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(Mr. SCALISE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, just today we got the bad news again that the jobless numbers have gone up, that our unemployment numbers have gone up and that much smaller job increases were created than were expected.
I think, as we continue to see unemployment going up over 9 percent--9.1 percent now according to the latest numbers--it is very clear that the President's spending and borrowing agenda has been a dismal failure. Yet the President continues to go down that path.
It is time for the President to start working with the House Republicans, who have sent jobs bill after jobs bill over to the Senate. For whatever reason, the President and the liberals in the Senate don't want to address the ability that we have presented to create jobs.
One real clear example is in our State of Louisiana where we have lost over 13,000 jobs because of the President's policies, where they won't let our people get back to the work of drilling safely for energy in America.
We don't want to get our energy from Brazil or from
the Middle Eastern countries, many of whom don't like us and who use the billions we send to them to do us harm. We could keep that money here. We could keep those jobs here. There is a plan to do it. Plan after plan has been sent to the Senate, and for whatever reason, the Senate and the President continue to ignore them. Let's finally get our economy back on track.
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(Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, this House has just had a great constitutional debate about the meaning of article I, section 8, where the Founders made it very clear that the war power is placed in the hands of Congress.
This debate that occurred today is not an end. It is a beginning. It is a beginning because we have seen one resolution which derived its presence from a resolution that I put forward on a bipartisan basis. One resolution passed which put the White House on notice that Congress is beginning to take a more appropriate role with respect to the Constitution, and that's a good thing.
But make no mistake that this issue of liberty is not going to go away. With the spending soon approaching $1 billion and with NATO openly talking about the commission of ground troops, we'll be back here another day to consider further what our appropriate constitutional role is.
I want to congratulate Members on both sides of the aisle no matter how you voted. This is our moment to begin to reclaim the Constitution.
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(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, Americans awoke this morning to the heartbreaking news that unemployment has increased to 9.1 percent. The U.S. economy added only 55,000 jobs in the last month. The American people are understandably concerned. But the numbers don't tell the tale. Beneath those numbers are literally millions of American families who meet this morning's headlines with heartbreak and heartache because the opportunities just aren't there.
The truth is more government, more spending, more regulation, and more taxes of the recent past are stifling our recovery. But nothing is stifling our recovery more than runaway spending in Washington, D.C.
Even as we speak today, Congress and this administration are locked in a debate over increasing the Nation's credit card, increasing the debt ceiling. And let me say from my heart, some people don't see the connection between the debate over debt and red ink and the debate over jobs, but they are related.
If we will take the decisive step to put our fiscal house in order, we will restore confidence in capital markets, and businesses and individuals will invest in ways that will put Americans back to work. There should be no debt ceiling increase without real and meaningful cuts in the way we spend the people's money in the short term and the long term. Get spending under control in Washington, D.C., and we will get this economy moving again.
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(Mr. GARAMENDI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, America's intervention in Libya was initially based on the international community's ``Responsibility to Protect,'' a mandate agreed upon in the wake of the horrific Rwanda genocide. This important international doctrine calls for international intervention in a country where a government is unable or unwilling to protect its civilians, or is actively assaulting and killing inhabitants in that country.
I agree with this doctrine and America's initial response to the Qadhafi threat to wipe out a large segment of the Libyan population. For 3 months, the U.S. and U.N. have engaged in military action. At this time, it is unclear if the mission is any longer one that fulfills the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, or if it has changed into a larger and/or different role. Given the continued military action and the lack of clarity of the U.S. mission's goal, I support House Resolution 292, which requires the administration to provide information on the American military, diplomatic, and humanitarian activities in Libya and seeks clarity on America's objective and strategy to achieve that goal.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is throwing what one Republican calls “a legal and political hot potato at the President.”
In a resolution to be voted on in the House tomorrow, Boehner is giving the president two weeks – until the Pentagon Appropriations bill comes up – to either:
a) Ask for authorization for the military intervention in Libya, or
b) Figure out how to disengage the US from the NATO operation in Libya.
The resolution states: “The President has not sought, and Congress has not provided, authorization for the introduction or continued involvement of the United States Armed Forces in Libya. Congress has the constitutional prerogative to withhold funding for any unauthorized use of the United States Armed Forces, including for unauthorized activities regarding Libya.”
Boehner is explicitly and formally stating that the president did not check the box on the War Powers Act before sending the US military to intervene in Libya.
The House Rules Committee on Thursday night approved a rule governing how House members will debate two resolutions on Friday related to Libya.
Under the rule, Republicans and Democrats will have one hour to debate the resolution introduced by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), which criticizes the Obama administration for failing to seek congressional authorization for continued operations in Libya.
Who says bipartisanship is dead? When it comes to unconstitutional wars, the leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties sing from the same hymnal.
House narrowly rejects measure rebuking Obama on Libya
The House on Thursday afternoon narrowly rejected an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill that would have prevented DHS from using funds in any way that violates the War Powers Act. The language was turned away in a 208-213 vote. The amendment was supported by 112 Republicans and 96 Democrats, but opposed by 125 Republicans and 88 Democrats.
