Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join together to immediately address one of the greatest problems facing our families and small business right now; that is, rapidly rising gas prices.

As I traveled across Rhode Island during the district work period, the issue of high gas prices was never far from anyone's mind. It affects every family's bottom line and the budgets of small businesses that are still recovering from the recession.

As our fragile economy continues, it is imperative that we work to find solutions in the short term as we turn our attention towards a serious, long-term solution to reduce our demand for oil. Our Nation simply cannot have low gas prices without reducing the amount of oil that we use.

We remain in constant competition right now with India, China, and other developing Nations, and the world does not have the resources to continue to supply us all with cheap oil, especially

with disruptions in the Middle East that continue to affect production.

I supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act last session because it took steps to immediately reduce demand through improved vehicle fuel economy standards and energy efficient technology in our buildings and homes, while investing in clean energy, including an increased commitment to the research and development of offshore wind.

We should put our money behind those efforts instead of giving billions of dollars in tax breaks each year to oil companies. As we just recently heard, ExxonMobil just reported first quarter earnings of $11 billion, a nearly 70 percent increase, with other oil companies following closely behind. Mr. Speaker, let's eliminate subsidies for these big corporations that don't need our help.

In the short term, Congress must partner with President Obama and support Attorney General Holder's efforts to monitor oil and gas markets and safeguard consumers against unlawful practices. We also need stricter guidelines for speculators and getting speculators out of the market. We need guidelines for people who buy oil just to sell it at a profit, perhaps by allowing people to buy oil on the market only if they can actually receive product.

Additionally, I urge my colleagues to pressure oil companies to drill on domestic lands where they already have existing leases. The industry right now is drilling on less than a quarter of the 80 million acres where it already has leases approved. While this is not a long-term solution, we need responsible drilling on lands where there are existing leases. Now, this is, I believe, a faster, fairer, and safer path to more domestic production, unlike legislation on the floor this week which will put oil rig workers and the environment at risk by expediting critical safety reviews.

None of this, of course, lessens the urgency of switching to alternative fuels.

The U.S. has only 1.4 percent of the world's proven oil reserves but currently consumes 22 percent of the world's oil.

In the long run, we will remain susceptible to repeats of the current crisis unless we take every opportunity to decrease our dependence on oil. Now I want to highlight one important initiative in my State that involves public transportation. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority acquired just recently 53 new hybrid buses and is upgrading 10 trolleys to hybrid propulsion, and we should encourage others to follow their lead. RIPTA expects that their new hybrid fleet will save them approximately 20 percent on fuel usage, which will help prevent price increases and route closures.

We should build on the success in Rhode Island nationally by requiring specific hybrid and fuel efficiency standards for any vehicles involved in Federal grant programs. Complicated problems, like the price of gasoline, often require difficult solutions. But we cannot let this prevent us from moving forward and delivering to our constituents who cannot afford these costs or a slowed economic recovery. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to work together to enact short-term provisions and long-term solutions to bring relief to working families and small business.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we, as a Nation, commemorate this historic day that Osama bin Laden was brought to justice or, more appropriately, justice was brought to him. I want to take this occasion to congratulate President Obama and his team, CIA Director Leon Panetta and the members of the CIA and our intelligence community as well as our Nation's military who have worked diligently and tirelessly over the last nearly 10 years to hunt down and eliminate Osama bin Laden. I know that countless man hours and millions of dollars--an incredible effort was put together to make sure that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were held accountable for the horrific attacks on the United States of America on 9/11.

Let me say that my heart and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of that horrific day on 9/11. We hope that this, in some way, brings closure to them, as we hope also that it now closes a painful chapter in U.S. history with the elimination of Osama bin Laden. I thank, again, all of those that had a hand in this, particularly the members of our military and intelligence community who worked so hard and carried out this mission flawlessly.

Madam Chair, I rise to express my strong support for the Prevention and Public Health Fund and to ask my colleagues to reconsider the elimination of a program whose sole purpose is not only to improve the overall health of Americans, but to help ``restrain the rate of growth in private and public sector health care costs.''

