Floor Statements

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

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

I rise to encourage my colleagues to support my amendment to the underlying legislation. I first want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Miller and Mr. Andrews, for their work on this important issue.

I'm concerned that this legislation creates an opportunity for parties to abuse the preelection hearing process to engage in open- ended litigation. The majority would allow parties in a hearing to raise any ``relevant and material'' issues at any time before the close of the hearing. Yet they define ``relevant and material'' as ``any other issues'' that may possibly impact the election. Practically, this means that any workplace issue, however frivolous, could be raised and litigated before the hearing closes.

As we've seen, there are always some--though not all--that seek to enrich their CEOs while denying their workers a fairer and safer workplace. This amendment would only apply to companies that have given bonuses--now hear this--bonuses to their executives that amount to 10,000 percent more than the average yearly salary of their employees. Those employers would be required to state their issues and positions at the onset of a hearing and would be prohibited from engaging in open-ended litigation.

This is a simple principle: If your average employee makes $50,000 and you can afford to pay the CEO a bonus of $5 million, then you can also afford to be prepared for the hearing in 14 days and state your position up front.

I'm not sure why we're considering H.R. 3094 right now. It won't create one job, and it won't reduce our deficit by $1. It won't add one job for unemployed construction workers to fix Iowa bridges that need to be repaired. It won't help one member of the Iowa National Guard that recently returned from Afghanistan and is still looking for a job.

All this bill does is help a small number of companies make it harder for their workers to organize. The very least we can do is make sure those companies aren't abusing their process while handing out executive bonuses that are 10,000 percent more than what their workers earn.

Support this amendment for fairness.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

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

Thank you very much, and I appreciate the discussion.

Thank you, Mr. Andrews, for those very astute remarks that have applied to workers.

My friend from Minnesota, Congressman, I recall we both have led troops, and I'm proud of you for having done that. I'm proud that I had the opportunity.

I see these top CEOs as--who are their troops? Their troops are the workers. Thank heavens we have got those people that are willing to be entrepreneurs and get out there and invest and do those things, but they've got to have workers to get the job done just like you and I had to have troops to take the objective.

What's the difference? Our troops had to be well-fed, trained, equipped, morale had to be good, and then we could take our objective. Any sergeant, any lieutenant, any lieutenant colonel, any general, they can't take their objective without troops. And how do CEOs and people, entrepreneurs that we appreciate--we rely on them, but they've got to have those workers; they've got to treat them fairly, and they've got to realize that they too want to have the American Dream.

And I was concerned where is that American Dream going to be as I was surrounded by my grandchildren just a few days ago at Thanksgiving. Is it going to be there for them? Then we'd better be thinking about it.

We don't pull the ladder up, we leave it down. Let's let everybody have a part of the American Dream.

And 10,000 percent, and you're worried about that? Come on, give me a break.

I urge support of this amendment. I think it is fair and it's the right thing to do.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 2. An amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring that the Congress pass a balanced budget is something I've

long supported and will continue to support. I'll try to tell you why.

I greatly respect and I hear Mr. Conyers and my friend, Mr. Nadler. I understand their strong feelings, and I would concur with many of them.

I'd like to thank the gentleman from Virginia, my good friend Mr. Goodlatte, for his efforts to bring this bipartisan resolution to the floor. I also want to thank him for resisting the efforts of some in his party to enshrine the disastrous fiscal policies of the Tea Party into our Constitution.

My colleagues, our budget is broken. After years of special interest handouts on both the revenue and spending ledgers, we now have a system that requires us to borrow over $1 trillion just to meet our basic obligations.

Why? Why do we borrow? Has anybody in this body ever really asked this question?

It seems we borrow because there is not the political will in this body to make the difficult decisions in our country that we need to do. We're elected leaders. We're elected to lead. But when it comes to the long-term fiscal imbalance our Nation faces, many in this body seem to be more interested in securing the next election than securing the safety and soundness of our fiscal future.

And no one party's at fault. Both parties are responsible for the financial mess we're facing. Our national debt did not reach its current level overnight, although we seem to have amnesia, what happened in September of '08 when Secretary Paulson came to talk to us about the sky was falling. But the problem has been decades in the making, with the current economic climate making the issue that much more visible.

These are serious times, and serious times call for serious people to make serious decisions; and we know what these decisions must be. We cannot cut our way out of this mess, and we cannot and should not tax our way out of this mess. We need, quite simply, a balanced approach that gets us to a balanced budget.

If I could tell you a situation in my home State, when I was appropriations chair, we were faced with a budget that was breaking the constitution.

And so we decided to take it on. We were breaking our constitution in the State, and we took it on. And we worked with downtown, we worked with everybody across the State, and we came up with a solution and it's working. There's money in the bank in Iowa. The unemployment rate is around 6 percent, and that's something we need to be striving to achieve here. We can do it.

What we have left out in this that we need to consider as we go through the steps is how do we include the revenue side of it. We had a revenue piece. But it's working. And it'll work here.

We can do this. Let's work together. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 451.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

In its current form, I am.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At the outset, let me say this amendment does not--repeat, does not-- kill the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation has been hit by devastating and unprecedented flooding this past spring that has displaced and damaged homes in 29 States and nearly 700 counties. That is right. Nearly three-fifths of the States in this country, 60 percent, have counties that have been declared emergency areas by the President. I would like to insert into the Record the list of States and counties that have been hit by the floods of 2011.

In my home State of Iowa, right as we stand here in this Chamber, we are seeing flooding as the Missouri River rises on the western border. Just last week, the Department of Agriculture declared Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie, and Woodbury Counties in Iowa as agriculture disaster areas. Farmers, homeowners, and small business owners are seeing their lives and their very livelihoods quite literally being washed away. As I talk to mayors, county supervisors, and my friends across the State who are being affected, they want to know if their government, this Congress, will stand with them in their time of dire need. We need to step up to the plate and help these flood victims rebuild their lives and repair the damage, and they should not be subjected to premium increases as they struggle to get back on their feet.

