Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 159 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Israel

Mr. Speaker, I was happy to see the President sign H.R. 3370, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. This bill is an important first step in addressing affordability in the national flood insurance program, but we have a long way to go to put solvency back into the system.

We are working hard not only through the appropriations process, but also with leadership and other Members in coastal districts whose constituents have been victims of the rate increases brought about by Biggert-Waters. H.R. 3370 has some great provisions, including: removal of the dreaded ``sales trigger'' that would have devastated the housing and real estate markets in Florida and other states. Perhaps most importantly, we were able to reassure FEMA of the importance of the affordability study.

Mr. Speaker, the next step is to find new ways to stabilize NFIP and make flood insurance more affordable for homeowners and small businesses. I will continue working with my colleagues in Florida and across the country to put some stability back in this important system.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, I honor one of the most respected dairy leaders in the State of Florida, Red Larson, as he celebrates his 90th birthday.

In the 1930s, Red worked the local paper route, saving and investing his money until he could purchase his first dairy cow. By the time he graduated from high school, he owned six cows, rented eight more, and had 21 calves. After a half century of hard work, Red merged 37 dairies into the three that now make up Larson Dairy, Incorporated, which he and his two grandsons currently own and operate. Larson Dairy produces 120 million pounds of milk annually, making it one of the largest dairies in the United States. The Larson name is synonymous with Florida dairy.

Truly a constant source of knowledge and experience, Larson served on the USDA Dairy Advisory Committee, and he has been inducted into both the Dairy Hall of Fame and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame.

I am honored to recognize Red Larson on his 90th birthday and to thank him for his longstanding dedication and contributions to the U.S. dairy industry.

Mr. Speaker, I asked my constituents in Florida's 17th District how ObamaCare is affecting them. One said they were upset that their coverage was going to go up by more than $300. Another said that their insurance plan went from $204 per month to $720 per month and that they couldn't afford that. Others reported increases of 100, 200, even 400 percent.

Most devastating were those that are on Medicare Advantage who are set to lose their doctors. One woman lost her primary care doctor of over 20 years. Another whose husband lost five doctors, including a cardiologist that has cared for him since his heart transplant, said that they are not able to keep their doctors or their insurance plans.

Worst of all is the impact on Florida families. One gentleman in my district said:

I have looked at quotes for my family of three. It looks

like it will cost us about $5,000 more a year. I may have to

get a divorce so my wife and son can afford the insurance. If

I do, they will qualify for discounts we don't get if we are

married.

Mr. Speaker, there are stories like this all across Florida and the country. So much for, if you like your plan, you can keep it. Now all of our constituents are suffering.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Veterans Pension Protection Act as part of this important legislation.

Last year, veterans groups came to my office with a problem called ``pension poaching'' that targets retired veterans. Currently, the VA only considers income at the time a veteran applies for benefits, meaning it can't determine if an applicant has diverted assets to qualify for benefits.

Under this scam, unethical financial advisers and firms prey on elderly veterans by promising to help them qualify for VA pension benefits if they divert their assets into trusts or annuities and charge excessive fees for their services. GAO has identified this fraud as a major weakness in the VA pension program, leaving taxpayers and retired veterans on the hook.

My bill imposes a 36-month look-back period that would track veterans' incomes to determine if they are truly eligible. This will discourage financial predators from duping elderly veterans, help reduce the claims backlog, and ensure that low-income individuals for whom the program was intended are not robbed of their benefits.

I want to thank Congressmen Schrader, Bilirakis, and Barber for their work on this bill, and especially Chairman Miller for including it as part of this package to improve services for our Nation's veterans.

I want to thank my friend from Florida (Mr. Radel) for bringing this amendment to the floor today.

Madam Chair, I would have liked to have seen something that went specifically to not arming the so-called ``rebels'' in Syria, but I think it's important that we also address this issue of the President of the United States and what his obligations are to this Congress and to the American people under the War Powers Act.

The Founding Fathers didn't want one person to be able to take us to these wars in foreign lands. They wanted there to be debate, deliberation, and for the President to have to come and make the argument to the American people through their representation as to why something is such an important part of our national interests that he would send our men and women into harm's way to potentially die for us in that land.

