[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4057-4062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           URGING A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 1119) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that all people in the United States should participate 
in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of 
members of the United States Armed Forces both at home and abroad, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1119

       Whereas it was through the brave and noble efforts of the 
     Nation's forefathers that the United States first gained 
     freedom and became a sovereign nation;
       Whereas there are more than 1,471,000 active component and 
     more than 1,111,200 reserve component members of the Armed 
     Forces serving the Nation in support and defense of the 
     freedom that all Americans cherish;
       Whereas the members of the Armed Forces deserve the utmost 
     respect and admiration of their fellow Americans for putting 
     their lives in danger for the sake of the freedoms enjoyed by 
     all Americans;
       Whereas the families of members of the Armed Forces make 
     sacrifices commensurate with the men and women of the Armed 
     Forces;
       Whereas members of the Armed Forces are defending freedom 
     and democracy around the globe and are playing a vital role 
     in protecting the safety and security of all Americans;
       Whereas the Nation officially celebrates and honors the 
     accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans, patriots, and 
     leaders who fought for freedom, this resolution pays tribute 
     to those who currently serve in the Armed Forces;
       Whereas all Americans should participate in a moment of 
     silence to support our troops and their families; and
       Whereas March 26, 2010, is designated as ``National Support 
     Our Troops Day'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that all Americans should participate in a 
     moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice 
     of members of the United States Armed Forces both at home and 
     abroad, and their families.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1119, 
which honors the service and the sacrifice of the members of the United 
States Armed Forces both at home and abroad. I would like to thank my 
colleague from Michigan (Mr. Peters) for authoring this thoughtful 
measure.
  The men and women of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, 
Marines, and Coast Guard are true patriots, not only because they have 
heard but because they answered the call of duty, the duty to defend 
our great Nation from threats both foreign and domestic, the duty to 
protect our immutable freedoms, and the duty to uphold the values that 
make the United States both a guardian and a herald of peace and 
justice.

                              {time}  1900

  They come from all around us: from big cities and small towns; from 
the heartland to the coasts; from jobs in farming, industry and 
technology; from high schools and colleges and universities; and from 
Wall Street and Main Street. They come from all different backgrounds, 
from all classes, races, and denominations. They are diverse, yet they 
share the same sense of duty and purpose. They possess the same courage 
and fortitude to go and do what others cannot.
  They courageously grasp the mantle passed on by those before them, 
those who gave their lives so others may live free. They understand the 
consequences and the risks, yet they keep their heads held high in 
honor and in pride, knowing that the rewards are great, but so are the 
costs.
  They are often asked to sacrifice that which many of us take for 
granted: a home-cooked meal; a comfortable bed; the embrace of a friend 
or a relative; and most importantly, safety. They leave behind spouses, 
children, and other family members, the people that they love the most, 
so that other Americans, complete strangers, can enjoy the same 
freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1119 also acknowledges the critical 
sacrifice families of servicemembers make: the uncertainties and the 
inconveniences incurred from permanent changes of station, the anxiety 
and the stress induced by a deployed servicemember, the grief 
experienced by families and loved members of those servicemembers 
wounded or killed in action. These families and loved ones also deserve 
our most sincere thanks.
  The moment of silence that will take place on March 26, 2010, on 
National Support Our Troops Day to honor the men and women in uniform 
is an undemanding effort, but their service and sacrifice demand our 
contemplation and our gratitude. So I implore that everyone use the 
time to recall the sacrifice that they make each and every day.

