Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we're broke. Everyone from the small business owner in West Virginia to Standard and Poor's and Moody's is looking to Washington to solve this fiscal mess.

We have a responsibility to demonstrate that we can responsibly raise the debt ceiling by changing the way Washington treats the taxpayers' dollars. The reason we're in over our heads is not because we're taxed too little; it's because we spend too much.

The bill before us today, Cut, Cap, and Balance, is a tangible idea that demonstrates we have to pay our bills while making sure our future credit card statements are not budget-busting.

If we want to protect our seniors and our grandchildren, encourage small business, and create jobs and safeguard the American Dream, we need to get our economy back on track. That starts with living within our means. It's about time.

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

I would like to thank the chairman of my subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio, for his leadership on this issue.

My amendment is a simple reaction to conversations that I've had with the administrator and others at the EPA and also with the President of the United States.

In questioning the President, I asked:

Mr. President, when you're going forth on your rules and regulations at the EPA, do you consider jobs and economic impact?

He said we should and I say we should, and that is the purpose of my amendment. This requires the EPA to analyze the impact on jobs and economic activity prior to issuing a regulation, policy statement, guidance, or

prior to implementing any new or substantially altered program under the Clean Water Act.

Earlier this year, the EPA retroactively vetoed a previously approved Clean Water Act permit in West Virginia at the Spruce Mine. This came as quite a surprise, and it was very unprecedented because I don't believe the EPA--if it has, it has been maybe once or twice in its history--has ever retroactively vetoed a permit. It had a very chilling effect not only on jobs but on the economic activity in our State. This action has caused a slow bleed of jobs throughout Appalachia. Reaching back to revoke a permit is particularly concerning because it causes great uncertainty for job creators in our State. This is at a time when we have as a Nation 9.2 percent unemployment.

We need to get people to work.

Why would a company invest in a new project that has been permitted when it would think that there would be a reach-back by the EPA under the Clean Water Act which could revoke this permit? To me, this just chills job creation in our State.

The EPA's ideological war on our energy producers is manifesting itself in other ways in my district and across the country. In the eastern part of West Virginia, the EPA--listen to this--is using aerial surveillance of family farms with the goal of ensuring compliance with the Clean Water Act. According to an article in a local newspaper, the EPA is going so far as to regulate the types of sheds that family farmers can have for their cattle operations. Yet, when asked about the economic impact of this kind of regulatory overreach, the EPA's representative made it clear that jobs are irrelevant.

As the Nation faces 9.2 percent unemployment and as hundreds of thousands of jobs hang in limbo, the administration has refused to reconsider this agenda. The negative impact of the regulatory actions upon jobs is obvious. However, the EPA has been unable to give me a straight answer on whether it does or does not consider the negative impact on jobs or economic impact.

So let's put it clearly in the law:

You must consider this to strike that balance between environment and economy.

All this amendment is asking for, quite simply, is transparency. It doesn't mandate what decision has to be made when considering what jobs or economic impact is discovered. It does say that, when jobs and economic impact are negative, the EPA has to go to the local governance authority, whether it's the Governor or the smaller community, and explain this action. So it's transparency. I think it will help further clarify decisions, but it will also help our energy producers figure out how to weave the balance between the economy and the environment.

In closing, I've heard a lot of talk about our collective goal of clean air and clean water. We all share that--and no one more than everyone on the floor who is sitting here today and those of us across the country--but we cannot afford this continued unaccountable, nontransparent assault on our American jobs, so I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would just like to quickly respond in terms of the revocation of the one permit. Let's talk about the hundreds of permits that are sitting at the EPA, and try to figure out how to meet the balance here.

Let's look at the total picture--that's all I'm saying--of jobs and the environment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs).

I want to thank my colleague from West Virginia for his support because he and I are seeing firsthand--we want to see transparency; we want to see the information move forward on the economic impact. We are at a place where we need jobs, we want jobs, we just want to see the facts.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time, and I urge support of my amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of the legislation that is before us today to reform the National Flood Insurance Program.

I would like to thank the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters) for their hard work to bring forth a bipartisan bill which addresses many of the concerns to a program hampered by extraordinary losses and currently facing about $18 billion of debt.

