Transcripts For CSPAN Morning Hour 20131030

Rity and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. The chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip each, to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11 50 a. M. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Williams, for five minutes. Mr. Williams mr. Speaker, thank you. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day in america when Army Secretary john mchugh says that in todays fiscal environment the bestcase scenario for our militarys budget is treacherous. Ray odierno says it hampers the militarys ability to train its own troops. While there is waste and overlap in every federal agency, the pentagon budget not excluded, there is much to be said for congress doing its primary job of governing, passing a budget. For the last four years we see continuing resolution after continuing resolution has placed in our military. Earlier this year we saw the rigid requirements that harmed the department of defense when president obamas sequester took place. Before these cuts, the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said our Defense Program was already underfunded by 5 with modernization underfunded by 10 . Thankfully, Congress Took quick action that allowed the d. O. D. To operate under a budget in order to meet all of their nisscal requirements and have more flexibility as they asosh the acrosstheboard sequester cuts. General odierno revealed just this week that two Army Brigades are combat ready and training has come to a halt. This is a terrifying reality given that only two months ago president obama addressed congress and the public asking for support for a military attack on syria. We absolutely cannot send our troops who are not trained, not equipped and not prepared into harms way. Our military readiness should never ever be threatened like this. As the worlds superpower, our Armed Forces Must be ready to deploy thousands of troops, should the need arrives. It is downsizing in afghanistan and preparing for future programs with no certainty of any financial stability. Our nation has a serious financial problem. Our deficit is growing. Our spending is increasing, and it seems in nearly every budget battle our military is thrown in as a bargaining chip. This is not the american way, and it must become the thing of the past. Other Government Agencies have bloated budgets with wasteful overlapping programs, fraudulent spending and blatant abuses of taxpayer dollars. All the while our military budget is being stripped to the bear bones. Last bare bones. Last time i checked, mr. Speaker, is we are a nation at war. We must not gut essential programs for our warriors and their families. We must have them operate under regular order, passed in conference Appropriations Bills so our military can be the most prepared in the world. Texas 25th district is home to for the hood, one of the largest fort hood, one of the Largest Military installations in the world. They can sustain more than 50,000 soldiers approximate approximate and their families. Soldiers and their families. I ask to put an end to the financial uncertainty in the military. Lets simply do just the right thing. May god bless our troops, God Bless America and always in god we trust. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair now recognizes the minority whip, the gentleman from maryland, mr. Hoyer, for five minutes, or as much time as he shall require. Mr. Hoyer thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Hoyer mr. Speaker, budget conferees are now meeting or will be meeting shortly to negotiate a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year. And they have a real opportunity to look beyond that mission and lay the groundwork for a longterm solution to our deficits that is balanced and restores certainty to our economy. What we do not need is more gimmicks and partisan games. Like we will have today, frankly. We are going to have a vote on the resolution, which is disapproving of the raising of the debt limit. Everybody knows thats not a real vote, and almost everybody on this floor knows that if we pursued that policy it would be damaging to america, to the military that was just brought up, and to our nation and every republican leader has said that not increasing the debt limit is an alternative that ought to be pursued. Yet, we have this vote. That resolution has already been rejected by the senate and stands no chance of surviving a president ial veto. It is, frankly, simply political cover and a waste of our time. Keys to any budget solution, mr. Speaker, must be compromise and a seriousness of purpose. Americans want to see that seriousness, and they want to see much, much, much less of the political gamesmanship. Some of which well practice today, unfortunately. Republicans and democrats, i believe, in looking beyond a small fix and toward negotiating a longterm solution will find that we actually agree on many things. We agree that gradual reforms are better than sudden ones. We agree that sequestration is not a sensible approach to achieving deficit savings. And let me say as an aside, no matter how many times its said on this floor that the sequester is president obamas policy, it will not make it fact. T is dead, flat wrong. The sequester is incorporated in the republican budget that was passed in this house just some months ago. No democrat voted for that budget because they believed the sequester, as the previous speaker said, but he voted for the budget which implemented the sequester, is harming our National Security and harming our domestic security and harming our economy and harming the growth of jobs. In fact, sequestration, which i point out to people, starts with s, which stands for stupid, is a terrible approach that was never meant to come into practice. Many of us all agree that in replacing the sequester well need to find savings through revenue poll policies and reforms that can pay for the economy in the future. The