Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, in May of 2011, President Obama gave a speech in El Paso, Texas, where he effectively said: Mission accomplished--our border is secure. In fact, he mocked those of us who disagreed with him, suggesting that we wouldn't be happy until there was a moat guarding our southern border.

Mr. Speaker, as we witness tens of thousands of children crossing our border today, I hope the President remembers his speech in El Paso and owns up to his administration's failure in enforcing our immigration policy.

We need a secure border before we can address any kind of immigration reform, which is why I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 2220, the SMART Border Act--tough, smart legislation to finally get operational control over our Nation's borders.

Mr. Speaker, more than 1 million Americans who signed up for health care on the Federal ObamaCare exchange may be receiving an incorrect taxpayer subsidy for their plan due to the fact that the Obama administration pushed this law through before the systems were in place to accurately confirm eligibility.

This isn't mere incompetence on the part of the White House; no, this is a direct result of the administration's insistence on moving forward with their arbitrary October 1, 2013, open enrollment date, regardless of the consequences.

Consider the problem this presents as there is currently no realtime system in place to ensure only those who qualify for subsidies receive them. This means that hardworking American taxpayers may be left on the hook for potentially billions of dollars in fraudulent subsidy payments. Furthermore, it means that someone who simply fills out their ObamaCare enrollment application incorrectly could be hounded for years by the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes owed on improper payments.

This problem was entirely preventable. That is why, in the wake of the clandestine holiday rules change that delayed income verification provisions in ObamaCare last summer, I introduced legislation that would have prevented any ObamaCare subsidies from being doled out until a system was in place to make sure that only those who were determined eligible would receive them. The House acted on this legislation, passing it in a bipartisan vote last September to help protect the American taxpayers from rampant fraud and abuse.

Unfortunately, instead of giving my bill the consideration that it deserved, the Senate stripped the verification provision contained in the bill and replaced it with language requiring a mere report to Congress by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the end of last year, certifying that there is a system in place to verify incomes before subsidies are paid out.

Predictably, this weakened income verification language has failed, and we have now learned from news reports that over 1 million Americans are potentially receiving an amount in error. That is why I have now introduced H.R. 4805, the No Subsidies Without Verification Act of 2014.

The tax credits and cost-sharing assistance for ObamaCare premiums administered by HHS is estimated to amount to a staggering $10 billion per month, making this one of the largest entitlement programs in the Nation. My bill would simply require an income verification system to be put into place before any additional taxpayer subsidies are given out.

Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare has become such a boondoggle that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office can't even score it anymore. My commonsense legislation would slow the bleeding this law is having on American taxpayers, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to move it forward.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4058, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act, as well as each of the four additional bipartisan sex trafficking bills being discussed today.

The statistics about sex trafficking are shocking, and it is not just happening abroad. These heinous crimes are being committed right here at home. In fact, the Federal Government reports that some 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually, making this a $9.5 billion industry each year. Worse, 50 percent of the victims that are trafficked into the United States are under the age of 18, with 60 percent of the trafficking happening in our foster care system.

Madam Speaker, these are children in our communities whose innocence is being stolen away by the horrors of human trafficking. In just one county in my district, there were more than 100 cases of sex trafficking involving a minor in 2011, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

As a mother and a grandmother, my heart just breaks for those impacted by this epidemic. I believe we have a responsibility to reverse this unacceptable trend.

Madam Speaker, an act of Congress won't immediately stop all the forms of this human trafficking, but we can do something. We can make the penalty stiffer. We can put another wall between the innocent victims and those who victimize them. We can pass H.R. 4058 and each of those other bipartisan measures aimed at targeting sex trafficking today. We can and we should.

I thank the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee for yielding.

Mr. Chair, our Nation is $17.4 trillion in debt and out-of-control spending here in Washington has no end in sight. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that, on our current trajectory, we will return to $1 trillion annual budget deficits by the year 2022. This situation is untenable and threatens the Nation that we leave behind for our children and grandchildren.

