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 $16,765,040,725,133.72. We've added $6,138,163,676,220.64 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 $16,760,961,851,934.60. We've added $6,134,084,803,021.52 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 $16,755,788,437,042.45. We've added $6,128,911,388,129.37 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, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Madam Speaker, we need to amend a fundamentally unfair provision within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. That is, many of the very people who have been responsible for writing, advocating for, passing, signing into law, and promulgating rules governing the implementation of ObamaCare are exempt from the coverage requirements mandated by this law.

That is why I am introducing the Affordable Care Accountability Act. This legislation will require the President, the Vice President, all of the Cabinet Secretaries, all political appointees, all Members of Congress, and all congressional staff, including those from committees and leadership, to receive their health care insurance coverage through the insurance exchanges required under ObamaCare.

Americans deserve to know that their government officials will never seek to pass legislation only to exempt themselves from all of its provisions.

Mr. Speaker, retired United States Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Donald Hood passed away on December 30, 2012. He served our Nation with distinction, first on Active Duty in the United States Army and later in the Army Reserve.

Lieutenant Colonel Hood began his military service with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he became the first parachute-qualified, combat-ready optometrist in the United States Army.

From 1970 to 1972, Lieutenant Colonel Hood served in Southeast Asia during the war in Vietnam as the Army's chief of eye services at the Diplomatic Medical Mission in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1972, he left Active Duty and continued serving his country in the United States Army Reserve as the chief of optometry for the 5502 United States Army Reserve Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, until his retirement in 1990.

Lieutenant Colonel Hood is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughter, Chelsey Russell; his son, Cayman; and his granddaughter, Hayden Russell.

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 $16,794,349,827,897.30. We've added $6,167,472,778,984.22 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 3, 2009, the day I took office, the national debt was $10,627,961,295,930.67.

Today, it is $16,794,429,148,215.24. We've added $6,166,467,852,284.57 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.

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 $16,787,451,118,147.32. We've added $6,160,574,069,234.24 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, I am honored to pay tribute to Royda Kimball, as she retires as the Chief Assignable for the Colorado State Senate, after 33 years of dedicated public service to the State of Colorado.

Royda served under six Colorado governors, starting with John Vanderhoof in 1974 and finishing with John Hickenlooper in 2012. She worked with nine Senate presidents, from Fred Anderson to Brandon Schaffer. She has helped, cajoled, and tutored literally hundreds of Colorado state senators, including me.

Royda was a tireless and dedicated state worker. In March of 2003, she suffered a heart attack and was back at work in a week. In March of 2004, she was diagnosed with cancer, underwent surgery, and was back on the job nine days later.

Royda Kimball exemplifies what it means to be a true public servant. Colorado citizens--not just elected state officials--benefited from her expertise and her professionalism. She kept the wheels of the Colorado State Senate moving for a third of a century. She is truly irreplaceable and her dedicated service will not be forgotten. She will be missed by many at the State Capitol, but we are fortunate to still have her on hand as a dear friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw attention to cutting-edge research now underway at the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology at the University of Colorado in Aurora. As you know, our Nation faces major deficiencies in its ability to maintain an adequate blood supply for civilian and military demands. Traditional methods for obtaining blood or producing a new supply fall far short of current demand.

But a collaborative effort at the Gates Center at the University of Colorado is working to develop a new technology that enables the rapid growth of adult blood stem cells. This proprietary technology can generate large numbers of cells that can be frozen and thawed while retaining their stem cell characteristics. This also means that soon there will be an ability to culture adult blood stem cells in an almost indefinite manner.

This research is being funded with peer-reviewed grants from NIH, and they have joined a consortium funded by DARPA to further help develop the Red Blood Cell program. I'm very hopeful about the research at the Charles C. Gates Center, and I urge support for their efforts.

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 $16,801,307,487,216.56. We've added $6,174,430,438,303.48 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 3, 2009, the day I took office, the national debt was $10,627,961,295,930.67.

Today, it is $16,819,547,647,482.89. We've added $6,191,586,351,552.22 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.

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 $16,798,984,234,792.33. We've added $6,172,107,185,879.25 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 $16,802,515,751,907.61. We've added $6,175,638,702,994.53 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.