Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 174, which would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a new national cemetery in southern Colorado. Providing our veterans with a place of honor and repose is one of the most sacred missions of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and we have given this mission our unstinting support over the years.

The National Cemetery Administration's record of high satisfaction among the families of its beneficiaries is the envy of the Federal Government and is a reflection of sound administration and strong congressional support, free of political influence. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a well-established and proven method that uses distance and demographics to select new cemetery sites.

While I believe that the VA process has its flaws and could use revision, it is the established process. Congress has long deferred to this process, which is essentially free from political pressure. Since 1999, Congress has authorized 12 new national cemeteries, all of which went through this process. A recent program evaluation of this policy revealed that there are some weaknesses in this policy and made several recommendations on how to better serve veterans and their families.

One such recommendation was to reduce the population threshold so that each cemetery would serve a population to as little as 120,000 veterans. The current population level is 170,000 veterans. VA is continuing to review the evaluation.

It is because of this process that Mr. Stearns of Florida offered an amendment that was accepted for H.R. 1660, which is the predecessor of H.R. 174 from the 110th Congress. The amendment was intended to ensure that any new cemetery authorized by this bill would not displace cemetery projects in areas previously identified as priorities. This language preserves the integrity of the cemetery planning process.

I thank the original sponsors of the bill, Mr. Salazar and Mr. Lamborn, for including this language in this year's bill, and I am very pleased to support it.

Having no further speakers, again, I just want to echo what Mr. Walz said earlier, that this is one of the most important functions that the Veterans' Affairs Committee does and has done it very, very well through the years. This is a very bipartisan bill.

I urge all of our Members to support this very, very important bill as it goes forward.

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

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 89, a resolution supporting and encouraging greater support for Veterans Day each year.

Our Nation's veterans have sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy on a daily basis. Our Nation has an obligation to ensure that those who have served, and especially those who were injured while serving, have the necessary benefits and services available to allow them to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

Today, a new generation of heroes returns home, too often draped in the Nation's flag. Their comrades in arms stand guard and honor their memories as they themselves become the living symbols of the cost of freedom. It is right that today, almost 1 week before our commemoration of Veterans Day, that we consider this resolution encouraging and supporting the observance of this important day for our Nation.

This resolution encourages Americans to demonstrate their support for veterans on Veterans Day each year by treating that day as a special day of reflection, encourages schools and teachers to educate students on the great contributions our veterans have made to our country, and requests that the President issue a proclamation each year in connection with the observance of Veterans Day.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Baca of California, for introducing this legislation, as well as Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for moving the bill so quickly to the floor for consideration.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 89.

Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers, I just again want to say how

important this resolution is. Mr. Walz said it so eloquently, especially coming from somebody like himself who did many years in the military and rose to a place of such prominence. We appreciate his service.

Again, this resolution basically just says that we need to slow down and do more to recognize the sacrifice of our veterans on this very, very important day. I think it is certainly very fitting.

With that, I urge all of my colleagues to support the resolution.

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

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, we need to contain the cost of health care to make it more affordable for all Americans, but we cannot do this by cutting the services to our senior citizens. We have the responsibility to ensure that we don't harm the health care they currently have through Medicare. But the legislation supported by the White House, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid doesn't protect that care.

Included in this health care plan is more than $162 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage. More than 25,700 residents of Arkansas' Third Congressional District are enrolled in this program, and I know the positive impact it makes in the lives of Arkansans and all American seniors. This is bad practice to cut from critical services like Medicare Advantage and something that I cannot support.

Rather than cut services, we need to examine how we can save money by getting rid of the waste and fraud in Medicare. Mr. Speaker, we can craft a bill that allows access to quality and affordable health care without sacrificing services to our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern for raising the national debt limit.

Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury reported that 2009 was the worst fiscal year in our country's history. This shouldn't be a surprise considering the amount of hard-earned taxpayer dollars that Washington has been spending at a record-setting pace. The massive stimulus bill that I opposed in February increased the national debt by $925 billion to $12.1 trillion.

I am extremely troubled by the recent media reports that show leaders of the majority party saying that the national debt limit has to be raised again, and soon. Mr. Speaker, we cannot spend and borrow our way to prosperity.

