Floor Statements

As a charter member of the Fix Congress Now Caucus and as an early supporter of the No Budget, No Pay, I am very excited that this legislation will be voted on in the House in just a little bit.

We on the House Budget Committee work hard to pass a responsible budget each year, but the Democrat-controlled Senate refuses to do the same. In fact, it has been nearly 4 years since the Senate has passed a budget, and since that time, the government has racked up annual deficits exceeding $1 trillion a year and, in total, more than $5 trillion in 4 years. If we stay on this current path of record deficits, big government, and unfunded entitlement programs, Greece's present will be America's future.

A massive debt crisis is surely not the future we want for our children or our grandchildren. Fiscal responsibility and accountability in the Halls of Congress cannot wait. Today, we will take an important step in the House, forcing the Senate to either do its job or to face the consequences. It's simple: no budget, no pay.

As a nurse for over 40 years, I have spent my career protecting life. As a Congresswoman, I am proud to continue this critical fight for life.

With former Congressman Mike Pence's blessing, I have reintroduced his legislation, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act.

This bill will ensure that no Federal funds are given to Planned Parenthood or any other organization that abuses their privileges as health care providers and fails to protect life.

It is long past time for Congress to respect the will of the American people and to stop taxpayer-funded abortions, a heinous abuse of the law and destruction of innocent life.

I urge my colleagues to stand up for life and to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 630, I was delayed in a meeting. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 613 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, last year, U.S. exports to Russia exceeded $11 billion. In my home State of Tennessee, companies such as International Paper, Cummins, and DuPont exported nearly $162 million in goods and services to Russia last year. We need to continue to build on our strong trade relations, and passing H.R. 6156, which will permanently normalize trade relations with Russia, will do just that.

By joining the rest of the members of the World Trade Organization, we will put America on a level playing field with those already reaping the benefits from Russia's accession to the WTO last August. This will enable American companies to anywhere from double to triple their number of exports, which in turn will stimulate economic growth and job creation in America.

I applaud the House for passing H.R. 6156, a commonsense jobs bill that won't cost taxpayers a dime, and I urge the Senate to follow our lead and pass this important legislation without delay.

Mr. Speaker, while the President returned from the campaign trail last week with a slightly more conciliatory tone, his insistence on a year-end tax hike on small businesses is unchanged, and frankly, that is completely unacceptable.

It is unacceptable for more than 23 million Americans struggling for work right now. It's unacceptable for millions of middle class Americans struggling to support their families with rising gas prices and higher health insurance costs. And it's unacceptable because it will destroy jobs and hurt our economy.

Yesterday, the President said that his reelection victory is a mandate to help the middle class. He can start with helping the middle class by stopping his job-killing tax hike on small businesses.

The President continues to call for increased tax rates for the top two brackets, which hit more than 1 million small businesses and 53 percent of all small business income. That's a big problem, considering that small businesses create two out of every three jobs in America.

According to the Ernst & Young report, the President's plan will result in the elimination of 700,000 jobs.

The position of the congressional Republicans on extending current income tax rates for all Americans is far from extreme. It is actually the same exact position that President Obama espoused 2 years ago when he agreed to extend all Bush-era tax rates for 2 years on the basis that raising tax rates would hurt our weak economy.

That logic still stands. In fact, our economy is even weaker today than it

was in 2010. GDP growth is lower than in 2010, in large part due to the looming cost of the President's health care law and his administration's dramatic increase in regulations.

With more than 23 million Americans struggling to find work, that is not the time to be raising taxes on anyone, period.

We must also find common ground on the defense sequester to ensure that spending cuts are implemented, but in a way that does not weaken our military or threaten our national security.

Both the tax and spending issues we face in lame duck are a microcosm of our Nation's massive fiscal and economic long-term challenges. Entitlement reform and comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform in the 113th Congress are key to addressing our Nation's greatest challenges.

