Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his time, and I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his kind remarks, too.

I want to thank the Speaker of the House and Leader Cantor and Chairman Bachus for giving me the honor and privilege of helping shepherd this important piece of legislation through the House.

As was already mentioned in previous remarks, this bill, H.R. 886, passed overwhelmingly through this House with only a single dissenting vote late last year in the first year of the 112th Congress. It's gone over to the Senate, and it's come back with an amendment that simply reassures the American people that none of the production costs or other costs associated with the minting of this coin that commemorates the 225th anniversary of the Marshals service will be borne by the taxpayers.

So it just further assures the discerning public out here that the effort that we're doing today in honoring a great law enforcement agency in the U.S. Marshals Service at the same time does not cost the taxpayers any money. So I urge strong support for this bill, as amended.

I thank the gentleman, and I do appreciate his leadership in this discussion about job creation in America.

I've said many, many times that if there is an elixer out there to fix the problems, the challenges facing our country today, it's job creation.

What the gentleman from Arkansas has been articulating in the last several minutes has been a very good discussion about the four things, and I couldn't agree more, the four things that are part and parcel to our country creating jobs and putting itself on a different fiscal path.

He's talked about overregulation. I'll come back to that in a moment. He's talked about the threat of higher taxes and the need for comprehensive tax reform in our Nation; he's talked about

the need for a solid energy policy that allows our country to access its own resources, American energy resources to solve America's energy challenges; and, of course, he's talked about the deficits and the debt.

Now, if you look at the plight that we're in today insofar as job creation--one greater than 8 percent unemployment, sustained unemployment of over 8 percent--and when you look at the fact that people are out here scrambling to find work--meaningful jobs as they want to be productive and want to contribute to American exceptionalism--then the way you do that is not by taking a welfare check; it's by having a paycheck. If you're looking at this plight today like you would an impending storm, it's a dark, dark cloud of uncertainty that hangs over the job creators.

I submit to you that the reason so many people are sitting on trillions of dollars of cash, those who would like to get into the game and create jobs and expand the American economy, is that they have a difficult time computing their input costs. They don't know how energy is going to affect their ability to create jobs. They don't know how the next regulation, the next rule that is going to come down from Washington, is going to impact their ability to earn a profit. As evidenced by the downgrade that we had last year by the S&P, they're not confident that Congress, these people who gather in this Chamber every day, is capable of making the decisions, of having the courage to make the decisions to put America on a different fiscal path. It's a dark, dark cloud of uncertainty. I don't blame them for sitting on the sidelines right now, but there is a lot of cash ready to get in the game if we'll just do some of the right things.

The gentlemen who have spoken tonight talked about regulation, but that's not why I came to the floor tonight, and that's not what I wanted to talk about primarily. I came from a meeting right before votes today that talked about an issue totally unrelated to my district and unrelated to most of America. It's out in California.

Later this week, we're going to vote on H.R. 1837, the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act. I heard my colleague from California talking passionately about this issue, as he has done a number of times from the well of this House, in that, back in 2009, Federal regulations to protect a 3-inch fish, the delta smelt, led to the deliberate diversion of over 300 billion gallons of water away from the San Joaquin Valley and its farmers. It cost thousands of farm workers their jobs; it inflicted up to 40 percent unemployment in certain communities; and it fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.

Those were real people.

Those were real jobs.

Because of Federal regulations and this desire on the part of this Congress--of this Federal Government, I should say--to protect a 3-inch fish, we turned our backs on American workers. In so doing, we affected millions of people nationwide because, when you affect the fertile farmlands of California the way we have by diverting this water, you have, indeed, taken a step toward increasing the price of food.

The bill that we will consider later this week is a comprehensive solution that would restore water deliveries that have been cut off through the Federal regulations and environmental lawsuits and through a plethora of things facing the California farmers.

Let me take it a step further because I can relate to what the gentleman is talking about and can relate it back to my home district.

I think the gentleman would agree that, over the last several years in Arkansas, there has been a phenomenal rate of growth in the northwest part of our State, the area that I happen to represent, which is the great Third District of Arkansas. It's known for its incredible growth over the last several years. Now, it is home to some pretty well-known companies, companies like Wal-Mart and J.B. Hunt trucking and Tyson Foods.

If you look at northwest Arkansas, there is really no compelling reason why prior to the establishment of those major companies that northwest Arkansas would be an area where you would have this unprecedented growth. But for the entrepreneurial spirit and drive of guys like Sam Walton and Don Tyson and J.B. Hunt--and I could go down another list of people who have provided jobs and who have created and expanded businesses and who have made a meaningful impact on the greater mid-South and the entire Nation--northwest Arkansas would be kind of an average area with no great infrastructure, until recently there, and with no real compelling reason why it would be anything special.

