John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. I appreciate the time. We in the fiscally conservative minority, Mr. Chairman, are focused on jobs. Every day that we are here, we are working to make sure we protect job growth in this Nation, and we have correctly identified this bill as a job-killing bill. And the reason is very straightforward. Just let me walk you through it. In Texas alone, we have 470,000 jobs either directly or indirectly related to the petrochemical refining industry. In Louisiana next door, they have got about another half million jobs. Now, the EPA has for many years, they are looking to try to change, for example, a bleaching process in the paper industry that would cost up to $200 million. The EPA has also tried to switch a refining process in the petrochemical industry from hydrochloric acid to sulfuric acid. That can be just as dangerous in a terrorist attack, but requires 250 times more acid to achieve the same result and will cost between $45 million and $150 million per refinery to convert to the sulfuric acid process, with an increase in operating costs between 200 and 400 percent. I apologize for my voice, but I was participating in the rally outside the Capitol of people who came here today concerned about the job-killing effect of that health care bill that I share their concern and their opposition over, and wore my voice out. But we in Texas understand the importance of protecting these facilities from terrorist attacks, and that is not our concern. We are concerned about the bureaucracy this bill creates. But let me very quickly just read from the bill, Mr. Chairman. Let's look at the definitions. If you look at the definition of chemical facility, that is any facility that contains a substance of concern. When you look at the definition of the environment, you will see right away that means the waters, navigable water or saltwater, contiguous to the United States. And one of our biggest concerns in this legislation, you will find it buried on page 95. ``The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator,'' I am quoting directly from the bill, ``may designate any chemical substance as a substance of concern and shall establish a threshold quantity for the release of the substance, and if that substance has any serious adverse effect on the environment, the EPA administrator can shut it down.'' This is not a safety provision for protecting us against terrorist attacks. This is a straightforward environmentalist piece of legislation designed to give the EPA authority that they do not currently have. This chart shows the Houston ship channel, which my friend Gene Green represents. There are tens of thousands of jobs that are reliant on the petrochemical refining industry along the Houston ship channel. This map shows southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas between Baton Rouge and Corpus Christi, Texas. Almost half of the Nation's petrochemical refining capacity is concentrated in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. They are doing a far better job today in protecting the environment and in protecting against terrorist attacks. We have already got legislation on the books that Mr. Barton mentioned that is costing about $18 billion to implement to protect against terrorist attacks. I would ask the majority, it makes no sense for this Congress to pass legislation today that would so clearly kill jobs. According to the National Association of Manufacturing, this bill will kill tens of thousands of jobs in the petrochemical refining industry across this Nation. When we have already got legislation on the books to protect against terrorist attacks, why would this Congress pass legislation which so obviously will kill jobs, which so clearly, here it is on page 95 in clear English, is directed at giving the administrator of the EPA the ability to designate any chemical they want as a threat to the environment.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, this may be the most important vote, the most important debate we will ever engage in as Members of Congress. We are at a turning point in this country. Under this liberal Congress, this liberal President, Congress has moved to take over so many aspects of American life, there is not much left. The one piece they really want control over is our health care. From cradle to grave, the government will decide what procedures you get, how much the doctor will be paid, and when the doctor can do it. That puts the doctor in control of our health care system. At a time of record debt and deficit, with a deficit over a trillion and a half dollars, with a national debt over $12 trillion, The Wall Street Journal editorial--and if you don't read anything else, I would encourage people to read yesterday's Wall Street Journal editorial which points out in an analysis you can document, they have carefully researched Pelosi's health care bill which she unwrapped last Thursday, may well be the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced. In a rational political world, this 1,900-page runaway train would have been derailed months ago.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, the people in Texas that I represent oppose the Pelosi-Obama government takeover health care bill by a margin of 77 percent because we understand in Texas that our health care system needs a tune-up, not a trade-in. We need to focus, as the conservative minority has, on reducing the cost of health insurance and making it affordable and portable. We, in the conservative minority, the temporary minority, have authored legislation that will make insurance portable across State lines, that will bring down the cost of health insurance by enacting tort reforms nationwide to protect doctors from frivolous litigation as we did in Texas. In Texas, we adopted tort reform, and the cost of health insurance dropped for all Texans, and about 400,000 additional Texans got health insurance who could not before. We need to make sure that the greatest health care system ever created in the history of the world is protected, that we protect the doctor-patient relationship. Let's focus on reducing the cost of health insurance, making it affordable and portable. Give our health care system a tune-up, not a trade-in.