Floor Statements

I thank my good friend for yielding me time.

Madam Speaker, I commend my fellow Member for introducing the Government Shutdown Prevention Act, and I strongly support its passage.

I would like to say real quickly that what we have seen here in the last few minutes is a colossal waste of time. You had a bunch of folks saying, Madam Speaker, that this is unconstitutional. I just want to clarify so we can move past that and my colleagues can focus their arguments where it matters.

We intend for this bill, like all other bills, to pass the House, to pass the Senate, and be signed by the President. I too am a JAG officer from the Army, and I think that the JAG officer, Madam Speaker, from the Air Force would understand that this is a constitutional bill, like the other bills that we introduce here.

Now, why are we here today? Forty-one days ago this House passed a $100 billion spending cut from the President's 2011 budget. That bill kept the government operating. We did our job here. Now, there is another House down on the other side of the Capitol and we are here because they have refused to do their job. Forty-one days later, zero bills.

We have heard some suggestions here today that maybe we ought to do across-the-board cuts. I suggest that if they have got any friends on the Senate side, that they go down there and

see if they will propose a bill with some kind of cuts, because so far it is zero, zero bills from the Senate on this.

Senator Harry Reid thinks our plan goes ``too far.'' We have heard a lot of people using the word ``extreme,'' because that is a scary word. Let me tell you, the only thing extreme around here is the national debt. Do you want to see extreme? That is extreme.

Senator Harry Reid believes that shutting down the government is perfectly acceptable. In fact, we have seen with the pollsters and the pundits and Howard Dean and others that they want to shut down the government. Well, I don't want to shut down the government. I want to cut spending.

I don't want the government shut down. I want spending cut. I have a question of what a shutdown would do to our Armed Forces, the airmen and the soldiers in Arkansas that are in my district.

Senator Reid has failed to come up with a credible plan of his own. They can't cut just a few billion dollars, even though we have a GAO report that indicates $100 billion to $200 billion could be saved by getting rid of duplicative programs. If the Senate is unwilling to make the small cuts, how in the world are we ever going to be able to make the bold decisions?

I rise today in opposition to H. Con. Res. 28 because it would undermine our national security and our ability to keep us safe right here at home. I understand that many Americans are frustrated with the length of this war. I also understand the American people have demanded the U.S. Government get its fiscal house in order. I know we cannot afford to fund this war indefinitely. But some think that cutting and running immediately from Afghanistan is the solution. That's simply not an option.

This is a reckless resolution. We've made progress in Afghanistan, and we cannot afford to abandon that progress by immediately withdrawing our troops. What we must do, however, is demand that our military and civilian leaders set clear and definable goals for our military efforts in Afghanistan. We also must listen to our military commanders who are there on the ground day in and day out.

General Petraeus has testified to our military's substantial progress in impeding the Taliban's influence and increasing the number of Afghan security forces. He cautioned, however, that this recent success is fragile and reversible.

We must allow our troops to remain in Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda so that we can keep Americans safe here. We must continue to train and support local security forces because this will bring about the safe and successful full transition of the country's security to the Afghan people.

To withdraw now, to withdraw immediately, would be to forfeit that progress and allow the Taliban and other extremists to regain their footing in Afghanistan.

We must honor the men and women of our Armed Forces, who have fought so hard. We must honor the men and women of the international armed forces, who have fought so hard. We must honor the men and women of the Afghan forces, who have fought hard to defend their own country. They have sacrificed so much, and we cannot abandon them now. Most importantly, it is not in our national interest to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for earning berths in both the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournament as champions of the Sun Belt Conference. UALR's sweep of the Sun Belt titles makes them the first school to do so since 2008.

For the Lady Trojans, this is their first Sun Belt championship and their second consecutive trip to the tournament. For the Trojans, this is also their first Sun Belt championship and their first visit to the NCAA tournament since 1990.

Congratulations to coaches Steve Shields and Joe Foley, as well as athletic director Chris Peterson, for their leadership this championship season. Congratulations, also, to the young men and women of UALR basketball. Thank you for representing your school, the City of Little Rock, and the State of Arkansas.

We are rooting for you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 72 because I believe that a number of regulations issued by Federal agencies are stifling job creation. And, from the sound of it, President Obama agrees. On January 18 of this year, President Obama issued an executive order stating that, quote, our regulatory system must promote economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. I agree with the President on all those points.

Some regulations are critical to protect our health and provide a safe place to live and work, but there are a number of regulations affecting job creators, including small businesses and community banks. These regulations are overly burdensome, repetitive, and just plain don't make sense. Not a day goes by without one of my constituents complaining over the EPA's overreaching policies. The administration is trying to do through regulations what it couldn't get passed into law. As a result, job creators spend their money complying with these burdensome regulations--money that should be used to create jobs, money that should be used to invest in research, in capital improvements, and money that should be used to spur innovation. For example, job creators are spending money planning for more burdensome EPA regulations on boilers; boilers used every day to heat schools and businesses. And now the EPA wants to apply the oil spill law to force dairy farmers to spend millions of dollars preparing for spilled milk, because of the amount of fat in it. What if it's skim milk? If it wasn't so troubling, it might be funny.

On top of this, regulations yet to be written inject uncertainty into the economy, further stifling job creation. Uncertainty over renewable tax credits, for example, is forcing a Little Rock company back home in my district to stop building wind turbines because they don't know if they can sell them.

I've heard concerns back home over the lack of transparency from unelected Federal workers that have never met the folks in Arkansas and they've never held a town hall. They don't hold town halls before they write these regulations, yet they pass the equivalent of laws every day.

We can do better. Let's seek commonsense solutions to our problems and stop the Federal Government from killing jobs.

I thank the gentleman from Texas for his leadership on this issue and for yielding me this time.

Madam Speaker, I believe we need health care reform badly, but the law we got isn't what we need. That is why I rise today in support of H.R. 2 to repeal the current health care law. The health care law provides for an increased government role and will ultimately lead to decisions made by the government instead of doctors and patients.

It ignores the issue of cost. It was loaded with gimmicks to make it seem deficit neutral. But once those are accounted for, we find that it adds over $700 billion to the deficit in the next 10 years.

The health care law, and especially the unconstitutional mandate, handicaps our ability to grow jobs. Small businesses will be hit hardest because they operate on the tightest margins and will have the toughest time complying with the onerous regulations, many of which are still not written, creating uncertainty for employers.

We must repeal the law and replace it with one that lowers costs, preserves the doctor-patient relationship, lets Americans keep the coverage they have, allows the private sector to create jobs and follows the Constitution.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of the victims and in support of my colleague from Arizona, her staff, the loved ones of the victims, and those who bravely and skillfully responded to the attack.

My freshmen colleagues and I have only been here for a few short days, but in Representative Giffords we see the temperament and dedication needed to be good representatives of the people. She embodies these qualities and is an example for everyone here in the people's House.

Let us not forget the personal side of this tragedy. Those lost include two dedicated public servants, a devoted great-grandmother and a loving wife, a heroic husband whose last action was protecting his wife, and a 9-year-old interested in public service. They will all be missed.

In the wake of this tragedy, we find solace and we find power in prayer. My prayers are for the families of the victims, for the speedy recovery of Congresswoman Giffords and all others who were wounded. I pray for law enforcement investigating this cowardly attack. I pray for the medical workers, that their work heals those who have been injured. I pray for this House, its leaders, fellow Members and their staffs. And I pray for our country, asking God for His blessings during this time of grief.

This attack hits each of us in a personal way, but we must resolve to move forward, representing the men and women who sent us here to do our Nation's work.