Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the ranking member, who had to do a lot of work on this bill over the years, and I rise today in support of the Agriculture Act of 2014. This measure is important for farms and hardworking families in northern Michigan.

Northern Michigan is home to a number of centennial family farms, meaning they have been in the family for over 100 years--farms like the Bardenhagen's in Suttons Bay, where they grow asparagus, apples, cherries, and potatoes. Take a short drive down the road, and you will find another centennial family farm at the Wagner's in Grawn. They grow corn, wheat, soybeans, and raise beef cattle for their neighbors. These family-owned operations are a vital and growing part of northern Michigan's economy, and it has been an honor to get to know them.

These growers work hard to produce quality products--like tart cherries, apples, and asparagus--that feed northern Michigan and families around the world.

This bill represents the hard work and input of stakeholders from northern Michigan and across the country. While not perfect, it reflects the needs of our rural agricultural economy that is vital to Michigan's First Congressional District. I urge my colleagues to support passage of this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the rights of the unborn and to urge my colleagues to do everything within their legal power to help protect the most innocent and defenseless citizens of our great Nation.

I served as a doctor for nearly 30 years in northern Michigan, and I know that life begins at conception and that protection for that life must start at conception. As a father and grandfather, I have been blessed to experience this miracle on my own family.

I think everyone believes the government should protect children--we ensure their health, their safety, their well-being. I, along with many in northern Michigan, believe that life inside the womb is just as precious as life outside the womb and that it must be protected.

Because of this belief that the lives of the unborn deserve protection, I have worked hard to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion. I joined with a majority of my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives supporting H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Your hard-earned tax dollars should not pay for abortions, especially when such highly controversial practices are opposed by most taxpayers.

January 22, next Wednesday, marks the 41st anniversary of the ROE v. WADE Supreme Court decision. After 41 years of passionate engagement, I would like to commend the grassroots efforts of our local communities. Thank you for the hard work that you do to educate our communities about this important debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Ishpeming High School Hematites in earning the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Division 7 Championship this last Saturday, November 30, 2013, at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Hematites earned this distinction by going undefeated during the regular season, winning all nine games. Ishpeming also defeated Mancelona, West Iron County, Lake City, and Harbor Beach to advance to the state championship in Detroit. The Hematites earned their second consecutive championship by defeating the Detroit Loyola Bulldogs 22 to 12. This is the fourth championship earned by the Hematites in school history.

After facing adversity and challenging circumstances last year, the Hematites were able to overcome these daunting circumstances and win the Division 7 championship. I am proud that Ishpeming High School has been able to repeat their stellar performance. On behalf of the residents of Michigan's First Congressional District, I salute the team and its players: Dominic Suardini, Kyle Selmser, Ozzie Hakkarinen, Tyrus Millimaki, Derek DeCaire, Thomas Finegan, Alex Briones, Noah Olgren, Bobby Zhulkie, Nick Comment, Nate Meyer, Adam Prisk, Dylan Giuchin, Halen Carello, Marcus Antilla, Ozzy Corp, Shawn Peterson, Matt Malone, Mitch Laurin, Jeffrey Matthews, Benjamin Hilliger, Luke Kuliu, Dylan Sundberg, Chandler Nault, Dan Thornton, Jordan Tousignant, Christian Tousignant, Isaac Olson, Jordan Burton, Nick Bertucci, David Simula, Joseph Nault, Jake Quayle, Andrew Bennett, Alec VanHorn, Cody Johnson, Devin Kent, Austin Hanninen, Gage Laitinen, Brandon Steve, Arnold Coffie, Hunter Schultz, and Fred Sidh.

Also to be commended are head coach Jeff Olson, assistant coaches Scott Syrjala, Brad Waters, and Tony Marietti, the dedicated parents and all who made the long days of training and travel possible, Ishpeming High School, and the city of Ishpeming on winning the championship for a second consecutive year. Their hard work and determination stand as examples for all citizens of Northern Michigan.

Madam Speaker, I am holding a copy of a letter that one of my constituents received informing him that his current health care plan--a plan that he was satisfied with and that he was able to afford--is being canceled, thanks to regulations imposed by the President's health care law.

Thousands of letters like this one have gone out to hardworking citizens in northern Michigan.

