Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman.

Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012. This important legislation for sportsmen and - women protect their rights to hunt and fish while limiting restrictions in regards to these activities. As a lifelong hunter and Ohio hunter education instructor and current vice chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, these issues are not only important to me but to my constituents, as well as individuals across this Nation.

I strongly support H.R. 4089 and will discuss a provision of the bill relating to the importance of having access to public lands for our sportsmen and -women. This portion of the bill would ensure that Federal land management agencies, primarily the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, act to protect and foster hunting, fishing, and shooting traditions on Federal public lands by directing these Federal agencies to exercise their land management discretion to facilitate sportsmen's and -women's activities.

One of my priorities has been to ensure our youth have the opportunities to access to become involved in hunting, fishing, and other shooting sports. One of the main reasons cited as to why sportsmen and -women stop participating in these activities is the limitation and access of land. By having more access to Federal lands, it helps current users and facilitates that next generation of hunters, anglers, and shooters.

In my home State of Ohio, only 3 percent of the land is publicly owned, whereas in some of our Western States, the majority of the land is publicly owned, as just mentioned by my friend. For example, in Nevada, approximately 80 percent of the land is Federal land, and in Wyoming, it's almost 50 percent. Again, if these lands in these States with large tracts of Federal lands are restricted, hunters and recreational fishermen and -women will not be able to participate in those outdoor activities. And, again, it will impede our youth from being able to participate in the future because, again, they rely on those adults to get them out.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4089, and I thank the gentleman.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare Act of 2012, which also contains H.R. 452, the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2012. I'm a cosponsor of both of these very important pieces of legislation.

The Independent Payment Advisory Board, IPAB, must be repealed, as this board will have extremely negative consequences on American families' health care. This board of unelected members will be making decisions for tens of thousands of Medicare patients. The power to control the purse strings will give enormous power to control what type of care a patient receives. I strongly believe that physicians and patients are in the best position to decide their own health care, and IPAB must be repealed.

In addition, the HEALTH Act is absolutely needed. I've been working on medical malpractice issues since my time in the Ohio General Assembly when we passed successful tort reform. The current system is broken and places a $210 billion burden on our Nation's health system each year. H.R. 5 will bring savings for patients and doctors, and is an important step in helping to make sure our Medicare liability system works in this country.

I support both bills.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important hour tonight because we are talking about the security of this country, and we are talking about having a secure source of oil and energy into the future. And as Americans around the country know, it hasn't been too long, they just go out and look at what the gas pump says, and I know when I left Bowling Green, my hometown in Ohio this morning, gas was $3.49 a gallon. And you know, we only have to go back to January of '09 when President Obama took office and gasoline was $1.78. So we've seen a dramatic increase in the price of gasoline.

What we need to do is we need to talk not only about the security but where we are getting our oil from, because oil runs our manufacturing and it's very, very important. I serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee. And earlier this year, manufacturing jobs in this country on just our committee alone, on Energy and Commerce, we had 1,729,250 manufacturing jobs on our committee alone, according to National Manufacturers. Today, that number has dropped to 1,526,941, or a loss of 202,309 jobs in manufacturing.

And when I'm out talking to my folks in manufacturing, small and large, one of the things that really hits them is what the cost of energy is and where it's going to be coming from. And when we've got the problems over in the Middle East and with Iran, and there is a question as to whether we're going to have a secure source in that region of the world, it pushes up the price of energy, and it affects the jobs in this country.

But we have a unique opportunity in this country, and the President does. And what the President can do is to get this Keystone XL pipeline going; and we've urged him in committee, and we're urging him in Congress, to make that decision to get this going.

Let me just go through a few facts, if I may. First of all, a lot of people might not realize this, but the Canadians are the largest folks up there to the north to provide energy to us in the form of oil. We get 13 percent of our current U.S. energy, our oil needs come from Canada, and 23 percent of all U.S. petroleum imports come from Canada. A lot of people might think they come from over in the Middle East. They don't. They come from our friends up north, our good neighbors up north. Another statistic that I think is really important to point out is that when we send a dollar to Canada for Canadian products, we're getting 90 percent back from the Canadians on purchases they make of U.S. goods and services.

So it's a very, very great relationship that we have with the Canadians because it's a great relationship, our largest partner to the north, and when it comes to trading.

But Canada is only second to Saudi Arabia for proven recoverable oil reserves with over 170 billion barrels in the form of the oil sands-- 170 billion barrels. And, again, as the largest supplier of oil to the U.S., Canada provides consistency and stability with nearly 2 million barrels per day, which is currently more than, again, of the 20 percent of U.S. imports. And approximately 56 percent of all Canadian exports of oil to the U.S. flow into the northern Midwest region. That's Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Ninety-four percent of all those imports into the region come from Canada, and 76 percent of this oil is from the oil sands. Forty percent of all the oil refined in this region also comes from that area of the oil sands.

