Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the 13th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Expo and Forum that is slated to take place tomorrow. The topic of this expo is especially timely. Last year, China invested $34.6 billion in clean energy while the United States invested $18.6 billion, a distant second. We have an energy problem, and we need to address it.

At this forum, there are over 50 businesses, clean energy trade associations, government agencies, and energy policy research organizations that will be

showcasing their technologies. On efficiency: We should drill and mine energy efficiency the way we are so gluttonously dependent on drilling for oil and mining for coal. On renewable energy: We should invest in sustainable energy and new technologies to build our energy independence and to once again create American manufacturing jobs.

I ask my colleagues to join me in welcoming this year's participants at the expo and encourage my colleagues to stop by the Cannon Caucus Room to see the exhibits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Wall Street reform and American jobs.

In my opinion, the debate on Wall Street reform is straightforward; there are those who support hardworking American families and small businesses against those who wish to protect the status quo and big Wall Street banks, which are to blame for the current recession.

We must hold Wall Street accountable, protect American families from unfair, abusive financial practices, close the gaps in our financial system, create certainty and stability in our tumultuous markets, and act now.

It is time we streamline government and put a cop on the beat of Wall Street to protect American families and businesses. Absent this cop, Wall Street will regulate itself, as it did under the previous administration. The American economy cannot afford to live through that real-life tragedy again, and neither can her families.

In fact, under the leadership of this Congress and President Obama, we are on pace to create as many jobs in 2010 as President Bush created in his entire 8 years in office.

Madam Speaker, we are going to use the time made available to us in the majority to speak this evening about contracts and about choices--about the change in the direction that this Nation is pursuing.

It is important for us, I believe, Madam Speaker, to talk about the changed order of policies, the new direction, the opportunities that we believe are essential if we are going to grow this economy after having witnessed what many would suggest to have been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It took a turnaround in thinking. It took new leadership. It took a transition from the failed policies of the past.

The Bush recession, the Republican policies that dominated Washington, brought us into economic woes. It brought this country into a situation that found people in the ranks of the unemployed and brought the American economy to its knees--as I indicated, the worst since the Great Depression.

What I think is important to note is that, when we talk about choices, when we talk about contrasts, it is looking at where the allegiances lie. With the Republican Party, it was siding with big banks, with Wall Street, with the big oil companies, with credit card companies, certainly with the insurance industry, and in making certain that those special interests were their priorities.

Well, the turnaround here is an alignment with the American worker. Rather than with special interests, the Democrats have aligned with the American worker. Rather than with big oil companies and big banks, the Democrats have aligned with American families. Certainly, when it comes to the special interests that were held precious by the Republican leadership of the past, we here, as Democrats, have aligned with small business and in seeing that as the springboard to a recovery, in seeing that as the backbone of our economy. So there is a difference. There is a change of heart. There is a policy enhancement that finds us moving in a new direction.

What has that meant? I believe that one needs merely to look at the statistics out there. Let's look at the facts.

This chart here will show us in very stark contrast where we were headed with the economy over the last several years. The red lines, the bar graphs of red, will show us that severe drop, that constant loss in jobs, in payrolls, across this country.

Then, finally, a change in direction with the blue bars suggests the turnaround, the investment through policy that has enabled us to begin the climb upward. This formation of red and blue will show the sharp contrast. It will show the choices--the priority shift, if you will-- where we have now begun to climb forward, where we are now experiencing absolute job growth.

Since December of 2009, this Nation has experienced some 573,000 jobs created, 84 percent of which are in the private sector category. That has been a goal to enable us to grow the economy, to create and retain jobs and to add to that private sector column. This goal is beginning to be achieved.

Now, one needs to recall that the changes here in our economy are not going to come nearly as quickly as we would like, because the problem, the dilemma, the siding with special interests, occurred over a number of years. So, with the change of leadership with the Obama administration, with the leadership in the House and, certainly, in the United States Senate, we have been able to march forward in a way that allows us to speak with dignity toward the American worker, to speak with compassion toward the American family, and to speak with productivity and growth toward the small business community.

How do we do that?

Well, there are a number of measures that have been proposed and passed here in the House, in both Houses, and in some cases that have been signed by the President. We are still in the midst of unfinished business, but we are continuing to work on a number of items. What we have currently is in this last bit of recovery where we are seeing that over one-half million jobs added to the picture are in sharp contrast-- again, contrast and change here--to the 8 million jobs lost through the course of the Bush recession. That rivals--in fact, it surpasses--the statistics, the job losses, from the Great Depression.

It is a change in thinking where we embrace science and technology, where we look toward the strengths of an innovation economy, one that can use the American intellect and that can embrace the intellectual capacity of this Nation to not only advance research and development and basic research, which translates into jobs, but to also create new products, new discoveries, innovation that leads to businesses, that leads to production, that leads to job security and job growth, oftentimes, again, in the private sector.

So it was this stewardship of our economy arriving on the scene, inheriting a gross bit of policy that drove us deep into a recession, that found an impact not only on American workers and on the budgets of American households but on house sales and on all sorts of investments that need to be part of a robust economy. All of these were dulled. The competitiveness of business was dulled simply by this recession.

Again, the contrasts and the change, the choices.

As we approach an election this November for Members of this House, which will be a report card on the progress made to date, it is important to note that there is a changed order of thinking--the choice to be one of tremendously stark contrast, one that will look at hope, inspired simply by the opportunity to land a job. Now, there are still millions of people out of work. We know that. We are not happy yet with the point at which we've arrived. It is not our final destination, but it is certainly a climb in the right direction, and it is a climb out of what

was a very low, low pit in the Nation's economy.

Let's look at the contrasts.

Again, there are those who would have chosen and did choose to align with Wall Street, with big banks, with credit card companies, with Big Oil, with the insurance industry, with special interests. They had their day and made our day extremely gloomy and dark, made our economy bleak. However, there are those who align with American households, with America's families, with the hardworking middle class, with small business, with senior populations, most of whom are looking to enjoy those golden years and who have been threatened by this crash that has hurt us so badly.

Let's look at some of those opportunities that we've had here in the House--opportunities to work with the President, opportunities to work with the leadership in the House of Representatives.

We had an opportunity called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Many would like to suggest that it should have been avoided, that we should not have invested through what are economically difficult times. Well, a panel of a cross-section of economists, from very conservative thinking to more liberal thinking, in advising the President, the White House--the President's administration--and in the panel's advising both Houses, both parties in each of the Houses as to where and how to recover the economy, advanced the notion that investing in these difficult times was essential, investing in a way that found a growth of some 2.8 million jobs to date with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

That includes individuals in the public sector, which includes our educators, teachers, the school system, and support personnel. It includes public safety, which includes our police officers, our firefighters, who are essential to the quality of life of communities. Educators are essential to growing the workforce of tomorrow. These were important measures, again, equating to some 2.8 million jobs that are part of that recovery--keeping Americans working, keeping services provided.

More than a third of the package of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came in the form of tax cuts for 98 percent of America's workers and her small business community, so there were advancements there of the largest historic tax cut in this Nation's history. For that income strata, it is a part of this package that is easily documented and that should be touted as a form of relief that engaged this economy. It allowed for people to circulate the dollars in their regional economies and, again, to see the climb out of this difficult and very deep and painful recession.

It also allowed, as an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, for us to play catchup with investments that were long overdue--investments in the area of clean energy, which is where this Nation looks to advance and needs to advance the concepts of energy security; in the enhancement of energy independence; and, yes, in national security. For as we reach to experts and their opinions, many suggest that our gluttonous dependency on fossil-based fuels not only endangers our environment but finds us shipping hundreds of billions of dollars per year to unfriendly and unstable governments that will oftentimes, as we put those American consumer dollars into these foreign treasuries of unfriendly governments, utilize these dollars against our troops in the Middle East.

Don't take our word for it. Take the word of those who are part of the tool of Veterans for American Power. They recently traveled to New York State, which was the only stop made by the tour of our veterans who defend this Nation's liberties and her principles. These veterans made a stop in New York State. It was our fortune to host them in Schenectady, New York, part of the 21st Congressional District, where we were joined by vintages of veterans, including our World War II vets, who were the oldest in the clustery. They listened intently to the message, and the message was this:

We witnessed daily on the battlefield what was happening. Dollars were invested into the treasuries and then spent to train the Taliban that would then go to harm and threaten our American troops. So they said that, if we do not resolve this climate change/global warming issue, the battle they see out there will be enhanced because, with flooding and drought and, therefore, famine, we will have a weaker people around the globe with lesser and lesser available land--a perfect storm if you will--that will then create the chances and will enhance the situation of terrorist activity. As they look for less available land with a weakened people, it enhances that concept. So they said we witnessed the destruction and the devastation to our troops, funded by our sending dollars into the treasuries of these unfriendly nations.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allows us to break away from those concepts, from that thinking. It allows for a new mindset. It takes projects from the back burner to the front burner. It allows us to invest, as we have, in a clean energy economy with the Recovery Act, enabling us to talk about smart grids, smart thermostats, smart metering. It is an investment in our transportation and distribution system--the artery and veins of how we wheel electrons to the workplace and to the homeplace.

That is part of the Recovery Act so as to invest in a way that grows jobs in research, that grows jobs in trades over to Ph.D.'s. It goes on and on with broadband opportunities for our communities that are economically distressed or that are rural in nature or that are remote in location. It allows for us to invest in education, with technology in the classroom, to stretch opportunities for our Nation's students. It allows us to invest in health care with technology introduced into record keeping imaging and in making certain that mistakes and unnecessary duplications are avoided.

So that is one investment that we made here in the House. We had a choice. The President placed it before the House. Democrats said yes. Republicans said no. And repeatedly, the contrast, the choices, the differences that need to be understood by the public out there, are what we are talking about here this evening.

I am joined by a fellow freshman who has an outstanding record in the State of California. He was a State leader there, knowledgeable, extremely knowledgeable on insurance issues and small business issues, and a leader extraordinaire.

