Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

I thank the chairman.

I rise today in strong support of the REINS Act. This bill is about representative democracy, transparency, and accountability. The concept is simple: any new proposed regulatory rule written by the Federal bureaucracy that has an estimated economic impact greater than $100 million must first come here before the Congress for an up-or-down vote before implementation.

To get our economy moving, to create jobs, to strengthen the jobs we have now, and to raise the standard of living of all, we need to address the impediments to growth--taxes, regulations, health care costs, and energy costs. The simple truth is Federal regulations have increased the cost of doing business and contributed to job loss and stifled new job creation. Even the President has acknowledged this when he appeared in this Chamber to speak to the American people.

According to the Small Business Administration, Federal regulations cost our economy $1.75 trillion a year.

This negative impact is something small business owners, including farmers, have told me time and again as I have traveled across the 137 towns in my district. Something must be done. It really comes down to judgment. We want to get these key decisions right. It's about balancing competing priorities. In the process, certainly we want to hear the advice of our subject matter experts in the bureaucracy, but the decision should fall to the people's representatives who can be held accountable to them, not unelected, faceless bureaucrats.

It's far past time for some transparency and accountability. It's far past time for the REINS Act. I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, and urge my colleagues to join me in voting for it.

Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to represent a district along the Hudson River that is steeped in history and produced the first American school of painting in the mid-nineteenth century, called the Hudson River School of Painting. Its founder and spiritual leader was Thomas Cole, who, in 1825, sailed up the Hudson River to the Catskill Mountains and painted inspiring pictures of New York State sites that attracted instant acclaim. Thomas Cole was born in Bolton, Lancashire in northwest England in 1801. He emigrated to the United States in 1818, and around 1832, rented a small studio in my district called Cedar Grove. This is now known today as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Complementing Cedar Grove, and also located in my district, is the home and studio of Frederic Edwin Church, who was a student of Thomas Cole. During the last 40 years of Church's life, he created a 250 acre estate called Olana. Olana is a National Historic Landmark located in Hudson, NY, and I proud to represent this fine marker of our history, which is home to the Hudson River School of Painting. The painters that gathered here, among them Asher B. Durand, Jasper F. Cropsey, John F. Kensett, Sanford R. Gifford, formed the first coherent society of artists in America, and led the fine arts until the end of the Civil War. Today, their major paintings are seen in museums throughout the United States, including major federal buildings in Washington, D.C., such as the White House, State Department, and National Gallery of Art. They depict the landscape of America, and some have said these were the first environmental conservationists, who glorified our land and its contours in the mid- nineteenth century.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the effort to place creative bronze ``Arches'' historic markers along the Hudson River, marking where these artists painted. My colleague, Rep. Eliot Engel, recently unveiled a Hudson River School of Painting historic marker at Hastings on Hudson, and others will be placed at Hook Mountain, on the Hudson River near Nyack, with a beautiful view of the Tappen Zee Bride and Haverstraw Bay, as well as at Newburgh, New York. Greg Wyatt, Director of the Academy of Art at the

Newington-Cropsey Foundation, has created these historic markers, and I encourage those that visit our region to view them, as well as the striking landscape and sweeping natural beauty of our Hudson River.

Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the Hudson River School of Painting led not only to the establishment of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, but also to the creation of the National Parks Systems begun under the late President Theodore Roosevelt. I salute the Hudson River School painters, who celebrated the ideals of American democracy, individuality, and illustrated themes such as nature, education, family, and chivalry. I urge my colleagues to take the time to review the influences of this American art movement and to have all Americans understand its impact on our culture. There are two paintings by Albert Bierstadt, a prominent member of the Hudson River School of Painting, that were recently placed on public view in the Capitol Visitors Center of the U.S. Congress. These works, ``Discovery of the Hudson River'' and ``Entrance into Monterey,'' were purchased by Congress after the Civil War and are beautiful examples of this movement.

I rise to share my disappointment with the recent proposal by the administration to restrict food and beverage marketing. Like many Members of this body, I am concerned about the rise in childhood obesity. However, the proposed guidelines will do little to address the issue. In particular, I am concerned that this proposal blatantly contradicts existing Federal nutrition standards.

Under the administration's food marketing restrictions, many healthy products could no longer be advertised or marketed, including most soups, breads, cereals, yogurts, and most cheeses. These unreasonable standards impact products that are considered healthy by the administration's school lunch program, WIC program, and new dietary guidelines.

