Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I hope my remarks will help America better understand the damage that ObamaCare inflicts on patients, health care, the economy, and jobs.

Today, I share a letter by Dr. Marlin Gill of Decatur, Alabama, that details Washington's damage to America's health care. On March 23, 2014, Dr. Gill wrote me:

Dear Congressman Brooks,

As a practicing family physician, I plead for help against

what I can best characterize as Washington's war against

doctors.

The medical profession has never before remotely approached

today's stress, work hours, wasted costs, decreased

efficiency, and declining ability to focus on patient care.

In our community alone, at least six doctors have left

patient care for administrative positions, to start a

concierge practice, or retire altogether.

Doctors are smothered by destructive regulations that add

costs, raise our overhead, and ``gum up the works,'' making

patient treatment slower and less efficient, thus forcing

doctors to focus on things other than patient care and reduce

the number of patients we can help each day.

I spend more time at work than I have at any time in my 27

years of practice, and more of that time is spent on

administrative tasks and entering useless data into a

computer rather than helping sick patients.

Doctors have been forced by ill-informed bureaucrats to

implement electronic medical records (EMR) that, in our four-

doctor practice, costs well over $100,000-plus in continuing

yearly operational costs, all of which does not help take

care of one patient while driving up the cost of every

patient's health care.

Washington's electronic medical records requirement makes

our medical practice much slower and less efficient, forcing

our doctors to treat fewer patients per day than we did

before the EMR mandate.

To make matters worse, Washington forces doctors to

demonstrate ``meaningful use'' of EMR or risk not being fully

paid for the help we give.

In addition to the electronic medical records burden, we

face a mandate to use the ICD-10 coding system, a new set of

reimbursement diagnostic codes.

The current ICD-9 coding system uses roughly 13,000 codes.

The new ICD-10 coding system uses a staggering 70,000 new and

completely different codes, thus dramatically slowing doctors

down due to the unnecessary complexity and sheer numbers of

codes that must be learned. The cost of this new ICD-10

coding system for our small practice is roughly $80,000,

again driving up health care costs without one iota of

improvement in health care quality.

Finally, doctors face nonpayment by patients with

ObamaCare. These patients may or may not be paying their

premiums, and we have no way of verifying this. No business

can operate with that much uncertainty.

On behalf of the medical profession, I ask that Washington

stop the implementation of the ICD-10 coding system, repeal

the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with a better law

written with the input of real doctors who will actually

treat patients covered by it.

America has enjoyed the best health care the world has ever

known. That health care is in jeopardy because physicians

cannot survive Washington's ``war on doctors'' without

relief.

Eventually the problems for doctors will become problems

for patients, and we are all patients at some point.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Marlin Gill of Decatur, Alabama.

Madam Speaker, America should heed the warnings of Dr. Marlin Gill of Decatur, Alabama. Failure to do so risks unnecessary patient deaths while destroying the best health care system the world has ever known.

Mr. Speaker, today I recognize and applaud the achievements of Command Sergeant Major John L. Murray of the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC). Headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, ACC includes more than 6,100 military and civilian employees across the globe that provide support to our war fighters by acquiring equipment, supplies, and services vital to our Soldiers' mission and daily needs. Command Sergeant Major Murray will soon retire after more than 35 years of distinguished service to America's Army. He has served with distinction at virtually every level in the Army--from team chief to command sergeant major, the Army's highest enlisted grade. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism, initiative and selfless service in the execution of programs supporting the total force of quality Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Command Sergeant Major Murray began his Army career in 1979 as a radio operator, completing initial entry and advanced individual training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Before joining Army Contracting Command Headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in December 2011, Command Sergeant Major Murray was the Command Sergeant Major for the Expeditionary Contracting Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He previously served as Commandant of the Regimental Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Gordon, Georgia. A former drill sergeant, Command Sergeant Major Murray has served with distinction in a number of critical assignments while deployed to over 20 countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Korea, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He spent more than five years in Southwest Asia in support of Operations Southern Watch, Desert Storm, Desert Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom with the Joint Communication Support Element MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, the 10th Mountain Division, the 11th Signal Brigade and the 160th Signal Brigade.

While his career accomplishments are many and significant, I wish to highlight Command Sergeant Major Murray's contributions to the establishment of the Army Contracting Command on March 13, 2008. He was one of several key Army leaders who worked tirelessly to create a new major subordinate command from the ground up in record time. His wisdom, insight and vision were essential elements in building the foundation of a global enterprise that awarded and managed more than 190,000 contractual actions valued at more than $60.9 billion in fiscal year 2013.

