Floor Statements

I think all of the Members should be aware that today is Father Coughlin's last day as our Chaplain after 11 years of service.

I think all of us, not just the Members but the officers and the staff, owe a giant debt of gratitude to Father Dan. He has been an invaluable part of our community, not just with the opening prayer but his counsel and his guidance that he's offered to all of us. In the House's darkest hours, he's been there to gently lead us back to safe haven. In between, when things get really noisy around here, he tries to encourage us to stop, find some quiet time, and reflect.

He was appointed by Speaker Hastert 11 years ago. He comes from Chicago, where he will return. I am sure that there's one person that's real happy he's returning, and that's his mother, who's 96 years young.

So, Father Dan, on behalf of the whole House, I want to thank you for your service. I know we haven't always been the most cooperative congregation. I hope that you will keep this House and the people who serve here in your prayers. We will keep you in ours.

With that, I am happy to yield to my colleague from California.

Father Dan, may God be with you.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Garrett

Mr. Chairman, the American people understand that we can't continue to spend money that we don't have. Our national debt has now surpassed $14.2 trillion, and it's on a track to eclipse the entire size of our economy.

This massive debt that we are incurring hurts private sector job creation, eroding confidence, spreading uncertainty amongst employers big and small, and discouraging private investment in our economy that is sorely needed in order for us to create jobs.

This debt is also a moral threat to our country. In my opinion, it is immoral to rob our children's and grandchildren's future and leave them beholden to countries around the world who buy our debt. We have a moral obligation to speak the truth and to do something about it.

Yesterday, we took the first step in beginning to address this massive debt by passing legislation that will reduce our deficit by $315 billion over the next 10 years. It was an imperfect bill, but it was a positive step that has cleared the decks and allowed us to focus on cutting trillions of dollars, not just billions.

Chairman Ryan and the members of the Budget Committee have done an excellent job of putting together a budget that's worthy of the American people. This budget will help job creation today, lift the crushing burden of debt that threatens our children's future, and preserve and protect programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Most importantly, the budget shows families and small businesses that we're serious about dealing with America's spending illness so we can put our country on a path to prosperity.

The Ryan budget sets the bar for the debate going forward. President Obama had an opportunity to match it. Unfortunately, he gave a partisan speech about the need for more spending, more taxing, and more borrowing. He said he wants to target our debt problem through a so- called ``debt fail-safe,'' but exempts the major entitlement programs that account for most of the long-term debt problems. And he proposed yet another commission, though he ignored the recommendations of this last one.

Instead of offering serious solutions, the President asked Congress to raise the debt limit without addressing Washington's spending problem. The President wants a clean bill, and the American people will not tolerate it.

Now, let me be clear: There will be no debt limit increase unless it's accompanied by serious spending cuts and real budget reforms.

We delivered this message on Wednesday morning to the President. We cannot continue to borrow recklessly and dig ourselves a deeper hole and mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren. The American people are looking for leadership to address this debt crisis. Unfortunately, the President has failed to put a serious proposal on the table. If the President won't lead, we will.

No more kicking the can down the road. No more whistling past the graveyard. Now is the time to address the serious challenges that face the American people. And we will.

Let me thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Rogers, and his staff, and all the staff for the sacrifices and hard work that they have put forward over the last several months in order to get us to this point.

For years now, our economy has been stalled and stumbling. In the private sector, jobs are not being created. Something's clogging the engine of our economy. That ``something'' is uncertainty, uncertainty being caused by the actions that are being taken in this town.

One of the prime causes of uncertainty is spending. Our failure to deal with the spending binge has been chipping away at the economic confidence that Americans want to have in their country.

Washington's spending addiction is a bipartisan problem. It didn't start under the current administration, but the current administration clearly made it worse.

This problem is not going to be fixed overnight, and this bill does not fix it. The budget proposed by the chairman of the Budget Committee, Mr. Ryan, the Path to Prosperity, does deal with the long- term problem.

What this bill does is stop the bleeding. It halts the spending binge and starts us moving back in the right direction.

Does it cut enough? No. Do I wish it cut more? Absolutely. And do we need to cut more? Absolutely.

There are some who claim that the spending cuts in this bill aren't real, that they are gimmicks. I just think that's total nonsense. A cut is a cut, and this bill will cut an estimated $315 billion over the next 10 years, the largest non-defense discretionary cut in the history of our country.

You want discretionary cuts? This bill has billions of them.

You want mandatory cuts? They are in here too, clearing out some of the underbrush in the Federal budget while we get ready to debate the Path to Prosperity.

Every dime in this bill that is cut is a dime that Washington will spend if we leave it on the table. And if you vote ``no'' on this bill, you are voting to do exactly that, leaving this money on the table to be spent by unelected bureaucrats.

