Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and respect an American hero. Today, the Korean War Medal of Honor winner from Washington, Indiana, Lt. Col. Don Faith, was finally put to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Forced to assume command of a small U.S. Army task force, due to his superior being killed in combat, Lt. Col. Faith put together a plan. Renowned as ``Task Force Faith,'' Lt. Col. Faith was responsible for maintaining a more defensible position.

Grossly outnumbered and surrounded by Chinese People's Volunteer Forces, Lt. Col. Faith continued to rally his troops, and personally led an assault on a CPVF position. Lt.

Col. Don C. Faith Jr. was awarded the highest U.S. military honor for valor, the Medal of Honor, during the battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950 for his heroics and leadership.

I rise today to celebrate the life, honor, leadership and incredible sacrifice of a true American hero. An honor to which we all owe a debt of gratitude.

May God bless you, Lt. Col. Don C. Faith Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of our coal industry and the men and women who work in the industry.

I grew up in a small town in Illinois, 1,400 people, Kincaid, Illinois, where my dad was a United Mine worker for 36 years. All of my friends' parents worked in the coal mine. Coal created good, middle class jobs for those who lived in my hometown.

I've been down in these mines in my hometown when I was a kid, and recently in my district now in southwestern Indiana. I've met the proud, hardworking coal miners, and I've seen the impact their hard work has on the local economy.

In 2010, Indiana mined around 36 million tons of coal and consumed nearly 65 million tons. Currently, Indiana has more energy underground in the form of coal reserves than the entire United States does in oil and gas reserves.

Indiana's demonstrated coal reserve base of over 17 billion short tons is

enough to maintain the current level of production in Indiana for 500 years. The reserve base for the entire Illinois Basin, which includes Indiana coal, is over 130 billion tons, enough to meet the entire U.S. coal demands for the next 100 years. Eighty-eight percent of all electricity generated in Indiana is from coal. And I'm proud to say that all of that coal production is in my district.

This natural resource is vital to our State's energy industry and supports over 3,300 direct mining jobs and approximately 12,000 indirect mining jobs. Twenty-seven percent of Indiana's GDP is from manufacturing dependent on coal-fired electrical generation.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot deny that coal is vitally important to Indiana's economy, as well as our Nation's. Despite the immense impact coal has on our economy, onerous Federal regulations can often be an obstacle for this industry.

I'm pleased to say that the administration actually recently responded to a request by myself and our two Indiana Senators to give a permit to a company creating 100 jobs in my area, but this is unusual. The coal industry under this administration should not have to navigate the overaggressive and ideological regulatory climate coming out of the

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act. This legislation provides much-needed clarity for employers, employees, and other stakeholders affected by the unconstitutional actions of the National Labor Relations Board.

The issue here is the Constitution. You're hearing from the other side of the aisle that this is about policy disagreements with the NLRB decisions or about how previous Presidents have done recess appointments similar to these. They're wrong on both accounts. They're attempting to reframe the debate and confuse the American people about what this really is about.

Previously, the Senate was not in session when previous Presidents made appointments, and decisions by their appointees were accepted as constitutional. In this case, the Senate was in a pro forma session. They were in session, and this has precedent that has been stated already here today. In 2007, Senator Reid announced that the Senate would be coming in for pro forma sessions during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent recess appointments. I

guess my friends on the other side of the aisle only want to follow the Constitution when there's a Republican in the White House. Appointments at that time in 2007 would have been unconstitutional, as these appointments are now.

The American people deserve a Board that will fairly and objectively administer the law without bias towards management or labor. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1120, the appropriate congressional response to help ensure certainty and fairness in America's workplaces.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an exceptional Hoosier, dedicated public servant, and a good friend of mine, Martin Mumaw III--a man with a strong desire to help others and a man who has been a tremendous asset to the Eighth District of Indiana.

Martin has dedicated over 40 years of service to Indiana, the Eighth District, and Daviess County Republican Parties. He is currently serving his fourth term in elected office as Daviess County treasurer. He also has worked with many civic organizations and within the Republican Party as precinct committeeman, county chairman, and member of the Eighth District Central Committee.

