Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me, too, thank Mr. Lynch and Ms. Berkley for this legislation. Please join me in supporting House Resolution 790 to honor the patriots who have served their country in the nuclear weapons program. The development of the American nuclear weapons program depended upon the commitment, the sacrifice and the service of hundreds of thousands of workers since World War II.

The sacrifice of these workers for America's security and technological advancement is patriotism at its finest. All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to all the workers in America's nuclear weapons program. We should honor their contributions with a national day of remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers and haulers. Therefore, I urge you to support House Resolution 790 to show our appreciation for all these men and women whose sacrifices to protect our Nation have benefited us all.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve.

Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers. We yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 568, recognizing the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. And I will be brief because I want to save the bulk of our time for Mrs. Capito, who is the sponsor of this bill and has done a great job with it.

John Brown's life should remind us all that freedom is priceless. He did what he saw was necessary to combat an inhuman evil, the enslavement of human beings. Although it did cost him his life, the memory of Harpers Ferry is a testimony to how strong action is sometimes necessary to protect what is honorable and what is right.

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16th through October 18th, 1859, was an attempt by the part of John Brown to start an armed slave revolt.

Harpers Ferry was the site for the federal arsenal and seizing the location would allow Brown and his men to arm thousands of Southern slaves. Out of context, Harpers Ferry may seem like a rash violent act. But in light of pre-Civil War tensions, the raid was the impassioned start of a larger battle where liberty was on the line.

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, although unsuccessful, helped galvanize the Northern abolitionist movement into stronger direct action.

He was able to show them how morality would not be enough to persuade the South to abandon slavery--which was essential to their rural plantation economy.

John Brown's life should remind us all that freedom is priceless. He did what he saw necessary to combat an inhuman evil--the enslavement of human beings. Although it did cost him his life, the memory of Harpers Ferry is a testimony to how strong action is sometimes necessary to protect what is honorable and what is right.

After the Civil War, Frederick Douglass said in a lecture he gave honoring John Brown, ``His zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light; his was as the burning sun. I could speak for the slave. John Brown could fight for the slave. I could live for the slave; John Brown could die for him''. Passing the resolution to commemorate the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry honors what this man save his life to achieve--freedom for all peoples.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to a good friend, the distinguished gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time and urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Please join me in recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrate the lasting influence Hispanic Americans have had throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, the United States Census Bureau lists Hispanic Americans as the largest ethnic minority. The Hispanic culture has a privileged place of influence in the United States history.

Hispanic Americans have nobly served the United States Government throughout our history. They have served with distinction in the U.S. military, fighting for our Nation in all major American conflicts.

A total of 43 Hispanic men have earned the Medal of Honor, the highest United States military distinction for their service above and beyond the call of duty to our country. Hispanic Americans are members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and with the appointment of Justice Sotomayor, the United States Supreme Court.

The work ethnic of Hispanic Americans have helped make them into American entrepreneurs. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses has grown into the millions. Between 1997 and 2002, Hispanic-owned businesses have increased at an astounding rate of 31 percent.

Join me in honoring the countless achievements of Hispanic Americans that have been instrumental in shaping our Nation into what it is today.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would yield as much time as he may consume to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I urge the passage of H. Res. 783, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it happened last week. Who would have thought that in the United States of America, a Federal government pay czar, a Federal government bureaucrat, would tell a private American citizen how much money they can make. But it happened last week.

And now if the majority party has their way, coming soon to you and your family, a Federal takeover of health care with all of the taxes and all of the bureaucrats getting between you and your family.

Mr. Speaker, pay czar, car czar, energy czar, a $1.4 trillion deficit, sometimes I actually think the other party won't be happy until government runs everything. Sometimes I actually think the other party won't be happy until they have an IV hooked up to the taxpayer wallet and they can hit the drip button every time they want.

What we need is common sense, what we need is real reform, not more government.

Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed to have to vote today in opposition to the conference report on H.R. 2647, the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. For House Democrats to bring it to the Floor in its current form shows that they are not above playing politics with our troops.

