Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2319) to clarify certain provisions of the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 2319 is a bill that would continue to recognize the efforts of all Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian veterans across the Nation. These brave soldiers, including my own grandfather, Kenneth Morris, sacrificed much for the country they love. It is important that we properly honor these brave soldiers and tell their story for generations to come.

As many of my colleagues know, last month Congress awarded Congressional Gold Medals to Native American code talkers from all over the country, a long overdue recognition for their bravery and valor. These men saved countless lives during World Wars I and II by using their native languages.

My bill amends a 1994 law that allows the National Museum of the American Indian more flexibility to design and raise funds for the building of a memorial. The memorial is currently authorized to be constructed inside the confines of the museum, but with the limited space within the museum itself, this bill provides for a more appropriate tribute.

This bipartisan bill has received overwhelming support from the National Congress of American Indians and the National Museum of the American Indian. As one of only two Native Americans in Congress, it has been my privilege to work to make this memorial a reality.

I ask for your support of this legislation which was reported by unanimous consent from the Committee on Natural Resources just last week and will require no cost to the American taxpayers.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the bipartisan support from my colleague from Arizona and definitely the support from the other side of the aisle that so often is needed inside this House.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Arizona for his support on this very important piece of legislation.

We have no further speakers, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlelady from Michigan for yielding me time to speak on such an important issue.

The Cherokee Nation has a rich history of pride and heritage inside this country. At a very young age, I had the special privilege of meeting a gentleman, another former member of the Cherokee Nation, Wayne Russell.

Wayne Russell was taken care of by my grandparents. My grandad, Kenneth Morris, is also a Cherokee member, who fought in the European theatre as a combat engineer. Wayne Russell was a neighbor of my granddad.

My grandmother and granddad took care of Wayne until he passed away. At a young age, I got the privilege of getting to know him. We share the same birthday, and so it was a common bond for us. Wayne used to tell me stories of how he got to use his native language to help this great Nation win a war against a group of individuals that had very bad intentions not just in our country, but in this world.

Wayne never asked for anything. Wayne simply stood up each day and did his job when he was in uniform. When he came home, he didn't ask for anybody to give him anything. He didn't ask for a handout. He was just proud to serve.

Before I even knew what code talkers were, Wayne used to tell me about it all the time, because he used to teach the Cherokee language in the school I went to in Westfield. So Wayne would talk to me in our native tongue and tell me about the stories that he had from the war.

He didn't realize he was special. I didn't really realize he was special. But today, I get to stand up and talk about him. What an honor it is for me to stand on this House floor as a Member of the United States Congress and get to bring Wayne Russell's name up and tell people what he did.

Wayne has passed. When he left, he left me all his medals. And we get to stand up this week and vote on something to honor not just Cherokee members, but the members of Native Americans in Indian Country all across this great Nation that didn't ask for anything, but just simply did their job. They didn't realize they were special; they just did what it took to win. Because we have pride in Indian Country. We take great pride in this great country we call America. And for us to stand up and speak up for them, what an opportunity for this House to reach across the aisle and show bipartisan support to honor a group of people.

So it is an honor to stand up here, Mr. Speaker, and it is an honor that the gentlelady from Michigan has given me time to talk about Wayne Russell and something important to me.

I urge my colleagues to support this. Let's stand together and say ``thank you'' to a group of people that is well overdue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say enough is enough. Enough of the rhetoric. Enough of the dishonesty.

Promises have been broken. We face critical situations that need to be made right. Countless Americans, and many within the Second District of Oklahoma, are going to their mailboxes only to learn that the health insurance plan they liked is being canceled.

In the House, we have chosen to listen to the American people through the Keep Your Health Plan Act. Individuals can actually keep the plan they like, and we can clean up the damage done by this administration's failures.

Aside from the consequences on individuals, business owners like me also face mounting regulations and penalties as a result of ObamaCare. Small businesses provide stability to our economy and employ millions of Americans. That stability has been jeopardized by the result of ObamaCare.

I will not sit back and watch Americans be subject to empty promises with no solution in sight. I encourage my colleagues to join me in saying enough is enough and vote in support of the Keep Your Health Plan Act.

Thank you for this opportunity to stand up and, not just represent our side of the aisle, but represent the business owners that are having to go through this struggle of the shifting sands constantly underneath their feet, and take time to maybe take a different approach that this House, this body, those that are sent up here to represent the American people, maybe we can look at a little bit different and take a business approach to it.

You see, I've been sitting, literally, at negotiating tables since I was 20 years old. Because of some family circumstances that came in, it forced me to, in a sense, grow up quick. I took over a very small plumbing company and at that time I had to immediately start going for work.

