Andy Barr

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, United States Air Force Captain David L. Lyon has given the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. He was assigned to the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and gave his life for this country at the age of 28. Capt. Lyon died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He was killed in action on December 27, 2013 in Kabul, Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device struck his patrol. Capt. Lyon is survived by his wife, Dana Pounds Lyon of Lexington, Kentucky; his parents, Bob and Jeannie Lyon; and his younger brother, Sean. There is nothing as noble as the character of a man who so willingly dedicates his life for others. The American warriors serving our military, and their families, understand this better than anybody. They embody what it means to be an American. Capt. Lyon grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho, with the ambition of graduating from the United States Air Force Academy and answering the call to serve his country. Capt. Lyon was a star athlete, acting as the team captain for the Air Force Falcon's track and field team, and winning a conference title in the shot put at the 2008 Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships. He met the love of his life, Dana Pounds, at the Air Force Academy, and they married shortly after graduating from the Academy. Capt. Lyon was serving his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, and earned significant recognition with awards that include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, and the Air Force Training Ribbon. We grieve the loss of this great American, but we also celebrate and honor his life and his service. Capt. Lyon embodied the best of the American ideals and values we know are instilled in our fighting Airmen. He served this nation as the fine Airman he always wanted to be. He was willing to fight to bring liberty to people he did not know, in a land where he had never been. I am forever grateful for Capt. Lyon's service to our country and am both humbled and honored by the sacrifice he made for our freedom. Because of his bravery and that of his fellow men and women in uniform, our American freedoms are protected for future generations. He is truly a hero and an inspiration to us all.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, for the last 4 years, President Obama repeatedly promised the American people that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. But for Melody in Lexington, Kentucky, that is simply not true. Melody received a notice that her health care plan was no longer good enough under ObamaCare. And when Melody looked into options for new insurance, like so many other Americans, she found out that her family's insurance costs would go up by 250 percent, and their deductible would increase by $2,000. Melody, in this email, told me: We do not qualify for any premium assistance, even though we are a family of three living on a single income. We are more likely to go without health care coverage because our premiums are going to cost more per year than we would wind up spending on medical expenses without insurance. Mr. Speaker, this is not about politics. This is about real people in our districts that are being harmed by ObamaCare. The American people don't need apologies. They don't need temporary administrative waivers. They need permanent solutions that will protect hardworking Americans from the coverage cancelations, loss of access to doctors, and premium spikes. It is time for the President to keep his promise and allow Americans who like their health care plans to keep them.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my sincere congratulations to the students of the Montgomery County School District for their academic achievement, as evidenced by their top 12 percent ranking in Kentucky's Unbridled Learning assessment and accountability system. I would also like to congratulate the leadership of this school district, the principals, the teachers, and the involved parents for a job well done. They are a true example of a public school system that is working to the best of its abilities. I know how hard everyone involved labored to improve their District, and now, their dedication to reforms and unprecedented approach to student achievement has produced incredible results. This achievement is an example of the leadership and determination that proves Kentucky to be a Commonwealth of Excellence. It is truly an honor to serve as their Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Keep up the good work, Montgomery County!

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from Missouri for her leadership in leading this Special Order. Many Americans watching on TV right now are frustrated. They are angry with what they are seeing in Washington. They don't understand why political conflict has to get in the way of solutions. They are saying, and they are saying to all of us, why are the politicians putting their political agendas ahead of what is good for the country? I share that frustration and anger, and I understand what they are saying. They are saying, why can't the politicians get their act together? Why can't they reopen the government and avert default? But you know, as important as it is to reopen the government, and as important as it is to avert a short-term default, and those are very critical, it is equally important that we stop business as usual in Washington. It is important that Members of Congress do what they were elected to do, which is exercise leadership, stand up for what is right and what is in the long-term best interest of the Nation. What is in the long-term best interest of the Nation is to stop spending money we don't have. It is to stop racking up mounds of debt to end the reckless practices in Washington that are literally mortgaging the future of our children and our grandchildren and pushing this country to the brink of national bankruptcy. Now, some have accused House Republicans of holding the country hostage solely for the purpose of repealing or defunding the President's signature legislative achievement, ObamaCare. Why is this relevant? The President says ObamaCare should not be part of any negotiations to fund the government or raise the debt limit. But my constituents in Kentucky recognize the President's health care law for what it actually is, which is a massive increase in Federal spending. Its projected cost has more than doubled since the President originally claimed it would reduce the deficit. It will cost American taxpayers $2 trillion over the next decade, and its true cost will continue to grow. ObamaCare was rammed through Congress on a partisan basis through a process that was specifically reserved for budget-related bills, the reconciliation process. So for anyone to suggest that ObamaCare is unrelated to the budget is both cynical and inconsistent with Congress' ongoing responsibility to scrutinize Federal spending. After racking up $7 trillion in debt in just 5 years, the President stubbornly refuses to negotiate over ObamaCare. But make no mistake: Congress would not be doing its job if it ignored ObamaCare and its massive cost in the ongoing debate about how to save America from bankruptcy. So, Mr. Speaker, let me just conclude by saying this. It would be unfair for young people and the next generation if we simply raised the debt limit without also addressing the underlying cause of our problems, without also addressing the cause of our fiscal situation, and that is runaway government spending. This is our opportunity. This is our moment. Let's seize this opportunity on a bipartisan basis. It is time for solutions. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership in this Special Order. Let's not just raise the debt limit and keep kicking the can down the road. Let's solve America's problem and finally force the government to live within its means.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, the President says ObamaCare should not be part of any negotiations to fund the government or raise the debt limit. But my constituents in Kentucky recognize the President's health care law for what it actually is--a massive increase in Federal spending. Its projected cost has more than doubled since the President originally claimed it would reduce the deficit. It will cost American taxpayers $2 trillion over the next decade, and its true costs will continue to grow. ObamaCare was rammed through Congress on a partisan basis through a process specifically reserved for budget-related bills. So for anyone to suggest that ObamaCare should be left out of budget discussions in Washington is both cynical and inconsistent with Congress's ongoing responsibility to constantly scrutinize Federal spending. After racking up $7 trillion in debt in just 5 years, the President stubbornly refuses to negotiate over ObamaCare. But make no mistake, Mr. Speaker: Congress would not be doing its job if it ignored ObamaCare and its massive costs in the ongoing debate about how to save America from bankruptcy.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, in the context of the debate that is going on in the country right now about how we get our national finances in order, I think it is very important to remember that it would be unfair for future generations of Americans--for our kids and our grandkids--if we raise the debt ceiling without making the reforms necessary to get government spending under control. No one wants to default on our national debt, but no one should want to leave mountains of debt to our future children and grandchildren. Congress must continue to focus on reforming government to avert a national debt crisis. The President says ObamaCare shouldn't be part of the discussion related to funding the government or to raising the debt limit, but ObamaCare is fundamentally connected to spending and debt. The President's signature health care law, after all, was passed through the reconciliation process, which is reserved exclusively for budget-related bills. For those who use this special budget process to now say that it is not budget-related is very cynical. ObamaCare's projected cost has more than doubled since the President originally claimed it would reduce the deficit. It will cost this country $2 trillion over the next 10 years. I urge everyone to remember that ObamaCare is part of the discussion about how we reduce our national debt.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on National Manufacturing Day to recognize the importance of manufacturing in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and specifically in the Sixth Congressional District. With over 212,000 manufacturing jobs, manufacturing employs 12 percent of Kentucky's workers. Manufacturers are drawn to Kentucky because of the highly educated workforce, diverse economy, and relatively low energy costs. These factors contribute to the Bluegrass Region consistently ranking in the Top Ten by Forbes Magazine as one of ``Best places to Start a Business.'' My district is home to great manufacturers such as Toyota, Lexmark, Double Star, Big Ass Fans, 3M, and Hitachi. These employers make important contributions to both the local and national economies, while creating thousands of jobs for my constituents back home. To promote policies that help American manufacturers, I have joined the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus. In Congress, I remain focused on advancing an agenda that promotes economic growth, and increasing the competitiveness of our manufacturers will always be central to that goal.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, the American people are frustrated and angry that politicians in Washington can't even work together to keep the government open and operating. They're hearing a lot of rhetoric from the White House and Congress about who is to blame, but instead of trading accusations about who is to blame, the President and Congress should face the realities of divided government. The only way forward in divided government when there is a difference of opinion, when there's an impasse, is negotiation and compromise. I come from the same congressional district that was once represented by Henry Clay, a great statesman and Speaker of the House. Clay, who was known as the ``Great Compromiser,'' knew that in divided government, the only way forward is through negotiation and compromise. Unfortunately, the President and the Senate majority leader continue to reject the model of Henry Clay. They continue to say that they will refuse to negotiate, refuse to compromise, refuse to work in a bipartisan way to achieve a middle ground and end this government shutdown. Last night, the President hosted congressional leaders at the White House; but rather than offer to negotiate about how to reopen the government and fix some of the harmful effects of ObamaCare, the President reiterated his stubborn refusal to negotiate. Regrettably, the meeting was more political theater than a genuine effort to resolve this impasse. In contrast, this House has offered to negotiate. The House has offered multiple compromises. Since September 20, the House has voted no less than 14 times to fund the government, to fund critical parts of the government, to fund the District of Columbia, to fund the National Institutes of Health, to fund our national parks, to fund our troops, to fund our veterans, and to end this government shutdown. But instead of working with House Republicans to reopen the government, this administration directed barricades to be placed at the World War II Memorial, inconveniencing our Honor Flight veterans visiting our Nation's Capital. Instead of working with House Republicans to end the interruption of lifesaving clinical trials for cancer patients through the NIH, the Senate majority leader asked: Why would we want to do that? Our friends on the other side of the aisle say they want to vote on a so-called clean CR. They insist that we ignore the voices of millions of our constituents who are flooding our offices with calls asking for protection from ObamaCare. But the truth is this: The House has compromised over and over and over again, and the only demand that this House is making to the President and this Senate is that if you insist on ObamaCare, if you refuse to delay this law or fix its harmful features, then at least do away with your special deal. At least give up your special exemption and your special perk under this law. At least join with House Republicans in requiring all politicians in Washington, the President, members of the Cabinet, Members of Congress and their staff, to live under the same health care law that they have imposed on the American people. At least live by the laws you write. Mr. Speaker, let me conclude by asking my colleagues on the other side of the aisle a simple question: If ObamaCare is such a great program for the American people, if it is so worth defending that you're willing to shut down the government to defend it, then why won't you participate in it? Think about it. If ObamaCare's exchanges are such a perfect solution to the problems of health care in our Nation, then why are Democrats in the White House and in Congress so intent on keeping their special exemption from them? Mr. Speaker, it is wrong for politicians in Washington to shut down the government and vote against every bill to reopen the government just to keep their special deal that no other American gets under ObamaCare. So I call on the President and the Senate to end their stubborn refusal to negotiate, end their suborn refusal to compromise, end their stubborn refusal to open this government just so that they can keep their special exemption under ObamaCare. Mr. Speaker, I say that, if ObamaCare is such a great law for the American people, then it should be good enough for President Obama and Members of Congress.