John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. No, I will not yield. The amendment is very narrowly drawn, Mr. Chairman, so that it only affects my district. I wrote this amendment because it says that no money can be spent on rail in my district. In the boundaries of District Seven, which is west of Shepherd on Richmond, and on Post Oak, north of Richmond and south Post Oak, those lines are entirely in my district. The people of my district--I have polled them--oppose this line, and 80 percent of the folks who own property or who live or work on those two streets don't want it. The voters did not approve the line on Richmond. It was not on the ballot. The people on Post Oak do not want it. It will destroy The Galleria. Mr. Poe is advocating for the construction of rail on Richmond and Post Oak, which will destroy those two streets. The Richmond line is not approved by the voters, and the Post Oak line will destroy that area. Houston METRO has no money to build it. They can't afford it. There is no money in this bill or in any other bill to pay for these lines. In fact, for the lines that have been approved by the voters, METRO is building a rail line on the east side of town, which I support, because the voters approved it. The local transit authority is spending $3,000 an inch to build a rail line on the east side of Houston. This is a waste of money. We simply cannot afford it. That is why the Citizens Against Government Waste opposes Mr. Poe's amendment. That is why Americans for Tax Reform opposes Mr. Poe's amendment. That is why the National Taxpayers Union opposes Mr. Poe's amendment. The Club for Growth opposes Mr. Poe's amendment because it is amendments like this-- those attempting to force us to spend money we don't have on projects we don't want--that are completely unnecessary, of which the voters did not approve and that are going to bankrupt this Nation. Imagine if you did not want to build a pool in your backyard but that your next-door neighbor had the deed restrictions changed to force you to build a pool in your backyard. That is exactly what this amendment is. This amendment affects only my district. I am doing my job as their Representative to protect my constituents' quality of life and to protect their pocketbooks against a rail line that we cannot afford and that nobody wants and that voters did not approve. That is why I am proud to have the help and support of Chairman Latham and of the ranking member, Mr. Pastor. Americans for Tax Reform, the National Taxpayers Union, Club for Growth, and Citizens Against Government Waste are all in opposition to this amendment as are the people whom I represent. I am very disappointed and disheartened that my friend Mr. Poe would stand up and offer this amendment and call the Katy Freeway a concrete monstrosity. The Katy Freeway is my pride and joy. The first thing I did when I got elected to Congress was to get the Katy Freeway built without a single earmark and without any new Federal money. We got it built in 5 years and 3 months, and it went from eight lanes to 22 lanes. The economic growth on the west side has ballooned because of the Katy Freeway, and that freeway is moving more cars in less time and at more savings to taxpayers than is any other transportation project in the history of Houston. I am proud of the Katy Freeway. I am immensely proud to represent my district. This amendment and the language in the bill affect only my district and are in complete conformity with the voters' decision in 2003. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing Mr. Poe's amendment and vote ``no.'' I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for joining me in the opposition of this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, in years to come, when history books look back and ask the question why America went bankrupt, they are going to look at my colleague Ted Poe's amendment as exhibit A. It is very unfortunate that my friend and fellow Texan (Mr. Poe), who has until today portrayed himself as a fiscal conservative, would offer an amendment to force the people of my district to spend money we don't have on a project we don't want and that is unaffordable, unnecessary, and unapproved by the voters. These are my constituents, and it has no effect on Mr. Poe's district or on anyone else's district.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank General Eric Shinseki for his service to the Nation, as an Army general, as Secretary of the VA, and I am glad that he made the right decision today in accepting responsibility for these terrible systemic problems that we have seen throughout the VA that the inspector general has confirmed extend throughout the entire system of veterans being forced to wait for health care. It is an absolutely unacceptable situation, and General Shinseki has done the right thing by accepting responsibility as the man in charge. I urge him and the mid-level and upper-level leadership of the VA to do the right thing as well and accept responsibility. We need to see these veterans given access to health care immediately. Every one of them is on a waiting list that has kept them from access to doctors, and they need to immediately be put into a private hospital in the VA system as quickly and as humanly possible. The Congress has given the VA all the money they need, all the authority they need, to do their job to make sure these men and women who have served our Nation and defended our freedom get access to the best medical care in the world. I want to make sure the VA understands that the Congress is going to continue to do everything that needs to be done to ensure those veterans are taken care of.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. If I could ask the gentleman to confine his remarks to whether or not his amendment changes existing law.

