Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I submit the following:

Requesting Member: Congressman Tim Murphy.

Bill Number: H.R. 6599, The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations bill.

Account: Military Construction, Army National Guard.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Pennsylvania National Guard.

Address of Requesting Entity: Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA.

Description of Request: Appropriation of $3,250,000 for planning and design of the Combined Support Maintenance Shop in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, is included in the bill. This new complex will consist of approximately 130,000 square feet of administrative and supply areas, and nine general purpose and 12 specialty maintenance work bays to regionally maintain Army National Guard ground vehicles located in Western Pennsylvania. The project will allow consolidation and closing of four inadequate maintenance facilities in the Pittsburgh area. The Army National Guard and the Commonwealth will benefit by reduced operating and maintenance costs associated with the closure of four inefficient facilities as well as utilizing an Energy Management control system. Soldiers will benefit by being provided a state-of-the- art, efficiently functioning work space to maintain combat vehicles.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 506, on the Wittman Motion to Recommit with instructions, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, yesterday I introduced H.R. 6446, the Heroes' Homecoming Act, which requires U.S. carriers to do what Congress has asked them to do twice: offer the lowest available airfare for active duty military trying to return home to their loved ones.

Sometimes active duty servicemembers don't have the luxury of knowing far in advance of when they will be able to leave, oftentimes having less than 24-hours' notice. And purchasing an airline ticket to get home can cost a family a fortune. Our troops deserve better, and Congress has twice asked airlines to give more flexibility for lower airfares for active servicemen and women. I have heard this over and over from soldiers that the airlines are not doing this.

When airlines have come to Congress asking for help with massive bailouts, we helped. Now it's time for airlines to help our most deserving brave men and women who protect our Nation and our Nation's skies.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting our troops and our families by cosponsoring the Heroes' Homecoming Act and help our soldiers get better fares when they're returning home.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall no. 470, H. Res. 1098, Supporting the goals and ideals of the Year of the American Veteran, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I know much of our concern is on energy and gas prices, but I want to remind Members of some grim statistics on other issues.

If an airplane crashed today and 250 people died, we would send the FAA and every other Federal agency to investigate. If the same thing happened tomorrow, our concerns would escalate, too. If it happened a third day, we would shut down the airline industry. We don't seem to do that same thing, and we have that many deaths each day from infections in hospitals.

In April of 2005, when I first started talking about infections in hospitals, we have had since that time over 6 million cases, over 320,000 deaths, and have wasted $162 billion. Just in 2008 alone, 969,000 cases, 47,000 deaths, and $24 billion.

When I introduced my Healthy Hospitals Act, H.R. 1174, the aim was to have hospitals declare their infection rates so people could compare hospitals so we could do something about it.

Hospitals can clean up their act. They can reduce their infections, and Congress needs to make sure there is a law of the land requiring them. People have a right to know if they are going to leave a hospital at all.

Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding, and I thank the House for taking up this important bill.

In my 25-plus years of practicing as a child psychologist, I have treated many of the types of children that we're talking about today: young men and women, young boys and girls, who oftentimes characteristically really have reached the point in living with their family where the family has lost all ability to control these children.

As one group of parents told me when I was working them once in a group, the mother said, You know, it's like walking on eggshells when you're around my son. Another mother said, No, it's like walking on glass. You have to be so careful. You never know when you're going to have harm.

And so it is. I know so many of them move me so much when I wrote my book about these children called ``The Angry Child.'' I recognized what many of their characteristics are: They have difficulty solving problems; they tend to blame other people for their problems; their primary emotional reaction to difficulty is anger; they believe that anger is a source of power for them, and they have a great deal of destructive self-talk. It is so very, very difficult to change these children.

And thus it is important that we have residential treatment programs available as an option because these parents have certainly gone through the whole gamut of possible treatment options through psychotherapy, counseling, sometimes hospitalizations, medication, et cetera. And they're so moved by their love and affection and hope for their child they're willing to try anything. But we have to make sure that ``anything'' does not involve situations that can lead to more harm and abuse.

One of the reasons this bill is so important is because parents have to know at a time when they feel they can no longer trust their child to control themselves and they no longer can trust their own ability to parent, they have to trust someone. And sound, residential treatment programs that are there with proper staff properly trained in therapy, not there to physically abuse or harm the child, of which a majority of these programs are good programs, but parents have to know there is something they can trust.

It is so terribly, terribly heartbreaking to work with these families and work with these children and know that they have destroyed a family. Their threats of violence, the risk for drug and alcohol abuse, their attacking other children, all just on this side of law so they don't end up in jail.

Parents are desperately trying to help them. I'm pleased this legislation is taking some steps to help restore some sense of trust for parents to know that the child can get some treatment to know the risks of harm are eliminated for them.

But still we have to recognize we must keep options open for these families who no longer know how to handle their very, very angry and difficult child.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 438, H. Res. 1242, Honoring the life, musical accomplishments, and contributions of Louis Jordan on the 100th anniversary of his birth, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 439, H. Con. Res. 372, Supporting the goals and ideals of Black Music Month and to honor the outstanding contributions that African American singers and musicians have made to the United States, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 440, H. Res. 1051, Congratulating James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for 100 years of service and leadership to the United States, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, with oil and gas prices climbing to record highs and families struggling to make ends meet, what did Congress do to help this week? Well, we voted on monkeys. Yes, we voted to prohibit you from driving a monkey across State lines. We also had a lengthy debate on whaling. But no votes to increase energy supplies to lower gas prices. Good for monkeys, good for whales, but not good for America's families.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans support safe, environmentally sound exploration of our resources. The American people understand that we need more American energy, not Saudi Arabian, not Venezuelan or Russian energy dependence. American energy means we are creating American jobs, not funding plush skyscrapers in Dubai. And lower prices allow us to invest our dollars in alternate energy and conservation.