This evening we are joined by the gentleman from California, Representative Garamendi. I welcome you, Representative. Share with us your thoughts on change and contrast.

Representative Garamendi, I believe you are citing yet another contrast we can feel is coming in the near future. But we can even point to history, just recent past history about the Wall Street reform package that came before the House, yet another contrast, yet another choice that becomes very clear in terms of the behavior patterns here to the American people.

The Wall Street reform legislation gave us a golden opportunity to fix what is broken on Wall Street, to deal with consumer protection when it comes to predatory lending, when it came to addressing executive bonuses and salaries, when it came to providing a watchdog in the equation.

We are joined by another colleague, another freshman in the House who is yet another powerful voice. It is just a great class to work with. As a fellow freshman, I am enjoying this first term in Congress, because we see fresh thinking, we see soundness of advocacy.

We are joined by the gentleman from Ohio, Representative Driehaus, who has been banging away at reforms, and again speaks to the contrast, the change, the change in thinking that I think aligns up a very sharp choice as we move toward this fall's campaign activity.

You are so very right. The gentleman from Ohio outlined the greed that was allowed to take over because there was no watchdog in the equation. Tonight, in this Special Order hour, we are sharing with the American public the sharp contrast, the change in direction, the choices that exist out there in terms of, do we pursue this course and climb out of this recession and continue along the path of progress, or do we go back into the Bush recession era and go to those choices where we cater to these special interests?

When we talk about these bank outcomes, with this investment financial community and all of the woes that accompanied it, we're talking about everyday people who perhaps live paycheck to paycheck and go to work and are proud of the living that they earn. This is the sort of community that got impacted, homeowners who lost their homes, retirees who had relied upon these savings and the growth of these savings upon which to retire, totally evaporating from their surroundings.

Looking at small businesses not being able to have credit lines available because the community banks were impacted by the big banks, this is an alignment with the special interest community, from big banks to Big Oil to insurance companies, to the credit card companies. And the gentleman from California is wanting to jump in here. I think, you know, the choice is very clear to me.

Well, I think the contrast is clear. You know, when it came to whether you want a watchdog in the equation, when it comes to Wall Street behavior, Democrats in the House say yes. Republicans say no.

Do you want to have consumer protection for the general public out there that invests? The Democrats say yes. Republicans say no.

As these instruments were invented to circumvent regulation, the Democrats have said yes, we're concerned about that. We want to fix it. Republicans say no. The vote was clear. No to Wall Street reform.

You look at the GDP growth. You look at the changes that have come since the first quarter of 2009. We were hitting a job loss that was incredibly difficult, nearly 750,000 jobs lost per month. Lately, 187,000 jobs increase.

We talked earlier about December 2009 forward. In the last 4 months, 84 percent growth of the private sector from those over one-half million jobs; 573,000 jobs created. So the GDP is improving.

The household income lost $17.5 trillion over the last 18 months of the Bush Presidency. Now 60 percent recovered, some $6 trillion recovered. And it goes on and on and on.

And even with the tax situation, I know that Representative Driehaus is concerned about the tax situation. The tax cut that was part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a part of it, but there are tax cuts galore. And the gentleman from Ohio, I believe, wants to address that factor.

And I think the results here are driven by a number of things, choices, contrasts. The choice here was to put American families, American workers, small business, as a high priority. No more alignment with Big Oil, big banks, insurance companies, credit card companies.

Let's drive a benefit, let's drive the focus for America's hardworking families across this country; 98 percent of Americans were part of that tax cut that was part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act; 98 percent of Americans and small businesses, a tremendously strong statistic, a contrast to the behavior before, the decade before, which found two wars off-budget. Let the credit card cover that, I guess. Tax cuts for the highest income brackets, off-budget. A deal with the pharmaceutical company, Medicare part D, which suggests that Medicare paid for a part of the program, when we know seniors, oftentimes retirees, dug into their pocket to pay for pharmaceutical costs.

So we come up with a health care reform measure to which Republicans said ``no.'' Contrast again, Democrats say ``yes.'' We make certain pharmaceutical costs are covered. We make certain that deductibles and copays are taken out of the picture for our Medicare-eligible population.

There are huge contrasts here, siding with people who really make America's economy work. They invest their money on basic core needs. They work paycheck to paycheck and then invest in the community. So when we had an opportunity here to further grow opportunity for this country and for people, we said ``yes'' to student loan reform, said ``yes'' to community college investment. Republicans said ``no.''

All of these activities, all of this legislation, all of these improvements, all of this sensitivity, all of this fairness is equating to a resurgence in the economy. Because what is it? The large, broad middle class that needs to be fairly treated in public policy terms and budgeting are now being able to have more dollars available. The GDP tells the story. The household income situation, the graph that we had here last week talked about trillions of dollars, $17.5 trillion of household income lost in the last 18 months of the Bush Presidency. That Bush recession drained American households. And now, since the beginning of '09, 30 percent of that has been recovered. Some $6 trillion has been recovered.

We're not stopping there. We're going to continue to go. The choice here is, based on the contrast, very clear. Do we continue along the path of progress or do we, as the President said a few days ago, give back the keys to the people who drove the car into the ditch and it was a painful measure to pull the car out of the ditch?

If my colleagues would yield, the colloquy you developed reminds me that the change in thinking here, the policies initiated and the change in direction, I think it was Fortune magazine in its April 16 issue said, the economy has taken a sharp U-turn, and they're applauding the efforts of achievement in this short time frame to date.

What I think has been sparked here is a sense of optimism. We see the confidence growing. And so that can't help but grow the economy and get a fresher feel. Because people were weighted down by this recession, which was extremely painful and long. What it does also I think is tap into the pioneer spirit that is always in the DNA of this country. It is part of our fabric as a people, as a society. We see it time and time again.

Throughout the course of history, this Nation has stories that are replete with the sense of courage and determination and optimism. I represent a district in Upstate New York that is the host to the Erie Canal bed that gave birth to a westward movement, an industrial revolution that grew the United States and impacted the world. Because as we developed this necklace of communities called mill towns, they became the epicenter of invention and

innovation. And it was all the intellect of the worker and the pride of producing along that assembly line process, these discoveries that would be the magic to enhance the quality of life of people not just in these United States, but around the world.

That same magic can be prompted today. And it is the turnaround in policies, it's the fairness, it's the focus on American job production, American energy independence, innovation. My gosh, I know that the history of Schenectady, the birthplace of electricity, was the place that converted a factory that was producing locomotives. And we had mostly women at that time in World War II changing their agenda, rolling up the sleeves--you can see the Rosie the Riveter symbolism-- and producing for the troops.

They were producing for the troops. The transitioning, the transformation, came because of the intellect and the can-do attitude of American workers. And so I think we've tapped into this resource in a way that is very powerful. And it's not just turning around the economy, it's showing respect, it's enhancing the dignity of the American worker, and it's bringing us together as a people so that we can grow this economy. To me, that is the validity here. And tonight this discussion of contrast, of change, of choices couldn't be more clear.

We cannot afford to fall back into those Republican recessionary policies. We cannot afford to fall back to the huge deficit inherited by this administration, passed on from the Bush administration after it inherited a surplus. So the choice, the contrast, the change that should be endorsed, becomes very clear to me.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening, Mr. Driehaus.

And Representative Garamendi, thank you. And I'm sure you have some final statements that you'd like to make.

Thank you, Representative Garamendi.

I would just close with this and thank my colleagues for joining me. The change is working. The contrast is stark. The choice is clear.

And so I appreciate my colleagues sharing some very strong thoughts about what's happening here for the good. It has been a climb out of the toughest times America has known, but we need to continue to pursue in the direction, I believe, that has been strengthening our economy and, therefore, the American families, the American workers, and the American small business community.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back.

Thank you, Representative Dahlkemper, and thank you, Representative Wasserman Schultz, for bringing us together this evening to share the facts and just the facts, which I think is an important bit of exchange and messaging that needs to be done with the American public. And, you know, if you don't believe what you are hearing here, because perhaps you have been swayed by some very gloom-and-doom news info that's been coming your way, take the word from Fortune magazine of April 16 of this year.

On April 16, Fortune magazine reported that we have taken a sharp U- turn in the past couple of months and that there are better days for American businesses and workers just around the corner. Well, that's telling it like it is. And why? Because this House, the leadership of this House, the President and his administration, working together, we have enabled a

very sharp, laser-type focus on American workers, on working families in this country.

And it's now that sort of priority that has been established here in the House of Representatives, working with the administration, to make certain that we crawl out of this economic recession, the Bush recession that gripped this Nation, brought this country to her knees economically, and now people have said, We will give you the keys; we will put you in charge. And there is a spirit of optimism that is obviously being expressed in consumer data that's being recorded now in the past several months where there is a swing upward.

As Representative Wasserman Schultz pointed out in the V formation, that downward straight line of the V was under the Bush recession. And then as we swing upward, that upward straight line of the V is that blue portion of this graph that talks about the comeback. You know, it's mimicking a story of the past where under the Clinton administration 22 million jobs were created and under the Bush administration, 1 million. One million. So there is a stark difference there.

The policies that are being initiated here under the watch of President Obama and the leadership of this House have produced a track already that if it's extrapolated over the next 8 months, for a year's worth of data, we will surpass in 1 year what 8 years' worth of information tells us happened during those Bush years. And 8 million jobs lost. That goes beyond what the Great Depression produced for this country.

So I think that the spirit of optimism is driving the comeback. It's perhaps why that optimism spoke to those numbers of the new home sales. The home sales in March alone rose by 27 percent, a record month-to- month increase that goes back 47 years. So it's that sort of consumer confidence, the optimism, as you alluded to, Representative Dahlkemper, of growth in the manufacturing activity out there which is extremely valuable.

