Floor Statements

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 Matthew Slocum of Perrysburg, Ohio, has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.

Matthew brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg, Ohio, Matthew consistently achieved honor roll. Matthew involved himself in a number of athletic activities, including football and baseball, in which he earned varsity letters. He also served as a volunteer at youth football and baseball camps.

On top of this, he excelled academically and served his church on its Youth Leadership Committee.

I am confident that Matthew will carry the lessons of his student and athletic leadership to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Matthew Slocum on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy where he will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Matthew will excel during his career at the United States Merchant Marine 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 Ashton Genzman of Perrysburg, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Ashton brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. She has served in several leadership roles: student government, Junior Induction Committee, Culinary Club and in a variety of other groups and extracurricular activities. While attending Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, Ohio, Ashton consistently achieved high honors, with an exceptional grade point average.

Throughout high school, Ashton participated in a number of athletic activities, including tennis, in which she received a varsity letter. She has also been involved in crew and track and field. I am confident that Ashton will carry the lessons of her student and athletic leadership to the United States Naval Academy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ashton Genzman on the acceptance of her appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, where she will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Ashton will excel during her career at the United States Naval Academy, 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 Ryan Pierson of Perrysburg, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.

Ryan brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg, Ohio, Ryan consistently achieved high honors. He was also an active member of his high school band.

Throughout high school, Matthew played and received his varsity letter playing football. Ryan also recently became an Eagle Scout, following years of participation as a member of Boy Scouts of America. He also served in a number of leadership capacities throughout his years as a Boy Scout. I am confident that Ryan will carry the lessons of his student and athletic leadership to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ryan Pierson on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy where he will gain a world-class education and invaluable leadership experience. I am positive that Ryan will excel during his career at the United States Merchant Marine 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 Andrea Wyant of Fostoria, Ohio, has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Andrea brings an enormous amount of leadership, service and dedication to the incoming Class of 2015. While attending Fostoria High School in Fostoria, Ohio, Andrea attained a grade point average that placed her in the top ten percent of her graduating class. Andrea was inducted into the National Honor Society, was a member of the Quiz Bowl team, served as president of the Fostoria High School band and served on student council for three years. Throughout high school, Andrea was also a member of the varsity swim team, which she was captain of her senior year, and the varsity tennis team. I am confident that Andrea will carry the lessons of her student leadership to the Air Force Academy.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would reduce spending for the Department of Commerce under the National Institute of Standards and Technology construction of research facilities account by $10 million and transfer those funds to the spending reduction account. This program provides government money for construction of research science buildings. Currently, H.R. 1 funds the technology construction of research facilities account at $58 million and this amendment would reduce it to $48 million. While scientific research is important, when our nation is experiencing massive deficits, we have to make these difficult cuts.

With a forecasted deficit of $1.6 trillion this year and the national debt scheduled to triple in 10 years, I am simply proposing cutting spending from a program that received over $123 million in increased funding in the stimulus. The President released his budget proposal this week which reflects a pattern of record spending, and even higher taxes. This continued spending is funds that the U.S. Government does not have, as we continue to borrow from other countries. During the last session of Congress alone, the President signed into law over $1.8 trillion in new government spending and over $670 billion in new job damaging tax hikes. My $10 million cut is an example of a difficult cut that has to be made in our Federal budget.

Furthermore, the Department of Commerce has established a national program office under the National Institute of Standards and Technology to begin development and implementation of the national strategy for trusted identities in cyberspace. The general goal of this strategy is to secure and protect transactions in cyberspace through use of a special ID, or digital identity, so that people can prove who they say they are. Let me say that cybersecurity and privacy are extremely important issues to all Americans. However, I have very strong concerns that this government-directed effort could destroy online anonymity, become the equivalent of a national Internet ID, and crowd out current private-sector efforts. That this project could potentially lead to issuance of a unique Internet ID that would serve as a single identifier for access to password-protected Web sites is frightening. It is equally concerning to think that if this single digital identity were to be hacked, the hacker would have access to a wide range of a user's personal information and accounts. Security of the cyber domain is serious, but a government-run or government-directed Internet ID system is a risk to liberty and this strategy is not the way to go about achieving this goal. The elected representatives of Congress should address these issues, not a government bureaucracy. I will be offering a limitation amendment to block any funding towards the development of this strategy, and that is why I am offering this amendment, No. 260, to cut funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Chairman, amendment 259 will cut $70 million from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which I intend to be removed from the FreedomCAR initiative. Currently, H.R. 1 funds the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at $1,467,400,000 for the remainder of fiscal year 2011.

