Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, across Kansas, folks are struggling from the effects of ObamaCare. This cancelation letter is from Greg and Linda in Osage City, who wrote to tell me their son was losing his health care plan.

Linda spent hours each night for weeks trying to sign up for a new plan on the Web site. She tried the online chat. She tried calling the number, and no one could answer her questions.

They were forced to add their son to Greg's more expensive employer plan, and now their son's health insurance bill is going up 50 percent each month.

After years of knowing about these problems, today the President tried to make good on his promise: if you like your plan, you can keep it. But for Greg and Linda, it is likely too late. The deadline to switch to Greg's employer plan just passed. They had no good options.

We must continue to work for hardworking American families who are paying the price for this unworkable law.

Mr. Speaker:

Whereas October 13-20, 2013 marks International Plasma Awareness Week with observances throughout the United States and Europe designed to raise global awareness of the need for plasma to create lifesaving therapies, recognize the value that plasma donors contribute in saving and improving lives, and increase understanding of rare diseases and plasma protein therapies;

Whereas, plasma-derived therapies and recombinant blood clotting factors, collectively known as plasma protein therapies, are unique, biological products for which no substitutes or alternative treatments exist save and improve lives of individuals throughout the world;

Whereas, plasma protein therapies are used to treat bleeding disorders, primary immune deficiency diseases, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and certain rare, neurological disorders;

Whereas, these therapies are also used in emergency and surgical medicine to save and improve lives;

Whereas, plasma protein therapies have significantly improved the quality of life, markedly improved patient outcomes, and extended life expectancy for individuals with rare, chronic diseases and conditions;

Whereas healthy committed donors provide plasma essential to manufacture these lifesaving therapies;

Whereas, there are over 400 plasma collection centers in the U.S. that have demonstrated their commitment to plasma donor and patient safety and quality by earning International Quality Plasma Program (IQPP) certification; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the 113th Congress that October 13-20, 2013 is recognized as ``International Plasma Awareness Week'' in the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be here this evening with my colleagues to host the Republican leadership hour. We are going to talk to

the American people about the damaging taxes levied against them by the President's health care law, the cost to consumers, the IRS' role in enforcement of these tax provisions, and the rocky implementation of the law.

The President's health care law contained 21 new taxes, many of which will impact low and middle-income earners. Together, these taxes represent a $1 trillion tax hike at a time when American families certainly cannot afford it.

And although it became law in 2010, the two linchpins of the law, the employer mandate and the individual mandate, were not scheduled to be implemented until 2014. My colleagues and I have consistently expressed our concerns to the President and our Democrat colleagues that these two taxes would present both an undue economic burden on our constituents, and a logistical nightmare for the administration to implement.

On July 2, the administration announced in a Treasury blog post that it would delay enforcement of the employer mandate by a year, until 2015. One administration official said that the President justified this decision to delay this tax on business because it began, and I quote, ``listening to businesses about the health care law.''

I've been hearing from businesses about this tax for 3 years, and I'm sure the President has as well. I'm glad that he saw the light. I'm also pleased that the House came together, in a bipartisan manner yesterday, to pass a bill reaffirming the decision to delay the employer mandate tax for a year.

However, a delay of the employer mandate will not give any relief to individuals who do not have employer-sponsored health care, nor will it give any relief to employees who have already been converted to part- time status by their employers in anticipation of the employer mandate.

These American families will still face this excise tax, even though the President is giving Big Business an escape hatch. We believe the administration has set up a double standard for compliance with this unpopular law, and that is why the House is working to delay the individual mandate as well until 2015.

As things stand now, on Day 2 of open enrollment, the health care exchanges, in many cases, have simply not been ready. A report issued this summer by the Government Accountability Office found that many of the State health care exchanges will not be operational and will complicate individuals' efforts to comply with the law.

I know that many of the Members speaking today will share stories they've gathered so far, and my State of Kansas has been a good example of the confusion that these delays are causing. Officials are already counseling my constituents to wait to purchase benefits for a few weeks until the exchange's kinks are worked out. I find this unacceptable.