[[Page 4058]]

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1119.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 1119, 
as amended, which asks that all people in the United States participate 
in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of 
members of the Armed Forces who are currently serving both at home and 
abroad.
  Service in the Armed Forces during peacetime is a difficult enough 
proposition; but during an extended period of war, like we have had 
since 9/11, the courage and sacrifices required of our all-volunteer 
military are especially challenging. These men and women are working 
for us all over the globe: on land; on and under the sea; and in the 
skies above. They are on duty around the clock, every day, 7 days a 
week, in every month of every year, in all seasons and climates.
  This Nation owes the members of the Armed Forces and their families 
the respect and thanks for their willingness to serve and sacrifice. 
This resolution asks us to do that by taking a moment out of our own 
busy lives to pause and in a moment of silence honor our soldiers, 
sailors, airmen and marines who are currently serving. I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Peters), my friend and colleague and the 
sponsor of this resolution.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this 
time.
  I rise today in support of House Resolution 1119 calling for a moment 
of silence in support of our troops and designation of March 26, 2010, 
as the National Support Our Troops Day.
  As a Nation, we celebrate and honor our veterans and patriots, yet we 
don't have an official day celebrating our servicemen and -women who 
are currently protecting our country at home and overseas.
  As the son of a World War II veteran and as a former officer in the 
U.S. Navy Reserve, I have the utmost respect for the sacrifices made by 
our active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
  Recently, I had the honor of visiting our troops in Afghanistan where 
I was able to observe first hand the dedication with which they are 
serving our Nation. I was truly humbled by the sacrifices they are 
making each and every day.
  This resolution honors those troops, and I am proud to have 
introduced it, continuing a bipartisan tradition in the 9th 
Congressional District in Michigan. One of my constituents, Alexandra 
McGregor, contacted my predecessor, Congressman Joe Knollenberg, with 
her idea of a day to honor our heroes currently fighting on the front 
lines. Alexandra was a student at Waterford Kettering High School in 
Waterford, Michigan. She, along with her fellow students, as well as 
the faculty of Waterford Kettering High School, have observed a moment 
of silence for the last several years on March 26 in support of our 
troops.
  Alexandra brought this idea to her Congressman and asked him to pass 
a resolution calling for March 26 to be recognized as a day for all 
Americans to observe a moment of silence in recognition of our troops. 
And during the 110th Congress, the body passed such a resolution.
  Today, I am honored to keep this tradition alive by bringing this 
resolution before the House for consideration. I would like to thank 
the leaders of the Interact Club at Kettering High School, Melina Lopez 
and Connor Newton, for coordinating the event and for bringing this 
tradition to my attention. I would also like to thank Chairman Skelton 
for his support of the resolution, as well as Zach Steacy and Joe 
Hicken of the House Armed Services Committee staff for their work in 
bringing House Resolution 1119 to the floor today.
  Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues for supporting this 
resolution.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, the service performed by Cold War veterans 
is indeed honorable and meritorious. We should encourage the people of 
the United States to participate in activities to honor these brave men 
and women in uniform. We must give them the recognition and benefits 
they rightly deserve. As members of the military, their health care 
falls under the TRICARE system which Representative Skelton worked on 
earlier today and which must be protected in any health care bill 
before Congress. We must make sure that any bill gives them the health 
care benefits they deserve. However, what happens to them and their 
families tomorrow? We are going to be voting on a massive health care 
bill that will affect the health care of our veterans and their 
families and, indeed, of all Americans.
  Something I would like to briefly address is that we have many 
doctors and physicians in the United States who are opposed to this 
health care plan. Yes, there is one large organization of about 245,000 
members which supports the plan, the American Medical Association; but 
we have a number of medical plans, including the State associations of 
Alabama, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, 
Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, which 
are opposing the health care plan. And we have many medical national 
societies which are opposing this plan such as the American Academy of 
Dermatology, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive 
Surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of 
Otolaryngology, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the 
American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American Association 
of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Congress of Obstetricians and 
Gynecologists, the American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic 
Academy of Orthopedics, American Pediatric Surgical Association, 
American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society of 
Anesthesiologists, and it goes on and on and on. General surgeons, 
colon and rectal surgeons, plastic surgeons, neurological surgeons, on 
and on and on. Twice as many doctors in this country are formally 
opposed to this health care plan as have supported it through the 
American Medical Association. Twice as many are in opposition, and I 
think that speaks importantly for what we should consider the medical 
community's response really to be to this legislation.
  At this time I would like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Moran).
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, every Member of the United States 
House of Representatives is privileged to serve the people of their 
districts. I am honored to work for the people of Kansas, the place 
that has been my home my entire life. Tomorrow it is expected that we 
will be called to vote on health care reform legislation. While most of 
the focus here in Washington has been on the politics surrounding this 
vote, back home they care about what this legislation will mean to 
them, their families, the businesses they work in or own and, 
importantly, what it will mean to their children and grandchildren.
  For a long time, well before the Obama administration began talking 
about health care, I have been arguing that we need to make 
improvements to our health care delivery system. Many folks can't 
afford the escalating medical costs associated with illness and old 
age. Folks with preexisting conditions can't change jobs without losing 
their health insurance, and small business owners struggle to provide 
health coverage to their employees. I would have welcomed the chance to 
work to see that these problems were addressed.
  I co-chair the Rural Health Care Coalition, a group of more than 100 
Members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, who work continually 
to see that patients in States like Kansas have access to affordable, 
quality health care. I am extremely disappointed that President Obama 
and Speaker Pelosi have chosen to go their own way on this issue with 
no input from those of us who disagree with them on what is best for 
America.
  Many times in this Chamber, I have outlined commonsense things that 
we

