Roscoe Bartlett

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, during the Clinton administration, Washington was telling America that we had a budget surplus and we were paying down the debt. Now, while we were telling America that, we had the embarrassing necessity of raising the debt limit ceiling. Why would you have to raise the debt limit ceiling if you're paying down the debt? Surprise, surprise; Washington was not being truthful. What we were doing was taking money from lockboxes, surplus trust fund moneys, Social Security and Medicare, and paying down the public debt--one more dollar of debt in the trust funds, one less dollar of debt in the public debt. That did nothing to reduce the national debt. And we had other trust fund surpluses for which there was no lockbox. We happily took and spent that money. If we kept our books on the accrual method, there never was a moment in time when we, in fact, reduced the national debt. Now, talking about accounting methods, our government keeps Enron kind of books. If we kept our books the way we force all but the smallest businesses to keep their books, using the accrual method, we would be showing about $60 trillion in debt. That's $200,000 in debt for every man, woman, and child. Clearly, clearly unmanageable. We should be ashamed that we're here today talking about raising the debt limit ceiling once again. We should be here debating how we're going to balance the budget and then pay down the debt, because I have 10 kids, 17 grandkids, and two great-grandkids, and we have already mortgaged their future. We don't need to do anymore.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Chair, it's not surprising that this legislation, like much of the legislation, might have an unintended consequence. And one of my constituents pointed out just such in this legislation. I took the problem to the chairman, and he very graciously has fixed it in his manager's amendment. I yield to him so that he can explain.

Mr. BARTLETT. I want to thank the chairman very much for helping to solve this problem.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. This bill would mortgage the future of my 10 kids, my 17 grandkids and my two great-grandkids.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 895, which honors the lives of the soldiers and civilians wounded or killed in the horrific tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. Neil Abercrombie and I, as chairman and ranking member of the Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee are profoundly saddened by the loss of life at Fort Hood. We extend our condolences to the injured and the families of those who were killed. The most appropriate course for us, however, is to continue to provide the most effective force protection possible for our military personnel--the proper vehicles, the best counter-improvised explosive device capability, the proper body armor and helmets, and best weapons. And of course, we will continue to work with Chairwoman Davis and Ranking Member Wilson to support their activities of the Military Personnel Subcommittee to ensure that oar men and women in uniform are provided the proper health care and are fully prepared for their overseas assignments.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Speaker, yesterday a member of the Mennonite Amish community called my office very concerned that if this bill passes, they're going to be fined because of their religious conviction. The members of this community do not buy health care insurance, and they don't cost the taxpayer anything. This community takes care of all of their health care needs. There is a conscience clause on page 300 of the bill. I read that. It's not clear to me whether they'd be protected or not. But one thing is very clear to me: that those who wrote this bill didn't communicate with this community. This is a big community. We know there are problems. We know there are issues. This is just one more reason to reject this bill, start over and get it right because clearly they didn't get it right here.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Speaker, this morning, I had what was, for me, a very emotional meeting in my office. Representatives from the home health care industry were there, lamenting the fact that tens of billions of dollars will be cut from home health care in this bill that we may have to vote on. It was emotional for me because I thought of my mother, who, during the last months of her life, would have liked nothing more than to be home, and her family wanted her there. She would have been happier, and probably would have lived longer, but because of limitations of funds and because of regulations, she had to be in an institution. The toughest moment of my life was when I would go there to visit her, and she would say, ``I want to go home.'' Please, we've got to get it right. This bill doesn't get it right. It's just one more place where it doesn't get it right. Let's get it right before we finish it.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Chairman, I recommend a ``yes'' vote for this good, bipartisan solar technology road map. I want to thank my Democrat and Republican colleagues for their collaboration that improved H.R. 3585 with amendments in subcommittee, in full committee, as well as in the manager's amendment and in other amendments to follow on the floor. This bill ensures that solar energy technologies will contribute to the strengthening of our country's economy, environment and national security. H.R. 3585 improves DOE policies by requiring the merit-based, competitive allocation of Federal funds. The solar road map committee will neither recommend nor select recipients of grant awards. The new solar technology road map committee will provide the DOE with advice from our national labs, universities, industry, and entrepreneurs on technological paths to accelerate the cost-effective implementation of solar power. I am a fiscal conservative as well as a scientist and engineer. I have studied and used solar energy for more than 40 years. This bill will not spend too much money. Our country has fallen way behind. The GAO has documented that the funding level in this bill only begins to reverse 20 years of underinvestment by the Federal Government in the research and development of solar power--a domestic alternative and a renewable source of energy. This bill will strengthen the ability of U.S. companies to regain America's world leadership in solar technology and exports. The bill expands the number of large demonstration projects over 30 megawatts, and it makes them technology neutral. The bill will reduce known vulnerabilities of our grid to natural disasters or to terrorist attacks by requiring demonstration projects to ``promote overall electric infrastructure reliability and sustainability should grid functions be disrupted or damaged.'' This bill will also maximize benefits to society and to taxpayers from these demonstration projects by encouraging DOE to consult with DHS, DOD and other agencies to locate demonstration projects at facilities that ensure sustainable energy for the continuous operations of vital government missions and functions. Vote ``yes'' for H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap. Using our sun to power American homes and businesses is a good bipartisan issue.