Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, 20 States including my home State of Georgia are experiencing a medical liability crisis. Hospitals are shutting their doors, doctors are leaving the profession, and patients are the ones left out in the cold.

OB-GYN doctors and some surgeons are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in insurance premiums. One-third of the OB doctors in my State no longer deliver babies because delivering a baby is defined as a ``high-risk procedure.'' Other specialists no longer cover emergency procedures.

One tragic story I am reminded of is a man who came to the emergency room after a fall with a subdural hematoma, or ``bleeding on the brain.'' What is required to treat this is a relatively simple procedure performed by a neurosurgeon to relieve pressure on the brain. Instead of being saved, he died; and he died because there were no neurosurgeons at the hospital due to frivolous lawsuits and skyrocketing insurance rates.

Mr. Speaker, court rooms are interfering with our operating rooms and are threatening health care quality and raising the cost of health care for all Americans.

The HEALTH Act puts patients first and will protect our health care system for us and for our children and for our grandchildren. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5. Vote for the HEALTH Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise in support of the rule and the bill. This debate, this issue is about patients and the principal challenge that we have. What is the principal challenge that we have? I believe it is that it is imperative that we provide a system which allows patients to have access to the highest level of health care, and we are losing this across this Nation for a variety of reasons, but not the least of which is the lottery mentality of our court system.

Our system is woefully broken. As a physician for over 25 years, as an orthopedic surgeon, I have seen a vast array of medical and surgical problems. I have also stood back and been astounded, astounded by certain surprising occurrences.

One was with a patient who was cared for by one of my partners. Not too long ago, across this land, we asked patients to identify whether their surgery was to be on the right side or the left side so that we did not operate on the wrong leg or the wrong arm. And we asked the patient in the preoperative area to identify which side was the correct side. This one patient marked the incorrect side. The patient did. He marked the wrong side on purpose. On purpose.

Thankfully, thankfully there were enough checks and balances in place in this hospital that it was caught just before the surgery began. When asked why he marked the wrong side, he said, I thought I'd take a chance and see if I could make some money.

This is the lottery mentality. This is the climate that we are in out there. Our system is woefully broken. The mentality in the system that we have right now drives hospitals to close, and it drives doctors to end their practice. And patients, then, lose the ability to see their doctor.

To ensure Americans have access to the highest-quality care, I encourage my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, sometimes I get tired of all the bad news. You come here and you listen to the speeches that go before the House and you think, my goodness gracious, there must be all sorts of bad news out there.

When I go home and I talk to constituents at home about any issue, I often lead off with saying, ``I am going to have to tell you some things that you haven't seen on television and that you haven't read in the newspaper,'' because the good news, the good news that is happening here, oftentimes gets smothered with all the bad news and all the political sniping that goes on.

I was pleased to hear the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake) just now get up and demonstrate her passion, her passion, for principles that we hold dear here in the United States. I was also wonderfully pleased to hear the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) earlier talk about the importance of health care and Health Savings Accounts, an exciting proposal, an exciting policy that we have here, that we have adopted in the Congress, that will allow individuals greater choice in health care. That is good news. That is good news.

When I read my local paper, I have got to get way down in that paper before I see good news. In terms of politics, all you see is who is fighting whom and what will not happen. It is remarkable.

So I am here to talk about a little good news today, because we have good news that we need to spread across this Nation.

There has been a remarkable turnaround in this Nation's economy. The policies that this Congress have adopted have helped our Nation recover from attacks at home, recover from corporate scandals, recover from the bursting of the tech bubble and the incredible demands that we have facing us as a Nation in the War on Terror. These are real challenges, incredible challenges, but we are a strong and a vibrant and a resourceful Nation, and we can overcome these challenges, and, frankly, any other that folks throw in our way.

But what are the principles that are guiding us? Strong, common sense, conservative principles that foster entrepreneurship and almost guarantee success. These are the true engines, entrepreneurship, of job growth and strength in our economy.

From tax relief, to a responsible decrease in areas of our Federal budget, this Republican major is leading the way with a return to fiscal discipline and economic growth as our guideline. And what are the results? What are the results? There used to be somebody on television that said, ``Let's go the videotape.'' Here we say, ``Let's go to the chart.''

Look at this chart. This is May 2003 and these are the number of jobs that have been created in this Nation. May 2003. And look where we are in June 2005. It is a steady increase in growth in the number of jobs. That is exciting news. That is good news. Have you seen it in your newspaper? Have you heard about it on television or on the radio? Probably not. But that is good news, and it is good news that is happening because of the policies that this Congress has adopted.