A report that was issued by the Canadian Energy Research Institute, the CERI, states that U.S. jobs supported by Canadian oil sands development could grow from 21,000 jobs today to 465,000 jobs by 2035. It's also important to note that we are looking at about 20,000 jobs right now, and another 100,000 jobs on ancillary if this pipeline gets approved and gets moving. So it's incumbent that the President takes action so we can get these jobs in the United States; but also, more importantly, along with those job is to make sure that we have a secure source of oil in this country.

2,400 American companies in 49 States are involved in development of Canadian oil sands. That's important, because it's just not the Canadians up there that are doing this. It's American companies, American jobs making sure that we have that stable source.

So when it comes right down to it, we need to have the President act immediately and favorably on this to get America moving on jobs, but also, at the same time, to make sure that we have a stable and a secure source of energy in this country.

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

I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding.

I had the privilege for 6 years of serving as a county commissioner in Ohio and serving in the general assembly. During that time, we saw good times and we saw bad times in the economy. But in the bad times, our constitution told us in the State of Ohio that we had to balance our books to make sure that we didn't overspend. And that's what this House has to do and this country has to do.

You know, when we look back, we don't have a very good track record-- over 50 years and only balanced a budget six times during that period of time. That's horrendous.

It's kind of interesting. I was at a town hall. I was talking one day, and one of my farmers came up and asked this question. He said, I don't understand what the problem is in Washington. He said, What's the President want to spend?'' And I told him it's about 3.8 trillion. He said, How much have you got? I told him what we thought the revenue was going to be for the year. He said, It's simple. All you've got to do is subtract your revenues from what you want to spend, and that's all you get to spend is just that revenue. You don't spend over the top of it.

People back home understand it. Because people back home sit around their kitchen tables, their dining room tables, and they get their pencils and papers out and they figure out how much they can spend. It's not complicated.

But we've got to start thinking about this because we're in debt now $15 trillion. And it went over this week. When I have to look at my kids' faces and kids down the street, and when I go into schools and talk to these young children, they're going to ask me in 10 to 15 years, What did you do to us, not for us?

It's time that this Congress acts and passes this balanced budget amendment. We've been talking about it for years, and we have that opportunity today. I thank the gentleman for bringing it forth. I wish I could vote for it more than once today. But we must pass this today.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, November 1, 2011, I missed a series of votes due to a mechanical failure of a United Airlines plane, and the unavailability of a replacement, at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. If I had been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 816 and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 817.

I rise today in support of H.R. 2273. Designating coal ash as a hazardous waste, as the EPA proposed in June 2010, would raise energy prices for families and businesses and destroy a large coal ash recycling industry and all jobs associated with it. H.R. 2273 creates a unique regulatory infrastructure at the State level that provides strong environmental protection without all of the economic consequences of a hazardous waste designation. I have an email from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency asking me to support this legislation and allow them to do their jobs in Ohio.

If this legislation is not passed and signed into law, the EPA will overturn 30 years of precedent and designate coal ash a hazardous waste, despite findings from the Department of Energy, the Federal Highway Administration, State regulatory authorities, and the EPA itself that the toxicity levels in coal ash are well below the criteria that requires a hazardous waste designation. In fact, in the EPA's May 2000 regulatory determination, they concluded that coal ash does not warrant regulation as a hazardous waste, and that doing so would be environmentally counterproductive.

It is estimated that meeting the regulatory disposal requirements under the EPA's proposal would cost between $250 to $450 per ton, as opposed to about $100 per ton under the current system. In 2008, 136 million tons of coal ash was generated. That means not passing this bill could put an additional $20 billion to $47 billion burden on electricity generators that use coal.

Energy costs aside, about 45 percent of the coal ash generated is recycled, being used as an additive in cement, concrete, wallboard, roofing materials, road-based fill materials, and snow and ice control. While all of this is completely safe, designating coal ash as a hazardous waste would halt these beneficial uses, which the EPA estimates will lead to $16.7 billion in increased costs per year, further damaging our economy. This legislation keeps those products on the market and avoids job losses in those industries.

For those reasons, I support the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life or ``dots'' as Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple, would say. Jobs was a visionary and creative genius, who believed that everything in life is interconnected, bringing us products that bring our whole worlds into our pockets.

Jobs' dedication and tireless devotion to creating the perfect user experience spurred and redefined the digital age, leading to a cultural transformation in the way the world communicates. This is ever so true here in our Congressional hallways, where Apple has provided most Members a communications facelift. Jobs' leadership at Apple has changed the way we do business here in Washington, but also in the news, music and telecommunications industries.