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, tonight the House is voting once again to fund the government and to prevent a shutdown. The House is also continuing the effort to listen to the American people and give a voice to those who want to limit the harmful impact of ObamaCare. The President said that the House is shutting down the government, but the House has acted multiple times to prevent a government shutdown. It is the President and the Senate majority leader who are refusing to negotiate, refusing to compromise, refusing to seek a bipartisan solution or a middle ground. The President will negotiate with Vladimir Putin, the President will negotiate with the leaders of Iran, but he won't negotiate with the duly elected Representatives of the people in Congress. In divided government, the only way forward is to negotiate. The American people witnessed one-party rule in 2010 when Congress rammed through ObamaCare on a party-line vote, and they didn't like it. The only thing that was bipartisan about ObamaCare in 2010 when it was enacted was the bipartisan opposition to it, and so they elected a different Congress and they divided power. So when you have divided power in government, the only way forward, when there is a difference of opinion, is to negotiate and compromise. I come from the district, Mr. Speaker, of Henry Clay, a great Speaker of the House. Henry Clay is a model for this President and this Congress. We need to come together and negotiate and abandon the stubborn refusal to lead, which will guarantee a government shutdown. The President needs to work with House Republicans to find a middle ground, and this bill is the middle ground, Mr. Speaker. When I found out that Members of Congress, the President, members of his Cabinet, and the political elite in Washington got a special exemption from ObamaCare, I introduced a simple, two-page piece of legislation, and it's called the Live by the Laws You Write Act, and it's a simple concept: Why should we allow the administration to delay ObamaCare for large employers and exempt Members of Congress, himself, and the elite, but not also provide relief for individuals and families? I believe that the President and Members of Congress should live by the same health care law that they have imposed on the American people. And so I call on my colleagues in the House, both on this side and that side of the aisle, to support fairness for the American people. If ObamaCare is what the President insists on, then it should apply to everyone, and that includes the politicians in Washington.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to promote awareness of the fact that September is ``Suicide Prevention Month,'' and to specifically highlight the vulnerabilities of our nation's veteran community. Tragically, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports that, on average, 22 United States military members and veterans commit suicide every day. Not all battle wounds are visible from the outside. Please stand with me to help emphasize, not only to our hurting veterans but every American in need of help that people matter-- relationships matter--and their lives remain full of hope and meaning. When a loved one is in crisis, even the smallest act can make a lifesaving difference. I ask that we all take time to learn to recognize signs of isolation, withdrawal and suicidal behavior. And further, I ask that when we grow concerned for an individual, we become proactive and reach out to appropriately address the situation. To all those who are hurting--no matter what problems you are dealing with, you can find a reason to keep living. If you are a veteran in need of help, please call 1-800-273-8255 or for non-veterans please call 1-800-273-TALK. It's time to act, because ``It Matters.''

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. I thank my friend, the gentleman from Minnesota, my friend, the gentleman from Indiana, and I want to compliment both of the gentlemen here and my friends on the other side of the aisle for their leadership, and, in particular, the gentleman from Minnesota, who has been an absolute champion in advocating life-improving and lifesaving technologies that really stand a chance of declining as a sector of our economy and, more importantly, declining as an opportunity for Americans and people all around this world to achieve a better life, a better way of life, and to actually have an opportunity to live because of some of this lifesaving technology. The medical technology industry impacts all of us all over this country. The medical device industry is in virtually every State. But it's in my home State, the Commonwealth of Kentucky as well. Kentucky has over 7,500 jobs in the medical technology industry. The med-tech job multiplier factor in Kentucky guarantees that for every one job in the Commonwealth's medical technology sector, 1.8 additional jobs are created as a result. And these jobs are responsible for over $364 million in total personal income and $1.3 billion in annual output for Kentucky. According to the Battellle study, the medical device tax could cost Kentucky over 100 jobs in this high- paying, high-tech sector. But as my friends have noted tonight, this is not just about jobs. It's not just about economic growth or free enterprise and the opportunities that these companies create for workers and for people. It's really about creating a quality of life for so many Kentucky families. This truly is a life-or-death decision. There's a lot of reasons why I oppose ObamaCare, but tonight you're seeing something happen on ObamaCare that we haven't seen as much, and that is a huge bipartisan outpouring of opposition to this particular feature of ObamaCare, the medical device tax, a tax on the revenues of medical device manufacturers, not on the profits, but the revenues, a job-killing, innovation-destroying tax that absolutely should be repealed. And we should do it sooner rather than later. But there's a human dimension to this. There's a reason why we should repeal this tax, and it is because it is going to compromise the quality of health care that Americans and people all over this planet receive because of the innovation of the medical technology sector. This innovation has benefited my own family in a profound way recently, and it's benefited, actually, two members of my family. The gentleman from Minnesota was mentioning my father, and certainly my father is the beneficiary of a pacemaker. And it was just December 25 last year, Christmas Day, last year, I got a call from my mother, and she