As I stand here and look at these young adults, they are the ones that are going to have to pay for our lack of courage to do what we need to do to balance this budget and get our country and our spending under control.

The vast majority of Americans agree that the Federal Government should live within its means and that it should balance its budget the same way that American families do. That is why it was so disappointing that President Obama's FY 2015 budget proposal would increase Federal spending and never balance, despite calling for an additional $1.8 trillion in taxes from hardworking Americans. In fact, the President's budget proposal would add an additional $8.3 trillion to the national debt.

The American people and these children deserve better than this. That is why I am proud that my House Republican Budget colleagues and I have again acted where President Obama and the congressional Democrats failed to lead.

This Path to Prosperity is our vision to control Washington spending and to help get our economy moving again so Americans can get back to work. This responsible budget proposal would cut spending by $5.1 trillion, balance the budget in 10 years, and put us on a path to pay off our debt. We accomplish all of this without raising taxes on the hardworking American people.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this budget proposal.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 165 (Democrat Motion to Recommit), which took place Monday April 7, 2014; I am not recorded because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no''. On rollcall No. 166 (Final Passage of H.R. 1872), I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor two beloved Tennesseans who have dedicated their lives and service to our State, Millard and Joyce Annette Oakley.

A lifelong resident of Overton County and a graduate from Tennessee Tech University, Millard Oakley is a true jack-of-all-trades. He proudly represented the Upper Cumberland for four terms in the Tennessee General Assembly, and he continued his service as a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents and as the State insurance commissioner.

Today, he ensures that small businesses in our district have the capital needed to expand their reach and hire more workers as the director of the First National Bank of Tennessee; and he helps spread the gospel message as the director for the Thomas Nelson Publishers, the world's largest Bible publishing company.

His loving wife, Joyce, or J.J., as she is known, is a West Virginia native, but she got to Tennessee just as soon as she could and met her husband-to-be while attending the University of Tennessee law school.

While the Oakleys' accomplishments are many, they are best known for their generosity to the students and families of my district. In 2004, the Oakleys sponsored a Vince Gill concert that helped Tennessee Tech University raise more than $140,000 for the new nursing school.

They also offered Tennessee Tech the use of their family farm and donated $2 million to fund the school's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Center, the largest single gift in the university's history.

Additionally, the Oakleys were instrumental in recruiting a satellite campus of Volunteer State Community College to Livingston and gave generously to causes such as the Overton County Public Library.

Today, the Oakleys can still be seen around my district visiting the library that bears their name or walking on the campus of Tennessee Tech and meeting students who have personally benefited from their contributions.

People like Millard and J.J. Oakley truly earn Tennessee its nickname of the ``Volunteer State.''

I am deeply grateful for their friendship and their example of selfless generosity. May we all aspire to live such a life.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the House Republican budget plan. Unlike the President's budget, this is a serious proposal that balances our budget and helps our economy grow.

Our Nation is $17.4 trillion in debt. If we want to preserve this country for our children and our grandchildren, we must reform the way Washington works.

Everyone knows that Medicare will soon go bankrupt, and that is why I am so happy that this budget proposal saves this important program for our seniors and future generations. By transitioning to a premium support model, we can preserve Medicare for those in or near retirement and strengthen Medicare for younger generations.

Furthermore, this budget ends ObamaCare's raid on the Medicare trust fund and repeals ObamaCare's Independent Payment Advisory Board to help ensure our seniors get the care they deserve.

Despite what some critics say, this does not eliminate traditional Medicare. Instead, it ensures that Americans will always have traditional Medicare as an option. Under this plan, every senior will have the support they need to get the care they deserve. Those who attack this reform without offering credible alternatives are complicit in Medicare's demise.

So I want to commend Chairman Ryan and my Republican colleagues on the Budget Committee for leading, where President Obama and the Senate Democrats have failed. One way or another, this country will have to address our out-of-control debt and deficits, and this budget does so responsibly.