Jobs' childhood dream of putting ``a ding in the universe'' has become true and for this, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering the ``dots'' of Steve Jobs' legacy.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise today in support of H.R. 2250.

I'm a cosponsor of this legislation which was introduced in response to yet another overreaching EPA rule proposal, this time for industrial boilers. This rule finalized will have devastating effects on the Nation's economy and lead to further job loss, especially in my home State of Ohio.

The community of Orrville, Ohio, which is east of me, a small city which has just over 8,300 residents, provides a perfect example of the wide-ranging negative impacts of the rule.

As written, the Boiler MACT rule would require Orrville Utilities, a nonprofit electric service provider, to spend $40.2 million on additional controls to remain in compliance. This equates to $4,843 for every man, woman and child living in Orrville, as well as putting the utility workers' jobs at risk.

While that cost increase alone would be devastating to the families and job creators in the community, the unintended consequences reach much deeper. For example, Smucker's, that company that we all know and love which makes jellies, jams, apple butter, spreads and other food products has been a staple of America's homes for over 110 years; and it employs over 1,500 people at its home factories in Orrville. Smucker's has been a customer of Orrville Utilities since the establishment of the utility in 1917, and the company's CEO says ``Smucker's has elected to remain in the Orrville, Ohio, community for many reasons, including the low rates, reliable service, and the company benefits of working with a city-owned and -operated electric utility.''

It is impossible for me to understand why anyone would support a rule that would force a nonprofit utility like Orville to significantly raise their rates, as the result of a rule EPA has admitted was based on faulty information, and make it more difficult for companies that have been providing thousands of jobs in communities like

Orrville for over 110 years to do business.

It is important to note that this bill does not ask the EPA not to regulate these facilities. It only lays out a framework that allows the EPA to regulate them in a more reasonable fashion, over a more reasonable time frame so we can protect the environment and take advantage of all the economic benefits that these facilities provide to the communities and businesses they service.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this important job- saving legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to H.R. 2401. This amendment should be one of the most noncontroversial EPA-related votes this House has faced in quite awhile because it doesn't repeal any EPA rules or regulations and it doesn't block the EPA from doing anything. It simply requires the EPA administrator to consider the implementation costs and feasibility of compliance when setting National Ambient Air Quality Standards. We all want clean air.

The Clean Air Act required the EPA to review these standards in 5- year intervals and make revisions or set new standards if appropriate. Under current law, the EPA administrator is forbidden from taking the economic consequences of these rules under consideration when setting these standards, which means every 5 years the EPA is required to create new regulations, but does not have the legal authority to consider how they will affect the economy.

This approach to regulation is a contributing factor to why unemployment numbers refuse to budge in many parts of our country and we have millions of Americans still looking for jobs. Last year the EPA decided to voluntarily review the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone despite being a full 3 years away from review of the Clean Air Act's requirements in 2013.

The standards they discussed would have had a devastating effect on my home State of Ohio, putting every one of the 33 counties monitored into a state of nonattainment status, as well as over 85 percent of the other counties monitored nationwide. States and localities not in attainment are required to meet expensive and complex regulatory requirements, more stringent permitting requirements, and comply with a number of other antigrowth measures.

Fortunately, President Obama realized the urgency of this situation and asked the EPA not to propose a more stringent standard. Perhaps if the EPA administrator had considered the cost and feasibility of the tighter standard, we would have avoided the situation entirely. Now with this amendment we have the opportunity to make sure it doesn't happen in the future.

I sent the President a letter commending his decision and requesting his support of the amendment in helping to get it passed both here in the House and in the Senate. Now I'm requesting your support.

This is not a Republican idea or a Democrat idea. Considering the economy and the well-being of the unemployed Americans who are looking for jobs, it is the right thing to do.

I urge support of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Denham).

Mr. Chairman, I urge passage of this amendment.

When we were all back in our districts in August, I went to 18 different plants and facilities in my district, and the number one issue out there against creating jobs was EPA regulations. EPA. That's all I heard. EPA, EPA, EPA.

We're not going to move this country forward unless we get these regulations under control, and it's about time that they start looking at what they have to do under this amendment to make sure that we've got things back on course. I mentioned this yesterday in committee that we've lost 180,000 manufacturing jobs alone, in the Energy and Commerce Committee, since earlier this year. We've got to get this economy moving.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding public servant from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. My District Director, Everett M. Woodel, Jr. of Port Clinton, Ohio left after twelve years of service to Ohio's Fifth Congressional District Offices.

