Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 25 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, January 1, 2013, at noon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Rotary Club of Superior, Wisconsin, on the celebration of its 100th anniversary.

All of us know how important Rotary Clubs are in each of our districts. In addition to making a tremendous difference locally, Rotary also plays a key role in marshaling incredible resources, internationally, to provide services and to do good throughout the world. The most notable accomplishment of Rotary, of course, is the near eradication of polio, the most dreaded childhood disease of the 20th Century.

The Superior Rotary Club was the 40th chartered in the United States and the first in the great state of Wisconsin, becoming a model for other clubs in the state. Since its establishment in 1912, the Rotary Club of Superior has supported many charitable causes and worked to improve the quality of life in Northwest Wisconsin.

Among many notable accomplishments during its 100 year history, the Superior Rotary launched the Boys Scouts in Superior and provided loans to dairy farmers during tough economic times. More recently, the club has focused locally on fighting another dreaded disease, cancer. The Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival is now in its 11th year and has contributed hundreds of thousands of hands to fighting this struggle. Additionally, the club reached across the world to Superior's sister city, Ami-Machi, Japan, to mark their centennial anniversary by unveiling the creation of a friendship garden, a three year project.

Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Superior and the Rotarians for 100 years of providing community service to the residents of Northwest Wisconsin. Your contributions are invaluable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the American family farm.

Wisconsin farms are the bedrock of our society. They are the cornerstone of the Wisconsin economy. Look at our family farms. If we don't have the whole family and the youth working on the family farm, oftentimes they can't be successful in this very challenging economy. If you look at the life skills and the work ethic that our youth get

from the family farm, it is amazing. They learn how to milk cows, how to plant, how to harvest, how to balance the books, how to manage risk. They learn how markets work on the family farm.

Here again is a great example of Big Government getting bigger and more intrusive, telling American families whether or not their kids can engage in the family farm and the family business. When you talk to employers in Wisconsin, they tell me some of their best workers are workers who grew up on a family farm. If you look back, thank goodness that we didn't have my friends across the aisle who are now going to complain about the family farms. The Greatest Generation was raised on the family farm.

I appreciate the gentleman for yielding.

We're here talking about H.R. 4402 that's going to minimize the permitting process and the delays and streamline bureaucracy around mining.

I want to be clear that there is no conversation in this House that is saying we should do away with the permitting process or we should do away with the bureaucracy. We're here to say, Let's streamline it. Let's make it easier. Let's make sure that we don't have the bureaucracy and the permitting process stand in the way of good projects and good paying jobs.

In my home district in the northwest corner of Wisconsin, we had a similar issue come up that we dealt with in our State.

We have a great vein of iron ore up in Iron County and Ashland County. It's a vein that, if mined, would create 600 to 700 new, good- paying jobs in the northern part of Wisconsin, jobs that pay anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Many of those jobs would be union jobs.

What we try to do in the State of Wisconsin is say let's streamline the permitting process so those who want to invest in that mine can get an answer in a reasonable amount of time. And if we go through a permitting process--any of us who live in northern Wisconsin who would have found information that would say that this mine would damage Lake Superior, which all of us love, we live up there because we love the outdoors, we love the lake--if it was going to damage the lake, we would all stand opposed to the mine.

If you can do it in a safe manner and if you can get a permit in a reasonable amount of time, why are we saying no to good-paying jobs? This is an area that has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent. They need good-paying jobs, and we have the permitting process standing in the way of these people going back to work.

We see more and more rules and regulations that stand in the way of job growth. That's wrong.

Let's stand together, let's streamline this process, make sure that we're environmentally safe and we're also creating jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me to recognize the hosts of the 2012 International Canoe Federation's Junior and Under-23 Canoe Slalom World Championships. This competition between young canoe and kayak paddlers all over the world will take place on the Wausau Whitewater Course in Wausau, Wisconsin from July 10 to July 15, 2012.

