Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we are here on a Friday. The government has partially been shut down for some 4 days now.

Republicans have tried to be reasonable. Many of us did not like ObamaCare. Some folks, like myself--my family didn't have health care at certain times. And I thought we had a responsibility to help people who had preexisting conditions, help some of our young people. And we disagreed with the other side. They passed it. They said you'd know what was in the bill after we passed it. After we passed it, and it became the law, we saw what was in it. The President, some 17 times now--many times in contravention of the law that was passed--changed the law.

Now when we came a few days ago, October 1, there wasn't money to run the government, but there was money to run ObamaCare. Still, many people were left in the lurch after many exceptions were made for special interest folks, even business. And I admit to being pro- business. They gave them a waiver.

We said that Members of Congress and also the White House staff and others should be under ObamaCare, and we said that the individual should also have a break here.

This is a system that some Democrats said was a train wreck. We didn't say that. But we should have the opportunity to make some changes. And we offered three opportunities to make changes--some of them minor--that we thought were fair.

But when you go out golfing the Saturday before the government is about to run out of money, when you don't show up for work on Sunday, and you come to work on Monday, as the United States Senate did, you can't negotiate. When you send people to the White House and sit there and say, we won't negotiate----

But our leaders, in good faith, went to the White House.

As a staffer, I used to get calls. I was a staffer for Senator Hawkins, and Ronald Reagan would ask me to help work with my boss and others to get things done.

I voted on this floor to impeach Bill Clinton. And Bill Clinton came back and worked with us. We balanced the budget.

Remember, after we had the last shutdown, '95, within 2 years, we balanced the budget. We reformed welfare. We balanced the budget. Actually, the debate here on September 11, just before September 11, was what to do with the surplus. So some good can come out of this, good people working together.

But when they won't negotiate, when they call you to the White House and they won't talk, when they go to Maryland, as they did, or wherever it was in the region here, and then tell folks that we're holding a gun to their heads, that's wrong.

Let's negotiate. Let's get this done for the American people.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I am pleased to hear the gentleman from California from the other side of the aisle who just spoke and his willingness to work together. I think that's the kind of cooperation that the American people are looking for and that Congress needs to adhere to in coming together and resolving this.

No one wants a shutdown. No one wants to see vital and essential government programs eliminated or withheld from the public. Sometimes in these situations that are most difficult, you actually become concerned about basic common sense or, again, the attempts of certain people to try to embarrass each side.

I think one of the worst things I've seen in my service was the closedown of some of our memorials. This probably won't show up for my colleagues very well, but this is the Martin Luther King Memorial. You just walk up and look at it. But to deploy Interior and park personnel to put out barriers to constrain the public from even walking is an absolutely senseless and mindless bureaucratic move.

Many people saw also the construction. And this, again, is not a very good photo, but this is Park personnel that were deployed putting fences up in front of the Lincoln Memorial and then, most offensively, to put barriers to block, in an open-air park memorial, our World War II veterans' memorial. This is senseless.

I have talked to Mr. Issa and the Oversight subcommittee that I chair--Mr. Issa chairs the whole Oversight Committee of Congress. I know Mr. Hastings is going to look into this, his Natural Resources Committee. But this is a senseless offense to the American people and particularly our veterans and others, there is no reason for this. So some common sense has to prevail in all of this.

We will get beyond this. People will be made whole. It is unfortunate that sometimes government, whether it was back in Washington's days or throughout our history, does work on a brinksmanship basis and does not get to a resolution, particularly when you come to difficult times.

My colleagues, we are at one of the most difficult times in history. Within the next 2 weeks, the United States of America will be at our debt limit. We'll be $17 trillion in debt. They're going to come and ask for another trillion dollars for a year to keep us from being a deadbeat Nation.

How did we get here? That's part of the question that has to be resolved here. You had an era of unprecedented spending, 4 years in which the other side--and these are facts--took control. They spent $1.5 trillion more than they took in the first year in office--1.4 trillion, 1.3 trillion, and so on and so on, until we've gone from $9 trillion in debt to 17, reaching 18, almost double in 5 or 6 years. That's unsustainable. So that's what this is about.

It's also about a health care program. I come from a family that at times didn't have health care. And many Americans need health care, and we should be able to provide them, but people didn't ask for a bureaucracy. People didn't ask for thousands of bureaucrats here to manage a government program. They didn't ask for IRS enforcers. They didn't ask for many of the mandates that are in this bill that can and need to be revised.

The President has already revised the law. The President said he didn't need the Congress, as you will recall, some time ago, and obviously he hasn't. He changed some of the terms, given exemptions to employers, put that off for a year, which was part of the law. We've asked--and, again, some of us wanted it repealed. Some of us didn't like it, but we now have it. We need to revise it, and we need to make certain that Americans have good health care and access to affordable care, but not with bureaucracy.

We've offered at least three alternatives and some changes, the last one pretty simple, to delay for a while the individual mandate, like we've done for others. So we can do this and we must do this. We must succeed for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, when you think you've seen it all, just stick around here for another day.

Yesterday, one of the most appalling events I've seen in our Nation's Capital was the closing of the World War II Memorial, putting up barriers to stop our veterans from accessing that open space area.

How offensive could you be?

How much more pain do you want to inflict on the American people?

Now, here is the group that closed the White House. This President closed the White House and said he didn't have money to open it to the public.

I would suggest, first of all, maybe we need to get a new parks director and fire those folks, or furlough those folks that can't leave public spaces and memorials open to the public. What an offense.

