Floor Statements

I want to thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is supposed to be about helping small businesses. We do need to help small businesses as they are the engines of economic growth in our country. When you look at the jobs report that came out last month, there were only 41,000 private-sector jobs created.

Yet, if we really want this bill to work and if we really want small businesses to be able to begin hiring once again, what we really need to do is to repeal the job-killing health care law that was passed in this Chamber on March 21. The heart of that law is something that is called the ``individual mandate.'' The individual mandate forces Americans to buy health insurance whether they want to or not, whether they can afford it or not. For small businesses, if they don't provide health insurance, guess what? The government is going to tax you. This is preventing small businesses from hiring additional people.

Twenty States and the Nation's leading small business organization agree that this law is unconstitutional, and they are fighting to overturn it. The Federal Government shouldn't be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and of taxing you if you don't.

If we really want to help small businesses get back to creating jobs, we should repeal the job-killing health care law, and we should replace it with reforms that will lower the cost of health insurance and that will help protect American jobs.

My colleague from Michigan will be offering a proposal tonight to repeal the unconstitutional individual mandate, which is at the heart of this new law. His idea is posted right now on AmericaSpeakingOut.com. Americans are speaking out on it, and I hope my colleagues will get engaged and will see what the American people have to say about this individual mandate and about the taxes associated with it, but it is pretty clear.

When we get to the motion to recommit, we will offer a motion that will eliminate the individual mandate, and every Member of this House will have an opportunity to stand up for their constituents or to look the other way.

Yesterday, President Obama asked for a new law to give him specific authority to force Congress to vote on spending cuts. He already has the ability to force Congress to consider spending cuts immediately, and we've been asking him to do it for months. With our national debt nearing some $13 trillion, Democrats are on the verge of adding $140 billion more this week. Why can't we start cutting spending now? And why don't we see a Democrat budget here on the floor?

President Obama and the Speaker continue to put off this important work, missing a critical opportunity to stop out-of-control spending that economists say is hurting our economy and slowing the creation of new jobs in America.

The President's fiscal commission, that won't even report until December, is a prime example of this lackluster, kick-the-can-down-the- road approach. Americans want immediate, decisive action to end Washington's out-of-control spending spree.

If President Obama is truly committed to fiscal responsibility, he will use the authority that he has under current law to force the Congress to vote immediately on his spending cuts. He should also call on Democrats in Congress to pass a real budget that reins in out-of- control Federal spending. The House has never failed to pass a budget in the modern era. And every family knows that the budget is more important, not less important, in times of a tough economy.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

On behalf of the House Republican Conference, let me welcome Congressman Charles Djou, his wife, Stacey, and their children, family and guests to our Nation's Capitol.

Charles understands what it means to pursue the American Dream because he's lived it. Charles' mother was from Bangkok, Thailand, his father, from China, raised in Hong Kong. And during the Communist Revolution of China in 1948, his grandfather fled from Shanghai to Hong Kong which, at the time, was under British control.

So Charles is the son of immigrants and a devoted young husband and father with three beautiful children. He serves as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, which gives him a deep appreciation for the sacrifices made by the many men and women of our military he will now represent in this body.

He served his community, as you've heard, as a former member of the city council in Honolulu, and a former minority leader in the Hawaii State

House. And as most of you know, this son of immigrants is about to begin a new chapter of his life representing the people of Hawaii.

Charles, on behalf of our conference and all of the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, we welcome you to our Nation's Capitol, and look forward to your service on behalf of the people of the First District of Hawaii.

Let me thank my colleague for yielding and remind my colleagues that once again we're debating the Cash for Caulkers bill. We are going to weatherize homes around America, and we're going to put Americans back to work once again. The only problem is that we spent almost $5 billion in the stimulus bill 15 months ago, the States are awash in weatherization funds, and a lot of the money that has been spent has gone to crooked contractors, shoddy work, and there are investigations going on all over the country. But in spite of all of the evidence that this plan is not really working, we're going to authorize $6.6 billion of money that we don't have so that we can caulk homes.

Now, I think it's a good idea to caulk your home, to weatherize your home, to make our homes more energy efficient; but we have to remember something: 43 cents of every dollar the Federal Government spends this year we're going to borrow. And guess who gets to pay that money back? It's going to be our kids and our grandkids.

The gentleman from Massachusetts is suggesting that we ought to pass this bill, continue this Cash for Caulkers program, and then send the bill to our kids and grandkids. Count me out.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Sergeant Jennifer Evitts for her exemplary service to the United States House of Representatives through her work with the United States Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs.

