Floor Statements

In Colorado, over 2,000 homes were destroyed, over 17,000 homes were damaged, and over 200 miles of highway were washed away. The incredible work that the first responders have done, the local leaders, local elected officials, firemen, policemen, and the stories of their heroic efforts are continuing to emerge. We cannot thank them enough for the work that they have done in Colorado to save lives, to save property, and what they are doing now to rebuild their communities.

I would ask you to join us in a moment of silence in remembrance of the people who have lost their lives and for those who have forever had their lives changed.

Madam Speaker, I rise to engage the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in a colloquy.

I would like to thank Chairman Rogers for his dedication and willingness to work with all Members of the House of Representatives when their States are impacted by natural disasters. You have been very receptive, and I appreciate your efforts.

Right now, in Colorado, we are currently experiencing a major flood. It has impacted 15 counties, crossing over approximately 2,000 square miles. Certain areas received over 20 inches of rain, 19,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed and the destroy count is now above 2,000 homes. Many areas are still in crisis; and because of the vast devastation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be unable to provide an accurate damage assessment for at least 30 days.

Additionally, the Colorado Department of Transportation estimates that costs could exceed the $100 million cap which would exceed the State event cap on the highway funds in the Disaster Relief Act.

The tragedy and devastation caused by this severe flood necessitates a response from the Federal Government. I ask the chairman to consider working with me and other members of the Colorado delegation to help our State recover and rebuild from this tragedy.

I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

I thank the chairman for your support.

I thank the gentleman for his leadership, and the gentleman from Indiana for sharing his experience with the medical device industry in your great State.

I kind of wanted to spend some time walking through the experiences that I have had in Colorado when it comes to innovation in medical technology and some of the things that I've seen firsthand.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I was able to go to a business in Colorado that had developed a technology to do surgery on people's spinal cords; to help insert a precision tool into the back.

It was almost like a ratchet that you would use in your garage, but obviously a very precise ratchet that you could develop to put into a person's spinal cord, and to tighten the bolt if they had a break, or something that needed to be fastened to save somebody's life, to put somebody's life back together for sure.

It's precise. The neat thing about this technology was that you could actually view on the monitor as you're doing this surgery. You could view as the tool is inserted into the back. You could see where it was on the screen. And it immobilized the patient so that it would minimize the side effects. It minimized the risks of injury to the spinal cord.

I visited the business that had a cauterizing tool that they had spent a decade creating. This tool had an electric current running through it, so it would also be allowing a surgeon to cauterize tissue as they were able to perform life-saving surgery. But these tools cost millions of dollars to invent. They cost millions of dollars to research and to develop. They cost millions of dollars to get into surgery rooms around the country to save life.

As we talk about innovation, as we talk about the need to create opportunities for businesses in Colorado, in Indiana, in Minnesota and around this country to grow, we talk about the need to keep that investment happening. But the company told me that over the 10-year course of their business, the medical device tax will run them somewhere in the tens of millions of dollars because of the gross tax nature of the medical device tax. When I asked what the device that we were looking at cost, they said tens of millions of dollars.

So take that tax, that money, that revenue that could go into investment, to creating the next life-saving technology, take that out of that business and you no longer have a life-saving technology because they didn't have the money available to develop that life- saving tool.

So what the medical device tax is doing is it's removing money from the private sector. It's removing their ability to invest money into innovative technologies that save lives.

As we talk about the future of the President's health care bill in this country, we talk about the need for quality care, to reduce the cost of care, to increase the quality of care. But it's not doing that through the device tax because it's penalizing innovative businesses for their success. It's taking away their opportunities to develop new technologies, to create that next cauterizing tool, the next spinal cord tool to build a better life for people.

So as we debate the health care bill, as we debate the future of health care legislation in this country, I hope that people will realize that we shouldn't penalize opportunities to create better tools in health care, that we shouldn't penalize success for innovation. And in a State like Colorado, in a State like ours--Indiana, and yours in Minnesota--I do hope that we can come together in a bipartisan fashion to repeal the medical device tax so that we can actually allow that money to be invested where it matters, and that's in saving lives.