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Never before in our history have American soldiers had to worry about protecting the chain of evidence. Never before in history have American soldiers had to worry about whether or not they were reading the Miranda rights to enemy soldiers captured on foreign battlefields. Now, this bill makes that explicit. In fact, Chairman Obey's fact sheet that he has issued on his Web site says this bill prohibits the transfer of Guantanamo detainees except for legal proceedings. Now, anyone standing in a U.S. court in front of a U.S. judge is given all the protections of the U.S. Constitution. Now, that is what concerns me more than anything else is that we are explicitly changing--this is a monumental change in American policy. We cannot and should not burden our soldiers in the field with having to worry about the U.S. constitutional rights of enemy soldiers. Do you think Sergeant York read Miranda warnings or was worried about the constitutional rights of the Germans that he captured during World War I? Do you think that the brave men who landed on Omaha Beach were worried about the constitutional rights of the Nazis at Omaha Beach or Normandy? I mean, this is an extremely important point that we have to raise, and we need to make sure that all the Members of the House are aware of it.

Mr. CULBERSON. I want to thank Chairman Price. The members of our subcommittee have a good personal working relationship. One of the things I enjoy most about this wonderful committee on appropriations is that there are no real partisan differences between us. We always work together for the good of the country. We have always worked together without regard to our party label. And this subcommittee, in particular, is one that has worked well together to protect the country from a very severe terrorist threat that we know we all face since 9/11. I want to thank the chairman and our ranking member for the support that this committee has given to our Border Patrol; for Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding; for Operation Stone Garden, a very successful program that allows cooperation between local law enforcement agencies on the border and our border patrol. That program has been a great success. My good friends Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar, we've worked together very successfully in Texas in implementing Stone Garden, as well as a program called Operation Streamline that the country needs to know is working very well. If you cross the Texas border between Lake Amistad and Zapata County, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, you will be deported. And as a result, the crime rate has dropped by over 70 percent in Del Rio. We've seen a 60 percent drop in the crime rate in the Laredo sector. The local community, which is 96 percent Hispanic, loves this program. What mom or dad wouldn't like their streets safer? As a result of simply using existing law and a little additional resources and using the good judgment, the good sense and the good hearts of uniformed law enforcement officers on the border, we have secured the border in Texas, and with the help of the chairman and the committee members, we're working to expand that up and down the border. There are many great, good things about this bill, but one very serious concern that I have that Mr. Rogers has already expressed is that this bill puts into law a policy that has never, in the history of this country, been followed, and that is that as soon as the President issues a plan to Congress for the disposition of the prisoners in Guantanamo, 45 days after the President submits that plan, this bill explicitly authorizes the prosecution of enemy soldiers in U.S. courts. Now, that's unprecedented. And my good friend Mr. Ruppersberger, whom I've worked with before on so many good causes, we all in this House voted to make sure that we would not bring enemy soldiers to the U.S. for prosecution, giving them all the constitutional rights as if they were captured on the streets of New York or Los Angeles. We voted not to bring these prisoners from Guantanamo to be incarcerated in U.S. jails. The security question is one thing, but the one that really concerns me is the fact that this bill gives explicit authorization. For the first time in American history, we will, if we pass this legislation as it is, be authorizing what we now know is going to be the policy of this President for U.S. soldiers, for the first time in history, to be police officers. Our soldiers in the field, in addition to trying to protect themselves and their friends, are going to have----

