Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on many issues here in the Congress and certainly on this issue of fighting and opposing this takeover of one-sixth of our economy, this health care bill. I appreciate my colleagues here from Louisiana and Illinois and their work as well.

Look, when I think about this bill, I first start with the fundamental question, What part of ``no'' don't they get?

They have tried to pass this thing. The majority has tried to pass this bill now for almost a year, and every single time--they tried to pass it in September and the American people said no. They tried to pass it in October and the American people said no. They said, oh, we're going to get it done before Thanksgiving, and the American people said no. Oh, well, wait a minute. We're going to get it done before Christmas, and the American people said no. Then they said, well, we're going to do it before the State of the Union, and the American people said no. And now, here, we're going to get it done before Easter, and we're going to keep all the Members here as long as it takes, twist as many arms, do what we can. What part of ``no'' don't they get?

I thank the gentleman. And you're exactly right. The reason the American people are speaking out loud and clear, the reason the American people, frankly, the reason the citizens of Massachusetts decided to send a Republican in Ted Kennedy's seat is because on a fundamental level, there's a lot of problems with this bill; but I want to just talk about three quick ones if I can. First and foremost--and this is what the majority party misses--it's a fundamental fact about Americans: Americans hate being told what to do. We're Americans. We actually think this thing called freedom and liberty is pretty important. And the idea that now here comes the big, not your local government, not your community, the big Federal Government's going to tell you and your family and you as a small business owner how health care is going to be delivered, and you're going to have bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor, they just fundamentally don't like that approach. And that's what the other party's missing. Americans don't like being told what to do.

Americans don't like, secondly, and I think this is important, and I know Congressman Smith spoke earlier on the floor this evening, Americans don't like the idea that their tax dollars could be used to take the life of an unborn child. I mean, they fundamentally don't like that, and appropriately so. And so just two basic things they don't like.

And then I would say third is Americans understand this thing is going to cost a lot. I mean, it's going to cost a lot.

Now, they can, you know, here's the way CBO works. We've heard a lot of talk. More Americans know about the Congressional Budget Office then they ever knew about them based on this debate over the last year. The Congressional Budget Office, the data and the assumptions and the premises that are given to them, that's what they have to work on. They're good people over there and they do good work, but they have to take what information they're given from the majority party when they put together their analysis.

And so people understand that this bill has 10 years of taxes and only 6 years of benefits in the next decade. They have all kinds of gimmicks, all kinds of things put into the CBO assumptions and premises when it's given to them to come up with this ``deficit neutral'' thing.

There is not--now think about this: outside of this city, this bill is going to insure 30 million more Americans and be deficit neutral. Now, outside of Washington, D.C. there is not one person in America who believes that. Americans understand, on its face, that cannot be the case.

There's no way. I mean, the claim is laughable on its face, and yet that's what we continue to hear out of the other side. And I think it's those kind of things that deep down Americans understand we need reform. They understand that there are some concerns and some real problems in our health care system.

But they also fundamentally get that this bill, this package, with the dollars being used to take the life of unborn children, with the cost estimates that we know are really going to be there, they understand on a basic level that they don't want the Federal Government attempting to take over one-sixth of our economy and getting between them and their family and their doctor.

And with that I would yield back to the gentleman.

I appreciate the gentleman yielding and appreciate the comments from our colleague from Louisiana. I actually just want to go back and try to give some context for why I think the American people are so adamantly opposed to this legislation.

I think it is important to remember what we have seen over the last year, things we never thought we would see in this great Nation. Who would have thought in the United States of America, the greatest Nation in history, we would see the President of the United States fire the CEO of General Motors? Who would have thought in the United States of America we would see the taxpayers of this country own General Motors? Who would have thought in this great country we would own AIG, the largest insurer? Who would have thought in the United States of America we would have a Federal Government pay czar telling private American citizens how much money they could make? Who would have imagined in this great country we would have the largest deficit in American history, $1.4 trillion? Who would have imagined in this country we would have a $12 trillion national debt? And now who would have imagined that this majority, this Democrat Congress, would continue to try to pass a piece of legislation that the American people have said time and time again they don't want?

