Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate Beckwood Services, Inc. on receiving the Raytheon Five Star Supplier Excellence Award. This is truly a prestigious honor as only fourteen other suppliers have been recognized at the five star level for their excellence in on time delivery measures, sustained performance on quality, and commitment to continuous process and quality improvement. They have stood out time and again as a great company and a leader in the defense industry for both New Hampshire and the country.

New Hampshire is proud to have them in Plaistow, furthering their work and adding to the local community. Most importantly, we are honored to have Beckwood Services supporting the mission of our service men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Your work helps support their mission and keeps them safe, and we are grateful that our military is supported by the quality products you manufacture.

I congratulate Beckwood Services, Inc. for receiving this award and for their outstanding leadership in the field of defense systems. I wish you all the best for continued success in the future.

Mr. Speaker, on April 2, 2011 Emile Beaulieu will celebrate with his family and friends his 80th birthday. Mr. Beaulieu is a selfless public servant having served our nation, state, and local communities in various capacities for many years.

Known as an honest, warm, and generous man, Mr. Beaulieu's public service includes twenty years of service in the Air Force Reserves, two terms as Mayor of the City of Manchester, eight years serving as Welfare Commissioner, past President of the Easter Seals Board, past president of Big Brother Big Sisters of Greater Manchester, and former member of the Jaycees.

Mr. Beaulieu is a long-standing advocate and leader of conservative values and principles. He has served in numerous leadership capacities in the New Hampshire Republican Party and continues to remain active in various political campaigns. However, Mr. Beaulieu's greatest joy and accomplishment is as a loving husband and father of six children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

This is a great day for Mr. Beaulieu, his wife Laurette, and his family and friends. I wish him the very best on his 80th birthday. This is truly a very joyous occasion.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.

What I want to say to the American people is: Let's stop the spending. Let's not call the President or the Congress to say stop this madness. Call this body and say: Stop the spending. Because we have a $14.3 trillion debt. We have a $1.6 trillion deficit. Most Americans know and appreciate that that is not sustainable.

We today, through the will of the House and the work over the course of this week and past several weeks, have a piece of legislation that is responsible in that it cuts spending, caps future spending, requires a balanced budget amendment, so the country can finally have a voice-- have a voice in how people in this body spend taxpayer dollars.

It's time for us to tell the American people the truth about how their money is being wasted. It is time to stop that spending. It is time to get responsible and serious. And we are here to do that. Not just my freshman class, but this Congress is here to do that. And I ask my friends from the other side to join us in that fight to protect taxpayers and vote for this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the bill before us, the Budget Control Act of 2011. Mr. Speaker, this is about leadership. This is about an ability and a willingness of this body to do something right, not for partisan purposes, but for spending reductions and for the country. I hear from the other side that they are concerned about this component or that component. But what I don't see is a plan and a solution. We have not put one, but two different proposals. The one that I cosponsored, Cut, Cap, and Balance, I think is the best and most appropriate way to move forward. But the Senate has decided that they don't want to take up that piece of legislation. So we're here to compromise. We're here to work with the other side of the aisle to get something accomplished on behalf of real structural change in how we spend taxpayer dollars--other people's money.

I took an oath to make sure I uphold the Constitution. I will also make sure that I represent New Hampshire in the manner in which they would like me to represent them. I contend that they would like us to reduce expenditures, to reduce our debt, to reduce our deficit. This bill does that. They also want to see us cap spending. We all have to

live within the means we have. We take in $2.2 trillion a year, and we're spending about $3.7 trillion. Nobody in America has that type of balance sheet.

The time to act is now. No more partisan politics. No more baseless charges from Members of this body. Let's do the right thing. Let's make sure that we can send a message to the country that we can work in a bipartisan fashion to do what everybody in the country understands we need to do, which is to spend no more than we take in. That is the goal. That is the objective.

In exchange for that, we allow this President to raise the debt ceiling, to pay for the 41 cents of every dollar that we continue to borrow. That policy has to stop. Those days are over.

I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues here in the House and the Senate to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, on July 20, 2011 Speaker William O'Brien will celebrate his 60th birthday with family and friends. Speaker O'Brien is a principled and selfless public servant having served our nation, state, and local communities in various capacities for many years.

Known as a principled, honest, and forthright man, Speaker William O'Brien's public service includes serving as a past member of the Mont Vernon School Board, past member of the Mont Vernon Police Advisory Commission, three terms as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and Speaker of the New Hampshire House in 2011.

Known as a fiscal conservative, under Speaker William O'Brien's leadership, the New Hampshire legislature passed a fiscally responsible budget reducing spending by over $1.2 billion, enacted 43 laws to reduce burdensome regulations on employers allowing more flexibility and opportunity to grow and create jobs, and passing a state budget that restores fiscal discipline while including no new or increased taxes and fees.