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(Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, this Congress and this country face two great fiscal challenges. One is long term, and one is urgent and immediate. Long term, we know we have to restore balance to our budget, and negotiations are under way in an effort to accomplish that.
There are significant differences in approach. Do you follow the outlines of the Ryan budget, which basically cut taxes for very wealthy Americans in the hope that will create jobs and pay for that by slashing or ending Medicare? Or do you proceed along the outline in the Obama budget which essentially would put everything on the table, including the Pentagon and including revenues?
But either way, the urgent and immediate responsibility is that we pay our bills. And either side that engages in a game of chicken with the obligation of this country to maintain its full faith and credit is playing with fiscal fire and using a loaded gun for a game of Russian roulette. That gun is pointed at the heart of the American economy.
America pays its bills. We must do that and do whatever is required in order to maintain our reputation for doing so.
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(Mr. YODER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. YODER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss yet another negative impact the Dodd-Frank Act is having on the U.S. economy and job growth.
As agencies here in the United States are scrambling to meet the unrealistic deadlines proposed by this act, and as community banks struggle under a mountain of new regulations that strangle our economic recovery, we have also done great damage to the competitiveness of the United States in the international financial marketplace.
Other nations have yet to even consider the stringent regulations similar to the ones proposed in Dodd-Frank. Most important are the new proposed regulations that will require over-the-counter derivatives to be traded and cleared on exchanges.
G-20 nations have stated a goal for the end of 2012 as the implementation date of any global derivative reforms. Our earlier upcoming deadline of July 16, 2011, for U.S. implementation of the derivatives reforms, puts the U.S. financial market at a significant global disadvantage and will further disrupt our economic recovery and job growth.
Let's repeal these damaging economic provisions and let's get America back to work again.
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(Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the work of Chicago House, an organization in my district that provides housing support services and job training to people affected by HIV/AIDS.
I commend Chicago House not just for saving the lives of thousands of Chicagoans and pulling them out of poverty, but also for saving money. Chicago House is a perfect example of the type of program we should be investing in.
Yes, we have to make a small investment up front, but programs like Chicago House take these funds and use them to train the jobless and provide employment rather than simply giving them a handout. Training individuals and securing employment for them is a double win, because not only do they no longer need subsidies, but they are also contributing to the tax base.
We have to make a distinction between spending and investing. Yes, we have to cut spending but we must be careful to maintain our investments and programs like Chicago House that save lives and dollars.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, in 2008, gas prices that rose above $4 a gallon triggered the Wall Street meltdown and housing crisis that continue to plague our country. We're in the same boat today again with gas prices going over $4 a gallon, so be prepared.
I rise today to talk about that housing crisis that is devaluing our housing stock across our country and destroying neighborhoods and communities across the Nation.
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Last week, the New York Times ran a piece I wish to place in the Record highlighting one more twist in this crisis. According to their front page expose, the big banks and mortgage companies have profited even more from the foreclosure crisis by amassing giant ``real estate empires'' that span across our country. So not only do six banks now control two-thirds of the banking system of this country, they've also become real estate magnates, too. When is too much too much?
The impact on communities has been devastating. The numbers are simply shocking. In my community alone, over 6,700 more homes are in some type of foreclosure filings. While thousands of America's families are being thrown out on the street, the big Wall Street banks have nearly doubled the number of houses they've taken through foreclosure since the crisis began 5 years ago. That represents nearly 900,000 homes. That's 900,000 more families whose American Dream ended in foreclosure.
Sadly, this doesn't include those who are barely hanging on. Approximately one in four mortgaged homes are still underwater, where families owe more than the home is worth.
After taking billions of dollars from our taxpayers, we might expect that the Wall Street banks would want to help people stay in their homes and help more vacant properties be taken off the market. Well, that's not what I'm hearing from local realtors. I spoke with a group of them over a week ago. They keep running up against a brick wall any time they even try to do a workout with one of these banks. They continue to have difficulty accessing credit for qualified, willing buyers. More and more, I hear how it's only our local banks and our credit unions that are making any effort to make this troubled housing market function.
Wall Street walked away with billions in bailout money, and then walked away from the housing mess they created. But they want even more. All the while they are sitting on top of huge profits and taking enormous tax breaks. The six largest banks in the country, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, together paid an approximate tax rate of only 11 percent of their pretax U.S. earnings in 2009 and 2010, less than half of what other businesses pay. I wish someone in this place could explain why this is allowed to go on.
We need to understand that this foreclosure crisis is far from over. In the first quarter of this year alone, approximately 215,000 more properties were in foreclosure across our country, and another 700,000 properties were either in foreclosure filings, received default notice, bank repossession or scheduled auction. As these banks continue to agglomerate these properties that are becoming vacant, neighborhoods across our country are being devalued and continue to disintegrate. Every Member here knows what I'm talking about.
