Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5574, legislation that will reauthorize and strengthen the children's hospital graduate medical education program.

I want to thank Chairman Barton and Chairman Deal for their commitment to prioritizing this important measure this year--it's been a great team effort and I appreciate the Committee's support for children's health.

I also want to extend a special thanks to Congresswoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut. We've been strong partners over the years on children's health issues--enactment of Children's Hospital GME back in 1999 is one of my proudest moments working together.

We've had great success increasing the Federal investment in this program ever since--from Members on both sides of the aisle.

The Ohio delegation has helped lead the charge--in no small part thanks to the efforts of our esteemed Chairman of the Labor HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Ralph Regula.

I am extremely fortunate to have an extraordinary children's hospital in my hometown of Columbus, OH. Strong leadership, a clear vision, and a compassionate team of medical professionals has made Columbus Children's one of the best hospitals in the nation caring for sick children.

The CHGME program has helped the hospital--and hospitals all across America--do what they do best--provide the best training to doctors to deliver the best patient care possible. And we can all agree that our children deserve nothing short of the very best.

A vote in favor of H.R. 5574 will send it to the President's desk and reauthorize this important program for another 5 years. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank Chairman Oxley, for this effort and for his great leadership of our Committee for the last 6 years. Six very challenging years in which fiscal policy really mattered. A time when security, reliability, transparency, made a difference. Ms. Waters, and Ranking Member Frank and their staffs for their hard work on this legislation. Clinton Jones, Cindy Chetti, and Tallman Johnson on the Majority staff have been invaluable.

We are here today to extend a program that works: A program that saves taxpayers money, reduces rents on tenants, and ensures the long- term viability of affordable housing properties.

The numbers speak louder than words--In just 7 years, Mark-to-Market has resulted in nearly $2 billion in net savings to taxpayers, reduced rent costs at over 2,700 properties by an estimated $216 million per year, and completed debt-restructuring on over 1,400 properties.

Central Ohio has been the beneficiary of many of these projects, including the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing's purchase of 12 HUD-insured properties in urban Columbus, and the continued development of a home for disabled individuals near the Ohio State University, the Center for Creative Living.

This bill also includes an amendment I drafted in Committee, which provides relief for properties in rural and dense urban areas and non- profit purchasers, and erases any question of the eligibility of properties damaged by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma or other natural disasters.

Our action today shows our commitment to acting before this program sunsets.

Mr. Speaker, on the legislative day of Tuesday, September 12, 2006, the House had a vote on rollcall 437, H. Res. 175, recognizing the importance of establishing a national memorial at the World Trade Center site to commemorate and mourn the events of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago this week our Nation suffered an unspeakable terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 Americans. This resolution is to honor them.

No American will ever forget the horror of that day, but neither will we forget what else we saw in the days that followed: The courage, the generosity, the selflessness of ordinary Americans who raced in to help in any way they possibly could.

One of those heroes lives in my own backyard. Sergeant Jason Thomas, a former marine who upon learning of the hit on Tower 1, raced to Ground Zero, donning his marine uniform which was in the trunk of his car, to join the search for survivors.

His seemingly illogical instinct to race into that danger saved the lives of two Port Authority police officers who were trapped beneath 20 feet of debris when the towers collapsed. Yet he asked for no notice, no thanks, no praise. No one even knew of his bravery.

As remarkable as Sergeant Thomas' story is, it is just one of the hundreds and thousands of stories of courage and compassion that came out of that day. Mr. Speaker, the hijackers hoped to terrorize and demoralize our Nation. Instead, they brought out the very best that is in us.

Inspired by the heroes of 9/11, today we reaffirm our commitment to defending our liberty from every threat and combating the evil of terrorism wherever it is found. And it is sad that there are so many ``shame on you's'' and finger-shakings going on. And I say shame on those who continue the constant drumbeat to dampen this country's spirit and to demoralize those men and women who are so bravely defending us from the terror that could strike again.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman, my friend, for yielding.

The agreement we have reached at long last tonight will benefit millions of hardworking Americans. This is a landmark achievement. We have attained unprecedented unity, and I am grateful for the hard work of the leadership and for our Members' commitment to getting this done for America.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle are already calling this political, but they are wrong. It is another example of House Republicans getting things done for the American people. The bill before us tonight will raise the minimum wage more than $2, to $7.25 an hour, a 41 percent increase, a provision that I am very proud to support.

Ohio workers where I live deserve a raise, and tonight that is what we are giving them, and we are doing it in a way that won't stifle job creation; but more importantly, we are doing it in a way that will be able to pass and become law. A clean up-or-down vote would never get through the Senate, the other body, and would never become law.

