Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a renowned member of my district, a great Missourian and a great American. Mr. Cy Glueck passed away on Monday, March 22, after a lifetime of service to Southern Missouri.

Mr. Glueck may be best known throughout the region as the inventor of the Original Bologna Burger at Schindler's Tavern in New Hamburg. If you haven't ever had one, they are well worth the trip. Mr. Glueck and his wife operated the tavern for 28 years and are directly responsible for its stellar reputation. Cherished as a true gathering place for the community, Mr. Glueck made sure everyone felt welcome in his establishment, whether it was for family meals or euchre card games or turkey shoots.

As part of his philanthropy, Mr. Glueck hosted the Kow Pasture Klassic golf tournament--played in a pasture with tennis balls hit by any instrument from golf clubs to baseball bats. The point was to have fun and celebrate, but also to benefit a local charity. No annual event in the community was more anticipated than that one.

Yet Mr. Glueck's contributions to the community extend far beyond bologna. He was a

member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, advanced in the Knights of Columbus Council, active in the Elk's Lodge, and on the board of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center. Mr. Glueck was a mainstay in the community, and he will be remembered well for his good humor, kind nature, and boundless energy.

I want to commend his life to the U.S. House of Representatives as a model of community service. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Glueck's wife, Dorothy, and the many family and friends who today mourn a great loss.

Madam Speaker, today, along with my good friend Congressman Jim McGovern, I introduced a resolution of support for the goals and ideals of Global Child Nutrition Month. The fact that hunger and malnutrition is experienced by any person is a sad reflection on our society. However, it is even more troubling to know that roughly 300,000,000 children are experiencing hunger around the world. There is no greater investment in our security and global economic development then ensuring hungry children have access to nutritious food. A hungry child, suffering from malnutrition, will not reach their full physical or mental potential. A hungry child rarely attends school, leaving another, larger generation of hungry and uneducated men to be recruited into radical militant groups and uneducated women to be oppressed.

We have the tools today to fight hunger and malnutrition in the world's youngest and most vulnerable. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program has proven to be a very effective tool for providing hungry children nutritious food. The program has the added benefit of encouraging parents to send their children to school, and not to rely on them for income or food. I also believe the political will to make the fight successful is increasing. Although we have a long way to go, President Obama's Administration is making visible efforts to add resources to fighting global hunger. Two examples include the increased budget for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program and the leadership being displayed by the Administration's Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative. Internationally the attention to global food security has rarely been more focused; and hopefully, the resources will soon follow the pledges.

This April, many of our non-governmental organization partners will recognize Global Child Nutrition Month and the hunger facing children around the globe. I would like to particularly thank the Global Child Nutrition Foundation and School Nutrition Association for their work in increasing awareness of the problem global hunger presents and for raising funds to help feed hungry children. These two organizations partner with school nutrition professionals around the country and encourage them to take a day, week or even longer to work with students and teachers educating them and raising donations. It is grassroots education and fundraising at its best.

Ensuring every child around the world has access to sufficient nutrition is a challenge that will not be easily met, but it will be met. With dedicated partners both in and out of government, we will achieve this goal quicker, which is why I am happy to introduce this resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Global Child Nutrition Month.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Hickory Log restaurant in Dexter, Missouri, for its induction to the Missouri Restaurant Hall of Fame. For decades, travelers along Highway 60 in the southern part of our state have been tempted by the thought of delicious barbeque at the Hickory Log. And I can attest from personal experience that no one ever leaves the Hickory Log dissatisfied with the food or the service at a staple of the region's barbeque scene.

The Hickory Log has been owned and operated by the Banken family since they purchased the restaurant in 1967. In that time, they have built a reputation for barbeque that brings enthusiasts from miles around. The restaurant has grown over the years, but the uncompromising quality of the fare is unchanged, and so is the commitment of John and Laveda Banken to be active participants in the life of their community.

Election to the Missouri Restaurant Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor for this barbeque restaurant from Dexter Missouri. Only establishments in business for longer than 25 years are eligible for the honor. Later this month, the award ceremony in St. Louis will bring together some 400 restaurant-industry colleagues of the Banken family.

Owning a restaurant is truly one of the most demanding vocations in the world of small business. It requires around-the-clock time and attention, a continuously positive attitude, and focus on serving the customer with good food. The Hickory Log excels in all of these areas, and the restaurant also serves as a reminder to this House to seriously consider the ramifications of the policies we consider here on the owners, proprietors and workers at restaurants and family-owned small businesses all over the country. We also ought to have in mind the savory taste of the barbeque ribs, like no others, that they proudly serve in Dexter, Missouri.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the good work of a dedicated public servant in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District. Mr. Rob Callahan has made a wonderful commitment to the residents of southern Missouri who have served our country in uniform. Once a year, Mr. Callahan leads a trip for veterans who would like to visit Washington, DC called the Southeast Missouri Honor Tour.