There are some signs that our economy is slowly improving. But, boy, we aren't out of the woods yet. Moody's is predicting that housing prices across our Nation will continue to fall by as much as 5 percent by this year's end--I should say 5 percent more. We cannot sit on our hands and hope the situation gets better. Revival of the housing sector and the jobs it creates has always played a crucial and leading role in any economic recovery. We need to work to help struggling families stay in their homes, protect neighborhoods from being riddled with vacant structures and get our economy moving again by arresting the continuing decline in our vital housing assets built up over decades coast to coast.
Importantly, revitalizing and reoccupying the troubled housing stock would put millions of Americans to work. And isn't it over time to do exactly that?
As Lenders Hold Homes in Foreclosure, Sales Are Hurt
El Mirage, AZ.--The nation's biggest banks and mortgage lenders have steadily amassed real estate empires, acquiring a glut of foreclosed homes that threatens to deepen the housing slump and create a further drag on the economic recovery.
All told, they own more than 872,000 homes as a result of the groundswell in foreclosures, almost twice as many as when the financial crisis began in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data provider. In addition, they are in the process of foreclosing on an additional one million homes and are poised to take possession of several million more in the years ahead.
Five years after the housing market started teetering, economists now worry that the rise in lender-owned homes could create another vicious circle, in which the growing inventory of distressed property further depresses home values and leads to even more distressed sales. With the spring home-selling season under way, real estate prices have been declining across the country in recent months.
``It remains a heavy weight on the banking system,'' said Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics. ``Housing prices are falling, and they are going to fall some more.''
Over all, economists project that it would take about three years for lenders to sell their backlog of foreclosed homes. As a result, home values nationally could fall 5 percent by the end of 2011, according to Moody's, and rise only modestly over the following year. Regions that were hardest hit by the housing collapse and recession could take even longer to recover--dealing yet another blow to a still-struggling economy.
Although sales have picked up a bit in the last few weeks, banks and other lenders remain overwhelmed by the wave of foreclosures. In Atlanta, lenders are repossessing eight homes for each distressed home they sell, according to March data from RealtyTrac. In Minneapolis, they are bringing in at least six foreclosed homes for each they sell, and in once-hot markets like Chicago and Miami, the ratio still hovers close to two to one.
Before the housing implosion, the inflow and outflow figures were typically one-to-one.
The reasons for the backlog include inadequate staffs and delays imposed by the lenders because of investigations into foreclosure practices. The pileup could lead to $40 billion in additional losses for banks and other lenders as they sell houses at steep discounts over the next two years, according to Trepp, a real estate research firm.
``These shops are under siege; it's just a tsunami of stuff coming in,'' said Taj Bindra, who oversaw Washington Mutual's servicing unit from 2004 to 2006 and now advises financial institutions on risk management. ``Lenders have a strong incentive to clear out inventory in a controlled and timely manner, but if you had problems on the front end of the foreclosure process, it should be no surprise you are having problems on the back end.''
A drive through the sprawling subdivisions outside Phoenix shows the ravages of the real estate collapse. Here in this working-class neighborhood of El Mirage, northwest of Phoenix, rows of small stucco homes sprouted up during the boom. Now block after block is pockmarked by properties with overgrown shrubs, weeds and foreclosure notices tacked to the doors. About 116 lender-owned homes are on the market or under contract in El Mirage, according to local real estate listings.
But that's just a small fraction of what is to come. An additional 491 houses are either sitting in the lenders' inventory or are in the foreclosure process. On average, homes in El Mirage sell for $65,300, down 75 percent from the height of the boom in July 2006, according to the Cromford Report, a Phoenix-area real estate data provider. Real estate agents and market analysts say those ultra-cheap prices have recently started attracting first-time buyers as well as investors looking for several properties at once.
Lenders have also been more willing to let distressed borrowers sidestep foreclosure by selling homes for a loss. That has accelerated the pace of sales in the area and even caused prices to slowly rise in the last two months, but realty agents worry about all the distressed homes that are coming down the pike.
``My biggest fear right now is that the supply has been artificially restricted,'' said Jayson Meyerovitz, a local broker. ``They can't just sit there forever. If so many houses hit the market, what is going to happen then?''
The major lenders say they are not deliberately holding back any foreclosed homes. They say that a long sales process can stigmatize a property and ratchet up maintenance and other costs. But they also do not want to unload properties in a fire sale.
``If we are out there undercutting prices, we are contributing to the downward spiral in market values,'' said Eric Will, who oversees distressed home sales for Freddie Mac. ``We want to make sure we are helping stabilize communities.''
The biggest reason for the backlog is that it takes longer to sell foreclosed homes, currently an average of 176 days--and that's after the 400 days it takes for lenders to foreclose. After drawing government scrutiny over improper foreclosures practices last fall, many big lenders have slowed their operations in order to check the paperwork, and in two dozen or so states they halted them for months.