When I thought that was offensive yesterday morning, I came to the House last night and saw, again, another horrible offense. We passed, Republicans passed a measure to make certain that our military were paid and our servicemen and -women in harm's way were taken care of financially. We saw, also, the need, afterwards to help our veterans.

And last night, in one of the most offensive actions of the House, the other side of the aisle turned down an opportunity to keep our veterans whole.

How offensive could you be?

But they want to inflict pain.

I'm telling you, folks, I've been around here a long time. I've never seen an operation like this. The chief of staff in the U.S. Senate-- Ronald Reagan would pick up the phone, he would even call me, as a chief of staff, to get things going in the Senate, talk about things.

He called the Senators. He would work with Representatives. He would bring them in and have communication.

Even Bill Clinton, after I voted to impeach him, would work with you to get things done, and we got things done.

We had a shutdown then. This isn't the end of the world. There were 17 shutdowns, and some good came out of that shutdown. It was a horrible thing. We don't need to repeat them. We don't need to have this one.

But we did balance the budget. We balanced the budget with a Republican Congress working with a Democrat President. There's no need for this offensive approach that's being taken, not working, not communicating.

This can and should be resolved. Members of Congress have that important responsibility and can't neglect it.

This is much more difficult than just a temporary shutdown. We're talking about a permanent shutdown of the Federal Government. Do you think having a few of the Federal services eliminated or suspended temporarily is tough?

In a few weeks, the government will run out of money. Why? Because these folks will talk to you about a budget. They haven't passed a budget since 2008. The only way we got the other body--the Senate--to pass a budget was to pass a bill to embarrass them that said, no budget, no pay.

This is the group that had control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. They couldn't even pass an FAA bill. There were 20 extensions. A transportation bill. They couldn't pass a budget, and here they're criticizing us.

We came to work, and we worked until 12:30 into Sunday morning. They were absent without leave. The Senate never even came to work on Sunday. They came to work on Monday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. And then they rejected every offer. We offered three times to compromise and then we said, Let's sit down. Yesterday we had a conference. No one showed up. You have to show up. The President has to be the President. Let him take a little of this Malaysia money--he's not going to Malaysia--and open the White House, open the memorials to our veterans. Use some of that money that he's gaming the system, trying to inflict pain on our veterans and our citizens.

There is no reason for this. Good people of good intention can come together, make this government work, make it better, pay our bills, and be responsible and bring this out-of-control spending under control and get our government accountable and responsible. That's what the American people want. They're tired of the blame game.

Let's get America going in a positive direction. I know we can do it.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, here we are, the government has shut down. It's amazing some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have political amnesia, sort of revisionist history. Let's just look at some of the facts.

The other side of the aisle, the Democrats, took over in 2008. We haven't had a Federal budget since 2008. The only way we got a budget this year from the United States Senate was a provision that the Republicans passed: ``No budget, no pay.'' We had to force them by passing a law and embarrassing them to pass a budget.

How did we get in this situation? And this is a very critical financial situation for the United States of America, for all Americans. The shutdown is very unfortunate, but sometimes you have to take dramatic steps to move forward. We got in this situation because the other side--controlling the House, the Senate, and the White House in 2008--went on a spending binge unprecedented in the history of mankind in any government.

The first year they spent more than $1.5 trillion more than we took in. From 2008 to current, we went from a $9 trillion deficit to $17 trillion; nearly doubled it in 5 years--every year spending out of control.

We put the brakes on a bit. This is about funding the government for this next year that starts today.

In 2 weeks, we will reach the maximum limit of the indebtedness of the United States. We can't let the United States become a Greece or a deadbeat nation. But stop and think, they are going to ask for another trillion--$900 billion in debt and deficit limits for the United States.

At some point, you have to say enough is enough. Now, I Googled last night to see my comments on the shutdown. I put in ``Mica shutdown.'' Sometimes we forget what has happened.

In August of 2011, I chaired the Transportation Committee and came to the floor. The other side had controlled the House, the Senate and the White House, and they could not pass an FAA bill. They did 20 extensions costing millions and millions of dollars leaving the FAA,-- an important agency--in turmoil.

Finally, I said: Enough is enough. I sent over an extension to Mr. Reid--it was a clean extension--except it cut out his $3,720 per airline ticket subsidy. I am not kidding. In Nevada, one of his airports was getting $3,720.

So rather than take that, we had a partial shutdown of the FAA. Recall that. Just Google it and you will see. I was called the ``Shutdown King.'' For 2 weeks they pilloried me. They called me an ``extortionist.'' They said I was a ``one-man Tea Party terrorist.'' They accused me of holding a gun to the Senate's head.

We did pass an FAA bill. We got an important part of our government working again.

I don't like to take those tough measures. We have tried to be reasonable. None of us on our side of the aisle voted for ObamaCare. The other side voted for it, and they told us that we could read the bill afterwards, and we would find out what is in it. We found out what is in it. We tried and we voted more than 40 times to repeal it. We tried in a reasonable fashion. We sent over three times proposals to do some of the things that even the President has done, and that is delaying mandates. He carved out exceptions for everybody, except for individuals.

So here we are. They don't want to compromise. They didn't show up for work on Sunday at all. They came in yesterday. How would you like to show up for work at 2 when things are going to heck in a handbasket and then reject a proposal?

We can't revise history. We have got to work together; we have got to get this done. We have offered a conference to sit down, and we can get the job done. Sometimes it is tough.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and fellow Members of Congress, 10:15 in the morning. Where is the United States Senate? I was here until 12:30 yesterday morning.