Yet we're fighting an issue in the greater northwest Arkansas area that could, indeed, impact our ability to continue to grow. I'm talking about EPA's desire, insatiable appetite, to put a total maximum daily load, a TMDL, if you would, on phosphorus loading in the Illinois River watershed, which flows into Oklahoma, because of a loading standard imposed on northwest Arkansas by our neighboring State, a standard that many say is not even achievable.

So all of the great development and job creation and the elevated quality of life is in jeopardy. The future is in jeopardy as a result of a Federal agency imposing on the region a standard that may or may not even be able to be achieved.

I bring that up for this reason: back when I was a mayor of a city in northwest Arkansas, I challenged EPA to give us the science, to show us exactly how they can calculate that this standard has been impacted by the farmers and ranchers of northwest Arkansas and those who manage the point sources of pollution, the municipalities. I happened to be the mayor who presided over one of those. As I understand it, the science was a collection of data from about 20 streams somewhere in America, streams not known to us. They took, I think, the 75th percentile of the average phosphorus loading into those streams. I doubt seriously that they used streams and rivers that were similar to what we were dealing with in northwest Arkansas.

I bring up this subject only because we're talking about job creation tonight, and our ability to continue to expand the economy in northwest Arkansas is dependent on our ability to have a good, clean water supply and to be able to treat our wastewater and to be able to discharge it properly and sufficiently in order to be able to create growth.

Yet I'm afraid, one day, we're going to look up, and because of these standards imposed on us by the Federal bureaucracy, this overregulation that we've talked about, that we're not going to have an opportunity to grow because we're going to be into moratoria on growth and development in our area as a result of these unfair standards. But that's a whole other story.

I really came tonight to talk with my colleague about tax reform because, as we've indicated, the threat of higher taxes, or the tax structure as we now know it, is, in my strongest opinion, one of the great barriers to job creation.

You know, just the other day, in this very Chamber, the President of the United States stood on the dais and he talked to this Congress about the need for comprehensive tax reform. In his proposal to reform the corporate tax code, I was pleased to see the President showing some leadership in that regard, and I look forward to working with the administration and my colleagues in the House and Senate to do something that in my strong opinion is long overdue.

I, along with many of my colleagues, agree on the need for corporate tax reform. The U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax structures in the world, second only to Japan. This discourages job growth and job creation in the United States.

It's time to broaden the base, time to get the government out of the business of picking winners and losers, time to eliminate special interest loopholes, and it's time to lower the corporate tax rate once and for all. But corporate tax reform is not the only piece of the puzzle. There are many other pieces. If we are going to grow the economy and give our job creators the certainty they need to invest, we also should look at the individual rates--not just the corporate rates, but the individual structure as well.

There's an opportunity to simplify the individual tax code. In December of 2010, according to the Compendium of Tax Expenditures prepared by the Congressional Research Service that we all use, there were more than 300 tax expenditures in the form of special exclusions, exemptions, deductions, credits, rates, and deferrals. We need to reevaluate every single one of these expenditures.

There are many other benefits of comprehensive tax reform. For example more than 90 percent of the Treasury's budget goes to the IRS. If we simplify the Tax Code and make it easier to follow and enforce, the IRS doesn't need the resources it currently needs.

What's more, IRS reported, and I think these numbers were back in 2006, hundreds of billions--I think some were just short of $400 billion--of what we call a tax gap. Again, simplification of the Tax Code makes it easier to follow and enforce, and we can significantly narrow that gap.

I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who are looking forward to working on comprehensive tax reform. I believe in my heart that it is, as my colleague from Arkansas has indicated, one of four things, four basic things, four basic issues facing America today that can help put our job creators back into the business of doing what they do best. And that is having ideas, incubating those ideas, making those ideas come to reality, taking the necessary risks, having access to the capital to help support those businesses, to expand those businesses by hiring people, by growing things, by making things.

And as my friend from Virginia said a moment ago, we have proven that the American worker is the most productive worker in the world. And that's what we need to do: Corporate tax reform; ending this excessive over-regulatory environment that we're in; to access American energy solutions to solve America's energy challenges; and once and for all doing something about the extraordinary deficits--four straight trillion-plus-dollar deficits--facing America, and nearly trillion- dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, based on the current glide path; to do those things necessary to get our deficit under control, to begin to whittle down that debt and save future generations of the burdens that we have in an almost immoral way put on their shoulders.