Speaker O'Brien is a long-standing advocate and leader of conservative values and principles. He has served in numerous conservative leadership capacities including Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party Platform Committee, Vice-Chair of the Granite State Taxpayers, and Co-Chair of the House Republican Alliance.

However, Speaker O'Brien's greatest joy and accomplishment is as a loving husband of thirty-seven years, father of three children, and three grandchildren. This is a great day for Speaker O'Brien, his wife Roxanne, and his family and friends. I wish him the very best on his 60th birthday. This is truly a very joyous occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I find myself in an unfortunate position today representing New Hampshire, listening to the conversation and the debate that we've had here in this House. This is a hallowed Chamber, a place that I am honored to serve, honored to bring a responsibility to my constituents from New Hampshire, to, in a dignified way, communicate those feelings that are reflected by people in New Hampshire. And I have sat here for the better part of 2 hours, being ridiculed because my party has the willingness and ability to bring an idea to the floor of this House.

Now, I don't expect everybody, every Member of this institution, to agree with the idea, but I would humbly ask that Members of this institution recognize that there is an idea on the table. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act is an act not only that I support, but I cosponsored because I feel that America is in crisis; that my constituents from New Hampshire feel New Hampshire

and America is in crisis because of the spending levels we find ourselves in. And it wasn't one party or the other. We got here holding hands over a long period of time.

But now we have a responsibility as Americans, not as members of a party, but as Americans, to do something about this crisis. I will not go home and look my children in the eye and say that their father couldn't work with Members of the other side of the aisle to solve America's problems.

So today we are here to vote on Cut, Cap, and Balance, a measure that cuts spending immediately, that caps spending back to the 20 percent norms and brings a balanced budget amendment approach so the future, the solvency of this Nation, can be restored.

I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs for yielding me time to speak on this bill. I would also like to thank both Chairman Mica and Ranking Member Rahall for working in a bipartisan way to address this very important issue.

Mr. Chairman, the first bill that I authored when I came to Congress was the Great Bay Community Protection Act, just a smaller and more focused version of a bill in the House that this bill is addressing today, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 2018. I think this bill amends the CWA to preserve the authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's water quality standards and to restrict EPA's ability to second-guess or delay a State's permitting and water quality certification decisions under the CWA in several important respects.

This legislation will help seven communities in my State of New Hampshire save $250 million in ensuring that we focus on clean water standards, but allowing the State to do so in a timely manner.

I strongly urge passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the issue of jobs and job creation in our country. For 29 consecutive months we have seen unemployment exceed 8 percent. Back in June, we announced 18,000 jobs were created in this country. That's less than 300 jobs per State, for a now 9.2 percent unemployment rate.

In response to this, in New Hampshire I have established a getting Granite Staters back to work initiative, where I have hosted two job fairs. Over 400 people have attended, where one gentleman had said to me he was out of work for 3 years. Back here in Washington, people like that gentleman need us to pass a balanced budget, reduce our spending, reduce our debt and deficit, and get serious about creating an environment where small business can once again succeed in our country.

I have and hope that the Senate and the administration will join the House in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, on May 31, 2011, Chief Michael Moyer retired from the Laconia Police Department after twenty-seven years of faithful service. The Chief began his career as a Special Officer on January 3, 1984 and became a full time Police Officer the following February 11. After rising through the ranks, he was appointed the Chief of Police in Laconia on November 1, 2007 and served in that position for the next three and one-half years.

Chief Moyer is a native of Laconia, New Hampshire and has dedicated his professional life toward the safety and wellbeing of his home town. Chief Moyer is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy and is a recipient of the Congressional Law Enforcement Award for his actions involving the Hells Angels during the 1998 Motorcycle Week Rally. Among many noteworthy achievements, Chief Moyer is to be commended for starting Laconia's first Citizens Police Academy.

I congratulate Chief Moyer on his well earned retirement and thank him for his outstanding support of the community. I wish both Chief Moyer and his wife Robin continued success in their life together.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall votes No. 495-501, I am not recorded because I was absent from the U.S House of Representatives. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner.

On rollcall No. 495. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall No. 496. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall No. 497. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall No. 498. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall No. 499. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall No. 500. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall No. 501. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on June 18, 2011, Colton Bullard, from Rye, NH will be receiving the ``2011 Little League International's Good Sport of the Year Award.'' Colton has exceptional work ethic and drive as well as a deep passion for the sport of baseball. His dedication to his team and to improving his skills is known and witnessed by all. Colton not only is a huge asset on the team but he is the epitome of what this award represents.

