Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

It is great to be here on the floor today. And I see we have the chair and the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee today too. It is an honor to be in their presence.

We are here today with this amendment to commend and honor the hardworking professionals in our intelligence community on the successful operation against Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, who attacked our country on the 11th of September of 2001.

From my experiences in the Army deployed forward in Iraq, I know counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations are difficult, complex, and require detailed analytical work to establish patterns of life, target development, situational awareness and understanding. Fortunately for us, we have the very best. From the tactical to the operational to the strategic level, our intel community is filled with incredibly talented people, the strength of any organization.

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with the Director of the CIA and the Director of the FBI to hear from them and to praise those who work in those organizations, and today we expand that to all those involved in the intelligence community: in uniform, out of uniform, here in the Congress, all the way across.

Going forward, we know that we are going to need organizational changes to consolidate the intel community which has grown significantly since the 11th of September; but, fortunately for us, we have the smartest, the most knowledgeable professionals in the world who will help us make those reforms so we can continue to protect our cherished way of life.

So once again, congratulations to all those who serve in the intelligence organizations. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and may God bless America.

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

Mr. Chairman, I actually want to begin this afternoon by praising the chairman and the ranking member, all of the members of the intel committee and their staff for truly magnificent work here on behalf of the American people. I've spent some time down in the SCIF and have been through the bill, and I think it's something that everyone can be proud of. And clearly, the operation that occurred about 2 weeks ago that ended in the death of Osama Bin Laden is an example of how intel and operations can be fused for successful operations.

And I'm rising today to offer an amendment to the intel authorization bill that I hope the committee will be willing to accept. It's based on my experiences from the 29 years I served in the United States military, nearly 5 in the New York Army National Guard, and then 24 years in the United States Army.

And I will tell you that, particularly, my experiences in Iraq commanding an airborne infantry battalion task force, and then later as a Division G-3, that's an operations officer for Multinational Division North, I saw firsthand the virtues of intel and operations being fused for successful operations.

And so what concerns me today is the fact that since the 11th of September, we've had significant growth in the intel community to address various concerns. And what I think we need to do now is pause, reflect, and look for ways to consolidate all that growth so that we can continue to have effective intel operations in a manner that's consistent for Republicans, and one that we can afford.

So what I offered is actually a very simple amendment. It asks the Director of National Intelligence to provide his recommendations on consolidation with an eye towards effectiveness and efficiency.

When we initially created this position this, of course, was a result of the Kean Commission after the horrific attacks of the 11th of September, 2001. We created the DNI to help us to really provide leadership in the intel community. In my estimation, we did not provide the adequate budget and legal authorities for him to really accomplish all those duties that we expected of him. So I would think that he would welcome this task to provide his recommendation to us on how we might better organize, consolidate the intel community to perform its very critical function for the American people.

I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. And again I want to thank the intel committee, the leadership and all those who provided the work for this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I certainly respect my colleague for all his experiences that he brings before he comes to the Congress, and for the tremendous work he's done in the time that he's been here serving the American people in the United States Congress.

I respectfully disagree with the position, and would like to hear directly from the Director of National Intelligence. I know if I were in his shoes I would welcome this task. I would want to provide the United States Congress, the American people, by way of the United States Congress, to provide the recommendations on the way that he, in this case, the way he sees fit on better organizing the intel community.

So, with a very heavy respect for the ranking member, I still urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people in New York's 20th District to express our sincere appreciation for the dedication and sacrifices of one of our own, Command Sergeant Major Robert Van Pelt.

CSM Van Pelt selflessly and courageously served in the United States Army between March 1969 and December 1971, after which he joined the New York National Guard. During his time in both the Army and National Guard, CSM Van Pelt served a vital role as a Fixed Station Autodin Technical Controller and NCO in other units related to Signal corps operations. He served with distinction and honor and achieved the impressive rank of Command Sergeant Major of the NY Army National Guard in 1991. During this period, CSM Van Pelt served in the Vietnam War, most notably in the First Signal Brigade in Phu Lam, Republic of Vietnam and earned numerous medals and commendations, including Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Vietnam Service Medal with one star, and the Humanitarian Service Medal, among many others.