And when I started going to work, I'd show up at a table, a bid table, and I'd be going across other contractors, and we would be negotiating. The only problem is, I didn't know how to negotiate.

See, I'd sit down with my proposal and I'd say, this is what I'm going to do. And they'd said, okay, but we've got to talk about it. I'd say no, I'm not going to talk about it. This is what I'm going to do. You can take it or you can leave it.

And I started leaving. And I started realizing, as I was leaving, I was going broke. Literally, I was going broke because I wasn't getting the jobs. Somebody else was getting the jobs.

And then I started figuring out, you know, I've got to figure out how to negotiate. There's a technique to negotiating, and that means you've got to know two things when you're going to a table to negotiate. You've got to know, one, what is it that you want. That's vitally important. But what's more important is, 2, what is it you can accept. And that's called negotiating.

Of course, we always want everything. But we've also got to know what we can accept. And if I never figured out how to accept that certain amount, I would have went flat broke.

And what's going on with this country?

Let's think about the comparison between the two. This body of elected officials has forgotten how to negotiate. We are sitting there pointing fingers at each other while our country is literally going flat broke, because we all want something. But what is it that we can accept?

We've been so blinded by party politics that we forgot how to sit at a table and negotiate. I'm literally sitting back, as a business owner, thinking, are you serious?

Are we really putting our company, are we really putting America's best interests, at mind?

Here's what the Republican Party wanted. We wanted to repeal ObamaCare. We came to the table and we said, we don't want it. Take it back.

Sent it over to the Senate. The Senate says no. They say, we want a clean CR or nothing.

So we came back to the table, and we negotiated among ourselves and said, okay, let's delay it for 1 year. We know it's not ready for prime time. We know this thing's going to be disastrous. Let's delay this thing for 1 year. That's it.

Sent it over to the Senate and the Senate said no. We want a clean CR, or that's it.

Then we decided, okay, let's at least delay the individual mandate, the penalty to the individual. That's the heart of this. Let's not penalize those individuals that can't afford it. Let's not penalize those individuals that this administration is constantly saying he's trying to protect.

Let's not, at least let's not penalize them. If they don't want it, let's believe in the American freedoms that we have and not force it upon them, and delay it and make sure we get it right.

What did the Senate say?

No. It's my way or the highway.

At the same time, our country is going flat broke.

We have three legs of government. We have the House, we have the Senate, and we have the executive branch. But, unfortunately, the executive branch is leading the Senate, and they're giving them their marching orders. And they won't even come to the table with us to negotiate, even though they're constitutionally bound by that.

It says that if the House and the Senate can't come together, they're supposed to go to conference and talk it out. And the Senate says, no.

Who's losing here?

Who's losing is the American people. That's who's losing, while both sides are trying to figure out who's going to win.

And we're playing with real people's lives. We're playing with individuals' lives, and we think it's just politics.

It's not just politics. We have to drop the labels, and we have got to figure out what is best for this country.

If I never figured that out, I wouldn't be the largest plumbing service company in the State of Oklahoma today. I wouldn't employ over 120 people with just that one company. I wouldn't be that entrepreneur that is the backbone of this country. Instead, I would have been flat broke.

There are lessons to be learned, and we're not. We're going backwards. It's time we stand up and do what's right for this country.

It's time for the Senate to come to the table. Don't just tell us what you want; tell us what you will accept, and let's start a conversation, and let's negotiate.

Thank you so much for yielding the time to me. It's such an honor to represent the great State of Oklahoma.

Madam Speaker, regrettably this week, we had to wish TransCanada an unhappy fifth birthday. They've now been waiting for 5 years since first applying for the permit for the construction of the Keystone pipeline.

Even though this anniversary was an unfortunate milestone, what is fortunate is that the southern leg of the Keystone pipeline will be completed by the end of 2013. However, the delay of the northern leg puts 4,000 people on hold for work. Today, the southern leg is on day 410 of construction, and the hardworking Americans who devoted time and effort deserve these jobs.

While this administration promotes a job-focused agenda, it continues to cripple our Nation's entrepreneurial spirit. It's time we move past the rhetoric and make sure America continues moving forward.

Thank you for this opportunity to rise up in opposition against this horrible tax. You know, this is an opportunity we have to work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle; and these days it doesn't seem like that happens too often. But I do rise today in support of repealing the medical device tax put in effect by ObamaCare.

