Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, a recent analysis of American tax revenues revealed that in 2010, as our country was recovering from the Great Recession, 93 percent of new income went to the top 1 percent of earners. That's $288 billion more exclusively for the 1 percent. I am sure my friends across the aisle were outraged that 7 percent could go to waste on the other 99 percent of American families.

Their solution: the Republican 1 percent budget--a gift basket for millionaires and billionaires. Inside is a permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts, which have created an income gap in this country on par with Cameroon and Rwanda. But the Republicans' 1 percent budget doesn't stop there. It gives an additional tax break of $150,000 to people earning more than $1 million a year while dismantling Medicare, slashing education, transportation, and the social safety net to pay for it.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this ``all for one and the one percent gets all'' budget and to support a plan that reflects our Nation's values of fairness and shared responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Safe Place Awareness Week. Every year in America, as many as 2.8 million young people run away from or are pushed out of their homes. Almost half of them do so because of a family conflict.

A young person in crisis is often scared and confused. The distinctive yellow-and-black sign that marks a Safe Place location is a universal symbol of safety and assistance. It signifies a place--a business, school, fire station, library, or many others--where a young person in crisis can get help.

There are almost 20,000 Safe Place locations throughout the country, in 40 states and 1,562 communities. During the past 12 years, National Safe Place agencies have counseled nearly 90,000 young people in person and more than 110,000 via telephone.

Sadly, the need for Safe Place services continues to grow. In response, National Safe Place is seeking to give more young people a place to turn for help--regardless of their circumstance.

[Mr.] Speaker, I have introduced a resolution recognizing March 18 24 as ``National Safe Place Awareness Week.'' The goal is not only to have more signs hanging across the country, it is to raise awareness and support of the vital programs National Safe Place provides for young people in the most vulnerable of situations.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Madam Speaker, Rush Limbaugh's appalling attack on Georgetown student Sandra Fluke is no isolated incident, but part of a broader GOP assault on women's health.

Republicans have ushered in Women's History Month with legislation to

allow employers and insurance companies to deny women needed health coverage. But let's also take a look at their recent record on issues important to women's health.

Last year, Republicans voted to end Federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of reproductive health services in the United States. They voted to eliminate funding for Title X family planning which, for 40 years, has provided family planning services, cancer screenings, and other preventive health services to low-income women.

And with their attempt to repeal the health care reform law, Republicans voted to allow insurance companies to, once again, deny women coverage if they've ever been pregnant, had a C-section, or been the victim of domestic violence.

Madam Speaker, Republicans' idea of Women's History Month is reenacting the women's equality fight of 100 years ago.

I call on my GOP colleagues to join us here in the 21st century, where women not only raise families, they have jobs, and they even wear pants.

Madam Speaker, it's been more than 2 years since the Supreme Court rendered its Citizens United decision, and American politics is becoming more corrupt by the dollar.

Election season is flooded with special-interest money, confirming the deep skepticism of an American public that is estranged from and fed up with its government. In the past 2 years alone, super PACs have raised approximately $181 million, an increase of more than 1,200 percent, in outside spending during a Presidential election.

Our system allows for corporations and extremely wealthy individuals to influence elections without any accountability, and this must change. That's why I'm a cosponsor and strong supporter of the DISCLOSE 2012 Act, which would shine a light on the secret money in political campaigns.

The DISCLOSE 2012 Act requires public reporting by super PACs, corporations, unions, and outside groups within 24 hours of making a campaign expenditure. It forces leaders of other corporations and other outside groups to stand by their campaign ads by appearing in them and stating that they approve this message.

Madam Speaker, I urge Republican leadership to bring the DISCLOSE 2012 Act up for a vote. Until we get Big Money out of politics, we will never be able to responsibly address the major issues facing American families.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast the recorded votes for rollcalls 34 and 35. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes'' for these measures.

H. Res. 537: On Agreeing to the Resolution, rollcall No. 34.

H.R. 1162: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, rollcall No. 35.

Madam Speaker, there's no question that our economy is recovering. The private sector has added jobs for 23 straight months, putting 3.7 million Americans workers back on the job.

Last week, in my district, GE opened its first new manufacturing facility and the first new product line at Louisville's Appliance Park in more than 50 years. Because of our Recovery Act investments, 1,300 workers will be back on the job at Appliance Park, and hundreds of those jobs are coming back from China.

When the private sector can rely on the Federal Government as a partner, jobs and economic growth follow, and that's exactly what we're seeing today in my district and across the country.

