Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor, recognize, and congratulate G. Kenneth Carpenter and Harold Farrington, Jr., on their induction into the Veterans Hall of Fame.

In 1967, Kenneth volunteered to serve his country in Vietnam. After returning home, he found his calling and joined the clergy. During his 25 years as Senior Minister at Mystic's Union Baptist Church, Mr. Carpenter dedicated himself to his community. He helped found the Mystic Area Shelter & Hospitality, providing a safe haven to more than 800 people and preventing hundreds more from becoming homeless. He also led the group that created the Sunshine Kitchen in Groton, which served free meals to local people in need for 18 years. In addition, Mr. Carpenter co-founded the Southeastern Connecticut Clergy Association to encourage people of different faiths to work together and volunteered to counsel veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Harold Farrington, Jr., served in the Army's combat infantry in Vietnam. In 1968, he returned home after a mortar round blew up in his left hand. Mr. Farrington spent five years undergoing painful bone and skin grafts and tendon transplants. Harold was so impressed with the care he received from the Veterans benefits counselor that he decided to go work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Over the next 30 years, Mr. Farrington was dedicated to ensuring that veterans and their families were able to receive the disability compensation, benefits, and services to which they were entitled. Harold established Veteran's Services offices at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, the Coast Guard Academy in New London and the Naval Station in Newport, RI, to help service-members transition to civilian life.

The exemplary contributions that G. Kenneth Carpenter and Harold Farrington, Jr.,

have made to their communities after leaving the military, have earned them a place in the Veterans Hall of Fame. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating these two men and applauding their dedication to serving Connecticut and the nation.

Mr. Speaker, our third American President, John Adams, once said, ``Facts are stubborn

things; and whatever may be our wishes . . . or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts.''

Well, Mr. Speaker, the facts are that the health care reform law is working for millions of young adults all across this country. Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services released figures which show that 2.5 million young Americans up to age 26 are now covered because of the Affordable Care Act's provision that allows age 26 coverage for families. Private and public employers all across America now provide this benefit at a cost of only, on average, 1 percent to health care costs. This is a plan which is working.

Last week, figures came out that showed that 2.7 million seniors are now getting relief from prescription drug costs--$1.5 billion in reduced prescriptions drug costs because the Affordable Care Act is closing the doughnut hole.

Facts are stubborn things, and the facts show that the health care reform law is helping young Americans and older Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary American, fishing Captain James Henry from the town of Mystic, Connecticut. Captain Henry has just published his first book, ``In a Fisherman's Language,'' at the age of 98.

What's even more extraordinary is that Captain Henry was illiterate until the age of 91. But after learning the inspiring story of George Dawson, the grandson of a slave who taught himself to read and write, at the age of 98, Captain Henry began his journey to literacy. A retired East Lyme English teacher and literacy volunteer from eastern Connecticut, Mark Hogan tutored Captain Henry along his journey and helped him edit his book.

``In a Fisherman's Language'' artfully weaved together the life of this lobsterman, sharing his stories from his life on his grandfather's farm in Portugal, his work on the boats, a member of the Connecticut National Guard, a professional boxer, and a shipfitter at Electric Boat shipyard.

What initially started as a small project has gained international attention. Selling the original 750 copies in just 2 weeks, he's been contacted by film producers, TV stations, and audio book companies, alike, who want to share his story with the world.

It has been quite a long journey from being unable to read and write to being a source of inspiration to young writers and a beacon of hope for those struggling with their own literacy.

I urge my colleagues to read this amazing book, and I salute Captain Henry for his amazing accomplishment.

Mr. Speaker, America's third President, John Adams, once said, ``Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.''

Well, Mr. Speaker, the facts now show that the health care reform law is working for America's seniors. This morning, CMS released figures that show that 2.7 million seniors saved $1.2 billion in 2011 with lower prescription drug costs because the health care reform law is closing the prescription drug doughnut hole; 28,500 in Connecticut, 5,560 in my district, the Second Congressional District. The report also shows that 24 million seniors have used the annual checkup that the health care reform law now provides free of charge, a smarter, more intelligent way to pick up disease and illness for our elderly.

As President Adams once said, ``Facts are stubborn things,'' and the facts show the health care reform law is working for America's seniors.

Mr. Speaker, it has now been 2 months since the Occupy Wall Street movement spread all across this country; and despite attempts to marginalize it, parody it, sometimes even suppress it, the fact is that one message has come through loud and clear, particularly from young Americans who have participated in this grassroots movement across the country, which is that the spiraling cost of college is smothering opportunity for millions of young Americans all across America.

