Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, on September 22, 2009, I voted ``no'' on H.R. 3548, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009. As of August 2009, the State of Texas had 966,000 people who were unemployed. This amounts an unemployment rate of 8.0 percent but this legislation only applied to states with unemployment over 8.5 percent so unemployed Texans were not eligible. I would have voted for H.R. 3548 because so many people across the country continue to be unemployed if the bill had not discriminated against Texas and 22 other states with unemployment rates lower than 8.5 percent.

The State of Texas has many counties and communities where the unemployment rate is higher than 8.5 percent. Many more individuals should have qualified for these benefits. Furthermore, since employers in Texas continue to pay the taxes that pay for these benefits, they are subsidizing the unemployment benefits in other states without any of the revenue going to unemployed Texans. This bill is unfair and for that reason I could not support it.

Mr. Speaker, a new Investor's Business Daily poll of more than 1,300 physicians found that nearly two-thirds do not support the administration's health care plan. More than 7 in 10 say the government cannot provide insurance coverage without harming quality.

IBD's findings contradict stories in the national media that claim most doctors support the administration's plan. The media know that the American Medical Association does not speak for all doctors. In fact, only 17 percent of all doctors belong to the AMA in large part because it is too liberal.

It's not a surprise that the national media ignored IBD's poll. It doesn't fit their agenda of more government control and less individual freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington State and the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose this legislation, H.R. 324, because it weakens our border security and, therefore, endangers American lives.

Arizona's border with Mexico has become the focal point of much of the illegal immigration, drug smuggling,

and related violence in America. This legislation will adversely impact the ability of DHS to secure part of the border. Designation as a national heritage area can prevent the Border Patrol's access to the land. It could prevent agents from using motorized vehicles or flying helicopters at low altitudes.

Such policies encourage illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The smugglers and illegal immigrants know they have a better chance of eluding capture in these areas than in better enforced border areas.

In addition, the bill will have the exact opposite effect of its stated purpose ``to conserve the region's heritage'' since smugglers and illegal immigrants often cause environmental damage. They abandon huge volumes of trash and debris. Preventing Border Patrol agents from accessing these areas will only allow this environmental destruction to continue.

I understand that language has been added in an effort to address the concerns that have been raised, but the language is ambiguous and will invite lawsuits. It does not ensure that law enforcement officials will have access to the land and be able to secure the border.

Mr. Speaker, for that reason, we should oppose this legislation.

Madam Speaker, The national media's coverage of the conservative 9/12 protests was scarce and antagonistic, according to an analysis by the Media Research Center (MRC).

According to MRC, the three TV networks did not offer any pre-rally coverage before the 9/12 protests.

And their coverage afterward intentionally tried to paint a negative picture of the protestors.

Furthermore, a regular commentator on MSNBC dismissed the protestors as ``the fringe of the fringe,'' although they were everyday Americans.

And The New York Times buried its coverage of the protests on page A37 of Sunday's paper.

In contrast, the media gave significantly more--and more positive-- coverage to liberal protests recently.

The national media should give fair coverage to protests on both sides, rather than downplaying conservative demonstrations.

Mr. Speaker, Guantanamo Bay is a first-class detention center that cost American taxpayers $100 million. But the administration is begging other countries around the world to accept the terrorists that are held there. In its attempt to farm out these terrorists, the administration may be sowing the seeds of future attacks, as the U.S. will have little say over how long these terrorists are held.

An interview with designated terrorist Abdul Haq should give all Americans cause for concern. Of the detainees who might be transferred to the island of Palau, at least eight have admitted that Haq was their leader.

In a recently translated interview, Haq is clear about his ties to the Taliban and al Qaeda. He glorifies attacks against Americans and our allies, and even blesses Osama bin Laden.

So, once again, why are we closing a first-class detention facility and putting terrorists in a position where they can do Americans harm?

Madam Speaker, National news programs have boosted the Administration's health care agenda and ignored the high costs of a government takeover of health care, according to a study by the Business and Media Institute (BMI).

BMI examined 224 health care stories on ABC, CBS, and NBC from over a five-month period.

The survey found that these stories favored proponents of the Administration's health care plan over critics of the plan by a margin of more than 2-to-1.

Yet the American people are split evenly for and against it, with the trend against it.

Only nine percent of stories mentioned the high cost of the Administration's plan.

And the networks frequently repeated the Administration's incorrect claim that there are 47 million uninsured people in America--a claim the President backed down from during his recent health care speech

The national media should report the facts on health care, not tell Americans what to think.

Madam Speaker, following President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress about health care, the national media touted polls showing a bump in public approval of the President's health care plan, but the media failed to point out that the polls vastly oversampled Democrats. For example, a CBS poll last week trumpeted ``a 12-point improvement'' in the President's approval rating on health care following his speech. CBS failed to mention that Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the poll sample by 15 percentage points, far greater than the actual party identification gap.

Worse, a CNN poll touted a ``double-digit post-speech jump'' for the President, but the poll oversampled Democrats by more than a 2-1 margin.

When questioning far more Democrats than Republicans, it should come as no surprise that poll results favor a liberal Democratic agenda. The media should be objective and not intentionally slant their polling data.

Mr. Speaker, last week President Obama called for the administration to establish demonstration projects to measure the effectiveness of tort reform. But we don't need to demonstrate that tort reform works; we have already proved that in States where it has been enacted.

