[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19033-19036]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BATTLES WORTH FIGHTING

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. KERRY L. BENTIVOLIO

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 16, 2014

  Mr. BENTIVOLIO. Mr. Speaker, a war is raging for the soul of America. 
It is not a war of steel and cartridge. It is a conflict of ideas, 
fought not in trenches, jungles or a desert; instead, it is played out 
in town halls, roundtables, tea party and Liberty groups all across the 
nation. Instead of cannonades, there are editorials; instead of bombs, 
there are speeches; instead of rifle volleys, there is education on the 
benefits of Liberty ordained by God protected by a United States 
Constitution.
  There is a genuine feeling today, especially among people who attend 
the various Tea Party and Liberty Groups that we, our country more 
specifically, may not make it. Many people consider these folks, the 
common everyday people who attend the Tea Party meetings `fringe, right 
wing nut cases and extremists'. Many of the people who attend the Tea 
Party meetings, sometimes weekly, most commonly monthly, and more 
attend intermittently, sense something is drastically wrong. For the 
most part, they sense it and yet cannot firmly point their finger and 
claim what exactly is the cause of their discontent, the uneasiness; 
the fear danger is lurking just around the corner. It is not 
necessarily a feeling of doom from a nuclear, biological or chemical 
attack on our country from some foreign enemy or terrorism either. It 
is more serious than any violence a bad actor can bring. It is 
something more innate, a sense that they somehow lost something but 
can't remember what it was, like when you know you lost something 
important, an item you need to accomplish a task but can't remember 
what it is and where you placed it. You know it's around somewhere and 
if you looked hard enough you'll see it and you can continue with your 
task.

[[Page 19034]]