There are some who say that the spending cuts in this bill aren't real, that they were ``already scheduled.''

Let me show you what was ``already scheduled.'' This chart is based on a chart produced last week by an economist at Stanford University, John Taylor. What it shows is the difference between what President Obama wanted to spend this year and what we will actually spend this year when this bill passes.

The difference? It is $78.5 billion less than what the President requested.

Now, there are some who want to say that this bill is just more of the same. Well, if you believe that it's more of the same, this chart will show you the direction of Federal spending over the last couple of years, on that one-third of the budget that we call discretionary spending that we fight over all year.

It couldn't be more stark. It's like driving down the highway and throwing your car into reverse. Instead of spending more and more and more, guess what? We are actually going to spend less in the discretionary budget this year.

Now, there are some press articles that have picked up on some spin from our colleagues across the aisle, suggesting that the bill will result in smaller savings than advertised between now and September, and it's just not the case.

It comes down to the fact that there is a difference between budget authority and budget outlays. Budget authority is how much an agency is allowed to spend on a given program; it's the license to spend taxpayer dollars.

Outlays show how much an agency will spend over time based on current and prior budget authority. These are the results of how quickly taxpayer dollars are spent.

The final agreement cuts nearly $40 billion in budget authority, taking away the license to spend the money, which will result in deficit savings of an estimated $315 billion over next decade. When we pass this bill, Washington will spend $315 billion less than it is currently on track to spend over the next 10 years, and it is just that simple.

The Path to Prosperity is the plan that will take us where we truly need to go. This bill doesn't do that, but this bill starts us moving in the right direction.

It eliminates one program from the President's health care law and cuts another program in his health care law nearly in half.

It eliminates funding for some of the administration's czars, bureaucrats that were charged with implementing the bailouts and takeovers, and guarantees that they won't be coming back.

It bans taxpayer funding of abortion in the District of Columbia, ensuring that taxpayer funds won't be used to fund the destruction of human life.

It saves the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, giving thousands of children here in this city a chance at a decent education. Is it perfect? No. I would be the first one to admit that it's flawed. Welcome to divided government.

The negotiations that went on over the last 4 or 5 weeks weren't easy, especially when you've got another body on the other side of this Capitol that doesn't want to cut spending and clearly an administration that doesn't want to cut spending. But I will tell you that this is the best we could get out of divided government.

The gentleman referred to it earlier as a compromise. Well, I would say it was a hard fight to get the kinds of spending cuts that we got, but these are real spending cuts.

I think this bill sets the stage for us to begin making the fundamental changes that need to be made to put our Nation back on a path to prosperity, and I would urge all of you to join me in supporting this bill.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding.

The House is preparing to pass a responsible troop funding bill that would fund the Department of Defense through September. It would also cut spending by an additional $12 billion and keep the government running for an additional week.

There is no policy reason for the Senate to oppose this responsible troop funding bill that keeps the government running. It reflects a bicameral, bipartisan agreement that was reached in December regarding the troop funding bill, and no Senator has objected to the policy in this bill. I think it is past time that we get this responsible troop funding bill enacted, especially when the U.S. has become engaged in a third war.

To support job creation in America, we are working to make real spending cuts. We are also working on commonsense policy restrictions when it comes to how our taxpayer dollars are spent.

Talks to resolve last year's budget are progressing, but there is no agreement yet, no agreement on numbers, and no agreement on the underlying policies that were passed by this Chamber.

Now, I think we all know that no one wants a shutdown. There is absolutely no policy reason for the Senate not to follow the House in taking these responsible steps to support our troops and to keep our government open.

Let me thank my colleague for yielding and let me start by also thanking him and the members of the Government Reform Committee for their work on this bill. Also I want to thank our 50 cosponsors and all the Members on both sides of the aisle who are standing with us today. I also appreciate the efforts of our colleagues in the Senate, particularly Senator Joe Lieberman, who are working on similar legislation.

Today, the House will have the opportunity to do something special for the future of our country. I think just about every Member would agree that we have got to do everything we can to help our education system. Americans are concerned that their children won't be able to have the same blessings that they have had, and if we want to protect the American Dream, there is no substitute for a quality education.

My view has always been that education reform starts with giving children a way out of our most underachieving public schools. Of course,

that doesn't mean that we abandon those schools. It means we take some of the pressure off of them while they work to turn themselves around.

So we came together here about 7 years ago and said let's try something different. Instead of just throwing money at the problem, let's empower parents from lower-income families to choose the schools that are best for them. We wouldn't deny any school money that they had already been receiving. We would be injecting freedom and competition into a system that is caught up in the status quo.

