Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First of all, I would like to commend Representative Duffy, with whom I share lakeshore on the world's largest freshwater lake and also borders on our district. I tell you, Mr. Duffy, I found the television commercial with you and your family to be my favorite commercial of the last election, of which there were not many favorable commercials for anyone.

So it is with a fun and joyful spirit that I rise in support of your legislation to prove to those beautiful children of yours that a lot of us really like each other and know how to get along and support the efforts of one another.

Mr. Speaker, with that in mind, H.R. 4049 transfers ownership and management of the Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Thanks to the leadership of the late Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, Congress established the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in 1970.

The area consists of 21 islands and 70 acres of shoreline in Lake Superior. It is a popular tourist destination in the summer and home to the 35,000-acre Gaylord Nelson Wilderness area.

Apostle Islands already manages eight historic lighthouses which were transferred to the National Park Service in 1986. This bill would add one more to the collection and contribute to the mission of protecting these historic cultural resources. Additionally, the text of this bill ensures that the Coast Guard will continue to maintain historic access to the lighthouse.

We support passage of this bill and look forward to working with the majority to advance more legislation that helps to enhance our national parks.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Representative Labrador for the work he has done on behalf of his constituents and their recreational activities in their future.

H.R. 5040 transfers 31 acres of public land to Idaho County for the purpose of establishing a public shooting range. The county will pay the administrative costs associated with the transfer and release the United States from any future liability.

Historically, a bill of this nature would contain stronger language to guarantee that the transferred land would continue to be used for a public purpose or the ownership would automatically revert back to the United States Government.

These so-called reversionary clauses ensure that, once transferred, the land is not sold or developed in a way not intended by Congress.

It is important for Congress to establish clear and fair expectations when transferring management of an asset owned by the American taxpayer. We encourage Idaho County to use the land as intended by this bill.

With that said, this bill merits our support, and we urge its adoption by the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Natural Resources Committee Chairman Hastings, who has served so well and so honorably in this Chamber--his absence will be missed as he retires--and, of course, Ranking Member DeFazio, and to Chairman Young, whom I had the good fortune to initially serve in this Chamber about 40 years ago, and Ranking Member Hanabusa of the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs for their support of this bill. I also want to thank the staff for their work and their diligent efforts on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, in simple terms, this bill corrects a technical mistake in existing law, thereby allowing members of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to exclude up to $2,000 in payments from the State of Minnesota from their taxable income.

By way of background, in 1988, the Grand Portage Band and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa entered into an agreement by which they would relinquish certain harvest rights and privileges accorded under the treaty of 1854 in return for annual per capita payments from the State of Minnesota.

In the year 2000, Congress passed the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act, which stipulated that a portion of these per capita payments should not count as income for the band members.

The problem was the legislative language included only the Bois Forte Band. The Grand Portage Band was inadvertently, accidentally left out, and, as a result, many members of the Grand Portage Band have been denied financial assistance and other benefits they are entitled to because their income appears higher than the law permits.

So this bill simply corrects the mistake by amending the act of October 9, 1973, to allow members of the Grand Portage Band to exclude up to $2,000 in per capita income payments from the State of Minnesota from their taxable income. It is the correct and the fair thing to do.

Let me also point out, Mr. Speaker, that this bill marks another step toward restoring the letter and the spirit of the 1854 treaty between the Federal Government and the Chippewa of Lake Superior, a treaty marked by serious violations from the very beginning as the waves of settlers were permitted onto the lands the agreement reserved for the Indians in perpetuity.

I often point to my colleagues that the bust of Chief Buffalo of La Pointe greets them, or greets us as we enter into the House Chamber from the west front. Chief Buffalo was recognized as the Head Chief of the Greater Chippewa Nation, and at the age of 92 years of age, he led a tribal delegation to Washington to meet with President Fillmore and paved the way for the treaty of 1854 to stop the removal of Lake Superior Chippewas from their native homes.

It was quite a trip. They left Wisconsin's Madeline Island by birch bark canoe--mind you, a 92-year-old man--traveling all the way to Sault Ste. Marie. From there, they took a steamer bound for Detroit, and then on by steamer to Buffalo, New York. Then the railroad took them to Albany, New York, where they boarded another steamboat to New York, and finally back onto the train to Washington, D.C., where they made their case to the President of the United States.

So, in asking my colleagues to support this bill, I ask them to also remember Chief Buffalo and the diligence and the long, hard work and the long and difficult trail that is often so often required to do the right thing when we are representing people that we have been, in our case, elected to represent.

It is a good lesson in point in a time and life where we have a kind of a fast-food mentality and everybody is expecting things to happen now. The voyage, the extraordinary effort that Chief Buffalo made, is a lesson to us all.

