Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, last month I submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the rising problem of student loan debt.

I've heard from many people in my State--students, former students, and parents--who are struggling to pay back student loans. We are asking our students to take on more debt than ever, and in this weak economy, it's hard to make the rising monthly payments. There has to be a better way.

Private student loans are part of the problem. They are one of the riskiest ways to pay for college, often with uncapped variable interest rates that hit those who are least able to afford them the hardest.

But the Federal student loan system also needs reform. Currently, borrowers are paying an interest rate of up to 8 percent, while homeowners refinancing their mortgages are often paying less than half of that. There is no reason that students and their parents should pay so much more for something that is as basic and essential as an education.

Madam Speaker, an affordable education should be a right for every family in America.

Mr. Speaker, in my State of Maine, there are thousands of couples in loving, committed relationships. They share homes and they raise children together. They remain committed to each other through the ups and downs of life, but because they are same-sex couples, they are denied the right to honor their love and commitment to each other through marriage.

This fall, Maine will have a chance to change that and to join a growing list of States around the country that are setting aside discrimination and granting all couples the same right to get married.

We've made progress here in Congress on ending discriminatory practices like ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' but it will be up to us in Maine to bring marriage equality to our State. This is an issue of basic human rights and equal treatment under the law, and I am confident we'll do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk for a minute about some exciting developments in clean energy in my State of Maine.

Last week, Energy Secretary Chu released a report detailing the enormous potential for tidal energy off of U.S. coasts. There is enough there to meet up to one-third of our needs, and he singled out Maine, saying, ``These resources can create new industries and new jobs in America.''

He's right, and we're proving it. The Ocean Renewable Power Company of Portland is building a tidal power project in Maine that, if all goes as planned, will start producing clean, American-made electricity as early as this summer.

Meanwhile, we're welcoming one of the biggest energy companies in the world to our State. Statoil from Norway is considering a pilot project of large-scale wind turbines that would produce clean electricity while floating out of view off our coast. Experts say up to 15,000 jobs can be created in my State by offshore wind, good-paying American jobs that will help us regain our energy independence.

This is good news off our coast, Mr. Speaker, for Maine and our country.

Mr. Speaker, this week I voted against H.R. 3094, the so-called Workplace Democracy and Fairness Act, or, as it has become known, the Election Prevention Act. This bill's sole purpose is to delay and prevent workers from voting in workplace elections. It proposes a 35-day mandatory waiting period before a union election can be held. It encourages frivolous suits to be filed against union formation, and it allows companies to handpick union voters.

In Maine we have a tradition of incredibly hardworking people who are essential to the health, education, and safety of our families. Collective bargaining has been at the heart of American labor since the rise of trade unions during the 19th century. Thanks to strong unions and thousands of workers, over the years we have enacted child labor laws, laws for maternity leave, and we don't have to fear unemployment if we get sick.

I am proud to stand here today with organized labor and with the NLRB, which has served our workers so well.

Madam Speaker, when I moved to Maine 40 years ago and started a little organic farm, growing and selling healthy food locally was out of the mainstream. It was something that the back-to- the-land crowd was into, but here in Washington the government was pushing farmers to, in the words of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz, ``Get big or get out.''

It turns out that kind of thinking wasn't good for family farms, it wasn't good for rural communities, and it wasn't good for our Nation's health. That's why I've introduced a bill that is intended to make it easier for farmers to sell food locally and regionally, make it easier for schools to buy healthy local food and easier for us to rebuild the local and regional food systems.

Over 100 organizations and 53 of my colleagues have endorsed the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, a package of reforms to the farm bill that will help move our Nation's food policy in the right direction.

Everywhere I go, people just want to know that the food they put on their table is healthy, fresh, and good for their family. This bill will help make that easier for American families.

Mr. Speaker, today I am thrilled to congratulate Martin's Point Health Care Medicare Advantage plans for receiving five-star quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Martin's Point Health Care is a not-for-profit health care organization that provides primary care services, health plans, and wellness services in Maine and other parts of northern New England.

Under the direction of their president and chief executive officer, Dr. David Howes, Martin's Point has established a long tradition of providing high quality, efficient, and affordable care to thousands of veterans, seniors, and families in Maine.