This final amendment helps flood victims in three important ways:

First, this amendment builds on a bipartisan program that was established in 1994 following the devastating Midwestern floods by reimbursing a flood policyholder for the cost of rebuilding a flood- damaged structure as needed to comply with State and local floodplain management laws.

Second, this amendment provides a new important tool to aid victims of the 2011 floods by giving the agency discretion to provide grants to homeowners to repair flood damage.

Third, this amendment provides a temporary reprieve from any increases in flood insurance premiums for policyholders as they struggle to rebuild their homes and their lives. It does so by suspending any increases in flood insurance premiums for a period of 36 months--we're talking about increases--for policyholders located in areas designated by the President as a major disaster or emergency.

Importantly, this amendment accomplishes this in a responsible way by limiting such assistance to homeowners with existing flood policies. It rewards those who have obtained flood insurance and have paid into the Flood Insurance Fund. This amendment is consistent with the underlying policy of this bill by encouraging homeowners to obtain flood insurance, and by placing the program on stronger financial footing through a responsible phase-in of risk premium rates to full actuarial rates.

In past years, Congress has stepped up to the plate and provided assistance to victims of natural disasters. That is what epitomizes our great country and its spirit. Yet this Congress has shown a disregard for flood victims at a time when we are struggling to recover from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Yes, we are a country marked by individual initiative, but we are also a country of compassion.

This final amendment is not a handout. It provides immediate assistance and relief to those homeowners who have paid into the Flood Insurance Fund. The Flood Insurance Fund is paid through premiums and fees paid by policyholders, not the taxpayer.

I urge my colleagues to read the list of 29 States and 696 counties that have been hit by these devastating floods and join me in providing swift and immediate assistance to your constituents. These are your friends, your neighbors; and they are asking for your help. So I ask you to stand with them, and I ask my colleagues to do the same.

Vote ``yes'' on this final amendment; and, remember, it does not kill the underlying bill.

Statement of Rep. Leonard L. Boswell To Accompany The Motion To

Recommit the Bill, H.R. 1309 with Instructions

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there

have been a total of 696 counties in 29 states for which a

Major Disaster or Emergency has been declared. There is some

overlap of states for which a major disaster and emergency

have been declared and some overlap of counties for which a

major disaster and emergency have been declared. Below is a

breakdown of the affected counties and states by major

disaster and by emergency.

26 States for Which a Major Disaster has been Declared in 2011 for

flooding*

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii,

Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota,

Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina,

North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee,

Utah, Vermont, Washington

696 Counties in 26 States Covered by a Major Disaster Declaration in

2011 for flooding*

Alabama Counties

Autauga County, Baldwin County, Barbour County, Bibb

County, Blount County, Bullock County, Butler County, Calhoun

County, Chambers County, Cherokee County,

Chilton County, Choctaw County, Clarke County, Clay County,

Cleburne County, Coffee County, Colbert County, Conecuh

County, Coosa County, Covington County, Crenshaw County,

Cullman County, Dale County, Dallas County, DeKalb County,

Elmore County, Escambia County, Etowah County, Fayette

County, Franklin County, Geneva County, Greene County, Hale

County, Henry County, Houston County, Jackson County,

Jefferson County, Lamar County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence

County, Lee County, Limestone County, Lowndes County, Macon

County, Madison County, Marengo County, Marion County,

Marshall County, Mobile County, Monroe County, Montgomery

County, Morgan County, Perry County, Pickens County, Pike

County, Randolph County, Russell County, Saint Clair County,

Shelby County, Sumter County, Talladega County, Tallapoosa

County, Tuscaloosa County, Walker County, Washington County,

Wilcox County, and Winston County.

Alaska Counties

Crooked Creek (ANV/ANVSA), Kuspuk Regional Educational

Attendance Area, and Red Devil (ANV/ANVSA).

Arkansas Counties

Arkansas County, Baxter County, Benton County, Boone

County, Bradley County, Calhoun County, Carroll County,

Chicot County, Clark County, Clay County, Cleburne County,

Cleveland County, Conway County, Craighead County, Crawford

County, Crittenden County, Dallas County, Faulkner County,

Franklin County, Fulton County, Garland County, Greene

County, Hot Spring County, Howard County, Independence

County, Izard County, Jackson County, Johnson County,

Lawrence County, Lee County, Lincoln County, Lonoke County,

Madison County, Marion County, Mississippi County, Monroe

County, Montgomery County, Nevada County, Newton County,

Perry County, Phillips County, Pike County, Poinsett County,

Polk County, Prairie County, Pulaski County, Randolph County,

Saint Francis County, Saline County, Searcy County, Sharp

County, Stone County, Van Buren County, Washington County,

White County, Woodruff County, and Yell County.

California Counties

Del Norte County, Inyo County, Kern County, Kings County,

Monterey County, Orange County, Riverside County, San

Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Luis Obispo County,

Santa Barbara County, Santa Cruz County, and Tulare County.

Georgia Counties

Bartow County, Catoosa County, Cherokee County, Coweta

County, Dade County, Floyd County, Gordon County, Greene

County, Harris County, Heard County, Jasper County, Lamar

County, Lumpkin County, Meriwether County, Monroe County,

Morgan County, Newton County, Pickens County, Rabun County,

Spalding County, Troup County, Walker County, and White

County.

Hawaii Counties

Hawaii County, Honolulu County, and Maui County.

Idaho Counties and Indian Reservations

Bonner County, Clearwater County, Idaho County, Nez Perce

County, Nez Perce Indian Reservation, and Shoshone County.

Illinois Counties

Alexander County, Franklin County, Gallatin County,

Hamilton County, Hardin County, Jackson County, Jefferson

County, Lawrence County, Marion County, Massac County, Perry

County, Pope County, Pulaski County, Randolph County, Saline

County, Union County, Wabash County, Washington County, Wayne

County, White County, and Williamson County.

