Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

As a working mom, I know how tough it is to occasionally miss family events. And whether it's a parent-teacher conference, a soccer or a football game, or helping my mom, my family always comes first. That is why I support this bill.

The Working Families Flexibility Act would help hardworking Americans be there for their families by allowing all workers the same opportunities to manage their work-life balance.

Government employees have enjoyed the ability to exchange overtime pay for comp time for nearly 30 years, and it is not fair or logical to continue to prevent private sector employees from having access to this very same benefit. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is out of touch with reality, and it needs updating. We're not talking about creating a new regulation or forcing folks to give up overtime pay. This pro- worker, pro-family bill simply provides comp time as a voluntary option for private sector employees who want it instead of overtime pay.

There are many employee protections in this bill, and a worker can take their comp time whenever they choose, as long as they provide reasonable notice and avoid disrupting business operations. Workers can also cash out on their comp time for any reason, at any time, and the employer would be required to fulfill that request in 30 days.

This type of legislation is the exact reason I ran for Congress and why I'm proud to be a Republican: to make sure laws passed in Washington help people and don't make life more difficult for Kansans and their families.

I encourage my colleagues in the House to support this bill that will empower working moms and dads by giving them more control and freedom to be there for their families.

Whether it's jobs or our Nation's debt, the economy is still the number one issue for hardworking Americans. But, instead of supporting initiatives like the Keystone pipeline, something that would create 20,000 jobs and help secure our energy supply, this administration continues to pursue the same failed economic policies. Their budget adds over $8 trillion to the debt, raises taxes by another trillion dollars, and they continue to support a burdensome health care law that does nothing to address the issue of rising costs.

The House is working on solutions to create a stronger, healthier economy with more jobs and opportunities for all Americans. We have passed legislation to replace the sequester, to balance the budget, to repeal the President's health care law, and we're working on reforming our broken Tax Code to make it more fair and efficient.

It's time for the administration to get on board: stop creating problems like politically motivated flight delays and start helping to make life easier for American families.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor Saige Halseth, a fifth-grade student at Shawnee Heights Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, who has brought together her community by helping her classmate, Alex White.

Alex suffers from a progressive neurological condition that affects his balance and mobility, and relied on a special companion, a service dog named

Hope, until March, when Hope was tragically killed by a motorist. For Alex, Hope was a blessing, a best friend and, to quote Alex directly, quite the ``chick magnet.''

Saige knows how much Alex depended on Hope, and she started a fundraising campaign to help him afford a new service dog. She wrote letters sharing his story and sold wristbands that read, ``Always Have Hope.''

I want to thank Saige, a caring young leader and inspiration to her community, for her selfless commitment to helping her friend, Alex.

It's because of young people like Alex and Saige that even after yesterday's tragedy in Boston, we can always have hope.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Today, we are stealing from the next generation--our kids and our grandkids. We are making false promises that Medicare and Social Security benefits will be there to take care of folks when we know that Medicare is bankrupt in 8 to 12 years. It's time for Congress to do something to help Americans and their families.

While House Republicans seek to bring taxes and spending back to historically stable levels this country operated under for the past 60 years and seek to balance the budget, there is nothing balanced about the Democrats' plan. We are spending more money today than we did last year, and we are collecting more taxpayer dollars than ever before. Instead of cutting spending, the Democrats' plan would add $4 trillion to the debt and take in another $1.2 trillion out of people's pockets, not to buy down our debt, but to spend even more.

Instead of raising taxes, the House Republican plan includes pro- growth, comprehensive tax reform. Tax reform is critical to increasing U.S. competitiveness abroad as well as attracting business here at home. It will close loopholes and special interest deductions and credits for personal and corporate income taxes and lower the rates for everyone.

I am pleased House Republicans are the only people in this town with the courage to balance the budget. It's time to return the economy to an engine of growth and job creation and to increase opportunities for all hardworking Americans. This is what the House Republican budget will achieve, and this is what Americans deserve.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, the House will act to protect our Nation's welfare-to-work programs, which have been enormously successful in moving millions of Americans out of poverty, off government dependency, and into jobs since 1996. Following the implementation of welfare-to- work requirements, the number of individuals receiving welfare dropped by 57 percent, poverty among single mothers fell by 30 percent, and child poverty decreased dramatically.

Welfare reform laws specifically forbid any administration from changing the work requirements without congressional approval. The current administration has ignored this and attempted to waive the work requirement, which would destroy critical aspects of welfare reform and years of progress.

With the passage of H.R. 890, the House will block the administration's controversial waiver plan, and in the days ahead I hope the administration will work with Congress, instead of around it, to strengthen the TANF program and help low-income families achieve financial independence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Kansas State University, the oldest public university in the state of Kansas, on its 150th anniversary. Kansas State University holds a special place in my heart as my alma mater, and today, I still proudly wear my K-State purple.

Originally founded as Bluemont Central College in 1858, Kansas State University began

as an institute of higher education serving 29 students from working class and farm families in the Kansas Territory. In 1863, during the Civil War, Bluemont College became the Kansas State Agriculture College, the first land grant university under President Lincoln's Morrill Act, and was only the second public institution of higher education to admit men and women equally.