With that, I thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

Mr. Speaker, last night in this very Chamber, I heard the President talk of an ``all-of-the-above'' energy strategy for our Nation. I couldn't agree more. But this is the same President who a few days ago rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project, a $7 billion trifecta shovel-ready for America: jobs, energy security, and urgent logistical relief necessary to move oil to the gulf coast region.

Count me as one of the disappointed. At a time when we should be doing everything we can to be giving American workers a lift, instead we take to the bully pulpit and preach envy and division, simply a smokescreen for political convenience and expedience.

Mr. President, if you truly believe in an all-of-the-above strategy, if you're genuinely concerned about 8\1/2\ percent unemployment, and if you're looking for a bipartisan way to reverse this economic course we are on, say ``yes'' to Keystone XL.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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 demand a recorded vote.

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

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, in 2005 16 cities competed for the right to become the home of the U.S. Marshals Museum. The city in my district, Fort Smith, was one of the two finalists and was ultimately chosen for many reasons, one of which was its strong historical connection to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Fort Smith was, for many years, the seat of justice, not only for the western district of Arkansas but Indian territory as well. More marshals and deputies have been killed in the line of duty out of the western district of Arkansas than any other district in the country. Most were killed riding out under famed Judge Isaac C. Parker, immortalized by the novel, ``True Grit,'' and the movies by the same name.

A few months ago, Mr. Speaker, I introduced legislation to mint a coin to commemorate the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Marshals Service. Today I'm pleased to be standing here with the opportunity to urge my fellow Members, many of whom are cosponsors of this bill, to join me in honoring a truly deserving institution.

The proceeds from the sale of these coins will assist in the preservation and maintenance of artifacts and documents which will be displayed in the U.S. Marshals Museum. Additional proceeds will go to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Law Enforcement Museum, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The museum, which will overlook the beautiful Arkansas River, will consist of 20,000 square feet of exhibit space to highlight pivotal moments in the history of the U.S. Marshals Service, such as the ``Going Snake Massacre'' of April 15, 1872, which left one deputy and seven posse men dead in the bloodiest day in Marshals history. This event will be the central exhibit of this museum.

A Hall of Honor for fallen marshals will also be part of the more than $50 million facility, paying tribute to those killed in the line of duty, from Robert Forsythe in 1794 to Deputy Marshals Derek Hotsinpiller and John Perry in 2011.

In addition to serving as a symbol and constant reminder of the character and tradition of one of America's greatest institutions, this commemorative coin will allow the U.S. Marshals Museum to honor past marshals like Bass Reeves, who, in 1875, was commissioned as one of the first African American deputy marshals west of the Mississippi River. Reeves was a skilled gunslinger, who, on one occasion, brought in 19 horse thieves to the Federal jail in Fort Smith, all by himself.

But as the Nation's oldest law enforcement agency, Bass Reeves is only one of many characters etched into the storied history of the U.S. Marshals Service, including the famous Three Guardsmen of the Oklahoma Territory, Wild Bill Hickok, the Earp brothers, Virgil, Morgan, and, briefly, Wyatt, along with Doc Holliday during the shootout at the OK Corral.

Today that same grit and courage defines the Marshals Service.

U.S. marshals were in Oxford, Mississippi, to protect James Meredith when he became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. U.S. marshals were in the State of Washington when convicted Soviet spy Christopher Boyce was captured when he escaped from prison. And U.S. marshals were in Oklahoma and New York to administer justice following the terrorist attacks that took the lives of innocent Americans.

Since 1789 the U.S. Marshals Service has served this country with dedication and distinction, upholding its creed of justice, integrity, and service. And today, U.S. marshals continue to play an integral role in the security of our country. They assist when tragedy strikes. They ensure the safety and well-being of Federal officials, and they track down and apprehend some of the most dangerous fugitives, murderers, sex offenders, and gang members, with little regard for their own safety.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Marshals Service has meant so much to so many. Over the course of history, more than 250 marshals have given that ultimate sacrifice. They have selflessly given their own lives to protect our way of life. This coin will serve as a token of our appreciation and a symbol of their sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of people to thank, including the 300- plus cosponsors of this legislation who, with their cosponsorship, made considering of this bill possible.

I want to thank Chairman Bachus for his support in moving this bill forward through committee.

I want to thank my friend Mike Ross of the Fourth District of Arkansas for his personal involvement in seeking cosponsors for this legislation and his unfailing support for the construction of this museum.

I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona, Ed Pastor. Ed took this legislation to the Hispanic Caucus and got widespread support there.