His public service and civic engagement have been a means by which Martin has improved the lives of those around him. His dedication and service led former Indiana Governor Robert Orr to name him ``Sagamore of the Wabash'' in 1988, an award for distinguished public service.

While his public service has been tremendous, Martin is probably best known for his fellowship, kind heart, and sense of humility. He's never met an enemy and is the first to extend a helping hand.

I'm proud to stand here today to honor Martin's history of service, a history to which we all owe a debt of gratitude. God bless you, Martin Mumaw.

Madam Chair, we are here today to discuss the positive reforms within the SKILLS Act. Our Nation's current job training system is broken. The SKILLS Act will give state and local governments more flexibility by consolidating 35 existing federal employment and training programs into a single Workforce Investment Fund. This will end the long line of bureaucratic red tape, lower costs, and increase the representation of employers on local workforce boards.

I have received numerous letters from Hoosier small business owners asking me to support the SKILLS Act. The reason? This bill unites the local small business community by enhancing their involvement in career development programs, closing the skills gap, and providing more job opportunities in this struggling economy, which saw the GDP decline in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Our founding fathers believed that reducing the size and scope of the federal government and restoring power back to the states and this bill matches that theme.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development echoes our message that states need the flexibility to rein in bureaucracy and provide our workers with a more dynamic, flexible, and efficient network of job training services. Currently, Indiana uses their funds on programs like: A youth summer program that combines in-the-class training and internships, or the state funded Western Governors University . . . Indiana's nursing program. These programs apply funding where it is needed most--helping Hoosiers find jobs.

These are just a few, in a long line, of positive impacts upon which the SKILLS Act could improve. Empowering state governors to consolidate additional employment and training programs and services at the state level provides the flexibility that governors need to distinguish well planned and broad reaching initiatives that are best for their states.

The SKILLS Act helps put Americans back to work. I, and the majority of the members of the Education and Workforce committee, stand committed to advance job training reforms that are fiscally responsible and produce a positive ``return on investment'' of taxpayer dollars. Walking out, as the minority chose to do during our committee markup, simply casts a cold shoulder on much needed reform in our workforce training programs. I urge my colleagues to support the SKILLS Act, to give hardworking Americans the training and education they so badly need.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on their upcoming National Day on October 10th. Taiwan has always been one of the most loyal friends and allies of the United States. Over the last few decades, the relationship between the United States and Taiwan has grown into a strong. Taiwan's cooperation with the United States in fighting global terrorism has earned the trust of the American people and boosted exchanges and friendship between our two nations. Such robust relations also extend to trade and Taiwan's military needs. A strong

Taipei-Washington relationship is in the best interests of both and the stability of East Asia. This year, we celebrated the 33nd anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, the cornerstone of our relations with Taiwan.

Furthermore, Taiwan has been an important trading partner of the U.S. Its imports of U.S. products and services have created thousands of job opportunities for our people. Many more thousands of Taiwanese students study at U.S. colleges and universities and Taiwanese tourists choose the United States as their number one overseas destination, outside of destinations in Asia. For all these and other reasons, we thank the Taiwanese people for their friendship and close ties to us.

Hoosier's of the 8th District also have an important, mutually benefiting relationship. Indiana exported products worth nearly $220 million last year, making Taiwan the 21st largest importer of Hoosier- made goods. As of 2011, Taiwan intends to purchase $4 billion worth of soybean and corn from Indiana; benefiting Hoosier farmers in one Indiana's most important industries, agriculture.

Additionally, Hoosier businesses such as Eli Lilly, the world's biggest producer of psychiatric medications, and Cummins Engine, the world's largest producer of diesel technology, both have operations in Taiwan. I am pleased to see discussions with Taiwan have recently resumed in the hopes of producing a free trade agreement between our two countries.

On Republic of China (Taiwan)'s forthcoming National Day on October 10th, 2012, I hope our relations with Taiwan will continue to grow and flourish.

May U.S.-Taiwan relations remain strong forever. Congratulations.

I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, coal provides affordable domestic energy that supports millions of direct and indirect jobs. In my State of Indiana, 90 to 95 percent of all electrical power comes from coal. This keeps the costs of energy down, and it attracts millions of jobs to my State through our manufacturing industry.

