Floor Statements

I rise today to recognize the 25 years of service provided by the Lenawee Christian Family Centre to the community of Adrian, Michigan.

The ``Centre,'' as it is popularly known, offers a variety of fitness, sports and other programs enjoyed by over 4,000 members of the community. The brainchild of local philanthropists Orville and Ruth Merillat, the Centre was originally built on a vision of providing a place for young people in the community to gather. While the Centre has grown over the years and their programs have changed, the underlying mission has remained the same: to encourage families and serve them in a Christ-centered way.

I had the distinct honor to have served on the founding board of the Centre and continue to be impressed to see how they've grown over the years to meet a great need in the Adrian community and all of Lenawee County.

Today, the Centre offers fitness options that range from a pool and exercise equipment to a climbing wall and handball courts. They have a cafe, an auditorium, and host a number of classes, wellness programs and family-oriented events. Through all these offerings, which are available to everyone in the community, the Centre seeks to promote and support Christian values and ideals.

Mr. Speaker, it is organizations like the Centre that strengthen our civil society and meet the needs of our communities in a way the government never can. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the Centre's 25 years of service and thank them for their continued contributions to the Adrian community.

Mr. Speaker, ``If you like your health plan, you can keep it'' was President Obama's promise to the people since 2009, but just last week, he attempted to apologize to those losing health insurance because of the law. While I am glad the President is starting to see the truth, the people need more than just apologies for broken promises.

In my Michigan district, a 29-year-old woman named Rosann has been battling sarcoma cancer for over a year. Because of her disease and treatments, she can't work full time, but through part-time work she has managed to pay all her own bills--that is, until she received a notice that she will lose her current health care coverage because of ObamaCare and have to pay $225 more a month for a government-approved plan.

Rosann doesn't need an apology. She just wants to keep her insurance, along with nearly 5 million other Americans who have lost their coverage in the last 6 weeks alone.

House Republicans remain committed to fighting for Americans and providing fairness for all. The President needs to join our efforts, Mr. Speaker, and keep his promise to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, over and over and over again, the President told the American people: If you like your health plan, you can keep it.

If that were true, why then is Kaiser Health News reporting that ``health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancelation letters to people who buy their own coverage''? The Kaiser report goes on to say that some consumers are now being forced to ``buy more costly policies.''

If folks turn to the government for help--if they go to healthcare.gov--they will be met with so many bugs and glitches as to make signing up almost impossible.

Mr. Speaker, this is simply not fair. Nor is it fair that the President wants to find people who can't sign up using his own faulty Web site.

House Republicans want to promote fair solutions that create more jobs for all Americans. That is how we are going to get our economy growing.

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the contributions made to Mid-Michigan by the folks of the Eaton County Parks and Recreation Commission and to recognize their recipients of the 2013 Alvin Whitfield Community Service Awards.

The Eaton County Parks and Recreation Commission has provided quality recreational activities to the citizens of Eaton County, Michigan since 1970, and are enabled by the help of many individuals, service clubs, and businesses.

The Parks Commission recently acknowledged the service of key contributors by awarding them with the Alvin Whitfield Community Service Award. These individuals exemplify the spirit of service displayed by Alvin Whitfield, a long time Parks Commissioner who has served Eaton County for many years. I am pleased to join the Parks Commission in recognizing the awardees:

Shelli Smith, Jill Sambour, Christine Heverly and Patrick Sustrich for their outstanding volunteer service and commitment to improving the quality of life in Eaton County;

Jill Russell, Joe Bristol, Chuck Pantera, John Hanieski and Rob Piercefield for their leadership role in support of Parks programs, special events and projects;

Aric Prudden, Jeff Smith, Wayne Curtis, Pat Harrington and Sherriff Tom Reich for their energy and leadership in sponsoring and administering unique participatory events to serve children of all ages;

And Valerie Glesnes-Anderson, Julie Powers, Terry VanDoren, Gerald Jaloszynski and Willis Bennett for providing valuable technical assistance, advice and financial support for the operation and management of the Parks.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Alvin Whitfield 2013 Community Service Award nominees and thank them for their efforts that have greatly benefited Eaton County.

Mr. Speaker, as we all are well aware, a lot of emotion is in this Chamber and in this body at this time, and maybe that is the way it should be.

We remember back to the first Constitutional Convention that it almost shut down as well, until Benjamin Franklin stood up and said, We need to go to prayer, asking for the wisdom of the Almighty. Maybe that is what we need as well.