This legislation will also benefit family businesses by burying the death tax for good. Because of this crippling tax that has been on our books for so long, more than 70 percent of family businesses and family farms don't even make it through the second generation, and 87 percent don't even make it to the third. The death tax relief included in this bill will protect these businesses and allow them to continue to create jobs for hardworking Americans.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will also support our Nation's teachers. Teachers often contribute more than their time and talent to educate our students, frequently dipping into their own pockets to provide essential classroom supplies. The Apples for Teachers provision which I introduced years ago is expiring, but today we will extend it and these expenses will continue to be tax deductible.

Mr. Speaker, this is a vote for our teachers, for our families, for our small businesses, for our farmers, and for all hardworking Americans. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for yielding me the time and his invaluable leadership on this piece of legislation. His leadership led us very thoughtfully through this process, and we did not have a knee-jerk reaction that so often happens around here. Your valued experience and insights have made this much better legislation. Thank you.

Over the last few months, we have heard very much about CFIUS. Media reports of CFIUS transactions such as the Dubai Ports deal have given pause to most Americans and awakened this Congress to the need to reform the process of allowing foreign investment in the United States. Congress has taken a strong position on national security since 9/11, and this legislation updates CFIUS for a post-9/11 world where national security and homeland security need to be considered much more strongly than in years past. National security, however, is not mutually exclusive of economic security. This legislation strives to ensure national security while promoting the creation and maintenance of jobs.

This legislation institutes vice chair positions in CFIUS to be filled by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Commerce. We believe it shows how America continues to think globally for investment and locally for security.

While strengthening our security, we have also continued our work to strengthen our relationships and open markets with nations abroad. These countries have a growing appetite for foreign goods and products, American products and American investments.

American companies and brand names that we all recognize have grown exponentially because of these market openings, and growing American companies mean growing American jobs.

In Ohio, we have seen the benefits of open markets and foreign investment, welcoming into our communities Siemens, Sodexho, Honda, Lexis-Nexis, and many, many more.

Honda Motor Corporation has become the largest auto producer in Ohio beginning production in 1979 with an initial investment of $35 million in Marysville, Ohio. To date, Honda's capital investment in Ohio tops $6.3 billion over 26 years. Honda's North American plants purchased more than $6.5 billion in parts from 150 different Ohio suppliers just in 2005. Honda's investment in the people of Ohio keeps approximately 8,500 people employed.

When a foreign company looks to invest in the U.S., they are looking to grow their business, and that equals growing jobs in the United States. The U.S. Commerce Department says that foreign firms doing business in the U.S. employed nearly 5.1 million employees in 2004, slightly less than one out of every 20 workers in the private sector.

This process of reforming CFIUS has the potential to undercut the United States' long-standing support for capital market access and the free movement of capital. Thanks to the chairman's leadership and a very thoughtful approach to this reform effort, I believe this legislation continues to focus our efforts in securing our Nation, while remaining committed to free trade as one of the greatest engines of prosperity.

In recent months, the Treasury Department has made strides in congressional notification of pending deals that could potentially affect national security, but that is simply not enough. This legislation ensures that a Dubai Ports World situation does not happen again in a post-9/11 world. When questions of national security or foreign government ownership arise, accountability is clear, and the transaction moved immediately to investigation.

The American people can feel confident that this legislation institutes the oversight and protections needed to determine if a foreign investment transaction is in the best interests of the United States' national security.

In a world intertwined by global companies, it is important we continue to protect U.S. national and economic security while promoting foreign investment. This issue touches every American who wants to know that each day they are safe.

I want to thank the chairman and Ranking Member Frank, my good friend, Ranking Member Maloney, our whip, Mr. Blunt, and Representative Crowley and everyone who worked so hard on this, and I urge support.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below:

Rollcall No. 375, H.R. 3085--To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trial segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea''.

Rollcall No. 376, H.R. 3496--National Capital Transportation amendments Act of 2005, I would have voted ``yea''

Rollcall No. 377, H.R. 3729--Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling Act of 2005, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below:

Rollcall 358, H.R. 2563--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct feasibility studies to address certain water shortages within the Snake, Boise, and Payette River systems in Idaho, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall 359, H.R. 5061--Paint Bank and Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries Conveyance Act, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time.

I rise today in support of H.R. 5574, legislation that will reauthorize and strengthen the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program.