Additionally, the administration has announced that the subsidies available to individuals, when purchasing insurance, will not be verified by the Federal Government, and that individuals will have to self-report information regarding their income. This paves the way for fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Finally, at the heart of this law is the IRS' role in enforcement of the President's health care law. This is an agency we all agree is mired in scandal, or maybe even worse, a culture of incompetence. We do not think this is the appropriate time to be increasing the IRS' workload with enforcement of these new taxes, and questions abound about the security of taxpayers' information in the Federal data hub.

I look forward to spending time with my colleagues this evening discussing these issues.

At this point, I yield to my friend and colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).

Thank you for your words.

At this point I yield to Congresswoman Renee Ellmers from North Carolina.

Thank you, Congresswoman Ellmers.

At this point I yield to my good friend from the great State of Kansas, Representative Pompeo.

Thank you, Congressman.

Speaking of Kansans, when President Obama originally touted this health care law, he promised that Americans would see their health care costs go down. With the rollout of the health care exchanges on Tuesday, Kansans in my congressional district have finally been able to see that their worst fears have been confirmed and this promise simply isn't true.

Healthcare.gov has a county by county breakdown of health insurance premiums offered by the two insurance carriers who agreed to participate in the federally run exchanges. For a 27-year-old seeking the least expensive insurance option in Crawford County or Cherokee County in southeast Kansas, they will see over a 100 percent increase in their insurance premiums over the State average for this past year.

Things don't get much better in other parts of my district. The same person who lives in Topeka or Lawrence or Leavenworth will see a 62 percent premium increase over the State average for that same insurance plan for this past year.

These are examples that are happening all over Kansas and all over the country, and it makes it clear that the President's health care law will continue to fail to control out-of-control health care costs.

With that, I would be happy to yield to my esteemed colleague from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Thank you, Congressman Walberg.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you for allowing my colleagues and I to speak to the American people about the destructive provisions of the President's health care law, the constant stream of delays that have come from the President's administration, the costly effect it will have on folks all over the country, and the rocky implementation it has experienced so far.

I believe we have made it clear that this law is simply not ready to meet the needs of the American people. It is unfair to punish regular folks while giving preferential treatment to big businesses, unions, and Members of Congress. We hope our Democrat colleagues will work with us to provide fairness for all and say ``no'' to special treatment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel Charles Chris Hagemeister of the United States Army.

Lieutenant Colonel Hagemeister was with the 1st Cavalry Division and was awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in action on March 20, 1967, in Vietnam.

When Lieutenant Colonel Hagemeister's platoon came under attack, he disregarded his own safety and raced through deadly fire to provide aid to two of his wounded comrades. He then crawled forward to assist and encourage the platoon leader and other soldiers.

While under fire at close range, the lieutenant colonel took a rifle from a fallen soldier, killed a sniper, three advancing soldiers, and silenced an enemy machine gunner.

Unable to move the wounded, he again braved enemy fire and returned with help. Lieutenant Colonel Hagemeister then continued to administer aid and help remove his wounded brothers.

It is for his extraordinary bravery and selflessness that I am proud to honor and remember the actions of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Chris Hagemeister.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the heroic efforts of Colonel Roger Hugh Charles Donlon of the United States Army.

Colonel Donlon was with Army Special Forces Detachment A-726 and awarded the Medal of Honor for supreme gallantry in action on July 1964, in Vietnam.

While defending a U.S. military installation against an attack by hostile forces, Colonel Donlon directed the defense operations in the midst of an enemy barrage.

He marshaled his forces and ordered the removal of needed ammunition from a blazing building. He then dashed through small arms fire, detected the enemy and quickly dispatched them.

Colonel Donlon sustained a severe stomach wound and disregarded his own injury for the wellbeing of his men.

As daylight brought defeat to the enemy, Colonel Donlon reorganized his defenses and administered first aid to the wounded.

It is for his extreme display of bravery that I am proud to honor and remember the actions of Colonel Roger Hugh Charles Donlon.