That is the context we find ourselves in. No wonder the people of this country have figured out this is a bad piece of legislation and they don't want it.

I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. But I think it is sometimes important to step back and understand the framework we are operating in.

Madam Speaker, what part of ``no'' don't the Democrats get? They were going to pass this health care bill last September and the American people said ``no.'' They were going to pass it in October and the American people said ``no.'' They said we're going to get it done by Thanksgiving and the American people said ``no.'' Oh, we're going to get it done by Christmas and the American people said ``no.'' We're going to get it done by the State of the Union and the American people said ``no.'' And now they say, oh, we're going to get it done before Easter, and the American people continue to say ``no.'' What part of ``no'' don't they get?

The American people don't want this big government takeover. They want real reform that will help them, their small businesses, and their families. That is what we should be doing, not taking this over by the government.

Madam Speaker, I was absent from the House Floor during Tuesday evening's three rollcall votes.

Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of H. Res. 1069 and H. Res. 935, and against H.R. 3650.

Madam Speaker, I was absent from the House Floor Thursday afternoon.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall numbers 87, 88, 89, and 90, and ``aye'' on rollcall number 91.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to the Kiwanis Club of Findlay, Ohio, as it celebrates 90 years of service to the greater Findlay area.

Since 1915, Kiwanians have been dedicated to ``changing the world one child and one community at a time.'' Chartered 90 years ago today, the Kiwanis Club of Findlay has answered this call from the start, playing a vital role in supporting youth programs throughout Hancock County.

Findlay's Kiwanians proudly sponsor local Key Clubs and K-Kids programs, support the University of Findlay's Circle K Club, and inspire our country's future leaders through the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Program. For more than 70 years, they have sponsored Boy Scout Citizenship Day to help young people learn about the duties and responsibilities of their local government officials.

The club is well known for its outstanding scholarship programs, which to date have seen in excess of $100,000 awarded to more than one hundred students. It developed this program in recognition of its longtime secretary and treasurer, Fred Brucklacher, a lifelong advocate of higher education.

In 2007, in the aftermath of devastating flooding throughout the Findlay area, the Findlay Kiwanis led efforts to raise more than $17,000 in cash and school supplies to donate to students and families in need.

Madam Speaker, the club will mark its anniversary with a dinner this evening, where Kiwanis International Vice President Alan Penn and Ohio District Governor Donald Parker will lead the tributes to the club's long history of service. Among the honorees will be Dwight Snyder, Jr., a former state chapter officeholder who has compiled a 40-year record of perfect attendance at local meetings.

I invite my colleagues to join me in saluting the Kiwanis Club of Findlay on its ninetieth anniversary and wishing its members every success in the future.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to commend to the House the extraordinary commitments made by Honda over the last three decades to create jobs and expand its solid manufacturing base in Ohio and throughout the nation.

In 1979, Honda opened manufacturing operations in the United States with small-scale production of dirt bikes in Marysville, Ohio. From that initial footprint, Honda has grown into one of our nation's most important job creators, with nine manufacturing and thirteen research and development facilities located across the nation. Honda directly employs roughly 27,000 Americans--15,000 in my home state alone.

With so much focus on jobs moving overseas, Madam Speaker, it is often too easy to overlook the value and importance of direct foreign investment in this nation. The more than $12 billion invested by Honda in the United States--with $7 billion of that invested in Ohio alone-- supports not only those 27,000 employees but also more than 340,000 others employed at Honda suppliers, dealers, and servicers nationwide.

Honda was the first Asian automaker to build products in the U.S., recognizing the value of siting manufacturing plants in sales markets. Since 1996, three in four Honda and Acura automobiles sold in this country have been manufactured in North America. The company's total U.S. auto production reached one million in 2007--with 700,000 produced at Ohio's Honda plants.

Three communities in my district are home to major Honda facilities. More than 2,750 are employed in Anna, which produces engines, driveshafts, and brake components. The transmission manufacturing facility in Russells Point employs an additional 1,050. The 2,500 workers at the plant in East Liberty assemble the Crosstour, CR-V, and Element. Thousands more in my district work at the dozens of companies of all sizes that provide parts to these facilities.

