Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the last speaker for the minority was complaining of these small continuing resolutions because they pick and choose which groups will get funded. That is our exact problem with putting this Affordable Care Act into place--the President's picking and choosing. We hear it's the law of the land; but, actually, the President is deciding what parts of the law of the land he wants to put in place. He says he is for the working man, and he says he is for the middle class; but, in fact, he has exempted Big Business, and he has exempted many of his friends in the unions and so forth.

So if this law is so wonderful and if we are going to put it in place and if, as you're saying, we want a whole CR that funds the whole government, let's put the whole thing in place that funds every aspect the law was designed to apply to. Let's put the whole law in effect. If it's the law of the land, let's treat it like the law of the land with no exemptions and no waivers. Let's put it into effect exactly like it's written.

Mr. Speaker, my friends across the aisle like to say ``therefore, the working class,'' but their actions speak more loudly than their words.

The working man just got a $100 a month pay cut with the expiration of the payroll tax cut. The President's war on coal will deny our cheapest fuel and will increase American families' monthly utility bills by another $50 a month. The administration's energy policy is designed to drive up costs at the pump--over $1 a gallon in the last 4 years--costing the average working family $150 per month. And now comes ObamaCare.

Forbes Magazine estimates that medical insurance will average 90 percent more for men and 60 percent more for women, costing families hundreds of additional dollars per month. Sooner or later, these $100s per month add up.

The administration has a plan: break the middle class with taxes and higher costs so we'll all be dependent on the government. But hey, at least then we'll get subsidized government health insurance.

Mr. Speaker, my friends across the aisle like to say they're for the middle class, but I can't hear what they say because their actions speak far more loudly.

The working man just got a $100-per-month pay cut with the expiration of the payroll tax cut. The President's war on coal will deny our power companies the cheapest fuel and will increase American families' monthly utility bills by another $50 a month.

The administration's energy policy is designed to drive up cost at the pump, up over $1 a gallon in the last 4 years, costing the average American family $150 per month. Every day folks will pay more for medical equipment which they desperately need with the medical device tax.

Now comes ObamaCare. Forbes magazine estimates that medical insurance will cost 90 percent more for the average man, 60 percent more for the average woman, which will cost families in South Carolina hundreds of additional dollars per month. And if they don't want to buy health insurance, they will be fined.

It appears that my colleagues across the aisle have a plan, Mr. Speaker: break the middle class with taxes and higher costs on necessities, and then they will take care of us as we will all be dependent on the government. But, hey, then at least we will get subsidized health insurance.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Jonathan ``Tig'' Willard from Loris, South Carolina today for his commendable bravery and act of selflessness. While driving to training camp for the Tennessee Titans this past Tuesday, he noticed a car with black smoke billowing out of it. Jonathan signaled for the car to pull over and helped to rescue the driver, her three children, and her dog as the car was engulfed in flames.

A native of the Seventh District of South Carolina, Jonathan is an exemplary football player who led Clemson University's defense in tackles last season and now plays at the professional level. However, it is an act like this--one that puts the safety of others before the safety of self--that demonstrates Jonathan's compassion and character. I commend his efforts, as this is a reminder that we should all keep our eyes open for ways to be a Good Samaritan and help our fellow neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, Democratic Senator Max Baucus was dead-on when he called the

President's health care law a ``train wreck.'' Its effects are becoming clear and undeniable. It is stifling economic growth and job creation, premiums are skyrocketing, and record numbers of employers are delaying hiring or hiring part time to avoid the employer mandate.

I recently heard from a hardworking small business owner, Sue Lee, who owns a hardware store in Latta, South Carolina. Since the passage of ObamaCare, she has seen her insurance premium balloon to more than $2,100 per month, or $26,000 per year, for three employees. That's outrageous. How can we expect our small businesses to grow and expand when they are forced to comply with more and more burdensome Federal regulation?

I am so glad we have the Federal Government to dictate to we helpless citizens which coverages we need. We can't be trusted to make that choice ourselves. How can we expect our small businesses to hire when they can't afford to buy maternity coverage on every employee, regardless of their age, mental health coverage on every employee? And substance abuse coverage on every employee is mandated by this ill- conceived and poorly drafted law.

