Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I have the honor and privilege of representing Fort Riley, home of the 1st Infantry Division, or the Big Red One, which has been under the command of Major General Vincent Brooks since April of 2009, a term that included a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

General Brooks is being promoted to a three-star general and will be moving on from Fort Riley. In his short time in Kansas, he has been a tremendous

asset to Fort Riley, a devoted member of our community, and a wonderful adviser to me personally, and we are sad to see him go.

While I could not be in the district to attend the change of command ceremony, I wanted to take a moment and thank General Brooks for his dedication and service to our country, congratulate him on his promotion, and let him know that he will be truly missed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

I have the honor and privilege of representing Fort Riley, home of the Big Red One; Fort Leavenworth, host to the Army Command and General Staff College; the 190th Coyotes out at Forbes Field; and nearly 12,000 National Guard and Reserve members.

With this strong military presence comes a large number of military families and children. I rise today in recognition of April as the Month of the Military Child. This is a time for all my colleagues to applaud the strength, sacrifice, heroism, and continued resilience shown by the children of our service men and women.

Kansas is proud to have more than 33,000 children with at least one parent serving in the military, and this month we recognize that when parents serve in the military, their children also serve.

I will continue to do everything I can to support not only our men and women in uniform but their children who sacrifice equally for our country.

Mr. Speaker, from April 10th to April 16th our nation is celebrating National Library Week. This one week each year we take time to honor and thank our nation's libraries and their dedicated staff for the vital role they play in our communities.

Today, I rise to support the work at the Library at Kansas State University. As part of the land-grant mission, the Library at Kansas State University serves not only the campus and students at K-State, but the good folks of Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth and many other communities in the 2nd District and across Kansas. Whether it is internet access, academic research, or just finding a good book, the Library at Kansas State serves our friends and neighbors in an important way. I am proud to represent them in Congress and humbled to honor them today.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding.

Do you all remember the story about an old man of great faith whose town was about to be flooded? The town was being evacuated and the water was already covering the road. The old man sat on his porch calmly, unafraid. A car pulled up to the house, the water almost too deep to drive in. The driver yelled, ``Get in. We'll take you to safety.'' The old man shook his head and said, ``Go on. I have faith in God. He will save me.'' So the car moved on.

A short time later, the water had risen so high that it covered the porch, so the old man simply went upstairs. A boat floated up to the house and the people yelled, ``Get in, we'll take you to safety.'' The old man said again, ``Go on. I have faith in God. He will save me.'' So the boat went on.

Hours later, the water had risen so that it almost covered the entire house. The old man was now on his roof, when a rescue helicopter came by. They called, ``Get in. We'll take you to safety.'' But the old man refused, saying, ``Go on. I have faith in God. He will save me.'' So the helicopter left.

So the water rose so high that the old man drowned. He went to heaven, of course, and when he arrived he asked God, ``I had faith in you to save me. Why didn't you?'' God answered, ``I sent you a car, a boat and a helicopter. What more do you want from me?''

I hope my Democrat colleagues in the other Chamber and this President understand that this bill is their helicopter. You had a chance to propose and pass a budget for 2011 last year when you all had unfettered power in Washington. You have had over a month now to address H.R. 1, a bill that cut a mere $100 billion from our budget. Today we are giving you a third chance to avoid a government shutdown.

Please grab onto this lifeline and work with us to prevent a government shutdown that could have international consequences. Vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1255.

Mr. Speaker, the first priority of this Congress must be getting the American people back in the work place. I rise to support one program that is doing just that.

Today in Lawrence, Kansas the men and women at Cottonwood Inc., are manufacturing tie-down straps that our military uses to secure cargo in trucks, humvees, planes, ships and any other means of transportation.

But what makes Cottonwood particularly noteworthy, isn't just that they have been awarded the gold medal for excellence from the Defense Logistics Agency for 9 consecutive years, but that through the AbilityOne program many of the men and women assembling and packaging the tiedown straps have developmental disabilities.

The AbilityOne program provides employment opportunities to those who have severe disabilities by directing the Federal Government to purchase products and services from participating community-based nonprofit agencies that are dedicated to training and employing individuals with disabilities.

The Kansans employed through this program are making significant contributions as citizens to our armed services and are productive members of the Lawrence community.

I proudly support Cottonwood, the AbilityOne Program and its workers in Kansas for making a difference in unemployment among people with disabilities both in Kansas and throughout the country.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

According to the President's health care law, starting next year any business that purchases more than $600 worth of goods or services from another business is required to submit a 1099 tax form to the Internal Revenue Service. I'm a strong supporter of job creation. However, I do not think building more bureaucratic barriers for small business and creating additional positions at the IRS is the kind of job growth this country needs. As Alan Meyers, an electrician in my district, stated in a letter to my office: ``This is absurd. The small business men of this country have more paperwork than they can get done now.''

