Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, to form a government requires positive steps, and it is much less about what one is against than about what one is for. Who can forget that sense of free-fall in our economy last fall when we weren't sure, those of us who had money in money market accounts, that we were going to get 100 pennies back on the dollar that we put into a bank. Who could forget the sense of free-fall in March or April when it wasn't clear where our economy was ever going to go?

But this Congress and the administration stepped up to the plate. We passed a stimulus bill that cushioned the loss of jobs and is beginning to bring jobs back. More than half the Recovery Act money is still going to be spent into our economy. We passed a new unemployment extension benefit that will take effect and cushion the blow for working families.

But American families that have lost their jobs know that we need to do more, and we are going to do more. In contrast, Republicans have offered nothing. They voted ``no'' on creating jobs. We are going to say ``yes,'' and we're going to pass another jobs bill and stimulate our economy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation to designate about 21 miles of the Molalla River in Clackamas County, Oregon, as ``wild and scenic.'' It is a Federal designation that will help preserve the Oregon character of this beautiful river. The Molalla is a prime example of accessible, valued natural settings that Oregonians cherish as an essential component of our living standard. Beyond the essential function of supplying water to communities in Clackamas County, each year the river attracts thousands of boaters, hikers, and fishermen from up and down the Willamette Valley, from around Oregon, including eastern and central Oregon, and indeed, from around the country. I, myself, have floated this river, have fished this river, and appreciate its wild splendor, whether it's osprey fishing for trout themselves, or beaver and other animals swimming through the rivers.

It's also true that in these very tough economic times the protection of special natural spaces like the Molalla supports Oregon's vibrant and crucial outdoor recreation industry, an industry which supplies 73,000 jobs and injects $5.8 billion into Oregon's economy each year. That is why this bill has the support of diverse community leaders and groups, not just environmental groups, not just recreation groups, but economic leaders and community leaders, elected and appointed.

From cities to counties, neighborhood associations, to recreational groups, sportsmen groups to environmental organizations, we all appreciate the pragmatic protection of our rivers and natural areas in a comprehensive, inclusive and fair way. This bill will ensure that Oregonians will always be able to enjoy what the Molalla River has to offer.

I want to commend my good friend and colleague from Oregon, Congressman Schrader, for bringing this important bill before this body. I thank him, and ask for everyone to support this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this legislation, which reauthorizes the AFG and SAFER grant programs. These important programs help keep firefighters and the public safe, and I want to commend Chairman Gordon's leadership in bringing this crucial legislation to the floor today, Mr. Mitchell's contributions to this legislation, Mr. Hoyer for his crucial role in bringing this legislation to the floor, and Mr. Pascrell for originating the legislation 9 years ago and carrying this bill for many years.

Over the past 9 years, the AFG program has provided nearly $5 billion in competitive awards to help local fire departments purchase equipment, training and other crucial resources. This program has played a vital role in improving the readiness and capabilities of fire departments across the country.

Despite the program's success so far, an alarming number of local fire departments remain without adequate training and equipment. The AFG program helps address crucial shortfalls, and this bill will further empower the Federal Government to assist local fire

departments as they improve their capabilities. AFG also supports fire prevention and safety grants, which help provide smoke detectors, fire prevention education, and research to reduce the causes of fire and fire-related injury and death. Three thousand Americans die every year in fires. We have made progress, and I'm proud of the progress the Science and Technology Committee has made in advancing the goals of the FIRE grant program.

This bill also reauthorizes the SAFER program, which provides funding to help fire departments maintain adequate staffing levels. Through the SAFER program, the Federal Government has provided nearly $700 million to local fire departments in the past 4 years, funding that is especially crucial during the current economic downturn. And I have to note that the changes in matching requirements are especially helpful in these hard economic times.

At a time when many local governments are facing major budget shortfalls and cuts in services, Federal support to fire departments is crucial to public safety. It is particularly important in Oregon, where the unemployment rate is at about 11\1/2\ percent. The bill is an important step forward in our efforts to protect communities across the country and the firefighters who serve them. I'm particularly proud of my subcommittee's work on this very important piece of legislation.

For more than 6 months it has worked with multiple fire service organizations to identify opportunities to improve the AFG and SAFER grant programs, culminating in hearings held earlier this year. In that context, I want to especially thank Meghan Housewright for her hard work in this field. The bill addresses the needs and priorities identified by fire service experts, and I'm grateful for the cooperation of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Fire Protection Association and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Your ability to come together on this legislation made our job much, much easier.

This bill improves both the SAFER and the AFG programs by ensuring that fire departments with the greatest need will be able to apply for funding. The bill also provides for an equitable balance in the distribution of grant funding, ensuring that funding will benefit communities, both large and small.

