Floor Statements

I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Guetzke, a World War II veteran from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, one of my constituents who landed at Omaha Beach on D-day and who went on to fight at the Battle of the Bulge. He later was awarded and received both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his service.

During the battle to liberate occupied France, Lieutenant Colonel Guetzke's mission was to protect some of Paris' most famous landmarks-- the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe--from being destroyed by retreating Nazi forces. Earlier this month, the people of France formally thanked Lieutenant Colonel Guetzke, and awarded him the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

I want to thank Lieutenant Colonel Guetzke for his exemplary service, and I also want to congratulate him on receiving France's highest honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Rev. Bernard Reiser, who passed away late last year at the age of 87.

Ordained in the Catholic Church in 1949, Father Reiser spent most of his adult life in the community of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where he established Epiphany Catholic Church back in 1964. He helped grow Epiphany from a small 125-family parish to one of the largest parishes in the State, with over 5,000 member families.

And though he was well known within the community of Coon Rapids, Father Reiser's work extended far beyond its borders. Since 1996, he had traveled to Haiti, where he helped improve the lives of the less fortunate. And last year, he was honored for his international aid work by a local Twin Cities television station in our community.

Though he will be missed, his memory does live on in the community and the lives that he touched at Epiphany and in Haiti.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the courage of two young Minnesotans whose lives have been drastically changed recently while playing a sport they truly love.

A December 30th high school hockey game began brightly for 16-year- old high school sophomore Jack Jablonski, who scored the opening goal of the game. But a shocking check from behind during the second period left Jack paralyzed.

And sadly, one week later, another young hockey player, 18-year-old Jenna Privette from St. Croix Lutheran High School, was hospitalized after also being injured during a game.

Despite this, these two young athletes have not lost their love of the game and have shown incredible courage in the face of such terrible accidents.

I am pleased that this weekend the Minnesota State High School League took swift action in announcing new rules that aim to make the game safer.

I urge all of us to keep Jack, Jenna, and their families in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3659) to reauthorize the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 3659, legislation to extend Temporary Assistance For Needy Families and related programs through the end of this fiscal year, as well as to ensure that these funds are spent appropriately.

Now, before describing the legislation in greater detail, I note that these same provisions were already approved by the House as part of H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, on Tuesday of this week. But given some of the uncertainty about that legislation, it makes sense to ensure that the TANF program continues to assist families past December 31, when its current authorization expires. That's the first and most important thing that this bill will do.

The TANF program has been generally successful at reducing welfare dependence and encouraging work. This success is partly evidenced by the fact that since it began in 1996, TANF caseloads have fallen by 56 percent through June of this year. And a key reason why this happened is because TANF is designed to promote and also support work. Unfortunately, it is one

of the only anti-poverty programs that actually does so, focusing on helping move people from government checks to paychecks.

And especially, given that the focus and the fact that this program helps so many single parents with children, we need to continue TANF so low-income parents have the dignity of working and supporting their family.

But we also can't stop there. Extending TANF will also provide us the opportunity to develop long-term solutions to some of the problems revealed in a subcommittee hearing earlier this year, such as making sure that work requirements apply in all the cases that they should.

In discussing this issue with Subcommittee Chairman Geoff Davis, I know that that remains a key focus of the Human Resources Subcommittee agenda in the coming year.

Aside from extending TANF and related programs, this bill contains two important and bipartisan program integrity provisions. First, it requires that States apply specific data standards to the TANF information they use when administering benefits and reporting data to the Federal Government. This will help ensure that States have reliable data to use in matching within TANF and across other programs, to ensure that the right people are receiving the right benefits.

Unfortunately, today that is not always the case. The absence of such data standards undermine program integrity and results in the waste of taxpayer funds; and that needs to end. This data provision is identical to provisions affecting child welfare programs signed into law by the President in September as part of the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act. And I know Subcommittee Chairman Davis and the gentleman from Texas, my colleague, Mr. Doggett, have worked together throughout the year on this effort.

The second program integrity provision closes what some have dubbed the ``strip club loophole.'' This loophole currently allows individuals to access welfare benefits at ATMs in strip clubs, liquor clubs, and casinos. This provision insists that all States will take the necessary steps to end this abusive practice which has been highlighted in news stories across the country.

Some States have already implemented policies to close this loophole, ensuring that welfare benefits are spent to support children and families. This bill ensures that all States take action to close this loophole.

I note that this policy is the same as that introduced by Senators Hatch and Baucus, the ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee, so it has strong bipartisan support in the other body as well.

Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, by continuing funding for TANF and related programs at their current levels, this bill does not add one penny to the deficit.

Again, this legislation continues TANF and related programs for 9 months, while making needed changes to improve program integrity. More does need to be done to further improve TANF, especially on how it helps parents go and get to work. This legislation will allow that process of reform to continue into next year, while ensuring that important TANF benefits remain available beyond their current December 31 expiration.

I want to thank Representative Geoff Davis, the chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, for his work and effort on this issue, as well as Dr. Boustany and Mr. Schock for their important efforts and cosponsoring this measure that we're bringing forward to the House today.

