Floor Statements

Chairman Hastings, thanks to you and to Mr. Tipton for the opportunity to speak in support of H.R. 678 today. This bill reflects an issue that is of true importance to my home State of Montana.

You know, when most people think of our rivers and waterways in Montana, they think of celebrities like Brad Pitt standing in the Little Blackfoot River casting for trout in the movie ``A River Runs Through It.''

Back in Montana, we rely on our rivers and our natural resources as an important part of our way of life. However, I'm here today to focus on a very significant benefit of our waterways, and that's hydropower. Our waterways help power our homes, they irrigate our farms and ranches, and they water our livestock. In Montana, about a third of our energy comes from hydropower, generating 1,100 megawatts per year. To put this in perspective, 1 megawatt will power nearly 600 homes. Six of Montana's 10 largest generating plants run on hydroelectric power. But we're not here to talk about streams and rivers; we're here to talk about man-made canals and manmade waterways.

The Bureau of Reclamation has constructed 32 such projects in Montana, and with the improved ability to harness the energy of moving water in conduits, the Rural Jobs Act would allow each of these projects to generate more than 26 million kilowatts per hour of power. There is no reason red tape should tie up that much alternative energy potential.

This bill will help lower energy costs, create Montana jobs, and provide our Nation with a sustainable, renewable source of energy. This is common sense. I believe that H.R. 678, the Rural Jobs Act, is important for our country, and I strongly support its passage.

Montana is well known for its millions of acres of forestland.

As a result, acreage that would normally be privately owned and generating tax revenue to help fund local services is instead locked away by the Federal Government.

In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt signed legislation ensuring that impacted communities will receive 25 percent of the receipts for timber harvests occurring on Forest Service lands. Because Montana has some of the most abundant forests, this commitment to robust timber harvesting also helped to provide jobs for thousands of families in my home State.

Sadly, timber harvests have plummeted by 90 percent in many areas due to out-of-balance Federal policies. Montana was previously home to 30 mills. It is now home to just seven. This means far fewer jobs for Montanans.

The Secure Rural Schools program has provided short-term relief, but revitalizing our timber industry is the only permanent solution to the problem President Roosevelt recognized 100 years ago. This is my number one priority as a member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands. I look forward to championing this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Specialist Bernard L. Rustad, who will be awarded with the Bronze Star Medal on April 5, 2013, for his bravery and selflessness while serving in Vietnam.

Specialist Rustad served with the 1st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division during Combat Operation Lam Son 719. On April 6, 1971, Specialist Rustad's unit was providing security for the last withdrawing units from the Khe Sahn airstrip area, in the midst of heavy enemy fire. During this time, Specialist Rustad noticed that soldiers from the neighboring unit had been wounded and left unattended. With complete disregard for his own safety, Specialist Rustad ran to their assistance and saved the lives of these young men.

Specialist Rustad's actions demonstrated true bravery--and also stand as an example to all of us as what true selflessness looks like.

It is an honor to present Specialist Bernard L. Rustad with the Bronze Star Medal, and I thank him for his service and sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, I arrived here in Washington, D.C., to serve the people of Montana and my country with a bit of a different resume than many folks have here in Washington. You see, I've spent the past 28 years in the private sector working to grow businesses, having to balance a budget and create good jobs.

I loved my job in the private sector. But when I looked at Washington and the path our economy and our country was on, I knew that things needed to change. So I ran for Congress because the challenges facing our Nation were far too great to just sit back on the sidelines.

As Montana's small businesses know, you can't spend more than you take in. Year after year of Federal deficits with no end in sight doesn't lead to prosperity, doesn't lead to growth--it leads to financial ruin.

I'm also the father of four great kids--two in college and two in high school. They know that as a family, we have to plan ahead for the future. We need to create a budget and then live within our means. These are the same principles that my parents passed down to me. These are the values that Montana families live by each and every day.

Those values are exemplified in Montana's own State legislature, where the only constitutionally required duty is passing a balanced budget. In fact, when our legislature in Montana adjourns in just a little over a month, they will have given Montana a balanced budget, just like they did last year and the year before and the year before that. It seems simple: live within your means and spend no more than you take in. But it's not so easy here in Washington.

Right now we're presented with two very different visions for our country, two visions that will lead to two very different outcomes for this country.

One vision calls for more taxes taken out of the pockets of hardworking American families and more government spending, which adds to the trillions of dollars in debt that will be handed down to the next generation.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle talk about a balanced approach, but they refuse to even balance their own budget.

Our vision calls for a stop to Washington's failed policies and reckless spending. It says American families and small businesses understand you can't spend more than you take in, that you need to balance your budget. It's time for Washington to do the same.

This vision seeks to protect the things that we value most, to keep the promises that we've made to our seniors and to our veterans--I'm the son of a U.S. Marine--while at the same time allowing us to leave a better future to our kids and our grandkids. That's the vision I want to work toward, and that's why I'm proud to support the House Budget Committee's proposals which we will be voting on later this week.

This isn't about passing a budget for one year just one time. This is about creating lasting solutions that help grow our economy and put our country back on track. That's what this budget will do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Abbi Helland, a remarkable young woman from Glasgow, Montana, who was recently named Miss Teen Montana International. Abbi is the daughter of Pete and Allison Helland and the granddaughter of Montana's former Congressman, Ron Marlenee, and his wife Cindy.

Abbi is passionate about reading and making sure that Montanans of all ages have access to books. She'll be working with our State's schools, libraries, and book stores to promote reading education and to support the ``I Love to Read Week'' in Montana communities. She also will work to install programs to send books overseas and to expand access to books for Montana's seniors.

