Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I recommend a ``yes'' vote for this good, bipartisan solar technology road map.

I want to thank my Democrat and Republican colleagues for their collaboration that improved H.R. 3585 with amendments in subcommittee, in full committee, as well as in the manager's amendment and in other amendments to follow on the floor. This bill ensures that solar energy technologies will contribute to the strengthening of our country's economy, environment and national security.

H.R. 3585 improves DOE policies by requiring the merit-based, competitive allocation of Federal funds. The solar road map committee will neither recommend nor select recipients of grant awards. The new solar technology road map committee will provide the DOE with advice from our national labs, universities, industry, and entrepreneurs on technological paths to accelerate the cost-effective implementation of solar power.

I am a fiscal conservative as well as a scientist and engineer. I have studied and used solar energy for more than 40 years. This bill will not spend too much money. Our country has fallen way behind. The GAO has documented that the funding level in this bill only begins to reverse 20 years of underinvestment by the Federal Government in the research and development of solar power--a domestic alternative and a renewable source of energy.

This bill will strengthen the ability of U.S. companies to regain America's world leadership in solar technology and exports. The bill expands the number of large demonstration projects over 30 megawatts, and it makes them technology neutral. The bill will reduce known vulnerabilities of our grid to natural disasters or to terrorist attacks by requiring demonstration projects to ``promote overall electric infrastructure reliability and sustainability should grid functions be disrupted or damaged.''

This bill will also maximize benefits to society and to taxpayers from these demonstration projects by encouraging DOE to consult with DHS, DOD and other agencies to locate demonstration projects at facilities that ensure sustainable energy for the continuous operations of vital government missions and functions.

Vote ``yes'' for H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap. Using our sun to power American homes and businesses is a good bipartisan issue.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my subcommittee chairman, Mr. Abercrombie, as well as HASC chairman Ike Skelton and Ranking Member Buck McKeon for their collaborative leadership drafting this vital bill. I also thank the staff members who serve us so well. Thank you, thank you.

Overall, this is an excellent conference report. That is why I'm appalled that my colleagues would violate House rules and pervert this annual national military strategy bill by including the totally unrelated partisan Senate amendment. With deep regret, I resolutely urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this conference report. I've dedicated almost 40 years to protecting the lives of the men and women who serve in our military. For 20 years I invented and worked on defense projects to provide them lifesaving equipment, including 19 military patents.

I've been honored to serve for 17 years on the Armed Services Committee with colleagues who have worked tirelessly to achieve our bipartisan goals of providing rules and equipment so that our soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors, and the civilians who support them will succeed in their missions and return home safe.

There isn't time to review all provisions, but highlights of the Air and Land Forces portions which I worked on so hard with Chairman Abercrombie include 30 F-35 aircraft and an increase of $430 million in research and development for continued F136 engine development and $130 million for F136 engine procurement; an additional $600 million, for a total of $6.9 billion to reduce equipment shortfalls in our National Guard and Reserves; inclusion of my proposed requirements for DOD to establish specific budget line items within the procurement and research, development, test and evaluation accounts for body armor.

This will improve accountability, increase transparency, as well as facilitate the advancement of lighter weight technologies. $6.7 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, $1.2 billion above the President's request. $2.45 billion for the President's request for Future Combat Systems communications network and spin-out equipment sets expected to continue as separate programs in fiscal year 2010.

I would like to especially thank Chairman Abercrombie for his leadership and relentless efforts to ensure continued funding for the F-35 alternate engine program. My unavoidable and regrettable ``no'' vote is due solely to the inclusion of this extraneous amendment. It violates House rules. It sets a dangerous precedent by including an extraneous and nongermane bill in Congress' annual national defense strategy and policy bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Before talking about this very interesting subject, I would like to spend just a few moments talking about why I think the rule of law is so important.

We are one person out of 22 in the world, and we have a fourth of all of the good things in the world. And I ask myself how come we are so darned fortunate that this one person out of 22 has a fourth of all the good things in the world?