Indiana Counties

Benton County, Clark County, Crawford County, Daviess

County, Dearborn County, Dubois County, Floyd County,

Franklin County, Gibson County, Harrison County, Jackson

County, Jefferson County, Jennings County, Knox County,

Martin County, Monroe County, Ohio County, Orange County,

Parke County, Perry County, Pike County, Posey County, Putnam

County, Ripley County, Scott County, Spencer County, Starke

County, Sullivan County, Switzerland County, Vanderburgh

County, Warrick County, and Washington County.

Iowa Counties

Fremont County, Harrison County, Mills County, Monona

County, Pottawattamie County, and Woodbury County.

Kentucky Counties

Anderson County, Ballard County, Bath County, Boone County,

Boyd County, Bracken County, Breathitt County, Breckinridge

County, Butler County, Caldwell County, Calloway County,

Campbell County, Carlisle County, Carroll County, Carter

County, Christian County, Clay County, Crittenden County,

Daviess County, Edmonson County, Elliott County, Estill

County, Fleming County, Floyd County, Franklin County, Fulton

County, Gallatin County, Grant County, Graves County, Grayson

County, Green County, Greenup County, Hancock County, Harlan

County, Henderson County, Henry County, Hickman County,

Hopkins County, Johnson County, Kenton County, Knott County,

Lawrence County, Lee County, Lewis County, Livingston County,

Logan County, Lyon County, Magoffin County, Marion County,

Marshall County, Martin County, Mason County, McCracken

County, McLean County, Meade County, Menifee County, Mercer

County, Monroe County, Morgan County, Nelson County, Nicholas

County, Oldham County, Owen County, Owsley County, Pendleton

County, Perry County, Robertson County, Rowan County, Spencer

County, Todd County, Trigg County, Trimble County, Union

County, Washington County, Webster County, and Wolfe County.

Maine Counties

Aroostook County, Piscataquis County, and Washington

County.

Minnesota Counties

Becker County, Beltrami County, Big Stone County, Blue

Earth County, Brown County, Carver County, Chippewa County,

Clay County, Grant County, Kittson County, Lac qui Parle

County, Le Sueur County, Lyon County, Marshall County, McLeod

County, Nicollet County, Norman County, Otter Tail County,

Polk County, Ramsey County, Red Lake County, Red Lake Indian

Reservation, Redwood County, Renville County, Roseau County,

Scott County, Sibley County, Stevens County, Swift County,

Traverse County, Washington County, Wilkin County, Wright

County, and Yellow Medicine County.

Mississippi Counties

Adams County, Alcorn County, Attala County, Benton County,

Bolivar County, Calhoun County, Carroll County, Chickasaw

County, Choctaw County, Claiborne County, Clarke County, Clay

County, Coahoma County, DeSoto County, Greene County, Hinds

County, Holmes County, Humphreys County, Issaquena County,

Itawamba County, Jasper County, Jefferson County, Kemper

County, Lafayette County, Lee County, Marshall County, Monroe

County, Montgomery County, Neshoba County, Newton County,

Noxubee County, Panola County, Prentiss County, Quitman

County, Scott County, Sharkey County, Smith County, Tate

County, Tippah County, Tishomingo County, Tunica County,

Union County, Warren County, Washington County, Webster

County, Wilkinson County, Winston County, and Yazoo County.

Missouri Counties

Barry County, Bollinger County, Butler County, Cape

Girardeau County, Carter County, Christian County, Douglas

County, Dunklin County, Howell County, Iron County, Jasper

County, Madison County, McDonald County, Miller County,

Mississippi County, New Madrid County, Newton County, Oregon

County, Ozark County, Pemiscot County, Perry County, Pettis

County, Polk County, Reynolds County, Ripley County, Saint

Francois County, Saint Louis County, Sainte Genevieve County,

Scott County, Shannon County, Stoddard County, Stone County,

Taney County, Texas County, Washington County, Wayne County,

Webster County, and Wright County.

Montana Counties and Indian Reservations

Big Horn County, Blaine County, Broadwater County, Carbon

County, Carter County, Cascade County, Chouteau County, Crow

Indian Reservation, Custer County, Dawson County, Fallon

County, Fergus County, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation,

Garfield County, Golden Valley County, Hill County, Judith

Basin County, McCone County, Meagher County, Musselshell

County, Petroleum County, Phillips County, Powder River

County, Prairie County, Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation,

Roosevelt County, Rosebud County, Stillwater County, Sweet

Grass County, Treasure County, Valley County, Wheatland

County, Wibaux County, and Yellowstone County.

New York Counties

Allegany County, Broome County, Chemung County, Chenango

County, Clinton County, Delaware County, Essex County,

Franklin County, Hamilton County, Herkimer County, Lewis

County, Livingston County, Madison County, Niagara County,

Oneida County, Onondaga County, Ontario County, Steuben

County, Tioga County, Ulster County, Warren County, Wyoming

County, and Yates County.

North Carolina Counties

Alamance County, Bertie County, Bladen County, Craven

County, Cumberland County, Currituck County, Greene County,

Halifax County, Harnett County, Hertford County, Hoke County,

Johnston County, Lee County, Onslow County, Pitt County,

Robeson County, Sampson County, Tyrrell County, Wake

County, and Wilson County.

North Dakota Counties and Indian Reservations

Barnes County, Benson County, Billings County, Bottineau

County, Burke County, Burleigh County, Cass County, Cavalier

County, Dickey County, Divide County, Eddy County, Fort

Berthold Indian Reservation, Foster County, Grand Forks

County, Grant County, Griggs County, Kidder County, LaMoure

County, Logan County, McHenry County, McIntosh County,

McKenzie County, McLean County, Mercer County, Morton County,

Mountrail County, Nelson County, Pembina County, Pierce

County, Ramsey County, Ransom County, Renville County,

Richland County, Rolette County, Sargent County, Sheridan

County, Spirit Lake Reservation, Steele County, Stutsman

County, Towner County, Traill County, Turtle Mountain Indian

Reservation, Walsh County, Ward County, Wells County, and

Williams County.