Due to the many great people who contributed to bringing this event back to American waters, this will be Wausau's second year to host the Junior World Championship and their first year to host the U-23 Championship. I am truly proud and honored that this event is taking place in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.

This international competition among Junior Slalom and U-23 canoe and kayak paddlers will bring together over 400 participants and support staff representing athletes from over 35 nations. Not only does this event bring a multitude of skill and interest to the Central Wisconsin area, it will bring the inaugural championship for the Under-23 age category, which is sure to become an exciting new force in the slalom realm. In fact, two of the soon-to-be Olympic competitors in this category, Caroline Queen and Casey Eichfeld, will be competing in Wausau before competing for the United States at the 2012 Summer London Games later in July. Additionally, the event will also welcome international dignitaries to Wausau, Wisconsin, including Mr. Jose Perurena, the current president of the International Canoe Federation.

This World Championship would not be possible without the Wausau Kayak/Canoe Corporation as the official host the event, as well as the multiple contributions from local and national foundations and organizations--including, The Alexander Foundation, The Dudley Foundation, The BA & Esther Greenheck Foundation, The Community Foundation of North Central WI, Wisconsin Public Service, Charter Communications, and Kinzie Green Marketing. I would like to take this moment to recognize the hard work and intense effort to make this event possible.

I am immensely proud and honored to have such a group of high caliber athletes coming to compete in Central Wisconsin, especially in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. I wish everyone the best of luck in their upcoming races.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College of Superior, Wisconsin as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) is an impressive institution servicing the growing educational needs of Northwest Wisconsin. Throughout its 100 years, WITC has exemplified the important role of vocational and technical education for effective workforce preparation. Our Nation's varying economy and work environment is dependent on the advancement of new technology and innovation. With each new innovation created, WITC has been the key to supporting and supplying Northwest Wisconsin industries with a new generation of highly skilled workers.

Established in 1912, the Industrial, Commercial and Continuing Evening School in Superior, WI was the first technical school in Northwest Wisconsin founded to specifically address the need for educating those working in the manufacturing industry. As automation and mechanization processes in American industry grew and developed, this technical school shifted with the times to accommodate the changing populations and educational needs.

Workforce enhancement and skills training has seen a great deal of industrial focused positions--from shipbuilding, paper and steel industry directed courses to aircraft manufacturing and electrical work curriculum. Over time, advancing new curriculum, adding associate degree programs, and expanding a distance learning network of online classes and outreach centers has helped to provide students with affordable, flexible and accessible education and career opportunities for Wisconsinites.

In 1987 Wisconsin Indianhead Vocational, Technical and Adult Education district became the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College to more accurately reflect the mission of the school. Today, WITC employs a staff of more than 1,700 and provides education to 6,000 credit students in more than 50 full-time programs, and nearly 20,000.

WITC has provided Northwest Wisconsinites with the important technical and vocational skills needed to succeed and advance in today's economy. These are the achievements that we recognize today as Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College reaches this important milestone--its 100th year anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of reasons why we should all vote to repeal ObamaCare: the tax increases on middle class Americans and the debt that is going to be piled onto the next generation of Americans.

But I want to talk about the impact of this legislation on our senior citizens, the impact this legislation is going to have on Medicare, and the fact that this bill takes $500 billion out of Medicare and uses that money for ObamaCare.

The trustees at Medicare have indicated that Medicare will go bankrupt in 12 years. The CBO says it will go bankrupt in 8 years. Why we would take a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare for ObamaCare doesn't make sense.

One of my biggest concerns is the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a board that is going to systematically look at where it can reduce reimbursements to doctors, hospitals, and clinics for Medicare reimbursements. If you reduce payments to doctors, hospitals, and clinics for seniors, you're going to impact the quality and access of care for our current seniors. Not a future generation, but our current seniors. I think that's wrong. I think both parties should come together and find a bipartisan bill that will work for all Americans.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 317, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

I first want to recognize the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters) for their great and hard work on the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program.