As I recall, we passed a bill to keep the government open and we passed a bill that had compromise. Most Republicans voted over 40 times to repeal ObamaCare, but we agreed to just a 1-year delay in implementation. The President has already agreed to a delay of a year for employers. Why not for the American people in a train wreck that's about to happen to try to get our act together because people do need health care? Where was the United States Senate yesterday?

I say they were AWOL. They were not here. They don't come in until 2 p.m. today, and then they'll jam a bill through the House and Senate and try to make it look good.

Mr. Speaker, it's Saturday morning and we're here in the House of Representatives in an unusual session. I'm glad some people had the opportunity to go home last night and come back this morning.

Some people say, Oh, this is unusual duty, you're working hard, and all of that. And I say to them that I represent the millions of people across the United States who are going to work, sometimes at midnight, work all night, and get up in the morning and go to work at 6 o'clock. They're struggling to put food on the table. They're struggling to educate their children. They're struggling to pay their mortgage and keep their home and their family together.

So I believe that it's Congress' responsibility, and there's no question about it that we work--we work on Saturday, we work on Sunday, we work on Monday, and we'll work until we get this situation resolved.

Now where are we? We're at a crossroads. Rarely, in the history of our Nation, have we come to a crossroads like this. We have the biggest government program probably since World War II in ObamaCare and the President's health care plan going into effect in a few days. We have the government running out of money in a few days, on October 1. And then we have the country facing a financial deficit in less than 2 weeks.

So this is an important crossroads. We need to get it right because there are a lot of hardworking Americans counting on us.

We must avoid the biggest government takeover of health care or any segment of our economy in history. We must avoid forcing people into part-time employment and the government making decisions about our health care. Even the unions are walking away from this plan now. We have a short time to accomplish that.

The deficit is $17 trillion, and they want to extend it almost another trillion--$900 billion--for 1 year. Since the beginning of the Obama administration, in 5 years, we've gone from $9 trillion to $17 trillion in debt--almost doubling it.

Finally, funding the government. We must keep the government open. We must be responsible stewards for the public. But the spending spree in Washington has to stop. Republicans have held the line. We need to hold the line responsibly. We can cut waste, we can cut inefficiencies, and we can make government accountable to the people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share in the great sadness of my colleagues as we mourn the passing of former Florida Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., who passed away on September 10, 2013.

I would like to first express my condolences to Clay's beloved wife of 53 years, Emilie; his children Emilie ``Mimi'' Shaw Carter (Jim), Jennifer Shaw Wilder (Greg), E. Clay Shaw III (Heather) and John Charles ``J.C.'' Shaw (Angela) and his 15 grandchildren. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this

difficult time and hope that some solace may be found in the appreciation of a grateful nation for their husband, father and grandfather's service and sacrifice.

I have had the privilege and honor of knowing Clay for over four decades. Devout in his commitment to public service and with faith in God and country, Clay heeded the call to public office in the 1960s when he first served as the assistant city attorney for Fort Lauderdale. He would later serve as chief city prosecutor, associate municipal judge, city commissioner, vice mayor and mayor for his city which he held so dear.

In 1980, Clay was elected to the U.S. Congress to represent the 15th District of Florida. His service spanned more than a quarter of a century, and I firmly believe that future generations and history will remember our colleague as a dedicated public servant who conducted himself with a tremendous sense of higher purpose and compassion for those he represented.

During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Clay championed vital reforms to welfare, Social Security and other government programs to ensure every American had the opportunity to succeed. He worked tirelessly to preserve the Florida Everglades, a great national treasure, for future generations.

A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, he truly made an indelible mark on his family, community and our country. E. Clay Shaw, Jr., stood for integrity, compassion and public service and through that principled dedication, he leaves a proud and distinguished legacy. I join my Florida colleagues and all Members of Congress in expressing our sympathy to the Shaw Family and our appreciation for sharing their loved one with us over these past years in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, it's a great honor today to introduce to the House our Guest Chaplain, Dr. John Reynolds of Orange City, Florida.

To our good fortune in Florida, he was invited by four families to found a church in Orange City, Florida, in 1996. It now has 1,500 members--one of the largest congregations in Volusia County in central Florida--and supports hundreds of missionaries worldwide. In addition to his pastoral work, Dr. Reynolds has preached at conferences across the Nation and foreign countries. His leadership and willingness to help others is an inspiration to us all.

Dr. Reynolds graduated in 1964 from Tennessee Temple College in Chattanooga and started his church ministry. He returned to Temple Baptist Seminary and graduated in 1968. His life experiences include many positions, which include president of a Christian recording company, vice-president of development at his alma mater, and minister of music.

Dr. Reynolds married his lovely wife, Becky, in 1964. They have four children, two of whom are preachers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in welcoming Dr. Reynolds and

his wife, Becky. We thank him for offering this morning's opening prayer in the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, as we recognize Father's Day 2013, probably never before has fatherhood been so challenged. Some sobering facts reveal a crisis that cannot and should not be ignored. Today, 29% of Caucasian, 53% Hispanic and 73% African-American children are born out of wedlock. The traditional position of fathers in American society and in the family as an institution is in serious trouble.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported there are an estimated 70.1 million fathers across the nation; 24.7 million of those fathers have children under the age of 18 whom are living in single parent homes. Not having a father has serious economic consequences. Fatherless households account for 47% of our poverty rate and 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes according to the U.S. Census Bureau Reports. With no father present, 85% of children possess behavioral problems, which is twenty times the national average, Center for Disease Control reported. Additionally, 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, a National Principals Association Report found. Today, 63% of youth suicides come from fatherless homes, the U.S. Department of Health observed. As we reflect on the state of fatherhood in America, these troubling figures indicate the importance of fathers for children's development, well-being and stability in society.

