Michele Bachmann

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to listen to the clear, distinct voice of the American people. They have spoken loudly. They have spoken clearly. They heard the words of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi when she famously said we must pass ObamaCare before we can know what's in it. As my colleague, Steve Scalise, said, now we know what's in the bill, and now we know why ObamaCare is less popular today than even before it was passed for the first time. Because you see, Mr. Speaker, the more we learn about ObamaCare, the more unpopular it becomes. Even a Democrat, Max Baucus, who helped write ObamaCare said: I just tell you, I see a huge train wreck coming down. Well, I ask you, Mr. Speaker, 7 months from now when ObamaCare comes fully online, when people's health care premiums will soar through the roof, in some cases increasing 417 percent, what then, Mr. Speaker? We see this coming, just like the Titanic. We see the iceberg, only it's not just in a mist, shortly in front of our eyes. We have time to turn. That's why we're here. We're here to make the turn from a train wreck. So why not repeal that bill today? Repeal it in the House, but repeal it in the U.S. Senate, and force the President of the United States to repudiate his signature piece of legislation under his watch, which his own party calls a train wreck. It's now. Now is the time to listen to the American people. You see, Mr. Speaker, President Obama told us, he promised us that ObamaCare would fund insurance for people with preexisting conditions. As a compassionate people, we want to help people in this very difficult situation. But ObamaCare, the truth is that it is so poorly thought out that the funding for preexisting conditions has already run out. You heard me right, Mr. Speaker: less than 1 percent of the American people with preexisting conditions got the funding and now the door has been slammed in their face. And so I ask you, Mr. Speaker, what now? What are the remaining 99 percent of the American people with preexisting conditions supposed to do now? Now they're told we've already run out of money, and the bill hasn't even fully come into effect, the centerpiece of compassion under this bill. And now we've learned that the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service--and I used to be a Federal tax litigation attorney, and our client was the IRS. I was involved with this agency. Now we've learned that the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing this very unpopular bill of ObamaCare, the IRS admitted they targeted Americans. They targeted conservative groups. They targeted Christians. They targeted pro-Israel people. They targeted people who are pro-business who are against accumulating debt. And, yes, they targeted Tea Party groups based upon their political and religious beliefs. And so this gargantuan government expansion known as ObamaCare will allow bureaucrats access to our most intimate, personal health care information. It will be a huge database that government is putting together and building right now. Under ObamaCare, the average American will pay more, they'll get less, and now they have to worry that their government may punish them because of their beliefs. This is America. We don't do that in this country. We want real solutions. We want cures for Alzheimer's. We can have it. We want cures for Parkinson's disease. It's within our grasp. We want cures for juvenile diabetes. Spend our money there. We deserve better. The American people deserve better solutions and real reform in health care. Now is the time. Listen to the American people, and let's give them what they deserve.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee who has been a champion for the repeal of ObamaCare for years and years. Mr. Speaker, in light of the recent revelations that have just come out within this last week regarding the outrageous activities of the Internal Revenue Service pointed against the people of the United States, every American should be concerned about the negative consequences of this bill, ObamaCare. The Supreme Court has ruled that ObamaCare is in fact a tax. Knowing that it's a tax, the logical conclusion is that the entity in the United States that will be tasked with enforcing tax policy is the IRS. I'm a former Federal tax litigation attorney. I worked for the Treasury Department. We had only one client; it was the IRS. The IRS is the only entity that enforces tax policy in the United States, and ObamaCare is enforced by the IRS--probably the most feared Federal agency in the United States Government. It concerns me. It should concern every single American listening to our voices today that the IRS has admitted this week that they directly targeted Americans, including Christians, including those who support the State of Israel, including those who are for jobs and less debt, including conservatives, Tea Partiers. They were targeted; why? Because of what they believe--their religious beliefs, their political beliefs--and the IRS targeted them for punishment, or for reward, depending upon how their ideas lined up with the administration's ideas. You see, this dysfunctional implementation of ObamaCare and the ongoing assault on nonnegotiable constitutional liberties is enough to convince every single one of us who are the people's representatives to seek full repeal of this law. It's our job, Mr. Speaker, to defend liberty. We're all sworn to protect and defend the Constitution, and that's why, today, we have to end this horrible piece of legislation and stand up for people.

