Floor Statements

I thank my colleague from Hawaii, one of the other small States. I know you're a delegation of two; we're a delegation of one. I represent the whole State of Delaware. I tell my constituents that we have two Senators and one Member of Congress. That means that I have to work twice as hard, Mr. Speaker, to serve the people in my State.

I'm pleased to join my freshman colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle this afternoon for our discussion about small business and job creation, and I'd like to talk for a little bit about the situation in my State, the State of Delaware.

All of us are coming off a district work week, where we spent our time, I'm sure, meeting with constituents, talking to business owners, small business owners, large business owners, and working our districts. And I did the same thing in Delaware, not too far from the Capitol here. I would like to highlight two meetings that I had in particular. One was a job fair that we held in Georgetown, Delaware, which is the county seat in the lower part of our State. Many people from the Washington, D.C. area know Georgetown as they pass through it to go to our lovely beaches during the summer time to enjoy time with their family at the beach.

This particular day we sponsored a job fair in Georgetown, along with Senator Carper and Senator Coons. This was a program that Senator Coons championed in Wilmington initially, and we've moved it now to the other two counties of our State and had a job fair in Dover and a job fair in Georgetown this past week, really helping to connect those folks in our State who are unemployed or underemployed, people looking to move up with employers who are looking to hire. And even though we have over 9 percent unemployment nationally and a little bit over 8 percent unemployment in our State of Delaware, there are still a lot of jobs that go wanting, mostly because the employers are not able to find people that have the required skills for that particular enterprise.

So the good news about this job fair is that we had 55 employers there, many of whom were prepared to hire people and offer them jobs, certainly take resumes and interview people or set up interviews. But we had over 8,000 people who came seeking employment or seeking an upgrade in their current job situation. And that's a lot of people in the small State of Delaware in the least populous area of our State. So it tells us the very serious problem that we have with the lack of jobs and the lack of skills that people might have to do the jobs that are out there.

Later on in the week, I met at PATS Aircraft, which is an airplane manufacturing facility at Georgetown Airport. They've been hiring airplane mechanics over the last several years. In fact, when I was lieutenant governor, one of the biggest problems that they had was finding workers that had the requisite skills to do the jobs that they had. Now, they have since lost some of that work; but they were looking ahead and anticipating, with some assistance from the FAA, to extend the runway there at Georgetown Airport--going back to your point about the need for infrastructure to stir business development, business growth and job creation. If we were able to extend the runway there at the airport, PATS would be able to hire more mechanics.

But there are a lot of people out there, while they might want those jobs, would not have the skills to do the work. And so Delaware Technical and Community College, with the help of the State government, has developed a training program specifically to prepare workers for that facility and other airplane manufacturing facilities in our region.

We have a Dassault Falcon plant, which does airplane maintenance and mechanics at the New Castle County Airport, as well as a large Boeing facility over the line in southeastern Pennsylvania. So these are jobs. They are highly skilled jobs. They are jobs that require mechanical ability. They are jobs that require training. And there are certainly lots of folks out there that are looking for employment, and these are the kinds of jobs that we need to prepare people for.

One of the press conferences we had this week was at Delaware Technical & Community College where we highlighted a Federal grant that was going to Delaware Tech to create training programs for businesses, basically to enable people to upgrade their skills to take the jobs that are available. One of the problems, obviously, that we have in our country--and the President's employment council has identified this problem--is that we have jobs that are out there, but we don't have people with the right kinds of skills for those jobs. So we need to have programs--and this is where the public sector comes into play, particularly technical and community colleges--to provide that training and those skills for those folks.

Later on in the week, I met and spoke with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce; and the Georgetown Chamber, of course, is comprised mostly of very small businesses. They had a really simple message for me, as a Member of Congress, and that is that they see their businesses struggling because of a lack of confidence among consumers. And when you think about the U.S. economy at large, about 70 percent of economic activity is consumer driven. So when consumers don't have confidence either in their employment situation in the present--they may not be employed--or their future employment situation, they're not willing to spend money on small business services or products in the community and, therefore, these small businesses suffer.