Conscious of their image, many lenders have recently started telling real estate agents to be more lenient to renters who happen to live in a foreclosed home and give them extra time to move out before changing the locks.
``Wells Fargo has sent me back knocking on doors two or three times, offering to give renters money if they cooperate with us,''
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Realty agents and buyers say the lenders are simply overwhelmed. Just as lenders were ill-prepared to handle the flood of foreclosures, they do not have the staff and infrastructure to manage and sell this much property.
Most of the major lenders outsourced almost every part of the process, be it sales or repairs. Some agents complain that lender-owned home listings are routinely out of date, that properties are overpriced by as much as 10 percent, and that lenders take days or longer to accept an offer.
The silver lining for home lenders, however, is that the number of new foreclosures and recent borrowers falling behind on their payments by three months or longer is shrinking.
``If they are able to manage through the next 12 to 18 months,'' said Mr. Zandi, the Moody's Analytics economist, ``they will be in really good shape.''
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for 5 minutes.
Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Quarterly today has a headline that says, ``Some House Republicans Showing Signs of War Fatigue.'' Unfortunately, this headline comes just the day after the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee has approved another $119 billion for our overseas wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. That's $10 billion a month and $2.3 billion each week.
By the most conservative estimates, we have now spent over $2 trillion in direct and indirect costs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of this money has gone into nation building rather than stopping or defending against any real threat. We have turned the Department of Defense into the Department of Foreign Aid, and the American people are tired of it. They want us to stop rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan and start taking care of our own people. We are spending billions and billions that we do not have--that we are having to borrow--on people who do not appreciate it unless they are on our payroll.
Alfred Regnery, publisher of the conservative American Spectator magazine, wrote last October that ``Afghanistan has little strategic value'' and ``the war is one of choice rather than necessity.'' He added that it has been ``a wasteful and frustrating decade.''
The American people do not want, nor can we afford, endless, permanent wars. Nor do they want 11 or 12-year wars that last about three times as long as World War II.
You can never satisfy governments' appetite for money or land. They always want more.
Every gigantic bureaucracy always wants to expand its mission so it can get more funding. Every government agency always exaggerates the threats or problems it is confronting so it can get more money.
The Pentagon is a gigantic bureaucracy that will do everything within its tremendous power to keep getting more and more money from the taxpayers. But there have to be limits somewhere, and fiscal conservatives should be the ones most horrified by all the hundreds of billions we have poured, and continued to pour, down these Iraqi, Afghan, Libyan rat holes.
The American people and conservative Republicans all over this country are saying enough is enough. They want us to stop rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan and paying for a useless war in Libya and start rebuilding the United States of America.
We are almost $14 trillion in debt and headed much, much higher very, very soon. Soon, we will be printing so much money that our Social Security and other pensions will be worth very little. We have got to get our fiscal house in order. We have got to stop spending hundreds of billions all over the world and start taking care of our own people.
Georgie Anne Geyer, the conservative foreign policy columnist, wrote a few months after the Iraqi war started many years ago that ``Americans will inevitably come to a point where they have to choose between a government that provides services at home or one that seeks empire across the globe.''
Mr. Speaker, the American people reached that point a long time ago. Hopefully, the Congress will soon follow their lead.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison) for 5 minutes.
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stand shoulder to shoulder with the legitimate aims of Syrian people in their quest for freedom and democracy.
Ever since the Syrian people rose up to demand their rights and dignity from the Assad regime, they have faced brutal repression. Their nonviolent protest movement has been met with repressive force, and this has been a disgrace on the world scene.
The human rights abuses of the Assad regime are unthinkable, and they are historic and gen er a tional. It is torturing its own people at this time, including even children.
I was shocked and outraged by the story of Hamza al-Khatib. He was a 13-year-old boy who was killed and tortured and his body was returned to his family on May 25 with clear signs of torture and brutality. He had a broken hand; his genitals were cut off and severed. This young man, only 13 years old, will never see his family again because he has gone on.
But what happened to him the Syrian people can't forget, and his example has inspired people to stand up for democracy. Over the past 3 months, a familiar pattern has emerged. People organize public demonstrations to demand their God-given rights. Inevitably, the government forces overreact and kill peaceful protesters. Funerals for the deceased garner even larger demonstrations, which are then repressed ever more brutally by the government.
The emergency situation in Syria today reached a new level when tanks rolled into Daraa. Since that time, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators have been killed. Just this morning, this very morning, Syrian forces killed 15 people when they shelled the town of Rastan. Fifty-eight people have been killed there in the past 3 days alone. Over a thousand have been killed since democracy protests began.
Mr. Speaker, it's truly unfortunate that the Assad regime missed the historic opportunity that it had right before it to set a new pattern in the Arab Spring, a pattern that above all respects human rights. Instead, it chose to become an enemy of its own people.
By murdering its own people and violating their fundamental right to security and liberty, the Assad regime has lost any and all legitimacy to govern. Legitimacy is gained through the consent of the governed, not brutal repressive crackdowns, jailings, and torturing.