  What is missing, what they are looking for, is our capacity for 
governing. Today, in Washington, D.C. we have a President inept in 
offering any sort of cooperative government. According to the President 
the House of Representatives is a non-entity. As President he has a pen 
and a phone to make the changes he sees as necessary to move his 
political agenda and the People's house has no say in the matter. But, 
the great threat to our country, our Constitutional government, is not 
entirely the President. It is easy to blame him for our dysfunctional 
government. Rather, the blame lies entirely with the system itself. We 
have created by our apathy a system that has normalized a process that 
distorts the will of the people by an economy of influence. A system 
designed to make those most connected rich. Our system of government 
created a class of rich whose wealth does not come from innovation, 
creativity or hard work, instead a new class of rich who secured their 
wealth through the manipulation of politicians and government agencies. 
The great new classes of wealth are a breed of financial politicians 
who could not secure their power by traditional methods that instead 
turned to the massive wealth directed by our government as the means to 
secure wealth and power for themselves and their circle of supporters.
  Our enemy is not simply a Democrat or a Republican; it is a new breed 
in thousand dollar suits. They have changed laws agreeable to their 
business interests, bought and paid for politicians, judges, the media 
and skirted criminal laws and for the most part they are engaged in bad 
government and fail to actively track the will of the people. To them 
Democracy is a charade, only rhetoric for political messaging of a lost 
ideal to placate the masses still engaged in the political process-
while they make money for themselves and their friends. That voice is 
often louder than the voice of the people, the middle class, the very 
people who as the backbone of the American economy, who join our armed 
services to serve rather than take, our middle class carries the burden 
and suffers the most, silenced and placated by promises of a better 
life, the hope and change for the future that never really comes.
  There are battles to be fought on the way we spend our taxpayer 
dollars, how we handle immigration and border security issues, 
religious freedom, education, veterans, and our National Defense. There 
is a major battle on protecting the rights of our citizens because it 
is Congress' principle duty to protect our rights not take them away. 
Together, we must strive valiantly and dare greatly and fight these 
battles.
  Through these past 24 months in Congress my convictions were tested 
and clarified. And they will continue to be tested in the weeks and 
months to come.
  I want to tell you the fight is just beginning.
  I WENT TO Congress an average person with certain and specific values 
I learned as a young man and a soldier in the military. The principles 
of leadership I hold dear;
  And a lifelong motto;
  To STRIVE VALIANTLY and DARE GREATLY
  These are not simply words on a page for me. Or rhetoric for an 
election campaign to get votes.
  They run deeper.
  LEADERSHIP is living a life BY EXAMPLE.
  And NEVER asking a soldier or a constituent to do something you would 
not do.
  As one of the most CONSERVATIVE members of Congress I passed 3 
important pieces of legislation with 100% Bi-partisan support.
  It bothers me when someone says they wish I would comprise and be 
more moderate.
  Rated as the number #1 most transparent congressman out of 84 
freshman members of Congress, and rated in the top 30% out of the 435 
members of congress with an extensive record of working with the other 
side.
  I know there are issues needing our attention and that working 
together we can accomplish great things. There are issues and work to 
be done, as a team, not as adversaries.
  There are battles yet to be fought.
  I know there are children who deserve a quality education and not 
getting it. K-12 education has been largely stagnant. College costs 
have risen as federal subsidies have ballooned. Graduates indentured to 
college debt have lesser prospects for future employment than any time 
in our history.
  I once gave a speech to a Conservative Group on the issues in 
Education. As a former private and public school teacher, certified and 
highly qualified in both vocational and general education, I think I am 
well suited to offer suggestions. My presentation was well received by 
the Conservative audience.
  During the question and answer portion of my presentation a lady 
asked me how I felt being a Conservative teacher, in a public school 
and a member of the Liberal Teacher's Union.
  Madam, I said, ``I think I feel the same way Jane Fonda would feel at 
a VFW Convention!''
  This is a battle worth fighting. I want to tell you that all across 
the country there are people of all ages struggling with health issues 
and their health insurance.
  The Unaffordable Health Care Act undermines the doctor-patient 
relationship, limits patient choice, centralizes government control of 
our health care administered by bureaucrats NOT your family doctor. The 
administration was not transparent. They lied and deceived the American 
people into thinking they could keep their doctor, their hospital, 
their insurance and insurance premiums would be less expensive. Mr. 
Gruber admitted in testimony before the Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee he helped direct this deception.
  No matter your political party affiliation, promises were made and 
broken. Facts speak for themselves, Obamacare is unpopular, unworkable, 
and unaffordable and should be stopped and repealed in its entirety.
  Together we can discuss and find alternatives that produce affordable 
health care BEFORE it becomes law.
  Remember the lady speaker who said, ``We must pass it before we can 
see what's in it?'' The last time I heard that was when my doctor asked 
for a stool sample. And in both cases he got the same thing!
  Look what ``We must pass it before we can see what's in it'' has 
brought upon us!
  Division, not unity!
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want to tell you within our country there are people who have given 
up looking for work and lost hope in ever finding the American dream.
  Obamacare, and the Obama administration have increased annual 
regulatory costs by nearly $70 Billion dollars. Unnecessary regulatory 
dictates hinder job creation and innovation while undermining America's 
fundamental freedoms.
  Passing legislation that ensures a congressional check on 
Governmental regulators as well as the accountability of Congress is a 
good idea. This will help get America back to work and restore the 
American dream.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want you to know that right now while some are very skittish on 
issues like immigration and trying to figure it out, this country's 
borders are worth protecting.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  FRIENDS, Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 more than fifty 
terrorist plots against the United States have been foiled because of 
domestic and international cooperation. Yet, many of the intelligence 
tools to combat terrorism are controversial and many unconstitutional. 
Each and every one of these tools should be reexamined carefully to 
guarantee that America liberties are protected. At the same time we 
must ensure our defense agencies have legal tools at their disposal to 
PROTECT and DEFEND our great country.
  THIS is a battle worth fighting.
  Mr. Speaker, I want you to know America needs a reformed tax code 
that facilitates, not inhibits, economic growth and job creation.
  Taxes and the cost of doing business are higher. Part-time work is 
replacing full time work. Wages are stagnant An uncertain future is the 
norm rather than the exception.
  The tax code has become an enormous chain around the neck of a 
stagnate economy.
  You do not need to have a Ph.D. in economics to know Investment goes 
where it is welcome and stays where it is appreciated.
  Tax rates on families, businesses, and investment are too high. Our 
tax code needs to be hassle free, simpler, and fair. Our present tax 
system prevents the economy from reaching its potential and further 
suppresses wages.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want to tell you Religious liberty in this country is not merely 
the ``freedom to worship.'' Individuals should be free to work, speak, 
and serve according to their deeply held beliefs seven days a week.
  Religious freedom is under assault at every corner, in every form of 
media, especially from burdensome government policies and efforts to 
undermine marriage, a religious, not a government blessing.
  I want to tell you about how GOD not government, determines life.
  And how that LIFE shall have liberty to pursue dreams and 
opportunity.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want to tell you about our basic freedoms of speech, our 2nd 
Amendment protections and our rights to due process.
  Basic rights given us by God are gradually stolen from us by 
government regulators, executive orders, and YES even members of the 
media spread the propaganda undermining these freedoms.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want to tell you that our most personal and confidential financial 
and health information is