told me that my father had fainted. He had a fainting spell, and that obviously worried me and my wife. And so I picked up the phone and asked to speak to my father, and I did. And he was a little shaky, and I encouraged him to stop drinking the coffee and call us back if he needed anything. About an hour later, again, Christmas morning--we were planning on going over to his home to see him later that day--I got another phone call, this time again from my mother. But this time it was from the emergency room, and it was very alarming. And she said, You need to get over here right away. So I got in the car and sped over to the ER and walked in there, and I was greeted by the emergency room physician, and he said that my father was in a room getting an EKG. And I went over there and he showed me the tape of the EKG, and it showed his--basically, a flat line. And I said, Well, what does that mean? And he said, Andy, your father's heart is slowing down. Now, that is a very grim report from an emergency room physician, I can tell you. And I know families all across this country experience difficult health care emergencies in their families as well. But I asked the doctor, I said, Well, what are we going to do about this? And he said, We're going to call in an electrophysiology expert, a cardiologist who's going to come in, and we are going to take a look at this. The electrophysiology expert came in and he said, We've got good news. We can fix your father. We can put in a pacemaker in emergency surgery, and we really think we can fix this problem. Otherwise, he's in good health. It's just that he has an electrical problem with his cardiovascular system. And so my father went into emergency surgery, got a pacemaker, a great new piece of technology put into his heart. And when he came out of surgery, the doctor checked everything and everything was great, and this pacemaker had saved my father's life. Another story, my sister, Emily, 2 years older than me, she has suffered from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for her entire life. And for those of you listening on TV tonight and those of who have loved ones, or if you suffer yourself from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, you know what a disabling condition this can be. It eats away at the joints. Emily is a brave person. She's a very faithful person, a very optimistic person. But she's gone through a lot. One of the things she's had to go through is hip replacement surgery and knee replacement surgery. And when anyone who is an athlete and gets hip replacements or joints replacements or suffers from arthritis and has to have these surgeries, you know that this is critical in order to become functional in your life. Fortunately, through the innovation of medical devices, through the unbelievable entrepreneurial spirit, American medical device manufacturers have come up with prosthetic hips and joints and knees. And those innovations, those medical devices, were implanted in my sister's broken and disabled body, and she can walk because of that. Because of that, she can walk. And hundreds and thousands and even millions of Americans can walk because of the unbelievable innovation of medical device manufacturers. And this summer, my sister had to have a couple of hip revisions because it had been 15 years since her last hip replacement. So she had two surgeries and had hip revisions and new implants into her hips so that she could continue to function--disabled--but still function and do all the things she can do to serve her community and her family. Mr. Speaker, I tell these stories not because my family is unique. There's families all around this country sitting at home tonight who can tell stories just like the stories I told tonight about my father and the pacemaker that saved his life or my sister and the prosthetic joints that she now has that help her in her daily life. There are all kinds of stories like this. There's the story of Sheila that Congressman Young was talking about in the Hoosier State of Indiana. This has a human dimension to it. ObamaCare is bad policy for a lot of reasons, but on this particular reason we need to come together as a country. It was great to see friends on the other side of the aisle come and join us in the fight to repeal this job-killing medical device tax, which is really impairing the quality of life for so many Americans and has the potential to really suppress medical innovation that improves lives. I'll just conclude by saying this: in a note of bipartisan optimism in a time of conflict and divided government in Washington, the truth be told, there's no such thing as a Republican heart attack or a Democrat heart attack. There's no such thing as Republican arthritis or Democratic arthritis. The human condition is such that we face these challenges in our lives. And our loved ones and our families face these challenges in our life. So why on Earth would we support a policy in Washington, D.C., that limits the innovation that can better the human condition? And so that's what I would say in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, my friends and colleagues here tonight. Let's repeal this medical device tax, let's help American families all around this country, and let's help the human condition to make sure that they have the opportunity for health and achieve their potential. I appreciate the gentleman's leadership.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. I thank the gentleman, my friend from Ohio, for yielding and for organizing this Special Order on coal. This fall marks the fifth anniversary of the financial crisis. We remain burdened by a weak economic recovery, with unemployment still lingering above 7 percent, two-thirds of the American people living paycheck to paycheck, and only 58 percent of the working-age population in this country employed. But this does not seem to concern this President or this administration. Unable to wage a war in Syria due to immense public opposition, the President, for some reason, seems intent on conducting a war on jobs. Whether it's driving up the cost of health care with the disastrous Affordable Care Act or burdening community banks with mountains of bureaucratic red tape from the Dodd-Frank Act, this administration is seemingly intent on doing everything in its power to ensure this recovery remains slow and painful. The finalization of the New Source Performance Standards rules from the EPA for greenhouse gas emissions this week will represent the latest and perhaps the most damaging barrage in this war on jobs. This regulatory carbon tax is the keystone of a radical environmental agenda, the disastrous results of which are already known in my district of central and eastern Kentucky. The consequences of these regulations have echoed throughout the hills of Appalachia, and they will reverberate across the country in years to come. The New Source Performance Standards will finish the job that a deadlocked permitting process and multibillion-dollar regulations like Utility MACT have started: killing the coal industry and driving up the cost of energy, a top-line budget item for families already struggling to get by in this President's economy. But then, no one should be surprised. This is the one promise the President made and has kept. When running in 2008, President Obama, then Candidate Obama, said his policies would make the cost of electricity ``necessarily skyrocket.'' More recently, White House climate adviser Daniel Schrag recently admitted