Abbi is a true example of the spirit and drive that we value in my home State of Montana. She'll represent our State well as our ambassador to the Miss Teen International competition in Chicago this July.

Congratulations, Abbi. We're proud of you.

Mr. Speaker, one of the best parts of my job is hearing from the people I serve in the great State of Montana. And while 1 million Montanans offer a lot of different ideas and a lot of different perspectives, there is one concern I hear about every day.

Thousands of Montanans have reached out to my office because they are concerned about recent threats to their Second Amendment rights. Let me be clear: I do not support any efforts that infringe upon Montanans' rights to keep and bear arms. I will continue to stand firm against any proposals that would threaten those rights.

That's why I'm joining Congressman Steve Stockman and many of my other colleagues in the House in signing a letter to Speaker Boehner that makes it clear that we--and the people we represent--are strongly opposed to any efforts that would violate the rights protected by the Second Amendment, and we will reflect that commitment in any vote on legislation that comes before us.

Whether it's so-called ``universal background checks'' or sweeping bans of firearms owned by thousands of law-abiding Montanans, I will stand firm against any proposal that would threaten Montanans' rights to keep and bear arms.

Mr. Speaker, 1,636; that's how many days it has been since the application to build the Keystone XL pipeline was filed. It took Canada just 7 months to approve the pipeline. President Obama has taken 4\1/2\ years.

Study after study has shown that not only is the pipeline safe, but it will provide a means of transporting oil that is safer than using trains or trucks. It is also environmentally safe. In fact, when compared to other means of transportation, it is perhaps the most environmentally friendly way to transport oil across our country. It will create thousands of jobs--at least 800 in my home State of Montana--and he still won't make a decision.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department issued its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL Presidential permit application, which confirmed what we already knew. The Keystone XL pipeline will have no significant impacts on the environment. In fact, this is the fourth environmental review of the Keystone pipeline--with a final report still to come--even though report after report has stated that the pipeline will not have significant environmental effects.

This report also comes after Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman approved a new route through his State for the Keystone XL pipeline project. Just this past January, I joined 150 other House Members in calling on President Obama to quickly approve the permits for Keystone in light of this new route. That was two months ago, and we have yet to hear anything back from the President.

As a member of the House Energy Action Team, I understand how important this project is to our Nation and to my home State of Montana. Let me be clear--this project means jobs for Montanans. This project could directly create more than 800 good-paying jobs in Montana and thousands more across the Nation.

It means coming one step closer to North American energy independence. The Keystone XL would be able to move up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day. That is about half the amount that the U.S. presently imports from the Middle East. And of the oil moved each day, 100,000 barrels will come from the Bakken formation, which spreads across Montana and North Dakota.

This isn't about politics. Republicans and Democrats alike support the pipeline. This is about our Nation's security. This is about lowering energy costs for American families. This is about American jobs.

Enough is enough. We can't afford to wait any longer. It has been 1,636 days. It's time for President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, our Founders believed that conscience and religious rights occupied the highest rung on the civil liberty protection ladder. The Obama administration has fallen short of these expectations.

As a fifth-generation Montanan and a person of faith, I know that my faith does not begin and end at the doors of our church. Living the principles of what I believe is a key part of my faith.

But under the Affordable Care Act, religious institutions and employers, as well as health care providers who hold religious and moral convictions, are stripped of their religious freedoms. Religious institutions and employers are forced to pay for coverage of contraceptive methods. Health care providers do not have the protection to refuse to perform abortion services that they are morally opposed to. That is a violation of the First Amendment.

That is why I am proud to help introduce the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, which will uphold our constitutional rights of religious freedom and uphold our moral calling to practice life-affirming health care.

Mr. Speaker, two Montana athletes recently competed in the Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in South Korea, and I want to recognize them for their efforts.

Dan Hazen of Great Falls and Kathy Rose of Kalispell made Montana proud when they were chosen to represent our state on a national stage. Of the 2,300 other athletes from 110 countries in PyeongChang, South Korea, they were the only two from Montana.

But it's been a long journey, filled with hard work and perseverance.

Their tireless dedication to their sport paid off when they placed first in their events at the 2012 Special Olympics Montana State Winter Games at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Then, they were chosen from a field of other gold medal athletes as Montana's representatives to the Games.

Hazen competed in the slalom, giant slalom and super G, alpine skiing events.

And Rose competed in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4 x 100-meter relay snowshoe races.

These events require a lot of work and a lot of commitment--and I'm happy that their efforts were rewarded when they were chosen to compete in South Korea.

These athletes are true examples of what makes Montana great--their positive attitudes and tireless dedication exemplifies the characteristics that we value in our state.

Thank you for your hard work, thank you for making Montana proud, and congratulations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Alexis Wineman. This 18-year-old from Cut Bank, Montana, represents my State as Miss Montana, and she recently made history, not only as the youngest participant in this year's Miss America competition and the recipient of the People's Choice Award, but as the first young woman in the competition's history to have been diagnosed with autism.

Alexis stands as an example for all Montanans of what it means to overcome obstacles and to help those in need. She's worked to spread awareness of autism so that we can all gain a better understanding of those affected by it.

Alexis recently said, and I quote:

We cannot cure what is not a sickness, but we can begin to

understand autism and help those with the condition to unlock

the potential that lies within all of us.

I'm grateful for the work that she's done to increase the understanding of autism, and I'm very proud that she calls Montana home.