We've seen time and time again how this mandate is wreaking havoc on individuals and businesses' security and pocketbooks. Yet here we are again talking about how this law will cost taxpayers their jobs and hard-earned money. Dentists throughout my district have voiced their concerns with this tax and how the burden is going to choke their productivity.

I recently polled my constituents throughout my district on whether ObamaCare had driven up the costs of health care in their communities. And an overwhelming 86 percent said ``yes.''

America can't afford another $30 billion tax bill and 43,000 jobs lost. We must continue to work tirelessly to put America back in business, and I believe repealing the medical device tax definitely puts us in that direction. So it is with great pleasure that I get to stand up and work with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Thank you so much for working with us on this, and thank you for giving me the time to speak out.

Mr. Speaker, according to the most recently released numbers by the Congressional Budget Office, ObamaCare is now going to cost the American taxpayers nearly $1.4 trillion.

With our national debt sitting at $16.8 trillion and rising every single day, I must ask my colleagues who support this: Can America really afford this?

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

Mr. Chair, first of all, I would like to thank Chairman Kline for his work on this bill and for working with my office on several provisions that affected the Impact Aid Program. I believe this bill goes a long way to improving the Impact Aid Program. I would like to thank the chairman for including the provisions related to the destruction of records in a manager's amendment and working with my office on a provision related to heavily impacted school districts.

My amendment would strike the language in the bill that would make payment to a school district if two districts consolidated and one or both were eligible for payments as an individual local education agency but not when consolidated. Basically, this provision would make the ineligible consolidated schools and the districts be eligible to receive funding. This requires already limited funds to stretch even farther.

Additionally, this amendment would remove the text allowing school districts to adjust their student accounts midyear. By allowing midyear adjustments, it puts a strain on those administrating the funds which could lead to delay in the payments to our school districts. Currently, schools are allowed to adjust their student accounts only annually.

Finally, this amendment would take the current construction program and make it solely a competitive grant program. Currently, the program fluctuates between an apportion fund to school districts and a competitive grant program. While making the program completely a competitive grant program, we would be allowing school districts to be awarded based on needs versus just giving them funds on an annual basis.

However, I am willing to withdraw my amendment and would just simply ask the chairman to continue to work with me in the future on this issue.

Mr. Chair, I withdraw my amendment.

Amendment No. 20 Offered by Mr. Garrett

Mr. Speaker, I rise today unable to understand why we stand by and watch as our country's future is threatened. It seems as though each week delivers a new disastrous element to the train wreck that is in ObamaCare.

Now that that implementation of ObamaCare's employer mandate has been delayed, more uncertainty has been created among business owners.

Mr. President, you cannot bargain with America's economy in hopes that your political philosophy succeeds.

I find it ironic that the President has now conveniently chosen to listen to the American people, when business owners like myself have been screaming for years. This administration is struggling to prove the merits of ObamaCare it initially advertised and now resorts to excuses. Delay after delay proves ObamaCare is unsustainable.

The bill was passed. We now finally know what's in the bill. Now it's time to repeal it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act. I applaud Chairman Hastings for his leadership on this bill that I believe will lower energy prices through the increased production of offshore resources.

This is not only a jobs bill but a path to energy independence and relief to the American consumer's pocketbook--a concept this administration claims they support, but fails to follow through with.

Just this week, the President directed EPA to put more regulations on the energy sector. These regulations will increase costs, which will be passed on to all American consumers and stifle domestic energy production, taking us further off the path to energy independence.

I know my constituents do not believe that this heavy-handed approach to regulations and increasing costs to millions of families across the country is the answer to our problem.

Oklahomans want leadership on energy policy, not hollow promises meant to appease a political party. I believe this bill is just one step of many that can be taken to get America to energy independence.

Mr. Chairman, I stand with my constituents who believe that this path to energy independence begins here at home. I encourage my fellow Members to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today not only as a Member of Congress but as a concerned American.

As a country, we cannot continue to ignore ObamaCare's impact on jobs and small businesses. This past Friday, our Nation witnessed yet another rise in the unemployment rate. Why is it becoming increasingly difficult for nearly 12 million Americans to secure jobs?

When you attack a small business, you attack the backbone of our economy.

American employers are struggling to manage this job-killing health care law. Health care now tops the concerns facing small business owners like myself. We will have to make the tough choice of whether to comply with the health care mandate or to reject it. This is yet another regulation that is choking our economy at a time when we should be creating more jobs.

ObamaCare also empowers the scandal-plagued IRS--an agency that, in 2010 alone, administered $17 billion in improper payments to the earned income tax credit.

Where is the recovery America was promised? It is time we put America back in business.