Mr. CULBERSON. In fact, during the subcommittee hearing, during the conference committee meeting, my good friend, the chairman, Mr. Price, made it clear that this is the policy of the majority that's going to bring these--you'll want to bring these enemy soldiers to the United States to be prosecuted in U.S. courts. That means that these enemy soldiers will be clothed in the protection of the U.S. Constitution. That means that enemy soldiers, these terrorists, can lawyer up at U.S. taxpayer expense. They're going to be given Miranda warnings. U.S. soldiers are going to have to protect the chain of evidence, just like a police officer on the streets of Los Angeles or New York, and make sure that the chain of evidence is protected, that all their rights are protected, and that we have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these enemy soldiers committed whatever it is crime that they're going to be prosecuted for. Let me remind the Congress that in 1942 a number of German terrorists landed on the beaches of Long Beach and in Florida. In June of 1942, they were prosecuted in military tribunals--the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that's the proper way to handle enemy soldiers captured on a foreign battlefield--and they were executed by the end of August 1942. It is unacceptable to put this burden on U.S. soldiers. It's a monumental and unacceptable change in American policy. We cannot let enemy soldiers lawyer up at taxpayer expense.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chair, on rollcall 711 I was unable to record my vote. I intended to vote ``aye'' on that question.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, Pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, the FY 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act: Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University; 6100 Main Street, MS 603; Houston, TX 77005 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $5,000,000 to the Alliance for NanoHealth. This project will support collaborative research to advance nanomedicine, which has the potential to provide significant medical breakthroughs in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 169; Houston, TX 77030 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,000,000 to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. This project will support equipment, supplies and production at the Center for Cancer Immunology, a center utilizing innovation in immunotherapies and vaccinations to cure cancer. In the near future, the center will vaccinate children and adults against Leukemia. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Air Force Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University; 6100 Main Street, MS 603; Houston, TX 77005 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 for the Carbon Nano-Materials Advanced Aerospace Applications project to dramatically improve the efficiency of electrical systems used by the Air Force and in the longer term, to help make America energy independent. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Methodist Hospital System; 8060 El Rio; Houston, TX 77054 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 for the Nano-imaging Agents for Early Disease Detection project to support the research and creation of nano-imaging agents for early disease detection. Nano-imaging agents are safely injected into a patient and provide a three-dimensional image, creating a ``night vision'' that lights up tissue changes and cell anomalies and enabling more accurate diagnostics. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: CureSearch; 4600 East West Highway, Suite 600; Bethesda, MD 20814 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,000,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research and Clinical Trials project to support pediatric cancer clinical care trials throughout the nation. Clinical trials have significantly increased the cancer cure rate for children from less than 10 percent in the 1950s to over 80 percent today.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3183, the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Construction General account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Harris County Flood Control District at 9900 Northwest Freeway, Suite 220, Houston, TX 77092. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $11,018,000 to the Harris County Flood Control District. It is my understanding that the funding would be used for construction of a flood damage reduction project along Brays Bayou in Harris County, Texas. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Investigations account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Harris County Flood Control District at 9900 Northwest Freeway, Suite 220, Houston, TX 77092. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $100,000 to the Harris County Flood Control District. It is my understanding that the funding would be used for construction of a flood damage reduction project along White Oak Bayou in Harris County, Texas. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Investigations account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Harris County Flood Control District at 9900 Northwest Freeway, Suite 220, Houston, TX 77092. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $100,000 for the Harris County Flood Control District. It is my understanding that the funding would be used for oversight of a flood damage reduction project aimed at reducing the loss of life, injury, and property destruction in the Buffalo Bayou in Harris County, Texas. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Construction General account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Port Authority of Houston, P.O. Box 2562, Houston, TX 77252. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for the Port Authority of Houston. It is my understanding that the funding would be used to add capacity for dredged material disposal sites along the Channel. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Operations and Maintenance account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Port Authority of Houston, P.O. Box 2562, Houston, TX 77252. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $15,063,000 for the Port Authority of Houston. It is my understanding that the funding would be used for operations and maintenance of the Channels, including dredging activities.