So their message to me was really a simple one, twofold. One is: Do no harm in Washington, DC. Do the work of the people, solve the problems that we have, and inspire confidence. And I think one of the ways that we can do that--there's a lot of discussion. Most of the discussion that I hear from my constituents in the State of Delaware-- and we've had town hall meetings. We're going to have a telephone town hall meeting tonight. I'm sure I will hear the same thing: Enough with the partisan bickering back and forth across the aisle. Let's focus on the challenges that we face--creating jobs and strengthening businesses, creating a business climate in the short term where businesses can thrive, where consumers can have confidence so they'll be willing to spend on small businesses and other procurement. And in the long term, address our deficits, our debt, and our budget imbalances.

If we're able to do that, we'll at least provide some confidence to the people that we represent that those that they send from Delaware, the Members of the House of Representatives here and our Senators across the Capitol, are doing their part, are working together, are focused on not the politics of where we all stand in relation to the next election but on solving the problems that face our country.

I think the vote that we have coming at the end of this year, which will be the result of the work of the Committee on the Budget, will be maybe one of the most important votes in a number of years. I have heard our majority whip Steny Hoyer refer to it as the most important vote here in the last 30 years. And I think that's right in many respects, because people out there, my constituents, your constituents, Ms. Hanabusa, in Hawaii--I see our colleague from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) has joined us as well--our constituents are asking us, begging us to do our work to inspire confidence and to do the right thing for the country. And that involves giving people the skills they need to be able to do the jobs that are available out there, creating confidence so businesses can make investments, so people will be willing to spend money and consume so our economy will get back on its feet again. In the long term, we'll set up a fiscal situation with our government so that the economy can be strong and create jobs for my children and their children.

So I want to thank my colleague from Hawaii for leading our dialogue this afternoon on job creation, on small business development across our country in our respective districts, and I look forward to sitting here with you for a few more minutes and engaging in this dialogue. I just wanted to give a few words about how the people in Delaware are responding to the work that we are doing or are not doing here in the Congress.

Oh, I absolutely got that sense. And people that I talked to--Democrats, Republicans, it really didn't matter what party affiliation they had--were pretty fed up with what they had seen in the whole debt ceiling debacle, not so much the debate around it but the fact that we let it go to the brink and that we seem to want to, with every continuing resolution, every important vote, take it to the brink before coming together, however that might happen, whether it's one side of the aisle getting enough votes or whether it's coming across the aisle and having a bipartisan approach.

Frankly, the people in Delaware are more focused on having us address problems and solve those problems, and they're not really concerned at all, in fact, with the politics of it. What they tell me is: Cut it out. Cut it out. And they ask me: Is it so bad? And I tell them that I have been reading a lot of Civil War history of late.

I read a book about Abraham Lincoln about a year ago and, after that, started looking for other books to read. Of course just after we were sworn in, one of our leaders, Congressman Larson from Connecticut, gave us a history of the House of Representatives. And because I had been doing so much reading about the Civil War, I decided to go first to those chapters just before the Civil War and during the Civil War and afterwards and to read about the history of the House of Representatives.

And I want to tell you, it might be hard for some of our constituents in Hawaii and Rhode Island and Delaware to believe it, but things were a lot worse during that period of time. One of the stories was related in the book that one Member almost caned another Member to death on the floor of the House. I tell my constituents, it's not nearly that bad. In fact, we have a lot of friends--frankly, I have a lot of friends, and I know you do--across the aisle. I think the real problem is we have pretty significant differences of opinion on issues, and that's understandable. That's what makes our country so great, frankly, that we can come here. We can come from our respective areas of the country with different points of view.

As I look around this Chamber, you see America in this Chamber through the Representatives that are sent here by the people. But we need to understand that this country is greater than all the rest of us as individuals, and we need to live up to the greatness of our country by recognizing that we have got to put our differences behind us at the end of the day so that we can come to some resolution for the good of the people at large.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

When I served as Delaware's Lieutenant Governor, I spent a lot of my time helping children in our State understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. I started a program called the Lieutenant Governor's Challenge that helped thousands of Delaware students make regular physical activity part of their daily lives.

One of my partners in these initiatives was Nemours, a foundation that operates A.I. DuPont Hospital, a world-class facility for children in Wilmington, Delaware. Nemours works with schools, childcare centers, and community organizations to help children make healthy food and lifestyle choices and to stay physically active. If we can help children make healthy decisions at an early age, those habits will stay with them for a lifetime, and we will save money on the country's health care bill as a result.