I would like to thank the ranking member of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, Mr. Smith, for working closely with me. I would also like to thank the fire service organizations for their hard work in crafting this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of health insurance reform. In 20, 40, 60 years, this legislation will stand beside Social Security, the GI bill, and Medicare as a pillar of American health care and humane values. The bill creates a new health insurance exchange or marketplace to expand access and provide people with a menu of quality health insurance options so they can choose the plan that best meets their own needs.

The bill would create affordability credits to ensure that all Americans have more affordable health care coverage.

The bill will set a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go broke because you get sick.

In short, what health insurance reform means for Americans is more security and stability. Americans should not have to wait any longer for these reforms. We have been waiting since Theodore Roosevelt. We have been waiting since Franklin Roosevelt. We have been waiting since Harry Truman. We have been waiting since Lyndon Johnson. We have been waiting since Jimmy Carter. We have been waiting since Bill Clinton. It is time to stop the waiting and it is time to act.

Mr. Speaker, it is a tragedy when any child is killed. It is an abomination when the act of asking questions about one's child's death leads to harassment or persecution by one's own government.

We all remember when a major earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China, on May 12, 2008. It was the most devastating natural disaster to hit China in over three decades. That day, I was the first personally to present condolences to the Chinese people for their grievous loss. Particularly heartbreaking were the stories of the children who were killed as their school buildings collapsed around them and the images of parents overwhelmed with grief.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, these parents started questioning why school buildings collapsed at a much higher rate than other types of buildings. They allege that poor construction and corruption among local officials and builders contributed to the school building collapses.

These allegations have been stonewalled or, worse, resulted in the harassment of the complainants. Chinese courts have refused to hear lawsuits brought by the parents. Local officials have even kept some complaining parents in arbitrary detention. As a parent myself, I find it a tragic failure of justice to have these grievances go unaddressed, especially if a society chooses to enforce a one-child policy.

Two human rights activists from Sichuan's capital city of Chengdu attempted to stand up for these grieving parents and give voice to their concerns. Soon after the earthquake truck, Mr. Huang Qi posted articles on his Web site, the Tianwang Human Rights Center, about the parents' demands for an investigation into the school building collapses.

Separately, in February of this year Mr. Tan Zuoren issued a proposal on the Internet calling for volunteers to travel to Sichuan to compile lists of students killed in the quake, to document the parents' treatment, and to conduct an investigation of school building construction.

Mr. Tan's report criticized officials for failing to follow through on their commitments to fully investigate the role that inferior construction played in the school building collapses and for failure to deal with the parents' demands.

For these actions, the local Chengdu municipal government charged both Mr. Huang and Mr. Tan with endangering national security. Mr. Huang was charged with illegally possessing state secrets, and Mr. Tan was also charged with inciting subversion of state power. After months of being held in prison, Mr. Huang for over a year, both of these men were put on trial in August of this year.

There are allegations that both trials were fraught with numerous substantive and procedural violations. In the case of Mr. Tan, the parents of the earthquake victims said they were detained to prevent them from attending the trial.

The court reportedly rejected requests from Mr. Tan's lawyers to call three witnesses, including the noted architectural designer, Ai Weiwei, who helped design the Beijing Olympics' Bird's Nest Stadium and who also was investigating student deaths in the Sichuan earthquake. According to Mr. Ai, police came to his hotel and used force to prevent him and 10 others from leaving the premises until after the trial ended.

Mr. Huang's trial was allegedly fraught with similar violations, including the detention of a volunteer from the Tianwang Human Rights Center to prevent him from testifying on Mr. Huang's behalf.

To date, judgments have not issued in either Mr. Huang's or Mr. Tan's trial. The trials have been suspended or held open. Both men continue to be held in prison.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass House Resolution 877 to express their support for Mr. Huang's and Mr. Tan's peaceful request for answers and justice on behalf of the parents whose children were killed in the Sichuan earthquake. This bipartisan resolution, with 176 cosponsors, calls on the Chinese government to adhere to its own constitutional guarantees, its own criminal procedure laws, and its own recently passed national human rights action plan to ensure that Mr. Huang and Mr. Tan and all Chinese citizens are accorded the right to free speech and the right to criticize and make suggestions to their government as guaranteed by their own Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, no one who suffers the loss of a child deserves abandonment by or punishment from his or her own government. Support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, reforming health care insurance is the focus of this Congress this fall. And what does health insurance reform mean for middle-income Americans? It means an insurance company can no longer decide to deny you coverage or jack up your rates because of a preexisting condition. It means it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick. It means that insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you have in a given year or in a lifetime. It means there will be a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go broke if they get sick.

What this means for middle-income Americans is they will no longer be ground between the roulette wheel of health or sickness and the machinations of the insurance industry. What health insurance means is that millions of Americans who are insured today will have more security and stability.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act.

I.also want to thank my colleague from Oregon, Congressman Kurt Schrader, for bringing this important bill to the floor.