We see ourselves as a Nation that produces and responds to the needs of consumers out there. Any nation that wants to stay strong needs to grow its manufacturing sector. We are seeing that happen. So, so many of the indicators out there are suggesting that we are on that comeback trail. We are hoping it's a straight line comeback. We don't want any other format out there but a straight line.

We believe that as we go forward and continue to invest, and I believe that's the right word, invest in the American workers, in businesses, where we have not aligned and put the highest priority value to Wall Street banks, to credit card companies, to the insurance industry, to all of these efforts and the big oil companies; we have instead put our focus and our priority with American workers, working families, job creation and retention, and the numbers are there. They are beginning to show that the proof in the pudding here is that sound policies to turn the thinking around, to pull us out of the economic woes, and we can trail it. We are trailing it now, and the data speak for themselves.

So this is a great hour, a great opportunity to exchange the facts and nothing but the facts and allow people to understand that we are climbing upward with a spirit of optimism and confidence that's being marked by so many measurements out there that are to the good.

I do.

Representative Wasserman Schultz, you talked about the comeback issue. One can't help but wonder what would have happened if these economic policies were continued to rule the outcome. If they had continued to rule the outcome, we would have probably hit the Great Depression level. And so I think the effort here is to bring in--it's not like we're excluding people from being part of this solution. But obviously, if we're not getting the support from the other side, we're going to continue to move forward with progressive policies and reforms.

And I think what is inspiring is that this Nation is replete in her history of people responding in the toughest times, responding with their greatest sense of courage and determination at a time when we have faced some of our toughest struggles. We saw that happen in the Depression. We saw a President lead this Nation out of that depression and bring people back to work and invest in a way that grew us to a stronger level than when the economic crisis began.

And certainly when we look at this, I believe that that history of this Nation, our history speaks to us in a very bold and noble measure to continue to pursue, to invest in a way that will create a stronger outcome. And we will put together an organized, structured, progressive bit of policies that will address and plan our future for this economic recovery.

I represent a district that is the home of the Erie Canal and that canal is a series, a necklace, I like to call it, of mill towns. And they were given birth to by the creation of this Erie Canal. But it showcased--my point of mentioning it here is that it showcased the pioneer spirit that's in the DNA of Americans where these mill towns became the centers of invention and innovation. And it gave birth to a westward movement that built this Nation and continues to allow us to express our manufacturing prowess.

Well, this package, the stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, invested in America, in her workers, in her businesses, in her small businesses that was mentioned earlier, in a way that is now turning the picture around. It's that U-turn of which Fortune magazine speaks, wrote about it on April 16 of this year, that we are now seeing a brighter day; it's around the corner for business and workers.

And so in the toughest times we have shown our best outcomes. We have come together in a way that allows us to be constructive and instructive on how we're going to crawl out of a mess.

The important thing here is to please join in the effort. Don't thwart the effort, don't deny, diminish it. I see what we tried to do with America COMPETES as an act on this floor to grow the R&D investment, to allow us to compete effectively with China. And what do we have? We have an effort to diminish or deny that sort of progress.

So join us in the constructive efforts. Join us in building the solutions. But do not deny American workers for generations out the sort of solutions that will enable us to be our best in the toughest times, and that's what we're seeing here. The numbers are showing it. We're on a comeback. And it's interesting how history is repeating herself where we have this administration proving that they are going to invest--invest in technology, invest in broadband, communication, hardwiring of communities that are rural or impoverished, as in inner city neighborhoods, allowing us to invest in energy with smart grids, smart meters, smart thermostats, invest in our transmission and distribution systems. All of it is important.

Absolutely. And thank you again for bringing us together this evening. It's a pleasure to join with our colleague from New Mexico and you from the State of Florida to really share these regional observations because it's happening across the country.

Just yesterday I was at a community that I represent, a small town, a small city, that is utilizing Recovery Act moneys to produce photovoltaic--to install, I should say, photovoltaic panels at their senior center, at their firehouse, and improvements in energy efficiency at their city hall. This translates to, like, $65,000 worth of savings per year. Who does that affect? The property taxpayer.

So it's property tax reduction simply by creating jobs and reaching to innovation. That's the beauty of the investments made here. It's not about special interests, it's not about going to the big oil companies and the big Wall Street banks and going to the insurance industry and the like. It is a reform package that talks about long overdue investment.

My gosh. We look at China and her investment in a clean-energy economy, and if we don't understand that we need to be in this global race to win it, we understand I hope--we show it here in this leadership, in the majority, the Democratic majority in the House--that we understand by our actions that whoever wins this global race on clean energy becomes the kingpin of the global economy. We will be the exporter of energy innovation and intellect. These are jobs that will grow, just like we saw technology grow when we won the space race four decades ago.

Representative Heinrich, I believe you want to join in.

You know, when I spoke of the small town, the small city that we shared in the good news with yesterday, the city of Waterbury in Albany County in Upstate New York, that is one expression of what could be repeated, is being repeated over and over again with municipalities in this country.

Then you put that into the business sector and the energy efficiency improvements they are making with the stimulus activity. You talk about households where we put $5 billion into weatherization programs to again create stronger energy environments within which to live. No family should

be asked to live in poor energy environments. They are wasteful. Those are wasteful situations in terms of energy supply and dollars that are expended.

So when we look at the track record here, you talk about whose side are you on, we are looking at over one-half million jobs created since December, 84 percent of which were in the private sector category.

When we look at tax relief, we are not talking about just the upper income strata that was the situation for the Bush administration, but now we are talking about 98 percent of Americans getting relief, to the point where tax bills are at their lowest level since 1950.

So we are talking about a whole different approach, a whole different attitude. And it is embracing the bigger landscape, the people-scape of America, where the masses are brought into consideration and the priority is with the working families. Main Street and side streets come before that Wall Street situation. Wall Street recklessness created Main Street joblessness, and that thinking is over.

That huge red block pointed to by Representative Wasserman Schultz is now a situation that meant two wars, off-budget; it meant a doughnut hole, give it to the insurance industry in the Medicare program area. It meant all sorts of tax cuts to the few in society. That was economic ruination. And, now, this swing upward didn't just happen. It took straightforward thinking, it took laser-sharp focus, it took sensitivity to those who were bearing the brunt here.

If the gentlewoman would yield, what the Representative is pointing to in the red is 18 months' worth of activity, $17.5 trillion worth. That is $1 trillion per month.

And obviously the decline did not happen overnight. We saw that there were months upon months upon years of activity that really did not respond favorably to the needs of America's consumers, America's business community, in particular her small business community.

So the huge climb back of 30 percent recovered, recaptured, $5-plus trillion, maybe $6 trillion, at this point is a remarkable comeback in a relatively few short months. So this is the start of a comeback, and it certainly is not good enough. We want more. We want more good news. But to keep the direction afloat, to keep the momentum rising means to allow for the progress to continue.

And I believe it is very obvious that with the control here in Congress and in the White House, there is a serious desire and design to produce this comeback that was so desperately needed and in a way that is remarkably sound, in investing in issues and areas of activity that were back-burnered for far too long. They held back progress. And now, not only are we producing jobs, producing relief, strengthening confidence, growing the economy; we are doing it with an investment in futuristic outcomes where we are dealing with cutting-edge opportunities in R&D and basic research and job creation in activities from trades to Ph.D.s. This is the full spectrum. This is the beauty of this innovation economy. But at least there is a leadership that gets what needs to be done and is in fact impacting favorably the outcomes here.

Mr. Boccieri is right on point. I believe that, to the messaging out there, there could be those critics that want to resort to phantom statistics. But when you look at what is happening out there, there is no denying that these bits of fact that we are sharing here this evening are all recorded, they are documented. And it is that sort of fact, not fiction, that will rule and guide the policies as we go forward.

The fact that factory orders have increased by the largest amount in more than 9 years is encouraging news. It is back to the point that Representative Boccieri made about people want to produce, they want to create, they want to manufacture in this Nation. And the fact that these factory orders are up beyond limits from 9 years back in recordkeeping is encouraging news. It tells us that there is confidence again, there is optimism that is ruling the day, and that the turnaround, that huge U-turn of which Fortune Magazine wrote is becoming more and more real in the lives of people. Car sales rising by 20 percent. That is so important to a region like that of Representative Boccieri that is so hooked to the auto industry. Upstate New York in many of its regional economies is directly linked to that auto economy and to the industry.

So a 20 percent rise in sales for automobiles is an important stat that we ought to look at.

So again, the repeated message here this evening--and again, Representative Wasserman Schultz, thank you for bringing us together. The tone, the theme that we have talked about, Representative Heinrich, is this wonderful opportunity to continue along the course of progress, or the reverse is to hand over the keys to those who drove the car into the ditch, and that pulling the car out of the ditch took quite an effort and it took a while.

We're not where we want to be yet, but we're certainly moving in steps forward and upward that are taking us to a new plateau and doing it in a way that is investing in American workers, investing in American business in a way that allows us then to compete more effectively in the global marketplace. That is a multitude of good that we have embraced in the policies that have been established and that are being put into place and then now are obviously working.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. The facts, only the facts, that's what we need to share here. Forget the scare tactics. Forget the talk of doom and gloom. Let's look at what's happening, and let's embrace it with a spirit of optimism and with that tremendously characteristic sense of pioneer spirit that is part of the DNA of America. Americans, through all ages, have been about creating jobs and creating and discovering new opportunities. We won a space race four decades ago. We need to enter in boldly and armed to do what we can with this clean energy race that is global also.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Wall Street reform and ask, Which side are you on? In my opinion, the debate on Wall Street reform is straightforward. There are those who support hardworking American families and small businesses against those who wish to protect the status quo and big Wall Street banks which are to blame for the current recession.

For example, last year this House passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. None--that's right, zero--of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle supported that bill. The other side can no longer ignore American families who have worked hard and played by the rules, only to see their homes foreclosed on, their retirement savings lost, their business destroyed, or their jobs wiped out.

