Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to commend Mr. Robert P. Page, an outstanding citizen and business leader from Houma, Louisiana. He is about to complete his term as president of the National Association of Insurance Agents. Mr. Page has distinguished himself throughout his career as a professional insurance agent, even serving as president of the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana, and he has exhibited only the highest standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism.

Despite suffering personal losses as a result of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav, Mr. Page has provided uninterrupted service to the clients of his insurance agency in Houma, going above and beyond the call of duty to assist his fellow citizens, who also suffered devastating losses as a result of the hurricanes.

Mr. Page is a tireless advocate of developing a national consensus to come up with a better mechanism to deal with natural catastrophes throughout the United States, serving as a founding member of the Professional Insurance Agents Natural Task Force. With his years of hard work and dedication, Mr. Page has earned the respect and admiration of his many colleagues throughout the insurance industry, as well as exemplified the motto of his insurance association, ``Local Agents Serving Main Street America.''

Therefore, I would like to congratulate and commend Robert P. Page of Houma, Louisiana, upon the successful completion of his term as president of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents.

I apologize for being tardy in arriving on the floor. I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time explaining to my constituents some of the false information that is getting put out there as though the deficits showed up yesterday at our doorstep unbeknownst to anyone before.

Some 8 years ago we had an estimated $5.6 trillion surplus projected out over the next 10 years. As we stand here today, that surplus has turned to a deficit in excess of $10 trillion, and that is on budget. I know I don't need to explain that to you, but off budget I guess it is another several trillion dollars. Then if you go and use the accrual form of accounting, as businesses do, and people that are in the business world would understand, we are at $56 trillion and growing deficit, not talking about the number of jobs.

So if we are out here in an economy, and of course a lot of what I hear from people is there is so much waste in the stimulus bill, the things that were there are a miniscule part that were made to sound like it was a whole package wrought with nothing but people's special projects. As we move to try and remove some of those things and get a viable bill that addresses stimulating the economy and putting people back to work and addresses the needs of trying to keep the United States economy from collapsing, because if we don't do that, I think the irony is that people around the world are looking to the United States while each one of their governments are trying to figure out what it is that they need to do to stabilize their economy. They are watching the United States because we are the kingpin. If we fold, we are going to be the tail that wags this dog, and we are going to be the people who can hopefully keep our Nation afloat and keep the rest of the world hoping that we keep away from a depression as our forefathers, my parents and grandparents experienced, and a few who still live today remember.

When we start looking at what has occurred in this Nation, the relevant parties that were running the government over the last 8 years, borrowing money, spending money, right now the fourth largest item in our budget is the interest on the money that our government has borrowed, and 40 percent of our debt is held by foreign countries. We are already leveraged. We are a country that used to be a gross producer of agriculture. We used to be able to hold our own in manufacturing and energy independence. We are none of those any more.

As we move forward, placed in our lap is not the opportunity, but placed in our lap is the disaster that has been laid at our doorstep, and now we have to figure out how to get us back, how to stabilize this economy, how to fill that gap of the trillions of dollars that has been robbed from it so that we can move forward so that my children, my constituents' children, and all of the constituents in this country's children and grandchildren can hope to have a better future. We shouldn't be the people that have to be the bearer of bad news.

What we have facing us today, as you have shown, just in 1 year, 3.6 million jobs lost, some 500,000-plus in the last month, that is not government working for the good of the people. So we have a lot that we need to do.

I thank you for the opportunity to join you here on the floor here this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be on the floor tonight with my fellow Blue Dogs, and we were just going to make some remarks and talk about the Blue Dogs' concern with fiscal responsibility in previous Congresses and in Congresses going forward.

Over the long haul, the Federal budget has been in a downward spiral with the national debt growing faster than the economy. With this grim fiscal outlook, it is more important than ever that Congress and the administration work together in a bipartisan manner to address the needs for long-term fiscal sustainability.