Madam Speaker, direct foreign investments in the U.S. put more Americans to work and strengthen our manufacturing base. Especially in these tough economic times, I am proud of the strong role that Honda plays in the U.S. and Ohio. I applaud everyone at the company on its distinguished record of manufacturing quality, corporate citizenship, and job creation over the last 30 years.

Madam Speaker, I was absent from the House floor during Monday's two rollcall votes.

Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of H.R. 4425 and H.R. 4238.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I also thank the gentleman for his years of standing up and defending life and for his work in the Pro-Life Caucus, along with Congressman Smith and our newest Member, Mr. Cao, who just spoke, and Jeannie Schmidt and also Parker Griffith, who is here on the floor with us as well. There are a countless number of Members who over the years have said, Life is sacred, life is precious and should be protected.

You know, although this is the week when we mark that terrible decision of 1973, I love this week. Thousands and thousands of Americans are going to come to the Nation's Capital, and they're going to celebrate life. They know that life is precious. And that in this great country, the greatest nation in history, we should celebrate life. We should understand that life is precious, life is sacred and that it should be protected.

I am reminded--I have been in Congress now 3 years. Three years ago this month is the anniversary of the first State of the Union that I had the privilege of being at. Then President Bush recognized a great American who happened to be sitting right up in the gallery. In the middle of his speech, he pointed to this guy, Wesley Autrey, the subway guy. Not Jared, the one we see on TV, but the subway guy, the guy who risked his life, jumped in front of a subway train to save a fellow human being who was having a seizure on the track. He put his life on the line simply because a fellow human being's life was at risk. That is how precious life is. That captures the sentiment that the vast majority of Americans have in this country. They understand how precious life is and that it should be protected through all stages.

As is so often the case, the American people get it long before the politicians get it. Wesley Autrey was a great example of that understanding. The vast majority of people who will be here this week, the vast majority of people who make up this great country understand what our Founders understood, understand what Wesley Autrey understood. And that is, just like they said in the document that started it all, that started this grand experiment in liberty and freedom we call the United States of America, where the Founders and the Framers wrote these words, which I say next to Scripture are the greatest words ever put on paper: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.''

What great principles are contained in the statement that started it all. First, they understood a basic fact--there is a Creator. We are made in God's image. We got our rights not from government; we get them from God. And government's fundamental job should be to protect those rights that the Creator gave his creation. An amazing, amazing principle. No other country ever started on that premise. And then the second thing that just jumps right out at you from that statement is the order in which the Founders placed the rights they chose to mention. Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness. Can you pursue happiness? Can you go after your goals, your dreams? Can you go after those things that have meaning and significance if you first don't have liberty, if you first don't have freedom? And do you ever experience true liberty, true freedom if government doesn't protect your most fundamental liberty, your most fundamental right, your right to life.

That's what thousands of Americans are coming to town for this week. That is what they want to celebrate. They understand exactly what the Founders understood. They understand what this country is really all about. And someday, as previous speakers have pointed out, someday Roe v. Wade will no longer be the law in this country, and we will protect every single human being because that is what the Founders intended, and that is what Americans understand.

With that, I will yield back to my friends and colleagues who have done so much--Representative Pitts, Congressman Smith and others who have done so much to protect life. I appreciate them taking the time to have this Special Order hour on the preciousness of human life.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank both him and the gentlemen from Texas and Ohio for this Special Order hour on behalf of the Republican Study Committee.

I notice the chart in the well of the Chamber is talking about the real cost of the health care legislation and what it means over time: $2.1 trillion. I think when you look at that number and couple it with some of the things that we have seen happen in the last year--in fact, I gave a speech last week back home in the Fourth Congressional District of Ohio where I talked about this, and I started the speech with the question, Who would have imagined? Who would have thought? Who would have thought that we would run a $1.4 trillion deficit last year, the largest in American history? Who would have thought that we would have a $12 trillion national debt, moving to $13 trillion in the very near future, slated to go on the Obama budget spending schedule to $20 trillion over the next 10 years? Who would have thought within 2 years the interest payments on that debt would be over a billion dollars a day? We are talking some serious, serious financial concern.

