Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 46 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Monday, May 20, 2013, at noon for morning-hour debate.

Madam Speaker, I stand today to show my support for H.R. 45, the repeal of the largest legislative piece of malpractice ever passed through the Halls of Congress.

This one bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, has done more to disrupt our economy and bring uncertainty to the marketplace than anything I have witnessed.

My colleagues on the other side talk about jobs and no job creation on this side. We are working to create jobs here by repealing this bill. This is the number one job-killing bill in America, and it has rocked the engine that drives our economy--the business owner and the entrepreneur that create the jobs. Without jobs being created, the hardworking Americans will lose their jobs and they are going to lose their health care.

Instead of health care reform, Congress created a health care tax. It is a tax that will be paid by all Americans young, old, rich, or poor.

Today, in response to the people who have had enough, the White House declared this: ``It's the law.'' My response on behalf of the people I represent is this: Not for long.

I would like to thank my colleague from Indiana.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today in support of H.R. 45, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

It's not just the House Republicans who want this or House freshmen who want to repeal this law; it's the American people. The American people don't like this. The people of my district overwhelmingly desire the repeal of this legislative debacle.

Let's face it: in March of 2009, with a Democratic Congress, this bill was passed through in the twilight hours. The Speaker said--and I think we all remember those infamous words--that we have to pass it to see what's in it, that we have to pass it to see how it's going to work.

America deserves better. Americans deserve better, and they demand better.

The Affordable Care Act is the number one job-killing bill in America. When the President speaks of job creation and of stimulating the economy, the 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody talks about is the Affordable Care Act. It's the number one job-killing bill--bar none. Here are a couple of examples:

I had a person call in today. A young lady, one of my constituents, said that even though she doesn't have insurance, it's because she doesn't have a job; and the reason she doesn't have a job is due to this bill. It's getting in the way of job creation.

Another business owner I know, he's got 350 employees. I asked him how the

effects of this bill were going to affect his business. He said, Let me tell you about this bill. I could expand my business right now and I could add 100 new employees, but I'm not doing anything because of the estimated cost of this bill.

Think about that. That's one man's business in one town in America. How many businesses in America, throughout this country, are not expanding because of this bill and the uncertainty? It's got to stop.

There's a county in our district, Clay County. I was talking to one of the municipal people there that was in charge of the health care. He said that the estimated costs coming up because of the Affordable Care Act were going to cost $15 million. Then they figured out if they didn't comply with the Affordable Care Act what that cost would be. It would be $5 million. What choice do you think they're going to make? They're either going to lay off people or they're not going to cover people. They'll pay the fine.

In my own town in Alachua County, there's a contractor, and he's got 51 employees. He's bidding on a job against another contractor that has 49 employees. The estimated cost to him is $2,000 per employee. So this contractor with the 51 employees is starting at the same line with this guy who has 49 employees, and he's going to owe $102,000 more in his opening bid. I asked him what he was going to do. He said, The most commonsense thing to do is lay off some people so I don't have to pay for that. Again, I hear this story over and over and over again.

Mr. Speaker, it seems the President himself doesn't really like his plan that much either. In spite of all the glowing speeches he gives, the President himself has signed into law repeals of certain ObamaCare provisions on seven different occasions. When the President claimed that his plan would lower the cost of health care for Americans, he left out the fact that about 7 million Americans would just lose their health care altogether.

Estimated insurance costs for the younger generation: they can expect their insurance premiums to increase from what they are today 150 percent to 175 percent. When the President claimed that under his plan no family making less than $250,000 a year would see taxes increase, he completely left out the fact that there are 21 new taxes in this bill; and these are taxes that are on not just the wealthy, but all Americans at all income levels. It's a bad bill, and this is not what America wants.

The whole point of the Affordable Care Act was to create health reform, which implies not just health care, but health prevention. After 3\1/2\ years of this bill being out there, the Supreme Court said in reviewing it that it's not health care; it's a health tax. The bottom line is it's going to create people who have less insurance.

Then we have to think about who will collect these taxes: the IRS. That's the very same IRS we found out that's under a criminal investigation today. Americans don't want this.

Americans are a caring, generous, and a charitable people. We will always make sure that the least fortunate among us are cared for. The President's plan doesn't care for the less fortunate. In fact, it makes us all less fortunate. Our vote this week is not about politics; it's about being responsive to the people and adhering to the Constitution.

We represent the people who are being hurt the most by the ObamaCare bill, and we owe it to them to relieve them of this burden. If we truly want to create jobs, the full repeal of ObamaCare is the first step in jump-starting our economy, and I'm proud and thankful to be able to be a part of the process of repealing this legislative disaster and replacing it with a commonsense health care reform.