Yesterday the Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, presented a speech in Nevada which I think starkly presents the challenge which we face as a Nation. Today, the average student loan debt for graduating students is $25,000. That's the average. There are, again, millions of students who are graduating with six-figure debt. And in an economy like the one they're facing today, this is really an obstacle which will probably burden them for the rest of their lives. And as we are seeing in polls, the cost of college is discouraging many younger Americans, high school-age Americans from even considering the possibility of pursuing a higher education degree.

First of all, let's be very clear here. The value of higher education is still, despite some critics, indisputable. If you look at the unemployment rate today, 9 percent across the board in terms of our country, the fact of the matter is that those who have pursued high school and above have much lower rates of unemployment today than those who have been unable to reach those training levels and education levels.

Nationally, today the graduation rate of the U.S. has now fallen to 12th internationally. Back in the 1980s, the College Board, which is the organization which tracks graduation rates across the globe, determined we were number one in the world in terms of college graduation rates. Yet today, in 2011, we are 12th. If anybody thinks that is a situation which bodes well for our ability to compete internationally going into the future, then, frankly, they're not paying attention in terms of where the high-value jobs of the future are. They are, in fact, in hard sciences; they are, in fact, in areas of critical workforce needs which, as baby boomers retire in growing numbers across this country, we must have if we

are going to continue to be a great Nation.

Now, let's look at what is happening here in Washington. I think one of the reasons why young people are going into the streets of this country is the fact that we have a Congress which is not only out of touch in terms of listening and responding to this, in fact, they want to take us backwards.

When I first came to Congress in 2007, a new Democratic majority moved swiftly to pass the College Cost Reduction Act, which was an effort to try to boost the Pell Grant program, which is the workhorse of higher education affordability, a program which basically had been level-funded for 6 prior years despite the fact that higher education costs had gone up 40 percent. We passed the College Cost Reduction Act which infused new funding into the Pell Grant program. We cut the interest rates for the Stafford student loan program from 6.4 percent to 3.2 percent, and we paid for every single penny of those expenditures by cutting the bank subsidies which were basically sucking Federal dollars away from families and students who need that critical help.

Last year we passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, again with a Democratic majority, which provides for a cap in terms of loan repayments of 15 percent of your discretionary income and excuses loan repayments after 25 years under the Stafford student loan program.

I was pleased that President Obama, again, just a month or so ago, acted to increase the benefit of that program by limiting the discretionary income payments to 10 percent of income and lowering the forgiveness date to 20 years, from 25 years. This is an administration which gets it. This is an administration that understands middle class families with children who want to improve themselves and compete in their futures need that kind of assistance.

What did this Republican Congress do? We had a Ryan budget last April which gutted and butchered the Pell Grant program and would take us back to 2008 levels. So, for example, in Connecticut, where I come from, the University of Connecticut would have seen its Pell Grant revenue from 2008, which was about $8 million going into the University of Connecticut, it would have been cut from where it is today, which is $12 million of annual Pell Grant revenue--a $4 million cut to the University of Connecticut. And the grant level for students, the maximum award, would have been cut from $4,500 a year down to roughly about $3,000 a year. That is closing the doors of opportunity to millions of Americans. That's what the Ryan budget values and that's what its vision was at a time when, again, our country is in crisis in terms of needing skilled, qualified workers to deal with the future challenge.

The choice is clear. For those who care about spiraling education costs, the Democratic agenda is the one that is on your side.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was unable to attend votes on Thursday, November 17, 2011 as I was accompanying Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on a visit to the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. Had I been present, I would have voted:

``Nay'' on rollcall vote No. 854 (ordering the previous question on H. Res. 466, the rule providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules);

``Nay'' on rollcall vote No. 855 (on passage of H. Res. 466, the rule providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules);

``Nay'' on rollcall vote No. 856 (on passage of H. Res. 467, the rule providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 2112, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes);

``Yea'' on rollcall vote No. 857 (on agreeing to the Conference Report for H.R. 2112, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes).

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the service and sacrifice of Army Staff Sergeant Ari Cullers, who lost his life on October 30, 2011, while serving in Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Cullers was born 28 years ago in New London, Connecticut, and later moved with his family to Waterford, where he attended school and graduated from Waterford High School in 2001. As his principal, Don Macrino, said, ``He was a hard worker at school, but when he got into the service, I think that was a place where he felt he could really make his mark.''