In this case, we have Assad, who is a dangerous dictator in the Middle East. On the other hand, we have the rebels, who are infiltrated by al Qaeda and other bad actors--the same people we've been fighting, by the way, over the last 10 years.

So whose side are we on--Sunni? Shia? It's a civil war in the Middle East. What is our national interest?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you can't answer that question, if you're not absolutely sure--as the President needs to make us sure through the War Powers Act and through authorization, which this amendment requires--then you cannot support sending our men and women or getting involved in Syria or even sending weapons to the so-called ``rebels'' over there.

Support the Radel amendment. Make the President make the case for Syria. Come to Congress, and let the people decide.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 287, 288: my flight from Florida was canceled; the next flight arrived after first votes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes,'' on both.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 2013 FARRM Bill, which will help ensure a safe, affordable, and abundant food supply for all Americans. I represent one of the largest agricultural districts east of the Mississippi, and I'm proud to represent Florida's dairy and vegetable farmers, citrus and sugar growers, and beef cattle ranchers. This bill will serve them well, and it will serve Florida's taxpayers well, too.

The FARRM Bill includes much-needed reforms to agricultural programs. It provides relief from unnecessary Federal mandates. It saves the taxpayers $35 billion and reduces the size of government by eliminating or consolidating more than 100 programs.

In particular, I am pleased that this bill addresses the growing problem in my district of citrus disease. Diseases like greening have already wiped out over one-quarter of the citrus acreage in Florida. If we don't reverse this trend soon, we won't have enough crop to sustain our existing processing plants, and the problem will only spiral from there. Florida will lose jobs and our economy will suffer. But this will impact all Americans, because if Florida isn't growing oranges, you won't be putting orange juice on your breakfast table.

Mr. Speaker, if we want to have a safe, abundant, and affordable food supply, we need to pass the FARRM Bill.

Mr. Speaker, on November 5, 2009, Nidal Hassan, after coordinating with known terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki, opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 14 and wounding 32 others.

This was clearly an act of terror, yet the Department of Defense and the Army have classified this case as workplace violence. This is an insult to the brave men and women who were killed and injured that day. But this isn't about semantics; this is about who we are as Americans.

By declaring their deaths as injuries as a result of workplace violence, the Department denied these soldiers and their families benefits like VA health care, counseling and critical mental health services, disability benefits, and combat-related special compensation. It's also made them ineligible to receive the Purple Heart.

As someone who served in the Army at Fort Hood, I can say without hesitation that the Army should be ashamed of this poor level of care and outright disrespect it has shown our soldiers.

Yesterday, I joined one Republican and one Democrat, Congressman Wolf and Congressman Fattah, in sending a letter to Secretary Hagel asking them to change the designation from workplace violence to combat- related.

Let us send a message that that is who we are as Americans and that is how we treat our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 105 on final passage of H.R. 249, I inadvertently voted ``nay.'' I would have voted ``aye,'' which is consistent with my past position on this legislation. In the 112th Congress, I voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 538 on final passage of H.R. 828, which is virtually identical to H.R. 249.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the administration, in an effort to drive home the devastating impacts of sequestration, indicated that they would begin releasing criminal aliens held in detention centers across the United States. This policy is not only a shortsighted scare tactic, but it is also a completely inappropriate way to handle our fiscal problems.

By releasing these criminals out into the communities, the Obama administration is also playing politics with American safety. Not to mention, the administration is placing an undue additional burden on the already strained Federal programs that have succeeded in identifying, arresting, and removing criminal aliens. Ordering the release of criminals back into our communities because their crimes aren't serious enough to qualify for deportation completely ignores DHS's core mission to address our Nation's illegal immigration problem. We're putting our communities at risk, stressing local law enforcement, and not saving a dime once repeat offenders find themselves back in the system.

Mr. Speaker, we are a Nation of laws. We would do well to remember that.

Madam Speaker, keeping our Nation safe is our most important responsibility under the Constitution as Members of Congress.