I have heard the anger of the American people and my constituents, and they aren't supportive of any more debt increases. I voted against this earlier this year, and I remain opposed to increasing the debt limit. If anything, Washington needs to decrease the debt limit and practice fiscal responsibility now.

(Mr. BOOZMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BOOZMAN: Mr. Speaker, we need health care reform, but not on the backs of our small businesses. The proposed plan would impose more than $820 billion in new taxes, something hardworking Americans and small businesses can't afford.

In a letter, Gilbert Travis of Travis Lumber Company in Mansfield, Arkansas, described how his company and many other lumber companies have been forced to cut back on the number of days a week in operation. Some have met an even worse fate--closure.

Gilbert is not optimistic that the outlook for these businesses will get better any time soon and writes there is no way the American economy, with it's hardworking people, can afford the absolutely wasteful spending and tax increases that Washington is trying to impose at every angle they can possibly think of.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with Gilbert. We cannot be imposing new taxes on hardworking American businesses that are struggling to make ends meet in this economic climate. Let's craft a real reform that will decrease health costs, allowing more persons to get the care they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that health insurance expansion should not end up costing patients their quality of care or their benefits. In January 2008 the Arkansas Department of Health reported that 51,707 Arkansans were currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage. The Department also noted that the number of enrollees was increasing every day.

Most of these men and women are located in rural areas of the State, places where access to health care is already strained and doctors are no longer seeing new Medicare patients. With the massive proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage, how am I to explain to these patients that the reform that they've been waiting for, the reform that many claim will broaden access and help them get the services they need will actually cost them the quality of care and coverage that they depend on?

I cannot find a good explanation, and I will not support legislation that sacrifices the health of seniors in Arkansas by cutting Medicare Advantage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I also want to thank Mr. McGovern for bringing this resolution forward. I rise today to join my colleagues in commemorating the anniversary of the murders of six Jesuit fathers, their housekeeper, and her daughter on November 16, 1989, in El Salvador. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their deaths, the resolution before us remembers and commemorates the lives and work of these individuals. It extends our sympathy to the families, friends, colleagues and religious communities of those whose lives were lost that day.

It recognizes the continuing academic and social contributions of the University of Central America, UCA, in San Salvador, El Salvador and the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States for their solidarity and annual remembrance of those killed 20 years ago.

The resolution also recognizes that progress is being made in El Salvador, but reminds us that social and economic hardships still persist among many sectors of Salvadoran society. Therefore, it supports the efforts of public, private, nongovernmental and religious organizations to fulfill the legacy of the murdered Jesuits to reduce poverty and hunger and promote educational opportunity, human rights, the rule of law and social equity for the people of El Salvador.

It has been a long road over the past 20 years. By working together with responsible partners and friends, the United States can help El Salvador to overcome the obstacles that remain. And as long as the democratic principles and respect for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law remain the compass for our support, I'm confident that we can be successful.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cao) a member of the

Homeland Security and Transportation committees and a former Jesuit seminarian.

Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers on the subject, again I want to thank Mr. McGovern for bringing this forward.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and rise in support of this measure.

While the government of Vietnam was striving to secure permanent normal trade relations from the United States 3 years ago and World Trade Organization membership in 2007, it was given the benefit of many doubts about its human rights practices. A lot of attention was paid to marginal improvements in personal freedoms inside Vietnam at that time, and in one controversial decision, the United States removed Vietnam from our list of Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations.

But once the regime in Hanoi secured the trade status that it was seeking from the United States and multilateral organizations, it stepped up its repression. Since then, the human rights situation inside Vietnam has deteriorated, a fact that is readily apparent in the Vietnamese Government's crackdown on peaceful Internet dissent.

Although Internet usage has grown among the Vietnamese people, the regime in Hanoi restricts services to a limited number of state-owned Internet service providers, ISPs. Government regulations require global Internet companies who offer blogging services to report to the government every 6 months and to provide requested information about individual bloggers.

