Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I have my 7-year-old son, Jack, with me this week.

As we walked on the floor, he asked me, ``Daddy, why is that trophy on that desk?''

And I said, ``Well, son, they won the game last night.''

So I rise in reluctant recognition of the fact that last night, at Nationals Park, the Democrats squeaked out a 22-0 victory over the stalwart Republican team.

Our MVP is Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona, who was a Member of this body until last year. We had a number of other Members who played very well--John Shimkus, Bill Johnson, Mike Conaway, Rodney Davis, Ron DeSantis, and the list goes on and on. The fact remains that the Democrats won, and they are entitled to the trophy.

Our hats are off to you.

With that, I yield to my good friend, the manager from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Mike Doyle.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment No. 22 Offered by Mr. Holt

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of entering into a colloquy with the esteemed chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriation Subcommittee to

discuss a matter of importance to our Nation.

The United States Army is electing to reduce the number of Lakota light utility helicopters, which are made in my congressional district, that they had intended to purchase over the next 2 fiscal years. These helicopters are cheaper to acquire, maintain and operate than other rotary wing aircraft which the Army has recently contracted for.

I respect the Army's wishes to control costs and not purchase additional aircraft that they do not need. But I am hopeful that you, Mr. Chairman, and the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Texan Michael McCaul, will work with me to have a study conducted to see if there is not some way to enhance our homeland security through a cost-effective manner by utilizing Lakota helicopters in operations that could protect the American people and secure our borders.

I yield to the chairman.

I want to thank the chairman for his willingness to work with me.

Before I yield back, I just want to let the country know that when Texas is working, we get our job done a lot quicker than when Louisiana is arguing.

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

Amendment Offered by Mrs. Bustos

Let me say before I rise in support of this particular piece of legislation that if we want to have a debate on global warming, let the record show that the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are at the lowest level since 1995. That's without cap- and-trade. That's without command and control. It's based on the ingenuity of the American people and the market at work here in the United States.

The Keystone pipeline would simply make it possible to take oil from Canada and transport it down to the gulf coast of the United States to be refined into products that would either be sold in the United States or, in some cases, perhaps exported overseas. It would create tens of thousands of jobs in the construction phase and maintain, and probably increase, the number of jobs in our refinery and petrochemical complex on the gulf coast of the United States.

It's a good piece of legislation. Only in America would this be controversial. It's a win for the Canadians, it's a win for the consumers in America, and it's a win for the workers in America that would be able to do the construction and also work in the refineries in those particular industries.

So I would rise in strong support, and I hope that we support Mr. Terry's bill and send it to the other body.

I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee.

You've seen the TV commercial about oil filters where somebody brings their car in, and they haven't had their oil changed, and the guy says, Well, they could have paid me before by changing the oil filter or they can pay me later when they bring the car in.

That's why we're here today. We're going to repeal this Act. We can repeal it today or we can repeal it later, but it's going to be repealed.

My friends on the minority side talk about all the good things of it and act like there is no government intervention. There is just a government mandate that you have to have insurance. There is a government mandate that employers have to provide it. There is a government mandate on what has to be included in that coverage. There is a government price control on the price of the premiums. Of course, there is a mandate that everybody in the country has to have insurance, and the IRS can enforce that as a penalty if, in fact, you choose not to participate in that mandated program. Other than that, there is no government involvement in this law.

So, my good friends, I would say: vote with us to repeal it now so we don't have to come back later next year or the year after when health care is in a shambles, and we will repeal it then.

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

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

(Mr. BARTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chair, when this same bill or bill similar to it was on the House floor last year, I had to reluctantly rise in opposition to it because it was my opinion that the privacy protections in the bill were not sufficient to protect the privacy of the American people. I think that surprised a lot of people that I was not for the bill.

After the bill failed to move in the Senate, I went to Chairman Rogers and I told him that I supported the underlying intent of the bill and I was hopeful that, if the bill came back up in this session, he and myself and our staffs could work together to improve the privacy protections. He promised then that he would do it, and Chairman Rogers and his staff have been men and women of their word. The result is a bill that was reported out of the Intelligence Committee on a bipartisan basis with much stronger privacy protections.

