Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Arno Hott, who is stepping down from the Hampshire County Commission on Aging after 35 years; 25 served as board chairman.

Arno Hott was born in Kirby, WV, on November 13, 1924. On his 85th birthday we honor him for all the work he has done for Hampshire County. His wife, Dorothy, and four children should be extremely proud as Arno was one of the first board members on the Commission on Aging. What started with just three employees has grown to employ 110 people, making it among the top ten employers in Hampshire County.

We honor him for his time with the Commission on Aging, but his service to Hampshire County reaches much further. A graduate of Shepherd College, Arno taught in Hampshire County Schools for 36 years. He is very active with the community choir, the county fair, as well as the Ruritan Club, where he has been a member for 50 years. An instrumental part in starting a day care for seniors, Arno's involvement in the community has benefited so many and it is only right he receive acknowledgement in return for all his public service.

Having received the Distinguished West Virginian Award from four different Governors as well as the Outstanding West Virginian Award, it is an honor to recognize Arno Hott. It says great things about West Virginia to have people like you representing our great State.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition because this bill puts crushing debt on everyone and puts the government between a woman and her doctor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice the concerns of my constituents who believe the Speaker's trillion-dollar 1,990-page bill is simply the wrong solution for West Virginia's families. We were told that under the President's plans, those who like their health care would be able to keep it. Well, we now know that is simply not true. It is certainly not true for the 72,000 West Virginians on Medicare Advantage who will see the program slashed by $170 billion under this plan.

Consider one of my elderly constituents from Dunbar, West Virginia, who called just today. She relies on the enhanced benefits of Medicare Advantage to cover her rheumatoid arthritis and her diabetes. She suffered a stroke, a brain aneurysm, and she is on more than a dozen prescriptions. She relies on these services, and she fears that this bill will put them at risk. Sadly, she is right, because this bill will change her health care.

Mr. Speaker, we need health care reform, but we can do better than this.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor John Overington as he becomes the first member to reach 25 years of service in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

First elected to represent the 55th District of West Virginia in 1984, John has spent the past 25 years working tirelessly to address the needs of Berkeley County. He has become revered for his public service while successfully bringing results through his leadership and involvement with numerous community organizations. Working on many vital pieces of legislation, John has assured that the best interests of West Virginia are at the forefront.

John is involved in countless organizations and has received several recognitions for his efforts, including Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Chairman Award in 1988. I know his involvement in the Bedington Ruritan Club is very special to him, where his passionate support has helped achieve fellowship, goodwill, and community service in the area.

It is an honor to congratulate such a distinguished public servant for his years of service and contribution to Berkeley County and the State of West Virginia. I'm proud to call John a friend and fellow West Virginian.

Mr. Speaker, the American people want health care reform, but they want the right kind of reform. They want to know that we are not going to raise taxes on job creators when the economy is just coming out of a recession. They want to know that we are not going to change the health care that they have now. They want to know that Medicare will be there for them.

As a mother of three, I can remember nights when one of our children would have a cold and I would put my ear to their chest to hear the rattle or to hear if they were developing croup. And that is what we have been doing with this health care reform. The Republicans have been putting their ears to the chest of the American people to find out what they want. And what they want, they want reform the right way, not a $1 trillion plan that will lead to uncertainty and that will have certain people lose their health care.

We need to do health care reform, but we need to do it the right way.

Thank you. I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee. She has been an advocate for health care but also commonsense health care. I think that's what we're facing here today. We're looking at a bill that Speaker Pelosi has put before this body. We've already heard that it's 1,990 pages. I heard it weighs 20 pounds. It just defies logic that anybody can honestly say that they know each and every thing that is in this bill. For those of you who know Washington, who know what can happen, I think that would raise some serious questions--it certainly does in my mind--but in your mind as to what are in the far reaches of this bill.

