Floor Statements

Why are there 50 million Americans without any health insurance? It's pretty simple. It's because people cannot afford to pay the premiums. Why is it that half the bankruptcies in the United States are connected to people not being able to pay their hospital bills? It's because the copays and deductibles are through the roof and they threaten family financial stability.

Why do these things happen? It's because we have a for-profit health insurance system; $1 out of every $3 goes for the operation as a for- profit system--$800 billion a year for corporate profits, stock options, executive salary, advertising, marketing, the cost of paperwork. If we took that money and put it into care, we would have enough to cover everyone.

This is a battle between the insurance companies and our people. We're either going to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, or we're going to have a government of the insurance companies, by the insurance companies, and for the insurance companies. I think we remember what Lincoln said at Gettysburg. He didn't say that the insurance companies were going to run the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 285, congratulating the people of the Republic of Lithuania on the one- thousandth anniversary of Lithuania and celebrating the rich history of Lithuania. I congratulate Lithuania on this important anniversary and extend many happy returns to the Lithuanian people. I thank my esteemed colleague, Congressman Shimkus, for introducing this important legislation.

As co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus I have worked to advance the strong ties that exist between the United States and Lithuania. I look forward to strengthening diplomatic ties through the promotion of democratic values that support both social and economic justice. The Baltic people have a proud history that shows their dedication to these values as well as the values of liberty and democracy. I am proud that our two nations share such a strong commitment to democracy and diplomacy.

Lithuania's history is long and laudable. In recent years Lithuania has advanced its status as an international citizen. Lithuania declared independence from the former Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. Along with the other Baltic States, Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania became a member of NATO in March of 2004. Just two months later in May 2004 Lithuania joined the European Union with her Baltic counterparts.

On July 12, 2009, Lithuania made history once again by swearing in their first female president, Dalia Grybauskaite. President Grybauskaite has reaffirmed Lithuania's commitment to our many shared values. Under her leadership, Lithuania continues to show a clear commitment to uphold equality, freedom of speech and human rights.

She has stated her intention to amend a controversial censorship law scheduled to enter force on March 1, 2010. The law has been criticized by gay rights activists and others for discriminating against homosexuals by prohibiting references to homosexuality in media available to children.

I commend President Grybauskaite for her commitment to uphold equality and human rights for all people. I congratulate Lithuania on its one-thousandth anniversary and will continue to celebrate Lithuania's rich history. I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1018. Current practices by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to maintain the population of our nation's wild horses and burros have been ineffective, inhumane and expensive.

This bill will significantly curb the costly and inhumane practice of rounding up our nation's wild horses and burros into crowded short- and long-term holding pens. In their report, ``Effective Long-Term Options Needed to Manage Unadoptable Wild Horses,'' the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed that the bulk of budget shortfalls faced by the Bureau of Land Management have resulted from current management methods that move wild horses and burros from Herd Management Areas (HMA) to long- and short-term holding areas. The report affirms that BLM will face budget shortfalls if long-term corrections to current management practices are not put in place.

In the past, I have advocated for significant changes to current herd management practices to ensure that long-term reduction of wild horse and burro populations on public lands is not achieved by slaughter. Such concerns were expressed by the public and Members of Congress alike as recently as last summer.

The slaughter of these animals is an unacceptable solution that jeopardizes public trust and undermines congressional intent. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has never exercised its authority to slaughter wild horses and burros. Financial shortfalls are not sufficient reason to end the BLM's good record. As such, I strongly support the effective and humane actions this bill has taken to replace current practices.

Under this bill the Bureau of Land Management will identify appropriate public lands and sanctuaries for our nation's wild horses and burros. With passage of this bill, most of the beautiful and treasured wild horses and burros currently in holding pens will be released to roam on public lands. Additionally, the BLM's adoption program for wild horses and burros will be strengthened to improve efforts to increase adoption by qualified individuals. Furthermore, the bill wisely includes a provision that will help protect threatened and endangered species by requiring BLM to ensure a ``thriving natural ecological balance'' on public lands designated for wild horses and burros.

I strongly support this important bill and urge my colleagues to vote in favor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of Sergeant 1st Class Jason J. Fabrizi who sacrificed his life while serving his country.

Sergeant Fabrizi was in born in Cleveland, Ohio to Mary Miller and Timothy Hess, both of whom were United States Marines. Jason moved to Florida at the age of 10, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 after graduating high school. He served with the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team on the 4th Infantry Division stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado for the past 11 years.

