Michele Bachmann

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I again join with my colleague Mr. Clay and urge all of our colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3072. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I happily rise today in support of H.R. 3072, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9810 Halls Ferry Road in St. Louis, Missouri, as the Coach Jodie Bailey Post Office Building. This honor is much deserved, Mr. Speaker, as Jodie Bailey was a coaching legend in St. Louis. He began his basketball career as a talented player, and later Jodie Bailey found his true passion in coaching basketball. It was in the 1940s when Jodie Bailey began coaching the Vashon Wolverines within the all-black Illinois-Missouri League and helped them win league titles in 1943, 1945, 1947, and 1948. He also guided them to the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championship not one, not two, not three, but four times. And during this tenure, segregation still existed within the school system and many people were not aware of his greatness during the beginning of his career. That is true no longer. However, after school integration, the Vashon Wolverines were able to go on to participate in a regional championship and the State quarterfinals in 1963. Coach Bailey's success with coaching did not end with the Wolverines. He coached O'Fallon Tech, guiding the Hornets to their only State championship in 1968, where they became the first all black Public High League basketball team to win a Missouri State championship. Soon thereafter, O'Fallon dropped its sports program, which caused Coach Bailey to find a new job coaching Northwest High School, where he immediately helped them win a regional title in 1969. Wherever Coach Bailey went, success followed. Overall, Coach Bailey coached three different Public High League basketball teams and led those teams to a total of 824 wins and 198 losses, a phenomenal record. Coach Bailey's formula for his coaching success was simple. Coach Bailey said this: ``To be a successful basketball coach, you need three things. You have to have a well-conditioned team; you have to be fundamentally sound in every phase of the game; and you also have to be team oriented, because there's no `I' in the word team.'' Though recognized for his exceptional coaching abilities, Coach Bailey was also respected as a mentor. On and off the field, Coach Bailey was a man of his own. He urged his players to concentrate on the fundamentals of basketball. He emphasized the need to use their natural abilities to become even better. By employing his talent for support and inspiration, Coach Bailey positively impacted the lives of so many young men that he coached during his 42-season career. Sadly, the St. Louis basketball community lost Jodie Bailey in March when he died at the age of 88. For his dedication to the St. Louis basketball community, I happily join with my fellow Members, and especially my colleague Congressman Clay, to join us in supporting H.R. 3072. I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of House Resolution 373. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to my distinguished colleague from the State of New Jersey, Mr. Leonard Lance.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I think it's so important for the American people to understand that right now in Congress this is considered contraband. This is very controversial. Even though this represents the Democrats' health care plan, we are not, as Members of Congress, allowed to put this chart up on our Web sites. We're not allowed to send this chart out to our constituents across America. What are the Democrats worried about, Mr. Speaker? Could it be because this is the latest board game in the United States, that the American health care consumer stands on this side of 31 bureaucracies and they have to figure out how to get through 31 bureaucracies before they can get to their doctor? Or could it be, Mr. Speaker, because this will cost 5 million jobs? Or could it be, Mr. Speaker, because this will cost $2 trillion in additional deficit? I can understand why the Democrats wouldn't want the American people to see this, but I don't understand how you can make the claim that this is the most transparent Congress in the history of this country, if you won't even let the American people see that there are 31 bureaucracies that stand between average Americans and their doctor. Mr. Speaker, it's time that the American people get to see the truth. This shouldn't be contraband.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I hereby notify the House of my intention to offer a resolution as a question of the privileges of the House. The form of my resolution is as follows: Whereas the gentlewoman from Minnesota, Mrs. Bachmann submitted an amendment to the Committee on Rules to H.R. 3288, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010; Whereas the said gentlewoman's amendment would have protected American taxpayers by prohibiting funds made available in the Act from being used to fund any organization that has been indicted for violations of state or federal election laws--or that employs people who have--such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); Whereas a similar provision was adopted by the House in 2008 during consideration of H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and became law on June 30, 2008, but does not currently apply to all programs funded in the underlying bill; Whereas the gentlewoman's amendment complied with all applicable Rules of the House for amendments to appropriations measures and would have been in order under an open amendment process, but regrettably the House Democratic leadership has dramatically and historically reduced the opportunity to protect American taxpayers on this Floor; and Whereas the Speaker, Mrs. Pelosi, the Democratic leadership, and the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Mr. Obey, prevented the House from voting on the amendment by excluding it from the list of amendments made in order under the rule for the bill: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That H. Res. 669, the rule to accompany H.R. 3288, be amended to allow the gentlewoman from Minnesota's amendment be considered and voted on in the House.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. 9.5 percent.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Will the gentleman talk about what ``rationing'' is? Talk about what ``rationing'' is. What does that mean?