Command Sergeant Major Murray also played an important role in the relocation of ACC Headquarters from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to Redstone Arsenal in 2011. This move followed the transfer of ACC's parent command, Army Materiel Command (AMC) Headquarters, to Redstone Arsenal from Fort Belvoir, as directed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's decision in 2005. While AMC had several years to plan for and transition to its new Alabama home, ACC completed its relocation in less than 18 months. This tremendous accomplishment was a direct result of Command Sergeant Major Murray's inspired leadership, foresight and team-building skills.

I also wish to acknowledge and thank Command Sergeant Major Murray's wife, Ingrid, for supporting her husband and Army families. She served as the Family Readiness Group leader for the 11th Signal Brigade and Signal Corps Regimental Non Commissioned Officer Academy. She has also served as a senior spouse advisor and mentor for other Family Readiness Groups and the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Even the youngest member of the Murray family, John, Jr., was recognized by the Army Surgeon General for encouraging Army family members to ``Ask for Help'' when contemplating suicide.

The distinctive accomplishments of Command Sergeant Major Murray represent a long and distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect great credit upon himself, Army Contracting Command and the United States Army. We wish Command Sergeant Major Murray, Ingrid and John Jr., all the best in the years ahead.

Madam Speaker, in 1945, at the end of World War II, America's Federal debt to gross domestic product ratio was 120 percent. Washington responded with leadership. In 1946, the Federal budget was slashed a massive 40 percent.

In 1947, the Federal budget was slashed by another 38 percent. The result? America rose to the challenge, and America prospered. By 1980, even though per-capita inflation adjusted Federal spending had tripled, Federal debt had shrunk to 30 percent of GDP.

Since 1980, America's per-capita Federal spending has exploded to five times more than 1948 levels. The result? America faces a skyrocketing $17 trillion debt burden.

America's Comptroller General warns that America's financial path is unsustainable. Instead of confronting our debt dependence, Washington kicks the can down the road and immorally sells our children into the equivalent of indentured servitude and poverty, while driving America's Federal debt to dangerous levels.

To preserve the liberty and prosperity our ancestors sacrificed to give us, we must free Americans to again earn their prosperity and significantly cut Federal non-defense spending to restore financial responsibility and provide the stable monetary environment needed for economic growth.

If the Federal Government will be financially responsible and stop killing job creation, America's economy will soar because we have, within our grasp, a massive new technology and energy boom.

Mark Mills, adjunct fellow, Manhattan Institute states:

By 2020 or so, the United States is expected to surpass

Saudi Arabia in oil output and Russia in gas, according to

the International Energy Association's best estimate.

Dan Yergin, one of the world's leading energy experts,

estimates that the United States turnaround in energy has

generated 1.7 million new jobs . . . and that number should

almost double by 2020.

The RAND Corporation adds:

The pace of technological change--whether through advances

in information technology, biotechnology, or such emerging

fields as nanotechnology--will most certainly accelerate in

the next 10 to 15 years, with synergies across technologies

and disciplines generating advances in research and

development, production processes, and the nature of products

and services.

Amazing economic possibilities abound if the Federal Government will simply allow Americans to seize them.

Unfortunately, too many paternalistic Washington politicians distrust the American people to earn a better life for themselves or to take care of each other without government coercion or intervention.

Financially irresponsible Washington politicians insist on spending money we do not have, risking a debilitating American insolvency and bankruptcy, debasing our currency, punishing success, rewarding destructive behavior, and strangling job creation in bureaucratic red tape.

The Federal Government, by attempting to supply and command all things, saps America's spirit of energy and devours the financial capital needed for innovation, productivity growth, and jobs.

America must stop kicking the can down the road to a day when the debt challenge is even more daunting. The time to act is now, while America has sufficient economic strength to succeed. We cannot wait until America is bankrupt and defenseless, our currency is valueless, and we are overwhelmed by closed businesses, lost jobs, and poverty.

Congress must use the debt limit, the budget, appropriation bills, and every other means available to free America from the growing burden of crushing debt and a dictatorial Federal bureaucracy.

America ended Democrat President Jimmy Carter's economic malaise with one election in 1980, giving us the wildly successful economic policies of Republican President Ronald Regan in 25 years of unparalleled prosperity.

America's choice is between economic depression brought about by socialist, heavy-handed, bureaucratic Big

Brother economic policies and prosperity brought about by policies centered on free enterprise, individual liberty, and faith in the American people--the same economic policies and freedoms that made America the greatest Nation in world history.