I asked my constituents to reach out to me about their experiences so I could hear firsthand about the impact of this disastrous overhaul. I received over 200 responses in a matter of days.

Patrick from Cheboygan will see his annual health insurance bill rise by over $6,000 on January 1, 2014. Russell from Amasa was finally able to log onto the President's Web site after 14 straight days of trying, only to discover that the closest equivalent option for his plan will be far too expensive for him to afford.

I ask all of my colleagues to join me in order to repeal this disastrous health care law and work together in order to promote affordable, patient-centered reforms.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 893, legislation to provide a 2014 cost-of-living adjustment to disabled veterans and their survivors. With prices going up for groceries, gas, and utilities, an increase is needed for our veterans and their families in northern Michigan.

However, without this legislation, there would be no COLA. As a doctor who served at the VA hospital in Iron Mountain for 20 years and the father of a Navy veteran, I am disappointed that our veterans are once again put at risk of being held hostage to Washington politics. Those who serve our Nation should never have to wonder whether or not Congress will provide them with the benefits they have earned.

In May, the House passed the American Heroes COLA Act, introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan). This legislation will permanently tie the COLA to the consumer price index, the same as Social Security disability.

I urge the Senate to immediately act on the American Heroes COLA Act and join the House of Representatives in a clear statement that our veterans must not be used as pawns in Washington political games. I urge support of S. 893.

MR. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I urge my colleagues to support S. 893 and send this important bill to the President today.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to recognize the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In my home State of Michigan, breast cancer is currently the second leading cause of cancer deaths for women, and it is the most frequently diagnosed cancer for women in Michigan.

I served as a doctor for 30 years in northern Michigan. I am all too familiar with how devastating breast cancer is for patients and their friends and their loved ones. Thankfully, early detection rates have increased and mortality rates have decreased nationwide.

This is partially due to the hard work of the doctors, nurses, and medical professionals who are involved in diagnosing and treating this illness and in coming up with innovative new treatment options. This improvement is also due to the fundraising, outreach, and public awareness efforts of the groups like the Michigan Breast Cancer Coalition and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

However, there is still much work left to be done. I urge all of my colleagues and all of my constituents to raise awareness of breast cancer and to take the steps necessary in order to detect this terrible disease. I encourage all women to be sure they are up to date on their mammograms.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

I rise today in support of H.R. 3080, as well as a bipartisan amendment that we will have on the floor later today. This bill works to address our Nation's competitiveness and increasing economic growth by maintaining our infrastructure in a sensible manner.

Our amendment that we will offer today will work to address the challenges that invasive species present to our country today. As the cochair of the Invasive Species Caucus and the only Member who has the privilege to represent three of the five Great Lakes, I am honored to speak on the floor today about the threat that these species bring to our natural environment. They also represent a huge economic cost to each of our districts. It costs over $100 million a year in the Great Lakes alone to have these invasive species fought and controlled.

Mr. Speaker, our amendment is simple. It does not authorize any new funds or create new programs. Simply put, it helps address the invasive species issue by requiring the GAO to complete a comprehensive report on Federal spending for the operations and cost of invasive species. Why is this important? A report that takes into account all species nationwide will allow Congress to identify both gaps and duplicative efforts in the future. By beginning with a comprehensive report, we can effectively target areas for improvement in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge your support and all Members' support for this bill and our amendment.

I thank my colleague from Illinois for allowing me to speak here today, and I want to thank you for hosting this Special Order hour in general.

Mr. Speaker, although we speak today at a time when Members are very busy working to resolve the government shutdown, it is critical to remember that, while the government may have stopped, the work of our farmers certainly has not. Farmers in each of our districts, whether they are busy picking apples or harvesting fields of corn, are busy at this time of the year; there is no doubt about it. Autumn is the time that farmers in our districts normally look forward to. That is when they have the chance to reap the bounty of the great work that they have done this past year planting and tending to the land.

Our farmers, producers, and agribusiness owners deserve better. They have put in the hard work. They are feeding not only Michigan's families, but America's families and much of the world. We owe them certainty. We owe them a farm bill.

As the only Member from Michigan on the Agriculture Committee, I regularly speak with farmers, not only from my district, but from around the State. Over the last year, they have continually expressed the need for certainty. While they have different ideas on some specific provisions of the overall farm bill, they all agree that we need to get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I have worked hard with my colleagues to move the farm bill forward. I have worked with many local stakeholders in Michigan to ensure that their concerns are addressed in the bill. Now is the time to move forward to a conference.