Mrs. BACHMANN. He said it's from waste. We're going to wring waste out of the system. Well, if that's so, why do we have a chart equal to this one showing all of the specifics of how they're going to take waste out of the system? Let's go ahead and start with that. Let's start getting these hundreds of billions of dollars out of the system by wringing out waste. It's because he knows. He knows what's going to happen. Doctors are going to turn into GS-15s, government employees. Doctors are going to take drastic reductions in payments. Nurses will take drastic reductions in payments. Hospitals will take drastic reductions in payments. What does that mean for the American people? Drastic reductions in quality of care if you can get care. That's what we need to consider.

Mrs. BACHMANN. But he doesn't even want us to see the budget numbers. He doesn't even want to be asked about the CBO estimate. He said, Where are we going to find the money, and how is this not going to cost more by adding millions more?

Mrs. BACHMANN. This is transparent.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Well, you know, it's very interesting. I think the gentlemen that are here in the Chamber tonight--I think probably everyone here considers themselves pro-life. And you remember during all of the arguments and debates that there has been on this issue of women making a decision about whether or not to have an abortion, one of the main arguments that was proffered was, No government should get between a woman and her doctor. The government should not get between the woman and her doctor when she comes to making that decision. Yet it's so curious. When you look at these 33 new bureaucracies that are created, when it comes to that decision about an abortion, you've got 33 new bureaucracies now that are created. I recognize those who are here are probably pro-life in this Chamber. But for those women who aren't pro-life, that's something that they need to consider very seriously. The government is going to be between them and their doctor in a whole new way, a big way, a 33-bureaucracy way. That's one thing women understand. Women consume health care. They purchase most of the health care in this country. They take care of their elderly parents. And women will be the ones that are stuck filling out the paperwork, making call after call after that call. We all know what it's like if you call the Department of Motor Vehicles and you have a problem, or you call some other government department if you have a problem. You know what you have to go through. We still have gentlemen who have served valiantly in World War II who still can't get medals. They're still trying to get through to get access. Now we're looking at women having the hassle factor of having to get through to a bureaucrat. There is one thing I wanted to mention. I just finished watching President Obama in his press conference when he was talking to the Nation about his health care reform and about his health care proposal. I listened to every question that was asked by all of the reporters. I found it very curious. President Obama was adamant. He said his health plan, his government takeover, will not add to the deficit in the next 10 years. He made it as a guarantee, as a promise. He will not add to the deficit in the next 10 years. Not one reporter who asked a question brought up the independent Congressional Budget Office, the testimony by Doug Elmendorf, where he stated unequivocally that we will see rising costs and a rising deficit if President Obama's plan goes into effect. There was not one question by the reporters. Not one question contradicted President Obama's statement. The other thing that surprised me was that President Obama has not given to the public what every previous President gives out, which is, in mid-July, a budget update about where the budget is. Well, guess what. President Obama said he's going to delay putting that mid-budget assessment out until mid-August when all of the Members of Congress are back home, presumably after we take this vote on health care. Is this the most transparent Presidency that we've had? That's the claim.

Mrs. BACHMANN. If the gentleman will yield.