We had a strong bipartisan coalition, including Anthony Williams, who was the Mayor here at the time, and Dick Armey, who for years led this fight in the House, paving the way for this program. He and I started working together on school choice in the early nineties when we served on the Education and Labor Committee together. We said let's give kids in our capital city a real chance at success and a real shot at the American Dream that they don't have. We thought to ourselves, what do we have to be afraid of? Well, as it turned out, there was nothing that we needed to be afraid of.

Thousands of families have taken advantage of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, and there is strong evidence that it is both effective and cost-effective. Unfortunately, the education establishment in our country sees this Opportunity Scholarship Program as a threat. In reality, this is an opportunity to raise the bar, because competition makes everybody better. I think if you look beyond the talking points and focus on the facts, you will find that the D.C. program provides a model that can work in other communities around our Nation.

Now, I think all of you know that this issue is important to me, but I will tell you this: This is not about me. I am proud to say that I have supported the Opportunity Scholarship Program from the get-go, but I am even more proud of the fact that I had nothing to do with its success. For that, we can thank the students and parents who have become more than the program's beneficiaries--they are its greatest ambassadors.

In recent days, I have received letters from many of them asking Congress to do the right thing, and I will be submitting some of those for the Record. You see, they know what it was like before. They remember living just blocks from great schools, but feeling miles away from them, and all they did was ask us to have a chance to have the same kind of education that kids down the street were getting. There is no controversial idea here. It is the American way.

So if we are serious about bipartisan education reform, we should start by saving this successful bipartisan program that has helped so many underprivileged children here in D.C. get a chance at a quality education. I urge the House to support and save this important program.

March 29, 2011.

Dear Speaker Boehner, I want to thank you for spending so

much time and energy on a cause that does not benefit you but

helps me and a lot other DC children.

I was a lucky one. I had the opportunity to be a scholar

and it worked! I was accepted into Archbishop Carroll and

Bishop McNamara High School. I'm proud of my success. One day

I would like to attend Spellman College. When I get to

college I know it will be because of the solid foundation I

received in my elementary school. The foundation for my

future was possible because of my scholarship.

Again, thank you for fighting to save the Opportunity

Scholarship. I know you care about us and I wish you a lot of

good luck!

Sincerely,

Samaya Mack,

8th grade,

St. Anthony Catholic School.

Mr. Speaker, let me start out by thanking the members of the Oversight & Government Reform Committee for their work on this bill. Thank you also to our 50 cosponsors and all the members on both sides who are standing with us today. I appreciate the efforts of our colleagues in the Senate--particularly Joe Lieberman--who are working on similar legislation.

Today, the House will have the opportunity to do something special for the future of our country. I think just about every member would agree we have work to do when it comes to our education system.

Americans are concerned that their children won't come to know the same blessings they have. And if we want to protect the American Dream, there's no substitute for a quality education.

My view's always been, education reform starts with giving children in need a way out of our most underachieving public schools. Of course, that doesn't mean we abandon those schools. It means we take some of the pressure off of them while they work to turn themselves around.

So we came together here about seven years ago and said, let's try something different. Instead of just throwing more money at the problem, let's empower parents from lower-income families to choose the schools that are best for their children. We wouldn't deny any school money they would already be receiving--we would just be injecting freedom and competition into a system caught up in the status quo.

We had a strong bipartisan coalition, including: Anthony Williams, our mayor here at the time; and Dick Armey, who for years led this fight in the House, paving the way for this program. We started working together on school choice in the early 1990s when we served on the Ed & Labor Committee.

We said, let's give these kids in our capital city a real chance at success and a real shot at the American Dream that they do not have. What do we have to be afraid of? Nothing, as it turned out. Thousands of families have taken advantage of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. There's strong evidence that it has been both effective and cost-effective.

Unfortunately, the education establishment in our country sees the Opportunity Scholarship Program as a threat. In reality, this is an opportunity to raise the bar. Competition makes everyone better.

I think if you look beyond the talking points and focus on the facts, you'll find that the D.C. program provides a model that can work well in other communities around the nation.

Now, this issue is important to me--but it's not about me. I'm proud to say I've supported the Opportunity Scholarship Program from the get- go, but I'm even more proud of the fact I had nothing to do with its success. For that, we can thank the students and the parents who have become more than just the program's beneficiaries--they are its greatest ambassadors.

In recent days, I've received letters from many of them asking their Congress to do the right thing, I'll be submitting some of those for the record.

You see, they know what it was like before. They remember living just blocks from these great schools, but feeling miles away from them. All they ask us to do is help ensure others get the same chance they've had. That's

no controversial idea--it's just the American way.

So if we're serious about bipartisan education reform, we should start by saving this successful, bipartisan program that has helped so many underprivileged children get a quality education.

I urge the House to support this measure to save and renew the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

Hon. John Boehner,

Speaker of the House,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Speaker, I am writing to thank you for never

giving up in your fight to restore the D.C. Opportunity

Scholarship Program.