So I thank my colleague from Minnesota for his tremendous leadership, and the gentleman from Indiana for your leadership in making sure that people understand it's not just about a tax, but it is indeed about the opportunity to invest in saving lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the United States Constitution.

Among our nation's founding documents, the Constitution stands out for its singular importance, ingenuity, and lasting effect on global politics. Since its drafting in 1787, the Constitution has continued to inspire generations of people committed to making democracy work.

In their brilliant defense of the Constitution, Founders such as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay discussed the delicate balance of power engineered in this document. It is important to remember their words today and the role that Congress plays in oversight of the other branches of government.

We should voice support for programs that aim to educate our nation's students on these fundamental Constitutional principles. The next generation of leaders must understand the workings of our government and the historic role the Constitution has played in our national story.

I am pleased to recognize a Colorado organization that promotes this very idea throughout the country. Liberty Day provides educators and students with free Constitutions, copies of the Declaration of Independence, and other landmark American documents. Efforts like these increase awareness and build appreciation for the institutions our Founding Fathers created more than 220 years ago.

I am proud to honor our Constitution and support those organizations like Liberty Day that ensure its meaning is not lost to the passage of time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the many first responders, National Guard, volunteers, and local leaders who have worked tirelessly, beginning in the middle of last week, in order to respond to the floods in Colorado. An area the size of Connecticut has been impacted by over 20 inches of rain in certain areas of the State; 19,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed; and countless people have had their lives changed forever.

But as is the case with all tragedies in Colorado and across this great country, we come together as a community, as neighbors to help one another in times such as these. We know in the months and years to come there will be great challenges, and there will be trying times as we try to find answers for those families who lost so much.

So, Mr. Speaker, we recognize those efforts, such as HelpColoradoNow.org, that are doing so much good for the people there. This has happened before--a great tragedy. We've come together, but we will rise up. We will be stronger because we are Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Don Hadad, superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado. Don was recently named ``National Superintendent of the Year'' by the National Association of School Superintendents.

For the last 29 years Don has dedicated his life to improving our children's education. He began his career as a physical education teacher, and has since held the positions of assistant principal, high school principal, executive director of secondary education, assistant superintendent, deputy superintendent, and most recently, superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District.

As Superintendent, Don has lead by example. His visionary leadership and ideas have helped significantly develop the public schools in my district by championing educational reforms that included teacher evaluations and expanding public charter schools. He established the ``Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics'' Academy at Skyline High School and opened the Medical and Science Academy at Longmont High School to help advance students to secondary education.

His reforms are an example of the common sense solutions school districts across the country can implement to better serve their students and families.

Please join me today in congratulating Don Hadad on his award and on his success as superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of Pat Worley of Fort Lupton, Colorado and congratulate her on her retirement.

Since 1992, Pat has served as Assignable Clerk for the Colorado State House of Representatives and has served as the Chief Assignable Clerk since 2000.

Throughout her career, Pat has been dedicated to ensuring the successful functioning of the Colorado General Assembly. Her determined work ethic and passion for her job were critical to the successful operation of state government.

I know many of my former colleagues in the legislature would agree that when Pat tells you to do something, you listen. And for all of us from ``the other Colorado,'' we appreciate her passion for all of Colorado.

Not only is Pat an esteemed public servant, her service to Colorado extends well beyond her official job functions. While the Colorado House of Representatives convenes on the floor, Pat and her clerks devote their free-time to sewing lap robes for disabled veterans. Her generosity and commitment to helping those who served our country have had an immeasurable impact on our State.

I congratulate her on her impressive career, and wish her all the best in the coming years of her well-deserved retirement. I join the people of Colorado in thanking her for her dedication, hard-work, compassion, and exemplary career in public service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the distinguished veterans of Honor Flight Northern Colorado as they make their 10th trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials that stand in our nation's capital. This group includes veterans from multiple wars and different generations, linked together by their service to our nation.