H.R. 3854 will create incentives for small business lending, reduce bureaucracy, and increase the size of SBA loans in order to help loosen credit and get capital flowing again to small businesses.

Furthermore, H.R. 3854 addresses an important issue tied to health care reform, the cost of health information technology for small practice providers. These provisions were part of Congresswoman Dahlkemper's Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act.

This bill will streamline loan processing for health information technology by reducing paperwork for both the lender and applicant, and require a 72-hour response time by SBA on

decisions to guaranty loans. Under the bill, health information technology loans will be guaranteed 90 percent by the SBA, a factor that will encourage robust lender participation in the program.

Health IT has the potential to reduce costs and medical errors, while encouraging greater efficiency. It will be an essential component of our efforts to reform health care.

However, to use health IT most effectively, we must first address three barriers to its widespread adoption: technical standards and interoperability, workforce training, and the realignment of financial incentives.

This bill can help to address a part of the third, which involves the cost of implementation.

I.have long believed that we should continue to look at ways that we can create more incentives for small practice doctors to adopt health information technology. It's important to note that 80 percent of all outpatient visits take place in practices with 10 or fewer doctors. It is essential that these practices receive the assistance they need in order to be able to implement health IT.

The larger barrier to health IT adoption is that its associated costs and benefits are not realized equally between health care providers and payors. The financial benefit of health IT accrues to the payor--the insurer--while providers are the parties most likely to bear the cost.

The challenges of implementing health IT vary greatly from large health systems to smaller medical practices. Small medical practices, which may have to incur initial costs of up to $200,000--around $40,000 per physician--for a system, may see little, if any, financial benefit from its applications. It's no wonder health IT has a deployment rate of less than 20 percent in these offices.

I.have been working with the Education and Labor Committee and leadership to address this issue in health care reform moving forward.

H.R. 3854 will provide financial assistance to these small practices, and I wholeheartedly support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress is doing health insurance reform this fall. What does that mean for middle income Americans? It means an insurance company can no longer decide to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition, or jack up your rates because of preexisting conditions.

It means it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you become sick.

It means insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage that you receive.

It means there will be a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go bankrupt because they get sick.

It means 35 to 40 million additional Americans will be covered with health insurance. That is virtually every legal resident of America.

This set of health insurance reforms means that America will finally get the health care coverage that it deserves.

I thank the gentlelady.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1929, as amended by the House. We have been working diligently on reauthorizing key programs of the SBA, including the Small Business Innovative Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

While progress has been made, a temporary extension of SBA programs is necessary to provide more time for us to continue working and provide stability to the SBA. S. 1929, as passed by the Senate, would extend SBA programs through April 30, 2010.

While I believe it is important to provide stability for SBA, 6 months is simply too long of a time to extend the programs because we need to keep our focus on a comprehensive reauthorization of SBIR and STTR. By extending the program for 6 months, we would delay this process. We would be putting off important work that needs to be done, such as permitting technology and venture capital participation in SBIR to a larger extent, changing grant sizes and other important things to turn the program into an innovation program as well as a small business program.

S. 1929, as amended by the House, will provide a 3-month extension that will provide stability to the SBA but also ensure that we continue to work expeditiously to pass reauthorization bills for SBIR and STTR.

I commend the chairwoman for her leadership on the Small Business Committee and working to keep small businesses in their important role as we work toward an economic recovery. Small business is the heart of our innovation economy, and we have to have the tools to keep them active and thriving in a 21st century economy.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Road-Map Act. I want to commend Chairman Gordon for his efforts to bring this bill to the floor, and Ms. Giffords for her continued leadership on solar technology.

H.R. 3585 provides funding for solar technology research, development and demonstration activities. It also creates a committee to develop a road map that will assess the near-, mid- and long-term needs for solar research. This assessment will become the basis for future investments in solar energy by the Department of Energy.

My district is a great example of the potential for solar energy. Not because of the amount of sun it receives, but because of the number of jobs it has created. Solar World, a solar panel manufacturer, has its U.S. headquarters located in Hillsboro, Oregon and employs 1,000 people building solar panels and produces enough PV panels to supply the entire North and South American markets. With our state's unemployment rate hovering above 11 percent, this company's investment in our state during these difficult times is welcome news. It is my hope that a continued investment in solar energy will result in thousands of more jobs in the coming years.

We have been working to diversify our energy portfolio to create and develop renewable energy sources and reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels. This bill will create further research opportunities for solar technology and will create a plan that will guide our future investments in solar energy.

This bill will help build upon the success of previous investments. It is about economic competitiveness and job creation as much as it is about clean renewable energy and less dependence on imported fuels. Again I thank Chairman Gordon and Ms. Giffords for their leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3614 and specifically those provisions which extend the SBIR and STTR programs.

Small businesses grow our economy and they innovate. The SBIR and STTR programs help small companies develop cutting-edge technologies for the marketplace.

