Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to a national energy policy, here we go again.

In January, the Democratic leadership promised to work across party lines to come up with a sound, comprehensive energy bill that would address Americans' anxieties about dramatically high gas prices and escalating home heating costs.

However, the Democratic energy proposals have lacked any substance to outline a blueprint for increasing our domestic supply.

Make no mistake: we must boost our domestic energy supply. The American people want stable prices at the pump, and we can begin to address these problems; but we in Congress must make reasoned energy policy.

By promoting a level playing field for technologies, diversifying energy supplies, and increasing our domestic opportunities, we can harness our ingenuity and natural resources to relieve our current difficulties.

The American people expect more from Congress. We must increase our supply without overburdening energy producers with unwieldy bureaucracy. Let's work together to help the American people and provide some relief to the anxiety they face this winter.

Mr. Speaker, I supported this measure as a member of the conference committee that drafted the final version of the

bill. I'm proud to have served on the committee of House and Senate leaders that negotiated the final version of this legislation. This important bill will help prepare Louisiana's neediest children for kindergarten by improving their access to medical, nutritional, and educational services.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained during rollcall vote No. 1090 on H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act. I supported this measure as a member of the conference committee that drafted the final version of the bill and if I had been able to vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, today my colleagues will enumerate the importance of funding bills that this Congress has yet to pass. One of these bills, the veterans appropriations bill, is particularly important, and the lack of progress for political purposes is simply atrocious.

This past weekend, I met with veterans from Louisiana who had come to visit the beautiful World War II Memorial. One man had stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day. Another was a member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers, an original member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers. These men are heroes.

I heard firsthand their needs, the increased attention that's needed for mental health purposes and other better VA services.

Madam Speaker, as we approach Veterans Day, let us in Congress demonstrate our appreciation. Let us pass a veterans appropriations bill as promised without unrelated pork-laden spending bills attached. Let us pass it to honor those who have protected us so bravely and for those who continue to serve valiantly to protect us today.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this Water Resources Development Act and urge all Members of this Chamber to vote to override the Presidential veto.

When Benjamin Franklin stated ``An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'' he very well could have been speaking about the Louisiana coastline. For years, years, we have been losing acres of coastline.

Now, why is this important? The Louisiana coastline is critical for our energy infrastructure in this country. It's critical to support the maritime industry that supports this energy infrastructure. And without a Water Resources Development Act, which is 7 years overdue, we are seeing our coastline disappear.

This bill is a start. It's a start to help us to ensure that we can protect our coastline from future storm surges, to protect this coastline and energy infrastructure that is so necessary for this country.

Some have said that the bill is too expensive. Well, it is a 7-year bill and it's an authorization. It helps Congress set priorities, working with our States, working with local officials and the scientific community particularly in my State of Louisiana who set these priorities so as to preserve our coastline and valuable water infrastructure throughout the country.

I am very much pleased as well to see that the bill has peer review measures in it to make sure that we have independent peer review of major Corps projects. The threshold, I think, was set at $45 million. But it also allows the chief to have certain flexibilities so as to not create unnecessary delays to these very valuable projects.

This is a critically important bill. I urge all colleagues to support this bill, support an override of the Presidential veto.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor a very special group from South Louisiana.

On November 3, 2007 a group of 84 veterans and their guardians will fly to Washington with a very special program. Louisiana HonorAir is providing the opportunity for these veterans from my home State of Louisiana to visit Washington, DC on a chartered flight free of charge. During their visit, they will visit Arlington National Cemetery and the World War II Memorial. For many, this will be their first and only opportunity to see these sights dedicated to the great service they have provided for our Nation.

Today I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these great Americans and thanking them for their unselfish service.

Last week, Speaker Pelosi embraced the Democrats' $1.3 billion tax scheme. The ink is barely dry, but she is already distancing herself from the mother of all tax hikes.

As reported in today's Hill newspaper, the Speaker's office has changed the transcript of her press comments to reflect that she supports Chairman Rangel's ``plan to begin tax reform,'' not his actual ``tax plan.''

Maybe the Speaker has caught on to what many Americans have discovered in the fine print. Maybe she figured out that the bill raises taxes on every U.S. taxpayer. Or it could be the part about resurrecting the death tax and penalizing small businesses and family farms that is causing her concern. Then again, it might be that she simply agrees that our Tax Code shouldn't punish a man and woman for getting married.

Madam Speaker, you can change the transcript, but you can't change the facts. The Pelosi-Rangel mother of all tax hikes is bad for the U.S. economy and worse for the American taxpayer.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 3247, introduced by Subcommittee Chairwoman Norton, will improve the provision of disaster assistance for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This bill was created through an open and inclusive process. I want to thank Chairman Oberstar and Chairwoman Norton for working with our Republican Members to include our provisions to this bill. Additionally, I want to thank my good friend and colleague from Louisiana, Ranking Member Baker, for his steadfast support of Louisiana in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Congressman Baker has been a great advocate for our State, and I thank him for helping the committee to draft this bill.

