Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, the only way to get our economy growing stronger is to take an honest account of the fiscal problems we face and put forward serious policies to address these challenges--it is called budgeting.

A fundamental part of governing entails writing and passing a budget, something we have not seen from the Senate Chamber in over 4 years. Four years, that's how long my constituents and Americans across this country have had to wait for the Senate to perform its most basic function as a legislative body.

Before today, the only thing certain was that the Senate would not consider a budget. Today, the Senate Democrats introduced a budget, and I'm glad they did. It's about time. Unfortunately, after reviewing their proposal, today the only thing certain is that their budget will never balance.

We owe the American people a responsible, balanced budget. The House budget introduced yesterday balances the budget in 10 years. The Senate Democrats' proposal never balances--ever.

A balanced budget will foster a healthier economy and create jobs, Madam Speaker. The American people elected us to lead and put forward solutions, not hide from challenges and posture for the next election.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Reserve, on Wednesday, March 6, released an edition of its so-called ``beige book'' that said that the President's Affordable Care Act is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in the economy and a slowdown in hiring. The beige book examines economic conditions of the Federal Reserve districts across the country through interviews with key business contacts, economists, and market experts in each district.

The Federal Reserve noted:

Employers in several districts cited the unknown effects of

the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and

reluctance to hire more staff.

Supporters of the Affordable Care Act refer to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which noted the law will have only mildly negative employment effects. Such defenses are far cries from the claims used by supporters of the bill to force passage in 2009 and merely remind Americans of the countless broken promises that now define the so-called ``Affordable Care Act.''

The writing is on the wall, Mr. Speaker. The reality is the Affordable Care Act is costing American jobs. As more of its regulations go into effect, the more employers are going to alter their hiring decisions to account for its unaffordable costs.

Mr. Speaker, March 6 is the day we ``Spread the Word to End the Word,'' an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and many others to raise the consciousness of society about the hurtful effects of the word ``retard'' and to encourage people to pledge to stop using the ``R'' word. Respectful and inclusive language is essential to the dignity and humanity of people with intellectual disabilities. Much of society does not realize the hurtful, dehumanizing, and exclusive effects of this word. This campaign is intended to engage schools, organizations, and communities to rally and pledge their support to promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities.

Today, I pledge my support to help end the derogatory use of the ``R'' word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to ``Spread the Word to End the Word.''

Mr. Speaker, this year the United States Treasury received more revenue than any year in the history of our Nation, yet we will spend a third more than we take in. Clearly, we do not have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.

The Budget Control Act signed into law last year was a good first step towards deficit reduction, half of which has already been put in motion. With the Supercommittee's failure to achieve the other half, those cuts are now going into effect under sequestration.

Can these cuts be made smartly, targeting waste and overspending? Absolutely, but only if the President stops playing scare politics and begins working with Congress to make these reductions in a manner that best protects national defense and domestic priorities.

If the sequester takes full effect, the Nation's budget is still on a path to grow exponentially over the next 10 years. Unless we continue to restrain spending, our $17 trillion national debt will continue to grow, crowding out the Nation's ability to even provide for the most in need.

We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. More taxes won't solve it, but a little more leadership sure would help.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize more than 20,000 individuals who represent the Pennsylvania Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics is about people helping people. It's a global movement that has flourished due to the commitment and passion of its local volunteers and the determination of its participants and athletes.

In March of each year, the Pennsylvania Special Olympics hosts more than 300 athletes and 100 coaches for the State Floor Hockey Tournament. This year's 2-day competition in team and individual skills floor hockey will be held at my alma mater, the Bald Eagle Area High School in Centre County, Pennsylvania, where I will have the opportunity to attend and lend a helping hand on Saturday, March 2.

I would like to commend the Pennsylvania Special Olympics for their years of hard work, from expanding an ever-growing volunteer base to providing more opportunity for athletes to develop physical fitness, courage, and the lifelong relationships that are gained as a result of these games.

I look forward to sharing these experiences with our local community and wish all of our participants the very best in this week's competitions.

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus has relaunched with a four-member bipartisan leadership team in order to expand efforts and organizational resources in the 113th Congress.