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my subcommittee chairman, Mr. Abercrombie, as well as HASC chairman Ike Skelton and Ranking Member Buck McKeon for their collaborative leadership drafting this vital bill. I also thank the staff members who serve us so well. Thank you, thank you. Overall, this is an excellent conference report. That is why I'm appalled that my colleagues would violate House rules and pervert this annual national military strategy bill by including the totally unrelated partisan Senate amendment. With deep regret, I resolutely urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this conference report. I've dedicated almost 40 years to protecting the lives of the men and women who serve in our military. For 20 years I invented and worked on defense projects to provide them lifesaving equipment, including 19 military patents. I've been honored to serve for 17 years on the Armed Services Committee with colleagues who have worked tirelessly to achieve our bipartisan goals of providing rules and equipment so that our soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors, and the civilians who support them will succeed in their missions and return home safe. There isn't time to review all provisions, but highlights of the Air and Land Forces portions which I worked on so hard with Chairman Abercrombie include 30 F-35 aircraft and an increase of $430 million in research and development for continued F136 engine development and $130 million for F136 engine procurement; an additional $600 million, for a total of $6.9 billion to reduce equipment shortfalls in our National Guard and Reserves; inclusion of my proposed requirements for DOD to establish specific budget line items within the procurement and research, development, test and evaluation accounts for body armor. This will improve accountability, increase transparency, as well as facilitate the advancement of lighter weight technologies. $6.7 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, $1.2 billion above the President's request. $2.45 billion for the President's request for Future Combat Systems communications network and spin-out equipment sets expected to continue as separate programs in fiscal year 2010. I would like to especially thank Chairman Abercrombie for his leadership and relentless efforts to ensure continued funding for the F-35 alternate engine program. My unavoidable and regrettable ``no'' vote is due solely to the inclusion of this extraneous amendment. It violates House rules. It sets a dangerous precedent by including an extraneous and nongermane bill in Congress' annual national defense strategy and policy bill.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Before talking about this very interesting subject, I would like to spend just a few moments talking about why I think the rule of law is so important. We are one person out of 22 in the world, and we have a fourth of all of the good things in the world. And I ask myself how come we are so darned fortunate that this one person out of 22 has a fourth of all the good things in the world? I look around for people who are working, bending their back, and sweating. And I will tell you I don't see very many white faces, and I don't see an awful lot of black faces. I see Hispanics. So it's not hard work that's accountable for the fact that we're so lucky. And then I look at education and technical education. We live in a technical world today. But most of our bright young people are going into careers of political science and law. This year the Chinese will graduate seven times as many engineers as we graduate, and about half of our engineers are Chinese and Indian students. So it's not our commitment to technical areas that makes us so fortunate. Just what is it that is so different about this country that we are so fortunate, this one person in 22 that has a fourth of all the good things in the world? Mr. Speaker, I think that it's our commitment to the rule of law and particularly our commitment to those laws that protect our civil liberties. You see, there is no Constitution in the world, there is no bill of rights in the world that comes even close to ours in having so many civil liberties that are so protected. And I think this established an environment, a milieu in which creativity and entrepreneurship could flourish. And I think we put at risk who we are, and I think we put at risk this enormous privilege that we have, this one person out of 22 who has a fourth of all the good things in the world, if we in any way violate these very sacred rights which are given to us by God, which our Constitution, our government, is supposed to protect. So I am very concerned about the rule of law because I will tell you if in one place you can rationalize that it's okay to violate the Constitution, what next? I think that our civil liberties could come tumbling down and I think with them our privileged status in the world today. Now, the thing you asked me to talk about, and that is this bill, H.R. 2743. Several months ago I was mystified by something that was happening in our country. We were shutting down auto dealerships. I thought at first, well, these are owned by the auto manufacturers and they're reducing their overhead, so this will benefit them. But then I learned not a single auto dealership in this country is owned by the manufacturers. Every auto dealership is an independent dealership hiring people, paying taxes, selling cars. And I looked at what they were doing. You know, in almost everything we do in life there are winners and losers, positives and negatives. And in this case I could see only losers. And I thought I must be missing something. So we held a press conference out in Frederick, I think one of the first ones in the country. We had some of our biggest dealers there. Dar Cars was there, and Tammy Darvis is up in the gallery, and I want to thank her for coming. Jack Fitzgerald was there, one of the biggest auto dealers in the area. And I asked them the question, What am I missing? I seem to see that everybody in this is a loser. Why in the heck would we do something where everybody loses? Clearly, the dealers that were put out of business lost, and clearly all the people that worked for them lost, and clearly all those secondary jobs that were created by those people were lost. And I couldn't understand how the auto dealers could benefit when there were fewer people selling their cars. It just made sense to me that the more people who are out there competing to sell your cars, the more cars you're going to sell and the better off you are. And I asked these dealers, What am I missing? I've got to be missing something because Americans don't do really stupid things. And this appeared to me to be a really stupid thing where everybody lost. I couldn't see anybody who was winning in