When I went to the Rules Committee, Chairman Rogers supported that this amendment I'm about to offer should be made in order, and it has been. And if this amendment is accepted--and I'm told that the chairman and the ranking member are going to support it, as I'm not aware of any organized opposition to it--it is going to be my intent to vote for the bill.

We obviously have a cyber threat that faces the American people, and Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger have talked about that in some detail earlier in this debate. We want to combat that threat. But in doing it, we do not want to eliminate or weaken the privacy protections of the American people that we represent in this body.

So what my amendment does is make sure that any information that is collected is going to be used simply for the purpose of protecting against cyber threats. It's a very short amendment. It adds a new section to the bill, section 4. Here I will read the amendment since it's in clear English and very short.

Nothing in this act or the amendments made by this act

shall be construed to provide new or alter any existing

authority for an entity to sell personal information of a

consumer to another entity for marketing purposes.

What this does, Mr. Chair, is simply nail down the fact that when we find information that might be necessary to protect against a cyber threat, that's all it's going to be used for. It can't be used for any other purpose.

As I said earlier, Chairman Rogers has worked very closely with myself, and his staff has worked with my staff. Congressman Markey of Massachusetts, who is the cochairman of the Privacy Caucus, strongly supports this amendment.

Again, I think it was unanimously accepted at the Rules Committee. I'm aware of no opposition, so I hope that we can adopt the amendment.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee and also a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, a former FBI agent, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers).

In reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, before I yield back, I want to thank my staff member Emmanual Guillory. He has worked tirelessly on this issue and on this amendment. I also want to thank Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts and his staff for working with me and Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger.

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

I thank the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. Chairman, there are a lot of reasons that I rise in strong support of the Republican Study Committee budget. It repeals ObamaCare. It repeals the death tax. It repeals the alternative minimum tax. It authorizes the Keystone pipeline. It authorizes drilling in ANWR up in Alaska. But the real reason and the primary reason is that it balances, and it balances sooner rather than later.

The first 4 years of the Obama Presidency, our deficits approached $7 trillion. The President has yet to submit a budget that ever balances. None of the Democratic alternative budgets ever balance. The Republican Study Committee balances in 4 years. It reduces the deficit immediately, larger, and it balances.

If I were to come before this body and ask for an amendment to be made in order to spend an additional trillion dollars a year to infinity, I don't think too many people would vote for that no matter what was in it. That's basically what you do if you vote to pass a budget that never balances.

The Republican Study Committee balances sooner rather than later. It balances in 4 years.

I thank the gentleman from Lubbock for yielding, and I'm proud to be a part of this Special Order.

I want to say at the very beginning that, unlike Congressman Neugebauer, I did not know Chris Kyle or Chad Littlefield, the other individual who was killed. They both lived in my congressional district in Midlothian, Texas, and the tragedy of both of their early deaths is equal. Although I didn't know either one, I have studied up on them, and I went to the memorial service at Cowboy Stadium and was very moved by the eulogies and the people's remembrances that did know them.

I would like to say with regards to Mr. Littlefield, he, too, was a lifelong Texan, born in Dallas, and went to high school in DeSoto. He would have turned 36 Monday, and his funeral was at the Midlothian First Baptist Church last Friday. He is survived by his wife, Leanne, who is a middle school principal in Midlothian, and, I believe, a daughter. So our hearts go out to that family, too.

With regards to Chris, you could not have attended the service on Monday at the Cowboy Stadium and not have come away very impressed. The press reports are that there were 5,000 to 7,000 in attendance. I have done a number of events at Cowboy Stadium. I asked the head of security for the Cowboys who I know what they estimated the crowd. They said about 11,000.

As Mr. Neugebauer has already pointed out, Chris was an individual who was driven by a love for his country and a love for his fellow man. I thought it was very telling at the service that the mother of one of his Navy SEALs who had been killed in combat, Chris adopted her as a second mother and asked that some of the proceeds of his book ``American Sniper'' go to her family. That, to me, is just amazing.