More Americans are working now than ever before. More Americans are working than ever before in our Nation's history. Nearly 4 million jobs have been created over the past 2 years. The economy has had job growth, more job growth, 24 straight months. Look at that, 24 straight months. That is good news.

Unemployment is at 5 percent. Say, what is that? Well, it is lower than the averages for the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. Unemployment is at an all-time low, given the averages over the last three decades. Unemployment is down for all levels of education, all races and all ages. This is great news.

So I ask my colleagues and I ask folks back home when they pick up their newspaper, do not look at the front page; go to page 7 or 8 or 9 or further, and you may find some good news there. Those are the kinds of stories that need to be on the front page.

Mr. Speaker, we in Congress here are going to continue to work in a positive and a confident way, one that is trustful of Americans and one that appreciates and believes in America. I look forward to being joined by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to further these common sense principles.

Mr. Speaker, you remember the old Peanuts cartoon strip, and the booth with the sign on it that said, ``The doctor is in''? Well, too many times these days nobody is in at the doctor's office, and we are not currently improving the situation.

Many doctors are being forced to shut their doors and leave the practice of medicine due to skyrocketing insurance premiums. In addition, medical schools are seeing fewer young people apply, not as many people interested in becoming doctors.

This week we will be talking a lot about problems and solutions to the challenges we face in health care, and a few questions we must answer are: Where will our doctors come from? What can we do to increase the number and maintain the quality of those wanting careers in medicine?

Skyrocketing medical school costs raise critical questions. Is the cost of medical schools preventing some of our best and brightest from choosing to become a doctor? How will this affect the quality of care for all patients?

Mr. Speaker, patient choice is about being able to choose the doctor that is right for you. If bright young people are not going into medicine, we all lose. Let us work to improve our system so patients will be able to have the right to choose the doctor that is best for them.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for his work on this issue and so many other important issues.

When I go home, and especially as a physician in Congress, when I go home and talk to small businesses, they say whatever you do, whatever you do, do something about my health care costs. Make it so I can help my employees get insurance.

Mr. Speaker, 45 million uninsured we have heard, 60 percent or more of those are employed currently, and why do they not have health insurance. Either they are self-employed or they work for small businesses so they have to purchase health insurance in the individual market.

So what is the solution? Pool together. Six people can buy insurance for cheaper than one person; 60 cheaper than 6; 600 cheaper than 60; and 6 million cheaper than 600, and it can be quality insurance, and H.R. 525 is a step in the right direction.

We have heard that the number of uninsured will go up, the cost for the premium will go up 23 percent. I will take that wager. This is the same crowd that said welfare reform would not work. I will take that bet.

Once again, the rhetoric we have heard is disgraceful. We have heard that Republicans do not care about women with breast cancer. Come on. What kind of nonsense is this. Who do you think will be making the decisions about the kinds of provisions that will be in that insurance policy? It is patients. It is patients in the associations, and they are much closer I would argue to the individuals making decisions about what is going to be included under those plans than human resources officers in large companies.

H.R. 525 is a step in the right direction. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.

Mr. Speaker, the time to pass pension reform is now.

Today, with Senator Johnny Isakson and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland), I spoke with Delta employees and retirees at the Delta Pension Reform Support Day in Atlanta. The sense of urgency for a solution to our Nation's pension crisis could not have been more evident.

In the face of high fuel costs and a post-9/11 world, financial losses continue to hinder legacy airline carriers' ability to fully fund their pension plans. Having airlines keep their commitments to their employees and not burden taxpayers is what this is all about.

Pension reform is financial security for thousands of airline employees. Retiring with a pension of only a fraction of what you expected is not truly a retirement. A lifetime of work should not be rewarded with wondering how you will make ends meet.

Mr. Speaker, the case has been made. Pension reform is needed now. The employees with whom I spoke today have put forth much effort to make a difference. They realize the crisis their pension plans are in, the American public realizes the crisis that pension plans are in, and it is time we fixed the problem before it is too late and before the burden is put on the backs of the American taxpayers. Without objection.

Mr. Speaker, when President Bush started his first term, he challenged our educational system to end the soft bigotry of low expectations. Some of my colleagues objected to the accountability necessary. Students must be challenged to achieve. We must insist on results in our classrooms rather than accepting the status quo.

Students and teachers in Cobb County, Georgia, have accepted the challenge and excelled. Pope, Walton, Kennesaw Mountain, and Lassiter High Schools have some of the highest percentages of students meeting and exceeding standards in the entire State of Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of all the teachers and students who dedicate themselves and work so diligently to make these achievements. I am excited about what is happening with education in my district. Challenging students to excel and insisting on accountability are the keys. Administrators, parents, teachers and students are to be congratulated. I am proud of the steps the Cobb County school system has taken to provide quality education to our children, some of the best in the State.

