Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, tonight we cast a vote to address one of our Nation's greatest unsolved challenges, and that is solving our Nation's health care crisis.

This Congress is being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix a broken health care system that has left millions of families without the coverage and care that they deserve or are struggling to keep the health care coverage that they do have. If we seize this opportunity tonight, we can ensure that tomorrow a working mom in West Warwick, Rhode Island, will wake up knowing that she can afford her family's health care coverage. A dad in Providence will wake up knowing he can take his daughter to the doctor when she gets sick. A small business owner in Westerly will be able to wake up knowing he can finally give his employees the coverage that he has always intended, and a cancer survivor in Narragansett will wake up knowing she won't be denied coverage because of a preexisting condition or lose her insurance because of a lifetime cap.

Mr. Speaker, after an injury left me paralyzed almost 30 years ago, members of my community rallied behind me and my family at a time that I needed it the most. It's that time in my life that inspired me to go into public service so that I could give back to a community that gave me so much at a time when I needed it the most.

Tonight I know that with all of my being I am fulfilling that promise, and I urge my colleagues to do the same by supporting this important piece of legislation and finally give America the kind of health care coverage that it deserves.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his outstanding work on this important bill.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2847, the HIRE Act, which will strengthen our economy by limiting job loss and creating new employment opportunities. In addition to provisions that will spur investment in infrastructure and construction projects, this bill provides much- needed assistance and attention and support for small businesses in America. This bill includes a payroll tax holiday for businesses that hire unemployed workers and tax cuts to help small businesses expand and hire more workers.

Small businesses, Madam Speaker, have borne the brunt of this economic crisis, and their inability to access credit to keep their businesses operating has clearly added to the high unemployment rate across the Nation, especially in my home State of Rhode Island, which has right now the second highest unemployment rate in the country.

So, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this jobs measure, as well as working on additional legislation that helps small businesses and unemployed workers. Our job is to create jobs, Madam Speaker, and that is exactly what this piece of legislation before us does today.

I thank you and urge my colleagues to support this important jobs bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe Act. As a cosponsor, I am certainly pleased that for the first time this bipartisan legislation will protect all children in schools from harmful uses of restraint and seclusion.

The need for this legislation was highlighted by a recent GAO report that found hundreds of cases of schoolchildren being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff. One of these cases included a locked isolation room in a school basement at a school in Rhode Island, my home State. This room was used to restrict a student who was deemed overly aggressive and another who showed undesirable behavior.

Well, this bill will provide the proper guidance to ensure that our schools and educators are treating children appropriately. I have been a strong advocate in Congress to educate colleagues on the value that individuals with developmental disabilities can bring to society with the right system of support. The bill that's before us today represents an important step in ensuring that these children are treated fairly and given the opportunities they deserve to succeed in school. I look forward to continuing working together on our work to make sure that our children with developmental disabilities receive the care that they need to reach their full potential.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on the Intelligence Committee.

Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2701.

This bill before us today funds critical intelligence activities that are vital to our national security. Of particular interest to me, it provides the resources for the foundational capabilities of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

As the recent cyberattacks against Google and U.S. networks have demonstrated, our information infrastructure is far more vulnerable than many realize. It is absolutely imperative that the United States strengthen its cyberdefenses to ensure government and commercial functions are protected and to improve our ability to attribute attacks and hold aggressors accountable. The intelligence community has begun this work, and the President has committed to developing a broad strategy to secure U.S. information networks. I applaud those efforts.

In order to further foster cyberreadiness of our intelligence agencies, I offered an amendment requiring the administration to submit to Congress a plan for securing intelligence networks and determining whether we have the workforce we need to secure this vital part of cyberspace as well as the ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest in this field. I'm truly grateful this provision has been included in the manager's amendment that we're debating today.

Another issue of great importance is congressional oversight of our intelligence community. I'm pleased that this bill modifies the Gang of Eight notification process currently used to brief Congress on intelligence activities. During the last administration, we saw the danger of giving the executive branch too much leeway to engage in activities outside of congressional review. Reforming the mechanism governing congressional notification will restore Congress's ability to conduct oversight on our intelligence activities.