The president of Craft International also spoke at the service, and he spoke about how much Chris really cared about other people.

I think it is very telling that Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were both killed trying to help another troubled veteran. They were taking the suspected murderer to a gun range over in I think near Glen Rose, Texas, and trying to help him work through some problems. The person they were trying to help turned on them. So he died trying to help another person who was in need, and that's something his family can be very proud of.

I think another thing that we need to say about Chris is when people met him, they liked him and wanted to help him. The number of people who have helped in these service arrangements runs the gamut: The Governor of Texas, Governor Perry, who helped arrange the cemetery plot at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin; Jerry Jones and his family, the owner of the Cowboys, I think donated the use of Cowboys Stadium and were personally in attendance at the funeral; all the law enforcement agencies in the DFW area helped arrange the cavalcade from Midlothian down to Austin. And I am told that at almost every overpass on Interstate 35 and U.S. 287 that there were people showing flags and in attendance. There was an outpouring of love and affection that in my knowledge in the Congress is just unheard of for somebody who was not a public figure. And Chris was not. He was a public patriot, but he was not an ostentatious, grandstand kind of person.

He loved his family. He loved his two children. He loved his wife. He loved his mother and father. And he loved those whom he served with in the military. As Mr. Neugebauer has pointed out, he served a number of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In one of the stories that is in his book, he was under orders not to fire unless fired upon. In order to get the enemy so that he could shoot them, he put up an American flag, stood up and basically dared them to take a shot at him. And I think this is correct from the book, that when they started shooting at him he got everybody to take a shot at him, and he silenced them.

So, Congressman Neugebauer, you are to be commended for organizing this Special Order. I'm proud that Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were constituents of mine. I'm very proud their families still live in my district. Myself and my staff will do everything we can to help them. We will cherish the memory of Chris and Chad for many, many years.

With that, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy and I yield back.

Will the gentleman yield?

You keep saying ``another great Texan.'' That's redundant. If you say ``Texan,'' it's assumed that they're great.

Well, thank you, Congressman Neugebauer. I think we have spent a good bit of our time extolling the virtues and honors of Chris Kyle and the other gentleman who was murdered, Mr. Littlefield.

I want to take a minute to brag on you a little bit. Most people don't have a very high opinion of the U.S. Congress. Luckily, they think higher of their own Congressman.

I think we should acknowledge how hard you've worked to help the family in this time of need, since you knew the family personally. You intervened with the Pentagon if the family wanted to try to bury Kyle at Arlington Cemetery. I know you've personally interacted with the Governor and his staff down in Austin, my staff, obviously, since they're my constituents.

You've gone above and beyond the normal requirements of a Congressman to reach out and help because you feel that commitment personally and professionally, and I want to commend you.

I also want to ask a question that I think you know the answer to. I have heard and read that an education fund has been established for Kyle's children. Is that true?

So that being the case, it's certainly appropriate to honor the past. But part of his legacy are his children, and I would encourage anyone who wishes to get the address or the email and make a contribution so that the Nation shows its respect for his service by making sure that his children have the education that this country is capable of providing.

I would also encourage anybody who lives near their families to reach out and touch them personally. I plan to go by and see both the widows of the two gentlemen who were killed and see if I can be of personal assistance.

And then the last thing, obviously, we're here to honor somebody who was exceptional, in Chris Kyle. But as we speak, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Chris Kyles on duty right now, protecting us in Afghanistan and ready to serve and ready to rescue. All of our servicemen and -women, we should thank them when we see them.

We should show their families here at home we support their service, and we should dedicate ourselves today to making sure that our Armed Forces have the best equipment, the best training, and, if necessary, the best rescue operations, and their families get the very best while they're serving

their country, because we're here in freedom because of the Chris Kyles and all that they've done and continue to do.

And, again, I just want to thank you, Congressman, for your effort in this and organizing this and all you have done to try to help the family. You are truly a gentleman and honorable in every sense of the word.