Mr. CULBERSON. Reclaiming my time, I join the chairman in strong opposition to this amendment. The last thing we need to do is take resources away from our men and women in uniform on the front line defending us, enforcing our laws. The date that the chairman mentioned, April 19, 1995, it is important to remember that was the Oklahoma City bombing, when a lot of law enforcement officers lost their lives in Oklahoma City. I urge all Members to oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chair, I wish to reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chairman, I make a point of order against the Grayson amendment on the ground that it constitutes legislation in an appropriation bill in violation of clause 2 of rule XXI. The amendment does seek to change existing statutory law in a bill designed to appropriate money by amending an existing provision, adding the word ``or incest'' to the list of exceptions contained in the statute. Making a determination whether incest has occurred is not currently required by this statutory provision and would result in a requirement that the new determination be made. So, therefore, the amendment falls outside of the standard of ``merely perfecting'' precisely because it requires a new determination that is not required under the current provision. The amendment expands the universe of exceptions, Madam Chairman, provided for in this section, and the existing determinations of whether the life of the mother is in danger or there has been a rape do not provide the information that would allow the determination that incest has occurred. As a result, the amendment violates clause 2 of rule XXI which states: ``An amendment to a general appropriations bill shall not be in order if changing existing law.'' I ask for a ruling from the Chair.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to engage in a colloquy with my chairman.

Mr. CULBERSON. Yes, I would be glad to reserve the point of order.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chairman, I do insist on the point of order and ask the Chair for a ruling.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON. Parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chairman, when I was first assigned to the Appropriations Committee, I asked specifically to serve on the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Committee because of my passion for the sciences, for NASA, for law enforcement, but especially to serve alongside Frank Wolf. I have come to know Frank Wolf as a model public servant. He is someone who always does the right thing for the right reasons, and the country is generally going to miss this good man. I can't think of a single issue that we have dealt with in this bill that Frank hasn't been the first to see the problem approaching over the horizon--he has recognized from the beginning. When we took the majority several years ago, Chairman Wolf, Chairman Rogers, all of us in the majority, as fiscal conservatives, recognized the urgent need to prioritize our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars and target them on those areas that are the highest priority for our Nation. This bill, as Chairman Rogers said, is a true reflection of Frank Wolf's priorities, the fact that it is one that we are all able to work on together, without regard to party labels, because we found common ground. One of the great joys of serving on this committee is to find so many areas where we are able to work together and find areas of agreement when it comes to the sciences or law enforcement. The work that Chairman Wolf has done, for example, in protecting persecuted Christians and religious minorities around the world, this committee, all of us, Democrat and Republican alike, have been there to support him. Chairman Wolf was one of the first to spot the problem of cyber crime coming primarily out of Communist China. Frank was one of the very first to ring the firebell and warn us of the dangers of the People's Liberation Army and the cyber attacks on this Nation and on private industry. We have now recognized the scope of that problem, and it is because of Frank Wolf's leadership that we are in a position to fight it. Frank Wolf has led the way in strengthening the FBI and their war on terrorism and fighting human slavery around the world in this bill and in previous bills to help local law enforcement agencies clean up the backlog of rape kits, preventing abuse in our prisons, preventing the release of Guantanamo terrorists into the United States, Frank Wolf has led the way. It was Chairman Wolf's bill to create the Select Committee on Benghazi. Anywhere he sees a problem and genuinely recognizes in his heart of hearts that that is something that is for the good of the Nation, he has been fearless about stepping forward and dealing with it. In the area of the sciences, we see Chairman Wolf's leadership in increasing funding for the National Science Foundation and NASA and NOAA. The country will miss you, Chairman Wolf, and I thank you for your service to the people of America and the people of Virginia.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment, because as the Congress has learned today in the VA inspector general's report, quoting directly from that report: The inspector general's review at a growing number of VA medical facilities has confirmed that inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout veterans health administration. To date, our work has substantiated serious conditions at the Phoenix health care system. And as my colleague said, they have initiated reviews at 42 others. They have already identified an additional 1,700 veterans waiting for primary care appointments but who were not on the electronic waiting list. Until that happens, the inspector general states, the wait time is not even started. This report is deeply, deeply disturbing, and as it comes to those individuals, my good friend from Pennsylvania is correct, there are no conclusions yet drawn about whether or not anyone died as a result of being denied access to the VA because the inspector general doesn't have enough