So with that I just want to thank Chairman Reyes for his leadership in crafting this bill as well as his general leadership of the Intelligence Committee itself and particularly the attention he's paid to the issue of cybersecurity. I support the bill and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Robert Bushell, who recently won national recognition from the Reading Recovery Council of North America. Mr. Bushell is currently the elementary education director in my home town of Warwick, Rhode Island.

Mr. Bushell has devoted more than 40 years to public education, including time as principal of Lippitt Elementary School. It was there that he began his involvement with the Reading Recovery program, a short-term program of one-on-one tutoring for first graders struggling with early reading and writing. When training locations for Reading Recovery closed in Rhode Island, Mr. Bushell fought to obtain funding for the construction of a Reading Recovery site in Warwick. Several different school districts in the State now use the Warwick facilities to train in the program.

In addition to securing funds to open up the Reading Recovery location, Mr. Bushell's efforts have paid off with the students themselves. After 20 weeks of 30-minute tutoring sessions with a trained teacher, these students are achieving higher scores on the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) and maintaining those scores for years afterwards.

Robert Bushell has richly earned the commendation that the Reading Recovery Council is bestowing upon him. Rhode Island has been lucky to have Mr. Bushell as an educator for over 40 years and to have his support on this educational program for 20 years as well.

Madam Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join with me in congratulating Robert Bushell and wishing him continued success with the Reading Recovery Program in Rhode Island.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4626, the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, which will finally require the health insurance industry to comply with the same Federal antitrust laws as virtually every other industry in the United States.

The recent economic recession dealt a crushing blow to Rhode Islanders. Many are out of work and simply don't have insurance coverage. The ones who do are struggling to afford the perpetual rate increases year after year. Although Rhode Island is a State with strong health insurance consumer protections, this fact provides little comfort to the thousands of people who will lose their coverage because it's simply too expensive.

Madam Speaker, we must do everything in our power to hold down the rising costs of insurance premiums, which includes ensuring healthy market competition. After all, competition is the driving force of economic prosperity. And even in the time of FDR and numerous Supreme Court decisions, it established the fact that there is a legitimate public policy interest in ensuring competition.

But for over 65 years, the health insurance industry has played by a different set of rules, allowing them to engage in anticompetitive practices which drive up the costs of premiums.

Well, this bill before us today will outlaw existing health insurance practices like price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market allocations that drive up costs for all Americans. It will protect honest competition from collusion and other destructive practices within the health insurance industry so we can achieve greater affordability, improve quality, increase innovation, and more consumer choice, just as the antitrust laws have done for the rest of the economy for over a century.

Madam Speaker, Americans can no longer afford to give insurance companies special treatment. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act so that we can finally break the vise grip that the insurance companies have on the lives of the American people and their health care.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the statutory PAYGO act. This bill, which I'm proud to cosponsor, will help restore fiscal discipline by enacting into law the most basic principle of responsible accounting, that every dollar spent must be offset by a dollar earned or saved. This is the way that American families balance their finances, and this same principle should apply to the Federal budget.

This legislation is particularly important at a time when Congress also faces the troubling task of raising the statutory debt limit. I am truly dismayed by the need to raise the ceiling of our national debt, which already exceeds $12 trillion. We simply cannot keep borrowing our way to a better future. It is time that we take decisive action to reduce our Federal deficit while continuing to invest in our economy and combat unemployment.

In Rhode Island, the unemployment is now 12.9 percent, the third highest in the country. Put simply, Rhode Islanders are still looking for jobs, but they are also looking for a government they can trust to live within its fiscal means. This is going to require the will and cooperation of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike to solve our budgetary challenges. Today, it begins by passing the statutory pay-as-you-go act.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure and send a strong message to the American people that the days of fiscal irresponsibility are over.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009. I'd like to thank Chairman Lipinski and also Chairman Gordon for their efforts in bringing this important bill to the floor today.