This amendment would require that the Secretary or any other Federal official proposing a rule under this act publish with each rule the scientific studies the Secretary or other official relied on in developing the rule. This amendment is simple, and it will ensure that rules being issued are based on valid scientific studies that can be peer reviewed and replicated.

This amendment should be supported by everyone in this body who values sound science and who wants to ensure transparency with the rulemaking process. Federal agencies are promulgating more rules each year that control greater aspects of our personal and professional lives. Often these rules are pages long, instituted with little or no congressional input, and can have a devastating effect on job creation and our economy.

It is important for all Federal agencies to provide to the public the science and research behind proposed rules. It enables the scientific community and the general public to scrutinize how unelected Washington, D.C., bureaucrats are writing rules that increase costs for businesses and hurt our economy.

I have personally met with numerous government officials, such as those from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and have discussed their rulemaking process. More than once, I have been told that proposed rules related to the coal industry are based on scientific studies and data--most recently, the underground coal mine dust regulation. I have asked to see these studies both in private meetings and in committee hearings, and I have never been provided with the scientific data that they say supports the new rule.

As a scientist and medical doctor, nobody understands the importance of good science more than I. Whether it is in medicine or whether it relates to public policy, good science makes for good policies. It's important for the Members of this body and the American people to be able to review the science and the studies that contribute to Federal rulemaking and to know that every rule and regulation is based upon sound science.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, requiring that we have a transparent rulemaking process that allows every concerned American to review the science behind a proposed rule.

I yield to the gentleman.

I reserve the balance of my time.

May I inquire as to how much time I have?

Mr. Chairman, my amendment addresses timing. Timing is important when it comes to this issue because the public needs to know and this Congress needs to know what the science is before the rule is finalized, not after the rule has already been essentially finalized and the public comment period has passed.

I had direct experience with this recently with the coal dust regulation. After the rule was essentially finalized, I asked for the data myself and was denied the data claiming that there would be HIPAA violations if they released scientific data on black lung disease, for example, that this coal dust regulation was based on, which is not true. I'm a physician, and there are scientific studies released every day in journals across America that show X-rays and other things of patients without names on them, and they don't violate HIPAA regulations.

I think the timing of this is important because if the rule is finalized, even if you see the science, it makes it very difficult to overturn the rule and the opportunity has passed for peer review and congressional review of the science behind a proposed rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight some innovative health care programs being implemented by Applied Extrusion Technologies in Terre Haute, Indiana. AET Films is a leading supplier of specialized oriented polypropylene films in North America.

In 2005, while being faced with ever increasing insurance premiums, they chose to take the path less traveled, empowering their employees through a high deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account. Over time they further implemented healthy employee incentives and education programs to help employees make better consumer-driven health decisions. The results of these programs have been irrevocable, as AET Films has seen near 0 percent premiums increases since implementation.

With the Supreme Court's recent ruling, and our vote this week to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety for the 4th time, it is important to understand the creative steps being taken in the private sector that lower health care costs, and incentivize better health outcomes--all without government control or interference. I commend AET for their innovation, and encourage the Senate and the President to join the House in repealing the Affordable Care Act, which dismantles innovative programs pursued by AET Films and job creators across the United States, and replace it with private sector reforms that lessen the cost of health care for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1335) to amend title 49, United States Code, to provide rights for pilots, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 1335.

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

I rise in strong support of the Pilot's Bill of Rights.

S. 1335, the Pilot's Bill of Rights, is intended to restore fairness to airmen and Federal Aviation Administration enforcement proceedings by providing airmen timely access to critical information and adding an additional level of appeal for airmen disputing enforcement action. This bill also requires the FAA to improve the system of providing notices to airmen and directs the FAA to review and approve the medical certification form.

Pilots have expressed frustration and concerns about what they believe is unfair and inequitable treatment during FAA enforcement proceedings before the National Transportation Safety Board. They complain that the burden of proof is on the airman to prove his or her innocence rather than the FAA proving guilt. To address this, the Pilot's Bill of Rights directs that, to the extent the NTSB finds practical, FAA enforcement proceedings should be conducted in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence. This is consistent with protections provided to defendants in other parts of our legal system.