I ask all my colleagues to support it and pass it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana, a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Boustany.

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

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

I just want to thank the gentleman for raising the issue about ensuring that TANF recipients can access their benefits in a variety of locations.

I will say the bill that we are considering here on the floor today requires States to block access to welfare benefits in casinos, liquor stores, and strip clubs, as we talked about earlier. However, we do understand that some grocery stores, convenience stores, and local markets may also sell groceries and alcohol or have gambling machines as well. That's why there is an exception in the bill to provide exactly for the concerns that the gentleman from Texas raised.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, this legislation continues TANF and related programs for an additional 9 months--it was going to run out on December 31--while making both needed and also bipartisan reforms and changes that are going to improve program integrity.

I appreciate the comments of all of the Members here on the floor today who have joined us in support of the bill. I look forward to working with them to continually improve how TANF helps low-income adults work and also become self-sufficient in the months ahead.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give voice to a concern that I have heard raised from numerous constituents who originally hail from Belarus. Since 1994, President Lukashenko has abused his power and has actively worked to undermine the freedom of the Belarusian people.

Recently, the State Department released a report on the human rights situation in Belarus. Under this authoritarian regime, Belarusians have been subject to manipulated elections and oppression on the basis of political affiliation, ethnicity, and religious beliefs. Following the most recent election, security forces arrested political activists, presidential candidates, and journalists.

Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable that this kind of oppression exists today in Europe, and I hope that more Americans will be made aware of the tyranny in Belarus. I thank the Belarusian-American Youth Association for bringing this issue to my attention. And I stand with my constituents in support of freedom for the Belarusian people in opposition to this oppressive regime.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise as a cosponsor and a strong supporter of the REINS Act. This is legislation that will bring forward reform, accountability, and transparency to the Federal rulemaking process. You know what, it's time for Congress to act more like a board of directors where we will have to oversee proposed rules and regulations, especially those that have a significant economic impact. This bill will absolutely force accountability. It allows regulations to go forward, but it's also going to force Congress to analyze, to pay attention, and then finally to act.

So no longer are we going to see agencies and unelected bureaucrats being able to promulgate these rules and regulations without having an appropriate check and balance. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of these rules and regulations in the pipeline, and over 200, 224 specifically, that have that major economic impact threshold that would be affected by the REINS Act. That's a cost of over $22 billion, at a minimum, to the economy.

If we want to help small businesses grow, if we want to grow jobs, if we want to help our economy get going and jump start it, we need to remove that cloud of uncertainty that is hanging over the heads of small and medium-sized businesses in that regulatory environment.

I want to thank my colleague from Kentucky for his leadership in leading this reform. I ask for its passage.

Here's an example of a proposed guideline that is of particular concern to me. The FTC, the Department of Agriculture, the FDA, and the CDC have a proposal which seeks to restrict advertising, marketing and sales of food products. As drafted, it would affect 88 of the top 100 most consumed food and would have devastating effects. If this were to go through, one study estimates it could affect more than 74,000 jobs in the first year alone.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Pandemic and All- Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act that aims to bolster the nation's public health preparedness infrastructure.

In particular, I want to thank Congressman Rogers for including key provisions that enhance the nation's ability to care for the critically ill and injured in the aftermath of a public health emergency. This includes section two that adds the critical care system to the National Health Security Strategy's medical preparedness goals, to ensure that critical care is prioritized in planning efforts to increase preparedness in respect to public health emergencies.

We must understand the significant role critical care medicine plays in providing high quality health care for the critically ill and injured in the context of public health preparedness.

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic highlighted some of the deficiencies in current federal critical care preparedness efforts, as hospitals and intensive care units faced very real shortages of ventilators and federal officials scrambled to identify solutions to mitigate this potential life threatening situation.

In order to ensure that the nation's critical care system is structured to provide the highest quality and most efficient health care, including during a national health emergency, I joined with Congresswoman Baldwin earlier this year to introduce the Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act (H.R. 971). This legislation is designed to identify gaps in the current critical care delivery model and bolster capabilities to meet future demand. Today's bill includes provisions that reflect some of the national preparedness priorities from in H.R. 971.

We must ensure that critical care medicine is given sufficient consideration by the Administration in respect to disaster preparedness efforts.

Mr. Speaker, in my hometown of Eden Prairie, we take high school football seriously, which is why I am so honored to congratulate the Eden Prairie Boys Football Team on winning their seventh Minnesota State Championship title on Friday evening.

The Eden Prairie Eagles faced their conference rivals, the Wayzata Trojans, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. It was a game that was dominated not by either side's offensive line, but by both team's disciplined defense as both sides found it difficult to rack up points throughout a majority of the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, with Eden Prairie up 6-3, the Eagles scored the game's only touchdown. At fourth and fourteen, the Eagles used a reverse flea flicker to make a 25 yard gain, bringing them within five yards of a touchdown. With three minutes left in the game, running back Andrew Larson fought his way into the end zone.

