Ron Barber

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Critical Path Institute, a non-profit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, that plays an important role in helping to improve the way that much-needed drugs are brought to the market. Critical Path, or C-Path, was founded six years ago by the University of Arizona and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is not affiliated with any single entity or interest group--a status that allows C-Path to serve as an effective and objective facilitator among scientists from the government, academia and the private sector. C-Path was founded after the FDA called attention to an alarming decline in the number of innovative medical products being submitted for government approval. The FDA cited the need for applied research to bridge the gap between basic scientific research and medical product development. Since then, C-Path has worked with scientists from academia as well as biotechnology companies, the government and the pharmaceutical industry to develop innovative new testing methods. This enables life- saving drugs, devices and biological products to reach patients faster and with proven safety. Developing effective drugs and medical devices is a lengthy and expensive process--even under the best of circumstances. It is a process that can take more than 12 years and cost $1 billion in laboratory research and testing. About 95 percent of new compounds fail during development. C-Path has demonstrated that public/private partnerships focused on noncompetitive consensus science have the capacity to provide new tools so drug developers can speed important new medicines from discovery to patients more quickly. C-Path was founded by Dr. Raymond L. Woosley, who stepped down as president and CEO earlier this year. He was succeeded by Dr. Carolyn Compton, an internationally respected scientist with extensive experience in translational science and personalized medicine. I am proud to recognize the Critical Path Institute, based in Tucson, Arizona, for its important role in improving the way that researchers, academia, the private sector and government work together to bring needed medical advancements to the people who need them. C-Path has shown us what is possible when we work in partnership and collaboration to solve important national concerns.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Major Tim Crowe, United States Army, who is soon ending his tour of duty in Washington, D.C. Major Crowe distinguished himself as both an Army Congressional Fellow and as a Legislative Liaison Officer with the U.S. Army and the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). His next assignment is in my district at Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona. Like many of today's service members Major Crowe spent years away from his family and serving our country in harm's way, including deployments to Somalia, Kosovo and twice to Iraq. I came to know Major Crowe when he was an Army Fellow working for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in 2009. Originally an Infantry Officer and now a Military Intelligence Officer, Major Crowe provided much needed expertise to the office, with a special understanding of Fort Huachuca, home of the Army's Intelligence Joint Center of Excellence. He was an indispensible member of our team, who made significant contributions to a variety of constituent issues, and guided several legislative efforts addressing veterans affairs, health care, and financial services issues. Major Crowe spent eighteen months at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). He consistently provided insightful advice to JIEDDO's senior leadership on the impact of proposed counter-IED initiates. He filled an important role keeping Congress informed of the Department of Defense efforts to counter IEDs; the greatest source of combat casualties this decade. Major Crowe was instrumental in developing a Department of Defense legislative proposal to amend JIEDDO's authority enabling it to fund critical interagency efforts to disrupt the flow of improvised explosive components entering Afghanistan. U.S. Central Command identified this authority as an urgent need, as the majority of IEDs used against our troops are made with materials smuggled into Afghanistan. The measure was included in the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization Bill. Major Crowe's high level of integrity, dedication, outstanding leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence, and focus on the mission, significantly contributed to the effectiveness, readiness, and outstanding quality of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. In so doing, our men and women in uniform have been provided the tools necessary to carry out their mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. His outstanding service coupled with his selfless devotion to duty will have a lasting and positive effect on JIEDDO's future relations with Congress. I look forward to being Major Crowe's Representative as he embarks on the next stage of his career at Fort Huachuca.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise and celebrate the achievements of the University of Arizona baseball team, which has been selected for induction into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. This honor is extremely well deserved. Earlier this summer, the UA Wildcats were crowned national champions after winning the College World Series in Omaha for the fourth time. The Wildcats won the title by beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 4 to 1. This was the Wildcats' year. They won all 10 of their postseason games--going through the regionals, the super regionals and the College World Series without a loss. In those 10 games, they outscored their opponents 88 to 28. I want to especially make note of the play of Robert Refsnyder, the right fielder for the Wildcats, who was named the most valuable player of the 2012 College World Series. I also want to praise the work of Head Coach Andy Lopez. He previously won a national title as coach of Pepperdine University, and this is the first of what we expect to be many titles with the University of Arizona. The decisions Mr. Lopez made throughout the College World Series were crucial in Arizona's success. I'm sure he has more national titles in his future at Arizona. Congratulations to these latest inductees into the University of Arizona Hall of Fame. As a UA alumnus, I am proud of my alma mater on many levels and I am thrilled to say, well done, Cats, for this incredible season. Continue to ``Bear Down Arizona!''

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to this body's attempt to adjourn until September 10. The people of southern Arizona sent me here to work on their behalf, and while it is essential that all of us go back home from time to time to hear from our constituents, we attempt to leave here today with many critical issues unresolved. We have done nothing about sequestration. We are facing $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts in defense and domestic programs. These arbitrary cuts will harm the people of my district. Yet we took a vote to leave Washington. We have done nothing about the postal service, which is bleeding billions of dollars because of congressional mandates; and it is wrongfully planning to shut down a crucial processing facility in my district. Yet we took a vote to leave Washington. We have done nothing to approve budgets to maintain vital programs that assist veterans, seniors, and children. Yet we took a vote to leave Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stay here and work.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Madam Speaker, I rise today as the Member who most recently faced an electorate, and I have heard loud and clear that the people of southern Arizona elected me for the very same reason the people of every other district elect their representative, to stand up for them. I wasn't here to vote on the Affordable Health Care Act when it passed, but I appreciate its benefits and that we must work to improve it. I rise today to speak against this repeal. We should be here having a robust discussion about how to make this law better. We should be acting to ensure that Medicare doesn't pay more for prescription drugs than the VA, and to keep rising insurance costs from hurting small businesses. We should be looking for ways to create jobs, to strengthen our middle class, to bolster our economy. We should rise above partisan bickering, move on, and get something done. This repeal bill sends a message to American families that this body cares more about political grandstanding than improving their lives. Let's put aside this charade and do the work for which we were elected.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. BARBER. I am opposed to the bill in its current form.