Sergeant Evitts has been a steadfast asset for Members and staff, especially for my office, in responding to the myriad administrative and logistical questions and needs the House of Representatives often requires of our military liaison services. Her attention to detail, her ability to work quickly and independently, and her cheerful engagement with whomever she encounters is always appreciated.

It is unfortunately usually the case that we fail to tell the individuals who mean the most to us, who do the most for us, how much they are valued until it comes time to send them on to their next adventure with our best wishes. I'm pleased, however, that Sergeant Evitts' contributions were formally recognized while she was still with us. It is my particular pleasure to note that due to her diligence and the merit of her efforts, Sergeant Evitts was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for meritorious service to the Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs. I am proud of Sergeant Evitts for earning such a prestigious award.

I personally congratulate Jennifer on her accomplishments, and I wish Jennifer and her family success and happiness in her future endeavors. She will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a growing credibility gap here in Washington. Democrats are saying one thing and doing something else. It started with the trillion dollar stimulus plan that was rushed through with promises that it would create jobs immediately and keep unemployment below 8 percent. Today unemployment is near 10 percent, and Americans are still asking, ``Where are the jobs?'' Americans were also promised a war on deficits, but all that's happened is we have piled more debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids.

Then we have the trillion dollar government takeover of health care that was forced through with promises that it would lower costs. But it turns out the new law will actually increase costs for taxpayers and patients. This comes from an analysis by the Obama administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS determined that the new law will increase what the Nation spends on health care over the next 10 years by $311 billion. The President claimed that this government takeover of health care was the single most important thing that we can do to address our deficits. But now it turns out it is just going to make matters worse.

Just think about that credibility gap when you see the majority insist on rushing through a job-killing regulatory bill with promises that it will end Wall Street bailouts. The bill doesn't end Wall Street bailouts; it makes them permanent and institutionalizes ``too big to fail.'' This bill doesn't get the government out of the private sector; it creates a Politburo-style council of regulators who can seize any business and do almost anything they want to do with it. And the bill doesn't address the real reasons for the financial meltdown. It gives a free ride to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage companies that started this crisis.

Americans were promised a new Washington. Instead, it's just more of the same: more spending, more government, and more empty promises. I think it's time we start listening to the American people. Let's work together on commonsense solutions to end the bailouts, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and hold Wall Street accountable. Let's work together to repeal this government takeover of health care and replace it with commonsense reforms that will lower the cost of health care. Let's work to ban earmarks and stop out-of-control spending. And most importantly, let's work on commonsense solutions that will help small businesses create the kind of jobs that Americans are looking for.

I thank the Speaker for yielding.

Let me associate myself with the Speaker's remarks about Father Coughlin. He really is quite an individual, and he is there for all of us. And I think that over the 10 years that he has served us, he has done a really, really marvelous job, and I think all of the Members would agree.

In the resolution that was on the floor earlier today celebrating his 10 years of service to the House, it mentioned that he is in his seventies. Now, he looks pretty good for a guy in his seventies. Mr. Hoyer is jealous because he is in his seventies as well. I remember what it took to be ordained a priest back in Father Coughlin's era, and so I am sure he is beyond just 70, Mr. Hoyer, but I think he looks awfully good for a man in his seventies.

I think all of us realize that while Father Coughlin is here to lead us in the opening prayer or to work with other ministers who come, he is also there for our spiritual guidance--days when we're sad and, frankly, days when we're happy.

But to celebrate 50 years in the priesthood, that is 50 years of a lot of service to a lot of people. And on behalf of all of us, Father Coughlin, we thank you for your service and wish you a hearty congratulations.

Madam Speaker, I have a privileged resolution at the desk and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are asking: Where are the jobs? But as we see today, the issue of government-run health care will continue to be the focus of this body. It will remain the focus of this body because of the unilateral, secretive, rushed process that's been used to force this bill on the American people.

Today we're passing legislation to correct major errors in the massive bill that was signed less than 72 hours ago. It removes some, just some of the special interest deals that were loaded into that bill as it moved through Congress.

And to meet the majority's targets for deficit reduction, it adds more tax hikes on the American people and cuts more money from Medicare to pay for a new entitlement program. We could have given the American people a more commonsense bill that lowers the cost of health insurance in America without all of this mess.

If you had wanted to pass reforms to ensure coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions and ensure that parents can keep their children on their health plans through age 25, you could have done so in a bipartisan fashion. Instead, you decided to jam through more than the system could handle, leaving us a sloppy mess that the majority of the American people believe should be repealed and replaced.

And mark my word, we will be back to this bill over and over again in the next 6 months. You all know what's going to happen. We'll be back here to correct the mistakes that we didn't do right the first time because of the rush that we were in to approve this massive spending bill that was hidden from the original bill.