[[Page 4059]]

could and should do: medical liability reform to eliminate lawsuit 
abuse that forces the practice of expensive defensive medicine; 
allowing the purchase of insurance policies across State lines; 
creating State high-risk pools to address preexisting conditions and 
provide uninsured Americans access to insurance; encouraging better 
fitness, diet, nutrition; implementing health information technology 
that upgrades our outdated health records system and streamlines costs, 
reduces medical errors and eliminates redundant medical tests; allowing 
small businesses to pool together to negotiate and purchase health 
insurance. These and many more could and should be done.
  While I know there is much to do, almost none of these ideas are 
contained in the bill that my colleagues and I will be voting on 
tomorrow.
  I now strongly object to the plan Speaker Pelosi is forcing upon the 
House. This bill is too big and tries to change too much at once. 
Instead of working to improve our current system, which the majority of 
Americans like, this plan will create a massive expansion of 
government. History demonstrates that government programs are 
significantly more expensive than estimated. This plan would raise 
taxes and increase the deficit. It is propped up with budget gimmicks 
that will greatly expand our deficit.
  The bill requires 10 years of tax increases and 10 years of Medicare 
cuts to pay for only 6 years of so-called benefits.
  This plan is the Senate-passed health care bill. It is the same bill 
that America cried out against in December because it was pieced 
together through vote peddling and backroom deals. Members who think 
this plan is good, they should vote ``yes.'' Members who don't think 
this plan is good, they should vote ``no.'' But this is much too 
important an issue for the usual deal of politics and cutting deals 
with backroom promises.
  This plan reduces the chance that all Americans will have access to 
quality care. In rural America, our health care delivery system is 
fragile as medical professions are caring for an aging population 
across a wide geographic area. Medicare reimbursement rates determine 
whether doors stay open and whether doctors and nurses remain in 
communities. With Medicare cuts, it is likely that more hospital doors 
will close and fewer doctors will remain in Kansas. The government 
method of control is through price fixing, which leads to scarcity of 
doctors, nurses and medical innovation and the advancement of medical 
research.
  Tomorrow's vote will be one of the most important cast during my time 
in Congress. If the bill should pass, I will work hard in an open and 
public way to repeal what Speaker Pelosi has done in darkness. Some 
have said we need to pass a bill because we have to do something, but 
what I think they really mean is that we have to pass a bill to do 
something right.