So here we are, 160 years later, still trying to fulfill the results of that important mission that he made. This legislation to restore a small piece of a larger trust relationship is part of that journey.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I thank my colleagues for their bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, Members of the House, money and negative advertising in the last election cycle has clearly established the need for us to change the way we do politics here in America.

Putting an end to negative advertising is so essential. It is not only polluting the airwaves on TV, but it is denigrating the candidates, it is corrupting the public policy process, and it is dangerously diminishing people's confidence in our system.

I was greatly heartened 2 years ago to see the spirit of bipartisanship that came with all the new Members of the Congress. I am seeing it again. But until we change the way we do our politics, it is not going to be realized.

We need to do this by putting an end to all this money by outside special interests and their negative advertising and complement that with a change in the way we do business with open rules, where every idea gets a chance to be heard and voted on.

That is how bipartisanship works. That is how things get done. That is essential for compromise, and that is where we need to go to restore people's confidence in our system here in America.

Mr. Speaker, what an honor it is for me to convene this special order for our friend and colleague--Minnesota's longest serving Member of Congress and my predecessor in representing our state's Eighth Congressional District. . . . A giant of a man--the truly great former Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure-- Jim Oberstar.

We can all take comfort--and some pleasure as well--in knowing that Jim was well aware of the respect and esteem we ALL had for him-- Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives.

That was evident when he quietly entered this chamber in January of last year--for the first time as a former Congressman.

First one member spotted him--then another and another--and within a few seconds everyone was standing, cheering, and applauding spontaneously.

It was a truly unforgettable moment--a gesture I haven't seen in this historic place since Hubert Humphrey addressed a joint session of Congress shortly before he passed away some 36 years ago.

When I think of Jim Oberstar, four big words come to mind. The first word is accomplishment.

He was the son of a miner who grew up in a little House in Chisholm, Minnesota--whose career in public service and as a leader on the Transportation Committee touched every great city, every town, and every small community in our great nation . . . .

With a road--a bridge--a park--a harbor--an airport--a public building. Tens of millions of people have a better, safer quality of life thanks to Jim Oberstar.

And those accomplishments were genuinely bipartisan in nature.

As Chairman, Jim believed a good idea is a good idea regardless of who proposes it.

So Committee debates were wide open, with plenty of give and take. If you had an idea, Jim made sure it was heard and debated--and that it received an up or down vote after all was said and done.

The second big word that applies to Jim is work--hard work.

Regardless of how early you showed up--you couldn't arrive early enough to beat Jim to the office every morning. And his light was always the last one to go out after the rest of us had left for the night.

Of course, Jim didn't worry about DC traffic.

This man, who presided over hundreds of billions of dollars in transportation projects--and who understood more about the intricacies of transportation policies than most of the rest of us combined--just wove through the traffic jams riding his bike to work every morning.

And by the way, thanks to Jim's ``Safe Routes to School'' program, millions of kids are walking and biking to work every day across our nation.

The third word for Jim is intellect. To paraphrase President Kennedy--Thomas Jefferson was the smartest American to ever dine alone--except perhaps when Jim Oberstar was grabbing a bite to eat in the Rayburn cafeteria.

Jim was simply brilliant He spoke six languages fluently--from French to Creole to that strange combination of Finnish and English we call ``Range Speak'' up north on Minnesota's Iron Range.

There was no detail to small--and no vision to grand--for Jim to comprehend--and then articulate in a manner everyone else could understand as well.

Last but not least--when I think of Jim, I think of home.

Home on the range. Minnesota's Iron Range and Minnesota's Eighth District.

Jim loved our great northland--our lakes--our timberlands--our great mining industry--the port of Duluth--Superior National Forest and the beautiful Boundary Waters.

His heart was always back there--as well as here in this Chamber and in this House he loved so well.

We loved him dearly. We will miss him terribly. And we will do our best to carry on in his great work in a spirit of bipartisan respect and decency.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

There is an old saying to the effect that the best time to plant a tree, protect a forest, and make a promise to the future is either 50 years ago--or today. Fifty years ago, visionary leaders committed themselves and our nation to protect and preserve public lands for generations to come. The Wilderness Act of 1964 is as important today as it was then.

I represent the Eighth District of Minnesota, where we are blessed to have one of the most beautiful and pristine wilderness areas in America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAVV). I was so proud to be an original sponsor of the law that created the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during my first service in Congress in the 1970's. Working with great environmental leaders like former Congressman Don Fraiser, and my late colleagues Congressman Jim Oberstar and Bruce Vento, we carved out and preserved the Boundary Waters for generation upon generation to come. I consider this one of my proudest achievements.