evidence yet. As he says in the report: We are not reporting the results of our clinical reviews as to whether or not someone may have as a result of a delay died or been adversely affected while on a waiting list. To quote the inspector general: These assessments need to draw conclusions based on analysis of medical records, death certificates, and autopsy results. We have made requests to appropriate State agencies and issued subpoenas to obtain those records. They are gathering the information. The gentleman's amendment is an attempt to add additional funding to the Department of Justice to pursue criminal investigations and pursue criminal charges. I sincerely hope that that does not come to pass, but we have a report right in front of us today that tells us it is headed in that direction. The inspector general has said in this, again, preliminary report, they find that inappropriate scheduling practices are a systemic problem nationwide in the Veterans Affairs Department. It is just appalling and unacceptable. The VA staff at two VA medical facilities deleted consults without full consideration of the impact to patients. Multiple schedulers described to us a process they use that essentially overrides appointments to reduce the reported waiting times. The inspector general found out that at the Phoenix health care center certain audit controls were not even enabled. This limited the ability of the Veterans Affairs Department and the inspector general to determine whether any malicious manipulation of the electronic medical records occurred. Somebody turned off--or didn't even turn on--the audit controls that would allow a criminal investigation to determine whether or not there was a malicious intent. This is outrageous. It is unacceptable. As chairman of the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee I assure you that our subcommittee--I know Chairman Miller and your subcommittee and the United States Congress--is going to devote every resource, every tool, every asset at our disposal to assure veterans are given immediate access to health care. They have earned it. They deserve it. They are going to get right in immediately, whether it is a VA hospital or another hospital. We are going to fix this problem and make sure that those that are on the waiting list are taken care of immediately. And those who have been denied care--God forbid somebody died as a result of being denied care--that is going to result in criminal charges, which is what the gentleman's amendment is intended to do--to make sure the Attorney General has the resources to follow the facts where they may lead. We need to be careful to follow the facts. But I am quoting directly from the report. This is absolutely unacceptable. It is outrageous. This is the opportunity during this debate on this bill to add additional resources to the Attorney General's office so they can hire the investigators and attorneys that are necessary--when this inspector general's report is final--to pursue criminal charges, if they are merited. So I strongly support the gentleman's amendment. This is another arrow in our quiver to do everything in our power to protect the health and well-being of the men and women of this country who have served us so well in defending our freedom and our prosperity. I urge all of us to support the chairman's amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. We have presented this piece of legislation to the House in a bipartisan fashion. We have got unanimous support for it. This is one of those areas where we have an honest but earnest philosophical disagreement. This is something my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Moran), has been pursuing over the years, but it is, again, something the constituents I represent, the folks of Texas, I know oppose the idea of giving constitutional rights to enemy soldiers captured on foreign battlefields, especially these cowardly terrorists who hide behind women and children and launch sneak attacks against our men and women in uniform. We have asked the Congressional Research Service to attempt to tell us when, if ever, constitutional rights have been granted to enemy soldiers captured on foreign battlefields. The Congressional Research Service tells us the only example they can find is Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, who was captured during the Bush 41 administration and brought to trial in Florida. The individuals at Guantanamo Bay are the most dangerous, radical individuals that have been captured during the war on terror. These folks are extremely dangerous. Any evidence that has been gathered, for example, even if they were to be transferred to the United States and given a criminal trial under the Constitution, which I strenuously object to, but even if they were brought to the United States and put on trial, how would any of the evidence gathered against them in Guantanamo be used to convict them? So this presents unsurmountable problems and is a divisive issue that is going to cause a tremendous amount of disagreement among the Members of Congress on a bill that has enjoyed unanimous and enthusiastic support from everyone in this body to make sure that our veterans and our men and women in uniform are taken care of. It is essential that this amendment be defeated in order to make sure that enemy soldiers are not given the protections of the United States Constitution. It is fundamentally something I strenuously disagree with, as do my constituents, and I urge the Members of this House to reject this amendment. And I hope to also have the support of the people of Georgia in opposing this amendment as well. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I want to be sure to acknowledge and thank my friend, Mr. Cuellar, from Laredo. We have been good friends and served together in the Texas House. I am sure he remembers the appropriations committee in the Texas House. And we understand the value of the power of the purse. We are indeed using the power of the purse to achieve the goals that Mr. Cuellar has just mentioned, that is, ensuring the claims backlog is dealt with and that the Department of Defense and the VA have an interoperable medical record. There really is no more powerful check and balance that the legislative branch has over the executive branch than the power of the purse, which originates in the House. Article 1, section 9 says that no money may be drawn from the Treasury, except by appropriations. We are working together arm-in-arm, just as we did in the Texas House, in support of our veterans and military. In fact, we also have found great common ground when it comes to law enforcement on the border, something that his folks in Laredo have a keen interest in: safe streets, good schools, a strong economy. And that all begins with law enforcement. I want to thank the gentleman from Laredo because it has been a pleasure working with him on so many of these good issues. We could have not gotten to this spot, Mr. Chairman, without the help of the committee staff. We have got an extraordinary group of people who have made this possible. The Appropriations Committee is blessed to have had professionals here who have helped us for years. I want to particularly thank Donna Shabazz, Sue Quantius, and Sarah Young, and make sure that we also recognize the extraordinary contributions by Matt Washington and Tracey Russell. This has really been a team effort. It is an extraordinary complex piece of legislation to ensure that not only the money that our taxpayers have worked so hard to earn is wisely spent, but that the agencies that are the beneficiaries of these hard-earned tax dollars understand that with the receipt of this money comes the obligation to ensure that it is spent wisely. We are going to continue with aggressive oversight. When it comes to oversight, Mr. Chairman, I also want to mention that we are going to have an amendment later today by the Congresswoman from Phoenix to deal with this really deeply concerning situation that we have seen arise in the Phoenix VA where you have got a doctor claiming that folks have lost their lives. They were unable to get access to the medical care they have earned from their medical service at the Phoenix hospital. That is another way to enforce the law. With additional funding, we are going to use the inspector general's office to investigate this and find out what is actually going on. In that case, if there has been deliberate or intentional refusal to admit veterans to the VA hospital in Phoenix, there are going to be criminal charges. Certainly, our heart goes out to those families in Phoenix. We are all committed to make sure that any veteran, any member of the military who has served this country, has immediate access to the best medical care in the world. And that is why this is such a bipartisan bill and one that we offer to the House today, arm-in-arm. Both the gentleman from Georgia and the people of Texas that I represent were pleased to present this to the House and encourage the Members to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I join Mr. Bishop in urging the House to approve this legislation, and I agree with him wholeheartedly about making sure that any check--any check that our veterans have earned doesn't ever come back with insufficient funds. It is one of the fundamental obligations of the Federal Government to ensure that our veterans are taken care of, they are given everything they need while they serve and they are in uniform, but then also that they are given access to the best medical care the country can provide to them once they enter into the private sector. We have, in this legislation, given everything that the veterans have asked us for. We have made sure that the VA is fully funded, but we are using the power of the purse to ensure that the law is obeyed. We are making sure that our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars are spent wisely and frugally and carefully and that they actually reach the veterans who need them the most. We are in an extraordinary era, Mr. Chairman. Survival rates are higher than they have ever been for our men and women in uniform. If they are lucky enough to survive their initial injury and make it to an aid station, the survival rate is in excess of 98, 99 percent. It is absolutely extraordinary, the blessings of modern medicine. The work that the VA has been doing in prosthetics and helping these young men and women recover from their injuries is extraordinary. This is our first obligation as a government, is to ensure that the men and women who make it possible for us to be here in a free society and debate legislation like this, that they are given everything that they have earned by their service to the country. An important part of this is to be sure that we are also talking to our constituents about the budget problems that lie ahead of us and the importance of making sure that the social safety net, the social safety net that is out there--Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid--those programs remain solvent. They are, right now, headed into bankruptcy, and we have got to make sure that we deal with those bigger problems for the longer term, so that we can continue to fully fund the needs of our veterans and our men and women in uniform. It truly has been a privilege for me to work on this subcommittee with my friend from Georgia (Mr. Bishop). The State of Georgia and the State of Texas--I feel a special kinship with the people of Georgia because they have a commitment to the military that is commensurate to that of the people of Texas. We both admire our men and women in uniform immensely, and this is a piece of legislation that our folks back home, Mr. Chairman, may not see much disagreement, but that is because we are, all of us, so strongly in support of making sure that our men and women in uniform can focus on their mission and protect this Nation with complete peace of mind. I urge all the Members of the House to support this legislation which is presented to them by the unanimous vote of the subcommittee and the full committee. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield the gentleman such time as he may consume.