Charles Boustany

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, as the House Agriculture Committee considers farm bill legislation, I rise in strong support of responsible policies for all of our agriculture producers, especially the sugar, rice, and soybean industries. Our no-cost sugar program has kept sugar supplies stable in this country, while allowing for industry expansion under the 2008 farm bill. Last week, the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution highlighting the critical importance of the sugar industry to south Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I will enter it into the Congressional Record later. The sugar industry contributes $3.5 billion annually to Louisiana's economy, while supplying more than 16,000 jobs. I'm pleased to see the chairman's initial draft language also includes multiple risk management options benefiting south Louisiana rice and soybean farmers. The chairman recognizes that a one-size-fits- all policy for our Nation's diverse agricultural economy is not feasible. I applaud their effort to work with all commodity groups to come up with an excellent final product in this farm bill. As the farm bill moves forward in the House, I urge my colleagues to support policies that will work for all agriculture producers--not just some, but all--including Louisiana farmers.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning recognizing the fantastic food and culture in my South Louisiana. I invite any of my colleagues to travel with me to Louisiana to enjoy the fantastic boudin and Cajun culture that comprises our proud heritage in South Louisiana. All along South Louisiana we enjoy the best homemade Cajun boudin, zydeco music, and Cajun charm that is truly unique to the United States. Today, the Wall Street Journal recognized this vibrancy in its article titled ``Cajun Towns Feud About Sausage With Links to the Past.'' To commemorate this fact, I include the article, written by Timothy W. Martin, into the Congressional Record in its entirety here: Scott, La.--Few would dispute that southern Louisiana is boudin heaven. The local version is a sausage made of pork, rice and various seasonings. Trickier to answer is which of three competing Cajun communities is its official mecca. In April, Louisiana's state legislature bestowed the coveted mantle of Boudin Capital of the World on Scott, a bustling town of 8,600 on Interstate 10--the busy east-west highway linking Houston and New Orleans. It churns out 1.3 million pounds of the sausage a year. ``No one comes close'' to Scott's sausage output, boasts Mayor Purvis J. Morrison, who lobbied hard for the title, plying lawmakers with industry statistics to make his case. UPS trucks collect boudin (pronounced: Boo-DAN, while swallowing the N) shipments here twice a day, he says. Sales help stuff city coffers. ``If you like hot, you'll get hot. If you want mild, you'll find mild. We have boudin balls as big as a softball. We have smoked boudin. I don't even know if anybody did it before we did it,'' he says. But Scott's new title--which it uses for marketing purposes--has left a bad taste in the mouths of residents of Broussard, 12 miles to the southeast. They insist their town, population 7,600, is the Boudin Capital of the World--a title they say lawmakers gave them in the late 1970s. True, Broussard doesn't hold its annual boudin festival or crown a Boudin king anymore. But townspeople don't see that as a reason for the legislature to snub them. ``For some reason, Scott wants to be the Boudin capital, and they're trying to take our title. Doesn't hardly seem right,'' says Billy Billeaud, owner of a grocery store in Broussard. Billy Billeaud's grocery store in Broussard, La., advertises its boudin. Mr. Billeaud calls Scott a boudin arriviste whose meaty reputation is the product of aggressive marketing by numerous restaurants and meat specialty shops that have popped up in recent years on the edge of town to stuff boudin-loving travelers on busy Interstate 10. ``We don't have I-10 in Broussard,'' says Mr. Billeaud, 51 years old, the fourth generation Billeaud to own the store since it opened in 1889. ``Broussard can't claim nothing. They had the title and haven't done anything for 15 years,'' fires back Aubrey Cole, owner of Don's Specialty Meats just off I-10 in Scott. Meanwhile, in Jennings, 35 miles or so west on I-10, Mayor Terry W. Duhon can't understand what the hot-dogging is all about. Jennings is Boudin Capital of the Universe, thanks to famed boudin chef and Jennings resident Ellis Cormier, who roamed the state decades ago promoting boudin and won the title for his hometown in the 1970s. ``We've got squatter's rights,'' says Mr. Duhon, who has the phone number of his favorite go-to joint--Mr. Cormier's Boudin King--on speed dial. No signs or billboards in the town mention Jennings's intergalactic ranking, because, ``What do we need to promote it for? We know,'' he says. Such lofty titles are of no small importance. Sales of boudin are on the rise, according to restaurateurs, online grocers and locals. The sausage has been featured on the menu at Cochon, a contemporary Cajun restaurant in New Orleans's trendy Warehouse District, which started serving a fried version of the sausage with pickled peppers last year. ``Until we got the title, we never heard anything from Broussard or Jennings. Now they are coming out of the woodwork,'' complains Donna Thibodeaux, who works at a tourism center in Scott next to one of the town's five boudin sellers. Boudin's precise origins are not a matter of noir and blanc, though the sausages have been made in southern Louisiana since the mid-1800s. Back