Founded in 2005, The Honor Flight program was originally formed to honor veterans of WWII but has since expanded to include those who have served in all other American engagements. This program provides an opportunity for veterans to fly to Washington, D.C. free of cost to them and their families so that they may visit the national memorials dedicated to their service. Of the 122 veterans visiting with its next flight; 51 will have served in WWII, 62 in Korea, and 9 in other conflicts.

Though these memorials will honor our veterans' service for centuries to come, no statue or monument can truly express the level of gratitude we hold for those who courageously risked their life to preserve our inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We stand here today as a nation of laws, freedom, and liberty because our veterans answered the call of duty when our country needed them the most. Today we honor those who risked their lives to secure the blessings endowed by our Creator for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, Please join me in honoring Donald Benson, Joe Blossom, Hobert Bodkins, Robert Bueker, George Carlson, Wayne

Clausen, Maurice Dragoo, Homer Dye, Karl Easterly, James English, George Flaig, Stuart Gordon, Dale Gruber, Frank Gunter, Vern Hammond, Robert Henderson, Otto Hindman, Lawrence Jackson, John Jobson, Elvin Kahl, Doward Kilmer, Thomas Kokjer, Edward Kooper, Raymond Kusmirek, Ralph Leckler, George Lichter, Lyle Lukas, Alfred Marez, Richard Marquart, Maregito Martinez, LeRoy Marx, Hugh McGinty, Damon McMahan, Robert Minnick, Allen Oakley, Gerald Oakley, Vernon Rand, Gerald Rennels, Carol Rhoades, Elmer Rose, Donald Smith, Walter Sparrow, George Stager, Clarence Streit, Richard Tedesco Sr, Rueben Ulrich, Howard Walter, Raymond Yost, Robert Yost, Thomas Youree, Joseph Zito, Charles Adams, Joseph Beaulieu, David Beldusm, John Bevins, James Blue, William Cecil, Thomas Clements, Clifford Closson, Donald Dalton, Stanley Davies, Jerry Delcamp, Leonard Dickey Jr, Robert Eddy, Dale Erickson, Ann Evans, Lemuel Evans, Frank Faucett, Byron Foster, Kent Foutz, Jerry Galpern, Wayne Gibb, Thomas Gordon, Oscar Haake, Doyle Hall, William Harte, William Hitchcock, Claire Hoffman, Raymond Horton, Carl Houkom, Bennett Houston, Eugene Johnson, Richard Kekar, Marvin Kembel, Ralph Knoll, Tom Mandis, George Mason, Alvin Mosch, Doyle Myers, Richard Oversteg, David Owen, Johnnie Prock, Duane Purcell, Herbert Reimer, John Rinne, John Rust Jr., Darrel Shafer, Leonard Schmitz, Virgil Scott, Robert Scott, Herbert Shevins, Wayne Small, Frank Stiver, Robert Stoll, Bernard Streit, Ernest Stumpf, Walter Sutton, Norman Swanson, Arthur Trevarton, Junior Weisshaar, Raymond Williams, George Willson, Harry Wisell, Jerol Arguello, Zachary Dinsmore, William Frank, Allen Laible, Dennis Lee, Lonnie Sebold, Allan Silk, Saxton Wiley and Salvador Velasquez.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Cheryl Scofield of the USDA Rural Development Office in Wray, Colorado. Cheryl will retire next month as the USDA Rural Development Northeast Area director after 30 years of dedicated service. A fourth-generation Yuma County resident, Cheryl studied at Jones Real Estate College and the University of Colorado, earning a graduate degree in public administration.

After getting her start at Wray State Bank and World Savings Mortgage Company, she took a job with the Department of Housing, but it was at the USDA Rural Development Office where Cheryl spent 31 years as an outstanding and invaluable asset to her agency. Her rural background, education, and true passion for her work gave wind to Cheryl's impressive career.

