Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend of mine, Julianne Elizabeth Marks Allen, who passed away earlier this month. Julie, as she was called, had a heart of gold and was one of the most giving and loving people I've ever been fortunate enough to know. It was an honor and privilege for me to have her serve on my staff for nearly 19 years as a trusted advisor and liaison to the people of Sullivan County--the county she loved and called home for nearly her entire life.

Julie committed her life to her family and community. Through her volunteer efforts and public service, Julie touched countless lives in Roscoe and throughout Sullivan County, a beautiful, rural part of New York, where she was known by seemingly everyone. She was particularly interested in assisting young people and served as the Town of Rockland's Youth Committee Chairman for the Roscoe Central School District for several years. She was also a board member on the Sullivan County Community College Foundation Scholarship Committee. Julie worked diligently with me on a wide range of issues and was critical in helping me establish and steer the Sullivan-Wawarsing Rural Economic Area Partnership--an innovative regional community development initiative, for which Julie served on the Board of Directors for many years. Julie diligently advocated for those who sought assistance through our office and was widely respected for her tireless efforts to help others. Julie was also a distinguished and stalwart pillar of the Democratic Party, serving for the past 40 years as a member of the Sullivan County Democratic Committee and for the last 25 years as an elected member of the New York State Democratic Committee.

Julie had a profound impact on virtually everyone she met. To her, public and community service was a calling. Despite facing health challenges for the past 23 years, Julie's passion and determination to help others remained steadfast. In fact, Julie was recently honored with the Sullivan County Community College ``2012 Women Who Make A Difference'' award for her lifetime dedication of volunteerism to the county. She constantly put everyone else's needs before her own, and her reservoir of compassion and inner strength was an inspiration to me and others. Every conversation with Julie involved her asking how the other person was doing, how their

family was doing, and asking for stories and updates to make sure everything was alright. She felt like a family member because she cared so much about everyone.

While she had many jobs and significant responsibilities, the roles that Julie cherished more than any others were that of loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt. Julie loved her family with all of her heart--and it was one of the biggest hearts I've ever known. She spoke frequently and proudly about her family members' latest accomplishments. Nothing brought Julie more joy than spending time with her husband Don--her one and only true love and high school sweetheart to whom she was married for 47 years--and the rest of their family, including their children, Laurie and Michael, along with their spouses, Perry and Kori; and their grandchildren Elizabeth Julianne, Caden and Taylor. Despite all of the many great accomplishments throughout her life, there was no greater achievement in Julie's life than building this beautiful family.

Mr. Speaker, I add my voice to those honoring the life of Julianne Elizabeth Marks Allen. I offer my heartfelt condolences to her family and many friends. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have known and worked closely with Julie. The world is an emptier place without Julianne Elizabeth Marks Allen, but her legacy and impact on the lives of others will live on forever.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment, which would prohibit hydraulic fracturing on public lands from taking place within 1,000 feet of our schools. This major industrial activity has significant public health risks and has no business being near our kids.

Hydraulically fractured wells emit huge quantities of smog-forming chemicals, volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants like benzene, as well as methane. These pollutants cause serious health problems.

This past March, the Colorado School of Public Health released a report based on 3 years of monitoring that found higher cancer, respiratory, and neurological health risks among people living closest to drilling sites. The analysis found volatile organic chemicals to be five times the level at which the emissions are considered potentially harmful to public health, according to EPA's hazard index.

The Medical Society of New York has recently urged caution with expanded drilling because of concerns about health impacts. And data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has shown increased ground level ozone and other pollution as a result of fracking.

But the risks go beyond just air quality. In April 2010, there was a major blowout in Pennsylvania at a hydraulic fracturing well site. Gas and tainted brine spewed 75 feet in the air for 16 hours. These kinds of blowouts happen far too often.

Even the best regulated activities have accidents; but fracking, as we all know, is far from the best regulated activities. We need to keep it away from our kids. It shouldn't be done near our schools, and I urge support for the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. Speaker, when the Republican majority came to power, they promised transparency and greater debate. But today they have once again failed to keep that promise by refusing to allow a vote on a critical amendment requiring a report on human rights abuses in Argentina over 30 years ago.