Oklahoma Counties

Adair County, Caddo County, Canadian County, Cherokee

County, Delaware County, Grady County, Haskell County,

Kingfisher County, Le Fiore County, Logan County, McClain

County, McIntosh County,

Muskogee County, Okmulgee County, Pittsburg County, and

Sequoyah County.

Oregon Counties

Clackamas County, Clatsop County, Coos County, Crook

County, Curry County, Douglas County, Lincoln County, and

Tillamook County.

South Dakota Counties

Aurora County, Beadle County, Brookings County, Brown

County, Buffalo County, Butte County, Charles Mix County,

Clark County, Clay County, Codington County, Day County,

Deuel County, Edmunds County, Faulk County, Grant County,

Hamlin County, Hand County, Hanson County, Hughes County,

Hutchinson County, Hyde County, Jackson County, Jerauld

County, Kingsbury County, Lake County, Marshall County, Miner

County, Moody County, Perkins County, Potter County, Roberts

County, Sanborn County, Spink County, Stanley County, Sully

County, Union County, and Yankton County.

Tennessee Counties

Benton County, Bledsoe County, Blount County, Bradley

County, Campbell County, Carroll County, Chester County,

Cocke County, Crockett County, Davidson County, Decatur

County, Dickson County, Dyer County, Fayette County, Fentress

County, Franklin County, Gibson County, Giles County,

Grainger County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Hardeman

County, Hardin County, Henderson County, Henry County,

Hickman County, Houston County, Humphreys County, Jackson

County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Knox County, Lake

County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Lewis County,

Lincoln County, Loudon County, Madison County, Marion County,

Marshall County, McMinn County, McNairy County, Monroe

County, Montgomery County, Moore County, Morgan County, Obion

County, Perry County, Pickett County, Polk County, Rhea

County, Scott County, Sequatchie County, Shelby County, Smith

County, Stewart County, Sullivan County, Sumner County,

Tipton County, Union County, Washington County, Wayne County,

and Weakley County.

Utah Counties

Garfield County, Kane County, and Washington County.

Vermont Counties

Addison County, Chittenden County, Essex County, Franklin

County, Grand Isle County, Lamoille County, and Orleans

County.

Washington Counties

King County, Kittitas County, Klickitat County, Lewis

County, Skagit County, Skamania County, and Wahkiakum County.

7 States For Which an Emergency has been Declared in 2011 for flooding*

Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North

Dakota, Tennessee

116 Counties in 7 States Covered by Emergency Declaration in 2011 for

flooding*

Kansas Counties

Atchison County, Doniphan County, Leavenworth County, and

Wyandotte County.

Louisiana Counties

Ascension Parish, Assumption Parish, Avoyelles Parish,

Catahoula Parish, Concordia Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish,

East Carroll Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Franklin Parish,

Iberia Parish, lberville Parish, La Salle Parish, Lafourche

Parish, Madison Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, Richland

Parish, Saint Charles Parish, Saint James Parish, Saint John

the Baptist Parish, Saint Landry Parish, Saint Martin Parish,

Saint Mary Parish, Tensas Parish, Terrebonne Parish, West

Baton Rouge Parish, and West Feliciana Parish.

Mississippi Counties

Adams County, Bolivar County, Claiborne County, Coahoma

County, DeSoto County, Humphreys County, Issaquena County,

Jefferson County, Sharkey County, Tunica County, Warren

County, Washington County, Wilkinson County, and Yazoo

County.

Missouri Counties

Andrew County, Atchison County, Boone County, Buchanan

County, Callaway County, Carroll County, Chariton County,

Clark County, Clay County, Cole County, Cooper County,

Franklin County, Gasconade County, Holt County, Howard

County, Jackson County, Lafayette County, Lewis County,

Moniteau County, Montgomery County, Osage County, Platte

County, Ray County, Saint Charles County, Saint Louis, Saint

Louis County, Saline County, and Warren County.

Nebraska Counties

Boyd County, Burt County, Cass County, Cedar County, Dakota

County, Dixon County, Douglas County, Garden County, Knox

County, Lincoln County, Morrill County, Nemaha County, Otoe

County, Richardson County, Sarpy County, Scotts Bluff County,

Thurston County, and Washington County.

North Dakota Counties

Barnes County, Benson County, Burleigh County, Cass County,

Eddy County, Emmons County, Grand Forks County, McLean

County, Mercer County, Morton County, Nelson County, Oliver

County, Pembina County, Ramsey County, Ransom County,

Richland County, Sioux County, Standing Rock Indian

Reservation (also SD), Towner County, Traill County, Walsh

County, and Ward County.

Tennessee Counties

Dyer County, Lake County, Shelby County, and Stewart

County.

* Data is based on information publicly available on the

Federal Agency Management Association (FEMA) website at:

http://www.fema.govinews/disasters.fema.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

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

This is a very simple amendment. It clarifies that the Defense suicide prevention programs are a priority and should always remain a priority.

I am not alone in my concern for the rates of suicide among our servicemembers in the active duty, Guard, and Reserve components. I, like some of the rest of you, have had that experience with my own constituency back in the Iowa Reserve.

The Department of Defense has identified large potential savings from improved efficiencies, totaling as much as $100 billion over the next 5 years. Section 8128 directs the Secretary to report to Congress on how it will redirect those savings into priorities of the military departments. However, there is no direction that ensures that the Secretary include existing suicide programs as ``priorities'' for reinvestment from these savings.

This amendment simply clarifies that suicide prevention programs-- which already exist and have already been authorized--are a priority and will remain a priority. We must do everything in our power to reduce the suicide rates of our men and women in uniform, and this amendment fulfills that obligation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Mr. Chairman, as you might expect, respectfully I rise in opposition to the point of order.