key to compromise, of course, is balance. Every american understands that. Every husband, every wife, every parent understands that compromise is essential within a family, within a business, within a community and, yes, within a country. The key to compromise is balance, which is what both the rivlindomenici and simpsonbowles Bipartisan Commission embraced as a framework for agreement. A balanced compromise is critical because democrats and republicans are going to have to Work Together to pass any agreement through both chambers and have it signed into law. Democrats are ready to make the tough decisions necessary to set our fiscal house in order, but we made it clear that we will not allow the most vulnerable americans to carry the burden of deficit reduction and it is not necessary that they do so. Our goal remains a balanced approach to deficit reduction and an agreement that restores certainty to our economy. My republican colleagues and friends said much about restoring certainty, particularly in the 2010 election. Unfortunately, for our economy, for our businesses, for our people, we have done anything but restore certainty. In fact, we have governed by crisis. 30 days, 90 days, 180 days, a year. Arbitrary deadlines put in place which brought the country to the brink of default and to the brink of closing down government. And in fact, of course, just recently, we did in fact shut down the government. Now, my republican colleagues say we wanted that to happen on our side of the aisle. Ironically, 198 democrats voted to open the government. That is to say every democrat that was voting on this floor voted to open government. And my colleagues who say they didnt want to shut down government, 144 of them voted to keep government shut down, mr. Speaker, and 87 of them voted to open up government. So the American Public is not fooled as to who wanted to shut down the government, but it was a bad policy and lent to uncertainty in our economy. Reaching an agreement only for this fiscal year in addition, mr. Speaker, will mean more left to do, more sequester left to replace and more confidence to instill. Mr. Speaker, i hope that conferees will take a broader view and send us a budget worthy of this nation, worthy of the nation it will serve and one that reflects our priorities to grow our economy, create jobs, give opportunity to our people, ensure that our National Security is protected and that our nations longterm competitiveness is enhanced. Mr. Speaker, thats what we ought to do. Thats what the American People expect us to do. Thats what the American People hope we will do. Lets warrant the faith and confidence of the American People by keeping faith with them and with our country and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Poe, for five minutes. Mr. Poe mr. Speaker, is the administration aware of the actions that are taking place in the administration . A little history. Fast and furious, quote, everyone knows the president did not know about this tactic until he heard about it through the news media. Quote, White House Press secretary jay carney, so lower level operatives were blame, no accountability. Benghazi, five days after the attack, the Administration Still blamed it on a video. We learned later that the white house was told that this was a terrorist attack within three days of the attack. So when did the president find out this was a terrorist attack . In any event, no accountability. Video blamed. No one in the administration held accountable, and the killers have not been brought to justice. The department of justice wiretapping of the associated press, quote, other than press reports, we have no knowledge of any attempt by the Justice Department to seek phone records of the associated press. Once again, White House Press secretary jay carney, lower level operatives were blamed, no accountability. I. R. S. Scandal, jay carney once again, the investigation was not a matter that should be conveyed to the president. Lower level operatives blamed, no accountability. Obamacare website disaster, secretary sebelius claims the president was not aware of the website problems until the website was launched. Once again, lower level operatives blamed. No accountability. N. S. A. Spying on foreign leaders, u. S. Officials claimed the president did not know about this. The president refuses to say whether he knew or not, but anyway, lower level operatives officially blamed. N. S. A. Spying on americans, the president claims he did not know the extent of spying on americans. Lower level operatives blamed, no accountability. Mr. Speaker, exactly who is running the country . Lower level operatives . Has the government gone wild . Are they operating without the knowledge of the white house . Is the president out of tune with whats taking place within his own administration . Or is he aware of those actions . If the president was unaware of all of this, the white house needs to hold people accountable, hold these lower level operatives accountable for their actions, their improper actions, their incompetence. The white house needs to fix this outofcontrol government immediately. The white house needs to take responsibility for the actions of his administration and quit blaming others and lower level operatives. That is the white houses responsibility. After all, to quote the constitutional law professor, the buck stops with me, and thats just the way it is. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer, for five minutes. Mr. Blumenauer thank you, mr. Speaker. Last night i was at National Airport waiting delta flight 3 395, 9 52 p. M. Shortly after 10 00 p. M. , janice senwari, wife and two small children emerged to be greeted by captain matt zeller. Ey had been kept under wraps as they made their way from afghanistan to the United States. There was just one Television Camera to record this happy ending, as captain zeller wrapped janice in a big bear hug. It was a happy ending with many ups and down, all too familiar for those of us who have been working with the special immigrant visa program to try and secure the flight to safety from iraq and afghanistan for those foreign nationals who worked with americans as drivers, as interpreters, as guides. Janice was an interpreter who saved the life of captain matt zoeller in a firefight. He for five years has been stuck in sort of a bureaucratic limbo as captain zoeller dedicated his time and energy to secure the release of a man he he referred to as his brother. Well, it happened. Despite the fact that there was a false start, where janis had been given the visa, sold his possessions, prepared his family only to have it revoked at the last minute. We think because the taliban learned of this and leaked false information that he was, in fact, a collaborator. To theis rival to safety arrival to safety in the United States was testimony to a little bipartisan cooperation, some people in the much maligned faceless bureaucracy who went the extra mile, who administered a couple polygraph tests to him and within three hours after the end of the Government Shutdown reyou shall shooed the visa and on their way to safety. They woke up this morning in their own little apartment in arlington to a new life. But thousands who risked their lives for americans are still held hostage at risk themselves in iraq and afghanistan. Earlier this month, in the midst of all the chaos surrounding the Government Shutdown and the harsh rhetoric on the floor, we were able to keep alive the visa program for iraqis. We brought it back to life after it expired september 30. I would hope the same show of bipartisan support and bureaucratic activity cooperation, and tenacity necessary to protect the visa program and make it work in the case of janis could be brought to bear to make sure that this program is extended for several years to allow escape to safety for other iraqis in afghanistan that we can smooth the working of the agencies to expedite the granting of these visas from a trickle of a few dozen to the steady stream for the thousands whose lives are at risk because they helped americans and they put their trust in us. I think its important as the lives of these people and their families are in keeping our word, theres also a larger lesson. Illustrating what can happen if we here in congress are willing to Work Together. Yesterday leader bob michel harkened back to an earlier era of extraordinary cooperation and civility that he enjoyed with speaker tom foley. Last night at the airport i saw an example for this one family alive and well and safe of that same civility and cooperation. Who knows where that example might lead us next if we are willing to follow it. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Cook, for five minutes. Mr. Cook thank you, mr. Speaker. Monday, november 11, will be veterans day. Veterans day is very, very special to all americans, but more so to me. Im a veteran. Part of the reason i ran for congress was i wanted to talk about veterans issues. I was concerned about the v. A. I was concerned about the claims that have gone so long. I was concerned about particularly the Vietnam Veterans that have their claims in a stack, that havent been addressed, and yet the clock is ticking. They are dying. Five years some insurance person could probably tell you how many of those Vietnam Veterans are going to be dead. We have an obligation in this house as americans to look after those that gave so much for our country. Those that gave their lives, people in this house here that gave their limbs. There have been wounded still carrying shrapnel in their body. Still have a could have d. D. Cough, take nyquil and wake up in a nightmare. The memories never go away. And we have an obligation to all americans because quite frankly we are going to have another war in the future, i hope its not in my lifetime, but theres always going to be a conflict and we are going to call upon the military to do their job. And they will do their job. But its our responsibility to make sure we take care of those men and women that have given so much for their country. Now, many, many years ago in a lace far, far away i was platoon commander. I had a lot of young marines, great troops, many of them never came back. Lance corporal borey, Lance Corporal duran. I could go on and on and im not here to impress you with my memory because its no great fete. Its something when youre there with those people and you saw what happened. You realize the significance of veterans day and how we can never forget those people that gave so much. So on that day thats coming up very, very shortly, if you see a veteran, you see somebody in the military, just say to them, thank you, because you care and you also remember. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Mcgovern, for five minutes. Mr. Mcgovern i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Speaker, a week ago monday, october 21, was the oneyear anniversary of the death of my friend, senator George Mcgovern of south dakota. We shared the same last name but we werent related. I interned for him when i was in college and he was in the United States senate. And i embraced his liberalism. I admired his service to our country in world war ii where he served as a bomber pilot. And i respected very much his politics. The way he did politics. Understanding the importance of reaching across the aisle. Working to build coalitions, to solve big problems. And in particular i admired the work that he did to end hunger. Working with people like senator bob dole, a republican from kansas, even worked with president Richard Nixon, who defeated him in the 1972 election, winning 49 states over senator mcgovern, but president nixon held the first and only white house conference on food and nutrition. That conference helped spur a whole bunch of legislative activity aimed at improving nutrition for everybody in this country, and aimed at ending hunger, which was a problem. George mcgovern and bob dole, and