                              {time}  1915

  We can overcome the ``Washington knows best'' attitude. Americans 
rightly are opposing the Washington, D.C. approach to changing health 
care, an approach that tramples upon our Constitution, diminishes 
personal responsibility, and reduces freedom of our children and the 
prosperity of our Nation.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my 
friend and colleague, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I rise with a certain amount of outrage 
tonight because we are debating a resolution that, just to remind this 
House, expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all 
people of the United States should participate in a moment of silence 
to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the United 
States Armed Forces both at home and abroad. A noble thing, a good 
thing that we would honor our veterans who day in and day out put their 
lives on the line for the freedom and safety of every single American. 
And the minority stands here tonight and brings their politics into 
this resolution.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Will my friend yield?
  Mr. HIMES. I will not yield.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Schauer). The gentleman from Connecticut 
controls the time.
  Mr. HIMES. I will yield to the gentleman when I have completed my 
statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  I am appalled that at this moment when we are here to honor our 
veterans the minority would bring their politics and their 
misinformation. And though I am appalled, while we are talking about 
veterans I will not stand here while that misinformation is peddled.
  A bill made in darkness, if I might quote my friend on the other side 
of the aisle. This bill has been discussed for months, for years. For 
decades this debate has raged. One hundred twenty Republican amendments 
included in this. This thing posted in the House and in the Senate and 
now for the requisite 72 hours, and they call that darkness.
  Increasing the deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, 
respected by both sides, has indicated clearly down to many significant 
figures that this will be the largest reduction in the deficit ever 
engineered by this House: in excess of $100 billion in the first years, 
in excess of $1 trillion in the second 10 years.
  We are hearing the same misinformation about 6 years of benefits for 
10 years of taxation. How is this? Shortly after this bill's enactment 
children will no longer be denied coverage because of preexisting 
conditions. Shortly after this bill's passage how is this for 6 years 
of benefits? Our seniors will experience immediately a reduction in the 
doughnut hole that has forced them in instances to choose between food 
and drugs. Shortly after passage of this bill, shortly after the 
passage of this bill young people up to the age of 26 will be able to 
go on their parents' insurance. Six years of benefits with 10 years of 
taxation. This is outrageous misinformation made all the worse by the 
fact that the minority chooses to bring this up at this moment when we 
are here to honor the sacrifice of our proud veterans.
  I yield to my friend on the other side.
  Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Although we haven't worked together on any committees, I know you by 
reputation, and I know that your reputation is good and that you are 
known to be a fair Representative. So one of my concerns I just have to 
tell you, as somebody who has served in the minority and the majority 
and oftentimes in the majority felt that we ran roughshod over the 
minority and that it was the wrong thing to do, but I have also known 
that when you are in the minority and you don't get to offer, for 
example, a single amendment on the largest piece of legislation that 
we've faced maybe since the income tax debate, I would appeal to your 
sense of understanding why you and I have this discussion going on. 
Because I support this bill, and I certainly think a moment of silence 
is the fit and proper thing to do.
  I look forward to traveling with the gentleman not just to Iraq and 
Afghanistan, but actually some of the places where we have World War II 
soldiers buried in foreign lands. I can tell you they absolutely love 
Americans as they look at the graves of Americans that are all over the 
world protecting not just our freedom but their freedom.
  So I certainly understand why you are appalled that we are using this 
as a vehicle to discuss health care. I agree with you. There is a good 
sense of indignation. Yet I find myself in a few minutes one of these 
people who will be talking about health care because it is my only 
opportunity. Because as I understand it, we are going to have 1 hour of 
debate on two different pieces of legislation, 30 minutes per side. And 
if you are not directly on the health care committee, you won't have an 
opportunity to speak tomorrow. That is why, while I support this 
legislation----
  Mr. HIMES. Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for bringing the 
discussion back to its proper topic of the honoring that this House and 
that the people of America can do for our veterans. I thank the 
gentleman for that, and would like to note to this gentleman that I 
spent this morning fighting to make sure that we would