Madam Speaker, earlier this year the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management held a hearing on the recovery in the gulf coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The bill includes a number of provisions recommended by Members of Congress from both parties who testified at this hearing. These provisions are designed to alleviate specific problems with the recovery in the gulf coast.

H.R. 3247 authorizes changes to the Stafford Act programs exclusively for the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and applies these changes retroactively. The Congressional Budget Office does not expect these proposed changes to have a significant effect on the pace or amount of Federal expenditures from the disaster relief fund and has estimated that enacting H.R. 3247 would have no significant effect on direct spending. I support this legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

I also want to thank Chairman Oberstar and Chairwoman Norton specifically for working with our gulf coast delegations on this important legislation. The T&I committee has really been very helpful and a strong advocate throughout this process, as my home State of Louisiana and the rest of the gulf coast have tried to recover. I am pleased that the tradition continues today with the work on this bill.

I also want to mention that while much of the Nation's focus remains on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I want to remind my colleagues that there were two storms of similar magnitude that hit the gulf coast in 2005. The second storm, Hurricane Rita, brought high winds in excess of 120 miles an hour and a storm surge equivalent to that of a category 5 storm. Total damage in southwest Louisiana was estimated at approximately $10 billion, making Rita, the forgotten storm, the third most costly natural disaster in U.S. history.

Two years later our recovery remains slow, but progress is being made and the people of southwest Louisiana are resilient and we will rebuild. This bill will help fix some of the roadblocks to recovery that we have encountered along the way. Notably, I want to mention one particularly. The bill addresses one of the bigger problems still lingering in my own district, which is the reimbursement to the sports arena called the Cajundome for use of the facility in sheltering both Katrina and Rita evacuees. The Cajundome acted as a shelter from August 30 through October 28, 2005, and processed an estimated 18,000 evacuees within that 60-day period. The facility was subsequently closed until January 2006 for recovery and repair from the sheltering operations. FEMA initially approved and then sought reimbursement for funds paid to the Cajundome for use of the facility while conducting response activities.

At issue is whether or not a government entity can be reimbursed for fees for sheltering evacuees after a disaster. The Cajundome, however, operates autonomously from city government, does not have a sustaining tax base, and instead relies on the fees it generates from events during its peak season to maintain operations year-round. H.R. 3247 will allow FEMA to pay for the reasonable cost of renting or leasing a public facility that was used for conducting response activities for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Facilities like the Cajundome are integral to our disaster recovery and response. We shouldn't punish them for opening their doors and providing shelter during a national crisis.

Again, I want to thank the committee staff as well, especially Mike Herman and Jennifer Hall, for working with my legislative director, Terri Fish, to develop language that will address this problem. Again, I thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairwoman Norton, and Ranking Members Mica and Graves for including it in the bill. Again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3247.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Baker).

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Melancon). Together, he and I have all of coastal Louisiana, and we have dealt with this disaster firsthand. I know side by side along the coast, we were rolling up our sleeves and helping our friends and families back home through all of this. I want to thank him for his work in helping to come up with these revisions to the Stafford Act that were desperately needed.

This is a good piece of legislation. It will not cure all of the problems we still have in coastal Louisiana, but it is a good start. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this important legislation, H.R. 3247. Again, I thank Chairwoman Norton and Chairman Oberstar for their willingness to work with us to craft this legislation.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor a very special group from South Louisiana.

On October 27, 2007 a group of 97 veterans and their guardians will fly to Washington with a very special program. Louisiana HonorAir is providing the opportunity for these veterans from my home State of Louisiana to visit Washington, DC on a chartered flight free of charge. During their visit, they will visit Arlington National Cemetery and the World War II Memorial. For many, this will be their first and only opportunity to see these sights dedicated to the great service they have provided for our Nation.

Today I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these great Americans and thanking them for their unselfish service.

I thank my colleague for yielding time.

Madam Speaker, our Democratic friends claim that they won't consider covering anything less than 10 million children, and yet the Congressional Budget Office shows that their own bill falls short yet again. It also fails to give real priority to poor children. It imposes billions of dollars in new taxes on poor families, and we know that this tax revenue stream won't even cover the expense of the bill in the outyears, and it causes millions to lose private coverage.

Finally, despite warnings from GAO, it also ignores provider access, something that's critical for our children in the SCHIP programs throughout the country. I know in my State of Louisiana we have a serious access problem, despite the fact that we have 106,000 children in the State covered by SCHIP, 6,000 who should be on it not covered, and yet all of them have significant access problems.

I ask the question, why did our Democratic friends block debate on any amendments that would have addressed these and other concerns? We really shouldn't be playing political games with this. We shouldn't be playing games with children's medical care.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and let's work together in good faith to improve coverage and access for children.

Madam Speaker, SCHIP continues to be used as a political game by Washington liberals. Sensible, effective compromise does exist to bring meaningful bipartisan support for this necessary program.