For 20 years, I have fought for human rights and transparency in this House, and today the majority refuses to spare me 10 minutes for debate. But what's worse is they won't spare 10 minutes for the hundreds of children born in prison camps, for the thousands of grandparents that still hold out hope day after day that they will be reunited with their lost loved ones, for the 30,000 people who've disappeared at the hands of a brutal military regime and the millions of Argentine citizens who still seek justice and closure.

This amendment has been made in order numerous times in the past and has even been accepted without objections by both Democrats and Republicans. But it seems this year the House Republican leadership doesn't have time for human rights.

As I have said before, with this amendment we have an opportunity to provide answers to thousands of families who have waited for years to learn the fates of their loved ones and help

close this troubling chapter in Argentina's history. To reject my amendment would have been one thing, but to silence it entirely is unconscionable.

The majority's handling of this issue is irresponsible and shameful. I urge opposition to this rule so these critical facts can be made clear for our country and for Argentina.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 215 I inadvertently voted ``aye'' when I intended to vote ``no'' on the Huizenga Amendment to H.R. 5326, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

I would like the Record to reflect this error as I reiterate my strong opposition to this amendment and reaffirm my support for our nation's public sector employees, who are adversely affected by OMB Circular A-76's methodology.

I move to strike the last word.

I rise today in strong support of this amendment, and I thank, particularly, my friend from California for offering it with me and for what he said about it just a few minutes ago very clearly.

This amendment is very simple. It directs the Federal Government to respect the laws enacted by States that have legalized marijuana for medical use.

The Constitution of the United States is very clear. It authorizes States' rights in every other area that is not specifically designated to the Federal Government. Currently, 16 States and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, benefiting over 730,000 patients nationwide. In addition, the State of Connecticut will soon sign a similar bill into law.

President Obama has made it clear that the Justice Department should not prioritize medical marijuana arrests, especially when there are so many other more significant issues that need attention. Unfortunately, some in the DEA clearly didn't get the memo. That's why we're here today.

According to Americans for Safe Access, since October 2009, the Justice Department has carried out an estimated 170 raids of medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers in nine States that have legalized medical marijuana. Without a doubt, these raids are clearly a waste of taxpayer dollars, but they are also fundamentally wrong.

Medical marijuana is proven to reduce pain and increase quality of life for patients suffering from debilitating diseases, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS. Medical marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for many of the symptoms that accompany these diseases. However, the DEA wants to deny patients medicine that can dramatically improve their lives or reduce their suffering. This is wrong, and it needs to stop.

This amendment does not do anything to advocate any violations of the law. It just says those States that have approved medical marijuana ought to be able to determine how to take care of their own people effectively.

This amendment does not affect States that have not approved medical marijuana. It does not require or encourage other States to adopt medical marijuana laws.

This amendment does not stop law enforcement officials from prosecuting the illegal use of marijuana.

This amendment does not encourage drug use in children. Studies actually suggest that teen use of marijuana has declined in States that have passed medical marijuana laws. That, in and of itself, is very interesting and important.

The purpose of this amendment is to allow these 16 States to give relief to people suffering from horrific diseases without fearing Federal intervention or prosecution.

I urge Members to support this amendment and support States' rights and compassion. Doctors in these 16 States know what is best for their patients. The DEA should not stand in the way of these doctors and their patients.

All of this is serious for the health and safety of many, many people in these 16 States. And, in fact, other States are coming into this as well. This is something that really needs to be enacted because it is safe and secure and reasonable.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and achievement of my dear friend, Levon Helm, who passed away last week surrounded by close friends and family members.

Levon will be remembered by many as the acclaimed vocalist and drummer for the Levon Helm Sextet, which then became Levon and the Hawks, and later what we all know now simply as The Band, which gained international critical acclaim.

The Band was given its name by Bob Dylan in 1967 when he lived with the band members in a house known as ``Big Pink'' near where I grew up in West Saugerties. That's where the famed ``Basement Tapes,'' which featured Dylan, were recorded. When the album was later released in 1975, it rose to be number seven on the Billboard 200 list.

We all remember Levon's unique drumming style and soulful country voice from songs like ``The Weight'' and ``Up on Cripple Creek.'' These songs and others have stood the test of time and will be remembered for how they helped shape a generation of rock music and everything that came thereafter.

Without a doubt, Levon's contributions to American music cannot be overstated. But beyond the music, we cannot forget Levon, the man. I knew him well. He was a beacon of our Hudson Valley community. He was always willing to open his doors to help raise money for important local causes. He was a tremendous supporter of local agriculture. He worked to bring music into our schools and communities. He was a great person and a great friend.