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank the gentleman from Texas. This is a bill that is changing the course of American history, and it is why we need to repeal this bill today. I believe, Madam Speaker, that we will see this bill ultimately repealed. Why? Because it is women who will be hurt under this bill; it is senior citizens who will be hurt under this bill; and it is little vulnerable children who will be hurt under this bill--as well as families, as well as employers. All of America is at the cusp of being negatively impacted. Here is just one example: this bill was sold out of compassion. We wanted people with preexisting conditions to find care, but the reality is less than 1 percent of those with preexisting conditions were able to receive the assistance when the door was slammed shut. Why? We ran out of money. That's what ObamaCare has delivered--a lot of promises that can't be fulfilled. Before we go forward with this train wreck, let's make sure it ends so we can bring about cures, so we can bring about better developments in health care. That's what we want--health care for American citizens.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank Mr. Latham for offering this bill. It's high time that the FAA, Mr. Speaker, have the flexibility that they need to have on closures of any air traffic control towers. It is my hope that St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Anoka-Blaine airports do remain open. They're vital and they're much needed. We're looking at approximately 189 airports. But I want to speak to something else. We were listening to Representative Hoyer and Representative Pelosi be extremely passionate about the loss that we'll see for children through Head Start, for senior citizens on Meals on Wheels, for children who will be dealing with various other food nutrition programs. That breaks everyone's hearts. But I want to remind the people of this country that it was former- Speaker Pelosi, Representative Hoyer, Senator Reid, and President Obama who signed the sequestration bill, and it was Press Secretary Jay Carney who admitted that the sequestration was President Obama's idea. There are numerous Republicans that voted against the sequestration because we knew all of these calamities were in the future. So it reminds me of the Shakespeare line: Thou doth protest too much. Didn't you know this was going to happen? We knew it. That's why we voted against this bill. And it seems like the higher the level of passion, it equals the conscience that we are seeing of those who voted the wrong way on this bill for the first time.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, it's difficult for me to even speak about this subject today. I'm a woman who's been privileged to give birth to 5 children, and I've also taken 23 children into my home as foster children. It's very hard for me to imagine, Mr. Speaker, that a doctor in this country, a doctor who took an oath to do no harm, would, in fact, kill a woman at his abortion clinic and he would sever the heads of four babies that were born alive--and potentially others--and commit one gruesome act after another. Shamelessly, the mainstream media has all but gone silent and failed to cover this horrific violence against women. No one, Democrat or Republican, believes in violence against women. We abhor it. But there's nothing that even comes close to what's happened in this abortion clinic in Pennsylvania. The officials in Pennsylvania and the State Department of Health, unfortunately--it appears, willfully--ignored this heinous crime. It also appears that this has been ignored now across our Nation. Well, we won't ignore it. And I thank God for the men who stood up here today to stand for women and against violence against women. I lend my voice and my support to that effort as well.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, on April 18, 2013 I was not able to vote on rollcall votes 113, 114, 115, 116 and 117. At the time, I was performing my duties as a designee of the U.S. House of Representatives attending the funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher in London. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall votes 113, 114, 115 and 117. I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall vote 116. personal explanation

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, for centuries America has been blessed by God. Americans today and in previous generations looked to God for guidance on both private and national designated days of prayer and fasting. At this time of national mourning, as we search for comfort in the aftermath of this loss of innocent life, we would be wise to consider afresh II Chronicles 7:14: ``If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'' I join together with other Americans who have called for September 11, 2013 to be set aside as a day for personal prayer, reflection and fasting, for ourselves and for our Nation. As we humble ourselves and pray and seek God's grace, we can take assurance from the Holy Scripture that God has promised to hear from heaven and will heal our land.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Chair, on April 17, 2013, I was not able to vote on rollcall votes 110, 111 and 112. At the time, I was performing my duties as a designee of the U.S. House of Representatives attending the funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher in London. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted ``aye'' on all three votes.-

