Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, boxing legend Muhammad Ali once said, ``Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them--a desire, a dream, a vision.''

I would like to recognize two high school basketball teams from my district which proved that they are, indeed, champions. They had the desire to make every practice count and to play every game as if it were their last. They shared a dream that was strong enough to overcome the many distractions all high school kids face, and their coaches gave them the vision that all their hard work and sacrifice would pay off in the end.

The schools? The LaSalle Lancers and the Taft Senators.

First, congratulations to the LaSalle Lancers on winning the 2011 Ohio Division I Basketball State Championship. LaSalle is a boys' Catholic high school in my district that is particularly special to me since it's my alma mater. Regardless of my personal attachments to the school, I'd like to recognize them on a job well-done and a season well-played. They represented themselves and our community with an outstanding display of athleticism, sportsmanship and class throughout the season--but especially in the playoffs.

The players and coaches stuck together in the face of adversity, especially when their head coach, Dan Fleming, suffered a heart attack, which placed sports and the tournament in perspective. The LaSalle family rallied around their coach, and the Lancers, led by their seniors and the assistant coaches, went on to win their first basketball State championship in 15 years and the second in school history.

I would also like to congratulate Coach Tom Grippa and the LaSalle Lancer football team for their tremendous season. You made us proud. Congratulations Lancers.

I also rise today to congratulate the Taft High School Senators, who won the Division 3 Basketball State Championship. Now I acknowledge that it's rare that a Member of this esteemed body, the House of Representatives, ever says anything positive about Senators, but I'd like to make an exception today.

Led by their head coach, Mark Mitchell, the Senators defeated Cleveland Central Catholic High School to win the first State championship in school history. The Senators went into the tournament ranked number 1 by the Associated Press. They not only made school history by winning their first State championship, but they also set a Division 3 boys basketball record for the most points scored in a championship game. Finishing the season at 26 and 1 is quite a feat. It is an honor to have them represent our district, and I congratulate them on their success.

I would be remiss if I didn't also commend former Cincinnati Bengal star Mike Martin for the tremendous effort that he has made in turning around the Taft High School football program, mentoring his players to be successful in life as well as on the football field.

Let me conclude by once again congratulating the players, the coaches, the students, the faculty, and the fans of Cincinnati's LaSalle Lancers and Taft Senators for the inspirational seasons you've just completed. You've made all of us very proud. Your accomplishments will be long remembered. Go Lancers! And go Senators!

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for your steadfast commitment to the men and women who gallantly serve our country on the battlefield.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the resolution. First, let me get one argument out of the way. I've heard before some of my colleagues who support an American retreat from Afghanistan describe this effort as a fiscal matter. I would respond to that argument by simply stating that it's not a question of whether we can afford to fund a military presence in Afghanistan, it's a matter of whether we can afford not to, particularly at this point.

I think my colleagues know that I'm very uncomfortable spending taxpayer dollars without a solid justification, and I would match my fiscal conservative credentials with anybody in this body. But when it comes to national security and when it comes to the care and protection of our troops in harm's way, we must not be, to use a phrase that you often hear on this floor, penny wise and pound foolish.

Further, a premature withdrawal of American troops from the Afghan theater would send a terrible message to both our friends and also to our adversaries. To our allies in the war on terrorism whom we would leave essentially twisting in the wind, to those 47 other nations that have joined the coalition in Afghanistan, we would essentially be saying, ``Good luck. You're on your own.'' Not exactly what they had in mind when they joined us in this fight.

And, of course, to al Qaeda and to the Taliban, whom we would embolden by adopting this ill-advised resolution, we would be providing, once again, the sanctuary which they enjoyed in Afghanistan before our Armed Forces reversed their momentum.

I don't often find myself in agreement with President Obama's policies, but I did agree with him when he said a little more than a year ago, ``I am convinced that our security is at risk in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak.'' That was President Obama.

I also agree with General Petraeus who said last week that ``our core objective in Afghanistan, needless to say, is to ensure that the country does not become a sanctuary once again for al Qaeda, the way it was prior to 9/11.''