[[Page 4060]]

vote on the bill in an up and down fashion. And in fact that is what we 
will do.
  I will note to the gentleman that he has had ample opportunity to 
discuss this over many, many months. But again I thank him for bringing 
this discussion back to where it should be, which is debating whether 
and how we honor our veterans.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I take exception 
to the suggestion that this process has been conducted in an open way. 
We have 3,800 pages of materials right here that we have been given in 
the last 3 days. Who on earth is able to go through 3,800 pages? That 
consists of the bill itself, H.R. 4872, 2,300 pages; House Report 
volumes 1 and 2 from the Budget Committee report explaining the bill, 
that adds up to 1,300 pages; and the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to the Reconciliation Act, 150 pages. That is a total of 
3,800 pages that we have been given in the last 72 hours. What kind of 
process is this?
  I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).
  Mr. SOUDER. In an earlier bill where I was talking about the veterans 
health care parts of this bill as we paid tribute to Cold War veterans, 
Chairman Andrews and I had a follow-up discussion about two of the 
details which shows the difficulty of this bill. He believes that the 
partial fix that was done this afternoon on TRICARE was not needed and 
that it was duplicative. We believed it was absolutely needed. Members 
who read the same bill can come to different conclusions. Now, my 
friend from New Jersey actually wrote much of the bill, he is a very 
detailed guy, and I appreciate his knowledge. But we feel that we 
needed the TRICARE fix.
  On the question of the second home, I said $30,000 and used an 
example of $200,000. By not going to $230,000, I have missed the tax 
portion. And he also agrees that it depends on what your income is. If 
it is $80,00 or above, the example I gave of somebody who had a mobile 
home whose lot is now worth $230,000 and if they have a job as a 
teacher and work at a gas station they will have $80,000 in income, 
which means they will now have taxes on a home that they never thought 
were taxes. So there were disagreements. You can look at the same 
question, but clearly it is a tax increase on veterans.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how much time 
we have?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Guam has 8\1/2\ minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from Colorado has 9 minutes remaining.
  Ms. BORDALLO. I now yield, Mr. Speaker, 2 minutes to my friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).
  Mr. GARAMENDI. I have the great privilege and honor of representing 
Travis Air Force Base and the more than 20,000 active service men and 
women on that base. Their mission is one of supplying the necessary 
equipment and armaments and food and other materials to men and women 
that are in the front zone of fighting. They also provide extraordinary 
support for humanitarian efforts, most recently those in Guam. And they 
may very well be heading to Chile on missions there. So I honor them 
and call our attention to their work.
  Again, I remain really saddened that my colleagues on the Republican 
side have used this time, and instead of honoring the work of our 
active duty men and women in the Armed Forces, they are using it to 
debate a bill of which there is plenty of time.
  Most recently the discussion about the availability. The Senate bill 
has been available to all of us since Christmas Eve. Three months to 
read the Senate bill. And that is a large portion of those documents 
that you have there on your table. The House bill has been available 
since November 6. So those two bills have been available to be read all 
that time. There are about 156 or 160 pages of corrections to the 
Senate bill that are before us. There are explanations, to be sure. And 
I suppose all of us would like to see the explanations from the 
committee. That has been available to us also.