I would like to talk a little bit about women and health care because being a Member of Congress, a woman Member of Congress, we have certain duties, but we have so many other duties, like women across this country, that when we come into Washington, like many of us did today, we still have a little bit of our hearts or a lot of our hearts at home with our families, with our children, with our husbands, with our parents, with our siblings because we're the nurturers. We're the ones who, as women, oversee the health care in the family. We're the ones who, when the babies are little and they're coughing at night, put our ears to their chests to see if they're having some respiratory issues, and I think we're the ones that, as we become the sandwich generation, much like I am--I have grown children and elderly parents--that we're the ones that our parents come to to help them get to the appointments, fill their medications, help them with the forms, make sure that things are going in the right direction when they can no longer depend on each other.

I'm quite lucky. My parents are in their eighties, and they're extremely self-sufficient on their own. But someday they're going to need that help that I as a daughter and my sister and my brother will provide for them. In

West Virginia, I found--just coming here today, it was astounding to me of the number of folks that just randomly approached me about knowing what is on the docket here, the Speaker's over 1,900-page $1 trillion health care bill, and people are concerned. I was in Wendy's having lunch today, and I met a woman. She asked me to come over and talk with her. She is 75 years old, quite remarkable, and her mother had died the day before. We have a great history of longevity in our State. She is very concerned about this bill because she feels that not only is the bill being balanced on almost $500 billion in cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, which will influence her health care, but she is very concerned about government bureaucracy making decisions for her health care. She is very concerned about the government getting in between her decisions and her doctor's decisions. Quite honestly, she was afraid of a rationing of care. Because she is 75 years old, is she going to get the same care she might have if she was 50 or if she was 25? These are the kinds of thoughts that are very real, and they were very real for her, as I talked with her over lunch.

Then as I was going to get on my plane this afternoon, I was buying a bottle of water, and the lady behind the counter said, Well, you're going back to Washington, right?

I said, Right, going back to Washington.

She said, It's health care, right?

I said, Right, it's health care.

And this voice in the back of the room said, Don't mess with my health care. Again, her view was, she's not on Medicare yet, but she had parents that were. She is concerned about their Medicare, but her concern was government-run health care. She sees this bill as it is. It's a government reach into her health care, and she was very concerned.

Then as I was coming back in from the airport, I had a man who asked me, Going to talk about health care, right?

I said, Right.

And he goes, Well, let me tell you, he said, If in any way that health care bill would leave a crack in the door for my taxpayer's dollars to go for funding of abortion, I am going to go on a rampage. He said, I can understand, and I want to give, and I want to help, but this was his line in the sand.

So you can see that everybody has a different perspective, and the 1,900 pages that are in the Speaker's bill are causing great concerns on a whole lot of levels.

I did some research on West Virginia women. Of West Virginia residents, 51 percent are women, and the 442,000 women in West Virginia who receive health care coverage through their employer, which is almost 60 percent of the women, I am concerned about them because they have health care that generally serves their needs. We need to go in and make sure we make adjustments, that we fill the cracks in the lack of access or coverage. But I am concerned and I think it's a real concern that the Speaker's bill is going to come in and force over 60 percent of the women who have coverage for their employers to be put into a government-run insurance program that they don't choose, is not of their own choosing. Then maybe if that's not what happens, then the insurance option that they have is going to be the one that the government panel says meets adequate coverage. Well, what does that mean? What does that mean to the 60 percent of the women covered through their insurance through their employer?

I think we have to look at what this is going to do for small businesses. In our State of West Virginia, only 37 percent of small businesses who have less than 50 employees provide health insurance coverage as compared to over 95 percent of larger firms employing more than 50. We need to fill that gap. As Republicans, we've come together to find ways to fill the gap for small businesses, to make it affordable, make it available, make it accessible. But the bill that is created by Speaker Pelosi and those in the leadership does not do enough. What it does do is puts another tax on small business to provide that insurance.