Today CMS announced that Martin's Point has received five-star ratings for both its Value and Prime Medicare Advantage plans--the highest possible rating granted by CMS.

High quality care is not new to Martin's Point: for the last 3 years, Martin's Point has had the highest rated Medicare Advantage plan in Maine. But I am particularly proud to say that it is one of only nine Medicare Advantage organizations in the entire country to receive the CMS five-star designation for 2012.

The five-star rating system helps Medicare beneficiaries compare available plans and make meaningful choices about which plans are right for them based on quality of care and customer service. As a five-star plan, Martin's Point will be able to assure potential patients that they offer the highest quality, patient-centered care. And thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, this five-star rating will make Martin's Point Health Care eligible for quality bonus payments from CMS to help bolster their good work and ensure that patients in Maine will continue to benefit from their services for years to come.

I want to congratulate Dr. Howes and the entire team of health care providers and support staff at Martin's Point for this tremendous accomplishment. Their commitment to delivering quality health care and service excellence is second to none.

As we continue to work to shift our health care system to one that better values quality outcomes and patient experience, Martin's Point will stand as a model for health care organizations across the country, and a real asset to the people of Maine.

I thank my colleague and friend from Ohio for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the proposed trade agreement. The Panama free trade agreement is structured exactly like NAFTA, a trade policy that resulted in the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs all over America. In Maine alone, we have lost 31,000 manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was ratified in 1994. In addition to manufacturing jobs, it has hurt our agricultural and fishing sectors, and has had a huge impact on the economy of our State.

I have a perfect example. Steve White of Brewer, Maine, comes to mind. He worked in a factory for 22 years, making components that were used by GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Now those parts are being made in Mexico. Steve wrote this in the Bangor Daily News:

``We were given the opportunity, if we wished, to travel to Mexico and further train our replacements. My coworkers who went said that the conditions for the Mexican workers were very poor and far below the American standard. The pay rate was very low, and they would work long hours every day of the week.''

Here we are today, voting on three more trade agreements that could have the same devastating consequences for American jobs. Why would we do this at a time when we desperately need these jobs right here in the United States?

This week, in addition to the three free trade agreements, we will also vote on the extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program that was created for those adversely affected by trade agreements. For several years and for probably many more, we have and will spend millions of dollars retraining people who have been put out of work by misguided trade agreements.

And for what? So that big companies can get a better deal on cheap labor and loose environmental standards in other countries?

What our workers want today, what the people in my State, the State of Maine, want are jobs, not readjustment assistance, not retraining, not some idea of another job to come in the future. They want a job today. They don't want these trade agreements, and they don't want to lose any more jobs in our State.

Mr. Speaker, America has a long history of supporting our hardworking families, but this policy does not invest in our workforce. It is not what is right for America's future, and I cannot support it.

Madam Speaker, I would like to insert into the Record a letter from the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO in opposition to all three FTAs.

Building and Construction

Trades Department,

Washington, DC, June 27, 2011.

Dear House of Representatives: As President of the Building

and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, I strongly

oppose the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Columbia,

Panama, and South Korea, and I urge you to oppose each of

these trade agreements because they represent an expansion of

failed trade policies that will cause great harm to workers

in the building and construction trades.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton worked to pass the North

America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was negotiated by

President George H.W. Bush. NAFTA has contributed to the

erosion of America's industrial base and been a disaster for

our members who build America's factories and retool and

service them. Many of our unions represent manufacturing

workers, as well as those in the construction trades, and our

members have lost jobs as well as line workers in America's

shuttered factories. The loss of manufacturing jobs also

undermines our nation's ability to finance the public

infrastructure (roads, bridges, schools) on which we all

rely.

When unfair trade policies destroy our manufacturing base

and erode the tax base for infrastructure, our jobs in the

building and construction trades disappear too.

With that experience, I am very disappointed that Congress

may soon consider the free trade agreements for Colombia,

Panama and South Korea. These trade agreements, negotiated by

President George W. Bush, replicate the failed trade policies

of the past that have exploded our trade deficit, destroyed

millions of jobs, driven down U.S. wages, undermined the Buy

America policies that reinvested our taxes in our

communities, and exposed our domestic laws to repeated

attacks in foreign tribunals.