Honoring Petty Officer Robert R. Ingram

I thank the chairman for yielding.

We have seen too many examples of our Nation's bureaucracy making life harder for Americans and their families. Every weekend, when I return to Kansas, I hear story after story of Federal regulators abusing their power. But far too often, many of these people are afraid to tell their stories in public because they fear retribution. What country do we live in where Americans are afraid to tell the truth because they fear what their government might do to them?

The recent revelations that IRS officials targeted conservative organizations has shown light on the immense power Federal bureaucrats from hundreds of different agencies have over matters both large and small. When these officials abuse their power and waste taxpayer dollars, liberty is eroded, the economy is slowed, trust is lost, and the rule of law is betrayed.

The most troubling part is, when Americans are confronted by agency officials, they have few rights and insufficient resources to protect themselves. Not only do Federal agencies get to write rules, but they get to enforce them too. In fact, a citizen is 10 times more likely to be tried by a Federal agency than an actual court, and citizens have fewer rights during agency proceedings than in a courtroom.

I introduced the Stop Government Abuse Act to allow citizens to protect themselves or their small businesses when a government official comes calling. Among other things, this bill gives Americans a new tool to fight back by allowing them to record any conversation with most Federal agencies and finally have proof of what happens in these interactions.

Is it any wonder why Americans have lost faith and trust in our government when the Feds have allowed the IRS to target Americans based on their personal beliefs; allowed the Federal General Services Administration regional commissioner, Jeff Neely, to spend nearly $900,000 of taxpayer money on a conference in Las Vegas and then receive a bonus after being placed under investigation? And they have allowed high-ranking bureaucrats like Lois Lerner to still be on the government's payroll funded by taxpayers.

This stunning lack of accountability and transparency in our current system is unacceptable. And the Stop Government Abuse Act is a good first step to help level the playing field between the average American and Federal regulators.

The vast majority of Federal workers are good, patriotic people, but that doesn't mean that an additional check and balance can't help. This bill does not villainize Federal employees. And as long as they're doing their jobs properly, they have not a thing to worry about.

Unfortunately, with all the recent scandals, we have heard about far too many Federal employees who have had the luxury of playing by different rules than the rest of the hardworking men

and women in this country. This must end, and the Stop Government Abuse Act helps do just that.

Parts of this legislation already passed the House last year after news broke of the GSA scandal, but the Senate never acted on the legislation. It's time to do something about this, and today I demand action be taken.

While Americans are toiling across this country in factories, on farms, and elsewhere, to make ends meet, Lois Lerner is collecting her full paycheck. This bill would allow agencies to fire reckless employees on the spot and stop those under investigation from receiving salaries paid for by the very taxpayers they abused.

It's time to stand up against Big Government overreach and abuse. Americans deserve a government that expands their rights, not the rights of Big Government. Enacting the Stop Government Abuse Act will help restore trust in our government and get Big Government out of the way of our economy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on this very important issue.

Whether I'm talking to Kansans back home or listening to witnesses at Ways and Means hearings, I've heard story after story of Federal regulators abusing their power.

What is worse, many people are afraid to share their stories of harassment or other inappropriate behavior by government officials out of fear of retaliation. The Citizen Empowerment Act will give them certified proof and help to alleviate this fear.

This bill will give Americans a new tool to protect themselves and their businesses from government overreach and abuse by expanding the rights of all citizens to allow them to record meetings and telephone conversations with Federal regulators and officials. The Citizen Empowerment Act will also ensure individuals are made aware of this right by requiring government agencies to notify them of this right.

Not only do Federal agencies get to write rules, they get to enforce them, too. In fact, a citizen is 10 times more likely to be tried by a Federal agency than by an actual court, and citizens have fewer rights during agency proceedings than in a courtroom.

The Citizen Empowerment Act will give Americans a tool to even the playing field with Federal regulators by increasing transparency and accountability within the system.

Americans deserve a government who puts its citizens first, and this is exactly what this bill does. We spend far too much time in this body debating bills to empower the government. This bill empowers Americans.