Madam Speaker, I would like to say thank you to my colleague from Kansas for yielding.

Madam Speaker, ObamaCare's arbitrary 30-hour, full-time workweek puts about 2.6 million American workers making under $35,000 a year at risk of having their hours and wages cut. And 63 percent of those adversely affected by this arbitrary, 30-hour rule are female workers, according to the Hoover Institution.

It is no wonder that a majority of Americans oppose this law--and certainly no wonder that a majority of women oppose it. For all the talk about the supposed ``war on women,'' it is ObamaCare that is waging a war against female workers. That is why I am proud to stand in support of women across this country to repeal this arbitrary, 30-hour, full-time workweek.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here with my good friend from New York and to say ``no more'' to sexual assault. This April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I commend Mr. Reed for leading this effort to raise awareness and bring attention to this crucial issue.

Every 2 minutes, an American is assaulted in this country, and one in five women is a survivor of rape. This is sad and deplorable, and we must do more to share the daunting facts about sexual assault in this country as well as let people know where they can go to get help.

We must act to protect our Nation's women, but it goes further than this. You see, in this country, one in six men have been victims of sexual abuse before they reach the age of 18. This kind of child abuse must be brought to light, and perpetrators must be severely punished.

During my time of working in the Tennessee State Legislature, I was proud to support numerous measures to help protect women and children-- and, in particular, children--from sexual assault. I sponsored legislation strengthening the penalties for the crime of rape of a child.

But in order to root out perpetrators of sexual violence, victims need to know where they can turn. I am grateful for the work of nomore.org for raising the awareness on this issue and for offering resources where victims can get the help that they so greatly need.

These heinous crimes are unacceptable, and it is why it is so important to say ``no more'' this Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

I thank my friend for bringing this issue to the floor tonight. It is so important.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Women's History Month. Our Nation is blessed to have so many women who have played important roles in its formation across the country.

I want to highlight one particular Renaissance woman from my neck of the woods, Tennessee.

My home in Gallatin has a special significance to me in that it resides on the property that used to be known as the Fairvue house, which was eventually sold off and broken apart. One resident of Fairvue was a particularly notable woman by the name of Miss Ellen Stokes Wemyss, and to say that she lived a notable life would be an understatement.

Born in 1895, Miss Wemyss lived a long, eventful life until she passed away in 2001 at the age of 106.

Over the course of her life, she marched in the Nashville Suffragette Parade, flew in an early airplane, and rode her horse into her eighties.

Miss Wymess was an avid traveler who explored glaciers in Alaska and bicycled in France through her eighties. She even worked her plantation farm well into her nineties.

When she wasn't working or embarking on adventures, she was giving back to our community, including giving to Volunteer State Community College, the Gallatin Day Care Center, Sumner Academy Day School, Sumner County Public Library, among many other local organizations.

I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Wymess several years ago before she passed away, and it gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to share just a peek of her wonderful life here on the House floor.

As we celebrate Women's History Month, I encourage everyone to think about a role a woman has played in our rich American history.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 86 (Cummings Amendment), rollcall No. 87 (Connolly Amendment), rollcall No. 88 (Jackson Lee Amendment) and rollcall No. 89 (Motion to Recommit), which took place Friday, February 28, 2014; I am not recorded because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall No. 90 (Final Passage of H.R. 899), I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare is a fundamentally unfair law that is hurting the middle class and lower-income Americans across the country.

In fact, just this week, the labor union Unite Here issued a scathing report on the President's health care law, charging ObamaCare will lead to the destruction of the health care plans for their members and the like, and it will make inequality in our Nation worse.

Unite Here was the first labor union to endorse the then-Senator Obama in his race for President in 2008. So even one of the President's closest union allies has turned against ObamaCare because, as they report, it will hit the average, hard-working American where it hurts the most, in the wallet.