Sergeant Fabrizi had completed three tours in Iraq before his deployment into Afghanistan. Jason was a highly decorated soldier; earning a Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals, as well as several more honors throughout his service in the U.S. Army. Sergeant Fabrizi lost his life on July 14th, 2009 when his convoy was attacked in the Konar Province of Afghanistan.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and remembrance of Sergeant 1st Class Jason J. Fabrizi, who will be remembered as a dedicated father and national hero by not only his family, but by the entire country. I offer my deepest condolences to his mother, Mary Miller; father, Timothy Hess; wife, Kristi Kool; three sons, Jason Allen, Tyler Jacob and Layne Timothy; and daughter, Reagan, who is due in two months.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in Recognition of the Ambassador of Hungary, Ferenc Somogyi, and his family as they celebrate their departure from the United States after nearly two years of exemplary service.

Ambassador Somogyi was born on September 1st, 1945 in Hartkirchen, Austria. In 1952 the Ambassador began his education in Budapest. He earned a University Degree in 1968 from the University of Economics, Budapest in the field of International Relations and in 1977 was awarded a Doctoral Degree in World Economics from the same institution. Moreover, Ambassador Somogyi gained an additional University Degree in the area of International Relations from the College for Political Science in Budapest.

After obtaining his degree, Ambassador Somogyi began his career at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Hungary. He worked his way from a junior desk officer in 1968 to Professional State Secretary in 1990, during which he served as the Chief Negotiator for talks on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary. By 1996 Ambassador Somogyi became the State Secretary for Euro-Atlantic Integration. While State Secretary, Ambassador Somogyi acted as the Chief Negotiator for the Hungary-Slovakia Framework Treaty, Hungary-Romania Framework Treaty, Hungary's NATO accession talks and Hungary's EU accession talks. Ambassador Somogyi took positions as the Director for Euro-Atlantic Integration for MATAV Hungarian Telecommunications and CEO of Stonebridge Communications AD between 1998 and 2006. Later in 2006, the Ambassador became the Director for International Affairs for Magyar Telekom before being named the Ambassador of Hungary in 2007.

In addition to Ambassador Somogyi's impressive professional career, he has also played a vital role in several Hungarian national and international organizations. For nearly a decade Ambassador Somogyi was a member of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. Between 1998 and 2003 the Ambassador served as President of the Hungarian Atlantic Council. He was also a member of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary from 1999 through 2001. Between 2001 and 2003, Ambassador Somogyi served as Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Associations. Finally, the Ambassador continues to be a member of the Board of Trustees for McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland and the International Advisory Board for the Institute for the Study of Europe at Columbia University.

While serving as the Ambassador of Hungary, Ferenc Somogyi has focused on strengthening transatlantic relations between Hungary and the United States. He also continued to work with the Unites States on achieving stability in the Balkans as well as with the business community to explore new ways in economic and technological cooperation.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognizing Ambassador Ferenc Somogyi for his dedication to improving relations between Hungary and the United States. Furthermore, I wish Ambassador Somogyi and his family a joyous celebration before returning to Hungary.

The health care debate ends up being a debate about the legitimacy of our political system. If this is truly a government of the people, by the people and for the people, then why do we not already have a health care system which meets the needs of all the people? Is it because we have a market-based, for-profit health care system? Why do we have 50 million Americans uninsured and another 50 million Americans underinsured? Why are most bankruptcies connected to people being so heavily in debt for hospital bills?

America faces not only a health crisis but a spiritual crisis when health insurance and other interest groups stand between the people and their government extracting the wealth of our Nation and appropriating it to a few at the expense of the many and pressing upon the many the burden of illness and the brevity of life.

It is time to break the hold these interest groups have on our government. When we do, our Nation will be more healthy and more free.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

I am especially supportive of Congressman Steven LaTourette's amendment to restrict funding to GM and Chrysler if the auto companies follow through with their plans to close dealerships, and I thank Chairman David Obey of the Appropriations Committee as well as Majority Leader Hoyer for their efforts to protect the LaTourette amendment.

The crisis in the automobile industry has devastated Ohio and my district. Statewide, it is estimated that the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler, with the accompanying dealership closings, will cost up to 8,000 jobs and approximately $300 million in state income tax revenue. Moreover, the state could lose an additional $250 million in sales tax revenue.

I cannot stand by arbitrary and capricious decisionmaking that will destroy the communities in my district. Hundreds of employees of other industries inextricably linked to auto dealerships will also lose their jobs, and the cascade of destruction through the local economy will continue.

We must not let this happen.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of Marjorie Helen Knoll Pallotta, whose unwavering devotion to family, friends, community and country has left an indelible imprint upon our society and has forever touched the hearts of all who knew and loved her well.