In today's interconnected world, the American people expect their government's networks to have the same level of access and efficiency as the private sector. Further, building a more transparent and effective government requires leveraging new technologies to strengthen coordination between our Federal agencies, in addition to strengthening our communications with the citizens of our Nation. To achieve these goals, it is absolutely critical that our Federal networks and information systems are safe and secure.

Despite increased attention in recent years by the Congress and the administration on cybersecurity, our Federal networks remain exceptionally vulnerable still to attack. Securing them will require increased emphasis on coordination and technological advancements. I, of course, understand that the NSA and the very talented, dedicated workforce that work on cyberissues are the best in the world at what they do, but it will also require the United States to strengthen domestic cybersecurity talent and find new ways to leverage the expertise that exists in the private sector. This will be a true force multiplier for us. This bill takes significant steps toward achieving those goals by strengthening Federal cybersecurity standards, increasing research and development, and evaluating how to improve our Federal cybersecurity workforce.

That being said, we as a Nation cannot afford to fail in these efforts, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this very important piece of legislation.

I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to H.R. 4061 that would expand private sector involvement in our cybersecurity efforts. By now we should all recognize the real danger our government faces from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, with threats ranging from mischievous hacking incidents to serious criminal activity or highly sophisticated cyber-penetration or attacks from nation-states.

Now, while the men and women of our Federal Government are incredibly talented and dedicate and work tirelessly to leverage the resources available to them to defend our government networks, the broad challenges inherent in cybersecurity and the often cumbersome government procurement process mean that they may not always have the specific expertise or capabilities or technology necessary to keep up with current threats.

This is very sobering in light of the fact that as we know, technology itself squares every 18 months, well, particularly on the human capital side. In such cases, the private sector can offer greater flexibility and a wider ranger of specialists, as well as agility. Current law does not allow, surprisingly, for security experts to share their cybersecurity expertise and knowledge with the men and women charged with defending our Nation's critical networks and data.

So my amendment directs the Presidential cybersecurity workforce assessment provided for in the bill before us today to study the possibility of permitting temporary assignments of private sector cybersecurity professionals to Federal agencies.

Now, these assignments would offer an important opportunity for the Federal Government to tap into a wider talent pool and improve private sector involvement and cooperation in protecting our Federal networks.

By creating easier access to that expertise through temporary assignments in the Federal Government, we can dramatically improve our ability to protect the public and private cyber-infrastructure. I think this really amounts to being a real force multiplier and a benefit to the American people and our Nation as a whole.

So I urge all of my colleagues to support this noncontroversial and commonsense amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I would just again reiterate the fact that we have some incredibly talented and dedicated men and women who work within the Federal Government already that are working day in and day out to protect what is a critical national asset, and that is our cyber-assets, as the President has clearly identified is a critical national asset and very important to our Nation's security as well as to our economy. And yet we face the incredible challenge of staying one step ahead of the bad guys, if you will, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

This amendment would basically allow us to determine a way to allow private sector involvement to a greater degree while allowing, in a sense, detailees, if you will, or temporary assignments from the private sector to Federal Government agencies that would allow us to utilize their talent, again, acting as a force multiplier to making sure that we always have the best and the brightest and we are agile at being able to use the best talents available to us to make sure that we have robust cybersecurity in protecting, as I said, this critical national asset.

So with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of the Rhode Island Air National Guard members who deployed to Haiti on Friday, January 22nd, to assist in the critical aid and evacuation effort taking place after the devastating earthquake that hit the country two weeks ago. Immediately after the earthquake struck, members of the U.S. armed services, first responders and relief agencies began their work to help the people of Haiti recover from this tragedy. With an alarming death toll of over one hundred thousand and the number of displaced Haitians reaching one million, the national and the international community must do all it can to support and help rebuild this shattered nation.

