Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise once again in strong support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (also known as SCHIP). I commend the Senate for acting so promptly on the measure and the leadership of this House for bringing it to the floor for its final vote.

One of the biggest moral failures of our nation is the fact that we allow nine million children to go without health insurance every day in the United States. This is unacceptable. Our children are the future of this great nation--a future that is compromised every day we let a single child go without health care.

Since its inception, SCHIP has successfully filled the gap between those families qualifying for Medicaid and those who can afford private health insurance. In these times of economic hardship, SCHIP creates a fundamentally important safety net, providing health coverage for seven million low-income children; 345,000 children in Illinois.

The legislation before us today reauthorizes the SCHIP program through Fiscal Year 2013, enabling states to maintain their current programs and extend them to an additional 4 million children.

SCHIP is the first critical step to improving health coverage across the nation. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 2 and finally send it to the President's desk.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 352, the DTV Delay Act. The deadline for the transition from analog to digital television is just weeks away and yet millions of Americans are still on a waiting list with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to receive coupons for converter boxes.

It's highly unlikely that 3,000 of my constituents will receive their coupons before the February 17 deadline. Both the coupon program and other consumer education programs implemented by the former administration have clearly fallen short leaving many vulnerable populations--especially the elderly, low-income, and those living in the rural communities--at risk of seeing their TV screens go blank.

In an effort to protect American consumers and allow the time for more Americans to receive coupons and prepare for this important transition, it is essential to push back the date to June 12.

I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation.

Parliamentary Inquiries

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise once again in strong support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and I commend the Senate for passing the legislation so quickly and commend the leadership of this House, Chairman Miller, for bringing it to the floor for its final vote.

It's remarkable that the potential first piece of legislation signed into law by President Obama this year is one that will help victims of pay discrimination.

Last year I had the privilege of hearing Mrs. Ledbetter testify before the Education and Labor Committee. After 19 years, 19 years as a Goodyear employee, Mrs. Ledbetter discovered she was paid significantly less than every single one of her male counterparts. She took her case all the way to the Supreme Court where it was thrown out on a technicality. She filed her paperwork too late. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ledbetter had no idea this was even happening to her. I suppose the Supreme Court decided that Mrs. Ledbetter was a mind reader.

This Fair Pay Act would correct this wrong by clarifying that every paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act and employees have 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck to file a suit.

Again, I am pleased Congress is acting swiftly to correct a disastrous Supreme Court ruling that allows bad employers to discriminate against their employees as long as they hide it for 180 days. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for S. 181 so we can promptly send it to the President's desk.

Thank you, Lilly Ledbetter.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation, H.R. 384, the TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009.

Let's review some of the headlines we've heard recently.

ABC News: ``After Bailout, AIG Execs Head to California Resort''

NY Daily News: ``Bailout will let Wall Street CEOs Keep Golden Parachutes''

Washington Post: ``Limits on Executive Pay May Prove Toothless''

Enough is Enough!

We are currently facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. People are losing their jobs, homes, health care, and pensions.

I joined the majority of my colleagues last Congress to give the current Administration the authority to help restore the flow of credit in this country. In doing so, we authorized the Treasury to loan up to $700 billion to institutions that were in danger of shutting their doors and called it the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Not passing the TARP would have led to a financial meltdown with unthinkable consequences for all Americans, including the loss of even more jobs.

While I stand by my decision, I am angered by the way the Bush Administration has carried out this program and how certain financial institutions have abused taxpayer dollars.

I also believe the financial rescue package did not go far enough in helping working Americans stay in their homes. That is why I strongly support the legislation before us today. It includes provisions that will require the Treasury to take significant steps to prevent home foreclosures.

Additionally, the bill provides necessary conditions for the release of the second $350 billion, such as: increasing transparency and strengthening accountability; closing loopholes for executive compensation; and allowing small financial institutions to be on the same playing field for receiving funds.