Outside of this service, CSM Van Pelt also achieved many other milestones, including completing Advanced Signal NCO Course Phase 2 at Ft. Gordon, GA, and the USA Sergeants' Major Academy, Class #37 at Ft. Bliss, TX, as well as receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree at State University of New York. In addition, he has been happily married for almost 40 years to his wife, Deborah, with whom he has two daughters, Stephanie and Sandra. He continues his professional advancement through the electrical industry as an Instrumentation and Controls supervisor and his membership in IBEW Local Union #25.

It is an honor to know that such impressive and dedicated men and women like CSM Van Pelt are willing to sacrifice so much in the name of freedom. It is even more moving that my family and I have the privilege of their protection in our home state and district. I thank CSM Van Pelt and his family for their service.

I thank the lady.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the resolution. I served in Iraq when it was hard and unpopular, and I thank God that I live in a country that had the intestinal fortitude to see it through.

This year, we're going to complete our objectives in Iraq, and the remaining 48,000 troops that are there are going to come home. There's going to be a small contingent, about 150 or so, that are going to move underneath the Embassy, but we will have completed our objectives and Iraq will be stable and friendly.

Now, Afghanistan is different from Iraq, but our approach should be similar. The surge has accomplished its primary aim, to seize the initiative from the Taliban. But now we need to finish the job of building out the institution, the security and the civil institutions.

I'm recently back from Afghanistan, and I had an opportunity to meet the leadership there. I feel confident we've got the right plan going forward. And I support the President's plan, the President's plan to begin withdrawal this year and to complete combat operations by 2014, because I believe this plan will stabilize Afghanistan and help protect our cherished way of life, preventing al Qaeda from regaining sanctuary.

Now going forward, I think we need to learn from these experiences. Some comments were made here earlier about us, whether or not we're a Republic or an empire. I share those concerns and those sentiments. We're a Republic, and we need to learn from these experiences. But we need to see this through. We need to stand with our Commander in Chief. We need to stand with our troops. Complete this task.

And then finally let me say that I join all today on both sides of the aisle who honor our service men and women who have fell in the line of battle. We pray for their souls. We pray for their families. We remember those wounded in battle, those who bear physical scars. Those who bear no physical scars who are emotionally scarred, we pray for them. We honor them.

And let me say this: That going forward, that this body, whether it be this issue or any issue, that this body and that this country shall be worthy of the sacrifices of our service men and women.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to fight for the job creators in my district. Small businesses and family farms in upstate New York are already struggling to survive in these tough economic times. We in the Congress can help by attacking the impediments to their profitability: high taxes, onerous regulations, and spiraling health care and energy costs.

Today I rise in support of the repeal of the 1099 reporting requirement that was included in the government-centric health care bill passed last year. This new government mandate is set to require our small businesses to issue detailed tax information for each vendor with whom they do business beyond $600. Some of our small business owners have hundreds of these vendors, and this new onerous requirement is absolutely unnecessary and would add more burden to an already stressed bottom line.

I look forward to standing with the small businesses and farms in my district tomorrow by casting a vote to repeal the 1099 provision.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

This is about jobs, fiscal responsibility and about doing what is right. A $1.65 trillion deficit. An over $14 trillion debt. We are on the path to bankruptcy, and we have got to change course.

Now, as someone who until last year was protecting our cherished way of life by serving in the United States Army, I've got to tell you that I don't see this as a partisan issue. Both parties got us into this mess, and we're going to need leadership now to get out. This has become the generational issue of our time, and we need to begin to move towards a balanced budget and fiscal responsibility, and everything needs to be on the table.

My family took the first cut. To lead by example, we're giving back to the U.S. Treasury my pension--that I earned.

This substitute amendment was intended to be a nonpartisan approach to an American issue: cuts across the board; Democratic and Republican priorities treated the same in this CR; rolling back to 2008 levels rather than eliminating programs outright in the CR. There will be time for those kinds of investigations later on in the budget process and in committees where programs can be singled out for deeper potential cuts and long-term structural changes.