H.R. 1309 provides a long-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, but it makes a significantly indebted program more fiscally sound. A 5-year reauthorization will give the certainty that is needed to a program that has been without it for the past 2 years. It is irresponsible and unfair to communities and individuals, especially those who live in flood-prone areas such as mine, to pass short-term extensions and allow temporary lapses when more than 5 million policyholders depend on it for financial security against flooding. Unless congressional action is taken, on September 30, 2011, these policyholders will again be put in danger of losing protection.

Unfortunately, the persistence of subsidized rates for properties in high-risk areas has left the NFIP underfunded and at risk. This bill makes needed reforms to put premiums more in line with risk by incorporating actuarial rates for at-risk properties. Increasing the limit on annual premium rate increases will gradually phase out subsidized premiums and help reduce taxpayer exposure. At the same time, this legislation allows properties relief from the mandatory purchase requirement for up to 3 years so they may be able to plan better for being newly mapped into special flood hazard areas.

Most importantly, this bill gives us a chance to give long-term certainty to policyholders as well as insurers who participate in the program. In a still unsure housing market, it is critical that we provide as much clarity as possible to current and future homeowners.

I am very pleased that this legislation looks at privatization initiatives and the possibilities that the private market as well as reinsurance can play in protecting communities against future flood damages. It is my hope that we will pass this bill.

Again, I want to congratulate the chairwoman for her hard work.

Mr. Speaker, right now the President is hosting his first ever Twitter town hall to gather input from concerned Americans.

Here's some input from some concerned West Virginians: People are having to choose whether to buy groceries or gas as energy prices skyrocket and the economy continues to remain slow and unrecovered. If West Virginians are wondering about one thing, it's why the President isn't doing more to lower energy costs and get our economy back on track.

America is truly blessed to have an abundant supply of natural resources. But instead of tapping into these rich minerals, the President has approved extreme regulations that are killing jobs and are hurting our economy.

Frankly, I am stunned as to why the President hasn't connected that a good, solid jobs plan is a good, solid energy plan. Just last month, AEP announced it will shut down five plants in West Virginia and Ohio, costing jobs and payrolls, and will raise electricity 10 to 15 percent. According to AEP, this is a direct response to new and burdensome regulations levied by the EPA within the last year.

It's time to take advantage of the resources found right here in America. Doing so will launch our economy in the right direction and create thousands of good-paying jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and honor, James Addy, the mayor of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Mayor Addy will retire this month after 10 successful years in the mayor's office. Jim has been Mayor since 2001 and is a professor of social studies at Bowie State University, where he teaches courses in American history. He has served a stalwart career as a public official and has worked relentlessly to improve his community.

Mayor Addy brought an honest and clear vision to Harper's Ferry where he has worked to bring a better life to its citizens. I have always valued his wise counsel.

In his terms in office, Mayor Addy has applied his wealth of knowledge. As a professor, he knows the common thread of American history and how lessons learned in the past are often repeated in the future. As a teacher and former assistant principal, he applied his ability to build relationships and mentor those who will follow in his footsteps, especially the younger generation. And finally as a product of a childhood in a neighborhood of Baltimore, he brought the idea of working for a better community and a greater good.

Mayor Addy, I hope that you enjoy your time out of public service. I know you will continue to teach and affect the young lives that you so believe in. I know that you will continue to be involved in all aspects of Harpers Ferry and its future.

You have done a great job. I wish you the very best.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Republic of Azerbaijan on the 93rd anniversary of Republic Day on May 28. Additionally, the Republic of Azerbaijan will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan has become a critical ally of the United States due both to its location in the Caucasus Region and its access to rich energy sources in the Caspian Sea. Additionally, Azerbaijan has been an example of religious and ethnic tolerance. As a predominantly Muslim country, Azerbaijan has maintained strong and active Jewish and Christian communities.

Azerbaijan was one of the first nations to offer the United States support in the aftermath of 9/11. They have participated in many joint military efforts since their independence and recently doubled their military presence in Afghanistan. They have also offered logistical support for our efforts in Afghanistan, offering refueling stations and over-flight permission.

Once again, I am happy to honor and congratulate Azerbaijan on their 93rd Anniversary of Republic Day. Azerbaijan has been a great ally to the United States, and I think it is important that we highlight all the efforts they have made to support efforts to bring peace and freedom to parts of the world that have known nothing but tyranny.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 357 change my vote to an ``aye.'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Stated for:

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize National Nursing Home Week, which began nationwide on May 8, and concludes on May 14th. This year's theme, ``Fulfilling the Promise,'' was selected to honor those who are serving others, thus adding value to life. National Nursing Home Week is a time to reach out to older Americans in these facilities who have given so much to our communities and country. They are our loved ones, our veterans, our teachers, nurses, friends, and much more.