  This was not done in the dark of night. This has been done over a 
long period of time. And that big stack of material before you has been 
available. And perhaps you have not had or taken the time to read it, 
but if you had, much of the misinformation that has been presented this 
evening you surely would not have put before this House because it 
simply is not reflected in the bill. Specifically, the issue of the 
veterans. The veterans are fully protected in the legislation. TRICARE 
is fully protected.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. BORDALLO. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. By the way, there are about a million and a half 
veterans out there that will be able to get medical insurance through 
the various programs that are created by this legislation. They 
presently are not in the Veterans Administration process for many, many 
reasons. They will have access to it.
  So on the whole, A, we have had time to read these bills; B, the 
corrections that are in the reconciliation process, which will be voted 
on along with the Senate bill, have been around for some time, for 72 
hours minimum, and in many cases over 3 and 4 months. So read the bill.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, let me highlight several sweetheart deals 
in the health care legislation that I think are a real problem to me, 
many of my colleagues, and many Americans. We have the Rocky Top Vote 
Swap. Tennessee is quite familiar with the runaway costs associated 
with government-run health care as seen with TennCare. Payoffs from 
Washington, though, have a way of smoothing thing things over. So the 
bill includes tens of millions of extra Medicaid dollars for the State 
of Tennessee.
  The Big Sky Buy-Off. A special provision was inserted in the Senate 
bill recently that provided taxpayer-funded health care to only certain 
Montana residents.
  U Conn. As part of the original health care bill, a mysterious 
provision was inserted providing a whopping $100 million in a 
cryptically worded provision for a new medical facility. After some 
investigation, it was discovered that Connecticut was the lucky 
recipient of this taxpayer dollar giveaway.
  The Bismarck Bank Job. A helpful provision was inserted in the 
reconciliation package. While most American banks will be cut off from 
subsidies for private student loans when the government takes over the 
student loan industry, which is part of the bill we will vote on 
tomorrow, banks in North Dakota will still see the cash rolling into 
their banks.
  PhRMA'ing for Favors. As has been reported, Democratic staffers were 
huddled behind closed doors over the last few weeks with PhRMA 
lobbyists as they crafted the final bill. Coincidentally, PhRMA has now 
decided it will run expensive TV ads in the districts of 38 wavering 
Democrats.
  Cowboy Cash. North Dakota and Montana, along with Wyoming and South 
Dakota stand to get extra Federal cash for their States' Medicare 
rolls.
  And the Louisiana Purchase that we have all heard about. Three 
hundred million dollars extra for Medicaid payments to one State is 
still in the bill. That is just yet one more reason we should reject 
the health care bill tomorrow.
  At this time I will yield 3 minutes to my colleague and friend from 
the State of Georgia (Mr. Kingston).
  Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  As a member of the defense committee who represents four military 
installations, someone who has gone to Afghanistan and Iraq five times, 
and never without going to Ramstein to visit our logistics crew over 
there, at Landstuhl Hospital to visit people in the hospital, as well 
as to go to Walter Reed Hospital here in Washington, I feel very 
strongly that this resolution is a good resolution and should be 
debated and voted on.
  I have to tell you that at only 20 minutes per side, that sort of 
gives a signal to veterans also what the majority thinks about 
veterans. This is a good bill and I'm going to support it,