As has been pointed out, in the process of writing this, there were some technical issues with it that we regret; but the point of this substitute amendment remains the same, that this is an American issue. We both have to come together to solve this. We're going to have to get our fiscal house in order, and to do that, many steps are going to be necessary, and among them is rolling back spending.

Americans today are wondering whether or not we're going to do the right thing and whether or not we're going to cut that spending and whether or not our best days are in front of us. That choice is up to us--and we will get it right.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution and to share the sentiments of our hardworking dairy farmers in upstate New York. When I talk with farmers and other small business owners throughout the district, they constantly share with me the primary impediments to their growth: high taxes, out-of-balance regulations, spiraling health care costs, and rising energy costs.

Today I'll highlight just one example of an onerous regulation, a bureaucratic overreach that the EPA is threatening to visit upon our dairy farmers. Because milk has animal fat that the EPA defines as a nonpetroleum-based oil, the EPA is essentially treating our milk, our dairy product there, as a hazardous material. And if they do not get a waiver by November, our dairy farmers will have to invest in specialized containers and other equipment to be in compliance with new spill regulations. This will come directly out of their bottom line, and it makes no sense. I think we can all agree that we don't want to see spilt milk, but it's not a hazardous material.

Madam Speaker, I support this legislation because I want to help our family farmers thrive and flourish.

I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding.

I rise today to express the sentiments of my district in upstate New York. With health care costs continuing to rise at several times the rate of inflation year after year, clearly we need reform. Health care costs were 4.7 percent of the GDP in 1960. They are over 17 percent today. We must drive down costs. But the bill passed last year is not the answer. We're going to end up with higher costs, higher premiums, higher taxes, and more burdensome regulation, and more big government at a time we should be consolidating.

We need to start over again and arrive at a patient-centered bill, not the government-centered plan we got last year. I believe we can find solutions that drive down costs and expand access without hurting small businesses and without stepping on our freedoms.

This bill passed last year dramatically expands the government's involvement in the delivery of health care, which is already significantly increasing premiums in my district and

stifling job creation. I believe that both sides of the aisle believe that we should be focusing on job creation. This is not the way forward. Indeed, the new taxes and regulations will hurt our small businesses, including the medical device industry, a sector of the economy where our region leads the Nation.

Ultimately, the new law, if not repealed, will hurt families across my district and across America. Moreover, the changes to the Medicaid program will put additional burdens on States already facing very difficult challenges.

I plan to vote for repeal. And then later this week, I plan to vote for House Resolution 9, so that we can instruct committees to report a replacement bill that includes insurance reform for wider access to options and choices, and medical liability reform to rein in defensive medicine practices. I think we should engage in a civil, bipartisan discussion with our colleagues across the aisle. Our replacement bill should include coverage for preexisting conditions and ensure that coverage can't be dropped when you are sick.

Ultimately, I believe the fate of this repeal effort will hinge on the content and quality of the replacement bill. If we bring forward in this House a new plan that drives down costs, increases access, while protecting choices and the patient-doctor relationship, I believe the American people, evaluating the two respective plans side by side, will pressure the Senate and the President to repeal and replace, because we need reform, but the bill last year is not the answer. It's time to start over.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people in upstate New York to express our deepest condolences and sympathies to all of those affected by this horrific tragedy. We pray for those who lost their lives and for the recovery of those wounded in the attack.

I first met Gabrielle Giffords many years ago at Cornell University where we were graduate students together in the mid-1990s. I did not know her well, but we shared mutual friends who always spoke of her in the kindest of terms. Last night I heard from one of Gabby's good friends, Colin Forth, and he shared the following:

``Gabrielle is a strongly principled person who, at Cornell, continually worked toward improvement, finding a way to reach a positive agreement. I found myself continually impressed with her ability to see workable solutions to issues, even when we did not agree on the issue. Gabby is fun, passionate, intelligent, highly competent, and focused. She is a person who turns words into action, something that should be valued now more than ever.''

Gabby, Cornell prays for you, and the citizens of upstate New York are reaching out to all of those families affected by this senseless act of violence and praying that they may find peace, comfort, and healing.

``If the Congress, within 21 days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within 21 days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two- thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.''