Mr. Speaker, we should follow the lead of organizations like Nemours for the healthy messages they bring to our children in places where they live, learn, and play.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise to recognize the importance of rail security in the effort to access, prepare for, and neutralize terrorist threats to our critical infrastructure. While roughly 1.7 million passengers ride in domestic and international air flights daily, every weekday 34 million Americans ride on trains and transit systems.

We have seen the tragic consequences of attacks to rail and subway systems in Britain, Spain, and India. We know al Qaeda was looking to target American rail systems this year. An attack on our rail system here in the United States would simply be devastating.

Earlier this year, the House adopted an amendment I offered to the fiscal year 2011 Intelligence Authorization Act. There was broad bipartisan support for making rail security an intelligence priority. I continue to believe we must address the security vulnerabilities in our rail and transit systems. Our intelligence community does great work to coordinate with those who own and operate trains and rail lines. In particular, the Office of Intelligence Analysis within the Department of Homeland Security develops a threat assessment for critical infrastructure.

My amendment is a simple amendment. It affirms the importance of assessments and information sharing conducted by intelligence analysts. It expresses the sense of Congress that the intelligence community must continue to prioritize rail security in identifying and preventing terrorist threats.

As a near daily rider of Amtrak myself, I want to know that the United States Government is doing all it can to keep my fellow passengers and rail passengers across the country safe. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank you for your consideration.

I reserve the balance of my time.

In closing, I would like to thank the chair. I appreciate his position on this. I thank him for not officially opposing it and ask for support from everyone in the Chamber.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of efforts to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Recently, I visited with 11-year-old Madeline Tallman from my home State of Delaware. She was here to tell her story of what it's like to live with type 1 diabetes. Madeline is faced with the life-long challenge of checking her blood sugar levels, managing her diet, and injecting herself with insulin every single day.

While research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes is progressing, people like Madeline are looking for better ways to manage their diabetes right now.

An artificial pancreas has the potential to transform the lives of those with type 1 diabetes. This device automatically controls blood sugar levels around the clock allowing patients to remain healthy until a cure is found. But before this technology can be made available to patients, the FDA must approve the next steps in the regulatory process for artificial pancreas trials.

I commend the FDA for committing to publish draft guidance by December 1. I urge the FDA to stick with that guideline. Children like Madeline have waited long enough.

Our Nation is lurching towards an August 2 deadline to avoid defaulting on the national debt. If Congress doesn't act, the United States will face an economic calamity that could easily have been prevented.

If we don't raise the debt ceiling, the world will lose confidence in the U.S., and its credit rating will be downgraded from its current bullet-proof AAA grade. Interest rates will rise, which will slow the fragile economic recovery and risk pushing the economy back into recession. Higher interest rates on U.S. Treasuries would also seriously affect ordinary Americans. A default would force consumers to pay more for mortgages, car loans, and other borrowing. Losing our AAA credit rating will increase the government's interest payments on the national debt, making it even more difficult to get our fiscal house in order.

Let's face it. A default would be a financial disaster for the country. We can't afford it. But we shouldn't just raise the debt ceiling. We should use it as an opportunity for both sides to agree on a plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. The so-called Gang of Six has come forward with a bipartisan plan to do just that. It's comprehensive, balanced, and it's right for the country. It's not perfect but it's all we have.

It's time to do the right thing for the country.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this amendment, and I will submit this letter from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources for the Record.

While I oppose the underlying bill, I will only speak to this amendment. It addresses what I think is a nonpartisan issue and, frankly, it appeals to States' rights, which my Republican friends typically support.

Delaware is in nonattainment with Federal clean air standards, mainly due to emissions that come from outside our State borders. In order to comply with Federal law and protect public health, Delaware has the ability to implement pollution control strategies beyond EPA's requirements.

Last year Delaware was given Clean Air Act authority for the Outer Continental Shelf, meaning that the State, rather than EPA, regulates emissions there. Delegated authority is working. The one OCS permit requested of Delaware was granted within weeks, not months. Disputes go through a quick administrative review, rather than costly litigation. It does not mean a delay, as my Republican colleague alleged.

In fact, this delegated authority is working so well that other States are actively looking into it. Maryland, Virginia and Alaska have each asked Delaware for its documents on delegated authority.

A one-size-fits-all approach like H.R. 2021 is not in the best interest of our States. Our amendment simply preserves delegated authority to the States that want it, enabling our States to oversee pollution control as they see fit. This is not balkanization; it's common sense.