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, today I was unable to cast my vote for H.R. 1163, H.R. 756 and H.R. 967 due to my duties as part of a delegation of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives attending the funeral services of Baroness Margaret Thatcher in London. Had I been present to cast my vote, I would have voted ``yes'' on all three bills.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, three years ago, the Air Force TU 154 plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and 94 other top Polish officials crashed near Smolensk, Russia. The delegation had been on their way to Katyn to commemorate the deaths of 4400 Polish Army officers who were ruthlessly executed by the Soviets in 1943. In the 1970s, Kaczynski, a staunch anti-communist, made a name for himself as an underground oppositionist, and, in 1980, when the Solidarity workers' union was founded, he assisted in the Gdansk Shipyard strike and later served as the group's legal adviser. In 1981, after the imposition of the martial law, he was put in prison. In free Poland, Kaczynski served many roles--Senator, Mayor of Warsaw, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, and, in 2001, he was elected President. President Kaczynski was always supportive of strong Poland-U.S. relations, and was skeptical of close relations with the German/French dominated European Union. Kaczynski rightly feared that reliance on Russian energy supplies would inhibit sober evaluation of Russian policies at home and abroad. Americans appreciate our country's alliance with this great nation in the ongoing fight for freedom across the world. Today, three years after the tragic crash, we stand in solidarity with the people of Poland and mourn the loss of their President and countrymen.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing the people of Minnesota understand, it's hockey. That's why I'm so excited to be able to be here today to congratulate the St. Cloud State University men's hockey team. They're making history. Never before in their history have they advanced to the Frozen Four. I'm here to congratulate them for the first time in the program's history. It has taken talent; it has taken teamwork; it has taken dedication; and the men on this team have shown it all. I know I speak for all of the people back home in St. Cloud when I say we are extremely proud of these young men and what they've already accomplished. The Cinderella story is going to take place tomorrow evening. It has captivated the community. We can't wait to cheer them on when they take on Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four. So congratulations. Good luck. Go Huskies.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Thank you so much, Representative Burgess, and I should say ``Dr. Burgess'' as well. I thank you for your first-class understanding of how devastating ObamaCare is in the lives of real people, and I thank Dr. Harris, who just gave his remarks as well. This is an issue that impacts every single American who is watching us right now, Mr. Speaker; and I hope there are people all across the country who have tuned in to hear what's happening on the House floor, because this is really an update of sorts. It has been 3 years since the President of the United States signed this devastating bill. Let's just remind the American people of what President Obama said that we could take to the bank. Again, this bill was voted on right here in this Chamber. It was about midnight when it happened. It was midnight on a Sunday night, and I think it was on March 21 the night that it was signed. The President told all of the American people, in fact, that we've got to hurry, hurry, hurry and pass this bill because, if we do that, then the average American household will save about $2,500 a year on its health insurance premium. I'd vote for that. That would be a great thing to do. I want every American to save money on his health insurance; but, Mr. Speaker, just the opposite happened. People have been having increases in their health insurance premiums of well over $2,500 a year, so the President was off by a factor of about $5,000. That also doesn't take into account the fact that, under President Obama's leadership, the average American household has actually lost almost $5,000 of income. So if you couple both the loss of income under this President's leadership and the fact that the President, with all due respect, didn't tell the American people the truth about how much they would save on health insurance premiums, that has a devastating impact on American households. Particularly, this is really hurting the senior citizens whom we love and whom we care about. Why? Dr. Harris told us. Dr. Burgess told us: President Obama took over $700 billion out of-- where?