While we have disagreed about the full repeal of the health overhaul law, the administration and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have recently decided they strongly agree with Republican Members in Congress that the 1099 reporting provisions should be repealed. However, a few weeks ago, we received the President's budget which would only repeal the 1099 requirement for goods but keep it for services--a glaring contradiction to the President's stated strong support for the full repeal of this harmful provision.

So I'm pleased that the House has chosen to move forward with the full repeal of this unprecedented burden on small business. Furthermore, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are truly serious about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in our health care system, then they, too, can support this measure with full voice, since it is paid for by reducing overpayments of exchange subsidies.

In this economic environment, Congress needs to be working to remove the barriers to job creation and finding ways to rein in the cost of health care, not imposing new government mandates to squeeze every dollar out of small businesses.

While we await action from the Senate on H.R. 2, the full repeal of this health care overhaul, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 4 today to fix one of the many flaws in the President's health care law.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

In 2009, after an exhaustive 3-year review, the Department of Homeland Security chose Manhattan, Kansas, as the site for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

NBAF will be a cutting-edge research facility, and it will accelerate our Nation's ability to protect ourselves, our food supply, and our economy from biological threats. It will become the world's premiere animal health research facility and further solidify our Nation's place as the international leader in animal health research.

NBAF has the support of both the Bush and Obama administrations. In fact, this week, President Obama included $150 million in his budget to begin its construction. This inclusion shows a commitment from the President and Secretary Napolitano to see that this cutting-edge facility moves forward as planned so we can safely conduct critical research to develop vaccines and countermeasures in order to protect the public and our livestock from the threats of devastating disease.

Simply put, this debate should be about our national security, not parochial politics. In this age of uncertainty and global threats, conducting vital research to protect our Nation could not be more crucial, and the truth of the matter is we are dangerously underprotected from the threat of a biological attack against our people and food. In fact, the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism recently issued a report card that gave the Federal Government a failing grade for efforts to prevent a biological attack.

We need to protect our food and our families from danger. We need to stay on the cutting edge of this research field. Our security is at risk, and delaying this project further because the gentleman from New York would prefer to preserve a stunningly outdated lab that just happens to be in his district is not an option. We need to move forward and we need NBAF.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this destructive amendment.

Offered By: Ms. Jenkins

Amendment No. 152: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following new section:

Mr. Speaker, the American economy and the American people are still struggling to get back on their feet. Unemployment has remained between 9 and 10 percent for over two years and there is no immediate relief in sight.

Each week I return to Kansas and meet with local businesses, and each week, whether I am meeting with infrastructure providers like WATCO in Pittsburg, manufacturers like MGP Ingredients in Atchison or Alexander Manufacturing in Parsons farmers and ranchers in Brown County or CPA's in Baxter Springs, I hear the same sad story time and again.

Overbearing regulation from the Federal Government, whether it be from the EPA, the USDA, HUD, the Department of Transportation, the SEC, or the IRS Regulators, at every turn are making job creation, investment, expansion, or growth too complex and too costly.

For too long Washington has sent mixed messages to the nations job creators and small businesses. It appears we have one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the brake. The rhetoric has urged our employers to step on the gas and invest and begin hiring again but this administration has slammed their foot on the breaks issuing hundreds of burdensome regulations that make job creation private investment and innovation nearly impossible.

It's time for the rhetoric in this town to be met with corresponding action. I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution to reduce burdensome regulation and create a measure of certainty for our nation's job creators.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding to me.

``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'' With those words, President Reagan felled not only a wall dividing a city but an ideology that divided the world. I carry a piece of that wall with me today, and though 20 years have passed, I am struck by the enormity of what this used to represent and the courage, conviction, and character of the man who stared down the Soviet empire and won.

President Reagan was not just ``a,'' he was ``the'' Great Communicator, but

it wasn't his style that made the difference. It was his content and corresponding action. Too often rhetoric is turned around in this town with little thought and even less action.

As we celebrate this 100th birthday of President Reagan, I desire that we can remember that not only did President Reagan inspire us with hope for a new morning in America, that he took real action that led a country waiting in gas lines, on the brink of nuclear war, and reminded us all that we truly are a shining city on the hill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Last March I voted against ObamaCare. Rather than bringing down health care costs for all Americans, helping small businesses provide health care for their employees, and preserving Medicare for our Nation's seniors, this law will result in higher premiums for families, costly unfunded mandates, including an absurd 1099 requirement, additional job-killing taxes, and more than half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare.