Today, more than 24,000 students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries around the world study at one of Kansas State's three locations: the main campus in Manhattan, better known as the Little Apple; the College of Technology and Aviation in Salina; and the new state-of-the-art Olathe campus, which is currently preparing graduate students in the innovative fields of bioscience and biotechnology.

Kansas State University is among the top 75 public universities, and offers more than 250 undergraduate majors, 65 master's degrees, 45 doctoral degrees and 22 graduate certificates in multiple disciplines. The university ranks first nationally among state universities in Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall scholars with 135 recipients, and the Kansas State University College of Engineering was recently named one of the best undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Kansas State has a wonderfully supportive community, better known as the K-State family, and it is serious business. Let me give you an example. Six years ago, students created the K-State Proud campaign. Driven by the idea of how a family takes care of one another, the Proud campaign established a culture of philanthropy and to date has raised more than half a million dollars to fund 300 scholarships for students who are struggling financially due to challenges from health issues, natural disasters, or family tragedy. This is in addition to the $200 million in scholarships, grants, loans and work study Kansas State distributes each year.

With 16 men's and women's athletic programs, more than 475 student organizations, and more than 20 club sports, cultivating a positive and encouraging sense of student life is a high priority. The Princeton Review recently ranked Kansas State as second in the nation for excellent campus and community relations and No. 14 for quality of life.

If you ask anyone what they remember most about their time at Kansas State University, they will tell you without a doubt, it is the people. It is where they met their best friends, their husbands or wives, and it is where they hope their children choose to attend.

Graduates of Kansas State University have gone on to do many great things for this country, and I am not only referring to those who entered public service as a member of the House, Senate, or even the Kansas governor. Notable Kansas State alums include: presidents of colleges and universities; chairmen and CEOs of major companies, Olympic gold medalists, Emmy Award winners, as well as the creator of the snooze alarm, and the inventor of the Space Pen.

On this historic anniversary, it is my honor to recognize my alma mater, Kansas State University, on 150 years of excellence. I can only image the remarkable things the future holds for Kansas State and the talented individuals it will educate and inspire. Congratulations.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time.

Today, there are still more than 12 million Americans unemployed. Parents are taking home lower wages to support their children, and families are paying more for everything from gas to groceries. For these Americans, the recession never ended.

If government spending was the key to economic growth and job creation, the economy would be booming right now. But instead, last week we found out things are getting worse. We all know the problem. For 4 years we racked up trillion-dollar deficits year after year, adding another trillion to the national debt. It's not a partisan issue. We all agree we need to fix it.

Serious problems call for serious discussions, and serious discussions require everyone to put their plan on the table. We took a solid step last week by requiring the Senate to pass a budget for the first time in 4 years, but we must continue moving forward by requiring not just a budget but a plan that actually fixes the problem.

We need to pass the Require a PLAN Act so the House, Senate, and even the White House are all forced to step away from campaign rhetoric and short-term gimmicks. Unlike the President's previous budget proposals, the PLAN Act will require the President to finally tell the American people when and how his budget will achieve balance.

It's time to get serious. Americans deserve better than gimmicks and campaign rhetoric; they deserve a plan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) on its twenty-fifth anniversary, which will be celebrated at its annual convention and trade show this year. I am proud to have this excellent organization headquartered in my Congressional district in Topeka, Kansas.

NATM was founded in 1987 by a small group of 5 horse and livestock trailer manufacturers, and it has now grown to represent more than 400 trailer manufacturing companies and 350 supplier companies across the country. Many are small businesses, and these members collectively employ more than 270,000 workers who produce hundreds of thousands of trailers each year and contribute billions of dollars to our economy.

The core purpose of this association is to promote safety and best manufacturing processes across the light and medium duty trailer industry. Since its inception, NATM has worked to advance industry and public recognition of the importance of compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration requirements, and industry guidelines. In order to advance this goal, NATM created a voluntary Compliance Verification Program in 2002. The program is designed to enhance safety in the industry by helping manufacturers to comply with federal safety requirements. Last year, association members voted unanimously to make participation in the program a condition of membership.

NATM and its members demonstrate dedication to improving safety and performance in the trailer industry by working with legislators and regulators alike to address issues of concern. I congratulate them on the milestone achievement of their 25th annual convention and trade show, and wish them many years of continued successes.

Mr. Speaker, as the sponsor of the bill to extend Section 45G of Title 26 in the IRS code, I rise today to clarify the impact that the extension of this provision within the text of H.R. 8 will have on short line railroads.

As a Certified Public Accountant, I would like to iterate that in IRS Code section (1)(2) under 45G, it is the intent of the law that assignments of railroad track miles for purposes of calculating a railroad track maintenance tax credit for the taxable year that ended on December 31, 2012 may be completed in 2013, due to the late extension of the 45G credit in this legislation.

This belated extension should not be construed as an attempt by Congress to eliminate the ability of short line railroads to use subsection (b)(2), but rather to preserve that ability for tax year 2012.