Despite a fragile economic recovery, the Nation is witnessing an energy revolution through which energy resource development is offering economic growth, new jobs, and lower energy costs. America's newly found ability to access expansive reserves of natural gas is a large part of this new domestic resource base, which has afforded new opportunities for America's manufacturing sector based on the comparative advantages of lower energy costs and for American families as they heat their homes at a fraction of the cost.

Despite these new fortunes, there are countless policy challenges that must be leveraged for the Nation to continue benefiting from this abundant, clean, low-cost energy source.

The mission of the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus is to educate Members of Congress and the public about the importance of natural gas as a domestic energy resource and its role in meeting the Nation's energy demand and in attaining energy security.

I, along with my fellow cochairs--Representative Gene Green from Texas, Representative Tom Reed from New York, and Representative Jim Costa from California--encourage Members to join us in this effort today.

Mr. Speaker, it's been almost 300 days since the House first acted to replace sequestration with targeted reforms that achieve the same level of deficit reduction without harming the economy, yet the Senate has failed to act.

The administration states that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is set to feel the impact of sequestration more than most States yet has offered no constructive plan forward.

The House has put forward two concrete proposals for a commonsense path to deficit reduction that will not harm our national security and will not harm our fragile economic recovery.

We all must make sacrifices in order to reduce the debt and fix Washington, for we can no longer spend $1 trillion more than we take in each year. Raising taxes to chase after trillion dollar deficits, as the President suggests, is a recipe for economic decline. Spending is the problem.

It's time for the President to stop campaigning and call on the Democrat-led Senate to act. No more 11th-hour negotiations; no more unnecessary harm to families and small businesses. It's time for us to come together and work on serious solutions.

Mr. Speaker, we're hearing a lot about sequestration on the news, the American people are, and I just want to run down sequestration by the numbers.

You know, it's been 290 days since I and my Republican colleagues voted for the first of two bills to replace the President's sequestration with smarter, more responsible spending cuts that total $1 trillion over 10 years. Now, why is that needed?

Well, Mr. Speaker, the official debt today is $15.5 trillion. That's $50,000 for every man, woman and child in this country. And that's not the real debt. The real debt, when you look at what's due with every living individual today with Medicare and Social Security, that's somewhere between 71 and $72 trillion.

Economists just a week or so ago estimated that by the year 2020, interest alone, interest alone on an annual basis will be $1 trillion. Sequestration, we're looking at $85 billion out of a $3 trillion budget.

I'm going to call on the Senate Democrats and President Obama for smarter, more bipartisan ways to replace the Obama sequester and to address making sure we don't leave a legacy of debt for our children, grandchildren, and all future generations.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the President stated, ``with renewed confidence,'' the ``state of our Union is stronger.''

I know that the President would certainly like that to be the case, but I wonder: Is the confidence stronger for the more than 22 million unemployed and underemployed Americans and their family members who remain struggling to make ends meet?

Mr. Speaker, is the confidence of Americans renewed when they fill their gas tanks and oil tanks with fuel at record-high costs?

Mr. Speaker, is their confidence renewed when the most recent economic data show America's economy shrinking for the first time in 3\1/2\ years?

The challenges facing the Nation do require smart solutions, but unlike the President, I believe smart solutions mean smarter government, not bigger government. They mean a greater emphasis on promoting individual freedoms, lower taxes, and fewer regulations in order to grow jobs and opportunities for those struggling and searching for greater opportunity. They mean fewer restrictions on accessing energy under Federal lands, which can dramatically increase domestic supply and lower energy costs for all. These are among the solutions we need.

Mr. Speaker, in February we celebrate National Recreational Therapy Month. Leading a healthy life means not only the absence of illness, but a level of physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and leisure well-being, which is the underlying focus of the recreational therapy profession.

Recreational therapists are caring professionals who touch the lives of individuals facing life-changing disease and disability all across the Nation. These professionals help individuals navigate these challenges, achieve healthy outcomes and, ultimately, an overall better quality of life.

Having worked in this profession for 28 years, I witnessed firsthand how the services of this profession made significant differences in the lives of so many. These services are provided by professionals nationally certified by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification as certified therapeutic recreation specialists.