As a mother who has seen the benefits of the program first-

hand, I can attest to the value of this program. Nico, my

nine year old son attends Naylor Road Private School on an

opportunity scholarship and is excelling in his small

classes. If Nico were unable to attend Naylor Road, he would

have been forced to attend a failing, underperforming school.

I can also attest to the heartbreak of having my daughter's

scholarship revoked by President Obama's Secretary of

Education. My daughter Nia received an opportunity

scholarship in 2009 to attend the same school as her brother

and receive the same educational opportunities. But that is

no longer the case.

My daughter was one of 216 students who received a letter

from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan retracting her

scholarship. Suddenly, I did not know where I was going to

send my daughter to school. I know that I will not send my

daughter to any of the schools in my area. While I have been

blessed by emergency, private scholarships to send Nia to

Naylor Road with her brother, I do not know if this support

will continue.

As a single mother on disability, I am unable to work

enough to afford tuition. Education is the first priority in

my household, and this program allows my children to attend

safe schools and thrive.

I can tell you that your work, and that of so many other

Members of Congress, has not gone unnoticed in the parts of

our city that many people too often ignore.

For me, it will mean a quality education for my children.

It will also mean peace of mind, because I will know that my

children will not, one day, be separated--my son to attend a

safe and nurturing school, and my daughter, forced elsewhere.

Please keep fighting for this program. Please. And I

encourage all Members of Congress to follow your lead in

voting YES for the SOAR Act. I know that with the chance to

thrive in better schools, my children will truly SOAR!

Sincerely,

LaTasha Bennett.

What helps make the People's House so special is its people. Every day, the staff members here give their time and energy not just doing the job, but fulfilling the mission of keeping this body closest to the American people.

Members come and go, but some dedicated public servants connect the House's history to its future. Pat Kelly is a shining example of this.

Like many Americans, Pat joined the family business right out of college. She went to work for her mother, Congresswoman Edna Kelly, who was the first woman to represent Brooklyn. Pat went on to serve as a legislative assistant for other members of the New York delegation and the Rules Committee.

For more than 30 years now, Pat has had a bird's-eye view of the House as editor of the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record. The Digest serves as the ``table of contents'' for each day's proceedings on the House floor and in all of the committees. And Pat's job is a daily feat of precision--and patience--that requires pulling together information from dozens of offices. And I know all of Pat's colleagues admire her thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

Today she is retiring after 54 years of service to this institution. And it's clear that Pat has not merely recorded the House's history-- she's been a rich part of it, too.

When the House paid tribute to Edna Kelly in 1998, Pat was quoted as saying of her mother that she was a great person to emulate. Well, let the same be said of Pat, and may all current and future public servants be inspired by her example.

Pat, we're sorry to see you go. On behalf of all the Members of the House and staff, thank you for the dedication to this institution, and thank you for your service.

Mr. Speaker, since 1983, the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag and Bundesrat have conducted an annual exchange program for staff members from both countries. The program gives professional staff the opportunity to observe and learn about each other's political institutions and interact on issues of mutual interest.

A staff delegation from the U.S. Congress will be selected to visit Germany for ten days from June 24-July 3 of this year. During this ten- day exchange, the delegation will attend meetings with Bundestag/ Bundesrat Members, Bundestag and Bundesrat party staff members, and representatives of numerous political, business, academic, and media agencies.

A comparable delegation of German staff members will visit the United States for ten days April 30-May 8 of this year. They will attend similar meetings here in Washington. The U.S. delegation is expected to facilitate these meetings.

The Congress-Bundestag/Bundesrat Exchange is highly regarded in Germany and the United States, and is one of several exchange programs sponsored by public and private institutions in the United States and Germany to foster better understanding of the politics and policies of both countries. This exchange is funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The U.S. delegation should consist of experienced and accomplished Hill staff who can contribute to the success of the exchange on both sides of the Atlantic. The Bundestag reciprocates by sending senior staff professionals to the United States.

Applicants should have a demonstrable interest in events in Europe. Applicants need not be working in the field of foreign affairs, although such a background can be helpful. The composite U.S. delegation should exhibit a range of expertise in issues of mutual concern to the United States and Germany such as, but not limited to, trade, security, the environment, economic development, health care, and other social policy issues. This year's delegation should be familiar with transatlantic relations within the context of recent world events.

In addition, U.S. participants are expected to help plan and implement the program for the Bundestag/Bundesrat staff members when they visit the United States. Participants are expected to assist in planning topical meetings in Washington, and are encouraged to host one or two staffers in their Member's district in July, or to arrange for such a visit to another Member's district.

Participants are selected by a committee composed of personnel from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State and past participants of the exchange.

