Timothy Bishop

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I thank my friend from Minnesota for yielding. I rise in support of the motion to instruct conferees. Let me start by just making clear that this issue of categorical exclusion is one that's important for us to all recognize. The 35W bridge, the rebuild was subject to a categorical exclusion, so it was not held up. Again, I will repeat what my friend from Minnesota said: 96 percent of the projects that go forward with highway bill funding are subject to a categorical exclusion. We really have to ask ourselves if we are going to continue to allow unemployment in the construction industry at 35 percent for 4 percent of the projects that are constructed under the highway bill. This motion would direct conferees to adopt a final conference report no later than this Friday, June 22. In fact, June 22 represents the 100th day since the Senate passed MAP 21 with an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 74 22. It's fully paid for, and it will save or create an estimated 3 million jobs. In fact, in my State alone, at least 115,000 jobs will be saved or created if we can get either a successful conference report or the passage of MAP 21. It's been 126 days since the House Rules Committee began considering H.R. 7 for floor consideration, which faltered soon thereafter when my Republican colleagues could not gain consensus within their own caucus and the bill died. It's now been 62 days since the House passed a shell bill to allow conference negotiations to begin. Finally, and most importantly, we are a mere 6 legislative days away from the expiration of our highway programs when the current 90-day extension expires on June 30. During this entire time, one fact has been a constant: that the men and women of our construction industry continue to suffer with one of the highest rates of unemployment for any industry. We continue the lack of certainty that a multiyear highway bill would provide. It would provide States the ability to plan and initiate projects, to put people back to work and begin the much-needed improvements to our roadways, bridges, and transit systems desperately needed.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I applaud my Senate colleagues who put aside partisan politics to advance a bipartisan bill. To their credit, the Senate put forward that which they could agree on and set aside to a later date that on which they could not agree. It was a sensible and successful strategy. With Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats and the White House all supporting MAP 21, it is clear that if we can just get the House Republicans on board we can get a bill, and that's what we need to do. We can get a bill, because a temporary extension--yet another--is not a strategy that works. A temporary extension is not the answer. We will soon exhaust the trust fund, States and municipalities will not have the certainty they need to plan, thus construction companies will not be able to hire, and we will lose yet another construction season. A temporary extension is not the answer. Passing a conference report by June 30, or passing MAP 21, is the answer.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the students, both past and present, of the Longwood School District in my district on Long Island for the completion of two major projects--the Longwood Veterans Walk and the accompanying Longwood Veterans History Project, which honor those men and women who have served this nation in overseas conflicts. In tribute to the service our veterans have given to this country, a monument commemorating the service of former Longwood school students who served in the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the continuing War in Afghanistan, has been constructed and will be dedicated on June 16, 2012, in Bartlett Pond Park. This monument is the last in a series honoring the Longwood veterans from every war in our nation's history, dating back to the Revolution. The first, dedicated in 2007, created an enthusiasm for local history and the personal stories of these men and women. Since then, the students of Longwood Junior High School have, using a variety of sources, conducted their own research to locate the names and lives of every Longwood veteran, an undertaking that resulted in six volumes of biographies. Through the generosity of the local community, sufficient funds were raised for the completion of this ambitious and moving project. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply proud of this project and the students who have made it a reality. On behalf of New York's first congressional district, I urge my colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the inspiring civic duty demonstrated by these students who have honored our community's veterans.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I am in its current form.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, this is the final and only amendment any Member has been given the opportunity to offer to this bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, H.R. 436 will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. The amendment I offer is a simple, commonsense effort to discourage American employers from outsourcing American jobs. It conditions the repeal of the medical device tax on an employer keeping jobs in the United States. If a device manufacturer sends jobs overseas during a calendar year, then the repeal of the tax does not apply to that manufacturer for that year. Both Democrats and Republicans want to create conditions that get American families back to work; both Democrats and Republicans agree that the Tax Code should discourage employers from shipping jobs overseas; and both Democrats and Republicans want American families to prosper and have the opportunity to achieve limitless possibilities. But we have different approaches to achieving that goal. While we have different approaches, I think all reasonable people can agree that the ultimate job destroyer is outsourcing. I listened very carefully to the debate that took place on the underlying bill. Virtually every speaker on the Republican