Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce today the Family and Medical Leave Restoration Act. Since its enactment in 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has helped workers and family members to balance the responsibilities of the workplace with their or their family's medical needs. This job protected leave provides workers with the comfort of knowing that their job will be safe while they tend to their health needs, or the health needs of a loved one.

FMLA leave is unpaid leave, but it provides the worker with the basic assurance that their job will be protected while taking the family or medical leave that they need. Unfortunately, the previous Administration issued new rules regarding the use of FMLA leave that place additional burdens on workers. Workers who find themselves in a position that requires FMLA leave should not have to worry about meeting additional requirements for accessing their FMLA leave.

The Family and Medical Leave Restoration Act will repeal the most restrictive of the new regulations, restoring the common sense--and fair--regulations that were previously in place. It also directs the new Secretary of Labor to revisit and revise other FMLA regulations that were promulgated under her predecessor.

I look forward to working with Secretary Solis--a proven champion for workers' rights--on this issue, and on behalf of the workers of New Hampshire and the nation.

I come from the middle class. I was a military spouse, and my husband is now a veteran; my children and my husband all have a chronic disease, asthma; my mother is elderly; and, I pay college tuition for kids.

I looked at this budget from this prism: Does it help the middle class, the military and military families and vets, and those families with medical problems, the elderly, and families with kids in school? The answer is a resounding ``yes.'' And that is why I support this budget that supports the middle class.

Ninety-five percent of Americans will get a tax cut. This budget helps our military become better prepared and it supports military families. It increases VA funding by more that 11 percent in 2010. It will help reduce health care costs and help Americans get insurance coverage.

Budgets are moral documents stating our Nation's priorities. We are finally investing in America and in our middle class, and I am delighted to support this budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Federal Retirement Reform Act which contains a much-needed provision to increase the special survivor indemnity allowance for widows or widowers of deceased servicemembers.

When our servicemembers purchase a survivor benefit plan to protect their families, they expect their families to receive the full annuity they paid for. Unfortunately, if the surviving spouse is eligible for VA dependency and indemnity compensation because of a spouse's service- related death, the survivor benefit annuity is reduced dollar for dollar. This is not fair.

The DIC is meant to compensate survivors for the servicemember's death in service. Why would we penalize those servicemembers who have the foresight to purchase insurance for their families?

Our military, and their families, make many sacrifices to serve and protect our Nation. We owe them the benefits they earned for their service, and we most certainly owe them the insurance they purchased. They should not have to worry about their families if they die. This is no way to treat those who are willing to put their lives on the line for us, and this is no way to treat their families.

This bill takes another step toward eliminating this unfair widow's tax that in effect punishes the families of those who sacrificed their lives for this country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor U.S. Marine Corporal Mike Ouellette of Manchester, New Hampshire. Corporal Ouellette was tragically killed in action on Sunday, March 22, during a foot patrol in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan. He was 28 years old.

Corporal Ouellette leaves behind his parents, Donna Ouellette and Leonard Ouellette, a brother Alan, and a sister Stephanie. I extend my deepest sympathies to Corporal Ouellette's family, who are in my thoughts and prayers.

We also honor the courage and the sacrifice of Corporal Anthony Williams, 21, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, who was killed alongside Corporal Ouellette.

Corporal Ouellette was a patriot who was twice deployed to Iraq and was serving his third tour of duty with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.

Corporal Ouellette graduated from Memorial High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1999 and studied at the Manchester School of Technology before he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on June 15, 2005. I spoke with his father last night, who said his son just wanted to help people. Corporal Ouellette was best known for his friendly and outgoing nature and will be missed by many. He was a blessing to his community. He dedicated his life to the service of his family, his friends, and his country.

Our country owes Corporal Ouellette and his family a debt we cannot repay.

We salute Corporal Ouellette's selfless sacrifice, service and bravery. America was honored to call him our son.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on behalf of House Resolution 240, which honors the dedication and compassion of professional social workers. Our highest calling is to provide service to others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

In the early 20th century, thousands of people lived in despair and poverty, and it was the early progressive moment in which the social work movement was born, providing food, clothing, health care and education to the less fortunate.

Social workers had a role in civil rights and in women's freedom. Today, social workers continue this fight to ensure that vulnerable families have the support and the health care that they need.

Social workers are everywhere in our society, caring for all of us. They help people in all stages of life, from children to the elderly, and in all situations, from adoption to hospice care. You can find social workers in hospitals, police departments, mental health clinics, military facilities and corporations.

Professional social workers are the Nation's largest providers of mental health care services. They provide more mental health services than psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses combined.

The Veterans Administration employs more than 4,400 social workers to assist veterans and their families with individual and family counseling, client education, end-of-life planning, substance abuse treatment, crisis intervention and other services.