Mr. Speaker, above your rostrum there are words etched into stone from Daniel Webster, who said:

Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its

powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great

interests, and see whether we also, in our day and

generation, may not perform something worthy to be

remembered.

Mr. Speaker, that is what we need to be doing. And so, as today, thankfully, the President and leadership in the House are meeting in negotiations, I call for our citizens, as well as us, to be in prayer, asking for wisdom for the President, for our leaders to come to a conclusion that will move this country forward.

Mr. Speaker, I would wholeheartedly concur with the preceding speaker that we need wisdom,

we need guidance. We don't want to shut this government down, and certainly we don't want to play politics--at least many of us--with our constituents' services.

Sadly, we've seen too many pictures of that in recent days with the memorials and monuments being chained off. That's wrong.

This morning, my staff and I came across a document from the executive office of the President's Office of Management and Budget with a Q&A dealing with planning for agency operations during a potential lapse of appropriations:

Question: What if the cost of shutting down a Web site

exceeds the cost of maintaining services?

Answer: The determination of which services continue during

an appropriations lapse is not affected by whether the costs

of shutdown exceed the costs of maintaining services.

Mr. Speaker, that gives me concern. Indeed, the sites that we've checked on like the National Park Service, NASA, E-Verify, and the Department of Agriculture have been shut down for political purposes. That needs to stop.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding time and for leading this discussion of a way forward.

I appreciate the fact that we are now in a shutdown of government that I fear has been intentionally perpetrated in order to force something further on the American people.

I remember between my first term in office, after being defeated in 2008 to come back here and spending time for the next 2 years back in my district, and in watching my colleagues--my former colleagues and now my present colleagues--battle and debate on the floor of this great Chamber, in this great House, this great Capitol, in the people's House, the issue of what then was called the Affordable Care Act. I remember reading about it and listening and speaking with colleagues and asking what their impression was, and then ultimately hearing the Speaker of the House say: Let's pass this, let's pass it and then we can find out what's in it; and reading the comments of fellow legislators who had not even read this full bill and understanding that there was much in it, much that ultimately would be found out later on to be an extreme problem, not just to carry out, not just to regulate, not just to implement, as we've seen in the last couple of days--and we can certainly assume that there will be break-in problems to get something this massive, this intrusive, this complicated up and working--but more so the problem of looking at a takeover of one-sixth of our Nation's economy, the problem of challenging people with something so complicated that even experts and consultants wouldn't be able to tell them for sure what this would mean to them, but more importantly, the impact upon liberty, freedom, the American ideal.

In the last 2 days, as we've debated the issue of a continuing resolution, because of the unwillingness of the Congress of the United States to ultimately get a budget in place to move ourselves forward-- we come to continuing resolutions to just move it forward a little bit longer. That's not the way we should be doing it. That's not the way this side of the aisle has requested and fought to make it happen. But when there is an unwillingness to come in alongside and negotiate, come to a table and work something forward, to put through appropriations bills that implement the programs and pay for them, we have a problem.

So now here we are in a shutdown, a shutdown in the making of an unwillingness of the Senate, yes, but I think more so the unwillingness of leaders to listen to their people.

We've read the reports in the polls. We've heard before we went into this battle the last few days that the American people want this government to fund its basic services and not to shut down. We've also read in those polls the same people, a majority, have said we want to delay or defund or repeal the Affordable Care Act. So we have that as our task and, at the very least, to delay to a point that we can see what's in it and take action to amend, to repeal, or to completely go to a plan that will work.

So we have veterans of the Second World War being locked out of going to their war memorial, except for the fact that Members of Congress have gone and opened up those gates.

I just got a call from a constituent of mine who is here in the Capital today and wanted to go over and see the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. We assumed that that was open; it always is. There's no guard. You can walk into that memorial. But that's closed. Why? Is it because we want to make this problem harder for our citizens than it should be in order for them to get over the idea of reading the bill, knowing what's in it, and then asking for redress from their Members of Congress who represent them?

I went to the E-Verify site yesterday and I saw E-Verify, a computer program that's in place. It doesn't take a person to run it. It's operating. It's a system. It's connected to all sorts of data systems. Yesterday and today it says:

Alert. E-Verify is unavailable due to the Federal

Government shutdown. For more information, please click here.