this administration's previously only thinly veiled position. Mr. Schrag said, famously now, ``a war on coal is exactly what's needed.'' Mr. Speaker, I can't think of another example of a Presidential administration pledging to put hardworking Americans in a centuries' old industry totally out of work, apparently for the crime of providing low-cost energy that drives the engine of our economy. The damage of these policies is already clear in Kentucky. Just yesterday, another 525 coal miners employed at three eastern Kentucky mines operated by the James River Coal Company were given pink slips. My heart goes out to these miners and to their families. And I have met some of these people. They're just trying to follow their ancestors by digging up a piece of the American Dream in the Appalachian foothills. Last month, the Commonwealth of Kentucky released statistics on the health of the coal industry for the second quarter of this year, and the story they tell is dire, even before yesterday's news of another 525 layoffs. Eastern Kentucky coal mines facing the brunt of this President's regulatory overreach shed another 851 jobs last quarter, leaving the total number of Kentucky employed at the mines at just 12,342. That is the lowest number since Kentucky began keeping such statistics in 1927. Eastern Kentucky coal production is down a whopping 41.4 percent in just the last 2 years. And with those reductions, we have lost over 5,700 mining jobs. And now the New Source Performance Standards will prohibit coal from even competing in the energy marketplace, even though the final regulations have now been delayed a year due to industry and public opposition, as so often before this administration has brushed those concerns aside and proceeded apace. The EPA even forecasts, given the regulatory environment, that there will be no new coal plants built after this year. Rather than phasing in rules to allow all types of fuel to adapt, these regulations on new and existing plants single out coal, stifling the promise of carbon capture in its crib, a technology that could have provided the United States with a revolutionary technology on the magnitude of hydraulic fracturing that could have changed the course and shape of our economy, driven exports, and paid real benefits in terms of carbon emissions reductions. Instead, the United States will endure unilateral economic disarmament while our international competitors continue to pursue growth-oriented energy policies. Over the next few years as these policies take hold, the rest of the country will be made aware of this disaster that is already taking place in Appalachia. Already, one-fifth of the Nation's coal-fired plants--204 plants across 25 States--closed between 2009 and 2012. The rest will shutter prematurely in the years following implementation of the New Source Performance Standards. Seven EPA regulations already proposed over the last 4 years are forecast to cost $16.7 billion annually once fully implemented. The New Source Performance Standards will trump even that figure, constituting the largest energy tax of all time implemented by regulatory fiat without the consent of the people's elected representatives in Congress. That's because this President's own party couldn't enact this radical environmental agenda through cap-and-trade in the first 2 years of this President's administration. The loss of 69,000 megawatts of coal-fired power will ripple through the economy, costing an estimated 887,000 jobs in the mining, utility, shipping, and manufacturing sectors per year. The President had pledged to spur growth in manufacturing, and low energy costs at home coupled with rising wages in countries like China and India promised to restore our competitive advantage in manufacturing. But the New Source Performance Standards will quickly put an end to those prospects. Mr. Speaker, the United States has 250 years' worth of coal reserves at current consumption rates that could, if utilized, provide affordable energy and high-tech manufacturing feedstocks. But the President isn't interested in playing this ace up America's sleeve. Instead, he wants to stay the course on a disastrous energy rationing policy that has already put thousands in the unemployment lines in my neck of the woods in Kentucky and all throughout central Appalachia and will put hundreds of thousands of more hardworking Americans there in the years to come. So I urge the President to abandon these disastrous, job-killing policies and to come to Congress to work on a plan that will relieve energy costs for our families. Put the American people back to work and protect the environment. Otherwise, this week's announcement of these New Source Performance Standards will demonstrate a willful denial of these ambitions and a ruthless attack on a centuries-old industry that has provided jobs and economic opportunity for thousands of Americans. I want to end my comments this evening by telling a story that illustrates the human cost and the human dimension of this administration's war on coal. In the eastern edge of my district sits a small town of Campton, Kentucky, in Wolfe County, Kentucky. When I was home during the August recess, I went there and had a town hall meeting to listen to the concerns of people who are struggling. I met a young woman by the name of Sally. She came up to me after a town hall meeting with tears welling up in her eyes. She looked at me and she said, my husband just lost his job in the coal mines--he's a coal miner. He lost his job because the Environmental Protection Agency would not issue a coal mining permit to his employer. As a result, they had to lay off all of the coal miners, including my husband--is what this woman told me. She said, Here's the problem: My children need to go back to school. It's August, and it's time to go back to school. They're growing up, and they don't have shoes, they've grown out of their shoes. And so I don't know what to do because we can't afford shoes. So I went ahead and bought them flip-flops so they wouldn't be embarrassed to go back to school. Imagine that, politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., putting this working family in central Appalachia in that kind of economic distress so that they can't even afford shoes for their children. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, a supporter of this administration or not, it is fundamentally wrong, it is fundamentally immoral for the Federal Government to put working American families into economic distress. So I call on my colleagues in Congress to stand firm and stand in opposition to this radical agenda, which is destroying jobs, destroying opportunity, and destroying the American Dream.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. I thank the gentleman from Texas for the opportunity to rise in support of this important amendment and to rise in support overall of the REINS Act, a critical tool in the battle against overregulation, which is destroying jobs. The gentleman from Georgia talked about whether or not regulations actually destroy jobs. Well, from my home State of Kentucky, I can tell you we've lost 5,700 coal mining jobs in east Kentucky as a result of this administration's overzealous overregulation of our coal industry. Small business owners from across Kentucky continually tell me that they want to create more jobs and grow their businesses. They want to help put food on the table, gas in the tank, and more money in the pockets of Kentucky families, who are hurting under this administration's war on coal. But costly and burdensome regulations coming out of unaccountable Federal agencies are raising their cost of doing business, leading to higher prices for consumers, fewer jobs for workers, and weakened American competitiveness. While Federal regulations wreak havoc on families in Kentucky, small businesses, and our overall economy, the unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats writing them are hiding behind the fact that they are not always required to fully analyze the impact their proposal will have on jobs. If you want to know about the impact of these regulations on jobs, come to eastern Kentucky and see those lost jobs.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 358, I was unavoidably detained and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' Stated against:

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the accomplishments of a Kentucky native, Aitkin Buckler, who will be the first inductee to the Bath County Agriculture Hall of Fame. Mr. Buckler was a lifelong tobacco and beef cattle farmer in Bath County, and was an agriculture leader in the community. He served as President and Vice President of the Bath County Farm Bureau Board, as well as President of the Bath County Cattleman's Board, and was an active member of both organizations for over 20 years. Additionally, Mr. Buckler volunteered on the Bath County Soil Conservation Board for 20 years while serving as vice-chair for seven years. Mr. Buckler recently passed away, but his contributions to Bath County remain. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in expressing our condolences to Mr. Buckler's family for their loss, but also join them in the celebration of a life well lived. I would also like to extend my personal gratitude to Mr. Buckler for all that he did to better our community and our Commonwealth.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. I thank the gentleman, and I appreciate the opportunity to address the President's Climate Action Plan that he unveiled yesterday and what this really means to my fellow Kentuckians and my fellow Americans all around this country. As you see from the exhibit right here, this is the quote from the President's climate adviser: A war on coal is exactly what's needed. While Kentuckians and Americans all around this country are suffering from high unemployment--in large part due to the 5,700 coal jobs lost over the past 2 years--yesterday, the President of the United States re-declared the war on coal. We know that 1 year ago, the President, through his New Source Performance Standards regulation, imposed an effective moratorium on coal-fired power plants coming online in the future. Yesterday, the President said that he wants to apply that moratorium to the existing coal-fired fleet. Mr. Speaker, my fellow Americans, the President's Climate Action Plan reveals a leader of our country who is woefully out of touch with the economic realities facing the American working family. Unemployment is still at 7.6 percent across this country; 5 consecutive years of unemployment higher than 7.5 percent. Five years in a row where the workforce participation rate--where the percentage of Americans who are of working age population are actually in the workforce--is only 58 percent. Fifty-eight percent of all working-age people in this country have jobs. That's all. That's 5 percent below the historic average of 63 percent. Twelve million Americans struggling to find work, wages falling for 5 consecutive years, three-quarters of Americans' paychecks are insufficient to get them by each and every week--they're living paycheck to paycheck. What does this President do? He declares a war, not just on coal, but the working families of America. And worse, he's doing it by making an end run around Congress. His own Democrat- controlled Congress in 2009 refused to pass his radical energy rationing scheme, cap-and-trade, through legislation. So now this President says, Well, Congress doesn't matter, and so I'm going to impose this on the American people through bureaucrats in the executive branch. Mr. President, you are not king. The Congress of the United States is the law-making body, and the unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch cannot do this without proper statutory authorization. That's why we need the REINS Act. That's why we need to rein in burdensome regulations. That's why we need to make sure that unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats in the executive branch don't seek to impose by fiat a regulatory apparatus that commands and controls the American energy future. This is a question about American energy freedom, a top-down command and control approach versus American energy diversity. The President wants to impose energy rationing, and we say let the American people decide what their energy sources should be. Half of all energy production in the United States in 2008 came from coal. Ninety percent of all electricity in my home State of Kentucky comes from coal. In 2012, however, only 37 percent of our electricity came from coal. This President wants to take that number down to 0 percent. So when the President's climate adviser says that he wants a war on coal, he means it. This is what I want to conclude with. This is not just about statistics about coal jobs lost or energy freedom or the fact that we've lost nine power units, coal-fired power units, in Kentucky in the last several years. This is about human beings. This is about people who have lost their jobs. This is about the President of the United States attacking a way of life. President Obama and his administration display a stunning lack of compassion. Not once in his remarks yesterday did we hear any recognition, any understanding of the suffering the administration's new proposals will inflict in the communities of central Appalachia, in the suffering of the communities that have already endured a disproportionate share of pain during the last few years. The President's climate action plan substitutes numbers and theories for flesh and blood. It presents climate change as a perpetual crisis justifying one regulation on top of another without any consideration of the cost to real people. How much is enough, Mr. President? Where does it all end? By the Obama administration's own admission, U.S. carbon emissions fell to the lowest level in two decades. The President, of all people, should read this statistic and conclude it's time for some breathing room, time to let the coal industry adjust, time to let people recover. But you don't offer breathing room in a war. In yesterday's New York Times, the White House climate adviser said a war on coal is exactly what we need. But this isn't just a war on an entire American industry; it's a war on coal miners and their families. And these coal miners, the 5,700 coal miners who have lost their jobs in eastern Kentucky over the last 4 years under this administration, they depend on those paychecks; their families depend on those paychecks. They don't have the political clout to attract this President's attention or concern, but they are Americans. What a dramatic shift from a half century ago when Presidents Kennedy and Johnson focused so much energy on alleviating poverty in the very same mountain counties the Obama administration is now ravaging with these heartless policies. Mr. President, if you truly care about people, come to eastern Kentucky. See what happens when $70,000-per-year jobs disappear overnight because of unaccountable bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. At least give us some consideration of that. Better yet, start working with the coal industry to address climate change concerns and stop trying to kill it. It's time this administration put people ahead of its radical ideology.