This afternoon, I come to the floor to say, simply, let's get this done. Let's go to conference, work out our differences, and get a farm bill done. We owe it to our farmers. We owe it to the hardworking families around the country that rely on the food that our farmers produce.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the farmers of northern Michigan for the outstanding work that they have done this season. Now let's get this farm bill done.

I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today in support of H.J. Res. 90, the Flight Safety Act. This commonsense bill will restore critical funding to the FAA and help protect airports in northern Michigan and throughout our Nation.

Like so many people in our country, I am deeply frustrated by this government shutdown. I don't want to see air travelers in northern Michigan hurt because the Senate and the President refuse to negotiate on a spending plan. All that needs to be done is for both sides to come to the negotiating table, but the Senate refuses to talk to us. It's ridiculous.

We've already seen this mess in Washington impact airports in my district, like the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City. Just this past weekend, dozens of flights were canceled because of this government shutdown. Families shouldn't be stranded at the airport for hours just because Washington can't get its act together. But it doesn't have to be this way. We could fix this problem at our airports right now with this simple piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Flight Safety Act today. I also urge our colleagues in the Senate to take action and pass this measure as soon as possible.

Mr. Speaker, why are we here today in the middle of the government shutdown? The answer, frankly, is that the Senate refuses to come to the table to negotiate.

The House has passed four different measures that would have kept the government open. The Senate has ignored them all.

Before the government shut down, the House passed a bill which would keep the government open and defund the President's health care law. Well, it is probable that the Senate wasn't going to support that, but I was thinking at least we would be able to get documentation as to whether there would be some Democrat support for that.

That having failed, we passed a second measure to keep the government open and simply delay the President's health care law by 1 year. After all, the President himself had delayed portions of the law.

Obviously, that didn't play with the Senate.

So then we passed another piece of legislation which would have funded the government and would have funded the President's health care law, but simply would have made the law fairer for all Americans.

The President changed the law by executive order--a procedure of questionable legality--but he changed the law, giving large employers a 1-year delay in the employer mandate. In other words, employers were required to offer insurance or face a fine. The President, by executive order, changed the law to delay that for 1 year. We asked simply to give the individual the same prerogative that the President gave large employers: delay the requirement to buy insurance for 1 year without having to pay a fine.

We also asked that Congress, the President, and the Vice President be treated the same as all other Americans. The President changed the law by executive order--a procedure of questionable legality--saying that Congress would get a different deal in the exchanges than the average individual. When I went home to my district in August and did 12 town hall meetings, there was universal disgust for that rule.

So in our proposal to the Senate, we said, We'll fund the government, but simply change the rule concerning Congress so that Congress is treated the same as every American. Let's change the law so that the individual is treated the same as a large employer. I don't see how that's holding a gun to anyone's head. That is simply fairness for the American people.

And that was rejected by the Senate.

Then we simply asked the Senate to come to the table. Well, if this proposal, which just makes the law equitable for every American, is unacceptable to you, would you please come to the table and let's talk about what is acceptable to you. Let's sit down and negotiate.

Mr. Reagan presided over his terms in office with a Democrat- controlled House, and yet he worked with Mr. O'Neill and got significant legislation done. Mr. Clinton worked with a Republican House and got significant legislation done and made real progress with welfare reform and many other issues in the Clinton Presidency, but they worked across the aisle. They worked with a House of different parties and got things done.

Now we have a President who says, I'm not going to negotiate. We have a leader in the Senate who says, I'm not going to negotiate.

Each part of our government has a role to play--the executive, the Senate, the House. Frankly, in the whole history of the Republic, we've never had a situation where the President says, I'm not going to negotiate, or where one House says to the other House, We're not going to negotiate. This is, frankly, unbelievable. It's a step in our government which I don't think the American people want.

This is not about the President's health care law. This is about the function of our government and how each section of the government deals with each other. I think the American people want it to go in the traditional fashion, where the House, the Senate and the President work together to find a solution.

When the Senate refuses to pass legislation and won't even consider talking to us, that's not right. We in the House have passed legislation to fund FEMA, to fund our national parks, to fund WIC, to fund our veterans, to fund the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the National Guard. By the end of tomorrow, we'll have funded more than half the government in this House, and yet the Senate won't take any of that up and won't even negotiate with us. We even made sure that furloughed employees will be paid.