I know memories fade with time, but it's been not quite 10 years since 3,000 lives were lost on American soil--in New York, in Pennsylvania, and just minutes from here down the street at the Pentagon. Let's not forget what al Qaeda did then and let's keep working to prevent it from happening again. Let's not quit until the job is done.

Vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. Chairman, as we debate the funding of a competing engine for the Joint Strike Fighter Program, there are a few key points that we should keep in mind.

First, competition has long been the best way to control costs on large defense programs, and competition is the centerpiece of acquisition reform. By funding competing engines for the Joint Strike Fighter, we can save $21 billion. Let me repeat that, $21 billion savings in taxpayer money over time according to the Government Accountability Office.

Beyond the GAO's projections, our recent history demonstrates that competition also leads to a more efficient process, quicker innovation, and better contractor responsiveness. Recently, the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel concluded, ``History has shown that the only reliable source of price reduction through the life of a program is competition between dual sources.'' Additionally, the absence of competition makes it harder to address the issues that inevitably arise in connection with sophisticated and critical technology, such as jet engines.

Mr. Chairman, we are seeing such issues on the lead engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. Pratt & Whitney was designated to power the JSF aircraft under the theory that it could effectively derive an engine from its engine for the F-22. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as they had anticipated. As a result, the lead engine for the Joint Strike Fighter is now billions of dollars over budget and, worse, struggling to perform the critical functional requirements for the aircraft.

I quote directly from the GAO report from March 2010: ``The Pratt engine is now estimated to cost about $7.3 billion, a 50 percent increase over the original contract award. The total projected cost increased $800 million in 2008. Engine development cost increases primarily resulted from higher costs for labor and materials, supplier problems, and the rework needed to correct deficiencies with an engine blade during redesign. Engine test problems have also slowed development.''

The GAO further confirmed an additional total project cost increase of $1.2 billion in 2010 alone to cover higher than expected engine costs, tooling, and other items. And on February 11, 2011, yet another cost overrun on the lead engine was announced, this time totaling at least $1 billion, bringing total cost overruns on the lead engine to an astounding $3.5 billion today.

The Department of Defense says we don't need a second engine, but these issues won't fix themselves. Only competition will help control costs and create a better, more efficient process. I ask you, How can we afford not to invest in a competing engine? Bottom line, having the engine makers fight head-to-head will give us a far more capable, more cost effective Joint Strike Fighter.

I yield back the balance of my time.

``The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.''

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the bill we are considering today.

This week marks a critical point in our Nation's history for a number of reasons, but none more important than redefining the appropriate role for government in our market system.

There is no doubt that we must stabilize our financial markets as quickly as possible. But, in my view, asking cash-strapped Americans to pay more than $700 billion to bail out an industry, some of whom were reckless, is just wrong and sets a dangerous precedent.

We need a targeted approach to respond to this crisis. One that provides those troubled institutions with the capital they need to start lending again. Yet, we also need standards in place to hold these institutions accountable to prevent this crisis from repeating itself in the future.

H.R. 1424 sets government on a new and dangerous course. Gone are the days of personal responsibility. Gone are the days where executives are held responsible for bad decisions. Gone are the days when the market determines success or failure. After today, taxpayers will be responsible for everyone's decision.

Equally disturbing, in my view, is the fact that this legislation makes no substantive reforms to prevent a repeat of what caused this financial meltdown in the first place. Last fall, the House passed, with my full support, H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. This would have been an important step towards bringing more restraint and oversight to the lending industry. Unfortunately the Senate took no action so it never became law. Are those important reforms in this bill? No.

We have a duty to the hardworking families who act responsibly on a daily basis to be prudent with their tax dollars. I remain unconvinced that the bill we are considering today fulfills this obligation. That's why I'll be voting no.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Today I rise in support of H.R. 7175, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2008. I especially would like to thank Chairwoman Velazquez for working in a cooperative and bipartisan manner to bring this important bill to the House floor. Once again, she has done so. She has been working in such a manner for the last 2 years. I commend her for that.

