Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, there are many heroes from Colorado who have fought, and continue to fight, in the Global War on Terror. Today, I rise to pay tribute to one hero in particular: Army Sergeant Sean Durkin of Aurora, Colorado.

On March 27, 2010, Sergeant Sean Durkin and his fellow soldiers were on a mission near Forward Operating Base Wilson in Afghanistan, when their convoy was struck by an explosive device. Sergeant Sean Durkin and two other brave soldiers exited the vehicle to respond to the blast, but were all injured when a second improvised explosive device went off. Sergeant Sean Durkin was gravely wounded and ultimately succumbed to his injuries while recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In 2004, Sergeant Sean Durkin graduated from Eaglecrest High School in Centennial, Colorado and later attended Denver Auto Diesel College before enlisting in the United States Army in 2006. He is remembered as a fine young man who had always dreamed of becoming a soldier, and was also passionate about working on automobiles.

During his military service, Sergeant Sean Durkin was the recipient of numerous awards and qualifications, including the Expert Infantry Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Driver Mechanic Badge. Attached to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, he was also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sergeant Sean Durkin is a shining example of Army service and sacrifice. As a former member of the Army and retired Marine, my deepest sympathies go out to his family and to all who knew him.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,831,193,383,690.69.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,224,623,668,922.50 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today, tax day, our national debt is $12,823,492,436,215.11.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,185,066,689,921.31 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans. On tax day, the American public certainly should dread how we will pay this debt if meaningful reform is not enacted, and enacted soon--by yet more taxes. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.J. Res 1, the Balanced Budget Amendment. We need to bring fiscal responsibility to our spending.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,831,193,383,690.69.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,192,767,637,396.89 so far this Congress. The debt has increased $4,813,927,403.84 since just yesterday.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,826,379,456,286.85.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,187,953,709,993.00 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our National debt is $12,662,466,657,519.82.

On January 6, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,024,040,911,226.02 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,661,039,727,506.65.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,022,613,981,212.80 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

I thank the gentleman from Florida.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand before you today in strong support of H.R. 1879, the National Guard Employment Protection Act. I created this legislation in order to extend the same reemployment rights for all of our National Guard personnel regardless of whether they are assigned to a homeland security mission or deployed overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan. Under current law, the members of the National Guard who are called up for active duty in support of homeland security missions inside the United States are not provided the same reemployment rights to their civilian occupations that other members of the National Guard and Reserve have when they are called to active duty for overseas military assignments.

There is no doubt that the soldiers and the airmen serving in the National Guard must have the same reemployment rights irrespective of where they are ordered to serve. The bill recognizes that those who are called up for homeland security missions can face the same hardships and challenges in trying to return to their civilian employment as someone who has been away from their civilian occupation due to an overseas military assignment.

With the passage of H.R. 1879, National Guard members will no longer have to worry about being put into a position where they are forced to choose between retaining their civilian employment or serving our Nation in a critical homeland security mission.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this flawed health bill.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,661,296,056,307.25.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,022,870,310,013.45 so far this Congress. The debt has increased $21,516,577,665.36 since just yesterday.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,639,779,478,641.89.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,001,353,732,348.09 so far this Congress.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,643,701,402,529.55.

On January 6th, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $2,005,275,656,235.75 so far this Congress. The debt has increased $7,038,446,389.48 since just yesterday.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,636,662,956,140.07.

On January 6, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $1,998,237,209,846.20 so far this Congress. The debt has increased $60,984,093,238.39 since just yesterday.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.

Madam Speaker, my Democratic colleagues continue to tout claims that this health care bill is ``completely paid for'' and ``will bring down the deficit.'' But those claims are patently false. The accounting assumptions Democrats have given the Congressional Budget Office to score this bill are nothing short of an Enron-style gimmick. Just look at the most glaring example. The bill counts 10 years of tax increases, amounting to nearly half a trillion dollars, and 10 years of Medicare cuts, also a half a trillion dollars, but it only counts for 6 years of spending.

So what is the real cost of this bill? What does it cost when you compare 10 years of spending with 10 years of taxes and Medicare cuts? $2.3 trillion. That's nowhere near budget neutral and will drive the deficit up much higher than it already is. Let us defeat this bill.

Madam Speaker, today our national debt is $12,575,678,862,901.61.

On January 6, 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, the national debt was $10,638,425,746,293.80.

This means the national debt has increased by $1,937,253,116,607.81 so far this Congress. The debt has increased $1,739,800,627,446.86 since just yesterday.

This debt and its interest payments we are passing to our children and all future Americans.