Enacting the Citizen Empowerment Act and the other nine Stop Government Abuse bills will be a positive step toward getting Big Government out of the way of our economy and rebuilding trust that has been broken by rampant abuse of Federal power.

Madam Chairwoman, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chairwoman, I would like to thank Chairman Latham for his work in crafting this appropriation bill to fund our Federal transportation and housing programs. This already difficult task was made more difficult because of the House's adherence to the sequestration cuts, and I applaud the entire committee for working within these parameters.

I'd also like to rise in support of a provision to strengthen the safety net for our veterans in need by making some changes to the HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing or HUD-VASH program. The HUD-VASH program is an example of a program worthy of Federal funding. It helps our homeless veterans who served and defended our Nation to obtain viable housing assistance. I believe that we can all agree that supporting our veterans, particularly our homeless veterans, is a worthy and worthwhile initiative. Veterans and their families sacrifice tremendously to fight to preserve the freedoms you and I enjoy.

After discussing the program with communities in Kansas, I believe there are several changes that can be made in order to improve delivery of the program from local housing authorities to veterans. The changes would direct that the Department of Housing and Urban Development track HUD-VASH vouchers after they've been awarded to public housing agencies to ensure these funds are able to be fully utilized to help homeless veterans. This will aid

housing agencies in differentiating VASH vouchers from other section 9 vouchers in the same pool. The suggested changes would also require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to work with public agencies to adopt a simple process for reporting HUD-VASH vouchers from one community to another based on need by a community's homeless veterans. Streamlining this process would give flexibility to our communities to ensure that VASH vouchers are utilized by as many qualified veterans as possible.

Finally, my proposal would require HUD to implement a guidance recognizing the delay that public housing authorities sometimes face in distributing a HUD-VASH voucher while a veteran is in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program. This will continue to allow housing agencies to reserve HUD-VASH vouchers for these homeless veterans without it affecting their administrative performance in the eyes of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.

Madam Chair, reclaiming my time, again I would like to thank the chairman for his commitment to our Nation's veterans. I believe that he and I recognize that, just as it is critical to support our troops in the midst of combat, we must also ensure that our veterans receive the highest quality of care and service upon their return home.

I would thank him again, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, across the world, people of certain faiths live in fear of government persecution every day.

Saied Rezaei, a leader of the Baha'i religion, used to advocate for gender equality and universal education in Iran. In 2008, he was arrested on false charges for propaganda against the Iranian regime and illegally establishing a Baha'i school. When Saied completes his 20- year sentence, his 16-year-old son will be a 31-year-old man.

That same year, Alimujiang Yimiti, also a husband and father, had his business shut down after Chinese officials accused him of preaching Christianity. He now faces 15 years in a Chinese prison and can only speak to his wife every couple months.

State-sponsored religious persecution will not be tolerated by the international community. Today, I join the

Defending Freedoms Project to call for the release of all prisoners of conscience.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

My district is home to Fort Leavenworth and Forbes Field, which are two Kansas military installations at which families are struggling with the DOD civilian furloughs. While they may not serve in uniform, many of these civilians provide critical support for our warfighters.

While I support this level of funding cuts, I oppose the administration's decision to take certain programs off the table and put an unfair burden on our military. The House acted six times to prevent these furloughs, to resolve sequestration, and to find savings elsewhere in our bloated budget; and even though the administration and the Senate majority had nearly 2 years to develop an alternative, they did nothing.

Civilian employees are not the problem, and they should not be singled out to pay for Washington's out-of-control spending habits. I ask my colleagues to join me to protect these Americans from another round of painful furloughs next year and support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for his leadership on this very important issue. And I'm pleased President Obama finally acknowledged how damaging the employer mandate will be to American businesses. I agree delaying ObamaCare's implementation and the economic setbacks that go with it make sense.

However, while that delay may temporarily help people like Mary from northeast Kansas, who was recently informed that her job will be transitioned from full time to part time in order to avoid the employer mandate, unless we also delay the individual mandate, she will still need to find a new insurance plan or risk paying the new law's insurance tax.