We need commonsense reforms and stronger consumer protections to ensure that a crisis on this order of magnitude never happens again. It is time we streamlined government and put a cop on the beat of Wall Street to protect American families and businesses. Absent this cop, Wall Street will regulate itself as it did under the previous administration. The American economy cannot afford to live through real-life tragedy again and neither can her families.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 243 I was detained on business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of health care reform, one can't help but ask rhetorically why there would be forces out there that would deny progress? Why promote misinformation? Why refuse to set up exchanges for the business community? Why promote a repeal?

I think it is pretty straightforward and easy to determine that there are those who are fighting for the people's interest ahead of those insurance profit column rises over the last decade. I think it is a threat to those asking for and ensuring that the doughnut hole will be closed, and adult children up to the age of 26 will be able to stay on their parents' coverage, no more caps on coverage but really benefit people in this insurance struggle they have faced in the past.

It is pretty obvious, this is an effort by those who have wanted to dismantle Medicare as we know it, those who want to privatize Social Security, those who want to protect the insurance industry's profit margin to yet score another victory with repeal.

I think we have a solid effort going forward. I believe we should stay the course.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California and the gentleman from Wisconsin. I rise today in support of H. Res. 1280, a resolution that I introduced to recognize National Healthy Schools Day. National Healthy Schools Day recognizes the importance of having a clean, healthy and safe indoor environment in our Nation's schools.

Each day millions of students, teachers, and staff go to work and school in our Nation's schools. Not all of these are healthy environments, especially for our young children. The EPA estimates that up to one-half of those schools have problems with indoor air quality. And 32 million students attend schools that have self-reported environmental problems with their facilities that can affect our children's health and learning.

Indoor air quality is one of the most common environmental problems in schools, which can aggravate children's allergies and asthma problems. Nine percent of our Nation's schoolchildren have asthma, which is the leading cause of absenteeism in schools. Other common environmental problems in schools include mold infestations, lead and copper contaminated drinking water, playgrounds and classrooms with high levels of pesticides, unchecked furnaces and buses leaking carbon monoxide, and exhaust from gasoline-powered equipment.

These problems affect the health of our Nation's schools and the people in them, and can contribute to absenteeism, learning difficulties, sick building syndrome, staff turnover, and liability issues for our school districts.

Research shows that simple steps can be taken to make our schools healthier. Heating and ventilation equipment can be improved to enhance indoor air quality. New schools can be built with a healthy design at non-polluted sites, in more sustainable ways that reduce energy and maintenance costs. Nontoxic products can be used for cleaning, maintenance and teaching. The use of natural light can be improved.

Healthy and high performance schools are designed to improve the indoor environment for the students and staff members who go to work and school in these buildings each and every day. They are more energy efficient and lead to better overall health. Many States, in fact, have already adopted guidelines for building healthy and high performance schools, like my home State of New York.

National Healthy Schools Day draws attention to the importance of having a safe and healthy school environment for our Nation's students. National Healthy Schools Day is supported by the Healthy Schools Network, the EPA, the National Education Association, and many more organizations. I am proud to be counted as a supporter of National Healthy Schools Day, and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues here to ensure that every student has a healthy environment in which to learn. After all, our children are the foundation for this country's great future. Shouldn't we be providing them with the safest and healthiest places to learn?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Russo's Bar & Grill in Amsterdam, New York, a city I have proudly called home my entire life.

John Russo opened Russo's in 1920 as the Mohawk Grocery Store. After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, John turned the grocery store into a tavern and pool hall. He then passed it to his children, Pat, Angelo, Vince, and Lou. Other than Lou's sad passing, the others are still alive and well today. The restaurant eventually was passed along to its current owners, Mike and Barbara Russo.

However, Russo's is much more than a run-of-the-mill restaurant. Russo's is about family, a gathering place, old American ideals, an immigrant's dream, and a successful small business. Perhaps that is why even then-candidate Hillary Clinton recognized the importance of Russo's, making a campaign stop there during her successful 2000 run for a United States Senate seat.

Nearly a century ago, John Russo planted his dream seed, which germinated and grew over generations to what we see today, a continuing tradition and legacy of fine food, family gathering, a sense of place, and a gathering post after local community meetings and events. Russo's has the recipe for success, tasty success, for 90 years. Congratulations, Russo's.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, this evening, we are going to be speaking about those advancements in public policy terms that allow us to go forward with a very meaningful agenda to continually respond as an American public to the dynamics of Earth Day.

It is hard to imagine that it takes us back to 1970 when we first ushered in Earth Day, a time when Americans were working to focus on the stewardship that is our responsibility to grow a stronger environment and a better environmental response to enable us to improve outcomes out there, outcomes such as the air that we breathe. Obviously, as stewards of the environment, we have the responsibility, yes, to enhance the outcome in the present, but it also much more relevantly speaks to what we will do for future generations to make certain that our actions today will begin the process of a stronger outcome for generations to come.

So efforts on improving the quality of air that we breathe and the efforts to improve the water that we drink are two of those driving forces that have ushered in this celebration annually of Earth Day where we recommit with each and every year to continue the efforts to grow the progressive agenda.

Now, four decades later plus, we know that the climate crises that gripped this Nation and this globe are real. We know that the efforts to address our planet in peril are absolutely critical and that we have experienced now the challenges that behoove us to move forward as a nation and as a world to respond not only to those challenges but to see them also as opportunities that are waiting out there for all of us because, as we'll discuss in the ensuing hour, there are those benefits that come with embracing this clean-energy economy, this clean-energy thinking, the green-energy thinking, that will allow us to shape the job market of the future, and that requires us to prepare the skill sets that will be required in our workforce. It will enable us to establish jobs not yet appearing on the radar. It will enable us to move forward with this innovation economy, which will, I think, speak to energy security for us, as Americans, to energy independence and therefore to national security, which is a looming, looming dynamic out there that oftentimes is not discussed.

So, Mr. Speaker, with your permission here this evening, we are going to talk about some of those things, those items, that really were embraced by the Democratic leadership, by the Democratic leadership in this House, on this Hill in Washington, and certainly now in the White House with this new administration's speaking to the empowerment that can come to this Nation, yes, with the results that can be achieved but, yes, also with the corresponding opportunities that will be packaged into the outcomes that we will enjoy.

Our country has been moving in a new direction, I believe, in the last couple of years, understanding that there are a number of benefits that can come to all of us, to all sectors of this country, and certainly there are ways to speak to middle-income American families from coast to coast in a way that provides positive change for them at home. There are issues that will allow us to launch this clean-energy economy that will create millions of jobs associated with that sort of thinking. These are jobs, I will posit, which will not be outsourced. These will be jobs that will be stationed here in the United States which will enable us to again be the masters of our destiny, which will allow us to be the architects of new programmatic efforts of inducing all sorts of beneficial sorts of concepts and programs which will enable us to showcase the American pioneer spirit.

You know, I represent a district in upstate New York that was the birthplace to the westward movement. My district houses the confluence of two historic water channels--the Mohawk River and the Hudson River-- and the confluence of those two rivers is the edge of that westward movement that created a port out of a town called New York City, which then gave birth to a necklace of communities which became the epicenters of invention and innovation, which then created the pathway to a westward movement that developed not only New York as a State but the entire country as a nation, which then impacted with its discoveries the quality of life of people around the world.

That same pioneer spirit that drove the Industrial Revolution and that drove the first energy revolution can also now be that inspiration that allows us to move forward in a way that creates this green energy revolution that will respond to the absolute symbolism and spirit of Earth Day, which, as I said, started some four decades ago, over 40 years ago, when the first celebration occurred.

In embracing this sort of agenda, it also will enable us to lower energy costs for American businesses and certainly for American households. It is such an important factor as people have learned through these very difficult economic times that we need to be able to control those costs. We will talk a bit tonight, I imagine, about a smart grid, about smart meters, about smart thermostats, all of which put control and responsibility, but then also provide opportunities for America's energy consumers--large and small, businesses and households--with all of us prospering from that sort of activity.

So, in lowering those energy costs, which sometimes can be a very significant price to pay, it can be a significant wedge of a business pie chart for

costs of that particular business or for that particular industry. It also can be a very painful and growing wedge of the household pie chart for its finances, especially for some of our lower income strata families, working families, who, when impacted by these growing energy costs, are paying more and more of a percentage of their household incomes, disproportionately represented for their households, compared to other households that may be living in better energy environments and that may be living in situations which don't extract as much pain, require as much pain, due to those energy costs as they do for other families.

Also, with this agenda of progress, with this progressive nature of policy reforms, I think it will allow us to reduce that growing gluttonous dependence on foreign imports, on fossil-based fuels that are still our heavy reliance. That dependence on foreign oil is oftentimes associated with unstable countries, yes, but more critically with unfriendly nations to America as a country. Certainly, leaders of our country have had difficult times with those unfriendly nations, and we continue to move forward with this gluttonous dependency on that foreign import of oil.

Then, finally, there is the opportunity for us to speak in meaningful measure about reducing our carbon pollution that is now causing climate change, global warming. This increasing carbon footprint threatens not only the Nation's environment but the world's environment, the global environment. These efforts, these benefits, that can be realized simply through the investment of resources, through the development of public policy, through the resolve of taking on an agenda that can really grow a positive outcome and that can provide a more optimistic flavor for all of us here in this Nation are doable items, and they should be committed to with a strong sense of resolve as we celebrate Earth Day tomorrow on April 22 across this country.

Americans cannot afford, Mr. Speaker, to return to some of the failed policies of the past where people have associated a partnership as a tradition with Big Oil. Big Oil has been demanding of us to continually send those billions of dollars, which I made mention of, overseas for foreign oil. It is putting dictators who, perhaps, tolerate terrorism or who, more dreadfully, engineer that terrorism in ways that put them in charge of our energy supplies. That should be a no-brainer. That should be a challenge to all of us to escape the woes of that sort of dependency to enable us again to be in charge of our energy decisions and in charge of our energy resources and supplies.