then, French Acadians-- ancestors of the Cajuns--took leftover parts of a slaughtered pig and mixed them with rice, vegetables and seasonings and encased them in intestines. Some modern takes on boudin substitute pork with crawfish or shrimp. Mr. Cormier's version used more rice than meat, helping popularize the sausage to non-Cajuns because it masked the taste of bolder ingredients like pork butt and liver. Boudin connoisseurs aren't taking sides. Mr. Billeaud's boudin in Broussard earned an ``A+'' on ``The BoudinLink,'' a review website operated by Bob Carriker, a history professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the city that both Scott and Broussard border. But he also praises Scott for its juicy version and Jennings for letting rice take on ``the starring role.'' Lawmakers, for their part, are unapologetic about the grilling they are getting now from boudin makers about the multiple titles. ``This is not about the past, it's about the future,'' state Rep. Stephen Ortego said on the floor of the legislature, explaining his reasons for sponsoring the bill favoring Scott. He says his staff couldn't find any legislation anointing Broussard as boudin capital, and the state representative who allegedly backed that bill is deceased. As for Jennings, he says, the titles of ``world'' and ``universe'' can coexist because Jennings doesn't promote its status. ``Anybody can claim a title. But are you using it?'' he reasons. On a recent morning, Mr. Ortego, who grew up near Scott, laid a paper napkin across his left leg and tucked into a link of Mr. Billeaud's boudin. ``This one has too much pepper,'' he said, arguing that Scott's is superior. Winning the title of Boudin Capital of the World was one of Mr. Morrison's first legislative goals when he became mayor in January 2011. Boudin makers employ 83 people in the town and account for $5 million in annual sales, helping anchor the local economy's growth over the past decade. ``Without boudin, we'd just be a regular I-10 exit, with a McDonald's, a Burger King and a Chevron,'' says Mr. Morrison, sitting in his office next to a two-year-old fire and police station that tax revenue from boudin sales helped fund. Rob Pelissier pulled off Scott's I-10 exit one recent morning and headed to Don's Specialty Meats. The store has billboards promoting its ``best homemade boudin'' some 40 miles to the west--just a few miles outside Jennings. ``Maybe Jennings or Broussard had the title years back. I'd say yeah, they were good back then. But nowadays, this place here has got it,'' he said, staring at his empty plate. ``If you spend a day here, you can see all of the traffic coming here from out of town.'' Mr. Ortego's legislation doesn't ask Broussard to cede its title. For their part, Broussard town leaders have accepted their new role in the boudin world and have downgraded their expectations. The town's mayor has considered seeking the title ``Boudin Capital of Louisiana'' next year.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. I thank my friend from Texas for yielding time to me, and I thank the committee for bringing this resolution to the House floor today. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3412, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1421 Veterans Memorial Drive in Abbeville, Louisiana, as the Sergeant Richard Franklin Abshire Post Office Building, and I want to thank the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for bringing this bill to the floor. Today, it is really an honor for me to stand here today to celebrate the life of United States Marine Corps Sergeant Richard F. Abshire, an extraordinary hero of the Vietnam War. A native of Abbeville, Louisiana, in my district, the heart of Cajun country, Sergeant Abshire graduated from Abbeville High School in 1962 and then attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, my hometown. Serving in Vietnam from December 1967 until May 1968, a young Sergeant Abshire had given over 3 years of service to his country in the Marine Corps. On May 2, 1968, while serving in Quang Tri Province in the Republic of Vietnam, Sergeant Abshire led a coordinated attack against an entrenched North Vietnamese force in the village of Dinh To. Under heavy small arms and automatic weapon fire, Sergeant Abshire displayed extraordinary valor and leadership in leading his men to safety, sacrificing himself in the process. Upon entrance to the village of Dinh To, Sergeant Abshire's men began sustaining heavy losses from the better positioned North Vietnamese troops. Acting quickly, the sergeant directed his men to establish a defensive perimeter, aiming a heavy volume of fire into the enemy emplacements. Then realizing the enemy was preparing a counterattack, Sergeant Abshire quickly obtained a number of hand grenades from his fellow marines. Navigating the fiery open terrain while selflessly exposing himself to enemy fire, Abshire threw several grenades toward the enemy, disrupting their attack. Returning to his men, Sergeant Abshire moved from position to position, shouting encouragement and directing fire. Upon realizing they were dangerously low on ammunition, Abshire directed his men to fall back while he resolutely provided cover fire until they could reach safety. After expending the last of his ammunition, Sergeant Abshire was mortally wounded by a burst of enemy fire, laying down his life for his fellow marines and his country. Sergeant Abshire's actions are an inspiration to the marines he fought beside and the country he fought for. Because of his heroic actions, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery in a combat zone. Shortly after Sergeant Abshire's