In accordance with clause 2 of rule XXI, this amendment does not make a new appropriation; it does not re-appropriate unused funds; it does not restrict the availability of funds; and it does not change existing law.

In fact, Defense suicide prevention programs have already been authorized by law, for example, the Yellow Ribbon Program, which helps support National Guard and Reserve servicemembers and families. This amendment simply clarifies that suicide prevention programs--which already exist and have already been authorized--are a priority and will always remain a priority. So I humbly suggest that no one in good conscience could suggest otherwise.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to language in the agricultural appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2012.

H.R. 2112 contains a rider that withholds funding to implement the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule that the authorizing committee directed the USDA to craft in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Today, the USDA is in the process of conducting economic analyses as well as a comprehensive review of the comments submitted on the proposed rule.

H.R. 2112 would stop the USDA in its tracks and prevent it from completing its year of work on GIPSA.

Two of our Nation's largest member organizations who work to support farmers, ranchers and producers are opposed to the provision which would cut off funding for the GIPSA rule--the National Farmers Union and the Farm Bureau.

Like me, these Iowa members and the national organizations believe that this is an issue under the jurisdiction of the authorizing committee, not the appropriating committee, and that regardless of which side of the regulation you may fall, that the comment review and economic analyses deserve completion.

NFU President Roger Johnson said in a recent statement: ``I urge that funds for the enforcement of the GIPSA rule be reinstated in future versions of the agriculture appropriations bill.''

The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to my colleague, Congresswoman Kaptur, on May 31, 2011, the day of the full committee markup, that stated: ``We oppose language to preclude USDA from reviewing the comments and completing their economic analysis and are strongly opposed to any action that would stop work on that [GIPSA] rule.''

However, appropriators ignored this call to action, and instead chose to move forward on behalf of large processors.

The rulemaking process on the GIPSA rule was started with the issuance of the draft rule on June 22, 2010--nearly one year ago and more than 60,000 comments were submitted on the GIPSA rule docket. To end the process now would equate to an unfortunate waste of government resources.

Thirty years ago there were 1.3 million beef cattle operations. Today there are 740,000. In 1980, there were 660,000 hog farms. Today there are 67,000. Last year alone, approximately 2,300 additional hog producers went out of business.

On behalf of producers and competition in our marketplace, I urge my colleagues to oppose defunding the GIPSA rule, and allow the USDA to complete their work and review on this issue.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendment offered by Congresswoman Lummis.

As a farmer and senior member of the authorizing committee, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this issue and speak in opposition to the language in section 737 of the agriculture appropriations bill for FY 2012 and its attempt to limit state rights and commerce with respect to horse meat, and the safe and healthy inspection of those deceased animals.

The amendment before us would simply allow horse slaughter facilities to use their own money for inspections.

While no one likes the idea of slaughtering horses we must deal with the problem of abandoned and neglected horses in the United States.

We hear frequently on this topic the issue of humane treatment. However, on average, adoption facilities used as a ``last resource'' can only house approximately 30 horses.

Often times these adoption facilities are so over-crowded that older horses end up starving to death because the real last resort is abandoning these horses, which happens all too frequently.

Each year there are almost 100,000 abandoned and neglected horses in the United States. Opponent of horse slaughter often claim that unwanted horses can be moved to adoption facilities.

I believe that current limits on horse slaughter set poor precedent for legitimate livestock slaughter for reasons other than for food safety or public health.

As a long time horse owner, I understand the emotional attachment one can feel for an animal, however, currently with the over capacity of animal adoption facilities I have concerns on what would happen to abandoned and neglected horses each year.

Restore the Horsemeat Industry and Create Jobs

Two weeks ago, the House Appropriations committee voted to

reinsert language into the Agriculture Appropriations bill to

prevent funds for inspections--inspections that are required

by law--of horsemeat, continuing a logic-defying policy that

harms the welfare of horses, infringes on the rights of horse

owners, and cripples the horse industry. Most of all, it

prevents the immediate creation of hundreds of good, American

jobs. The unemployment rate just hit 9.1 percent and both

parties are blaming the other for it. In this instance both

are to blame for killing the highly regulated horsemeat

industry.

Before 2005, the horsemeat industry was a $65 million a

year business. In 2003, the two Texas plants employed a total

of 130 people to process 40,000 horses per year. One small

business that shipped the meat noted in a 2002 letter that it

employed twenty-one people, all of whom were heads of

households. Their annual horsemeat airfreight exports

generated $4 million for the airlines they used. These jobs

are all gone.

Instead, they are in Mexico and Canada. Now horses are

shipped much greater distances and at higher costs to

slaughter, and are slaughtered without USDA regulation. Last

year, over 150,000 horses were sent across the boarders to be

processed. Horse processing serves to set a floor price for

horses. The higher cost of shipping them to Canada and Mexico

has lowered the price owners receive for any horse, and the

effects ripple through the entire horse industry. Many U.S.

zoos use horsemeat to feed their animals because it's high in

protein and low in fat. Ironically, those zoos now have to

buy horsemeat--derived from American horses--from Mexico or

Canada.

Advocates in favor of this irresponsible policy, like my

former colleague, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), say that horse

processing is ``not humane.'' He's wrong, and the American

Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American

Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) say he's wrong.

The U.S. plants used ``penetrating captive bolt'' to

euthanize horses before they closed, a technique common to

the beef industry and considered humane for horses by AVMA

and AAEP. As with processing plants for all animals, there

are laws on the books for humane slaughter methods for

horses, and FSIS inspectors present to ensure those laws are

followed.

Concerns about the safeness of horsemeat are misplaced.