Mr. Speaker, like many Americans, I have heard of some activities at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay that have given me some concern. Unlike most Americans, I recently had the opportunity to visit Guantanamo and what I saw with my own eyes was not what I had heard.

All Americans can be proud of our servicemen and women who protect us, including those at Guantanamo. They are our moms and our dads, our brothers and our sisters, our sons and our daughters, and they are running a professional, respectful, orderly and clean detention facility that is vital to our security.

The war on terror continues. The men being held at Guantanamo are constantly being evaluated to determine whether their detention should continue. Are they still a threat, or can they provide further information in the war on terror? For each of them the answer is clearly yes.

Mr. Speaker, General Raymond Hood and all members of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo should be honored and commended for their work and help in protecting all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, in spite of all of what the pessimists have said, and regardless of what the mainstream media reports, the economy has greatly improved.

The facts are plain and simple. Our Nation is producing more, and our government is spending less. The estimated Federal budget deficit is $94 billion less than the earlier prediction, and we have had 14 consecutive quarters of economic growth.

House Republicans have faith in America's ability to grow our economy, and we look to the future with confidence. Our job in Congress is to hold the line on spending. And the unemployment rate has fallen to 5 percent, the lowest since September 2001, with nearly 4 million new jobs created in the last 2 years alone.

Sustained job growth, falling deficits, low interest rates and a booming housing market: America's economy is robust and getting stronger.

With fiscal responsibility and passing pro-growth bills, including the death tax repeal and legal reform, we continue to show our commitment to growing America's economy. But there is still work to do. I am hopeful that Congress will approve the highway and energy bills which will add new jobs to the economy, help improve our roadways, and decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

Mr. Speaker, on June 30, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI's Safe Street Gang Task Force arrested 10 members of the SUR-13 gang on illegal immigration charges in my district. The largest gang bust in Alpharetta, Georgia, history serves to spotlight the ever present need to secure our borders.

These illegal gang members are not only taking American jobs and tax money, they are also taking American lives. These gang members distribute dangerous drugs, they commit murders, assaults, drive-by shootings and auto thefts. We must get serious about immigration reform.

Mr. Speaker, 400,000 illegal aliens who have been ordered deported are still in this country because their deportation orders have not been enforced. In many cases, after being ordered deported by a judge, the illegal alien simply walks out of the courtroom without so much as someone ensuring that they leave the country.

Mr. Speaker, our immigration policies are broken. One of the SUR-13 gang members put it all in perspective. When ordered deported, he said, ``I'll be back. It's so easy. People here are stupid.''

Our borders need to be secured and the time to act is now.

Mr. Speaker, Americans love their teachers, and they want to reward the best. For too long, teachers have been shackled by outdated performance systems that do not necessarily recognize effective teaching. Americans want to reward the best teachers for the work they do.

Yesterday, I introduced a new initiative, the Teacher Incentive Fund, to reward these hardworking educators. This innovative program will allow teachers to be compensated based on performance and accomplishments and how well they are helping students learn and achieve. These voluntary grants would provide incentives for States and local school districts to develop, implement, and maintain systems that reward teachers and principals who deliver on student achievement. The Teacher Incentive Fund will work to put the focus on the most important component in our education, and that is the children. Evidence shows that children achieve most when taught by high-quality teachers.

Most of us remember the teachers who affected us in a remarkable way. For me it was one of my high school teachers, Dr. Welch; and I will never forget how he challenged me to excel. Now let us reward those teachers who reside in every congressional district and challenge our children to excel every day.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, the Nation mourned the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. President Bush declared, ``This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose, it is a desire written in the human heart.''

Today, seven more astronauts will take hold of that desire and follow their heart into space. This return to flight marks a new era of space travel with unparalleled safety measures. As the crew tests new safety techniques and delivers much-needed supplies to the International Space Station, we will all watch. We will watch with excitement and pride, and we will remember. We will remember and honor the lost crew of the space shuttle Columbia.

The Columbia crewmembers valiantly gave their lives pursuing knowledge in our name for space exploration and today, we continue our quest to get our shuttle program back.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to those who worked so hard to get that shuttle program back. To today's crewmembers, Eileen Collins, James Kelly, Charles Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, and Andy Thomas, may they be safe and may their mission be successful. We thank them for their dedication, their determination, and their courage. Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, 146,000 jobs were created in the month of June with the unemployment rate dropping to 5 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since September of 2001. Steady job growth has taken place each month over the last 25 months, and more Americans are working than ever before.