death, his mother received the Navy Cross for gallantry on his behalf in Lafayette, Louisiana, from Brigadier General Walter S. McIlhenny. Today I join the town of Abbeville in honoring this fallen hero with the dedication of their post office to the name of Sergeant Richard Franklin Abshire for his extraordinary valor in battle. As we honor Sergeant Abshire today, we must also recognize our present-day heroes serving around the globe, those who have fallen and those who continue to fight for our freedoms. We thank you as well as the families of all of our Armed Forces. I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Madam Speaker, the sad fact today is that this country does not have a coherent energy strategy, pure and simple. Now I can tell you, I come from Louisiana, where we know firsthand, probably more than any other State, that good energy policy can march hand-in-hand with good economic policy and good environmental policy. We've lived that life. We know that the energy sector, American energy production, creates good-paying jobs. Many of these jobs go to people from families that have never had anyone attend college, and through these jobs, they have been able to pay for college for the next generation. These are good-paying jobs, better paying than most. The first step in energy policy is, number one, don't punish your current energy production. Don't punish American energy production. And that's what we've seen from this administration. Four straight years of proposing high taxes, new taxes on independent small energy companies, small oil and gas companies. New taxes at a time when we ought to be developing our energy production makes no sense at all. Secondly, what's our transition strategy? We clearly have an abundance of oil and gas, new reserves, new technology. We have led the world in this. We ought to be developing it. And we can achieve energy security for this country and create good-paying American jobs. This administration proposed a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. And now, yes, they lifted the moratorium, but they still continue to slow-walk the permits. This bill would go forward and help us to streamline that process so we can get American energy production back up online in the Gulf of Mexico and to develop our energy security needs. We have the reserves. We have the opportunity. The American energy production sector from upstream, midstream, downstream is accountable for 6 million jobs in this country; and we can grow more jobs. We can grow more jobs beyond that--good-paying jobs--if we do this--and meet our energy security needs. The bottom line is this: I would ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to take a look at that plaque up there near the ceiling just above the Speaker's chair. Read the first sentence. It says: ``Let us develop the resources of our land,'' a quote from Daniel Webster. We should heed that advice. We should develop the resources of our land. Let's develop our American energy production in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Let's develop it in the shale plays. Let's create jobs. Let's create a secure energy future for this country, and let's move this country forward.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. I thank Chairman Camp for his leadership on this issue. I rise in support of this bill. Let's be clear: successful health care reform efforts must begin by lowering costs, promoting high- quality health care, and fostering innovation. ObamaCare does the opposite. Even Medicare's own actuary warns that the President's medical device tax will increase Americans' monthly premiums. The tax will also eliminate more than 40,000 jobs. Passage of this bill will reduce costs and save jobs by repealing this tax. Mr. Speaker, as a heart surgeon, I have used medical innovations that have saved thousands of life. I want to highlight something. Back in the 1950s, when we had no surgical treatments for heart disease, a surgeon watched a woman die helplessly. After 8 or 9 months, he actually devised the very first heart-lung machine in his shop. This led to an explosion in technology that has saved millions of lives the world over. This was an American innovation. Eighty percent of device companies today have fewer than 50 employees. These are innovators. These are the people who create jobs. These are the guarantors of American innovation. And without this, what are we going to have with our health care system? That's what's made American health care the best on the planet. We don't want to take a step back. Putting this tax in place will discourage these startup innovators. They will not take risks, and we'll harm patients in the long run because of the lack of breakthroughs. I'm also very pleased that this bill contains Ms. Jenkins's provision that will prevent a middle class tax hike. It will allow individuals to use their flexible spending arrangements to purchase over-the-counter medications without having to go see a doctor for a prescription, which is costly and time-consuming. Finally, I'm pleased that the bill includes bipartisan legislation that I authored with Congressman John Larson of Connecticut to make it easier for Americans to save their pretax dollars in FSAs without losing the money if they don't use it at the end of the year. It's their money. They should be able to keep the money and use it for their own health care purposes or for whatever purposes they deem essential for their families. Americans need tax relief to help them with the rising out-of-pocket costs of health care and other costs that they have. We should be encouraging and not punishing new medical breakthroughs.

