Floor Statements

Let me thank my colleague for yielding.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 6604, and I commend my colleague, the gentlelady from California (Ms. Pelosi), for sponsoring this resolution.

Tip O'Neill needs no introduction to this body. Every Member knows, respects, and admires Tip's record and the long shadow that he casts over the people's House.

We've all borrowed perhaps his best known saying, ``All politics is local.'' That is certainly true today, as we propose to name a building right here at the foot of Capitol Hill, a stone's throw from the great dome, in honor of our 55th Speaker.

This is one of those moments, though, when you wonder how the honoree would feel, especially when it's someone like Tip who never quite held back his opinions. Perhaps he would have enjoyed seeing leaders from opposite sides of the aisle come together to give him a well-deserved hurrah. Certainly he would have gotten a kick out of being flanked by buildings named after Hubert Humphrey and Jerry Ford--also leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Tip actually considered Mr. Humphrey one of his heroes, and he had one of Humphrey's quotes put up on the wall in his office.

Now, as for Jerry Ford, well, they didn't, frankly, agree on much of anything, but Tip counted President Ford as a true friend. And since friends are always honest with one another, when the new President would explain what legislation he wanted to pass, Tip would say, well, Jerry, that's not going anywhere, but sure, send it over anyway if that's what you want to do. That was Tip, who of course would also be pleased to see us down here telling an old story or two. Now he will stand in good company and, ever the representative, provide the folks back home with yet another source of pride.

Having said all that, Tip might have had one small complaint about today's occasion. A proud partisan, Tip relished nothing more than a close vote, one that would give him a chance to do just a little more wrangling as he tried to secure the vote. Today, when the roll is called on this bill, however, the outcome is likely to be unanimous, a reflection of this body's vast gratitude and appreciation for the gentleman from Cambridge.

So I would urge the whole House to join me in supporting this resolution.

I rise today to honor an employee who is retiring after four decades of distinguished service to the House. Deborah Woodard Khalili of the Office of the Parliamentarian's Office of the Compilation of the Precedents will retire at the end of November.

A Virginia native, Debby Khalili came to the Office of the Compilation of the Precedents from the Library of Congress to assist with the production and development of Deschler's Precedents in the fall of 1973. She has remained with the office since that time, exhibiting exemplary service under five Parliamentarians, eight Speakers, and eight Presidents.

Debby has helped with the production of all 18 volumes of Deschler's Precedents, encompassing 41 chapters of House precedent. She is the sole staff member to cover the entirety of the project's tenure, working from the days of hot-metal type to the digital age. She has worked closely with fifteen legal editors during her time with the project, allowing the Deschler's Precedents volumes to maintain a consistent editorial quality standard throughout its development.

In addition, Debby has assisted in the biennial production of the House Rules and Manual and all three versions of House Practice. However, her most lasting and important contribution has been preserving the House precedents for more than twenty Congresses. She leaves behind a detailed and rich historical record, one that will be used by the Office of the Parliamentarian and by legal scholars for decades to come.

A wealth of institutional knowledge will depart the House upon Debby's retirement. I thank her for her service and wish her well in her retirement with her husband, Hassan, and her children Ramin and Meena.

Mr. Speaker, over the course of our history, nearly 10,750 individuals have served in the House of Representatives. According to congressional historians, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Hall, has just become the oldest known House Member to cast a recorded floor vote.

It is yet another extraordinarily milestone for this World War II veteran from Rockwall, Texas, a small town east of Dallas. This is a proud moment for Mr. Hall's family, constituents, and all of us who have the privilege to serve with him.

Today, the House of Representatives is also accepting a portrait of Mr. Hall in recognition of his tenure as chairman of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Ralph's record of service to the committee, and to our country, has been a thing of beauty, and John Boyd Martin's work certainly matches that description.

The portrait contains a view of the Capitol and a picture of Ralph and his wife Mary Ellen, who spurred him to get involved and run for his mentor Sam Rayburn's old seat. The House is accepting the portrait in honor of her memory.