Any proposal to regulate food should be based upon sound nutritional standards and common sense. We should let science, not politics, lead the way. The first step is to complete the study originally requested by Congress, and then we'll go from there.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act.

This bill is about freedom. It's about the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. This bill is about the Second Amendment right. As with all of the amendments contained in the Bill of Rights, these were born out of our experiences with King George and out of a desire to prevent such abuses of power in our Republic. Indeed, at the outset of hostilities during the Revolution, the British Army marched to Concord to confiscate our guns and extinguish our freedoms.

The Founders put the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights to assure our right to keep and bear arms and safeguard our liberty. At least in my district, this is a nonpartisan bill. Republicans, Democrats and independents alike support the Second Amendment and hold dear our Bill of Rights.

The premise of H.R. 822 is very simple. If a citizen is permitted to carry a concealed weapon in one State, other States that have a concealed-carry law will honor and recognize it, supporting and strengthening the Second Amendment. I urge my colleagues to support it.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation to provide a commemorative coin for the National Baseball Hall of Fame sponsored by my friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Hanna).

Tourism is one of the most important drivers of our local economy in upstate New York. Many jobs are tied to it. And the over 350,000 visitors to the museum each year provide a much needed important boost for the economy in the greater Cooperstown area.

Baseball is America's pastime, the sport I played growing up in my hometown of Kinderhook, New York, and one that our son, Connor, plays now. On Columbus Day just past, I visited the Hall of Fame with Connor. It was a very special bonding moment for both of us and one that millions of American families have had the opportunity to do over the last 72 years.

This legislation will help promote the Hall of Fame, will help provide a boost to our local economy through tourism and do so without costing the taxpayers a single penny. It is good legislation and we should all support it. I urge my colleagues to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the fair trade agreements that we will vote on later today. I commend the Obama administration for their work in ensuring that our businesses and workers get the best agreement possible to grow the economy and create jobs.

While these agreements have been in the works for years, our country has benefited from the improvements garnered by our U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, and his team. This is particularly evident in their refining of the South Korean agreement so that our farmers and automobile manufacturers get a fair deal. Of course, each trade agreement is different, and they all have to be evaluated on their merits. Details matter.

Overall, these agreements will help increase U.S. exports by an estimated $13 billion, adding $10 billion to our annual gross domestic product and creating nearly a quarter million jobs, including many in my district in upstate New York; and we'll do that without adding a single dollar to the deficit. In fact, these fiscally responsible agreements will help cut the deficit.

Our farmers, in particular, stand to gain significantly from these agreements, opening up nearly $30 million in new business a year for our farmers in New York. These agreements are enthusiastically supported by our New York State Farm Bureau and by my Agricultural Advisory Panel, comprised of farmers from across the 10 counties and 137 towns I represent, a congressional district with over 1,000 family farmers.

Mr. Speaker, we have the smartest, hardest-working farmers in the world. Their issue is profitability. We help farmers when we attack the impediments to growth, which include taxes, regulations, health care costs, and energy costs. We help farmers when we have access to quality infrastructure--not only roads and bridges, but also access to high- speed broadband. And we help farmers when we expand markets to help them sell their goods. These agreements enhance our farmers' profitability.

Supporting our farmers is supporting the American way. Our family farmers represent the best of our country. And this is also a national security issue--no farms, no food. We must ensure our family farms can compete, or we risk losing them and relying on imports with the attendant food security risks. That's not what my constituents want; that's not what our country wants, which is why we need to pass these agreements.

Now, in addition to helping our farmers, the independent, nonpartisan U.S. International Trade Commission estimates key U.S. manufacturing sectors are also poised to gain. This includes the increase of U.S. exports of motor vehicles and parts by about 50 percent; metal products by over 50 percent; chemical, rubber, and plastic products by over 40 percent; and machinery and equipment by over 30 percent. This will directly help companies in my district, who are already relying on exports, with expanding markets for selling their products, companies like B&B Forest Products in Greene County, Momentive in Saratoga County, EFCO Products in Dutchess County, and Hudson River Stove Works in my home county, Columbia.