This amendment would reduce that amount to $1,397,400,000. This office already received $16.8 billion in stimulus funds, and $2.24 billion was appropriated in fiscal year 2010.

While citizens across the country are struggling to pay their bills, it would be very difficult to justify not being able to cut $70 million from this office. With Americans also struggling with higher gasoline prices and other fuel costs rising, Congress should focus on legislation that allows us to utilize resources we have available to drive prices down.

The free market is the best place for technological innovation. Reducing taxes and eliminating burdensome regulations will allow private companies to bring new, more fuel-efficient technologies to market when it becomes cost effective.

With a forecasted deficit of $1.6 trillion this year and the national debt scheduled to triple in 10 years, I have serious concerns with spending more funds on programs that have received massive increases from stimulus spending. The President released his budget proposal this week which reflects a pattern of record spending and even higher taxes, this continued spending of funds that the United States Government does not have as we continue to borrow from other nations.

During the last session of Congress alone, the President signed into law over $1.8 trillion in new government spending and over $670 billion in new job-damaging tax hikes. My $70 million cut will be a small reduction in an overbloated Federal budget.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Latta

Amendment No. 259: Page 216, line 23, after the dollar

amount insert ``(reduced by $70,000,000)''.

Page 359, line 8, after the dollar amount insert

``(increased by $70,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Latta

Amendment No. 260: Page 200, line 25, after the dollar

amount insert ``(reduced by $10,000,000)''.

Page 359, line 5, after the dollar amount insert

``(increased by $10,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Latta

Amendment No. 261: At the end of the bill, after the short

title, insert the following new section:

Sec. 4002. None of the funds made available by this Act

may be used by the National Program Office of the Department

of Commerce to develop or implement the digital identity

ecosystem described in the document entitled ``National

Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace: Enhancing

Online Choice, Efficiency, Security, and Privacy''.

Offered By: Mr. Latta

Amendment No. 262: Amendment to page 333, lines 5-17

Eliminate the $440 million Department of State, foreign

operations, and related programs funding for international

population control, family planning, and reproductive health

and transfer those funds to the Spending Reduction Account.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the EPA has indicated they intend to overturn 30 years of precedent and designate coal ash as 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.

About 45 percent of the coal ash generated is recycled, being used as an additive in cement, concrete, wallboard and 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.

Finally, the increased cost of coal ash disposal will lead to the closure of up to 18 percent of current coal-generated power, resulting in lost jobs, higher electricity costs, and further increasing our dependency on foreign countries for our energy needs, which we cannot afford.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition to ObamaCare. ObamaCare will single-handedly have more negative ramifications on the American economy than any bill passed in our Nation's history. If not repealed, the $1.2 trillion government takeover of health care will increase the cost of care, eliminate jobs, and cause budget deficits and the national debt to explode.

The Democrats' health care takeover contains $569 billion in taxes, increased government spending, a half-trillion-

dollar cut in Medicare, increased costs to the States, and mandates on businesses. All of these are hurting the economy and making it harder for small businesses to create jobs and get people back to work. We need greater competition and more choices for consumers.

Since this bill became law last spring, I have heard the same message across the Fifth Congressional District: Businesses aren't hiring new employees, buying new machinery, or expanding their businesses because of increases in costs under the legislation. Imposing these higher costs on businesses will lead to lower wages and fewer workers.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise on this sad day to join my colleagues in recognizing the lives of those affected by the horrible tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, this past weekend.