In addition to BWCAW, the Superior National Forest, Voyageurs National Park, the North Shore of Lake Superior, and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway are other national treasurers we enjoy, and are committed to protecting.

We live up North, despite the long winters, because we love the land and understand the need to assure that future generations will have the same opportunities we have to enjoy the great out of doors.

I call upon my colleagues to continue fighting to set aside more of our nation's special places as wilderness areas--protecting our wild lands and the air, water and creatures that bless them.

Mr. Speaker, we have to applaud the President and the Vice President for using all means at their disposal to track down the killers of the journalists, but it can be and should be done in the same way we tracked down Osama bin Laden--using our intelligence, using our selective capabilities, and making sure that these murderers and these killers have no safe refuge.

Having said that, launching airstrikes on another country by any standard, by any definition, is an act of war. Now, whether you think it is a good idea or not, it requires this Congress to step up and assume its responsibility and make that declaration. Have we not had enough of imperial Presidencies doing whatever they like anywhere in the world? When are we going to step up and assume our responsibility?

Now, with regard to this amendment, make no mistake about it: we have been on the side of every side in this conflict going back to al Qaeda. That was the Mujahedeen. We armed them because they were the enemy of our enemy. Then we supported Saddam Hussein. Oh, no. Wait a minute. Let's overthrow him, and let's put the Shiites in power. Then we said no, no, no. Wait a minute. They are not being nice to the Sunnis; so let's give arms and money to the Sunnis. And we refer to this Free Syrian Army as moderates?

Read the paper. I can't talk about what we saw and heard in our briefings, but that is the Muslim Brotherhood. Did you hear the latest news? It just came out over the wire. I would bet you guys haven't heard it. The founder of the Free Syrian Army, the one we are going to give $5 billion to, Riad al-Asaad--he just said we are not going to use that money to fight ISIS. No, no, no. We are fighting Assad. Oh, wait a minute. We were going to attack Assad last year, and now we want to fight people who are going to keep Assad in power? What are we doing?

The definition of ``insanity'' is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting different results. In this case, make no mistake about it, we have given arms to every element in this conflict, with the notion that somehow the enemy of our enemy is our friend. At the end of the day, we have no friends in this conflict. Either directly or inadvertently, they end up using the arms and the weapons that we have supplied against--yes, you guessed who--us.

It is time to wake up. It is time to put an end to it. It is time for this Congress to step up. It is so much responsibility that the Constitution could not be more clear on who declares war. It is the Congress of the United States, not the President of the United States.

My fellow colleagues, please, I beg you--I plead with you--to step up. Assume our obligations here. If there is a declaration to be made, let's make it. Most importantly, right now, let us reject this amendment and stop pouring money into this conflict that goes back thousands of years and can only be resolved by the people in that region and a part of that conflict.

Madam Speaker, the simple truth is that this Congress is the most unaccomplished Congress in the history of the country. The fact is the people's House has become a very undemocratic institution where bills are brought to the floor without hearings, without authorizing committee consideration, where a few leaders make all the major decisions, and where the people's business is constantly ignored in favor of legislation advanced solely for political purposes.

The fact is we need to return to and restore regular order, where every bill brought to the floor of the House is required to be considered by committee, with open rules, where every amendment, every idea is debated, voted on, and fully considered. To do that, the Congress needs to go to work 5 days a week, like everybody else in America.

With that in mind, Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in support of my Restore Democracy Act, H. Res. 695. This bill represents a roadmap to change the way we do politics in America, take the corruptive effect of money out of our politics and return to regular order.

Madam Speaker, it is about time we restore democracy right here in the House of Representatives, the people's Chamber.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply disappointed with the recent reporting of a new, covert, secret U.S. program--not secret to the intelligence communities throughout the world, but secret to the American people--to supply military weapons and equipment to arm the rebels in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, we've spent the last thirteen years sending arms into the Middle East, and now the region is blowing up.

I commend President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry for their commitment to finding diplomatic solutions in preventing these wars and challenges--especially for their recent efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire and settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

However, I am deeply disturbed by these repeated undercover missions to fan the flames of foreign wars by inserting more military weapons and equipment into the conflicts. These efforts run contrary to our work of diplomacy and toward lasting peace--and what's more, are time and time again executed without seeking the Constitutionally-granted authority of the Congress of the United States.

I firmly believe that if the question were brought before the Congress, many of these programs would never be sanctioned.

The fact is, Mr. Speaker, these are arms that all too often end up in the hands of our worst enemies. And this apparent determination on the part of the Administration to send weapons into so many regional conflicts only serves to escalate the violence, prolong the fighting, and stir feelings of ill will toward America.