Back in this 1990s, under the administration of Bill Clinton and with the cooperation of the Congress led by the Blue Dog Coalition, PAYGO rules were put into statute, put into law that required that the Congress of the United States pay for that which they wished to spend. So no new spending could be appropriated and spent without the author or the party or the group that wanted to propose new spending finding a means or a place to cover the cost.

About 8 years ago, the PAYGO rules were abolished out of statute, and since that time and in the period of 8 years, the Government Accounting Office in the projections for 10 years out showed that the budget was estimated to have a surplus of $5.5 trillion in the next 10 years. As I stand here today with my colleagues, we are now projecting an excess of $10 trillion deficit. That's a $15.5 trillion swing.

And if you actually looked at government accounting, or if you looked at accrual accounting rather than government accounting, you will find that--those of you that are in business out in this country will know that a $56 trillion deficit projected is the real number.

Because of the deficits that exist in so many programs, entitlements and others, we have spun ourselves or spent ourselves into a hole that will take us quite a while to climb out of.

I have one grandson. His name is Jack, and he's 2\1/2\ years old. For Christmas, I got one of those video frames that changes the pictures out. And it is one of the greatest things that my family could have given me because Jack's there every day to remind me of the reason why I need to be here, why the Blue Dogs have continued their attack on the budget, why they have continued the march and the drumbeat of PAYGO and fiscal responsibility when neither side of our Congress would face up to the facts.

If in fact we are to leave them a good world, we need to face up, just like every American does, to the bills that confront us; and we can't spend more than we take in. We need to, as was done back in the 1990s, go back to statutory PAYGO, live within our means, make sure we have the money to pay for those things which are good for our country-- not squander the future for our children and our grandchildren--but to make sure that their future has a potential to be a bright one, as mine was, because of my parents' and my grandparents' efforts during their time.

I would like to ask my friend, Congressman Baron Hill, to make a few comments.

Thank you, Congressman Boyd, my friend from Florida.

You know, one of the ironies is that some four-and-a-half years ago, or five-and-a-half years ago now when I made the decision to run for the vacated seat in the Third District of Louisiana, which is of course the coastal district that was hit by both Katrina and Rita and then subsequently this past year by Gustav and Ike, we have a lot of foreigners showing up on the shores of Louisiana these days. I ran, of course. People referred to Democrats as tax-and-spend Democrats.

One place that I always thought that I had some relationship to Republicans was in fiscal matters, and ironically after getting here and finding out the situation of our deficit and its continuing to grow. I've learned too that we as Democrats or my predecessors as Democrats may have been tax and spend, but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will go down in history I believe as borrow and spend. You can't continue to print money and continue to elevate the debt on this country.

And particularly when you look at the debt of this country as we stand here today, in 8 years this deficit has grown to a size that is larger than all the cumulative deficits for all administrations from George Washington to the start 8 years ago. That's amazing.

The fourth largest item in our budget is the interest that we pay on the money that we borrow. Forty percent of the debt that we owe, the people that hold the treasuries and the bonds for this country's future are held by China. I wonder why we're so nice to our friends in China.

So, as we move forward, we need to look at a fiscal policy, but we also in a time that is unparalleled, we have to be looking at what do we do to preserve the economy.

This bill, as we've talked about that's presently moving through the Congress, is not a perfect bill. I, in fact, voted for the substitute presented by the Republicans. I don't know that I can agree with either of the bills as being a perfect bill, and no one, because of the nature of the animal we're dealing with, can say that the problems will be solved.

If you go back to 1929 when the market collapsed, 2 years later Roosevelt was elected. Between that time, the Congress and the administration in Washington said the markets will correct themselves; we need not do anything. Roosevelt came into office, started the CCC, the WPA. People talk about socialized government. That was probably as close as you will get to it. Checks were paid to people for work that they did, but they managed to put food on the table, however scarce. They managed to have a roof over their head, to clothe their children, to be able to continue going forward. It was not a glorious time. It was one of the blackest times in our history.

