Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. I believe strongly that every human life should be protected, whether born or yet to be born. As the father of two adopted children this issue is very personal to me; every day that I spend with my children reminds me that all lives are precious. Protecting the lives of innocent children should be the responsibility of Congress and this legislation represents an important step in the right direction.

Currently, we rely on a patchwork of ``riders'' to appropriations legislation or Executive orders to protect American taxpayers from funding abortions. As the debate on the health care legislation transpired during the last Congress, we saw first-hand the problem with continuing to rely on this draconian process. Instead of relying on the whims of the annual appropriations process or any easily revocable order by the President, it is time to put into law the prohibition against using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions. The Federal government should not, directly or indirectly, provide any funding for abortion services and this legislation is critical to ensuring these prohibitions exist.

As you can see, I believe one of the largest responsibilities of Congress is to provide the utmost protection for our nation's children--including the lives of the unborn. It is time that we enact one, consistent policy to eliminate any problems or confusion about abortion funding in future legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of one of my constituents, Susan Sordoni, as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Eastern Pennsylvania/Delaware Region Anti- Defamation League.

Susan Sordoni graduated from College Misericordia in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in biology. She went on to conduct her post-Graduate work in biology at Wilkes University in 1968 and 1969. In 1980 and 1981, Susan pursued Liberal Studies at the New School for Social Research in 1980 and 1981.

With the support of her family, Susan returned to school to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a physician. She attended Wilkes University in 1991 and 1992 to pursue Post Baccalaureate studies. At age 45, Susan took the Medical College Admission Test. She was accepted at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She graduated in 1997, and in November of 2000, she completed a family practice residency through Hahnemann Medical School.

Upon opening her practice, Susan saw a great need for medical services for those with little or no insurance. In response to this need, Susan founded the Volunteers in Medicine Medical Clinic in Wilkes-Barre. She has served as the Chairperson of the organization, as well as a Physician volunteer, since the organization's founding. The clinic has served over 4,000 patients in the Wyoming Valley and continues to expand its services to include a dental clinic.

Susan currently serves at the Medical Director for Home Hospice in Kingston. Susan, along with her husband Andy, founded Circle of Friends at Misericordia University, to help mentally challenged women as they transition into the work place.

Susan continues to devote her time to many community organizations including the Osterhout Free Library, Pennsylvania Ballet, Commonwealth Medical College of Pennsylvania, University of Scranton, Commonwealth Commission of the Bicentennial of the United States and the Scranton Diocese Special Education Program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Susan Sordoni. Dr. Sordoni continues to serve the people of the Wyoming Valley. She is a remarkable woman with strong commitments to her family, her career, and her community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Bicentennial Charter Day of Lycoming College. Chartered on April 2, 1811, Lycoming College is a national liberal arts and science institution located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The College is one of the fifty oldest colleges in the nation.

Lycoming College was founded in 1812 as the Williamsport Academy for the Education of Youth in the English and other Languages, in the Useful Arts, Science and Literature. From its inception, the Academy educated both men and women, and has provided students with financial aid.

The Reverend Benjamin Crever is credited with founding Lycoming College. Crever was a circuit-riding Methodist preacher who alerted the Baltimore Conference to the sale of the Academy, and in 1847 the Baltimore Conference purchased the Academy, subsequently opening the Williamsport Dickinson Seminary. Of the four schools Rev. Crever founded, Lycoming is the only one left operating as an educational institution.

During the term of the school's ninth President, Dr. John W. Long, Lycoming College became an accredited institution. In 1929, Williamsport Dickinson Seminary became the first accredited junior college in Pennsylvania, taking the name Williamsport Dickinson Junior College. The College then became a four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences in 1947, still under the leadership of Dr. Long. Lycoming College took its name in 1947 with reference to the local county and Native American word meaning ``great stream.''

In 1989, Lycoming College President Dr. James E. Douthat ushered in an era of increased enrollment and revised curriculum. Today, the school has more than 16,000 alumni and is recognized as a tier-one institution by U.S. News and World Report. Lycoming College provides undergraduate education to more than 1,400 students, offering over 30 majors culminating in a Bachelor's Degree of either Arts or Sciences.

Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of Lycoming College, it is with great pride that I rise today to honor this institution of higher learning on the anniversary of its Bicentennial Charter Day. Lycoming College's commitment to education for all, regardless of gender or financial situation, is to be commended. The College has continued to grow in influence and educational prowess since the Charter on April 2, 1811.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of my constituent, Mr. Sanford Beecher to celebrate 50 years of practicing law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sanford D. Beecher, Jr. was born on August 13, 1932. ``Sandy'' as he is more commonly known, was raised in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and attended The Episcopal Academy.

After high school Sandy attended Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Upon graduation from Amherst, Sandy served our country in the U.S. Army's European Occupation of Germany from 1954-1956. After returning home, Sandy enrolled in the law program at the University of Pennsylvania, being admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1961.

Sandy began his law career at Duane Morris & Heckscher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being admitted to the bar in 1961. Today he is ``of counsel'' to Klemeyer, Farley & Bernathy LLC in Milford, Pennsylvania.

Sandy married Sally Coder in 1954, and is the proud father of five children: Sharon, Susan, Sanford III, Stacey, and Sarah, and has been blessed with eleven grandchildren: Ryan, April, Tess, Gabe, Luke, Christian, Corey, Clayton, Emily, Claire, and Julia.

Sandy is an active member of the community having served as President of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, the Pike County Ducks Unlimited, and the Pike County Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Mercy Community Hospital and is an active member of The Church of the Good Shepherd, St. John the Evangelist.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sandy Beecher on his 50 year law career and ask my colleagues to join me in praising his commitment to his family, his community, and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, on March 9, I was unexpectedly detained and missed rollcall vote No. 166. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011. This legislation would repeal one of many burdensome requirements being imposed on Americans, especially the job creators, by the health care law passed last year. This 1099 mandate highlights the problem with ignoring the voice of the American people and passing a ``bill so you can find out what is in it.''

Small business owners from Northeastern Pennsylvania have found out what was in the health care bill and they are not happy:

Small business owner, Arthur Borden of Lewisburg, states, ``It's hard to believe that elected representatives of our people could be so irresponsible to allow such a ridiculous provision as the 1099 mandate included in the recently passed health care law. As the owner of a small business which is already overburdened by rules, regulations, and rolls of red tape, I am appalled and frightened by the prospects of what such an ill conceived law will do.''

Small business owner, Bruce Brown of Clarks Summit, states, ``Businesses are already overburdened with tax paperwork and reporting requirements, so the additional requirements included in the PPACA will only increase the cost and complexity of complying with the tax code.''

Small business owner, Thomas Musser of Mifflinburg, simply states, ``I do not support the 1099 tax reporting requirement.''

The Pennsylvania based business networking organization, SMC Business Councils, released a survey of its member businesses which found that their members file roughly 10 forms per year; under the new requirement from the health care law, the members estimated that would jump to more than 200 a year. The new costs associated with complying with this mandate would cripple small businesses across my district and the Commonwealth.

I join with my constituents and all small business owners throughout the nation in support of repealing the onerous 1099 reporting requirement. Furthermore, this debate is yet another reminder as to why we need to repeal the jobs-destroying health care bill and begin the process of methodically and thoughtfully reforming the health care system in an open and transparent manner, taking into account viewpoints from both sides of the aisle. Most importantly though, we must take into account the voice of the American people. This was omitted from the process a year ago, and today we begin process of cleaning up the mess that occurs when this omission happens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of my constituent, Mr. Steward Rosengrant, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Steward was born on February 11, 1931 on a farm in Elmhurst, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.

Steward, one of eight children, spent all of his childhood on the family farm. He graduated in 1949 from the Lake Vocational High School. Upon his graduation, Steward was hired full-time as a milk tester in Bradford County. He attended Pennsylvania State University classes focusing on milk testing and feed management. Steward is also a veteran, having served our country for two years in the United States Army.