Members of the House and Senate who would like a member of their staff to apply for participation in this year's program should direct them to submit a resume and cover letter in which they state their qualifications, the contributions they can make to a successful program and some assurances of their ability to participate during the time stated.

Applications may be sent to the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs, HC-4, the Capitol, by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2011.

Mr. Chairman, my colleagues, you should know that 38 years ago today, Sam Johnson stepped off a plane in Texas after being held as a prisoner of war for 7 years in Vietnam.

He's a great American.

Amendment No. 196 Offered by Mr. Walberg

My colleagues, I think a lot of you know that I have always believed that the House works best when the House is allowed to work its will.

I think all of you know that we are embarking on a more open process in this Congress, and it will start today with the consideration of this continuing resolution.

I take to the well to suggest to the Members that we want all Members to be able to participate in the debate here in the House. We also want to keep our commitment to the Members to meet the schedule that we have outlined for everyone. That means, as we go through the next couple of days, I am going to ask Members on both sides of the aisle to try to bring your amendments together, to try to respect the amount of time that is being taken so that all Members have an opportunity to be heard and to participate in the debate.

We have never had an open process for a continuing resolution in our history; so we are into some uncharted waters. I am ready to expect whatever. But I do believe that this process is important for all the Members, and I want this week for all of us to get started down this road working together so that, as we get into the weeks and months ahead, we can show the American people that the House can work together, the House can work its will. And, at the end of the day, I think the American people will be better served by our service.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to welcome His Eminence Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and to thank him for offering the opening prayer as we begin our work today.

Like many of his parishioners, I know Cardinal Wuerl to be a man of generous spirit and immense gifts, a true leader of the faithful. When he was elevated to the College of Cardinals last fall by Pope Benedict, it was a proud and humbling moment for all of us. His elevation came nearly a quarter of a century after being ordained a bishop by His Holiness John Paul II. Cardinal Wuerl went on to serve as Bishop of Pittsburgh, where he was born and raised, until his appointment here in Washington, D.C.

Around the world, Cardinal Wuerl is respected and admired for his efforts on behalf of Catholic education. He currently serves as chancellor of the Catholic University of America and is a champion of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which helps disadvantaged students gain access to quality education.

Again, on behalf of my colleagues, it is an honor to welcome Cardinal Wuerl to the People's House.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

I am going to thank all the Members of this body for a spirited but respectful debate on what is a critical issue to the American people.

Both sides of the aisle have very different viewpoints on what government's role in this health care issue should be, and if there is one thing that we do agree on, it is that this health care law needs improvement. The President said as much yesterday.

Why does it need improvement? One only needs to look at the facts.

Yesterday, 200 economists and experts put out a letter calling this health care bill ``a barrier to job

growth.'' The letter talks about how employers are struggling to keep up with all the mandates and tax hikes in this law, flooding the job market with additional uncertainty.

The one thing the American people wanted out of health care reform was lower costs, which the authors of this law promised; but according to these economists, this law will increase spending by nearly $1 trillion--and that is a minimum number--and add nearly $1.5 trillion to the national debt.

So, if we agree that this law needs improving, why would we keep it on the books? Why would we keep one hand tied behind our backs when we are dealing with 10 percent unemployment and a $14 trillion national debt?

Now, let me be clear about what repealing this health care law means for families, small businesses, and taxpayers:

Repeal means preventing more than $770 billion in tax hikes and eliminating all the mandates and penalties so that small businesses can grow and hire new workers.

Repeal means reducing spending by $540 billion, another step in tackling the massive debt that faces our kids and grandkids.

Repeal means protecting more than 7 million seniors from losing or being denied coverage under Medicare Advantage--a program they like.

Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government.

And repeal means keeping a promise. This is what we said we would do. We listened to the people. We made a commitment to them--a pledge to make their priorities our priorities. When you look at the facts and when you listen to the people, this is a promise worth keeping.

Let's stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs and put us into a deeper hole. Then let's work together to put in place reforms that lower the costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government.

Let's challenge ourselves to do better.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of today, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 32) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker and my colleagues, today we are called here to mourn.

An unspeakable act of violence has taken six innocent lives, and left several more--including our colleague, Gabrielle Giffords--battling for theirs. These are difficult hours for our country.

Among the fallen is Gabe Zimmerman, a member of Congresswoman Giffords' staff--a public servant of the highest caliber--one of our own. Even in our shock, we are composed and determined to fulfill our calling to represent our constituents. This is the great cause for which Gabe gave his life.

Like us, Gabe swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. At the time of the attack, he was engaged in the most simple and direct of democratic rituals: listening to the people, listening to his neighbors.

The brutality that shattered Saturday morning's calm was devastating, but brief. Bravery and quick thinking prevented a larger massacre, turning innocent bystanders into heroes.