If my colleagues across the aisle want to effectively cut spending and fix our long-term deficit, then I would remind them that health care costs are one of the biggest drivers of federal spending; and chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, account for 75 percent of the cost of care. If we invest in preventing these chronic diseases now, we could save our health care system hundreds of billions of dollars, reducing the costs to Medicare and Medicaid and saving countless lives.

Instead, we are taking a penny-wise and pound-foolish approach by considering H.R. 1217, which repeals investments in prevention and primary care services to combat mental illness, obesity, cancer, as well as HIV and other acquired infections. Rhode Island has already received over $800,000 to support primary care, mental health services and health information technology that will improve the health of Rhode Island families before they are forced to seek treatment in the Emergency Department.

Our nation cannot afford to cut now and worry about the consequences later. That approach has only earned our country the unfortunate distinction of being the nation with the highest adult obesity rate in the developed world with the highest mortality rates for various preventable chronic diseases. It has also done nothing to reign in our long-term deficits.

Further, we are almost 100 days into the 112th Congress and Speaker Boehner has not put forward a single bill to create jobs. If my colleagues in Congress are serious about balancing the budget and creating a better health care system, then I hope we will move on from trying to dismantle the health reform law and focus on job creation. I ask my colleagues to oppose this measure and bring up a bill that will put Americans back to work.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act or ``Dirty Air Act'' which will end the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ability to regulate harmful carbon pollution.

I will vote against this bill for many reasons, but one that is particularly concerning to me is related to my strong support for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. I believe that STEM education is critically important to our recovering economy and to our future competitiveness and innovation. I support programs, such as the Cyber Foundations Competition, to encourage more students to pursue careers in science and technology and I believe that many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle share this goal. But how can we ask our students to pursue careers in science and then ignore scientists when their findings are not politically convenient? This bill sets science aside and sends a dangerous message to our students pursuing studies in STEM fields.

In addition to an attack on science, this bill will stop and reverse the public health, environmental, and economic protections that have been achieved since the passage of the Clean Air Act 40 years ago. In 2010 alone, the Clean Air Act contributed to the prevention of 160,000 premature deaths, 130,000 heart attacks, and more than 100,000 hospital visits. This bill will also prevent the EPA from setting pollution standards for cars and trucks, increasing carbon emissions in our communities, and continuing our nation's addiction to foreign oil. Further, a return to outdated technology will limit new innovations in renewable and more efficient technologies and limit the job growth opportunities in these emerging manufacturing industries.

Rhode Islanders have great respect for their environment and they deserve the right to step outside and feel safe breathing the air around them. By preventing the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, we are turning back the progress we have made to protect our health under the Clean Air Act and we are halting important economic opportunities that will help make our nation a world leader in new technologies. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill and supporting responsible regulations that will keep our nation moving forward and keep our environment safe for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1076, which would prohibit federal funding of National Public Radio, and I urge my colleagues to vote against this misguided bill. National Public Radio (NPR) provides an essential public service to our nation at a minimal cost to taxpayers. In Rhode Island, WRNI utilizes federal funds to provide local coverage of news events with local reporters. Without these funds, which account for nearly 8 percent of their annual budget, WNRI would lose its ability to bring local information to local communities, from the breaking news of the day to upcoming arts and cultural events.

This bill will not reduce our deficit by one penny and it will not save or create any jobs. In fact, some have estimated that 9,000 jobs will be lost due to the elimination of federal funding for NPR. In a time of unprecedented global events, from natural disasters to citizen uprisings to dramatic economic upheaval, we must ensure that people have access to accurate information, not limit it even more. Once again, I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and oppose this bill to eliminate federal funding for NPR.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 861, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Termination Act. This bill stops in its tracks the successful efforts to rebuild neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program has provided resources to allow cities and states to rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned homes that are driving down home prices and destabilizing neighborhoods.

In Rhode Island, we were hit early and hard by the housing crisis. We currently have the fourth highest unemployment rate, and Rhode Islanders are struggling with mortgage payments due to the loss of jobs through no fault of their own. This program has provided the state with much needed resources to stabilize our housing market and create new low-income housing. Rhode Island housing agencies have warned me that ending this program would be detrimental to their efforts to build homes, save buildings, stabilize blighted neighborhoods, and most importantly, put Rhode Islanders to work.