While I rise today in support of this short-term extension, I have to be frank and honest and tell you that I am disappointed that we haven't found both Chambers coming together to reauthorize this program for 5 years. What this does is to create uncertainty in the market. For the individual who may have a home in a floodplain or for a community that has many of its pieces of property in a floodplain, without having a long-term bill, it creates uncertainty for them.

It creates uncertainty in the housing market, which has obviously gone through some very strenuous times since the 2008 financial crisis. This legislation, a long-term fix, would help breed certainty in that market as well.

As we look back at last summer, we passed this legislation with both sides of the aisle coming together. It doesn't happen very often. It was one of those great moments in the House where it was a vote of 406 22. Both Republicans and Democrats joined hands in passing this legislation. Now we're just waiting for the Senate to act. It's a bill that's going to save $4.2 billion over the course of 10 years. It includes reforms that are going to save taxpayers money by eliminating unnecessary rate subsidies and encouraging the development of a private flood insurance market.

I support the short-term extension, but I also encourage the Senate to act.

I appreciate the gentleman from New York for yielding.

As we talk about these issues--and I've been listening today as my colleagues have been discussing the tax

policy--if you take a step back, if you look at all of the different rules and regulations and bills that have taken place over the course of the last 3\1/2\ years, it's a torrential rain. We have to take it almost raindrop by raindrop, looking at each policy, each rule, each law that has gone into effect. I want to take a moment to step back from the tax debate and first start with the conversation in regard to the budget because I think most Americans that I talk to, they are very nervous about what's happening with this ever-expanding government and ever-expanding debt. Many Americans know we owe now $15.6 trillion. They know we've borrowed $1 trillion every year for the last 3 years.

So they will step back and go, Well, what's the plan? How do we address this really difficult problem?

I know a lot of the moms in my district are concerned about who's lending us that money. Ask the Chinese. They're concerned about their kids that they're raising so well, are educating so well. What kind of an America are they going to grow up in?

So they say, Listen, what kind of budget are you going to have? How are you going to fix it?

If they were to look to the Senate, they would look and see that for the past 3 years the Senate wasn't willing to pass a budget, that they weren't willing to put out a plan on how they would deal with this daunting issue that this country faces. If they were to look over to the President and ask the President, How do you deal with this cancer that is growing in America, which is our debt? How do you deal with it? I think they'd say, Well, Mr. President, you've given us a budget, but it's a budget that never balances. It's a budget that includes all the tax increases you've ever discussed, but it doesn't balance. It's a budget that we've brought to this House floor, and it was such a political document that doesn't accomplish the goals that the moms and dads of America want accomplished that not one Republican or one Democrat voted for that budget.

We need real ideas to be put on the table, and we need bold leadership to address the large issues that we face in this country. For the last 2 years, the House Republicans have given that bold leadership. We've been willing to put ideas on the table on how we fix the great problems of our generation. I'm proud of our freshman class, and I'm proud of our House Republicans for willing to step out and lead. Part of that leadership has been the reform of our tax system, of our Tax Code, making it more competitive and more fair, and I want to talk about that a little bit, which is the conversation tonight.

I think many Americans may not know this, but as of April 1, April Fool's Day, we had the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, and that's because the Japanese on April 1 were the last ones to lower their taxes, making us the highest tax country. That's a problem. We find ourselves in a situation in America where one party is asking for a more competitive Tax Code that will encourage investment and growth in America. We have the other side, which is the President's side, that encourages, under the auspices of fairness, that we increase taxes.

As I talk to people back at home, these conversations oftentimes come up, and I'll ask my friends at home. I'll say, Listen, if you look at businesses in America, can you name a few of them that don't pay taxes? Are there a few businesses here that you can identify that don't pay taxes?

Virtually everyone in the town hall will shake their heads and go, Yeah, yeah. I can name that business that doesn't pay taxes.