But by--I hate to say this--by coincidence a law came toward the end of the 1930s, and as a manufacturing country we got our economy going back. And then after World War II we got out of that, laws were passed by this Congress, enacted by this Congress, signed into law by the President that had preceded us that would have protected America and America's economy, had all the regulatory agencies been doing the job that they were supposed to have been doing through these periods of time.

There's been a movement towards deregulation, and I'm for deregulation, but when you put together people and money you breed greed. And what we have caused here was the greed of people and not just in this country. We are faced with a worldwide situation, one that resembles what happened in the period of 1929 into the 1930s.

And after listening to my parents through the years, talking with my grandparents as I grew up, I don't think that I want to be labeled a person who did nothing, a person who said the market will correct itself, a person who said they will fend for themselves, a person who leaves a debt that my children and grandchildren and my friend's children and grandchildren will never ever be able to repay if we don't start the march in the right direction this day, in this Congress, in this administration, in this city, in this great country.

Yes, I will.

I thank my friend from Florida, and in closing, let me just say there's an expression that you will hear in Washington, and it's called kicking the can down the street and refers to one party or another party or one administration or another administration or one politician or another politician taking the issue and just moving it down the road and trying to avoid having to face the hard issue of picking it up and resolving what the issues need to be.

We can no longer, as a government of this great country, kick the can down the road. We need to pick it up. We need to face the issues. We need to do it in a bipartisan way. We need to go back to regular order, take bills the way they used to be, where people debated them, they negotiated them. And a good deal or good bill has always been, in my mind, one where both parties either leave unhappy or both parties leave happy. When one party leaves happy and the other one isn't, then it's not a good deal, and it particularly is not a good deal for the great American citizens that put up with what has gone on through the decades.

We need to reform the way we do our business by going back to regular order, by making sure that there's transparency in our government, that people that are in this body have an opportunity to participate in the legislative process and pass bills that can muster votes from both sides of the aisle. Then we can say we're starting to act like American citizens and American politicians should.

So with that, Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity for the Blue Dog Coalition to be here tonight.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this time to commend Mr. Robert P. Page, an outstanding citizen and business leader from Houma, Louisiana. I wanted to recognize him today as he is in the final months of his term as the President of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents.

Mr. Page has distinguished himself throughout his career as a professional insurance agent and he has exhibited only the highest standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism, serving as the President of the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana.

Despite suffering personal losses as the result of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav, Mr. Page has provided uninterrupted service to the clients of his insurance agency in Houma, going above and beyond the call of duty to assist his fellow citizens who suffered devastating losses after each storm.

Mr. Page has worked tirelessly to develop a mechanism to deal with natural catastrophes throughout the United States, serving as the founding member of the Professional Insurance Agents Natural Catastrophe Task Force.

With his years of hard work and dedication Mr. Page has earned the respect and admiration of his many colleagues throughout the insurance industry. He has embodied the motto of his insurance association, ``Local Agents Serving Main Street America''

Therefore, I'd like to congratulate and commend Robert P. Page of Houma, Louisiana upon the successful completion of his term as President of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3221. Since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, many families in south Louisiana have been working hard to rebuild their homes and piece back together their lives. Yet, as if this challenge wasn't tough enough, our complicated tax code burdened them with an additional financial difficulty. Today, we'll remove this road block to recovery for tens of thousands of families in my State.

Unsure if the state of Louisiana would be issuing grants to rebuild homes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many individuals claimed a casualty loss deduction on their income taxes. However, nearly a year later, when the Louisiana Road Home program began issuing rebuilding grants--grants which have historically been tax-free--many recipients were also told that they would have to pay taxes on these grants, as a result of an unintended consequence of our tax code.

This bill will fix that section, making sure hurricane survivors don't have to pay taxes on their rebuilding grants. It allows recipients who have previously deducted losses on their Federal income taxes to simply amend their returns. Individuals who have already paid taxes on their recovery grants will also be allowed to amend their current tax returns to reflect the new law. This change will save homeowners thousands of dollars--dollars that are essential for the ongoing recovery of our State.