Outside of work, Cheryl has been an active member of her community-- board member, small business development, and a wealth of professional experience she's shared with communities throughout the eastern plains. She's been married to her husband, Delbert, for 41 years. There's not a single community on the eastern plains that Cheryl's work hasn't impacted. Her legacy will live on on every Main Street of eastern Colorado.

Thank you, Cheryl, for your service.

I thank my colleague from Illinois and the gentlelady from Alabama for her leadership and the things we truly need to get under control in order to build better lives for our families and families across this Nation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the time tonight. I know the gentleman from Illinois said that his district is flat. I think I'll surprise a lot of people when I say that I represent the second largest geographic area in the State of Colorado in Congress and most of my district is flat as well, so I understand what the gentleman is talking about when he talks about vast areas of great flat land in the high plains of Colorado.

When we got elected in 2010, the three of us here tonight, who all got elected in 2010 because we wanted to find a way to make America work again, to empower people around this country, whether it was the inner cities of our biggest areas, to people in rural areas across Colorado and this Nation, empower them to build the life that they always wanted to, to pursue their dreams, to ensure that the American spirit is alive and well. I think most of us recognize that we do that when we give people the power to do that for themselves, to get government out of the way and let America work, to tear down regulations that prevent job creation, to help make sure that access to capital is easier, not more difficult, that energy is more affordable and not more costly. And over the past couple of years, we have pursued policies to do just that.

In fact, this upcoming week, we will be voting on legislation to ensure that energy policies don't drive up the cost that it takes to power our economy, but to ensure we have a safeguard over regulations that cost too much, to make sure that the Department of Energy is paying attention to what is happening at the EPA in terms of regulations.

We've passed legislation to make it easier for people in small dollar amounts to loan money to their neighbors, to their friends, to invest in businesses that they're excited about, to try to tear down hurdles to invest at the individual level. You don't need a stockbroker down on Wall Street to figure out how to get involved in the American economy. We've passed legislation that allows individuals to get involved at the very start-up level of companies, innovators and entrepreneurs around this country. We did it because we know there are people who have incredible ideas of how to create opportunity, incredible ideas of how to create new wealth where none existed before.

In my district, whether it's agriculture, whether it's energy, or whether it's high tech, entrepreneurs are leading this Nation. And I know the gentlelady from Alabama and the gentleman from Illinois have similar experiences. We talk tonight about what we can do for this country and legislation that we will be introducing. But we will also be talking about the impediments we have to a full, healthy, economic recovery, and that's the President's plan.

While the President talks a lot about the economy, and I hear that he's going to be talking once again about the economy, but, unfortunately, his actions haven't matched up and the people in this country are still suffering.

I've talked to countless individuals, business owners, people who wanted to start a business, that talked about what it took for them to get started. Some of them maxed out every credit card that they had. They applied for more credit cards just so they could max out to try to get the business off the ground.

Others are looking at it, saying, you know, I've got some great ideas where we could grow, we could expand, or I could even start my own business, but I can't do that because we don't have the ability or the means to do that.

But to your point about the USDA requiring a license of somebody's rabbit, The Wall Street Journal recently talked about a Competitive Enterprise Institute study estimating that Federal regulations cost over $1.8 trillion. Now, that's nearly $15,000 for every American household, $15,000 that, before you can start your business, before you do anything else, is already built into the cost of doing business. That's already part of the factor you have to overcome the regulations. $1.8 trillion, that's about the same size as Canada's GDP, the gross domestic product of Canada.

We are regulating this country to the size of Canada's gross domestic product; and yet we're hoping to solve our unemployment problem by getting people to put it all on the line and risk their houses, their lives to go out and start something, to go out and take a risk, and yet we have regulations, $15,000 every household.

How can we expect this economy to recover when we have the uncertainty, whether it's the President's health care bill, whether it's uncertainty over energy regulations, coal ash bills that we'll be dealing with this week, or, indeed, licensing a rabbit at USDA?