Mr. Speaker, once in a great while, a program stands out among a crowded field of programs that grabs the attention of policymakers. Back in 1999, together with the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson), we saw such a program and took the reins to bring it to our colleagues' attention.

This program, known as Graduate Medical Education, was great at providing teaching hospitals that served Medicare patients with the tools and resources they needed to train doctors and treat patients. But what we realized was that the program did not reach teaching hospitals that treat children. Obviously, Children's Hospitals do not receive much in the way of Medicare payments. In fact, at the time no Federal program provided Children's Hospitals with the resources they needed to train and retain doctors and treat kids.

So in response to this inequity, Congresswoman Johnson and I worked with our colleagues to enact legislation that created a discretionary program to pay for Graduate Medical Education at Children's Hospitals.

Under the strong leadership of Chairman Ralph Regula of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriation Subcommittee, Congress has taken the extraordinary step of providing equitable GME funding for independent Children's Hospitals at a level of about $300 million over the past several years. This program has strong bipartisan support and extraordinary support in my home State of Ohio.

I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have a state-of-the-art Children's Hospital in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, as was mentioned earlier. At a time when programs are, and should be, scrutinized for their effectiveness and value, I am proud to report on what Children's Hospital in Columbus has been able to accomplish with the funding for the program we are seeking to reauthorize today. In the past 5 years, Columbus Children's has increased the number of physicians trained each year by over 100 percent. It has doubled residency fellowship programs and has launched these programs in areas of local and national shortage, such as pediatric surgical critical care, child neurology, and child abuse and neglect. It has initiated programs for primary care in underserved urban and rural areas. And because the Children's Hospital GME program has provided for the cost of their residency training, just as the Federal Government has always done for adult hospitals, these improvements for education and training of physicians for children have not come at the expense of patient care or research.

What all of this means is that the program is working. It is contributing to an improvement in the quality of care that our children receive at Children's Hospitals all across America. And that is exactly what our kids deserve.

I want to thank my colleagues, Chairman Deal and Ranking Member Brown, for prioritizing the reauthorization of this important program and commend all of the Children's Hospitals across the country for their extraordinary commitment to the health of our Nation's children.

As the motto of Children's Hospital in Columbus states: ``For Every Child, For Every Reason.'' That is what Children's Hospitals are all about and why I am so proud to support this worthy program. I urge my colleagues to support it as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Deal for making this a priority, and Ranking Member Brown. I appreciate your words and I associate myself with both of your remarks, and I rise today as a voice for the thousands of families across America who have been touched by pediatric cancer.

Each day, two classrooms full of children are diagnosed, two classrooms, and I rise today for the children who will be diagnosed today and for their families who love them.

This week, we celebrate Gold Ribbon Days, a time for children and their families to come to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about pediatric cancer. Some of those children are fighting their own battles. To them, we offer support. Some of these families have lost their children to cancer. To them, we offer compassion. And to some of those children who are survivors, they offer us hope.

This morning, I had a chance to spend time with the children and families in town for Gold Ribbon Days. We held a rally right outside the Capitol to tell our stories. We celebrated the fact that this body today would be considering this important resolution that will help raise awareness, education and research. Those families are so thankful, Representative Deal. Thank you so much for allowing us this time.

We also celebrated the premier tonight of the much anticipated documentary called ``A Lion in the House.'' This film, produced by two brilliant Ohio filmmakers, is extraordinary. It offers an unprecedented look at the cancer journey of five young people and their families over a 6-year period. For those of us who have traveled on our own journey, this film depicts our experiences, our struggles and our pain. For those of you who have not traveled on this journey, this film will give you empathy and compassion.

Never before has such a delicate and serious topic like childhood cancer been brought to the public's attention in such a powerful and meaningful way; real families sharing stories, the very, very private moments, the highs and the lows, the roller coaster of never knowing what lies around the corner, the confusion, the frustration and the darkness, the joy and the pain, the love and the loss.

The families we meet in the film, their resilience, courage and wisdom, remind us that while it is human nature to question the sanity and injustice of why such a tragedy has befallen those of us who have been touched by pediatric cancer, we must find a way to channel our pain and our anger into action to change the course of this disease. That is what Gold Ribbon Days is all about, and this resolution is part of our action plan.

I want to recognize and thank the pediatric cancer organizations, the advocates, the children and their families who are waging their own battle against cancer. They are the tireless soldiers in our army, and until we rid the world of the scourge that is childhood cancer, we must keep up our strong army and we must keep up the fight, and we shall.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. The gentlewoman has been a leader for freedom all around the globe, and this country should appreciate her for that.

Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege to lead a bipartisan all-female Congressional delegation to Iraq. It was one of the most emotionally overwhelming experiences of my professional life. We met women of enormous courage and hope.

They told us that they want to work, they want to vote. They want to be a part of their society, a democratic society. But we also heard about what life was like before the coalition came. We heard about the treatment of women under Saddam Hussein and during torture, oppression, that most of us could not imagine.

We were told of the heart wrenching stories of husbands torn from their homes in the middle of the night by brutal, secret police, and the women left behind, usually with children, faced with the impossible burden of providing for their families in a society that doesn't even allow women to work. Some were raped, some were tortured, but that was before liberation.

The road to liberation has been a rocky one. But our troops are doing good work every day in Iraq. We saw soldiers building schools and hospitals, vaccinating hundreds of children. They coach soccer. They tutor. They make a difference. They risk their lives every day to protect the newly acquired rights of Iraqis, but especially the women.

If I were asked to give one good reason why we should stay in Iraq, I would tell you to stay. We need to stay for the women.

Well, I saw women of diverse ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic classes. They were empowering each other with education, with hope, with friendship, just like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Another courageous woman I met, Nasreen Barwari, the Minister of Public Works, was later the target of an assassination attempt. Her crime, being an outspoken woman in a important position. Thankfully she survived, but her bodyguard was killed. Her female colleague, Dr. Al- Hashimi of the Iraqi Governing Counsel, was not so lucky. She was tragically gunned down.

Ladies and gentlemen, if we stay in Iraq, one of the major reasons is to stay for the women.

Just over two years ago, I was privileged to lead a bipartisan, all- female congressional delegation to Iraq.

It was one of the most emotionally overwhelming experiences of my official life. We met women of enormous courage and hope. They told us they want to vote, to work, to be a part of the democratic process.

Some said they wanted to run for office and help create the laws that will build a new Iraq.

But we also heard about life before the coalition came.

We heard about the treatment of women under the Saddam regime-- enduring torture and oppression that most of us could not imagine.

We were told heart-wrenching stories of husbands torn from their homes in the middle of the night by a brutal secret police.

The women left behind, usually with children, faced the impossible burden of providing for their families in a society that didn't allow women to work or remarry.

Some were themselves raped and tortured.

But that was before liberation.

The road since liberation has been a rocky one.

But our troops are doing good work every day in Iraq.

We saw the soldiers building schools and hospitals, vaccinating thousands of children, and putting an archaic infrastructure back in operation.

They coach soccer, they tutor--they make a difference! And they are risking their lives to protect the newly acquired rights of all Iraqis--but especially women.

If I were asked to give you one good reason why we should stay in Iraq, I would tell you we should stay for the women.

If we can make the values of a free society--the rule of law--work for the women of Iraq, we create the conditions for these new democratic values to take root and spread.

While there I saw women of diverse ethnicities, religions, and socio- economic classes empowering one another with education, hope and friendship--much like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

In Mosul, we met with the Women's Social and Cultural Society. They had been meeting secretly, but now felt safe enough to be public and actually welcome our delegation.

These women, accompanied by their wide-eyed daughters, are creating a new Iraq as they promote social, political and educational equality for all Iraqis. But they're not alone.

One of my favorite stories of the trip was of two Iraqi women who arrived one day at a fountain in the town center of Hillah dressed in traditional Muslim women's clothes but with a decidedly non-traditional mission.

A courageous woman I met, Nasreen Barwari, the Minister of Public Works later was the target of an assassination attempt.

Her crime? Being an outspoken woman in an important public position. Thankfully, she survived, though her bodyguard was killed.

Her female colleague, Dr. Al-Hashimi, of the Iraqi Governing Council, was not so lucky.

She was tragically gunned down outside her home.

The dangers Iraqi women face can't be underestimated nor can the obstacles put in their path to liberation. But these women remain undaunted!

We also visited the police academy in Baghdad where 29 women were training to be the first female police officers ever in Iraq.

These wonderful women told us how excited they were to be learning skills to hold their first job. Many had barely been out of the home setting before. Their exuberance was infectious.

We also went to a residential area in Mosul to talk with a group of neighborhood women--some educated, but many not. We met in the crowded living room of one of the members. All the rooms were packed. The electricity was only on for half of our afternoon together. But that was more than they had had in years. The curiosity of the men on the street outside was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The women's group had many questions for us.

``How do we find our voice?'' they asked. ``How do we organize other women to make an impact? How can we affect the direction of this country?''

They were asking the most fundamental and basic questions of civic involvement--how to construct the foundation of the democratic process. As we left, their children came forward with flowers for us.