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Royal Spring Middle School in Georgetown, Kentucky, and to congratulate them on being named one of the top performing middle grades schools in the country. Royal Springs Middle School will be recognized with 119 other high-performing schools from across the nation as a School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform at their annual conference June 27-30, 2013 in Arlington, Virginia. Through the Schools to Watch initiative, the National Forum identifies schools across the United States that are well on their way to meeting the Forum's criteria for high performance--schools that challenge all students academically, are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence, and provide every student with high-quality teachers, resources, and support. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in commending the Royal Spring Middle School for its commitment to its students and in congratulating the school on this well-deserved recognition. I would like to extend my personal appreciation to the Royal Spring Middle School for not only improving the lives of its students, but also bettering our Commonwealth.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, on rollcall No. 271, I was unavoidably detained with a constituent and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 43 Offered by Mr. McClintock

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is very simple. It would not overturn any existing crop insurance requirements, but it would simply give our family farmers, including those in Kentucky, particularly Burley tobacco growers, the time they need to adjust to future changes in crop insurance requirements. It would require that any changes to current crop insurance policies be published and open for public comment at least 60 days before June 30, and at least 60 days before November 30 of the preceding year. These dates are the self-imposed deadlines the risk management agency sets each year to announce any changes to existing policies for the ensuing crop season. I encourage my colleagues to support the amendment.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of an amendment, one to ensure certainty and advance notice of any changes to crop insurance eligibility for our family farmers. On December 18, 2012, the RMA made a decision to alter the 2013 provisions of insurance for flue-cured and burley tobacco to impose a more stringent rotation schedule on tobacco farmers. Starting this year, farms have to rotate land every 2 years to qualify for crop insurance coverage. Farmers had already made their preparations for spring planting at the time of this untimely announcement, and there was no public involvement or formal rule-making process. Many farmers had already purchased fertilizer, signed leases and made other business decisions under the impression that the land they were making preparations for would be covered under the previous requirements. Had these farmers been made aware in advance of these changes that rendered many ineligible for crop insurance coverage, they would have had sufficient time to make alternative plans. This amendment would prevent this problem for any commodity moving forward.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Chairman, we should explore the opportunity to produce industrial hemp here in the United States. This amendment would allow us to take a first step carefully and deliberately. It will allow research institutions in our States, including my home State of Kentucky, to grow industrial hemp for the purpose of agricultural research, helping provide the information we need to consider future expansion of production. Our States deserve this opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness and viability of this crop for our farmers. Kentucky was once the Nation's leading producer of industrial hemp. I encourage and support the passage of this amendment.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this Special Order this evening. This is a very important topic, and I applaud Mr. Collins and Mr. Yoho for forming the Freshman Working Group on Regulatory Reform. Regulatory reform is desperately needed in this country to get our economy back on track. We have seen persistent high unemployment in our country for the last 5 years. We got another bad jobs report just last week: 7.6 percent is the unemployment rate. But even more alarming than our persistent high unemployment rate is the fact that we have underemployment in this country. Only 58 percent of the American people who are eligible for employment who are of working-age population are actually employed. Only 58 percent. Yes, we have a high unemployment rate. Yes, it has been persistently over 7.5 percent for the last 5 years. But even more troubling is the fact that only 58 percent of working-age people in this country are employed. That is 5 percent below the average employment rate for working-age people prior to the recession, and that number has been static for the last 5 years. So the question we have to ask ourselves is why is this happening; why are the American people not getting back to work. Well, one of the primary impediments to economic recovery, to job growth, and job creation is the avalanche of new rules, regulations, and red tape coming out of Washington, all of which impose huge costs on businesses and create a destructive environment of uncertainty in the private sector. And it affects virtually every sector of our economy. It affects the health care sector with ObamaCare and the reams of regulations coming out of HHS. It affects the financial services industry with Dodd-Frank and all of the rulemakings. You know, Dodd- Frank authorizes over 400 new rules and regulations. A little more than half of those have been issued. According to certain estimates, compliance with those regulations equals about 24 million hours annually in man-hours to comply with the Dodd-Frank rules and regulations. To put that in perspective, 20 million man-hours was what was required to build the Panama Canal. This is literally an avalanche of rules and regulations crushing our financial institutions and impeding access to credit for entrepreneurs and small businesses. It's affecting the energy sector where environmental regulations are destroying jobs. In my home State, the coal industry has been devastated by the EPA's assault on the coal industry through over-regulation of the energy sector. In most countries that conduct mining activities, about 2 years is the average length of time for a regulator to review an application for mining. In the United States today, it takes 7 years for EPA regulators just to review and approve a surface mining permit. So this backlog and this overregulation of mining activities is resulting in massive layoffs. Mining in central Appalachia is at its lowest production level since 1965. We've lost 4,000 coal mining jobs in just the last couple of years in eastern Kentucky as a result of the EPA's overzealous overregulation of the coal industry. Yes, it's driving utility rates higher. Yes, it is certainly bad in terms of low-cost electricity for our manufacturers and small businesses