I commend the House Armed Services Committee and House conferees on the bill for their good work in support of our military. The conference report provides much-needed funding for our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at a time when the Administration's commitment to those missions is in question. We must continue to do everything in our power to give our troops the resources they need to succeed, and also to support their loved ones at home.

I applaud the important provisions of this conference report that authorize funding for

equipment acquisition, research and development, and reset. I am pleased that the legislation increases the size of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to address current and future threats.

The conference report bars the transfer of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to the United States pending a review on the threats they would pose to Americans. I find it unconscionable that the Obama Administration is still contemplating bringing terrorists to American soil after this Congress and the American people have gone on the record against such a reckless move.

Most importantly, the conference report authorizes an across-the- board military pay raise above what President Obama's defense budget requested. I was proud to vote to fund this pay raise in July when it was included in the 2010 defense appropriations bill, and look forward to quick action on a final version of that bill to provide this well- deserved increase.

The extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform make it of utmost importance that we give them the equipment and the support they need to complete their mission. They deserve far more than they are getting today from Congress, which is cynically using this bill to advance social policies favored by the Left. Attached to the bill by Senate Democrats is a wholly unrelated and unconstitutional so-called hate crimes bill.

This hate crimes bill represents an unprecedented departure from the deeply rooted American principle of equal justice under law. Justice should be blind, rendered through a criminal justice system that does not take into consideration such issues as race, gender, and religion.

Mr. Speaker, all violent crime is rooted in hatred. All violent crime is deplorable and should be punished to the fullest extent. Crimes not aimed at certain classes of people are just as reprehensible as those committed for other reasons. Crimes committed against one citizen should not be punished any more or any less than crimes committed against another.

But this hate crimes bill treats senseless, random violence less harshly than other, less ``random'' crimes. Justice will depend on whether a victim is a member of a category deemed worthy of protection under this bill--a list, for the record, that does not include the unborn, pregnant women, the elderly, and others who are among society's most vulnerable.

In fact, when the hate crimes bill was considered in the Judiciary Committee earlier this year, I offered an amendment to add the unborn to this list. The amendment was ruled non-germane on the outrageous grounds that the unborn are not ``persons.'' So much for defending our most defenseless.

I find it intriguing that a provision offered by Republicans but opposed by Democrats in committee--heightening penalties for attacks on servicemembers--is now hailed by Democrats as a vital part of this legislation.

The hate crimes bill raises the very real possibility that religious teachers of every faith could be prosecuted based on the sermons they give. By permitting legal action against anyone who ``willfully causes'' action by another person, it is not hard to imagine charges being filed against a pastor if a misguided parishioner claimed that the pastor's message caused him to commit a violent act. Subjecting pastors' sermons to prosecutorial scrutiny would prove a chilling effect on the rights of all individuals to freely practice their religion.

It is beyond shameful that these hate crimes provisions have been stapled onto the defense authorization. They are completely irrelevant to the protection of our troops, and provide yet another example of how terrified the Democrat majority is of free and open debate. Just as the hate crimes bill was originally debated in the House under a closed rule allowing for no amendments, it is now being presented to the House for only one hour of debate with no opportunity to amend it.

Mr. Speaker, defense authorization bills have traditionally been free of politics, almost always garnering widespread bipartisan support. The actual defense provisions in this authorization bill are good. I would be proud to support this bill, absent the unrelated and unconstitutional hate crimes provisions included in it.

The American people have a right to be ashamed of the poisoned process that forces pro-defense members of Congress to vote against what might otherwise be a good defense bill.

Madam Speaker, if federal spending is not reigned in--we will find it more and more difficult to avoid the looming financial crisis that lies ahead. Getting a handle on the out-of- control spending in Washington D.C. is my top priority. Families and businesses across the country are tightening their belts in these tough economic times, but Congress continues to spend like there is no tomorrow. For the sake of future generations, we have to restore a sense of fiscal responsibility to this town.

Over the August recess, the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, released an updated budget projection showing the federal government running deficits equal to $8.7 trillion over the FY 2009-FY 2019 period.

The continued spending by this Congress is unacceptable and must be stopped. This is a path we should not have gone down; first it was the $700 billion financial bailout, then the so-called $787 billion stimulus. America's hardworking taxpayers deserve better--a Congress that is accountable and one that shows restraint.