And what do we have being pushed by the leadership in this Congress? A health care bill that is going to add $2.1 trillion to those already unbelievable numbers. Every single American, every man, woman, and child today, to pay off the debt we currently have, it is $39,000 that they have to pay. It is unbelievable. You think about one of the things that makes America great, that makes us the greatest Nation in history, is the simple concept that parents make sacrifices for their kids so that when they grow up they can have life better than we did. They in turn do it for their children, and each generation in this country has done it for the next.

But now what we have in America, unfortunately, is this focus on living and spending for the now, living and spending for the moment and sending the bill to our kids. Unfortunately, this health care bill represents all that is bad about Washington, not only on the spending side, but as my colleagues have pointed out, in a whole host of other areas as well.

I would just say in just a general sense, and I will make this last point and then I will yield back to the gentleman from Texas. I would just say this bill represents what Americans hate about Washington. This health care bill is big taxes, big spending, big Washington, big bureaucracy, Federal Government telling families and small business owners and individual Americans how they are now going to get their health care, telling Americans that you will now have bureaucrats between you and your family and your doctor. It represents everything that Americans don't like about this place. Unfortunately, it seems like the leadership in this Congress is bound and determined to move forward with that.

One thing I know about Americans, Mr. Neugebauer, is that we hate being told what to do. It is part of the American DNA. They see this health care bill as telling them how they are going to get their health care, and they don't like it. The old line that we have in Ohio, and probably have in Texas, too, is that for most Americans when they are traveling down the highway and they see the sign that says 55, for most Americans that is not the limit, that is the challenge. That is how we look at things. We hate this idea of being told

how we are going to do things. That is why we are Americans. And the idea that now the central government, the Federal Government, is going to tell us how we are going to get our health care, and it is going to cost us $2.1 trillion in addition to all of the debt we currently have, is what really offends Americans.

So I appreciate the gentleman from Texas taking the time tonight to lead this hour, and I yield back to the gentleman.

The gentleman is right on target with his comments.

I just remind the Speaker, last spring the Republican Study Committee offered a balanced budget, something families and small business owners have to do every year and something local governments have to do. Unfortunately, the Federal Government never has to do that. RSC brought forth a balanced budget, and we plan to do the same thing this year because we understand that we cannot continue what that chart shows, not only for present-day America, but as the gentleman points out, because of what it means for our kids and grandkids. So we will bring that balanced budget back. It does the right things. It keeps in place those good tax cuts that were put in place in 2001 and 2003, protects Social Security, protects Medicare and national defense during this time we find ourselves in, and cuts spending, which we have to do. We have to make those tough decisions and do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of one of America's fallen heroes, Army Staff Sergeant Dennis J. Hansen of Scottsville, New York, and formerly of Indian Lake, Ohio.

Born in Salt Lake City, Staff Sergeant Hansen was stationed at Fort Drum, New York, and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. He spent more than 8 years in the Marine Corps before joining the Army.

During his military career, Dennis served deployments in Africa, Kosovo, Japan, Panama, Cuba, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Mediterranean.

He died on December 7, 2009, as a result of injuries sustained while serving his country in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Dennis, age 31, is survived by his loving family, including his wife, Jennifer; their children; and his parents, Dwight and Bonnie.

In reading of Dennis's life and speaking with his family members, it was clear he had a positive impact on the lives of everyone around him. He was a leader, a family man, an accomplished wrestler in his youth, and a champion in every sense of the word. He bravely stood up and volunteered to serve. He gave his life in defense of his family, his community, his State, and his Nation. For this we owe him and his family a great debt of gratitude.

Dennis will be missed each and every day. But the strength of his character and the courage he demonstrated through his service will live on.

Madam Speaker, due to weather-related flight cancellations that delayed my return to Washington until this morning, I was absent from the House Floor during Monday's two rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of H. Res. 779 and H. Res. 942.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, how bad does it have to get? How bad does it have to get before we stop the out-of-control spending? A $1.4 trillion deficit, a $12 trillion national debt, a trillion dollars in bailouts and stimulus, and now here we come again with $1.3 trillion takeover of our health care system.