The policy outcome and the narrative that transpire from this lame duck session will set the stage for what is possible in 2013 and beyond. We have a critical opportunity right now to avert the fiscal cliff and lay the groundwork for bipartisanship with policies that reflect our economic and our fiscal realities.

From a small town in middle Tennessee, 13 young men recently became the 2012 Little League World Series U.S. Champions. These All-Stars from Goodlettsville, Tennessee, played with sportsmanship and talent beyond their years. In the U.S. championship game, Goodlettsville racked up 21 runs to become the first Tennessee team in history to clinch a U.S. title. This achievement is a testimony to their dedication and perseverance--qualities that will serve them well throughout their life.

They have made their hometown, their parents, their coaches, and their Congressman very proud. I am confident that this achievement is just the beginning of more great things to come from each of them.

Congratulations, boys.

Mr. Speaker, 11 years ago today, our way of life, our freedom, and our fellow citizens came under attack in a series of ruthless and deliberate attacks. Today, we pause to remember and honor some 3,000 people--moms and dads, friends and neighbors--who lost their lives on that fateful day.

We honor the first responders who chose to run into the burning World Trade towers, putting their own lives at risk to save others, and we honor the lives of the heroes who fought the terrorists on board Flight 97 and successfully prevented the plane from hitting the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

None of us will ever forget that day. None of us will ever forget where we were the moment that we heard that a plane had hit the first World Trade tower, and none of us will ever forget seeing the second hit. America was shaken but not broken. In those dark hours ahead, Americans came together and responded with one voice.

Today we remember and reflect upon a day that brought us all together as Americans, a day that was our generation's Pearl Harbor, a day that made all of us stop and ask ourselves what's important in our own lives. While many of our Nation's leaders do not agree on how best to run our country, we are all in agreement with pausing to honor and remember those who gave their lives in this senseless attack.

Where there is freedom, there is strength. Terrorism will never triumph. September 11, 2001, reminded all of us of that, and this is a day that we will never forget.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 552 for final passage of H.R. 6169, I am not recorded because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, you know, when nearly 23 million Americans are struggling to find full-time employment, President Obama and his Democrat allies seem to think that now is the time to raise taxes on small businesses.

And the President may be satisfied with an 8 percent or more unemployment rate for 41 straight months, but I'm not and, more importantly, the American people are not. The American people don't need to settle for a country with fewer and fewer opportunities and a diminished future.

So the House today will vote to stop the tax hike for all taxpayers, and tomorrow we will vote to move forward with a comprehensive tax reform. This is a critical step in providing the certainty that our small businesses desperately need to grow and create jobs.

Now, the Democrats' proposal to raise taxes on nearly 1 million small businesses will cost more than 700,000 jobs, and they have not even offered a plan on tax reform. This is more of the same failed leadership that has given us the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression.

Democrats think that we are just one more tax increase away from prosperity. But when has a nation ever taxed its way to prosperity? Prosperity is built by the American people, not the government. American entrepreneurs and small business owners are the lifeblood of our American Dream, and they're the backbone of our economy.

It is clear that we must stop this tax hike and reform our broken Tax Code to revive our struggling economy and keep the American Dream alive.

Mr. Speaker, as I have been back in the district talking to my constituents and visiting many of the businesses and the job creators in the district, I have continued to hear from them that if we place one more tax increase on them, they're just not sure that they can survive.

Now these are good people that I go to the grocery store with, that I go to church with. I know how hard they're working, and I know how hard their families are working in order to keep

businesses going within our community. And when we know that two out of every three jobs are created by a small businessman or -woman, we impact those very folks who are creating the jobs for so many people in the district.

I hear this over and over again. And they look at me and say, Diane, please go back to Congress and please relay this to the Members of Congress, that we need to make sure that we have the certainty and that we don't impact them and their businesses so that they have to close down and, once again, increase the amount of unemployment.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not have a plan. Their plan is to increase the taxes on this group of people.

Second to that are those who continue to say to me--especially those who are looking at planning for their families for the future, of what they're going to leave for them--they're not going to be able to leave those things that they've worked so hard for because the estate taxes are going to go up.