From the extreme violence against labor leaders in Colombia

to the tax havens in Panama and the failure to address

currency manipulation in South Korea, these trade deals are a

bad deal for U.S. workers. In addition, efforts to provide

expanded Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits are a

recognition that jobs will be lost as a result of these trade

agreements.

The Building and Construction Trades Department supports a

more equitable trade model. Our nation can and must do better

to enact fair trade policies that expand economic

opportunities for all Americans. With unacceptable

unemployment levels and working families struggling to

recover from the Great Recession, our members want Congress

to pass real job-creation legislation, not more job-killing

trade agreements. In the end, working families will remember

who is working for them.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Mark H. Ayers,

President.

Mr. Speaker, coastal communities across this Nation are in trouble. Economically important working waterfront jobs are disappearing. Businesses that require access to the water are closing their doors, fishing wharves are being turned into condos. And, the cultural identity of our waterfront communities is dissolving.

I live in a community built around a working waterfront. My friends and neighbors on North Haven need access to the coastline to land their lobsters, store their bait, load and unload their lobster traps. They need a place to keep their skiffs and park their trucks. Elsewhere on the coast, working waterfronts are critical connections between the ocean and land for boat builders, marina operators, aquaculturists, seafood processors, charter boat captains and crew, recreational fishing businesses, and many others who require access to the water. These businesses need to be located on the water and require access to the water for their business models to work. Water dependent, coastal- related businesses are the cultural and economic heart of many of our coastal communities and working waterfronts are quickly disappearing under tremendous pressures from incompatible use and development trends.

Of Maine's 3,300 miles of coastline, less than 20 miles support commercial fishing and other traditional marine-based activities. This small portion of the coastline contributes $800 million to Maine's economy and provides direct or indirect employment for about 30,000 people. As the coastline became more developed, traditional uses disappeared, giving way to condos, summer houses, and other non- compatible uses. These changes in how coastal communities use their land present one of the primary challenges facing Maine's working waterfronts.

This problem is not unique to Maine, it occurs on all of our coasts and in the Great Lakes region. Across the country, working waterfront jobs are quickly disappearing under the tremendous pressure communities face from conversion to incompatible uses. Once these businesses close, once the waterfronts and waterways stop supporting water dependent businesses, the businesses do not come back. And, many states and local communities have recognized this dangerous trend and are taking action to preserve waterfront dependent businesses. In recognition of the national importance of working waterfronts, local community and state representatives have come together to form a national working waterfronts and waterways council that has helped put on symposiums that bring people to the table with the tools and knowledge needed to develop sustainable working waterfronts around the Nation. But, local communities and states need help at the federal level.

It is time to help maintain working waterfronts through a federally authorized program that will serve to support, implement, and further develop working waterfront preservation efforts across the nation. That is why I am introducing legislation with Representatives Robert E. Andrews, Earl Blumenauer, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Lois Capps, Donna M. Christensen, Gerald E. Connolly, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, William R. Keating, Barbara Lee, Mike McIntyre, James P. Moran, Pedro R. Pierluisi, Michael Quigley, Louise M. Slaughter, Paul Tonko, and Lynn C. Woolsey that encourages states to seriously think about these areas and how to best protect them. While recognizing the common problem of disappearing waterfront access for businesses, this program will also provide the flexibility that different states and local governments need to address working waterfronts around the Nation.

Our legislation amends the Coastal Zone Management Act to establish a Working Waterfronts program. This legislation embodies the spirit of the CZMA in that it allows each coastal state to determine what working waterfronts are important to the people of that state, which working waterfronts are most threatened, and who should be protecting them--the state, local or regional government, or a collaborative public-private partnership.

The CZMA was developed as a tool to allow states the flexibility to manage their coasts in a manner that fits that particular coast. The CZMA recognizes separate needs of various coastal states and provides the flexibility to states to manage their coastal resources. The working waterfront program creates a grant program that states can apply for. In order for states to be eligible for a working waterfront grant, the state must have a working waterfront plan that requires a thoughtful, collaborative, public process to identify the value and importance of working waterfronts. This bill is not designed to require states to undergo a completely new or comprehensive planning process but rather to utilize existing information, planning, and programs at state and local levels to the greatest extent possible. Finally, the bill provides technical assistance to the states to develop these plans as well as other tools to protect working waterfronts.