Also, we are lavishing those subsidies on oil companies which have been earning continually--and especially in recent history--record profits, record profits that should behoove us to reformulate our thinking, enabling us to move forward in a way that doesn't have us furthering our dependence on foreign imports of oil but rather has us escaping the crippling impact that this expensive, dirty, and dangerous 19th century thinking, as it relates to fuel sources, continues to bear on the outcomes for so many Americans.

So I believe, on Earth Day, we should step back and recommit, as we move forward, to go forward with this green thinking, with this green Earth thinking of outcomes that can be very real in our lives here as Americans, a thinking that enables us to commit with a high degree of passion to R&D, to research and development, to basic research through our universities and through our private sector to enable us to continue to build upon those active qualities of growing shelf opportunities that can be reached in terms of energy efficiency issues and in terms of retrofits for homes and businesses, which will enable us to look at not just the supply side of the equation but will enable us to reach over to the other side of that equation, the demand outcome. That demand side of the equation is one that can find us prospering simply by addressing a reduction in the amount of energy supplies that we utilize, in energy supplies that are meaningful and in energy supplies that should be seen, accompanied by a strong commitment, a resolve, to address energy efficiencies as a fuel of choice.

That energy efficiency outcome should be a very high priority of fuels to which we reach. It should be seen as that quantity out there, as that commodity that is mined and drilled, just as we actively mine for coal or drill for oil, and we should again do the mining and drilling operation with energy efficiency, our fuel of choice, to reduce that mountain of electrons that is required, that is depended upon. We can deal with that in very meaningful measure by moving forward with opportunities in research and development and certainly in the practical outlay of resources where we measure up by retrofitting our businesses, our communities, and our households with energy efficiency.

Let me just speak to some practical measures that are very much akin to the 21st Congressional District, which I represent in upstate New York. While I served in the State legislature for many years, just shy of 25 years in the New York State Assembly, I served as energy chair for the last 15 years. We had put together some novel opportunities, experiments, that would provide for a greener thinking of energy policy.

What we had done in our efforts was to, for example, work with threatened economies, with the ag economy. I happen to represent a number of agriculture-related industries and businesses within upstate New York. Chief amongst them was the dairy sector, a sector that, until this day, has always been threatened by an inappropriate response for the pricing mechanism that is required to enable our dairy farmers to be justly responded to for the hard work, 24/7, that they do at their businesses, oftentimes family business-related, that brings food to the table.

In order to respond to that agenda where their costs of production were oftentimes not covered and were not met by the price of milk that was delivered to them for the produce, for the product they delivered to the market, we set upon a course, an agenda, to respond in favorable and in sensitive measure to our dairy farmers.

Well, we put together a commitment with a partnership--with ESCOs, Energy Services Companies; with NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; with farm organizations; with local utilities; and with the State of New York, the assembly--working with some legislative resources that it would apply towards this experiment.

We were able to reach out to the farming community. We got two volunteer farms to enter into a demonstration project. And here they are dealing with milk as a commodity. That is a very perishable product that is highly regulated, that deals with the pumping and cooling process, that deals with many energy issues that are unique. They can't go off peak. Mother Nature calls. Their milking process is one that is governed by nature, not by human decision to go off peak or on peak.

So with the uniqueness, we addressed their concerns. We came forward with an energy efficiency retrofit for these dairy farms that introduced double-digit percentage reduction in the amount of energy supplies that were required at that farm, without even addressing the tariff rate that they were charged. Simply by reducing the mountains of electrons required at those two dairy farm operations, we were able to reduce their cost of production significantly simply through energy terms.

Now, that is one small example in one sector of one important industry in upstate New York, throughout New York State, and a very meaningful, meaningful industry because they are dealing with nutritional needs. They are placing those nutrition needs onto the table, the dinner tables of families across this country. That is one example of how we are able to relate energy efficiency to a struggling industry, to one that needed greater respect in public policy measure. That is inspiration to all of us. And certainly for just the dairy sector, it was inspiration to then reach out and do a much larger program with time where we dealt with about 70 farms that were equally surprised with their outcomes, that came with energy efficiency operations, that enabled us to have a much stronger outcome. The response of that, the result of all of that was that people are now looking and expanding through the Public Service Commission some

greater opportunities that would perhaps allow for statewide programs to take hold.

The point of mentioning this, Mr. Speaker, is that we have it within our grasp--we certainly have it within our intellect--to make these sorts of success stories more and more relevant, more and more visible, and more and more numerous across the industry types and business types of our State and our country. I think it's important for us to see that as an investment that is very sound, no matter what the supply mix, no matter where the power and how the power is generated, and hopefully we move toward an American self-sufficiency, growing self-sufficiency. No matter what that mix, we need to be less gluttonous in the usage. And I think we can. I think we will. And it takes that resolve to move forward and provide the incentives, provide the focus, provide the terms of legislation that will take us to that new era of innovation within the energy cycle.

In 2009, this very House was a leader as it passed clean energy jobs legislation that reduced at the same time carbon emissions in this country, the carbon emissions that would be reduced by some 17 percent by the year 2020. A significant amount of improvement there, keeping America number one in terms of making our country a world leader in new energy technologies, a new leader in making certain that we preserve our American manufacturing base, while protecting consumers. And I think some of the multi-faceted qualities of the outcomes of the driving forces to do a number of these formats for reform sometimes are underestimated and not clearly communicated to the consuming public, to those around this country who are looking for job creation.

Especially as we recover from this very long and deep and painful recession, it is important for us to be the masters of this comeback of the American economy. The way we do it and do it best is to make certain that we advance the notions of progressive reforms that will enable us to create jobs not yet, as I made mention, on the radar and put together a responsiveness to the energy needs of people of this country.

Through the Recovery Act of 2009, much talked about, oftentimes much focused on and perhaps misinforming what really happened, our Nation made in that Recovery Act an historic investment in job creation, investments that would lead to a clean, more vibrant energy future. And it's estimated that we can create with those dollars more than 700,000 jobs, nearly doubling our renewable efforts here in this country for electricity and saving consumers on an ongoing annual basis; making certain that operating costs at home, operating costs at businesses and industries are reduced simply by putting together a solid mix of energy opportunities within that Recovery Act of 2009. Again, if we are moving with smart grids, smart meters, smart thermostats, a better controlled destiny, and more architected opportunity to be creative in our usage, to look off peak and to move to issues like advanced battery manufacturing, which is the linchpin to taking us to a new era in energy, we can do it. It takes leadership. It takes focus. It takes incentives that take us down this new pathway that is greener than the past and in a way that looks in a new direction, that really embraces what still happens in this country.

We are robust in our patent development. We are strong in our higher ed investments. We are strong in our incubator programs, in our R&D opportunities. We need simply to then deploy those success stories that have been prototyped and tested and then advance somehow an agenda that partners with the Angel Network and with the venture capital community the success stories that can then be translated through deployment into the commercialization networks, the business creation that is essential that then translates to the outpouring of jobs that are then available to Americans as we securitize that effort, as we grow our energy independence and grow our security as not only consumers but generators of the energy supplies that we require.

In 2009, this House also passed the clean energy jobs legislation that reduced those carbon emissions, as I said, by some 17 percent. But also in 2007, before my time here because I entered in this past term as a freshman, Congress enacted a landmark energy law that would increase vehicle fuel efficiency for the first time in more than three decades so that the outcome would be 35 miles per gallon, a much more efficient outcome for the industry in this country, and that threshold year of 2020 would be the benchmark, so that by 2020 we would be achieving 35 miles per gallon, a very much increased and improved-upon measurement for fuel efficiency in our auto fleets in this country. These are actions that respond to and underscore the historic commitment to a clean homegrown American agenda. And I think that those biofuels that we've embraced through renewables, with wind and solar, the efforts for geothermal as energy supplies and advanced vehicle technology are just the beginning of progress, the exploration of new frontiers, new pioneer efforts to take us to this new realm of energy creation and energy responsiveness.

I think that with this ACES legislation, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, it was a landmark opportunity for us to now debate in this House the merits of moving forward with an investment in greener thinking. The historic legislation to launch a new and clean energy economy holds great potential. These, again, are jobs that will not be offshored. They will not be outsourced. We will be working to create 1.7 million American jobs with this measure and would help to reduce, again, the dangerous dependence on foreign supplies, so much so that we reduce that dangerous dependence on foreign oil by some 5 million barrels per day, keeping energy costs low for Americans and protecting American consumers from the ravages of costs and price controls that have gone beyond their pocketbook. The impact of all of this is done without any increase to the deficit, which I believe is a very strong outcome for all of us.

We talk about the advancements. We talk about scientists. We talk about technology and engineering. It is important for all of us to understand that there is great potential here in growing the jobs as we address the progressive agenda, and there are those who have led the discussion, led the debate because of their experience as scientists, those who have been there. They understand the value added of these technical-related fields and professions. They know the potential. They know the commitment. They know the passion that these professionals embrace to change our thinking, to bring us to a newer, higher realm of outcome that is within our grasp. We have seen it through the decades. We have seen it in a way that has inspired progress for the entire world well beyond the boundaries of this country. We need to bring back that sort of commitment, that sort of encouragement that enables all of us to work together as a society.

One of those outspoken voices, the informed voices speaking with a fullness, with a depth, comes from scientists like Rush Holt. Representative Holt represents a congressional district in New Jersey, and it has been his passion, it has been his advocacy, as we dealt with policy like ACES, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, issues like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which, again, historically made large down payments to take us to this new thinking-- it has been people like Representative Rush Holt that have delivered and have brought us to this discussion and have forged a positive outcome.

Tonight we are pleased to be joined by Representative Holt as he adds his voice to tonight's discussion, celebrating Earth Day tomorrow in a way that takes us to this green energy economy, this innovation economy.

Representative Holt, it's great to have you join us.

I would be happy to yield.