I am especially proud that the 143rd Airlift Wing, based out of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station, is helping in this recovery effort with transport and medical evacuation assistance. They will provide critical assets to the relief operation and will help deliver aid and supplies expeditiously to the Haitian people. During the past several years, the 143rd has answered their call to duty with the courage and bravery our Nation has come to rely on from our National Guard. The 143rd provided assistance to the citizens of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, made numerous tours to Iraq and have recently deployed again to Afghanistan. Both our state and our nation are incredibly grateful for their service and the service of all our men and women in uniform serving at home and abroad. I hope all our Rhode Island National Guard members return home safely and soon.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the bravery and sacrifice of the seven CIA officers and contractors who gave their lives in the line of duty during the December 30 bombing of a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan. I also want to recognize those Americans who were injured in the blast and offer my wishes for a full and quick recovery.

As we have all learned by now, a suicide bomber who was believed to possess information critical to counterterrorism operations entered the U.S. forward operating base in Khost, where he activated explosives that took the lives of seven Americans, including one of our nation's top counterterrorism experts. Six other Americans standing nearby were injured in the explosion.

The men and women of our intelligence community work behind a veil of secrecy, yet as this tragic incident reminds us, they are still exposed to the dangers that come from the difficult and often thankless job of protecting our country. Unlike our soldiers in uniform, these public servants must keep their many victories secret, while their rare failures and raw grief make headlines. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these brave men and women. They, and all the other patriots who serve so honorably in our intelligence community, have my unending gratitude and my unwavering support. I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that they have the tools, resources and encouragement they need to keep America safe.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of today's bill to accelerate the tax benefits for charitable contributions made in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The people of Haiti have endured an unimaginable disaster, and our thoughts go out to the millions of families who have been affected by this tragedy.

In times such as these, we must unite in common purpose to help those in need. I am truly heartened by the outpouring of support from the American people, who have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to disaster relief organizations over the last week despite the economic challenges they face here at home. As policy makers, we should do all we can to encourage this charitable spirit and assist Americans in giving whatever they can through immediate tax relief. The bill will allow people to claim cash contributions made to victims of the Haiti earthquake on their 2009 tax returns, rather than waiting until they file in 2010. It offers an immediate benefit for those who have already made a contribution and provides a little extra incentive for others who are considering a donation of their own.

It is crucial that we join together to support the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts. This bill is a small but necessary component of those efforts, and I remain ready to assist the international community as they bring additional aid and relief to Haiti.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the bravery and sacrifice of the seven CIA officers and contractors who gave their lives in the line of duty during the December 30 bombing of a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan. My thoughts and prayers are with them and with their families. I also want to recognize those Americans who were injured in the blast and offer my best wishes for a full and quick recovery.

Madam Speaker, as we have all learned by now, a suicide bomber who was believed to possess valuable information critical to counterterrorism operations entered the U.S. forward operating base in Khost, where he activated explosives that took the lives of seven Americans, including one of our Nation's top counterterrorism experts as well as a Jordanian intelligence officer. Six other Americans standing nearby were also injured in the explosion.

The men and women of our intelligence community do critically important work behind a veil of secrecy, yet as this tragic incident reminds us, they're still exposed to the dangers that come from the difficult and often thankless job of protecting our Nation. Unlike our soldiers in uniform, these public servants must keep their many victories secret while their rare failures and raw grief make headlines.

My thoughts and prayers again are with the families of these brave men and women. They and all the other patriots who serve so honorably in our intelligence community have my unending gratitude and my unwavering support. And I, I know along with all of my colleagues, will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that they have the tools and the resources and the encouragement they need to continue to keep America safe.

May God bless those who lost their lives and those who are injured.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues and extend my deepest sympathies to the people of Haiti, and to their worried and grieving loved ones around the world, after the tragic earthquake that devastated so much of the nation last Tuesday. It is heartbreaking that a country that has suffered through so much in its history now must endure this unimaginable disaster. My thoughts and prayers also go out to the injured and missing Americans, Haitian- Americans with families impacted by this tragedy, and families and colleagues of the United Nations personnel who lost their lives.