One of the things that makes this country so special, one of the things that makes this country the greatest Nation in history is this simple concept, that parents make sacrifices for their children so that when they grow up, they can have life a little better than we did, and then they in turn do it for the next generation, and each generation in this country has done it for the one that succeeds them.

And now, unfortunately, what we are doing is borrowing and spending and living for the moment and passing the bill on to our kids. It's wrong and it should stop here.

Vote this bill down. Support the Republican alternative.

Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues from across the aisle have called this an historic day.

I wish it was an historic day!

I wish this was the day that the majority in Congress sat up and listened to the American people . . . not just the tens of thousands that stood at the steps of our Capitol to speak out in defense of protecting their health care . . . but the millions from around the country who called our offices, wrote letters to their newspapers, spoke at town hall meetings . . . or marched on Washington.

If they did, they would hear their deep and abiding concern for what will happen to their health care if this bill passes.

What will happen to the relationship between them and their family and their doctor when the heavy hand of government gets involved in medical decisions?

What will happen to seniors, and everyone taking care of their elderly parents or in-laws, when the overpromise of ``free health care'' meets the economic reality of ``rationed care'' when the federal government runs short on money?

What happens to Medicare Advantage customers whose services will be cut?

What happens to those using Health Savings Accounts whose health freedoms will be infringed upon?

What happens to the small business owner who desperately wants to hire back some employees or expand his business to provide more economic opportunities in his community? What happens when these individuals, upon whose success our nation will rise from this recession, have to pay the hundreds of billions in new taxes to pay for the massive government expansion in this bill?

Mr. Speaker, how bad does it have to get? How bad does it have to get before this Congress starts acting in a way that will help families, create jobs, and leave a better America for our children and grandchildren?

How bad does unemployment have to get? Earlier this week, it was announced that our nation has reached an unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, which is the highest unemployment rate in almost 30 years. Yet studies suggest that the taxes, mandates, and federal expansion in this bill will cost our nation another 5.5 million jobs in the private sector.

How bad does the deficit have to get? This year's deficit of over 1 trillion dollars was the highest in history. Yet this multi-trillion- dollar expenditure to take over the nation's health care system will explode the deficit, despite the fuzzy math that we've heard from the other side of the aisle.

The debt . . . it has reached a nearly insurmountable level of 12 trillion dollars. How bad does it have to get? Even without the massive uncontrolled expenditures involved with this health care bill, the national debt is projected to surpass the size of our economy in the next few years. Since when has the answer to an exploding national debt been an explosive expansion of federal government spending in areas that have always been a part of the private sector economy?

The one positive thing I can say about this bill is the pro-life victory we won with the amendment offered by my fellow pro-life colleagues, led by Mr. Stupak and Mr. Pitts. I was proud to support that amendment because it honored the fundamental truths that life is sacred, life should be protected, and taxpayer money should never be used to take the life of an unborn child.

But Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this: H.R. 3962 is the wrong answer to what ails America's health care system.

It is too expensive. It raises taxes. It expands the reach of the federal government into the personal health care decisions that should be left between patients and their doctors. It is a job killer. It will cause millions of Americans to lose their coverage, while expanding coverage to millions of illegal aliens.

Despite the newly-enacted pro-life protections that I fought so hard to enact both in this bill and every relevant piece of legislation before this House, it is a bad bill.

Let me close here. We are blessed to live in the greatest country in history. Our country is great, in part, because of something called the American Dream. We're a country where people, through their own hard work, can pull themselves up and reach for their goals and dreams.

Mr. Speaker, the American Dream happens because generations of parents have worked hard and sacrificed so their children can have life a little better than they did. When their children become parents, they sacrifice for their children, and the dream lives on.

This bill is just another example in the recent years of our country of borrowing for now and sending the bill to the next generation.

If we want the American Dream to live on, we must reject this bill and return to the American principles that made our nation that shining city on a hill.

Ms. Roybal-Allard. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, a bill that is undoubtedly the most important single piece of legislation being considered by this 111th Congress, and possibly by any Congress in the last decade.

I commend Chairman Waxman from the Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman Miller from the Education and Labor Committee, and Chairman Rangel from the Ways and Means Committee, and all of their dedicated staff who have invested so much time and energy into crafting a bill that addresses the complex and vast failures of our current health care system.