This legislation must pass if we are to release the second half of the TARP funds to President-elect Obama. This is the bottom line: Either the banks spend this money to free up credit or they don't get it all. The days of CEO's enriching themselves with taxpayer money while average Americans struggle to make ends meet are over. Our country deserves better.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the rule and the underlying legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 11, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I commend my chairman, Chairman Miller, for bringing this important legislation forward.

Last year, I, too, had the privilege of hearing Ms. Ledbetter testify before the Education and Labor Committee. After 19 years as a Goodyear employee, Ms. Ledbetter discovered she was paid significantly less than every single one of her male counterparts. She sued the company. She took her case all the way to the Supreme Court. Ignoring a previous court's judgment to award Ms. Ledbetter damages for pay discrimination, the Supreme Court threw out the case based on a technicality.

The Court's decision ignores the reality of the workplace where employees generally don't know enough about what their coworkers earn or how decisions regarding pay are made to file a complaint right when discrimination first occurs. Under this decision, employees in Ms. Ledbetter's position are forced to live with discriminatory paychecks for the rest of their careers.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would correct this wrong by clarifying that every paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act and that employees have 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck to file suit.

When the Supreme Court sanctions discrimination through technicalities, it is the job of Congress to clarify the intent of the law. I am pleased that our first action in the 111th Congress is to stand up for American workers by invalidating this misguided ruling.

Once again, I commend my chairman, Chairman Miller, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for H.R. 11.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 12, the Paycheck Fairness Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. I want to commend my friend and colleague, Representative Rosa DeLauro, for introducing this legislation so we can seriously address the long- standing problem of gender-based wage discrimination in our Nation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. This wage disparity will end up costing women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. Making matters worse, the wage gap grows wider as women age and move through their careers. This is not only a problem for women, it is a problem for our Nation.

Gender-based wage disparity allows employers to discriminate against women and avoid liability in the courts. Secondly, wage discrimination leads to more women in poverty, increasing the burden of health care costs of welfare programs on the taxpayer.

The Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen pay equity laws by closing the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay and help to build economic and retirement security for women.

It is in the best interest of all Americans to ensure that every worker is treated fairly in the workplace. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Again, I thank Congresswoman DeLauro for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7321, the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.

Our country is mired in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We have been in recession for well over a year. Manufacturing activity and vehicle sales are at a 26-year low. Unemployment is at a staggering 6.7 percent. Over half a million jobs were lost in November alone. Since the Bush Administration took over in January of 2001, unemployment has risen by 71 percent.

The domestic automobile industry and its blue collar workforce have been especially hard hit by this current economic crisis. Over the last several weeks, I've heard a lot of blame being passed around for the situation our car companies find themselves in. I agree with those who say the Big Three have been too rigid in their opposition to building more fuel efficient cars. I believe strongly, as many Americans do, that the Bush Administration and Congress have not done enough to create and protect American jobs. But it is not the auto executives or politicians who are suffering. It's the hard working UAW members who spend every day on an assembly line to support their family. They are the victims of corporate greed, bad business models, and government indifference. They are the reason we are here today, months after Congress adjourned for the year.

The consequences of a collapse of the domestic auto industry would be catastrophic for working families. Recession would spiral into depression. Millions of jobs would be lost. It is something we must prevent.

The bill before us gives $15 billion in conditional loans to the auto industry to help them survive over the next few months. During that time, they will be required to achieve viability, international competitiveness, fuel efficiency,

and reduced emissions. The bill gives the President the authority to appoint a ``car czar'' who will be responsible for ensuring these conditions are met. If the car czar determines that the companies have not made themselves viable by the end of March, they will be required to pay back the government immediately. If the companies utilize this line of credit wisely and restructure into successful, sustainable operations, they will still have to pay the money back with interest, but the government will have the opportunity to turn a profit by gaining equity in these companies. Furthermore, the car czar will have the authority to prevent an automaker from closing the doors of any of its factories or from outsourcing its operations to another country, should the czar determine such an action detrimental to the viability of the company.