The American economy would have already recovered if we could get the Federal Big Brother out of the way. I'm glad we delayed the employer and individual mandates, but the only way to relieve this law's enormous drag on our economy and get hardworking Americans back to work is full repeal.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I recognize the Causey Family today, as they have lost a husband, father, son, and friend. Deputy Sheriff Tim Causey passed away on Sunday from complications he suffered from bravely fighting the devastating fire in Windsor Green this past March.

Beloved by family, friends, and co-workers, Mr. Causey served Horry County with a fervor and commitment that residents can only hope to find in a first responder. As we look back on his 25 years of service, his bravery and selflessness in times of crisis will not be forgotten.

On behalf of Horry County and the Seventh Congressional District of South Carolina, I ask that we remember today Deputy Sheriff Tim Causey for his service and ultimate sacrifice. Wrenzie and I hope that they may find peace in a time of sorrow, clarity in a time of distress, and strength through the support of family and friends.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my support for this legislation. American competitiveness is my primary focus. The nameplate on my desk says: jobs, jobs, jobs.

We've created a regulatory morass in this country that stifles progress on all fronts. We've got to get the government off the backs of our job creators.

When I hear that this project has been studied for more than 1,700 days--5 years, that it would create more than 40,000 jobs at a time when jobs are so desperately needed, and that it would drive down the cost of energy and cut our oil imports from OPEC in half, and that the State Department has reviewed it and found that it exhibits no significant environmental hazards, and yet the administration still refuses to issue the permits, I'm appalled.

We can study this project forever, and we will never resolve every possible question. This used to be a can-do country. If the administration will not make a decision, Congress should. Let's stop wringing our hands, approve this project and move forward.

I rise in support of the Keystone pipeline. The Keystone pipeline represents 40,000 American jobs. It's been under study for 1,700 days--5 years.

It is a project that could drive down the cost of energy, cut our imports from our enemies in half. It could invigorate our economy, and yet, we continue to study and study. We could study this program for decades, and we'll never resolve all the issues.

It's time to move forward. We're the greatest country on Earth. Nobody can beat us if we stand toe-to-toe, but we've got a noose of regulation around our own necks, and we're strangling ourselves.

It's time to fish or cut bait. Let's make a decision. Let's move forward with this very valuable project.

Mr. Speaker, before coming to Washington, I was involved in many organizations working to better the community, including being president of the Myrtle Beach Haven Homeless Shelter. For this reason, the organization New Directions, which gives aid to the homeless in the city of Myrtle Beach, SC, is close to my heart. New Directions provides services to sustain the homeless person and give him or her means to become self-reliant.

Life Line is a new program being implemented by New Directions. Life Line's emergency shelter accommodates women and children that have experienced domestic violence. The shelter aids in helping its residents create a new life and get back on their feet. It opened April 12, 2013 and has helped twenty-six women and children thus far.

I am fully supportive of New Directions and its program Life Line. Mr. Speaker, I deeply appreciate the work that they do to protect and help the homeless and victims of domestic violence.

Mr. Speaker, I want to start out by saying I ran a small business for 25 years before entering Congress, and I always carried health insurance on my employees. But the required coverages under ObamaCare are far in excess of the coverage I ever carried. We never carried mental health coverage. We didn't carry substance abuse coverage. We didn't carry vision or dental.

Guess what, employers? You won't have that choice anymore. The Federal Government will dictate to you what coverages you must carry on your employees.

My colleagues across the aisle speak about jobs. This act has had a horrible stifling effect on hiring in this economy. Seventy percent of small businesses indicate this act has created doubt as to whether or not they will hire additional employees. Small businesses are cutting hours of their employees from 40 back to 30 so that they won't be considered full-time employees under this act.

Hardworking Americans are suffering today because of this act. Doctors, physicians, are already dropping out of the system. It's been estimated that up to 15 percent of hospitals will close if this act is ultimately implemented.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this may be the 37th time that the House has taken up the repeal of ObamaCare, but this is my first time; and I and the constituents that sent me here want my vote recorded to repeal this poorly crafted, job-killing law.