In my district, $800,000 out of Rhode Island's NSP funds went to creating a new building that houses 12 homeless veterans, a police station, and commercial space. This funding also helped create two additional apartments for homeless veterans in a nearby building that also includes a social services office for the residents. This legislation would stop projects that are already planned to create jobs that would support 90 affordable homes and apartments in the most at- risk neighborhoods.

Mr. Chair, without the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Rhode Island would not have been able to undertake this remarkable partnership, as well as numerous other successful examples around the State that have brought together Federal, State, business and community organization efforts.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this measure.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I have always looked for opportunities and ways to support our Nation's small businesses. We all know that they are the real job creators in our country.

Today, I strongly support repealing the enhanced 1099 tax reporting requirement established under the Affordable Care Act. Businesses across my home State of Rhode Island and the country have made it crystal clear that this is a highly problematic requirement that will result in serious logistical and financial burdens if it is not addressed before next year's implementation.

We passed the Affordable Care Act, in part, to ease the burdens of health care costs on small businesses, not to replace them with onerous tax provisions. This is an opportunity for lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, to come together and fix a problem in the health care reform act that will protect businesses of all sizes.

Now, I was proud to vote for the repeal of this provision last year, and was equally disappointed that it did not garner enough votes to pass in either the House or the Senate. It is my sincere hope that Democrats and Republicans will take this opportunity to set aside their differences and agree to repeal this provision in both a fiscally and socially responsible way.

As currently drafted, this repeal would be paid for by raising taxes on middle class families, making it harder for them to afford private health insurance when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect in 2014. This is unacceptable. Surely, we can find a better way to pay for a bill that lessens the tax burden on businesses than by increasing the tax burden on middle class and low-income families.

To that end, I ask my colleagues to support this measure, but to consider an alternative way to pay for this bill when the House resolves its differences with the Senate. Businesses everywhere are counting on us to come through for them, as is the middle class; and we can't afford to let them down.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I would also like to highlight the success of the wounded warrior rehabilitation program, specifically those which use community-based partnerships to provide injured U.S. military personnel with the opportunity to engage in sports activities as part of their rehabilitation at DOD medical centers in their home communities. These programs illustrate the power of sports activities to help wounded warriors return to a healthy and active lifestyle. Today, thousands of injured servicemembers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have benefited from these programs, and some even participated in the Department's first Wounded Warrior Games competition held last May.

Wounded warrior rehabilitation programs are located at major DOD medical treatment facilities, military installations, veterans facilities, and the communities around the country where our injured servicemembers live. Wounded warriors, as we all know, ladies and gentlemen, are heroes for serving our country and important role models to so many people in our communities. We greatly appreciate their service, their sacrifice, and their leadership.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Department of Defense Mentor-Protege Program. This successful program was created in fiscal year 1990 to develop the technical capabilities of small disadvantaged businesses by allowing major contractors to transfer and develop technology with them. The Mentor-Protege Program has been essential to diversifying our defense supplier industrial base by expanding the number of qualified small businesses that can realistically compete for DOD contracts.

Current estimates show that protege businesses make up 12 percent of all small disadvantaged business awards from DOD. However, a sunset clause in the original bill set the program to expire in 2010, and language extending the authorization to 2015 was removed from the FY11 National Defense Authorization Act. At a time when our small businesses and defense industrial base are both struggling, this program, which has a successful track record, is a critical tool for keeping our defense industrial base and our national security strong. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to ensure we reauthorize this critical program in fiscal year 2012.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to House Resolution 38, which imposes dramatic cuts to our budget without any regard to its effects on our Nation's economic recovery or Rhode Island families struggling to stay afloat.

Our Nation faces a serious budget deficit, but we also face a jobs deficit and a fragile economic recovery. Rhode Island currently has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.5 percent. The Republican proposal to cut non-security programs by 21 percent goes too far too fast, resulting in additional potential job losses and reductions to critical services that could threaten our economic recovery and countless families who are barely getting by as it is. It makes drastic cuts to our school systems and student aid for college, slashes housing assistance in the wake of record foreclosures, and reduces lending support for small businesses.