Lastly, I asked a lot of the women in my district what they really thought about the plan as they understand it, expanded government involvement in health care. Of the women polled, 54 percent said that they would not personally trade their coverage for a public plan; 56 percent disagreed that they would be best served by government-run health care; 75 percent have said they don't want significant changes in their own health care; and 64 percent of the women in West Virginia said that they prefer private insurance over the public option. These are women that are accessing the health care system not just for themselves, not just for their own families. They're accessing it for their parents. Many of them work in the health care system. They see how it's working. They see the changes that could be made, and they really are rejecting it, I think, out of hand. I know my colleagues will expand on this tonight. The women are rejecting the types of changes where government goes between you and your health care provider.

I believe that is what has happened in this plan, not to mention the over $1 trillion price tag that's attached to this bill, which both men and women across the country know that this is going to be on the backs of their children and grandchildren, a legacy of debt and deficit that's going to be passed on.

I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee and all of my colleagues for being here tonight. Those are some of the perspectives that I have. It's so interesting to me that in the brief time today that I was out among folks, how tuned in everybody is to this, how aware. Because health care is so personal. It's such an everyday thing for so many people that everybody has an opinion because they're basically living it. This isn't something they're seeing from afar or they're hoping happens or it's happening to their neighbor. It's happening in everybody's home in America, and people are standing up and saying how they feel about it, where the changes need to be made, and how they feel. Generally speaking, today the Speaker's 1,900-page bill, $1 trillion bill, got a big goose egg today because I did not run into one person who said, That sounds like the plan for me.

Thank you.

I thank Mr. Lynch and Mr. Jordan for their great descriptions of John Brown's raid and the importance to our Nation's history. I'd also like to thank Chairman Towns and Ranking Member Issa for bringing this resolution forward.

In my home State of West Virginia, we're very proud of our rich history and heritage. We proudly boast that ours is the only State formed as a result of the Civil War when we seceded from Virginia and joined the Union to become the 35th State. In 1863, we were signed into our statehood very proudly by President Abraham Lincoln. Yet, as any good history teacher will tell you, the abolitionist movement in our State has roots deeper than the Civil War itself.

This month, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of John Brown's historic raid on Harpers Ferry, which is just a short distance from our Nation's Capital, which helped to ignite the abolitionist movement and led to the War Between the States.

Our State motto is ``Mountaineers are Always Free,'' and it is those principles that guided John Brown into his controversial raid. I rise today to note this year's anniversary and also celebrate the full heritage and history of this West Virginia town, Harpers Ferry, which is located beneath the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Long before its first settlement, Harpers Ferry's natural beauty caught

the attention of Thomas Jefferson, who stood above the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and noted that the region's beauty was ``worth a voyage across the Atlantic.'' And I must say, its splendor is equally as captivating today as it was more than 220 years ago, particularly at this time of year when visitors, thousands of visitors, are now flocking to Harpers Ferry National Park to take in the beautiful autumn colors.

Jefferson's fellow statesman George Washington was similarly impressed with the community's strategic location and in 1794 recommended that Congress designate Harpers Ferry, which was then in Virginia, as a site for a Federal Armory and Arsenal.

With the establishment of the armory, the community grew into a bustling factory town, where John Hall created the first interchangeable parts for firearms. His inventions led to the mass production of thousands of muskets and rifles, many of which would supply Lewis and Clark on their journey of westward expansion.

But as we all well know, it was John Brown's 1859 historic raid which truly established Harpers Ferry's place in our history. That summer, John Brown settled into a nearby farm in Maryland under the alias of Isaac Smith and laid plans to seize the armory and lead a revolt to spread across the South with hopes of ending slavery.

As the gentleman from Massachusetts mentioned, on the night of October 16, 1859, 150 years ago, he gathered with his provisional army of 21 men and seized the town, taking the town's bridges, Halls Rifle Works, the Federal Armory and Arsenal, and several hostages. As the fighting continued, news of the revolt spread across the region until Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart ordered 90 marines to storm the engine house where John Brown and his men had taken refuge.