While white males face a challenging role, the fatherhood role of their African-American counterparts has been dramatically eroded. A recent examination by the National Fatherhood Initiative revealed that African-American newborns today are seriously disadvantaged. White men have a less than 6% lifetime chance of going to prison; African- American men have a 32% chance, according to 2001 figures from the U.S. Department of Justice. Today, half of all children and 80% of African- American children can expect to spend at least part of their childhood living apart from their fathers.

These staggering figures portray a role model absence in our society that is detrimental to our nation's youth. We must understand the consequences that result from denying our children a proper upbringing. Although Father's Day is a time to celebrate and rejoice with our loved ones, we cannot forget about the increasing number of our children that are being raised without a father. Children growing up without a father are more likely to have behavioral problems and be incarcerated. Those children are less likely to attend college, become married and form healthy relationships.

Unfortunately this trend has become prevalent in our communities. As a result, this problem has become repetitive through generations at an alarming rate. We must work to raise awareness of the effects fatherhood has on a child's life. We must also find ways to stem the decline of meaningful relationships between a father and his child in our society.

In a commentary on The Importance of a Loving Father by Dr. Walter E. Barker, a Florida licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Dr. Barker stated, ``Fathers are very important to their sons'' and daughters' development. A mother gives the child unconditional love and acceptance and the father's love is more conditional on the child's finding success and accomplishment out in the larger world. He wants his children to find what makes them happy and then take that gift and talent to make a contribution to the larger society. Fathers want their children to have a strong work ethic and to be willing to assert themselves in the world.

By supporting the family structure, better education and job training, we can begin to reverse the diminished role of fathers in our country. We must all work to help raise awareness on the pressing issue. The importance of fatherhood should not be overlooked by our society if we are to insure a promising future for the children in America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Apopka Chamber of Commerce on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary of service to our community. Through its consistent efforts over the past century, the Apopka Chamber of Commerce has helped advance opportunities both in the city of Apopka as well as throughout the greater Central Florida region.

First founded as the Apopka Board of Trade in 1913, the organization was established to stimulate local economic growth. Under the direction of founding members Henry Witherington; A.C. and A.M. Starbird; Frank H. Davis; W.G. Talton; Dr. C.H. Morrison; Francis E. Zepp; John J. Anderson; J.R. Womble; Gust Jackson; William Edwards; and Nathaniel Cogswell, the organization worked to improve the community wherever possible. The Apopka board was also instrumental in the organization of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.

In 1926, the board was reorganized as the Apopka Chamber of Commerce and since then has maintained the goal of aiding the development of entrepreneurs and businesses in the Apopka community. Their mission continues to this day.

As the second largest city in Orange County, Apopka remains a vital hub of Florida commerce. It is important now, more than ever, that the Chamber continues in its efforts to promote economic growth and sustainability in the community and county.

Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere pleasure to congratulate Apopka Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Wendy Kurtz, the Board of Directors and all members of this great organization on a century of service to the citizens of Apopka and Orange County. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing them every success for their future.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to thank particularly the committee leadership, Mr. Carter, Mr. Price, and the staff. They've done an excellent job in trying to put into appropriations language, and amount of money expended, reforms that are long overdue in TSA.

I'm pleased to join the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson) and my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), in this bipartisan amendment to restore the $25 million for the Flight Deck Officer program.

I can't, for the life of me, understand why the Obama administration would propose to Congress that we zero out one of the most cost- effective mechanisms we have to ensure the safety and security of the flying public.

Now, this program costs $25 million, and that's out of a $5 billion expenditure for TSA--$25 million. It is probably the most cost- effective layer of security that we have. Just a few dollars underwriting, again, the expense of training these pilots who have asked for the ability to protect their aircraft themselves and their passengers.

We put this in place--everyone was against it. You heard Mr. DeFazio tell the story of this. The Senate was against it. The administration was against it. The airlines were against it. We brought it out here in a demo project, and the House overwhelmingly voted to support this program; and it's done it time and time again because it is cost effective and it's a good layer of security.

Now, let me tell you what these pilots do. These pilots go at their own expense. They're not paid per diem. They're not paid for the flight. I went out to visit the program, and I have to admit, whether it was a Republican administration or a Democratic administration, everybody tried to do the program. And so they put the training facility almost on the border of Mexico. I had to take three flights-- one to Denver, one to Albuquerque, and another jumper flight--and then drive almost 2 hours to the border to get to this flight facility. That's what these pilots are doing on their own dollar for a weeklong training program that, again, this is the cost of that training program but the expense is borne by the pilot. I saw men, I saw women, I saw pilots for cargo, passenger all going to get this training.

Why would you want to end a program that is so cost effective and gives us this protection?

So, I don't want to belabor this. Mr. Hudson and Mr. DeFazio have stated the case well. Thousands and thousands of flights are protected, and thousands of pilots participate on their own dime.

I urge the passage of this amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. It's Mica amendment 8, designated and preprinted.

Mr. Chairman and my colleagues, first I want to again thank Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price for their excellent work, and again his staff. They have gone through some of the expenditures for TSA not only in the dollar amounts, but also in the language that's contained supporting their appropriations measures, some excellent provisions.

Now, I do offer this amendment, which is no greater increase in spending, but does move some money around from TSA administration to support our private screening partnership program. As you heard earlier from one of the speakers, this program is very successful, it's cost effective, and many airports want to avail themselves of it.

TSA has thwarted all the efforts to increase the private screening under Federal supervision, and they came up with a whole host of excuses. Also, they have cooked the books as far as the cost of operating these private screening operations.