This proposal also contradicts the recommendations of the Bipartisan Fiscal Commission, of which some of our Republican leaders were participants. In its final report released on December 1, 2010--less than eight weeks ago--the commission stated in its second guiding principle that ``budget cuts should start gradually so they don't interfere with the ongoing economic recovery. Growth is essential to restoring fiscal strength.'' The Commission then stated in its first recommendation that we should not return to pre-recession 2008 levels until 2013. This proposal contained a lot of controversial ideas to be sure, but the general consensus regardless of party affiliation highlighted the need for caution in crafting an effective deficit reduction plan.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly agree that we need to get our fiscal house in order, but we must do it thoughtfully and responsibly. This proposal rushes to judgment before the process has even begun. I urge my colleagues to reject this resolution and begin a serious discussion of deficit reduction that will address our fiscal challenges without imperiling our economic recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to recognize the retirement of my good friend Stan Israel, Executive Vice President of SEIU District 1199--New England. For 35 years, Stan has spearheaded efforts to organize health workers, and his hard work has consistently won justice at the worksite for laborers of all skill levels and backgrounds.

Stan began by organizing non-union health employees at nursing homes and hospitals in New York into Local 1199. While leading contract negotiations on behalf of the workers, he also advocated for fundamental reforms: adequate staffing levels, safe workplaces, and

well-defined job responsibilities. His success earned him a promotion to the 1199 New England headquarters in Connecticut, where he served briefly before coming to Rhode Island in the summer of 1983.

Since his arrival, Stan has fought tirelessly to ensure that Rhode Island healthcare workers are the most fairly treated in the country. He has earned a reputation as a tough but fair negotiator and as a champion of employees throughout the entire healthcare system. Stan has also collaborated with management for the benefit of his members, most notably with a $650,000 grant from the Federal Government to fund professional growth programs.

Stan has been a leader in lobbying the Rhode Island Legislature to pass just workplace protection laws. During his tenure, Rhode Island enacted the Hospital Conversion Act, which protects workers when hospitals are sold or merged, and the Safe Patient Handling Act, which bans mandatory overtime for nurses. The infrastructure he has developed at Local 1199 leaves it well poised to continue fighting for employees in the coming years.

A true public servant, Stan has selflessly volunteered throughout his time in the state. A settler trustee of the New England Employees Welfare Fund, he played a pivotal role in creating and developing the fund, which oversees the health insurance plans of thousands of healthcare workers and their families. He is the President of the Rhode Island SEIU State Council, Vice President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, and a founding board member of Ocean State Action, a leading state advocacy group.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that the Ocean State is home to many devotees of justice, and Stan Israel is one of the best among them. I would be remiss not to mention his lovely wife, Cynthia, and children, Caitlin and John, whose support has been integral in his many lasting accomplishments, and I join with them and all those whose lives he has worked to improve in wishing Stan the best in his retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to join my colleagues in support of H. Res. 32, a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who were lost: Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard, and Gabriel Zimmerman, and to their friends and families and all those in the community whose lives they touched. Words can not begin to express my sorrow about their passing. I am also praying for a full and quick recovery for those 14 individuals who were injured, including my good friend and colleague, Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

On Saturday morning, Gabby was out in her community, as she often was, hosting a meeting with constituents and providing an opportunity for them to ask questions and express concerns in an open and free environment. It is this proximity to the people we represent that we most cherish as Members of the House of Representatives. My number one priority, which I'm sure is shared by all of my colleagues, is to be accessible and available to the families and communities in my district. While we may never understand the motive or reasoning behind the violent event on that day, it felt to many like an attack on all of us, our democracy, and on the freedoms that we work to protect each day as elected officials. As so many Americans have done throughout our history, bystanders became heroes and their actions prevented an even worse catastrophe. I am thankful for their quick actions and grateful to our entire nation for standing together as one community in support of the people of Tucson and speaking with one voice that this senseless act of violence has no place in a civilized democracy.

Gabby's passion for public service is unmatched, and this is clearly evident in her work ethic on the House Armed Services Committee, where we both serve. I greatly admire her ability to be a tough advocate for her district, while always looking for ways to reach across regional, partisan, or ideological boundaries to find common ground to move forward on an important issue. She is always warm, personable and professional, and she stands strongly and passionately for what she believes in and what she believes is best for her constituents in Arizona. Last week, when we spoke on the House floor, she discussed her desire for the House to quickly consider legislation to create more jobs in our districts. Even after an exhausting election cycle, she never broke her focus and was ready to move forward on day one to get our economy back on track.