So I'll ask them, Well, if you want that business to pay taxes, if you were just willing to raise the tax rate from 35 percent up to 40 percent, which is what the President wants to do, will that business that's in your head that doesn't pay taxes now pay taxes if you just increase the rate by 5 percentage points?

No. The Tax Code is broken--for generations, long before I got here. I was riding my trike when people were carving out special interests in the Tax Code. There are 70,000 pages in the Tax Code that are for special interests, special loopholes. The people of my district don't take advantage of those 70,000 pages. It's for the special interests that come to this town day after day and ask to carve themselves out. What have we done? We in this House have said that's not fair; that's not right.

Let's carve them all back in. Let's reduce the complexity of the Tax Code, bring all these people back in and make them, yes, pay their fair share. What we've said that we can do is take the top rate from 35 percent and bring it down to 25 percent, and then the other rates down to 10 percent. If you do that by eliminating all the loopholes in the code, you'll bring in more revenue, and it will be fair. Doesn't that make sense? Raise and raise doesn't accomplish it. Reforming the Tax Code is where we have to go. Let's get a bipartisan group together, carve out those special interests, reduce the rates, and make us more competitive.

We hear a lot about the Buffett tax, right? It's a tax on investment income. Listen, there are two different kinds of income. You have the income that you get from your salary. Your salaried income, that's taxed at a certain rate. You're guaranteed to get that every week or every 2 weeks because you put your 40 or 80 hours in, and that paycheck comes to you and you're guaranteed to get it. But there is also investment income. In America and around the world, investment income is taxed at a little bit of a lower rate.

You say, Well, why? Why would that be taxed at a lower rate? The reason is--let's say you invest $100,000. You're not guaranteed to make anything on that $100,000. Actually, you might lose the whole investment--you might lose that $100,000--but if you're lucky enough or smart enough or savvy enough to make some money on that $100,000 investment, we've said you should have a tax rate that's a little bit less than that which is guaranteed in the salary. So we have a little less of a tax rate on investment income.

But there is something else. We want to encourage investment in America because we know, if you're investing in our infrastructure, in our manufacturing facilities, in our businesses, if we have investment, what happens? We create jobs. There is job growth in America when you have investment in America, and we want to make sure this is a great home for investment. If you raise the taxes on investment, you will get less of it. Let's make sure we have a great investment tax rate so money around the world wants to pour into this country and wants to take advantage of one of the best workforces in the world, which is right here in America.

One other point I want to make before I yield back to the gentleman is that there are a lot of people who talk about raising taxes to bring in more revenue. I think it's important that we're very clear: that when people are talking about raising taxes to bring in more revenue in order to pay down the debt, that's not what's happening. People are asking to raise taxes to spend more money. There is no effort to reduce spending in this town. Those who want to increase taxes want to spend more--they don't want to spend less--but if you want to actually bring in more money to the Federal coffers, you should look at the tax history, because every time we're raising tax rates, there is not a correlation in bringing more money into the Federal coffers.

Raising tax rates doesn't mean more money. What does mean more money into the Federal coffers is a growing economy. If you can grow your economy, if you can put your people back to work, more people pay taxes.

If more people pay taxes, more money comes into the Federal coffers, and we have more dollars to pay down our debt. Not only that, there's less people on food stamps and energy assistance because they have a job.

This is some commonsense reform that this group in the House is talking about. If we could just implement it, take the weight of a burdensome Tax Code off the shoulders of our entrepreneurs, our job creators, and our investors, we can see expansive growth, explosive growth.

I look forward to being part of a team who is willing to engage in a great debate to make sure we are again the most competitive and best placed in the country to invest.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the honorable contributions made by Mr. Mark Dahlberg, a retired Trustee for the Village of Grantsburg, Wisconsin.

Mr. Dahlberg has served the public at the local government level for a total of 43 years--as Village President (1995 2009), and twice as a Trustee (1969 1995, 2009 2012).