I thank the gentlelady from West Virginia for her courtesy. She didn't have to yield me time since I'm in opposition to the bill, and I appreciate it.

I am in opposition to this bill, although it is very well-meaning and well-intentioned. Who could be opposed to saving some money for our struggling financial institutions when they have to send out these privacy notices? And for the smaller institutions, there's no question that they're very expensive.

The problem is that you can't just give away your privacy rights. And while this bill does nothing about the underlying issue of privacy, it does, at least, require that once a year, banks and financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley inform people that there are some privacy protections in the law. I don't think they're very strong. I think they need to be upgraded. And Congressman Markey and I, who are cochairmen of the bipartisan Privacy Caucus, have legislation that does that.

Having said that, we should not willingly give up the privacy protections that we have. And this bill would eliminate a requirement of notification, which is, I admit, not the same as reducing the privacy that is in the law. But when you start down that slippery slope where you know that you don't have to notify of privacy protection, the next step is to not even have privacy at all. So I do oppose this bill--respectfully so--and would ask for a ``no'' vote when we call for the yeas and nays.

Again, I want to thank the gentlelady for her courtesy, and I commend the sponsor for his efforts on the bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of freshman sensation Johnny ``Football'' Manziel's quest to become the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. He is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Texas A&M who has led the Texas Aggies to a 10-2 record this year, losing only to Florida, which is currently ranked No. 3 in the Nation, and to LSU, which I believe is currently ranked No. 7 in the Nation.

He has broken the record for total offense, not once but twice this year, in the Southeastern Conference. His total offense for the year exceeds that of both Cam Newton's, of Auburn, and Tim Tebow's, of Florida, when they were playing, and they both won the Heisman Trophy in their years.

Texas A&M is going to play Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on January 7. It would be a supreme blessing if the Heisman Trophy voters for the first time were to vote for Johnny ``Football'' Manziel, quarterback of the fighting Texas Aggies.

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 4 o'clock and 41 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4, 2012, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

There are many Ralph Hall stories, most of which we can't really tell on the House floor--that's how funny they are--but I want to tell one real, true Ralph Hall story which is the epitome of a Texan.

Several years ago, Ralph told me that he had some property up over in his district and he didn't have time to go visit it. He had been involved in a bank, and apparently the bank had taken control of the property, and somehow Ralph had gotten control of the bank's assets legally, so it was his property, but he never had time to go visit it. He had a caretaker who was taking care of his property. He began to get letters from the Railroad Commission down in Austin. The Railroad Commission is in charge of oil and gas leases and royalties for the State of Texas, and they kept sending these letters asking where to send his royalty checks. And he finally called down and said: I don't have any oil and gas wells, what are you talking about?

Well, he said, on such and such a plat in such and such a county, you're the listed owner of this producing oil well. So Ralph took time one weekend to drive up by himself, and sure enough there was a producing oil well on some property that he did not know about. Obviously, he made a change in who was his caretaker at that property, but that is one true Ralph Hall story that shows the epitome of being the Texan that he is.

I first got to know Ralph back in 1985 when I was a freshman on the Science and Space Committee and Ralph was subcommittee chairman of the Space Subcommittee. Since that time, he and I have become good friends. He is the epitome of a true Texas gentleman. He is the most well-liked person in the congressional delegation, not just from Texas but from the entire Congress, and I am very honored to be one of the very few who gets to speak on what a great man he is. We're so glad that he's still in the Congress.

So, Ralph Hall, we love you. We hope you serve for another 10-20 years and continue to be an inspiration to the Fourth District of Texas.

Mr. Speaker, on October 6, there will be an event taking place in Santa Monica, CA that I would like to highlight. This event will be the First Annual America's Family Day. The purpose of this event will be to celebrate families and to stress the importance of protecting and investing in our children.