The service and skill of first responders and medical professionals saved lives. Law enforcement officials are working to ensure swift justice. Look to Tucson right now, and you will be reminded that America's most plentiful source of wealth and strength is her people.

We are so thankful Gabby is still with us. We are so thankful that two of her staffers who were also wounded--Ron Barber and Pam Simon-- are still with us as well.

In her stead, Gabby's staff has pressed on, opening for business Monday morning right on schedule. The men and women who faithfully serve the people of Arizona's 8th Congressional District have signaled that no act--no matter how heinous--will stop us from doing our duty and being among the people we serve.

To all of the dedicated professionals that we rely on to make this institution work, to each of you: thank you for what you do. And to Gabby's staff--and their families: please know that our hearts and prayers go out to each of you.

This body has yet to fully register the magnitude of this tragedy. We feel a litany of unwanted emotions no resolution could possibly capture.

We know that we gather here without distinction of party. The needs of this institution have always risen above partisanship. And what this institution needs right now is strength--holy, uplifting strength. The strength to grieve with the families of the fallen, to pray for the wounded, and to chart a way forward, no matter how painful and difficult it may be.

Today it is not ceremony, but tragedy that stirs us to renew our commitment to faithfully fulfill our oath of office. Let us not let this inhuman act frighten us into doing otherwise.

The free exchange of ideas is the lifeblood of our democracy, as prescribed by the First Amendment, that beacon of free expression Congresswoman Giffords recited in this well just days ago.

These rights have not been handed down by dictate; they have been preserved and protected through generations of hard sacrifice and commitment. We will continue that unfinished work.

We will do it for Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, and Dorwan Stoddard, ordinary citizens who died participating in their democracy. And we will do it for Judge John Roll. And we will do it for Gabe Zimmerman. And we will do it for--and God willing, with--Gabrielle Giffords.

Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. This is a time for the House to lock arms in prayer for those fallen and the wounded, and in resolve to carry on the dialogue of democracy.

We may not yet have all the answers, but we already have the answer that matters most: that we are Americans, and together we will make it through this difficult period. We will have the last word.

God bless this House. God bless this Congress. And God bless America.

``We the People, of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.''

Thank you. It's still just me.

Madam Speaker, thank you for your kind words, and thank you for your service to this institution.

Secondly, I want to welcome all of our new Members and their families on what is a very special day. All of us who have been here remember vividly that first day that we served here, and I think any of us can tell you that you will never forget today.

My own family is here as well. I think you just met Debbie, and next to Debbie are Lindsay and Trisha, our two daughters. Welcome. We're glad that you're here. Ten of my 11 brothers and sisters and sisters- in-law and brothers-in-law are here as well, and my poor brother Greg who runs a restaurant down in Georgia was unable to be here, but I wanted to acknowledge him.

I also want to acknowledge some of my close friends that are here from the other side of the Capitol: Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader is here; and two of my best buds, Richard Burr from North Carolina, Saxby Chambliss from Georgia, along with, you know, my buddy Latham. Thank you for being here, gentlemen. I appreciate it.

I am honored and humbled to represent a great, hardworking community in Congress. The people of Ohio's Eighth Congressional District continue to afford me the privilege to serve, for which I am deeply grateful.

We gather here today at a time of great challenges, when nearly one in 10 of our neighbors is out of work. Health care costs are still rising for American families. Our spending has caught up with us, and our debt soon will eclipse the entire size of our national economy. Hard work and tough decisions will be required of the 112th Congress. No longer can we fall short. No longer can we kick the can down the road. The people voted to end business as usual; and, today, we begin to carry out their instructions.

In the Catholic faith, we enter into a season of service by having ashes marked on our head. The ashes remind us that life, in all of its forms, is very fragile; our time on this Earth fleeting. But as the ashes are delivered, we hear those humbling words: remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return.

The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our memories to just how temporary the privilege of serving is. They've reminded us that everything here is on loan from them. That includes this gavel, which I accept cheerfully and gratefully, knowing that I am but its caretaker. After all, this is the people's House. This is their Congress. It's about them, not about us. What they want is a government that's honest, accountable, and responsive to their needs, a government at that respects individual liberty, honors our heritage, and bows before the public that it serves.

Let's start with the rules package that the House will consider today. If passed, it will change how this institution operates, with an emphasis on real transparency, greater accountability, and a renewed focus on our Constitution. Our aim will be to give the government back to the American people.

In seeking this goal, we will part with some of the rituals that have come to characterize this institution under majorities, both Republican and Democrat alike. We will dispense with the conventional wisdom that bigger bills are always better, that fast legislating is good legislating, that allowing amendments and open debate makes the legislative process ``less efficient'' than our Forefathers had intended.