America, please choose wisely. Your future and America's depends on it.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great privilege that I welcome Pastor Jason Parks to the House of Representatives and thank him for serving as today's guest chaplain.

Jason is the lead pastor of Refuge Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

He received an undergraduate degree in communications arts from the University of North Alabama, an MBA from Liberty University, and a master of divinity from Rockbridge Seminary.

Pastor Jason currently serves on the ALS Association Patient Care Committee, Calhoun Community College EMS Advisory Board, and as faculty at Huntsville Bible College. He is also a former Crestwood Medical Center associate chaplain and is credentialed as a board-certified pastoral counselor.

Pastor Jason resides in Hazel Green, Alabama, with his wife and three children.

I appreciate the work he has done for our community and his passion for serving the people of north Alabama.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask a simple question: Are we willing to accept America's economy as a new normal? Is America to accept a growth rate of only 2.4 percent every year? Are we to accept 3.8 million of our fellow Americans being stuck without jobs for 27 weeks or more?

I say that is simply unacceptable. Americans deserve better.

House Republicans have a plan to grow our economy and get more Americans back to work. We want to increase opportunity and help Americans keep more of the money they earn. Step number one is getting Washington out of the way. If Washington will end its job-killing policies, everyday Americans will do what they have always done--strive and work to success and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, in September of 2013, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sought to marginalize and denigrate Americans who believe in America's foundational principles by calling them anarchists and fanatics.

Their offense? They exercised their First Amendment freedom of speech rights by speaking out against and opposing ObamaCare and socialized medicine.

In February 2014, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sought to marginalize and denigrate Charles Koch and Dave Koch by calling them ``as un-American as anyone that I can imagine.'' Their offense? They exercised their freedom of speech rights by exposing how badly ObamaCare hurts millions of Americans.

Also in February 2014, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brazenly proclaimed that all those pesky Americans who dare exercise their freedom of speech rights by complaining about ObamaCare are all telling lies. Mr. Reid said:

There's plenty of horror stories being told. All of them

are untrue, but they're being told all over America.

Mr. Reid's calling Americans liars puts me in a quandary because north Alabama citizens often complain to me about ObamaCare. Who should I believe, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid or north Alabama citizens?

This week, Justin Carter of C&C Fabrication, a 47-year-old family- owned business in Laceys Spring, Alabama, told me:

C&C Fabrication was formed by two brothers, Ray and C.M.

Carter, in 1967 and is today a small, family-owned and

family-operated business. Through hard work and strong

leadership, C&C has grown to over 100,000 square feet, with

51 skilled workers. Even as the ObamaCare corporate mandate

has been delayed, its imminent implementation forces C&C to

make very serious, very real decisions regarding its future.

C&C's health care premiums increased by over 10 percent in

October 2013. C&C has been notified that an additional 15

percent increase is coming in October 2014.

These increases will cost C&C almost $70,000 per year in

increased health care premiums alone, and these increases do

not even fully capture the impact of the corporate mandates.

In order to fully comply with ObamaCare, C&C must restructure

its benefits package for all employees, as well as each

worker's hourly pay rate. These increased costs could rise as

high as $160,000 per year.

Failure to comply with ObamaCare will result in over

$120,000 per year in fines for C&C; however, noncompliance

could actually be the most prudent, most financially sound

method of survival for C&C but at a cost to its employees in

the form of benefit reductions, many of whom have been

employed by C&C for decades. This would force C&C employees

to the exchanges to buy plans with worse coverage and with

higher deductibles than is currently provided to them by C&C.

The sad reality is that because of ObamaCare and uncertain

economic times, C&C will likely have only one feasible choice

for the survival of the company, and that is to ensure that

its corporate size stays below the limit of 50 employees.

While this will exempt C&C Fabrication from ObamaCare and

help it survive, it will also sacrifice the jobs of valued

employees and cap the earning potential of the company,

ensuring that this small business will not grow or create

jobs.

C&C has been fortunate to serve the community into its

third generation and has taken pride in the work it performs.

Many hardworking individuals have given service to C&C, and,

in turn, C&C has done its very best to provide them with a

living. However, ObamaCare mandates have the potential to

derail C&C's future and greatly threaten its survival.