Mrs. Pallotta was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 22, 1923 to George W. Knoll, Jr. and Marie C. Dolan Knoll. She graduated from Notre Dame Academy in 1941 and went on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she met Rico Pallotta. They were married on April 3, 1948 at St. Clair Catholic Church and moved into a duplex in Cleveland Heights. Together, they lovingly raised five children, Ward, Richard, Ann, Joy and Tom, in a home that radiated love, unity and music. They bought their first house in 1955 in Beachwood village and several years later, the family moved to Bainbridge.

Although extremely busy raising five children, Mrs. Pallotta always found time to volunteer in the community. She was known for many beautiful talents, including her singing, prize winning rug hooking, Scottish Country dancing and Irish red hair. She lent her musical talents, especially her beautiful voice, as a singer in churches and at community events. She regularly sang at weddings, at Suburban Temple, and joined the choir of Grace Lutheran Church in Cleveland Heights for the

production of a record album. Mr. and Mrs. Pallotta also sang together in the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. At family reunions, Mrs. Pallotta thrilled family and friends with her incredible mezzo soprano voice, singing religious, classical and operatic selections along with Broadway show tunes, most often accompanied by Rico on accordion or piano. After singing the National Anthem at a July 4th reunion in New York, her cousin, Larry Dolan, owner of the Cleveland Indians, asked if she would sing at Jacobs Field. She accepted, and with power and perfection, on June 7, 2002 at the age of 79, Mrs. Pallotta sang a powerful and moving rendition of the National Anthem, as tens of thousands of baseball fans listened with pride.

Madam Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition of Marjorie Helen Knoll Pallotta, whose joyous and spirited life reflects unwavering dedication to family, friends and community--framed in love, music and song. I offer my heartfelt condolences to her children, Ward, Richard, Ann, Joy and Tom; to her grandchildren, and to her extended family members and many friends. Mrs. Pallotta's beautiful life brought joy to her family, friends and people in the community, and her love of life, and love she showed to others, will forever be remembered.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of David O. Frazier, actor, singer, author and lyricist, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, and in recognition of his recent induction into the Cleveland Playhouse Hall of Fame for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre.

Mr. Frazier began his entertainment career as a child, under the instruction of piano teacher Nelly Kelly, the aunt of Princess Grace of Monaco. During his teenage years, he learned about hard work by picking cotton in Texas. As a young man, fate guided him to Cleveland, where he began his professional career at the Cleveland Playhouse. Mr. Frazier has appeared in over 150 productions. Moreover, Mr. Frazier's unwavering commitment and advocacy on behalf of the arts was a critical factor in saving the Cleveland Playhouse from demolition. His appearance in the record-breaking two and a half year run in the production of ``Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' at the Playhouse Square Foundation stopped the demolition of and revived Cleveland's five historic theatre houses. Today, Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts complex in the nation.

Mr. Frazier has performed on private and public stages around the world, singing, dancing and writing his way into the hearts of audiences ranging from accomplished writers and actors, heads of state, and thousands of theatre patrons. He co-wrote his one man show, ``Conversations with an Irish Rascal,'' with his partner and collaborator of more than thirty years, Joe Garry. Together, Mr. Frazier and Mr. Garry have co-written and co-produced fifteen original musicals. Mr. Frazier also appeals to young audiences in his starring role on NBC's children series, ``Hickory Hideout,'' for which he was awarded an Emmy Award.

Madam Speaker Colleagues, please join me in honor of Mr. David O. Frazier, whose passion for music, limitless talent and unwavering dedication to the theatre has served as a source of entertainment and inspiration for audiences in Cleveland, Ohio and throughout the world. Furthermore, his dedication to promoting and preserving theatre in Cleveland has enriched the diverse culture of the entire community. I wish Mr. Frazier a very happy birthday and congratulations on his induction to the Cleveland Playhouse Hall of Fame.

Americans want quality, affordable health care. Fifty million Americans are uninsured. H.R. 3200 will still leave 17 million Americans uninsured. Now, how is that possible? Because it keeps in place a for-profit insurance system which siphons off at least $400 billion every year which could be used to make sure all Americans, not just most Americans, receive quality health care.

H.R. 3200 will not solve the problem of underinsurance. Sixty percent of all bankruptcies in America are due to people not being able to pay hospital bills. Of those, 80 percent are insured. People just can't afford the rising premiums, copays, and deductibles which are the basis of insurance company profits.

The only way to break the insurance companies' hold on our system is to guarantee affordable, quality health care to all Americans through a universal single-payer, not-for-profit health care system.