This is what is being done to the citizens of the United States to produce the pain through the shutdown experience in order to ultimately say: Uncle, I will give in to a law. Yes, it is a law, but a law can always be redressed and changed. And they're asking for us to take the time to look at the Affordable Care Act, now known as ObamaCare.

A lady in Jackson, Michigan, in the heart of my district, called in to our office, our local office and, in tears, said: Here's my problem. This morning, my employer, a local provider of home health care who I have worked for for a number of years for 35 hours, and then I make up the difference of my 40 hours that I need and beyond by working in a restaurant on the weekends,

this employer of mine told me today that they're moving me now to 25 hours instead of 35. And why? Because of the Affordable Care Act. She said: It's not affordable to me because now I will have less income, less hours. How do I pay my mortgage, and how do I buy health insurance?

Or it's the autoworker in Monroe, Michigan, on Lake Erie in my district, a hardworking guy who said to me at a town hall meeting just a week and a half ago: Mr. Congressman, I want you to know that times are tough. I have some great concerns. My wife is sick and I have a $900 a month health care bill that I have to pay. But I want you to stand firm. And I said: Sir, what do you mean by ``stand firm''? He said: Shut down ObamaCare. Give us back our choice, our freedom.

The 54-employee business in Adrian, Michigan, who told me last week that--and they're beyond the level of being able to just simply toss off the insurance to the employees. They're not wanting to cut from their 54 employees down to below 50. But they received a notice from their insurance company that they were being canceled, and when approached, they were told it was in preparation for the uncertainties of the Affordable Care Act.

That shouldn't be the experience in the State of Michigan or any other place in this great country. That shouldn't be the experience-- that employers are encouraged to downsize as opposed to continue to expand. I could go through testimony after testimony similar of the challenges that have come from the Affordable Care Act that has become unaffordable and unmanageable.

All we are asking for is the opportunity to work together to negotiate toward a compromise on the way forward, Mr. Speaker. That's possible.

We passed a bill the other day unanimously to fund our military. The Senate passed that. That shows that if we want to, it can get done.

This summer, 35 Democrats voted with Republicans to delay the employer mandate and 22 voted to delay the individual mandate. Seventeen voted to repeal the medical device tax last week, as recently as last week.

We can get things to work if we are willing to sit down and negotiate toward a compromise that speaks to the concerns of our constituents. Seven of the more than 40 bills the House has approved to repeal all or part of the ObamaCare have been signed into law.

We could go on and on, Mr. Speaker.

But I get to a final point of concern for me. With the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, we also have crossed the line into the areas of our personal freedoms and our rights of conscience. Yes, I was a minister by training and background before going into politics. I understand there are religious beliefs, there are denominational beliefs, and there are a lot of differences. But the beauty of this great country, Mr. Speaker, is that we have always espoused the opportunity for freedom of religion and rights of conscience regardless. We have truly had plurality in our country.

Yet this one act is tromping down on the individual rights of conscience and religious liberties, our First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. A former Prime Minister of the Netherlands back in the 1900s by the name of Abraham Kuyper really made this point of where I am going, Mr. Speaker, when he said:

When principles that run against your deepest convictions

begin to win the day, then battle is your calling and peace

has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay

your convictions bare before friend and enemy with all the

fire of your faith.

When we hear of the little Sisters of Mercy being told that they are not religious enough to carry on their rights of conscience in relationship to the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Speaker, we have a problem. When we have a devout Catholic business owner who employs several hundred employees in the west part of Michigan who, because of his rights of conscience, has chosen to say we will provide insurance for our employees under the Affordable Care Act or any act, but we cannot provide insurance that violates our long-standing, strong-held rights of conscience, and courts say, because of this act, no, you can't do that.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to identify the challenges here, to read what is in the bill, to implement the changes necessary or go back, I believe, to the first and foremost principle of this great country, and that is liberty and justice for all, and develop a program that expands choice, opportunity, responsibility, variety, competition, and ultimately the ability for our citizens, our constituents, the people we serve, to care for their lives, their health in the best way possible with their government standing on their side, not in their way.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this issue. It needs to be spoken to over and over and over again until ultimately we win the day and give back that liberty and opportunity to our American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, almost before we finished our vote on the floor of the House calling for a conference committee to address concerns and try to face each other eye-to-eye, House-Senate, to come up with a solution, the phone lines were ringing and a robocall was sent out: while you were sleeping, your Member shut down the government.