These misconceptions have been the basis for the rituals of modern Washington. In my opinion, the American people have not been served well by them. Today, mindful of the lessons of the past, we open a new chapter.

Legislators and the public will have 3 days to read a bill before it comes to a vote. Legislation will be more focused, properly scrutinized, and constitutionally sound. Committees, once bloated, will be smaller with a renewed mission, including oversight. Old rules that have made it easy to increase spending will be replaced by new rules that make it easier to cut spending. And we will start by cutting Congress' own budget.

Above all else, we will welcome the battle of ideas, encourage it, and engage in it--openly, honestly, and respectfully. As the Chamber closest to the people, the House works best when it is allowed to work its will. And I ask all Members of this body to join me in recognizing this common truth.

To my colleagues in the majority, my message is this: We will honor our pledge to America, built through a process of listening to the American people. We will stand firm on our constitutional principles that built our party and built a great Nation. We will do these things, however, in a manner that restores and respects the time-honored right of the minority to an honest debate and a fair, open process.

And to my friends in the minority, I offer a commitment: Openness, once a tradition of this institution but increasingly scarce in recent decades, will be the new standard. There were no open rules in the House in the last Congress. In this one, there will be many.

But with this restored openness, however, comes a restored responsibility. You will not have the right to willfully disrupt the proceedings of the people's House, but you will always have the right to a robust debate in open process that allows you to represent your constituents, to make your case, offer alternatives, and be heard.

In time I believe this framework will allow the House to be a place where the people's will is done. It will also, I hope, rebuild trust among us and the people we serve and, in so doing, provide a guidepost for those who follow us in the service of our Nation.

To our new Members, Democrat and Republican alike, as you take the oath today, I know that you do so mindful of this shared goal and the trust placed in you by your constituents.

As Speaker, I feel part of my job is to help each of you do your job well, regardless of your political party. My hope is that every new Member, and, indeed, every Member, will be comfortable with approaching me with regard to matters of the House.

We will not always get it right, and we will not always agree on what is right. There is a great deal of scar tissue that has been built up on both sides of the aisle. We can't ignore that, nor should we. My belief has always been that we can disagree without being disagreeable. That is why it's critical that this institution operate in a manner that permits a free exchange of ideas and resolves our honest differences through a fair debate and vote. We may have different, sometimes very different, ideas about how to go about achieving the common good. It is why we serve.

Let us now move forward, humble in our demeanor, steady in our principles, dedicated to proving worthy of the trust and confidence that has been placed in each of us. If we brace ourselves to do our duty and do what we say we re going to do, I don't think that, together, there is anything that we can't accomplish, again, on behalf of the people we serve.

More than a country, America is an idea; and it's our job to pass that posterity of blessings that have been bestowed on us to those generations that follow us.

I want to wish all of you the very best. Welcome to the people's House. Welcome to the 112th Congress.

I am now ready to take the oath of the office, and I ask the Dean of the House, the Honorable John Dingell of Michigan, to administer the oath of office.

Mr. Dingell then administered the oath of office to Mr. Boehner of Ohio, as follows:

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you God.

(Applause, the Members rising.)

Madam Speaker, I submit the following for the Record:

Boehner: Eye-Opening Report Details Gov't Mortgage Companies' Role in

Financial Meltdown

Washington, DC.--House Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-

OH) issued the following statement in response to a report

released by the Republican commissioners on the Financial

Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) regarding the causes of the

financial crisis:

``This eye-opening report details how government mortgage

companies played a pivotal role in the financial meltdown by

handing out high-risk loans to families who

couldn't afford them. After years of being coddled and

enabled by Washington politicians, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

are now on life support, kept afloat by taxpayers fed up with

unending bailouts. Through the Pledge to America, Republicans

have proposed saving billions for taxpayers by ending

government control of Fannie and Freddie, shrinking their

portfolios, and establishing minimum capital standards. I

appreciate the Republican commissioners' efforts to get to

the bottom of what happened and ensure the American people

have the full story about the financial crisis. This is a

report every taxpayer should read.''

Note: Former Rep. Bill Thomas, Keith Hennessey, Douglas

Holtz-Eakin, and Peter Wallison are the Republican

commissioners on the FCIC. As the Republican commissioners

state in their introduction, ``these findings and conclusions

do not constitute the Commission's report.''

Introduction

On May 20, 2009, Public Law No. 111-21, the Fraud

Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, was enacted into law,

creating the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC).

According to the Act, the FCIC was established to ``examine

the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and

economic crisis in the United States.'' The law requires that

today, December 15, 2010, the FCIC submit ``to the President

and to the Congress a report containing the findings and

conclusions of the Commission on the causes of the current

financial and economic crisis in the United States.'' This

primer contains preliminary findings and conclusions released

by Vice Chairman Bill Thomas, Commissioner Keith Hennessey,

Commissioner Douglas Holtz-Eakin, and Commissioner Peter J.