The Obama administration has given exceptions to their allies, Big Business, and some unions. Why shouldn't the American people be given the same kind of treatment?

The administration and the Senate should come to the bargaining table today and end this shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, how have we ended up here in a government shutdown nobody wanted? The answer is simple: it's because the Senate has refused to even come to the negotiating table on a spending agreement.

The House has passed four measures that would have kept the government open and operating, but they were all ignored by the Senate. First, we voted to keep the government open and to fund the President's health care bill, but they ignored that. Second, we voted to keep the government open and only delay the health care bill for 1 year. They ignored that. Then we voted to keep the government open and simply make the rules for the health care exchanges the same for all Americans. They ignored that. Lastly, we just asked the Senate to talk to us. They ignored that.

The Obama administration has given exceptions to their allies: big businesses and some unions. Why shouldn't the American people be given the same kind of treatment?

The Senate should come to the bargaining table today and end this shutdown today.

I want to thank my colleague from Texas. I feel a great affinity for my Texas colleagues, and I'm an avid fan of western swing, especially Bob Wills.

I didn't know how we would end up in a shutdown. I never really wanted to have a shutdown in the government. I wanted to reach a compromise with the Senate and have business go on. The problem is that, in the House, we've passed four different pieces of legislation that would have prevented a shutdown. I mean, I can see, for example, the first thing that we sent to the Senate was a plan to fund the government and defund ObamaCare. Okay. I can understand that the Senate isn't going to maybe significantly budge on that, but maybe we would get out of the Senate some votes. Maybe some Democrat Senators would vote for it. We would see what kind of support we would have on the Democrat side in the Senate.

So then we sent to the Senate a piece of legislation which simply delayed the President's health care law for a year. The President had already delayed components of his law for some people or for some time. So let's try this. Maybe we would get Democrat votes in the Senate to support that. Well, those two propositions, they weren't even voted on. They were tabled in the Senate. They voted to table them and not have any debate about the merits of those two proposals.

So then we sent to the Senate a proposal not to defund the President's health care law but to continue to fund the President's health care law, but to change the law so that it affected all Americans the same. The President, by executive order, changed his own law. Contrary to the law, he wrote an executive order to change the nature of the law so that employers were exempted from their mandate. In other words, the law mandates that employers provide insurance for their employees or suffer a fine. The law also demands that individuals buy insurance or suffer a fine. Well, the President saw fit to change the law so that major employers don't have to pay a fine, delayed the enforcement of that part of the law for a year, despite the fact that the law doesn't go for that.

And when is the President allowed to change a law by edict, by his signature? We change laws in this country by statute. Should we allow a President to change the law at his whim?

Another aspect where the President changed the law is he changed the law to give special privileges to Members of Congress, that the Members of Congress who have to go to the exchange would be afforded a subsidy--unlike anyone else who has to go to the exchange. So how is the President changing the law to give special privileges to Congress something that the American people should be for?

I think that the American people want the law to apply to everyone the same.

The third thing that we asked for from the Senate was simply change the law so that the law applies to the Congress, to the President, and to the Vice President, the same as it does to every other American, and to afford individuals the same delay in the law that the President granted to his big manufacturers, some of his favorite unions--not all unions got it. Why not all Americans?

So that is what we asked for in the Senate. Not even to defund the President's health care law, but simply to make the law abide with all Americans.

How is it that we have become a country where the law applies only to certain people--that the President by a written statement can exempt certain people from the law? Is that what this country is becoming? Is that the United States of America that we grew up in? I don't think so.

I think what we asked for, which funded ObamaCare and simply changed the law to apply to everyone, was certainly a reasonable compromise from our initial piece of legislation. And they tabled that.

Our fourth effort to keep the government open was simply to ask the Senate to come talk to us. So if you won't agree to make the law the same for everyone, will you at least come to us

and talk about what you will accept? That is why we are in this impasse we are today.

We have taken steps to reopen the government. We have passed targeted pieces of legislation that will fund critical portions of our government--FEMA, national parks, WIC, Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, the National Guard. We even passed legislation that furloughed employees will be paid once the shutdown ends.