even Richard Nixon believed that in the richest country in the history of the world nobody ought to go hungry. And so i think of senator mcgovern often, especially now when i see whats happening in this congress. On friday, november 1, a couple days from now, the moneys that were put into the snap program, formerly known as food stamps, to help provide Additional Resources for people to buy food in this country, those reinvestment moneys will be will come to an end. There will be a 5 billion cut in the snap program on friday. Every single beneficiary will see a reduction in their food benefit. That includes 22 million kids. Nine million elderly people and disabled. And it includes 900,000 veterans. We say we want to support our veterans, but many of them have come back and found it difficult to find a job, or found it difficult to find a job that pays a living wage, and they rely on the snap program so they can put food on the tables for their table for their families. And yet on friday, 900,000 veterans who are on the snap program will see a reduction in their benefit. A family of three will see a reduction of about 30 per month in their benefit. Thats about 16 meals a month for a family of three. Now, that is an awful thing that is about to happen. But what is more awful is what is coming down the road. This house of representatives passed a farm bill that includes on top of this 5 billion cut, an additional 40 billion in cuts in the snap program. That would leave 3. 8 Million People currently receiving the benefit will be thrown off the program. Hundreds of thousands of children who rely on the free breakfast and Lunch Program will lose that benefit. I have been to many schools where i have seen kids staring off into space because they havent had anything to eat. You cant learn if youre hungry. That 40 billion cut that this house of representatives voted for would throw off would throw 170,000 veterans off the program entirely. And so today we are going to have the first meeting of the Conference Committee on the farm bill. And im privileged enough to be one of the conferees. And i am going to tell my colleagues that i want very much for there to be a farm bill. I represent a lot of agriculture in massachusetts. My farmers want a farm bill. Farmers across the country want a farm bill. We need a farm bill for this country. And im willing to be flexible and im willing to compromise, and im willing to accept things that maybe i dont like entirely because thats the way you compromise. But what im not willing to do and what every member of this house should not be willing to do, is to support a farm bill that makes hunger worse in this country. As we speak there are 50 million americans who are hungry. 50 million. 17 million are kids. We all should be ashamed. And who is to blame for this . We all share the blame. Because hunger is a political condition. We can solve this. We know what to do. We just dont have the political will. We kind of turned a blind eye to the problem of hunger in america. And its a problem, by the way, that not only cost dearly in terms of human suffering, but it cost us all in terms of kids who cant learn in school, and we need a farm bill, mr. Speaker, but let the price of that farm bill not be to increase hunger in america. Lets remember George Mcgovern. Lets remember bob dole. Lets remember people who understood the importance of combating hunger in america. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The r recognizes the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. Foxx or five minutes. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Chairman. The poem impressions of a pilot opens with the line, flight is freedom in its purest form. How perfectly that captures the allure of sky and space for so many who dream to conquer that frontier. Freedom and flight are linked. This past saturday many young north carolinians got to experience that freedom in a brand new way at david county Sugar Valley Airport, and what a joy it was to be there. A dedicated team of volunteers at the airport hosted the spirit of aviation, the next generation. To introduce local students to the many career and recreational opportunities available to them through aviation. Children and teens from local counties spent the day exploring aircraft, trying their hand at flight simulators, listening to aviation innovators, and taking flight themselves in young eagle flight expeditions. Their faces were alight with excitement as they experimented with the physics of flight and felt the contagious enthusiasm of skilled aviators who, after years, still find freedom in the blues high tide. The spirit of aviation day at sugar valley revealed to young people new career ponlts for possibilities for their lives and didnt just stroke the dream of aviation but presented a step by step path students might take to see aviation dreams become a reality. What stands out to me more than anything else is that this day of discovery and imagination was made possible by a community independently committed to encouraging the next generation of aerial pioneers, whether pilots, mechanics, or engineers. Yes the spirit of volunteerism and Community Service is alive and well in north carolina, in fact, its thriving, and every time im Home Visiting nonprofits and meeting the people who make up their very support networks, im proud of the tar heel state. The initiative and ben nevillent entrepreneurialism displayed by carolinaians contributes to new chapters often to the collective record of american service. One accomplishment the accomplishment of volunteers at the Sugar Valley Airport is just one example. In 2010 they came through the Human Service alliance and bought the Sugar Valley Airport. Their hope was that the airport would facilitate the promotion of aviation, both as a sport and career field riped with competitive jobs. In three short years with a dedicated team of volunteers supplying 100 of the vision, manpower, support and direction, the airport has become a hub for a Learning Center for those considering the pursuit of piloting and mechanic work. They may host cadets, experimental aviation, women ilots and ground students. North carolinaians take great pride in this. It was that Wilbur Wright recorded the first controlled airplane flight. With the committed team at the Sugar Valley Airport, i can confidently say that our state, the home of kitty hawk, will be pioneering aviation contributions for years to come. Guidance and encouragement from sugar valleys seasoned pilots, mechanics and generous volunteers will open up a new opportunity for children in north carolina. In this world above the clouds, our children are free to dream, free to soar and free to concur the Wild Blue Yonder and much, much more. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from washington, mr. Heck, for five minutes. Mr. Heck thank you, mr. Speaker. Last week the Exportimport Bank transferred to the United States treasury more than 1 billion. The Exportimport Bank does not draw on the u. S. Treasury. It contributes to it. The Exportimport Bank has never drawn on the u. S. Treasury. Instead, the Exportimport Bank does the following it. Eates jobs by independent assessment, more than 255,000 jobs are created by the bank, jobs that otherwise would not exist. The Exportimport Bank helps small businesses. Indeed, 87 of all transactions of the bank directly benefit small businesses, but i ask you not to take my word for it. I would invite each and every member of the house to go to the website and check the data about the number of transactions in their state, in their Congressional District and how that has helped to grow the economy. You know, the fact of the matter is that every single developed or developing nation in the world has some form of export assistance. Be it direct Loan Guarantee or direct loans. If we were to discontinue ours and theirs, by the way, are proportionately higher to g. D. P. Than ours is it would be unilaterally disarming an increasingly competitive global economy. So one more time. Last week the Exportimport Bank reduced our nations deficit by more than 1 billion. The Exportimport Bank creates jobs. It helps small businesses. The Exportimport Bank makes america stronger. Thank you, Exportimport Bank. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona, mr. Schweikert, for five minutes. Mr. Schweikert mr. Speaker, i request to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Speaker, first, i appreciate the house giving me these five minutes, though its always dangerous when a member starts walking towards the microphone and theyre doing it because something hit their desk and it annoyed them. And so weve been working on something in our office to try an intense frustration i have and that is i believe washington and its embracing of delusional math. Look, ive only been here three years, and ive come to the conclusion that the single biggest problem i see is not the rightleft continuum but those who own calculators and those who dont, those that live in a world where math actually has a value. Im right now holding the c. B. O. Report, the 2013 longterm budget forecast. And in here and yet ive not heard someone else come to this microphone is just the beginning of a paragraph that should terrify you. Federal debt, as a percentage of g. D. P. In 2038, under the extended baseline is projected to be about twice to be about twice as large as the amount estimated last year. You understand what this report is saying. That because of the policies from this administration, the policies coming out of our bureaucracies and the things we need to actually deal with in this house, the numbers are almost twice as bad as it was last year. You know, for the speed that were going to hit 100 of debt to g. D. P. And the thing you need to understand is its worse than in the longterm budget outlook forecast because theres delusions built into that because we here as a body instruct the Congressional Budget Office saying, follow current law. Thats what you need to budget off of. How many of us here come january when the s. G. R. Is up . Many of you know it as doc fix, are going to hold the numbers, hold the current law with the understanding that the end of who a dozen years doctors see medicare patients will see 73 less so well walk onto the floor here probably december, january, and fix the s. G. R. So doctors are compensated, so they continue to see their medicare patients and we blow up the numbers in the longterm budget forecast. And we do that on lots of things. So when you actually do the adjustment for math reality, policy reality, longterm budget numbers are much, much worse than we talk about around here. And now to my point. A year and a half ago, we actually did something bipartisan. We did something called the jobs act. You know, it was in the scale of things it was small, but there were some neat things in there. One of the things i fixated on was something called crowdfunding, an opportunity to help the truly little entrepreneur. This is only up to 1 million, and it was using this thing called the internet to be able to raise money. So if youre the cupcake shop or Mechanic Shop or you have an idea of getting some Angel Investment to get going, well, the s. E. C. Took a year and a half to do what was supposed to be a simple rule set so theyre a year late and heres what they brought us. This is the law these handful of pages, six, seven pages is the crowdfunding of the jobs act. Heres the proposed rule set. Where we e in a world have crushing debt screaming towards us and some of thats becoming now because were being told that the new normal is a 2 g. D. P. Growth, we need to be doing things that accelerate that Economic Growth or were in incredible trouble. So as house bipartisan, we passed the jobs act, which was one of the little increments that is supposed to reach out and help grow the economy and then the bureaucracy hands us crushing rules that make it almost impossible to use. So for whoevers listening, watching, caring about things like the crowdfunding rules that are before the s. E. C. , you got 90 days now. Please, go online, make comments, help them understand this is supposed to be helping the next generation of small entrepreneurs in this country, and dont make it 550 pages of bureaucratic legallies. It can be simpler. We can do great things in this country, but we cant do it if the bureaucracy continues to crush our opportunities. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Wasserman schultz, for five minutes. Ms. Wasserman schultz thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Wasserman schultz thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today as we close out the month to recognize october as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Even as congress has struggled with the basic task of funding our federal government, we are mindful that we have pressing problems and important work to do to raise awareness and help women survive this deadly disease. Over the past few decades, these public efforts have helped educate people and promote awareness about Breast Cancer. But we must remain vigilant in the fight because theres still so much more to be done. The statistics are sobering. One in eight women will get Breast Cancer in her lifetime. This disease strikes women and some men of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities and ages. While all women are at risk, many still think it cant happen to them, especially young women. But i know all too well that it can. In 2007 when i was just 41 years old, i learned i had Breast Cancer. While weve made significant advances on some fronts, recent studies show that more and more young women are being diagnosed with Breast Cancer and rates are not going down. I believe we have a responsibility as members of congress to take Breast Cancer Awareness Month one step further and turn awareness into action. We must take action to implement the Affordable Care act and continue to ensure that every Single Person in this country has access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their health. We must take action to ensure women get the Preventative Services and screenings they need while understanding their risks and treatment options. With this in mind, in 2009, i sponsored the education and awareness requires learning young act, or the early act. The early act focuses on equipping young women with the tools they need to take charge of their health. Currently, the centers for Disease Control is developing evidencebased interventions and working with advocacy organizations on programs that provide support services for young Breast Cancer survivors and their families as well as the National Education and Awareness Campaign to help young women understand their risk and take charge of their health. Even with the c. D. C. s work under the early act, we must do more to assist those women who survive Breast Cancer and im developing new legislative efforts on this front and were working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Young cancer survivors face very different life challenges an older survivors, from fertility preservation health. With cancer care, one size does not fit all. The young face many more years of survivors and have unique challenges that arise that are not experienced by survivors who are diagnosed later in life. There was good news from the Supreme Court earlier this year when they took some action to help improve our ability to detect, diagnosis and treat Breast Cancer. This past june, the justices ruled unanimously that a company cannot patent naturally occurring genes. This decision pavers the way for more companies to offer genetic tests for gene mutations that significantly increase the risk for developing diseases like breast or ovarian cancer. Thanks to this ruling, more women will have access to affordable testing and Second Opinion testing about their risks and courses of treatment. Like many others before me, when i was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and later identified as a gene mutation carrier, i had to make lifealtering decisions without the benefit of a Second Opinion or even a second test. And that will now be a thing of the past, thanks to the Supreme Court decision. Again, though, theres still so much more to be done. We must work to guarantee that insurers, including programs like medicare, cover testing where appropriate and preventative surgery where necessary. And there is still work left to be done to fully implement the Affordable Care act. While implementation of any major change comes with great challenges and weve certainly had some of those, it also comes with great reward. For example, im thrilled that this coming january with the opening of the Health Insurance marketplaces, no woman will ever have to worry again about being dropped from their Health Coverage when battling Breast Cancer. Before the Affordable Care act, too Many Americans were just one diagnosis away from having to face cancer without affordable quality coverage that could not be taken away. Case in point is my friend, mary ann. She wrote me a few weeks away saying her life literally depends on the Affordable Care act. She is battling Breast Cancer. She is currently on cobra insurance, but when that runs out she would surely be uninsurable. Her chemotherapy treatment alone was 110,000. Simply put, without coverage she could not afford the treatments she needs. Her quote, this is real for me. This is life or death for me. This is why the Affordable Care act is so important, for Breast Cancer warriors like mary ann. I had so many women come up to me, mr. Speaker, and confess they havent had a mammograms in years, because before the Affordable Care act, they could not afford the expensive copays and deductibles or feared the prohibited costs of treatment. They would literal were literally afraid to get a diagnosis because they were worried they couldnt afford treatment. That worry is a thing of the past. Education and awareness is only half the battle. For Breast Cancer or any serious disease. Access to affordable quality Health Insurance is a necessity. It is not a privilege. It is a right for every american. Looking forward, we must Work Together to help women know their risks, discover cancer early and access to best treatment possible. As we continue to learn more and help more young women, let us commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a renewed dedication to support our mothers, sisters, daughters and sister friends and took, lets eradicate Breast Cancer once and for all. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Roslehtinen, for five minutes. Miss roslehtinen cloun mr. Speaker, i rise to recognize ms. Roslehtinen mr. Speaker, i rise to recognize the h. H. I. , this year they will be holding its 12th annual conference in my hometown of miami. The Conference Provides an opportunity for the Greek American community to reflect on its role in American Society and to advance and indeed strengthen u. S. Greek relations. This will also include an awards banquet in which two members of the miami area will be recognized for their service to the south Florida Community and for promoting hellenic ideals and values. This years recipients of the hellenic heritage Public Service awards are gus andy and john beades. John, who passed away sadly earlier this year was the embodiment of all that a. H. I. Stands for. His legacy will forever live on through his deeds and through the school that he founded, the archimedean academy. I have had the privilege of being at that school and i can account for its academic curriculum which is simply outstanding. I congratulate the american hellenic institute, gus, and the family and friends of john for this important and meaningful recognition. Mr. Speaker, i would like to recognize and congratulate my good friend, tony, who has been selected by the American Jewish committee in south florida to receive its 2013 National Human relations award. Tony has been an active member of our south Florida Community for many years, so this honor is well deserved. He continues to play a vital role in enhancing and promoting the important relationships between the United States and israel. This human relations award is presented to leaders whose work within the community reflects the mission of the a. J. C. , building bridges of understanding, and promoting freedom and democracy throughout the world. As tony understands, in this dangerous time we must stand together with our ally, the democratic jewish state of israel, and continue to Work Together to preserve this oasis of freedom in a desert of oppression. Congratulations to tony and to the American Jewish Community Committee in south florida. Mr. Speaker, involved citizens help our communities on important issues in orderle to raise awareness on Human Trafficking and help to put an end to Domestic Violence. Domestic violence and Human Trafficking are vide spread Human Rights Violations that continue to plague our world, cutting across racial lines, ethnic lines, geographic borders. As a wife, mother, grandmother, and a female member of congress, i realize the profound responsibility that i have to Work Together with my Congressional Colleagues to pass legislation in a bipartisan manner that would speak to the very heart of each and every woman. As long as young girls and women across the globe continue to struggle to break through the shame and the silence that surrounds Domestic Violence and sexual trafficking, we must continue to put these issues on every national and global agenda. This Year Congress reauthorized the trafficking victims protection act and the violence against women act, two critical pieces of legislation to address the needs of these vulnerable members of our global society. I recently cosponsored two important resolutions to raise awareness on the need to he protect women from the horrible attacks that they face. I will soon introduce legislation to amend current u. S. Law that unintentionally facilitates necessaryic violence by forcing the return of a child Domestic Violence by forcing the return of a child in interarble abduction cases despite the recognized risk to the child or parent. But the reality is, mr. Speaker, that government alone cannot combat these horrendous crimes against girls and women. We need your help. As a community, we have the obligation to fight these crimes and protect girls and women from Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking. Awareness is key in stopping these human rights abuses. These crimes are on the rise, but together we can make a difference. We must make a difference. Be the difference today in your community. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Thompson, for five minutes. Mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today i rise to discuss the homeowners Flood Insurance portability act. A bipartisan bill to delay further implementation of Flood Insurance rate increases that took effect on october 1, 2013, under the national Flood Insurance program. Congress last year on a bipartisan basis passed the Flood Insurance reform act of 2012. The major included long overdue reforms to strengthen the financial solvency and administrative efficiency of the national Flood Insurance program. The rationale for the 2012 law was the need for the national Flood Insurance program to more accurately reflect flood risk. Historically most lowrisk states subsidize highrisk coastal states. Similarly, lowrisk areas within states tended to subsidize those areas with high risk which were more prone to flooding. The linchpin of the 2012 law was to use true actuarial rates in order to prevent very little risk areas from subsidizes moderate to high risk areas. The unintended consequences has been drastic premium increases for those plans that were traditionally subsidized by the national Flood Insurance program. Under the 2012 