--Medicare. Over $700 billion has come out of Medicare. And where has it been shifted? Into ObamaCare. Who does that hurt? That hurts the people we love, that hurts the senior citizens of this country. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, about who else is devastatingly impacted by ObamaCare. We were all told that we're going to get 30 million new people free health care. Gee, whoop, that sounds great. Let me tell you who's not going to get health care. Let me tell you what ObamaCare has deep in its pages, and nobody read this bill. Why didn't they read it? It isn't because Members of Congress were too lazy to read it, it's because, unfortunately, the Democrats that controlled the House of Representatives, the Democrats that controlled the Senate, didn't even bother to give the Members the bill in enough time to even read the bill. In the Senate, they had maybe a couple of hours. Here in the House, we had very little time to read the bill. Nobody could read the bill. Maybe that's why the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said, famously: We have to pass the bill to know what's in it. Well, now we know what's in it. And we also know who's going to be hurt. And more than anyone in this bill, it is women who are hurt by ObamaCare. It is children who are hurt by ObamaCare. And even worse, Mr. Speaker, it is the poorest women and the poorest children who are going to be hurt, and I want to tell you how just very briefly, and then I will yield back after that. We have found out in this bill that if an employer offers health insurance to their employee who, let's say, is the husband in the home, and he offers health insurance to that husband, the employer doesn't have to offer that insurance to the wife and the children. He can fulfill his obligation to the Federal Government just by offering health insurance to the husband. Today the wife and children are also getting that health insurance. So once he makes that obligation, then the wife and children are on their own. But do you know what the wife and children have to do under the law? They have to buy the very expensive health insurance, not what they want, Mr. Speaker, but what the government tells them they're forced to buy. How are they going to buy that health insurance? Well, we're told, gee, they can go to a health care exchange. No, they can't. They can't go to a health care exchange because the health care exchange subsidies won't be available to the wife and children because the husband is covered. Isn't that a sneaky deal to pull on American women and on their children. Now, what about if that wife, let's say, lost her job, as Dr. Burgess said, because now we're seeing people who were working over 30 hours a week pulled down to 29 hours a week. So let's say the woman, the mom, lost her job and she's on unemployment. If you're on unemployment, are you relieved of the burden? This mom, is she relieved of the burden of paying the tax for health insurance? No. So she has to continue to pay a health insurance tax. While she is on unemployment, she can't go to the State-subsidized exchanges and get her health insurance. What's her option, Mr. Speaker? She has to take her aftertax income, which is much reduced because she first has to pay taxes on that income, and then she has to go out and buy health insurance without any government subsidy in the market. Well, isn't this interesting. Government tells her what policy she has to get. The cheapest policy, under the bronze plan, under these subsidies, is $20,000 a year. So where, tell me, Mr. Speaker, and I should ask the President of the United States, who came up with this brilliant idea, where, Mr. Speaker, where are poor women supposed to go to buy health insurance they can afford? Not in the ObamaCare regime. Where is she supposed to go with her very sick child who's lost his health insurance from the employer, that his daddy provided for him because his daddy had a job, his daddy had health insurance. That young child had health insurance. That child was very sick with a disease, and he could count on insurance because his daddy had a job. His daddy provided health insurance. But now under ObamaCare, that employer may no longer give that health insurance. So I'm telling you, Mr. Speaker, this is devastating for moms across America, for children across America, for senior citizens across America. I wish it wasn't so. I wish we were standing here with a better story. The fact is, we tried. Dr. Harris is on this floor. We now have been joined by Dr. Roe from Tennessee. We have three doctors here in this Chamber. He tried to provide better health care for the people in Tennessee and the people in America. Dr. Burgess has tried all over this country to say there's a better way. We can get more women and children covered. We can make sure more seniors are covered. We can do this thing. Preexisting conditions, we can solve it. But no, that wasn't good enough for our President. It wasn't good enough. You see, what he demanded and insisted upon was that the government have 100 percent control over health care. One hundred percent