for every American to learn about how they can prepare for all types of emergencies, whether it be a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. We can start by taking four little steps: Get an emergency kit; two, develop and communicate with your family a plan for evacuation and shelter; three, be informed about the types of emergencies that you are likely to face; and four; get yourself and your community involved to be better prepared. Better knowledge is power. We must all do our part to ensure that we learn what to do before an emergency occurs.

So, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this House Resolution because I know firsthand that it is best to be prepared, and not scared.

Let us be clear that the dedicated employees of the Department of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies, together with State and local officials and first responders, will do all they can to prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism, natural disaster, and other emergencies. But the American people can play a significant role by understanding the simple steps they can take to provide for themselves and their family.

Together, a prepared public and a resourceful and dedicated Department of Homeland Security can truly anticipate how to respond to different types of emergencies. In doing so, we will become a more resilient Nation.

Before I close my remarks, though, I would like to thank Congresswoman Clarke for introducing the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I would like to yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady who is a sponsor of this resolution, Ms. Clarke from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, H.R. 1429 encourages citizens to prepare themselves and their families on how to respond to emergencies, whether it be an act of terror, a natural disaster or other crisis. This is the fifth year the Department of Homeland Security has partnered with over 1,700 organizations, including the American Red Cross, to promote September as National Preparedness Month. With continuing threats of terrorism and increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, Americans should prepare themselves, their families and their communities.

Everyone should do the four things we talked about. Get an emergency kit. Prepare and communicate to family and friends their evacuation and shelter plans. Be informed about the type of emergencies, and get the family and community involved.

Constituents should be encouraged to visit the following website. You have heard it twice already, www.ready.gov or www.redcross.org. In closing, H.R. 1429 enjoys broad bipartisan support. I encourage the adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7110, the Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008. This bill will give economic support to Main Streets across the Nation, providing $60.8 billion to help families who are struggling and creating jobs that can put our economy back on track.

H.R. 7110 makes strategic investments to repair our Nation's aging infrastructure, improving our communities while also creating jobs and stimulating local economies. This bill provides $12.8 billion for bridge and highway improvements that will address longstanding needs, improving safety and reducing traffic congestion. H.R. 7110 includes a $5 billion investment in the Nation's water resource infrastructure to improve flood protection and hydropower capability. In addition, this stimulus package provides $3.6 billion to expand public transportation and meet growing demand as Americans face rising fuel costs. H.R. 7110 also includes $1 billion for repair and construction of public housing projects. This kind of funding produces $2.12 in economic return for every dollar invested.

I am particularly pleased that this bill includes $3 billion for school construction and modernization funding to repair aging and unsafe schools, provide students with better technology in the classrooms, and improve energy efficiency. As the only former school superintendent serving in Congress, I am very concerned about the dire need for school infrastructure improvements, as quality education cannot take place in crumbling schools. Nearly every school district in this country has a list of repair projects that need funding, so investments in school construction and renovation can quickly make their way to the local economy, providing jobs and stimulating economic activity. Given the desperate need for school modernization and construction across the Nation, I am disappointed that H.R. 7110 does not leverage this funding through tax credits to support more activity, as in the bill that I have introduced with my friend Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel. I am hopeful that the House of Representatives will consider H.R. 2470, the America's Better Classrooms Act, at some future date. However, I am pleased that H.R. 7110 provides a starting point with this $3 billion investment.

As our Nation faces a struggling economy and we face the highest rate of unemployment since 1992, this bill will provide relief to struggling families across our country. This bill provides an additional 7 weeks of extended benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation, and an additional 13 weeks for workers in certain high-unemployment states. These are benefits that are directed to the folks who need them the most, and this funding will boost the overall economy because the dollars awarded will be spent quickly. H.R. 7110 also provides Medicaid increases that will prevent cuts to health insurance and health care services for low-income children and families; $2.6 billion to address rising food costs for seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families; and $500 million for job training programs that will help Americans find and prepare for good jobs.

I support H.R. 7110, Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7060, Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act. This legislation provides tax relief for millions of Americans while spurring business investment and innovation in renewable energy.

H.R. 7060 will benefit the families of millions of children by expanding the child tax credit to those earning $8,500 a year in 2009. This bill also helps families by extending the state and local sales tax deduction, and will help over 4 million families better afford college by providing a tuition deduction. As a former superintendent of schools, I am pleased that this legislation includes a tax deduction that will save money for more than 3 million teachers when they pay for classroom supplies and expenses. The bill also includes an additional $400 million for Quality Zone Academy Bonds to help states and localities address school construction and renovation needs. While I am a supporter of funding for local counties and municipalities, and I am disappointed that this bill does not include the four-year county payments extension for secure rural schools, I believe this bill contributes significantly to the needs of our families.