After the release of his ``Dirt Farmer'' album, Levon put on free concerts for the community at Gill's Farm in Ulster County, New York. Once, he attracted so many fans that State Route 209 was effectively closed down.

He would host Midnight Rambles at his barn in Woodstock, inviting some of the world's premier musicians and artists to perform well into the night. Also, his amazing dog named Bear, everyone loved that dog. People traveled from hundreds of miles away to attend. I lived just a few miles down the road and had the privilege of attending many of those events, and they were really something else--wonderful and amazing.

Watching Levon perform over the years, you got the sense that despite all the fame, awards, and notoriety, at his core he was a man who felt music deeply in his bones. It's what made him one of the world's great performing artists.

His passing is a loss for all of us. But when I think of the sadness we all feel, I am reminded by some of his lyrics in a recent song, entitled, ``When I Go Away'':

Don't want no sorrow,

For this old orphan boy;

I don't want no crying,

Only tears of joy.

I'm gonna see my mother,

Gonna see my father;

And I'll be bound for glory,

In the morning,

When I go away

I'll be lifted up to the clouds,

On the wings of angels;

There's only flesh and bones,

In the ground,

Where my troubles will stay.

All my kin who love me,

All my friends who care,

Look beyond the dark clouds;

We're gonna meet up there.

When they lay me in the cold ground,

Bow your heads and pray;

And I'll be bound for glory,

In the morning,

When I go away.

Levon will forever be remembered in our community and throughout the world and in our hearts. He was our neighbor and my good friend. I miss him dearly. Levon has gone home, but his music will live on for all of us forever.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the lifetime achievements of my friend and constituent, Pauline Oliveros on the occasion of her 80th birthday. Ms. Oliveros is an internationally recognized visionary composer, performer, professor and humanitarian. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Deep Listening Institute in the City of Kingston, NY. Her career spans more than five decades of revolutionary music-making and her lifetime contribution to the arts has influenced the way in which we understand music and the many facets of sound. I am proud to honor Ms. Oliveros for her 50 years of inspiring dedication to musical innovation.

Ms. Oliveros began her career in the 1950s where she was part of a circle of iconoclastic composers, artists and poets gathered together in San Francisco. She represented the United States at the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka Japan and was honored in 1985 with a retrospective at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. She is also a Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Darius Milhaud Composer-in-Residence at Mills College in Oakland, California. Ms. Oliveros relocated to Ulster County in the early 1980s in order to become an independent composer, performer and consultant. She has written several books, formulated new theories of music and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of ``Deep Listening'' and ``Sonic Awareness.'' Since the 1960s, Ms. Oliveros has deeply influenced American music through her work with improvisation, meditation, and electronic music.

Most notably, Ms. Oliveros is the founder of the Deep Listening Institute, aimed at fostering a unique approach to music, literature, art, and meditation. The Institute promotes innovation among artists and audiences in creating, performing, recording and educating with a global perspective. The Deep Listening Institute has received several grants to bring the innovative Adaptive Use Musical Instruments program to children with disabilities in Ulster County. The Adaptive Use Musical Instruments program is a software application allowing people with limited mobility to create music.

In addition to these notable endeavors, Ms. Oliveros was awarded the prestigious John Cage award from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts for her outstanding achievement in the arts. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I join the Foundation of Contemporary Arts in honoring and celebrating Pauline Oliveros on the occasion of her 80th birthday and formally recognizing her profound lifetime contribution to American music and the power of sound.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and salute the Nora Cronin Presentation Academy in the City of Newburgh, New York as this Catholic school for low-income girls prepares to dedicate its permanent home on November 21, 2011.

I am delighted to add my voice to those recognizing the Nora Cronin Presentation Academy on this important and wonderful milestone. The Academy was organized in 2003 and officially founded in 2004 by the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary to offer a high quality educational alternative to young girls in the struggling City of Newburgh, which remains one of the most economically distressed communities in the State of New York. With strong support from the local community, the Academy was established through the vision and dedicated efforts of Sisters Nora Cronin, Joan Mary Gleason, Yliana Hernandez, Ann Marie McMahon, Carol Melsopp, and Helen Marie Raynor, and Associate Jackie Martinez. The Academy was renamed in honor of Sister Nora following her passing in 2004.