He joined the Army in 2004 and was deployed twice to Afghanistan--the first tour in December 2008--and returned again this year in March before he perished a few weeks ago.

Ari Cullers' passing reminds us of the sacrifices that have been made and that continue to be made by our military overseas. Last Thursday, the day before Veterans Day, there was a huge outpouring of support from Waterford's townspeople, who lined the streets. They knew Ari; his mother, Robin; and his brother, Jacob, who himself has served a tour of duty in Iraq. There were many there who did not know Ari but who wanted to pay respect for his sacrifice and service.

I ask my colleagues to join them in honoring Ari Cullers' life and service to our Nation and in extending our condolences to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life, service and sacrifice of Army Sgt. Ari Cullers who lost his life serving in Afghanistan. Sgt. Cullers died October 30, 2011, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade exploded near him.

Sgt. Cullers was born in New London, CT and later moved with his family to Waterford, CT, where he attended school, graduating in 2001. Cullers was known throughout the community for his kindness and his ability to make people smile. As my friend, Principal Don Macrino of Waterford High School said, ``He was a hard worker at school and he, I think, actually found himself when he got into the service. I think that was a place where he felt he could really make his mark.''

He joined the Army in October 2004, served in Korea and Oklahoma, and arrived at Fort Drum in December 2008, according to the military. Cullers had previously served in Afghanistan from December 2008 to December 2009 and returned there with his unit in March 2011. Cullers, who deployed earlier this year, was a member of the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. Among his many awards and decorations are the Army Commendation Medal, four Army Achievement Medals, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, three Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the NATO Medal, the Combat Action Badge, and the Driver and Mechanic Badge.

Sadly, Cullers is the third graduate of Waterford High School who was killed in combat in the Middle East in recent years. His passing reminds all of us of the sacrifices that have been made, and continue to be made, by our military overseas--including Ari's brother, Jacob, who also served in Iraq. While our nation has lost another hero, Ari Cullers' family has lost a beloved son and brother. My thoughts and prayers, and those of my family and the entire eastern Connecticut region, are with them now as they mourn. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Ari's life and his service to our nation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

First of all, I just want to salute the amazing effort by Representative Cummings and Representative Thompson over the last 4 or 5 years to really, I think, profoundly change behavior at the Academy's admissions office in terms of forcing them to widen the scope of their search for qualified students all across America. In the incoming class this year, we have students who hail from 48 States. We have 31 percent female cadets starting this year and 21 percent minority.

As both of the gentlemen who are the proponents of this amendment know, that is a stark contrast to the situation that existed a short time ago. And I think, again, it is partly due to their external pressure, but also the fact that the Coast Guard Academy's leadership took the challenge and has really been, I think, actively recruiting all across the country to achieve, again, what I think is a goal that the gentleman from Mississippi has well spoken, that we can draw from a wider pool rather than just the bi-coastal parts of the United States of America.

What I would just say, why I stand today in opposition is just that the incoming class is also a small class. It's 288 cadets. If you sort of just try and do the math in terms of a body of 435 Members of the House, 100 in the Senate, and even with the 25 percent safeguard that Mr. Thompson thoughtfully added to this amendment, I think it really would just be a cumbersome add-on to a process that really, again, is actively engaged.

Admiral Sandra Stotz is the new superintendent at the academy, the first female superintendent of a military academy in American history. And I can just attest to the fact, having met with her on a number of occasions since she just started this past fall, she is focused like a laser beam in terms of making sure that the great work that was started over the last 2 years or so is going to continue.

And Members can be part of that. We can all, again, go out and talk to high schools, put it on our Web sites, have Coast Guard cadets act as interns in our office, do what we can to make sure that this amazing institution that, again, is just producing great leaders for the future of our country, will draw on, again, the great diversity of our Nation, both geographical and socially.

So, again, I support the goal of this amendment. It's just the mechanics that, again, I would just respectfully rise in opposition and, again, pledge that as someone who represents the New London district, will continue to work with the proponents to make sure that the good progress that's been made over the last couple of years or so will continue.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was unable to attend votes on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 as I was attending to needs

in my district resulting from the unprecedented snow storm that hit Connecticut this past weekend. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 816, reaffirming ``In God We Trust'' as the official motto of the United States, and ``yea'' on rollcall vote 817, on passage of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011.