While we don't know yet how events will ultimately unfold in Syria, I want to commend the activism of Syrian Americans. Syrian Americans are doing everything they can to support their friends and their families. For example, just last week the Syrian American Council organized a day of action to support freedom and democracy in Syria. Some 400-plus Syrian Americans came all across the country to come to Washington, D.C., to lobby their Representatives in Congress, to demonstrate at the Syrian Embassy, and to organize committees to plan future initiatives.
That's how democracy works, Mr. Speaker; people coming together with their common concerns to peaceably petition their government. That's what makes America great, and that's what sets us apart from places like Syria under the Assad regime. Syria could be a great bastion of liberty, but not with this illegitimate regime.
I stand with the patriotic Americans in steadfast opposition to the grotesque human rights abuses of the Assad regime and once and for all call upon it to respect the rights, dignity, and democratic aspirations of its people. The world will not forget Hamza al-Khatib, Mr. Speaker. We won't forget the legitimate yearnings for liberty and justice from the people of Syria or anywhere in the world.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard) for 5 minutes.
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, for 5 months this Congress has debated how best to address the looming crisis of our national deficit. While the debate has often been partisan and polarized, one thing we Democrats and Republicans agree on is that addressing our national health care expenditures is a critical part of the solution.
A major component of the escalating health care costs in this country is maternity care. The cost of maternity care for mother and child in the U.S. is more than double that of any country in the world. But despite the exorbitant amount of money we spend on maternity care, the U.S. ranks far behind nearly all developed countries in maternal and infant outcomes.
Sadly, childbirth continues to have significant risks for mothers and babies, especially in communities of color. Many factors contribute to these poor outcomes and high costs. The most disturbing by far is the fact that there is a vast body of knowledge regarding best evidence-based maternity care, yet current U.S. practice does not follow that research. This results in the widespread overuse of maternity procedures, including cesarean sections and scheduled inductions, which credible evidence tells us are beneficial only in limited situations.
Unfortunately, the overuse of these practices results in longer maternity hospital stays and multiple costly procedures that contribute to making combined mother and infant childbirth charges our most costly hospital and Medicaid expenditures.
To address these poor outcomes and high costs, today I am introducing the Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century Act. The MOMS for the 21st Century Act will create a national focus on optimal maternity care by establishing an interagency coordinating committee to ensure Federal agencies are promoting the best evidence-based maternity practices in their programs.
[Time: 10:40]
The bill also authorizes an extensive media campaign to educate consumers on how to achieve the healthiest maternity outcomes, including the importance of maternity practices such as smoking cessation programs in pregnancy and group model prenatal care.
These and other noninvasive practices have been shown to produce considerable improvement in outcomes with no detrimental side effects but, regrettably, they are significantly underused in this country.
Furthermore, the bill will expand research on best maternity practices and will direct collection of data on maternity shortage areas. It will also facilitate the development of more interdisciplinary maternity care workforce by bringing together maternity care providers to develop core curricula across maternity professional disciplines, and it establishes a loan repayment program for maternity care providers who commit to work in underserved areas.
Finally, the MOMS for the 21st Century Act will support the education of a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce by authorizing grant programs for maternity professional organizations to recruit and retain minority providers.
Mr. Speaker, we can and we must do better for mothers and newborns. As a country, we must reach beyond our self-imposed boundaries to embrace and prioritize an evidence-based model of maternity care that will save lives and save money.
I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort by cosponsoring and helping to pass the MOMS for the 21st Century Act.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this week the United States House sent a clear message to the White House that it's time to address our Nation's growing debt crisis and get serious with real budgetary reforms so that America can meet its budget and credit obligations at home and around the world. There's good reason why the dollar is still the world's gold standard when it comes to credit ratings and that the U.S. is seen as a wise investment around the world.
A first-rate credit rating, which the United States currently has, means there is nothing for lenders to worry about. It lets investors know how likely a borrower can pay back a loan, and that they will receive a good return on their investment. That's why I can't emphasize enough the importance of our Nation's credit rating. A downgraded credit rating would erode confidence in our economy and reduce certainty for businesses, investors at home, and abroad. We must work to ensure that this never happens by reforming spending and fixing our debt problem. Make it so that there is not one doubt when it comes to the creditworthiness of the United States.
In April, Standard & Poor's lowered the outlook on the United States' credit to negative. S&P's rationale: the U.S. has a large debt and deficit compared with other highly rated nations, and unlike with those other nations, ``the path to addressing the debt and the deficit is not clear to us.''
To be clear, this warning from the S&P was not over the debt limit debate, but because Washington has no plan to tackle its massive debt. Since 1975, there have been at least nine examples when clean debt limit bills have failed to pass in either the House or the Senate. And remember, in 2006 then-
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So again, it's not about the debate. We've seen this discussion many times over the last several decades. But it is about world markets losing confidence in our ability to implement those needed reforms and address our growing $14 trillion debt.