Under the diligent leadership of its Principal, Sister Yliana, the Academy accepted its first class of fifth grade students in 2006-2007 and has grown steadily as the first class advanced and new classes entered the school. Originally housed in temporary locations in New Windsor and at another location in the City of Newburgh, the Academy purchased and redeveloped a long-neglected historic property at 69 Bay View Terrace in the City of Newburgh. The Dedication of the Academy's new permanent home is a testament to the commitment and leadership of the Presentation Sisters as well as the generosity and hard work of the Academy's Board of Directors and many local supporters.

As a result of this inspiring effort, dozens of underprivileged young girls in the City of Newburgh will have the opportunity to receive an incredible education in a supportive and safe environment. I congratulate and offer my gratitude to all those who make the Academy and the Dedication possible, and I wish the students and faculty of the Nora Cronin Presentation Academy the very best in the coming years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the celebration of St. Mary's Benevolent Society's 100th Anniversary. The Society is an organization that provides social and community enrichment for Italian- American's in Kingston, New York and the greater community. St. Mary's Benevolent Society is a beloved meeting hall and a cornerstone of the local community. I am proud that the constituents of New York's 22nd Congressional District continue to support the traditions and values of this esteemed fraternity.

From its creation in 1911, St. Mary's Benevolent Society has been committed to providing social club members with an environment that fosters camaraderie through hosting large gatherings, dinners, and church services. The Society's original mission was to help each other in times of illness or distress; a mission still carried on today. In addition to these traditions that continue a century later, the Society also maintains three church services a year: Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and the Feast Day of St. Mary. These highly esteemed gatherings have contributed to the success and respect of St. Mary's Benevolent Society.

Kingston has changed greatly since 1911, yet St. Mary's Benevolent Society continues to thrive in our community and hold true to its core values of providing Italian-Americans with support and services that are essential to the community. Mr. Speaker, it gives me a great pleasure to recognize St. Mary's Benevolent Society as it celebrates its 100th Anniversary during its Annual Feast of Saint Mary. I am confident that St. Mary's Benevolent Society will continue to thrive and be an asset to the City of Kingston for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Republic of China (Taiwan) on its monumental 100-year anniversary celebrated on October 10, 2011.

Taiwan's strong commitment to democratic ideals has made it a beacon of democracy in Southeast Asia. Its people enjoy the ability to decide their country's future with their right to full participation in the election of their representatives.

The democratic success of Taiwan has coincided with significant economic achievements. Today, Taiwan's economy is the seventeenth largest in the world, and the United States' ninth largest trading partner. Additionally, the nation is globally recognized as a major innovator of information technology products.

This is an exciting time for the Taiwanese people, and I am honored to help them celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and more broadly to the manner in which the House has dealt with disaster relief funding.

This year, our country has experienced some of the worst natural disasters in more than a generation. The cost of Hurricane Irene alone is estimated to be over $1.5 billion and Tropical Storm Lee's costs are still being tallied.

Yet despite these overwhelming needs, the disaster aid included in this bill is grossly inadequate and would not sufficiently help the millions of Americans who are recent victims of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.

My district took a one-two punch from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. In the southern tier of New York, we've just seen the second 500-year flood in 5 years both in Broome and Tioga counties. Scores of homes were completely destroyed, and there are over a hundred people who are still living in an emergency center in Binghamton not knowing when they'll be able to return to their homes, if they can return ever at all.

Major companies have been shut down because their facilities are flooded. The total cost to rebuild the region will likely exceed $250 million.

In the Hudson Valley, Hurricane Irene caused massive power outages and record flooding. In Ulster County, 60 percent of residents lost power; seven bridges were destroyed. In fact, two of those bridges were just washed away and not found.

Vegetable farmers in Ulster, Orange, and Sullivan Counties suffered devastating losses; and because the crop insurance program remains wholly inadequate for them, these farmers may get no assistance at all. Ulster and Orange Counties alone have an estimated $62 million in agricultural losses. Yet this bill does nothing for these farmers.

And just when some of these communities began building from Irene, a second round of flooding from Lee washed away much of their hard work. Now they need to start the recovery work again.