side of the aisle mentioned jobs, mentioned employment, mentioned job-killing regulations, job-killing taxes. I think the best way to kill a job isn't a regulation and it isn't a tax. The best way to kill a job and to kill American opportunity is to have that job done by someone overseas instead of by an American simply because it's cheaper to have that job done overseas. This is an issue that weighs heavily on the minds of our constituents. A 2009 Harvard study found that half of all Americans are resentful of businesses that send jobs overseas, and over 80 percent have concern for their family's future due to outsourcing. No American should be fearful that their job will be shipped overseas, and this Congress should end those policies that provoke this anxiety. The Tax Code still gives incentives to employers who create jobs in foreign countries rather than here at home. Our Republican colleagues rail against foreign aid, but isn't providing another country a job that an American could do the ultimate example of foreign aid? I doubt we'll be able to eliminate outsourcing, but with this amendment, this Congress can discourage it. Adopting this amendment is our first step towards reforming our tax system in a way that benefits American businesses and American workers. Every time a U.S. business moves operations overseas, we lose opportunity, we lose economic growth, we lose competitiveness, and we lose desperately needed revenue necessary to reduce the deficit. This bill was considered under a closed rule, so Republicans can't justify their opposition with the usual claim that Democrats are trying to subvert an open amendment process. An open amendment process simply didn't exist for this bill. This time there is no hiding: Either you support American jobs for Americans or you don't. I urge all Members to support this amendment and to protect American jobs. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple: It reduces by $75 million the amount that DHS can spend on construction of laboratory facilities--specifically, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, planned for Manhattan, Kansas--and returns those funds to the research, development, acquisitions, and operations account. This unnecessary government spending is little more than an attempt to earmark funds for a project that the Obama administration zeroed out in its FY13 budget proposal, that the DHS acknowledges will cost over $1 billion to construct, that the National Academy of Sciences has raised real concerns about the possibility of foot and mouth disease release, and that many in the agricultural community are asking, why take the chance? When the National Academy of Sciences last reviewed the NBAF proposal, they indicated that the risk of foot and mouth disease in the Nation's Heartland was a 70 percent risk over a 50-year period. The academy also estimated the cost of a potential release of foot and mouth disease at $9 billion to $50 billion. While it is correct that earlier this year DHS indicated this risk had been mitigated with additional design features, the National Academy of Sciences is still revising the Revised Risk Assessment. Common sense requires that until the Revised Risk Assessment is complete, we should not be entertaining the idea of appropriating precious taxpayer dollars for construction of this project. NBAF has also become a financial boondoggle. The estimated cost of construction has skyrocketed from an original estimate of $451 million only a few years ago to well over $1 billion today. At this time, it is a colossal risk to the American taxpayer to advance a project the cost of which has doubled in less than 5 years, and when funding for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 remain unobligated. At a time when my Republican colleagues continually argue that our Nation's debt is out of control and the deficit must be reined in, it is both hypocritical and unwise to spend taxpayer dollars that the President has not requested for a project that is still under design review, to be placed in a region that is acutely sensitive to the horrible diseases that will be studied at the facility. The only logical, responsible thing to do while the many questions surrounding NBAF remain unanswered is to wait to invest taxpayers' hard-earned money and continue to utilize existing DHS assets to study the various animal diseases that face our agricultural community. Mr. Chairman, funding for the construction of NBAF is tantamount to a $75 million earmark for the Kansas delegation. Funds were not included in the President's budget, and the project has yet to spend the money that has already been appropriated. DHS has other important research and more pressing construction projects than NBAF. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Chair, I rise to support the Tonko- Bishop-Hirono-Welch amendment, and I commend my good friend and fellow New Yorker on his steadfast commitment and long-standing leadership on this issue. The increase to weatherization funding provided in this amendment brings the Weatherization Assistance Program funding close to its pre- Recovery Act levels, which helped States retrofit close to 100,000 homes a year. In addition, nearly 92 percent of the Recovery Act funds appropriated to the Weatherization Program have been spent, meaning that the recommended funding level in this bill will result in a majority of States receiving reduced Federal funding for weatherization. Arguments to the contrary with respect to available funds are simply not accurate. New York has spent the entirety of its Recovery Act funds on time and under budget, weatherizing nearly 70,000 units, 20 percent, over its initial goal. On Long Island, the Community Development Corporation of Long Island weatherized 3,000 units, thanks to the Recovery Act, and has continued to spend down the regularly appropriated funds it receives to retrofit qualified homes. Weatherization Assistance continues to be a successful program, and we must build on its success. Even after the Recovery Act and regular appropriations, the CDC of Long Island has a wait list of 8,000 qualified homes that could be retrofitted for