What's often missed in these conversations about trade are some of the key points. Right now, over 90 percent of the products coming from Colombia and Panama are already duty free, when less than 40 percent of our goods currently go duty free to these countries. Our goods to South Korea suffer under tariff rates about four times higher. With passage of these fair trade agreements, we will address these imbalances. These agreements will add to our GDP, strengthen existing jobs, and create new ones.

Let's recognize what's at stake, and let's not fool ourselves. If we fail to pass these fair trade agreements and do nothing, we will fall behind. In South Korea, we have seen our beef industry lose more and more of the share of that country's business year after year since the 1990s. South Korea is poised to increase agricultural trade with

Australia and the European Union. If we don't pass these agreements, we will continue to fall behind while other countries gain. Same with Colombia: in 2007, our farmers accounted for 44 percent of the agricultural business in Colombia. By 2010, that number fell to 21 percent.

These agreements are about the future. As Americans, we've enjoyed an unprecedented quality of life because we make things other people can't and we make common goods better than anyone else. That's still the case. In my district, we make the world's most advanced wafers in the semi-conductor industry and some of the most advanced medical devices.

We are poised to continue our tradition of excellence in this country if we make the right choices. And, today, making the right choices means working in a bipartisan way with the Obama administration and enacting a key provision of the President's jobs plan. It means passing these fair trade agreements before the House this week.

I urge my colleagues to support these bills and help get America back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of New York's 20th District to recognize the Bicentennial Celebration of the historic St. James' Episcopal Church in Hyde Park, NY. I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the community service and historical value that this 200 year old parish has provided our district, state, and nation.

St. James' Episcopal Church was founded in 1811 with the help of several prominent figures and families in this historical region, including Dr. John Bard--President George Washington's personal physician during the Revolutionary War--and the Livingston family. A statue of Robert Livingston is one of the New York statues in the U.S. Capitol Building.

While the parish continued to be home to many prominent local and state figures for the next 100 years, the next parishioner to become a national figure was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After his baptism as a child in the chapel at St. James', President Roosevelt began his 39 year service to the parish as a vestryman in 1906, which ended upon his death in 1945. In fact, his pew--the third from the front--continues to be honored. The funeral of his First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, was also held at the church in 1962, with King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy all in attendance.

Unfortunately, St. James' was devastated by a fire in June 1984 that enveloped most of the church buildings, with the original black walnut pulpit being one of the few items to not be destroyed. The parishioners, appreciating the historic and cultural value of the parish and the buildings themselves, joined together and fully funded its reconstruction, making it as close to the original specifications as possible.

St. James' Episcopal Church continues to be a major spiritual and cultural bulwark to the community of Hyde Park and Dutchess County, contributing to the projects and groups such as the County Rural and Migrant Ministry, the Dutchess County Coalition for the Homeless, an After School Reading Program ministry, and the Boy and Girls Scouts of America.

I am proud to serve such a historical and dedicated parish as that of St. James' Episcopal Church. Their year-long Bicentennial Celebration is truly an example of the American spirit and embodies the concept of a Shining City upon a Hill.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to address an important issue affecting the domestic renewable energy industry. As the House continues consideration of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2012, it is important to carefully examine the Department's investment in renewable energy products, and what effect their investments have on the U.S. economy.

The U.S. Department of Defense is required to abide by the Buy American Act when purchasing goods and equipment, including solar panels. However, the Department is utilizing alternative financing vehicles, such as Power Purchase Agreements, PPA's, to fund renewable energy technology installations on its bases and buildings. Under such agreements, a private developer finances, installs, and maintains the solar installation for the life of the technology and leases the power to the military facility. This financing structure is beneficial to the Department, as it allows the Department to meet its renewable energy goals, requires no upfront capital costs, and allows a private entity to take advantage of tax incentives not available to government purchasers, all with little risk to the taxpayer.

However, PPA's allow the private entity to purchase the solar technology and the Buy American Act does not apply. This is a loophole in the Buy American Act that foreign manufacturers, in particular highly subsidized Chinese solar panel manufacturers, have quickly exploited to deploy foreign-made solar technology on U.S. government property.

For this reason, DOD should review their procurement and payment for power policies. These decisions impact the U.S. solar industry, and our nation's energy security. Installing highly subsidized foreign solar technology on DOD property or a facility owned by the Department had the unintended consequence of pushing domestic solar manufacturing technology offshore and puts our nation in the position of remaining dependent on foreign energy resources. We must ensure our military does not unintentionally transition our country from one dependent on Middle East oil to one heavily reliant on Chinese renewable energy. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important issue.