This bill provides critical support in the form tax breaks and incentives to the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy. This bill extends the Research and Development Tax Credit for two years to spur American innovation and business investment as well as a two year extension of the 15-year straight-line cost recovery for leasehold improvements and qualified restaurant improvements.

Developing alternative energy sources and reducing our dependence on foreign oil is one the most critical challenges facing our country. H.R. 7060 will increase the production of renewable fuels and renewable electricity, and encourage greater energy efficiency. This bill features an eight-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar energy and a multi-year extension of the production tax credit for other sources of alternative energy like biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and solid waste. With millions of Americans struggling to afford rising gas prices, H.R. 7060 includes tax incentives for the installation of E-85 pumps for flex-fuel vehicles, and a $3,000 tax credit toward the purchase of fuel-efficient, plug-in hybrid vehicles. There are also incentives for incorporating energy conservation in commercial buildings and residential structures. The energy provisions in H.R. 7060 will help create and preserve more than 500,000 good- paying green collar jobs at a time when our economy is struggling and unemployment is at a five-year high.

Finally, as a member of the House Budget Committee, I am pleased that this bill includes offsets that minimize its impact on the federal budget. H.R. 7060 is paid for by including provisions that close offshore tax loopholes and tighten taxes deductions for oil and gas companies. This attention to fiscal responsibility is even more important today as we face an uncertain economy and a growing deficit.

The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act is a crucial step towards getting our economy back on track and making our nation energy independent. I support H.R. 7060 and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6983, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. I applaud your leadership in bringing this bill to the floor and addressing the issue of mental health parity. We must expand access to mental health to ensure a strong and productive America that provides for its most vulnerable citizens. This bill will do just that, without creating an undue hardship on employers or insurers.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires those insurers or group health plans who do choose to cover mental health to do so on an equal basis with other covered health needs. This will ensure that those in need can get the treatment that is medically necessary.

My home State of North Carolina was one of the first States to adopt a mental health parity law back in 1991, and last year the State legislature expanded and strengthened its mental health parity provisions. I support the efforts of North Carolina's mental health professionals in bringing this issue to the forefront of our State's agenda, and I am pleased that we are following suit today in passing this bill.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 6983.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5244, Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008.

With wages stagnating and turmoil afflicting our entire financial industry, this bill will help the many Americans who are falling deeper into debt. Over the last several years the average American household's credit card debt has risen dramatically, from $2,966 in 1990 to

$9,840 in 2007. Americans must focus more on responsible spending and long-term saving, but their efforts are undermined by unfair and predatory practices that seek to exploit families.

H.R. 5244 would give credit card holders the power to combat exploding interest rates, excessive credit card fees, and the changing and misleading agreements from credit-card companies. This bill would require a 30 day notice before rate increases, as well as restrict rate increases on existing balances to the case of late payments in order to protect consumers from arbitrary and unfair rate hikes. The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008 also stops excessive fees by allowing consumers to set their own fixed credit limit, and limit the number of over-the-limit fees companies can charge for the same transaction. H.R. 5244 would end unfair penalties such as ``double cycle billing'', or the charging of interest on debt that consumers have already paid off. Finally, this bill would also define the terms ``fixed rate'' and ``prime rate'' so that they cannot be misrepresented by card issuers, and bars issuing credit cards to vulnerable minors.

The Federal Reserve has recognized these practices as abusive and is issuing new regulations to prohibit them. I am pleased that H.R. 5244 will strengthen the Federal Reserve's regulations, ensure they have legislative standing, and further protect millions of Americans from these practices.

While H.R. 5244 would end these abusive practices, it still allows credit card companies the flexibility to account for the financial risk of their customers by setting initial interest rates and allowing rate increases if cardholders fall more than 30 days behind payment.

Madam Speaker, I regret that yesterday I was unavoidably detained and was unable to cast a vote on a number of rollcall votes.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 6685, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide an annual grant to facilitate an iron working training program for Native Americans. I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 1907, the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Act, to protect the environmental integrity of undeveloped coastal and estuarine areas. I also would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 6853, the Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force Act of 2008, to protect borrowers from unscrupulous actors in the mortgage market.

I ask unanimous consent that my statement be included in the appropriate place in the Congressional Record.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7005, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.

H.R. 7005 is critical to easing the burden on middle-class taxpayers. The Alternative Minimum Tax, AMT, was originally intended to ensure that the Nation's wealthiest taxpayers were not able to avoid paying taxes altogether. However, it was not indexed for inflation, and today millions of middle income Americans who pay their taxes as required would see a huge tax increase because of the AMT. In my district alone, over 30,000 people would be affected by the AMT this year. H.R. 7005 provides 1 year of AMT relief to protect ordinary taxpayers who are threatened by this extra tax by increasing the amount of income exempt from the Alternative Minimum Tax. In addition, this bill would protect individuals who exercised incentive stock options from being required to pay tax on gains that never materialized. This legislation will protect over 25 million middle-class families from paying the AMT.