During the debate on the FY 2010 Budget Resolution, I proposed a balanced budget. It was a first step in setting our nation's fiscal priorities and getting spending under control.

After the Congress adopted the budget resolution, I offered a modest next step by offering a series of ``fiscal discipline amendments'' to hold the line on runaway federal spending during the FY 2010 appropriations process. These amendments would force the government to live on last year's income.

Yesterday, I offered an amendment in the Rules Committee to the Continuing Resolution for FY 2010, in order to once again attempt to hold the line on spending by saving taxpayers $84 billion. This amendment reflects our values. The American people are tired of this blank check and this bailout mentality that has got a hold of Washington. The people are sick of bailouts and rising deficits. And furthermore, they are tired of the piling debt that is crushing the future of our children and grandchildren.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Jordan of Ohio

In section 101 (relating to rate for operations under CR)--

(1) insert ``(a)'' after the section designation; and

(2) insert at the end the following new sub-sections:

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), whenever the

amount that would be made available under subsection (a) for

a project or activity is greater than the amount that was

made available for such project or activity in appropriations

Acts for fiscal year 2008, the project or activity shall be

continued at a rate for operations as provided in such Acts

and under the authority and conditions provided in such Acts.

(c) Whenever the amount that would be made available under

subsection (a) for a project or activity covered by the

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, the

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010, or

the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations

Act, 2010 is less than the amount that would be made

available for such project or activity by such appropriations

Acts as passed by the House of Representatives, the project

or activity shall be continued at a rate for operations as

provided in such appropriations Acts, as passed by the House.

In section 106(3) (relating to period covered by CR),

strike the specified date and insert ``September 30, 2010''.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a brave young soldier, one of American's fallen heroes, Staff Sergeant Shannon Smith of Ohio.

Shannon was a native of Marion, Ohio, and graduated from Marion Harding High School, where he was an accomplished wrestler, winning his weight class in the Ohio Heartland Conference for 3 straight years.

He joined the service in September 1997, serving stateside as well as in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia, before joining the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Shannon died on September 8, 2009, in Iraq while serving his country in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Aged 31, he is survived by a loving family, including his wife, Cassie, and his parents, James and Deborah.

In the reading of Shannon's life and in speaking with his family members, it was clear that he had a positive impact on the lives of everyone around him. He had the tenacity of a wrestler and a remarkable sense of humor. He was a leader, a family man and a champion in every sense of the word. He was one of the brave few who stood up and volunteered to serve his country.

He fought to protect us. He gave his life in defense of his family, his community, his State, and his Nation. For this, every American owes him and his family a great debt of gratitude.

Shannon 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, I am honored today to commend to the House the life and career of my friend and former wrestling coach, Ron McCunn, who passed away last month at age 63.

Ron McCunn coached at Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio, for 23 years. During his career, he led Graham's wrestlers to their first three state championships (1982, 1998, and 2001). His hard work, dedication, and discipline not only brought national recognition to the wrestling program, but also had a positive impact on the students, athletes, and families whose lives he touched.

In addition to his coaching duties, Coach McCunn taught chemistry and physics at Graham.

Madam Speaker, a ceremony was held at Graham High School on Saturday, September 12, marking Coach McCunn's years of service and devotion to his students. I was honored to join former teammates, students, and friends from throughout the region in celebrating his contributions and accomplishments. I offer my sincerest condolences to his wife, Dale; their son, Steve; Ron's mother, Peggy; and all of their family and friends.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Republican Conference standards on earmarks, I submit the following information regarding a project included at my request in H.R. 3326, the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act:

Requesting Member: Congressman Jim Jordan (OH-04)

Bill: H.R. 3326

Account: Army Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)-- Combat Vehicle and Automotive Advanced Technology

Requesting entity: Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, 1161 Buckeye Road, Lima, Ohio

Project title: Friction Stir Welding Program

Description: With federal assistance in fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2009, the government-owned Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, has developed better methods of fusing metals used in large combat vehicle manufacturing. These methods are proving to be stronger than results achieved through traditional arc welding, resulting in stronger superstructures. The $3 million included for this program in H.R. 3326 will help perfect friction stir welding technology for current and future vehicle production, reducing procurement costs to the government.

