[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13845]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CHINESE DRYWALL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Roby). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Rigell) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. RIGELL. Now, imagine you worked hard and saved for a down payment 
of your own, a down payment on the American Dream. Imagine that you 
found the right place, secured the financing and happily started your 
life as a homeowner.
  Now, imagine months later, though, that your house is filled with a 
putrid, rotten, egg-like odor that just permeates your home, makes your 
children sick with severe headaches and nose bleeds. Imagine the 
mounting frustration when the copper coils on your AC unit and your 
refrigerator corrode, develop leaks and have to be replaced again and 
again and again.
  You ultimately have to move your family into a rental home and find 
out that the cause of all of this pain and grief is nothing other than 
defective drywall that fills your home and was imported from China. 
Madam Speaker, many of my constituents don't have to imagine that 
nightmare. They are experiencing it and living it right now.
  Some have been dealing with this issue for more than 2 years without 
relief. Many are severely financially strained as they continue to have 
to pay the mortgage on the first home and then go out and find a second 
residence to live in and pay for both. Some have had their homes 
foreclosed on. Some have gone into bankruptcy. I have been in these 
homes. These people are hurting, our fellow American citizens.
  And because our legal system is flawed, the manufacturers of the 
contaminated drywall that is coming from China are not being held 
accountable for a defective, dangerous product. Even if a judgment is 
made in favor of the homeowners, it can't be enforced.
  That is not right. Homeowners' insurance and builders' insurance is 
not covering the damages. At the end of the day, who is left holding 
the bag? It's the owner of the home. This is not the American way.
  Their finances are devastated, their credit ratings are ruined. Now I 
am working with a bipartisan group with my colleagues doing everything 
we can on the Contaminated Drywall Caucus to forge a better path for 
our fellow citizens.
  We have had hearings, we have met with the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, we have written letters to the President. We have asked for 
assistance from the United States Trade Representative, but it's not 
enough. We must, we must hold the Chinese manufacturers accountable for 
the defective products they shipped to our Nation and that fill our 
American homes.
  So I call on the committees of jurisdiction to hold hearings, to 
investigate and move forward some practical solutions to this problem 
that is hurting so many of our neighbors.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________