Growing up on a Kansas dairy farm, I know the estate tax is a threat to family farms. This tax makes bailing hay and shoveling manure sound like a get-rich-quick scheme, when most family farms make an average of $45,000 a year. Raising the estate tax to 55 percent and dropping the exemption to $1 million might be feasible for a hedge fund manager, but it will jeopardize the future of farmers and their families, forcing many to sell their farms they worked to build for generations.

Many farmers are ``land rich'' but ``cash poor.'' The average land value for 65,000 Kansas farms is $900,000. Throw in a $300,000 combine, a $250,000 tractor, and Kansas farmers are suddenly millionaires according to estate tax math. But this isn't wealth they can use to pay taxes. It's in assets.

Farmers provide us with a safe and dependable food supply. We cannot allow the estate tax to put them out of business.

I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding, and would like to commend Chairman Johnson and Congressman Doggett for their leadership on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, today there are nearly 50 million Medicare beneficiaries who are told to carry their Medicare cards with them at all times while simultaneously being told not to carry their Social Security card. They are told that carrying their Social Security card in their purse or wallet puts them at risk of identity theft, which is a problem that affects 1 million seniors yearly.

The irony is that the Medicare cards all feature beneficiaries' Social Security numbers prominently. This means that our seniors are in a tight spot. They are at risk of identity theft simply by carrying their Medicare card with them.

I support passage of this bill because it would ensure that a person's Social Security Number is no longer printed on their Medicare card. This bipartisan, commonsense measure will ensure that the 115,000 Medicare enrollees in my district will be safe from identity theft.

This week, Moody's threatened to downgrade the U.S.' credit rating if Washington fails yet again to deal with the long-term debt problem. This is not news. We were downgraded last year, but instead of acting to fix the problem, this administration racked up a $1 trillion deficit for the fourth year in a row, and now we face a fiscal cliff that could cause another recession.

Enough with the short-term fixes, patches, gimmicks, and tricks. They only make the problem worse. This country needs a comprehensive budget and tax reform. This means a simpler Tax Code that is more fair and efficient, and it means fundamental spending reform that will save Medicare.

We have a rare opportunity to put this country back on the right track to ensure a more prosperous future for our children. Let's take it. It's time to put the American people first.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Tax reform may not be as exciting as watching Team USA win a gold medal, but for a CPA who specialized in tax, comprehensive tax reform is the Olympics, and we want to win a gold medal for the American taxpayers.

Our Tax Code is a disaster. At around 15,000 pages, it 's too long, it's too complicated, and it's chock-full of loopholes favoring some taxpayers at the expense of others. Temporary tax provisions alone have increased from 14 in 1986 to 132 today. U.S. taxpayers and businesses spend 7.6 billion hours simply complying with the code. Tax compliance as an industry is one of the country's largest, requiring 3.8 million workers. That's just too much.

We need a code that is more fair, equitable, and efficient. We need to broaden the base, lower rates, and ignore special interests who fight to block reform, reform that will save us billions of dollars and create a million jobs.

Our friends across the aisle believe increasing the top rate will restore fairness. But how can further complicating the code with more exclusions for certain folks while making it more complicated for others make it more fair?

We have the means and the tools to reduce the tax rates here, and we need to get busy. Overhauling the entire Tax Code is the only way to restore fairness. What we've learned from the 1986 reforms is that broadening the base, eliminating loopholes, and lowering the rates will grow the economy and raise revenues.

This bill not only supports comprehensive tax reform, but it lays out a plan to ensure that it actually happens. Tax reform is a no-brainer. It's a win/win for the economy, our businesses, and our hardworking American families.

Madam Speaker, stopping the tax hike is not just about taxes; it's about jobs. Small businesses have been responsible for about two-thirds of the new jobs created. Raising taxes on the so- called ``rich'' will hit nearly 1 million of these businesses and in this weak economy will risk destroying 700,000 jobs.

Is it worth it? Raising taxes simply allows Washington to spend more. If we want to have a serious discussion about reining in our out-of- control spending, I welcome that debate. But first we should do no harm to our fragile economy.

Extending current rates gives us time to pass our plan for comprehensive tax reform without risking thousands of jobs and another recession. CBO estimates that action will produce 2 million jobs next year alone.

The choice is clear. Let's stop the tax hikes and create jobs.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank Dr. Paul for his leadership on this very important issue.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Reserve lent out $16 trillion during the fiscal crisis. That's larger than the entire U.S. economy--or worse, our Federal debt. Trillions of taxpayer dollars, and we have very little understanding of where it went.

Congress holds the purse, but we have no oversight over how the Fed manages the funds. This is why I've cosponsored a bipartisan effort to audit the Fed in full. It's our responsibility.

Current monetary policy audits of the Fed are insufficient. Most Fed operations consist of transactions with foreign central banks, and yet they are exempt from review. When corruption is suspected, a common refrain is: follow the money. With the historic sovereign debt crisis brewing in Europe, we must look closely at our own balance sheet. We must follow the money.

As a CPA, I know we need more transparency in Washington. It should start with the Federal Reserve.