Like all legislation, this bill is not perfect. But it is necessary. Letting the auto industry collapse would unfairly punish America's workers for sins they did not commit.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and the underlying bill. I would like to just put three faces if I could on this piece of legislation. One is a woman who worked at a grocery store in my district for 34 years. Her 401(k) has gone down $120,000 because of this crisis. The other is a man who came into my district office, the victim of a predatory lender, a 20 percent interest rate. He will be losing his home very shortly. And lastly, the face of a freshman Member of Congress.

When I was growing up, my parents lost their home. On the day my oldest sister was married, we came home from the reception to find a process server with an eviction notice for my family because my father had been too ill to make the payments. Prior to his death, he asked me to do two things--take care of the girls and your mother and, whatever you do, make sure that no other family ever has to go through what this family has gone through.

Today, Madam Speaker, I will keep that promise to my father and to the 2 million other people who are about to be in foreclosure. I ask all my colleagues to please vote for this important piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and commend Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Frank, and all Members and staff of the House leadership and Financial Services Committee who worked tirelessly, spending untold hours negotiating this bill with their Senate counterparts, the President, Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.

Madam Speaker, we as a nation find ourselves in an alarming financial crisis. But this crisis is bigger than a few failing banks or a stock market in disarray. It's more about family budgets than corporate balance sheets. Americans are losing their homes. Many are concerned about the future of their retirement savings. Some fear they won't have enough money to send their kids to college. The unwise and purely ideological decision to deregulate Wall Street has threatened our very way of life. It is with the best interests of working families in mind that I rise today to support this comprehensive rescue package. It is not a decision I made lightly.

Madam Speaker, the original plan which President Bush proposed to Congress was completely unacceptable. It was nothing more than a $700 billion handout to Wall Street. It gave unregulated authority to one person--the Secretary of the Treasury--to spend 700 billion of taxpayers' hard-earned dollars without any accountability. The President's plan did virtually nothing to prevent more Americans from losing their homes, and provided no return to the taxpayers responsible for funding it. Finally, the Bush Plan did nothing to limit executive compensation--known as golden parachutes--for top executives who made the disastrous decisions that helped lead to this crisis. At a time when we need to more closely regulate Wall Street, the President's package actually rewarded it.

Under the leadership of Chairman Frank, a new bill was crafted to authorize, with strict independent oversight, limited funding to the Treasury to transparently buy the debts of troubled firms. This is not a gift. It is not a blank check. It is a loan. Any financial recovery that results from our action must be shared with the taxpayers. We are loaning these banks money so they can resume lending to ordinary people--families who need help with their homes, cars and college tuition; farmers to continue to buy equipment, seed and fertilizer; and small town banks to deduct losses from investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This bill also gives the government a financial stake in some of these firms, which means not only will taxpayers get their money back, but they will also have the opportunity to turn a profit. Additionally, this bill limits pay for the executives of the firms to which the Treasury loans. Unlike the Bush proposal, it does not reward corporate greed.

Madam Speaker, this bill is certainly not perfect. While it does give the government some ability to protect homeowners facing foreclosure, I feel much more work needs to be done. My family lost its home growing up. It broke our hearts. Congress must continue its efforts to address the housing crisis, a large contributor to our current economic woes.

In the final review of this bill, I believe the good outweighs the bad. It is a necessary step to protect Main Street from Wall Street. I urge all my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate two of my distinguished Illinois colleagues--Congressman Ray LaHood of Peoria and Congressman Jerry Weller of Joliet on their retirement from the House of Representatives at the end of this term. Both men provided outstanding service to our state and Nation during their 14 years in Congress.

Congressman LaHood and I represent neighboring districts in Illinois. I've known Ray for over 25 years. He is a man I deeply admire and respect. During my short time in Congress, the two of us have cooperated on a number of joint projects important to our districts. We have fought to bring jobs back to our region and improve Central Illinois' broken transportation infrastructure.