So who is telling the truth about how badly ObamaCare is damaging America? Justin Carter, a north Alabama citizen and job creator, or Democrat Senator Harry Reid, who is desperate to keep his job even to the point of denigrating American citizens who dare to exercise their freedom of speech rights? Well, I know Justin Carter and the Carter family, and I know Harry Reid. Quite frankly, I believe Justin Carter of north Alabama is telling the truth about ObamaCare hurting Americans. And, Mr. Speaker, it is not a close call.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed H.R. 2548, the Electrify Africa Act of 2014.

Another day in Washington, another boondoggle on the backs of American taxpayers.

I am flabbergasted that in the same week our Secretary of Defense warns of severe defense cuts caused by America's deteriorating financial condition, cuts that risk national security, Congress seeks to force American taxpayers to help build electrical power plants and transmission lines in Africa.

Financial prudence dictates that we reduce our deficits by not spending the money at all. If we must spend it and must choose between Africa or America, Mr. Speaker, I choose spending it in America.

America spends more than $40 billion a year on foreign aid with money we do not have, borrow to get, and cannot afford to pay back. Mr. Speaker, if financial irresponsibility and economic insanity have a home, rest assured they live in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Tennessee Valley of north Alabama enjoyed a great economic victory when Remington Outdoor Company announced 2,000 new

jobs and a new firearms manufacturing plant in the valley.

Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared that hardworking Americans who believe in the Second Amendment's right to bear arms ``have no place in the State of New York because that's not who New Yorkers are.''

No question, Alabama and the Tennessee Valley owe a debt of gratitude to New York and its Governor Cuomo for helping to inspire Remington to expand in Alabama, but to be fair, New York's hostility to the Second Amendment is only one factor supporting Remington's Alabama expansion. The most important factor is that Alabama is simply a better place to do business.

New York's income tax rates are roughly 60 percent higher than Alabama's, which means Alabama's hardworking citizens keep more of the money they earn.

New York's per capita property tax rates are roughly four times higher than those in Alabama, which means Huntsville metro citizens are twice as likely to own a home as New Yorkers.

New York's business tax burden is the 50th worst in America, while Alabama's is a respectable 21st.

New York residents are 25 percent more likely to live in poverty than Huntsville metro citizens. Out of 50 States, Alabama's long-term solvency is 5th best in America, and its overall fiscal condition is 10th best. New York's financial condition is near the bottom, ranking 45th in each category.

Alabama's financial future is bright. New York increasingly risks being unable to pay for basic services.

New York workers average commuting 78 minutes a day to and from work versus 36 minutes a day for Huntsville metro citizens. Tennessee Valley citizens have more time to spend with their families and the enjoyment of life.

In Alabama, the cost of living is 11 percent below the national average. In New York, the cost of living is 25 percent above the national average. A paycheck in Alabama buys 40 percent more than the same paycheck in New York.

Alabama's right-to-work law means that Alabamians cannot be forced to join a union against their will. Whether it be our right-to-work law or the Second Amendment right to bear arms, Alabama's motto says it all: ``We dare defend our rights.''

Beating out New York was only half the battle for Remington's plant. Alabama faced stiff competition from 24 other States; yet, in the judgment of Remington, the Tennessee Valley was the best place to live, work, and grow their business.

Why? The Tennessee Valley is highly educated. For example, Huntsville metro has the highest per capita concentration of engineers in America. Huntsville and Madison County are ranked number seven in America by CNN Money as ``a great place to live and find a job,'' number four in America by the Progressive Policy Institute on the list of America's high-tech hot spots, in the top 10 in America by USA Today as a great place to be inspired by innovation, number three in America by business facilities for aerospace and defense manufacturing, and in the top 10 in America by Family Circle magazine for being a great place to raise a family.

The Tennessee Valley is blessed with a clean environment and four major lakes with world-renowned fishing and water sports, lakes that stretch the entire length of the Tennessee Valley.

Unlike New York and other blue States, in Alabama, envy, greed, and class warfare are not political weapons that justify attacking, taxing, and destroying success. To the contrary, in Alabama, we applaud those who, through hard work, find prosperity and the American Dream.

In Alabama, we are blessed with a great Governor in Robert Bentley. We are blessed with political leaders in Jackson, Marshall, Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Lawrence, Colbert, and Lauderdale Counties who support free enterprise and are cooperative and willing to help each other achieve success, attributes that were critical to Remington's concluding that the Tennessee Valley was the best place in America for Remington to grow and prosper.

Thanks to Remington, Americans will soon be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights by buying and owning firearms made in the great State of Alabama.

Thank you, Remington.

As for all you other businesses in blue States who are tired of being attacked and regulated and taxed into submission and financial loss, come on down. There is a reason why Remington chose Alabama and a reason why we are called ``Alabama, the Beautiful.''