We cannot do this to the people in my district. I'm going to be here to fight for that.

Madam Speaker, it has been 41 months of unemployment above 8 percent, and the President is calling for higher taxes on small businesses. That is the devastating reality currently facing 13 million unemployed Americans.

America's in the midst of a jobs crisis unlike anything this country has seen since the Great Depression. And the President's most recent answer to this crisis? A tax hike on small businesses to feed Democrats' insatiable appetite for more wasteful, ever-expanding government spending.

This past week, the President followed up his recent call for higher taxes by scolding entrepreneurs. And I quote: ``If you've got a business, you didn't build it. Somebody else built that.''

His disdain for American enterprise truly underscores that he not only doesn't know what it takes to start and run a business, but he is clueless about how jobs are created.

If the President gets his way, instead of small businesses creating more paychecks for more workers, they will be paying more taxes to the Federal Government. I wonder if the President has considered the fact that small businesses create two out of every three new jobs in America? And that means, for the majority of the nearly 13 million unemployed Americans, their best hope of being able to provide for their family hinges on small businesses' ability to hire more people.

The administration's onslaught of new regulations and ObamaCare's costly taxes and mandates have already placed a huge burden on our Nation's small businesses. The President now wants to add insult to injury and siphon away 201 billion more dollars from the American job creators.

Now, a new study released yesterday from Ernst & Young confirms what many Americans already know: the President's latest tax hike plan would destroy 700,000 jobs and further weaken our struggling economy.

The House is scheduled to vote in a couple of weeks on legislation to extend all of the current Federal income tax rates while, at the same time, laying the groundwork for making our Tax Code simpler and fairer by lowering rates and closing loopholes. Pro-growth tax reform is needed to help create the climate for job creation and to ensure more jobs stay right here in the United States.

The most recent unemployment report shows that the number of people leaving the job market to go into Social Security disability outnumbers the number of people who are going back to work. Let me repeat that. The most recent unemployment report shows that the number of people leaving the job market to go on Social Security disability outnumbers the number of people who are going back to work.

So, regardless of one's political ideology, it's truly unconscionable for the President or any Member of Congress to be calling for tax hikes on Americans when millions are out of work and the economy is still treading water.

But, to make matters worse, this week many Democrat leaders in the Senate have said that they are willing to allow these taxes to increase for all Americans if they aren't able to get their way and raise taxes on 1.2 million small businesses. Now, every day the President and the Senate Democrats continue with this political posturing and class warfare nonsense while the economy suffers and small businesses suffer, and ultimately, the American people suffer.

The question is, will the President and the Senate Democrats who run Washington work with the House Republicans to stop this huge, job- killing tax increase from hitting small businesses and every American who pays an income tax? Or will they continue to insist on higher taxes to pay for wasteful government spending and bailouts for political allies?

Thank you, my colleague from New York. I want to thank you for managing this Special Order tonight because we cannot talk about this issue enough. We have got to continue to make sure that the American people are aware of this devastating bill called ObamaCare, or the Patient Affordability Act.

Now, having been a nurse for over 40 years and working in the health care system, we have the best health care in the world. I have done medical mission trips in other parts of the world, and I can tell you they don't come anywhere near providing the kind of quality service that we have here in this country. As a matter of fact, we will see people from other countries come to the United States to get that care because they know across this world that we provide the best health care in the world.

But I'm not going to disagree that the system is broken and does need some repair.

We do need to have more accessibility. We do need to lower the cost, and we need to make sure that, while doing that, we maintain and increase quality.

However, what has happened in the bill that was passed some 3 years ago now by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, there wasn't transparency, there wasn't input by those who were providing care and that are a part of the system, and we didn't see patient-centered care.

There are other solutions. This is not the only solution. And as my colleague from New York shows this chart, this very complicated chart, when Nancy Pelosi said that we have to pass this bill to know what's in it, she was correct, because as we look at these 139 different agencies that still are going to have to be created and rules and regulations that need to be promulgated, we have no clue of what's going to be happening with this health care system now for the next 5 to 8 years.

