Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan defense measure which makes an emphatic commitment to America's undersea Naval force. In the last 2 years, we have had the following: the National Security Review in 2011, the Quadrennial Defense Review, and the Nuclear Posture Review; and all of them have had the same consistent theme on this issue, which is that the U.S. Navy's preeminence in the undersea domain must not be neglected, and that sea-based deterrence is a critical insurance policy for our Nation from any emerging nuclear force.

With that in mind, this measure invests $5.9 billion in the Virginia class submarine program. It will fund two submarines in 2014 and advance procurement in 2015. It has $1 billion for the Ohio replacement design work, which is the best guarantee that we will have a cost- effective production of that critical vessel. And finally, the Virginia payload module which will increase the missile capacity of the Virginia class submarine and allow the Navy to replace the capability of the SSGM force which is going to be going offline over the next 10 years.

The Seapower Subcommittee, led by my friend, Mr. Forbes, has held a number of hearings which again have reemphasized the critical need for this both in our Navy and our national security. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to honor a dear friend, Rachel Wheeler-Rossow. Rachel passed away on November 29th at the age of 74. Compassionate and selfless, Rachel dedicated her life to helping those less fortunate. She was a pillar of her community in Ellington, Connecticut, and she will not soon be forgotten.

Rachel was born in Long Beach, California on March 20, 1939. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from Salve Regina University and her Master's in Nursing from the Catholic University of America. In 1970, she moved to Ellington, Connecticut and threw herself into public service. Four years later, Rachel and former husband Carl founded the Alpha & Omega Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with disabilities. Rachel and Carl ran the group out of their home, while taking in and raising nearly 50 children--a remarkable act of compassion and generosity.

Rachel's work earned her recognition from former President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1983. In 1990, she was awarded the Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award from Connecticut's Department of Children and Youth Services for her work on child welfare programs for children with HIV. The following year she also was honored with one of only 11 National Caring Awards from the Caring Institute, a Washington, DC based non-profit committed to promoting the values of integrity and public service.

Rachel was deeply involved in the local government of Ellington, serving on the Board of Education, the Board of Finance, the Board of Selectmen, and as the chairwoman of the town Democratic Party. In addition to her nationally recognized efforts, her non-stop work to improve the lives of others never got in the way of her own thoughtfulness and down-to-earth manner. She was a good listener and had a modest quiet-spoken presence that carried a power and dignity that impressed all who came into contact with her. A friend of Rachel's, former Connecticut State Representative Ted Graziani, described her as ``an angel,'' whose example should inspire us all to be better people.

I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring Rachel Wheeler- Rossow, whose altruism touched the lives of so many people in Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Hong Nguyen, the owner of Lotus Vietnamese restaurant in Vernon, Connecticut. Hong recently announced that Lotus will be closing on December 1st after nearly thirty years of business. The Zagat-rated restaurant has received rave reviews from locals and esteemed food critics alike who return for dishes like the Bombay beef, peppered shrimp, spicy soup, and my favorite, the Saigonese pancake.

Hong Nguyen served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the South Vietnamese Air Force and commanding officer of the 819th combat squadron during the Vietnam War. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Nguyen and his family fled to the United States. With the assistance of USAF Lt. Colonel Gib Whitman, the Hongs were sponsored for U.S. citizenship and moved to Guilford, Connecticut as the first Vietnamese refugees in the State.

In 1984, Hong Nguyen and his wife, Canh, opened Lotus at its first location on Route 83. In their first years in business they worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Canh did all the cooking and Hong managed the rest of the chores in the restaurant. The grueling work paid off as a growing clientele prompted the Hongs to move into a larger space on the Hartford Turnpike.

I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring the Hong family for their achievements. Their story is a testament to the American dream, and I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, despite all of the hysterical comments like we just heard on the floor here today, it is important for people to know that, in States in which Governors embrace the Affordable Care Act and set up a high-functioning Web site, the fact of the matter is that enrollment is exceeding expectations.

In Connecticut on Friday, which is where I am from, we released figures. Over 13,000 enrolled in the first 6 weeks, and the pace of enrollment is accelerating. In the last 2 weeks, they have enrolled more than they had enrolled in the prior month. On Saturday, I was at an enrollment fair--there were eight of them all across the State--and there was a full waiting room of people who were waiting their turns-- like at a deli counter to get their numbers--to sit down to get help in terms of signing up with a plan. Twenty minutes is all it took to sign up for a plan.