Over the past 2 years, we have seen the largest budget deficits in the history of the United States. This, along with our structural deficits due to insolvent entitlement programs and the rising cost of health care, is the reason we face serious issues regarding the confidence in our ability to make good on our commitments. In April, the United States kept its AAA rating. Unfortunately, as S&P warned, if we fail to act on these reforms, this could happen.
Raising the debt ceiling without significant structural spending reforms would send a signal to the world that America lacks the political will to restore fiscal sanity and meet our obligations. Unfortunately, many of our Democratic colleagues have continued to ask for a clean up-or-down vote on raising the debt limit, including most recently when more than 100 Democrats sent a letter to House leadership requesting an up-or-down vote on the issue. Earlier this week, that request was granted, and the legislation's failure demonstrates that any plan to raise the debt limit without dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process is unacceptable to the American people.
With any hope, we sent a clear message that it's time to stop with the political pandering and get serious about bringing about real budgetary reforms. It's unfortunate, however, Mr. Speaker. The problem has been identified. While tough decisions must be made, the solution is in our reach. What we lack is the political will to lead and take action.
Mr. Speaker, if we don't act boldly now, the markets will act for us very soon. The world is watching, and we can no longer afford to kick this can down the road. Our Nation's debt crisis offers us the political will to act, for the greatest threat to our economy and our children's future is doing nothing.
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, like most of my colleagues in the House, on Memorial Day I had the privilege to speak to two different groups down in the Third District of North Carolina, which I represent. One of the events comes to mind down in Beaufort, North Carolina. There were well over 150 people there--most of them obviously were veterans or family of veterans, and a couple of families whose loved ones didn't come home from previous wars.
That brings me to the point that last week Jim McGovern and I offered an amendment to create a formula to bring our troops home from Afghanistan, and I want to thank the 26 Republicans who voted for that amendment. We came within six votes of creating a formula for the President to bring our troops home before 2015.
Mr. Speaker, at these two events down in my district, I had veterans line up when I finished to come up to say, ``We agree with you on your position to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.'' And even at one event I got a very strong applause when I mentioned the McGovern-Jones amendment and how close we came to create a formula to bring our troops home.
Mr. Speaker, they said to me, well, why did we go into Afghanistan? Bin Laden, he was responsible for 9/11, he's dead now. Al Qaeda, which had a large presence back in 2003, 2004 in Afghanistan, is now diminished. Now these are the veterans talking to me. I'm not a veteran. But my statement was, you're right. Our country is financially broke, we've spent over $8 billion, we can't pay our bills, and yet Mr. Karzai--who's corrupt to begin with, the leader of Afghanistan--we always seem to find $8 billion a month to send to him. It makes no sense.
So Mr. McGovern and I and people on my side and his side, we're going to continue to work to create an atmosphere and environment to encourage President Obama not to wait until 2015.
[Time: 10:20]
That's exactly what Secretary Gates said to the Armed Services Committee, on which I serve: ``In February of 2015, we will start bringing home our troops.'' Well, then, Mr. Speaker, how many more will have to die, lose their legs and their arms in the next 4 years? It's only 2011, and we're talking about 2015?
I can tell you our military has won the war many, many times. As you can see, this is a paper not even in my district, Greensboro, North Carolina, where Mr. Howard Coble is from. This is an editorial a few weeks ago and it says, ``Get Out,'' and there's a flag-draped coffin/transfer case being carried off the plane by soldiers or airmen.
So it is time that this Congress come together in a bipartisan way and bring our troops home.
I see the families down at Camp Lejeune, which is in my district. I talk to them. I listen to them. They think they have done their job. They think it's time to come home.
So, Mr. Speaker, as I do all the time on the floor of the House when I'm closing, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people in this great Nation. I will ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to Mr. Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for this great Nation.
And I will ask three times: God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.
(House of Representatives - June 2, 2011)
Republican Yes Votes:
MI-3 Amash, Justin [R]
MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
NH-2 Bass, Charles [R]
CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]
NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]
IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
ID-1 Labrador, Raúl [R]
SC-5 Mulvaney, Mick [R]
FL-5 Nugent, Richard [R]
TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
VA-2 Rigell, E. [R]
CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
IN-4 Rokita, Todd [R]
CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
IL-8 Walsh, Joe [R]
KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) for 5 minutes.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, a little more than a year ago, 29 coal miners lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Our Nation watched with sadness as a small community felt the lash of the worst coal mining tragedy in this country in four decades.
Shortly after the tragedy, our Nation promised these families to get to the bottom of what happened and we promised to make sure that something like this would never happen again.
The good news is that we learned a lot about what caused this tragedy in the last year. Last month, an independent panel of experts appointed by the Governor of West Virginia released the results of a 13-month-long investigation. They concluded that the explosion was preventable. The panel said that the warning signs about dangerous conditions in the mine were ignored leading up to the tragedy. They found that the Massey Energy Company ignored basic safety precautions that the mining industry has recognized for more than a century. Repeated violations had become business as usual, something which the investigation called ``a normalization of deviance,'' where unsafe behavior and conditions became normal at Upper Big Branch mine.