Mr. Speaker, for Americans who are disgusted with the obstructionism of the Republican-controlled House, yesterday President Obama cut through the morass, issuing new rules for student loan assistance, implementing a law that was passed by the last Congress, the Democratic-controlled Congress, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

This program will allow millions of Americans to consolidate their student loans, lower their interest rates, and will also cap loan payments again for millions of Americans. Anyone listening can go to studentaid.ed.gov/ibr to find out the new rules of eligibility which, again, will save thousands of dollars for people who are drowning in student loan costs.

Rather than trying to build on that accomplishment, this Congress passed a Ryan budget which would butcher the Pell Grant program and do nothing for people who are racking up huge amounts of student loans.

As a Member of Congress from the University of Connecticut's district--go Huskies--thank you, Mr. President. Congratulations on moving forward to address the real needs of America's middle class.

I thank the gentleman from California. Connecticut, Rhode Island--you know, when you're from California, I'm sure we all look like one of your counties there. But it's eastern Connecticut. At least I abut Rhode Island. But thank you for the invitation to speak this evening.

I wanted to start, first of all, by just sharing with you that I am in the final day of a 1-week challenge that myself and four other Members of Congress have engaged in to live on a food stamp budget for a week. That's $4 a day, which is what the budget is for millions of Americans today. And my wife and I and my daughter got through it in one piece--although I had to kind of take my little care package down to D.C. with me. And frankly, it has been harder than I thought and a real eye opener. I mean, a cup and a half of coffee----

No. This is a food stamp budget, the SNAP program. Again, the SNAP budget for millions of Americans is $4 a day. And so obviously you've got to shop as aggressively as you possibly can, and frankly you're buying somewhat lower-cost items. As I said, we're about to get across the finish line at midnight tonight. Again, a cup and a half of coffee a day, half a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, generic cereal, little bananas, some meals at night. You don't have to worry about cleaning dishes when you're on this kind of budget because you eat every bit of it. And as I said, it has been a real eye opener in terms of the fact that this is really an experience that isn't just limited to 1 week for millions of Americans. It's something that, again, is just part of a growing reality.

I raise it in the context of the Jobs Act because today there are, again, millions of Americans who are 99ers; they are people who have gone through their unemployment compensation period, which, as we all know, has a cap of 99 weeks. For a lot of them, there really is nothing else waiting at the end of that time other than food stamps--or the SNAP program as it's now called. To basically live on $32, which is really what the amount is for a single adult, is really impossible.

As a result, we're seeing, again, record numbers of people showing up at food banks, record numbers of people showing up at soup kitchens. There is now a suburbanization of poverty that's going on in this country. Again, I represent Connecticut, which has the highest per capita income in America--obviously lots of suburbs. There are now, again, food banks that are operating in a lot of these communities.

Clearly, this is an issue in terms of the supercommittee and the sequestration, whether or not a program like SNAP is going to be at risk. For people to go backwards from $4 a day is something that I personally can't imagine.

But at the end of the day, the real solution is to get this economy growing again, and the best social program is a job. I mean, that is the bottom line in terms of what is a real fix to this problem.

One of the things that I just wanted us to, again, spend a minute on, and then I'll hand it over to my friend from Ohio who's here, is that the pay-for that's been proposed and supported in the Senate and the White House is a 5 percent surcharge on income above $1 million. Recently we had, again, in my opinion, a patriotic, courageous American who stepped forward to really put the spotlight on what that means. Warren Buffett, who, again, is a legendary investor, financier, commentator on all the news programs and the business channels, shared his tax return for last year.

His gross income, his top line was $63 million, his adjusted gross income was $32 million, and his payment was roughly about $6 million. As he explained in a number of op-eds, that roughly translates into a tax rate of 17 percent, which, again, you're here, Johnny-on-the-spot with the charts, which is terrific.

If his tax return was subjected to the surcharge which has been proposed and supported in the Senate, basically, it would add about another $2 million to $3 million of tax liability in terms of what his return would be, and his overall effective rate would be roughly about 25 percent.

He clearly makes the argument about the Buffett rule that he should pay a higher rate than his secretary and his staff--today he pays a lower rate than all of them. But the real, I think, power of his argument which he made in The New York Times op-ed piece, ``Stop Coddling the Rich,'' was that the tax rates that he paid gladly back in the eighties and nineties, which again, is even higher than it would be if we passed the surcharge, did nothing to inhibit his willingness or desire to go out and compete and invest and participate in the drive for the American Dream.