[[Page 19035]]

viewed and administered by political appointees whose interests are 
more political than helpful in improving your life.
  I want to tell you about how Government websites are unprotected.
  That these Federal Websites lack basic and sound security protocols 
exposing your most confidential personal financial and health 
information to criminal hackers and bad actors both foreign and 
domestic.
  I am pleased the House unanimously passed my bill H.R. 3635, The Safe 
and Secure Federal Websites Act, it had 126 original cosponsors, a 
record for a GOP freshman member of Congress. Thank-you.
  This is a battle worth fighting.
  I want to tell you there are people in Washington who want to rob our 
senior citizens of the monies they paid into programs like social 
security and renege on the promises to our veterans.
  As a veteran I have firsthand knowledge of the abuse and neglect 
inflicted on members of our armed services when they returned home from 
Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the treatment my fellow Vietnam 
veterans and I received coming home.
  Our VA hospitals are under additional and justifiable scrutiny.
  There are long wait times at VA hospitals . . . and instead of 
addressing the issues, they threw a convention for VA employees 
spending almost $1 million and an additional $350,000 for souvenirs 
because they had extra money . . .
  Many government bureaucrats receive millions of dollars in bonuses 
when they are neither accountable nor transparent to taxpayers when 
found abusing their authority. Rather than properly address our 
veterans . . .
  The suicides . . .
  The homelessness . . .
  The wait times . . .
  The healthcare . . .
  The hypocrites are the first to demand war and are the last if at all 
to send their own son or daughter to fight it!
  And yet, they are responsible for policy failures making us 
vulnerable to our enemies. Domestic policies and actions that weaken 
not strengthen our country. The list of harmful policies and actions is 
a long and growing. There are the lies and hidden cost of Obamacare 
that are undermining the quality and availability of healthcare; the 
rapid growth of welfare that is putting an additional strain on our 
economy; Distortions in presenting the real unemployment numbers; 
bailouts that did not work; irresponsible investments in alternative 
energy sources that can provide minimal benefits at best; encouragement 
of an entitlement mentality; no leadership on immigration so that our 
borders are open to ISIS and other terrorist groups; a burgeoning list 
of costly regulations; poor handling of the pullout from Iraq and the 
draw down in Afghanistan; a lack of leadership in dealing with Iran's 
nuclear threat; the projection of weakness in Benghazi, Crimea, 
Ukraine, and containment of the civil war in Syria; the haphazard, too-
little-too-late approach to ISIS in Iraq; meekly referring to terrorist 
attacks against American soldiers as work place violence instead of 
calling it what it is--terrorism; swapping terrorist leaders for an 
American deserter; and the list goes on.
  Big government is stealing the American dream and future prosperity 
from our children by enslaving them to more than $18 trillion dollars 
of debt not of their own choosing. Congress did not ask permission from 
our children to borrow the money, nor receive it as a gift. The money 
is stolen from future generations and this is selfish and immoral.
  Our military and the defense of our nation is top priority and yet, 
no help for Benghazi, an unsecure border, veterans issues, military 
training and equipment to defend us in the years to come is languishing 
in media hype, misinformation and political propaganda.
  I want to tell you Washington's blatant disregard for a responsible 
fiscal policy, their wasteful overspending and continued borrowing 
weakens our country's ability to respond to future unexpected 
challenges.
  And those challenges will come.
  They will come. And they will come very soon.
  My friends these are battles worth fighting.
  It is a time to choose whether we want a big bloated Nanny government 
telling us what light bulbs we can purchase, how much water we can 
flush down a toilet, what our children can and cannot eat in school or 
what we can teach them and to what standards?
  Do we want our Federal government to tell us who we can call doctor 
and what hospital we can visit in an emergency?
  Do we want our Federal government to regulate who and who cannot 
voice opposition to abusive authority and the moral corruption of God 
given liberties?
  Do we want a dismantled national defense leaving us defenseless?