[[Page 4061]]

but it saddens me that this is the vehicle in which we're going to be 
allowed to talk about health care.
  But as I talk to the veterans of my four military installations back 
home and the ones who are retired in those areas, they're saying this 
is a horrible health care bill. I did not go to Iraq, I did not go to 
Vietnam, I did not fight in World War II for you to take away my 
freedom in one piece of legislation.
  I've got to remind my friends of what the Speaker said just a week or 
two ago. I quote directly Speaker Nancy Pelosi: ``We need to pass this 
bill so you can find out what's in it.''

                              {time}  1930

  Does anyone deny that is a direct quote from the Speaker? That is 
exactly what Speaker Pelosi said.
  So when my veterans back home are concerned, along with the middle 
class taxpayers, of what's in this bill, I think they have that right 
to have some apprehension. We do need full debate. Keep in mind that 
health care is one-sixth of the economy, $2.4 trillion.
  This is a major government intrusion into it, not that the government 
should not be in it at all. But we are totally changing the balance of 
it, and yet we're not having a full debate. Why not have just several 
hours but weeks? Can you say to me with a straight face that would be 
unreasonable? We need to have hours and hours of debates.
  The Republican Party has offered 99 amendments, and how many will be 
accepted? Zero. No ideas from the Republican Party. And shutting out 
the Republican Party might be great Democrat politics, but you're 
shutting out the people that we represent.
  And I will point out, as you know, you don't need one single 
Republican vote. If this bill is so good, why did you not pass it in 
August? You didn't pass it because you didn't have the Democrat votes. 
The reason we're here on a weekend is because you don't have the 
Democrat votes. Now, I don't know what the President was here today 
doing. I don't know what he gave away. We know about the Louisiana 
purchase. We know about the hospital in Connecticut. We know about the 
Gator aid for Florida. We know about the Cornhusker kickback in 
Nebraska. And we found out now that student loans are being put in the 
health care bill. How did that get in there? The federalization of 
student loans is now in the health care bill. That doesn't make sense 
at all, and it doesn't make sense that in North Dakota they're exempted 
from the law.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LAMBORN. I will yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Georgia.
  Mr. KINGSTON. I've got to say this on behalf of veterans; they're not 
comfortable with this TRICARE wording. In the dark of the night or in 
the light of the day, unintentionally or intentionally, the health care 
bill does put TRICARE on the chopping block. Now, it might be okay with 
the fig leaf amendment that we passed today in lots of words, but 
that's what happens when you ram something through.
  The $523 billion in Medicare cuts, how does that affect seniors? I 
don't know the good and the bad and the ugly of it. I think it's worth 
more than 72 hours to debate. If this is such a great bill and it's 
going to last such a long time, why not give it more time to debate?
  The impact of hiring 16,000 new IRS agents. I don't think Democrats 
like the IRS any more than the Republicans. I agree that the IRS is 
necessary. They do a vital job. But 16,000 new IRS agents with all 
kinds of new powers to look into the businesses and households of 
America? That scares me. That's why we plead to you. Let us have time 
to look at the bill carefully. We don't need to do it on a Sunday 
afternoon.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and 
colleague, the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I want to thank the gentlelady from Guam 
for doing such an excellent job in honoring our veterans and honoring 
our soldiers by managing legislation that truly deserves our honor and 
respect to the Cold War veterans, many of whom are unsung heroes. I 
offer my greatest tribute as we honor the aviators and those marines 
who sacrificed their lives as well.
  It is interesting, when there is nothing good to say about something 
that is good, then my friends on the other side of the aisle begin to 
engage in misrepresentations and fairy tales and exaggeration. So I'm 
reminded of the words of Thomas Edison that many of life's failures are 
people who did not realize how close they were to success when they 
gave up. And that's what they want us to do--to give up.
  I appreciate the breadth and depth of the representation and the 
interest that is appearing on the east steps of the Capitol. This is 
what a democracy is about. But when I see words like ``socialized 
medicine'' and ``ObamaCare, a lethal injection,'' it is important to 
realize that people have been so provoked because of misrepresentation 
and untruth.
  They don't understand that there will be $1.3 trillion in cutting the 
budget; that, in fact, small businesses will get tax incentives and 
subsidies to help insure those hardworking Americans who work for small 
businesses, the engine of our economy; that our young people who, in 
fact, have gone on without insurance, our college students, our 
graduate students, the best of America's future suffer without health 
insurance, like a young woman that I know that is in between jobs and 
cannot get health insurance because she happens to be over the age of 
college and cannot be on her parents' insurance.
  What are we doing if we're not investing in our children? All of the 
chatter and confusion says nothing about the value of this bill. All of 
the misrepresentations about special interests, when many of that is 
not done, but much of that is helping Americans. It's helping the 
States who've been donor States. It's helping those States who are 
poor. It's helping those States who have suffered from a devastating 
disaster like Hurricane Katrina. What is wrong with America standing up 
for those who cannot speak for themselves.
  And so it is important to note they want us to give up, and as was 
recounted by one of our major leaders in the Congress comparing this to 
a basketball game when the clock has run out and people are 
continuously trying to foul the winning team, putting obstruction in 
the winning team's place. But you know what we're going to do in this 
March month? We're going to keep on dunking that ball, as this great 
leader has said. We're going to put that ball in the basketball hoop 
and we're going to win that game, because we've got to stand up for 
those who are not out there on those front steps. We've got to stand up 
for the veterans who understand that TRICARE will be preserved. And 
what a miserable collapse the veterans health care system was just 
about 2 years ago when we had to come to this floor and fight----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. BORDALLO. I yield 1 extra minute to the gentlelady.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. When we had to come to this floor and 
provide extra money for those veterans to shore up this health care 
system, or the many veterans that I work for in my office that come and 
ask about helping them get their benefits because it's a logjammed 
system that we're continuing to try to work on.
  So don't use this argument about the TRICARE. We're protecting the 
TRICARE system, as well as the veterans hospitalization system. But 
those veteran families and their extended family members who are 
uninsured or the 45,000 who die every year because they have no 
insurance, this is the toughest health insurance reform that we've ever 
been able to do.
  And I can tell you, my friend, health insurance companies, you need 
to be tough with them, because all they can see is the dollar and the 
up and up and up of the premiums. And I want to say enough is enough.
  So this is not a lethal injection. This is a lifeline. This is a rope 
being thrown into the water to drag those