Mr. Speaker, last week at the President's press conference, the American people got a firsthand glimpse of the attitude they can expect if, in fact, there is a Federal takeover of health care.

When the President made this incredible statement, when he said in that press conference that some doctors will take out a child's tonsils not because it's in the best interest of that patient but because they make more money, it makes you think about this:

If you go out and talk to any 100 people across this country and ask them the question, ``Who do you trust more, politicians or your doctors?'' my guess is 100 percent of them would say their doctors. Yet the President made that statement.

What we need in this health care debate and what we need in health care reform is a model that says that you and your family and your doctor will make your health care decisions, not some Federal board in Washington that thinks they're all-knowing.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, let me first say I appreciate the work of the chairman and our ranking member. But what I also appreciate is the fact that last week, for the first time in American history, our deficit reached $1 trillion, and we are not through the fiscal year yet, and some estimate that this could go as high as $2 trillion. So what I bring before the body today is a very straightforward amendment.

It says let's take that first step in trying to get our fiscal house in order. Let's take that, what I will call, modest first step. Let's go back to where we were just 9\1/2\ months ago, before the stimulus, before the omnibus, before all this ridiculous spending got ahold of Congress. Let's go back to where we were just 9\1/2\ months ago and let's live on that amount of money in this appropriation bill. After all, there are all kinds of families, all kind of small business owners, all kinds of American taxpayers who are doing just that.

Now, just like in the amendment a little while ago that my colleague from Tennessee offered, I am sure that the gentleman from Massachusetts will be opposed to this one, and will stand up and say, Well, we can't have this cut.

Again, remember, this is not a cut. This is taking us back to where we were less than a year ago before we had done the stimulus and the omnibus spending. As I indicated, it is exactly where a lot of families--and maybe more importantly--a lot of small business owners are functioning right now.

Mr. Chairman, I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would just ask the question: How bad does it have to get? Do we have to get to a $2 trillion deficit? Do we have to get to a $3 trillion deficit? How bad does it have to get before we can simply say this: Let's just hold the line. Let's just quit making the problem worse. How bad does it have to get before we can do something that every single family has had to do at some point in their lives and that every single small business owner has had to do at some point? How bad does it have to get before we can take the first step--again, that modest first step?

Think about where we're heading. Over the next 10 years, with the pace of spending we're at right now, the Federal debt is going to go to $23 trillion. Now think about what it takes to pay that off. You first have to balance the budget. Then you have to run a $1 trillion surplus for 23 straight years, and that doesn't even count the interest, which is now approaching $1 billion a day.

I offered a balanced budget. A few months ago, we voted on the budget, which sets the context for this. I offered a balanced budget, and we reviewed it. Our budget didn't balance until the last year, until the 10th year of the budget window. We didn't balance until the last year, and we were viewed as the radicals.

I go back home and talk to folks. In my district, they look at me, and they say, Jordan, you big sissy. Balance it in 4 or 5 years. What are you doing taking 10 years? That's the perspective the American people have. Yet, here in Washington, we continue to spend and spend and spend, and we can't even take that simple, modest first step of saying, You know what? Let's just live on what we were living on 9 months ago. Let's start to get our fiscal house in order. Let's start to do what the American people have to do all the time. That's all this amendment does.

Mr. Chairman, I would yield back the balance of my time, and I would urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his continuing efforts to try to bring some fiscal sanity to this town and this place.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this so-called Pay-As-You-Go bill. Most Americans, frankly, would label this tax-as-you-go.

Families and businesses across the country are tightening their belts, but this Congress keeps spending like there is no tomorrow, putting our country on a path towards bankruptcy. Now they're trying to get the American people to look the other way with the smokescreen called PAYGO.

Earlier this year, we offered a balanced budget. That's pay-as-you- go. But this bill doesn't balance the budget. For 3 years, we've been offering amendments both in committee and on this floor that would hold the line on spending. That's really pay-as-you-go. But this bill doesn't hold the line on any spending. In fact, this bill is just another facade to allow spending and spending and spending.