energy efficiency. The demand is there. And this is just Long Island. Adequately funding the Weatherization Assistance Program to meet this demand will have several positive effects on communities and the economy. It will reduce energy costs for homeowners, which is absolutely critical as these costs continue to climb. Perhaps most important, it will put local contractors back to work retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient. This means job creation in local communities. Most recognize that this is the time when Washington must balance spending reduction with wise investment. If we all agree that this Congress must do more to foster an environment of job creation, then I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Doctors Henry and Marsha Laufer and their family for the many outstanding contributions to scientific research and learning on the occasion of the opening of the new Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology at Stony Brook University in my district. For more than forty years, the Laufer family has demonstrated an unyielding commitment and tremendous generosity with their time, talents and resources in supporting Stony Brook University. Their influence and many contributions have made an indelible impact on the campus and surrounding community. Dr. Henry Laufer is a former member of Stony Brook's faculty who won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and helped distinguish the Mathematics Department through his breakthrough work on complex variables and algebraic topology. Dr. Marsha Laufer is a former speech pathologist and research associate professor in the School of Allied Health Professions who directed graduate student research, taught courses in research design and communications disorders, and is a founding member of the Friends of Staller Center Advisory Council. The culmination of these ongoing efforts is the May 7, 2012 opening of the newly remodeled building to house the Laufer Center on Stony Brook's campus. The Center was established in 2008 in loving memory of Louis and Beatrice Laufer by their children Helen Laufer Kaplan and Howard Kaplan, Jeffrey and Barbara Laufer, and Henry and Marsha Laufer. At that time, Stony Brook University President Shirley Kenny praised the Laufers as ``people of remarkable vision and generosity'' and recognized the Center's potential to ``explore new frontiers in research and education and . . . have a profound impact on the future of biomedical research and health care for generations to come.'' The Center brings together academic experts and students in math, physics, genetics, biochemistry, engineering, and computer sciences to advance research and innovation that will lead to groundbreaking discoveries in biology and medicine. The Center uses an interdisciplinary approach and involves collaborations among scientists at Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to provide an important interface between the physical and life sciences. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have known the Laufer family for many years and am very proud to call them close friends of mine. They are a great source of inspiration, enthusiasm, and dedication to major advances in research, learning, and a better a way of life. On behalf of New York's first congressional district, I congratulate the Laufer family for its generosity and outstanding contributions to Stony Brook University and to our community on this occasion marking the opening of the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Shetal I. Shah, MD, FAAP, who this year celebrates his fifth anniversary serving as Legislative Chairman for the Long Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Shah is a lifelong resident of Long Island after his parents, Dr. Indravadan C. Shah, MD, FACS and Dr. Saroj Shah, MD, FACOG emigrated from India over 40 years ago. Upon earning degrees from Princeton, Cornell, Duke and New York Universities, Dr. Shah returned to Long Island as a pediatrician and neonatologist, focusing his work on caring for vulnerable and critically-ill newborns. In his capacity as Legislative Chairman, Dr. Shah has provided thorough analyses of health care policy proposals and their impact on the welfare of children on Long Island. He has served as a valuable resource on important topics such as immunization policy, research funding for child health, and children's health insurance coverage. Dr. Shah's expertise was particularly valuable during the 111th Congress as House and Senate committees worked to draft the Affordable Care Act. Guided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Shah ably assisted my office in understanding the impact of the various legislative proposals on children's health, providing a local context in which to frame my assessment and support of the final legislation. In addition to providing intensive care to premature infants at Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital, Dr. Shah's immunization research and subsequent advocacy work has resulted in the passage of two New York State laws aimed at protecting newborns from influenza and whooping cough, both of which can be life-threatening to young children. He has been recognized as a ``Physician-Leader'' by the American Medical Association, is a former Fulbright Scholar, and has been honored by the American Association of Physicians from India. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Shah has been an ardent advocate for our nation's children and I thank him for his contributions to the policymaking process. On behalf of New York's first congressional district, I ask my colleagues to join with me in congratulating Dr. Shah on his accomplishments in the field of pediatric and child health and extend best wishes to him and his family on this celebratory occasion.