Also worth noting in the portrait is the space shuttle on Mr. Hall's lapel. It's a fitting symbol of his long-standing commitment to the space program and America's leadership in discovery and innovation. It also signifies how Chairman Hall has focused on exploring all of our next frontiers--starting with our own energy resources. Chairman Hall not only keeps the shuttle--and all the promise it embodies--on his lapel. He keeps it in his heart too.

Like the casting of a vote, the presentation of portrait is a personal act, but its acceptance is a shared commitment. It is for us, Mr. Hall's peers and admirers, to continue the labors the portrait honors, to sustain the curiosity it celebrates. The House's efforts to commemorate Mr. Hall's voting milestone is a good start. There is much more to do, and we can rest assured that Mr. Hall himself will make a robust contribution to this work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate my longtime constituent and friend, Scott Nein, upon the recognition by his colleagues as the Industry Person of the Year.

This award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions to the improvement of the insurance industry and the independent agency system. Scott is being honored because of his advocacy for independent insurance agents as well as his hard work and selfless effort that contributed to making the merger between the Independent Insurance Agents and the Professional Insurance Agents a reality in Ohio.

Scott Nein is a great leader. First, in the Ohio House and then in the Ohio Senate, he was able to make an impact for our State, and represented his constituents well during his time of service. This man is equally as impressive when it comes to his management and impact within the insurance industry. Throughout his career, he has worked well with diverse groups of people including: clients, consumers, constituents, insurance agents, and elected officials. Scott made ``reaching across the aisle'' an art form for the betterment of our citizens.

I am very proud to call Scott Nein my close friend and for that I express my most sincere congratulations. His drive is unparalleled, and his devotion to serving others is inspiring. I am certain his shining example has encouraged others to follow.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and recognize a native of my district, Ms. Kayla Harrison, on winning the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Kayla made Olympic history by becoming the first American to win a gold medal in judo. Her years of dedication and hard work have clearly paid off. She has been committed to achieving excellence which can be seen by her many accomplishments. Kayla won the Junior World Championships in 2008, was runner-up at the 2009 Junior World Championships, and in 2010 won the Senior World Championships. These results require a consistent effort day in and out.

On behalf of the United States Congress, I proudly salute Ms. Kayla Harrison, on her Olympic victory. She worked incredibly hard to win an Olympic gold medal and will forever be remembered as the first American to win gold in judo.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today, on behalf of the men and women of our institution, to honor the American life of Thomas Coonan.

For most Members of Congress, the gateway to the chamber of the United States House of Representatives is the doorway to the Speaker's Lobby.

For many years, Tom Coonan stood at that door in the service of his country and the service of democracy. As a trusted member of the House Chamber security detail and the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, it was his post.

For more than 15 years, Tom Coonan stood at the passage to the People's House, where he was a familiar and comforting sight to all who passed regularly through our chamber.

But Tom Coonan was standing vigil for American democracy long before his first day of work for the House.

Before he served his country with the House Sergeant-at-Arms Office, Tom Coonan served his country with distinction in our armed forces.

He began his military career in 1963, and served as an Assistant Intelligence officer, as the commander of Amphibious Group Two, until 1966.

For the next decade and a half Tom held a number of civilian positions. Then, in 1981, once again feeling the tug of his desire to serve the nation he loved, Tom volunteered for a recall to reserve active duty.

Beginning in 1990, he served as the U.S. Commander-in-Chief Pacific's Representative for the Southwest Pacific, Suva, and Fiji.

In September 1995, he joined the House Sergeant-at-Arms Office as a member of the Chamber Security staff. He was always stationed in the Speaker's Lobby--the gateway to the chamber at the heart of the democracy Tom spent most of his adult life protecting.

On August 23, 2012, tragically, while members were away for the August District Work Period, Tom Coonan suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Washington, DC. He is to be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

For those who served with Tom Coonan, knew him, and were protected by him, his presence is sorely missed. But because of his steadfast and constant service, the vibrant commotion of democracy goes on. And as the House returns this week for legislative business, its members and staff do so with unfailing gratitude for the life he led.