I spoke to Merrylyn Weaver from New London, Connecticut, who said:

I am finally going to have health insurance after 3 years

of being without it.

It took her 20 minutes to sign up for an Anthem Blue Cross Silver plan.

The fact of the matter is that the message is, if you fix it, they will come. That is what this Congress should be focused on is fixing it so that the people in the waiting room like I saw in Norwich, Connecticut, are going to get help all across the country. It is time to help people get insurance, not to scare them and destroy a plan that provides them hope.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Justin Eldridge, a former Marine from Waterford, Connecticut whom we lost on October 28, 2013.

Born and raised in eastern Connecticut, Justin served in the Marine Corps from 2001 to 2008. During his time in the Marines, he served a tour in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005. After being honorably discharged and medically retired in 2008, Justin went on to take an active part in his community--particularly in serving the needs of fellow veterans and their families. Justin was instrumental in the formation of the Thames River Marine Corps Detachment that formed in 2009. During the nearly four years that Justin served as the organization's Commandant he grew the membership to more than 40 people. The Detachment annually participated in Toys for Tots drive and in 2012 distributed more than 2,000 toys to local children.

Like so many of our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Justin struggled with traumatic brain injury that occurred during his Afghanistan deployment and post-traumatic stress disorder upon returning home. Justin's passing is a reminder that our nation must continue to do all it can to care for the men and women who have served our country and return home with wounds--both visible and invisible.

I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring Justin and his dedicated service to our nation, his community and his fellow veterans, and extending our thoughts and prayers to his family in this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, the government announced yesterday good news for seniors: their Medicare part B premiums for 2014 will go up zero dollars and zero cents. It will stay at $104 per month. This is now the third year in a row that CMS Medicare part B premiums have defied the trustees' predictions and have come in lower than projected. It also defies the relentless campaign of misinformation that seniors have been subjected to that their Medicare part B premiums are going to go up.

Just on Friday, I was at a senior fair where a woman showed me a chain email that read that Medicare part B premiums for 2014 were going up to $247 a month--just a viral infection that has been out there and that I have been confronted with at senior centers over and over again. The facts are that they are going up zero. Medicare Advantage premiums have stabilized. Medicare part B premiums have stabilized. Prescription drug costs have gone down because of closing the doughnut hole.

In every respect, the Affordable Care Act since it passed in 2010 has been a winner for seniors, and it has helped strengthen the solvency of the program. Again, Medicare part B premiums are going up zero for 2014.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to a friend, a leader, and a living legend in Connecticut politics and the labor movement, John W. Olsen. After 25 years at the helm of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, John retired as President on September 25. John leaves a deep and enduring mark on the State of Connecticut after a quarter century of extraordinary leadership and dedication.

A plumber by trade, John joined the Plumbers and Pipefitters union 44 years ago. He served as President of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Steamfitters, Local 133, and a former Secretary-Treasurer of the Connecticut State Building and Construction Trades Council.

In 1988, at the age of 38, John was elected President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, representing 220,000 union members across the state. His 25 years as President of the AFL-CIO represents the longest tenure in the federation's history.

John provided the leading public voice for organized labor for 25 years. He also presided over--and kept united--a diverse union umbrella in Connecticut. During an era where friction grew nationally between industrial and service unions and ruptured decades-old alliances, John's assiduous and fair leadership kept Connecticut's unions unified and strong and maintained labor's collective potency to advocate on behalf of working families in our state.

In the political arena, John has been a force on the national, state, and local level for four decades. He pulled an upset to win a contest to become Chairman of the State Democratic Party from 2000 to 2002. He served as a member of the Democratic State Central Committee from 1982 to 1995, as Co-Chair of the State Central Platform Committee, and on the Democratic National Committee since 1996. Even in the Town of Clinton in my Congressional District, John served one term as Chair and one as Treasurer and on his hometown Democratic Town Committee.

I will always be grateful for John's support and counsel for my three campaigns as a challenger, in unsuccessful efforts for Lieutenant Governor and the U.S. House in 1998 and 2002, respectively, and for my successful effort for the House in 2006. John loved an underdog, and there was never a more fierce or loyal ally to have at your side for a political fight.