However, these programs will expire at the end of this month, and H.R. 3614 temporarily extends the authorization of these programs while we work to finalize reauthorization efforts.

Both the House and the Senate passed legislation earlier this year to reauthorize SBIR and STTR. We have been working to find those areas of common ground on areas where we disagree, and while we have yet to reach a final agreement, we all have the same goal: to reauthorize important programs which drive our economy and drive job creation.

SBIR is a program for small business, and it is also an innovation program. It can and should serve both policy purposes. It should not be a stalking horse for Big Business nor should it become the preserve of only some small businesses while shutting out other small businesses who are frequently very good innovators in and of themselves.

We need to find the common ground that serves these policy objectives and serve them well for the good of our Nation, our economy, and job creation.

With that, I want to recognize the very good work of Chairwoman Velazquez in this arena.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3614.

Small businesses grow our economy through innovation, and the SBIR and STTR

programs help companies develop cutting edge technologies for the government and for the private sector. However, the SBIR and STTR programs expire at the end of this month. H.R. 3614 temporarily extends the authorization of these programs while we work to finalize reauthorization efforts.

The House and Senate both passed legislation earlier this year to reauthorize these programs. We have been working to find common ground on areas we disagree on, and while we still have yet to reach a final agreement--we all have the same goal: to reauthorize important programs that drive small business.

As we work to get our economy back on track, small, high tech companies will play an important role creating good paying jobs. It is important that SBIR and STTR continue to provide critical funds for research at small businesses. It is also important that these programs reflect the innovation economy of 2009. I look forward to continue working with the House Small Business Committee and the Senate to reauthorize this program.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for House Resolution 733 and to convey my deepest sympathies and sincerest wishes to the people of Taiwan who have been affected by Typhoon Morakot. I especially want to give my condolences to the families of the more than 600 people who died in this devastating storm, particularly those who perished in the mudslide in Hsiaolin village.

I wish the people of Taiwan well as they work to rebuild and recover from the worst typhoon to hit the island in 50 years. I am confident that the Taiwanese people will continue to come together to help those in need.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Madam Chair, what is truly Orwellian is the distortion of argument presented by the other side in this debate because--do you know what?-- any bank that wants to make a student loan can continue to make a student loan. What will not happen anymore is making those student loans with a taxpayer subsidy, a subsidy where not only is there a guaranteed interest rate but where the deal is that the taxpayer keeps the bad loans and the private sector, the bank, gets to keep the good loans. That's not going to happen anymore. Who is going to benefit? Students.

I want to rise in support of this bill, not only because of the tremendous advances in student financial aid--in Pell Grants and in working toward a better loan rate for students--but also because of the assistance to local schools to build safer, more energy-efficient schools, which would be better learning environments. Also, it will return jobs, and it will be more energy efficient for local communities.

So many of our communities are in urgent need of renovated schools, and recent estimates show that America's schools need billions of dollars in retrofitting and repair just to have safe and healthy learning environments for our kids. The funds in this bill will also help our schools return money to our communities by saving energy and creating jobs.

I want to especially thank Chairman Miller for working with me to add seismic retrofitting, better storm water runoff systems and additional clean energy sources as permissible uses under this bill for our local schools. In a place like Oregon, where better, sound science has found that we have a much higher earthquake risk than we originally thought-- and that science has just come out in the last 10 or 15 years--we urgently need the seismic retrofits and other safety measures. So I want to commend the Chair for working with me on this.

I urge support for this legislation with all of its important components to create healthy and safe schools and also to financially assist college students through school.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the significant and enduring contributions of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and all community health workers in Oregon.

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center was founded in 1975 following the tragic death of 6-year old Virginia Garcia. Accompanying her parents from Texas to Oregon to work in the strawberry fields, an untreated foot wound turned deadly when Virginia couldn't get basic medical treatment because of linguistic and cultural barriers. In an effort to prevent similar tragedies from occurring, the community came together to establish the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center.

As we celebrate Migrant Farmworker Health Day and recognize our special partners--Providence Health System, Marie Napolitano, and Rosalia Ginsberg--it is important to take a moment and reflect on how far we've come.

Today Virginia Garcia employs 300 people and provides high-quality, comprehensive, and culturally appropriate services to more than 30,000 patients a year in Washington and Yamhill counties. It operates four primary care clinics, three dental offices, and two school-based health centers, as well as providing outreach to schools, community centers, and migrant and seasonal farm workers through its mobile clinic.

Without clinics like Virginia Garcia and its network of community partners it isn't clear where many of our region's most vulnerable residents would turn for essential, basic health care. I applaud Virginia Garcia's commitment to providing important health care services to the residents of the 1st Congressional District and stand by its mission to eliminate barriers to access.

It is an honor for me to recognize the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and its special partners for their contributions to health in Oregon.