I think it's fair to say that U.S. soldiers have liberated more women in the last 4 years than anyone or anything else in the last 20--maybe longer.

Still, changing 2,000 years of tradition isn't going to happen with stroke of a pen. It will take time and patience.

This is not the time for us to abandon these courageous women--not when they have come so far.

Mr. Speaker, ask any group of parents what they worry about most, and I guarantee you that keeping their kids safe in a world that sometimes seems to get more dangerous by the day will be at the very top of that list.

The legislation before us will help make kids in this country safer by giving schools access to national criminal information databases, allowing to them conduct more thorough background checks on prospective teachers. It is as simple as that.

It goes without saying that the vast majority of teachers in this country are praiseworthy men and women dedicated to the well-being of the children that they teach. But, unfortunately, even schools are not safe from the criminals and pedophiles who threaten the innocence and safety of our kids.

It must be a priority of this Congress and our Nation to see that anyone who has harmed a child is brought to justice, and this legislation will help to ensure that no criminal ever finds a safe haven in a school.

I want to thank Mr. Porter for his hard work, Chairman Sensenbrenner for allowing this to go forward and for your hard work. And I am especially pleased to see it move forward as part of the Suburban Agenda. And I urge my colleagues to support the SAFE Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 5117, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. The story of this bill begins 4 months ago when I first heard that disabled students, many of whom rely on section 8 housing assistance, were at risk of losing support they depend on to go to school in and around Columbus, Ohio.

Marilyn Frank, the executive director of Creative Living, an organization in Columbus that provides a home for the severely disabled, told me that she feared a new law aimed at eliminating abuses in the section 8 program had the potential to hurt some of our most vulnerable citizens. Many of these residents would be unable to pursue their dreams of higher education without the support of Creative Living and the funding of the section 8 program.

H.R. 5117 gives us the opportunity to right a wrong. We can give these students the peace of mind that they can continue their education without fear that they will lose the housing on which they depend.

Now, the story behind the story begins more than a year ago. Media reports in Iowa and elsewhere questioned the integrity of section 8. It became clear that students, some student athletes, many from well-to-do families, were residing in subsidized housing created for low-income Americans. The images from these reports were patently offensive. While some families struggled to make financial ends meet to stay in the section 8 residences, a group of college football players lived in low- income housing, rent free and spent their $500 per week stipend at the mall on video games.

Congress responded quickly to close these loopholes and tightened the eligibility requirements for students who wish to reside in federally subsidized housing.

Unfortunately, that fix overlooked the disabled. This bill simply exempts disabled students who were receiving section 8 from these new requirements, thus grandfathering in disabled students who are currently going to school and receiving this assistance. The list of exempt individuals also currently includes veterans, married individuals, and those with dependent children.

The bill we are considering today ensures that disabled students who desperately are dependent upon section 8 to pursue their education will not be unfairly shut out of the rental assistance program.

I would like to thank my fellow Ohioans, Chairman Oxley and Congressman Ney, Chairman Hobson and Congressman Tiberi, for helping move this bill quickly to the floor. Mr. Leach and Ranking Member Frank from Massachusetts also deserve a great deal of thanks.

But our fight is not done. Unfortunately, because of some CBO scoring issues, the bill before us today is not

the broad fix to the section 8 program I had originally sought. And subsidized housing facilities like Creative Living cannot accept new students under the section 8 program until a more permanent solution is enacted by this body.

To that end I will continue to work to ensure that facilities like this can continue to house students with disabilities in the future and allow them to pursue their dreams.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just want to say this is a great victory today. We are ensuring that these students do not have to put away their textbooks or even hang up their lab coats because of something that we did when we thought we were correcting a problem. There are enough challenges put in front of individuals with severe disabilities, and worrying about a place to call home while they attend college should not be one of them.

I also appreciate the bipartisan effort on this bill and so many other pieces of legislation that moved through our committee.

And thank you, Ms. Waters, for joining me in this effort.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below: Rollcall 251, H. Res. 794, Recognizing the 17th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea''; rollcall 252, H. Res. 804--Condemning the unauthorized, inappropriate, and coerced ordination of Catholic bishops by the People's Republic of China, I would have voted ``yea''; rollcall 253, H. Res. 608--Condemning the escalating levels of religious persecution in the People's Republic of China, I would have voted ``yea''; rollcall 254, H. Con. Res. 338--Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the activities of Islamist terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere, I would have voted ``yea''; rollcall 255, H.R. 4939-- Previous question on the Rule for H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, I would have voted ``yea.''