Mr. Speaker, on this upcoming Memorial Day, I rise to honor an American Hero and a PO 2ND CLASS, Tony Michael Randolph, of Henryetta, Oklahoma. Last year, on July 6th, Tony was killed by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy in southern Afghanistan. His Strength in honor would make any American proud! And as a member of Navy's EOD Team, he had one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. He received a Bronze Star with Valor and a Purple Heart. From the early age of 12, he knew he wanted to be in the Military and serve his country. His reputation in High School and in the Military for his selfless and relentless work effort impressed all who had the pleasure to come into contact with him. Our prayers go out to him and his family on this Memorial Day and all of the thousands of families whose pain mounts. It's true, only The Good Die Young! I submit this poem penned in his honor and memory by Albert Caswell.

In Honor's Grace

In . . .

In Honor's Grace!

We now so see your face!

As high above all others,

we now you so place!

All in how you've so lived your life,

all in your most selfless of all sacrifice!

As up to Heaven,

to our Lord Tony you now so rise!

So rise!

As this new Angel,

so takes flight!

To so watch over us so day and night!

Day and night!

As here we so stand,

with tears all in eyes!

As our Hero,

has so died!

As we so all realize,

what pain before your family now so lies!

So lies!

And that great future before you would have so realized!

But it's far . . . far . . . better,

to have died for something,

than to have so lived for nothing at all!

As it's for you Tony,

America's son out to you our hearts now so call!

For your fine short life,

was but like a song up on high!

I rise today as I think of this as a great opportunity for Oklahoma and the rest of the States.

In Oklahoma, we know the value of hard work, dedication to one another and making commonsense decisions when we're given the opportunity.

Common sense tells us that the Keystone pipeline should be approved. However, during my short time in Washington, I've found that common sense is one thing this town lacks.

My congressional district is one of the hardest-working in the Nation. The southern leg of the Keystone pipeline is a significant job creator and economic developer directly to our local communities.

Listen to these figures. The southern leg of the project is bringing in $5 million a month in construction and other expenses, plus 1,000 jobs, into my State alone. Approving the northern leg will bring similar economic benefits to areas along the northern route. Every cup of coffee those workers buy in a small town adds up.

Completion of the pipeline would result in 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada and the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. These are friendly and reliable North American sources. With the approval and completion of the Keystone pipeline, we will significantly reduce our dependency on crude oil from regions such as the Middle East and Africa.

Pipelines are a proven safe way to transport crude oil.

Our country is at a crossroads. Will we take the path that leads to energy independence, job growth, and prosperity, or will we continue to delay?

The Keystone pipeline is an opportunity for America to lead. The time has come to put the interests of the country first, not the party, and approve the Keystone pipeline.

I rise today as a proud Oklahoman, calling for this body to act on a commonsense bill that will put this country on the path to energy independence.

The Keystone XL pipeline's southern route, which runs directly through my congressional district, is already creating good-paying jobs back in Oklahoma. I have seen with my own eyes how it is putting millions of dollars directly into the economies of small towns in my district.

Mr. Chairman, this is a time for Congress to act. This project has been delayed long enough. We have studied the environmental impact of Keystone over and over again. We know that we can safely transport crude oil from our friends in Canada and sources in the U.S. to our refineries along the gulf coast. EPA's latest opposition to the State Department's recent environmental impact review of this project is more of the same from this administration, which continues to claim it supports an all-of-the-above approach but fails to follow through when it's time to act.

Let's put our country on the path to energy independence and off foreign oil from those countries that do not have our best interests in mind. I urge my fellow Members to do what is right, not for the party, but for this country and to vote for H.R. 3.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today not only as a Member of Congress, but as a concerned business owner angered by the fact that ObamaCare may be putting my companies at financial risk. Currently, those businesses employ over 120 people in the State of Oklahoma. Because of the size of these companies, when ObamaCare is fully implemented, it will mean an immediate cost of over $200,000 to that business.

I ran for Congress because I got fed up with the Federal Government becoming my biggest threat.

The President says he wants to grow the economy and encourage job creation, but in reality he is punishing those who are trying to thrive. As a business owner, you are penalized $100,000 for hiring that 50th employee.

ObamaCare is the number one threat to businesses in Oklahoma and across this country. This week we'll vote to repeal this law, along with its harmful new mandates and tax hikes.

For the sake of this country's job creators, we must repeal ObamaCare. I urge my colleagues to join me and America in putting America back in business.

Mr. Chair, my vote on rollcall 86 did not reflect the way I intended to vote. I wished to vote ``aye.''

personal explanation