This has been without a doubt the most transparent and inclusive legislative effort that I have seen in my seventeen years in Congress, and I commend Speaker Pelosi for her tenacious leadership in bringing this bill to the floor.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act is not a perfect bill. With an issue that impacts so many stakeholders, and involves so many competing interests, it is doubtful any single legislative effort could ever satisfy everyone and address all the problems.

But the fact of the matter is that we cannot afford to do nothing. Study after study has shown that under our current system things will get worse unless we act now. If we are not successful in passing this health reform bill, Americans face a 50-50 chance of losing their insurance in the next 10 years, the average family will have their already prohibitive health costs increase an average of $1,800 each year, and the rising price of medications may become unaffordable even for those with insurance.

H.R. 3962 will help end this cycle of skyrocketing health care costs and represents a milestone in our nation's history by finally framing healthcare as a universal right for all Americans. With the passage of this bill we will improve the quality and affordability of health services, prioritize prevention and the reduction of health disparities, and take the

necessary albeit difficult steps to rein in the escalating costs of health care in this country.

I will vote for H.R. 3962 for many reasons. The most important is that it will provide access to affordable health care to the millions of uninsured individuals in this country. In my 34th Congressional District of California, where the average annual household income is less than $36,000, and where forty per cent of my constituents are currently uninsured, this bill will provide access to health care for 240,000 more people.

The bill also helps families in our country who have health insurance, but are struggling with high premiums and uncovered health care costs. Last year 1,120 families in my district were forced to file health care-related bankruptcies. H.R. 3962 will protect individuals like them from catastrophic out of pocket costs through an annual allowable personal expense cap.

This bill will protect our seniors from the Medicare Part D donut hole by reducing 5 percent of the cost for brand name drugs and gradually eliminating the donut hole altogether. This will be extremely beneficial for the 4,100 seniors in my district who each year hit the Medicare Part D donut hole requiring them to pay the full cost of medications they can't afford.

H.R. 3962 will help make small businesses more competitive in providing health insurance to their employees by providing tax credits up to 50 percent of the cost of the insurance. In my district approximately 15,000 small businesses would qualify for these credits.

As chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Task Force, I commend the Affordable Health Care for America Act for its efforts to reduce health disparities and improve minority access to culturally and linguistically competent health care. The bill expands Community Health Centers which have been a cornerstone of primary care services in communities of color, and incorporates critical health disparities language guided by the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2009. In addition, the Manager's Amendment strengthens the focus of eliminating health disparities by codifying the Office of Minority Health and establishing Minority Health Offices across all Department of Health and Human Services agencies.

As co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Public Health, I am particularly pleased that the Affordable Health Care for America Act finally prioritizes prevention and public health in this country. The bill ensures full coverage of evidence based preventive health services, and establishes a Public Health Investment Fund that will support core public health infrastructure, help finance the delivery of community-based prevention and wellness services, and provide grants to train the next generation of Public Health workforce professionals.

Mr. Speaker, I fully believe that the Affordable Health Care for America Act is a bill that will transform our healthcare system and will play a determining role in the collective health and fiscal viability of our region, our state, and our nation.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes for this bill today, to ensure that our families and communities will have the promise of a healthier tomorrow.

Madam Speaker, let me thank Representative Smith for his many years of leading the Pro-Life Caucus and fighting to protect the sanctity of human life. I especially want to thank him, along with Congressman Pitts and Congressman Stupak and a host of others, and you as well, Madam Speaker, for your efforts in working to get this language out of the bill which would take us to a point that would cross a line in this country that I believe is very, very scary.

If you remember when the decision happened in 1973 and we started down this road, one of the arguments we heard from the pro-life community--and we, frankly, continue to hear--is the slippery slope argument, the fact that this slope is slippery, it is steep, and that if we begin to allow unborn life to be taken, it will lead to a whole host of things. Now, here we have a health care bill in front of us scheduled to be voted on this weekend, this Saturday, which would, in fact, permit taxpayer dollars, Federal dollars, government money to be used to end the life of an unborn child. That is just wrong. It is important that we tell the American people we do not want to go past this. The American people understand this. They do not want their tax dollars used in this way. I think it is critical that we just continue to fight.