The Senate and the administration have given exceptions to their allies, big businesses, and some unions. Why shouldn't the American people be given the same kind of treatment?

We have heard a lot about a clean CR. I don't know, I don't see how it is so clean when it allows the President to change a law by edict. I don't see that as a clean piece of legislation. I think that is a piece of legislation that allows unfairness in the law to continue. To me, it is rather unclean.

I am willing to talk to the Senate to come to some sort of agreement, but it just strikes me as really, really disingenuous to call what they are calling a clean CR ``clean'' when in reality it is allowing the President to change the law at his whim. I think that the administration and the Senate certainly should come to the bargaining table and talk to the House. The ``power of the purse.'' We have the power of the purse. Shouldn't our consideration be taken into account? Shouldn't we have conversations to make sure that the country stays open?

I just wanted to explain to you, Mr. Speaker, and to those listening, how I feel and why we are here. I would ask your support in that.

I thank the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, today veterans in northern Michigan and across the country woke up to the news that the United States Government had shut down. The government that they served, risked their lives for, could possibly further delay the disability claims process. This simply isn't fair.

As the House has offered four times, I might add, plans to keep the government open, the Senate continues to reject our offers and insists on shutting down the government. Last night they refused to even sit down and have a reasonable discussion with us.

As we work toward a solution, it is vital that those who have risked it all be able to continue to receive the services that they need.

Mr. Speaker, I've been a doctor for over 30 years. I've treated veterans at the VA hospital at Iron Mountain on a regular basis. I don't know how any Member in this body could think for even 1 minute that we should turn away our servicemembers.

I urge my colleagues to support the Honoring Our Promise to Veterans Act.

Parliamentary Inquiries

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. Secretary of State John Kerry signed this treaty on behalf of the Obama administration this past Wednesday.

While I support keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of international terrorists and bad actors, I believe that this treaty represents a significant threat to our Second Amendment rights.

The State Department itself has acknowledged that this treaty is ``ambiguous'' and that any potential obligations imposed by the treaty are difficult to predict. In addition, once ratified, it will be possible to amend this treaty with the support of just 75 percent of the signing members, potentially locking the United States into more restrictions down the road.

Like many people from my district, I grew up around firearms, and I'm a life-long gun owner. The responsible use of guns for sport and hunting is a way of life in northern Michigan, and I do not want to see this way of life or our Second Amendment rights be threatened by a poorly thought out United Nations agreement.

I urge my colleagues in the House to oppose this treaty and join me in standing up for the millions of law-abiding gun owners in America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Arizona for organizing this Special Order.

This is an issue that is very close to me as well, and I want to join the rest of my colleagues here today in recognizing September as Veterans' Suicide Prevention Month.

As my colleague mentioned, a veteran in this country commits suicide every 65 minutes. That's 22 lives extinguished every day. As a father of a veteran, as a doctor who has worked at the VA hospital in northern Michigan for over 20 years, and as the chairman of the Health Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs, I know that the challenges of military life do not end once our servicemembers retire from active duty. The mental wounds of war may be invisible, but no less real to the young men and women suffering from them.

Facing high unemployment rates, the stigma of post-traumatic stress disorder and a loss of military fellowship, returning veterans often face a crisis of confidence at the very moment they should feel nothing but relief and rest. This year, we will bring 34,000 troops home from Afghanistan. The President has indicated he may withdraw all of the 63,000 member strong force by the end of 2014. The time to act to address this epidemic of veteran suicide is now.

I am pleased that VA leadership has made veteran suicide a priority. New programs putting researchers to work on reviewing health records for suicide risk factors is one example of the important steps that are being taken, but more--much more--needs to be done. We cannot and we will not allow 22 suicides a day to become the ``new normal.''

As friends and families of our veterans and those serving our country, there are some things we all can do. We can work to recognize the symptoms that could indicate serious problems and identify where and how to get assistance when we need it.

To all veterans who are struggling as to whether to take their own lives, know that there is no shame in asking for help. You are not broken, and God has not forgotten you. You volunteered to go to war for us, and we have failed to provide you adequate support when you returned home. That is changing, and I beg you to reach out to your local VA, veterans center, veterans service organization, or local Member of Congress for help.

Together, we can begin to turn the tide on veteran suicide. Everyone can help fight this epidemic and be there for those who were there for us.