Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,747,468,275,799.27. We've added $6,120,591,226,886.21 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,747,468,940,509.72. We've added $6,120,591,891,596.64 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3230, the Pay Our Guard and Reserve Act.

On September 30, Congress passed and the President signed H.R. 3210, which, I believe, is the Pay Our Military Act, which I introduced. Every Member of the House voted for that bill. Yet there are those here today who seem to have sort of temporary amnesia about that and are saying we are not going to vote for anything piecemeal, that we will only vote when there is a clean CR for everything, for everybody, for all aspects of the Federal Government--the discretionary budget.

Yet you already voted piecemeal. You voted for Active Duty personnel. You voted for Federal civil service. You voted for the contractors essential for them. You already did that. The message that you're sending is that the soldiers, the marines, the airmen, the Reserves, and the Guardsmen, who have sacrificed their lives for this country, are of lesser status than the Active Duty. You are wrong. That is simply wrong.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,747,478,675,335.18. We've added $6,120,601,626,422.10 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,738,183,526,697.32. We've added $6,111,306,477,784.24 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,738,433,470,635.61. We've added $6,111,556,421,722.53 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for his leadership, as well as our own Congressman Cory Gardner from the State of Colorado whose district was very significantly impacted by this.

I had the opportunity last Monday to go up with the Vice President, the Governor of the State of Colorado, Congressman Jared Polis, and Congressman Cory Gardner, whose districts were both severely impacted by the flooding, to see that damage. And it was extraordinary how much--certainly the houses were lost, and we mourn for the people that were lost--but the road damage was extraordinary. There were miles and miles of roads that we saw with whole sections missing.

So this legislation, H.R. 3174, is vital to the State of Colorado to get those roads back to where they're usable and so that, in fact, our residents in those affected areas can get to and from their homes and their businesses.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.

Today, it is $16,738,443,175,473.97. We've added $6,111,566,126,560.89 to our debt in 5 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our Nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Waxman just got up and eloquently spoke about the need to keep these insurance reforms in place, particularly about preexisting conditions. I would encourage him to read the bill--and it does that.

What the bill, in fact, does say is that those insurance reforms that were in place in the provisions of ObamaCare prior to 1 October will remain in place and that the rest of it will, in fact, be delayed.

Mr. Speaker, as we near the final days of the fiscal year and come face-to-face with the possibility of a government shutdown, I have introduced this legislation in order to ensure that our military is not used as a political pawn in negotiations between the United States House and the Senate.

My legislation, H.R. 3210, the Pay Our Military Act, ensures that until such time as the President signs a continuing resolution, our military and the Department of Defense civilians and contractors who support our men and women in uniform will continue to be paid, regardless of a shutdown.

I've had five overseas deployments during my military career between the Army and the Marine Corps. I returned from my last assignment with the Marine Corps in Iraq in 2006. I fully understand the stresses that our men and women in uniform face on a day-to-day basis, particularly when we are still a Nation at war.

Things are very different today than it was when I was a Marine Corps light armored infantry officer during the first Gulf war. We didn't have the Internet. All of our communications from home were delivered by regular mail that could take weeks to reach us. Back then, you literally checked out when you left your family and checked back in when you came back home.

Today, most of our deployed military personnel, whether sailors aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf or soldiers and marines at forward operating bases in Afghanistan, have some level of access to instant communications with their families. Today, a marine rifleman can literally be out on a combat patrol, return to his base camp, and then be on the Internet communicating with his family in real-time.

When things don't go well at home, the stress that our deployed men and women are already under is multiplied, particularly if their families go without an income and suffer financial hardships due to a government shutdown. In the event of a government shutdown, we must ensure that the men and women who defend our Nation in the armed services, and their families, will continue to be paid.

Mr. Speaker, regardless of what happens in the days ahead, this is a bill that should receive unanimous support. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation, and hope that the Senate will act on it before it might be too late.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for working with the members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees to pass this important legislation.

Specifically, I am happy to see the extension of the Veterans Paralympic program, which reflects my legislation, H.R. 1402, the Veterans Paralympic Act, which passed unanimously out of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee before being combined in an omnibus bill in the full committee. This program ensures that disabled veterans in local communities throughout the country continue to have opportunities for rehabilitation, stress relief, and higher achievement through adaptive sports.

U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympics Chief Charlie Huebner testified at a hearing that ``participation in sports and other athletic activities can help speed the rehabilitation process for disabled veterans.'' As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I couldn't agree more with Mr. Huebner, and I personally understand the importance of rehabilitation opportunities for returning veterans.

Finally, although I fully support the passage of the extenders package, I am disappointed that the substance of H.R. 1412 was not included in this bill. H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act, seeks to build on an existing, yet little known and underutilized on-the-job training program that assists veterans by allowing them to use their educational benefits to learn a trade or skill by participation in an approved apprenticeship or on-the-job training program.