All of us are aware of the recent turmoil in the financial markets. These problems also directly impact America's small businesses. Availability of credit is reduced thereby dampening the capacity of small businesses to create much-needed jobs. Yet it's not just the availability of credit that adversely impacts America's small business owners. These people are also ordinary men and women with the same concerns about the value of their homes, the safety of their investments, the spiking interest rates, and the outlook for the future of their children that every American has to be concerned about in these uncertain times.

The bill before us today will not remedy all of these problems, but it will make important improvements in the capacity of small businesses to obtain needed capital without further adding to the potential problems facing our financial sector.

Although the changes in the bill are modest, they include key components of H.R. 1336 that the House overwhelmingly passed back in 2007. These modifications will increase the availability of credit for small businesses and reduce unnecessary paperwork on lenders without undermining the scrutiny provided by the Small Business Administration of the lenders or borrowers.

Title I makes very modest changes to the operation of the SBA's core 7(a) lending program. Nevertheless, these changes will improve the liquidity in the small business lending market while making the loans available to more small businesses. It's important to note that nothing in title I changes the standards under which the SBA guarantees the issuance of loans or alters the fact that the program operates without any taxpayer subsidy. I want to reiterate that: Operates without any taxpayer subsidy.

I'm most proud of title II of H.R. 7175. It modifies and strengthens the loan program operated pursuant to title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Certified development companies, or CDCs, are vital to long-term economic and community development in my district and throughout the country. CDCs operate to provide long-term fixed- rate financing for small business concerns who find their financing needs cannot be met due to the loan limits of the 7-day loan program. And unlike many 7-day lenders, CDCs must be locally based so they have a key understanding of the needs of the communities they serve.

The first thing that title II does is change the name of the program. While this may sound minor, it will provide greater recognition to CDCs and enable them to better promote their important mission of local economic development.

Section 202 makes important technical changes to the definitions in the CDC program, including, most importantly, defining the term ``certified development company.'' As a corollary, title II eliminates the outdated term ``qualified state and local development company'' from the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

In my estimation, section 203 is the most important provision in the bill. It statutorily establishes the procedures by which the SBA designates entities as CDCs. The most important requirements of the statutory procedures is the mandate that the CDC have local board members familiar with the economic development needs of the community. Even though the bill authorizes expansion only into neighboring states, the CDC must have representatives that understand the local economic development needs of the new state of operation.

Another very important aspect of the bill authorizes the CDCs to perform their own liquidations. Under the current process, the SBA performs liquidations and only receives about 20 cents on the dollar, a wholly inadequate return on guarantees issued by the Federal Government.

By having CDCs with their local expertise performing liquidations, the taxpayers will receive a better return on their guarantee, something essential given current conditions in the financial markets.

Title II also makes other changes providing greater financial opportunities for small businesses under the CDC program and enhance local economic development without placing any undue risk on the taxpayer.

Finally, title III of H.R. 7175 makes some technical changes to the operation of the small business investment company program. By making it easier to calculate investment limits, SBICs will be better able to manage their portfolios thereby increasing the overall value of their portfolios without placing the Federal taxpayer at any increased risk.

Together, all of these changes made will spur economic development, which is really one of the key things we need to do at this time.

For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to support passage of this.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my House and Senate colleagues today for their ongoing leadership on this critical issue. Today is another significant step in our effort to protect our Nation's most precious asset--our children. Together with the PROTECT Act, which the House considered earlier, we are sending a message to predators that we will not let you get our children.

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, that we passed two years ago and which increased national registration requirements and penalties on sex offenders, was a much needed response to the growing threats our Nation's children face each and every day.

However, the threat still exists and, in fact, continues to grow, particularly as technology advances. Social Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook give our kids new ways to interact. Yet, they also open doors for sexual predators to target them--making it essential that our laws keep up with technology.

The bills that we are considering today send the message that we will not tolerate this disturbing trend. The Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act, or KIDS Act, of 2007, ensures that our laws and the resources needed to catch and keep these criminals off the street are as up-to-date as the technology that our kids are using.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 1738, the PROTECT Act, and in particular those provisions taken from the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2107, which passed the House last December. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the author of the SAFE Act, the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mr. Lampson.