While they are here, the veterans of American military service can see the monuments erected to honor them. They are able to visit the memorials that stand in testament to the Americans who served alongside them, and Mr. Callahan ensures that they are able to visit Capitol Hill. The planning and logistics of these trips are not simple but Mr. Callahan does an exemplary job not only of ensuring the trip is worthwhile, but also of finding sources of support from the community so the veterans (most of whom are on fixed incomes) can afford the considerable expense of the trip.

Mr. Callahan is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and he understands the pride of service felt by every veteran who is able to visit our Nation's capital. It is a wonderful way to say thank you to the Americans in Southern Missouri who have served our country, defended our freedoms, and made sacrifices for our liberties.

I am very proud that Mr. Callahan will receive the Citizen of the Year award in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He has earned this recognition several times over, and I commend Mr. Callahan and his excellent work to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information in regards to H.R. 3326, the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDTE, A

Requesting Entity: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Address of Requesting Entity: 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, Missouri 65409

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,400,000 to research materials that will lead to advances in the storage and generation of power. To maintain a strong national defense, our Nation must develop new devices from innovative polymer-based materials that have lower- power requirements, greater strength, lighter weight, higher sensitivity, and robustness to operate under extreme conditions. The research will provide materials that will lead to important advances in the generation and storage of power. The power generation systems would have advantages for military use over current systems in terms of weight, flexibility, and functionality.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDTE, A

Requesting Entity: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Address of Requesting Entity: 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, Missouri 65409

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,400,000 to complete a project to develop high performance alloy materials and advanced manufacturing of steel castings for new lightweight and robotic weapon systems. This program would enhance defense component capabilities at a reduced cost. The program would also augment war fighter capability by increasing the mobility and reliability of weapons systems.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDTE, A

Requesting Entity: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Address of Requesting Entity: 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, Missouri 65409

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $4,800,000 to develop new, low-cost, sensors and an integrating network methodology for geospatial localization and tracking of explosive related threats and precursor materials using spatially distributed, multimodal sensors. This effort is consistent with the U.S. Army goals of assured mobility and force protection.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDTE, AF

Requesting Entity: Missouri University of Science and Technology

Address of Requesting Entity: 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, Missouri 65409

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,400,000 to develop fiber reinforced ultra-high temperature materials for hypersonic flight vehicles. Ultra-high temperature materials are imperative for the leading and trailing edges, and control surfaces, of future hypersonic vehicles. The proposed project would greatly advance the material selection and design capability for military systems projected to operate in the extreme environments associated with hypersonic flight. Success of this project would enable the United States to uphold its position of world leadership in these critical technology areas.

Madam Speaker, I want to say a couple of things first. Number one, I don't know if the American people realize that since 2007 this Congress has increased spending on nondefense, nonveterans discretionary spending and, including the stimulus in that, by 85 percent, 85 percent. In so doing, we still have 30 percent unemployment in the construction trades in the State of Missouri, and there is no excuse for that. This bill does very little to help that, very, very little.

As a matter of fact, some of the stimulus money that went to create new jobs in my congressional district--actually, our job training people were told that anybody who is in job training counted as a new job. Now that's disingenuous at best, and it's not fair to a person who is being counted as having a job and one is not there waiting for them when they graduate.

I really want to talk today about my concerns about the use of TARP funds to offset additional government spending. You know, when we debated this legislation, we were told the funds were going to be repaid and that in the long term the Federal Government could make money on the TARP program.

However, today we are debating whether to use TARP funds, which the administration really had no plans to spend, as an offset for yet more government spending. This is a gimmick extraordinaire.

We just debated a bill to increase the debt limit to $12.4 trillion. Using this budget gimmick as an offset for $75 billion in new spending is not going to reduce the debt one bit. Every economist in America says if we don't reduce the debt in this country, then our economy will go away.