Recreational therapy ultimately aims to improve an individual's functioning and keeps them active, healthy, and as independent as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the caring professionals of the therapeutic recreation profession during the month of February for the services they provide each and every day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as cochair of the bipartisan House Career and Technical Education Caucus in order to recognize February as National Career and Technical Education Month. Career and technical education programs continue to evolve in order to ensure that workers are prepared to hold jobs in high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand career fields like engineering, information technology, health care, and advanced manufacturing for the 21st century.

During this time of record-high unemployment, career and technical education programs provide a lifeline for the underemployed who look to begin new careers alongside young adults just starting out of high school in the rapidly evolving job market.

Career and technical education, while historically undervalued, helps tackle critical workforce shortages and provides an opportunity for America to remain globally competitive while also engaging students in practical, real-world applications of academics coupled with hands-on work experience.

Now, as we move toward fiscal year 2014, I join with a bipartisan group of my colleagues in not only recognizing the importance of maintaining these Federal investments for our country's future but also in saying thank you to the countless men and women who make these programs possible--the faculty, the teachers and the instructors within our career and technical education schools throughout this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Career and Technical Education Month, I encourage my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join me and my good friend, Representative Langevin from Rhode Island, the cochair of the House Career and Technical Education Caucus, as we continue our work together of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus.

The goals of this caucus are to provide promising futures for individuals who are seeking opportunities for work within this great Nation, and for employers, many of whom are in situations, despite record high unemployment for the longest sustained time since the Great Depression, of having great-paying jobs that are sitting open and available where they can't find a qualified, trained workforce and, quite frankly, for America, whose competitiveness into the future will depend on how well we make these investments.

Mr. Speaker, without reforms, by the year 2020, the interest alone paid on our national debt by American taxpayers will cost $1 trillion per year--money that could otherwise be used to educate our kids or put aside for those most in need. Most would agree that borrowing on the backs of our children to pay for promises our government cannot keep must end, and that only together, through the collaboration of both parties, can we assure America begins to live within its means.

During the last Congress there was one area where both parties came together. It was an effort that made improvements in programs resulting in better use of each tax dollar. It was an effort that also achieved deficit reduction. This effort was the farm bill.

Many of us are eager to hear the President's plan to help the Nation achieve fiscal balance during next week's State of the Union. I encourage the President to elevate passage of a new farm bill to the forefront of the speech. It's good policy. It's one area where we can come together and start the path of fiscal balance. I encourage my leaders in the House to welcome this call.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Dan Fisher, the superintendent for the Bald Eagle School District in Centre County, Pennsylvania, on his upcoming retirement and for his 40 years of education service. Dan Fisher began his education career at Bald Eagle Area School District as a teacher in 1973. I had the privilege of having Mr. Fisher as a teacher, where I first learned the workings of government in a constitutional Republic. Dan later went on to become the assistant principal in 1982, the assistant superintendent in 1985, and the district superintendent in 1989, where he served for 23 years.

I have had the honor of serving on the Bald Eagle Area School Board with Mr. Fisher's leadership as superintendent. Dan has been a visionary for education and improving educational

outcomes. Superintendent Fisher has tirelessly served as a leader in our community for the past 40 years.

Thank you, Dan, for being such a tireless advocate for our kids. Thank you for being a friend to me and also my family. I wish you the very best in retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 28 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, February 6, 2013, at 9 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, the only way for Washington to control its spending problem is to start budgeting, and budgeting responsibly.

House Republicans have passed responsible budgets for 2 consecutive years that restore economic growth and reduce our deficits. Unfortunately, the Senate has not passed a budget in 4 years, and today the President missed the deadline for submitting his own budget to Congress for the fourth time in the last 5 years.

You don't have to look much further than these facts to learn why Washington has such a hard time living within its means. For this reason, the House is advancing a series of initiatives to force Washington's hand.

On January 23, 2013, the Chamber passed the No Budget, No Pay Act, which forces the Senate to pass a budget or Members of Congress will lose their pay. This week the House will consider legislation forcing the President to produce a balanced budget or submit a plan that indicates the earliest year he believes fiscal balance can be achieved.

Hardworking Americans run their households by setting a budget and then living within those means. It's time for Washington to do the same.