He and I have worked closely on several bills to strengthen our child protection laws.

We don't have to look any farther than our homes and communities to see that predators are threatening and victimizing our children with one simple click. The Internet, while providing a world of opportunity to our children, has also contributed to a worldwide expansion of child pornography--enabling online predators to more easily abuse, exploit, and prey on our children.

S. 1738 recognizes that a comprehensive strategy, one that mobilizes the resources of the community as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement, is necessary to crack down on these criminals. Moreover, S. 1738 recognizes that by building on the investigative tools already in place under the leadership of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, law enforcement officials and the public can provide and receive valuable information needed for ongoing investigations.

I would like to thank my colleagues in both the House and Senate for recognizing that our laws and resources need to stay current with the advances made in technology. Predators know no boundaries and have used technology to their advantage. The PROTECT Act recognizes that a more comprehensive approach is needed to ensure that investigators and prosecutors have the tools to stay one click ahead of these criminals.

I urge my colleagues to support passage of S. 1738.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2638 the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

The Electrofluidic Chromatophores for Adaptive Camouflage project is listed under account 3 0601103A, the University Research Initiative for $1,750,000. The project is requested by the University of Cincinnati located at 836A Rhodes Hall, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0030. The University of Cincinnati is in the process of developing an electro-optical system based on electrowetting technology that can change the color of a reflective surface electronically. This project would allow the Armed Forces to change its camouflage pattern electronically at any time. Funds will be used for a two year research project with annual federal expenditures of approximately $1,750,000 million, divided among the University of Cincinnati and Motorola labs. These funds will support approximately two graduate students and one post-doctoral students at the University of Cincinnati for electrowetting module fabrication and development, 2.5 Motorola engineers and one Motorola technician for printed electronics development, module fabrication, and housing integration, and one Sun Chemical scientist for advanced pigment development. This is intended as a two year federal research project under the Army's R&D R-1 account, line 3 ``University Research Initiative,'' to initiate an Adaptive Camouflage Surfaces R&D Program at the University of Cincinnati.

The Smart Machine Platform Initiative is listed under account 179 0708045A, End Item Industrial Preparedness Activities for $4,000,000 million. The project is requested by TechSolve Inc, located at 6705 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45237. Smart Machine Platform Initiative will advance the state of the art in manufacturing and fabrication of components for weapons systems and reduce cost and cycle time. The vision for this requirement is the addition of intelligence to the machining process. The project will provide $4 million in the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, under PE#0708045, Line 179--End Item Industrial Preparedness Activities, only for the Smart Machine Platform Initiative. Zero (0)% matching funds are listed because the Smart Machine Platform Initiative is a Research and Development Activity.

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honor of recognizing Olympian David Payne, who hails from the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, on his remarkable athletic accomplishment in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. David brought home a silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He leaned across the finish line in an outstanding time of 13.17 seconds, really a tremendous effort.

Yet his road to the Olympics and the medal was not an easy one. David overcame a number of adversities in order to attain this goal.

In February, he had surgery to his appendix, had it removed. A month later, he bruised his heel bone, only to find out 6 weeks later that he had a stress fracture in the left tibia. ``It hurts when I train,'' he said, ``but it is an Olympic year, and in an Olympic year like this, you push until you can't push anymore.''

David is just one class short of earning his degree from the University of Cincinnati and intends to return during the 2008 winter indoor season to finish.

Good luck, David, and congratulations on your outstanding performance.

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

As ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, I rise to support this resolution recognizing the 150th anniversary year of the founding of Macy's, Inc. I'm pleased to be joined by my good friend and distinguished chairwoman of the Small Business Committee, Nydia Velazquez of New York, in offering this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, American small business owners are the entrepreneurs who create the majority of American jobs, export American products, and generate America's economic growth. Small firms exhibit the best of American values: hard work, innovation, enthusiasm, and determination.

The story of Macy's is one of true entrepreneurship. Roland Hussey Macy started the small dry goods store in New York City in 1858 that would develop into one of the largest department store retailers in the world. It was Mr. Macy's perseverance, ingenuity, and determination that helped to spur that growth.