So again, I want to be brief tonight. I know we have a few more speakers in just the few minutes we have left, but it is so critical that we understand how sacred life is.

There was a precedent here today in the Nation's Capital where thousands of people came. One of the things that concerned them--not just the price of this bill, not just other elements, not just a lack of empowerment for families and small business owners and taxpayers in this bill, but the fact that their tax dollars could, in fact, be used to end life, and they spoke out loud and clear.

And one of the things that was said at that conference, we went back to the document that started it all--and I will finish with this. The document that started it all. I tell people, next to Scripture, the best words ever put on paper in the Declaration of Independence, where the folks who started this great country, this great experiment in freedom and liberty, they wrote these words: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.''

We've all heard this before, but it's so interesting to go back to these fundamentals, to go back to these basic principles that started this grand place we call America. It's interesting the order the Founders placed the rights they chose to mention. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.

Just ask yourself a question, Madam Speaker. Can you pursue happiness? Can you go after your goals, your dreams? Can you go after those things, pursue those things that have meaning and significance to you if you first don't have liberty, if you first don't have freedom? And do you ever truly have real liberty, true freedom if government doesn't protect your most fundamental right, the right to live? That's what's at stake here.

We are on the verge of crossing a very dangerous line if we allow this health care bill with all its other problems, but the central focus in this bill of allowing taxpayer dollars, Federal money to be used to end the life of an unborn child. It's so critical that we stop this bill in general, but certainly to make sure that provision is not there and continue to be a country that respects the sanctity and sacredness of human life.

So again, I want to commend the Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus for his many years in doing just that and fighting this good fight. God bless you.

With that, I will yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame will hold a ceremony in Columbus this week to mark the induction of its 2009 class. I am honored to commend to the House one of these inductees: the late Walter M. Lawson, Jr., of Lima.

A graduate of North High School in Columbus, Mr. Lawson earned his undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University in 1941. Following his distinguished service in the Second World War, he returned to his alma mater, completing his juris doctorate work in 1948. He later served in the Korean Conflict, achieving the rank of captain.

Aside from his time in Korea, Mr. Lawson served the Lima community in private legal practice from 1948 to his death in 2006. Additionally, he was Lima's law director for four years, preceded by seven years as assistant law director. From 1974 until his death, he also served the Village of Elida as its solicitor. He was president of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Allen County Bar Association, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Lawson's devotion to community service provides us with an outstanding model of civic participation. A past president of the local Jaycees and past chairman of the Lima-Allen County Regional Planning Commission, he was a charter member and longtime leader in Ohio Optimist International, which honored him with inclusion in its hall of fame and also with the 2007 Humanitarian Award. His devotion to the youth of Lima and Allen County was well known from his service to the Lima Area Youth Orchestra, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Junior Achievement Board. He held numerous offices at Lima's Market Street Presbyterian Church, where he was a member for more than a half century.

Mr. Lawson was a life member of the Allen County chapter of the Disabled American Veterans, Post 96 of the American Legion, Post 1275 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Lima AMVETS chapter, and the Korean War Veterans Association. Additionally, he served as president of the Allen County Veterans Service Commission.

Madam Speaker, selection for the Hall of Fame is a high honor accorded to only 20 Ohioans each year. To be considered for induction, individuals must not only serve the nation honorably in the military, but also reflect the high value of service to others in their post- military careers.

I am pleased to join in the accolades for Mr. Walter M. Lawson, Jr., and his inestimable record of service as he is inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, Americans hate being told what to do. It's just part of our collective DNA. We like freedom. We like the ability to choose. We like the ability to make decisions on our own. And what most Americans find troubling about this bill is it's 2,000 pages of the government getting between them and their family and their doctor.

Mr. Speaker, you're probably familiar with the old line: for most Americans when they're traveling down the highway and they see the sign that says 55, for most Americans that's not the limit; that's the challenge. That's just the way we look at things. And here we have this bill that's now going to tell us how we as individuals and as families and small business owners are going to get our health care. That's what Americans find troubling. That's why they're opposed to that. And that's why we need real reform and not this 2,000-page takeover of health care in our country.