The gentleman brings up a good point. Just one instance of stimulus spending in my district where it actually threatens jobs, and that was a program that came out of the BTOP grant program to try to provide broadband to unserved and underserved areas across this country, a noble purpose, to try to make sure that we're connected to Internet technologies that we need with high speed, to make sure we're able to educate children and a competitive workforce.

But, unfortunately, the money that came out of the stimulus actually was used to duplicate services by the private sector. In some areas, they actually overbuilt, 100 percent with government money, services, a fiber-optic

cable that was already in place by the private sector.

Many of these companies are very small, small co-ops, telecoms that can't afford to have somebody come in and undermine them with the free government money, trying to offer under-cost services, and yet that's exactly what happened in the stimulus bill. They were already providing the service, and yet the government came in and laid a line right next to the line that already existed in there. So that's what happened in the stimulus bill. Instead of creating jobs, it actually undermined our ability to build the private sector up.

And I know the gentlelady from Alabama has been an incredible leader on this.

The gentleman from Pennsylvania, I think you make some great points, and I just am reminded of the businesses that I've talked to in my district, from employers who are concerned they may have to reduce hours of their workforce, or employees who've already had their hours reduced.

And I don't want to interrupt your comments, but I think you are pointing out how this is actually hurting the economy. So, as the President pivots to jobs, perhaps he should pivot away from the bad policies that are driving this economy downward.

To the gentleman from Pennsylvania, I would just point out that this is not a radical Republican idea. The idea behind the REINS Act is actually something that's embraced across many States in the country right now. In Colorado, we have what's called the rule review bill. When an agency, whether it's the Department of Health, whether it's the Department of Agriculture, issues a new regulation, it actually comes to the State legislature for a vote by the State legislature. The State senate and the State house get to vote up on or down on whether or not that regulation is in the best interest of the people of Colorado, if it complies with the will of the legislature and the executive branch is carrying it out in the right way.

So the REINS Act that you point out is not some crazy idea. It's actually something that's in use right now to protect our economy from overreach.

I was speaking to a business in my district several months ago, and they had a conversation with somebody who isn't interested in reducing the burden on American families by making common sense out of our Tax Code, creating a flatter, fairer tax system. This is a manufacturing business in Colorado. They were talking about what their tax rate is and that they have looked at every way, every provision, every code possible to try to figure out how to lower that rate, and they can't go any further. They're still in the lower thirties.

The response they got from a legislator was, Well, you just need to hire a new accountant. Instead of actually trying to get to real reform of our Tax Code to lower the rate, flatten the code, they actually were told to just get a new accountant because they're not doing the right jobs. That's not how we're going to create jobs in this country.

One of the things that I think the gentleman brings up in tonight's conversation is he continues to talk about opportunity and what we stand for and what we've been able to do for jobs. I know that the gentlelady from Alabama is leading, if you're interested in engaging in this conversation around the country, wherever you are over the next days, weeks, months, as we talk about the economy, and beyond then, sending a tweet with the #4jobs in terms of engaging in this conversation. But you talked about what we can do. What we can do right now--and the gentleman from Virginia knows very well--it is energy.

We've talked to people about a manufacturing renaissance in this country. There are articles in the paper about businesses that were located in Germany that are looking to relocate into the United States. A company we talked to said the cost of energy in India is four times what they were paying here.

Traveling to my district, the Niobrara Formation, Eastern Plains, Western Slope, the energy that we can create there that's allowing this to happen. Whether it's coal, whether it's natural gas, whether it's renewable energy in my district, we have incredible opportunities to create these kinds of jobs that we know will put food on people's plates around the table, that will actually allow people to go on vacation, to afford to put gas in the car, to find a better way for their families.

So these are the kinds of jobs with this revolution that we can continue to foster, but we have to have a President that doesn't just pivot to jobs once in a while, but is committed to a long-term, healthy economy that gets the regulatory mess out of the way, that provides certainty.

I talked to a restaurant owner in my district. He owns three different bagel shops. He's actually going to have to sell one of them. He's worried because he doesn't know how he's going to be able to comply with the new health care plan. That's not the kind of certainty that we're looking for.