Everett Woodel began his service to Ohio's Fifth Congressional District as a District Representative to the late Congressman Paul E. Gillmor. During his tenure with the late Congressman Gillmor, Everett also filled the role as the Deputy Communications Director. Following the vacancy left by the late Congressman Gillmor, Everett's professionalism and dedication to the constituents and issues of Ohio's Fifth Congressional District made him an outstanding pick to serve as the Deputy District Director. In 2010, when my former District Director retired, Everett handily took over the position as District Director.

A veteran of the United States Army, Everett has served our country with pride and compassion. As a public servant, I have found Everett to be dedicated to the citizens of Northwest Ohio, not only managing the day to day functions of my district offices, but also demonstrating that the well-being of the constituents of Ohio's Fifth Congressional District is paramount in making this the hallmark of his career with the United States House of Representatives. Everett will continue his commitment to public service as he has accepted a position with the State of Ohio's Industrial Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Everett M. Woodel, Jr. for his roles in Ohio's Fifth District Offices. Our communities have undoubtedly benefited from his years of faithful service. We wish Everett M. Woodel, Jr. all of the best upon his departure as District Director of Ohio's Fifth Congressional District Offices.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Stephen Pavelko of Perrysburg, Ohio, has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Stephen brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg, Ohio, Stephen earned honors in multiple fields of study, taking a number of advanced placement courses. Stephen was inducted into the National Honor Society, was involved in a number of athletic activities and held various leadership positions.

Throughout high school, Stephen participated in athletic activities, including football,

basketball and baseball. He earned a varsity letter in football. I am confident that Stephen will carry the lessons of his student and athletic leadership to West Point.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Stephen Pavelko on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point where he will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experiences. I am positive that Stephen will excel during his career at West Point, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that James Kegyes of Greenwich, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

James brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. He is the recipient of a Falcon Foundation Scholarship and recently graduated from the Northwestern Preparatory School in Santa Barbara, California. James is an active member of Ripley Church and spent many of the past years participating in the church's youth group. He subsequently was employed as a member of the church's staff where he was responsible for audio and technical support.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating James Kegyes on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Air Force Academy where he will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that James will excel during his career at the Air Force Academy, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young woman from Ohio's fifth congressional district. I am happy to announce that Ashley Mohr of Van Wert, Ohio has been offered appointments to attend the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Ashley has accepted the offer to attend the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Ashley brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Van Wert High School in Van Wert, Ohio, Ashley attained a 4.0 GPA, was a member and vice president of Student Council, Senior Class president, member of BETA Club, French Club, Varsity V-Club and participated in choir and journalism. She received numerous academic awards.

Throughout high school, Ashley was a team member of the track, basketball and soccer teams, where she received varsity letters. Ashley demonstrated her dedication and service to her community and peers by being active in Junior Rotarians as a Cougar Mentor Team member, as a member of First Presbyterian Church and volunteer referee for the Upward Soccer Program. I am confident that Ashley will carry the lessons of her student leadership to West Point.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ashley Mohr on the acceptance of her appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point where she will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Ashley will excel during her career at West Point, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to her as she begins her service to the nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Nathan Kruse, of Ottawa, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Nathan brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming class of Air Force cadets. While a gifted athlete, having earned varsity and junior varsity letters in football and track, Nathan has also maintained the highest standards of excellence in his academics. He attained a 4.0 GPA at Ottawa-Glandorf High School and is a member of and president of the National Honor Society. Nathan also participated in the German Club, Academic Quiz Bowl and Science Olympiad.

Outside the classroom, Nathan is an Eagle Scout, Junior Optimist Club member and has volunteered for numerous tutoring opportunities. Nathan's dedication and service to his community and his peers has proven his ability to excel among the leaders at the Air Force Academy. I have no doubt that Nathan will take the lessons of his student leadership with him to Colorado Springs.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Nathan Kruse on his acceptance of appointment to the United States Air Force Academy where he will gain a world-class education and receive invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Nathan will excel during his career at the Air Force Academy, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young woman from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Jennifer Guzowski of Tiffin, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Jennifer brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Tiffin Columbian High School in Tiffin, Ohio, Jennifer earned academic letters and attained a grade point average that placed her in the top fifteen percent of her graduating class. Jennifer was also inducted into the National Honor Society, was a student representative on the school board and held various leadership positions in the school band.

Throughout high school, Jennifer was a member of the junior varsity and varsity soccer teams, displaying her leadership skills as captain of the junior varsity soccer team. She was also awarded a varsity letter for soccer during her senior year and was the recipient of two Golden Shoe Awards. I am confident that Jennifer will carry the lessons of her student and athletic leadership to West Point.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jennifer Guzowski on the acceptance of her appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point where she will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Jennifer will excel during her career in West Point, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to her as she begins her service to the nation.