The report lays out how this tragedy unfolded. It may have ended with a sudden explosion, but it was a slow-motion disaster.
The company's inadequate ventilation system allowed explosive gases to build up. Workers were slogging in
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In the months before the explosion, miners asked Massey management 561 times to quench the explosive potential of coal dust by applying rock dust, yet Massey only took action 65 times, or 11 percent of the time they were requested to do so.
Water sprays on a mining machine were not properly maintained and failed to extinguish sparks, which allowed a fire to ignite.
Coal dust provided the fuel that allowed a localized fire to trigger a massive explosion that ripped through miles of underground tunnels where miners were working.
Finally, the report found intimidation. Miners were afraid to speak out about their safety concerns. They dared not stop coal production. Anyone who challenged management was considered a nuisance or a threat and their jobs were on the line.
These conclusions are chilling. This report makes it clear that the failure to effectively deal with a reckless operator occurred at many levels:
Our Nation's health and safety protections failed these 29 miners because of the many loopholes in the law that were exploited by the mine industry.
Regulators allowed the mine to operate in a badly engineered ventilation system and failed to force operators to use modern technology to prevent coal dust explosions.
And the mining industry failed these workers because they repeatedly refused to speak out against some of the worst actors within their industry, and have opposed legislation to curtail their misconduct.
The State investigation is also a call to action. The panel urges Congress to enact reforms to modernize mine safety technology, give regulators better tools, strengthen criminal provisions, and improve the rights of miners.
Mr. Speaker, with this report and its recommendations, Congress has been warned. We cannot abide by the status quo any longer. We cannot let Washington's pay-to-play politics paralyze legislative action once again. Congress has been warned. We cannot let mine operators game mine safety enforcement by paying lawyers instead of fixing chronic safety problems.
Congress has been warned. We cannot let miners live in fear of being fired for speaking out on behalf of their safety. Their voices save lives.
Congress has been warned. We cannot let decisions made in the boardrooms to put production over safety go unchallenged any longer.
There are responsible mining companies that operate without an avalanche of violations. There are operators who do not make deviant behavior a part of their corporate culture. We want these mine operators to join us to rework the rules that govern this industry.
In the end, though, getting mine reform done depends upon Congress. The responsibility rests squarely here. These disasters are preventable. This report is a very clear warning. We should not--we must not--wait for another tragedy before Congress owns up to its responsibility.
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The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday night, the people's House spoke loud and clear: No debt limit increase without real spending cuts to promote job growth. Liberals wanted to increase the debt limit by $2.4 trillion with no meaningful reforms. At a time when the Federal Government is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar it spends, the last thing Americans want to do is raise the government's borrowing limit recklessly killing jobs. Liberals in Congress need to attach real cuts to any increases they are seeking. That means for every dollar proposed to increase the debt limit, there should be one dollar in cuts. It makes sense.
Tuesday night's vote of 318-97-7 shows that the House is overwhelmingly in agreement with this debt limit increase being denied. Over 80 Democrats joined with the 237 Republicans to vote against the President's debt ceiling request. Adding more debt to our economy handicaps small business job creation and aggravates our country's debt crisis even further. This is a direct risk to senior citizens with the value of the dollar being put at risk. It's a threat to students who could be faced with overwhelming debt in the future.
In conclusion, God bless our troops and we will never forget September 11th in the global war on terrorism.
Wednesday: House starts work on Homeland Security appropriations
The House returns at 10 a.m. for speeches and noon for legislative work, and will start with a debate and vote on a rule for H.R. 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act for fiscal 2012. This rule could be controversial because it includes language that "deems" the House GOP budget resolution as passed by Congress, even though it has only passed the House. Republicans say they need to deem the budget as passed in order to start the appropriations process for 2012, but Democrats can be expected to criticize the move and once again warn that the budget would dramatically alter Medicare.
House Dems blast DHS rule for assuming GOP budget will be enacted
The House began Wednesday debate on a rule for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with an immediate objection from Democrats, who raised a point of order against the rule because it deems the House GOP FY 2012 budget as approved by Congress. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) raised the point of order against the rule, but acknowledged the point of order was essentially a chance to debate the inclusion of language on the FY 2012.
House Is Reviving 'Open Rules' for a Debate
For the first time since the summer of 2007, the House will take up a bill under parliamentary rules that allow numerous amendments and virtually unlimited debate.
House restores firefighter grants
Breaking with their leadership, 147 House Republicans joined Democrats to restore $320 million for firefighter grants Wednesday evening even as Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King bluntly warned that new proposed cuts from port, transit and urban security assistance amount to an “invitation to an attack.”
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(Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I represent Minneapolis, Minnesota. Recently, my district was hit by a tornado. That tornado caused damage to well over 535 houses and took the lives of two of my constituents.