Maintaining working waterfronts preserves and creates coastal jobs, but also jobs beyond the water's edge. Waterfront and waterway businesses support entire economies that depend on the American tradition of marine-based trades. The Keep America's Waterfronts Working Act of 2011 will serve to maintain jobs in our communities and maintain the American tradition of coastal and waterways industry.

Mr. Speaker, of Maine's 3,300 miles of coastline, less than 20 miles support commercial fishing and other traditional marine activities. But this small portion of the coastline contributes $800 million to Maine's economy and provides jobs for over 30,000 people. As the coastline continues to give way to condos, hotels, and other non-compatible uses, these jobs are disappearing.

This problem is not unique to Maine. It occurs on all our coasts and waterways around the country and throughout the Great Lakes region. Working waterfront jobs are disappearing as a result of tremendous pressures communities face from incompatible development.

That's why today I'm introducing the Keep America's Waterfronts Working Act, along with my colleagues from around the country. With a grants program devoted to preserving working waterfronts across the Nation, States will be able to help preserve jobs and communities that depend on them.

I thank my colleague from Florida for his eloquent words and for allowing me a moment to speak on the floor.

Madam Speaker, the TRAIN Act will repeal two critical clean air standards: the proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule for power plants that burn coal and oil.

I'm from the State of Maine, and Maine is the tailpipe of the Nation for most atmospheric pollution. Nearly 130,000 people in Maine have been diagnosed with asthma. Yesterday in my office, I met with a wonderful young man named Jake, one of 28,000 children in the State of Maine who suffer from

asthma. I also met with his parents, small business owners who struggle to pay more than a thousand dollars a month in insurance and medication to keep Jake healthy.

Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and decreased air pollution by 60 percent. Implementing Clean Air standards will mean fewer kids and parents will struggle with life-long costs of dirty air. Improved standards will also mean reducing the amount of mercury and toxins in the air and water.

In 2000, the government determined that major coal-burning entities are the single largest source of manmade emissions of mercury in the United States. It's estimated that 6 percent of women in the U.S. of childbearing age have dangerous levels of mercury in their blood, and more than 410,000 children born each year in the United States are exposed to levels of mercury in the womb high enough to impair neurological development.

Madam Speaker, improved Clean Air Act standards will dramatically reduce atmospheric pollution and decrease dangerous healthy effects of dirty air. The TRAIN Act would delay those standards.

Companies are prepared to meet improved Clean Air Act standards by making further investments in technology that would create over a million jobs in the United States between 2011 and 2015. The TRAIN Act will delay those investments.

The TRAIN Act will delay those investments and delay those jobs in this country. The TRAIN Act is bad for business, it's bad for our health, and it's bad for the State of Maine. I urge a ``no'' vote on the TRAIN Act and a ``no'' vote on delaying Clean Air Act standards.

Mr. Speaker, in 1911, the Animal Refuge League in Portland, Maine was incorporated and in 1956, former Maine Governor Percival Baxter helped fund and establish the League's new location on Stroudwater Street in Westbrook, Maine. Each year, the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland (ARLGP) rescues and places more than 4,000 dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, gerbils and other animals all around Maine each year. The dedicated staff and volunteers nurture wounded, neglected and abandoned animals so they can be placed in loving homes. The organization has an impressive 92 percent placement rate for cats and dogs, which is among the highest in the country.

This year, the Animal Refuge League marks its one hundredth anniversary. In addition to fulfilling its original mission to provide temporary care and permanent shelter for stray, abandoned and relinquished animals, the ARLGP is also developing innovative programs to meet the needs of Maine communities in new ways.

Through Paws in Stripes, the ARLGP maintains a working relationship with Maine Correctional Center in Windham whereby the prisoners play a major role in the socialization of select puppies from the shelter. A new Seniors to Seniors program matches senior citizens with senior cats, and the ongoing foster program works with families to provide temporary homes to animals who need time, rest, recuperation, medical care or socialization before they are ready for adoption. Humane Education is a program that teaches children of all ages respect for all living things.