Upon his capture, John Brown was tried and convicted of murder, conspiring to rebel, and treason. He was sentenced to death by hanging in another historic town just down the road from Harpers Ferry, in present-day Charles Town, where on the day of his death, in addition to what the gentleman said, he wrote, ``I am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.''

Unfortunately, we now know that his words held true as it took the bloody and divisive struggle of the Civil War to finally bring freedom to a people long enslaved. John Brown's raid will forever be known as one of the seminal events which led to the Civil War. His death brought the slavery debate to the forefront of our Nation divided. In the North, Brown was considered a ``martyr,'' and in the South, he was a ``terrorist.'' Yet, regardless of how he may be revered in history, his bold actions helped lead the fight for freedom and the end of slavery.

After once again proving its geographic importance during the Civil War, Harpers Ferry became an epicenter for the fight for equality and civil rights movement. It became the home to Storer College, an integrated institution to educate newly freed slaves, with the campus later serving as the site of the Nation's first Niagara Movement meeting. It was at that meeting where the scholar W.E.B. Du Bois delivered his address which led to the creation of the NAACP, an organization which this year celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, as you can see, Harpers Ferry is a town rich in history, and it is only fitting that during the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid, the Harpers Ferry National Park has held several commemorative events, particularly last weekend to recognize the sesquicentennial and remember the contributions made by those who have come before us.

I simply call on the rest of my colleagues to support the passage of H. Res. 568, and I would also encourage those near-and-far Americans to visit Harpers Ferry and the surrounding area to share in the deep history and tradition that we have in our State of West Virginia that's also part of what we will be commemorating later, that is, the 150-year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War here in our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the concerns my constituents continue to raise in the ongoing health care debate. Rather than listening to me, let's listen to them in their own words.

This is from a woman in Nitro: ``While I agree that changes are needed to today's system, I don't believe that a new government-run health insurance plan is the right solution. The government plan will shift costs to employers, which could force more and more businesses to stop offering benefits to their workers. I like my current coverage, and don't want to be forced into a government program.''

Or a quote from a gentleman in Scott Depot: ``Congress must not let government get between my family and my doctor. Please protect patient freedom, and expand our health care options with real reforms--focused on patients, not on politics.''

Or another quote from West Virginia: ``I see my country being spent into destruction and my daughter's and grandson's future being thrown away by reckless politicians. What in the world are they trying to do? Myself and other mothers that I am in communication with are watching with great interest to see what is going on with the public health care plan, which we can't afford.''

Yes, we want health reform, but we want a thoughtful, bipartisan approach that will result in solid reform.

Mr. Speaker, I have one question. Where are the jobs?

We are now more than 7 months from passage of the so-called stimulus package, yet it is more apparent than ever that the bill has fallen woefully short. In my home State of West Virginia, the White House predicted that this legislation would create 20,000 jobs. Well, guess what? At this point, since February, the reality is that we have lost 13,000 jobs. Sadly, the stimulus isn't living up to its promise of job creation.

Additionally, the policies of this administration are actually contributing to job losses in my State. Cap-and-trade legislation will put an economic target on the back of our States, States like mine. Meanwhile, the EPA has continued to hold up mine permits across Appalachia, creating an unprecedented sense of unease and uncertainty that's already costing us mining jobs and threatening thousands more.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents deserve better now, and they certainly deserved better when we first debated this bill. I join them in asking: Where are the jobs?

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove as cosponsors from H.R. 1989 the following Representatives: Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Latta and Mr. Souder.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove as cosponsors from H.R. 3413 the following Representatives: Mr. Al Green of Texas and Ms. Jenkins.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Shepherdstown Fire Department, for over 200 years of service by trained volunteers.