Now, you've got to remember that if you look at this bill, it puts a limit of 46,000 screeners, I believe, in the past. We've increased that from 40,000. Mr. Rogers and I did that some time ago. Actually, if you go online, you'll find 51,000 screeners. We're not sure exactly what the figure is right now. It may be less than that.

There are a total of 66,000 TSA employees. So that leaves approximately 15,000--even at our most conservative estimate--of the number of people in administration.

Right now, there is close to $1.2 billion spent on nonscreener salaries. That's $1.19 billion, to be exact, in this bill. So this moves a small amount of money--$20-some million--over to, again, the private screening account. I think it's justified. I think we're going to need it.

I have several amendments that I'm going to offer in a minute that I would like to expand, again, on the size of the bureaucracy and what TSA is doing to thwart the privatization effort that could bring cost- effective screening to play and do a better job and save taxpayers money.

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

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

Mr. Chairman and Members of the House, I have this amendment and I have several others. I'm going to combine my remarks on this amendment and one of the other amendments to expedite this process.

I am very pleased that the previous amendment to take money out of administration--TSA administration--which I believe is extremely bloated, and putting it into, again, the private Screening Partnership Program, that successfully passed. With that passing, I had a second amendment to take a similar amount to put those funds into the transportation security support and intelligence account.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have created this multi-billion dollar bureaucracy that has been unable to connect the dots. Here is almost every terrorist incident. We'll put this in the Record. TSA failed every single time. They have never connected the dots. We need to be putting the money not into this huge screening bureaucracy that hassles veterans and little old ladies and children--and you've seen it all.

We have created this unbelievable detriment to the American right to fly and to be a free citizen, and it's so difficult to get this darned thing under control, but I'm telling you that the money needs to be going into security.

When Mr. DeFazio and I helped create TSA, the purpose was to connect the dots, so I would move money out of administration. They have 4,000 to 5,000 people just within a mile or two of here who are doing nothing, with most of them making, on average, $104,000. Someone told me who just left there that there were four secretaries in his office making over $100,000 apiece. Do the math. We only have 457 airports in the country. That means you've got about 17 people in administration out there and about nine in Washington in administration overseeing this program. It's totally out of control.

So the Mica amendment that I'm going to ask to withdraw in just a second would take money out of administration and put it into connecting the dots in security. I know that's a dumb idea.

Then the other thing is that the staff has done a great job here. There is some good report language, but TSA is thwarting the intent of Congress to allow the honest competition of the private Screening Partnership Program. We never intended to keep this all bureaucratic. Only Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland have a similar screening model as the United States today.

What they've done is they've packed each of the private screening operations with huge bureaucracies left in place. In San Francisco, there are somewhere between 60 and 85 TSA administrators who, most of them, are making in the $100,000 range and don't have a job. How would you like that position? In Kansas City, there are 51 that they left there of private screening. They don't need these positions. They leave them there to jack up the cost to try to make private screening look more costly.

So, while you have language again in this bill--and it's good language--we need to hold TSA accountable to stop cooking the books and to give us honest accounting, and then allow for the natural process of evolution to private screening under Federal supervision--you don't do away with TSA--then finally getting TSA and Homeland Security to concentrate on security and intelligence and on connecting the dots to stop the terrorists before they ever get to the airport or get to screening.

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Date Target Description Arrest location Suspect(s) Nationality Status -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22-Dec-01.................... American A man was put into custody Paris to Miami.. Richard Colvin British Citizen. Serving a life

Airlines 63. after attempting to detonate a Reid. sentence

shoe bomb. Conspirators without parole

include a British man, Saajid

Badat from Gloucester, England

and a Tunisian man Nizar

Trabelsi, who is in jail in

Belgium in a plot to blow up

two airliners bound for the

United States, using their

shoe bombs. 8-May-02..................... ?............... A man was arrested after Chicago, Jose Padilla.... U.S. National... Sentenced to 17

returning from Pakistan for Illinois. years in prison

allegedly attempting to build [4]

a dirty bomb. Arrested by U.S.

Customs agents at Chicago's

O'Hare International Airport

on May 8, 2002, and held as a

material witness on a warrant

issued in the state of New

York stemming from the

September 11, 2001 attacks. Sep-02....................... ?............... Reportedly are six naturalized Buffalo, New Lackawanna Six: Yemen........... Each sentenced

American citizens who were York. Mukhtar Al- to 10 years of

friends from childhood in Bakri, Sahim prison or

Yemen; were arrested for Alwan, Faysal less[6]

allegedly providing material Galab, Shafal

support for al-Qaeda and Mosed, Yaseinn

running a terrorist cell in Taher, and

Buffalo, NY. Yahya Goba. 13-Mar-03.................... Brooklyn Bridge. A man was arrested and accused Columbus, Ohio.. Iyman Faris..... Kashmir, entered Sentenced to 20

of giving aid to al-Qaeda and US in 1994, years in Prison

attempting to destroy the became US [8]

Brooklyn Bridge. citizen in 1999. Jun-03....................... ?............... Eleven members of the Virginia Northern Ali al-Timimi, US Nationals.... --

Jihad Network were arrested Virginia. Ali Asad

and accused of training for Chandia,

holy war around the globe. A Muhammed

federal grand jury indicted 11 Aatique, Hammad

people on conspiracy, firearms Abdur-Raheem,

and other charges, six members Ibrahim Ahmed

have pleaded guilty and Al-Hamdi,

received prison sentences. Two Seifullah

others were acquitted of all Chapman, Khwaja

charges. Ali Al-Tamimi Hasan, Masoud

sentenced to life Khan, Yong

imprisonment, others less than Kwon, Randall

20 years or less. Todd Royer and

Donald Surratt. Aug-04....................... New York Stock Security in the United States United Kingdom.. Dhiren Barot.... Indian.......... Sentenced to

Exchange, World was put on high alert after a life in prison,

Bank,Internatio plot surfaces to destroy the reduced to 30

nal Monetary New York Stock Exchange and years in 2007.