And I'll guarantee you, you all know we'll be back here to do a ``doc fix'' that will cost $250 to $300 billion. And the question is: Will we find the money to pay for it?

We'll be back here to appropriate money for a new IRS group of individuals that we're going to need to hire to enforce this law on the American people.

We'll be back to borrow money to lend to the States to pay for increased costs as their Medicaid rolls begin to swell.

And then we're going to find the empty promises that were made to the American people, because most doctors don't take Medicaid patients. And so we're going to put all these new people on Medicaid, yet, how are they ever going to find a doctor?

We'll be back to fix the protections for TRICARE benefits for active duty and retired servicemembers, veterans and their families that somehow got left on the cutting floor.

And we'll be back to deal with the unintended, but certainly anticipated, consequences of people losing their health care because this bill makes it too expensive for employers to keep employees on their health plan.

Several weeks ago, more than 130 economists signed a letter to President Obama warning that the health care bill that was being pushed through Congress would cost Americans jobs, and sadly, we're already seeing evidence that those economists were right.

In just the last 3 days, we've seen the stories. Major employers like Caterpillar and John Deere talking about increases of $250 million in their health care costs. Medical device companies in Massachusetts talking about thousands of jobs being wiped out. The tourism industry in New Hampshire facing millions of dollars of fines because it hires seasonal workers.

We're going to have to come back and fix this bill time and time again in the coming weeks and months to correct all the flaws and all of the mistakes.

What we should be doing is working together to create a better environment for America's small businesses to invest, to save, and to rehire American workers. But, no, instead we're going to keep coming back here fixing the flaws in this very flawed bill.

Mr. Speaker, when are we going to address the number one issue on the minds of our fellow citizens, and that is the question of where are the jobs? When are we going to focus on the economy and getting people back to work instead of all of the job-killing policies that we're seeing move through this Congress? When are we going to begin to listen, once again, to the American people who sent us here to do their work?

Because the American people are asking the question: Where are the jobs?

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I rise tonight with a sad and heavy heart. Today we should be standing together reflecting on a year of bipartisanship and working to answer our country's call and their challenge to address the rising costs of health insurance in our country.

Today, this body, this institution, enshrined in the first article of the Constitution by our Founding Fathers as a sign of the importance they placed on this House, should be looking with pride on this legislation and our work.

But it is not so.

No, today we're standing here looking at a health care bill that no one in this body believes is satisfactory. Today we stand here amidst the wreckage of what was once the respect and honor that this House was held in by our fellow citizens. And we all know why it is so. We have failed to listen to America. And we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents. And when we fail to reflect that will, we fail ourselves, and we fail our country.

Look at this bill. Ask yourself, do you really believe that if you like the health plan that you have that you can keep it? No, you can't. You can't say that.

In this economy, with this unemployment, with our desperate need for jobs and economic growth, is this really the time to raise taxes, to create bureaucracies, and burden every job creator in our land? The answer is no.

Can you go home and tell your senior citizens that these cuts in Medicare will not limit their access to doctors or further weaken the program instead of strengthening it? No, you cannot.

Can you go home and tell your constituents with confidence that this bill respects the sanctity of all human life and that it won't allow for taxpayer funding of abortions for the first time in 30 years? No, you cannot.

And look at how this bill was written. Can you say it was done openly, with transparency and accountability? Without backroom deals and struck behind closed doors hidden from the people? Hell, no, you can't.

Have you read the bill? Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager' s amendment? Hell, no, you haven't.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, in a few minutes we will cast some of the most consequential votes that any of us will ever cast in this Chamber. The decision we make will affect every man, woman, and child in this Nation for generations to come. If we're going to vote to defy the will of the American people, then we ought to have the courage to stand before them and announce our votes, one at a time.

I sent a letter to the Speaker this week asking that the ``call of the roll'' be ordered for this vote. Madam Speaker, I ask you, will you, in the interest of this institution, grant my request?

Will you, Mr. Speaker, grant my request that we have a call of the roll?

Mr. Speaker, will you grant my request that we have a call of the roll?

My colleagues, this is the People's House.

When we came here, we each swore an oath to uphold and abide by the Constitution as representatives of the people. But the process here is broken. The institution is broken. And as a result, this bill is not what the American people need nor what our constituents want.

Americans are out there making sacrifices and struggling to make a better future for their kids, and over the last year as the damn-the- torpedoes outline of this legislation became more clear, millions of Americans lifted their voices and many, for the first time, asking us to slow down, not to try to cram through more than this system could handle, not to spend money that we didn't have. In this time of recession, they wanted us to focus on jobs, not more spending, not more government, and certainly not more taxes.