I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me time to speak today.

I've been opposed to this operation in Libya from the very start. In terms of national security priorities, we should be focusing on rapidly and successfully completing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, reorganizing the national security establishment to more effectively wage counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda, and resetting the DOD to defend our cherished way of life in a manner consistent for a Republic, not an Empire. Going forward, we need to learn from these experiences and exercise more discipline; not getting involved in operations like Libya where vital national security interests are not present.

We should cease our involvement in Libya immediately. I'm supporting this resolution to cut off funds for combat operations. I view this as a good start, but I want to be clear: I will not be satisfied until all funds are cut off for this operation, no exceptions.

Then we need to revise the War Powers Act to ensure we never again end up with a President taking this country to war without proper authorization. We need to rediscover the Founders' intent on this critical issue, and I've introduced legislation, the War Powers Reform Act, to make it so. The War Powers Reform Act clarifies when the President may deploy forces into hostilities or imminent threat of hostilities: one, declaration of war; two, specific statutory authorization; or three, a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or an imminent threat of an attack on our country. If none of these circumstances are met, the President must first come to Congress to obtain authorization before deploying forces. The key change in the War Powers Reform Act is that without prior authorization, the President may not obligate or expend funds to deploy troops into combat.

Congress must act to restore constitutional balance and the voice of the American people. We need to reform the War Powers Act. I urge my colleagues to support both this bill and Mr. Rooney's resolution on Libya that we are voting on today.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 443, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment Offered by Mr. King of Iowa

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

Mr. Chairman, over 50 congressional districts across our country have at least 10 percent of their population without access to high-speed broadband. My district is one of these over-50 districts. Now, this is a significant impediment to job creation. We have farmers without access to the high-speed broadband. We have many small businesses in our districts, including bed and breakfasts which impact our tourism without that access. This amendment helps address this situation.

Now, the underlying bill zeroes out the loan program for rural broadband. This is down from $22.3 million that we just closed out a few months ago for FY 11, and with a healthy respect for the leadership of the Agricultural appropriations subcommittee, I think this is a mistake.

I know that there have been issues with this program in the past. I have read the IG report. I will also say that my understanding is the administration has made progress since the publishing of that report. One of the things that has been said about this program is it has not been able to address the significant volume of requests, and I think it's important to note that in March 2011 they cleared the backlog of all the applications for the program; and, in fact, there's now up to $100 million in new loan applications, showing the interest in this program.

Another criticism has been that this program is duplicative and that, in fact, you can apply under telemedicine for rural areas. And I will tell you that we have tried that in our district with no success, and this program that I'm offering as an amendment today for $6 million, a loan program, fully offset, is the only program exclusively dedicated to rural broadband. And this program, this amendment, $6 million can give us access to and support over $100 million in loan applications.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment will help create jobs, and it will help our farmers with profitability. Of course, I'm biased. But I believe we've got the smartest, the hardest working farmers in the world. Their issue is profitability, and this amendment will help.

The CBO assesses this amendment as neutral, and it says that it will reduce outlays by $2 million in 2012. Let me say that again. CBO says this amendment will reduce outlays by $2 million in 2012.

So how do we offset this? How do we provide access for farmers and small businesses to loan programs? We cut the Federal bureaucracy--$6 million in office rental payments.

Now, the USDA is blessed with some of the most significant office space among all the Federal bureaucracy. And in addition to what they have here in the District, in Beltsville, Maryland, there is additional office space of which they possess. So on top of all of that, there is $151 million in this appropriations bill for the rental of office space, including right here on M Street in Washington, D.C. This is a good pay-for to give access to our farmers so that they can have access to rural broadband.

So to all my colleagues, I say this is a good amendment. The only amendment that provides exclusive rural broadband access. It's supported by the American Farm Bureau. It's supported by the New York State Farm Bureau and numerous chambers of commerce in my district. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

I would like to yield to my good friend and colleague from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).

I thank the chairman for yielding.

I just want to reiterate that there is significant need for expanding access to rural broadband in America. We've got over 50 districts that have at least 10 percent of their population that are not in the 21st century, that don't have access to the high-speed broadband.

I want to remind my colleagues, this loan program reduces outlays by $2 million in 2012, according to the CBO. This program should not be zeroed out. It should not go from $22 million to zero. We should accept this amendment.