Last week, colleges in my district graduated more than 2,000 students eager to enter our workforce. These week-old college graduates in my district will be met with real-life challenges immediately thanks to the President's health care law. Over 50 percent of recent college graduates are unemployed. Five years after the recession, national unemployment remains unacceptably high.

Seventy percent of small businesses cite the Affordable Care Act as a reason not to hire. Businesses large and small are considering cutting their workforce and reducing hours to avoid the requirements of the Affordable Care Act in January.

Working families in America are hurting, and the Affordable Care Act is adding to their pain. The CBO estimates that 30 percent of employers will stop offering employer-sponsored health insurance next year.

I rise to speak about an entirely different topic today. And my topic pales in comparison to the death of children at the hands of this awful clinic, so please excuse me for the diversion.

What I rise to speak about today is the sequester and the effects on the Federal Aviation Administration. You see, in my State of South Carolina, our budget is actually less than it was 5 years ago. Whereas, in the last 5 years, the Federal budget has risen by 29 percent. In a time when hardworking Americans are tightening their belts, when State and local governments are tightening their belts, the Federal budget is up 29 percent. We run record deficit after record deficit. Yet with sequester, we're seeking a 2.4 percent cut--after a 29 percent rise in the last 5 years, 2.4 percent.

My State has cut its budget with minimal disruption because the Governor and the legislature have worked together to do exactly that, minimize disruption. This administration, on the other hand, is making every effort to make this 2.4 percent cut as painful as they possibly can.

Mr. Speaker, this week, as hardworking Americans across the country submit their tax returns, we are all reminded of the heavy burden placed upon all taxpayers by our country's broken tax system.

Like a snowball rolling down a hill, the United States Tax Code has grown and bloated itself over time, resulting in an avalanche of overregulation coming down on the heads of American taxpayers.

There have been over 4,400 changes to the Tax Code in the last decade alone. That averages to more than one per day. Is it any surprise, then, that the United States boasts more tax preparers than we do police officers and firefighters combined?

We're facing a four-alarm tax emergency in this country, and the House Republicans have a plan to address it. We stand committed to fundamental, comprehensive tax reform that makes our Tax Code fairer and simpler for all Americans, a Tax Code that makes our corporations more competitive, that will stop the hemorrhaging of American jobs overseas and bring jobs back to our shores.

Tax reform would increase hardworking Americans' take-home pay so that they have more money to live on, instead of the government having more of their money to spend.

Mr. Speaker, that's what American taxpayers deserve.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm honored to serve on the House Budget Committee. I'm honored to advocate on behalf of this budget.

There's one thing for sure: we can't keep going the way we are. If you look around the world, if you look at countries like Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and Greece, you will see the consequence of unrestrained spending.

The Republican plan balances in 10 years. The plan offered by the Senate never balances. And when we say ``balance,'' we mean matching revenue to spending, not spending more than you take in. When our colleagues across the aisle talk about balance, they use it as a code word for a tax increase.

The Republican plan offers protections across the spectrum of American life. It offers our seniors the protection of making our promises good in Social Security and Medicare. No one will deny--OMB will tell you and the CBO will tell you--the Medicare trust fund is going broke. It will expire in 11 short years; and the longer we wait to deal with that, the worse the problem becomes.

It protects our middle class through tax reform and through repealing the

ObamaCare law with its onerous regulations and taxes. It will structure our system for economic growth. We will stop hemorrhaging American jobs overseas, and we will bring American jobs back to these shores. It's one thing if we lose jobs because of low wages overseas. We don't ever want to compete in that arena. It's another if we lose jobs because our government is inefficient, bloated, and expensive.

Finally, it protects our most vulnerable. It protects our young people. I agree with then-Senator Obama when he said it was immoral to continue to incur these massive debts. Of course, since he said it, our debt is multiples of what he was decrying at that time.

We are piling mountains and mountains of debt on our children and our grandchildren to fuel our addiction to spending. It's got to stop, and it's got to stop now.

I'm proud to stand for this Republican budget, and I urge its passage.