So don't stop what's going good in this country--the manufacturing renaissance, energy development, opportunity--and let's fix what's not going great; let's fix what's going wrong in this country.

That's exactly, at this time, what this country needs. I'm working, in a bipartisan fashion, with a Democrat from Vermont, Peter Welch, on an energy-efficiency measure. The President has also talked about this kind of approach, using performance contracts to create jobs, lower the amount of energy consumed by the United States Government--the largest economy consumer in the country. But we do it without government mandates; we do it without government subsidies. But we're doing something that's going to create private sector jobs, save the taxpayer dollars, and use less energy at the Federal level. The President's doing this. We're doing this here.

These are the kinds of opportunities we have to work together that are creating jobs, And they're not to bow down or to kowtow to a certain element of an agenda. It's actually to move the country forward by doing the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will mark the one-year anniversary of the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado. The 12 killed and 82 injured never thought the midnight screening of a movie would end in violence.

We stand here today as members of the Colorado delegation to remember and honor the victims of this tragedy.

And we stand here today to honor the strength and resilient spirit Coloradans have shown in the wake of an event that sent shockwaves around the world.

The victims included children, members of the military, and people from across Colorado and the country. As accounts of the shooting began to come out, we heard more and more stories of heroics from those inside the theater.

People jumped up to shield their loved ones from harm, putting their lives on the line to save the lives of others. Complete strangers helped bring the wounded outside to safety. And first responders reacted quickly and worked urgently to save lives.

These are the people we honor today, who, in the face of evil, showed true courage.

Mr. Speaker, we will never forget the events of July 20th, 2012. And we will never forget the lives and legacies of those who lost their lives that day.

I thank the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, we're all together on the same issue tonight on the House floor as we discuss the important issue of immigration inform. Many of us elected in 2010 and elected in 2012, we came to Congress because we wanted to find ways to make America work, to get this country working again, to find ways to get government out of the way and create an economy that's strong and growing so people can find the jobs that they want to help feed their families, to send their kids to school without putting themselves into bankruptcy, and to make sure that we do indeed have a better tomorrow than we do today.

So it is starting with those fundamental beliefs that we all came here to achieve, to build a stronger country, to make life work for the American families, that we recognize a Nation of immigrants, a Nation that provides an opportunity for people around the world, that beacon of hope to be a place for families to succeed, to achieve their dreams about the American Dream and indeed the American spirit.

So it is through those very values of compassion for the poor, compassion for people who want to build a stronger Nation here at home, and the fairness that we know we can do it with to build a system of laws that will stand strong not just for 1 year or 10 years or 20 years, but moving forward beyond that, a system of laws that we know will make sure that people who want to be a great part of a healthy American economy indeed have that very opportunity.

Tonight, as we kick off a discussion on immigration and we join people around the country who have differing opinions, as the gentleman from Illinois recognized, differing opinions on what to do, how to do it, when to do it, recognizing, though, that indeed we must do something to address a system that is broken in a way that meets those objectives of American values: compassion, fairness, and maintaining the rule of law in this country.

I look forward to our conversation tonight, and I look forward to solutions for the American people that we can all be proud of, knowing that this is not going to be an easy task, but one that we will address with all due and necessary urgency.

We are joined tonight by our colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

The gentleman from Wisconsin brought up a great point, and that is the issue of a step-by-step process. That is exactly what the House is undertaking. There are at least four bills right now that are working their way through the Judiciary Committee, dealing with everything from an E-Verify system that can actually work and be used by employers around this country to know that they are hiring people who are legally eligible for employment in this country. But we also have the opportunity to address one of the other concerns that I hear at town meetings and in private conversations in grocery stores across my district, and that's so many people who say, Do we need to do anything other than just enforcing existing laws? Do we really need new laws?