John's remarkable legacy at the center of Connecticut's political and policy debate for a quarter of century is a story of keen instincts, dogged determination, and ardent honesty. John's fidelity was never to his ego or personal standing but always to the cause and a positive outcome. His service will be missed, but I have no doubts that he will be as active in his ``retirement'' as he was during his sterling career.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my colleagues in the Connecticut delegation, John's wife Janeen, three children, Amy, Elizabeth and Christopher, and grandson, Hunter, to honor a true Connecticut patriot, John Olsen.

Mr. Speaker, the worst-kept secret in Washington, D.C., is there is a majority in the House of Representatives to reopen the government today, to reach that grand compromise that Father Conroy spoke about a few minutes ago.

Over 30 House Republicans have said that they would join Democrats to pass a clean CR, which the President has said he would sign on the spot. It has already cleared the Senate, and we could end the damage that is being inflicted on this country every passing day.

Day 14 is where we are today. Our National Guard, our veterans, Meals on Wheels--the list goes on and on--the National Institutes of Health, they are being crippled in this shutdown; and the power is here in this Chamber to end it by signing a discharge petition which was filed on Saturday morning.

If the Speaker won't bring the bill to the floor, then the Members should do

it. We are elected to represent the people of our district, not to represent the leaders of our caucus.

End the shutdown. Sign the discharge petition. End the nightmare that this country is going through.

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of goodness, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to House Joint Resolution 59, the clean CR, and go to conference on a budget so that we would end this idiotic government shutdown and not go on recess later today. The American people expect us to act today.

Mr. Speaker, today marks day 7 since the rollout of the health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Listening to the hysterical rhetoric from the majority party in the House, you would think that America's basic freedoms and economy would be in ruins after day 7. And in fact, there have been some problems in terms of some of the accessing through the database that was set up.

Part of the problem was the fact that millions of Americans, far more than anyone expected, even the most ardent supporters of the law, have swamped the system, which, if you think about it, I think speaks volumes about the fact that there is a tremendous need out there for this affordable care--which, again, the law I think made an historic step in terms of advancing it.

I am proud of the fact that coming from the State of Connecticut, which, again, is one of the States that did not stonewall the legislation, Governor Malloy moved forward as quickly as possible and set up a system that was actually ready last week to deal with the onslaught of emails and calls into the call centers. As of Friday, they tallied over 100,000 contacts that came into the system. Again, they enrolled actually over a thousand people even though, again, coverage doesn't even begin until January.

So for a lot of people, again, the need to enroll right away doesn't exist right now because you have to actually write a check if you are going to enroll this early. But nonetheless, still, a thousand people have already signed up. And as I said, 100,000 were able to contact the system and interacted with it with little or no problem.

First of all, I would just like to again congratulate Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, who has been sort of shepherding and quarterbacking this process over the last few months or so, again, to make sure that Connecticut's system was ready.

And I wanted to share, again, a couple of the stories of individuals who contacted the Connecticut Health Exchange over the last week or so to describe their experiences. There was 48-year-old Elly Baros, who said that she was pleased to be one step closer to enrolling in health insurance. The New Britain woman, who spent the entire afternoon at the health center going through her options, has been without coverage for a year and a half due to a layoff.

She said that she has been holding her breath, thanking God every day ``I don't get sick or get into a car accident.'' She was excited to learn that she could get good individual coverage for about $70 to $200 a month or possibly even qualify for expanded Medicaid coverage.

I had a conversation and an email with a woman from Norwich, who is a 50-year-old, self-employed individual, who said to me:

I currently pay $980 a month for coverage for myself. I

have a rare preexisting condition known as trigeminal

neuralgia, which is treated by medication in four annual

visits to my doctor. For this, I am considered a ``heavy

utilizer.'' My condition interferes with my ability to earn.

Right now, what she is paying is on par with her mortgage payment.

After speaking with my insurance agent, I found out that my

premiums under the Affordable Care Act will be cut to $440 a

month.

When I spoke to her on the phone the other day, she said when her agent called her and gave her this news she did a happy dance in her office, knowing that her health insurance premiums were going to be cut in half. Again, a 50-year-old, working individual who is now paying $980 a month is seeing her health insurance bill cut in half because of the health care exchange.

She is one of these people who has contacted the system, but she hasn't enrolled yet, but she will. Believe me. She cannot believe that we are at a point right now where there is a concerted, intentional effort to shut the government down in an effort to deny her--somebody who, again, has a preexisting condition--access to a smarter, more rational marketplace than the one that exists today.

The stories go on and on.