The Pilot's Bill of Rights also requires the FAA to better inform and advise an airman, who is the subject of an investigation, of his or her rights. The goal is to provide an airman with better and timely access to information. This includes notifying an airman that the releasable portions of the administrator's investigative report will,

at the appropriate time, be available to the airman.

The bill also clarifies that air traffic data collected by a government contractor that is available to the FAA, such as air traffic communication tapes, radar information, and air traffic controller statements, will also be available to the airman. However, it is important that the pilot community understands that, when the data has to be obtained from a government contractor, time is of the essence. Tapes containing air traffic data from contractors is ordinarily recycled after 15 days and would no longer be available to the FAA or the airman.

S. 1335 eliminates language that expressly bound the NTSB to all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations of the FAA unless the NTSB finds an interpretation to be arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law. The amendments are made only because they are redundant of what is already provided under law. The NTSB, when reviewing FAA cases, will continue to apply principles of judicial deference to the FAA interpretations of the laws, regulations, and policies in accordance with the Supreme Court precedent.

The Pilot's Bill of Rights adds an additional way to appeal to the NTSB's decisions regarding FAA enforcement action.

Currently, an airman goes before an administrative law judge at the NTSB and can appeal any decisions to the full NTSB board and, ultimately, to the court of appeals. According to pilots, the courts generally defer to the NTSB's decisions. It's not a true or fair appellate process.

The Pilot's Bill of Rights allows an airman to elect to file an appeal of his or her case in either the U.S. district court or the U.S. circuit court of appeals. It is the intent of Congress that courts not act in a way that is contrary to civil aviation safety in conducting their reviews of the NTSB's decisions.

Lastly, the Pilot's Bill of Rights requires the FAA to improve the system of providing notices to airmen--NOTAMs--and to undertake an assessment of the medical certification standards and forms. The overwhelming volume of NOTAMs and a vague and outdated medical certification process can lead to confusion and, ultimately, an FAA enforcement proceeding against an airman.

Again, I rise in strong support of S. 1335 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise again in strong support of S. 1335.

I'd like to thank Mr. Graves, the gentleman from Missouri, the lead sponsor on the majority side, and Mr. Lipinski from Illinois, from the minority side, for bringing this bill to the House floor.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3742) to designate the United States courthouse located at 100 North Church Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States Courthouse''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3742.

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

H.R. 3742 would designate the United States courthouse in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as the Edwin L. Mechem United States Courthouse.

I want to thank the gentleman from New Mexico, Representative Pearce, for his work on this legislation.

Judge Mechem served more than 30 years as a U.S. district judge for the district of New Mexico until his death in 2002. Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Mechem served as Governor of New Mexico for four terms. He also served as a U.S. Senator as well as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Earlier in his career, he worked as a special agent for the FBI.

Judge Mechem dedicated his life to public service. I believe it is fitting to name this courthouse after him. I support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

I have no further requests for time.

Mr. Speaker, I, again, rise in support of H.R. 3742 and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3556) to designate the new United States courthouse in Buffalo, New York, as the ``Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3556.

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

H.R. 3556 would designate the courthouse in Buffalo, New York, as the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse. Justice Jackson was an associate Justice to the United States Supreme Court from 1941 to 1954. He had a long career in public service, including participating in the landmark desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education, and serving as chief counsel for the United States in charge of prosecuting Nazi leaders at Nuremberg. Justice Jackson served the Nation and advanced justice both here and at Nuremberg.

I think it's appropriate to honor his dedication by naming this courthouse after him. I support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I also urge support for H.R. 3556, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support repeal of the Affordable Care Act. It's ironic that this legislation is called ``affordable,'' because in my home State of Indiana it will be anything but affordable.

What's in it?

How about 21 new taxes, most of which hit the middle class. The law has generated and will continue to generate thousands of pages of regulation to comply with, and establishes taxpayer-subsidized exchanges that are predicted to be overwhelmed when employers start dropping their private policies for their employees. Paying the penalty will just be more cost-effective for these employers.

In Indiana, there will be approximately 500,000 additional Medicaid enrollees in 2014, and by 2024 there will be approximately 700,000 additional enrollees compared to today.