Fund. other financial institutions

in New Jersey and Washington.

Dhiren Barot converted to

Islam at age 20. Came to the

U.S. on a student visa in

August 2000. Returned to UK in

2001, arrested by UK

authorities in 2004. 28-Aug-04.................... Herald Square Two men were arrested after New York, New Shahawar Matin Pakistani and US Sentenced to 30

subway system. attempting to bomb the New York. Siraj and James National. years in prison

York subway system on the day Elshafay. [14]

before the 2004 Republican

National Convention. Over a

period of several months in

2004 he was recorded by an FBI

informer Osama Eldawoody

plotting to plant a bomb in

the 34th Street Herald Square

station of the New York City

Subway. Aug-04....................... Pakistani Two leaders of an Albany Albany, New York Yassin Aref and Banglideshi and Both sentenced

diplomat. Mosque, Mohammed M. Hossain Mohammed Kurdish. to 15 years in

and Yassin M. Aref, conspired Hossain. prison

with a man who claimed to have

ties to Islamic terrorists in

laundering $50,000 in payments

for a Chinese missile that he

showed them. In fact, the

contact turned out to be an

undercover informer for the

Federal Bureau of

Investigation, and the RPG-7

missile was a disabled weapon

owned by the federal

government. Jun-05....................... ?............... In June 2005 Hamid Hayat was Lodi, California Hamid and Umer Pakistani....... Hamid was

arrested and charged with Hayat. sentenced to 24

providing material support to years in prison

terrorists, and of lying about

it to FBI agents. The

prosecution alleged that Hamid

Hayat had spent the better

part of two years at an al-

Qaeda training camp in

Pakistan, returning in 2005

with an intent to attack

civilian targets in the United

States. Umer Hayat was also

arrested and charged with two

counts of making false

statements to the FBI

regarding the investigation of

his son and of certain members

of the Muslim community of

Lodi. Aug-05....................... Los Angeles-area Indicted on terrorism charges Los Angeles, Kevin James, US Nationals and James sentenced

military bases, related to conspiracy to California. Levar Pakistani. to 16 years in

synagogues and attack military facilities in Washington, prison

other places. the Los Angeles area and of Gregory

attempting to fund their Patterson,

campaign by robbing gas Hammad Samana.

stations in Southern

California. Dec-05....................... Williams Natural A man was arrested on suspicion Pennsylvania.... Michael Curtis US National..... Sentenced to 30

Gas (Wyoming), that he had plans to destroy Reynolds. years in prison

Transcontinenta several sites. Reynolds was

l Pipeline, formally charged with a

Standard Oil firearms offence for

refinery. possessing a hand grenade,

though a sealed statement from

the FBI also stated that he

intended to blow up multiple

pipelines in the United States

in a bid to help further

terrorist causes. Feb-06....................... Troops in Iraq, Three men were arrested for Toledo, Ohio.... Mohammad Zaki U.S. National, Amawi was

Toledo, Ohio allegedly planning to build Amawi, Marwan Jordanian. sentenced to 20

citizens. bombs for use by terrorists in Othman El- years in

Iraq and were arrested and Hindi, and prison, the

charged with conspiracy to Wassim Mazloum. others 13 and 8

provide material support to years,

terrorists in Iraq and engage respectively.

in violent jihad in their home

town, as well as making verbal

threats against the President

of the United States. The

investigation was conducted by

the FBI and the Toledo Joint

Terrorism Task Force, with the

cooperation of an informant

called 'The Trainer' who has a

U.S. military background in

security. Apr-06....................... Washington D.C.- Two men from the U.S. state of Toronto, Ontario Syed Haris Ahmed Pakistani....... Ahmed sentenced

area buildings. Georgia, were arrested after and Ehsanul to 13 years in

videotaping Washington-area Islam Sadequee. prison,

buildings and sending the Sadequee

tapes to a London based sentenced to

jihadist website. Ahmed and 17.[26]

Sadequee were reindicted by a

federal grand jury in

December, 2008. Both men were

again charged with conspiring

to provide material support to

terrorists, including trying

to join Lashkar-e-Taiba in

2005. According to the new

indictment, the videos were

passed to another convicted

British terrorist, Aabid

Hussain Khan, on whose

computer they were found

subsequent to his own arrest. Jun-06....................... Sears Tower and The charges centered around the Miami, Florida, Narseal Batiste, US National..... Five of the men

FBI offices. group's belief that they were Atlanta, Patrick were convicted.

being offered money by someone Georgia. Abraham, Batiste was

in Yemen to help their mission Stanley Grant sentenced to 13

in Liberty City, provided they Phanor, years in

supported the al-Qaeda jihad. Rotschild prison.

The FBI agents represented Augustine,

themselves as representatives Burson

of al-Qaeda (but who were Augustin,

actually undercover FBI Naudimar

agents), and persuaded Batiste Herrera,

to provide plans for a stated Lyglenson

intention to destroy the Sears Lemorin.

Tower in Chicago, the FBI

field office in Miami, and

other targets. Jul-06....................... Port Authority Living in Lebanon who was New York, New Assem Hammoud... Lebanon.........