We decided we are not going to surrender the lead in innovation to the Chinese and the rest of the world, and as a result, we are revitalizing American manufacturing. We are making it in America, but we can't stop now.

Madam Speaker, as we begin to debate the Federal budget, we must continue to invest in American innovation and ingenuity, the way we have in Louisville and in so many other cities across the country.

You know, we've heard for many years now from the other side the notion that government is the source of all of our problems, government never does anything right, it ought to stop regulating and get out of the way of a very free and open society.

Well, the authors of a new book called ``Gardens of Democracy'' have a compelling and undeniable point to make. They write: ``There is not a stable, prosperous society on Earth without activist government, extensive regulation, and high, progressive taxation. If less were always better, then the least regulated economies would be the most successful economies. The opposite is true. If minimalist government worked, Somalia would be rich, stable and secure, and Canada would be a hellhole; Afghanistan would be a coveted destination, and Denmark would be like a leper colony.''

Now, to be fair, the authors say that our government is often too slow to react, it has all the answers, and it needs to be more flexible and more effective. We all agree with that. What we need to do is find a way to create a government that is efficient, that sets the right direction for our country, and then lets the innovative spirit of this country take hold and find the answers to our problems.

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased last night to hear President Obama talk about the defining issue of our time, the great economic disparity that we face in this society and the need to have a fair taxation system. Of course, what is fair is in the eye of the beholder, and the recent disclosure of Governor Mitt Romney's tax returns offers us a great laboratory to talk about that.

On $21 million in income, he paid $3 million in taxes. The question for us shouldn't be whether $3 million is fair or whether a 13.9 percent rate is fair. The question is, did he deserve a preferential rate? Did that $21 million of income educate anyone, did it create jobs, did it provide important research, did it build infrastructure? If it provided a broad societal benefit, then that preferential rate is justified. If not, then we can't explain to hardworking Americans how he pays a lower rate than they do.

Fairness is incredibly vital to the survival of our society, and we need to emphasize that always.

Mr. Speaker, Muhammad Ali's contributions to the world continue to transcend his achievements in the boxing ring.

Although he won three heavyweight championships, Muhammad has never believed in resolving differences through conflict. He is a man of peace and justice, of patience and grace--a visionary who changed the boxing world so he could change the entire world. In 2005, he founded the Muhammad Ali Center in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The center is a cultural attraction and an international education hub, whose work is based on the core values by which Muhammad lives-- respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, and spirituality.

Yesterday, Muhammad turned 70. Today, I'm introducing the Muhammad

Ali Legacy Act to honor his values and to build upon his humanitarian work. The legislation establishes a grant program to promote global respect, understanding, and communication. The program will prepare leaders to contribute to the global society through peace-building and violence prevention, and it will teach young people how to combat the pull of radicalism.

By cosponsoring the Muhammad Ali Legacy Act, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this work and the man who has dedicated his life to it.

I thank my good friend.

Madam Speaker, I understand the Republican majority will vote today against the President's request to raise the debt limit. To borrow a phrase from the former Speaker of the House, can we please drop the pious baloney?

Less than 6 months ago, 174 Republicans voted for precisely what they are voting against today. This Republican leadership created a national crisis and walked us to the brink of default. Then they voted for a bill to end the crisis, but slipped in a provision allowing them to attack the President for the decision that they now don't have the guts to stand by.

This is not leadership, and it certainly is not governing. It's an ideological game that has ventured well beyond the absurd.

Now, Mr. Flake, I think in a very important moment of candor, talked about the fact that the very budget that the Republicans passed this last year would, in fact, raise the national debt by more than $6 trillion over the next 10 years. You cannot square logically an opposition to raising the debt ceiling when you have then voted for a budget that does exactly that. It raises the national debt.

And with all due respect to the gentleman from New York, when he says nothing's changed in the last 7 months--nothing has changed in the last 7 months. We agreed on something, we knew what the debt was going to be, the deficit. We agreed to accommodate it in this way.

The only thing that has changed in the last 7 months is that the Republicans are now trying to renege on the agreement that they made 7 months ago. That's the only thing that's changed.

The American people have been loud and clear on what they need from this Congress: responsible investments and infrastructure; education; and job creation. And they want everyone to share in the sacrifice for our economic recovery, including billionaires and big oil companies.

Madam Speaker, it's time to do the work the American people have asked us to do. They don't have time for more pious baloney.