Wallison, and represents a portion of the findings and

conclusions resulting from our work on the FCIC. As the

transmission of the report of the FCIC to the President and

Congress requires a majority vote of the Commission, these

findings and conclusions do not constitute the Commission's

report. Rather, this document is an effort to reflect the

clear intention of our enabling legislation. Our views have

been shaped, in part, by our knowledge of economics and

financial markets generally. In the course of our

examination, we have studied and drawn from the extensive

work already available on the financial crisis. This crisis

that we were tasked to study is neither the first nor likely

the last of its type, and thus our examination of similar,

previous episodes also informed our findings and conclusions.

To that end, we see this document as a part of an already

rich discussion of the causes of financial crises, both in

the United States and around the world. This document adds to

that conversation rather than closing it. The two seminal

works on the causes of the Great Depression, Milton Friedman

and Anna Schwartz's--A Monetary History of the United States,

1867-1960 and Ben Bernanke's ``Nonmonetary Effects of the

Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great

Depression,'' were published in 1963 and 1983, respectively,

many decades after the crisis had ended. We anticipate that

future generations will continue to provide additional

insights into the causes of this financial crisis as well.

Further, we want to stress the extent to which our views

have been influenced by the research and investigations

conducted by the FCIC since our first meeting in September

2009. The work included conversations with economic

historians, finance experts, and other academics, and

hundreds of interviews with market participants, regulators,

and government officials. While we may have organized and

conducted some of these investigations differently given the

choice, we have found many elements to be useful. We thank

the FCIC staff for their hard work.

We have tried to distill those issues that we think are

most important into a series of questions and answers.

Different questions were included for different reasons,

including those topics that, in our view, are commonly

mischaracterized and those most relevant to future policy

discussions. Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list.

Our framework reflects a central premise that the financial

crisis was distinct from other recent important economic

events, including the housing bubble and the prolonged

economic recession. We believe that the financial crisis was,

at its core, a financial panic that was precipitated by

highly correlated mortgage-related losses concentrated at

large financial firms in the United States and Europe. While

the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and the recession

are surely interrelated events, we do not believe that the

housing bubble was a sufficient condition for the financial

crisis. The unprecedented number of subprime and other weak

mortgages in this bubble set it and its effect apart from

others in the past.

We look forward to continuing to participate in the ongoing

dialogue on the causes of the financial crisis and providing

our additional views as they develop.

Vice Chairman Bill Thomas

Commissioner Keith Hennessey

Commissioner Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Commissioner Peter J. Wallison

A copy of the report can be found at the following link:

http://republicanleader.house.gov/UploadedFiles/ Financial_Crisis_Primer_Final.pdf

____________________

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join the Obama Administration in condemning the recent terrorist attack against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, which left more than 60 dead and another 75 wounded. In the most hideous of ways, we have been reminded of the enemy's desire to seek the death and destruction of anyone who opposes its attempt to impose a pernicious worldview.

This attack occurred during Sunday Mass, just as the congregation rose to recite, ``Upon this rock, I will build my church.'' As a Catholic, as someone raised to cherish life and defend its sanctity, it is difficult to contemplate the twisting of the human soul required to shatter that peace and commit such a senseless act. It's even more difficult to summon the restraint required to ease the trembling such hatred provokes.

The enemy keeps innocents of all faiths in its sights. In August, men and women affiliated with a Christian non-government organization working to provide eye care to people in remote and destitute areas of Afghanistan were executed in cold blood by the Taliban. In the last two weeks, a devastating and deadly bombing attack occurred during a worship service at a mosque in Pakistan. In the case of the recent cargo plane bombing attempt, the President indicated the bombing packages were addressed to Jewish synagogues in Chicago. These attacks are designed to bring division where there is diversity, and chaos where there is stability.

As time passes, as national debates and attention shifts, it is easy for the real horror and tragedy of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to become faded and blurred memories. But the hateful ideology that drives these attacks, the global movement to reject Western culture and values and religion is still plotting, planning, and attacking where it can. We were wrong to ignore the warning signs in the 1990s, when we witnessed a steady escalation of attacks, which we treated as isolated incidents. As Americans, as keepers of the truth that ``He who gave us life, gave us liberty,'' we must spare no effort to protect people of all faiths who oppose radical Islamic extremists. Our vigilance in this regard must be perpetual and total.

As Christians, we are taught that suffering and disappointment can enlarge our hearts and make us more grateful for the blessings in our lives. In this season of thanksgiving, let us renew our gratitude for the brave men and women overseas standing guard in defense of our freedom and taking the fight to the enemy.