Just remember, last week, for the first time in American history, we hit a $1 trillion deficit, and it's slated to go higher as we have a few months left in this fiscal year. Just to reiterate a couple points that the ranking member made in his opening comments.

Last year, with the pay-as-you-go rule that the majority had put in place, we exempted $420 billion worth of legislation from that very rule, and the deficit increased by $1.7 trillion. That's over a thousand percent increase over the current pay-as-you-go policy that the majority has had in place.

We need real pay-as-you-go. Our substitute offered by our ranking member, Mr. Ryan, is the right approach. It has spending caps. It has deficit targets. It takes the right approach to balance our budget. In fact, it's going to have a supermajority requirement, something we need to override the spending limits and caps in the bill. We don't need more of the smokescreens and empty promises that we always see from Washington. What we need is real fiscal responsibility.

Let me just say this. Over the next decade, the debt is slated to reach $23 trillion. Now think about what it takes to pay that off.

So $23 trillion. To pay that off, you first have to balance the budget, then you have to run a trillion-dollar surplus for 23 years, and that doesn't count the interest which is now approaching a billion dollars a day.

We need to get serious and not have these smokescreens and facades. We need real pay-as-you-go. We need real fiscal responsibility.

One of the things that makes this country great is the idea that parents make sacrifices for their children so they can have a better life than they did, and they in turn become adults and parents and do the same thing for their kids. And it's been that cycle that has allowed the United States to become the greatest Nation in history. When you begin to reverse that process and live for the moment and leave the debt to someone else, that is a real problem. Today we can do the right thing.

Vote this pay-as-you-go legislation down and enact the substitute version offered by Mr. Ryan. If we do that, we can start to move in the right direction and do what's right for our children and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, the reason our economy is not creating jobs is that small business owners are asking themselves, What's coming next out of this place? Always remember this, Mr. Speaker: The American people are smart. Small business owners

are smart, but they're apprehensive; they're anxious about what's coming next from this Congress.

Is, in fact, this Congress going to pass cap-and-trade that's going to raise the cost of energy? Is, in fact, this cost of energy going to raise taxes? Is this Congress going to federally take over health care and make health care decisions for every single family and for every single small business owner out there?

That's why we're not creating jobs. We need to do what we know always works: cut taxes, get spending under control and enact a commonsense energy policy.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Republican Conference standards on earmarks, I submit the following information regarding a project included at my request in H.R. 3183, the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act:

Requesting Member: Congressman Jim Jordan (OH-04) Bill: H.R. 3183

Account: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Section 205 (Flood Damage Reduction)

Requesting entity: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District (1776 Niagara Street, Buffalo, New York 14207)

Description: The City of Findlay, Ohio, saw three of its worst floods in history in just a 13-month period in 2007-08. These floods devastated the city, causing significant damage to the downtown business district and displacing hundreds of residents. The Army Corps of Engineers has worked diligently since the January 2007 flood toward developing flood damage reduction plans. I requested $248,000 to complete the Section 205 feasibility study and begin design and implementation work.

I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to yet another Appropriations bill that we are forced to debate under a structured rule. Had important amendments been permitted to come to the Floor, Members would have had an opportunity to change the destructive policies this bill contains. Most importantly, for the first time in over a decade, this Congress will lift the ban on funding abortions in the District of Columbia. We will now have tax dollars from across this nation flowing into our nation's capital for ending the life of unborn children. Simply put, a vote for this bill is a vote for the destruction of innocent life.

I am also concerned that this bill is silent on the issue of marriage. After unprecedented action by the DC City Council to redefine marriage, this Congress has neglected its responsibility to protect traditional marriage.

Finally Mr. Chair, this bill continues the runaway federal spending that more than anything else has characterized this Appropriations process, and frankly, this entire Congress. At a time when Americans are facing extraordinary challenges, the federal government is running up record deficits and accumulating debt that our kids and grandkids may never be able to repay. Substantive amendments that would have given Members a real choice in spending priorities and funding levels have been prohibited. The American people deserve better. It is time for this Congress to start putting our fiscal house back in order and to protect the timeless values that millions of Americans hold dear; namely, life and family. This bill falls far short and I encourage a ``no'' vote.