It was irresponsible to pass this massive job-killing plan by means of arm twisting and gimmicks, and it is even more irresponsible to allow implementation to begin given our national debt is over $14 trillion, unemployment rates are still over 9 percent, and many States remain on the verge of bankruptcy.

Not only is the bill unaffordable, but it is such an overreach of the Federal Government's power, a U.S. district judge has already deemed it unconstitutional.

Americans want reforms to our health care system, but they have spoken clearly: This bill is not the change they wanted.

I will be voting in support of H.R. 2, voting to repeal this government takeover of our health care system, just as I promised my constituents I would.

Let's repeal this bill so we can go to work replacing it with reforms the American people want and support. I encourage all of my colleagues in the House to listen to their constituents and join me in voting ``yes.''

I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding.

When I ran for Congress, I made a pledge to the people of Kansas that I would not vote to raise their taxes. Today I will honor that pledge and vote for the tax bill before us because a ``no'' vote on this measure is a vote to raise taxes on every American taxpayer, every working parent, every small businessperson, every retiree, everyone. While the economy struggles to get back on its feet and unemployment remains at nearly 10 percent, allowing liberals to achieve their goal of raising taxes on American families and small businesses by nearly $4 trillion is extremely bad economics.

There are several aspects of this provision that I am adamantly against, including the massive deficit spending required to extend unemployment benefits for 13 months that are not paid for and the onerous 35 percent death tax which will create hardship for many family farms across the entire Midwest. But failure to pass this legislation will be the equivalent of reaching into the bank account of every middle class family and pulling out an additional $5,000 next year. The families I represent in Kansas have had to tighten their belts and can't figure out why Washington continues to raid their bank accounts and refuses to tighten the belt of the Federal Government.

It is truly sad that we have reached this point. The current majority could have addressed this issue at any time over the last 2 years, but they were so busy throwing money at solutions in need of problems that they didn't take time to build a budget, appropriate money, or address the issue of taxes, and now our backs are against the wall. While this is far from the ideal permanent extension we desire, a 2-year extension of all the current tax rates provided in this bill gives business some short-term certainty so they can go out and invest and hire new workers to grow the economy, and it provides Congress with a window to truly reform the tax code correctly without a mad scramble next year to undo the damage.

When we reconvene in January, it is imperative that the next Congress, led by a new majority, reform our tax code and the death tax, rein in spending, and balance our budget. Placing punitive and oppressive taxes on hardworking Americans until Washington can agree on how best to accomplish all that is not the right way to go about this. Kansans expect more of their representatives in Washington. I urge my colleagues to cast a vote against tax increases and vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, folks back home in Kansas have been forced to tighten their belts and rein in family budgets to weather tough times, and we don't understand why Washington isn't willing to do the same. The Federal Government should have only a few foundational duties. Among those are protecting our citizens, maintaining a strong infrastructure, and upholding our rights as outlined in the Constitution. Notably missing from this list is the funding of political radio shows, particularly those that operate with a litmus test.

The Federal Government is leaking money left and right, and it's time to plug some holes. Today's YouCut proposal will save the American taxpayers over $100 million and will be proof that Congress is ready to shrink the size and scope of the Federal Government.

I urge your support. Please oppose the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, just last week the Haldex brake plant in Iola, Kansas, announced it was shutting down and taking 160 good jobs from American workers and sending those jobs to Mexico, where they won't have to deal with a government intent on hitting them with stifling tax increases and job-killing regulations. This administration is discouraging private-sector job growth and driving jobs out of my district and out of the United States.

But as for the 160 workers losing their jobs, they won't give up. In fact,

Iola's mayor, Bill Mannes, is an employee at Haldex. Even though he is losing his job, he and the Iola City Commission and the Iola Chamber are initiating a plan to recruit a new manufacturer to town.

So if any business is out there looking to grow who needs a strong and ready workforce in a great Midwest community, Iola, Kansas, could be the place for you.

For the past 18 months, the leadership in the House has ignored the impending fiscal crisis, acting like they know best and that the economy would recover if we simply spent more money. They're wrong. And today, I'd like to remind them of one number that should get their attention: $166 billion. A few years ago, that was more than the annual budget deficit. Now, that's how much the debt increased on June 30 alone. The President's fiscal commission said this debt is a cancer ``that will destroy the country from within.'' As a daughter of two cancer survivors, those words are strong. But as a CPA that knows how debilitating debt can be, I couldn't agree more. It's time for the majority to stop ignoring reality. It's time to stop the reckless spending and get the $13.2 trillion debt under control.