[[Page 4062]]

out who are drowning because they can't get any health insurance. And 
this is not socialized medicine, nor was it with Medicaid or Medicare 
or the veterans system. It is helping Americans using their tax dollars 
in a wise way.
  We need to move forward on health care reform and dunk the ball and 
win the game.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Republicans believe that we can have health reform, and 
we should, without a government takeover of one-sixth of our Nation's 
economy.
  Republicans introduced over 70 bills that offer free market solutions 
to health care reform, and one of those is H.R. 3400. H.R. 3400, a bill 
I have cosponsored, is the Empowering Patients First Act. It does three 
things.
  It gives access to coverage for all Americans. It does this in large 
part by extending the tax deduction, which right now unfairly only goes 
to corporate employees, and says every American can have this tax 
deduction. That lets you have your insurance and not be dependent on 
your job to provide it for you. That way you can take it with you. It 
becomes portable. You have less to fear from preexisting conditions.
  Coverage will be truly owned by the patient under H.R. 3400. The 
individual market is expanded. Things like pooling mechanisms, where 
national associations can form together, use national economies of 
scale to form membership plans and accounts to pool across State lines. 
Right now that is not allowed under law. And reining in out-of-control 
costs. We can do this for instance, through reforming the medical 
liability system.
  The bills in front of us that we may vote on tomorrow do nothing 
about medical tort reform. That's a huge driver of defensive medicine 
and needless costs in our health care system. But if we, for instance, 
establish administrative health care tribunals, known as health courts, 
in each State, added affirmative defense through provider-established 
best practice measures, or encourage the speedy resolution of claims, 
we would do things to cut down on the cost of defensive medicine.
  So Republicans have solutions that, unfortunately, have not been 
allowed to come to this floor for a vote. We also have about a hundred 
amendments being heard, as we speak, over in the Rules Committee, and I 
doubt that a single one of those rules will be labeled in order for 
voting on the floor tomorrow.
  Let me conclude by reading some lines out of today's Wall Street 
Journal. They have summed it up better than anyone can. This is the 
lead editorial in today's Wall Street Journal:
  ``A self-governing democracy,'' it concludes, ``can of course decide 
that it wants to become this kind of superwelfare State. But if the 
yearlong debate over ObamaCare has proven anything, it is that 
Americans want no such thing. There is no polling majority or any 
bipartisan support, much less a rough national consensus for this 
expansion of government power. The election of Scott Brown in 
Massachusetts for Ted Kennedy's seat, of all things, was as direct a 
referendum as you could have.
  ``So if the health bill passes in the House, it will only do so the 
way it did in the Senate, with a narrow partisan majority, abetted by 
political bribery and intimidation, budget gimmicks and procedural 
deceptions.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Would the Chair give me the time that we have left.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Guam has 2 minutes 
remaining.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to state for the record, 
House Resolution 1119 states that we should honor our armed services 
with a moment of silence, and I hope that my colleagues will seem fit 
to support this very fine resolution.
  I would also like to go on record to thank Mr. Lamborn of Colorado 
for managing the bills and resolutions this afternoon with me.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1119, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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