During his time in office, the small northwestern Wisconsin Village of Grantsburg has seen unprecedented economic growth. Today, this town is considered to be the main manufacturing hub in Burnett County. With Mr. Dahlberg's facilitation, tax increment financing and the expansion of water services became effective instruments allowing local industries to grow and expand. Mr. Dahlberg's top priority had always been increasing economic development and job creation in Grantsburg.

These accomplishments made by Mr. Dahlberg in Grantsburg illustrate an ideal relationship between the public and private sector. He has shown that government can work with business to create the environment necessary for sustained economic growth and development, even during difficult economic times.

I commend and thank Mr. Dahlberg for all of the years he has served the public, and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending best wishes to him on the occasion of his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the community accomplishments of Jean Ronning of Ashland, Wisconsin, who has been named the 2012 Person of the Year, by the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce. Jean and her husband, Eugene, have owned and operated the Neighborly Bar for over 28 years.

Mrs. Jean Ronning is well known throughout Ashland as an active member in the community and served in many different roles including: President of the Ashland Softball League, and the Ashland Volleyball League; coordinator for events in Ashland such as the King of the Bay Snowmobile Drag Races, the Green Bay Packer Parade, the Ice Fishing Contest; and hostess for benefits at the New Day Shelter, the BRICK Food Shelf, the Ashland Snowmobile Club, and the Relay For Life Cancer Fundraiser. Additionally, Jean is the recipient of the 2010 New Day Shelter's Passageways to Peace Award.

Overall, Jean is well known for her honorable service to aid those in need by genuinely providing emotional and financial support within the Ashland Community. Her savvy business skills, outgoing personality, and sense for leadership have allowed her to develop a volunteer support network that helps spearhead community initiatives.

Thanks to the community contributions of outstanding citizens like Jean Ronning, Ashland is rightfully known by many as ``Lake Superior's hometown''. I ask that my colleagues join me today to express our appreciation for Jean's community leadership and congratulations for receiving Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce's 2012 Person of the Year award.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to acknowledge the great work of the volunteers of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, especially those who worked to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Marshfield, Wisconsin. They have been selected as a one of the 2012 ``Make A Difference Day'' winners and I could not be more proud.

Make a Difference Day celebrates the power of neighbors helping neighbors. Created by USA Weekend, this annual day of service mobilizes more than three million volunteers to create change in their community.

This group of outstanding volunteers from Rhinelander has made a substantial impact on their community by collecting aluminum cans for the local Ronald McDonald House. Rick and Kela Ellis were heartbroken when they lost their 2-year-old daughter, Ashley, to brain cancer in 1989. But within a year they had found a way to honor her memory--by recycling aluminum cans to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Marshfield, Wisconsin, their ``home'' while Ashley was hospitalized. Since giving their ``Cans for Cancer'' collection a huge boost by tying it to Make A Difference Day in 1998, the Ellises have recycled 6,000 pounds of aluminum, raising more than $2,500.

Rick and Kela will be honored at the Make A Difference Day event presented by Points of Light here in Washington, DC, on April 19, 2012. I congratulate them for this great service in the midst of such loss.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the important role of the Hmong community in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.

This month marks 36 years since the first Hmong family arrived in Marathon County, Wisconsin and, currently, the Hmong account for a major percentage of our area's population. For the past 8 years, our local community has come together annually for Hmong Heritage Month, during which we celebrate the contributions of this important group and educate our residents about Hmong history and culture.

During the Vietnam War, the Hmong stood shoulder to shoulder with U.S. troops in the fight against Communism. Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Hmong in our schools, our churches, and our businesses.

The Hmong have an old saying, ``To be with a family is to be happy. To be without a family is to be lost.'' I truly believe the Hmong are a vital part of our American family, and their contributions to our society make us stronger.

I am proud to represent this community in the United States Congress and I wish them well as we celebrate Hmong Heritage Month.