control? The American people lose control? What did they get? They get health care, health insurance, I should say, that's more expense than anything they've ever paid for before, and they get less for it. Well, what a deal, Mr. Speaker. What a deal. The American people, especially vulnerable women, vulnerable children, vulnerable senior citizens, now get to pay more and they get less. That's why we're here, because we're saying let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. Let's not do that. Let's love people. Let's care about people. Let's repeal it now while we can, and instead, do what Dr. Burgess has been trying to do for years, what Dr. Roe has been trying to do for years, what Dr. Harris has been trying to do for years: get the highest possible quality health care to the greatest number of American citizens at the lowest possible price, especially to vulnerable women and vulnerable children and vulnerable senior citizens. As people of faith--I'm a born again believer in Jesus Christ, and I believe that as part of my duty as a believer in Christ and what He has done for me, that we should do for the least of those who are in our midst. That's my personal belief and my personal conviction, and that's why I want our government to create the space so that we can help people. Because I guarantee you one thing, Mr. Speaker: this doesn't help people. But the good thing is, Dr. Burgess, we can. And that's why I want to thank you for your leadership in the Health Care Caucus. I want to thank Dr. Harris for his leadership in the Health Care Caucus, and I want to thank Dr. Roe for his leadership in the Health Care Caucus, and all of the other doctors and all of the other Members who were busy waving a big red flag before ObamaCare passed, because don't anyone ever forget: this was not a bipartisan effort. This was President Obama. This was the Democrat-led Senate and the Democrat-led House. This was one party that gave us this terrible bill. Now let it be both parties that come together to help women, help children, and help senior citizens. And God bless you for what you're doing. Thank you so much, Dr. Burgess.

Mrs. BACHMANN. And if I recall, you wrote a book called ``House Calls'' just exactly on that topic by Dr. Burgess.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Dr. Burgess, thank you so much. I just wanted to add this point to the whole debate that we're having today, that the unintended consequence of all of this is that we've now created a class system in America for health care. We can't overstate this enough. Before, we just had health care in America, and you tried to find the best doctor and you tried to find the best possible care. But now what ObamaCare creates is this: it's a class-based health care system where we segment patients into three different classes. Here's one. Here's the one that no American wants to be in. It's the Medicaid ghetto. That's where the lowest possible care, where very few doctors will be available to offer this kind of care, the Medicaid ghetto. Then there's going to be the socialized medicine in the exchanges. Then, finally, there's going to be concierge care for those who are going to be at the top of the heap. So it won't be the same type of medicine that's available for everyone. We will have different class systems in health care. And guess who's going to get hurt the most? You're exactly right--senior citizens, women, and children. I want to explain just briefly how that will be. You see, 56 percent of the people that are unhealthy today in America are in households that make less than 133 percent of the poverty level. So if you're sick, you're in a lower-income household, and without employer coverage--and employers, as was stated before by Dr. Gingrey, about 7 million people are going to be thrown off their very good coverage they have now. Over half of our unhealthy citizens will be stuck in Medicaid, and that doesn't provide adequate access. I can tell you from my State of Minnesota, people who are on that scale have to go from rural Minnesota, maybe travel a couple hundred miles to the Twin Cities--which they can't--to find anyone who will offer them the care they need. Here's the other thing: About 2.5 times as many women than men get their coverage through their husband's coverage. For all of these people who are going to lose their employer-sponsored health coverage, it's more likely to have 2\1/2\ times more women. If they're unemployed and out of the labor force, they're in trouble; they're up a creek without a paddle. Because the problem here is going to be that women and children are in jeopardy of not having an option. Even if they make 400 percent more than the poverty line--which really sounds like a lot of money--you're not going to have the availability of getting on the health care exchange. You may not even get in the Medicaid ghetto. So, in other words, you have to pay the tax--which they call a fee--you have to pay the big tax as a woman and as a mother of these children, but you're not getting any health insurance for it. It is a bad deal, and that's why I thank you, Dr. Burgess, for what you've done.