Having stood guard faithfully at the passage to the People's House, Thomas Coonan now stands in the halls of eternity with Our Creator-- forever strong, forever vigilant, and forever at peace.

I thank my friend for yielding, and remind my colleagues that for the last 18 months when we've been in the majority, we have focused on jobs. Now, the American people are

still asking the question: where are the jobs? And that's why we've got over 30 jobs bills now pending over in the United States Senate. And after today, we'll have another bill sitting over in the Senate that will help create more jobs in America.

Two years ago, the President said we shouldn't raise taxes in this time of a slow economy. I agreed with the President. The Congress agreed with the President. All of the Republicans and 119 Democrats voted to extend all of the current tax rates. And here we are some 18 months later, economic growth is actually slower than it was when President Obama made those remarks, and yet the President wants to go out and raise the taxes on the so-called rich.

Well, let me tell you who the so-called rich are. About a million of those people who you want to increase taxes on are small business owners, small business owners who pay their business taxes through their personal tax return. I know all about this. I used to be one of them. I had a subchapter S corporation, and whatever the company's so- called profits were, I had to pay taxes on those, whether I actually got the money or not.

So when you look at what the President wants to do, you want to tax a million small business owners. Ernst & Young has come out and made it clear that if you do this, 750,000 jobs are going to be destroyed, at a time when the American people are asking: where are the jobs?

It's time to put the rhetoric aside. It's time to put the politics aside. I know we're in an election year, but my goodness, raising taxes at this point in this economy is a very big mistake. Extend all of the current tax rates, which our bill does, for 1 year, so we've got time to revise our Tax Code. Lower rates, fairer rates for all Americans, which is what needs to happen if we're truly going to make America more competitive. Put more Americans back to work. And bring some of those jobs that have been shipped overseas back home. We all know that we need to revise our Tax Code and reform it from top to bottom. But that's not going to happen overnight. So extending all of these rates for 1 year will provide certainty. Certainty for whom? Certainty for small business owners, people who can make decisions about what they want to invest in terms of new plant, new equipment, whether they want to hire new employees. This is the most commonsense thing that we can do, and there's no reason that we shouldn't.

When we look at the proposal coming from our colleagues across the aisle, it raises taxes on dividends. Probably not a smart thing to do. When you look at senior citizens, many of them who depend on their dividend income, they're going to get whacked by your proposal. And under your proposal, not only do we tax small business people, but, oh, yeah, the death tax comes back in full force because it fails to address one of the most penalizing parts of our Tax Code.

I believe that the proposal that my colleague Mr. Camp and his committee have brought forward is a reasonable, responsible approach, and I would urge its passage.

Let me thank my colleague for yielding, and say to my colleagues, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6079, a legislation that would repeal the President's health care law.

When this bill passed, we were promised that the health care law would lower costs and help create jobs. One congressional leader even suggested it would create 400,000 new jobs.

Well, guess what? It didn't happen. This bill's making our economy worse, driving up the cost of health care, and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.

The American people were told that they'd come to like this bill once it was passed. Well, that didn't happen either. Most Americans not only oppose this law, but they fully support repealing it.

The American people were told that taxes on the middle class wouldn't go up if this bill passed. Well, guess what? There are 21 tax increases in this health care law, and at least a dozen of them hit the middle class.

And let me just give you a glimpse of the damage that all these tax hikes will do to our economy. A tax on health insurance providers will end up costing up to 249,000 jobs, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

A tax on health care manufacturers will put as many as 47,000 jobs in jeopardy, according to one nonpartisan estimate. Then you've got the employer mandate, which will affect every job creator with 50 or more employees.

Let's take White Castle, a company in my home State. They say that the employer mandate would eat up most of their net income starting in 2014. And that's on account of just one provision in the law.