And if you look at the growth rates that we experienced in the 1990s when, again, the tax rates on both capital gains and regular income were much higher than today, and would still be higher than if we adopted the Jobs Act pay-for, as he powerfully makes the point, it would do nothing to inhibit growth, and it would do nothing to inhibit or punish success.

It, in fact, would just do a lot to try and create some balance in our public finances so that we can afford to do the great things that a great Nation must do to get us out of the predicament that we're in today.

What I want to say to anyone who's watching here today, who's on food stamps, having experienced briefly the challenge that you face over a 1-week period of time, we can do better, as a Nation, than that, and we must adopt the Jobs Act to make sure that we solve the problems of Americans who today are trapped in an economy that allows no way out except subsistence programs that are inadequate to lead a healthy productive life.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SCCOG) for providing 50 years of intergovernmental service to the people of Southeastern Connecticut.

SCCOG's origins date back to 1961, with the founding of Southeastern Connecticut Regional Planning Agency (SCRPA) as one of the one of the first regional planning agencies in Connecticut at the time. The agency transitioned to SCCOG in 1993, and today serves 20 member municipalities and counts as non-voting affiliate members two federally recognized Native American Tribes, and has liaisons from the United States Naval Submarine Base and the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Under the leadership of James Butler, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments ensures the various governments participating in the group have a platform for cooperation and organization on a diverse array of issues. They act as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region, budgeting for and implementing essential and transformative transportation projects. SCCOG has played a vital role in many of the region's top infrastructure priorities and support for Naval Submarine Base New London.

By providing services to over 240,000 people, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments has established itself as the second largest regional planning organization in Connecticut. For 50 years, the group has been influential in the planning of countless housing, technical, economic development, and emergency management projects in the SE CT region.

Having worked with SCCOG closely on a number of regional priorities, I know firsthand the tremendous value it provides to decision makers, local communities and the vitality of this unique part of our state. With the challenges before our state and the region, coordination through groups like the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments serves as the backbone of strong communities across the nation. By combining strong planning foresight with a commitment to inclusion, SCCOG has contributed to building Southeastern Connecticut into a unified, burgeoning region.

I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring SCCOG for 50 years of service to southeastern Connecticut.

Mr. Speaker, this August I was home holding town hall meetings, meeting with chambers, senior centers. The message was the same: Congress should stop the bickering, get to work, and get some results.

Coming back here, we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a budget that's going to expire at the end of this month, transportation and infrastructure which will expire, Federal aviation, small business, research and development, disaster relief--and, by the way, the post office is about to go bankrupt. Yet with all of these to-do items and 21 days left in this month, the leadership of this House has only scheduled 5 full working days. That is a schedule that would make Homer Simpson blush.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the leadership of this House to scrap that schedule, get us to work, get these issues done, create some certainty in this country and some confidence that Washington can get the job done and stop the lackadaisical do-nothing schedule which is leading this country totally without trust and confidence about whether or not we as a Nation can address the challenges facing us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my sincerest congratulations to Dr. Bodhisattwa Chaudhuri, who has been awarded a 2011 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation award. Connecticut's Second District is honored to recognize the outstanding achievement of Dr. Chaudhuri's extensive work at the University of Connecticut.

For 45 years, the PhRMA Foundation has assisted scientists with their research. The Foundation believes that science and the world of medicine can improve if scientists have the right resources readily available to them. Scientists who have been supported by the PhRMA Foundation have shared their knowledge with about 20,000 graduate students.

Born in Agartala, India, Dr. Chaudhuri attended the Indian Institute of Science where he received a MS in Chemical Engineering. He then went on to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he studied Mechanical Engineering and received his doctorate. Today, Dr. Chaudhuri serves as an assistant professor in the departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Institute of Material Sciences at our very own University of Connecticut. He and many of his students are passionate about researching granular mechanics in order to better understand different processes in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

We need leaders and researchers--like Dr. Chaudhuri--who are dedicated to sharing their knowledge with young students. I stand with my constituents in eastern Connecticut in honoring the successful efforts of Dr. Chaudhuri's and interests in pharmaceutical technology and granular mechanics research. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the impressive work of Dr. Bodhisattwa Chaudhuri. May Dr. Chaudhuri and others continue to teach and encourage curiosity in the world of science, medicine, and beyond.