As someone who spent years working as an organic farmer, I have a deep appreciation for the many roles that animals play in all our lives. Today, I am happy to celebrate the ALRGP's one hundred years of successful work rescuing animals. Congratulations, and thank you for the work that you do.

Mr. Speaker, this summer marked the one- hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of organized camp in the United States. Summer camps throughout the nation provide valuable educational experiences and offer the chance for children from all different backgrounds to spend time outdoors, connect with their peers, and learn life-long skills. In the summer of 1861, William Frederick Gunn and his wife Abigail organized the first summer camp in America by taking a group of kids into the wilderness along the Long Island Sound for two weeks. Since then, thousands of camps have been founded, and 150 years later there are over 12,000 summer camps nationwide. While times have changed, the purpose of summer camp has remained the same--to provide our youth with havens in which to grow and learn in nature.

In the State of Maine, we have nearly 200 camps--most of which are accredited by the American Camp Association--including sleep-away camps, day camps, and specialty camps. More than 18 of those have been operating for more than 100 years. In 1902, Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark, Maine opened its doors to girls and, today, remains the oldest continuously operating camp for girls in the country. Girls' camps play a pivotal role in young women's lives--providing settings in which they can grow confidence and develop as bright young women. Also in 1902, Pine Island Camp for boys opened in Belgrade Lakes, Maine and remains the oldest continuously operating camp for boys in the state. In 1908, two camps were opened by non-profit agencies in Maine: West End House Camp in East Parsonfield and Camp Jordan YMCA in Ellsworth.

Camp is a special place where kids get a chance to re-create themselves, develop independence, be physically active, and learn new skills outside of the traditional school setting. And, through exposure to new experiences, friendships with kids from other states and around the globe, campers gain perspectives on their own lives that augment their education during the school year. Camps are also a place to build lasting friendships--a home away from home where the camp community becomes a second family. In a fast changing world, summer camps continue to be a mainstay of American society--providing kids a time for quiet reflection away from the pressures of growing up in a modern world. As millions of summer campers head back to start another year of school, let's remember the valuable role that summer camps play in the year-round education of children.

I thank my former colleague for her wonderful work and for recognizing me today.

Mr. Speaker, about an hour ago, I met with a wonderful group of religious and civic leaders from around this country. After our meeting, they walked into the Capitol Rotunda, they got down on their knees to pray, and at this moment, they are being arrested.

They were praying for those who will be hurt the hardest by the bill that we are considering today. They were praying for seniors who will face rising costs for their prescription drugs. They were praying for low-income Americans who depend on heating assistance to stay warm in the winter. They were praying for working families who already struggle to make ends meet and find a way to send their kids to college. They were praying for the millions of Americans who don't have high-priced lobbyists to protect them.

You know who can afford those lobbyists? Corporations who ship jobs overseas and are protected by this bill, the big oil companies whose subsidies are protected in this bill, the millionaires and billionaires whose tax breaks are protected in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the men and women arrested today were standing up for the families that find it harder and harder to afford basics like groceries and heat and health care.

I urge you to vote against this rule and against this bill and join them, the members of the faith and civic community, who are standing up for those Americans.

Mr. Speaker, in the past few weeks, the phones in my office have been ringing off the hook. The message from my constituents is clear: Please don't touch Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. Some are angry, and some are tearful. All are sick with worry over the threat of losing benefits they have earned and depend on. Sadly, these effective programs have become targets for those who would balance the Federal budget on the backs of seniors and the middle class rather than restoring tax rates for millionaires. It's unthinkable, and it's unfair. I plan to do everything I can to protect these critical programs because they work.

When Medicare started 45 years ago, a third of our seniors lived in poverty; half had no health care coverage. Today the poverty rate for seniors has been slashed, and nearly all of our seniors have access to quality care. And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, seniors won't have to worry about paying for preventative care or falling into the prescription drug doughnut hole. After working hard their entire lives, seniors should be able to feel confident that the system they faithfully paid into will be there for them when they need it most.