I urge my colleagues to preserve States rights by supporting this amendment.

State of Delaware,

Department of Natural Resources

and Environmental Control,

Dover, DE, June 21, 2011.

Hon. John C. Carney,

United States Representative,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congressman Carney: I write to you today to express

State of Delaware's opposition to H.R. 2021, the Jobs and

Energy Permitting Act of 2011. Our concerns with this bill

are outlined below:

(1) The proposed bill will impede states' authority to

regulate emissions and create unnecessary burdens on state

agencies;

(2) By restricting the consideration of air quality impacts

solely to an onshore location in the corresponding onshore

area, the proposed bill does not sufficiently protect human

health and the environment;

(3) The proposed bill shields a potentially significant

portion of emissions from OCS activities from emission

control requirements; and

(4) The proposed bill subverts our state's established

procedures for due process and replaces them with a

potentially cumbersome and costly judicial review.

Delaware's air quality is so severely impacted by

transported air pollution from the Southwest and the West

that Delaware can no longer produce a plan to meet the

National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone even if it

eliminated all in-state emissions. This bill will open a new

Eastern front in the assault on our air quality and at the

same time removes available and much needed tools to address

these emissions. Delaware's citizens and those living on the

East coast deserve clean air and need the continued

protection afforded them by the Clean Air Act.

I urge you to reject this bill.

Sincerely,

Collin P. O'Mara,

Secretary.

Madam Speaker, this week the Democratic and Republican caucuses met with President Obama to discuss the need to increase the debt ceiling. The President said we need to raise the debt ceiling soon, and I agree. Defaulting on our debt is not an option for a great Nation like ours. No one wants to send the economy into another tailspin. Now is the time to restore fiscal discipline. That is what the American people, the global financial markets, and U.S. creditors expect, and that is why I support the attachment

of a strong deficit reduction plan to any increase in the debt ceiling.

Congress should attach a balanced and broad-based budget plan to the debt ceiling increase. The plan should include smart cuts that would total at least $4 trillion over the next 10 years. The budget agreement should also protect important investments in a strong economic future.

We can't delay any longer. We can't pass these tough decisions on to our children and grandchildren. The people we serve sent us here to get this done, and it is time for both sides to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 331, I was present, but I was distracted and missed the second vote in the three vote series. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, over the past week, officials have announced that preliminary intelligence gathered from Osama bin Laden's Pakistan hideout shows that al Qaeda had been plotting a terrorist attack on our Nation's rail system. While roughly 1.7 million passengers ride on domestic and international flights daily, every weekday 34 million Americans ride on trains and transit systems. The issue of rail security is more relevant now than ever. And I'm here today to argue for making rail security a national intelligence priority.

On March 11, 2004, nearly 200 people were killed in Madrid as a result of a terrorist bombing while riding the commuter rail to work. In 2005, over 50 people were killed and 700 injured on the London transit system in a series of explosions during the morning rush hour. An attack on our rail system here in the United States would be devastating. It would almost certainly result in the loss of life.

Clearly, terrorist organizations around the world have made rail systems a target. I strongly believe that we need to address the vulnerabilities in our rail system by ensuring that rail security is one of our Nation's top intelligence priorities. That's why I offered this amendment directing the intelligence community to include rail and subway transit security in its transportation security plans and budgets.

The 9/11 Commission report found that over 90 percent of the Nation's annual investment in transportation security is spent on aviation security. While addressing security vulnerabilities within aviation is critical, this allocation leaves too little for surface transportation security, particularly on our rail systems.

``For now, riding trains is safe.'' That's how Transportation Secretary LaHood described the state of our rail system in light of the intelligence found in Osama bin Laden's compound. But we need to do better than that. As a near daily rider of Amtrak myself, I want to know that the United States Government is doing all it can to keep my fellow passengers safe. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment so that our intelligence community is able to identify and prevent a terrorist attack on our rail system.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would just like to add that I listened to the gentleman and I appreciate his comments. I listened to his remarks earlier on the previous amendment, and he said that the intelligence agencies spend all their time, every waking hour, targeting people trying to kill Americans every day. The facts are that these terrorists are trying to kill Americans on American rail transit systems. And that's the purpose of this amendment--to make sure that this is given a priority in our intelligence plans.

With that, I yield such time as he may consume to the ranking member, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger).

