Floor Statements

I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, I think it is absolutely outrageous what happened to those soldiers. As a military officer for 24 years, and as an airline pilot for 17 years, I think it is absolutely heinous what happened to those soldiers. Quite frankly, it's outrageous. And I think we should ask Chairman Mica for open debate on this issue. It's something that definitely should be taken a look into.

As a matter of fact, I think it is so critical I will ask Chairman Mica to make sure that this never happens to another United States servicemember.

But, unfortunately, Madam Chairman, we're bringing this up on a motion to recommit. My question would be, why didn't we bring this up earlier, this act? We should be debating this when----

Just a moment, sir, and I will yield.

We should have opened this up when we had open committee, and this should have been brought up then. But not now, in the motion to recommit, when we have FAA jobs on the line, and we need to get this bill moved forward.

I look forward to engaging in that debate a little bit further on, and I look forward to working with you and ensuring that this does not happen again, but now is not the time. We need to investigate this a little bit later on.

I yield to the gentleman fron West Virginia.

Reclaiming my time, we did have an FAA open debate, Madam Speaker, and we could have brought this up at this time.

We should not be opening this at this time on a motion to recommit. I will fully work with the other side in trying to make sure that this does not happen again to another soldier, and I look forward to that discussion, but having it right now is a little bit disingenuous on this FAA reauthorization.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, in March of this year, Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, testified before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment that the administration is preparing to plan draft legislation to expand the scope of projects eligible to receive Harbor Trust Fund moneys.

In the hearing, Assistant Secretary Darcy alluded to the Administration's interest in using Harbor Trust Fund moneys for port security, among other things.

While I fully support funding port security through the general appropriations process, I oppose the efforts to divert Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund moneys until the Federal Government demonstrates it has fully used these trust funds to their intended purpose, and that is dredging.

As many of you know, the Harbor Maintenance Tax is an ad valorem tax assessed on the maritime shippers that use America's ports. By law, revenues of this user tax are to be dedicated to the United States Army Corps of Engineers' operations and maintenance budgets to ensure American navigation channels remain dredged to their authorized depths and widths.

Despite the significant revenues and the roughly $6 billion supposed balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, our Nation's maritime infrastructure has largely fallen into disrepair.

Only one-third of our Nation's navigation channels are at their authorized depths and widths. Portions of the important Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway have been closed to commercial navigation due to lack of maintenance dredging. Eight out of the ten of our Nation's largest harbors are not dredged at their authorized depths and widths.

Mr. Chairman, make no mistake, this has a direct impact on American job creation and prosperity. When American ships have to ``light load'' to clear the shallowest channel, American economic productivity is lost.

For example, for each inch silted in, the American Laker fleet collectively, per voyage, leaves 8,000 tons of Minnesota ore on the docks in Duluth. That's enough to produce over 6,000 cars. I know I don't have to tell the ranking member and fellow Steel Caucus member what this means.

Moreover light loading causes increased transportation costs for our exports, decreases our national economic competitiveness. Every billion dollars in exports, Mr. Chairman, translates to 15,000 American jobs.

Given the economic straits we are in it is imperative we don't hold back American business with increased transportation costs caused by unmaintained channels.

We must, Mr. Chairman, ensure that the moneys intended for dredging are not siphoned off for other programs. My amendment will prohibit moneys from being used by the administration to develop a plan or draft legislation to expand the scope of the projects eligible to receive Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund moneys.

American shippers are taxed specifically to maintain the channels they, and our Nation, depend on. It is imperative that we ensure that harbor trust fund moneys be spent as they are intended, thereby ensuring American competitiveness and the proliferation of American jobs.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentlemen for their kind comments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Offered By: Mr. Cravaack

Amendment No. 80: At the end of the bill, before the short

title, insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Cravaack

Amendment No. 27: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment stipulates that none of the funds of this bill may be used in violation of section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Practically speaking, my amendment would prohibit the United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement, ICE, from using taxpayer dollars to process the release, or to administer alternative forms of detention to illegal immigrants who committed a crime which mandates their incarceration under section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Importantly, section 236(c) requires the U.S. Government to detain illegal aliens who have committed any one of the serious crimes detailed in section 236(c) until that illegal alien is deported to their home country. For example, section 236(c) would require ICE to detain an alien that committed

arson until that alien is deported. I think this is a very commonsense provision. In fact, in my opinion, criminal illegal aliens shouldn't be in the United States in the first place, but that is a debate for another day.