We have to give serious consideration to that question because the answer is, yes, we do need immigration reform. Because of the 11 million people in this country who we believe are undocumented today, 42 percent of them are here, they came here legally, entered the country legally, but overstayed their visa. So how do we reform the visa system to actually make it work so we know the integrity of the process is what it needs to be?

How do we create a system for those in agriculture to know that they have

a workforce that is readily available to harvest that fall's crops? Or if you're a dairy farmer, there's no one season for a dairy farmer, it's year round, so the availability of a workforce with the skills that they need, but the certainty that they need. It's those laws that we have to reform to enforce and rebuild the trust of the American people in a step-by-step process. Because if we do this, we can actually create a system of laws that avoids the mistakes of the 1986 law through enforcement first, border security first, and making sure then that we deal with the situation at hand and the people who do want to be a part of a healthy American economy.

I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. The conversations I hear are from all angles. So whether it's from somebody whose family came here when they were very young--I know of an instance of a young woman who came into this country with her family when she was a baby. She has gone to school in the same class, same school system for 12 years, eventually graduating as a senior, number one in her class. She was brought here as a child. When she asked me about what we were going to do, I said, Your situation is an example of why we need immigration reform, so have secure borders and we know the laws are being enforced and to avoid putting you in this situation.

Years later, that conversation is repeating. We don't have the reform yet, and we are still looking for that reform. And how many years have to go by before we can actually say we have secured the border, we are enforcing the law? And we know in 10, 20, 30 years, the visa program is solved, the E-Verify system is working. That labor needs, whether it is housing construction, agriculture, are being met in a system that encourages compliance with the law as part of a healthy American economy instead of an underground or a way that does it in a law- breaking fashion.

I will tell you one other story. There's a doctor in the eastern plains of Colorado who was here with all of his proper documentation. Unfortunately, his mother was ill and he needed to leave the country or was hoping to leave the country to say good-bye to her. But under our system of laws, if he left this Nation, he couldn't come back. The only doctor in the county, but he couldn't go away to say good-bye to his mom because he couldn't return. We need some common sense.

I thank the gentleman, the Speaker, for the additional time to continue this conversation, and thank you as well to Members for this opportunity to discuss what is truly one of the biggest issues this Congress, this Nation faces.

I recently was talking to a reporter back home about the immigration debate taking place. They were asking about the Senate bill, asking about what the House was doing. And they said, Well, aren't you acting with speed? Do you feel no urgency?

And my response was, Don't mistake the issue of speed with urgency, because I think the House feels every bit as urgent as this issue truly is and truly deserves the attention of how urgent the matter is before all of us. But because of that, because of the urgency to do it right, it is going to take time, a deliberative process through this body to make sure that we create that step-by-step opportunity for the people who are here legally, for people who want to come into this Nation legally, to create the border security, the border enforcement, and then to have answers for every person in this Nation. And so as we create this process, this debate, as it moves forward, every bit as urgent as any other American before us, any other person who's desiring to be a part of this country, the urgency that we all feel to make sure that this happens.

And so to the gentleman from Illinois or Wisconsin or North Carolina, thank you.

I yield to anyone who wishes to continue tonight.

That, Mr. Speaker, is the story of America. And I thank our colleagues for joining us tonight and look forward to this debate and look forward to hearing from you, the people of this country, as we enter this important conversation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 58 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a valuable, job creating project that broke ground in the great State of Colorado.

On June 25, Time Warner Cable unveiled an $85 million data center in Centennial, Colorado.

This center will support the equipment needed to deliver digital video and IP based services to many Time Warner Cable customers and will complement the company's data center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Construction of this project will last through much of 2014 and the center will go online in January of the following year.

Upgrades at the facility have been ongoing since 2011 and when the new development is complete, Time Warner Cable will have invested more than $141 million in my home State.

That's a big project for any municipality, but in a town with a population of 102,603, it is an economic game changer. The jobs created by the construction and staffing of the finished facility will have an immediate impact on the town and surrounding area.

Time Warner Cable's commitment to diversifying Colorado's economy and providing opportunities for Colorado's working families is to be commended.