I commend the Chairman and ranking member on this important and timely bill, and I thank them for including this vital fix. Our people are not asking for a windfall. They are simply asking that they pay their fair share and be allowed to use their grants to rebuild their lives. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to recognize

the retirement of John Milazzo as the chairman of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). Elected to the NAFCU Board in 1999, John has been a leader in the credit union community both nationally and within my great state of Louisiana.

For the past nine years, Mr. Milazzo has been balancing his time as a NAFCU Board member, including the past two years as the chairman of the NAFCU Board, against his responsibilities at Campus Federal Credit Union, where he has been the president/CEO since 1985. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Campus Federal Credit Union is a $320 million multibranch credit union serving 39,000 members that is known for its use of technology and innovation to improve operational efficiency.

Throughout his tenure as chairman of the NAFCU Board of Directors, Mr. Milazzo worked tirelessly to enhance the federal credit union charter by working with Congress for regulatory relief legislation for credit unions. As chairman, he has also helped maintain NAFCU's status as a leading credit union trade association. John has been an active credit union advocate on local, state and national levels, having served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Institutions Advisory Committee and as chairman of the Southern Financial Exchange and now serving as a member of Fannie Mae's National Advisory Council.

Many would think that the work he does for credit unions would be enough to fill a day, but that is not the case. Mr. Milazzo is a dedicated family man who finds time to volunteer with the United Way Campaign and the Community Fund for the Arts. He is a current member of Kiwanis International and previously served as club president and former district lieutenant governor of the organization. He is also a Eucharistic minister and member of the finance committee of Saint Anne's Catholic Church. A graduate of Louisiana State, he may also be one of the most loyal LSU Tigers fans in the nation, and he continues to serve the LSU community through Campus Federal Credit Union.

It is with great honor that I rise today to congratulate Mr. John Milazzo on his fine work throughout his illustrious tenure as chair of NAFCU. I have worked with him on issues that are important to the credit union community in the past, and I am committed to continuing this relationship. I have no doubt that, with Milazzo's more than 20 years of experience in the credit union community, his departure will leave a great void. Congratulations on your retirement from the NAFCU Board, Mr. Milazzo.

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

Mr. Speaker, tonight I happened to talk to my 2-year-old grandson, Jackson, in his home in south Louisiana. He is just 2 so we didn't talk a lot of details about his pap and what his pap was going to be doing tonight. But I thought it fitting to call him before speaking in favor of this motion to instruct.

For the next couple of years, he will play with just about anything put in front of him. He will clap blocks together, chip paint off of model cars, and I will bet chew on anything that is handy. We owe it to him, his mother, his dad, his grandmothers, his other grandfather, and to me, to do what we can to make certain the toys he plays with won't make him sick. It's that simple. We have that responsibility, and I believe this underlying bill gets us closer to fulfilling it.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this bipartisan bill. It passed out of the committee 51-0 and passed the House 407-0. It bans lead beyond the tiniest amounts in products intended for kids 12 and under. That is an important age, as kids are exposed to so many different toys and products as they grow up. I believe the House bill takes this into account, and I am proud to support it.

Mr. Speaker, this motion is a good one. I thank my friend from Illinois for offering it. I urge that the House support the motion to instruct offered.

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. 943) remembering the space shuttle Challenger disaster and honoring its crew members, who lost their lives on January 28, 1986.

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 House Resolution 943, the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to support House Resolution 943, a resolution honoring the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger and honoring its crew members, who lost their lives on January 28, 1986. And I congratulate Mr. Hodes for preparing this resolution.

The tragic loss of the Challenger and her crew of seven serves as a continuing reminder that space flight is anything but routine. As we continue to explore outer space, we here on the ground must do our part to ensure that we have learned the lessons of the Challenger accident and work tirelessly to make space travel as safe as possible for future generations of explorers.

In addition, I believe we can best honor the sacrifices of the crew of the Challenger made by our commitment to renewing America's space program, continuing the Nation's journey into space, a goal to which they dedicated their lives.

Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we pause today to honor the memory of the Challenger crew, and I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 287) celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Explorer I satellite, the world's first scientific spacecraft, and the birth of the United States space exploration program.