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend Mr. Barton and also Mr. Green from Houston. We, all of us, in Texas take great pride in representing Continental Airlines. It's an extraordinary group of people, dynamic individuals who have created one of the best airlines in the Nation. Even though they have been through bankruptcy twice, Mr. Speaker, they have shown what is one of the greatest attributes of what it means to be an American, which is how you conduct yourself when you pick yourself up, get back on your feet and get back to work. The people at Continental have emerged from bankruptcy as one of, again, the best airlines in the Nation. Their consumer satisfaction rating has always been among the very best in the Nation as well as their on-time status. They have, I think, set a gold standard for the Nation. It's a source of great pride for me to represent the headquarters of Continental, and all of those fine people deserve the thanks of the Nation. Air travel is such an essential part of our Nation's economic vitality, and Continental Airlines has, time and again, shown that they are among the world's best airlines. Again, as I say, they have set the gold standard for the United States. So I join with my colleagues. This is another example of how the whole Texas delegation works together, arm in arm. What's good for Texas, of course we understand, is good for America. We are immensely proud to be here to congratulate Continental because they represent all that's great about Texas, which means they represent all that's great about America.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, we in Texas are very proud to be home of the Texas Medical Center, the world's greatest collection of medical institutions. I am proud to represent M.D. Anderson hospital, recognized around the world as the greatest cancer center in the world. And we in Texas understand better than I think almost anywhere else the importance of medical institutions that are driven by research, driven by the physicians, driven by the needs of patients and the desires of doctors. And we in Texas want simply to be left alone. We want Texans to run Texas. The most important parts of anyone's life are our families and our health. And we want, as Texans, to make these decisions for ourselves. We need to be focusing as a Congress on protecting the magnificent health care system we have created, on encouraging job growth by giving small businesses tax credits, by allowing small businesses to pool their resources so they can negotiate with the big insurance carriers and bring down their rates. We need to focus on tort reform for doctors to protect them from frivolous lawsuits, as we have in Texas, that has worked so well. Let's first do no harm and protect this economy and protect the world's greatest health care system.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, the FY2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act: Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University; 6100 Main Street, MS 603; Houston, TX 77005 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $5,000,000 to the Alliance for NanoHealth. This project will support collaborative research to advance nanomedicine, which has the potential to provide significant medical breakthroughs in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 169; Houston, TX 77030 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,000,000 to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. This project will support equipment, supplies and production at the Center for Cancer Immunology, a center utilizing innovation in immunotherapies and vaccinations to cure cancer. In the near future, the center will vaccinate children and adults against Leukemia. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Air Force Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University; 6100 Main Street, MS 603; Houston, TX 77005 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 for the Carbon Nano-Materials Advanced Aerospace Applications project to dramatically improve the efficiency of electrical systems used by the Air Force and in the longer term, to help make America energy independent. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Methodist Hospital System; 8060 El Rio; Houston, TX 77054 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 for the Nano-imaging Agents for Early Disease Detection project to support the research and creation of nano-imaging agents for early disease detection. Nano-imaging agents are safely injected into a patient and provide a three-dimensional image, creating a ``night vision'' that lights up tissue changes and cell anomalies and enabling more accurate diagnostics. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Department of Defense, Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: CureSearch; 4600 East West Highway, Suite 600; Bethesda, MD 20814 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,000,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research and Clinical Trials project to support pediatric cancer clinical care trials throughout the nation. Clinical trials have significantly increased the cancer cure rate for children from less than 10 percent in the 1950's to over 80 percent today.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3293, the FY2010 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act: Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 169; Houston, TX 77030 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for equipment, supplies, and production at the Center for Cancer Immunology. This Center is utilizing innovations in immunotherapies and vaccinations to cure cancer. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Memorial Hermann Foundation, 9401 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1200; Houston, TX 77074 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $250,000 to the Memorial Hermann Children's Autism Program. This request will support comprehensive health care for children and families affected by autism. Clinical staff will conduct full assessments of patients, coordinate initial referrals for hospital outpatient testing, and conduct follow- up visits with patients and families to provide ongoing monitor of patient progress. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, 6411 Fannin; Houston, TX 77030 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 to the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System for upgrades to the Critical Level 1 Trauma Care Center. The purpose of this request is to purchase equipment at the Level 1 Trauma Center and expand existing adult and pediatric trauma care facilities. This equipment is critical to the Center's ability to serve its patient volume, which is the highest in the nation. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS 603; Houston, TX 77005 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $150,000 to the Rice University BioScience Research Collaborative. This request is to purchase equipment for the BioScience Research Collaborative, dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of human disease through biomedicine and drug development. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, Suite 1550; Houston, TX 77030 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $150,000 to the Center for Translational Neuroinformatics at the University of Texas Health Science Center. The Center conducts innovative research to prevent and treat developmental and neurodegenerative diseases including autism, Alzheimer's and brain injury. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration account Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Harris County Hospital District, 2525 Holly Hall; Houston, TX 77054 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $300,000 to the Harris County Hospital District for CHP Digital Radiology. The purpose of this request is to purchase direct-capture digital imaging devices. This equipment will enhance clinical work flow, patient treatment and increase the productivity of imaging technologists.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3288, the FY2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill: Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Alternatives Analysis account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Houston Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, Suite 120; Houston, TX 77027 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,000,000 to the Houston Galveston Area Council to conduct a regional transportation study to develop a blueprint to address the region's long-term transportation needs. The results of the study will indicate that significant transportation improvements will be needed in several parts of the city, including the Texas Medical Center due to the unprecedented growth that is anticipated. Demands for cost-effective and environmentally-friendly mobility solutions are increasing. The Houston Galveston Area Council will use this funding to identify targeted mobility improvements for developing an efficient and functional multimodal transportation system in the Texas Medical Center. This planning is essential to keep Houston and the Texas Medical Center moving forward. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Bus and bus facilities account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Houston METRO, 1990 Main Street; Houston, TX 77028 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,420,000 to Houston METRO to replace and expand its bus service. Houston METRO maintains one of the best public bus systems in the country. According to Federal guidelines, buses should be replaced every 12 years. This request will provide funding to continue expansion of the Park & Ride system throughout the Houston area and be used to purchase replacement buses for the METRO fleet. METRO has about 1,200 buses and has developed an annual replacement schedule that replaces 100 buses per year. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, New starts/fixed guideway account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Houston METRO, 1990 Main Street; Houston, TX 77028 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $75,000,000 to Houston METRO to build the North and Southeast light rail lines approved by voters. In 2003, the voters of Houston approved the METRO Solutions plan that includes buses, light rail, and commuter rail. This request will continue to help fund the final design, land acquisition, and construction for the first segments on the North Corridor and Southeast Corridor Projects only. Additionally, this funding will also help begin the planning work for commuter rail segments.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, Continental Airlines, one of the largest employers in Houston, has just laid off 1,700 people. And my friend, Mr. Chris Lee of New York, has put together an inspired chart that shows clearly what this liberal leadership of this House and this Congress are doing with our hard-earned tax dollars. They're redistributing the wealth to Washington, D.C., they're creating jobs in the government and Washington and out in Nancy Pelosi land, out in San Francisco and in State capitals across the Nation. But we fiscal conservatives understand, it's common sense: to create jobs, you cut taxes; you get lawyers and bureaucrats and regulators off the backs and out of the pockets of small business people. We need to cut taxes to create jobs. Do so immediately. We need to cut spending at the Federal level to reduce the level of debt that our children and grandchildren are going to have to pay. The Inspector General for the Treasury has just reported that these irresponsible bailouts that this liberal majority has passed could cost taxpayers up to $23.7 trillion on top of the $60 trillion in unfunded liability that we have already passed on to our kids. It's time to cut taxes and create jobs and get the government off our backs and out of our pockets.