Thanks also to the late Ray Baker, the mayor of Fort Smith, who was in the early beginnings of the development of this museum project, and current mayor, Sandy Sanders.

I want to thank the CEO of the Marshals Museum Organization, Jim Dunn and Jim Johnson, and very soon they will be conducting nationwide campaigns to see that the funding is possible to construct this museum.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to have sponsored this legislation.

I also want to thank my friend, John Boozman, my predecessor who began this process in a previous Congress and I know will work very hard in the Senate to champion this legislation through the other body.

I'm proud to have been the sponsor, but more than anything, I'm proud of what the U.S. Marshals Service means to our country. And I am anxiously looking forward to the construction of this museum so that we can showcase the museum, the institution of the Marshals Service, and the great city of Fort Smith and the Third District of Arkansas to all who will come and see.

Mr. Speaker, today it is my privilege to introduce Reverend Roger Schoolcraft of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Reverend Schoolcraft retired from the ministry in 2008 after nearly 40 years in the ministry, serving congregations in Iowa, Nebraska and, most recently, in northwest Arkansas, where he led St. John's Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Reverend Schoolcraft was called to the ministry in 1953 after accepting an invitation from a friend to attend a Sunday school class at St. John's Lutheran Church in Rochester, Michigan.

Mr. Speaker, Reverend Schoolcraft's service extends well beyond the walls of the church. He served as campus pastor of the Lutheran Student Center at the University of Arkansas. He was a circuit counselor for 11 years and was assistant dean and dean for two national campus missionary institutes. Locally, he was president of Cooperative Emergency Outreach, secretary-treasurer of the Fayetteville Ministerial Alliance, and treasurer for the Council of Religious Organizations.

Reverend Schoolcraft is married to Deborah Steen Schoolcraft; and they have two children, Andrea and Aaron.

On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I want to thank Reverend Schoolcraft for his longstanding devotion to the ministry, the churches he has served, and his fellow man.

Today is payday. It's Friday. For a lot of people, it's payday. They're going to get a check from their employer, if they're lucky enough to have a job. And I'm for sure for most of them, before ever cashing that check, they know exactly where it's going. These people have likely already come to the realization that there are a lot more needs, a lot more things they would like to have or do, but there's just so much money.

I find it incredible that my friends on the other side of the aisle believe this Federal Government should not have to go through the same process of discerning between what they want and what they need and what they can afford, like the rest of America. In the 10-plus months I have been here, I consider this vote the most important vote I will have cast because it's the vote that has the most impact on the future of my grandson.

It is sad that Congress does not have the discipline to live within its means, and I strongly believe the only way to constrain an undisciplined Congress is to enshrine its obligation in the Constitution. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that the balanced budget amendment, as proposed today, is the right way forward for America.

I thank my friend from Virginia for his leadership on the issue, and I urge its passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor McKee Foods, a company in my district best known for its Little Debbie snack cakes.

McKee Foods is a role model for companies across the country. It is a company committed to excellence--excellence in customer service, excellence in the treatment of its employees, and excellence in finding a better way, which, by the way, is McKee's motto.

In 1982, the company built a plant in Gentry, Arkansas. Today, the plant is the lifeblood of the community. It employs more than 1,500 people who take pride in their work, who are loyal to their company, and who believe in service to their community.

McKee has been best known for developing innovative processes to improve its operations and become a better corporate citizen. That's why the company's recent announcement that its Gentry plant produces zero landfill waste comes as no surprise.

Two years ago, McKee's plant management team and employees came together and challenged themselves to be better stewards of the environment by producing zero landfill waste. True to form, the plant teamed up with local recycling companies and put in place new processes to achieve this goal.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate McKee Foods for its accomplishment. It is a tribute to the dedication of the company's leadership and its employees.

I thank the distinguished chairman for the time this afternoon, and I'd also like to offer my thanks and appreciation to my friend from Connecticut for his leadership on the issue. I am indeed an original cosponsor.

The unemployment rate in our Nation is still in excess of 9 percent. Millions of Americans are out of work. I just recently came back from my district where we had a job fair, and of the 300 or 400 jobs that were allegedly available on that particular day, there were several times more than that looking. It is a painful reminder to me that job creation is still critical to our country.

I'm also reminded as to how important it is that this job creation is linked to access to capital by businesses large and small. The slow pace of the recovery, the burdens of archaic and oftentimes unnecessary regulation have fallen disproportionately on small businesses, and particularly community banks.

As was commented on just a moment ago by the distinguished minority whip, the community banks are the lifeblood of our communities. They help a family purchase a home. They allow that mechanic the necessary capital to open his first shop. They help a chef open her first restaurant. Small businesses rely on these banks to give them a chance, a chance to take advantage of the American Dream.