Mr. Chair, we must take measurable actions to replace policies of aggression with policies of dialogue, adherence to international law and an unwavering dedication to the protection of human rights. As such, I oppose the bill based on the inclusion of funding for programs and support for policies that fail to meet these important goals.

This bill continues funding for the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. IMET is one of the three funding sources that support the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA).

This combat-training facility for security personnel in Latin America is notorious for graduating human rights offenders. In its 59 years of existence, the SOA trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently targeted educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and

others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been victims of SOA graduates.

A particularly egregious example shows Americans have been affected too. In 1980, Sisters Dorothy and Jean Donovan of Cleveland, along with two other churchwomen from the U.S., Sister Maura Clarke and Sister Ita Forde, were raped and murdered by members of the armed forces of El Salvador. Three of the five officers involved were graduates of the School of the Americas.

I oppose the continuation of funding for the Merida Initiative and expansion of this flawed program to the Caribbean countries. Time and again, research has demonstrated that illicit drug production in developing countries stems from pervasive rural poverty and lack of sustainable sources of income. More money for guns and other tools of destruction will do nothing to ease the suffering of those struggling with addiction or alleviate the social problems that compel people to produce and/or traffic drugs.

I also oppose the Import-Export Bank provision in Section 7043 of the bill regarding Iran. Sanctions can be an effective diplomatic tool in the right circumstances. However, sanctions are meant to cripple economies and as such can have disastrous consequences for the citizens of any sanctioned country. Iran is experiencing extreme turmoil among its citizens. Recent events make it very clear that the people of Iran are to be commended for their courage, not strangled by an increasingly crippled economy as the fabric of their society is being ripped apart. Furthermore, the provision will undoubtedly target countries that are our allies who will have a role to play as the U.S. moves forward diplomatically with Iran and in the region generally. With the global economic crisis, this policy will cause the U.S. to fall far short of our diplomatic goals in the region.

These are policies that take us down the wrong path. I cannot support this bill.

Madam Chair, the increases in funding for veterans services contained in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill are overdue and welcome. It continues increases in veterans' health care funding by providing $53 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also provides advanced appropriations for FY 2011 for medical accounts. I have long supported advance appropriations for veterans because it helps to stabilize funding instability and ultimately results in higher quality care for veterans. The bill provides $3.2 billion, a 40 percent increase over last year, to combat homelessness. It provides $4.6 billion for mental health care to help address the rising incidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in our newer veterans. It provides for the hiring of 1,200 additional claims processors to continue to work to eliminate the backlog of benefits claims.

Unfortunately, the bill also includes funds for building extensive infrastructure to support our military operations in Afghanistan. It is clear that this construction will support the expansion of ongoing operations in the region. This is particularly troubling because the Administration is still without an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Additionally, U.S. presence in the region has served to foment anti- American sentiment. I remain concerned that this combination of factors will not ensure U.S. ``success'' in the region but will ensure that the months and perhaps years ahead will be

deadly for our brave troops and for the Afghan people.

It is unacceptable to fund a more permanent presence in Afghanistan in a bill that gives our veterans services they need. Our veterans deserve more than we could ever repay. I must support this bill.

Madam Speaker, information is necessary for the proper functioning of our economy, as well as our political system. Investors, consumers and voters need quality information to make informed choices. Capitalism and democracy require full information for the most ideal outcomes, namely, efficiency and representativeness.

But anyone looking at this past year in American business and government would have to conclude we are a long way from achieving the ideal. On the contrary, we are embroiled, in significant part, in the consequences of a profound lack of transparency. Our economic and political systems suffer an information deficit, and the lack of transparency is costing dollars as well as public trust.

As chairman of an investigative subcommittee in the House of Representatives, my own work has largely been devoted to identifying and remedying that fundamental flaw.

A couple relevant examples:

My subcommittee held a hearing this past March on the questions, What does Treasury know about what TARP recipient banks are doing with the funds they've received? My staff identified a couple billion dollar examples. One bank arranged financing worth $8 billion for governmental entities in Dubai; another made a $7 billion investment in a Chinese Construction Bank, and a third made a $1 billion investment in its operations in India. None

of these are illegal, of course. They may even represent sound business judgment. But at the time those decisions were announced, those banks had received many billions of taxpayer dollars to help cure a liquidity crisis in the United States. Is that what Congress really had in mind when it created TARP? I think the answer is obvious.