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I thank Ranking Member Rahall for yielding and for his leadership on this issue and his leadership on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Mr. Speaker, I support this commonsense motion to put America back to work by preventing the harmful outsourcing of American jobs. The U.S. is still recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression. The manufacturing and construction sectors have been particularly hard-hit. In the past decade, more than 56,000 U.S. factories have closed or moved overseas. An additional 90,000 manufacturing firms are at risk of going out of business. More than 2.2 million construction and manufacturing workers remain out of work. This motion to instruct directs conferees on H.R. 4348 to address important loopholes in Buy American laws in order to create more American jobs. Provisions contained in the Senate amendment to H.R. 4348 will help ensure that all steel, iron, and manufactured goods used to construct highway, transit, and rail projects are produced in the United States. By closing loopholes, these provisions will make certain that projects financed by U.S. taxpayers will be made in America, with jobs in our communities, not outsourced overseas. This motion to instruct directs conferees to adopt several Senate Buy American provisions that would prohibit project segmentation on certain projects, require public notice and comment on waiver requests, require review of longstanding waivers, and require an annual report on waivers. I think that reasonable people would agree that this isn't too much to ask for projects that are paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars. Federal transportation dollars should not be used to outsource American jobs. It doesn't make sense. It isn't right. I urge my colleagues to support this motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the immense success that the members of the Local 25 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have achieved. The 2,600 members of Local 25 have, for 80 years, dedicated themselves to the service of their community and achieving excellence within the electrician profession. IBEW Local 25's service to Long Island began in 1932, when some of the finest crafts people in the world wanted to better facilitate their remarkable skills. IBEW is deeply committed to the ongoing training of its members. Seasoned associates of Local 25 eagerly pass down their accumulated knowledge to the younger generations of electricians in a fair, equal opportunity setting. Local 25 is of vital importance to the Long Island community, and I am proud of their heritage and remarkable skill sets. The mission of this coalition of tradesmen is to produce the finest skilled electricians in the world who will produce the highest quality electrical installations. I believe the great members of Local 25 have achieved that goal. Mr. Speaker, I honor the fine members of IBEW Local 25 for their invaluable and continuing contributions to our community. It is my great hope that they will continue to serve as an inspiration for others through their work and ongoing devotion to the great State of New York.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Riverhead Blue Waves Girls Basketball Team on their history-making 2011 2012 season. The Blue Waves of Riverhead, New York went all the way to the state Class AA Final Four tournament in Troy, New York, a first in the team's history and a truly remarkable achievement. Along the way they won the 2012 Long Island Championship in a 56 50 victory over the Baldwin Bruins amidst waves of cheering fans known as the ``Blue Krew.'' They also won the Suffolk County Class AA championship, and the Suffolk County Section XI championship, finishing the season with a 23 2 record. Their coach, Dave Spinelli, was named Suffolk County Coach of the Year, and senior guard Jaylyn Brown was named a first-team All-Long Island player. The team was named a New York State Scholar Athlete team for the seventh consecutive year with a team grade-point average this year of 93.1. Hailed as hometown heroes, the athletes were honored with a parade down East Main Street sponsored by the Riverhead Central School District and the Town of Riverhead on April 29th, and the entire day was designated a day of celebration. Riverhead School Board vice president Greg Meyer said the team acted as a catalyst for the entire community. ``The girls played their hearts out for their team and for this community, and the residents of Riverhead and the rest of the school district came together to support the team in a major way.'' Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have such a talented and dedicated group of young athletes in my congressional district. They demonstrated commitment, teamwork, leadership and serve as role models for their community, proving that with hard work and a good defense, dreams do come true.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I thank Mr. Rahall for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak in support of the motion to instruct conferees. This motion would direct conferees to adopt the Senate bill, MAP 21, which I introduced as H.R. 14 in March. This legislation can provide State DOTs, transit agencies, and contractors with the certainty they need to create and sustain jobs for the thousands of Americans who are still out of work as a result of the economic downturn. MAP 21 not only passed overwhelmingly in the Senate with a bipartisan majority of 74 22, but the Senate bill is fully paid for and will save an estimated 1.8 million jobs and create up to 1 million additional jobs when implemented. During a weak economic recovery looking for a jump-start, this is precisely what we need to do. Given that H.R. 4348 is merely a 90-day extension of highway programs at current levels with a few policy additions, we could put the construction industry back to work that much faster, given that the construction season is in full swing if this motion to instruct is adopted. MAP 21 has the support of three-quarters of Congress, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats; it has the support of the White House. It's time that the House Republicans got on board with job creation instead of fighting it. Americans want safe roads and bridges; but, above all, they want jobs. The Senate passed the biggest job-creating bill in this Congress by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. The House has done nothing. Let's