Today, this Chamber has the opportunity to make it easier for community banks and small businesses to operate by removing a barrier to raising capital. So today we have the opportunity to pass H.R. 1965, and I strongly encourage my colleagues to support it. Your support will result in the fact that community banks will have the flexibility they need to raise capital without having to comply with onerous SEC regulations intended for larger banks. They will use this money in my district, the Third District of Arkansas, to create jobs, and that will be good for my district, it will be good for our State, and it will be good for America.

Again, my thanks for the time given to me by leadership and to my friend from Connecticut, and I strongly encourage support of H.R. 1965.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the service of Arkansas native and Navy Captain Harry Harrison Basore, Jr., of Leawood, Kansas, who died August 2, 2011, at the age of 95, and who will be buried tomorrow in Arlington National Cemetery.

A distinguished naval aviator, Captain Basore commanded Fighter Squadron 74 off the ``jeep'' carrier USS Kasaan Bay, in support of Allied forces during their fight against Germany in southern France in August 1944. He was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during low-level reconnaissance missions over enemy concentrations.

Like most of America's Greatest Generation, Captain Basore returned home following the war, became president of a prominent sheet metal firm, was an active volunteer of the Leawood Fire Department, and chairman of the board of trustees of his alma mater, College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri.

Preceded in death by his wife, Shirley, to whom he was married 70 years, Captain Basore will always be remembered by his family and friends for his courage, leadership, and selfless service to his country--and his fellow man.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Arkansas' ``fifth Congressman,'' Colonel (Retired) Raymond T. Reid, who passed away last weekend at the age of 90.

Ray Reid had an amazing love for his country. At the outbreak of World War II, he left school to join the Army and over the ensuing 31 years, faithfully served his Nation in uniform. His record of service placed him among our Nation's most unique: a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

And, Madam Speaker, as if his distinguished military service was not enough, Ray Reid came to Capitol Hill and served a quarter-century on the staffs of John Paul Hammerschmidt, Tim Hutchinson, and Asa Hutchinson, where, upon his retirement, he earned the nickname of Arkansas' ``fifth Congressman.''

Ray Reid was an institution. He enjoyed a long and adventurous life. Married to his sweetheart, Jean, for 51 years, he was the father of four, grandfather of six, and great-grandfather of two.

I am honored to acknowledge the dedicated service of this great American hero.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to send birthday greetings to a member of America's Greatest Generation, Dr. R.C. Goodman, Sr., of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

This American patriot mobilized with the Arkansas National Guard at the beginning of World War II, earning two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. And his life was forever changed by the events of May 8, 1945. You see, Dr. Goodman was in charge of a train car full of Belgian POWs just rescued from a German camp. The train wrecked, and Dr. Goodman was one of the few survivors. He later shared with his children the terrific sense of helplessness watching so many die that day, and he made a commitment to becoming a physician so that he would always be able to help in the presence of human suffering.

Dr. Goodman, thank you for your service to your country and to your fellow man. And on the occasion of your 91st birthday, America sends its best wishes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee for the time.

I know the hour is late. It's been a long time. Soon we will complete action on this temporary spending measure for 2012. Obviously, it is work that has to be done. As my friend, the distinguished Rules Committee chairman appropriately quoted earlier this evening: the process has been ugly. It has been messy; but it works.

The good news is that most of America has gone to bed and not witness to the bickering and rancor evidenced in this Chamber. I can only hope that when they wake up tomorrow, we will have done the people's work, funding government beyond October 1, giving necessary funding to the victims of natural disasters, and doing it such a way that promotes the kind of fiscal responsibility long demanded by the people of America.

It will be sad, indeed tragic, if when the sun comes up tomorrow, this Congress, instead of bringing certainty and relief to those struggling, as this CR does, we impose yet another threat of a government shutdown and more uncertainty into an already skeptical populace.

This legislation up until yesterday, Mr. Speaker, had bipartisan support. And only because my friends on the other side of the aisle recognized that many on our side preferred much deeper cuts and might be predisposed to opposing the CR, they pounced on it. And quickly, in an instant, that bipartisan support disappeared into the bowels of the business as usual. In other words, Mr. Speaker, it was politics ahead of the people.

Let's remember that this CR we'll vote on in the next few minutes was crafted based on the numbers outlined in the BCA approved in this Chamber just a few weeks ago, complete with desperately need disaster funding, reasonably and responsibly offset.

I urge my colleagues to support the CR.