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 House Concurrent Resolution 287, the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 287. This resolution celebrates the 50th anniversary of Explorer I, the first successful launch of a U.S. satellite into space, which took place on January 31, 1958, a date that also marks the 50th birthday of our U.S. space program.

With the launch of Explorer I, the United States was the first to send a scientific instrument into Earth's orbit. The measurements from that instrument led to the significant discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts.

We owe our profound appreciation and gratitude to the late Dr. James Van Allen and science team and those individuals from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Army Ballistic Missile Agency who made possible the success of Explorer I.

Their pioneering efforts launched the beginning of America's journey beyond Earth, a journey that continues to generate remarkable accomplishments in

pushing back the frontiers of scientific knowledge and human space exploration.

Since the launch of Explorer I 50 years ago, the United States has led the world in space exploration, with American astronauts taking humanity's first steps on the Moon, and American scientists working with their international colleagues to launch scientific probes to each of the planets in our solar system, to the Moon, asteroids and comets, and to study the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system.

Our astronomical observatories peer deeper and deeper into the universe and our Earth observing spacecraft deliver data that improves our quality of life and helps us preserve the health of our planet. Through these and many other exciting accomplishments, our space program has truly become one of our Nation's crown jewels.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the anniversary of Explorer I and past achievements, it is important that we also look to space as a story about America's future.

The U.S. space program is a catalyst for the advanced technologies and innovation that contribute to America's economic competitiveness, and it also serves as a training ground for the scientists and engineers who are so critical to keeping America strong.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 287 and America's space program.

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

Mr. Speaker, I don't have any further speakers, and I would reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, not having any other speakers, I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 907) congratulating the X PRIZE Foundation's leadership in inspiring a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles, as amended.

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 House Resolution 907, the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, on June 21, 2004, Space Ship One became the first privately funded craft to take a person into space. Space Ship One flew again on September 29, 2004, and on October 4, 2004, and upon successful completion of these flights, Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the developers of Space Ship One, captured the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. Just as important as Space Ship One's historic flights, the competition for the X PRIZE spurred the creation of a private spaceflight industry in this country.

It is with this past success in mind that I rise to speak in support of the new Automotive X PRIZE. This new prize will award a multimillion-dollar prize to teams that can design, build and demonstrate production-capable vehicles that achieve 100 miles per gallon or its equivalent. With the current price of oil hovering around $100 per barrel, it is more important than ever that our country develops technologies that increase the efficiencies of our

automobiles. To this end, I was pleased to support H.R. 6, which significantly raised CAFE standards, and would do much to increase the efficiency of American automobiles.

However, the government does not hold a monopoly on innovation. Many of the great discoveries of our time were accomplished by private individuals and companies. From Thomas Edison's discovery of the light bulb to Henry Ford's perfection of the automobile, private innovators have changed the face of America. It is my hope that the Automotive X PRIZE will once again spur the creative and innovative spirit of American citizens to help us in our fight for energy independence and security.

I would like to thank Mr. Lungren for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no recognized Members, I think Mr. Feeney does, so I will reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to make sure that I check with Mr. Smith whether that is stopping for red lights that takes 4\1/2\ hours to go across Nebraska.

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

I thank my colleague very much for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with Mr. Boustany's remarks. Of course most people from most States are very proud when their colleges become the national champion, and particularly in this past year I have had conversations over the last several days with friends about the Presidential election and the analogy is it's almost the same as the NCAA season of who's going to be first and second in any given week.

But at the end of the day, LSU rose to the occasion. They had a very successful year, a very successful and accomplished coach in Les Miles to take them where they did go, having beat No. 9 ranked Virginia Tech. Then, unfortunately, in overtime, losing to 17th ranked Kentucky and then the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, which I caught a little grief from those guys that are from the Arkansas delegation. But in the end, it was worth all that occurred.

My wife went to a small university where when the coach makes the team a winning team and gets into the national rankings, somebody usually steals them, pays them more money and moves them on. Fortunately, for us at LSU, I think we have the stature and a nature that we can keep our coach and continue to bring the talent to the university to go forward over the next couple of years, or into the future, for that matter.