The state security apparatus monitors personal e-mail and blocks many Web sites with political or religious content that it finds disagreeable, such as some sites connected with the Catholic Church or overseas Vietnamese political groups. The Hanoi regime has harassed, convicted, and imprisoned many peaceful activists under the vague catchall provision of Article 88 of Vietnam's criminal code which prohibits conducting propaganda against the state.

Earlier this month, Vietnam convicted nine democracy advocates, including 60-year-old Nguyen Xuan Nghia, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison followed by 3 years of house arrest. These violations were an affront to the people of Vietnam and to all people of goodwill who cherish basic human liberties.

All of us in this body, human rights and free trade advocates alike, welcome this opportunity for the House to speak with one voice in favor of the freedoms of speech and expression for the people of Vietnam. I am pleased to join the bipartisan cosponsors of this measure in calling for the release of political prisoners, including the 18 Vietnamese bloggers and cyberactivists listed in the resolution. It is also my hope that global and United States-based Internet service providers will refuse to be complicit in the Vietnamese Government's human rights violations.

I want to thank the gentlelady from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for introducing this measure, which I strongly support.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cao), a member of the Homeland Security and Transportation Committees and the only Member of this body who was born in Vietnam.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, and a very long-standing advocate for human rights in Vietnam.

Mr. Speaker, having no more speakers on the subject, I again thank the gentlewoman from California for bringing this important resolution forward, which I very much support, that of freedom in Vietnam; and I urge my fellow Members to lend their support, also.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) for bringing forward this important resolution.

I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 175, which condemns the Iranian regime's continuing persecution of members of the Baha'i faith, Tehran's notoriously cruel regime, which for decades has denied the people of Iran their fundamental human rights and civil liberties.

While the most recent demonstration of the regime's brutality and authoritarianism was the crackdown in the aftermath of the June leadership selection process; for years, Iran has

made a special example of the Iranian Baha'is, oppressing them without respite.

In addition to seizing Baha'i communal property, the Iranian Government prohibits the community from officially assembling; bans them from practicing or teaching their religion; excludes them from the national pension system and from public universities; prevents them from inheriting property; and jails them on account of their faith or on trumped-up charges of espionage.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution, which condemns the Iranian regime's despicable conduct.

Mr. Speaker, totalitarian regimes everywhere, hiding behind the false excuse of state sovereignty, are eager to combat any progress in human rights and freedoms and are eager to expand their repression as far as others will allow them to do.

The Baha'is and countless other Iranians have been robbed of a better future for almost 30 years by a regime which offers nothing but more misery. Therefore, the United States must continue to make clear in both word and deed that the spread of religious freedom and human rights worldwide is not merely an ideal but an imperative. Now is the time for all responsible nations to stand four-square with the Baha'is of Iran in their moment of need.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the author of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, having no more speakers on the subject, again, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois for bringing forward this very important resolution and urge my fellow Members to adopt it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I stand in strong support of this resolution, which expresses our sympathy and deepest condolences for the victims and families of this month's deadly suicide bombing at the U.N. World Food Program offices in Islamabad, Pakistan.

We mourn the loss of five humanitarian aid workers who were killed in a senseless act of violence while they were simply trying to supply food to the millions of vulnerable and hungry people of Pakistan. This deadly attack by a Taliban suicide bomber on October 5 forced the U.N. to temporarily close its offices, which resulted in the disruption of food assistance to nearly 10 million starving people in Pakistan who are dependent on the World Food Program.

Mr. Speaker, we should not allow such cowardly acts of violence to overshadow the vital work of the World Food Program, whose efforts have relieved the suffering and hunger of millions of people in Pakistan and around the world.

Since 1968, the U.N. World Food Program has invested more than $1.5 billion in assistance to the poor citizens of Pakistan alone.

The World Food Program has also carried out food security efforts and has developed nutritional and socioeconomic programs that have improved access to health care, increased school enrollment for women and girls, and advanced economic opportunities for the poor. In fact, amid recent violence in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, the World Food Program courageously pushed forward to provide emergency and hunger relief to 2 million displaced Pakistanis.