The Senate has already passed a $7 billion standalone disaster bill that funds the President's FEMA budget request and provides additional emergency assistance for the Department of Agriculture and other agencies that are seeing their disaster funds dwindle. This is absolutely necessary.

This bill that we are dealing with here today is a half job. It's playing politics with the lives of people who are desperate and are begging us to set aside games and get this done. Let's put an end to it now so that we can take up the Senate's bill so that we can adequately deal with this problem and solve the problems for all of these people in so many ways.

Will the gentleman yield?

Thank you very much. I deeply appreciate it.

The situation that we're dealing with here is critically important. It's harming huge numbers of people.

What the Senate has done is an adequate solution to this problem. They've provided the adequate funding that is going to deal with this. There have been at least seven Republicans over there in the Senate who supported that bill and voted for it. Why are you not dealing with an adequate solution to this problem? Why are you insisting on half ways, not dealing with the kinds of issues that need to be dealt with?

Mr. Speaker, in 1996, President Clinton signed into law a bill that I authored establishing the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. One of the key priorities of the National Heritage Area is to preserve and appreciate the rich heritage and scenic beauty of the Hudson Valley and to highlight its contribution to both New York and the nation through the contributions of the Hudson River School of Painters, America's first school of art.

Now, thanks to the Architect of the Capitol, anyone who visits the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Visitor Center can enjoy two famous paintings by Albert Bierstadt, one of the major 19th century Hudson River School painters, entitled ``Discovery of the Hudson'' and ``Entrance into Monterey.'' These large paintings were originally purchased by the U.S. Congress after the Civil War and were displayed prominently in the Capitol until recently taken down to facilitate renovations. The re- hanging of these paintings is a major event for a rebirth in the study and appreciation of the Hudson River School of Painters. I encourage all members in the House and Senate to view these magnificent American landscapes and recommend to their visiting constituents that they do the same.

The Hudson River School of Painters captured the beauty and clarity of American landscapes, and not only painted throughout the Hudson Valley and in my state of New York, but created idyllic scenes never before viewed. The school's roots are based in the works of Thomas Cole and his contemporaries Asher Durand and Frederic Edwin Church, as well as Jasper F. Cropsey, who became world-renowned for his depiction or American splendor in his painting ``Autumn on the Hudson'' (1860), and for his visit with Queen Victoria on one of his many trips to Europe. George Inness, who was born in my district, documented the expansion of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad and Albert Bierstadt was celebrated for his portrayal of many Western mountain ranges, so much so that Mt. Bierstadt in Colorado was named in his honor. Thomas Moran's famous works were used to support the creation of Yellowstone National Park, and these paintings helped inspire the eventual creation of the National Park Service. Many of the painters in the Hudson River School, including Church, Bierstadt, John Kensett, and Sanford Gifford served in advisory roles in the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1870.

Mr. Speaker, it is also with great pleasure that I join with my colleague from New York, Representative Eliot Engel, in supporting the placement of a series of historic bronze markers along the Hudson River honoring the sites at which the Hudson River School of Painters created their works of art. These bronze sculptural markers were created by Greg Wyatt, Director, Academy of Art, Newington-Cropsey Foundation, and will be placed at Hastings-on-Hudson, Hook Mountain State Park, and in my district in the City of Newburgh. The bronze text of each marker reads: ``This monument is dedicated to the memory of the Hudson River School, a fraternity of landscape painters who worked in New York City in the 1800s and celebrated American as well as foreign scenery in their works. Among these painters of the Hudson River School were Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Frederic E. Church, John F. Kensett, Sanford R. Gifford, and Jasper F. Cropsey.'' Today, their major works are seen in museums great and small, where they glorify the nation's original resource and its enduring responsibility: the land.

Mr. Speaker, there will be a series of speeches and statements by my colleagues highlighting the contributions of each of the Hudson River School of Painters and the impact they had on their districts, and to America. The beauty of these paintings depicted a growing interest in American landscape and an effort to conserve and protect what I consider the first environmental movement in America in the 19th century. Please join with me in recognizing and appreciating the Hudson River School of Painters.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and salute Linda S. Muller, who is marking her 20th Anniversary as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center. Under Linda's diligent and tireless leadership, The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center has grown from a small facility located in the basement of St. Luke's Hospital serving 4,000 patients each year to a greatly expanded and modern health center providing comprehensive primary and preventive health care to more than 18,000 patients annually in the City of Newburgh and the surrounding towns in eastern Orange County. As a result of Linda's tremendous commitment and passion for universal health care, many thousands of medically underserved families and individuals in our region receive the highest quality of care from the dedicated physicians and staff at The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center.