this. So I came back to the Congress and I asked my colleagues, Who is the winner here? And from both sides of the aisle, and now this bill I think has 275 cosponsors, but from both sides of the aisle they said, We don't see any winners either. We really need to do something about this. We think that some fundamental laws were violated in this. We think that this needs to be fixed. There is a Web site you can go to. It is YouTube, www.YouTube.com/rejected dealers. And you're going to find more than 11,000 dealers that have logged on to that to tell you their story. Some very, very sad stories are told by these dealers. Enormous losses. So I am very privileged to come here this evening to talk about this because I think that in the violation of some of these very simple, obvious, commonsense laws, that a great many people in our country have been hurt. And I want to thank you for committing this hour to talk about the rule of law, because I think the rule of law is so important. And I hope that Americans will collectively call their Representatives, ``I know you probably signed on to that bill, but now make it happen. Bring it to the floor. Vote on it.'' You know, petition the Senate so they vote on it. So let's get this fixed. It's really bad. It's really wrong. Thank you for letting me have a few moments to talk about it.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following. Funding of $1,500,000 is necessary to allow an expedited development of the ASCC (Sea Truck) for military/disaster relief use and the fielding of the system. Sea Truck supports the Army's need for low-cost, logistics support equipment with critical distribution and sustainment capabilities. These unmanned, self-propelled support units can be deployed from offshore logistics and commercial ships to the beach for sustainment operations. Sea Truck is composed of 90 percent commercial off-the-shelf nondevelopmental hardware and technologies that are compatible with current commercial and military supply support systems. The Sea Truck Propulsion Module contains commercial navigation sets that allow the system to autonomously traverse to desired locations and has the capability to self-redirect to alternate landing sites to meet the dynamics of changing theater conditions.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $7,500,000 is necessary to adapt Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) technology to provide the same effectiveness improvements already demonstrated for 155mm artillery projectiles to all indirect fire systems. The Army and Marine Corps have recognized needs for increased precision for ground combat units. The lack of precision for either 105mm artillery or 120mm mortars creates significant operational difficulties. The 105mm artillery and 120mm mortar can be developed in parallel at a significantly accelerated schedule at a reduced cost due to technology that has already been tested and proven, and due to the ability to share common design features with the 155mm PGK. Government and industry tests to assist with design and sizing of the PGK to smaller calibers will continue through FY2009. Based on that work, FY10 funding would enable a low risk, accelerated approach to delivering a much needed operational capability to the field by 2011.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to continue the development of a power dense Integrated Power System (IPS) and Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) technologies suitable for surface combatant and submarine propulsion, enhanced power generation and power conversion. Power dense electric machines and power conversion solutions enable hybrid propulsion systems that save fuel and provide increased critical power for additional payload capabilities. These developments allow an advanced IPS or HED system to be incorporated in future and existing warships, including the re-started DDG51 line, DDG512 Modification, Ohio Replacement, and a future CG(X).

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $1,000,000 is necessary to address the challenges of sample preparation and detection/diagnosis of biological warfare agents. The ASP technology has the ability to process both environmental and clinical biological samples for subsequent analysis on both nucleic acid and/or immunoassay detection/diagnostic systems, and when mated to currently fielded and new detection systems will enhance warfighter capability to detect and identify hundreds of potential targets simultaneously within a single analysis on a single detection/diagnostic platform.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to meet the on-going need in DoD to increase the number of ISR orbits delivered by Unmanned aircraft. The Universal Distributed Management System (UDMS) is a demo-proven (TRL-6) autonomous command and control system that will enable up to twelve UAVs to operate simultaneously from a single ground station and perform complex tactical objectives. Expert Rules-based software enables collision and terrain avoidance and cooperative engagement tactics among the constellation of multiple vehicles and sensors. The complex tactics are user programmable and can be executed autonomously or with dynamic operator inputs to the changing tactical situation. UDMS can be integrated with existing UA ground control system with no modification required to the air vehicles or existing C3 links.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Funding of $2,000,000 is necessary to allow completion of the final development stage prior to production. These funds will enable Mack Trucks and Volvo Powertrain, N.A. to finish building a protype M915 truck with hybrid powertrain and be prepared to compete for an M-915 by the Army. The Army is attempting to extend the service life of heavy trucks, like the M-915, through engineering change programs. This funding supports the Committee directive to the Army to extend their effort for procuring heavy trucks with alternative propulsion systems with parallel electric capability.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received in H.R. 3293 and H.R. 3288. The list is as follows: Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HRSA--Health Facilities and Services Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Washington County Hospital Address of Requesting Entity: 251 East Antietam St., Hagerstown, MD 21740 Description of Request: Washington County Hospital building is becoming obsolete. Washington County Health System would build a 5th floor in the new tower being built. Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Federal Lands (Public Lands Highway) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Maryland DOT Address of Requesting Entity: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover MD 21076 Description of Request: Funds would be used to design, right of way or construction of intersection improvements to improve safety, operations, and access in the vicinity of National Naval Medical Center to support BRAC related growth. Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Federal Lands (Public Lands Highway) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Maryland DOT Address of Requesting Entity: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover MD 21076 Description of Request: Funds would be used for the design right of way acquisition or construction of intersection improvements in the vicinity of Aberdeen Proving Grounds to support BRAC related growth.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I believe that we can all agree the health care reform proposals ignited debates in homes and workplaces all over the country. The intense interest in health care policy by so many Americans made this August district work period unusually exciting. My offices were busy taking phone calls, e-mails, and having people drop by voicing their concerns. This healthy health care debate has led many Americans to become involved in politics for the first time. Whenever we in Congress do something really important, we need to get outside the Beltway because that's where the great wisdom in our country lies. All of us in the Congress share three goals for health care reform legislation: We want to make health care insurance more affordable and accessible. We want to improve the quality of health care. We want to reduce the cost of health care. Where we disagree is how to accomplish these goals. I would like to share some of what I did and learned concerning health care over the recess period. As a scientist and engineer, I seek out the facts to guide my decisions. I also earned my master's and doctorate degrees in human physiology, the basic medical science. This training led me to a 20-year career teaching anatomy and physiology to both medical and nursing students. That's why one of the things I did and that my staff did was to read the House leadership bill, H.R. 3200, and the amendments by three House committees. I'm very proud that so many of my constituents were also interested in learning what proposed health care reform bills would do and exactly what they say. That's why I posted on my Web site the House Majority Bill 3200 with information about the approved amendments. I also posted on my Web site an alternative bill that I support, H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, developed out of suggestions by my colleagues in the Republican Study Committee. For those constituents without computer access, I provided hard copies of these bills to eight libraries and my four district offices. Besides reading legislation, I also engaged in a lot of listening and dialogue. I visited with local doctors in my district to get their perspective about health care. At the recommendation of one of my constituents, Dr. John Vitarello, who is a cardiologist who practices at Frederick Memorial Hospital in my district, I toured the cardiac catherization ``cath'' labs at Washington Adventist Hospital on August 27. I was invited to tour the lab by Dr. Mark Turco, an interventional cardiologist. Dr. Turco is also a leader of the three-member physician team from Washington Adventist Hospital which volunteered to supervise and assist a joint training venture for physicians in Frederick Memorial Hospital so they could also perform innovative procedures in cath labs that shorten patients' recoveries and hospital stays compared to traditional surgical repairs. While I was there in scrubs and mask, I observed a procedure called an endograft. An endograft is an innovative procedure in this case used to repair an aneurysm in the patient's aorta. In the image-guided endovascular repair, a stent graft, a woven polyester tube with a metallic skeleton, was compressed inside a carrier catheter. While viewed on an x-ray monitor, the endograft was inserted through a small incision in the patient's groin and threaded through the catheter through arteries to the site of the aneurysm. The stent graft was then placed across the aneurysm and released. As the stent graft expanded, it gripped the normal arterial wall on both ends of the aneurysm, bypassing the bulge from the inside. As I observed this procedure, I marveled at both the advances of our medical research and technology as well as the dedication in caring for human lives represented by this joint venture between Frederick Memorial Hospital and Washington Adventist Hospital. This procedure cuts down the recovery time for patients as well as the time required for patients to be in the hospital. One of my greatest concerns about health care reform is that we don't curtail the innovations in health care that are invented predominantly here in the United States. There is also a lot of concern about competition in health care. Competition is important. Competition always does two things: It drives down costs and increases quality. However, there is also a lot of cooperation in medical care today. Here, I observed physicians at one hospital helping physicians at another local hospital to increase the availability, the competition, for innovative medical treatments that benefit patients with improved outcome and less time in the hospital. I am 83 years old. I have seen in my own career and life and that of my family that innovation in modern medicine, American style, moves at an astonishing speed. It is this innovation that has so improved the quality of our lives as well as extending the lifespans of Americans. By far, the most enlightening and informative exercise was three nights of teletownhalls that I held during the break. On two nights, Dr. John Vitarello joined me as a guest for these townhall meetings. Over 180,000 telephone calls were placed; almost 20,000 people were home and listened to some part of the townhall. Madam Speaker, I believe that the prescription for health care reform in the present bill will make it worse and more expensive. These changes are the opposite of what we need and Americans want.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Speaker, health care costs are increasing at two and three times the rate of inflation. If this continues, it will obviously ultimately consume us; so we have got to do something to reform health care. But the bill making its way through the committee process can't be the right solution. According to economic modeling by the President's own chief economic adviser, the business tax hikes alone would destroy up to 4.7 million jobs. An independent analysis by the nonpartisan Lewin Group found that 114 million Americans would lose their current health insurance. And the CBO recently noted this health care plan would ``probably generate substantial increases in Federal budget deficits.'' Mr. Speaker, this can't be the right solution. We can do better. We need to keep working. And please include Republican ideas in this work product.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3082--Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010 Bill Number: H.R. 3082 Account: MILCON Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Fort Detrick Address of Requesting Entity: 810 Schreider Street, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland 21702-5000 Description of Request: This request appropriates $7.4 million for the ALT Auditorium and Training Center Expansion in Fort Detrick, MD. This project is required to meet the directed objectives of Homeland Security Council and National Security Council to provide meeting and conference space for members of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC). Currently, the USAG is required to provide space for the biodefense conferences. Fort Detrick cannot provide the required support to the directed interagency biodefense missions as assessed by multiple, independent government organizations as well as increasing degradation of already inadequate community support and space for educational services. Fort Detrick is unable to provide high demand, highly attended, more secure, Interagency Conferences, human capital enhancement, as well as expanded community services. The current auditorium space has inadequate standoff and force protection standards without completion of this project.------