Today, it is important not only to recognize the crucial role of the World Food Program in the fight to alleviate poverty and world hunger, but to reaffirm our appreciation for its mission to feed the world's poor. It's also important to pause momentarily to remember those aid workers who sacrificed their lives this month in the course of their work to relieve human suffering and hunger.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the passage of this resolution condemning this heinous attack and reinstating our support for the work of the World Food Program.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we very much appreciate Ms. DeLauro bringing the resolution forward, and at this time, we continue to reserve our time.

Mr. Speaker, having no other speakers on the subject, again, I want to thank Ms. DeLauro for bringing this very important resolution forward. I also want to thank Mr. McGovern for his leadership in the hunger issues that he has given all of us.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as a part of H.R. 3183--Energy and Water Appropriations Act of 2010.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Boozman

Bill Number: H.R. 3183

Account: Construction

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Corps of Engineers

Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203

Description of Request: The May Branch flood control project will reduce the occurrence of flood damage for hundreds of property owners in the vicinity of the May Branch drainage way in portions of Fort Smith. During the periods of heavier rainfall, stormwater flows exceed the capacity of the May Branch channel, causing surface and structure flooding. The project meets the Corps of Engineers' cost/benefit ration requirements. The Federal funds of $179,000 will be used for design engineering, right-of way acquisition, and construction. The City of Fort Smith will be matching the $15 million federal share with $16 million in local funds from a 1-cent sales tax dedicated to street and drainage repairs.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Boozman

Bill Number: H.R. 3183

Account: Department of Energy--EERE

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of Arkansas--Division of Agriculture

Address of Requesting Entity: 2404 N. University Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72207

Description of Request: The national goal of the US is to replace more than 75% of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. With America on the verge of breakthroughs in advanced energy technologies, the best way to break the addiction to foreign oil is through new technology. Of course, new conversion technology requires the availability of adequate amounts of quality feedstocks. To help meet this critical national goal, the Mid South/Southeast BioEnergy Consortium $1,000,000 project is focused: to (1) position the MidSouth and Southeast bioenergy industry to expand from biodiesel and grain to ethanol to commercial production of cellulosic ethanol; (2) develop economic and environmental viable systems to produce, harvest and process relevant feedstocks for biodiesel and ethanol operations, matching feedstock availability to specific conversion technologies; (3) conduct educational programs to deliver information on

feedstock production, harvesting and processing with farm and industry audiences; (4) develop alternative uses for by-products and create new lines of co-products that generate revenue streams to complement biofuel production; and (5) develop and evaluate conversion technologies necessary for commercial cellulosic ethanol production.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support and the support of Arkansas' Third District residents for the 287(g) program.

Two years ago, Benton and Washington County Sheriff's Departments and the cities of Rogers and Springdale sent 19 northwest Arkansas officers and deputies for training in the identification and possible detainment of illegal immigrant offenders they encounter during their regular daily law enforcement activities. I thank Rogers' Mayor Steve Womack in being a driving force behind this task force. His leadership has been instrumental in cracking down on illegal immigrants in northwest Arkansas.

Thanks to these law enforcement personnel, more than 1,500 illegal aliens have been arrested and have or are in the process of being deported in northwest Arkansas. 287(g) has a proven track record of success nationwide. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, since January of 2007, the program is credited with identifying more than 100,000 potentially removable aliens, mostly at local jails. The numbers tell the story. 287(g) is an effective program, and that is why I'm a champion for it.

This week, I signed a letter to President Obama showing my support for the 287(g) program and asking that the funding be continued. I believe that Federal, State, and local cooperation is key to combating illegal immigration, and continuing the 287(g) program is a commonsense solution.

Well, as the gentleman just said, our taxes will go up; and we will not only be paying Arkansas' share, but we will be paying for those four States that have worked a deal.

I was struck. Will you go back to the chart that shows the Medicare.

You know, when you look at that chart, a tremendous amount of the pay-fors come out of Medicare, cuts to Medicare doctors, $240 billion. Right now, it's not uncommon at all for me to get a call because I am an optometrist and practitioner in the area for a long time, and they say, my aunt's moved to town and they are having trouble finding a Medicare practitioner now because people are cutting back on their hours and just refusing to have additional patients.