It's also a time to better understand the valuable work of nursing home staff. They provide quality care day in and day out, focusing on person-centered care so that elderly and disabled residents can live life in a meaningful

way. All across America, nursing homes provide fulfilling places to work, employing millions of Americans even in these tough economic times. In West Virginia alone, nursing homes and other long term care facilities make up one of the state's largest industries and employers. These jobs make nursing homes a critical component of local and state economies. In West Virginia, they support an estimated $1.7 billion of the state's economic activity and $38.6 million in tax revenue.

As this year marks the first year that baby boomers will reach the age of 65, the critical role that long term care facilities play will only become more important. These facilities will be even more critical in states like West Virginia where we have the second highest percentage of citizens who are over the age of 65.

Let us all celebrate the critical work of nursing homes in caring for our nation's seniors, employing Americans and strengthening the economy. I ask all Americans to join me in celebrating National Nursing Home Week by taking part in local activities and ceremonies around the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the George Washington Patriots

Swim Team for winning the 2011 state championship. The past three years have amounted to a great deal of success for the Patriot swimmers, winning the 2009 state championship and coming in as runner-up last year. For a few seniors, this marks the end of a great high school career and I want to congratulate them as well as the rest of the team for their time and hard work.

It takes a strong group of young men to maintain the drive and dedication they have shown season after season. I want to thank their coach, Melissa Case, for instilling such a focus in her team. It certainly has not gone unnoticed.

These individuals should be very proud of their accomplishment and represent the highest level of George Washington High School student athletes. I wish them the best and know they will display the same level of character in their future pursuits as they did in the pool.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues for bringing this forward and for their very strong support of this measure.

I too rise today in support of S. 307, which will rename the Federal courthouse and the Federal building at 217 West King Street in Martinsburg, West Virginia for W. Craig Broadwater, as it will be designated as the W. Craig Broadwater Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

Martinsburg is in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, very close here to Washington, D.C. It's also part of my district. Judge Broadwater was one of my constituents. I learned more from Judge Broadwater than he ever learned from me, I can tell you that. He was a very kind, supportive, gentle person, but also a very fair-minded and humble public servant.

As we've heard, and I am going to repeat it, he served with distinction and honor to this country for over 40 years, first as an Army lieutenant, later as a Federal court judge, and a brigadier general for the West Virginia National Guard.

I know he was deployed the year before he passed away very suddenly. He came to West Virginia, where he attended West Virginia University in 1972, and he entered ROTC. It obviously made a large impression on his life, as he stayed not only for 2 years as a military officer, intelligence officer, but also retained his dedicated service to our country through the military throughout his life.

He graduated from West Virginia University in 1977, went into private practice as a practicing attorney until 1983. He then became the circuit judge of the First Judicial Circuit in West Virginia and served in that capacity from 1983 to 1996, where he then was appointed, as my colleague from Florida said, by President Clinton on January 26, 1996, where he served until he passed away December 18, 2006.

He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army for 2 years. He joined the Army National Guard in 1976 as an operational detachment executive officer and, as I said, remained in the Guard the rest of his life.

He was deployed several times. He was deployed as a battalion commander from 1994 to 1996, where he led the battalion for service in Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy. He became a brigadier general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was mobilized in 2003 and in 2005 at the Horn of Africa.

After serving, he was then sent to Djibouti, where he served as the deputy commanding officer. But what I would like to talk about are the several times that I actually got to meet and talk and get to know Craig Broadwater. He was very young when he was stricken quickly and taken from us and his family. He is missed, I know, every day in their hearts and certainly in the hearts of the eastern part of West Virginia.

Being a Federal judge is, I think, not only an awesome responsibility, it takes a special kind of person to do it well, and Judge Broadwater did it well. He was, as I said, kind, soft-spoken, considerate, a great listener and very respectful of all individuals, whether you would be talking to the Governor or whether you would be talking to the person who is helping you keep your building in order during the evenings. He loved his family, his State and his country.

I know that by naming this courthouse and this Federal building for Judge W. Craig Broadwater, that those who serve in that building and in that

courthouse will have an inspiration as they walk in. As they enter and see his name on the front of the building, they are going to realize that sacrifice of yourself and of your family is sometimes what's important in service to your country, to your State, to the law. He did this uncomplainingly, with great humor, and deep respect for our country, our laws of fairness and justice.