I have a letter from an individual who actually wrote to The New York Times, talking about the fact that on day 1 there were reports about how terrible the system is. She said:

I tried to sign up. I had absolutely no difficulty getting

all the answers I needed and all the forms to fill out on the

very first try. The entire process was simple, direct, and

easy to follow. Please don't forget all of us who, while

maybe not newsworthy, are a large part of the equation.

Her name is Hu Lindsay from Norwalk, Connecticut.

So, again, the folks at the health care exchange who have been planning and preparing for months have demonstrated that that demand can be met if you have the right planning in place and that, when people actually have a chance to get past all the nonsense that is thrown around out there about the end of American freedom and actually see that they can buy private health insurance plans--again, Connecticut offers three private health insurance plans, Anthem Blue Cross, ConnectiCare, and Healthy Connecticut--the system will work. That's why we must keep this government open and not buckle to the folks who want to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Speaker, the worst-kept secret in Washington, DC, is there is a majority in this House to pass a clean CR. In fact, this morning, a list of 21 House Republican Members who said they would vote for a clean CR was published. It would end this idiotic shutdown that is keeping 800,000 Federal employees from doing their job.

Unfortunately, a few minutes ago, the official Speaker announced that he is not going to listen to the will of this House. Instead, we're going to do these salami-sliced spending bills. And, incredibly, we're going on recess on tomorrow through Monday night.

Well, Monday morning in Stratford, Connecticut, thousands of defense workers at Sikorsky Aircraft are not going to be able to go to work because the contract compliance officers from the Department of Defense who haven't been on the job for the last week can't certify the helicopter parts and engines that allow them to do their work.

Those layoffs are on this Speaker's head. Those layoffs are on the majority party's head.

Allow the majority of this House to have a vote. There are 21 of your colleagues that are prepared to do it today, and the President would sign it tonight. Those workers could go to work on Monday and protect the warfighters of this country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor SPC Jon Michael Naholnik who died suddenly on Wednesday, September 25 of a ``Wounded Heart'' at the age of 32. Those who were lucky enough to have Jon in their life knew that he was a loving father, brother, son and friend.

Jon was an Afghanistan veteran who proudly served his country in the Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Regiment. He attended Waterford High school and began work at Millstone Power Station as an armed guard after he graduated. In 2007, he decided to join the Army National Guard as his father Nik and his grandfather Charlie did before him.

In 2011, after returning home to Montville, Jon survived a freak lightning strike outside his home. Although he knew that he was lucky to survive, Jon maintained a great sense of humor about the incident. He told a reporter that he enjoyed watching storms but would probably stay indoors in the future.

I ask my colleagues to join with me to honor SPC Jon Michael Naholnik and his patriotic service to our Nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was opening day for the Affordable Care Act in the State of Connecticut. Despite the hysterical predictions on the other side, where you would have thought the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would be riding through the streets of New London, Norwich, and Hartford, instead, the headlines this morning were:

Enrollment better than expected on exchange's first day.

Forty-five thousand people contacted the Connecticut exchange. Hundreds enrolled. They didn't wait until January to begin the process of getting health coverage.

One of them was a lady named Elly Banos, 48 years old, who said she's been without coverage for a year and half due to a layoff. She's been holding her breath and ``thanking God every day that I don't get sick or get into a car accident.'' She was excited to learn that she could get good individual coverage for a month or qualify for the expanded Medicaid coverage.

Another, Babz Ivy, said that she has gone to bed ``with a prayer on my lips, asking God to keep me healthy and in no need of medical attention.''

``Today was amazing,'' Ivy said. ``I felt so empowered and in control of my health.''

The fact of the matter is these are the targets of the shutdown effort. It's not President Obama or Democrats in Congress. It's people like Elly Banos and Babz Ivy that we need to protect by keeping this government open and allowing people to get access to health care for the first time in American history.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in Groton, Connecticut, which is a community right on Long Island Sound, The Day Newspaper of New London hosted a job fair for the surrounding area, which I had the opportunity to attend for about an hour or so. And the good news is that there were 16 companies that were there, employers who had job openings who, again, were anxious to use the job fair as a chance to meet face-to-face with folks who attended.

The distressing news, though, was that there were over 800 people who showed up for the event. The line wound out from the ballroom of the Groton Inn and Suites through the lobby and onto the sidewalk and into the parking lot; and, clearly, if anyone who was attending there, it was quite obvious that there was not even close to the number of openings to match up with the number of people who were in attendance.