Both USDA and the European Union regulate horsemeat

stringently, and the U.S. processing plants kept horses for

withdrawal periods depending on the drugs (if any) that had

been administered to them. The plants also performed constant

residue testing in their holding pens, and if a harmful

substance was detected the entire lot would be condemned. To

my knowledge, the EU has never had any issues with

``contaminated'' horsemeat imported from the U.S.

I believe the shuttering of the processing plants, combined

with the recession has led to an increase in abandoned and

neglected horses. Others disagree. GAO is planning to release

a report on the impact of the closing of the processing

plants on horses hopefully by the end of the month, yet the

House is scheduled to vote on Tuesday to continue this policy

without having the benefit of this report's conclusions,

whatever they may be. I think that is bad governing.

Let's be clear: horses are livestock under the law--not

companion animals such as dogs as Rep. Moran has said--and

are allowed to be deducted as diminishing assets and their

expenses written off accordingly. Horses are expensive to

maintain, and can cost $500 to $2,000 to euthanize by lethal

injection and bury--assuming you can find a place that is

willing to dispose of a 1,500 pound animal filled with drugs.

Horse owners deserve a humane end of life option for their

horses that has monetary value. Right now, Republicans and

Democrats are using emotional arguments to an ill-informed

public to deny horse owners their rights. In the process,

they are preventing the creation of American jobs and causing

more inhumane treatment of horses.

Charles W. Stenholm served the 17th U.S. House District of

Texas as a Democrat, 1979-2005. He is now a Senior Policy

Advisor with Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC.

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

I rise to support the fair and necessary funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC acts as a Wall Street watchdog, overseeing American markets that directly impact our Nation's workers, businesses, and families. Refusing to responsibly fund this Commission puts our constituents in danger of higher gas prices, higher food prices, and a greater likelihood that Wall Street will once again take advantage of them. While the derivatives market has grown by 400 percent over the last 10 years, the U.S. Government has failed to match that growth in regulators. Now the majority wants to take even more cops off Wall Street, and as someone has said, it's like putting the Little League champions up against the New York Yankees. With speculators making up 70 percent of market players and an industry that invests $25 billion in technology each year, the Commission that regulates behavior on Wall Street cannot afford to be left behind. Our taxpayers cannot afford to pick up the bill again.

To monitor and regulate this market, and to protect American taxpayers, last Congress we passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. And I might add that that was not a knee-jerk operation. We took months and months, many, many hearings, as you well know, working across the aisle together to try to do something that would prevent a re-happening of what we were going through and still have the aftereffect of.

As ranking member of the subcommittee that oversees the CFTC, I have heard from countless witnesses, including Chairman Gensler himself, that we must properly fund the CFTC to protect American consumers and market end-users. They need and must have the tools and the resources to do their job. Adequately funding the CFTC would allow the Commission to increase staff to do the job that Congress directed them to do, which is to prevent another 2008 financial crisis. It would allow the Commission to keep pace with the growth of the market they are charged to regulate and invest $66 million in technology to improve oversight of electronic trading.

Still, the majority is dead set on delaying and defunding the CFTC. This legislation returns the CFTC to their 2008 level funding--the same level of funding that led to the taxpayer bailout of Wall Street and only allows half of what they need now to do the job correctly. Defunding and delaying this implementation is the majority's handout to Wall Street millionaires and billionaires, who have already been caught red-handed gambling with the pension plans of middle class Americans and speculating the cost of oil $20 a barrel beyond actual cost.

This is why I support and have cosponsored the amendment to increase CFTC funding to the fair level of $308 million. To fund the CFTC at 2008 levels is an insult to the American taxpayers who were asked to foot the bill in 2008 as a result of Wall Street's reckless behavior.

Our Nation has seen the effects of the 2008 funding level and what happens when our market lacks proper oversight. We must protect our constituents from the vulnerable situation that

led to a financial collapse, and we must fairly fund the CFTC.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of this amendment and to stand up for rural America and our Nation's farmers.

The appropriations bill in front of us today eliminates a program that helps rural communities invest in energy-efficient and renewable energy projects to improve their quality of life and local economies.

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has given Iowa farmers and businesses more than $57 million in grants and $74 million worth of loan guarantees since 1993 when it started, according to the USDA.

The majority of the projects have helped growers purchase higher- efficiency grain drying equipment which saves them thousands in propane costs. Additionally, helps farmers install geothermal heating and cooling systems and wind turbines. Just this year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department would begin award grants to rural gas stations to install gas pumps for ethanol-blended fuel.

Iowa is the largest beneficiary of REAP funds, and I am committed to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to reach a compromise on its funding. REAP has already been cut by 25 percent for this fiscal year and the majority's intention to reduce its funding from $75 million to $1.3 million is unacceptable.

When the House Appropriations Committee passed this legislation, Members chose to dismantle a program that helps rural communities thrive and their economies grow in order to maintain tax breaks for oil and gas companies and incentives for companies that outsource American jobs. This is not about reducing spending. It is an outright attack on Middle America to protect Corporate America.

I will not stand by as appropriators blindly cut spending in programs that truly grow the economy and support rural businesses and communities.

Every American needs an affordable and accessible food supply grown in the most efficient way possible. Effectively terminating the REAP program will reduce efficiency in food production, increasing prices in the grocery store, and, in the end, hurting every American family, not just rural America.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment which will slowly rebuild the REAP program and send a message to the Senate that this program is important to every American.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose this legislation and to focus on the importance of the health of the many women in my district and across our nation.

I stand against H.R. 3, because I believe that a woman deserves the same respect as a man. She deserves this respect as an employee, a wife, a mother, a sister, simply just for her humanity. And that respect must be real and must include important matters like access to health care.

During the 111th Congress, we made it illegal for insurance companies to charge a woman a higher premium just because she is

female. We did this because to do anything else is blatant discrimination.

Yet here we are today, with a bill that would circumvent the very discrimination we stopped and would direct the Internal Revenue Service to tax a woman based on her health needs, just because her needs are different from that of a man.