But I would like to commend LSU for the great win in the BCS bowl, for being number one. I would like to commend the SEC. I believe that the SEC is probably the number one conference in the country. Maybe some of our colleagues would disagree with us, but at the same time, until they prove that they can win two BCS games in the short history of the BCS bowl, then we will take that gauntlet and we will run forward.

And as Mr. Boustany said, Geaux Tigers.

I want to thank you, Congressman Ross, for reserving this time. And I would like to thank the leadership, Madam Speaker, for taking the initiative to reinstate the PAYGO rules.

As has been stated previously by my counterparts, my colleagues and the Blue Dogs, this is one element of government that we need to adhere to. It's shameful that the government hasn't been doing this all along. As stated earlier, we have a debt that far exceeds all 42 previous administrations collectively. That does not bode well for this country.

We were a strong Nation prior to World War II. We have been a strong Nation for centuries. But as you look at the devaluation of the dollar, the fact that China controls a large portion of our debt, that they, at one point in time last January, considered selling off some of their treasury notes, but were fearful that they may devalue the American dollar, thus lowering their value of their investments, that tells you something. And now that the dollar is sliding, China is reconsidering that.

And where does that put us? That puts us really in a trick bag. We are facing a comparative value of dollars, or currencies. Canada has passed us up. The Euro is far and away. The British pound is far exceeding the value that the average American can even afford to think about going to Europe to visit.

You know, I grew up in south Louisiana in a conservative household, in a conservative community for that matter, but one of the things that we were taught by our parents in our household was if you don't have it, you can't spend it. And even if you get a credit card, you've still got to pay for it someday. And that's basically what the Blue Dogs are about, trying to bring some fiscal responsibility to our government. Regardless of what party you're in, this is about our future.

Now, up until recently I was not a grandfather, but now I am. Before, when I ran for the Congress in my late fifties, I wasn't running for the Congress as a career, I wasn't running for the Congress to make a career later, I was coming to the Congress that the people so decided to try and help right this government and do what's right by the people of this country. The frustration is that you can't have it both ways. And the both ways is you can't help the people back home that need the help, whether it's building schools, whether it's building, in our case, levees, building highways and roads and bridges, educating the kids, doing cancer research. These things cost money. And without the involvement of our government, we wouldn't be the most advanced country that we are today. But we're moving down a slippery slope. We have spent ourselves into a debt that is estimated to be in excess of $9 trillion, $30,000 plus for every man, woman and child. So, that means my two kids and their spouses and my grandson have a debt that will take them quite a bit of time if they were to decide, well, I want to pay my share, take them quite a bit of their lifetime to put that money aside. And that money that they would put aside would be better served to educate my grandson, for them to build a house when the time comes, for them to be able to afford to do things, to live a quality of life that all Americans would love to and expect to have.

Madam Speaker, I stand here today with my colleagues, the Blue Dogs, and worry about the people of this country. That's what we were sent here to do, worry about their welfare, worry about their well-being, and to take action that illustrates that we do care about them and this country. And by not adhering to the PAYGO rule, by not finding the pay- fors in these pieces of legislation, we endanger the future of all citizens of this country.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleagues from Florida for devising this great program which will be national, voluntary, and fiscally sound for the people that are experiencing problems with insurance throughout the country.

I am proud to speak today on H.R. 3355, the Homeowners' Defense Act. Recovering from the two hurricanes that devastated our State and the gulf coast in 2005 continues to be a challenge to the people of Louisiana. One of the biggest roadblocks to our recovery remains the lack of affordable and available property insurance.

However, as we have seen in the past few weeks with the wildfires that have ravaged California, affordable insurance isn't just a problem for the residents of the gulf coast. This is a nationwide problem that needs our immediate attention and a practical and effective long-term solution. I believe that this bill offers that long-term solution.