As I said, I had a chance to visit for a while, walked around, talked to a number of people, and was struck by the fact that the number one question on people's minds who, again, were carrying heavy burdens, some of them who had been out of work for as much as 18 months, 2 years, a lot of young people who just graduated from college, carrying student loans, anxious to try and get a start in life and a way to pay the bills, the question was, Well, is Congress going to shut down the government?

And it seemed sort of a little bit out of sync with the reality of what was going on in the room. But, in fact, thinking about it, I mean, it's very clear that the people there understood instinctively that a government shutdown in roughly 8 or 9 days is exactly the wrong thing that the U.S. economy needs right now, particularly in terms of fostering job growth and giving people confidence about the future.

That event, compounded by a debt limit showdown, which now the Treasury Department announced this morning that on October 17 the borrowing authority of the U.S. Treasury, the full faith and credit of our country, is actually going to expire in terms of being able to pay the bills for our Nation.

Whether it's our troops over in Afghanistan, whether it's the folks who protect us at our airports, whether it's the FBI, the Coast Guard which, again, my district is home of the Coast Guard Academy, the notion that our Nation, which has always honored its full faith and credit over the 230-plus years of its history, would somehow be put into doubt is, again, another one of these self-inflicted body blows that this institution is on the verge of inflicting, again, on a very fragile economy.

When you looked in the faces of the people who were at that job fair yesterday, I'm very proud of the fact that I come from a State with very high educational attainment levels, really, in the top five in the country. What was clear was that you were talking to people who were, in many instances, very experienced employees, working in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, retail businesses, many of them with certainly strong educational backgrounds, with college degrees and post-college degrees.

They're ready. They're ready to go out and support themselves and their families; and talking to them about food stamps, or this type of public assistance or that type of public assistance, that's not what they're looking for. They're looking for an economy that has a horizon so that employers and budget-makers and individuals who are so critical in terms of investment decisions in this country are going to have confidence about the fact that we're not going to capsize the world's financial markets by, basically, threatening the value of U.S. Treasury bonds, which is still the number one security in the world today.

The question is whether in a month's time that's still going to be the case.

It is time for this institution to start focusing on what people really get up and worry about every single day, which is about jobs, the economy, and the future of their families.

I don't want to end on a totally depressing note, and I want to end on a positive note. In the first week of August, I had the privilege to be at the Oval Office for a bill signing on the student loan legislation, which cut the interest rates on the Stafford Loan program from 6.8 percent to 3.8 percent.

Again, as a member of the Education Committee, this is an issue I've been working on for a number of years. It was a hard-fought compromise to get that measure to the President's desk in August. We'll save thousands of dollars for middle class families and for students who are going to college.

But the fact is that we were standing there behind President Obama with the Republican chairman of the Education Committee to my left; the Independent Senator from Maine, Angus King, to my right; and other Democrats and Republicans who were in the room.

The fact of the matter is that event showed that, when we do our duty in this institution, when people actually recognize that we're not here as part of a debate club, we're not here to read ``Green Eggs and Ham,'' like the circus that's going on over in the Senate right now; but that we're here to do our work and to pass measures to protect America's middle class.

Let's get the jobs of this country growing again. Let's pass a budget. Let's protect America's full faith and credit in the next couple of weeks or so, and then this economy is poised to grow, and we're going to help those people who were lined up yesterday in Groton, Connecticut.

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

I rise in support of the pending legislation, H.R. 2747, the Streamlining Claims Processing for Federal Contractor Employees Act, which will transfer the authority for processing claims under the Davis-Bacon Act from the Government Accountability Office to the Department of Labor. As the Department of Labor is already responsible for many aspects of Davis-Bacon, this change will help streamline the process and ensure that workers receive their hard-earned pay in a timelier and more efficient manner.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Michigan for introducing this commonsense fix, which I am pleased to cosponsor. It is time that we transfer this administrative responsibility to the agency that enforces the law, and I hope that this bill will be the first step in a larger effort to allow the Department of Labor to engage in further enforcement actions under the Davis-Bacon Act, including the GAO's current debarment authority.

As a strong supporter of Davis-Bacon and of the protections it provides our contracted workers, I am pleased to see that this bill will help streamline the process and allow our workers access to the prevailing wages they have rightly earned. That's why I rise in support of H.R. 2747, and I thank the gentleman from Michigan for introducing the bill.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense proposal, and I yield back the balance of my time.