I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard many gun control supporters say that the Second Amendment is outdated. They point out the phrase ``a well- regulated militia'' as their proof that armed and alert citizens belong in the 18th century and not the 21st century. We saw last week in Boston that they couldn't be more wrong.

When the Constitution and the Second Amendment were written, the story of the Boston struggles during the Revolutionary War was still fresh in America's memory. British troops looked at every American as a threat and treated them like virtual prisoners in the communities that they built. That's why our Founders made sure that it would be law, and a birthright for every law-abiding American, that everyone would have the freedom to protect themselves.

These days, many of America's enemies don't wear the uniforms of a nation. They try to avoid confrontation with our military and our police force; and they lurk in our streets, they hide out in our universities, and they wait for our defenses to go down. They don't save their hatred for our heroes in uniforms. They unleash it on anyone who is free.

The line between crime and terror is a thin one. Any victim of a violent crime has experienced terrorism in its most intimate and intense form. When we talk about guns and we look at the true meaning of the Second Amendment, it's clear that the passage of a couple of centuries hasn't changed its intent much.

The Second Amendment is a uniquely American value, as relevant today as when it was written. No other nation before ours has trusted the people to arm and protect themselves. When tragedies happened in Tucson, in Aurora, and in Newtown, guns were to blame. When the tragedy happened in Boston last week, we rightly blamed the person and not the instrument.

Allowing law-abiding citizens to exercise their freedom of self- defense can help keep us safe, and I will fight to protect this precious constitutional right.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share something that has been at my heart and will, in the coming days, be at the heart of my first bill introduced in the House. When Members of Congress break the law, they break trust: they break trust with their colleagues, hurting our ability to work together; they break trust with the American people who sent them here; and they break trust with the Constitution they swore to uphold.

I will be introducing the Trust Act. This bill is simple. It does not distinguish between types of offenses or the possible reasons behind them. It makes clear that a Member of Congress convicted of any felony will forfeit the taxpayer-funded portion of their pension.

If our servicemen and -women who lay their life on the line for our Nation lose their pension with a dishonorable discharge, should not Members of Congress be held to the same standard?

These days with public opinion of Congress at record lows and public debt at record highs, the Trust Act is a place to start in restoring the faith of the American people to their government. I am pleased to present this opportunity to my colleagues to restore trust to taxpayers, and I ask them to join me in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to show my support in favor of the workforce initiative bill presented by the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

This bill is not restrictive to any group, be it gender or race, but is for all Americans. This bill will allow people to find gainful employment in the marketplace. This is what America is in dire need of right now, and that is jobs.

By helping people acquire the skills needed to find employment, we also give them the ability to help themselves in their ability to change their lifestyle as they pursue their American Dream.

The SKILLS Act will help the economy in several ways:

One, by creating a more qualified workforce to fill the needs of today's industries. Thus, it will bring more certainty to the marketplace. Therefore, employers, knowing that there is a more readily available trained workforce, will be more likely to expand their business.

Another way is it will create higher paying jobs.

A third way is it reduces the number of administrative agencies that oversee and run these programs by more than half, thereby causing government to be more streamlined, operate more efficiently, and save the taxpayers money.

The end result, we help people get back to work sooner; and by doing so, we make a stronger America. So many of our policies of the past, although well-intentioned, have held people back and kept them out of the workforce by not promoting the learning or the advanced job skills needed in today's work environment. I believe we all would prefer to see people independent and self-sufficient versus dependent upon government.

America is known as a generous country, and let's work to keep her that way; but America is also known as the land of opportunity for those that choose to seize that opportunity. This SKILLS Act will help ensure people acquire the skills, and if they desire to take advantage of the opportunity, to succeed in America. Again, everyone wins and America is stronger.

For these reasons, we should move forward with this legislation; and I urge my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, to vote in favor of the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a wonderful and unique community in my district, the Advent Christian Village at Dowling Park, Florida, which is now in its 100th year.

Scripture advises us that, to whom much has been given, much is returned. Thomas Dowling of Suwannee County, Florida, had this in mind a century ago when he set out to turn his thriving lumber business into a vision for the community. Mr. Dowling set aside some of his property that he was developing around Live Oak for the Advent Christian Church to use for ministry. Before long, a family of five orphaned siblings had come to live at Dowling Park. The Setzer children became the first residents of Advent Christian Church's Home and Orphanage, which also opened its doors to the elderly.

Today, Advent Christian Village is a leading-edge retirement community of more than 800 dynamic, welcoming members of America's Greatest Generation. While children no longer live at Advent Christian Village, they are an integral part of the ministry carried out by today's residents who, a century later, still take Thomas Dowling's vision to heart.

The story of the Advent Christian Village is one of Americans coming together, expressing generosity and kindness to one another and helping those in need. Dowling Park is one of the brightest spots in Suwannee County and the Third District, and I congratulate them on 100 years of ministry.