We do have some solutions, good solutions that are patient-centered, that are market-driven solutions, such as HSAs, which really have not been given a chance. But HSAs are a very, very good way, especially for the young. Many of the young people that are currently not insured are not insured because they can't see a reason for paying for the very expensive insurance that's out there and available for them.

Things such as removing the barriers from purchasing your health care across State lines, these are some good, market-driven ideas that will bring the cost of health care down and give patients more opportunity for them to make decisions about what's best for them in their health care.

Also, tort reform. We know tort reform has worked in those States where it has been successfully implemented. Tort reform needs to be done across the entire country.

These are real solutions that allow the patient to be in the driver seat to make those decisions about what's best for them.

But, instead, what do we have?

We have a law that's devastating our economy, and it is wrong medicine for our health care system.

Three-quarters of our small businesses--and I know that as I visit these small businesses across my district, they're the bedrock of the U.S. economy--say the law is preventing them from hiring people. And all of this, and health care costs continue to soar, so it hasn't done anything to bring the cost down. What we're seeing is the cost escalating.

And to make matters worse, ObamaCare will result in millions of Americans being dropped from their employers' health insurance plans and pushed on the government-run health insurance. And all of this, all of this results in more deficit spending and more tax hikes for the middle class folks.

The President has said as recently as this week that he does not want to raise taxes on the middle class. He also says he wants Congress to focus on job creation and the economy.

But, Mr. President, the House has voted yet again to do just that. By repealing ObamaCare, we can prevent this crippling tax on the middle class, and this will also lift the cloud of uncertainty and other job- killing taxes that are wreaking havoc on our economy and our health care system.

It's been 41 straight months of unemployment above 8 percent, and it doesn't look like things are going to change very soon. If the President is committed to helping the middle class like he says, then he will join us in doing away with this law that is increasing the tax burden and the cost of health care for all Americans. Americans deserve better.

Thank you again, my colleague from New York, for managing this time to allow us to be able to talk to the American people and help them understand there are real solutions out there.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor as a fellow Rotarian to congratulate Bob J. Phillips on his service as the 2011-2012 President of the Lebanon Rotary Club in Lebanon, Tennessee. True to the Rotary theme ``service above self,'' Mr. Phillips worked tirelessly with his club to improve his community.

Prior to serving as President, Mr. Phillips served the Lebanon Rotary Club as a Member of the Board of Directors and project manager for the initial installation of the first two water purification systems in Honduras. He additionally served as Bulletin Editor prior to becoming President and is a Paul Harris Fellow.

Mr. Phillips retired from Lockheed Martin in 2000 with over 22 years of service. In his last assignment with Lockheed Martin, he served as Assistant General Manager, Information Services Division, and managed all communication and information technologies in support of the Nevada Test site for the U.S. Department of Energy from 1995 to 2000.

He and his wife, Barbara, relocated to Lebanon after his retirement. They have two children and five grandchildren. He is a member of the Maple Hill Church of Christ where he has served on the evangelism program.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I'm incredibly disappointed by the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the President's health care law, but one thing the Supreme Court's decision does not change is the need for ObamaCare to be repealed immediately. The fact is that President Obama's signature legislative achievement, ObamaCare, is a tax hike on the middle-income class.

Since I took office in 2010, I've been fighting every day to repeal ObamaCare, and I will not rest until this goal is achieved. As a small businesswoman and a nurse for over 40 years, I know that ObamaCare is not only the wrong medicine for our health care system, it's also a disaster for our economy.

ObamaCare's new regulations, taxes, and mandates are crushing our already weak economy. Now three-quarters of small businesses say that the law is preventing them from hiring people, and that has left millions of middle class Americans jobless and without a way to provide for their family.

I look forward to voting tomorrow, once again, to fully repeal ObamaCare, and I hope this time that the Senate gets the message loud and clear. It's long past time for the Senate to follow the House's lead and strike down this disastrous law.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of my motion to instruct.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.