Mr. CULBERSON

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

Mr. CULBERSON. If the gentleman will yield, I think it's important to point out--and I want to say that I share my colleague Mr. Flake's zeal for trying to cut spending and control spending. I know Mr. Posey shares that concern. We all, as fiscal conservatives, are committed to controlling spending. But under the rules that this liberal majority has established, under their PAYGO, this bunch thinks that to cut taxes increases the deficit; and therefore, under the rules of this House, it is forbidden, essentially, to cut taxes and impossible to cut spending. So, even if Mr. Flake's amendment were passed, the money that he is reducing, $100,000, would churn right back in to the appropriations bill to be spent elsewhere. I know that aggravates Mr. Flake as much as it does me. We have to reform the budget process. We have to be able, as fiscally conservative Members of Congress, to get up on this floor and offer cutting amendments that actually cut spending. But the game is rigged against taxpayers. Taxpayers are the losers in the way the rules of the House operate. And it is just not right. Now, Mr. Posey has got a very worthwhile project here in his own district, and that is something that he believes in his heart works. I join in opposing this amendment, but I would ask the Members to help us reform the budget process so we can actually cut spending and cut taxes.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman and Members, funding recommendations included in this bill were made in full compliance with the applicable rules and procedures of the House. On a bipartisan basis, we have scrutinized thousands of Members' requests and recommended funding for those projects that the committee believes are most meritorious. In addition, the Small Business Administration was given an opportunity to vet this project and provided the committee with no negative feedback regarding the project or the grantee. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).

Mr. CULBERSON. We tried in committee, Jeff. Mr. Lewis, the ranking member, offered an amendment in full committee to cut the overall spending levels in the Appropriations Committee, and we were defeated by the liberal majority. So we have made the effort. We are trying. And we are doing it at every opportunity. The frustration is your amendment won't save any money. I join you in wanting to cut, but this won't do it.

Mr. CULBERSON. Would the gentleman yield? I would be glad to engage in a debate.

Mr. CULBERSON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, the budget deficit this year, this week, for the very first time in history has exceeded $1 trillion. The national debt is now over $12 trillion. The liberal majority that controls this House, passing the energy tax just before the Fourth of July break, the biggest tax increase in the history of America, the liberal majority that controls this House, passing this ``spendulus'' bill in a single shot, more money than is spent by the entire annual budget of the United States. We are on the brink--this liberal majority that controls the House has taken over the automobile industry, the insurance industry, the banking industry. They're on the brink of taking over the health care industry. And by the way, Business Investors Daily reports today, the health care bill will make it illegal to even buy private insurance. This is the most massive expansion of government in the history of the United States. This Congress has spent more money in less time than any Congress in history, is about to raise taxes more than any Congress in history. We are on an unsustainable path for the future of this Nation. It's vitally important for us to control spending. No new taxes, no new spending, no new debt. That's very simple. Yet, the game, the rules of the House are rigged against the taxpayers. Even if every one of Mr. Flake's amendments were adopted, even if every amendment offered on the floor to cut these earmarks were adopted, taxpayers won't save a dime. Imagine sitting down to a game of chess, and even if you think you've got checkmate you don't, because the rules are rigged against you. The rules of this House are set up in such a way by the liberal majority that on a spending bill, it's impossible to cut spending. You've got to cut another bill, the budget bill, and reduce what's called the 302(a) overall spending level, which can't be done on this bill. On the tax bill, you can't cut taxes. It's forbidden to cut taxes under the rules of the way this bunch runs the House. Their game is rigged against the taxpayers, and that's my greatest frustration. First of all, each Member of this House, no one will do a better job of representing the people of South Carolina than my good friend, Mr. Brown, and he publishes his request on his Web site. This is all done in a very transparent and open way. All of us are accountable to our constituents about the way we run our office, but it is time for the American people to stand up and demand that the rules be rigged in favor of the taxpayers. I'm sick and tired of this Congress spending money that our kids don't have, of rigging the game or the rules of the game so that we cannot cut taxes, so you can't cut spending. This is a charade. It's not right. It's wrong for our kids, and it's time to cut spending, cut taxes, and quit driving up the national debt.