Medicaid is already a broken, financially-strapped program that does not provide good insurance coverage for its beneficiaries. Why would we use Medicaid as the vehicle to provide coverage?

Access to physicians will continue to be a significant challenge, as fewer and fewer physicians take Medicaid. The additional cost will be 2.5 to $3.1 billion to Indiana's Medicaid expenditures. Once the Federal subsidies end, State taxes will have to be increased dramatically or, more likely, reimbursement to providers, hospitals, and physicians will need to be cut. This will result in further access issues for beneficiaries, as even more doctors drop out of the program.

As the number of Indiana residents depending on the exchanges for their insurance grows, the cost to the Federal taxpayer will grow rapidly. Either taxes will have to be increased or again, more probably, reimbursement to providers will be cut.

We now have a new group of citizens, many of whom previously had private health coverage, that are dependent on a government program that is financially strapped. Access to providers will begin to become an issue.

The ACA is a financial snowball rolling down the hill. We must repeal it before it's too late. We need step-by-step, patient-centered health care reform that decreases the cost while maintaining the access to and quality of medical care in this country.

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House transportation conference committee, I join my colleagues in proudly supporting this legislation.

My House colleagues and I attended many of the conference negotiations, and we fought hard for commonsense transportation reforms. This bill streamlines the environmental review process, consolidates and eliminates duplicative programs, and provides more flexibility to the States. Passing this legislation will provide job security for millions of Americans.

I'm grateful to my House and Senate colleagues that stood with me in opposing an amendment that was in the Senate bill. This amendment unfairly punished the State of Indiana for pursuing a public-private partnership. Not only would it have cost Indiana millions in transportation funding, but it would have set our country backwards in innovative transportation policy. This type of thinking is not where we need to be headed in transportation policy. We need to put taxpayers first and continue to engage the private sector in transportation projects.

I would like to thank the House and Senate staff, who have been working tirelessly on the legislation. I thank Chairman Mica, Senator Boxer, and Senator Inhofe for their leadership on this issue. Thanks to everybody's work, 25,000 Hoosiers will have job security for the next 2 years.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and let's put millions of Americans back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center located in Terre Haute, Indiana.

CANDLES is the only Holocaust Museum located in the State of Indiana, the only Holocaust Museum in the world focusing on forgiveness, and the only one focusing on the stories of twin children who were used as subjects in medical experimentation at Auschwitz. CANDLES is an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors.

The mission of CANDLES centers on the elimination of hatred and prejudice from our world. The Museum was founded in 1995 by Eva Mozes Kor who, as a twin, survived the genetic experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

I was honored to be invited to tour CANDLES earlier this year and to meet Eva Mozes Kor and her husband, Mickey Kor. Their moving account of their experiences during the Holocaust and their willingness to forgive make their stories truly remarkable. I encourage all Hoosier and anyone who has the opportunity to visit CANDLES and to learn from Eva's powerful message of forgiveness.

I would like to thank Mr. Walz for bringing this to the floor. I believe that we all can agree we must pass a long-term highway bill.

In my home State of Indiana, Interstate 69 is being constructed through my district, connecting my district to our State's capital. When I return home every weekend, I see how important Federal dollars are to the construction industry and how necessary infrastructure is to the economic development of our cities and towns.

As a member of the conference committee for the highway bill, I have personally been involved in this process. My House colleagues and I have attended several negotiation sessions and have discussed this legislation at length with the Senate staff. I wish our friends in the Senate were as involved in the process, because we could have resolved many of these issues weeks ago.

I think my friends on the other side of the aisle here in the House seem to forget that we don't just rubberstamp Senate bills and that they don't rubberstamp ours. If that were the case, they'd take up the 30 House-passed job-creating bills that we've sent over to them in the last year.

Nobody is more committed to this legislation than Members of the House on the Republican side. We want to streamline the project delivery process, eliminate duplicative programs, give more power back to the States, and stretch our limited dollars further. These are proposals that every Member of this body should support. We need a long-term reauthorization that will provide certainty to our Nation's job creators.

I support this motion, and I look forward to the completion of this conference.