To all the student athletes on the Eden Prairie football team, and to Coach Grant and his coaching staff, I want to say ``job well done.''

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I also want to thank my colleague from Florida for her leadership, along with the Members of the Arizona delegation, for putting this resolution together which is so important.

I have had the honor of knowing my colleague Gabby Giffords since 2005 before either of us were actually elected to Congress. And there is no doubt in my mind that she wishes she could be here today on the House floor to speak in favor of this resolution that is honoring the life of Gabe Zimmerman, her director of community outreach who lost his life in that senseless attack on January 8.

As a former staffer myself, I know firsthand that working for a Member of Congress is not like most jobs. You rarely go home at 5 or 6; you work long hours; you typically do not have weekends off. But to those staff who work for all of us, every one of the House Members, the reward comes from working for constituents on behalf of our districts, our States, and our great country. All of our staff are extensions of the Members that they work for.

Gabby's staff is certainly a reflection of whom she is--a loyal, dedicated public servant. And Gabe Zimmerman is no different. I didn't know him, but I do know that he cared for his community, he cared for his country. Gabe was a passionate advocate for children, for social justice, and for antiracism. Gabe didn't wear the uniform of a soldier or a police officer, but he did give his life while serving his country, and so it is absolutely fitting that, inside the Congressional Visitor Center where thousands of Americans visit each and every year, a room will now bear Gabe Zimmerman's name in his honor. And I hope that this dedication will also serve as a reminder to all of us of the passion and the loyalty and that dedication that Gabe showed every day as a congressional staffer.

My thoughts continue to be with Gabe's family, with Gabby and her husband, Mark, and with all of Gabby's staff who have a constant reminder of how valuable life really is.

Mr. Speaker, November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. And as this month comes to a close, I want to draw attention to H.R. 1897, the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act.

With over 5 million Americans suffering from this degenerative disease of the brain, Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and it's important that we find a cure, and work to find a cure, to ease the suffering of those who are affected as well as their families.

Mr. Speaker, the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act would encourage the development of public-private partnerships with universities, pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and help them pursue the development of Alzheimer's treatments.

As a cosponsor of this legislation, the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act, I do ask my colleagues, whether you have a loved one affected by this disease or not, to sign on as a cosponsor of this legislation so we can find a cure to this terrible disease.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the balanced budget amendment.

Since our country was first founded, the issue of debt and government spending has been at the forefront of the minds of our political leaders, our national security advisors, our business owners and citizens alike. It's obvious that our $15 trillion national debt is not a Republican problem, it's not a Democratic problem; it's an American problem.

Mr. Speaker, our economy has stumbled. Families are making tough decisions, cutting spending and living within their means. However, one thing that hasn't changed is the way that government spends the people's money. We must work together now to resolve our spending- driven debt crisis because the simple truth is that Washington must stop spending money that it does not have.

Our debt crisis is a legitimate threat to our Nation's security and our future. A nation that does not control its debt does not control its destiny. In order to give our children and grandchildren that secure future and economic stability we need a balanced budget. We need this balanced budget amendment because it is a fundamental reform that will absolutely produce results.

It's time to pass a balanced budget amendment to get government spending under control.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Eden Prairie Eagles for winning their first ever Minnesota AAA High School Girls Volleyball Championship on Saturday.

The Eden Prairie Eagles came out strong and played with all their hearts from the very first serve of the match in a hard fought and thrilling five-game series.

The Eagles ultimately surged ahead to take the final game 22-20 and win the Championship.

The Eden Prairie Eagles have shown what it truly means to be student- athletes. Having exuded remarkable dedication and a strong work ethic that our entire community can be proud of, it is my pleasure to congratulate them all on an inspiring season and victory.

Go Eagles!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize this year's Minnesota AA High School Boys Soccer Champions, the Eden Prairie Eagles. Aside from having one of the best academic programs in Minnesota, the Eden Prairie School District is now home to boys state soccer champions for the second time since 2002.

Despite going up against an undefeated team, the Eagles struck early, scoring their first goal in the fourth minute of the championship game. The Eden Prairie Eagles kept up the pressure, and were relentless on offense, putting up 14 shots on goal and winning the game 3-1.

Congratulations to the whole team on an incredible season, I'm sure you will all look back proudly on your accomplishments in the years to come. Congratulations also to coach Vince Thomas for his leadership on and off the field.

Go Eagles!

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Wayzata High School girls soccer team on winning this year's Class 2A State championship. This is a team that embodies the philosophy of practice makes perfect. Every day throughout the season, this team would practice penalty kicks just in case a big game would depend on it.

And when it came down to the championship game, when regulation time ran out, when overtime passed, 10 minutes extra of overtime, the State title would be decided by a penalty kick shootout. In the end, it was Wayzata's practice of the fundamentals that really did pay off when Chelsey Ulrich scored the game-winning goal in that shootout.

So congratulations to the student athletes of Wayzata High School and the girls soccer team, as well as the coaches, for being great student athletes and for a job well done.