It is going to ensure, this bill does, that our government debt is going to continue to grow, increasing our dependence on China, on other foreign investors and increasing the financial burden on our children and grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information in regards to H.R. 3288.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Surface Transportation Priorities

Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Transportation

Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West Capitol, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $650,000 for an environmental study, engineering design work, and construction work on Route 25 in Jackson, Missouri. The funds will be used to alleviate traffic and dangerous conditions on Route 25 between Jackson Trail and the city limits of Jackson, Missouri. The State of Missouri will provide 20% match. All federal funds received will be spent on Route 25 in Jackson, Missouri and will not be transferred to another project.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Surface Transportation Priorities

Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Transportation

Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West Capitol, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for the expansion of four-lane highway south of Poplar Bluff, Missouri to south of Route 160. The funds would also be used to rehabilitate dangerous intersections on Route 67 at U.S. 160, as well as Missouri Highway 158. The State of Missouri will provide 20% match. All federal funds received will be spent on this project and will not be transferred to another project.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Surface Transportation Priorities

Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Transportation

Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West Capitol, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 to rehabilitate the Chester Bridge which transverses the Mississippi River from Perry County, Missouri to Randolph County, Illinois. The bridge is vital to the region's transportation needs. The State of Missouri will provide 20% to match the federal contribution. All federal funds received will be spent on rehabilitation of the Chester Bridge and will not be transferred to another project.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Economic Development Initiatives

Requesting Entity: Washington County, Missouri

Address of Requesting Entity: 102 N. Missouri Street, Potosi, MO 63664

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $300,000 for renovations to make the Washington County, Missouri building accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Washington County building is outdated; many sections are inaccessible to individuals in wheelchairs. The federal funds would provide the means for Washington County to bring the building in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Surface Transportation Priorities

Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Transportation

Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West Capitol, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for right of way improvements and engineering design to the narrow portion of Route 63 in Phelps and Maries Counties. This project with improve the overall safety of the roadway. The State of Missouri will provide 20% to match the federal contribution. All federal funds received will be spent on right of way improvements and engineering design. None of these funds will be transferred to another project.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Transportation & Community & System Preservation

Requesting Entity: Missouri Department of Transportation

Address of Requesting Entity: 105 West Capitol, P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 to improve shoulders, as well as widen and straighten curves along Route 34 in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger Counties. This segment of Route 34 is heavily traveled by commuters and there are serious safety concerns with the roadway. The State of Missouri will provide 20% to match the federal contribution. All federal funds received will be spent on improving Route 34. None of these funds will be transferred to another project.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: OJP-Byrne

Requesting Entity: Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence

Address of Requesting Entity: #69 Doctors' Park, Suite C, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $200,000 to the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence (SEMO NASV) to equip and staff an office in the Bootheel of Missouri to assist victims of domestic and sexual violence, as well as support local law enforcement investigations. SEMO NASV provides services to over 700 adult and child victims of sexual and physical abuse. The organization serves a 10- county region in Southeastern Missouri. It plays a vital role in the process of convicting sex offenders and provides counseling and other services to victims. The funds will be spent as follows: $126,000 for personnel, $59,000 for equipment, $12,000 for office space, and $3,000 for training and travel.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: COPS-Meth

Requesting Entity: Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force

Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 1763, Sikeston, Missouri 63801

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $200,000 to supplement and support operations of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task

Force (SEMO DTF). SEMO DTF is a multi- jurisdictional drug task force unit that serves a 10-county area of Southeast Missouri. The unit conducts both covert and overt investigations into the possession, manufacture, and distribution of controlled substances. The funds will be spent as follows: $32,000 for personnel, $89,000 for overtime compensation, $66,000 for equipment, $4,500 for telecommunication services, $6,000 for supplies, and $2,500 for personnel expenses.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: COPS-Meth

Requesting Entity: Mineral Area Drug Task Force/City of Leadington, Missouri

Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 349, Farmington, MO 63640

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $200,000 to assist with funding Mineral Area Drug Task Force's enforcement efforts in locating, dismantling, and reducing the number of methamphetamine laboratories within the area of their operation. Approximately $124,000 is for the purchase of equipment to assist officers in their investigations, $36,000 is for overtime for officers assigned to methamphetamine investigations, $16,000 is for office and field supplies to assist officers in the preparation of reports and to provide supplies to facilitate the processing of clandestine labs, and $24,000 is for travel and training to equip officers with the knowledge to efficiently perform- their duties.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: COPS-Meth

Requesting Entity: Howell County, Missouri

Address of Requesting Entity: 1106 Missouri Avenue, West Plains, Missouri 65775

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $250,000 for the South Central Drug Task Force to enhance drug enforcement in project area. South Central Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement task force, and an existing HIDTA initiative within Midwest HIDTA, comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers including nine Sheriff's Departments, Municipal Police Departments, Missouri State Highway Patrol, United States Forest Service, and United States Park Service. Approximately $50,000 in overtime funding for existing narcotics officers; $122,500 for technical surveillance and reporting equipment; $65,000 for civilian personnel/Intel analyst; and $12,500 for consumable supplies.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: COPS-Law Enforcement Technology