Even worse, at this critical time in our economy, we are now going to tax any business that provides comprehensive health care to a woman.

So, instead of fighting for the most critical need of our nation right now, job creation, H.R. 3 picks a fight with a woman and her employer.

Why do any one of us seek to have health insurance? We choose to have health insurance in order to plan for the unforeseeable, the unknown, those emergencies that arise and for which no one can plan. No one plans to have cancer, but many Americans do. Health insurance is how each of us protects ourselves against the unknown.

This legislation says that a woman--with her own money--cannot have comprehensive health insurance without a penalty. It creates a new barrier to access to care, and puts in place a system of discrimination, backed by statute in the United States Tax Code.

For my colleagues who argue that this is to reduce the rate of abortion services, it will not. The facts show otherwise.

Access to family planning services is what reduces the need for abortion services. It is family planning services that have proven to cut the rate of abortion by more than 200,000 per year and reduce unintended pregnancies by more than 600,000 per year.

This bill was titled the ``No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,'' but it reads more like a ``Tax our Daughters Act.''

Stop this boldfaced attack on American women. Let us instead provide them with jobs and a fair paycheck.

Vote against H.R. 3. Show the women of your district, and your family, that you respect them.

Mr. Speaker, I regret my absence in the House yesterday, May 2, 2011, as I was in my district attending to personal business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall vote 278.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

In its present form, I am opposed.

Mr. Speaker, this motion is very simple. It serves as a final amendment to the underlying legislation and would not kill the bill. What it does do is prohibit insurance companies from participating in health insurance exchanges if they deny coverage for cancer or other preexisting conditions, especially for seniors and future Medicare recipients.

My recommit motion is an opportunity for everyone in this Chamber to put the angry rhetoric surrounding health care reform aside and stand up for seniors and future Medicare recipients and every American who has been diagnosed with cancer and other preexisting conditions.

This recommit motion holds special meaning for me because I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer that was most likely caused by my service in the Vietnam War and exposure to Agent Orange. Fortunately, as a career soldier, I had access to affordable, quality public health insurance to help me beat that nasty disease. Many other Americans are not so lucky.

With this in mind, this final amendment is more important than ever. Medicare accepts all seniors; private insurance companies do not. This must change, and requiring these companies to prove that they do not charge more or deny coverage to seniors and the 129 million people under 65 who have a preexisting condition is an important first step.

I would submit that probably every one of us in this Chamber have received calls from some of our constituents who have been paying for insurance for years and years, they got a malady, they got cancer, they're in the hospital, they're getting treatment, insurance comes due and they can't renew it because they've got a preexisting condition. That's got to stop.

Health insurance exchanges will be a one-stop shop for tens of millions of Americans who purchase individual policies. This market must be open only to the companies that provide affordable insurance to all Americans, young, old, sick and well, male and female. My recommit motion, this final amendment, would require just that.

Our role as a government is to protect the well-being of our citizens, not the bottom line of insurance companies, which are doing just fine by the way.

America's health insurance companies increased their profits by 56 percent in 2009, while 2.7 million people lost their private coverage. The Nation's five largest for-profit insurers reported a combined profit of $12.2 billion the same year, according to a report by Health Care for America Now.

I support American companies making profits. However, these numbers indicate there is no reason why private insurance companies should deny coverage to seniors or Americans struggling with cancer and other preexisting conditions.

My amendment would ensure that if they want to expand their insurance pool to include Americans purchasing through health care exchanges and grow their customer base even more, then they must cover everyone fairly--seniors, future Medicare recipients, and cancer patients included.

Let's be clear. The passage of this amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If the amendment is adopted, it will be incorporated into the bill, and the bill will be immediately voted upon.

So, even though we may disagree on the bill today, we have the opportunity to stand together for those afflicted with cancer and other preexisting conditions and our Nation's future Medicare recipients who would lose guaranteed health care benefits under the Ryan plan.

It's up to us. I urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on this final amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue a discussion started by a good friend and former Iowa Congressman, Berkley Bedell, in yesterday's Des Moines Register, page 9A.

In Congressman Bedell's column titled, ``Those Who Own America Should Help Pay for Government,'' Congressman Bedell argues that Congress's budget focus on cutting costs instead of generating revenue is fundamentally skewed and not good business.

He writes, ``Show me a company that ignores revenue and focuses on cutting costs, and I will show you a firm that is headed for failure. Show me a government that ignores revenue and focuses on cutting costs, and I will show you a government that is a failure.''

Congressman Bedell writes that corporations and the richest Americans need to properly contribute to the government through taxes that are relevant to their wealth. For me, this means eliminating billions a year in subsidies to multibillion-dollar oil and gas companies; it means ending mortgage deductions for vacation homes and yachts that cost taxpayers billions a year in lost revenue; it means ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent to increase our revenue by more than $40 billion a year.

Americans deserve a government that works, and blindly cutting costs and services doesn't accomplish that.

[From the Des Moines Register, Apr. 12, 2011]

Guest opinion: Those who own America should help pay for government

(By: Berkley Bedell)

I started a fishing tackle manufacturing business, Berkley

and Co., with $50 saved from my newspaper route when I was 15

years old.

From the beginning, my main focus was on sales and revenue.

The business was successful.

In my 50s, I ran for Congress. I won and appointed a person

to run the company. He focused on cutting costs rather than

building revenue and the business was soon headed for

bankruptcy.

My son, Tom, came back to Iowa to run the company. He

focused on marketing and research to build revenue, and when

he sold the company a few years ago, it was by far the

largest most successful fishing tackle manufacturing company

in the nation.

Show me a company that ignores revenue and focuses on

cutting costs, and I will show you a firm that is headed for

failure. Show me a government that ignores revenue and

focuses on cutting costs, and I will show you a government

that is a failure.

Today that is exactly what we have in our state and federal

governments.