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. I thank the gentlelady. A wise friend, a local historian pointed out to me the city council makes decisions that can affect you for the next month, the next week, State legislatures make decisions that may affect you the next year, but the United States Congress makes decisions that will affect the next generation and for many years to come. And so we, all of us, take very seriously our obligation here to work together to find solutions to the problems that face the Nation, to protect what is great about America. And this committee has done so, all of us on the committee, regardless of our core principles, the districts we work for, represent, trying to find areas we can work together. And I want to thank Chairman Serrano, our full committee chairman, Mr. Obey, for example, finding areas to work together with our superb ranking member, Mrs. Emerson, to find common ground on important areas. I want to thank the chairman for accepting the amendment that Mr. LaTourette offered that we all support to protect car dealers from being arbitrarily shut down and enforcing State franchise laws, for accepting the amendment to get information from the White House on whether or not foreign combatants captured on foreign battlefields are actually being read Miranda rights. I want to thank the committee chairman for agreeing as we work together to try to get the Supreme Court to open up their oral arguments to disclosure on the Internet. But when it comes to the financial solvency and security of the Nation, there are profound differences of opinion between those of us who are fiscally conservative and the fiscally liberal majority. We, this week, saw the deficit exceed a trillion dollars for the first time on the same day that the majority laid out a government takeover of the health care industry, what would be the largest tax increase in the history of America, the week after the liberal majority passed the largest tax increase in the history of the country on energy. The energy tax that this majority passed will affect everyone in America and hammer the private sector unless you're Amish. I think the Amish are the only people that come out okay under that energy tax. And don't forget this liberal majority is going to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire 12 months from this coming January 1. When you combine all of those things together, the New York Post points out today that in New York City the tax rate would get to about 58 percent. So there is a profound difference in us as fiscal conservatives and the direction that the liberal, fiscally liberal majority is taking us. I offered an amendment in committee, which the majority denied, that all money refunded by TARP recipients had to go to pay down the deficit. That amendment was rejected. We keep searching, as fiscally conservative Members in the minority, we keep searching for ways to keep money. Is there any cut that this liberal majority would accept? We haven't seen it yet. We've offered every cut we can imagine, from little ones to big ones. Nothing is accepted. This Congress is spending more money in less time than any Congress in history. It's irresponsible. It's dangerous. This endangers the national security of the country, and there should be no more spending, no more debt, no new taxes.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, this is a historic day but not for the reasons my colleague has just specified. Today is the first day in American history the national deficit has reached $1 trillion. We in this Congress have an obligation to do everything we can to preserve the financial integrity of this Nation for future generations, and as a Texan, I know the solution is very simple. It's one that is embodied in these wonderful stars which were worn by soldiers in the Army of the Republic of Texas. This is a star worn by a young man who served in the Marine Corps of the Republic of Texas, and the lone star symbolizes for Texans that the solution is, to our problem as a Nation, just leave us alone. Let Texans run Texas. Stick to the Constitution. The Federal Government needs to stick to the very limited powers set out in the Constitution and otherwise leave us alone. Stay away from my bank accounts, stay out of my pocket, get off my back, out of my way. Stay away from my home, my family, my kids, my job, my church, my synagogue. Let Texans run Texas. Let Ohio run Ohio. That's what these young men were fighting for in the Army of the Republic of Texas, and that's what we, as fiscal conservatives, are fighting for here today.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.