  Our country is broken, bankrupt morally and financially.
  There it is. Plain and simple.
  As a member of the United States House of Representatives, I swore an 
oath to defend the Constitution and as a soldier to defend the people 
of this great nation.
  Before I close I want to tell you the reason I served both in the 
military and here in Congress.
  I began in the neighborhood where I grew up as the eldest of four 
sons. My grandfather served in WWI and my father and uncles served in 
the 1940's. The gentleman who lived in the house across the street was 
a former sailor in WW2. He was on an aircraft carrier that was hit by a 
kamikaze. Our next door neighbor was Charles Parker senior. As a 
Marine, he received a purple heart on Iwo Jima. His son, a few years 
older than me, was my best friend, Chuck Jr. His name is inscribed on 
the Vietnam War Memorial on the Mall in DC. Down the street a few 
houses was another neighbor who fought in the Korean War, his daughter, 
Cookie gave me my first kiss. Near him was another veteran who served 
in the Navy on a destroyer and there were two men across the street 
from him who served together in Gen Patton's Third Army and were part 
of the force that relieved the 101st Airborne at Bastogne. I can still 
see their faces. Their examples of service all played a part in why I 
served in the Armed Forces. Perhaps, they were the reason why the words 
of our President Kennedy, ``Ask not what your country can do for you 
but rather what you can do for your country'' rang so true.
  I don't think John Kennedy would recognize his party today.
  I think my understanding of service can be best summed up by the 
message of the movie, ``Saving Private Ryan.'' I hope some of you have 
seen it. If you haven't let me tell you what it's about. The movie 
begins with an elderly man walking through the cemetery off the beach 
at Normandy, down a sidewalk with his family behind him.
  The scene then shifts to a landing craft heading for the beaches of 
Normandy on D-Day. Tom Hanks plays the part of Cpt Miller, 2nd Rangers. 
The landing craft hits the beach and the soldiers, and well, they 
experience the horrors of battle. Many of his fellow soldiers are 
killed and wounded in the scenes that follow.
  After securing the beach head, Cpt Miller receives new orders. His 
new mission is to locate and bring home Private Ryan, played by Matt 
Damon, who's in the 101st Airborne because Ryan's three brothers were 
recently killed within weeks of each other and the Army thinks that no 
family should lose four sons to war. Cpt Miller, with a small 
contingent of soldiers set off to locate Ryan.
  In the course of several days Cpt Miller loses several soldiers in 
the quest to locate Ryan. Eventually, they find him in a small village 
in France, but alas, he decides to stay with his fellow soldiers--his 
brothers in arms--to defend a small bridge in the village.
  They fight the Germans and in the course of the battle most all of 
Miller's soldiers are killed. Only two remain. Cpt Miller receives a 
mortal wound and sits gasping his last breaths, his back against a 
motorcycle, looks up at young Private Ryan says, with his last breaths, 
``earn this . . . earn this.'' The scene changes to a close up of Matt 
Damon, his face changes from young Ryan to the older man we met at the 
beginning of the movie, he's overlooking a gravestone that reads, 
``Captain Miller, 2nd Rangers.''
  Old Ryan falls to his knees in front of the gravestone and says, 
``Not a day goes by that I don't remember what you all did for me. I 
tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I 
hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done 
for me.''
  Let me tell you something: Not a day goes by I do not remember what 
the fathers of my childhood friends and playmates did for us to protect 
the American dream. No matter where your family hails from, no matter 
what cultural or religious background, as citizens we are all 
fundamentally equal and self-governing because the generation before us 
stood up to do what's right and to protect our nation's exceptional 
principles.
  We are supposed to have a limited government, outlined in the 
Constitution, which gives us the liberty and opportunity to live our 
lives, control our fate, and pursue our happiness. Everyone here has a 
right to the rewards of his or her labor. These ideas challenge the 
notion that life is a zero sum game where if I win you lose. We have 
created a society in which every member can work hard, achieve success, 
and advance in life to the benefit of all. Because of this our economy 
produces almost a quarter of the world's wealth and our military forces 
are the most powerful on the globe.