Early in his career, Ray earned the respect of both Democrats and Republicans for his willingness to work across the aisle. During times of intense partisanship, Ray remained an unapologetic moderate who placed the needs of his district and our Nation above any political party. As Speaker Pro Tempore, Ray often presided over some of the fiercest debates on the House floor with prudence and evenhandedness.

On a personal note, I will never forget the kindness Ray showed to my predecessor--Congressman Lane Evans--as he fought his battle with Parkinson's disease. I was proud to join with Ray to pass legislation naming a Rock Island post office in Lane's honor.

Congressman Weller served the 11th District of Illinois with distinction. In addition to his work on international affairs, he advocated raising the minimum wage and sought to increase retirement and disability pay for combat-wounded veterans. I respect Congressman Weller's commitment to standing up for what he believes in and wish him well in retirement.

Both men will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration is asking this Congress to approve a $700 billion blank check for Wall Street in the hopes that they can begin to fix the economic crisis that this administration helped create.

For 8 years now, President Bush, Senator McCain and this Republican Congress implemented the GOP philosophy of economics: First, shower the wealthy with the tax breaks in hopes that it trickles down to the middle- class; and second, eliminate all regulations so there are no longer any referees watching the barons of Wall Street.

Both these policies have failed miserably. Tax cuts for the wealthy are not trickling down to the middle class. In fact, over the last 8 years, real wages have fallen by $300 and the Republicans' lack of government regulation allowed Wall Street to game the system. Today, our entire economy is suffering because Washington Republicans refused to institute the proper oversight that is necessary to keep Wall Street in check.

Mr. Speaker, if the Bush administration wants to bail out Wall Street, it is important that this Congress look out for Main Street and get some assurances that this will never happen again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2162, the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvement Acts of 2008. I want to commend Chairman Akaka, Chairman Filner, Ranking Member Buyer and all the members of the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee for their leadership and hard work on this bill.

S. 2162 is a bill that improves a variety of health care services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. First, it improves the treatment and services provided by the VA to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Second, it provides more treatment for veterans battling substance-use disorders, and it directs the VA to develop and implement a comprehensive policy on the management of pain care.

The bill also authorizes medical facility projects and major medical facility leases which are crucial to the improvement of health care for our veterans. And it takes on the unacceptable plight of homelessness, which thousands of our veterans face each and every night.

S. 2162 also improves access to health care for veterans living in rural areas. It allows highly rural veterans to get services closer to home, and it provides a fair reimbursement rate to those who have to drive considerable distances. We have been working on this issue tirelessly throughout the 110th Congress. As someone who represents a district in Illinois that is very rural, I appreciate the progress that has been made on this issue. I want to commend my friend, Congressman Moran from Kansas, for his hard work and dedication on this issue.

Finally, S. 2162 expands mental health care for the families of our heroes. The psychological toll that war brings also extends to the brave family members of our servicemembers. That is why I am encouraged to see that a bill I introduced, the Mental Health For Heroes' Family Act of 2008, has been included in S. 2162. Specifically, my bill removes the requirement that counseling must be initiated during the veteran's hospitalization, and is essential to permit the discharge for the veteran from the hospital. It also directs the Secretary of the Veterans Administration to carry out a 3-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing readjustment and transition assistance to veterans and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank Chairman Akaka, Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for their leadership on this bill and I want to commend both the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committee staff for their tireless work on this bill. I urge all of my colleagues to support this incredibly important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act, introduced by my good friend and freshman colleague, Representative John Sarbanes of Maryland.

Mr. Chairman, global warming is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing our Nation today. But, as the impact of global warming becomes more and more visible, our children are increasingly disconnected from nature and the world around them.

Kids today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation. The Kaiser Family Foundation found kids ages 8 to 18 spend an average of 6\1/2\ hours a day glued to the TV, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and talking on cell phones, leading to what has been called a ``nature deficit disorder''.