I look around for people who are working, bending their back, and sweating. And I will tell you I don't see very many white faces, and I don't see an awful lot of black faces. I see Hispanics. So it's not hard work that's accountable for the fact that we're so lucky.

And then I look at education and technical education. We live in a technical world today. But most of our bright young people are going into careers of political science and law. This year the Chinese will graduate seven times as many engineers as we graduate, and about half of our engineers are Chinese and Indian students. So it's not our commitment to technical areas that makes us so fortunate.

Just what is it that is so different about this country that we are so fortunate, this one person in 22 that has a fourth of all the good things in the world?

Mr. Speaker, I think that it's our commitment to the rule of law and particularly our commitment to those laws that protect our civil liberties.

You see, there is no Constitution in the world, there is no bill of rights in

the world that comes even close to ours in having so many civil liberties that are so protected. And I think this established an environment, a milieu in which creativity and entrepreneurship could flourish. And I think we put at risk who we are, and I think we put at risk this enormous privilege that we have, this one person out of 22 who has a fourth of all the good things in the world, if we in any way violate these very sacred rights which are given to us by God, which our Constitution, our government, is supposed to protect.

So I am very concerned about the rule of law because I will tell you if in one place you can rationalize that it's okay to violate the Constitution, what next? I think that our civil liberties could come tumbling down and I think with them our privileged status in the world today.

Now, the thing you asked me to talk about, and that is this bill,

Madam Speaker, I submit the following. Funding of $1,500,000 is necessary to allow an expedited development of the ASCC (Sea Truck) for military/disaster relief use and the fielding of the system. Sea Truck supports the Army's need for low-cost, logistics support equipment with critical distribution and sustainment capabilities. These unmanned, self-propelled support units can be deployed from offshore logistics and commercial ships to the beach for sustainment operations. Sea Truck is composed of 90 percent commercial off-the-shelf nondevelopmental hardware and technologies that are compatible with current commercial and military supply support systems. The Sea Truck Propulsion Module contains commercial navigation sets that allow the system to autonomously traverse to desired locations and has the capability to self-redirect to alternate landing sites to meet the dynamics of changing theater conditions.

Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $7,500,000 is necessary to adapt Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) technology to provide the same effectiveness improvements already demonstrated for 155mm artillery projectiles to all indirect fire systems. The Army and Marine Corps have recognized needs for increased precision for ground combat units. The lack of precision for either 105mm artillery or 120mm mortars creates significant operational difficulties. The 105mm artillery and 120mm mortar can be developed in parallel at a significantly accelerated schedule at a reduced cost due to technology that has already been tested and proven, and due to the ability to share common design features with the 155mm PGK. Government and industry tests to assist with design and sizing of the PGK to smaller calibers will continue through FY2009. Based on that work, FY10 funding would enable a low risk, accelerated approach to delivering a much needed operational capability to the field by 2011.

Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to continue the development of a power dense Integrated Power System (IPS) and Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) technologies suitable for surface combatant and submarine propulsion, enhanced power generation and power conversion. Power dense electric machines and power conversion solutions enable hybrid propulsion systems that save fuel and provide increased critical power for additional payload capabilities. These developments allow an advanced IPS or HED system to be incorporated in future and existing warships, including the re-started DDG51 line, DDG512 Modification, Ohio Replacement, and a future CG(X).

Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $1,000,000 is necessary to address the challenges of sample preparation and detection/diagnosis of biological warfare agents. The ASP technology has the ability to process both environmental and clinical biological samples for subsequent analysis on both nucleic acid and/or immunoassay detection/diagnostic systems, and when mated to currently fielded and new detection systems will enhance warfighter capability to detect and identify hundreds of potential targets simultaneously within a single analysis on a single detection/diagnostic platform.

Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to meet the on-going need in DoD to increase the number of ISR orbits delivered by Unmanned aircraft. The Universal Distributed Management System (UDMS) is a demo-proven (TRL-6) autonomous command and control system that will enable up to twelve UAVs to operate simultaneously from a single ground station and perform complex tactical objectives. Expert Rules-based software enables collision and terrain avoidance and cooperative engagement tactics among the constellation of multiple vehicles and sensors. The complex tactics are user programmable and can be executed autonomously or with dynamic operator inputs to the changing tactical situation. UDMS can be integrated with existing UA ground control system with no modification required to the air vehicles or existing C3 links.

Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to allow completion of the final development stage prior to production. These funds will enable Mack Trucks and Volvo Powertrain, N.A. to finish building a protype M915 truck with hybrid powertrain and be prepared to compete for an M-915 by the Army. The Army is attempting to extend the service life of heavy trucks, like the M-915, through engineering change programs. This funding supports the Committee directive to the Army to extend their effort for procuring heavy trucks with alternative propulsion systems with parallel electric capability.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received in H.R. 3293 and H.R. 3288. The list is as follows:

Bill Number: H.R. 3293

Account: HRSA--Health Facilities and Services

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Washington County Hospital

Address of Requesting Entity: 251 East Antietam St., Hagerstown, MD 21740

Description of Request: Washington County Hospital building is becoming obsolete. Washington County Health System would build a 5th floor in the new tower being built.

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Federal Lands (Public Lands Highway)

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Maryland DOT

Address of Requesting Entity: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover MD 21076

Description of Request: Funds would be used to design, right of way or construction of intersection improvements to improve safety, operations, and access in the vicinity of National Naval Medical Center to support BRAC related growth.

Bill Number: H.R. 3288

Account: Federal Lands (Public Lands Highway)

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Maryland DOT

Address of Requesting Entity: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover MD 21076

Description of Request: Funds would be used for the design right of way acquisition or construction of intersection improvements in the vicinity of Aberdeen Proving Grounds to support BRAC related growth.

Madam Speaker, I believe that we can all agree the health care reform proposals ignited debates in homes and workplaces all over the country. The intense interest in health care policy by so many Americans made this August district work period unusually exciting. My offices were busy taking phone calls, e-mails, and having people drop by voicing their concerns. This healthy health care debate has led many Americans to become involved in politics for the first time.

Whenever we in Congress do something really important, we need to get outside the Beltway because that's where the great wisdom in our country lies. All of us in the Congress share three goals for health care reform legislation: We want to make health care insurance more affordable and accessible. We want to improve the quality of health care. We want to reduce the cost of health care. Where we disagree is how to accomplish these goals.

I would like to share some of what I did and learned concerning health care over the recess period. As a scientist and engineer, I seek out the facts to guide my decisions. I also earned my master's and doctorate degrees in human physiology, the basic medical science.

This training led me to a 20-year career teaching anatomy and physiology to both medical and nursing students. That's why one of the things I did and that my staff did was to read the House leadership bill, H.R. 3200, and the amendments by three House committees.

I'm very proud that so many of my constituents were also interested in learning what proposed health care reform bills would do and exactly what they say. That's why I posted on my Web site the House Majority Bill 3200 with information about the approved amendments.

I also posted on my Web site an alternative bill that I support, H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, developed out of suggestions by my colleagues in the Republican Study Committee. For those constituents without computer access, I provided hard copies of these bills to eight libraries and my four district offices.

Besides reading legislation, I also engaged in a lot of listening and dialogue. I visited with local doctors in my district to get their perspective about health care.

At the recommendation of one of my constituents, Dr. John Vitarello, who is a cardiologist who practices at Frederick Memorial Hospital in my district, I toured the cardiac catherization ``cath'' labs at Washington Adventist Hospital on August 27. I was invited to tour the lab by Dr. Mark Turco, an interventional cardiologist. Dr. Turco is also a leader of the three-member physician team from Washington Adventist Hospital which volunteered to supervise and assist a joint training venture for physicians in Frederick Memorial Hospital so they could also perform innovative procedures in cath labs that shorten patients' recoveries and hospital stays compared to traditional surgical repairs.