get this country moving again by passing the Senate bill so the President can sign it. Let's create jobs. Let's Make It in America. I urge my colleagues to support this motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Church of St. Mary in Hampton Bays, New York as it celebrates one hundred years of ministry and worship. I offer my congratulations to the rector, wardens, vestry and congregation of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, a beautiful and historic church that stands as a testament to the devotion of its members. From its modest beginnings in the home of Earl B. Squires in 1912 to its present-day position as the first and most active partner in an outreach program to the East End's homeless, St. Mary's has been a vital part of the community. On March 26, 1912, the Reverend Samuel Centennial Fish conducted the first service in the home of Earl Squires opposite the present location of the church at 165 Ponquogue Avenue. In 1917, Virginia Taylor Hardy donated the property and present church, nestled amid a grove of oak trees, to serve the population of Good Ground, a portion of present day Hampton Bays. Its Norman architecture is accentuated by slate and tile floors, varying peaked tile roofs and English oak pews and paneling. The stained glass windows in the baptistery and above the altar are the work of Otto W. Heinigke, one of the foremost stained glass artists in the country. The church building, recognized as one of the most beautiful small churches in America, was consecrated on September 4, 1920 by the Right Rev. Frederick Burgess, Bishop of Long Island. In 1966, the church was granted parish status after 52 years as a mission. The current rector, the Rev. Bernadette M. Sullivan, is the first woman to serve as the church's spiritual leader. In 2001, the rector volunteered St. Mary's as the first church to commit to participate in the Maureen's Haven Ministry to the homeless. Many members of the congregation have been inspired to become involved. After ten years, more than 30 other churches are participating in the program providing beds, hot food and counseling for more than 252 guests. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have such a strong and long-standing congregation in the First Congressional District of New York, and I offer best wishes for the future.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Thank you very much for the opportunity, Congressman Courtney. And let me begin by commending you for being the sponsor of H.R. 3826. I'm proud to join you in that effort, and over 100 of our Democratic colleagues have joined in this effort. And I find it both distressing and, frankly, shocking that we don't have a single Member from the other side of the aisle who cares about students and wants to see the student loan rate maintained at 3.4 percent. Let me start with a statistic that ought to give pause to everyone who cares about the future of our country. We have fallen from first to 15th in the world in the proportion of our population ages 23 through 35 that has a college degree. In an intensely competitive global marketplace, we are going to continue to struggle if we do not have the educated populace that we need to have to compete in that global marketplace. And if we continue to make it more difficult for students to go to college, that's precisely the outcome that we'll have. And so, at the very moment when we ought to be doing everything that we possibly can to facilitate college enrollment, we are, in fact, in the House of Representatives, being led by people who are taking us in the exact opposite direction. The student loan issue is crucial. As you say, we have 73 days to act before students take on a significant additional hardship, doubling the interest rate. But look at what the House Republican budget that has now been passed twice in this Chamber, once before Easter recess and as recently as yesterday, look what it does to higher education. It cuts funding for the Pell Grant program, as Representative Cicilline said, the core program, the core student financial aid program that came about as a result of the leadership of Senator Pell. It cuts it by $104 billion over 10 years, $104 billion over 10 years at a time when we're trying to facilitate college enrollment. It will render 18,000 students in my home State of New York ineligible for Pell, students who are eligible for it now who won't be eligible for it next year. Across the country, 400,000 students who are eligible for Pell now won't be eligible for it. And at the very time that the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives is proposing that, they are also proposing to make it more expensive for students to do the only thing they could do to replace the dollars they're going to lose from Pell, and that's borrow. So we're going to hit them both ways. We're going to take away non- repayable assistance, grant assistance, and then we're going to make it more expensive for them to borrow. And it's just simply wrong. We ought to be about opportunity in this country. And when I hear a Presidential candidate talk about how the desire to send more students to college is elitist, it, frankly, gives me great pause. And if we look at the history of higher education in this country, before World War II and the GI Bill, it was elitist. And then with the advent of the GI Bill and then the community college, higher education became egalitarian. And it's what built the great middle class in this country. It is what has allowed us to thrive and become the strongest and most prosperous Nation in the world. We cannot afford to take a step back; and this dual effort to both diminish Pell, significantly diminish Pell, and then make it more expensive for students to borrow, the consequence of that will be to move us backward at a time when we need to be aggressively charging forward.