Mr. BOUSTANY. I urge my colleagues to support these commonsense solutions in H.R. 436.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee and the chairman of the full committee for working with me to try to rectify a problem with the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the big-time shortfall we've got in dredging funds going forward. Our top 60 ports in the country are not being dredged to their authorized specifications, and this is hurting commerce. It's inhibiting our ability to export. It's creating all kinds of problems. It's a jobs bill if we can get these ports and waterways dredged adequately. It's at a crisis level. For instance, the Lower Mississippi River, for every foot of draft we lose, it's $1 million per ship per day lost in economic activity. Now, the Harbor Maintenance Tax generates $1.3 to $1.6 billion a year, but little over half of it's being used for the appropriate purpose. The rest is being funneled off into other accounts. This is not fair to those who pay this tax, which, in effect, is a user fee. It was designed as a user fee. And so I hope that the chairmen of the subcommittee and full committee will continue to work with me to correct this inequity. This is not right, and it's hurting American competitiveness. We can do better than this. This tax is a tax that was created as a user fee. It's ad valorem tax on the owners of the goods based on the value of the goods. This is supposed to be used for operations and maintenance dredging. And as the chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Ways and Means, where we have oversight on the tax revenues, I have a problem with the misuse of these funds. It's hurting American competitiveness. We can do better, and I hope that the chairman of the subcommittee and the chairman of the full committee will continue to work with me to solve this problem. We can solve it without adding a single dime to the deficit. It will help create jobs. We've got numerous studies to show the job impact, the commercial impact, the impact on trade. It is imperative that we move forward on things that we can fix, and it really is disappointing to me that we've not done better.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, due to mechanical problems on my flight en route to Washington, DC from Lafayette, Louisiana, I was unable to return in time for votes on the day of May 15, 2012. Had I been present to vote, my voting record would reflect the following: H.R. 365-- ``yea;'' H.R. 3874--``yea;'' H.R. 205--``yea.''

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Teurlings Catholic High School Lady Rebels softball team for recently being crowned class 4 A state champions by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. This team truly has the heart of a champion. En route to the state championship, the strength and will of this team was tested time and time again. In the end, this team triumphed and defeated the Leesville High School Lady Cats to become the undisputed state champions on April 28, 2012. The team's five seniors: Corin Voinche, Halie Green, Delilah Melancon, Julienne Broussard, and Megan Fuselier, tasted additional success each year they played. In 2009, the team made the state quarterfinals. In 2010, the team reached the state semifinals. In 2011, the team played in the state finals. This year, it attained the ultimate goal and won the state championship. This group embodies the term perseverance. Having overcome adversity and never allowing its determination to waver, I commend the efforts of the entire Teurlings Lady Rebels softball team. Congratulations to coach Callie Gautreaux and her coaching staff of Lana Bowers, Vallie Gaspard, and Caleb Castille. This team had an outstanding year and saved its best performance for the year's largest stage. I look forward to next year's softball season and wish the Lady Rebels team good luck in defending its crown.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I recently received the first monthly update from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since the announced delays associated with the Lafayette and Lake Charles VA Community- based Outpatient Clinics. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki's office followed through on my request for detailed monthly updates of the progress the VA is making with regard to these clinics in both Lafayette and Lake Charles. The errors in the contracting process were solely the VA's fault, and they've admitted it. I will remain vigilant in overseeing the expedited process to deliver south Louisiana veterans the local care they need and deserve. I am pleased to announce that there are new and much-needed services for veterans coming to Lafayette in early May. These services include home-based primary care, imaging and x ray services, prosthetics and dental care. For the veterans in Lake Charles, a mobile clinic providing primary care services is expected to begin June 4, and the selection of a location is under way. This will be a first for our veterans in Lake Charles who have had to travel far to get basic care. According to the VA officials, the Veterans Affairs' clinic primary care services will be available in Lake Charles 3 days per week also beginning June 4. Women's services will be provided 1 day per week in Lake Charles beginning then as well. We need to do more, and we're going to do more. These are all very important services the veterans of south Louisiana deserve after sacrificing so much for our country. They should not have to wait any longer for this very much needed medical care. Expediting this process must remain a top priority for the VA. Having cared for veterans in the VA system during my medical career, I know localized, personalized outpatient facilities and care are best for our veterans. This is a critical priority for our area. This is the least we can do for those who have fought on behalf of our country, and I am committed to ensuring that this unnecessary VA mistake does not repeat itself in the future. I will continue demanding accountability from the VA leadership on this and on other issues. I will continue to be the leading advocate for local veterans as we work to improve health care for our veterans in Lafayette and Lake Charles and in the surrounding communities of south Louisiana. God bless those who have served our country. God bless America.