Today we thank all those who have toiled in the fields of our community, including my grandmother, who left the comfort of her home each day at the turn of the century and went to the Lower East Side to help immigrants. And we praise all of those who reach out to others every day in their community.

Social workers' service makes our communities stronger. March is National Professional Work Month, and Tuesday, March 17 is World Social Work Day. I honor their service and thank them for caring for all of us each day.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of International Women's Day. Globally, women have made great advances in recent years. Currently, there is the largest number of women serving in Congress in the history of the United States, including 9 new female members of the House of Representatives and 3 new female Senators. Between 1945 and 1995, the number of woman parliamentarians internationally quadrupled. Women like Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country, are demonstrative of the truly universal role women are playing in leadership and the progress we have made.

While these numbers are encouraging, there is still a long journey to true global equality for women. Seventy percent of the 1.2 billion individuals living in poverty are women. Similarly, eighty percent of world's refugees are women. While women control $14 trillion in assets, they only own 1 percent of the world's land. Women are responsible for two-thirds of the world's work, but are paid only 10 percent of the world's income. In third-world countries, women continue to be oppressed, mutilated, and trafficked and they do not have the representation to stand up to these injustices.

As a woman, I wanted to take the opportunity to speak to the progress we have made and the progress we have yet to achieve. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure the continued progress for women internationally and at home.

Mr. Speaker, it's very interesting to me to watch people stand there and start talking about the spending of the Federal Government over the past few months because the party that was in charge for the previous decade--even longer--in Congress and in the White House ran up record deficits while the American middle class income stayed flat. And yet, I didn't hear them on the floor worried about the middle class until just very recently.

I'm not really sure what they're upset about, except I think they're upset that we have decided to invest in ourselves and our country. We're going to invest in jobs; we're going to invest in the middle class; we're going to invest in infrastructure; we're going to invest in education. President Obama said, ``Those who out-teach us will out- compete us.'' So we're investing in this country. We're investing in health care for the children, and investing for the elderly as well.

We cut taxes for the middle class. Yes, times are very difficult, and unfortunately, we are going to have to spend to stimulate, and spend to support our people and support our country. But where were they for the past decade?

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This legislation is necessary to rebuild our economy. Like other States, my State of New Hampshire has been hit hard by the Nation's economic crisis. Our unemployment rate has risen, foreclosures have increased, and the State is facing a very serious budget shortfall.

Over the past few weeks, I have traveled throughout my district talking to local officials, business owners, and other constituents. In each meeting I have attended, the main theme is the same: infrastructure and jobs, infrastructure and jobs.

In Dover, we talked about the need to replace some of the water and sewer piping of a system that has been in existence since the late 19th century.

In Portsmouth, we discovered the need to invest in the water treatment plant to guarantee safe drinking water into the future.

In Manchester, the largest city in New Hampshire, I heard from the board

of aldermen about the crucial need for transportation funding.

In North Conway, I heard from town officials whose projects were not only necessary for public safety, but were forward-thinking, incorporating green energy technology.

The infrastructure investments in this bill are essential for the current and future health of our economy. We cannot fund every worthy project, but we will create and save jobs in New Hampshire and across the Nation.

I am very hopeful that these funds, like the investment that was made in Dover more than a century ago, will be used to make investments and infrastructure improvements that will leave real, meaningful and lasting results for our communities. After all, we are borrowing money, money that future generations of Americans will have to pay back. I hope that they will be able to see tangible benefits for their money.

So many Americans families are hurting. We must not only acknowledge their pain, we must help them recover. This package will help them recover. This package will help America recover. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, yesterday was an absolutely glorious day. We watched the peaceful transfer of power from one President to the next. Standing there, I had the great honor of looking out at millions of my fellow countrymen and women who came together to stand there beside our great memorials to watch this event.

Everything went so beautifully that I felt that I wanted to thank those who were involved in making the process happen. I would like to thank all of the security that came and the men and women here who work every single day as our guards and our fire department and others who committed themselves to such a day.

So it was a day to celebrate and, certainly, we have turned a page in history. And we are willing and ready to work together to move this Nation forward.

Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009.

We have children in New Hampshire and in America who need us to fight for them. Unemployment is rising. Even working families are losing their health insurance. Providing more money now will give 4 million more children health insurance. This is a moral issue. We are the only nation in the world that does not provide health care to all of its children. This is simply unconscionable.

I am proud to support this legislation to help New Hampshire's children and America's children.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 11, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. I thank Chairman Miller of the Education and Labor Committee for his leadership on this issue.

As a member of the Education and Labor Committee, I had the opportunity to hear firsthand Ms. Ledbetter's story when she testified before the committee in June of 2007. Her experience is, indeed, appalling, but Ms. Ledbetter is not the only victim in this case. The Supreme Court's decision makes it harder for all employees to challenge pay discrimination.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores the integrity of our Nation's pay discrimination protections by clarifying that every discriminatory paycheck represents a new violation of the law, restarting the clock on the statute of limitations. It restores the protections, because prior to the Supreme Court's ruling, the EEOC and most circuit courts understood the law the same way, that each discriminatory paycheck restarted the clock.