And then there's the individual mandate that the Supreme Court has now ruled is a massive tax. The Congressional Budget Office says that roughly 20 million Americans will either have to pay this tax or be forced to buy insurance that they wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

You add it all up, the tax increases in this health care law will take at least $675 billion out of our pockets over the next 10 years. All this at a time when employers are just trying to get by.

Listen, I think there's a better way, and that's why we're here today. Americans want a step-by-step approach that protects the access to care that they need from the doctor they choose at a lower cost. They certainly didn't ask for this government takeover of their health care system that's put us in this mess that we're in today.

At the beginning of this Congress, the House voted to repeal this health care law. It was our pledge to America, and we kept it. Unfortunately, our colleagues in the Senate refused to follow suit, and since then, we've made some bipartisan progress on repealing parts of this harmful health care law, including the 1099 paperwork mandate.

But this law continues to make our economy worse, and there's even more resolve to see that it is fully repealed.

Now, I think this is an opportunity to save our economy. And for those who still support repealing this harmful health care law, we're giving our colleagues in the Senate another chance to heed the will of the American people. And for those who did not support repeal the last time, it's a chance for our colleagues to reconsider. For all of us, it's an opportunity to do the right thing for our country.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

It's important for the American people to know how we got here and to know the facts of this case.

The Congress asked the Justice Department for the facts related to Fast and Furious and the events that led to the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The Justice Department did not provide the facts and the information that we've requested. Instead, the information came from people outside the Department, people who wanted to do the right thing.

In addition to not providing the information, the administration admitted misleading Congress, actually retracting a letter it had sent 10 months earlier.

I think all Members understand this is a very serious matter. The Terry family wants to know how this happened, and they have every right to have their answers. And the House needs to know how this happened, and it's our constitutional duty to find out.

So the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a lawful and narrowly tailored subpoena. We've been patient, giving the Justice Department every opportunity to comply so we can get to the bottom of this for the Terry family. We showed more than enough good faith, but the White House has chosen to invoke executive privilege. That leaves us no other options. The only recourse left to the House is to continue seeking the truth and to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Congress.

Now, I don't take this matter lightly. I, frankly, hoped it would never come to this. The House's focus is on jobs and on the economy. But no Justice Department is above the law, and no Justice Department is above the Constitution, which each of us has sworn an oath to uphold.

So I ask the Members of this body to come together and to support this resolution so we can seek the answers that the Terry family and the American people deserve.

Let me thank my friend, Mr. Hoyer, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend our colleague, the gentlelady from California, on her 25 years of service to this institution. It's the latest in a series of milestones for the gentlelady from California.

On January 4, 2007, I had the privilege of presenting Leader Pelosi the gavel when she became the first female Speaker of the House. But just as important as this anniversary is in and of itself, it also represents 25 years of commitment and service to this institution.

Now, the gentlelady from California and I have differing political philosophies, and we've had some real battles here on the floor over the 22 years that I've served with her, but many of you know that the gentlelady and I have a very, very workable relationship and we get along with each other fine. We treat each other very nicely and actually have a warm relationship, because we all serve in this institution and we all have work to do to protect the institution and serve the institution. And I can tell all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that I enjoy my relationship with her and enjoy our ability to work together.

Now, it doesn't mean that we're going to agree on taxes or that we're going to agree on spending, but I know I speak for the whole House when I rise today to say to the gentlelady from California, Mrs. Pelosi, congratulations on 25 years of real service to this institution.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I claim time in opposition.

How in the world did we ever get here?

Think about this. This is a fight being picked over an issue that everyone knew was going to be resolved. It's a fight being picked over an issue that there is no fight over. Five years ago, the Democrats put this clip in the law that would require student loan interest rates to more than double on July 1. I don't know why they did it, but they did it. Nobody wants to see student loan interest rates go up, especially when you have recent college graduates of which 50 percent are either unemployed or underemployed as a result of the President's economic policies.

We've had Democrats and Republicans for months who have been talking about trying to fix this problem. While we don't yet have the long-term solution to this problem--the chairman is continuing to work on it--we believe that we shouldn't put students at risk and that we ought to make sure that their interest rates don't go up. So we developed this short-term policy to solve this problem for the next year while the committee has time to look at a long-term solution to this problem.