We are talking about cutting that $240 billion, $130 billion to the Advantage Program and 120 to the Medicare

hospital account, which really will devastate rural hospitals in particular, which really will affect my State a great deal. When you add all of that up, that's close to $500 billion.

Medicare goes broke now in 2017, 2018. You have to ask yourself, What is Medicare going to look like in 7 or 8 years? Right now, it's a good program. Our seniors are doing well; they are getting good care.

But when you add 30 percent more population to the program, take away $500 billion of their resources, again, what is that program going to look like? What is that going to do to our seniors?

I had a senior call me today, an old coach of mine. He said, John, I don't understand this. You know, we are the group that have paid taxes the longest. I have faithfully paid in--this gentleman is in his 80s. He said, I have paid in all my life, and now I am at the point where I am needing my care, and we paid in the longest, and you are going to penalize us the most.

I think that's something that we really do have to consider.

Can I say something to the gentleman from Texas? The other thing that we have to remember in the administrative cost is that at least 10 percent is waste and fraud. So you have this very low administrative cost. Well, they are not doing anything.

In speaking of Medicare. The President stood up here a few weeks ago and agreed. In fact, all of the things--he was going to fix everything--much of what he was going to fix was going to be paid for by getting rid of this waste and fraud, primarily in Medicare and then also in Medicaid. So when you are not really administering, when you have all of this going on, then certainly you are going to have a very low expense. But the true expense is much higher.

The other thing I would say, and you all, the gentleman from Tennessee and you might talk about the importance of getting rid of these nuisance lawsuits. We got good news. I believe it was the CBO, somebody scored this week to the tune of many, many billions of dollars. That's something that our side is pushing for very, very hard. Everyone agrees. Even the President, when he addressed us a few weeks ago, made mention of the fact that he'd been talking to his physician friends and this and that and that he felt like, you know, that there was something there. The problem was the solution that he offered is really no solution.

But why don't you guys talk a little bit about the numbers, what that would do, and then also how that drove costs in your individual practices.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

According to the Chesapeake Convention and Tourism Bureau, Edgar Allen Poe reportedly wrote parts of his famous poem ``The Raven'' while traveling the Dismal Swamp Canal, which was later to become part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, AIWW, was authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1937 to provide a safe inside navigation channel for commercial shipping. Completed in 1940, the AIWW runs along the southeast coast of the United States from Norfolk, Virginia, to Miami, Florida, measuring 1,088 miles long.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is also used extensively by recreational boaters. Studies have shown that recreational boaters bring millions of dollars to State budgets. The waterway is also used by vessels not equipped for ocean travel or for when weather conditions make the ocean too rough to travel.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway has a good deal of commercial activity. Products shipped include fuel oil, gasoline, asphalt, fertilizers, chemicals, wood chips, wood, limestone, sand, gravel, iron, steel, slag, lime, fabricated metal products, soybeans, vegetables, produce, and electrical machinery, all of which are shipped along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association was organized in 1999 to address the navigation challenges of the waterway and to encourage the continuation and further development of waterborne commerce and recreation on the AIWW of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The association has been an outspoken advocate for regular dredging and adequate maintenance to promote safe, cost- effective navigation along the AIWW and is known as the ``Voice of the Waterway.''

Today, we recognize the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he might desire to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown).

Mr. Speaker, having no more speakers on the subject, we do support the adoption of H. Res. 465 recognizing the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association, the good work that they have done over the last 10 years, and with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Matthew Saferite for being named Arkansas Secondary Principal of the Year.

Mr. Saferite, the principal of Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas, demonstrates extraordinary leadership and commitment to his students and his staff on a daily basis. He works to identify and seek opportunities for all who enter the halls of his school.

His hard work has made him a model of success for students as well as fellow

educators. True to form, he shares this honor with his staff and students at Ramay, acknowledging the team effort that is always on display at the school.

I commend Mr. Saferite for his passion for educating our youth and his dedication to all in the community. I wish him success in all future endeavors, and I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring an educator whose accomplishments and devotion to the Third District of Arkansas has not gone unnoticed.