In my home State of Texas, for example, health care premiums fell by 30 percent. That means Texans pay less to have better health care and more options. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health, 40 percent of medical malpractice suits filed in the U.S. are without merit, 40 percent.

A Department of Health and Human Services study found that unlimited excessive damages add $70 billion to $126 billion annually to health care costs. These costs are then passed along to the patient in the price of health care.

Tort reform will reduce health care costs by tens of billions of dollars. We don't need to test tort reform; we need to enact it.

Mr. Speaker, Americans' trust in the media has plummeted to an all-time low, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. According to Pew, only about a quarter of Americans say that news organizations are not politically biased, less than one- third say the media generally get the facts straight, less than one in five say that the media deals fairly with all sides of the story, and just 29 percent had a favorable opinion of the liberal New York Times, the lowest rating for any international organization in the Pew survey.

Americans have lost faith in the national media. Whether it's health care or other issues, it's up to the media to restore the public's trust by reporting the facts fairly.

Mr. Speaker, in a speech before the American Medical Association, the President made a promise to the American people which he has often repeated: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. No one will take it away, no matter what end.

However, when asked about this, White House officials told the Associated Press, The President's rhetoric shouldn't be taken literally.

So when it comes to serious concerns that most Americans have about health care proposals, White House officials admit you can't believe what the President says. That's astounding. If we can't take the President literally on his promises to the American people, why aren't the national media all over this? The American people need the facts about health care reform, not political cover for the President.

Mr. Speaker, poll after poll shows that Americans reject the administration's health care plan, but the national media continue to downplay the results of their own polls.

For example, in its report on the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, NBC itself failed to mention that more people disapprove than approve of the way the President is handling health care.

President Obama says his health care plan is deficit neutral, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the legislation will substantially increase the deficit.

President Obama says Americans' health care plans will cost less, but the CBO Director says the legislation will cost more, much more.

President Obama says ``if you like your current health care plan, you can keep it,'' but an independent study found that most Americans will lose their current health care plan.

Mr. Speaker, Americans need the facts on health care, not the biased news from the Democrat-media alliance.

Mr. Speaker, the administration's plan for a government takeover of health care will raise taxes, ration care, extend wait times, and let a government commission make decisions that should be made by families and their doctors. This scheme will increase our national deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars and will increase, not decrease, the cost of health care.

During a recent health care telephone town meeting with 1,200 of my constituents, I asked them the question if the government should determine how much health care they received. More than 9 out of 10 said ``no.''

President Obama is intent on making the government too big, too intrusive, and too expensive. We should listen to our constituents. Congress should not approve a government takeover of health care.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Act.

Requesting Member: Congressman Lamar Smith

Bill Number: FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Act

Account: RDTE, Navy

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The University of Texas at Austin

Address of Requesting Entity: 1 University Station G2700, PO Box 7397, Austin, TX 78713

Description of Request: I have secured $1,500,000 for the University of Texas at Austin for next Generation Manufacturing Processes and Systems. This initiative will establish a research and education program for enhancing U.S. competitiveness in flexible, rapid response manufacturing. This program addresses national security issues in addition to developing a strong domestic engineering workforce (in both manufacturing and design) and a means for U.S. industry to maintain and enhance an important capability in the world manufacturing marketplace. I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project.

Requesting Member: Congressman Lamar Smith

Bill Number: FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Act

Account: RDTE, Army

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: National Trauma Institute

Address of Requesting Entity: 16500 San Pedro Avenue, Suite 350 San Antonio, TX 78232

Description of Request: I have secured $2,500,000 for the National Trauma Institute. In the U.S., hemorrhage is responsible for 30% to 40% of deaths following a traumatic injury. Funding would be used to develop techniques to manage noncompressible hemorrhages following combat injury. If advances are funded it seems likely that the rates of late complications and mortality from noncompressible hemorrhage will be decreased and outcomes improved, resulting in a direct and positive impact on the survivability of soldiers with battlefield injuries. I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project.

Mr. Speaker, when CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked President Obama if illegal immigrants could participate in his health care plan, his answer was ``no.'' However, here are the facts which have not been reported by the media. There are gaping loopholes in the health care bill that allow illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded benefits.

The bill contains no verification mechanism to ensure that illegal immigrants do not apply for benefits. In fact, Democrats rejected an amendment to close this loophole. And the bill leaves open the possibility that if one citizen family member is eligible for benefits, then the whole family, including illegal immigrant family members, is also eligible for the benefits. The proposed health care scheme could force the American people to pay for the health care of illegal immigrants. This is simply another reason to oppose it.

Mr. Speaker, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found that for the first time, less than half of Americans support President Obama's health care plan. Since April, approval of the President's handling of health care has dropped 8 points, while disapproval has risen 15 points.

In an example of fair reporting, the Post put the poll results on its front page yesterday. Other news media have not been as candid in their coverage of health care.

When the Congressional Budget Office director revealed that the health care bill ``significantly expands the Federal responsibility for health care costs,'' the evening news programs on both CBS and NBC failed to report the CBO's key finding, nor have they reported how many jobs will be lost under the President's health care plan.

Mr. Speaker, with so much at stake, Americans need the media to report all the facts on health care.