As we reflect on this tragic event, the one thing that must be remembered is that our colleague from Arizona, Congresswoman Giffords, was simply doing her job, a job that she loves to do. Meeting with her constituents and providing them with assistance is the basic duty of any Member of Congress. The best and only way for Members of Congress to carry out their oaths is to be with, listen to, and see what our constituents are experiencing. The nameplates on the front of our offices read ``Representative.'' Congresswoman Giffords was doing just as we do day in and day out--representing our citizens at home and here in Washington.

The loss of life and injury suffered by the victims will always be remembered by this body. Whether it was Federal Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, Congresswoman Giffords' staff member; or 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, all of those who lost their lives or who were injured will hold a special place in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers.

We cannot let this random act of heinous violence deter us from our duty to serve our constituents, and I know we will move forward together as a stronger united House.

Section 2: ``The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service to the United States; he may require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of the respective offices, and he shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate one of Ohio's longest and continuous farming operations. The year 2010 marks the 175th anniversary of Lewis Clark homesteading and clearing the land south of present day Stryker, in Williams County, Ohio. The deed for the conveyance of one hundred sixty acres of land is dated October 7, 1835 and is granted under the signature of President Andrew Jackson. Vernon and Carol Sloan have carried on the stewardship of the land begun by Vernon's ancestor Lewis Clark and have helped to feed not only Ohioans, but Americans and people from around the world. American farmers are some of our hardest working and best producing citizens who continue to find innovative ways to produce crops and raise livestock. Today less than two percent of Americans earn their livelihood on the land while that number is even smaller in Ohio at less than one percent. These numbers are contrasted to the forty percent of Americans who were engaged in agriculture in 1900.

Vernon and Carol Sloan have ingrained their love of the land in their children and their children's children. The Sloans look forward to passing on their farming heritage and tradition to their family's future generations to till the land and harvest the bounties of the earth.

Madam Speaker, I salute Vernon and Carol Sloan on their faithfulness to the land and their family's wonderful achievement on the 175th anniversary of farming in Williams County, Ohio.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my House Resolution 1740, a resolution honoring the National Guard on their 374th anniversary. And as the gentleman alluded to, 374 years long predates this Nation.

The National Guard origins date to December 13, 1636, when the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered existing militias to be organized into three regiments. Since then, the National Guard has fought in every major war and conflict. From the ``shot heard round the world'' on April 19, 1775, on Lexington Green and later that day that running battle that occurred at Concord Bridge, to the men and women who have stood strong and fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the National Guard and its citizen soldiers have been there for us no matter what, always ready, always there.

Going back to that day on April 19, 1775, it was one of these days that we have to remember, it was April 18, 1775, that Paul Revere and two others left Boston to alert the countryside not that the Red Coats were out but that the regulars were out. As Revere Road became known later as Battle Road from Boston across to Lexington and Concord, he was alerting the countryside, and the countryside was alarmed and the people awoke. And those were the early National Guard or the militia that responded.

They were the ones that stood up on April 19, 1775, on Lexington Green to the command to stand down from the British. No one knows who fired that fateful first shot, but that was the beginning of the Revolutionary War. And it was the militia--now our National Guard--that was there for us and is still there for us today.

The National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces in the United States. The National Guard's number one priority is the security and defense of our homeland at home and abroad. Americans have relied on their National Guard for more than three and a half centuries, long before the establishment of these United States.

I want to thank all past and present members of the National Guard for their service in response to the attacks on our homeland on September 11, 2001, and their continuing role in homeland security and military operations.

In today's world, it is essential that we honor and support all of our servicemembers who have sacrificed so much to ensure our freedoms and liberties that we cherish so dearly in these United States. We need to support and provide our men and women in the National Guard and all of the Armed Forces with enough resources to ensure their readiness and success.

As the National Guard's official song goes, ``Defending Freedom, protecting dreams, this is the spirit of what it means to me. For my God and my home that I love: I Guard America, Guarding America, America.''

I urge passage of the resolution.