Like most people and most corporations, I would prefer not

to have to pay taxes. I am now 90 years old. I lived during

the middle of the 1900s when our top income tax rate varied

between 70 and 91 percent--more than double that of today. I

saw what we can do when we properly tax ourselves to build a

better nation.

Today the top 1 percent of households have over 38 percent

of all privately held stock, 60 percent of financial

securities and 62 percent of business equity. The top 10

percent own 80 percent to 90 percent of stocks, bonds, trust

funds and business equities, and over 75 percent of non-home

real estate. Since financial health is what counts as far as

control of income-producing assets, we can say that just 10

percent of the people own the United States of America.

My wife and I are part of that 10 percent. We are heroes in

our hometown, just as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are

national heroes.

Like them, we are not bad people, we want to be good people

and contribute so we have formed a foundation for alternative

medicine (FAIM.org) to try to do good with our money.

But our government is all screwed up. Instead of using

everyone's wealth to build a better society as we did in the

1950s, we are cutting taxes to the rich and corporate America

while we cut back on services and jobs for the masses. You do

not create jobs by firing teachers and lowering wages.

People are starting to rise up in Wisconsin, Ohio and other

states. They are correct to be disturbed and to protest. I

hope they will keep it up. I hope they realize the basic

problem. It is, revenue matters!

Until we properly tax corporate America and those of us who

can afford it, and use those revenues to put our people back

to work, clean up the environment, replace fossil fuels,

reduce the deficit and bring back the prosperity we had in

the middle of the last century, I believe we all need to join

those protesters.

Having served in Congress, I have seen how political

contributions from the wealthy, and now corporations, control

our government. It is time for the people--all of us--to do

as did the people of Egypt and join the street marches to

demand that our government bring back the time we had in my

youth, when we worked together, rich and poor, to contribute

the tax revenue needed to build a nation that was the envy of

the world.

First, I thought I would start off by acknowledging the efforts to have open rules and so on and by giving you a little praise, but you're doing enough to give yourselves praise, so I guess I won't have to do that today.

Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose this rule. I rise to address yet another attack on our Nation's workers and the middle class which have been snuck into the FAA Reauthorization Act. As a senior member of the committee and as a pilot myself, I am appalled that Republicans have chosen to play politics with legislation as important as this--one that ensures our skies are safe and operating at peak performance.

In H.R. 658, Republicans march on in their crusade against working Americans and middle class families by targeting union representation elections for hardworking Americans. Under this legislation, Republicans would deny transportation workers and their unions the basic tenets of democracy by ordering an absent vote in a representation election to be counted as a ``no'' vote. By this math, not a single one of us serving in the House today would be here when we compare voting populations in our districts with the percentage of the ``yes'' votes we all mustered. On average, we would have earned about 25 percent of the vote.

In targeting our Nation's transportation workers, Republicans have once again drawn a line in the sand between the needs of middle class America and protecting the interests of CEOs and Wall Street, and it is obvious which side they're on.

Instead of stripping our aviation and rail workers of their democratic rights, why don't the Republicans look within their own ranks and apply this election concept to Wall Street? From here on out, make every corporation that received government assistance count an absent shareholder vote as a ``no'' vote when considering executive compensation and bonus packages.

But that won't happen.

Instead of focusing on real issues like jobs and education, Republicans are attacking middle class rail and aviation workers who do dangerous jobs to keep our transportation system going.

I urge my colleagues to stand with the middle class workers who put their lives on the line every day at work to make sure that goods and people are being moved across this Nation. Vote ``yes'' on the amendment to be offered by Congressmen LaTourette and Costello.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this. And, again, I want to say this amendment does not kill the bill.

Republicans have put forth a bill that again forces our middle class and our working families to sacrifice, sacrifice, and sacrifice so they can continue the giveaways for Big Oil, billionaires, and corporations that outsource American jobs.

As a former professional soldier, I approach our economy with a military eye to take the hill and get our economy going again, and we need all of our troops behind us. In this case, our troops are our workers, the middle class Americans who must be healthy and armed with the tools to rebuild the economy. Our camps are the communities that must have the resources to do just that. So why are our troops and communities in rural America being left behind?

Rural Main Streets in Iowa have been devastated as Republicans have rewarded outsourcing. Manufacturing plants in my district, like Maytag--all of you know who Maytag is--in Newton, Iowa, they have packed up and

moved their jobs to Mexico. Many of you have similar situations.

Rural workers have lost jobs in ethanol, biodiesel, and wind turbine plants because we have given tax breaks to Big Oil while cutting investments in renewable energy. These communities have weathered farm crisis after crisis, as Republicans defend Wall Street speculators tinkering with the markets that they depend on.

I urge my colleagues to say ``yes'' to rural America and the middle class by supporting this amendment to H.R. 861. Rural America is not blue or red. Rural America is simply hardworking communities that are already struggling to keep the American Dream alive for their residents who live, work, and believe in them.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of House Resolution 49, the Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta Medal of Honor Flag Resolution. As the first living Medal of Honor winner since the Vietnam War, Staff Sergeant Giunta richly deserves to be honored by this House.

The resolution is simple: It provides every Medal of Honor winner or their family with a flag flown over the Capitol in tribute to their service. In addition to this resolution, tomorrow we all have the opportunity to join the Chief of Staff of the Army and distinguished guests at a ceremony and reception in the Congressional Auditorium to honor this soldier of whom all Iowans and Americans are incredibly proud.

I am not surprised that, in spite of this praise, Sergeant Giunta has humbly refused to be seen as exceptional. He has at every moment sought to deflect recognition onto his fellow soldiers, men and women in uniform, who serve us bravely every day to support and defend our country and the Constitution. I know all too well that Sergeant Giunta is right and that every

day our men and women in uniform, and their families, offer courageous service that deserves to be recognized.

My hope is that as we honor Sergeant Giunta for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, we may by extension offer to every member of our Armed Forces and their families our profound gratitude on behalf of the country, his country, our country, and the United States House of Representatives.