Mr. Chairman, in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, after the victims of these storms suffered two of the worst natural disasters in this country's history, our people were forced through the indignity of another battle, a battle with their insurance companies. All along the coast, insurance companies have packed up and moved out. They have canceled their policies, refused to write new ones, or raised their rates exponentially, with less coverage and higher deductibles.

In Louisiana, more and more people are being forced to turn to Louisiana's State-sponsored insurer of last resort and, again, paying premiums way above the market rates. For those lucky enough to have their policies renewed, they are now being hit with skyrocketing premium increases, often as much as two, three, four, five times what they paid before, and some even higher.

The district in Louisiana that I represent is entirely in the ``new'' hard-to-insure part of the State. Every day I get calls, e-mails, and letters from constituents begging Congress to do something about the insurance crisis. Here is just a sample:

Roy Barrios of Lafourche Parish wrote to me, saying that Allstate recently canceled his homeowners insurance and he is now having to pay three times as much coverage, which he is thankful to get, but still in all, from Louisiana's insurer of last resort. He is only two months shy of being covered by Louisiana's consumer protection laws that would have kept his policy from being canceled, although he noted that Allstate is happy to renew his more profitable car insurance policy.

Jeanette Tanguis of Houma, Louisiana, said a premium increase of $200 a month stretches her budget tremendously. In a letter to me she wrote: ``Having spent most of my life living in Terrebonne Parish, it never occurred to me that I would ever be forced to move from the place I love and have called home for most of my life. Unfortunately, my family and I are being forced to make this sad decision,'' because of the insurance situation.

Similarly, Nolan Falgout of Thibodaux wrote to me and said: ``In the event we do not get a handle on this issue, this will become the next reason why your constituents who enjoyed growing up in this section of `Cajun' Louisiana will no longer be able to afford to live here.''

These are only a few of the many stories I hear from people forced to leave their homes and their communities. If claimants from the two hurricanes had been awarded the settlements that they were entitled to from their insurance companies, this may not have

been an issue that requires the attention of Congress.

Sadly, this is not the case. It is time we recognize that market failures exist. The victims of these hurricanes, the victims of the wildfires and unforeseen natural disasters all deserve to know that the insurance system will not abandon them when they need it the most.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that H.R. 3355 will provide for this stability and the long-term solution we need to solve this insurance crisis so that America's families will not have to abandon their communities and can return to their homes. I again thank my friends, my colleagues, the chairman of the committee and others that have put so much time and effort into this good legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the words of my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Baker), and I thank you for that because he, like the people that have not been affected by Katrina and Rita have been supportive of Louisiana.

Today I ask everyone to join in supporting one of the most critical bills for Louisiana's recovery in the future. The Water Resources and Development Act contains several critical authorizations for hurricane protections throughout south Louisiana. WRDA authorizes the closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf outlet, also known as the hurricane corridor after Katrina, which funneled deadly waters into the heart of New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, destroying thousands upon thousands of homes and businesses.

Also authorized in WRDA is the comprehensive hurricane protection system known as Morganza to the Gulf, a 64-mile system of levees, locks, floodgates, and they are all planned to help the people of this region. Morganza would offer hurricane protection to about 120,000 people in south Louisiana who currently have no defense against storms and are like sitting ducks in the path of the next hurricane.

This hurricane protection system is so critical and the local communities have been taxing themselves for years to build this system. It is eminent that we get this bill passed. But they need the Federal Government to be a partner in this project and have anxiously followed the progress of WRDA for years, hoping for full authorization for Morganza.

WRDA also authorizes funding to bring the Federal levees in South Lafourche Levee District up to the 100-year protection level, creating better hurricane protection to residents in Lafourche Parish, which is home to one of the largest energy corridors in this country. This area has also been taxing itself for years.

In addition to these vital hurricane protection projects, WRDA includes a comprehensive coastal restoration plan that will authorize projects to rebuild protective wetlands along Louisiana's coast. When I travel across south Louisiana, I see with my own eyes how our rich marshes and wetlands are disappearing. Louisiana loses a football field-sized piece of land to the sea every 35 minutes. During hurricane season and Katrina and Rita, we lost over 200 miles. Our State is literally washing away into the Gulf of Mexico.