law, Congress Mandated that the federal Emergency Management agency, fema, complete an affordability study to further eval wait any unintended consequences as a result of the changes. This study was to be completed before the rate increases went into effect, which was crucial to understanding the full scope of the risk model. Fema has failed to complete the study required under the law. Additionally, it remains a huge concern that fema does not have the data it needs to accurately determine risk under this new policy regime. And is incapable of creating a new mapping system that truly reflects true actuarial rates. While 80 of policy holders will not see increases as a result of the new policy, a small portion of properties are being hit with staggering increases. This is a serious concern for communities and individuals across the country, including many from the Fifth District of pennsylvania which im proud to represent. I joined yesterday with colleagues on both sides of the aisle as an original cosponsor of the homeowners Flood Insurance affordability act. Legislation to delay for two years the high rates brought on by the 2012 law until there is an affordability study completed by fema. The bill also makes structural changes to fema to assure there is an advocate for homeowners when flood maps are drawn or adjusted. Mr. Speaker, improving the financial liability of the nations Flood Insurance program while ensuring that the program protects those it was designed to support is something every member of congress should support. I encourage my colleagues to join in this commonsense effort to protect and improve our nations Flood Insurance program by cosponsoring the homeowners Flood Insurance affordability act. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Er pursuant to clause 12a, rule , the chair declares the hous the committees conference is supposed to come up with a budget plan to end the Government Shutdown. You can watch it live right now on cspan. Org. And coming up this afternoon, live coverage of another house senate conference. This one to work out differences on the 2013 farm bill. One of the main points of difference between the two chambers is the level of cuts to the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Or snap, which provides food stamps to lowincome americans. The Senate Bill Cuts 4 billion from the pam while the house version from the program while the house version reduces it by about 40 billion. So, again, while the house remains in recess until noon eastern, were going to go live now to that hearing with health and Human Services secretary kathleen sebelius. They gaveled in at 9 00 a. M. Rose just over 9 in the past nine years. This secretary, what does data tell us about Health Care Law since the a. C. A. Became law . Well, congresswoman, youre right. In the last three years since the president signed the Affordable Care act, weve seen a great slowdown in the extraordinary Cost Increases year in and year out for health care. And the medicare plan and medicaid plan and private insurance and in Underlying Health care costs which affect every american. Some of that has to do with some of the features that are currently in place around different care delivery and different Payment Systems that we are helping to drive given the tools we have with the Affordable Care act. More quality outcomes, trying to prevent hospital readmissions, looking at hospitalacquired infections, medical homes that prevent people in the first place or help them stay healthy in their own homes and in their own places. So its true that the surance costs are slowing in decades, is that true . Thats true. And medicare premiums are coming in lower than predicted by experts, like the c. B. O. . On average they are about 16 lower than was estimated that those premiums would be, and thats the premium, not accounting for the number of uninsured or underinsured americans who will then qualify for financial help. Since they dont have employer coverage, they get help from the taxpayers paying for that coverage. Thank you, madam secretary. Dr. Gingrey. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Madam secretary, when you spoke at the National Convention in charlotte, one of the last statements you made about the Affordable Care act was, quote, but for us democrats, obamacare is a badge of honor. Because no matter who you are, what stage of life youre in, this law is a good thing. First, if you already have insurance you like, you can keep it. I end the quote. I call this a red herring that misled voters, intentional or not. Now, perhaps had you known that millions would lose their coverage, families would face financial disaster, as one constituent recently told me, or that the exchange rollout would be plagued by the multitude, multiple delays weve seen, you would not consider such a badge of honor. The fact is your words and those of the president , as he campaigned last year, that if you already have insurance you like, you can keep it, seem to be directly refuted by the millions of cancellation notices already sent to americans just in the past few weeks. Whether your statement is inack operate as as mr. Hoyer said yesterday, not precise enough. It seems like millions of individuals who listen to your speeches now find themselves without coverage and are now scrambling to find coverage in a marketplace that offers more expensive plans with fewer options. In response to my constituents calls for help, i created a portal on my website, no patches or fixes needed, that allows those who have experienced problems to reach out and tell me about their personal experiences. In the just the last few days, my office received dozens of complaints regarding increases in their monthly premiums. I received one such notice from a mother in her early 50s to just received a notice that not only will her insurance premiums double, but she will also have to switch insurance insurers to keep their doctors due to the Affordable Care act. Can im