Requesting Entity: St. Francois County, Missouri

Address of Requesting Entity: 102 Industrial Drive, Park Hills, MO 63601

Description of Request: Provide an earmark for the Southeast Missouri Law Enforcement District for $697,000 project for the following counties of the 8th Congressional District to acquire and greatly benefit from availability of a Law Enforcement Visual Tool: Iron, Washington, and Bollinger. Federal, state, and local agencies will have a common tool to jointly manage emergencies. The project enhances public safety, officer safety, by placing sophisticated geospatial intelligence information in the hands of emergency responders. The funding would be used as follows: $12,000 for project administration, $675,000 for image libraries, and $10,000 for equipment.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: HRSA

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Ozarks Medical Center

Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 1100, West Plains, MO 65775

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for equipment in a new and expanded Emergency Department.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: HRSA

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Southeast Missouri State University

Address of Requesting Entity: One University Plaza, MS 1900, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $205,000 for the Southeast Health on Wheels (SHOW) Mobile Program. The SHOW Mobile initiative is a health literacy, health promotional and disease prevention and primary health and dental care program designed to serve Southeast Missouri. The program is administered by the College of Health and Human Services of Southeast Missouri State University.

Requesting Member: Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Higher Education FIPSE

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Southeast Missouri State University

Address of Requesting Entity: One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau,

Mr. Speaker, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac send chills down the spine of Federal regulators, but the financial regulation bill before the House this week ignores those and other government-sponsored enterprises, the institutions at the heart of the worst financial crisis in modern American history.

The crisis was explosive, more than a decade in the making. During the slow lead-up to the crash, Fannie and Freddie guaranteed that a national subprime lending problem would seep into every other financial sector of our economy. The GSEs ignored their public responsibility to assure a stable U.S. market for lending. So if that's the case, then why is this bill silent on their misdeeds and the perverse incentives that drove our country to the brink of financial disaster?

As the government gets bigger, this bill requires government to regulate everything but itself. As of October 31, Fannie Mae held $771 billion in its gross mortgage portfolio, and another $2.8 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and other guarantees. Their omission from this bill is glaring. It's irresponsible to exempt GSEs from this legislation.

America, you must take notice.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the Financial Services and General Government division of the omnibus.

I first want to commend Chairman Serrano for his efforts in crafting the bill. It has been a pleasure to work with him, and while we don't always agree, he has at least been open to listening to the minority's ideas.

While I appreciate Chairman Serrano's efforts, I have got a lot of concern with the Financial Services division insofar as it is a 7 percent increase over fiscal year 2009, or $24.2 billion. This is very, very generous, and I believe that the resource requirements of the agencies funded in this bill can be met with a smaller allocation, particularly given the government's financial situation.

However, with the allocation provided to Mr. Serrano, he has done a good job of allocating funding in the bill, and I am grateful for efforts to provide increases to critical programs such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury Terrorism and Financial Intelligence programs, Drug Free Communities, and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.

I am also pleased that the bill provides $75 million for D.C. education programs, including $42 million to D.C. public schools. I am happy, to some extent, that the bill doesn't totally eliminate the Opportunity Scholarships program, but I must say I am very disappointed that the program is limited to students currently enrolled in the program.

My own daughter teaches in the D.C. public schools, so I know firsthand how these schools are failing the city's children. I ask how we can possibly limit educational opportunities for low-income students when we know the public school system is underperforming?

Another area of the bill that deeply concerns me are the controversial changes to long-standing general provisions regarding abortion and medical marijuana in the District of Columbia. We heard Mr. Tiahrt address that a little while ago.

Let me then lastly discuss an issue that is not directly related to this bill but that is related to the Department of the Treasury, which is part of our bill, and it is the administration of TARP.

The TARP has greatly expanded the Federal Government's reach into the private sector, not by purchasing troubled assets, as was its original purpose, but by purchasing common shares of banks, by owning large auto companies, and by subsidizing home mortgages.

Today, many Democrats, including the President and the Secretary of the Treasury, are discussing using TARP funds to pay for yet another stimulus bill when the first stimulus bill has already been a failure. Unemployment is at 10 percent. Only 12 percent of the discretionary funding in the stimulus bill has been spent. Yet our friends on the other side of the aisle plan to shove through more government spending under the guise of job creation, which is going to do more harm than good, and we are going to offset it with surplus TARP funding.