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. I want to thank my colleague and friend from North Carolina for yielding time to me. I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying bill. I am very pleased that the rule has allowed one of my amendments to go forward, a very important amendment, I should add. Our country depends on its maritime commerce. Without the use of our maritime transportation routes, we're not really talking about transportation. We cannot expand exports and we cannot move our agricultural commodities or our manufactured goods to other destinations around the world if we do not have waterways that have been maintained. The Army Corps of Engineers has said to me on multiple occasions, if you take the top 60 ports and harbors in this country, fewer than 35 percent of those waterways are dredged adequately to the authorized depth and width authorized by Congress. My bill, which is now an amendment to this transportation bill, H.R. 104, is the RAMP Act. It is the Realize America's Maritime Promise Act. It has bipartisan support with 190 Members in the House and with over 30 Senators over on the Senate side. What has happened, Mr. Speaker, is this: in 1986, Congress created the harbor maintenance tax and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. This was a user fee on the owners of the cargo--a user fee, an ad valorem tax. The revenue was supposed to be dedicated solely to operations in maintenance dredging by the Army Corps of Engineers where they have Federal authorization. What has happened over time is that these funds have been diverted to other uses. In 2011, the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund collected more than $1.4 billion in revenue, but only slightly over half of it was used for the intended purpose. The rest was diverted off to all kinds of other sources. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Ways and Means, I find this to be an egregious abuse and diversion of taxpayer dollars. My amendment is very simple. It ties the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund receipts to the expenditures so that these funds will be used for their intended purpose, and that is to dredge, to maintain, these very important waterways. Now, why is all that important? Well, the years of neglect of these waterways is hurting American competitiveness, and it is hurting our ability to export. The bottom line is this: for every foot that we lose in shoaling on the Mississippi River, we're losing $1 million per day per ship because of the short loading or the light loading of these vessels or of their operating under restricted schedules. In January of 2012 alone, we had five vessels that ran ashoal on the Mississippi River--five vessels that ran ashoal. It is a safety issue as well as an economic issue. Not only that, many of our Great Lake ports are closing. They're closing because of shoaling. How can we be a competitive Nation that is engaged in international trade if we don't take care of these waterways? This funding is critical to preventing these draft restrictions. In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers has said if they could have access to the incoming receipts, they could maintain all these waterways to the specified depth and width. What is really good about this amendment is that it also adds nothing to the deficit. According to the CBO, it doesn't score. It's not an earmark. It's programmatic spending. It's basically restoring the original intent of the use of these funds. So I urge the support of the rule and, certainly, of my amendment and of the underlying bill.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, in 1986, Congress created the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the harbor maintenance tax, a dedicated user fee, to provide a steady revenue source for the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out the dredging of our critical navigation channels to meet their authorized specifications with regard to depth and width. In the year 2011, the harbor maintenance tax that was collected was $1.4 billion, but only slightly over half of that was directed to the intended purpose: the operations and maintenance purposes. Yet less than 35 percent of our top Nation's harbors and ports are dredged adequately. This is hurting American competitiveness. It's hurting American exports. It's hurting American commerce. Frankly, as the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee chairman, I find this an egregious abuse of this tax. My amendment does this: it basically ties the harbor maintenance tax revenue receipts to expenditures. All funds collected shall be utilized for the purposes that they were intended, and that is for the maintenance of our Nation's ports and harbors. Mr. Chairman, in January 2012 alone, five ships ran aground in the lower Mississippi River, which is our Nation's largest export artery. This funding is critical to prevent draft restrictions, which have negatively affected our commerce. It is critical for expanding exports, and it is critical in its support for the American exploration and production of American energy. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office does not issue a score on this. It doesn't add one penny to the deficit. This amendment is critical for American competitiveness. It gives the House a strength of hand going into conference with the Senate as I look forward to continuing to find alternative ways to enforce that these funds are dedicated swiftly and solely for the intended purpose, and that is for port and waterways maintenance. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. BOUSTANY. I would ask the gentleman if he would close for us.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to give the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) a minute to speak on this.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. We won't control costs by cutting Medicare provider reimbursements below the cost of providing care. And if left on the books, IPAB will endanger the lives of seniors and delay access to providers. It's very clear. This undermines the doctor-patient relationship. It undermines trust in our health care system. It undermines quality, and we will not control costs with IPAB. That's why we must repeal it.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BOUSTANY. We have a severe shortage of physicians in this country today, and it's getting worse, worse by the month and by the year. And as a physician who stays close to the physician community around this country, I am hearing all kinds of stories about physicians nearing retirement moving up that retirement date. We're seeing fewer people going to medical school. All of this is creating a major disruption in our health care system.

Mr. BOUSTANY. I thank the chairman of the full committee for yielding time to me. I had a great career as a cardiac surgeon in treating thousands of Medicare patients in my career. And my career ended prematurely because of a disability. But I learned something a long time ago from my father, who's a family doctor, who went before me, who taught me about the art of medicine. And the most important thing he taught me, despite all the technology we have, is that trust in the doctor-patient relationship is the most important thing, the most important foundation of good health care, high quality health care. Look at this chart. What's wrong with this? Clearly, you could see all the bureaucratic entities. But where's the doctor, and where's the patient? The doctor is down here in the corner, and I think way off in the other corner are the patients. So all this stuff in the middle is what undermines the trust in the doctor-patient relationship. Now, we had Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in front of our committee recently, and we were asking about this Independent Payment Advisory Board. We asked the question about rationing, and what came out was, number one, there's no definition of rationing in the statute, so the Department will have to write rules. And she admitted in committee--very tacitly but effectively admitted--that they're not going to be able to write rules that can actually protect seniors from IPAB. Even the left-leaning Kaiser Family Foundation admits, IPAB must issue cuts to meet spending targets ``even if evidence of access or quality concerns surfaced.'' AARP warns IPAB's Medicare cuts ``could have a negative impact on access to care.'' Both of those are really understatements. According to Medicare's own actuaries, Medicare physician payments could fall to less than half of projected Medicaid rates under current law.

Mr. BOUSTANY. Will the gentleman yield for one more point?

Mr. BOUSTANY. We have a severe shortage in cardiothoracic surgeons, in neurosurgeons, other key specialists that are very essential for the care of Medicare patients, and it's getting worse. We need both primary care and specialty physicians to deal with this patient population. It's getting worse.

Mr. BOUSTANY

Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, since this administration took office, the price of gasoline has more than doubled. In January of 2009, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $1.79. Today, that same gallon of gasoline will set you back $3.84. Yet this administration continues to let election-year politics dictate policy. Since 2010, I have led the charge at fighting President Obama's assault on offshore drilling. The moratorium, a knee-jerk reaction by Washington liberals, harmed many local oil and gas producers on the Gulf Coast. According to a recent study conducted by the Louisiana State University, the moratorium resulted in the loss of 8,000 Gulf State jobs and $487 million in lost wages. And to make matters worse, the administration continues to push higher taxes on American independent energy producers, leading to higher costs and higher unemployment rates. The past 3 years were marred with poor decisions relating to domestic energy production, with consequences falling directly on south Louisiana families. Now is the time to promote sensible energy policies that put Americans back to work while fully utilizing the resources we have right here at home.