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I'm offering this final amendment to assist our veterans. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I came before you last week to be sworn in, and I spoke then about working together, working across the aisle to ensure that my constituents and all of our constituents are served by our very best work, rather than our partisan ambitions. So I rise today in that same spirit. I rise today to ask that we come together on an amendment to help those who most deserve our gratitude and our assistance, the veterans who have bravely served to defend our homeland. Today, we have an opportunity to take care of the veterans of our military who, much to our collective shame, are homeless. I remember the Vietnam War, and I remember how it divided our Nation. But most of all, I remember the men and women who were sent to fight in Vietnam, who often bore the brunt of the anger over the war itself. Derision that should have been directed towards policymakers was, instead, directed to those who had put their lives on the line for the country we love. And we let them down. We failed them when they came home, and now they, and other veterans, a total estimated 70,000 of our Nation's homeless population--70,000. That is, I'm sure we all agree, completely unacceptable. I don't believe that anyone on either side of the aisle thinks that we should allow 70,000 men and woman who wore our Nation's uniform to continue to go without a home. With my amendment, we will ensure that we have enough housing vouchers to assist every one of those veterans. I submit, Mr. Speaker, and esteemed colleagues, that this is the least we owe to our veterans. There are over 100,000 veterans in my southern Arizona district. Let me tell you about one of them. Christopher Murray, a disabled Operation Desert Storm medic and combat veteran, came to our office to seek our help when I served as Congresswoman Gifford's district director. A bank was foreclosing on his home, and he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Our staff was able to work to rescind the foreclosure and allow Mr. Murray to stay in his own home. The simple dignity of being in your own home during your final days is something we all too often take for granted. We must not deny that dignity to those who have, like Mr. Murray, served our country so well. My amendment offers every one of us a chance to do what our office did then: to ensure that our veterans get our help and have the simple dignity of a roof above their heads. And my amendment does that while reducing the deficit. The passage of this amendment will not prevent passage of this underlying bill. If the amendment is adopted, it will be incorporated into the bill, and the bill will be immediately voted upon. And so, though we may disagree on parts of the bill today, we have the opportunity to speak up for the men and women who have fought for our country. And let us all be able to go home and look every veteran we represent in the eye and know that we did the right thing by them and by their homeless brothers and sisters. I urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on this final amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Mr. Chair, I rise today to raise concerns about H.R. 2578. I support the goal of the provision (H.R. 1505) which will strengthen our efforts to secure the border, but I believe it was overreaching. I have long believed that securing our border is of paramount importance to the safety of the people who live and work along the border, but I do not believe that this end needs to be achieved at the expense of maintaining a strong commitment to our environment and the regulations that ensure its protection. I would have preferred that we consider a standalone bill which specifically responded to the expressed needs of the Department of Homeland Security regarding access to public lands. I do not support those provisions of H.R. 2578 which seek to privatize public land and significantly reduce the scope of existing laws which protect those lands. I am against the rule specifically because I believe that amendments should have been heard to improve this bill.

Mr. BARBER

Mr. BARBER. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Arizona delegation for that warm welcome--and all of you--for this amazing welcome on my first day here. I also want to thank Speaker Boehner for his long and dedicated service to our country and for swearing me in today. And to my family in the gallery and to my grandchildren who are here on the floor, thank you, all of you, my family, for your support and love, without which I would not be here today. I have the most amazing family. I think everyone would say that, but I am very blessed to have them in my life, especially over this past year and a half. And to my high school sweetheart and wife, Nancy, I love you dearly and look forward to celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, I stand here on the floor of the House in the very spot where 5 months ago my friend and my predecessor, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, bravely delivered her resignation from Congress. I want to thank the Congresswoman for her vision and leadership and the inspiration she continues to give to our country. Gabby, southern Arizona misses you dearly, and we cannot wait to have you home. Today, as I begin my service in this, the people's House, I'm mindful that the stakes for our Nation are very high. They are too high not to set aside political division in favor of seeking common ground, too high to use our words as weapons, too high to think of those with whom we disagree as villains. As an Arizonan, I look to the example of Congressman Mo Udall and Senator Barry Goldwater, two leaders in their respective parties who disagreed much, but did so without being disagreeable. They came together many times to do what was right for their State and their country. I'm going to approach my work for the people of southern Arizona with an eye not toward partisan victory, but toward American achievement. We as a country have much to achieve. We must protect middle class families at a time when our middle class is slowly disappearing. We must honor our veterans and military families by ensuring that the more than 100,000 veterans I represent in southern Arizona and every other American veteran and servicemember receives the services and benefits they have earned. We must ensure the dignity and health of every American senior in retirement. We must secure our border so that border residents are safe on their land, and impede the flow of drugs into our communities and the illegal drug money out of our country. And we must create jobs with innovative energy technologies, improvements in our essential infrastructure, and by supporting local small businesses to grow. I look forward to working across party lines to achieve these goals for the good of my constituents and for all Americans.