I'd like to thank the gentleman from Indiana for his time. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank you for allowing me to rise here today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address this body tonight about a subject that weighs heavy on the minds of many of my constituents and many Americans. It is a subject and a right that has been granted to us by our country's founding principles, the Constitution, not by government. It is the birthright of any law-abiding citizen of the United States of America, and it is their choice to exercise that right. It is the role and duty of government to protect those rights.

In my 2 months as their Representative, more people in the Third Congressional District of Florida have reached out to me with their concerns over how Congress will address our Second Amendment after the much-publicized, tragic event at Newtown, Connecticut.

This, indeed, I think we all agree was a senseless act of violence. This is not a time to make a knee-jerk reaction and challenge our Second Amendment and restrict our rights as law-abiding citizens. This is not a time to play partisan politics. This is a time to come together.

This is a time to go after the cause of this despicable act, the individual and the cause of gun violence. I stand 100 percent with President Obama and all others that want to curb gun violence so long as it does not interfere with our Second Amendment. The Second Amendment states:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of

a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms,

shall not be infringed.

This is necessary to protect the Third Amendment:

No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any

house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war,

but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Those who commit the unspeakable crime we've witnessed a few months ago should not be able to hide behind any amendment or law in this country. But the real issue is gun violence, not the gun. We must be vigilant in using the laws already available to the fullest extent possible and look at why people are doing these crimes. Before we punish or infringe upon the rights of the law-abiding individual, we should look more at causes of mental health issues that lead to these crimes.

This point is illustrated by the Department of Justice's own internal memo that we're discussing tonight, which notes that the greatest number of guns used in crime comes from straw purchases, those being purchased by someone for someone else or by theft of a gun, not by the person that abides by the law.

Laws that place even more restrictions on law-abiding citizens who only want the right to own a gun for any legal activity they determine will not deter the person intent on doing harm. People with bad habits tend to do bad things.

The first week of this Congress, I joined many of my colleagues here on

the House floor in the reading of our Constitution. We took an oath at that swearing-in ceremony to uphold the Constitution. I carry a copy of our Constitution with me everywhere I go. Any and all we do in this body, and our colleagues in the Senate, should be done to uphold, to protect, and to strengthen this document; and by doing this, we strengthen America. Our Constitution has set America apart from every other country in the world, and I aim to keep it that way.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituents in Florida's Third District to voice the concerns they have shared with me over the President's sequester that will go into effect on Friday.

Make no mistake: cuts need to be made. However, I know, and my constituents know, the sequester is not the answer.

We in the House have shown, and will continue to show, where responsible spending cuts can be made. In fact, the House has tried multiple times to address this issue and has passed legislation as recently as 6 weeks ago. However, the majority leader, Mr. Reid, would not address these issues.

With a Federal Government of this size and magnitude, Washington bureaucracy can afford to bear the brunt of these cuts. Not our military, not communities like Lake City, or Mayo, or Newberry, or Middleburg, Florida.

I'm working with my friend from Georgia, Congressman Doug Collins, on the new Freshman Regulatory Reform Working Group, to help show exactly where some of these cuts are and to help businesses do what they do best. They grow the economy and they create jobs, bringing in more revenues to our government.

We need to, and we will, show the President and the American people that we can cut wasteful spending without hurting kids, our seniors, and that we can make responsible cuts that do not put our national security at risk, and not add to the heavy tax burden of hardworking Americans that they're already carrying.

It is a shame that the President and the Senate have avoided working with the House in a real budgeting process. I look forward to working with all my colleagues on restoring faith to the American people and bringing order back to this process.

Mr. Speaker, two years ago this month the people of Bahrain began a movement to seek constitutional reforms where power was shared with the people. They took to the streets impassioned by a desire to make sure that government serves the people, not the other way around. They yearned for the fundamental human right of freedom and aspired to have reforms that would grant them constitutional rights and self- governance.

Earlier this week, I met with three human rights defenders from Bahrain and they told me about some of the terrible atrocities that have occurred in their country as a response to the protests. They spoke of repression, harassment, and imprisonment. I fear that these responses not only threaten stability in the region but send a signal of oppressed liberty throughout the world. I was struck by the bravery of these young people and applaud their quest for liberty.

Our Constitution is critically important to us. The Bahraini people do not have that all important safeguard to their freedoms and they understandably want it. As Americans, we should welcome the Bahraini people's self-desire to have constitutional reforms and not take action to hinder it.

While I respect our history with Bahrain and our mutual foreign policy interests in the region, their government's actions over the last two years trouble me. It is my hope that the government of Bahrain takes the steps that they have promised their citizens and move towards the constitutional reforms that are so desperately desired by the people.

``No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

``No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States. And no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state.''