Mr. Speaker, the Republican plan to extend the payroll tax is deeply flawed in many ways, but perhaps the most egregious are the fundamental changes it would make to some of our Nation's core institutions without any discussion or debate.

It would cut unemployment insurance benefits for 1 million Americans and impose new restrictive limits on workers who've been laid off. It would require millions of seniors to pay more for health care by slashing funding designed to lower costs. It would roll back essential EPA rules to keep our air clean, and it would actually increase the deficit by almost $26 billion over 10 years, according to the CBO.

The vast majority of Americans want the wealthiest to pay their fair share so we can get the country back on track and preserve government institutions. We need a reasonable solution to keep middle class tax cuts in place and maintain funding for Social Security.

Republicans are saying, sure, we'll give you a tax cut, but we're going to slash your husband's unemployment benefits in order to pay for it. That's not a way for families to preserve their standard of living.

Mr. Speaker, the American people want a government that is fair and just, not one that promotes economic imbalance and cynicism.

I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 3630.

Madam Speaker, with an average margin of victory of more than 40 points, an undefeated season, and a win in the State championship that Sports Illustrated called the team's ``finest offensive performance of the year,'' there can be no more debate: Trinity High School Shamrocks is the best high school football team in the country.

Friday's 62-21 victory over Scott County in the 6A final completed a 25-game win streak, secured a second straight State title, and capped a season in which Trinity didn't just beat the competition, they rocked them.

Over five playoff games, Trinity outscored its foes by more than 240 total points. They never trailed in the second half all season. They crushed top-tier out-of-state competition and avenged their only 2010 loss. After facing Trinity, Scott County's coach called the Shamrocks ``the best team in Kentucky football history.''

This was a true team effort, and thanks to the leadership and dedication of 40 seniors, these student athletes have achieved a perfect record and deserve to bring a national title home to Louisville. I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating Coach Beatty, the team, and the entire Trinity community on an incredible championship and an amazing 2011 season. Way to go Rocks.

Madam Speaker, about 1 year ago, Republicans were insisting that before we do anything to help unemployed Americans, we had to guarantee that tax rates for the richest of the rich were made at the lowest level in 50 years. Before doing anything to help those who were struggling, they demanded we give more to those who are hurting the least. But that was just the beginning. Now, they are resisting a tax cut that would give American families an average of $1,000 per year. These are the same families that have seen their incomes drop by $6,000 in just the last 2 years.

Republicans are putting more and more money into the pockets of millionaires and taking it out of the pockets of American families. They've gone from simply not helping working Americans, to actively making it harder for them to get by. These are not the priorities of the American people.

I urge my colleagues to support the extension of the payroll tax cut and stand up for this commonsense policy that will help millions of American families.

Madam Speaker, the average American household has lost $8,000 of income over the last few years. If we want to put a number on the economic crisis facing our country right now, that should be it.

If you ask the average person how to get $8,000 back into the pockets of American families, you'd get some pretty good answers. But if you ask the average congressional Republican, you'd get an answer that's so out of touch with reality you'd think they were creating policy by playing Mad Libs. Mad Libs, the children's game where you provide random words to complete a story you haven't seen. That seems like the only conceivable explanation for the Republicans' so-called jobs proposals.

Think about how they fill in this blank: The best way to get Americans back to work is--poison our air and water, get rid of consumer protections, end Medicare. It's like they haven't read the question. It's no surprise Americans find the GOP's Mad Libs economics maddening. It's time to stop playing games and start getting to work on building an economy that works for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, this week at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, the Speaker of the House gave a speech on the need to find common ground, but without compromise. We've been testing the wisdom of this approach all this year. Here's what we've gotten: stalemate, manufactured crises, and an inability to act on behalf of the American people.

In a government as polarized as this, insisting on common ground while refusing to compromise is maybe the best way to guarantee that 90 percent of our Nation's problems go unsolved. Not coincidentally, that's the same percentage of Americans who disapprove of this Congress and its ongoing search for a hidden, preexisting common ground.

I encourage the Speaker to hear the people out on this. They know the solutions which we've already agreed are the easy ones, and they didn't elect us to make easy decisions. They elected us to solve difficult problems. In other words, to lead. Real leaders don't just look for common ground. They create it. Our country was formed through compromise and has been strengthened by it for more than 200 years. Until Republicans provide leadership that values results over ideology and economic progress over antitax pledges, this Congress will continue to fail America.