[[Page 19036]]

  It is the potent combination of liberty under the rule of law, the 
endless creativity of the marketplace, and the enduring moral character 
of the American people that assures opportunity for all and fuels the 
unlimited promise of America.
  That is the ``this'' in the phrase ``earn this'' from ``Saving 
Private Ryan.''
  Americans have been told by the Administration that prosperity 
requires more spending, more government, and more taxes. Liberals 
constantly want people to believe that if one American does well that 
means another one isn't. They have continued down this phony path even 
though most Americans think government does too much. Only the House of 
Representatives has served as a brake, trying to divert us from this 
dangerous road ahead.
  Some argue that conservatives should accept the liberal premise. They 
say we must be resigned to permanent economic stagnation, give up our 
firearms and our religious values; submit to bureaucratic rule, and 
national decline. Many of my friends in the House and I disagree.
  The time is now to champion the ideas of opportunity and upward 
mobility and to redouble our efforts to change America's course, 
heading back down the path created by our forefathers. We will meet the 
demands of the moment and address the magnitude of the challenges 
before us. We will fight whenever possible, constantly pointing out the 
false promises of liberalism, and offering conservative alternatives at 
every turn.
  We will take our arguments to all Americans: To middle-class families 
struggling in a bad economy; to young people worried about their 
prospects; to retirees worried about their grandchildren; to job 
creators seeking to expand prosperity; to those who are stuck in 
poverty grasping for that first rung on the ladder of opportunity--
conservatism is for everybody. This is what our founding fathers, our 
grandfathers and fathers, our uncles and neighbors, our friends 
struggled to protect.
  The moment has arrived. It will take courage to stop the government 
from growing out of control while self-interests are pulling the levers 
of power. You don't need a uniform to fight for our freedoms. I am 
asking every American to stand side by side and explain to our friends 
and neighbors that while this is the easy way to live; it's a hard way 
to be free and prosperous. It's our time to ``earn this'', to keep the 
promises of our forefathers and earn what they gave us. Freedom.
  Never let it be said that this generation stood idle and let liberty 
slip from our fingers, never let it be said we let a day go without 
remembering what our forefathers did for us.
  I have honored that promise on the battlefields in Vietnam, in Iraq 
and in the halls of Congress.
  My number one mission, as always, is to protect our God given rights. 
Not take them away!
  Today, not tomorrow, we must decide whether we want to manage our own 
destiny, in our states, in our cities and towns as individuals or 
whether we want a Washington bureaucrat locked away in some distant 
Federal building spying on us, telling us how to manage our own lives, 
families, doctors and our schools!
  Do we determine our own destiny or let government bureaucrats run our 
lives?
  The time for choosing is once again upon us.
  Mr. Speaker, my dear Patriots, friends and neighbors, the battle is 
here now, today, not in some distant jungle or desert, and we must 
decide whether or not we want a brighter future for ourselves and our 
children and grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, We, together, today, must decide whether our uniquely 
American culture made up of people respectfully representing every 
cultural, religious, and ethnic background on earth is a nation divided 
or united in a common cause for freedom and the opportunity liberty 
offers each of us.
  We must choose whether we will join our friends and neighbors 
defending liberty and opportunity or become grease for the wheels of 
big government.
  In respectful civil disobedience, I for one will not submit to the 
chains of tyranny. I fly the Stars and Stripes in my yard not the red 
hammer and cycle!
  I choose to continue the fight for a smaller, non-intrusive, fiscally 
responsible, constitutional government. I choose Freedom for America! I 
choose prosperity for America!
  Mr. Speaker, I pledged to the citizens of my State, and to the 
American people, that as their elected representative I will work to: 
Restore liberty, not restrict it; Shrink government, not expand it; 
Reduce taxes, not raise them; Abolish programs, not create them; 
Promote the freedom and independence of citizens, not the interference 
of government in their lives; and Observe the limited, enumerated 
powers of our Constitution, not ignore them. I trust I honored that 
pledge.
  I praise God for my American roots and pray that HE may continue to 
Bless all of us and this great nation.
  I want to thank my fellow citizens and members of Congress for the 
privilege, honor and experience to serve in the 113th Congress these 
last 24 months. And lastly, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to wish the 114th 
Congress my very best wishes.
  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

                          ____________________