Make no mistake, I want to state that I think the vast majority of ICE employees are great Americans, and I personally appreciate the work that they do to ensure our Nation remains a nation founded under the rule of law. Nevertheless, ICE does not always operate in accordance with section 236(c). For example, ICE has allowed criminal illegal aliens who are waiting for a deportation hearing to leave Federal detention facilities and reenter the general public if the criminal illegal alien is fitted with a GPS tracking device or regularly checks in with their ICE supervisor. This is very troubling to me, Mr. Chairman.

In August, 2010, ICE's policy of releasing dangerous criminal aliens proved deadly. According to the Freedom of Information Act, which I have, illegal alien Carlos Montano was sentenced to over 1 year in jail for his second DWI and was released from ICE custody wearing only a GPS tracking device. This is in direct violation to section 236(c). Tragically, on August 1, Montano got drunk, got behind a wheel, and collided head on with a vehicle carrying three nuns. This head-on collision killed 66-year-old Sister Jeanette Mosier of Virginia.

To protect innocent citizens from criminal illegal aliens, I firmly believe we need to enforce immigration laws, especially section 236(c) that mandates the detention of dangerous criminal illegal aliens. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used in violation of section 236(c).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Cravaack

Amendment No. 27: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Madam Speaker, I rise today to give recognition to an extraordinary young man from my district, Connor Gunsbury, an eighth grader from Forestview Middle School in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Connor has advanced to compete this week in the Scripps National Spelling Bee here in Washington, D.C., after passing an extensive writing exam and winning two spelling bees. He will join 257 students from around the country to vie for the honor of being named the country's greatest young speller.

Connor spends 4 hours a day studying his spelling while still remaining active at his church, various sports, playing the trombone in the All-Minnesota Honors Band, and serving his community participating in the Builders Club with his Kiwanis.

Madam Speaker, Connor Gunsbury is a shining example of what young people today can accomplish, and I wish the best as he moves forward in the competition.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes.

I rise in support of my amendment. After years of excessive spending, the United States is facing difficult economic and fiscal straits, Mr. Chairman. Presently, our country is suffering under $14.39 trillion of national debt, and roughly 40 cents of every dollar that we spend must be borrowed and placed on the backs of our children. Make no mistake, funding for government programs and nonprofit organizations that are not critical to the functioning of core government services must be considered for cuts.

With an extensive lobbying effort to portray the Institute for Peace as incredibly important to our Nation's work on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, a few U.S. officials have signed letters in its support.

While I have seen evidence to the contrary, I will, for the sake of argument and respect for the handful of generals that support the Institute for Peace cede their point.

However, I will note that the United States Institute for Peace grant program is entirely duplicative of existing grant programs of the United States, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations.

At a time when the government must do more with less, I remain convinced the research, training, workshop holding, and humanitarian work of the United States Institute for Peace, its small staff in Afghanistan and Iraq, can be replicated by divisions or offices with the Department of Defense, the State Department, or through entities like the Peace Corps and USAID. It must.

We are a Nation teetering on the edge of insolvency. Admiral Mike Mullen recently stated, The most significant threat to our national security is our debt.

Now is the time to make the tough calls, Mr. Chairman, and the United States Institute for Peace is a program that our children and our grandchildren should not be funding at the sake of their futures.

Mr. Chairman, therefore in close, I'd like to urge my colleagues to support amendment 152.

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

Mr. Chairman, everybody wants peace, I above all people. But the Department of Defense--we have plenty of agencies within the Federal Government that will go ahead and search for peace. We do not need another program to do it that we just cannot afford.

With that, sir, I would like to urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my congratulations to the players, coaches, and supporters of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team for their historic victory this past Saturday on April 9, 2011.

In dramatic fashion, Kyle Schmidt, who grew up just minutes from Duluth in Hermantown, Minnesota, scored the game-winning goal 3 minutes and 22

seconds into overtime to help the Bulldogs win their first championship in school history by a score of 3-2 over the University of Michigan. The thrilling win culminated in a fantastic season for UMD's men's ice hockey team, with the Bulldogs amassing an impressive record of 26-10- 6.

The NCAA hockey title win comes in the same academic year as the NCAA Division II football title for the Bulldogs, making the University of Minnesota-Duluth just the second college ever to win both a hockey title and a football title in the same academic year. Mr. Speaker, that's quite a feat.

I know I speak for the Eighth District and for all Minnesotans to say how proud we are of our Bulldogs. And it is great to have the NCAA championship trophy back in the State of Hockey, Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation, and I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, this is basically a procedural tactic, and I am very opposed to this. I am a Federal flight deck officer. I have served as a Federal flight deck officer flying for the airlines, and if this was truly an important issue--this has been an open process--this would have been brought out way before this time. Furthermore, the Secretary of Transportation has no authority over U.S. air marshals.