and our seniors on fixed income, but it's also costing jobs. And it's having a negative impact on all of those people whose paychecks take care of their families. We talked about the impact on health care. I had an administrator of a local small hospital in central Kentucky tell me that it used to be that they took care of patients. Today they take care of paper. A small banker, community banker in eastern Kentucky told me that it used to be, in the community banking business, that they would provide loans and make a business decision based on the creditworthiness of the borrower, whether it was a farmer or a small business owner or an entrepreneur. Today, this banker says that the government makes that decision for them because of the avalanche of new rules and regulations. There's another important dimension to this in addition to impeding economic recovery, and that's our Constitution. For the last 80 years, the growth of the administrative state has been a huge detractor from the original meaning of our Constitution. It has been offensive to the separation of powers doctrine. And one need only look to article I, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which simply reads: All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, the word ``all'' should be recognized as granting the Congress exclusive legislative power. And yet, for the last 80 years, as the administrative state has grown in Washington, the Congress has delegated its lawmaking powers to unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch. And so what we need to do in Congress is we need to rehabilitate what's known as the nondelegation doctrine, the idea that Congress shouldn't delegate away its lawmaking powers to another branch of the government. In the last several years, we've seen a dramatic growth in the regulatory burden on the private economy. The pages in the Code of Federal Regulations hit an all-time high of 174,000 pages in 2012. That's an increase of more than 21 percent during the last decade. In 2012, the cost of Federal rules exceeded $1.8 trillion, roughly equal to the gross domestic product of Canada, which is about $1.81 trillion, and India, $1.82 trillion. The regulatory burden cost each U.S. household approximately $14,768, meaning that red tape is now the second largest item in the typical family budget after housing. And in 2012, 4,062 Federal regulations were at various stages of implementation. The government completed work on 1,172, an increase of 16 percent over the 1,010 that the Feds imposed in 2011, which was a 40 percent increase over the 722 in 2010. And another measure of the regulatory burden, the pages in the Federal Register. By that measure, the Obama administration did not break the all-time record of 81,405 pages it set in 2010. But the 78,961 pages it churned out in 2012 mean that the President has posted three of the four greatest paperwork years on record. Mr. Speaker, this avalanche of red tape is strangling American economic recovery. It is an offense to the Constitution of the United States, and it lacks all common sense. For the sake of the U.S. Constitution, for the sake of economic recovery, for the sake of common sense, and for the sake of the American people who are suffering in one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, we need to rein in burdensome regulations.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Whayne Supply Company in Lexington, Kentucky, and to congratulate them on their 100 Year Anniversary. Whayne Supply Company, headquartered in Louisville, was founded by Roy C. Whayne, Sr. in 1913. He was the only employee during the company's infancy, and sold items such as light engines, pumps, and bicycles. Twelve years later, he began what would become a very long- term relationship with Caterpillar, and today the company employs over 1,300 people, operating 15 facilities in 12 cities in Kentucky and Indiana. Whayne Supply Company is well-known for its equipment sales, rental and service offerings throughout Kentucky, but is also contributes to our Commonwealth in other ways. Whayne Supply has installed and services power stations and generators at medical centers to ensure that power is supplied to the hospital during power outages, and provides the same service to broadcasting stations so that these radio stations can continue to operate during power outages. Whayne Supply also supplies and services hybrid school buses throughout the state. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Whayne Supply Company on 100 years of successful business. I would also like to extend my personal appreciation to the Whayne Supply Company and all of its employees for all that they have done and continue to do for our community our the Commonwealth.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, in honor of National Bourbon Day, I rise to celebrate Kentucky's signature spirit. Kentucky's signature bourbon industry has enjoyed significant growth domestically and abroad, creating billions of dollars in economic activity and over 9,000 jobs, including thousands in the legendary distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Unlike vodka or gin, bourbon is required by law to be stored for at least 2 years in charred white oak barrels. However, bourbon distillers are unable to deduct their expenses during that unique aging process, placing them at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. This week, I introduced a bipartisan Aged Distilled Spirits Competitiveness Act, which would amend the Tax Code to fix this inequality and help level the playing field for Kentucky's signature bourbon industry. American products can successfully compete with any in the world. This House is working overtime to enact policies that will promote American competitiveness, remove barriers to job creation, and spur this Nation's economy. I am confident that, with the right tax policy, we will produce even more growth and job creation for the people of Kentucky.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the American Cancer Society and the Relay For Life of Jessamine County, and to thank these organizations for their work in the fight against cancer. In May 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington, ultimately raising $27,000 to help the American Cancer Society fight the nation's biggest health concern-- cancer. A year later, 340 supporters joined the overnight event. Since those first steps, the Relay For Life movement has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, raising more than $4 billion to fight cancer. The Relay For Life of Jessamine County, Kentucky was formed in 1997, and over the last 16 years has raised over $800,000 toward the fight against cancer. These organizations work to create a world where cancer will no longer threaten our loved ones like Abrielle, a three year old who was diagnosed in October of 2012 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She is currently being treated at the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are with Abrielle and her parents, Matt and Lacy, during this difficult time. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in expressing our support for Abrielle and her family, and in commending the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life for their contributions to the fight against cancer. I would also like to extend my personal appreciation to the Relay For Life of Jessamine County for all that they have done to better our community and our Commonwealth.