This morning, I went to check and see how much further this plan had gone on, that purely said what was done for the last 2 weeks was political, to shut down the government, designed by the Senate Democrat leadership and the President of our United States.

I went to E-Verify. This is a computer program. E-Verify is unavailable due to the Federal Government shutdown. It's a computer.

The Panda Cam at the zoo was shut down. That's a camera. It's not a Federal employee.

Mr. Speaker, we offered fairness for the people of the United States, an option to make sure that we lived under the same plan that they do. The Senate rejected it.

We offered a compromise to go, simply, to a conference committee and discuss a plan of a way forward. It was rejected.

The plot continues. Political, not policy, not for the good of this country.

Mr. Speaker, we sincerely need true leadership at this time--great problems, great challenges, great divisions--and yet our President's first call last Friday to House leadership clearly indicated, in his own words, that he would not negotiate. How can this be leadership?

Sixty-one percent of citizens polled recently want spending cuts tied to the debt ceiling bill. Bill, in my town hall meeting yesterday morning, said:

My wife is very sick. I pay $900 a month for my health

insurance. I need that. But I want you to go to Washington

and end the spending. Move our country forward. Shut down

ObamaCare.

Mr. President, you won't negotiate? You negotiated with Mr. Putin and Mr. Assad. You've negotiated with the U.N. on an arms treaty threatening our Second Amendment liberty. Why would you not negotiate with the people's House and the people who sent us to restore fiscal sanity, economic opportunity, and liberty?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank a true friend, patriot and public servant, Joe Wicks, who will soon be departing the Hill and returning to Michigan after years of outstanding work as my Chief of Staff.

With an unassuming nature and an always positive demeanor, one might not guess at first glance that Joe possesses a keen political intellect and wisdom far beyond his years. Joe first came to work for me when he offered to serve as campaign manager during my first run for Congress in 2004, and has been at my side every day I've served in Washington.

A proud native of Saugatuck, Michigan and a 2002 graduate of Hillsdale College, Joe brought his strong Midwestern values and his belief in the primacy of the free enterprise system to Washington to serve on my staff. Often soft-spoken, I've come to learn over the years that when Joe speaks you should listen. His commitment to American exceptionalism, liberty and the enduring belief that government is at its best when it champions competitive freedom has been a great asset to my office and I believe has been of service to Michigan and our country.

While everyone in the Walberg office is sorry to see Joe go, we will always appreciate his good-natured disposition and his love of NASCAR. Joe is to be commended for his outstanding and faithful service to the state of Michigan. On behalf of myself, Sue and all of Team Walberg, thank you Joe for your loyalty and faithfulness, and God bless you in your next and future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, there was a time when the Southern Poverty Law Center was a laudable civil rights organization, boldly combating bigotry and extremism. Such noble pursuits have been cast aside for partisan politics, and today the SPLC is better known for their attacks on Judeo-Christian groups.

Recently, the SPLC has targeted the Alabama Accountability Act, a school choice law passed earlier this year. Under this act, Alabama provides tax credit scholarships for students at failing schools so that they can attend better-performing schools--private, religious, and nonfailing public schools.

Rather than allow students a chance at a good education, the SPLC has filed a lawsuit that would trap students in schools the State's own accountability system has graded D or F. In other words, if you can't help every child, you can't help any child? How absurd.

Mr. Speaker, it's time for this intolerance to end, and it's time that Congress and the American people embrace policies that allow parents and students the opportunity to choose the type of education that fosters success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Cobra Moto, a manufacturer of premium race-ready mini motocross bikes for youth riders that are proudly made in the U.S.A.

Designed and produced in Hillsdale, Michigan, Cobra bikes were recently ridden to victory by three youth national champions at the 2013 Red Bull Amateur National Motocross Championship in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. While I know the folks at Cobra were very excited at the results, this success doesn't come as a surprise to anyone in the motorcycling community.

Since 1993, Cobra has consistently delivered the most successful line of competition mini bikes in the country. Riders have driven these iconic little yellow bikes to more than 300 titles, a testament to the high standards Cobra demands from each one of their machines.

In this 20th year of producing quality competition dirt bikes, I offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes to the people of Cobra and the riders who enjoy their quality machines.

Mr. Speaker, I've spent the last few weeks back home listening to my constituents and hearing their stories of just how tough times are in the Obama economy. And what's the latest economic news? More of the same.

Another disappointing jobs report was issued by the Labor Department last week. We learned that far too many of our fellow Americans have simply given up looking for work--the labor force participation rate is at its lowest since 1979. Is this what Americans should come to expect? Is this the ``new normal''?