Representative Holt, if you'll suffer a disruption, if you will yield, you triggered a thought.

Just recently my district hosted the only stop in New York State, actually in Schenectady, of the Operation Free Tour. As you know, it's a bus tour being conducted by veterans for American power and they are doing a coast-to-coast tour, hitting all of the States. It was so impressive. We invited veterans from all vintages, from World War II, from the Korean War, from the Vietnam conflict and up to the present day, more present-day veterans that have committed in uniform and have fought on foreign soils in defense of this nation. Very impressive, very impressive visits by these folks.

They, at our stop in Schenectady, New York, had three spokespersons: one veteran from the State of Arkansas, who has done two tours of duty as a marine in Iraq, spoke to the crowd, spoke to those assembled. We had a visitor, a veteran from the State of Wisconsin. She drove a truck, I believe, with the Army in Iraq. And then finally a veteran from the State of New Hampshire who as an Army officer did a tour of duty in Iraq and a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is now at Yale Law School.

To a person, each of these veterans spoke of the wisdom, the no- brainer, as we might call it, of moving to energy independence for Americans; energy security. They witnessed the outright destruction of troops, the threat to the troops, the supreme sacrifice oftentimes made simply by forces of Taliban that they believed are fed by the treasuries of these unfriendly nations to which we feed over $400 billion a year; unstable but, more importantly, unfriendly governments to the U.S., using those dollars from their treasury to work against our operations for freedom-loving people around the world.

They also spoke to--and it's what your comments triggered in me--the concerns for global warming, for climate change. They said, this is an issue of national security. Beyond our domestic programming for energy security and energy independence, it's a national security issue. Because what they believe is happening is that with drought, with floods, with famine, you're creating the perfect storm that finds people weakened by famine and a much more robust competition for available land around the world. It's a breeding ground for terrorist activity. The veterans who were there, many of whom had fought in the Second World War, walked away from that saying, what an interesting way to approach the issue. They were impacted by the thought process that was inspired by each of these three veterans, recent veterans, to the honor roll of American history, but to a person these two men and one woman spoke in very relevant terms about what our energy policy can mean to our troops and to the goals of our military into the future.

It just makes so much sense, from a national security, energy independence, energy security concept and perspective if we move forward with clean energy thinking and an innovation economy that can be inspired by that thinking. I think that their comments are very relevant to today's eve of celebration of Earth Day.

I certainly think that this move to innovation, which can be a job growth factor, if that's being denied simply because of an association, a kinship, a partnership with Big Oil, with industries out there as an industry, with big oil companies, then that is a detrimental outcome, one that really needs to be exposed for what it is. To continue with tradition, to continue with that comfortable, cozy relationship, to be able to do the subsidies, to be able to reach out, to empower those traditional sources in a way that has been advocated because there are friendships out there, people enjoy that partnership continuing, that needs to be refocused. It needs to be brought to the attention of the American public, to the consuming public.

And I think that the innovation that can be inspired here, and it's part of the value added that I believe you bring to this House, Representative Holt. I have been with you in many discussions and I enjoy your passionate plea to really invest in research and development, basic research. You are absolutely right. When we do that, we need to see R&D investments equal to economic development, to job growth. They're not just investments made with no jobs growing from them but we're developing very sound jobs, very good-paying outcomes.

You talked about the innovation. One of the impacts out there of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, one of the stalwart efforts of the ACES with R&D investment is to look at the battery as the linchpin, that's that linkage that takes us to this new era of energy thinking. We have seen many of these opportunities, investments made over the last couple of months through the Recovery Act into lithium ion as an advanced battery production out there and the concept of some of the sodium-based. For me in my area with GE and the sodium-based outcome, these are the cornerstone, the building block to the future. If we develop that mastery of innovation in

the battery concepts, we then unleash untold stories of success in the energy-related areas.

And I think there's such a coupling here. I think if we can speak to the focus, the vision, that the Democratic majority in the House embraces, it's pushing efforts the way of small business. So many of these entrepreneurial efforts, the innovation that is driven by these whiz-kid ideas, are substantiated by investments in their prototyping, their testing; and then we need to further commit to deploying these to the commercial networks.

While I was at NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, we were involved with a demonstration project on kinetic hydro, utilizing the turbulence of the East River along the edge of the island of Manhattan to create energy simply through the movement of water with a turbine sub the surface of that water and relying on the turbulence. We disassembled that demo, sent it to the labs in Colorado for DOE, found out the improvements that were required for the blade design, the fin design, the assembly itself of the gearbox, made those improvements, and now there is expectation that perhaps 1100 megawatts worth of power can be realized in one State like New York alone simply through the motion of water.

These are things that should be invested in. These are the opportunities that are growing jobs out there and that can respond in much more environmentally friendly outcomes for our energy needs and energy needs around the world. That pioneer spirit should not be denied and that breaking of, the departure here, our thinking is far removed from that partnership that was, I think, hurtful to us where we're relying on those oil industries, this majority has said, ``Look, let's make that break, let's go into a new energy arena.''

And now you look at the accounts in Newsweek, in Business Week of late, they're talking about the wonderful growth that is coming to the economy because of the Recovery Act, because of that stimulus bill that you talked of. That is providing a lot of impetus for reform, for growth, for change, for recovery. At the same time we're responding to the needs of our energy and our environment, and that needs to be recognized on this eve of Earth Day. I think we can take a great bit of enthusiasm and encouragement from that latest bit of news.

But as a scientist that you are and as one who's an engineer here in the arena, I think that we can continue to push the emphasis on technology that's so important as we just made mention with batteries. I'll talk about that. I think you want to share something here.

I think it is interesting, as you pointed out, this whole Earth Day celebration covers a multitude of needs, but a multitude of opportunities that transcends a number, just travels over so many dynamics out there, from agriculture, to wildlife, to the ecosystem, to water supplies, water usage, air quality, environment, energy requirements and needs. And all of that brought into a compilation of a bigger picture, a thoughtfulness, a planning that enables us to have these strong and measurably improved programs, all while creating job opportunities and developing a strategy that places the environment in the hands of the next generations in a much better outcome than we inherited.

That is acting with responsibility. It is acting with tremendous engagement in an issue area and issues that are so correlated and so important to the outcomes here not just in these United States but around the world.

And as a leader in the world, I think it is important for us to show by example and to teach by this sort of flavor and provide the inspiration that will lead to progress around the world.

You know, you talk about the impacts that are made with the wildlife and with the ecosystem that you just described, with perhaps a threatening situation out there with lesser area of space available. The same is true in our ag economy when we look at opportunities that need to respond to agscape around the country. We need to be able to partner with our friends in agriculture in a way that enables them to deal with their concerns in a way that is transitioned into an opportunity.

Just recently we announced, in the last several months, the opportunity for yet another grant that is going to SUNY Cobleskill that I represent, part of the State University of New York system. And they are an ag and tech campus. They are working on a biowaste to bioenergy project that will enable them to create a fuel source and enable us to keep our water streams cleaner, reduce our dependency on landfills, and enable us to go forward and respond to an energy supply in terms of a newly formulated gas that is now part and parcel of this.

And they start talking about what this demo means to the outcome and where you can overlay this opportunity on several municipalities out there. And there is absolutely opportunity for our troops. When you look at how you are developing this fuel supply, you can avoid transportation through war zones that is very, very dangerous. I mean, in talking to this veteran who was part of Operation Free who traveled to my district to speak on behalf of Veterans for American Power, she spoke of the danger zone when she drove trucks through some of these enemy territories that are responded to by situations like this with new developments that come our way.

So there are ample needs that are addressed simply in very academic terms

that are science and tech applications. I serve on the Science and Technology Committee. It is a wonderful assignment to be able to witness day in and day out what is happening to the auspices of that committee in a way that builds progress based on the investment and research. And that R&D opportunity for this country, a willingness for us to produce those investments that then translate into success stories that then further translate into business opportunities and job growth are what it's all about.

And it is a recommitment to that agenda on this eve of Earth Day that I think is so essential and so much a framework of what's driving this majority in the House of Representatives to build that new day, that new outcome, and working with the new administration to take what was placed on the back burner. When you think of that Recovery Act, when you think of what was taken from that back burner in terms of smart grids, smart thermostats, smart meters, investment in renewables and R&D, in battery development, in energy-efficiency opportunities, along with broadband for our communities and wiring for a new day for our neighborhoods that are perhaps distressed, and for areas that are very remote or very rural, these are ample opportunities that should have been embraced a long time ago. But we are breaking away from some of that dependency on those big industries that were the tail wagging the dog.

Exactly.

1970, yes. It goes by quickly.

I think both you and I see the merit that is brought forth by working through SEEC as a coalition to provide that green outspokenness and to work with our partners in government to make sure we respond to their, perhaps, district concerns or some of the efforts of folks to hold you back, to walk through that, talk through it, and policy through it.

And we are visited today also by one of the co-chairs of that awesome coalition, Jay Inslee from the State of Washington, who is yet another outspoken voice for green thinking here in the House of Representatives.

Welcome, Representative Inslee, to sort of bring us to a close on our hour of discussion about Earth Day tomorrow.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Chairman Inslee, and thank you for your leadership with SEEC, the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Coalition.

I think as we reference our comments this evening to Earth Day as a celebration tomorrow, we think back to 1970. And it was about the commitment to a better outcome, to addressing business that needed to be accomplished. Tonight we resolved that it's about unfinished business, but yet about untold opportunity. And we can accomplish both by continuing our commitments to a much stronger development and responsiveness to our environment which comes through all sorts of policy, including energy.

So, Mr. Speaker, we thank you this evening for the opportunity to share the thoughts of the majority here. And it is onward with progressive policy to be sensitive to those next generations that will inherit from us the outstanding work we can do if we commit.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize March 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, or LGBT Health Month in the state of New York. The health and happiness of all LGBT individuals in New York and across the country is of tremendous importance. I applaud the efforts of the Healthcare Committee in organizing LGBT month for March 2010, and I look forward to seeing this tradition grow and thrive in the years to come.