Trans-Hudson charged with plotting a York.

train tunnels. mission to blow up the PATH

train tunnels beneath the

Hudson River between New

Jersey and lower Manhattan,

New York City, United States

with a team of suicide bombers

with backpack explosives. He

was arrested by the Lebanese

Armed Forces, a division of

the Internal Security Forces

(ISF), in the Mouseitbeh area

of west Beirut on April 27,

2006.

7-May-07..................... Fort Dix........ Six men were arrested after Fort Dix, New Dritan Duka, Duka family Four of the men

attempting an attack on the Jersey. Shain Duka, ethnic received life

Fort Dix military base. The Eljvir Duka, Albanians from sentences, one

men were arrested by the Mohamad Ibrahim Debar, then in man received

Federal Bureau of Shnewer, Serdar Yugoslavia, five years in

Investigation (FBI) on May 8, Tatar and Agron currently the prison and the

2007, and were prosecuted in Abdullahu. Republic of other received

federal court in October 2008. Macedonia. The 33

On December 22, 2008, five Duka family

were found guilty of entered the

conspiracy to commit murder in United States

their intentions to kill U.S. illegally

military personnel; four through Mexico

received life sentences, while in October

one received 33 years in 1984.

prison. The remaining member Palestinian,

was thought to have had a Turkish, and

minor role in the plot and was Albanian.

sentenced to five years in

prison for weapons offenses. 3-Jun-07..................... John F. Kennedy Four men were arrested in New New York, New Abdul Kadir, Guyana, Trinidad

International York after a plot is revealed York. Russell

Airport. to bomb the fuel line of JFK Defreitas,

airport. Defreitas was Kareem Ibrahim,

arrested in Brooklyn, New Abdel Nur.

York. Kadir and Ibrahim were

arrested in Trinidad on June

3, 2007. Nur surrendered to

police two days later in

Trinidad. 20-May-09.................... New York City Four men were arrested In April New York, New James Cromitie, US Nationals.... All serving 25

Synagogues/U.S. 2009, Cromitie and his three York. Onta Williams, year sentences

Military alleged accomplices chose David Williams,

Aircraft. their targets. They allegedly Laguerre Payen.

attempted to both bomb the

Riverdale Temple and nearby

Riverdale Jewish Center in the

Bronx, and, using Stinger

surface-to-air guided

missiles, shoot down military

planes flying out of a nearby

air base. The men placed fake

bombs wired to cell phones in

three separate cars outside

the Riverdale Temple and

nearby Riverdale Jewish

Center, both in the Riverdale

community of Bronx. New York

City Police Department

Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly

said one of the suspects

placed explosives, while the

other three suspects served as

lookouts As the men were

returning to the vehicle, the

signal was given for the

arrest. An 18-wheel New York

City Police Department vehicle

blocked the end of the street.

The FBI informer also served

as the driver of the suspects'

vehicle. Another armored

vehicle arrived, and officers

from the department's

Emergency Service Unit smashed

the blackened windows of the

S.U.V., removed the men from

the vehicle, and handcuffed

them on the ground. None

offered resistance. 19-Sep-09.................... New York Subway Zazi, a native of Afghanistan New York City, Najibullah Zazi, Afghanistan.....

System. who lived in Colorado, was NY. Adis

arrested and convicted of Medunjanin,

plotting to bomb the NYC Zarein

Subway system. He was trained Ahmedzay,

by al-Qaeda in Pakistan. 5 Mohammed Wali

others were also indicted on Zazi, Imam

related charges. On September Ahmad Wais

19, 2009, authorities arrested Afzali and

Zazi, and on September 21 they Naqib Jaji.

charged him in the United

States District Court for the

District of Colorado with

making false statements in a

matter involving international

and domestic terrorism. 24-Sep-09.................... Dallas A 19 year old was arrested on Dallas, Texas... Hosam Maher Jordanian....... On October 20,

skyscraper. charges that he intended to Husein Smadi. 2010, sentenced

bomb a downtown Dallas to 24 years

skyscraper. The device was a imprisonment

dud provided by FBI agents and will be

posing as al-Qaeda members. deported after

Smadi activated a timer serving his

connected to the decoy with a sentence.

cell phone, then rode with an

undercover agent and waited to

watch the explosion. Instead,

the phone rang an FBI number,

and Smadi was arrested. 16-Oct-09.................... Various overseas Colleen LaRose, also known as Philadelphia, PA Colleen LaRose, Americans,

targets. JihadJane and Fatima LaRose, Jamie Paulin- Algerian and

is an American citizen charged Ramirez, Ali Libyan.

with terrorism-related crimes, Charaf Damache,

including conspiracy to commit Abdul Salam al-

murder and providing material Jahani.

support to terrorists. Lars

Vilks was a named target in

response to drawings of the

Prophet Muhammad. LaRose was

arrested on Oct. 16, 2009, at

Philadelphia International

Airport as she returned from

London. She allegedly

confessed her role in the plot

to kill Vilks to FBI agents

shortly after her arrest,

according to two people close

to the investigation. 25-Dec-09.................... Northwest `Underwear Bomber': On Detroit, Abdul Farouk Nigerian........

Airlines Flight Christmas Day 2009, Michigan. Abdulmutallab.

