Phil Hare

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010 and for the rights of workers all across this great Nation. I would like to begin by thanking Chairman George Miller and Chairwoman Woolsey for their tireless work on this bill.

As many of you know, I began my career on a factory floor and saw firsthand the inherent dangers that exist in a workplace. It is the dangerous working conditions I saw that continue to drive my commitment to making every workplace in America safe. Compromise is inevitable in Washington, D.C., but keeping our workers safe, healthy, and alive is nonnegotiable. I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to remember that.

It is clear that we can no longer rely on a system of fines and citations to protect our miners. MSHA must have the ability to swiftly shut down unsafe mines in order to save lives. We must end the corporate culture of ``profit at all costs'' that treats workplace safety upgrades as a budget line item rather than a moral and legal priority.

Today, my colleagues, we have the opportunity to stand up and defend the rights and lives of countless American workers, and I ask you to join me in this great but never-ending fight. The bill before us today will overhaul the very system that has failed to provide adequate protections for our mine workers, each and every day, and I say, enough is enough. This bill puts forth commonsense reforms that are long overdue. It holds irresponsible mine operators accountable.

One of the most unforgettable and heartbreaking moments of my congressional career occurred at the Education and Labor Committee hearing on mine safety. During that hearing, a young boy whose father had perished in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster came up to me and asked me if I could attend one of his soccer games because ``his daddy was in heaven and couldn't go.''

It is for the families like this that we need to put partisan politics aside and pass this critical legislation. Every worker deserves to come home safely at the end of the day, and this bill will go to great lengths to ensure that this is the reality for all of our Nation's mine workers.

I ask my colleagues to join me in standing up for all American workers and supporting this critical legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 50th anniversary of the National Waterways Conference.

I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Jim Oberstar of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for his support of the National Waterways Conference and for cosponsoring this resolution.

I am proud to have introduced H. Res. 1639 because the National Waterways Conference has worked tirelessly since 1960 in educating the public and elected officials about the importance of our nation's inland waterways system. The Conference reaches all corners of inland waterways, the Great Lakes, and coastal stakeholders because it consists of a diverse group of professionals who all work toward a common goal: utilizing the waterways in an efficient and responsible manner, while being accountable to the environment in and around our waters.

The Conference has also worked closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in planning valuable economic and environmental water-based projects in nearly every geographic region of the U.S. and territories. For example, in the 17th District of Illinois, the Sny Island Levee District and the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association have for years worked to ensure that Congress does not forget about the catastrophic flooding in the Midwest, and they have advocated for maximizing urgently needed flood protection and flood control. The Corps in turn has closely studied and crafted a plan for protecting the Upper Mississippi River Valley communities. The Conference and Corps complement each other extremely well.

In addition to recognizing and commending the Conference, the resolution recognizes the solid commitment and excellent work done by the Corps of Engineers--the nation's premier waterways infrastructure operators, designers and builders. The Corps is responsible for waterways navigation, flood damage reduction, and environmental restoration for more than 11,000 miles of channels in 41 States, in addition to the important role it plays in supporting our troops.

I believe it is in the best interest of the American people that the National Waterways Conference continues to work with the Congress, the Corps' Civil Works Division, and local communities because of its expertise in planning for a sound economy, industrial and agricultural productivity, regional development, environmental quality, energy conservation, international trade, and national defense preparedness.

Mr. Speaker, I know the National Waterways Conference will have another successful 50 years advocating for improvements to our nation's water infrastructure. I would like to thank the National Waterways Conference for all of their hard work, and I wish them the best of luck in their next chapter.

I urge all of my colleagues to support passage of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. I want to thank our leadership for continuing the fight for American jobs and our Nation's small businesses.

We all know that small businesses are the backbones of our local economies and bolster economic growth in our districts, States and Nation. Unfortunately, small businesses have not escaped the devastating impacts of this recession.

When the credit markets tightened and payrolls declined, small business owners were forced to make incredibly tough decisions-- sometimes shutting their doors forever. This legislation will help existing small businesses grow and give entrepeneurs the assistance they need to open new ones.

The bill creates a $30 billion small business lending fund in which financial institutions, such as the smaller community banks in my district, can leverage as much as $300 billion of badly needed credit to small businesses.

I'm proud that this Congress continues to provide tax relief to our small businesses and I am happy that this bill includes another $12 billion in tax incentives for them.

The bottom line is that this bill gives small businesses on Main Street the tools they need to continue to spearhead our recovery and fuel our economy.

As Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to restore the economic promise of this Nation, and I won't rest until small businesses across Illinois are secure, have the resources they need, and are able to put many more of our neighbors back to work.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of both the rule and the underlying bill so that Americans can get the help they need during these tough times of economic recovery.