Try Alabama. I promise you will like it and wonder why you didn't come sooner.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor Command Sergeant Major Ronald T. Riling II, the 14th Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, on the occasion of his retirement following 31 years of exemplary service to the United States Army. He is one of only four Command Sergeants Major of Four Star Commands in the United States Army.

Command Sergeant Major Riling began his Army career in February 1983 as a 19D Cavalry Scout, completing his One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, KY and will conclude his career as the personal advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Materiel Command on all enlisted-related matters; primarily focusing on the quality of life for Soldiers, Civilians and Families across the command; and Command Sergeant Major Riling has performed admirably and honorably at home and abroad.

His career achievements include three successful combat tours, two in Iraq and one in Haiti. CSM Riling's awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit (2nd OLC), Bronze Star (1st OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (Silver OLC), Army Commendation Medal (3rd OLC), Army Achievement Medal (4th OLC), and many other awards; and as Command Sergeant Major Riling's career winds down, he will be remembered for many of his attributes--strength of character, steadfast courage and superior and compassionate leadership. He will also be remembered and admired for being a ``Soldier's Soldier".

As Command Sergeant Major Riling and his wife, Melinda, begin the next phase of their lives, I am pleased that they are retiring in my Congressional district. I want to express the warmest regards and heartfelt gratitude of the Nation for all that they have done and all that the Riling family has sacrificed to support the defense of the United States of America.

On behalf of all those touched by his service, we wish Command Sergeant Major Riling good luck, good ground, and Godspeed. Army Strong!

Mr. Speaker, the Science, Space, and Technology Committee recently held a hearing on www.healthcare.gov cybersecurity threats. Our bipartisan expert witness

panel included Dr. Frederick Chang, a computer science professor at SMU; Dr. Aviel Rubin, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University; David Kennedy, formerly chief security officer of Diebold Incorporated and currently the principal security consultant for TrustedSec; and Morgan Wright, formerly with Cisco security and now CEO of Crowd Sourced Investigations.

Now, I am not a cybersecurity expert, but I can read the words of those who are. The SST committee's hearing charter informs members that, in order to fully use www.healthcare.gov, American citizens must input or verify highly personal information, such as: date of birth and Social Security numbers for all family members, household salary, debt information, credit card information, place of employment, home addresses, and the like, information that is a treasure trove for cybercriminals and identity thieves.

Further, the ObamaCare Web site interacts with the IRS and Social Security Administration databases, thereby exposing Americans to even greater risk of theft of their most private personal information. In their written testimony, these experts warn the following about the www.healthcare.gov Web site:

``There are clear indicators that even basic security was not built into the www.healthcare.gov Web site.''

``The vast amount of www.healthcare.gov code also means applying industry standard security practices is a task that can have no real chance of success.''

Www.healthcare.gov ``creates massive opportunity for fraud, scams, deceptive trade practices, identity theft, and more.''

Mr. Speaker, these threats to American family finances prompted me to ask the panel of cybersecurity experts whether, under ObamaCare, Americans could seek compensation from the Federal Government for financial losses caused by their use of www.healthcare.gov. In reply, not one expert--not one--indicated ObamaCare requires the Federal Government to compensate American citizens for cybersecurity financial losses caused by their forced use of the www.healthcare.gov Web site.

If these experts are right, and if you are an American citizen who obeys ObamaCare dictates, and you suffer from identity theft or other financial losses, the White House response is essentially, Tough luck; you are on your own. Well, that is unsatisfactory and insufferable.

I next asked the bipartisan panel of experts, ``Given www.healthcare.gov security issues and assuming for the moment that you would be personally responsible for all damages incurred, if any, from your advice, would any of you advise an American citizen to use this Web site as the security issues now exist?'' Their bipartisan response was a stunning and unanimous, No; do not use the Web site because the security risks associated with www.healthcare.gov are simply too great.

Mr. Speaker, the ObamaCare Web site, www.healthcare.gov, is the mother lode for identity theft, Internet fraud, and other criminal activity.

For emphasis, Mr. Speaker, a bipartisan panel of cybersecurity experts publicly warns that the www.healthcare.gov cybersecurity threat is so great that no one should use it. Based on their expert advice, I concur and encourage all Americans to avoid www.healthcare.gov, the ObamaCare Web site, in any way, shape, or form, until its cybersecurity risks are fixed.

Mr. Speaker, on January 15, 2009, in order to get ObamaCare passed, President Obama promised America:

If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep

your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no

matter what.