My life changed forever at the age of 16 after an accident that left me paralyzed. I wondered what life could possibly have in store for me next. Yet as I lay in my hospital bed, I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from my friends, family and neighbors. Along with my faith, which pulled me through one of the darkest times in my life, it was also the generosity and concern from my community that ultimately made me want to give back through a career in public service. I want to share this strength with those who are injured now and fighting to recover, and let them know that many wonderful possibilities lie ahead.

Next week, we will continue our work, the work of the people, but I am grateful for this opportunity to pause and reflect on this national tragedy. Madam Speaker, thank you for bringing forward this resolution and for allowing all Members of the House to express their condolences to those who were lost and support to our friend, Representative Giffords, her staff, and all of those in Tucson and across the nation as we begin to heal together from this tragic event.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Bill, and I find it absolutely regrettable that my Republican colleagues have made this their first priority of the new Congress.

Rhode Islanders sent me here with a clear purpose to create jobs, strengthen our economy, and reduce the Federal deficit. Those are the issues we need to address, and doing so should be our first order of business and our top priority. Instead, we are considering a bill that will increase already skyrocketing health care premiums for Rhode Island families and businesses, give insurers back the power to deny or drop coverage when people get sick, and raise the deficit by an additional $230 billion over the next 10 years and over $1 trillion the decade after that.

Pressing the reset button on health reform will not only bring our progress toward affordable and accessible health care to a screeching halt, it will force us to repeal the rights of patients and rescind tax breaks to the very small businesses that fuel our economy.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and join me in getting to work on the people's priorities--job creation, economic innovation, and deficit reduction. We have come such a long way.

We have already seen the benefits of health care reform in covering children with preexisting conditions, allowing adult children to stay on their parents' health care coverage, and eliminating the yearly and lifetime caps. These are major steps forward in health care reform. All that goes away if we repeal this health care law that we've seen put into effect. Please oppose this Republican bill that's before us today.

Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is just beginning to ease costs and increase access to care for thousands of Rhode Islanders. Almost 10,000 seniors have already received a $250 rebate check for their prescription drugs to cover the Medicare Part D ``donut hole.'' That's one small but important step toward making prescription drugs affordable. Over 3,500 young adults now have access to their parents' health plans, giving them peace of mind knowing that they can remain covered until age 26. Additionally, over 18,000 small businesses in Rhode Island have already received information from the IRS on the tax credit to help provide coverage to employees. These tax credits will help ease the burden of rising health care costs on private sector job growth.

Health reform is about more than just statistics or economics; it is about helping real people who are just trying to make it day to day. It is about the grandmother in Cranston whose life will be saved because her breast cancer was detected earlier through a free preventive health screening; it is about the father in Coventry who works for a small business and will finally have health coverage to manage his diabetes; and it is about the mother in Warwick who won't face bankruptcy to treat her daughter's Multiple Sclerosis because of lifetime insurance caps.

These are just some of the examples of how the Affordable Care Act is beginning to make a positive difference in people's lives. As I've said in the past, this law is not perfect, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve it where changes need to be made. However, pressing the reset button will not only bring our progress toward affordable and accessible health care to a screeching halt, it will literally force us to repeal the rights of patients and rescind tax breaks to the very small businesses that fuel our economy.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and join me in getting to work on our immediate challenges--job creation, economic innovation and deficit reduction.

Section 8: ``The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.''

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Every American remembers the day the Twin Towers fell and the unparalleled heroism of the first responders who saved countless lives without any regard for their own. They showed courage in the face of terror and strength in a path of destruction. Too many of these brave men and women didn't make it out of the wreckage in time. Those who did returned every day for months, sifting through rubble, recovering victims and restoring order to Ground Zero with little consideration for their own welfare or safety.

Tragically, many of these selfless workers are now suffering chronic, disabling health conditions as a direct result of injuries or toxic exposure sustained at the site. The bill before

us creates a program to provide medical services and health monitoring for first responders and others who have medical conditions related to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this measure and finally show these heroes the same honor and respect they showed us, our families, our friends and our country.