Mrs. BACHMANN. The gentleman from Iowa was talking a few moments ago about how much the Federal Government is getting more and more control over our private economy. Two weeks ago there was a front page story in the Washington Times written by an economist from Arizona State University, and he said this. I found it astounding. He said since bailout Nation began, since the inception, just at the end of 2008 with the United States going in and owning banks, AIG, mortgage companies, Chrysler, and GM, and the various things that have been nationalized, just since that time--we're talking a matter of months--today the Federal Government, the economist said, either owns or controls 30 percent of the American economy. So if you take that 30 percent and then do what President Obama hopes to accomplish, have the Federal Government take over 17 percent of the wealth of this country that is created by private health care, that's the Federal Government taking over nearly half of the American economy either through owning it or through controlling it. How do we remain a free market capitalist country? This is the deconstruction of free market capitalism. And the President's only been in office about 6 months, and we're already looking potentially at half of our economy owned or controlled by the Federal Government. How do we ever get it back again? This is nothing more than an all-out war against private wealth creation. And not only a war against private wealth creation, but an all-out war and assault against retaining and owning the private wealth that we created. At that point, we lose the incentives. At that point we lose the American Dream. Why would we want to do that? Why would we want to encourage the next generation of 19- and 20-year-olds to go out, succeed, take risks, sacrifice, work hard in medical school? Are we going to see the best and brightest go to medical school? We have the best and brightest here--Dr. Broun, we have numerous doctors here. The best and brightest. Will we see that in this country? Those are questions we will have to answer.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Remember, it's a good time for ACORN. They've received $53 million in direct Federal grants since 1994, but now they've hit it big. The slot machine is paying off now because now they have access to $8.5 billion. Fifty-three million was chump change for ACORN. Now they have potentially access to $8.5 billion.

Mrs. BACHMANN. But the President did say something that I think, perhaps, we should listen to. He said tonight in his press conference that the United States spends about $6,000 more per person on health care. He wants to reduce that. So we need to listen to that now. He wants to reduce that by about $3,000 per person. Well now, how is he going to do that? Let's take him at his word. If he is going to reduce health care expenses by $3,000 per person, that goes back to how we define ``rationing.'' ``Rationing'' means if your baby daughter were born with a heart condition, would she get the pacemaker? If your 85-year-old mother had a problem with her hip, would she get a replacement? If, perhaps, your daughter had kidney problems, would she get the help? That's the way you reduce the costs by something as dramatic as by half per person. Let's face it, President Obama's plan for Americans is that we're getting less health care, not more.

Mrs. BACHMANN. The President said that tonight, too.