Ms. BACHMANN

Ms. BACHMANN. That's right. So, Mr. Speaker, it's the worst of all worlds. Your husband is having to pay for this very expensive insurance for himself, and the employer may be having a match on that, but you're out in the cold, your kids are out in the cold, and you're paying a tax on top of it to add insult to injury. Women are going to suffer, children are going to suffer, and seniors are going to suffer. Mr. Speaker, there are going to be people who die because of this. In this body, let it be said today that we don't want to see anyone die or anyone hurt or anyone denied. That's exactly what this bill is going to do, which is why we have to repeal it. The day after this bill was passed, I introduced a bill to repeal, and every single one of the Republicans in this House has voted to repeal ObamaCare. Now, hopefully, we're going to have another vote again soon because we love people, we care about people, and we want them to have the health care they need.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank the gentleman from California. I thank Mr. Fitzpatrick for his bill as well. I, too, was shocked when I saw that the President of the United States, out of nowhere, at no request from any Member of Congress, had issued a unilateral executive order, which means he decided to take the law into his own hands and, in effect, become his own Congress and decide unilaterally, at the height of the fiscal cliff debate, that he would throw a new wrench into that argument, and it would be this: When there is massive uncertainty, unfinished business, he would decide that he would unilaterally give a pay increase to the United States Congress exactly when the public is uncertain and doesn't know what is going to happen. Will their taxes go up? Will they no longer be the recipient of a spending program? And so now Congress is going to get a spending increase? This was a cynical planned move, Mr. Speaker, on the part of our President. He brought great drama to this effort, unnecessary drama. Because, you see, this House of Representatives already did this job to avert the fiscal cliff. We did this work. It was completed last August. We said that no one's taxes need to go up, and we were able to offset any spending cuts. The work was done. The problem is the Senate never took up the completed work of the House, and the President of the United States spent the last half of this year continually castigating the House of Representatives for not having this work done when we did our work. And so out of nowhere, again, not at the request of Congress, the President decided to make a very unlovely party to this conversation-- the Congress--even less palatable by putting upon us the idea that we wanted to raise our own salary when we had nothing whatsoever to do with that. That's why over the weekend I directed my staff that we would put forth a bill to take away this unilateral increase in salary for Congress at the President's hand. We put our bill together. Mr. Fitzpatrick put his bill together. We both introduced bills yesterday. And I'm very happy to be a part of this bill, as every Member of Congress is happy to be for this bill, because, after all, this had nothing to do with the conversations. This was a cynical effort on the part of the President--and I believe nothing more cynical than the fact that the current agreement with the fiscal cliff was agreed to, we're told, somewhere around 11:30 last night. The bill was voted on at 2:00 in the morning. Again, this is New Year's Eve. I don't know how many Senators between midnight and 2 a.m. in the morning had a chance to thoroughly read this agreement that's 157 pages long. You see, this is not how we should run our government. This is drama, unnecessary drama. And President Obama bears the responsibility for his failure to lead and his intentional effort, it appears, to mislead the American public with this cynical bill. That's why we are here this morning, to clarify the President's action. This was not at our behest, and we are rejecting this measure today to increase Congress's salary.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and the service and the memory of Officer Tommy Decker of Cold Spring, Minnesota. On November 29, Officer Tommy Decker was tragically killed in the line of duty, and he was only 31 years old. Officer Decker served with distinction. In 6 years at the Cold Spring Police Department, he received no less than six commendations and letters of appreciation. He touched so many lives in his distinguished career. The overwhelming outpouring of community love and support at the funeral, where there were over 3,000 police cars, was an amazing sight to behold, and I was privileged to be there. In honor of Officer Decker's service, I'm proud to join with all of Minnesota's colleagues to introduce legislation to rename his hometown post office the Officer Tommy Decker Memorial Post Office. We hope to complete that soon. And though he is no longer with us, Officer Decker's example of unparalleled courage and compassion lives on, and I pray that his four young children will grow up to know just how much their father meant to the people of Minnesota and what a remarkable hero and an example he was to us all.