Let me close, because I have more, and I will put the words into the Record, but let me just close by saying that I am appreciative for everything that the Members of Congress who have supported our needs in south Louisiana and the gulf coast of the United States. I ask for one big favor today, and please vote to override the veto of this all- important piece of legislation.

In addition to these vital hurricane protection projects, WRDA includes a comprehensive coastal restoration plan that will authorize projects to rebuild the protective wetlands along Louisiana's coast.

When I travel across south Louisiana, I see with my own eyes how our rich marshes and wetlands are disappearing. Louisiana loses a football field-sized piece of land to the sea every 35 minutes. During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we lost over 200 square miles of coastline. Our state is literally washing away into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) authorized by WRDA is a responsible plan that ensures the marshes and wetlands that buffer our coast from storms are protected, as well as the infrastructure that provides over 30% of the nation's oil and gas supply and the habitat for marine species that supplies 30% of the seafood consumed in the United States.

This Congress must override the President's veto today.

Every day WRDA is delayed is another day that 120,000 Americans in south Louisiana remain unprotected from storms because we haven't broken ground on Morganza-to-the-Gulf.

Every year that we don't pass a WRDA bill is another year that Louisiana's coastal wetlands wash away, even further, because we haven't begun work on the LCA (LA Coastal Area) comprehensive coastal restoration plan.

And every hurricane season that goes by without WRDA becoming law is another season that the citizens of St. Bernard/Plaquemines, Jefferson, New Orleans remain and all of S. LA remain more vulnerable to deadly storm surges.

We can't wait any longer.

Congress has come up short in finishing a WRDA bill for seven years now, and today we are so close we can't allow it to be stopped.

Louisiana's hurricane protection and coastal restoration needs must not be pushed aside any longer.

Finally, I would like to thank the committee members and staff for their steadfast dedication to this legislation and I urge my colleagues to support the successful recovery of Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast by voting to override the President's veto and

passing WRDA with an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

Thank you, Congresswoman Holmes Norton, for your leadership in moving this piece of legislation forward. I also commend my colleagues and friends from Louisiana who also understand that Ms. Holmes Norton and others have been a genuinely great help to the folks of Louisiana and Mississippi and the affected areas of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

I am proud of what we have done in Congress to address the recovery and rebuilding needs along the gulf coast after these two unprecedented storms, Katrina and Rita, and our needs are still great. They have not gone away.

From my experience over the last 2 years, I found that the Stafford Act was not written for disasters the size of Katrina and Rita, nor was FEMA prepared to respond, particularly in the long term, to events of this magnitude. H.R. 3247 would amend the Stafford Act to more accurately reflect the rebuilding and recovery needs of the gulf coast. St. Bernard Parish in my district only has a handful of buildings that were not damaged in the storms, and less than 40 percent of the population has returned to the parish.

Through the alternate project penalty, the Stafford essentially penalizes the parish and its officials as they try to rebuild and reflect the returning population. H.R. 3247 would reduce this penalty from 25 percent to 10 percent of each of the project's costs, and this is enormous in the needs that follow and has been mentioned about the inadequacies of the Stafford Act.

The bill would also instruct FEMA to use alternate dispute resolution in place of its completely inadequate project worksheet appeals process. Many project worksheets are still under review after 27 months. Without a guarantee that the project will be fully funded, the State and local governments are apprehensive to even begin projects for fear that FEMA will ask for the money back. FEMA itself is preventing the rebuilding of the gulf coast. It is not their intention, but it is the reality, and this needs to change.

I appreciate all of the work Congress has done to address the recovery and rebuilding needs of the gulf coast, and I ask that my colleagues again assist with easing the restrictions to allow for full recovery by supporting H.R. 3247. I thank you for the opportunity to speak on this issue, and I thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia for her efforts and the efforts of my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle for helping in this rebuilding effort in an effort to bring FEMA to a position of reality rather than bureaucracy.