In addition to overseeing the historic expansion of the health center's physical facilities, including the recent construction of a state-of-the-art new facility in the City of Newburgh, Linda has devoted a great deal of energy to increasing the services offered to our local community. The obstetrical health program developed by Linda in 2005 has now assisted more than 3,000 women in delivering healthy babies, many of whom now continue to receive health care at the health center. Linda also has responded to the urgent medical needs of our local community. This included creating programs to improve chronic health care management for diabetics and those with cardiovascular disease and initiating a model treatment program for people in our community living with HIV. Similarly, when it appeared that urgently needed treatment for people with substance abuse and chemical dependency problems might be lost to the City of Newburgh, Linda stepped in and created The Center for Recovery, which has now supported more than 800 patients in making a transition into healthy lifestyles free from drugs and alcohol.

Linda has led The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center through her strong dedication to the premise that health care is a right and not a privilege. She has imparted to every one of the more than 200 employees who work at the health center the importance of fulfilling the center's mission to provide high-quality, affordable, and easily accessible health care to everyone in our community, regardless of their status or ability to pay for care. Linda and her husband Charles will also celebrate another anniversary this summer, celebrating 40 years of marriage. They have three wonderful children, Jonathan, Christopher, and Jessica and three beautiful grandchildren, each brought into this world by one of the health center's extraordinary obstetricians.

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

I rise in opposition to the underlying bill.

People across this country have agreed that we have to reduce our deficit, but they also understand that we shouldn't do it on the backs of working and middle class people who are already struggling to make ends meet. The Republican-sponsored Agriculture appropriations bill, on the other hand, cuts all the wrong things at exactly the wrong time. Here are five reasons that I plan on voting against it.

First, this bill will raise gas prices by cutting anti-speculation efforts: With speculation at an all-time high, American families are paying now more than 60 cents more per gallon at the pump than they should be; but instead of ramping up anti-speculation efforts, this bill cuts almost half the funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission--the very agency charged with policing oil speculation.

Second, this bill takes food out of the mouths of low-income mothers, babies and kids, cutting WIC for about 15,000 people just in New York State alone: The bill cuts food assistance for pregnant women, infants and children by $650 million, or 10 percent, denying food and health counseling for up to 475,000 low-income women, infants and young children throughout America over the course of the next year if this bill passes. The bill also would cut food aid for low-income seniors and would cut help for food banks.

Third, this bill increases the risk to our food supply by cutting safety inspections: As many as 48 million Americans are sickened every year by contaminated food. That's why, with my support, last year we stepped up efforts to increase the inspections of food manufacturing plants and imported foods. With new strains of E.coli sickening hundreds throughout Europe, now is not the time to be gutting the funding for food safety inspections; but this legislation would do just that, making it impossible to implement the new safety standards and guaranteeing millions more Americans will get sick from bad food.

Fourth, this bill cuts anti-childhood obesity efforts: Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. It's an epidemic. Obesity costs our country $147 billion a year in medical costs, and for the first time in American history, life expectancy for the next generation is going to be lower than for the current generation. But instead of boosting efforts to combat this problem, the Republican bill eliminates funding for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, designed to combat childhood obesity by bringing healthy foods to underserved urban and rural communities.

Finally, this bill raises the cost of prescription drugs: By severely cutting funding for the Food and Drug Administration, American consumers will get food and medical products that are less

safe due to the erosion of essential oversight and prescription drugs that are more expensive as a result of the agency's limited ability to approve less costly generics.

Just for those five reasons, obviously big reasons, this bill should not be passed. While I oppose these cuts, I do support responsible ways in which we can reduce our deficit, such as cutting wasteful subsidies and give-aways for the oil industry, ending special tax earmarks for Wall Street bankers, and allowing Medicare to negotiate for bulk rate discounts on prescription drugs for seniors in the context of Medicare. These reforms in and of themselves--just those few--would save hundreds of billions of dollars without harming working and middle class Americans who are already struggling to get by.

This Agriculture appropriations bill accomplishes the goal of deficit reduction in the wrong way. Let's move forward with a plan that does it in the right way.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 410, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''