The Supreme Court's ruling changed all of this, putting all workers at a disadvantage, threatening the integrity of all pay discrimination protections, not just gender-based pay discrimination. We have an opportunity today to clarify the law, to strengthen our antidiscrimination protections and to move one step closer to ensuring the right of every worker to equal pay for equal work.

I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it as well. I ask them to support it not only for themselves but for those who will come after us. It is critical that we have an understanding, and when the courts face these issues again, it must be very clear what was intended by Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my enthusiastic support for H.R. 12, the Paycheck Fairness Act, and I thank Chairman Miller of the Education and Labor Committee and Congresswoman DeLauro, the sponsor of this legislation, for their tireless work and their leadership on this issue.

To paraphrase James Madison, if men and women were angels, no government would be necessary. In an ideal world, we wouldn't need legislation to reinforce a concept of equal pay for equal work.

But even today in 2009, women make an average of only 78 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts. The importance of the Paycheck Fairness Act is clear. Gender-based wage discrimination has been illegal in this country since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law. Yet, the pay disparity between women and men that still persists today highlights the need to take another look at our wage discrimination laws. This disparity, by the way, is estimated to cost a working woman between $400,000 and $2 million over a lifetime. I am a proud cosponsor and urge ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, today, I introduced The Veterans Health Equity Act of 2009. This legislation requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that every State has a full-service veterans hospital, or access to equivalent care in-state. I have been calling for the VA to provide full-service medical care to New Hampshire's veterans since October of 2007 and introduced identical legislation in the 110th Congress.

New Hampshire has not had a full-service veterans hospital since 2001 and is the only State without a full-service VA hospital or comparable facility. While New Hampshire may be a small State, it has a veteran population over 130,000.

Because we lack a veterans hospital, New Hampshire's veterans are often forced to travel out-of-state for medical care. Veterans traveling from the most Northern parts of the State may have to travel three hours to Manchester and then may be forced to travel up to 2 hours to Boston, if they are referred there for their care.

Unfortunately, this routinely happens--each year, hundreds of patients are referred to the Boston, MA or White River Junction, VT facilities.

It is simply a matter of fairness that our veterans in New Hampshire be afforded the same services as veterans in every other State. Though New Hampshire may be a small State, even smaller States with fewer veterans have full-service care available.

I am a realist, and a fiscal conservative. That is why my legislation does not require the VA to construct a full-service hospital in Manchester if it is not economically feasible. Instead, the Department could work with health care providers in the state to provide care through local hospitals.

The Manchester VA facility has done a great job of reaching out to local partners and getting our vets access to as much local care as possible within their current restrictions. In fact, they have submitted a business plan that would allow them to contract with more local health care providers. I urge the Department to strongly consider this business plan. Its approval would make a big difference in the quality and accessibility of care for New Hampshire's veterans.

If the VA will not consider restoring Manchester to a full-service facility or ensuring that New Hampshire veterans have access to care in New Hampshire, Congress must do so.

Our veterans, regardless of the services they need, deserve the same care their counterparts receive in every other State. It is unconscionable that we deny them this full-service care and instead offer them ad hoc services.

I will continue to work with the Director of the New Hampshire VA and with the new Obama Administration to ensure that our veterans have care in New Hampshire. Last summer's expansion of radiation services proves that the VA can work to ensure that local care is available. It is time for the VA to go further and for the government to live up to the promises we've made to those who have served so honorably.

Mr. Speaker, as Wall Street was struggling last week, the Bush administration reached out to Congress and asked for help. But over the weekend, the Treasury Department sent just a 3-page bill to Capitol Hill that was nothing more than a blank check for Secretary Paulson, $700 billion that the Secretary could use at his discretion.

That is simply not acceptable. We are not going to hand over a $700 billion check so the administration can do what they wish.

Over the next couple of days, we will work in a bipartisan fashion to develop legislation that includes independent oversight so that we can see exactly what the Treasury Department is doing with this money. We also want to ensure that CEOs are not rewarded with golden parachutes for the mess that they created.

A blank check is not acceptable. Congress will work to protect the American taxpayer.

I thank the gentleman.

I rise today in strong support for the men and women of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has prepared a detailed capital improvement program that elevates their shipyard from the gold standard to the platinum standard. It will ensure that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is prepared to meet future challenges required of the Navy's long-term ship repair vision. I support this long-term capital investment strategy and believe that it is incumbent on the Congress to support all of our public shipyards and, most importantly, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Capital Improvement Program.

I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).

I appreciate the chairman's support for my request to include these projects in this year's National Defense Authorization Act and, most importantly, the chairman's support of the men and women at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.