On March 7, 2012, the Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, in which I serve as the co-Chairman, held a briefing to directly highlight H.R. 1895, the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011. On our panel, we were joined by Nick Cannon, Spokesperson for Safe Communications, who shared the same passion of ensuring that our children are protected across all platforms. He graciously publicly endorsed H.R. 1895 and has decided to champion the cause by holding the very first America's Family Day.

I believe that Republicans and Democrats alike can agree that family is a sacred institution that deserves our time, energy, and devotion. I am blessed to have a loving wife, four wonderful children, two stepchildren, and five grandchildren. I want nothing more than to do my part to make sure they are secure, safe, and well protected. In this sentiment, I am

happy to offer my support for the First Annual America's Family Day.

Mr. Speaker, today Dr. Burgess and I rise to recognize the Independent Association of Businesses (IAB), a leading national trade association, in celebrating 30 years of supporting small business owners and self-employed individuals. IAB was founded in 1982 and after years of growth, now serves more than one million members.

IAB was founded in Washington, DC and maintains its administrative headquarters in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. IAB is a non-profit, 501(c)6 designated business organization, and has been recognized by numerous State and Federal officials for its success in aiding and advancing small businesses. The organization has had success in providing businesses and individuals with beneficial tools such as research, advocacy, and access to numerous services. Additionally, members have the opportunity to become associates with JAB in order to further promote the organization's efforts.

After 30 years, IAB continues to put the interests of both business owners and consumers first. It is our pleasure to recognize the Independent Association of Businesses for 30 years of service and this significant milestone in its history. We are privileged to represent JAB, America's Premier Membership Association in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Rice University on reaching its centennial. Since its founding a hundred years ago, Rice University has become a distinguished institution, high in the ranks of academic achievement amongst our country's best colleges and universities. Rice's research programs are highly regarded and it is the proud alma mater of many intellectuals who have been recognized for their accomplishments, including numerous Marshall Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, and Fulbright Scholars.

In addition to their extraordinary academic programs, Rice has made a name for itself in the area of collegiate sports. The Rice University Owls became the kings of baseball when they won the 2003 College World Series, and they have continued to stand in the ranks with the country's best college baseball teams. Rice has also succeeded in the area of women's athletics. Its volleyball, soccer, basketball, and tennis teams have competed in many NCAA tournaments, earning Rice a varied set of achievements.

As Rice University reaches its centennial in October, I want to give credit to its students and professors for their hard work and commitment to higher education. Their consistent dedication to academic advancement makes Rice the prestigious institution it is today.

I commend Rice University for reaching this impressive milestone, and I wish them the best of luck for the next 100 years. I look forward to seeing the big things the faculty, alumni, and current students at Rice will undoubtedly continue to accomplish.

I hope all Members will join me in congratulating Rice University for 100 years of academic excellence.

I thank the distinguished chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill before us this afternoon and in opposition to what is colloquially called ObamaCare.

All of the comments of the proponents of the bill that have been made in the past in support have generally turned out to either not be true at all or to be only partially true. They said that they were having the individual mandate under the Commerce Clause. The Supreme Court said that's unconstitutional, you couldn't do it. So even though you said that's what you were doing, you're really not.

The proponents said the penalties in the bill were not taxes. Well, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 majority several weeks ago said, well, really, you're not regulating the mandate and the penalties under the Commerce Clause because that would be unconstitutional. You're actually doing it under the taxation clause.

We're kind of in an Alice in Wonderland situation here. What is true is that if this law is enforced, millions of Americans are going to pay much more for health care, and we're not going to get better quality care. People like myself oppose the bill, not because we don't want every American to have health care, but because we want Americans to have choices and to make individual choices about their health care.

This law, if enforced, mandates things. It mandates the coverage. It mandates what you have to have. It mandates what can be paid for it. This Independent Payment Advisory Board over time will probably mandate how doctors practice medicine.

I personally think that's wrong. That's why I believe, since the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4, that we ought to have another repeal vote, even though admittedly we had one over a year ago. We should repeal it, we should put everybody on record right now where they stand, send the bill to the other body and see if we can't get the majority leader over there to also have a vote. Then as people go into the election, we know where the Congress stands on this issue.