But what they see today frightens them. They're frightened because they don't know what comes next. They're disgusted because what they see is one political party closing out the other from what should be a national solution. And they're angry. They're angry that no matter how they engage in this debate, this body moves forward against their will.

Shame on us. Shame on this body. Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desires above those of your fellow countrymen.

Around this Chamber, looking upon us are the lawgivers from Moses, to Gaius, to Blackstone, to Thomas Jefferson. By our actions today, we disgrace their values. We break the ties of history in this Chamber. We break our trust with America.

When I handed the Speaker the gavel in 2007, I said this: ``This is the People's House. And the moment a majority forgets it, it starts writing itself a ticket to minority status.''

If we pass this bill, there will be no turning back. It will be the last straw for the American people. In a democracy, you can only ignore the will of the people for so long and get away with it. And if we defy the will of our fellow citizens and pass this bill, we're going to be held to account by those who have placed us in their trust. We will have shattered those bonds of trust.

I beg you, I beg each and every one of you on both sides of the aisle: Do not further strike at the heart of this country and this institution with arrogance, for surely you will not strike with impunity.

I ask each of you to vow to never let this happen again--this process, this defiance of our citizens. It's not too late to begin to restore the bonds of trust with our Nation and return comity to this institution.

And so join me. Join me in voting against this bill so that we can come together, together anew and addressing the challenge of health care in a manner that brings credit to this body and brings credit to the ideals of this Nation, and most importantly, that reflects the will of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, on that I request a recorded vote and request that the Speaker exercise your discretion to conduct this vote by a rollcall under clause 2 of House rule XX.

Madam Speaker, the American people are appalled by what they have seen in this health care debate. But the worst is still ahead. The bill has already failed. The American people don't want it, and they are screaming at the top of their lungs, stop. But, yet, Congress continues to proceed.

The American people want jobs. But what does this bill do? It puts the American people out of work. They want lower health care costs, while the health care bill being debated is going to raise the cost of premiums. They want less government, yet this bill is going to create a giant bureaucracy here in Washington. They want to protect life. Yet the bill is going to force taxpayers to fund elective abortions.

If that weren't enough, the majority plans to force the toxic Senate bill through the House under some controversial trick. There is no way to hide from this vote. It will be the biggest vote that most Members ever cast. Now you can run, but you can't hide. Let's defeat this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for yielding and suggest to my colleagues that here we go again. We are bringing this bill to the floor, a bill that no one has read.

The bill was filed at 9:35 a.m., and here we are at 12:50 p.m. We are operating under what is normally called a martial law rule, passed yesterday, that allows the majority to bring any bill to the floor at any time this week. So there was this hastily called Rules Committee meeting after this bill was filed. Now it is here on the floor.

Members haven't had time to read this bill. In addition to that, there is no score on this bill from the Joint Tax Committee on the so- called pay-fors on this bill and what impact they will have on taxes. I just think it is outrageous and another example of how the majority continues to ram through partisan legislation here on the floor of the House without the transparency and accountability that the American people deserve and expect.

If this is a dress rehearsal for how we are going to handle the so- called health care bill, I think the majority had better be ready to endure the wrath of the American people.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, when I travel around my district, I run into a lot of people who are looking for work, hanging on by their fingertips, and they want to know, When's Washington going to wake up? They're asking, Where are the jobs?

I have run a small business, and one of the things a small business needs in order to grow is they need some certainty, certainty about what the future is going to look like. With all of this talk about raising taxes here in Washington, D.C., imposing mandates on employers in the health care bill or a new national energy tax, all they're doing is creating more uncertainty that is causing employers to be frozen in their job creation.

The Congressional Budget Office has made clear that the mandate that was in the Senate- and House-passed bills, the Senate bill, $750 per person for an employer who doesn't offer health care to their employees, each employer may have to pay that fee. Now what we see is the President offering that that penalty should be $2,000 per employee. This is going to raise the cost of employment and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, costs tens of thousands of jobs across our country.

It's time to scrap this bill, to get back to commonsense ideas that will help improve the cost of health care in America and widen access and bring some certainty to employers across this country who want to hire more people but won't with all of the uncertainty that is out there.

Let me thank the majority leader for yielding and rise to congratulate my friend Dale Kildee.

The gentleman from Michigan and I served for many years on the Education and Labor Committee. We had many debates, but there were dozens and dozens of issues that Mr. Kildee and I had the chance to work on together, and I do refer to him as Mr. Kildee. But, as has been mentioned, there is no kinder, more decent person in this House than Dale Kildee.

So, Dale, on the occasion of your 20,000th vote cast here, I rise today to say congratulations.

General Leave