The Healthcare Committee of the NYS LGBT Health and Human Services Network, in conjunction with the Empire State Pride Agenda, declared the theme of this year's inaugural event ``31 Ways for 31 Days.'' The Committee has gathered 31 simple and useful health tips, one for each day in March, to serve as a resource for the LGTB community.

LGTB Health Month is an opportunity for the LGTB community, and all New Yorkers, to unite around the common goal of good health. In following the 31 Ways for 31 Days, we are all reminded that a healthy community is also a happy community.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me in recognizing March 2010 as New York LGTB Health Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my deepest sympathy to the people of Poland in the wake of last week's tragic plane crash and to express my support for the resolution by the gentlelady from Pennsylvania that we passed this afternoon.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, along with his wife Maria, the First Lady, military chiefs, civil leaders from across the political spectrum, and senior religious clergy perished in Saturday's crash on their way to Katyn, Russia, to commemorate another great tragedy in Poland's history.

At a time when global and domestic strife dominate our consciousness, these leaders were traveling in a historic effort to heal the deep wounds of the Katyn massacre in Polish and Russian history. These were men and women who stood up to tyranny and helped shape their nation's democratic transformation, but this loss was not Poland's alone.

From the outpouring of support by our Nation's 9 million Americans of Polish descent, including those in New York's 21st Congressional District, and my very own family, to the President and First Lady's attendance at President Kaczynski's funeral this Sunday, America stands next to Poland in mourning. The solidarity of the Polish people in their grief and their quiet resolve to carry on is an inspiration to us all. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were lost and all those that they have led.

I think the important thing here with the tax situation is that, you know, Representative Kagen is exactly right. What we were targeting, what we were focusing, is the bulk of American workers out there, middle-income Americans who were requiring some kind of relief. And as we made it our task in a laser-sharp, focused way to stop the bleeding of this recession, we wanted to make certain that there was some more purchase power for America's working families.

And one of the very first measures was the Making Work Pay tax credit, which we will speak to, at least a $400 benefit for an individual or, for those filing jointly as a couple, $800. Now, this an incremental benefit that began in 2009 and continues through 2010. And I think it's important for us so as to get that buying power out there to encourage people to perhaps pick up some of the purchasing that they wanted to do that they were not able to do.

It's important for us to make certain that if you've done your taxes, if you missed this opportunity in 2009, make certain you're asking those who may prepare these taxes for you to check out these benefits. You should file under Schedule M of the 1090 form to make certain that this particular credit is taken advantage of. It is putting a great benefit out there for some 110 million working families.

And I believe that the working Americans who are going to be benefiting from this, the dollars that are saved, the benefit that is provided here, was nearly a hundred billion dollars into the pockets of our Americans that are of that category. So I think this is an important benefit that comes at a time when we needed to strengthen that purchase power.

And I think that you're absolutely right that we need to share this message with Americans out there, especially as they come to the close of their tax prep work. Be mindful also that you can further amend if you miss some of these benefits, because they were geared specifically for those categories of individuals we address here this evening.

Absolutely. And Representative Garamendi, I would commend you for bringing us together tonight so as to alert people to these benefits. They are part of the Recovery Act. The Recovery Act has been, you know, driving a very strong outcome for so many American families out there, and we just want them to know of the benefits associated with the act.

Yes. Well, one of my favorite topics is energy. No matter where we live, whether it's California, Ohio, Wisconsin, those representatives hear what I hear, that we need to understand that we can control our destiny when it comes to energy as consumers. We are the most gluttonous in the world. And whether that resource is developed here in a domestic fashion, which I believe ought to be our thrust, or whether it's done through imports that are just not, I think, the choice for Americans as we move forward. But, regardless, whatever that base of supply is, we need to strive for energy efficiency and conservation.

And what I like about a number of the tax situations that we are doing in the Recovery Act or in general policy format is that we are looking at the big picture. We are putting it into a context that promotes sound policy.

So as we expand or continue tax credits for renewables, we make certain that we are providing that production tax credit that really ignites the efforts to build our supply here domestically. I think that is so critically important to not only our energy independence and our energy security but our national security.

Just recently I hosted, during our recess for Passover and Easter, the only stop in the State of New York made by the bus tour with Veterans for American Power. And three veterans just recently doing a tour in Iraq and Afghanistan spoke at that event. They call it Operation FREE, and they talk about the wisdom of transitioning our energy needs to domestic produced, American power. They call this Veterans for American Power. They talked about the ravaging on our troops done by dollars sent to the treasuries of those unfriendly nations that are supplying our fossil-based needs.

So this production tax credit will take us along the message that the veterans are sharing. Veterans who have served us in uniform, in Iraq and Afghanistan, have said we are not doing the right energy policy. This will encourage it with these production tax credits.

Then we provide households--American residents will be benefited by these tax credits that will enable them to get as much as 30 percent of a tax credit up to $1,500 based on the work that they have done on their homes with energy efficient furnaces, with the replacement of windows or doors, with insulation. This will be a smart move that will enable them through the years to reduce the cost of operating that home.

I think this is wise policy and a great tax benefit for our American taxpayers.

I would also mention, if I might, the jobs associated with the production tax credit, be it wind or solar or geothermal, waste energy projects. All of these efforts are critically important to providing that capacity that we need as a Nation and providing for that capacity with American jobs. As we transition to these renewables, I think that this is a great way to grow jobs and to strengthen our energy security in the process.

Furnaces.

Yes. I was just going to indicate that when we look at the impact of the Recovery Act, the stimulus package on our State economies, Dr. Kagen, Representative Kagen, is very correct that the whole effort here was to provide that job growth, it was to provide stability, it was to really boost the buying power of the American public. That largest tax cut in American history for working families is something that has obviously worked.

When we look at the record now in New York State, 98 percent of working families in New York were benefited in 2009. They were getting, on average, a benefit of $1,340--nearly $1,340. That's a tremendous boost to the economy of our State. And there are public efforts that were made for education and relief to government so that we would not see additional cuts; we could retain jobs along with create jobs.

We are also benefited by the fact that just about all income levels receive some sort of tax relief. There are those from the administration of Ronald Reagan, very conservative thinkers, who are saying this is a very good outcome that we're looking at now with the Obama administration. This was a great bit of leadership that saved us from this ever-deep, ever-long recession.

It was pointed out by my colleague, Representative Sutton, that this stimulus package enabled the growth of jobs that came via factory manufacturing. Well, in my district in Schenectady, which is the birthplace of electricity with GE's headquarters, we are now transitioning into something different than a lithium ion battery. And the diversity that we're encouraging here is important. They're looking at a sodium-based battery that will enable us not only to utilize that innovation for the generation of energy and for heavy vehicle fleets, heavy-weighted vehicle fleets, but also for the storage of intermittent power. Now, there is the lynchpin; the battery is that lynchpin that takes us to a new realm, a new plateau in job creation with an innovation economy.

And, again, what I like about the focus here is that we look at the big picture. We don't thrust throw a tax cut for the sake of a tax cut, but we incorporate the thinking of how it ripples into the economy with the policy impact that it makes. And if we can invest in a way that finds us growing jobs with technology with the innovation economy, we are then creating that smart outcome that will allow our industries here that are American based and our businesses to compete effectively and to win those contracts in a global marketplace. It doesn't have to be cheaper; it needs to be smarter.

And while I have the mic here, I just have to mention to Representative Sutton that repeatedly, as Representative Kagen indicated, I will have people ask me if I was part of that effort promoted by Representative Sutton. And I said, look, she's not only a colleague, she's a friend. And I appreciate the fact that as we strengthen the American auto industry we are able to, again, see all the subcontracting that is part of that. It has a way of spreading the concentric circles out; it is the pebble-and-the-pond outcome. And we have all been made stronger because of that investment through the auto industry that came through Cash for Clunkers that again triggered a lot of reaction.

Well, I think in New York, obviously, the benefit that comes via the child tax credit or the earned income tax credit is something that needs to be paid strict attention to. We are helping, we are empowering some of the--well, in this case, the poorest three- fifths of taxpayers out. The tax credit for children is stretched to at least $1,000--up to $1,000. The earned income tax credit----

Exactly. And then with the earned income tax credit we stretch the eligibility, and we further reduce the marriage penalty. And so there is an awful lot here that speaks to many, many people who have benefited. That's why it is historic in nature. It's the largest such tax cut for working families in America. And this is a major plus. This is an empowerment to these families that when given this opportunity were able to make these purchases out there from American businesses that then called in more people, were beginning to see the job count rise.

We have to remember the last 4 or 5 months of the previous administration was recording somewhere between a 700,000 and 800,000 job loss per month, per month. Now we saw in January, was it 22,000, climbed a little with the tough weather and climate and impacts out there across the country to some 36,000 in February, and now in March we see this 126,000-plus job count. We are seeing the swing go upward.

Representative Kagen and I talked earlier this evening about that graph, that linear graph that was just plummeting downward for several months and hit its lowest point in December of 2008 and then began to swing up so that we dropped, was it 17? The American families' wealth dropped by some $16 trillion. Now it's swinging up beyond $5 trillion, $6 trillion as we climb upward. Is it going to happen overnight? Not necessarily. It most likely won't. But this was coming for a long time. It was failed economic policies that were driving down this country's economy that impacted the world economy. And the question here is, do we want to go back to those failed policies or do we advance the agenda of progressive policies that will now make us join together in that climb upward where we're seeing the wealth of American families beginning to crawl back, climb back? We're on a good course, and we need to stay the course. And the four of us here this evening are on that message of looking at what's happening here, tax credits that will benefit, investment in job creation, and a turning around of the economy.

And Representative Garamendi, for bringing us together I say thank you again because this message needs to be heard.

Today we answer the clarion call from the American people to fix our Nation's broken health care system. Today is the day we deliver on that promise with a vote as historic as the creation of Social Security and Medicare.