In 1957, Steward became a Dairy Herd Improvement Association tester and he served as President of the Association for two terms and retired from the Association after 44 years of dedicated service.

Steward Rosengrant is deeply committed to his community in Bradford County. He held the position of Bradford County Manager for 28 years. He served as Treasurer of the Bradford County Dairy Promotion Board for 32 years. And he was actively involved in the Troy Fair where he worked at the promotion booth, dipped ice cream, made milk shakes, and retrieved supplies for the booths. Steward served as the President of the Wysox Volunteer Fire Company for 10 years in addition to serving on several committees. He has also been a member of the Wysox Ambulance Association for 15 years and currently serves as the Director. Steward has been a member of the Towanda Methodist Church for 40 years and served on many committees.

Steward married his wife, Barbara, on November 11, 1965. The couple has lived in their home in Bradford County since 1965 where they raised 4 children and now have 11 grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to honor Steward Rosengrant on his 80th birthday and ask my colleagues to join me in praising his commitment to his family, his community, and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 58th Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Mills.

Esther Mills, born Esther Jean House, is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Raymond House of Towanda, Pennsylvania. Silas Leo Mills is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Mills also of Towanda. Prior to their union in marriage, Esther attended Troy High School and Leo attended New Albany High School. Leo entered the United States Army during the Korean War and in September 1952, he was honorably discharged after serving our country for three years.

The couple was then joined in marriage at 2:00 p.m. on February 1, 1953 at the Monroeton Methodist Church. Reverend Glenn Stewart performed the union and Mrs. Fay Arnold provided the music for the ceremony, ``I Love You Truly'' and the ``Bridal March.'' The sister of the bride, Mrs. Kenneth Bouse, served as the matron of honor, and Mr. Kenneth Bouse served as the best man. The groom's brother, Stanley Mills, and the groom's cousin, Vern Perry Jr., served as ushers for the ceremony. The Church was decorated with white gladiolas and ferns and the reception was held right there in the basement of the Church.

Following their union, the couple spent their first year of marriage living in Buffalo, New York while Leo worked at Western Electric. The couple then moved back to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and built their home on a farm in Sheshequin Township where they raised their six children: Marsha, Connie, Colleen, Lewis, Silas, and Marlene.

Leo and Esther worked together to maintain the farm and the couple raised veal calves as well as dairy cows. In addition to maintaining the farm, Leo worked for many years at Ingersoll Rand in Athens. Esther worked for a number of years at JV Discount in Wysox and later, at Dupont in Towanda.

Both Leo and Esther are proud members of the Towanda American Legion and its Auxiliary and the Northeast Memorial VFW Post 6824 and its Auxiliary. They remain very active in the community and participate in the annual Veterans Appreciation Day Picnic.

Leo and Esther are much beloved by their family that has grown now to include their six adult children as well as eleven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, Leo and Esther Mills are now married 58 years. I am proud to rise today in their honor and salute their commitment to one another, their growing family, their community, and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Thelma Brotzman on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

Born Thelma Aileen Green on her family's farm in Auburn Township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania on February 3, 1921, Mrs. Brotzman is the daughter of the late Bruce and Edna Green. Mrs. Brotzman began her education in a one-room schoolhouse in Beech Grove and graduated from Laceyville High School in 1938.

On June 25, 1938, she married Mr. Elston S. Brotzman and in 1948, after Mr. Brotzman's service to our nation as a member of the Army Air Corps in World War II, the couple settled in Silvara, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Brotzman has been an active member of her community. Since 1940 she has been a member of the Silvara Ladies Aid Society and for many years she was a member of the committee for the Oldest House in Laceyville, a wonderfully preserved monument to our region's people and pioneer past that is regarded as the oldest frame house in four counties. Mrs. Brotzman also planned events for the Oldest House and served as a tour guide. Amongst her friends and family Mrs. Brotzman is also known as a skilled gardener and bird watcher and she is well known in her community from her many years of work at Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock.