253. Abdulmutallab traveled from

Ghana to Amsterdam, where he

boarded Northwest Airlines

Flight 253 en route to

Detroit. He had a Nigerian

passport and valid U.S.

tourist visa, and purchased

his ticket with cash in Ghana

on December 16. 1-May-10..................... Times Square.... A Pakistani American who New York City, Faisal Shahzad.. Pakistani....... Convicted and

attempted the May 1, 2010, NY. sentenced by a

Times Square car bombing. He federal judge

was arrested approximately 53 in New York

hours after the attempt,[9] at City to life

11:45 p.m. EDT on May 3, 2010, imprisonment

by U.S. Customs and Border without parole

Protection officers after he

had boarded Emirates Flight

202 to Dubai. On June 21,

2010, in Federal District

Court in Manhattan he

confessed to 10 counts arising

from the bombing attempt. 27-Oct-10.................... Arlington A Pakistani-born Virginia man Arlington, VA... Farooque Ahmed.. Pakistani....... Sentenced to 23

Cemetery (WMATA was arrested and accused of years in prison

station). casing Washington-area subway after pleading

stations in what he thought guilty

was an al-Qaeda plot to bomb

and kill commuters. 28-Sep-11.................... The Pentagon, Rezwan Ferdaus is a U.S. Washington, D.C. Rezwan Ferdaus.. Banglideshi.....

United States citizen, born and raised in

Capitol Massachusetts, of Bangladeshi

Building. descent, who was arrested by

the FBI on September 28, 2011,

for allegedly plotting to

attack The Pentagon and United

States Capitol with remote-

controlled model aircraft

packed with explosives. He was

also charged with supporting

al-Qaeda and plotting attacks

on U.S. soldiers abroad, by

making IED detonators. 7-Jan-12..................... Tampa, FL, Sami Osmakac is a man who Tampa, FL....... Sami Osmakac.... Albania.........

various targets. allegedly plotted an attack,

to avenge what he felt were

wrongs done to Muslims, in the

area around Tampa, Florida.

Osmakac, an Albanian from

Kosovo and a naturalized US

citizen, was arrested January

7, 2012, for the alleged

attack plan, which involved

bombing nightclubs, detonating

a car bomb, using an assault

rifle, wearing an explosive

belt in a crowded area, and

taking hostages. 17-Feb-12.................... United States A Moroccan man who was arrested Washington, D.C. Amine El Khalifi Morrocan........

Capitol. by the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) for

allegedly plotting to carry

out a suicide bombing on the

United States Capitol. El

Khalifi thought he was working

with al-Qaeda operatives, but

was actually in contact with

undercover FBI agents. He was

sentenced to prison for 30

years in September 2012.

10-Aug-12.................... Wainwright On the morning of August 10, St. Louis, Mark Anthony ..............

Building. 2012, several St. Louis Missouri. Grady.

television and radio outlets

received an e-mail from a

person who said they were

going to bomb the Wainwright

State Office Building in

downtown St. Louis. The e-

mailer was taken into custody

by ATF and FBI and is

currently charged with attempt

to commit mass-murder and

attempt to commit a terrorist

act. 17-Oct-12.................... New York Federal A Bangladeshi man was charged New York City, Quazi Mohammad Bangladeshi.....

Reserve. with trying to blow up the NY. Rezwanul Ahsan

Federal Reserve building in Nafis.

New York. While Nafis believed

he had the blessing of al-

Qaeda and was acting on behalf

of the terrorist group, he has

no known ties, according to

federal officials. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment. I will work with the committee, and we will finalize better language to get this done.

I move to strike the last word.

I rise briefly to engage the gentleman from Texas in a colloquy.

First of all, I would like to compliment Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price. Thank you for your work on this bill under some very difficult fiscal constraints. I believe the committee, under your leadership, has successfully found areas where taxpayers can really realize savings and implement reforms to strengthen our national security.

As I have discussed with the chairman before and other colleagues in the past, I am a strong believer in the effectiveness of modeling and simulation for training. In the past, the Department of Homeland Security has purchased large and costly quantities of live ammunition. Live fire testing and training is expensive, detrimental to the environment, and is really unnecessary for most training of almost all DHS personnel.

I believe that the Department of Homeland Security would be well served by increasing its efforts to better integrate and utilize modeling and simulation in the training of law enforcement and security personnel under their jurisdiction.

For years now, our military and our Armed Forces, who daily face intense combat, utilize effective and modern simulation technology in training and preparing our soldiers.

These simulation technologies provide powerful planning and training tools capable of exposing all of our personnel to the complexities and uncertainties before ever stepping into harm's way. There's no reason DHS can't do the same thing. The use of simulation training has yielded better trained, more capable and more confident personnel, again, without live ammunition. Unfortunately, DHS just doesn't get it.

Simulation training is a cost-effective means by which law enforcement and security personnel can improve readiness, tactical decision-making skills, and ultimately save lives and save millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

And I look forward to working with the chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Murphy of Florida

Offered by: Mr. Mica

Amendment No. 5: Page 17, line 15, after ``screeners:''

insert the following: ``Provided further, That the annual

Federal personnel expenditures of the Transportation Security

Administration at an airport participating in the Screening

Partnership Program may not exceed the larger of--''

``(1) 1 percent of the total annual value of the Screening

Partnership Program contract at that airport; or

``(2) $100,000:''.

Offered by: Mr. Mica

Amendment No. 6. Page 15, line 25, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced by $23,334,000)''.

Page 19, line 8, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $23,334,000)''.

Offered by: Mr. Mica

Amendment No. 7. Page 15, line 20, after the dollar amount

insert the following: `(reduced by $17,383,000)''.

Page 15, line 25, after the dollar amount insert the

following: ``(reduced by $17,383,000)''.

Page 19, line 8, after the dollar amount insert the

following: ``(increased by $17,383,000)''.