On June 28, 2012, in order to get reelection votes, President Obama promised:

If you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who

already has health insurance, you will keep your health

insurance. This law will only make it more secure and more

affordable.

President Obama, in his recent apology for his deceptions, has not stopped the cancelation of millions, millions of Americans' health insurance plans nor slowed the ObamaCare-caused skyrocketing health insurance costs.

ObamaCare forces families to, on the one hand, pay higher ObamaCare health insurance costs and cut spending for food, shelter, and clothing or, on the other hand, go without health insurance and pay tax penalties while risking health-caused bankruptcy.

Montana Democrat Senator Max Baucus, the Senate sponsor of ObamaCare, warned us earlier this year that ObamaCare was a train wreck waiting to happen. Well, the verdict is in. ObamaCare is dysfunctional and threatens the lives and finances of millions of real hardworking Americans.

Mark Templeton of Huntsville, Alabama, writes:

I just received a notice from BlueCross/BlueShield of

Alabama yesterday, indicating my Total Blue plan was no

longer available due to the Affordable Care Act. My family

coverage increased from $450 a month to $1,187 for similar

coverage. They were kind enough to offer the more affordable

and considerably worse Silver plan for only $937 per month. I

don't qualify for any subsidies, so this will directly hit my

household finances. Please make every effort to stop the

Affordable Care Act from affecting any more Tennessee Valley

families and businesses.

Jessica Moore of Ardmore, Alabama, writes:

I am writing about the not-so Affordable Care Act. My

health insurance premiums are going up by 118 percent with

BlueCross/BlueShield. The Health Care Marketplace will be of

no help to me, as I make ``too much'' money. I am a single

Iraq veteran. I am my sole income. I am perfectly healthy.

The amount which my premium was raised is how much money I

have left in the bank at the end of the month. I do not live

beyond my means. I am a faithful taxpayer. The Affordable

Care Act premium hikes are not affordable to me, nor to many

other honest taxpayers. Please help the already ``taxed to

the max'' middle class on this issue.

ObamaCare has caused millions of Americans to receive health insurance cancelation letters, leaving them to struggle with how to protect their families. Thanks to ObamaCare, a year from now, tens of millions more Americans risk losing their health insurance once ObamaCare's employer mandate kicks in.

Mr. Speaker, while ObamaCare is dysfunctional and threatens American lives, there is a better way. The American Health Care Reform Act, which I have cosponsored, unleashes the power of free enterprise competition to deliver quality health care at prices Americans can better afford.

Among other things, this bill, first, forces lower health care costs by legalizing interstate competition among insurance companies; second, reforms medical malpractice laws so that health insurance is paying for health care, not frivolous lawsuits; third, lets Americans deduct health care costs

and gives Americans a standard deduction for health insurance costs; four, protects Americans with preexisting conditions by bolstering State-based high-risk pools.

Mr. Speaker, health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients, not Washington bureaucrats. Quite frankly, Big Brother bureaucrats have no business butting in and forcing Americans to buy health insurance Americans cannot afford or do not want.

ObamaCare denies hardworking American taxpayers their right--yes, their right--to choose the health care policy best tailored to their needs. Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare should be repealed, and America should debate health care solutions based on truth, not deception.

Mr. Speaker, America's veterans protect America and our liberties, which begs the question, does ObamaCare keep our promises and obligations to veterans?

Marcus Langford, a veteran from Huntsville, Alabama, wrote me the following:

I am a married father of two and a disabled vet after three

tours in Iraq and over 2 years in Afghanistan supporting our

military. My health care costs are $399 a month, but because

of the Affordable Health Care Act, my bill will go up to $741

a month as of January 2014.

Mr. Speaker, America's veterans deserve better than the 60 percent increase in health care costs that the White House and its Democrat congressional allies obstinately impose on hardworking Americans like Marcus Langford.

The way to do better is to repeal ObamaCare so that America can debate health care solutions based on truth, not deception.

Mr. Speaker, in a bold and agile display of legal sophistry, United States Supreme Court Justice John Roberts upheld the Affordable Care Act by declaring it a tax, while failing to address whether the tax complied with the Origination Clause of our Constitution.

The case of Sissel v. The United States Department of Health and Human Services is pending before the D.C. Court of Appeals and headed to the Supreme Court. Sissel challenges the constitutionality of roughly 20 tax increases that fund government-run health care.

Constitution article I, section 7 is the Origination Clause. It states, in part, that ``all Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House.''

