Jim Bunning

Mr. BUNNING

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, just to respond. I did not know The Washington Post was the expert on tax policy in this country, especially their editorial page. The markets are panicking so much that we are about to pass this on the floor that the Dow Jones is up 180 points, the Standard & Poor 20 points and the NASDAQ is 38 points today in response to the fact that we are going to pass this horrible, irresponsible bill, and the financial markets are in a panic today.

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall). (Mr. HALL of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3097.

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 472, I call up the bill (H.R. 3097) to terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. BUNNING

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself whatever time I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank everyone for their cooperation in the subcommittee; the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly), who has done a very good job in helping craft this legislation. I think this is the type of legislation that we ought to work for on a daily basis, a bipartisan piece of legislation that I am sure when it goes to the other body, we will find people that will work to make sure that we finally get this bill to the President's desk for his signature. I am very, very proud of the 3 years of work that we have put in on this legislation to iron out the many differences that we had so that we can bring a bill that everyone in the subcommittee and everyone in the full Committee on Ways and Means supports. Mr. Speaker, I yield whatever time he may consume to my good friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. BUNNING asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time we have remaining?

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English). (Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I have the great pleasure of yielding 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly) for her input on this bill and particularly the staffs who worked very well in cooperation to make it complete. Sandy, thank you very much; and we appreciate all the hard work Kim and others on our side have done. The Social Security program is vitally important, as everyone knows, to all Americans. The disability program is particularly critical in protecting those workers and their families who become smitten by an incapacitating illness or accident. Through our Subcommittee on Social Security hearings over the last 3 years we have been told over and over by individuals with disabilities, their advocates, rehabilitation experts and various providers of services that, due to advances in medicine, technology and the field of rehabilitation, many individuals with disabilities want to work and they believe they could work if provided needed rehabilitation and support services and if the program could be changed to remove the barriers preventing beneficiaries from becoming self-sufficient through employment. Topping the list, and we have heard it before, is the fear of losing health care coverage and cash benefits. Another disincentive is that beneficiaries currently have limited choices in selecting rehabilitation services and who provides those services. The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly) and I, along with all of the members of the subcommittee, have worked very hard on a bipartisan basis and with the administration to replace disincentives with real incentives. Our legislation empowers beneficiaries first by allowing them to choose the public or private provider of services which best suits their needs and to choose the type of services most likely to assist them in entering the work force. The bill pays providers of services for results by permitting them to share in the savings to the Social Security Trust Funds incurred when the beneficiary is working and no longer receiving benefits. The provider payment system is designed to ensure that as many providers as possible are available to beneficiaries. To address one of the primary obstacles facing disability beneficiaries who attempt to work, our bill extends, as we have heard before, Medicare coverage for an additional 2 years for those who participate in the program. To help beneficiaries who have mental disabilities or chronic conditions transition into work, our bill includes a requirement that SSA test a gradual offset of disability cash benefits by reducing benefits $1 for every 2 earned over a determined level. The Subcommittee on Social Security has crafted a solid bill, a bill that, according to preliminary CBO estimates, will more than quadruple the number of beneficiaries who will receive rehabilitation and other support services as the program is implemented. In addition, this bill will save the Social Security Trust Funds and general revenues millions of dollars over the years. Let me make one point perfectly clear. This is a voluntary program providing real opportunities for those who want to work. No one will be forced to leave the disability rolls. The Social Security and supplemental Social Security income disability programs are preserved as a much-needed safety net for people who are unable to work. Under this bill, personal responsibility is maximized by allowing beneficiaries to take charge of their own lives and become employed. This legislation, once signed into law, will transform the disability program to a program of investment versus entitlement, encouraging self-sufficiency versus dependency. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I also would like to include in the record a letter from the American Association of Retired Persons in support of this legislation and also a letter from the United States Chamber of Commerce also in support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. The documents referred to are as follows:

Mr. BUNNING

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and manager, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Dan Schaefer), and also my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall), and I rise in strong support of H.R. 2841, legislation I introduced to extend the construction deadline for a proposed hydroelectric plant in my district. Late last year I learned that the Augusta hydroelectric power project was running into some difficulties in securing private investors because of an impending construction deadline set by the Federal Emergency Regulatory Commission. This is an extremely important project to my constituents in the northern part of Kentucky, and without congressional actions to extend this deadline, thousands of residents in my State could miss out on a tremendous source of inexpensive electricity. The bill simply extends the present deadline set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for 6 more years, which will provide the necessary time for the city of Augusta Kentucky to seek and obtain new investors for this important project. However, without our assistance today, this project will not meet its current construction deadline and be terminated. By passing this legislation, we can help make sure that that does not happen. I appreciate the Committee on Commerce's quick action in bringing this important bill to the floor and look forward to working with them in the future to make sure this project is completed. I urge all of my colleagues to support this meaningful legislation. I thank the chairman for yielding time to me.

Mr. BUNNING

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger).

Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky

Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).

Mr. BUNNING

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrich).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Linda Smith).

Mr. BUNNING. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English).

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).