Many Cincinnatians remember the John Shillito Company--or Shillitos, as we called it--Cincinnati's first department store, which was founded in 1830. In 1929, Shillito's, F.&R. Lazarus in Columbus, Ohio, Brooklyn, New York-based Abraham & Straus and several other family- owned department stores formed a holding company called Federated Department Stores. In 1945, Federated moved its offices to Cincinnati, where Macy's primary headquarters operates today, and in 1994, Federated acquired Macy's.

Today Macy's operates over 810 stores in every major metropolitan area around the entire United States.

Small businesses are known for their ability to respond to the needs of the market. Macy's, which began as a small business, has always been innovative: it was the first American store with escalators, elaborate window displays, and an in-store Santa. Macy's also began what is now the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy's tenets that customers are paramount and that success comes from taking advantage of opportunity are principles that small firms still apply today.

I want to commend Macy's for its commitment to purchasing from small businesses, including women- and minority-owned enterprises, establishing supplier diversity initiatives, and encouraging its vendors to purchase from small firms. Macy's also has a strong history of corporate and foundation giving and encouraging employee community service.

Congratulations to Macy's on 150 years of growth, success, and philanthropy.

Finally, I want to again thank Chairwoman Velazquez for working in a bipartisan way on this issue as she has done consistently throughout the last 2 years that she served as the chairwoman of the Small Business Committee. I appreciate her leadership. I think she's done an extraordinarily good job. It's been an honor to work with her over the last 2 years.

At this point, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

We have no further speakers.

I yield back.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this sham, no-energy energy bill, and want to express my deep disappointment that once again, this House is missing an important opportunity to lower gas prices, and make our Nation more energy independent.

After reviewing this bill, it's clear that the majority never really intended to open the Outer Continental Shelf to energy exploration. Instead, this bill would permanently keep off-limits 88 percent of our offshore oil and natural gas reserves.

Let me tell you some of the other failings of this bill. It fails to open up more of the energy rich Gulf of Mexico. It fails to make building refineries any easier. It fails to promote nuclear energy. It fails to boost oil shale development, and it fails to open the billions of barrels of oil now off limits in ANWR.

What this bill will do is raise taxes that will surely be passed along to consumers in even higher prices at the pump.

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, recently said it best. This bill is ``dead on arrival in the Senate.''

The bottom line is, this bill is a publicity stunt, and the American people deserve better.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6456, which provides stopgap extensions of certain important State Department and broadcasting authorities until the Committee on Foreign Affairs can take them up as part of a comprehensive authorization during the 111th Congress.

In response to administration requests, this brief bill does a number of things. It extends for another year the State Department's authority to hire retired Foreign Service officers for difficult-to-staff posts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to address visa and passport processing backlogs.

It also extends authorities for Radio Free Asia, and for emergency broadcasting needs in the International Broadcasting Bureau and the Voice of America. It also makes clear that the State Department may pay the hotel expenses of its special agents on protective details in situations where agents are required to remain with their protectees overnight, even when that duty occurs in the agent's home locale.

Finally, it incorporates the text of H.R. 3658, the House-passed bill introduced by the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno) to allow U.S. Foreign Service officers to take their rest and recuperative travel in U.S. territories. I urge support for this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

If the gentleman has no further speakers, we have no further speakers either, and we will yield back.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The Holocaust was filled with unconscionable inhumanity and horrors and revealed the tremendous cruelty some human beings are capable of imposing on others. But there were exceptions. Within the darkness of the Holocaust, the story of Irena Sendler, who repeatedly risked her own life to rescue thousands of Jewish children in Poland from being murdered by the Nazis serves as an inspirational example of human bravery and selflessness and compassion.

House Concurrent Resolution 361 commemorates Irena Sendler, who passed away in May of this year. The resolution, among other things, notes that the United States Congress mourns the loss of this heroine and remembers her for saving the lives of thousands of Jewish children and for her courageous dedication to justice and human rights.

I support this resolution, and I want to thank the gentleman for his inspirational words. I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

I reserve the balance of my time.

We will yield back the balance of our time.