I think for those folks, whether you are going in as a person who is a judge or an attorney or somebody who is seeking representation, when you enter the building that's named for Judge Broadwater, you are going to feel like you are going into a building that's dedicated to the fairness and upholding the highest standards that he, himself, upheld during his life. We miss him to this day, and I think this is a fitting tribute.

I want to thank Senator Rockefeller for joining together, the two of us, to put this forward. I look forward to the day when we can attach onto that Federal building in honor of Judge Broadwater the ``W. Craig Broadwater Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would prohibit the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases.

Congress has already said no to a cap-and-trade tax, yet the EPA is intent on taking matters into their own hands, which will result in a bleeding of jobs. If the EPA is allowed to continue to pick winners and losers in this country, we will be seeing higher prices at the gas pump, higher utility bills, and job loss.

We should be making it easier, not harder, for small businesses to expand and hire. However, the EPA's assault on fossil fuels will result in higher domestic energy costs and push American jobs overseas.

At home in West Virginia, the EPA is making it much more expensive to turn on our lights and drive to work; that's not the way to get our economy back on track.

This legislation is of particular importance to my constituents in West Virginia. The EPA's regulations will disproportionately affect our State's economy. West Virginia powers the Nation. Our energy providers provide thousands of good-paying jobs, and coal alone provides over half of our Nation's electricity and over 95 percent of the power in my State.

I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 910 to stop the EPA's regulatory overreach and job-killing strategies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the George Washington Patriots for winning the West Virginia Class AAA boys basketball championship. The third-seeded Patriots defeated top-seeded Wheeling Park 55-54 to take home the State title. This was a special win for Coach Rick Greene, as he was part of the team that gave the school its first basketball championship 40 years ago.

In a close, intense game, the two teams battled to the end. In the final seconds, George Washington was leading 55-52 when Wheeling Park hit what looked to be a three-pointer. However, a review of the shot showed that it was only a two-pointer and George Washington won. Quite a finish.

Having two boys who grew up playing basketball in West Virginia for Coach Greene, I have seen both the faces of elation and anguish. A game as competitive and well-fought as this shows the heart and dedication these young men and their coaches put in all season to get to this game. I want to congratulate both teams for tremendous seasons and for giving us such a memorable game.

Congrats to Gee-Dub.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers) be removed as a cosponsor from H.R. 1081.

I have been listening to the discussion. Certainly over the last several years I have been in the committee where we have seen program after program being introduced to try to alleviate the problem that we know exists with the foreclosure issue. But this is about making choices today. This is about making choices about programs that are working, programs that are not working, programs that are costing too much, and programs that we need to reshape and reform.

I believe this program is one that we can in good measure eliminate. It hasn't really gotten started. It's a billion-dollar program, and in some sense we already know, and we've heard from many in the discussion, that 98 cents out of every dollar that's set forth as a loan in this program will actually be a forgiven loan.

Now, we talk about fairness and mean-spiritedness. Is it fair to the rest of the folks who are working, scraping, paying their mortgages every single day to know that 98 cents of every dollar that goes out the door in helping some other folks is never going to come back in when the original agreement--it is a loan. I think this is a good-sense cut that will lead to more jobs and better-sense government.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Mr. Frank Buckles, the sole surviving U.S. World War I veteran who passed away on Sunday at the age of 110 in his hometown of Charles Town, West Virginia. Inspired by his love of his country and a desire to serve, Frank entered the Army at the age of 16. He served in England and France during the war, first as a car and ambulance driver, and later as an escort for returning German POWs.

During World War II, he was held as a prisoner of war in the Philippines for 39 months. He has been recognized as a true American patriot and awarded numerous medals. I have met Frank on several occasions. He was a constituent of my district, and I was always inspired by his sense of humility and hope.

He represents the very best of this country: service, determination, and patriotism. He has lived through some of the most historic events in our American history, from the Great Depression to two world wars, to the invention of the Internet, reminding us of the immense progress, yet change, that we have seen in this Nation.

For years, Frank had dedicated his life to ensuring his fellow doughboys received proper national recognition. I hope this Congress will honor the legacy of Frank Buckles and the legacy of all those who fought in the War to End All Wars by paying tribute to them with a national memorial. Let Frank's legacy remind us of the service and sacrifice all veterans make in the name of protecting America and all for which she stands.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the Buckles family.