Mr. Speaker, I've said this before--we have no friends in these fights.

We must get over the tired and fallacious notion that the enemies of our enemies are our friends.

I urge the Administration to remember that it is the Congress--not the President--that has authority over matters of war and peace.

I strongly urge my colleagues to remember our constitutional obligation to consider the future untold costs of these so-called wars of choice and nation-building abroad.

Those monies and resources are urgently needed here at home--in reducing the deficit, rebuilding America--creating good-paying jobs restoring our roads and bridges--and reinvesting in our people and our future by renewing our support for education, basic research in science, medicine, technology, and clean energy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 15 today, a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform measure to deal with the immigration problems we have and to properly address the humanitarian crisis at the border that is taking place today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring up H.R. 1010, the minimum wage bill, to give America a pay raise and to jump-start the middle class, instead of this partisan attack on the President.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians of Gaza, in order to resume negotiations and create a more lasting peace and security for all parties, to end this tragic conflict.

Madam Speaker, we must do all that we can to help these parties come to terms that put the Palestinians on a path to fulfilling their legitimate aspirations of independence, while with the greatest certainty that ensures the survival and the security of Israel.

I commend and strongly urge President Obama and Secretary Kerry to continue in their bold efforts in ending this war. I offer them my full support, and I ask my colleagues to do the same, so that Israel and Palestine may someday soon live side by side in peace with one another.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am opposed to it in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

Today, the proposal that I offer is a modest proposal, but it has the potential for great gain for this country. My amendment provides for $5 million additional for the Small Business Development Centers across this country and an additional $5 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The simple truth is that it is small businesses that drive this economy--28 million of them. Half of the workforce in this country comes from the small business community in this country. Two-thirds of all of the new jobs that are created are created by small businesses. We don't want to be a part of having missed the next great idea, because not only do small businesses create jobs and drive the engine of this economy, but they are the genesis of the next great new idea that will revolutionize the world, change and improve and better our lives.

But guess what? I am an old business guy myself. As a matter of fact, I am quite sure I have never had any ideas of genius, but I will tell you what. Even if you do, that doesn't mean you know how to run a business, and that is what the Small Business Development Centers do-- they do it for veterans, they do it for women, they do it for minorities. They teach them how to put together a business plan. They teach them how to put together a finance plan that will resonate with a curmudgeonly old banker. They teach you how to put together a sales and marketing plan. They show you how to put together engineering and design and production plans. They show you how to do sales and marketing and export plans to export your products overseas.

I have a woman in my district, Alicia Overby, who created a great little company called Baby Elephant Ears. With the help of the Small Business Administration, in 2 years she grew her company from $12,000 to $1.5 million in income, producing all kinds of wonderfully good- paying jobs, and all she needed to be able to do that was to get a little help from the Small Business Administration.

As a businessperson, I don't mind telling you, when times are hard, when times aren't good, you don't start cutting across the board. You look to where, maybe, you need to spend a little bit more money, to get a little more of an efficient production system, to, maybe, do a little better sales and marketing, to learn how to put together a finance plan so your banker will give you the working capital that you need to grow and expand and create jobs.

My friends, that is what this is all about. The Small Business Administration serves over 500,000 clients. Yes, that is right--500,000 clients. It generates $4.5 billion in private capital that otherwise wouldn't get invested in new business, creating new jobs for people in this country. That is what this motion is all about.

Initially, it provides some additional moneys for Consumer Product Safety. What has that Commission done? Oh, it has only saved hundreds of thousands of lives. It has saved children from poisoning, saved children from dying in crib deaths, saved children from suffocating in refrigerators, and 4.5 million fewer foreign-made consumer products have been denied entry into this country. Is that worth an additional $5 million to save the lives of someone's loved ones and children? You had better believe it is.

This amendment is all about creating jobs, creating business, creating opportunity for women, for minorities, for entrepreneurs. Why? Because it works. That is why. Do you want to know why it also works? I will tell you. It is because, when women and minorities succeed in this country, what happens? When entrepreneurs and businesses succeed in this country, what happens? When workers get good-paying jobs, what happens?

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. The Great Lakes are operating at 80 percent of capacity. It is costing us $3 billion in annual business, jobs, growth, and income. The Hahn- Huizenga amendment would restore these funds and move our country forward economically.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of the Lee amendment. The American people have invested 10 years of precious blood and treasure into this conflict. The simple truth is that the Iraqi Government and the Iraqi Army have failed to win the confidence of their own people. The fact is, the army has cut and run, leaving behind valuable equipment, and the fact is we have no friends in this conflict. It is time to get out and to stay out.

Thank you, Representative Lee, for your amendment.