The FAA has been and is currently operating under 18 extensions, Mr. Speaker. It is time to get this done. We have come here to make a difference and not to recommit. This is an extension that has not been formally reauthorized since 2003, and I urge my colleagues to vote for this so that we can get the FAA underway and get transportation and business flying again.

The House Republicans have brought a bill here today that reforms the necessary programs, that protects air safety and saves the taxpayer dollars. Aviation accounts for 9.3 percent of our GDP. It is done. There have been 4 years of delays, 4 years of people losing their jobs. Get people back to work, and stop these delays. Vote against the motion to recommit.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, on rollcall vote 97, I mistakenly voted ``no.'' I intended to vote ``yes.''

Stated against:

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

I rise today in support of the amendment, and I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner) for working across party lines to include us in this continuing resolution.

Madam Chair, after years of massive deficit spending and with a ballooning national debt, we must look for ways to rein in Washington's out-of-control spending and begin the process of getting our fiscal house back in order.

That begins by cutting unnecessary and repetitive programs like the U.S. Institute of Peace. Make no mistake, I believe that the institute's goals are also important and they are honorable. Who among us does not wish for peace, both for ourselves and for future generations of Americans?

But given our current fiscal constraints, I cannot justify spending over $42 million to pay for an organization whose role could be fulfilled by existing Departments, agencies, or nonprofit organizations, many of which do not depend on the Federal Government for funding.

This program has essentially been on autopilot with no real congressional oversight since it was created over 25 years ago. Over that time, the taxpayers have spent over $700 million to fund this redundant organization. Enough is enough.

The people of northeast Minnesota sent me, like many of my freshman colleagues, to Washington because they are tired of unaccountable government wasting their hard-earned dollars and borrowing against their children's futures.

I am proud to note that this amendment is supported by Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan group whose mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the Federal Government. They know an unnecessary program when they see it.

For example, in the building for the Institute of Peace--and this is from their Web site--there will be a contemplation area that will provide a quiet, meditative setting where visitors can reflect on their journey through the Global Peacebuilding Center. Enveloped in a spare, yet evocative, space combining a soothing water element with a generous gathering area, visitors will be encouraged to take time to consider the meaning of their recent experience. Preliminary thoughts for the water feature suggest a piece of cantilevered, honed slate across which flows a thin sheet of water that spills off the table into a pool below.

Included in these areas is an immersion theater and paths to peace building. A culminating game will illustrate the winding path to peace, filled with challenges and obstacles along the way. Visitors will determine the best route to take to reach a peaceful solution to a conflict. Signposts along the way will flag obstacles to peace, opportunities for moving the peace process forward, and dangers of backsliding or losing ground.

In response to President Reagan signing this into existence, what actually occurred is former Representative Dante Fascell had a provision inserted at the last minute to title 17 of the Defense Authorization Act which then-President Reagan signed. General Petraeus, and I also agree, signed it in 2007 commending this organization but that was several years ago, and since then, we have had no oversight.

In closing, this is a real, tangible cut we can make today. Eliminating this funding and returning the money to the taxpayers is just one way we can show we are serious about getting down to business and righting our fiscal ship.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, just to discuss a point about the Institute of Peace being not like any other organization, actually, they are.

The Afghan Study Center, where they will go in to conduct 2-day, 1- day seminars in Kabul province on national unity, peace, and stability.

The Cooperation for Peace and Unity organization, resolve longstanding conflicts on Pashtun Sunnis over disputed grazing wetlands, report back to their respective community stakeholders on peaceful approaches to resolve their disputes.

Another organization, Cooperation Center Afghanistan. The CCA will map ethnic-based conflicts in central Afghanistan, train local members and civil society leaders on conflict resolution, and conduct community outreach to promote nonviolent practices in conflict situations.

These, dear colleagues, are in-country. The same thing that the Institute of Peace does.

Now, the bottom line for this is we are $14.1 trillion in debt. We are selling

our children's futures away. The only reason I am standing here today as a Member of Congress is because I'm a father on a mission to restore the fiscal responsibility of this great body. And this is one organization that we can do without.

I thank the gentleman from New York, and I thank the gentleman from Texas for the time.

Offered By: Mr. Cravaack

Amendment No. 1: Page 321, line 7, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced by $42,676,000)''.

Page 359, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $42,676,000)''.