I urge my colleagues to accept this amendment so that we can continue to make progress with rural broadband.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of New York's 20th District to express our sincere appreciation for the Open Space Institute's continued preservation and protection of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in my hometown of Kinderhook, NY.

The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site was established by Congress in 1974 in order to commemorate the life and work of President Martin Van Buren through the preservation and interpretation of Lindenwald, his home and farm. When the site was established, Kinderhook was a rural farming community, like many towns in the Mid- Hudson River Valley. Over the years, new homes and the loss of agricultural land began to threaten the area surrounding the park. These changes compromised the historic integrity of the property.

The Open Space Institute (OSI) is a nonprofit organization that has worked for over 30 years to conserve land in eastern New York, New England, and New Jersey. The primary geographic focus of OSI's program has been the Hudson River Valley. To date, OSI has protected nearly 90,000 acres for parks, farmland preservation, historic sites, and other conservation purposes. In partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), the Columbia Land Conservancy, the Town of Kinderhook, and others, OSI identified a ``Kinderhook Creek Conservation Corridor.'' Within this area lie two significant historic sites: Martin Van Buren National Historic Site and the Columbia County Historical Society's Van Alen House. In addition, this land encompasses a largely unspoiled agricultural landscape and a creek that is popular with fishermen, swimmers, and boaters. Over the years, OSI has helped protect nearly 1,000 acres of open space and working farmland within this corridor.

Addressing the concerns of citizens and the National Park Service at a critical time, Open Space Institute purchased a large tract of Van Buren farmland, including the historic Lindenwald farm cottage. OSI worked with the NPS to establish easements protecting Van Buren resources, and held those until such time as citizens and public organizations, including the Friends of Lindenwald, could request and achieve congressional approval for a boundary expansion in 2009.

In order to keep the farmland in agricultural use, Open Space sold a 101-acre parcel to Roxbury Farm, a community-supported cooperative organic farm. Roxbury Farm agreed to the easement stipulations suggested by the National Park Service protecting historic resources. This year, OSI donated 26 acres of land within the historic core of Lindenwald, including a Van Buren era farm cottage, to the National Park Service to benefit the people of the United States.

In addition to protecting Lindenwald in its historic agricultural setting, OSI has worked with the NPS to create a trail easement that will offer increased opportunities for public enjoyment of the park and surrounding land as part of an overall plan that was developed in concert with local landowners, citizens, and governments.

The unique partnership between OSI, Roxbury Farm, Friends of Lindenwald, and the NPS has created new opportunities to help visitors understand the importance of agriculture in President Van Buren's life, the role of the changing agricultural economy before the Civil War, and the value of agriculture to America's future.

Offered By: Mr. Gibson

Amendment No. 23: Page 80, after line 2, insert the

following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people in New York's 20th District to express our sincere appreciation for the continued hard work, dedication, and contributions made to our communities by Stewart's Shops and the Dake Family.

Beginning in 1921, Percy and Charles V. Dake began making Dake's Delicious ice cream in Greenfield, NY. They continued to expand their operations into and around Greenfield and Saratoga Springs until 1945, when they bought Donald Stewart's dairy and ice cream shop on Route 50 in Ballston Spa, renaming it Stewart's Shop in order to commemorate the former owner. Adding on brothers Charles S. and William, this family- run operation continued to grow through the expansion of services and a strong community presence, including donating five percent of its annual revenue to local not-for-profits.

This generous and voluntary donation has brought over $2.25 million to not-for-profits in our area, in addition to the organization's contribution of over $15 million to an employee profit sharing plan and $2 million in scholarship assistance to family members of employees through the ``Make Your Own Scholarship'' program. Overall, this tremendous organization has had over $1 billion in community sales, provides approximately 4,000 jobs in 328 convenience stores in New York and Vermont, and works closely with local governments and organizations to serve my constituents inside and out of their stores.

For these reasons, I am happy to stand today in recognition of the Dake Family as they receive the C. Jordan Vail Spirit of Philanthropy Award, given at the Celebration of Philanthropy Luncheon in Albany, NY on May 24, 2011. This family, and the business they have built over the last ninety years, are a model of private enterprise and they have certainly earned this award. I am honored to be given the opportunity to commemorate their dedication to our community and the economic contributions they provide.