But why do people insist that we have to have a political fight on something where there is no fight? There is absolutely no fight. People want to politicize this because it's an election year. But my God, do we have to fight about everything? Now we're going to have to fight over women's health. Give me a break.

This is the latest plank in the so-called ``war on women,'' entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain. Let's review the facts. The President in his budget called for reductions in spending in this slush fund that's given to the Secretary of HHS. The President called for a reduction in spending. You may have already forgotten that several months ago you all voted to cut $4 billion out of this slush fund while they passed the payroll tax credit bill. To accuse us of wanting to gut women's health is absolutely not true.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is beneath us. This is beneath the dignity of this House and the dignity of the public trust that we enjoy from our constituents. They expect us to come here and to be honest with each other, to work out these issues. To pick this big political fight where there is no fight is just silly. Give me a break.

Vote ``no'' on this motion to recommit. Vote ``yes'' on the final bill. Let's send it over to the Senate now.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Let me thank my colleague for yielding and let me say thanks to Chairman Ryan and members of the Budget Committee for a job well done.

This is a tough process, making real decisions about our path for the future. The interesting thing I've found about this debate that's gone on the last 2 days is that our team actually went and made the tough choices--made the tough choices to preserve freedom in America and to deal with our fiscal nightmare.

If you look at all the proposals we've seen in this debate, it's all more of the same. There are two things that are prevalent: let's raise taxes on the American people once again; and, secondly, let's kick the can down the road as if no one knows that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are going broke. Oh, yes, all these proposals we've seen continue to kick the can down the road.

I think that the Path to Prosperity that Chairman Ryan and his committee have put together is a blueprint for America's future. We all know that we've got some $16 trillion worth of debt already--$1.3 trillion in a budget deficit this year alone. The American people know that they have got to live within their means; they have got to do a budget. They also know that you can't continue to spend money that you don't have.

And so I applaud my colleagues for the tough decisions they've made to try to do the right thing for the country and to lay out a real vision of what we were to do if we get more control here in this town. This is still a Democrat-run town.

The saddest thing I've seen, though, when it comes to a budget, is that while we did a budget last year--we're doing another budget this year, we're making tough decisions to help preserve Social Security and preserve Medicare--it has been 1,065 since the United States Senate has passed a budget. That's 1,065 days. Almost 3 years since they've had the courage to show the American people what their solutions are.

I think it's high time that we're serious about solving America's fiscal problems. The first step is actually doing a budget.

So, on behalf of my Republican colleagues, I would suggest that we support the Ryan budget. It's a real pathway to prosperity. It makes the tough decisions and puts us on a course that's sustainable, not just for our generation, but for our kids and grandkids.

It's my privilege today to pay tribute to John Sullivan, who will retire this week after 8 years of service as our Parliamentarian and 25 years of service to this House.

John leaves his post with much to be proud of, starting with a first- rate team of parliamentarians who will do a fine job carrying on his legacy.

The parls are the people who are here first every morning, and they're also the last ones to leave at night. They review every piece of legislation. They keep us tethered to the rules and traditions that are the House's foundation. In this way, the parliamentarians are really the glue that holds this House together.

The leader of that team is John Sullivan, whose devotion to the House is as total as his commitment to Indiana basketball. Now, Coach Bobby Knight once defined ``discipline'' as ``doing what you have to do, doing it as well as you possibly can, and doing it that way all the time.'' By this definition, John truly is one of the most disciplined people to have ever served in this House.

He consistently has shown grace under pressure in what well may be one of the biggest pressure cookers on Earth. He has strengthened and modernized the Office of the Parliamentarian to meet the needs of a more open and transparent Congress.

John, who was here on 9/11, determined how the House should go forward, and has spent every day preparing for the unexpected. In a body where anything can happen, he's always thinking two steps ahead, like any good coach.