The No Child Left Inside Act addresses critical environmental challenges by strengthening and expanding environmental education in the classroom. This bipartisan bill provides schools with more resources and teacher training for environmental education.

Using environmental education in the classroom, we can transform playgrounds and parks into learning laboratories and recapture the interest and enthusiasm of students in the world around them.

Not only has environmental education raised test scores in math and reading, but it has also inspired school age children to become future stewards of the Earth.

Mr. Chairman, H.R. 3036 is an important step toward combating childhood obesity, promoting an environmentally-conscious society and improving the health of our planet.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I strongly urge my colleagues to vote for the No Child Left Inside Act.

I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are frustrated and angry by rising energy costs and the impact on their businesses, their grocery bills, and their everyday lives. Today, we respond to that frustration and anger by considering the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act. I rise in strong support of this legislation that increases our domestic energy supply, invests in alternative fuels, and ends taxpayer subsidies for big oil companies.

This important legislation includes several provisions to move us towards a 21st century energy policy. My friends on the other side of the aisle have called for increased drilling to capture more of our domestic resources. The bill does just that.

Advocates for the environment have called on oil and gas companies to produce oil on Federal land to which they already hold leases or give up those leases. This bill requires them to do just that.

After learning last week of the corrupt relationship between Big Oil and the Bush administration's Minerals Management Service, this bill strengthens oversight of the Interior Department.

Most importantly, this bill launches a clean renewable energy future that creates new American jobs, specifically in my home State of Illinois.

If this comprehensive bill isn't an all-of-the-above response to energy prices, then, quite frankly, I don't know what is.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of every energy vote I have taken in the 110th Congress, from addressing oil speculation abuses, cracking down on price gouging by Big Oil, improving public transportation options, releasing millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to increasing fuel economy standards in our vehicles and providing relief for consumers at the pump.

The Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act pulls many of these measures together, moving us closer to ending this energy crisis and establishing real energy independence.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this incredibly wonderful piece of legislation.

I thank the chairman for his kind words. I rise in strong support of H.R. 1527, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act, and I want to commend my friend, Representative Jerry Moran, for his outstanding leadership on this issue.

I represent a district in Illinois that is very rural. I hear often not only from the veterans but also from the critical access hospitals in my district about the frustrations that they feel from the inability to access or provide the care that our veterans so desperately need. We often see our disabled and elderly veterans driving hundreds of miles to the nearest VA facilities in Freeport, Illinois, or Bettendorf, Iowa, some of them having to wait 6 hours just to be seen.

To highlight this point, I recently received a phone call from Illinois State Senator Deanna Demuzio of Carlinville, Illinois, in the southern part of my district. She expressed a tremendous amount of frustration and concern at the fact that one of her constituents, a World War II veteran, was told by the VA that he had to drive 200 miles to get a simple chest x-ray. Like Senator Demuzio, I feel that it just doesn't make sense for anyone to drive 200 miles for an x-ray, one they can get locally.

I have been working with the VA, Chairman Filner, Ranking Member Buyer, and the appropriators, to authorize the community-based outpatient clinic in Whiteside County in my district to address the hardships that veterans face from the distances they have to travel to access health care. Until that happens, I believe this bill will provide the data we need to best serve our rural veterans while also paying attention to the quality of care our veterans receive, and the VA patient enrollment numbers.

Specifically, H.R. 1527 requires the Secretary to conduct a pilot program in four Veteran Integrated Service Networks that would allow the ``highly rural'' veteran to elect to receive covered health services through a non-VA health care provider. Many of the veterans of my district fit under the ``highly rural'' definition, and I am very proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation.

Again, I want to thank Senator Demuzio for her help and support, and to my friend Congressman Jerry Moran for introducing this incredibly wonderful piece of legislation. I believe this information we gather from the pilot program will go a long way in helping our veterans access health care.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.