While I was there in scrubs and mask, I observed a procedure called an endograft. An endograft is an innovative procedure in this case used to repair an aneurysm in the patient's aorta.

In the image-guided endovascular repair, a stent graft, a woven polyester tube with a metallic skeleton, was compressed inside a carrier catheter. While viewed on an x-ray monitor, the endograft was inserted through a small incision in the patient's groin and threaded through the catheter through arteries to the site of the aneurysm. The stent graft was then placed across the aneurysm and released. As the stent graft expanded, it gripped the normal arterial wall on both ends of the aneurysm, bypassing the bulge from the inside.

As I observed this procedure, I marveled at both the advances of our medical research and technology as well as the dedication in caring for human lives represented by this joint venture between Frederick Memorial Hospital and Washington Adventist Hospital. This procedure cuts down the recovery time for patients as well as the time required for patients to be in the hospital.

One of my greatest concerns about health care reform is that we don't curtail the innovations in health care that are invented predominantly here in the United States.

There is also a lot of concern about competition in health care. Competition is important. Competition always does two things: It drives down costs and increases quality. However, there is also a lot of cooperation in medical care today. Here, I observed physicians at one hospital helping physicians at another local hospital to increase the availability, the competition, for innovative medical treatments that benefit patients with improved outcome and less time in the hospital.

I am 83 years old. I have seen in my own career and life and that of my family that innovation in modern medicine, American style, moves at an astonishing speed. It is this innovation that has so improved the quality of our lives as well as extending the lifespans of Americans.

By far, the most enlightening and informative exercise was three nights of teletownhalls that I held during the break. On two nights, Dr. John Vitarello joined me as a guest for these townhall meetings. Over 180,000 telephone calls were placed; almost 20,000 people were home and listened to some part of the townhall.

Madam Speaker, I believe that the prescription for health care reform in the present bill will make it worse and more expensive. These changes are the opposite of what we need and Americans want.

Mr. Speaker, health care costs are increasing at two and three times the rate of inflation. If this continues, it will obviously ultimately consume us; so we have got to do something to reform health care.

But the bill making its way through the committee process can't be the right solution. According to economic modeling by the President's own chief economic adviser, the business tax hikes alone would destroy up to 4.7 million jobs. An independent analysis by the nonpartisan Lewin Group found that 114 million Americans would lose their current health insurance. And the CBO recently noted this health care plan would ``probably generate substantial increases in Federal budget deficits.''

Mr. Speaker, this can't be the right solution. We can do better. We need to keep working. And please include Republican ideas in this work product.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3082--Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010

Bill Number: H.R. 3082

Account: MILCON Army

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Fort Detrick

Address of Requesting Entity: 810 Schreider Street, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland 21702-5000

Description of Request: This request appropriates $7.4 million for the ALT Auditorium and Training Center Expansion in Fort Detrick, MD. This project is required to meet the directed objectives of Homeland Security Council and National Security Council to provide meeting and conference space for members of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC). Currently, the USAG is required to provide space for the biodefense conferences. Fort Detrick cannot provide the required support to the directed interagency biodefense missions as assessed by multiple, independent government organizations as well as increasing degradation of already inadequate community support and space for educational services. Fort Detrick is unable to provide high demand, highly attended, more secure, Interagency Conferences, human capital enhancement, as well as expanded community services. The current auditorium space has inadequate standoff and force protection standards without completion of this project.------

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received in H.R. 2847. The list is as follows:

Bill Number: H.R. 2847

Account: Conservative Operations

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: NRCS

Address of Requesting Entity: 339 Busch's Frontage Road, Annapolis,

Madam Speaker, I submit the following:

Bill Number: H.R. 2847

Account: NOAA--Operations, Research and Facilities

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of Maryland

Address of Requesting Entity: Main Administration Bldg, College Park