Economic indicators show strong and sustained growth, with real gross domestic product and real income revised up for the first quarter and inflation down. Profits as a share of GDP are up to their highest levels since 1967. Durable goods orders are on the rise, with new orders increasing 5.5 percent for May, the largest increase in 14 months. U.S. manufacturing continues to expand. For the 25th consecutive month, manufacturing expanded, again, in June. Consumer confidence is up, rising nearly 3 points in June to its highest level in 3 years.

Mr. Speaker, the improving economy is not empty rhetoric. What is crystal clear is that the policies of this Congress and this administration are pro-growth, leading the charge, and they are succeeding.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to talk on this bill. I want to commend the chairman for his work in this area and commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), who has labored long and hard on these issues.

Let me make a few points initially before I talk about the merits of the bill. I think it is important for people to appreciate that no one, no one, is interested in trivializing the issue of safety in the workplace. We are interested in improving workplace safety and in holding businesses accountable when they are at fault, not just because. No one is interested in trivializing this issue.

No one is putting a price tag on life. That has been mentioned. No one is putting a price tag on life here, and no one is interested in giving employers a pass.

They also talked about a legal loophole. This is not a legal loophole. What this does is simply put faith in small business, and it shifts the burden of proof to the accuser, where it should be. There was some analogy drawn to a court of law. What this does is shift the burden of proof to the accuser, that is, OSHA, where it should be.

The bill will not weaken OSHA either. It will simply allow small business a fair opportunity for a fair hearing when it is cited, and that is it.

I rise in support of H.R. 739. The magnitude of this bill is huge: 99.7 percent of all businesses are small businesses, 99.7 percent. Seventy-five percent of all new jobs come from small business, three out of every four jobs.

In talking about this before and in researching this, I went back and looked at the original OSHA Act. The original OSHA Act in 1970 said that it was to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the act. The mission today as described by OSHA on their Web site is to ensure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards. Do the Members notice the difference? We have shifted who is setting the standards from Congress to a nonelected body. I think this is a lot of power. A lot of power.

The OSHA budget is $468 million, 1,100 inspectors out of 2,200 employees. A lot of power.

As has been mentioned, currently if a citation is given, the employer is given 15 days to respond. This is an arbitrary time frame. Nobody can argue that. There really is no rationale for those 15 days. Why not 5? Why not 35? Why not make it fair to small business? This is a simple commonsense amendment. Eleven words is all the amendment is, 11 words. It would add that ``unless such failure results from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect,'' 11 little words. A commonsense amendment, which I am sorry to say is oftentimes all too uncommon around here. It does not mean that any citation is null and void. It does not mean that at all. It simply means that small business has an opportunity to get its fair day in court.

So in closing, Madam Speaker, I want to commend once again the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) for the hard work he has done and the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner) for bringing this issue to the floor.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 739 and do it for small business and for the employees and jobs in our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I once again want to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) for his wonderful and excellent work in the area of worker safety and his real

concern for making certain that the rules under which we ask businesses and employees to work are workable.

We are all interested in workplace safety. We have got to get that on the table as often as possible. We are all interested in workplace safety.

Now, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) made some very moving and interesting points. The problem is, they do not have a thing to do with this bill, not a thing to do with this bill. We have just heard that grievances should be heard. That is a concern of somebody opposed to this bill, that grievances should be heard.

Well, we agree. The grievances should be heard. But as you heard from the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), two-thirds of the time the commission has been unable to sit for a variety of reasons, not the least of which they have been unable to seat a quorum.

And then the question is raised: If you cannot sit three, how can you sit five? No, the question is, if you cannot sit two, how could you sit three? Well if you add two people to the commission, to the review commission, then it makes all of the sense in the world that you have made it easier to reach a quorum.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is also important that we keep in mind the magnitude of the discussion that we are talking about and why these things need to be fixed: 99.7 percent of all business is small business, 99.7 percent. And 75 percent of all new jobs in this Nation have been created in small businesses.

Small business owners, they work hard and they drive our economy. In this instance, regarding 740, I rise in support of H.R. 740 because if those small business owners are not working, they are not producing. If they are not producing, then jobs are not being created.

Once cited by OSHA, an employer deserves his or her expeditious day in court. And with the current membership of the review commission, it is often, we have heard extremely often, difficult to end that process. There are some cases that are before the commission right now that have been there for over 10 years, over 10 years. That is not fair to employers; that is not fair to employees.

So I rise and say that increasing the review commission will help small businesses, and it will increase the safety of workers; and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 740.