Today I will cast my vote in favor of putting the control back into the hands of American families and small businesses and their doctors. No longer will insurance companies be able to hold people hostage by raising rates and abuse sick people by dropping and denying coverage. Small businesses will no longer see their premiums skyrocket and will not have to make the painful decision to stop offering health insurance to their employees because the costs have climbed too high.

Indeed, this bill is about freedom. Every American will now have the freedom from control of insurance companies and their record profits and will have the freedom to access the care they need, when they need it. Our seniors will have the freedom to enjoy Medicare for years to come, and they will have the freedom from worrying about the cost of their prescription drugs.

The bottom line for me, Mr. Speaker, is whether the people in the capital region of New York will be better off with these reforms, and my answer is yes. Absolutely, yes.

Thank you, Representative Garamendi.

It is important, I believe, for us to recognize, as you're suggesting, the benefits that we're bringing because of this reform for Americans across this great country. Now, the chants that we heard today were concerned about taking away freedoms. I would suggest that as we look at the dynamics of this legislation, we're going to see great improvements--great improvements to access, to affordability, and to the quality of care, all of which are, indeed, important to our families, our individuals, and certainly to our businesses, as they continue to struggle with the cost of health care insurance.

As we think of these dynamics, it's important to know--and I look at the benefits personalized to my congressional district in upstate New York, in the capital region, and amongst those benefits is an improvement where 1,100 to 1,200 families will be spared the pain of bankruptcy. When you think of the growing dynamic that health care costs have as they relate to bankruptcy, it's staggering. It's staggering. Eleven hundred to 1,200 families will be saved from the ravages of bankruptcy driven by medical costs, health care costs.

I'm reminded with recent data that 62 percent of bankruptcies in this country are caused by exorbitant medical fees, health care that is not covered even though in some cases people are insured. In fact, I'm reminded that of that 62 percent, 78 percent had insurance when they were impacted by this illness, by the catastrophic situation. That tells us something.

So we want to talk about freedoms. Yes, I want to provide for the freedom from bankruptcy, the freedom from claims being denied by insurance companies when you are insured. And as you indicated, Representative, in your home State of California, the number is staggering. I want to promote freedom--freedom from the greed of insurance executives who say the sky is the limit for compensation and the profit column rules the day.

These are the freedoms that we believe are important to the American public: freedom from bankruptcy; freedom from denied claims; freedom from ever-rising costs, premiums that are escalating beyond belief; freedom from grief. That's what we're talking about here.

And tomorrow will be an historic day as we look to change that situation and to strengthen the fabric of our American families and our business community as we continue with this employer-based health care delivery system that will allow us to go forward with a sense of access, affordability, and quality of care.

Thank you for bringing us together this evening, Representative Garamendi.

Representative Garamendi, I couldn't agree more. I think Representative Watson says it well. There is all the call for civil discussion, exchange of information to do things analytically and substantively when it comes to a huge industry that represents $1 of $6 in this country, and we need to do it in a way that brings together the facts, not to deal with fiction. Emotion, obviously, is a part of this discussion. We heard it from our friend, Representative Ryan. We are emotionalized by this, but let's have the sort of dialogue that builds soundness into the reforms that we desperately need as a Nation.

When we get back onto this message of freedom, the freedom to shop, many of us understand there is a capitalist model out there. People understand that it is good to have business be successful. And where we can control cost and contain cost, and allow for growth of that business so more jobs are part of that picture, all the better. So we have the opportunity with these exchanges, developed by this reform legislation, to allow for the freedom to shop, to find a better bargain for health care, and as previous speakers have said, add more people into the mix, more providers into the mix that want to fight for the right to serve you. That is a strengthener.

And then we establish these exchanges where we require those exchanges to have certain rules to be met, to have regulatory aspects. We saw what happened when no regulation was part of the financial world and the banking community; it brought us to our knees in a recession. We need that sort of regulatory aspect, and it is part of the picture.

The medical-loss ratio, the amount of money going back directly to consumers, to those insured, rather than into the profit column, will be a litmus test in order to offer your services in that exchange. And to live with the standards' minimum benefits package. These are the improvements that we bring.

So again to Mr. Ryan's emotion, and I attach myself to that sentiment, we are promoting freedom to shop and we are promoting freedom from bankruptcy. These are essentials of this bill; and the exchanges will allow for much more competition that sharpens the pencil and drives the bottom line benefits for consumers. And the freedom to escape restriction and bias if you have acne or are overweight, or for women who are of child-bearing years, or those who have been violated through domestic violence, to use that as a standard, to deny you insurance coverage, that is the freedom you need, to escape those biases and that prejudice and that tool that allows the industry to grow more prosperous because it won't insure you--these are the freedoms we are encouraging. These were the freedoms we are guaranteeing.

So I am proud to be here tonight to work with you, Representative Garamendi, to make certain that we share with the American public what is really happening with this measure, and we are going to make history by approving this package.

I think what is important to note is the nomenclature on this one is rather offensive. We talk about the doughnut hole as being Medicare part D, but who is paying that? Is Medicare paying that? No, our senior community. Our senior citizens are asked to contribute. It is not Medicare paying for that portion.

So this one was cleverly devised. Cleverly devised. You can almost see the game of footsie going on because somewhere people sat down and thought, We can come up with this great, clever name, sounds attractive, sounds tempting, a doughnut hole. I can tell you many seniors come to me and tell me within a matter of months in any calendar year, I am at that threshold.

For those who are not familiar with it, think of the simple doughnut with the hole in the middle. You get covered for a while, then you don't, and then you do. It is that threshold. Actuarial measures could have told them right when you have to peak there to get people into their own pocket paying for this device that is hurting our senior community.

So when we talk again about freedom, this is freedom from the doughnut of the worst kind. This is freedom from digging into your pocket and paying for your pharmaceutical needs to stay well or to stay alive. So this measure is great about freeing us from that doughnut hole; but this is not Medicare funded, this is out of the individual's pocket, and it is hurting our senior community. And by the year 2018, we will close that doughnut hole completely. It is an expensive proposition; but, again, as you pointed out, no one worried about paying for it when they came up with the plan.

Representative Garamendi, again thank you for bringing us together. I think in addition to that, and you are very right, to have oversubsidized the Medicare Advantage programs some 12 to 14 percent, people say where are the costs coming? Not from you, from the profit column. And actually, we want that to be transformed to something that is Medicare-related in terms of balancing the scales there and allowing our seniors to still have an advantage by having that program continue, but making certain that the oversubsidization is denied. And you are very right about the fraud and the abuse that may be part of that programming.

But it is also important to note, I believe, that situations like medical home models and accountable care organizations will provide for the collaboratives that we need to coordinate the resources, to improve access, and to bring together the confluence of services in a way that streamlines without really hurting--actually helping the outcome for our seniors.

Then of course free annual wellness visits. Making certain that those copayments, those deductibles are not going to saddle individuals, again having to be forced to dig into your own pocket. We will now have those free annual opportunities, screenings of essential types, the annual checkups. These are items that will not require--actually, copayments and deductibles will be denied and they will be disallowed. So you go forward and you encourage the preventative and wellness approaches to health care delivery, which is an important aspect, I think, to the benefits of this program.

We have to remember that the $1.2 trillion that is saved in the second 10 years out and the $138 billion that is saved in the first 10 years are just those budget-related scorings that were done by the Congressional Budget Office. But there are those who are suggesting that well beyond any kind of budget impact are the ripple effects of a good kind that will come simply by instituting wellness and prevention and access and putting clinics into the system, relieving our health care delivery system of uncompensated care burdens. A number of these things can't be scored by the Congressional Budget Office. So it goes well beyond the $1.34 trillion that has been projected by a very conservative, nonpolitical CBO group.

So I think there is reason for great hope here. And if we could instill hope, if we could insert hope into the lives of people, into the fabric of our health care opportunities we are achieving a great deal. And again, because this is so critical in the lives of people and in the profit columns of businesses that provide jobs, this is an important discussion.

I would have to add to your list of benefits in this measure is the stabilization of the Medicare trust fund, providing that trust fund as we go forward being a stronger element out there, enabling us to again provide the Medicare benefits and services that are required. It is an important aspect. It is important to 113,000 beneficiaries in my district. So we want to make certain it's there.

I will add to your list. And I am glad, Representative, that you made mention that no benefit cuts are included in the language of the bill. So these are another bit of freedoms that we are talking about in this measure.

Nine years.

Thank you very much for bringing us together.

There is so much to talk about with this bill, but you know, as what has been mentioned with Representative Ryan, a family living on an annual income of $50,000 gets the $5,800 tax credit. Well, you know, it doesn't end there. It goes all the way up to the threshold of $88,000 for annual household incomes whereby families are going to receive some sort of benefit.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to provide for middle-income America, to provide income for them so that they can promote wellness within their individual families. Absolutely tremendously strong idea. It empowers the middle class, the working families of this country.

It empowers our small businesses. Representative Watson talked about the benefits in her district to small businesses. In my district, between 14,000 and 15,000 businesses will be given the opportunity for tax credits to help purchase the employer-based plans for their given employees. And don't they prosper from a sound and well workforce? I think that is important. They also will have the benefits of shopping within an exchange if they so choose.

So there is all of this effort made to make certain that we advantage people in a way that will promote wellness, provide health care in an affordable and accessible fashion.

We also do know that the benefits to our senior community, with all of the strengthening of Medicare without reducing those benefits, promoting their pharmaceutical needs being addressed fully in the near future so that they are not avoiding those pharmaceuticals simply because they cannot afford them; that is bad policy.

So what we have here is freedom galore, freedom galore to be able to stay well, to stay strong, to grow and prosper, to be hopeful. This is a golden moment. This is a wonderful moment that we will share tomorrow as we come out to this floor and address this health care reform measure.

And thank you Representative Garamendi for bringing us to together. Thank you for the opportunity.