I would have preferred that this bill was fully paid for. I supported H.R. 6275, the 1-year AMT patch legislation that the House passed in June of this year. This bill was fully offset and did not add to the deficit. Unfortunately, the Administration and Senate Republicans have continued to ignore fiscal responsibility and have threatened to veto any AMT bill that includes offsets. However, H.R. 7005 is a crucial part of providing tax relief to millions of middle-income Americans and strengthening our lagging economy.

I support H.R. 7005, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6849) to amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to permit producers to aggregate base acres and reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments when the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6849.

Let me also thank Chairman Peterson, chairman of the full committee, and Ranking Member Goodlatte for their hard work and effort in making

sure that we got a quick markup on this bill in committee and got it to the floor.

I introduced this legislation with my good friend and colleague, Representative Jerry Moran, to help thousands of American farmers who would have been adversely affected by really the willful misinterpretation in the 2008 farm bill by the Department of Agriculture.

Madam Speaker, the Department has interpreted the language in the 2008 farm bill in a manner that would prevent thousands of small farmers from receiving the program payments they are owed, putting them in jeopardy, in some cases, of financial hardship and some might even have to go out of business.

This is based on its misinterpretation of a provision in title I of the farm bill that was meant to prevent payments to those farms that are 10 acres or less. Despite clear report language outlining how USDA is to implement this provision, the Secretary has chosen not to read it as written.

I personally, along with a number of my colleagues, opposed the 10- acre provision in the farm bill when it was debated in the committee and again during conference, because we should not punish small farmers in America. But I understand the provision's intent: to prevent people who are not active farmers from gaming the system and getting government payments on land they didn't actively farm. I think that's appropriate.

However, I cannot abide by the interpretation that puts thousands of farmers who rent or lease small tracts of land for their farming operations and place them at risk of not receiving payments and could, in some cases, put them in jeopardy of being out of business, an interpretation that puts existing contracts between landowners and farmers at risk of being voided.

Let me just share with you what this means. In the State of Iowa, roughly 12,000 farms are affected; in Illinois, approximately 16,000 farms would be affected; in Ohio, 16,000 farms; in Kentucky, 20,000 farms; and in my home State of North Carolina, almost 16,000 farms would be adversely impacted if Congress let's the department rule stand. Nationwide, this number could be as high as 460,000 farms.

H.R. 6849 fixes this problem. It suspends the provisions in title I for the 2008-2009 crop years that would have required producers to have a minimum of a 10-acre base to receive program benefits. This provision provides time to consider a more permanent fix in the future.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell) who has worked hard on this and this has a significant impact on his State.

(Mr. BOSWELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden) who has also been instrumental in this piece of legislation and works hard on the Ag Committee.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers.

Let me thank the gentleman from Virginia for his help, Ranking Member Goodlatte, Chairman Peterson, and all the members of the committee, and also my good friend, Congressman Moran from Kansas, who really was instrumental in working on this piece of legislation.

Let me just say to my colleagues, every State in America is affected by this piece of legislation from an agricultural standpoint. With that, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6406, Mr. Larson's bill to make the Inspector General at the CFTC a Presidential appointment, and hence more of an independent office within the Commission.

Madam Speaker, as you know, the provisions of H.R. 6406 were originally part of the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act introduced by the Ag chairman, Chairman Peterson, and myself after Representative Larson had brought it to us. The House has already supported those provisions with 276 votes when the CMTA was first considered on July 30 of this year. Unfortunately, because of jurisdictional issues, the provisions were not a part of the version of the CMTA Act that passed the House last week. I am pleased that we are able to take this vote today to promote an independent Inspector General for the CFTC as originally intended.

We passed the CMTA to bring some more sunshine to the commodities market and over-the-counter trading of energy and agricultural commodities. This greater transparency will help establish greater confidence in the markets. An independent Inspector General will contribute further to that goal.

I applaud the gentleman from Connecticut for his perseverance in moving the bill forward. The points he has raised regarding the need for this bill have merit. Currently, the Department of the Treasury is the only financial regulator with a Presidentially-appointed Inspector General. This bill will make the CFTC the second financial regulator with this kind of independent oversight.

Given the financial turmoil that we have seen in other financial markets, the arguments for a more independent Inspector General for the CFTC also apply to other financial regulators, like the Federal Reserve Board and the SEC. Congress may want to consider requiring similar provisions for other financial regulators.

This bill is a step in the right direction to bring confidence to financial markets. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I thank the chairman.

I am pleased today to join Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte in bringing this legislation, the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008, to the floor for consideration by the House.