Earlier this week, I introduced House Resolution 1282 to encourage the removal of the executive ban on drilling along our Outer Continental Shelf. The President has the power to remove this ban today, if he chooses. I invite all my colleagues to cosponsor my resolution. Let's bring relief for America's families.

Mr. Speaker, oil prices climb to record highs; gasoline over $4; diesel prices near $5; family budgets stretched to the limits. And how do we handle this? We beg OPEC to produce more oil. The Saudis say they will give us 200,000 more barrels a day in the world market, but the daily world demand is 84 million barrels.

Hey, how about putting the U.S. in charge of our own economy? What about American energy? Sixty-four percent of Americans support American-made energy.

Today I will introduce a resolution calling upon the President to revoke a ban President Clinton extended in 1998 that prohibits exploration of our Outer Continental Shelf. The U.S. has the technology and regulatory framework to ensure that these resources are developed in an environmentally sound manner. The President has the power to remove this ban today, if he chooses.

I invite all my colleagues to cosponsor my resolution, and send a clear signal to the President and to the American people that we will help.

Oil prices are climbing to record highs, gasoline is over $4 a gallon and climbing towards $5, food prices are up and rising, and family budgets stretch their limits.

And how do we handle this? We beg OPEC to produce more oil. The Saudis say they will call a meeting. Venezuela says they want $200-a- barrel oil. Foreign speculators say let's hope the market will fall.

Americans say, what about America? What about American energy? Why not explore for the trillions of barrels of America's oil off our coast, America's shale oil? Saying ``no'' to Americans is not an energy policy. Begging other nations is not an energy policy.

Americans get it. Congress needs to get it too. American oil, American jobs, American control of its own destiny and returning America to be the greatest Nation on Earth and not a nation that has its hat in its hand saying please help us.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 412, H.R. 5749, to provide for a program of emergency unemployment compensation, I was mistakenly recorded as voting ``no.'' I should have been recorded as voting ``yea'' on final passage. I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 5749.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Deal and I thank Mr. Green for this very, very important bill, this Health Centers Renewal Act to provide some very, very important coverage for some of our most needy citizens.

You know, when people oftentimes will comment upon how many people in America don't have health care, who recognize that actually many of them are covered by programs such as Medicaid, they may or may not know it, or SCHIP or some choose not to have health insurance. But there are also those millions of Americans who simply are not low-income enough for Medicaid. They don't have children, so they're not covered by SCHIP. And they're not old enough for Medicare. Where do they go?

Well, community health centers provide the very health care that they need, give them health care home, give them peace of mind. It is a place where, for a low fee, they can have ongoing health care, know that they have a doctor who knows them, and dentist and psychologist and other ones who provide the vital care for them, and it keeps costs down. Keeps costs down tremendously.

I believe some 30 percent of people who go to community health centers do not have health care insurance, and of those who do attend, it maintains even lower costs for Medicaid patients. So it is savings at all levels.

But unfortunately, there are huge vacancies with community health centers. Those vacancies have to do with normal family physicians or psychiatrists or OB/GYNs, and that has led to backups. That has led to delays in appointments. And the question is, is there a way we can resolve that?

Well, here's something we discovered that was odd, and this bill corrects that. Strangely enough, if physicians want to volunteer at a free clinic, they can do so, and they're covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act. On the other hand, if they are paid medical staff at a free clinic, they're not covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Reverse that for a community health center. If they're paid staff at a community health center, they're covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act, but if they want to volunteer, they are not.

I introduced a bill, H.R. 1626, the Family Healthcare Accessibility Act, a couple of years ago to correct that, and I am pleased that Mr. Green has put this into this bill. That basically provides that physicians and other health professionals, nurse practitioners who want to volunteer are covered.

What does this mean? That means lower costs for clinics, and that means that physicians, for example, who may want to give some of their time each week or each month, a clinic will be there with welcome arms. It has not been something that's been allowed before, but it does provide lower health care costs. It is a way for physicians and other primary practitioners to be able to give back to the community. It is a way to lower health care costs.

In this Nation, where there are 760 primary care physician openings, 290 nurse practitioners openings and 310 dentist openings just a couple of years ago--and those numbers may have climbed--this provides a way that we can fulfill those needs at basically no cost.

I thank the chairman, I thank Ranking Member Deal and everybody else who has been part of this bill in making this a working bill to help bring health care costs down, help bring health care to America's needy citizens and help bring a health care home for so many Americans.

Madam Speaker, I submit the following:

Requesting Member: Congressman Tim Murphy.

Bill Number: H.R. 5658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009.

Account: Title XXVI, Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Pennsylvania National Guard.

Address of Requesting Entity: Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA.

Description of Request: Authorization of $3,250,000 for planning and design of the Combined Support Maintenance Shop in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, is included in the bill. This new complex will consist of approximately 130,000 square feet of administrative and supply areas, and nine general purpose and 12 specialty maintenance work bays to regionally maintain Army National Guard ground vehicles located in Western Pennsylvania. The project will allow consolidation and closing of four inadequate maintenance facilities in the Pittsburgh area. The Army National Guard and the Commonwealth will benefit by reduced operating and maintenance costs associated with the closure of four inefficient facilities as well as utilizing an Energy Management control system. Soldiers will benefit by being provided a state-of-the- art, efficiently functioning work space to maintain combat vehicles.