What we learned was that Treasury was making no significant effort to find out what federally-supported banks were doing. TARP program makes no demands on TARP recipients for detailed information about their spending. Even though the statute obligates Treasury to be able to prevent waste and abuse of TARP monies, Mr. Paulson's Treasury Department did not even bother to set standards for waste and abuse of TARP funds. ``We trust them'' was essentially what passed for oversight of the Capital Purchase Plan. Treasury has no concrete idea of how TARP monies are being used. They did not ask questions of TARP recipients about their use of funds, and did not gather sufficiently detailed information from TARP recipients to know what to ask about.

It was even the opinion of Treasury that an answer to the question is nearly meaningless, because money is fungible.

Of course money is fungible. So is gravel. But if you want to know where the gravel is, you look for roads. So to this end, one of our witnesses provided a detailed examination of lending practices by several top TARP recipients and found, as we have all since learned, that net new lending was nearly zero. By integrating not only new loans but also contraction in credit, in the form of foreclosures, shortened credit lines and so on, this witness was able to independently estimate actual new lending--one of the key purposes of the TARP capital infusions--something Treasury had been completely dependent on the TARP recipient companies for producing.

I understand that Treasury has made some improvement in other TARP programs created since our hearing.

Then more recently, my subcommittee has been engaged in an investigation of the circumstances around a merger that received considerable emergency assistance from Treasury and the Federal Reserve. Here too the transparency issue arose. One of the main problems the systemic regulators were trying to deal with was predictable investor surprise around the unexpectedly huge losses the merger was suffering. Our investigation found that unmistakable warning signs of those losses were known to the acquiring company before their shareholders were asked to ratify the merger, but the company did not share the information with its shareholders. Furthermore, our investigation showed that the Fed was completely aware of the possible securities fraud even as it was orchestrating a bailout to deal with the consequences of a misinformed investor community.

Now the Fed is an interesting example of an institution that is statutorily protected from transparency. First a bit of background: As you know, Congress depends upon the Government Accountability Office to perform directed and statutorily required audits and reviews, which Congress uses as one important source of information and analysis for government oversight. But a little known statute called the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act of 1978 barred GAO from reviewing the Fed's monetary functions. Along comes the financial crisis and the Fed engages in a number of extraordinary measures, spends over $1 trillion dollars so far, invokes emergency powers to purchase and lend against assets it has never before held, and yet the Fed's interventions enjoy complete protection from GAO scrutiny of these crisis interventions because it calls them monetary policy. This is certainly debatable, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee adopted unanimously my amendment to authorize GAO to conduct reviews of the special facilities created by the Fed to deal with the financial crisis. But we have a long and difficult road ahead before we see the Kucinich amendment become law, in spite of the fact that we are in a crisis due in significant part to the lack of transparency.

So I will leave you with these thoughts: Our economy and our political system and its institutions are in severe need of greater transparency. We are living with the consequences of a lack of transparency. And yet, it will be difficult to administer the medicine we will all benefit from. I look forward to working with you to see that we get the transparency we desperately need.

Mr. Speaker, one of the tragic and laughable conceits of the entire health care debate is that people love their for-profit health insurance companies, so hands off the private insurers.

These are the same insurance companies whose premiums, copays and deductibles are forcing millions of Americans into poverty. Sixty percent of all U.S. bankruptcies are tied to people not being able to pay their hospital bills, and most of these people were insured. But people love their insurance companies.

Now, everyone knows that insurance companies make money not providing health care. But people love their insurance companies, so we have to leave them in the game, right?

People love for-profit insurers, so government ought to give the insurance companies a bailout and subsidize private insurers, because people love their insurance companies, right?

Well, I don't think that people love for-profit insurance. I think people want a not-for-profit system that guarantees all Americans health care.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act. This legislation undermines the very reason for the creation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and squanders the opportunity to provide vital resources to our country's small business community.

The Small Business Innovation Research program was created by Congress with the recognition that small businesses could not compete with their larger corporate competitors in the federal grantmaking process. This grant program provides small, innovative businesses across the nation with the necessary resources to significantly contribute to the federal government's research and development efforts. With the enactment of the SBIR program, Congress made clear its commitment to support the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses.

Section 102 of H.R. 2965 would alter the ownership rule provision by providing venture capital firms and venture capital subsidiaries of large corporations the space to increase their ownership in small businesses applying for SBIR grants. Relaxing the venture capital standards for SBIR and STTR grant eligibility undermines the ability of the SBIR program to ensure that small business can address the disproportionate competitive advantages that large business have.

In a time of economic crisis, maintaining the integrity of the SBIR program could not be of more importance. We must recognize the significant contributions that small business makes to our economy and preserve the programs that drive their success.