Employers in my district have expressed their desire to work with this program and hire more veterans because they know how valuable a veteran can be to their organization. Additionally, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has endorsed the legislation by saying, ``IAVA stands ready to support and promote innovative ideas like this to end the veterans' unemployment crisis.''

It is my understanding that the original provisions of H.R. 1412 were dropped without prejudice and that they will be part of an upcoming negotiation between the House and the Senate. I look forward to seeing the substance of that legislation advance, and I will be working with Chairman Miller to ensure that happens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an article by Dr. Winston L. Yang, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey published in the Asian Pacific Business Journal, a Colorado-based news outlet, in its June 2011 issue. It is my privilege and honor to share this article with the American people and enshrine it in the Congressional Record.

Cheng Ming, A Powerful Voice for Democracy in China

(By Winston L. Yang, Ph.D.)

Since the establishment of the Communist Government in

China in 1949, the Chinese people have been suffering under

the Communist one-party tyranny. The Chinese Communist Party

(CCP) has denied such universal values as democracy, freedom,

human rights and the rule of law.

Even though the People's Republic of China (PRC) has

recently replaced Japan as the world's second largest

economy, the Chinese people have been living under the

widespread official corruption and the Communist

suppressions. All pro-democracy movements have been crushed

by the CPP. Hundreds and thousands of political prisoners who

advocate democratization are still in the PRC's jails. One of

the best examples is Mr. Liu Xiao Po, who advocated peaceful

political reforms and stressed the need for political

liberalization in China. He was put on trial and sentenced to

an 11-year jail term. Nevertheless, Mr. Liu was honored with

the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. He has been hailed all over the

world as a ``democratic hero.'' Yet his wife, Liu Ciao, has

been under house arrest ever since.

Back in May, 1989, well over half a million Chinese college

students gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to demand

freedom and democracy. The students protested against the

suppressive policy of the Chinese Communist Government. Such

legitimate, peaceful protests and demands, however, were

suppressed by the Communist armed forces. When the smoke

cleared, hundred of students lay dead.

In the view of the violent Communist suppression of freedom

and democracy, Mr. Wen Hui, a well-known writer and

journalist, founded Cheng Ming, a monthly political

commentary, in Hong Kong in 1977 to advocate democracy,

freedom, human rights and the rule of law for the Chinese

people. Since its founding, Cheng Ming has become one of the

most powerful, if not the most powerful, voices for political

change and liberalization in China.

In 2007, Cheng Ming, the most popular political journal

published in Hong Kong, celebrated the 30th anniversary of

its founding. Mr. Wen, its publisher, received hundreds of

congratulatory messages from leaders in various circles all

around the world. One of the best examples is U.S.

Congressman Mark Udall, now a U.S. Senator, who in a letter

to Mr. Wen dated October 2, 2007, pointed out that ``with a

worldwide readership, Cheng Ming has extended far-reaching

influences beyond Hong Kong.''

Mr. Libby Davies, a member of the Canadian Parliament, in a

letter dated October 17, 2007, congratulated Mr. Wen on Cheng

Ming's achievements and contributions. Mr. Wen also received

many, many other congratulatory messages.

Despite Cheng Ming's great influences, achievements and

contributions, Mr. Wen continues to condemn, in his writings,

China's one-party dictatorship and advocates an end to

political suppression in the PRC. A strong critic of China,

Mr. Wen voices his criticisms and advocacy in his monthly

column published in Cheng Ming. Mr. Wen will not end his

critical writings until and unless China renounces its

totalitarian system and becomes a free, democratic country.

Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08.

Today, it is $16,738,444,833,205.56. We've added $6,111,567,784,292.48 to our debt in 5 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. Speaker, we in Congress have a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely. No Federal department should get a free pass, especially one responsible for managing over 50 percent of all annual discretionary spending.

The law requires all Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, to present auditable financial statements to Congress. Unfortunately, it has been over 16 years and the Pentagon has yet to comply with this law.

How can we be expected to oversee the Pentagon's spending habits when we have no confidence in the numbers that DOD has presented?

My ``Audit the Pentagon Act'' presents a ``carrot and stick'' approach to addressing this issue. It gives the DOD additional transfer authority if it receives a clean audit, allowing it greater flexibility to reprogram funds among accounts. Failure to achieve a clean audit results in serious consequences.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill which improves fiscal accountability and oversight of the Pentagon's budget process.

Mr. Speaker, on January 3, 2009, the day I took office, the national debt was $10,627,961,295,930.67.

Today, it is $16,738,454,664,319.38. We've added $6,110,493,368,388.71 to our debt in 4 years. This is $6.1 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a Balanced Budget Amendment. We must stop this unconscionable accumulation of debt.