This award is a testament to his spirited and dedicated commitment to the ideals and goals of the Little League program. Colton has become a true student of the game and is always listening and learning. Everyone who knows Colton recognizes his humble and modest personality and consider him to be the ``best kid on the field.'' He is a shining example of all that is positive and beneficial through participating in Little League.

I congratulate Colton for receiving this award and for his outstanding sportsmanship. I wish him the very best in his athletic career and for a bright future.

Mr. Speaker, here in New Hampshire, we have a strong tradition of community service and dedication to our fellow Granite Staters, and no one exemplifies this better than my friend Charlie Sherman.

For over 21 years, from radio to television, Charlie has become one of New Hampshire's most recognizable personalities. Whether it has been covering a high school football game on the 11 o'clock news or interviewing a presidential hopeful bright and early on his radio talk show, he has always exhibited an immense passion for the Granite State.

Along with countless hours of bettering our community via the airwaves, Charlie Sherman has devoted his life to helping others through the dozens of charitable causes he has been involved with throughout the years. One such organization, the Special Olympics of New Hampshire, has been the biggest recipient of Charlie's big heart where he has helped raise over a million dollars for the cause through the annual Penguin Plunge.

Charlie Sherman will now continue his commitment to our state through a new phase of his life as Executive Director of New Horizons. The Manchester-based adult homeless shelter and soup kitchen will certainly benefit from Charlie's life-long experience in devoting his life to helping others. Today, we wish him well in his new path and take this moment to thank him for all he has done and will continue to do for New Hampshire.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak in favor of The Path to Prosperity.

Our budget offers more than a spending blueprint for the next fiscal year and beyond. It is truly a job creator. The Path to Prosperity provides a framework for creating nearly 1 million new private sector jobs next year alone. How does it do this?

It doesn't involve advanced economic theory--just basic math. When you lower taxes, you put more money into people's hands. They spend it and it circulates, making businesses prosper and allowing them to hire new employees. It's just that simple. When I think of the opportunities that The Path to Prosperity will create, I think of countless small business owners who will benefit from this plan in my State. Small businesses are the backbone of New Hampshire's economy, much like they are across our great Nation.

I think of people like Craig Leonard, who owns Bonsai Craftsmen in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He remodels houses and kitchens. With the ongoing fiscal uncertainty, people are keeping their wallets closed because nobody knows what the next fiscal year will bring. Craig recently had to lay off three employees, and barely has enough work to keep himself busy. Without the confidence that can come from passing The Path to Prosperity, there is no telling when his business will return to prosperity, itself, and when he can dare to hire again.

I think of people like Charlie and Laura Morgan. They own a storage company in Manchester, New Hampshire. They've lost tenants in this down economy, causing them to reduce the rents they charge. This is simply keeping them from hiring additional employees and creating greater opportunities for our fellow Granite Staters.

The examples of hard-pressed small business owners I've cited are located not just in New Hampshire but all over the country. The Path to Prosperity provides confidence by charting a responsible course so that creditors can loan with confidence and so that people can borrow money knowing they'll be able to repay it.

Mr. Speaker, today, as we commemorate the 190th anniversary of Greece's independence, we not only reaffirm the ties that link our two great nations together as allies, but we also honor the accomplishments of so many Greek Americans who have made their home in New Hampshire and their immeasurable contributions to the Granite State.

One such Greek American who has dedicated his life to enhancing our community through public service is my friend, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas. Throughout his service as an Alderman, State Senator, and Mayor, he has dedicated his life to ensuring that we leave a better state to our children and grandchildren. Mayor Gatsas embodies the hard work, dedication, and fortitude that so many Greek Americans exemplify in our community.

This is a great day for Mayor Ted Gatsas, his wife Cassandra, and all Greek Americans who call New Hampshire home. I wish him the very best and many more years of service to our state.

Mr. Speaker, in my home State of New Hampshire, I have had the pleasure of talking to many constituents over the course of the last several days who have expressed their great concern relative to the rising gas prices not just in New Hampshire, but all across the country. Just today, gas prices are now at $3.45 a gallon, minimum.

This and many Congresses have failed their obligation and responsibility to have an approach to solving the energy crisis and the energy challenges that are before us. And I call both on this body and the President of the United States to come with an all-of-the-above energy policy so we can once and for all look the American people in the eye, my constituents in New Hampshire, and give them hope for a true reduction not just in gas prices, but to have long-term sustainability and viability from our own country in how we have our oil and other opportunities to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

This is something that is critical not just today and in the coming weeks, but its been critical for our Nation's infrastructure as well as our economy. I again hope that this body acts swiftly and promptly.