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Officer Thomas Decker of the Cold Springs Police Department. On November 29, Officer Decker was killed in the line of duty while trying to help a man believed to be suicidal. Officer Decker was a Minnesota boy through and through, growing up on a dairy farm near Cold Spring. After attending Rocori High School, he went on to serve as a police officer for 10 years, serving in the communities of Isle, Watkins, Kimball, and the Cold spring/Richmond Police Department. He bravely served the citizens of central Minnesota and those who knew him called him a hero who loved his family. He leaves behind a wife, four young children, parents, siblings and a community who loved him. Officer Decker's death tears at the heartstrings of a small town who knows all too well the sting of heartbreaking tragedy. This community lost another son to senseless bloodshed. It is hard to grasp why such violence occurs, but it is important that friends and neighbors stick together in these trying times. My thoughts and prayers are with the Decker family as they deal with this painful loss, especially five- year-old Devon, six-year-old Justin, seven-year-old Jade and eight- year-old Kelly. Mr. Speaker, I ask this body join with me in mourning the loss of this brave and noble policeofficer who represented not only Minnesota, but a force which protects citizens across thisgreat country.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Gene Gruber of Richmond, Minnesota, upon being awarded his 5th, and his family's 15th, USA National Plowing Title on August 6, 2012. Mr. Gruber's victory means that he will represent the USA at the 60th World Plowing Contest in Olds, Alberta, Canada, on July 19-20, 2013. Going against 31 other countries, he will compete for the 5th time internationally, and in his last international competition in New Zealand (2010) he finished 9th. Mr. Gruber's skill and ability with the plow are only matched by his generosity, as he has not hesitated to teach other plowmen across the United States the knowledge necessary to be a plowing champion. As farmers across the nation work to put food on the tables of all Americans, we can respect the dedication and industriousness that they show as they labor to grow and plow their crops every year. Mr. Speaker, I ask this body to join with me in recognizing Mr. Gene Gruber upon this award.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Knaus Sausage House on their 100th anniversary this year. It is my honor to join with the Kimball community in celebrating the dedication and services that this company has provided and continues to provide. Three generations have been involved with this business and the fourth generation is already involved. Over the last 100 years, the Knaus Sausage House has grown to include groceries, a deli, and a bakery. The family's outstanding efforts in providing great service and great products are what make this a growing, viable business as they keep up with changing times. Many farmers and hunters depend on the market to do custom processing and cut meat for them. The Knaus Sausage House services are a valuable asset to the community and their long- term dedication does not go unnoticed. It is small businesses including Knaus Sausage House that help communities flourish in America today. Mr. Speaker, please join with me in congratulating Knaus Sausage House on their 100th anniversary.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 5544, the Minnesota Education Investment and Employment Act, which will set in motion a long overdue exchange of federal lands in Northeast Minnesota that will create jobs and unlock millions of dollars each year for our state's schools. When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the federal government granted each township two plots of land to be developed, leased, or sold exclusively for the benefit of Minnesota schools. Under the Minnesota Constitution and Minnesota Law, these lands must generate revenue for schools. However, when the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was created in 1978, 86,000 acres of school trust lands were locked within the boundaries, where logging, mining, and other lucrative activities are prohibited. For over 30 years, these lands have been stripped of their revenue-raising potential and Minnesota students have been missing out on a vital revenue source for needed school improvement projects. Thankfully, this year, a bipartisan coalition at the Minnesota State Capital, including Democratic Governor Mark Dayton, stood up to special interests and apathy to recoup the important school funding source that was sealed off with the creation of the Boundary Waters. They enacted legislation at the state level to allow an exchange of the school trust lands contained within the Boundary Waters for federal lands outside the Boundary Waters. Such an exchange would not eliminate a single acre of BWCAW land, but it would enable the creation of well-paying jobs for Minnesotans on the newly acquired lands. H.R. 5544 will finalize the federal side of this broadly supported exchange, which will greatly benefit Minnesota students, job seekers, and families across the state. I applaud Congressman Cravaack for introducing this necessary legislation and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mrs. BACHMANN

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Today, Mr. Speaker, we mark the 20th anniversary of Priests for Life, and I'm pleased to yield 1 minute to my colleague, Jean Schmidt, of Ohio.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to Mr. Walberg of Michigan.

Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey, the leading voice for the pro-life cause and for the unborn across the United States.