I have joined 40 Members of Congress in a friend of the court brief filed this week that urges the court of appeals to obey the Constitution and declare the Affordable Care Act taxes unconstitutional because they violate the Origination Clause.

On October 8, 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3590, the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act, a six-page bill. H.R. 3590 raised no taxes or revenue of any kind. To the contrary, H.R. 3590 cut taxes for veterans buying homes.

The Senate took H.R. 3590, deleted its substantive provisions and substituted a six-page bill with a 2,074-page bill, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, that raised roughly $50 billion a year in new taxes, making it one of the largest tax increases in the history of America.

None of these ObamaCare tax increases were in the original House bill. Hence, all of these new tax increases originated in the Senate, not the House, thereby violating the Origination Clause requirement that tax increases originate in the House.

The Origination Clause was subject to significant debate during America's 1787 Constitutional Convention. Massachusetts convention delegate and America's fifth Vice President, Elbridge Gerry, stated that the Origination Clause was ``the cornerstone of the accommodation'' of the Great Compromise of 1787 that persuaded a majority of the States to ratify the Constitution.

Stated differently, but for the Origination Clause, there would have been no Constitution and no United States as we know it. The Origination Clause was that important.

Virginia Delegate and coauthor of our Bill of Rights, George Mason, explained opposition to Senate tax originations when he declared:

The Senate did not represent the people, but the States in

their political character. It was improper, therefore, that

it should tax the people. Again, the Senate is not like the

House of Representatives chosen frequently and obliged to

return frequently among the people. They are chosen by the

States for 6 years, will probably settle themselves at the

seat of Government, will pursue schemes for their

aggrandizement, will be able by wearing out the House of

Representatives, and taking advantage of their impatience at

the close of a long Session, to extort measures for that

purpose.

Mr. Speaker, America's Founding Fathers did not trust the Senate to originate and raise taxes because Senators sat unchallenged for 6 years, the greater part of a decade, and were too insulated and unaccountable for the taxes they forced on American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, no American court in history has ever upheld the constitutionality of taxes under the circumstances presented by ObamaCare. Doing so now would undermine and nullify the letter and spirit of the Origination Clause in a Constitution that has served America so well for so long.

Mr. Speaker, every Federal judge and justice took an oath to defend, protect, and uphold our Constitution. If these judges will put their partisanship and egos aside, if these judges will apply the Constitution as it is written and intended, if these judges will simply honor their oath of office, then ObamaCare will be declared unconstitutional because it violates the Origination Clause, and America's dangerous and failing experiment with socialized medicine will have ended. ObamaCare will be dead, and quality health care for Americans will survive.

Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Franklin once advised:

When you run in debt, you give to another power over your

liberty.

Washington is in an epic political battle that controls America's destiny for decades to come. The fight is between those who are financially responsible and have the understanding and backbone needed to prevent an American bankruptcy, and those who do not.

Last week, mainstream news media pundits declared a great win for Democrats and President Obama when the Federal Government reopened and the debt ceiling was raised. To the contrary, and for reasons I will explain, last week was a major loss for the American people.

America's economy suffers from a $17 trillion debt--the worse in history--and 5 years of deficits averaging more than a trillion dollars per year. Again, the worst in history.

During the past 5 years, the Federal Government borrowed 30 percent of its spending. How many families and businesses can avoid bankruptcy if, year after year, 30 percent of their spending is borrowed money? Not many, and not for long. Yet that is exactly what our country, America, is doing.

Economic principles don't care if you are a family, a business, or a country. If you borrow more money than you can pay back, you go bankrupt.

Mr. Speaker, America has been warned.

President Obama's Comptroller General Dodaro warns America's finances are on an ``unsustainable path.'' Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen warns that our greatest national security threat is not Iran, al Qaeda, China, or Russia; it is our debt burden that undermines our ability to pay for America's national defense and thus risks our national security.

Detroit and Stockton bankruptcies mean retirees may lose their pensions. Greece, another debtor nation, has a 27 percent unemployment rate--worse than any year in America's Great Depression.

There are good and bad ways to fund the Federal Government and raise the debt ceiling. Last week, Washington chose the worst way by not fixing the underlying problems: deficits and debt. Instead, Washington again kicked the can down the road, forcing America to revisit government funding issues in January and the debt ceiling issues in February, with one major difference: America will be financially weaker and less able to face the problem because we will be burdened by another half-trillion dollars in debt.

Mr. Speaker, another half-trillion dollars in debt. I wonder why you didn't hear that from the media pundits.