Most importantly, Mrs. Brotzman is a proud parent, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is the mother of six children; Tina, Stephen, John, Julie, Jeffery, and Lee. Mrs. Brotzman also adores her 13 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to rise today to honor Mrs. Thelma Brotzman on the occasion of her 90th birthday. I am proud to have the opportunity to salute her commitment to her growing family, her community, and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this evening to applaud my good colleague and friend from Pennsylvania. In fact, our districts border one another. And we have the same philosophies because we're so close--our districts overlap. We share a couple of counties. And we both share the sentiments of our constituents, the people who voted for us, the people who didn't vote for us. We have a job to do. We've been hired and directed to be sent to Washington and very clearly told what we need to do, and that is, to continue to cut taxes, cut the spending, and downsize Washington, which a combination of those three will create jobs.

Like my good friend from Pennsylvania, we need to get back to a simple time when we look at the Constitution, we apply the Constitution, we follow the Constitution, and in doing that, I'm confident that we are on the right track. I know our constituents from Williamsport may be watching us and from around the district. And I want to tell those individuals, as well as anyone else watching around the country, that we work for you. We know what the message was, and we have started that process.

I look forward to, as my good colleague does, us reaching across the aisle, working with our colleagues there to improve the quality of life for people in this country, to make sure that our children hopefully have a better life than we do, and to make certain that we do not strap them with this unbelievable cost and debt that I'm afraid if we do not take control of this now, we will absolutely lose total control of it. And we just have no idea of how far our finances can be plunged into total chaos.

So, again, I want to thank my colleague for having me here. I'm going to sit and listen to more of this debate. I appreciate the time.

I want to say hello to my friends back in my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the people in the 10th Congressional District, and also my friends in the adjoining district of my good colleague from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of rhetoric from my colleagues across the aisle opposing this legislation because of a select number of insurance market provisions included in the massive, overreaching health care law. As a two-time cancer survivor and the father of a daughter living with cystic fibrosis, what is rhetorical for many of my colleagues is a reality for my family. There is no doubt that reforms are needed to ensure that individuals with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable insurance. In fact, we can probably all agree that there are many aspects of the health care system that were and are in desperate need of reform.

However, the law enacted nearly a year ago is the wrong solution to our health care system's numerous problems. The law will raise taxes by over $500 billion. It includes an unconstitutional individual mandate on all Americans requiring the purchase of health insurance coverage. The law will cost millions of American jobs and hits small businesses with more paperwork, more bureaucratic red tape, and less opportunity for growth. Finally, the law cuts Medicare by about half a trillion dollars which, even the President's own actuaries have said, could jeopardize access for seniors.

America has sent a clear message to Washington, and today we will show that we have heard that message. We must repeal the detrimental health care law and focus on the real problem facing our nation's health care system, the issue of cost. We can reduce health care costs by enacting meaningful medical liability reform, allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines, and giving individuals the same tax relief as corporations for the purchase of health insurance. Once the health care law is repealed, I look forward to moving forward with alternative health care reform legislation that will achieve these goals. If we focus our efforts on reforms, such as these, that lower costs, we will expand access to affordable care without jeopardizing the system which has allowed our nation to have the best health care in the entire world. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2 and H. Res. 9 and begin the process of enacting true health care reform.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my heartfelt sorrow for the tragic and senseless attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords, her staff and constituents. I especially want to offer my condolences to the families of Christina Taylor Green, Judge John Roll, Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard, and Gabriel Zimmerman. Their memories will live on in the hearts of all Americans.

I would also like to send my best wishes to those who were wounded during the attack, particularly our colleague Representative Giffords. We hope for your speedy and complete recovery.

Also important to remember are the heroic actions of the individuals who put their lives on the line to bring down the gunman before he had the opportunity to reload his weapon. Without your quick thinking and brave intervention this tragedy could have been much worse.

Finally, it is important to recognize the emergency responders, nurses, doctors, and all medical personnel who have worked tirelessly throughout these difficult times. Your efforts undoubtedly saved lives and your dedication cannot be praised enough.

Again, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.