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I want to pick up on a couple of points but certainly on the point, Congressman Courtney, that you made with respect to students who are making decisions right now. I mean, they were notified of their acceptances between April 1 and April 15, and they've got to respond to the colleges that accepted them between May 1 and May 15. They are making life-altering decisions right now. And we here in the Congress, I believe, have an obligation to give them the information they need to have in order to make informed decisions. If they're going to have a significant additional repayment burden upon graduation, that's going to affect their decisions. If a student has excelled and worked hard and gotten into the college of his or her choice, for them not to be able to accept that offer of admission in part because we haven't given them the information that they need, that's unconscionable. The other point I would make is that governing is about choosing. What we're talking about here is an increase of $550 a year over the life of a 20-year repayment for 7.5 million students. If anyone walked into this Chamber and proposed a $550 tax increase on an annual basis for 7.5 million people, our friends on the other side of the aisle wouldn't discuss it, wouldn't hear it at all, and yet they are willing to sit silently by while we're going to impose that very kind of payment increase on 7.5 million students. The last point I would make is that there is this myth that increased availability of student financial aid drives up college costs, and it is one of the arguments that is made. When people argue for reducing access to student aid, they say that if we reduce access to student aid, college costs will at least moderate, if not come down, because that is what is allowing administrators to raise prices. It is a myth that has absolutely no basis in fact. It is insidious, and it is damaging because it drives the kind of decisionmaking or priority- making that we're seeing here in this move to reduce Pell, this move to increase student loan rates. The principal driver of student costs right now is diminished support from State and local government. We are funding public higher education, per FTE, at the lowest level we have funded it in 25 years. That's what's driving college costs. Seventy percent of the students in this country go to publicly supported colleges. Publicly supported colleges are increasing at a rate of 8\1/2\ to 9 percent a year because the funding for FTE from the State government or from local government, in the case of community colleges, is going down. That's what is driving costs. If our response to that increased need is to say that's not bad enough, we're going to make it even worse, we're going to take away Pell, and we're going to make your student loans much more expensive, we're going to rue the day we did that because 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now we're not going to have the educated workforce we need to have to drive this country forward.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Full-time equivalent student.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. I would absolutely agree. I would also observe that when we passed it for 3.4 percent, it was at a time when this Congress was less racked by the partisan antipathy, frankly, that seems to have taken over our Congress. This is an example of that. We have just lived through the last several weeks of perhaps the greatest example of that. We've taken something that historically has sailed through this Congress on a bipartisan basis with little or no objection--the surface transportation bill--and we have been unable to pass the surface transportation bill in this House. It's an embarrassment. In 2004, I believe it was, or 2005, we passed a surface transportation bill written by Chairman Don Young, Republican of Alaska. It was a very good bill. We passed it with, I think, 30 dissenting votes. And it was written with bipartisan involvement and bipartisan support. That's gone away. I think when we were able to pass the legislation that did the student loan reduction in interest, we had bipartisan support, we had bipartisan involvement. And I hope perhaps this is the issue around which we can coalesce and bring it back, bring back that kind of bipartisan cooperation.

Mr. BISHOP of New York. If I may just pick up on that point. In President Obama's State of the Union address of January 2011, he said that in order for us to win the 21st century, we have to out-build the rest of the world, we have to out-innovate the rest of the world, and we have to out-educate the rest of the world. The innovation piece and the education piece is all about access to higher education. This is about our future competitiveness. This is about our future economic stability and economic security. It's about filling the jobs that the economy of the 21st century is going to create. The economy of the 21st century is going to create jobs that require postsecondary training. If we make it more difficult for students to access that training, those jobs are going to go unfilled, and our economy is going to continue to struggle.

Mr. BISHOP of New York

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the courageous volunteer fire departments of Long Island for their skill and dedication in combating the recent outbreaks of wildfires in my district. Once again, they have proved their mettle and won our trust and admiration. While, thankfully, no lives were lost, the fire, now extinguished, consumed roughly 1,100 acres, destroyed three homes, and damaged or destroyed six other structures, including one commercial building. If not for the actions of our local firefighters, the damage could have been far worse. We are also fortunate that the three firefighters who were injured fighting the fire are all recovering well. As a lifelong resident of Suffolk County, I was inspired by the willingness to help shown by the county's fire departments, all 109 of which participated in the effort to combat what turned out to be the seventh-largest fire in Long Island history. Through their combined and coordinated efforts, a larger crisis was averted. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in thanking all of Suffolk County's Fire Departments, as well as our local elected leaders who supervised this operation, for their dedication and exceptional skill in subduing the recent fires.