Mrs. BACHMANN. But it's going to cost jobs. That's the other problem. By President Obama's own estimates, this health care plan will cost nearly 5 million jobs. His porkulus bill has cost us 2 million jobs. The takeover of GM/Chrysler cost another 150,000 jobs. The energy bill you just talked about is 2.5 million jobs every year. This alone is 5 million jobs. So it's already a huge cost in terms of job loss out of the United States.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Captain Shawn Warneke, a true patriot and a member of the St. Cloud Civil Air Patrol. Capt. Warneke has received the Disaster Relief Commendation ribbon for his extraordinary work and leadership during the severe flooding in North Dakota this spring. I recently supported House Resolution 415 and commended all Civil Air Patrol members for their unprecedented efforts in Fargo and Moorhead, and now it is my privilege to highlight Capt. Warneke's individual contributions that helped lead to the successful sandbagging that saved hundreds of homes. The devastating floods in the Fargo-Moorhead communities inspired hundreds of volunteers to take time off work and help their neighbors. Capt. Warneke's unique background set him apart from many volunteers. As Lead Security Officer for the Transportation Security Administration at the St. Cloud Regional Airport, Capt. Warneke's experience allowed him to effectively transport, supervise and assist C.A.P. cadets and senior members during the sandbagging efforts. He also helped local citizens with evacuation and provided security to the area. Capt. Warneke has made service to our nation a daily routine. As the Deputy Commander of his squadron, Capt. Warneke trains the C.A.P Color Guard. He is a graduate of the Blue Beret Leadership Academy and soon will be certified as an official Civil Air Patrol Mission Pilot. Captain Blaine Pierson, Squadron Commander of the St. Cloud Composite Squadron, said this about Capt. Warneke: ``His dedication to Civil Air Patrol, Homeland Security and his country is constantly evidenced by his attention to duty and the responsibilities entrusted to him.'' I rise today to honor Capt. Shawn R. Warneke in front of this Congress for his service to his country, as a sign of my appreciation and gratitude. Capt. Warneke has dedicated his life to ensuring freedoms and security for all individuals as a part of our Homeland Security defenses and a volunteer member of the Civil Air Patrol. His commendation ribbon is a fitting display of the compassion with which he carries out those duties every day.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs? As a Senator, President Obama supported the $700 billion bailout Nation strategy that today we're learning will cost the American people potentially $24 trillion. But where are the jobs? President Obama pushed the trillion dollar stimulus that cost our economy 2 million in job losses. No jobs. President Obama took over GM and Chrysler, and he gave pink slips to 3,400 car dealerships that cost 150,000 jobs. No jobs. President Obama's national energy tax will double our electricity bills in Minnesota and will cost 2.5 million job losses every year. Now President Obama's economic adviser tells us that the government takeover of our private health care insurance will cost us 5 million jobs. No jobs. This may be called the China-India stimulus plan, but the President isn't doing so well for the American people. Mr. Speaker, let's have real change so the American people can have real jobs.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Heidi Reitz of Sartell, Minnesota, one of this year's Angels of Adoption. As you know, this prestigious award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute honors people who have given so much of themselves to help children and families find one another. Even without this award, Heidi would deserve acknowledgment for her extraordinary work bettering the lives of orphans in China as Director of Programs for Love Without Boundaries. I am honored, as a foster mother myself, to make known her hard work to this Congress. Because of Heidi's volunteer efforts, more than 300 children are in loving homes. The inspiration for her tireless dedication can be found in her own home. Her husband has helped Love Without Boundaries with cleft palate surgeries and two of her six beautiful children were adopted from China. As a volunteer, Heidi has arranged trips for two cleft-lip orphans and helped start a cleft healing home where children awaiting surgery to correct this difficult condition can be properly cared for. Heidi is working to make sure each of these special children are adopted into homes ready and prepared to care for them. Madam Speaker, Heidi Reitz has done such a service for all of mankind through her tireless dedication to orphan children in China. As families from every country wait to be united with their adopted parents and children, Heidi is giving them every opportunity to complete their family. The Love Without Borders website uses the anonymous quote, ``To the world, you might be one person . . . but to one person you might be the world.'' To the hundreds of children and families, Heidi is ``the world'' and an Angel in Adoption Award is just a small way we can show our appreciation for her efforts.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Chair, last week the House voted on legislation, H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2010, which included an important provision to reinstate the economic rights of auto dealers whose franchise agreements were recently terminated by GM and Chrysler. Along with 242 of my colleagues, I am a cosponsor of two pieces of legislation that are similar to that provision: H.R. 2743 and H.R. 2796, both known as the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009. Unfortunately, I was unable to support the overall appropriations bill, H.R. 3170, due to concerns entirely unrelated to the auto dealer provision. For instance, I am concerned that the bill allows for publicly funded abortions in Washington, DC. For years, there has been a prohibition on taxpayer-funded abortions in the District of Columbia--a ban which restricted the use of both federal and local tax dollars for abortions. However, this bill makes taxpayer funded abortion quite possible. The legislation also eliminates the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, a school voucher program which has successfully improved the DC public school system since its inception. Under the bill, no new students will receive funding for this program, which aids low-income children by giving them scholarships of up to $7,500 to attend nonpublic schools in Washington, DC. The bill also removes the current ban on legalizing medical marijuana in DC. I strongly believe that the franchise rights of hundreds of dealers across the nation were wrongfully violated throughout the course of the automakers' restructuring, and I believe that the heavy hand of government which clearly influenced the proceedings had a lot to do with that. I continue to call upon Congressional leadership to bring H.R. 2743 or H.R. 2796 to the floor for an up-or-down vote on their own merits. It should not be tucked into unrelated legislation, from which it can be plucked in conference committee. This is a serious issue and it requires our full attention.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. That was the aspect of the Hillary plan. It was an outlawing of all private insurance. The one thing we know from page 16 of the 1,018-page bill is that no more private insurance policies can be written--never, nada. You can't write any more private insurance. Of course, if the public option is subsidized by government at 30 to 40 percent less than the private insurance plans, what we know from the Levin Group is that 113 million Americans will be collapsed out of private insurance and will be put over into the government option, thus collapsing the private insurance industry. It will all be government, and that's within 5 years that we will see the end of private care in the public.