Americans deserve better than this mediocre economy. House Republicans remain committed to fostering a strong economy and more secure future. Our plan revolves around more jobs and expanding opportunity instead of stifling it. That's how we will get our economy back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2747) to amend title 40, United States Code, to transfer certain functions from the Government Accountability Office to the Department of Labor relating to the processing of claims for the payment of workers who were not paid appropriate wages under certain provisions of such title.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2747.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2747,

and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

With our Nation facing difficult challenges at home and abroad, it is important we continue the work the American people sent us here to do. That includes pursuing commonsense reforms that will make the Federal Government more efficient and a better steward of taxpayer dollars. The legislation we are considering today is a small, yet important, part of that effort.

Approximately one out of every five workers is employed by a Federal contractor. Drawing on the strength and expertise of the private sector workforce to complete Federal projects has helped deliver better results at a more competitive price for taxpayers.

A number of laws govern the wages workers on Federal projects receive. For example, the Davis-Bacon Act requires Federal contractors to pay workers the local prevailing wage. Additionally, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act ensures these workers receive 1\1/ 2\ times their basic rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week. Both laws have played a central role in Federal contracting for decades. However, both are plagued by inefficiencies. The Department is responsible for enforcing these laws; yet the Government Accountability Office has long been a middleman in an overly bureaucratic claims process.

Here is how the current process works:

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Labor first determines whether workers have failed to receive their proper wages, and it calculates the amount of pay they are due. Next, the Department forwards to GAO a report that states the names of underpaid employees and the amounts they are each owed. Funds from the relevant contracting agencies are delivered to GAO, which then deposits the money into an account at the Treasury Department. Based upon claims forms submitted by affected workers, GAO transmits payment requests to Treasury, which disburses directly to workers their unpaid wages. It should be noted that GAO has no authority to overturn or to even challenge the Department's judgment in this area.

As a result of this lengthy back and forth between numerous Federal entities, workers can experience delays in receiving their correct wages, and taxpayers are forced to support an unnecessarily complex process. I think we can all agree we can do better.

H.R. 2747 is commonsense and bipartisan legislation that would transfer GAO's administrative duties under these two laws to the proper Federal agency, which is the Department of Labor. GAO has requested this relief and believes it will encourage more efficiency within the Federal Government. Furthermore, it will free up time and resources at GAO that can be better spent fulfilling its central mission of investigating waste and abuse in the Federal Government.

By moving wage claims adjustments for federally contracted workers to the Department of Labor, we can ensure workers receive their pay in a timelier manner while providing greater efficiency. Quite simply, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a win for workers and for taxpayers.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2747, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time on this issue, and I would be glad to close.

I want to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) as well, not only for his support of the legislation, but for his leadership on this issue. As members of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, we are privileged to oversee a number of Federal laws and agencies that directly affect the lives of workers and their families--the basis for this country's greatness.

The Davis-Bacon Act is one law in particular that I believe is in need of additional reform. Independent reports have highlighted administrative challenges facing the law that result in workers being shortchanged and taxpayers being overcharged on Federal construction projects.

I know there are sharp differences over what, if any, Davis-Bacon reform would look like, but I believe we've demonstrated today, Mr. Speaker, how incremental, yet important, change can occur when we work together in good faith on behalf of the American people. At the very least, I hope we can continue to discuss these issues with one another, thereby bringing us closer to the common ground that is necessary to move this country forward.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2747, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the First Amendment as well--as a patriot, as a pastor, as a Member of Congress.

Joseph Stalin, an enemy of America, once said it this way:

America is like a healthy body and its resistance is

threefold: its patriotism, its morality, its spiritual life.

If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse

from within.

President Eisenhower, a patriot, said it this way in October of 1954:

Atheism substitutes men for the Supreme Creator, and this

leads inevitably to domination and dictatorship. We must

jealously guard our foundation in faith, for on it rests the

ability of the American individual to live and thrive in this

blessed land and to be able to help other less fortunate

people to achieve freedom and individual opportunity. These

we take for granted, but to others they are often only a

wistful dream. ``In God We Trust,'' often have we heard the

words of this wonderful American motto. Let us make sure that

familiarity has not made them meaningless for us. We carry

the torch of freedom as a sacred trust for all mankind. We do

not believe that God intended the light He created to be put

out by men.