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received in H.R. 2847. The list is as follows: Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Conservative Operations Legal Name of Requesting Entity: NRCS Address of Requesting Entity: 339 Busch's Frontage Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 Description of Request: NRCS Support for Chesapeake Bay Activities: This program was funded: $3,998,000. Since 2003 the Ag Appropriations bill has included an earmark for Chesapeake Bay, MD. Although this earmark has previously not been in addition to state funds the Task Force encourages the committee to make this request additive. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Conservative Operations Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Harford County Executive David Craig Address of Requesting Entity: 220 South Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014 Description of Request: Deer Creek Watershed Conservation and Restoration: This program was funded $400,000. This project will assist in the implementation of the Deer Creek Watershed Restoration Action Strategy recommendations, promoting conservation efforts and completing streambank restoration in the Deer Creek Watershed. Deer Creek is the largest watershed in Harford County covering 38% of the county's land area.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: NOAA--Operations, Research and Facilities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of Maryland Address of Requesting Entity: Main Administration Bldg, College Park MD 20742 Description of Request: Earth System Information Delivery & Assessment. Funded $150,000. The funding would be used for a one-year feasibility study in support of Earth System Information Delivery and Assessment. Such a capability would produce complete comprehensive and consistent space-time descriptions of all significant aspects of the Earth System. The end result of this transition across observational analysis, environmental predictions, and policy response will lead to better informed investment, adaption and policy options across the public and private sector. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: COPS Law Enforcement Technology Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Washington County Sheriffs Office; Arthur Smith (Chief of Police)/Bruce Zimmerman (City Administrator) Address of Requesting Entity: 1 East Frederick Street Room 202, Hagerstown, MD 21740 Description of Request: Hagerstown Radio Equipment Acquisition. Funded $750,000. The funding would be used for the purpose ensure that the City's public safety communications system is compatible with the communications system used by Washington County and the State Highway Patrol's Hagerstown Barracks. Funds are being requested to support portable radio equipment for the City of Hagerstown. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: OJP--Juvenile Justice Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Enough is Enough Address of Requesting Entity: 746 Walker Road Suite 116, Great Falls, VA 22066 Description of Requesting Entity: Maryland Internet Safety 101: Empowering Parents Program. Funded $250,000. The funding would be used for booklets and training to ensure that parents and other adult child caregivers are provided with the information needed to establish safety rules and to use appropriate software tools to protect children under their care, irrespective of any insecurities about technology or a lack of previous training or education. Funding will be dedicated to ramp-up Maryland state-wide outreach.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Thank you. I would like to thank my good friend from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) the chairman of the Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, for his continued professionalism and all the hard work that has taken place behind the scenes to get this bill done. This is not an easy process and the legislation before us reflects many difficult decisions. Once again, this bill places force-protection issues at the top of the priority list. It provides additional funds for the National Guard equipment account and the services' unfunded priority lists. And the changes that this bill makes in regards to body armor is long overdue and will provide better protection for our war fighters for years to come. As I said during our oversight hearings and subcommittee markup, there is no doubt that this budget and the decisions that come along with it will fundamentally change the United States Air Force and Army. I see two problems. First, the budget should not drive the strategy. The strategy should be set, then the funding requirements are laid out in the budget that follows. It appears to me that in many cases funding limitations in the FY 2010 budget top line were the sole driver in major policy decisions. The second problem that I see is that instead of openly engaging the legislative branch on policy matters proposed for structure changes and the shifting requirements for major weapons platforms, the executive branch has chosen to lock us out of those debates and tie our hands by unveiling sweeping policy changes buried under the guise of a budget request. A case in point is the joint cargo aircraft. I have asked witnesses in the Army, the Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense: What has changed? Why is this mission being moved out of the Army and solely over to the Air Force, when not 4 months ago we received the Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review Report that stated, ``the option that provided most value to the joint force was to assign the C-27J to the Air Force and Army. `` None of them have been able to answer the question, but all of them stated that there was no new study or analysis conducted that countered the existing plan or reduced the JROC recruit requirement for 78 joint cargo aircraft. What has happened as a result of all this is that the Congress is now left to debate the puts and takes in the budget when there has been no vetting of the underlying threat assumptions policy or strategy. This body, not