As the oldest fire department in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Shepherdstown Fire Department has been a staple of the area for over two centuries. As early as 1793, when Shepherdstown was known as Mecklenburg, the town passed a tax levy to secure money with the purpose of purchasing a fire engine. In 1804, a year after the engine was purchased, the department's first fire house was built. Devoted firefighters have selflessly given their services to the community and have been shown tremendous support in return from their neighbors.

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Shepherdstown Fire Department held a day long celebration for the public to enjoy. The department hosted several events commemorating this milestone. The events included the final placement of the department's original 1894 fire bell and a rededication of the fire department.

It is an honor to recognize the Shepherdstown Fire Department. Reaching the 200-year mark is an impressive accomplishment. It says wonderful things about West Virginia to have people like these volunteer firefighters.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Jerry Alan Jones, a police officer in my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, who died tragically in the line of duty while chasing a suspect early Sunday morning. At just 27, Patrolman Jones truly exemplified what it meant to serve both his local community and as a citizen of our Nation. Before becoming a patrolman with the Charleston Police Department, he was a sergeant with the United States Marine Corps and helped to secure the Kandahar Airport when the U.S. military first went to Afghanistan after September 11. Back at home, he was active in his local church, where he met his wife, Samantha. The couple recently celebrated their first anniversary together. Today the city of Charleston mourns the loss of one of its finest. Patrolman Jones led a life to which we should all aspire. We mourn with his wife, Samantha, with his family, and we offer our prayers of comfort and remembrance.

I urge my colleagues to join me today in recognition of Patrolman Jerry Alan Jones, our friend, protector and hero, for his fearless courage in serving the citizens of Charleston and the entire State of West Virginia.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Colonel Mohammed A. ``Mo'' Khan, Jr., who accepted command of the 341 Operations Group on May 20 in a change of command ceremony.

Colonel Khan is originally from Ronceverte, West Virginia, born November 5, 1966. After graduation from California Lutheran University in 1988, Colonel Khan received his commission through the University of California at Los Angeles Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Over the past twenty years, Mo has been promoted from Second Lieutenant to the rank of Colonel. Upon accepting command of the 341st OG, Colonel Khan stated his three main priorities, which are to do your absolute very best at all times; to take care of each other and your families; and to give freely of yourself, both on and off base. It is because of these values that Mo has advanced so far and received so many decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Combat Readiness Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and National Defense Service Medal with Star Device.

Early in his Air Force career, Colonel Khan served a variety of positions in a missile combat crew, advancing to squadron, group and wing level positions. In 2002, Colonel Khan assumed command of the 564th Missile Squadron where he led over 200 operations. His extensive operations experience led to several positions at the Pentagon in the space operations division, where until March of 2008 he held the title of director of space operations. Most recently, he was chief of the space superiority division before assuming command of the 341st Operations Group.

It is an honor to recognize Colonel Mohammed A. ``Mo'' Khan, Jr.--he is a man that represents the best of West Virginia. I would like to congratulate him for his invaluable service to the Air Force. I know his wife, Lisa, and two children, Mo III and Simeon, are extremely proud.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support, strong support, of H.R. 2034, the Rural Homeowners Protection Act of 2009. As my colleague has stated, the current foreclosure crisis affects rural America as well as cities and suburbs; and many rural areas are subject to additional complicating factors, such as high poverty rates.

The section 502 Rural Housing Guaranteed Loan program is an important source of funding in rural areas for moderate-income families wishing to purchase a home. As currently structured, the 502 program guarantees loan origination and allows refinancing on current 502 loans. However, it does not allow refinancing of loans obtained through private lenders.

H.R. 2034 amends the section 502 Single Family Housing Loan Guarantee program to allow refinancing of private rural loans through the section 502 program.

To safeguard the program, the bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to charge a higher fee for refinancing private origination loans to ensure that the class of loans can be guaranteed without the need of additional cost to the government.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important change that will provide much- needed assistance in our rural communities. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2034, the Rural Homeowners Protection Act of 2009.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.