It simply is not fair to exempt big businesses from the law while leaving folks like Mary to pick up the tab. I urge my colleagues to support this bill which grants American families relief from this very unpopular provision.

Yesterday, the President called for more energy taxes and regulations that will hurt the economy and job creation. One of the President's senior advisers even said, ``A war on coal is exactly what's needed.''

In my State, where coal supplies nearly 75 percent of the electricity and where coal plants support thousands of jobs, I don't think a war on coal is what Kansans need. Reducing one of the most affordable sources of energy will cause prices to go up, and that makes life harder for people.

The administration needs to stop picking winners and losers. This approach has failed. It has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and dozens of green energy companies that were offered taxpayer dollars are bankrupt or faltering and are laying off workers.

Instead of favoring special interests, the House plan supports a real all-of-the-above approach to energy that will incentivize job creation, lower energy costs for Americans, and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

After an exhaustive review, the Department of Homeland Security chose Manhattan, Kansas, as the site for the new BSL-4 National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. This will be the only such facility capable of researching large animals in the United States. The construction of this cutting-edge facility must move forward quickly 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 diseases.

Not only will the NBAF accelerate America's ability to protect ourselves, our food supply, and the agriculture economy from biological threats, it will also be the world's premier animal health research facility and further solidify our Nation's place as the international leader in animal health. The NBAF is needed to replace the obsolete and increasingly expensive Plum Island Animal Disease Center. This lab was built in the 1950s and has reached the end of its life. The facility does not contain the necessary biosafety level to meet the NBAF research requirements--and it never will. Any attempts to upgrade Plum Island would cost more than building the NBAF.

Currently, we don't have the ability to research the effects of disease on large animals, such as foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and Rift Valley fever, at any facility in the United States, nor can we rely on international partners for our own security needs. The NBAF project has a history of broad-based support. DHS, under both the Bush and Obama administrations, and the House Appropriations Committee, under both Democrat and Republican leadership, have made it clear time and time again that our country needs the NBAF. And the best place is in Manhattan, Kansas.

The President's budget includes $714 million, which would complete construction. And while I prefer that this bill include that figure, Chairman Carter has responsibly included sufficient funding for this fiscal year of $404 million. Construction on this facility has already begun, and Congress has already appropriated $127.5 million and the State of Kansas and the city of Manhattan have already committed more than $200 million towards the project. These dollars show a strong commitment at both the Federal, State, and local levels.

Our Nation's food supply cannot sustain another delay. 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. Delaying this project any further is not an option. We need NBAF.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this destructive amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the President seems to be getting a lot of information from the news rather than from his own administration lately. He says he was unaware of the IRS targeting conservatives, unaware of the Department of Justice seizing reporters' phone records, and unaware of the HHS Secretary fundraising for ObamaCare until he saw it on the news.

The next story the President should read will be about our bipartisan solution to create jobs and greater energy security for America--the Keystone XL pipeline. It really is incomprehensible that the President, after 1,700 days, would continue to stand in the way of the largest shovel-ready project in this country.

It's really this simple: more American energy means more American jobs. With millions of hardworking Americans out of work, gas prices skyrocketing, and China outcompeting the United States for access to Canada's oil supply, we need the Keystone XL pipeline.

It is time to put hardworking American families ahead of politics and focus on real solutions.

The President tells Americans to ``trust'' the government, but this week is loaded with reasons not to.

Take the new health care law. We were told it would lower costs and increase access. Now we find premiums could increase by 400 percent and 7 million who had insurance through their employers will lose it.

This law will turn the IRS, caught in a scandal of its own, into chief health care enforcers. And it's proven so unpopular, HHS Secretary Sebelius has resorted to soliciting contributions to promote ObamaCare from the same people this law authorizes her to regulate. If I got a call, I'd feel pressure to ante up; and in America, this shouldn't happen.

Today, I'm proud to support repealing this costly law to keep the IRS out of your health care and to work on replacing it with a patient- focused alternative that will actually help families.