I just want to commend all those people who stepped forward to do the right thing for the people who were victims. Whether you were serving meals for people who were put out of their homes; whether you were making games for the children of the dispossessed to be able to have some joy in their lives after such a difficult period; or whether you were an emergency responder, police, fire, emergency, medical; or whether you were a member of our local government, I want everyone in my district to know, everyone in the Fifth Congressional District to know, that I am so proud of the work that you did.
I want folks to know that it is times of crisis like this tornado in which the best of us comes out, when we find our charitable spirit, when we find our courage, when we find all those things that sometimes are lacking in everyday life. I want to let you know that on the faces of the children who have had a warm place to stay after their own homes were knocked to the ground and trees went through people's roofs, that I want to thank all those first responders, all those public servants, all those volunteers who stepped up and made a very difficult situation just a little bit better for everyone who was involved.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, we could never forget those two citizens who lost their lives when they were hit by this tornado. It was a tragedy for them and their families, and we will keep them in our thoughts and in our hearts and in our minds as we move forward.
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(Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn, yes, condemn, the Government of Vietnam for continuing its appalling human rights record by conducting unjust trials, sham trials of seven citizens who asked for land reform.
This past week, the people's court of Ben Tre unfairly convicted seven land rights activists to years of imprisonment and probation.
Ms. Tran Thi Thuy was sentenced to 8 years, Pastor Duong Kim Khai was imprisoned for 6 years, and Mr. Pham Van Thong received a 7-year sentence simply for asking for their land back from the Communist Government of Vietnam. This recent trial was no different than Vietnam's past trials where there is no due process.
I hope that my colleagues will look at the record of human rights with respect to Vietnam and join me in urging the Government of Vietnam to drop these false charges.
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(Mr. NUNNELEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, at 2:35 a.m., Endeavor landed safely following its final trip into space. As Endeavor retires after its 25th mission, it lives on with a unique legacy: the only space shuttle named by children.
In 1989, Senatobia, Mississippi, Middle School was the national winner in a competition to name a new spacecraft. Their mission? To come up with a name that captured the spirit of America's mission in space.
On May 16, two decades later, as Endeavor launched its final mission, those elementary children are now adults, and the spirit and excitement of that final flight was felt most in Senatobia, Mississippi. As the Senatobia-1, a balloon built and flown by students, was launched, it was filled with signatures wishing Congresswoman Giffords a speedy recovery and captured beautiful images of their beloved spaceship as it took to the skies for one last time.
(House of Representatives - June 1, 2011)
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(Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the more we learn about Pakistan, the more they sound like the Benedict Arnold nation in the list of countries we call allies. First, it was Osama bin Laden, the world's number one outlaw, living comfortably in a mansion in Pakistan for years, but Pakistan claims no knowledge of that.
Now, a reporter in Pakistan, Syed Saleem Shahzad, has been murdered. He has been critical of the Pakistani Government. He reported that the naval base in Karachi that was attacked was done so by al Qaeda members of the Navy of Pakistan. Human Rights Watch says Shahzad was assassinated by members of the Pakistan intelligence agency, who previously had threatened him.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is chumming up to the Chinese. Sounds like Pakistan is playing both sides in the war on terror. Seven in 10 Americans believe we need to stop or decrease foreign aid to Pakistan. We should stop foreign aid to Pakistan until we know whose side they're on. We don't need to pay them to be unfaithful. They will do it for free.
And that's just the way it is.
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(Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, before I comment on why I am standing next to the brave and the true of our United States military, let me give a message to Syria and express my outrage over the heinous killing of a 13-year-old boy. President Assad should be held accountable now. And the United Nations needs to voice its opposition. As the Secretary of State has indicated, we need to be standing alongside those seeking freedom in Syria.
And to our allies in Bahrain, where our fleet of Navy personnel are, what a disgrace that they have imploded and blown up mosques because they disagree with their particular faith. This is the Arab Spring, but it will end in devastation if we don't stand for truth and human rights and compassion.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important, as I stand next to the brave men and women, some who have fallen, and those who now still fight, to ask my Republican friends do you understand that there is a 10 percent unemployment among those who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, troops who are fighting for us and fighting on our behalf. Yet it has been 21 weeks and the Republicans have no jobs agenda. We need jobs. Create jobs! If you believe in these troops, build jobs for the American people.
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(Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, you know, since this President has taken office, we have had the failed stimulus, omnibus, TARP II, Government Motors, the government takeover of health care. Well, the buck stops here. Literally, House Republicans refuse to give the spender-in-chief a blank check to pay for his reckless ways.
If the President even wants to think about moving forward with the debt limit increase, he needs to know that Americans want Congress to drastically cut spending.
Across the Nation, people have cut back and stretched their hard-earned dollars in order to make it through these tough times. The government must do the same. We're facing a debt crisis because Washington spends too much and wastes too much.
Raising the debt limit without a deep spending cut amounts to a Barack Obama big-government bailout. Enough is enough. Stop the Obama bailout now.