Mr. Speaker, since our bill was considered by the full House this past July, much has happened. For one thing, oil prices have dropped, and they have dropped considerably. They have gone up in the last day or so. Additionally, the CFTC has released a report providing the most detailed and accurate look at data on index trading and swap dealers participating in the over-the-counter market.

While all of us are glad to see the prices of oil decline and other commodities in recent months, it does not relieve the Commission or this Congress of our responsibility to make sure that commodity markets are operating effectively, efficiently and fairly. And

while the CFTC report indicates that index funds and swap dealers have less influence on our markets than had otherwise been reported, the report does not tell us the whole story or provide us with all the answers to our questions regarding these markets.

The CFTC report fails to include the time period of this July and August and recent weeks when oil prices fell fairly rapidly. Do we have a clear understanding of why prices fell? No. Passing H.R. 6604 will provide the CFTC with the authority and the tools to examine the entire marketplace to ensure no individual group or groups of market participants is having an undue influence on the market.

Months ago, the CFTC was telling Congress that it needed no additional changes to the Commodity Exchange Act and that markets were functioning properly. Now the CFTC's report contains a host of proposals very similar to the provisions in the Commodities Market Transparency and Accountability Act.

The report recommends measures designed to enhance transparency and data accuracy for commodity markets. Our bill provides the commission with the tools to make that happen.

The report suggests revising the hedge exemption rules that allow traders to exceed speculation position limits. Our bill accomplishes that too.

The report highlights the desperate need for additional staff and resources at the CFTC, not only to accomplish its current mission, but also to implement its recommendations to bring greater transparency and accountability to the commodity markets. We happen to agree.

Since 2000, volume on the commodity markets has increased sixfold, but currently staffing levels at the CFTC have fallen to their lowest level in the 33-year history of the Commodities Exchange. Through this legislation, we acknowledge the need for 100 additional full-time positions at CFTC that they need to effectively regulate the futures industry, including our energy markets. But we should not kid ourselves. The CFTC needs far more resources to do the job that we expect them to do.

Earlier this year the chairman of the CFTC testified at a hearing that the agency needed 100 additional staff right now just to meet the growing surveillance needs.

In testimony presented to the House Agriculture Committee a week ago today, the chairman of the commission testified the CFTC would need still another 138 full-time staff and $38 million just in 2009 to implement the provisions of H.R. 6604. Given the light of what is happening in the markets, I think we understand why the need is there.

I have said this before, but it bears repeating, if Congress places additional responsibility upon the Commission, without providing the resources necessary to meet those responsibilities, then what we pass here today is simply a farce. Through its report, CFTC views on effective oversight of commodity markets have changed dramatically from where the commission was previously.

I know some of my colleagues will say let's wait and give the commission time to implement these recommendations administratively. I say why wait for the commission to implement changes that we as a Congress can do right now with H.R. 6604.

We can all agree that no one factor is responsible for the movement we have seen in agriculture and energy prices, but this legislation is an important measure to provide the CFTC with additional tools and authority to keep our markets free of manipulation and excess speculation and help restore confidence to these markets. We cannot allow excess speculation by Wall Street to cause folks on Main Street to suffer.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

We have just a couple more speakers we are waiting on, but in the meantime I would take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to just share with my colleagues that this bill has substantial support from the Air Transportation Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, Tyson Foods, Sierra Club, Environmental America, League of Conservation Voters, the Wilderness Society, National Chicken Council, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Farmer Unions, National Grains, National Milk Producers Federation, National Sorghum Producers, Southern Cotton Shippers Association, Southern Peanut Farmers Association, Southwest Council of Agriculture, Texas Cotton Association, United Egg Producers, United States Cattlemen Association, U.S. Rice Producers Association, U.S. Rice Federation, Western Cotton Shippers, Western Peanut Growers Association, Women Involved in Farm Economics, the American Agriculture Movement, American Association of Crop Insurance, American Corn Growers, American Cotton Shippers, the Atlantic Cotton Association, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and I think at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, the American people.

The American people only ask of us in this body to do what's right and be fair. I think they want markets to work. They want them to work fairly because they don't want them working against us. Today we have an opportunity to make these markets, once again, work for the American people.

We heard testimony in our committee of grain elevators who were caught in the wedge. When the prices ran so high, they were unable to get financing to be able to assist farmers. When you're looking at finding a real price through the futures, that's what they're supposed to do. But you can't do it when the markets aren't working the way they should work.

Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Virginia has any other speakers, I would be willing for him to call his speakers while I wait for a couple of folks here.

I would be happy to yield.

I am prepared to close, unless we get one more speaker. If you will go ahead and proceed, and then as soon as our speaker comes, I will let them do it and I'll close.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for a time check.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlelady from Connecticut, someone who has worked hard in this area, Representative DeLauro.