What did America get for another half-trillion dollars in debt? Not one penny in spending cuts, not a single economic policy that creates jobs and grows our economy, and nothing that fixes our deficit and debt problem.

What Washington did last week is akin to a sick patient going to the emergency room and getting pain-killing drugs that help the patient feel good, yet do nothing to cure the disease that ultimately kills the patient. In the real world, that is medical malpractice. Similarly, Washington's refusal last week to cure our deficit and debt disease was governing malpractice.

Mr. Speaker, America enjoys prosperity today because past generations sacrificed to make us who we are. We have the same obligation to our descendents.

President George Washington once advised Congress:

No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the regular

redemption and discharge of the public debt. On none can

delay be more injurious.

George Washington gave prudent advice in 1793. It is prudent advice now. Washington must cut out-of-control spending and balance the budget before America's debt burden spirals out of control and is so great that we cannot recover. Failure risks a bankruptcy that will destroy the America it took our ancestors generations--centuries--to build.

Mr. Speaker, the fight for America resumes in January on properly funding the government and in February on properly raising the debt ceiling. Ours is a fight America must win. Congress and the White House must rise to the challenge and be financially responsible when funding the government and raising the debt ceiling. America's future as a great Nation and a world power depends on it.

Mr. Speaker, I am gravely disappointed at the lengths the White House has gone in order to manipulate American lives as they seek to coerce America's elected House of Representatives into spending money America does not have on a dysfunctional, socialized medicine program that does not work, that threatens American lives, and that a majority of Americans do not want.

Congress and the White House agree on, roughly, 99 percent of Federal Government spending. We should fund that 99 percent, reopen the Federal Government, and debate our disagreements on the remaining 1 percent, but the White House and Senate refuse to do that. Instead, President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and their Democrat allies force a Federal Government shutdown. They hold 99 percent of the Federal Government hostage to support their all-or-nothing demands.

The lengths the Democrats and the White House will go in order to manipulate American lives and public opinion is most disheartening.

The Obama administration ordered the closings of all Washington, D.C., monuments, thereby denying World War II veterans access to their memorial. Never mind that, in the history of all Federal Government shutdowns, no President has ever ordered and spent taxpayer money to barricade and close Washington's open-air memorials.

The Obama administration disregarded the Pay Our Military Act and illegally ordered furloughs of, roughly, 400,000 Department of Defense civilian personnel for a week, thereby disrupting their lives and, more importantly, jeopardizing America's national security. The Obama administration followed that up with illegally ordering furloughs for who-knows-how-many

thousands of defense contractors and their employees.

Never mind that, in doing so, the Obama administration violated the Pay Our Military Act that President Obama, himself, signed--an act that fully funds all defense workers and contractors who ``are providing support to members of the Armed Forces,'' which, by the way, is all of them.

Yesterday, America woke up to yet another political manipulation by the Obama administration. America's Commander in Chief denied death gratuities to the families of four soldiers and a marine who were killed in Afghanistan. Adding insult to injury, America's Commander in Chief refuses to pay the cost of the burial expenses of our men and women in uniform who have given their lives for their country.

Mr. Speaker, this is an outrage. It must not stand.

The Obama administration claims:

As a result of the shutdown, we do not have the legal

authority to make death gratuity payments at this time.

I respectfully disagree.

The Pay Our Military Act expressly states:

There are hereby appropriated sums for fiscal year 2014,

such sums as are necessary to provide pay and allowances to

members of the Armed Forces.

Death benefits and burial expenses are part of our military's compensation package, a part of the ``pay and allowances'' the Pay Our Military Act says the Obama administration must pay. Congress should not have to pass yet another bill today to force the President to do what the law already says he should do.

Instead of punishing America's military by illegally furloughing defense workers and contractors, instead of dishonoring our World War II veterans, our Korean war veterans, our Vietnam veterans by spending taxpayer money to barricade their memorials and by denying them access to their memorials, I yearn for a Commander in Chief who supports our veterans and our men and women in uniform rather than using them as pawns to be sacrificed in partisan, political games. I cannot help but think of the contrast between our current Commander in Chief and our first one.

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington lived with his troops, fought with his troops, and sacrificed for his troops. When the Continental Army was faced with hardship, inadequate food and clothing, George Washington reached into his own pocket and sacrificed his wealth to help the men who fought under his command.

Mr. Speaker, I pray our current Commander in Chief will study and understand the graciousness, the leadership, and the sacrifices of George Washington as he makes decisions on whether to treat our veterans, our troops, and our defense workers with the respect they have earned and deserve.