When we talk about sequestration, we're really asking are we really going to shirk that responsibility, are we really going to cut national defense and force our country to grow weaker and weaker over the next 10 years. If we don't prevent these massive cuts, we'll be left with our smallest ground forces since 1940, fewest ships since 1915, and our smallest Air Force in our history.

Our Secretary of Defense says these cuts would be devastating and would seriously damage readiness. Does anything else we really do here matter if we knowingly let our defenses down, if we aren't ready to be able to defend ourselves?

If there's wasteful spending in the Pentagon budget that we could cut without impacting national security, then we should do so. I led the fight to kill the extra engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. The White House doesn't dispute the impact of these cuts, but won't put forward an alternative. The Majority Leader of the Senate won't schedule a vote on the House bill, but won't introduce a plan either. We have to do something to avoid these massive cuts to keep our country safe.

Madam Chair, on rollcall No. 505, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Markey

Mr. Speaker, America's health care sector is wrought with waste, fraud and abuse, but the home healthcare industry has proposed thoughtful reforms that will strengthen program integrity and achieve substantial savings without burdening beneficiaries.

Among the home health community's proposals are measures to reduce the abusive use of home health care services in order to eliminate excessive overpayments, as well as implement initiatives that will drive innovation and reduce program costs. Other proposed safeguards achieve savings by screening questionable claims, improving payment accuracy, and targeting bad actors. The home health care industry's proposal is a responsible initiative and should be taken into consideration as Congress continues to address ways to reduce health care costs and improve patient care.

Home health care is a key source of clinical treatment for millions of Americans and is meeting complex needs in the most cost-effective, patient-preferred setting available--patients' own homes. Unfortunately, some are now advocating the reintroduction of a copayment for home health services at a time when the industry is already threatened by arbitrary yearly payment cuts. I believe that the imposition of a home health care copayment and misguided cuts could seriously impact Florida's seniors and result in increased Medicare costs.

The home health community is vital to upholding our commitment to America's seniors and the millions of beneficiaries who depend on a meaningful and affordable Medicare program.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise to pay tribute to a true American hero, Dan Aguilar of Palm City, Florida. Dan has been awarded the Silver Plaque International Alpine Solidarity Award, given to individuals who have risked their lives to save others in dangerous mountain accidents. Dan is a well-known mountain rescuer who deserves both the admiration and the praise of this body.

Dan grew up in Dallas, Texas, where he resided for 18 years. After graduating from Crozier Tech High School, he served in the US Army for four years. Upon returning to the United States, he moved to Vail, Colorado where he began his now renowned career in mountain rescue. Dan's love for the mountains has seen him travel the globe and conquer the most dangerous alpine trails in the world. What's more, his mountain climbing adventures have taken him to Mexico, Ecuador, Alaska, and Argentina. But it is not his accomplishments as a climber or mountain hiker that have earned him this prestigious award, but rather it is his courage as a mountain rescuer.

In the early 1980's, Dan suffered the crushing loss of a dear friend that completely changed his view of climbing. For some time he was unable to even fathom climbing again, but this experience eventually drove him to the line of work that has made him a living legend. He has been a member of the Vail Mountain Rescue Group in the nearly three decades since.

For Dan, saving the life of another seems to come naturally. In fact, this award is not the first time he has received recognition for his devotion to helping others. He was also awarded the Mountain Rescue Association's Outstanding Individual Service Award. In all, it is estimated that Dan has been involved in around 500 different rescue missions since his involvement with Mountain Rescue. His advanced rescue skills have also been utilized in rescues on Mt. Rainier in Washington, the Pamirs in Russia, and the Aconcogua in South America.

Dan's dedication and incredible compassion to help others have earned him a legendary reputation and the admiration of people around the world. According to Tim Cochrane, a fellow member of Mountain Rescue, in an article in The Vail Daily by Tamara Miller, ``Aguilar is the first volunteer rescuer in North America to win the award.''

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the State of Florida and the U.S. Congress, I congratulate Dan on this distinguished and well-deserved award. He is a great American who deserves our gratitude and praise.

Dan, your community, State, and Nation are proud of you.