The Kids First bill, of which I am a cosponsor, adds 1.3 million new children to the SCHIP program by 2012. It encourages the States to move children to private coverage. Kids First provides $14 billion in new SCHIP allotments, and it includes $400 million in grants for outreach and enrollment. This is a sensible approach.

I support SCHIP, and I am committed to ensuring that it is a successful program that helps children who need it and the children for whom it was really intended, those who are in poverty. It makes SCHIP a program for those whom it was intended for.

I thank my colleagues, Representatives Camp and Hulshof, for their work on this bill. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in this compromise approach to help put our poor children first.

Madam Speaker, Washington Democrats have once again shown their true colors on FISA. Spurred by the ACLU and their leftist liberal friends, Democrats released a weak and ill-conceived attempt at reforming our national security intelligence laws.

Today, advancements in satellite and fiber-optic technologies have led to incredible gains in every area of our society, including health care, economic expansion, education, and military operations. Unfortunately, though, our laws have not advanced and our intelligence community continues to face significant obstacles because of simplistic and antiquated laws.

Make no mistake, we live in a time when extremist groups continue to plot acts of terror against us both abroad and here at home. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell outlined a list of obstacles he faces with the current FISA law and the tools he needs to correct these problems. Sadly, the bill proposed by the Democrats leaves our intelligence community in the dark. This is too important to play political games with foreign intelligence. We need to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased that a report by AARP acknowledged consumer-directed health plans often provide more freedom of choice, lower premiums while giving consumers more control over their health care. This year I introduced H.R. 2639 to expand and improve coverage under these patient-centered plans. Public and private sector leaders must do more to empower patients with convenient, reliable information on cost and quality so consumers can purchase better care at a lower cost.

Recent reports contend that health care plans haven't done enough in this area. These criticisms underscore the need to quickly build on gains we have made in health care transparency. Secretary Leavitt has laid important ground work in this area.

H.R. 2639, coupled with better information for patients, will improve access, lower costs and improve quality of health care. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from New York for yielding me this time.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 133 because many Americans lack protection from catastrophic long-term care expenses related to chronic illnesses and disability. And worse yet, most families assume that Medicare will actually pay for these long-term care services, while it generally does not; and oftentimes they find out in the midst of a family crisis when a loved one is ill, placing intensive emotional burdens as well as financial burdens on families.

I want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin, for working with me on this and really for being a champion on this issue. She and I have worked together, and we have had some success in persuading HHS and Social Security to clarify these widespread perceptions.

I am hopeful that the passage of this resolution will encourage Secretary Leavitt, President Bush and the future administration to discuss this critical retirement security issue with the American people. A recent poll found that the majority of voters want to hear more about plans on how we will deal with this problem, and they desire more information on this. And that perception out there that exists that Medicare covers this is a real problem. The more we can get this information out to the American people, the greater the service we will be doing to help them deal and to cope with these problems.

We clearly must do more to expand coverage for long-term care, to assist family caregivers, particularly those coping with the onset of chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. So I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 133.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor a very special group from south Louisiana.

On October 6, 2007, a group of 96 veterans and their guardians will fly to Washington with a very special program. Louisiana HonorAir is providing the opportunity for these veterans from my home State of Louisiana to visit Washington, DC, on a chartered flight free of charge. During their visit, they will visit Arlington National Cemetery and the World War II Memorial. For many, this will be their first and only opportunity to see these sights dedicated to the great service they have provided for our Nation.

Today I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these great Americans and thanking them for their unselfish service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Graves, for yielding time to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. H.R. 3246 reauthorizes the Delta Regional Authority, which works to improve the life for residents in some of the most economically distressed areas in our country. Those parishes and counties served by the DRA have per capita incomes at or far below the national average, and poverty in the region runs nearly 55 percent higher than the national rate.

Since being created, DRA has worked to improve the economy in the delta and allowed these residents to achieve parity with the rest of the country. The key to DRA's success is its ability to foster partnerships throughout the region and to collaborate with local development districts and other Federal and State agencies to ensure maximum benefit from the dollars invested.

In fact, in an article published last year, the Economist noted: ``It is creating, or helping to retain, 36,000 jobs, mostly in manufacturing, which will generate $1 billion in salaries. It has also helped 23,000 families get running water and sewage.''

In the aftermath, Mr. Speaker, of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the DRA took a leadership role in working to address many of the recovery issues facing our State of Louisiana.

I want to thank Chairman Oberstar, my good friend, and the leadership of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the staff, subcommittee Chairman Graves, my good friend, for working with me to ensure that several of the parishes in my district that were hit hardest by Hurricane Rita are included in the DRA.

Data provided by the Department of Commerce shows that these parishes are now among the most economically distressed in our country, and recovery has been slow. I want to emphasize, though, that the people of southwest Louisiana are resilient, and we will rebuild and, in fact, we are rebuilding. This legislation will provide them with just yet another tool to facilitate growth and return to economic prosperity in the region.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Again, I thank Chairman Oberstar, the Democratic staff, Chairman Graves, Chairman Mica and our staff. I want to thank also my legislative director, Terry Fisk, for working with me on this very important piece of legislation.