Well, the TARP funding was never supposed to be used again and again and again. Our national debt is $12 trillion, and the fiscal year 2010 deficit is projected to be over $1 trillion. Members are going to be asked to increase the debt limit. We cannot sustain this level of spending. TARP savings must be used for debt reduction.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to tell you about Ryan Dillon, a remarkable young man from Missouri's Eighth Congressional District, which I represent.

As a teenager, Ryan was highly active in school and clubs when, one day while brushing his teeth, his world went black. Ryan had had a seizure. Ryan went on to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he majored in political science. At Westminster, Ryan remained politically active, became vice president of the Student Government Association, and was elected Homecoming King during the fall of his senior year. All the while, he hid his epilepsy from his peers.

Epilepsy is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system. It affects people of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds. More than 3 million Americans of all ages are living with epilepsy, and every year, 200,000 Americans will develop seizures and epilepsy for the first time. Epilepsy can develop at any time of life, especially in early childhood and old age. It's a neurological condition that makes people susceptible to seizures.

Ryan is now 25 and serves as a congressional aide. He hopes to use his experiences and influence to raise awareness. As November is designated National Epilepsy Awareness Month, I am honored to help Ryan promote his message for increased research, awareness, and education to openly work toward a cure.

Mr. Speaker, this could have been a great day in the House of Representatives, but we have missed an opportunity for consensus, to improve access and save money for

taxpayers and patients alike. Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world and this bill binds us to that fate.

For every Member of Congress, there are two and a half pharmaceutical lobbyists. In the first half of 2009, drug companies spent $609,000 every day on lobbying. We have missed an opportunity to tell the drug companies that they no longer set the agenda in Congress.

We have missed an opportunity to put the interests of Americans ahead of special interests. We have missed an opportunity to end the pill- splitting, skipped doses and unfilled prescriptions that plague Americans who can't afford the medicine their doctor prescribes.

This bill shifts those costs from patients to taxpayers, from this generation to the next. It trades affordable generics for pricey name- brand name drugs. It intentionally makes quality care more expensive for our Nation, and it is wrong to leave hundreds of billions in savings on the table.

Mr. Speaker, before we debate the 1,990-page health care bill that my colleagues and I are all trying to read this week, let me share with you how this bill defines a checkup, known in this legislation as a ``primary care service.'' I will quote from page 1,056.

``The term `primary care services' means evaluation and management services, without regard to the specialty of the physician furnishing the services, that are procedure codes (for services covered under title XVIII) for services in the category designated Evaluation and Management in the Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (established by the Secretary under section 1848(c)(5) as of December 31, 2009, and as subsequently modified by the Secretary).''

Now, that is a checkup. And all that section of the bill really says is we are going to define it in the future.

If I have time, Mr. Speaker, I try to read every bill, and as this legislation goes, it is pretty darn complicated. But what we need to accomplish is very simple: We need to lower the costs of health care in order to improve access to the system. It doesn't take 1,990 pages. We could do it in 19 pages. And we ought to do it in terms that the American public can understand.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information in regards to H.R. 2996, the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

Project Name: City of East Prairie, Missouri Stormwater and Sewer Infrastructure

Bill Number: H.R. 2996

Account: STAG Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Project

Requesting Entity: City of East Prairie, Missouri

Address of Requesting Entity: 219 N. Washington St., East Prairie, Missouri 63845-1141

Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $200,000 to rebuild East Prairie, Missouri's wastewater and storm water infrastructure. The existing 84-year-old water infrastructure is crumbling under the streets due to sinkholes which have plagued the community. The sinkholes are destroying box culverts, which is posing a threat to streets and houses in East Prairie. The money procured will pay for the construction of new stormwater sewers. A minimum of 45 percent of the total project cost will come directly from the City of East Prairie, Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, health care reform has gripped the Congress for the better part of a year now, and we're finally getting to the core of this debate: cost. Without an affordable system of health care, we'll forever have problems with access. But too many good bipartisan proposals to lower costs have been ignored--eliminating international barriers to market access for U.S. consumers, speeding new generics to market, promoting comparative effectiveness research, and better decision-making tools for doctors and their patients.

You may ask, Why? It's real simple. The administration made an $80 billion deal with the big drug companies that prevents us from offering our proposals to save consumers money on their medicine. Our constituents who often have trouble paying for their medicines today will continue subsidizing the people from other countries who pay half of what we do for the same drugs. So this $80 billion deal actually makes more money for big drug companies because it will encourage more people to take brand-name pills instead of generics, increasing the market share and profits of the drug companies. No wonder they were so quick to accept this deal, and what a scam the administration has fallen prey to.