the executive branch, is charged with a constitutional mandate to raise and support armies and navies. I am extremely troubled that these decisions have been made in a vacuum and appear at least on the surface to be informed by nothing other than top-line budget pressures. I want to be clear that my frustration is with the Department, not this bill. In fact, given the little information that we have received, I believe our Members on both sides of the aisle and our really excellent staff have done an amazing job. As I said on many occasions, the House Armed Services Committee has a long tradition of focusing on those issues that most impact and help our brave men and women in uniform. And I, like all our Members on both sides of the aisle, am very proud to be serving on this committee. Finally I would like to briefly comment on the Army's Future Combat System. As we all know, the Secretary of Defense announced a decision to restructure the decision and terminate the Manned Ground Vehicles. Our committee has scrutinized the Future Combat System program in a bipartisan manner since 2004. We have consistently had concerns in regard to the survivability of the Manned Ground Vehicles, but we have never questioned the need for the Army to modernize and replace a combat vehicle fleet that is in excess of 30 years old. The problem that I have is there is still much information that we need from OSD so that we can make informed decisions. As a result, we have been forced to make some very difficult decisions I would prefer to make with more information. Again, on balance, this is a good bill, and I encourage all members to support it.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of the FY10 National Defense Authorization Act H.R. 2647. The list is as follows: Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: Other Procurement, Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: AAI Corporation Address of Requesting Entity: 124 Industry Lane, Hunt Valley, MD 21030-0126 Description of Request: Authorized $2.5 million to field Shadow TUAS Training Aids, Devices, Simulators, and Simulations (TADSS) for Army National Guard. The TADSS consists of Shadow Crew Trainers, Launcher Part-Task Trainers, Air Vehicle Part-Task Trainers, and Interactive Multimedia Instruction. Shadow crews have specific requirements to maintain their proficiency and readiness, and the TADSS will help fulfill their training needs. Army National Guard units are being activated and deployed without any Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) equipment or the means to sustain individual Aircrew Training Manual requirements and proficiency. The gap between ARNG unit activation and Shadow equipment fielding averages 30 months. Due to these differences, ARNG TUAS units require different TADSS than active units to attain and maintain readiness. Since the TUAS units have dual use (applicability in Homeland Defense and other state missions as well as combat), it is critical to maintain a high state of readiness at all times. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: AEPLOG, Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: 12800 Middlebrook Road Suite 108, Germantown, MD 20874 Description of Request: Authorized $ 7.5 million for research and development of the Autonomous Sustainment Cargo Container (ASCC), ``Sea Truck.'' The Sea Truck consists of a propulsion module and an optional bow module which attach directly to commercial cargo containers, allowing the deployment of these self-propelled support units from offshore logistics and commercial ships to the beach for sustainment operations. The Sea Truck supports the Army's need for low cost, logistics support equipment with critical distribution and sustainment capabilities. This project will provide actual field-test data to TRAC- LEE, allowing them to assess the desirability of the concept without computer modeling, scale modeling, water-tank testing, prototype design, development, and fabrication, and three years of development time. The ASCC system also addresses other current needs and concerns of logistics support such as high sea state deployment, Operations Other Than Warfare, personnel and materiel safety, reduced fuel usage, and reduced personnel requirements. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: Other Procurement, Navy Legal Name of Requesting Entity: American Technology Corporation Address of Requesting Entity: 15378 Avenues of Science, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92128 Description of Request: Authorized $5.0 million for procurement of Long Range Acoustical Hailing Devices Anti Terrorism Force Protection Equipment for USN Assets and Facilities. The Long Range Acoustical Hailing Device (LRAD) is non-lethal, counter-personnel, long range hailing and warning device. LRAD's are capable of producing highly directional sound beams, allowing users to project warning tones and intelligible voice commands beyond small arms engagement range. The capability enables U.S. forces to more effectively determine the intent of a person, vessel, or vehicle, at a safe distance and potentially deter them prior to escalating to lethal force. LRAD provides a much needed capability for US Navy security personnel to effectively determine hostile intentions of potential terrorist vessels. LRAD provides tactical leaders with the time necessary to make measured and responsible escalation of force decisions. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Air Force Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Fairchild Controls- Address of Requesting Entity: 540 Highland Street, Frederick MD, 21701 Description of Request: Authorized $4.2 million for research and development of Adaptable Integrated Vapor Cycle based Environmental Control and Power System. Modern aircraft face increasing demand for electric power and cooling because of advanced sensors & weapons systems. Thermal challenges are further exacerbated by high engine fuel efficiency that reduces available fuel heat sink and low observable requirements that limit the use of ram air as a heat sink. Thermal challenge will increase by an order of magnitude for future air platforms. The proposed program will address many of the above challenges using a novel adaptable vapor cycle based environmental control system. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Defense Wide Legal Name of Requesting Entity: General Dynamics Robotics Systems Address of Requesting Entity: 1231 Tech Court, Westminster, MD 21157 Description of Request: Authorized $4.3 million for research and development of the Mobile Detection Assessment Response System Enhancements. MDARS robot autonomously performs random patrols, detects intruders, and determines the status of inventory, barriers, gates and locks using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Onboard sensors and real-time video allow remotely-housed human operators to see intruders or suspect activity as soon as the robot encounters it. There are no funds identified in the FY10 budget to support MDARS enhancements. DoD has identified a variety of enhancements that will expand the capabilities of the MDARS robotic vehicle to support force protection efforts. Requested funds would develop additional capabilities and procure one vehicle for force protection that detects intruders, and determines the status of inventory, barriers, gates and locks using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Navy Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Information Control, LLC Address of Requesting Entity: 17 S. Summit Ave., Suite 100, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Description of Request: Authorized $2.0 million for research and development of the Flexible Medical Solutions FlexMedPatch Program. This program will finalize developed micro- and nanotechnologies to save the military, thus taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in avoidable medical visits, save tens of millions of barrels of foreign oil, and create dozens of jobs in Maryland while improving access to healthcare and immediacy of lab results for patients and physicians. Most importantly, the medical readiness of military forces will be greatly enhanced as a direct result of the application of this process. This project increases ability to remotely triage injured war fighters in field, sea and air theater of operations; ability to monitor the health of trainees while undergoing dangerous training exercises; ability to create baseline individualized profiles on war fighters and their capacity to withstand pain, recover from injury, and endure prolonged and acute stress; ability to predict cancers, strokes, and heart attacks before they occur; and ability to continuously monitor forces for alcohol and drug use. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: Other Procurement, Defense-wide Legal Name of Requesting Entity: MPRI Training and Technology Group Address of Requesting Entity: 7142 Columbia Gateway Dr., Columbia, MD 21046 Description of Request: Authorized $2.5 million for Basic Rifle/ Pistol Marksmanship for the US Army Reserve. Basic Rifle/Pistol Marksmanship for US Army Reserve (BRPM) training is included in the Army Marksmanship Training Strategy. Reserve Soldiers have the current requirement to maintain an annual level of proficiency in marksmanship in accordance with the Standards in Training Commission (STRAC) and the USAR's Small Arms Training Strategy. The BRPM program supports individual marksmanship training from initial entry training through advanced skill levels. The BRPM program is versatile and un-tethered allowing practice in different environments and locations creating realistic training scenarios. The BRPM program saves ammunition costs, travel time for training, is compatible with existing weapons of various calibers (M16, M4, M249, M240 and M9) and requires no modification to the weapon system. BRPM simulation can be used in concert with both standard U.S. military blank ammunition as well as BRPM specific lead free blank ammunition. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Navy Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Northrop Grumman Address of Requesting Entity: 1000 Wilson Blvd., Suite 2300, Arlington, VA 22209 Description of Request: Authorized $5.0 million for Next Generation Shipboard Integrated Power: Fuel Efficiency and Advanced Capability Enhancer. Existing and future surface combatants and submarines require advanced propulsion and power system technologies to enhance fuel economy, lower system acquisition cost, and free up volume and weight for war fighting capability. Funding is requested to continue the development of a power dense Integrated Power System (IPS) and Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) technologies suitable for surface combatant and submarine propulsion, enhanced power generation, and power conversion. Power dense electric machines and power conversion solutions enable hybrid propulsion systems that save fuel and provide increased critical power for additional payload capabilities. These developments allow an advanced IPS or HED system to be incorporated in future and existing warships, including the re-started DDG51 line, DDG51 Modification, Ohio Replacement, and a future CG(X). Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Air Force Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Proxy Aviation Address of Requesting Entity: 12850 Middlebook Road, Germantown, MD 20874 Description of Request: Authorized $7.5 million for research and development of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Cooperative Concentrated Observation and Engagement against a Common Ground Objective. There is an ongoing need in DoD to increase the number of (Information, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) ISR orbits provided by Unmanned Aircraft. This project increases effectiveness of the current fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by enabling multiple UAVs and multiple sensors to cooperate in the same airspace with dynamic mission execution. Proxy Aviation Systems has developed and demonstrated the power of UAS cooperative engagement capability that can reduce the manpower and increase the mission effectiveness of current UAS. The Universal Distributed Management System (UDMS) is a demo proven (TRL-6) autonomous command and control system that will enable up to twelve UAVs to operate simultaneously from a single ground station and perform complex tactical objectives. The upgrade of existing and future US Government UAVs with a Cooperative Engagement capability will significantly reduce the manning required to operate current UAV systems which will lower costs while increasing mission effectiveness Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Volvo Powertrain of North America Address of Requesting Entity: 13302 Pennsylvania Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21742 Description of Request: Authorized $3.0 million for research and development of Hybrid electric Heavy Truck Vehicle. The program's goal is to provide the military with a more fuel efficient, cleaner and more easily maintained heavy truck power train. A secondary goal is to build a truck engine that can provide the same electrical source as a traditional diesel generator. Combining these two capabilities in one engine will reduce deployed forces requirement for fossil fuels and reduce the need for inefficient, noisy diesel generators. Requested funds will be used to complete the final development stage prior to production. This final year of funding will enable Mack Trucks and Volvo Power train to finish building a prototype M915 truck with hybrid power train, and be prepared to compete for a M915 by the Army. It will reduce the logistics footprint of deployed forces by requiring less fuel in theater. It will also eliminate the need for noisy, diesel generators that can divulge the location of friendly forces. It will also provide a more easily maintained powertrain. Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: RDT&E, Navy Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Zeltex Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: 130 Western Maryland Parkway, Hagerstown, MD 21740 Description of Request: Authorized $2.0 million for research and development of the Remote Fuel Assessment System. The military has critical operational requirements for a field capability to rapidly assess cached and secured fuel supplies at key distribution nodes without extensive logistic support. Zeltex, Inc. proposes to develop and demonstrate a Remote Fuel Assessment System (RFAS) for rapid fuel quality assessment. It will assess representative fuel content and contamination properties such as particulates, moisture, density, total oxygen content, benzene, olefins, aromatics, octane and cetane index to identify the class of fuel. Embedded wireless communication and control capability in the RFAS will ensure seamless operation with tactical information networks (Sense and Respond Logistics). Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: MILCON, Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Fort Detrick Garrison Commander Address of Requesting Entity: 810 Schreider Street, Ft. Detrick, Maryland 21702-5000 Description of Request: Authorized $7.4 million for Community Activities Center at Fort Detrick Army Base. This project is required to support installation business operations, planning, and interagency integration as well as community activities to replace a rapidly deteriorating and unsafe WWII era building for the growing customer population at Fort Detrick, Maryland. This project will provide a modern, sustainable and safe facility that will greatly enhance communications and customer services by providing a facility that can support a variety of demands. All potential alternatives were examined in the development of this project and none were found to be feasible. Currently, the CAC temporary building is at the end of it's useful life and is requiring frequent expensive stop-gap repairs in order to avoid condemnation by the Fire Marshall or closure by the Installation Safety Officer. The building is unsafe, energy inefficient, environmentally unfriendly, unattractive, and incapable of housing services and activities that are vital, self-fulfilling in maintaining morale, esprit, and the quality of life. This new center will respond to the increase in requirements created by the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC), BRAC-95, BRAC-05, Army Transformation, Wounded Warrior and Suicide Prevention Programs, and the Army's goal of improving the quality of life for soldiers and their families by offering opportunities for self-fulfillment, social activity and leisure-time enjoyment.

Mr. BARTLETT

Mr. BARTLETT. I strongly encourage my colleagues to pass H.R. 2101, a much needed acquisition reform bill. This bill will help facilitate a strong national defense, while reining in out-of-control cost growth in the development of major weapons systems. This bill is a result of an intensive, cooperative, and collaborative bipartisan and bicameral effort to improve and modernize the procurement and acquisition process for our Armed Forces. I want to recognize in particular the efforts of Chairman Ike Skelton, Ranking Member John McHugh, and the members of the Defense Acquisition Reform Panel led by Chairman Robert Andrews and Ranking Member Mike Conaway. Additionally, I would like to thank the unusually talented staff for their tireless work and contributions to this legislation. H.R. 2101 is a much needed response to help minimize cost overruns and increase oversight and transparency in the way the Defense Department buys big-ticket weapons programs. I'm confident this legislation will provide a positive step forward for our military that will save taxpayers billions of dollars. Moreover, this piece of legislation strategically addresses many of the issues I have long raised as concerns, including requirements creep, delivery delays, overly optimistic cost estimates, and the need for an independent broker to advise the military and Congress. Two weeks ago during our HASC full committee hearing on Reform of Major Weapons Systems Acquisition, I posed a question before our distinguished panel of experienced acquisition experts regarding how they would weigh the causes of program cost overruns. I asked them to record percentages based on what I called requirements creep, intentional underbidding, and, three, optimistic or incompetent cost estimating. In short, what I took away from our expert panelists' answers was that fixing a broken defense acquisition system heavily lies with the requirements process. I believe H.R. 2101 will help define requirements better upfront and establish a managed process for our military and defense contractors. This bill will also address cost and schedule delays on programs early on. This bill will force the DOD to assess alternatives as soon as any major program starts going off track. Currently, this assessment is not required unless the program incurs a Nunn-McCurdy breach, which usually doesn't happen until a program is close to production. Nunn-McCurdy has been a useful tool. It requires notification of Congress for programs that exceed cost estimates by 15 percent and termination of programs that exceed cost estimates by 25 percent unless certified by the Secretary of Defense that it's in our national security interest. H.R. 2101 provides tools and teeth to better manage and control costs of major programs from the very beginning. Additionally, this bill elevates the importance and role of the independent cost estimator. This person gets to select the confidence level that all cost estimates will be developed to and also gets to develop his or her own cost estimate. Further, the individual has to concur with the choice of the cost estimate made by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Technology and Logistics, AT&L, in creating a baseline budget for the program. Lastly, I have been a longtime advocate of independent ``brokers'' to advise our talented military and the Congress. Under this bill, independent officials would be hired to assess defense acquisition performance. The idea would be that this individual does not report to the services or to AT&L. They would report to the Secretary and to Congress about whether the taxpayers are really getting value for their money under a program, or if there are other alternatives or requirement trades we should make. This bill is very similar but not identical to legislation already passed by the Senate, S. 545, under the leadership of Senators Carl Levin and John McCain. There are some differences between the House and Senate bills. There is unified, bipartisan support for this House bill, H.R. 2101. It was approved unanimously, and I encourage my colleagues to ratify the recommendations of the House Armed Services Committee with the strongest show of support for this bill as we go forward in conference with the other body. In conclusion, I believe H.R. 2101 is a long overdue piece of legislation that will greatly benefit the honorable men and women who volunteer to serve in our Armed Forces. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this bill.