So, of course, John's a modest man. He would just say it was just him doing his job. Like I said, discipline. But make no mistake: for the House and the people that we serve, he's gone above and beyond the call of duty.

John, we're sorry to see you go, but we want to wish you and your family the best. On behalf of the whole House, we want to thank you for your service.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the Democratic leader, Ms. Pelosi.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Let me thank my colleague for yielding. My colleagues know that I don't often come to the floor and speak on bills; but as I saw this bill coming up today, I thought to myself, here is a perfect example of government getting in the way.

I never thought, in my wildest dreams, I'd ever run for public office or ever seek to come here to Congress. But as a small businessman, I was concerned about the ever-growing size of

the Federal Government and the ever-growing reach of the Federal Government. I saw it in my own business, I saw it with my suppliers, and I saw it with my customers. And out of that frustration, I came here because I thought government was too big, spent too much, and was far too intrusive into our economy and, frankly, our society.

Look at this bill and you will see it's a perfect example of the overreach of government. We've got a group of people in California who don't like production agriculture and who think that using water to grow crops to feed the world is environmentally dangerous. They're using the endangered species law for what I would describe as an unintended purpose. They're using a law to shut down production agriculture that they don't like, and they're abusing a law that was created by this Congress. It is wrong, and it should not stand.

Secondly, here we are in a country where the American people are asking where are the jobs. The President says he's doing everything he can to help create more jobs in America.

Well, here's a situation where we've got tens of thousands of farmers and those who work on those farms in the Central Valley of California being denied the use of their own land, being denied the labor to feed their own families because someone is abusing the law.

This is a good bill, and it ought to pass.

Mr. Speaker, for more than 100 years the Catholic Press Association of the United States has provided news, information, and commentary on an ongoing basis to millions of readers. The CPA's bylaws make clear its commitment to help its members to ``serve effectively, through the medium of the printed word, the social, intellectual and spiritual needs of the entire human family, and to spread and support the Kingdom of God.'' Hundreds of Catholic publications benefit from the CPA, including my local paper, the Catholic Telegraph, which has published since 1831 and is read by 60,000 subscribers throughout the Cincinnati archdiocese.

Today I rise to join the association's celebration of February as Catholic Press Month. I would also note the timeliness of Catholic Press Month and its immediate relevance to some of the important debates taking place in Washington, DC. As CPA President Greg Erlandson noted in his statement, ``This year Catholic Press Month comes at a particularly critical moment. Our bishops have made clear their concern with recent government regulations and the threat such regulations pose to religious liberty. It is during challenging times like these that we can best recognize the great blessing that is the Catholic press.''

As has been well documented of late, a new mandate advanced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama's administration would require faith-based employers, individuals, and insurers--including Catholic charities, schools, universities, and hospitals--to provide services they believe are immoral. Those services include sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and devices, and contraception. The mandate is being implemented as a result of the health care law signed by President Obama in 2010.

In a January 26 letter about this mandate to the Catholic Telegraph, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, the Most Reverend Dennis Schnurr, expressed the frustration of many Ohio Catholics when he declared: ``We cannot--we will not--comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second-class citizens.'' In a subsequent letter on February 13, after President Obama announced what was called an accommodation, Cardinal Schnurr reiterated the Church's ``firm position that the freedom to follow one's conscience and to have access to health care are both fundamental human rights. We will not be forced into a position of choosing between the two.''

In imposing this mandate, the federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries, encroaching on religious liberty in a manner that affects millions of Americans and harms some of our nation's most vital institutions. The Catholic Press Association has played a critical role in providing news about this issue to millions of readers throughout our country, in just the most recent demonstration of the service it provides to the Church as well as to our nation, its citizens, and the Constitution upon which our system of government is founded.

As President Erlandson put it, ``Only the Catholic press gives Catholic leaders a voice with which to be heard by their people-- unmuted, uncensored and independent of the preconceptions and prejudices of too many secular media outlets.'' I congratulate the Catholic Press Association for the century of contributions it has made and will continue to make through the blessings of liberty in our great country.