Mr. Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. Chair, I would just like to add a few more things before finishing up here. Between 2004 and 2008, there were 500 terrorist attacks waged worldwide against mass transit and passenger rail targets, resulting in over 2,000 deaths and over 9,000 injuries. Five billion passenger miles, intercity and commuter rail, are logged every day in the northeast corridor alone here in the U.S. That represents more than one-third of the daily vehicle miles logged on I- 95 between Washington, D.C. and New York City.

My amendment will ensure that the U.S. Government places a priority on ensuring the safety of rail passengers around the country by working to prevent a terrorist attack on our rail system. And I would ask support for this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I certainly thank the gentleman and appreciate his comments and certainly respect his expertise. But I can't imagine that the intelligence agencies aren't, as they're doing their activities-- intelligence activities overseas--aren't finding out that there are threats to the U.S. rail system. My amendment would just make that a priority within all the things that they do.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I have the great pleasure today of recognizing a very special Delawarean who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

Charles P. West is one of a kind who served our State and Nation with distinction as a soldier, legislator, businessman, and advocate for the values that are important to his community of Gumboro. Charlie was first elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1956, serving one 2-year term. He returned to the statehouse in 1978 and served for 24 years before retiring in 2002.

Charlie took great pride in helping his constituents. As he used to tell me all the time, he fought for the little guy. He was a fierce advocate for those who were the backbone of his district: chicken and grain farmers, small business owners, and sportsmen.

Charlie and his wife of 63 years, Eleanor Lee, are good friends of mine, and they have helped me better understand what is important to our State. It is my pleasure today to wish Charles P. West a happy 90th birthday and wish him and his family many more years together.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 300, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Stated against:

Mr. Speaker, today, I'd like to recognize two significant athletic achievements that were recently announced in my home State of Delaware.

In March, the St. Mark's High School football team was named Team of the Year by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association. This fall, St. Mark's finished with an undefeated 12-0 record and captured their first football title since 1978.

Also last month, University of Delaware sophomore Elena Delle Donne was named Player of the Year in Delaware after earning First Team All- CAA honors in basketball for the second straight year.

As a St. Mark's alumnus and former high school and college athlete and coach, I know the hard work and commitment that goes into achieving success at such a high level. I also know that high school and college athletes learn lessons about teamwork, competition, and leadership that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

And so I'd like to once again congratulate Elena Delle Donne, St. Mark's High School football coach Jim Wilson and his staff, and each member of this year's team.

We in Delaware wish you well and hope for your continued success.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the many volunteer fire companies that play such an important role in protecting public safety in my home State of Delaware.

Like many Delawareans who have seen or been helped directly by one of our volunteer firefighters, I continue to be amazed and humbled by their professionalism and willingness to sacrifice to put the safety of others ahead of their own.

Today, I'd like to recognize the Holloway Terrace Fire Company, which is celebrating 90 years of service to our community. For generations, members of the Holloway Terrace Fire Company have given their all to protect those who live and work in New Castle, Delaware.

In that time, no one has given more to the fire company than Mr. William ``Bill'' Maxwell, Sr. This year Bill is celebrating 50 years of service in the Holloway Terrace Fire Company. He joined as a junior member and has risen through the ranks to become deputy chief, fire chief, and now a member of the board of directors.

I would like to thank every volunteer firefighter who works to protect Delaware communities and encourage them to continue their service for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to clarify my position for the record on a vote cast during consideration of H.R. 658, The FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011.

On rollcall vote No. 212, cast March 31st, 2011, I voted ``aye.'' It was my intention to vote ``no'' on Amendment No. 18 offered by Congressman Gingrey of Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to object once again to the majority's misplaced priorities during these difficult times for American families. As a result of the financial crisis in 2008, more than 7 million Americans lost their jobs, and more than 9 million Americans have faced foreclosure. In my small State of Delaware, 6,000 people filed for foreclosure last year, which is three times the norm. As Lieutenant Governor, I chaired a foreclosure prevention task force in Delaware. We learned that the best way to help homeowners was through a combination of private and public sector efforts.

It's just unbelievable to me that this House voted to end foreclosure prevention programs which for thousands of families are the last chance to keep their homes. Let's remember that we are still recovering from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and the housing market is still floundering. Allowing more families to lose their homes just makes things worse. So this debate is not just about helping individual families, as important as that is. It's also about strengthening the economic recovery now underway.