The President and congressional Democrats sold this law as something that would reduce health care costs for the American people.

It is completely unfair to force the people to participate in a program that doesn't live up to that promise. This law was supposed to help insure the uninsured; yet it has never been more unpopular among those without health insurance.

In fact, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 56 percent of the uninsured have an unfavorable opinion of ObamaCare.

A recent McKinsey study found that affordability was the number one reason cited by the uninsured for why they aren't signing up. The uninsured who cannot afford ObamaCare are set to be hit with another cold reality of the President's signature health care law: they will be penalized for being put into this situation.

The President has the audacity to fine hard-working Americans for not being able to afford his costly and disastrous health care product. This despite the fact that he has exempted big business from ObamaCare, and members of his own administration do not have to purchase ObamaCare plans for themselves.

This kind of selective enforcement is unfair to low-income and middle class families. It is why, last week, my House Republican colleagues were joined by 27 Democrats to pass legislation to eliminate the individual mandate tax penalty under ObamaCare for 1 year.

Through ObamaCare, the President is marginalizing the very people he says he wants to help, and now, even his closest allies have taken notice.

Mr. Speaker, President Obama's labor union friends are right. ObamaCare is destructive to low- and middle-income families, and the politicians who are responsible for this train wreck must be held accountable.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give my strongest support to my friend Mr. Schock's legislation, the Equitable Access to Care and Health Act.

Even some of the President's most ardent supporters now recognize that ObamaCare is a fundamentally unfair law, and I am happy to see that so many Democrats join us in support of this important bill.

Instead of having Federal bureaucrats decide who and what groups should be allowed religious conscience exemptions from this law's tax penalty, individuals, themselves, should be empowered to affirm their objections to this law's onerous and controversial mandates. That is what this commonsense bill would do, and I urge its swift passage to help protect Americans from the Obama administration's war on religious liberties.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding time to me, and I thank Mr. Smith for bringing this very important legislation here to the House.

I rise today in support of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act--commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will protect American taxpayers from footing the bill for this barbaric practice of abortion, in turn helping to protect women's health and unborn life.

Now, despite the legislation's bipartisan support, we have heard more than a few mischaracterizations of this bill from our colleagues across the aisle, and as a woman, I reject these false attacks. This legislation is not about taking away anyone's choice. It is about giving choice to the nearly two-thirds of Americans who don't want their hard-earned tax dollars funding the destruction of innocent life.

Madam Speaker, as a nurse for over 40 years, I have seen countless births. I have seen the joy in a mother's eyes as she holds her newborn for the first time, and I have also seen a young woman lose her life to abortion.

Those experiences informed my belief that all life--born and unborn, mother and child--is a precious gift, and I hope to see the day that this truth is reflected in our Nation's laws. Until then, we can, at least, protect the values and conscience of millions of American taxpayers by passing this legislation.

I look forward to voting ``yes'' on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation to provide basic diligence to the Federal ObamaCare exchange.

If someone's personal information has been breached, the Federal Government should be accountable and be required to notify them so that they can protect themselves from either identity theft or cyber threats.

This is common sense, as data breach notification is required on most of the State-run exchanges, and there are laws that require notification by private businesses as well. Yet, when HHS was asked to insert notification provisions into the final rule for ObamaCare, they specifically declined to do so. This is an astonishing failure on the part of the administration though, sadly, characteristic of how they have proceeded at every turn with implementation of this train wreck legislation.

www.healthcare.gov has been described by former Social Security Administrator Michael Astrue as a ``hacker's dream,'' and last month, HHS reported that there had been 32 security incidents since its launch. The Federal exchange potentially puts at risk Americans' names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, and even Social Security numbers.

Last month, I introduced similar data breach notification legislation, and I am pleased to join my House colleagues now to pass this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I can't imagine explaining to my constituents that I voted against this commonsense measure to protect hardworking Americans from identity theft and cyber attacks, and this is why I urge my colleagues to support this bill.