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

We began the 112th Congress by reading the U.S. Constitution as a body, and we require that every bill cite the section of the Constitution that allows Congress to consider the legislation.

My motion to instruct simply maintains this desire of the House by protecting States' rights under the 10th Amendment. The 10th Amendment reads:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the

Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are

reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I believe that the issue of laws related to distracted driving are best left to the States. That's why as a State senator in my home State of Tennessee I voted three times for a distracted driving law on the books today.

As a mother and a grandmother and a nurse, I strongly support absolute safety on our roadways. I also believe that there's no one in this Chamber who doesn't support safe driving laws. But this motion to instruct is not about safety; it's about the States' rights under the Constitution and stopping Federal manipulation of State law through taxpayer-funded distracted driving grants.

Now, the Senate passed a highway bill, Senate Bill 1813, that contains a provision that would grant the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood $79 million to entice the States to enact and enforce Federal distracted driving laws, something that 39 States already have on their books--39 States have already enacted these laws.

I believe the States are great laboratories for determining what works and what does not work. That is why my motion to instruct keeps intact a study--wants a study to be conducted on all forms of distracted driving. This helps government and also the public better understand and identify the most effective methods to educate drivers and enhance States' understanding of these issues so that they can enact and tailor laws best suited to the individual needs of their States.

I'm offering a motion to instruct that simply strikes the distracted driving grant funding language contained in the Senate-passed bill, while calling for a study to be conducted on all forms of distracted driving. This helps government and the public better understand and identify the most effective methods to educate the drivers and enhance the States' understanding of these issues so they can enact and tailor laws best suited to the individual needs of their State. What is best for the State of Massachusetts may not be best for the State of Montana. And as the 10th Amendment to our Constitution was written, these laws are reserved for individual States.

Now, just as we must provide certainty to job creators, we must provide certainty to States on the highway bill. The only way to accomplish this task is to allow for focused use of taxpayer dollars that is produced in a multiyear transportation bill that restricts the highway fund to its intended use, that is, building and maintaining America's roads and bridges. Taxpayer dollars are so precious, they should not be used on anything other than the intended purpose.

I urge my colleagues to protect states' rights and support my motion to instruct.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my good friend and colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

I am.

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

This is a worthy goal. As I've already said, I'm a nurse. I'm a grandmother. I'm a mother. I want safety on our roads.

I have served in the State legislative body where I have voted three times on distracted driving. We did our studies, we found what the problems were in the State of Tennessee. We were able to pass laws to make the roads safer.

Careless driving of any form must be stopped, and I applaud the piece in the bill that will create more study so that States can have more information about just what they need to craft in their State that will be identified as distracted driving.

Obviously, distracted driving does not just mean cell phones, and it does not just mean texting. There are other forms of distracted driving--a mother turning around to correct her small child who is sitting in the back seat. I personally have seen those kinds of accidents. Someone reaching for a CD to put in one's disk, I personally have seen the devastation from that action. There are many forms of distracted driving, and this study will help us and the States and the public to understand what those forms of distracted driving are. In my motion, that is left in place.

Again, we have to be very cautious about our dollars and how it is that we hand our dollars out. I talk about this almost like legislative candy, this $79 million, to incentivize or to entice States to do something, and 39 of them are already doing something related to distracted driving.

As a matter of fact, if we take a look at this whole discussion on the transportation bill, we know how precious every dollar is. We're talking about infrastructure and about creating jobs. This $79 million can be best used by its intended programs, which are to build roads and bridges and to make our roads safer by making sure that our roads and our infrastructure are in the best shape. States are already doing this job. We don't need to take $79 million and hand it out to States--using candy to get them to do what we want them to do.

Absolutely, safety is the major issue, but States can make that decision. States have enough knowledge to know what's best for their States.

So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to protect States' rights and to support my motion to instruct.

I yield back the balance of my time.