I would also like to applaud President Obama's quick action in sending civilian and military personnel and humanitarian resources to help in rescue and recovery, and am ready to work with my colleagues in Congress to support the Administration's efforts. I call on all Americans to continue to show their support for the people of Haiti, whether by contributing to the Red Cross or other charitable organizations operating in Haiti, or offering products or services that may be needed.

In times of terrible suffering, the world community comes together to help those in need, and that is what we have seen in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Now, we must ensure that our attention and our efforts do not waver. I thank Congresswoman Lee for her leadership in bringing this resolution to the Floor and urge all my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, it is with great reservation that I vote for H.R. 4314, a bill to increase the statutory debt limit by $290 billion. While I am keenly aware of the need for such action to ensure that the Federal Government doesn't default on its obligations, this represents a greater problem of borrowing and spending that we must begin to address now.

There is no doubt in my mind that the actions taken by this Congress over the past year prevented a serious recession from turning into a calamitous economic depression. I also know that there are many families in my State that will require continued support and assistance as we cope with a 12.9 percent unemployment rate. However, as we attempt to enact policies that further stimulate the economy and get people back to work, we cannot lose sight of our fiscal challenges. We must refocus on deficit reduction and chart a course to a sustainable budgetary path.

That is why I was pleased to vote for the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, PAYGO, Act, which passed the House on July 22nd. This bill reestablishes the same rules enacted in the 1990's which led to record surpluses, by requiring that new mandatory spending increases or tax reductions be fully offset. Unfortunately, the Senate has not yet acted on this measure, but I look forward to working with them and my colleagues in the House to ensure that we reduce our deficit and debt obligations as we achieve continued economic stability.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act, which redirects Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from Wall Street to Main Street, where our towns, small businesses and families need it most.

While we have seen some significant improvements since this time last year, we are still feeling the repercussions of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Many older Americans are entering retirement with deflated savings, forced to dramatically adjust plans and expectations for their golden years. Millions of our constituents remain unemployed, desperately searching for jobs that simply aren't there. Rhode Island families are struggling to pay bills and mortgage payments, and in too many cases, those who used to have two salaries to rely on must now make do with only one. While we have brought the economy back from the brink, we must do more to limit job loss and create new employment opportunities.

H.R. 2847 addresses these issues by redirecting $48 billion in unused TARP funds to highway infrastructure, school renovation grants, public transportation investments and airport improvement grants. To address our housing needs, this measure contains $1 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund that provides communities with funds to build, preserve and rehabilitate affordable rental homes and $1 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund for repairs and rehabilitation of public housing.

The Jobs for Main Street Act also uses $27 billion in TARP funds to stabilize public service jobs, including teachers, firefighters and police officers. It funds an Education Jobs Fund to help states retain or create jobs in school districts and public higher education institutions. And it includes funding for AmeriCorps, the College Work Study program, and job training for high growth and emerging industry sectors, including those in health care and green industries.

Small businesses have borne the brunt of this economic crisis, and their inability to access credit to keep their businesses operating has clearly added to the high unemployment rate across the nation, and especially in Rhode Island. It is imperative that our small businesses have access to the tools they need to weather this economic downturn, as well as to keep and create jobs. H.R. 2847 will help by extending Recovery Act provisions that eliminated fees on SBA loans and guaranteeing these loans at 90 percent. This gives local banks and credit unions the confidence to lend to small businesses.

This measure also extends crucial American Recovery and Reinvestment Act safety net programs that provide invaluable health and social services to our nation's low-income and disabled citizens with the inclusion of $23.5 billion in enhanced funding for state Medicaid programs. It further extends a provision to assist recently unemployed individuals and their families by helping them maintain their health coverage through a 65 percent subsidy for health insurance premiums under COBRA from nine months to 15 months and also extends unemployment benefits by six months.

This job creation package will help move our country further down the road to recovery and help our families in need during this holiday season. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.