John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

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

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes).

Mr. CULBERSON. How much time do I have remaining, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren).

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I'm very confident that under the leadership of Chairman Mollohan and Ranking Member Wolf that these proposed reductions from the President's budget request will be reviewed once again after the Augustine report is completed in an announcement from the Obama administration on how to proceed in human spaceflight. We genuinely appreciate the chairman's commitment to fund that recommendation with, of course, the input of the authorizing committee and the Appropriations Committee, because for America to surrender the high ground of space exploration, Mr. Chairman, would be as dangerous today as it would have been for General Meade to surrender the high ground of Little Round Top and Cemetery Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg. If General Meade had surrendered the high ground, I don't think there's any doubt that the United States would have lost the Battle of Gettysburg. And just as certainly as America would be at the mercy of our enemies, in position to lose any future war, if America surrenders the high ground of outer space to other nations.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I want to sincerely thank Chairman Mollohan, Ranking Member Wolf for the bipartisan manner in which this bill was put together. Mr. Mollohan truly has, and Mr. Wolf, opened up this process to all members of the committee to participate. Majority and minority views are included, and it is, truly, the bill was put together in an open, bipartisan way, which I'm very grateful for. And I especially also want to thank Chairman Obey, Mr. Lewis, Chairman Mollohan and Mr. Wolf for the strong commitment that they have made to invest in the sciences, the National Science Foundation, the scientific work that's being done at NASA and NOAA. The scientific advancement that this Nation makes, and throughout our history, has been one of the most important factors in the advance of America throughout our history. And I'm very, very pleased at the investment the committee is making in scientific research. However, I do have some serious concerns about the bill's reduction in funding from the budget request for NASA's human spaceflight frame. Mr. Chairman, if I could engage in a colloquy with you, sir, to ask about the manned spaceflight funding and what the committee, what the country and NASA can expect as this bill moves through the legislative process. Mr. Chairman, I want to ask if you'd agree that the United States must maintain its world leadership in space exploration, and that, in order to lead the world, America must have a robust human spaceflight program; and also, that NASA's human spaceflight program must have a clearly defined mission, and that Congress and the Obama administration should fully fund that mission. And also, Mr. Chairman, that Congress and NASA should do everything possible to mitigate the 5-year gap between the retirement of the shuttle and the initial operating capability of the next generation of human spaceflight. And then finally, Mr. Chairman, that the Appropriations Committee, we will all work together in an absolutely bipartisan and open way to fully fund the mission of NASA's manned space program as defined by the Augustine Commission, the Obama administration and this Congress.

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

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. 2847, the FY2010 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill: Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Byrne Grant account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, 4141 Pinnacle Suite 213, El Paso, Texas 79902. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $4,850,000 to the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. It is my understanding that the funding would be used to pay for overtime, hire additional deputies, and purchase equipment for the Sheriffs along the Texas-Mexico border to secure the border against drug and human smugglers. Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition was organized on May 4, 2005 and is represented by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of each respective county along the Texas-Mexico border. Texas Sheriffs are empowered by the Texas Constitution to protect the lives, property, and the rights of the people, maintain order and security in the United States along the Texas border with the Republic of Mexico to enforce the law impartially, and provide police service in partnership with other law enforcement agencies and community partners. Sheriffs are totally accountable to the people of their county. The Texas border county sheriffs have received funding from Congress in the last 3 appropriations cycles to defend our borders. They are using this funding to put more deputies on the streets, purchase equipment, and reduce illegal crossings. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, COPS account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: City of Houston, Mayor's Office of Public Safety & Homeland Security, 900 Bagby, 2nd Floor, Houston, Texas 77002. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,350,000 to the City of Houston to acquire interoperable communications equipment so that the city's first responders can communicate on a 700MHz trunked public safety radio system that will provide full and continuous interoperability with the 800MHz regional radio system. Communications in the Houston area are hampered by incompatible and aging equipment, disparate radio systems, and limited funding. First responders in Houston are responsible for protecting the highest density of critical infrastructure in Texas, including the Port of Houston, the petrochemical industry, the largest medical center in the world, and extensive commercial assets. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Byrne Grant account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: City of Houston, Mayor's Office of Public Safety & Homeland Security, 900 Bagby, 2nd Floor, Houston, Texas 77002. Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $350,000 for the Targeted Narcotics Enforcement Team (TNET) in Houston. TNET is an enforcement group whose mission is to carry out investigations addressing the broad spectrum of drug trafficking in and through the Houston region. Their goal is to identify, target, and disrupt or dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating on a regional scale. TNET also works through its coalition of investigators, attorneys, inspectors, and citizen groups to target the dealers and end users that make the drug trafficking organizations profitable. With drug violence spilling over into the streets of Houston, this funding will help provide resources needed for TNET to continue their mission. Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson. Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Operations, Research and Facilities account. Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: The JASON Project, 44983 Knoll Square, Suite 150, Ashburn, VA 20147. Description of Request: Provide an earmark for $4,000,000 for the development of standards-based science curriculum for middle school students and professional development programs to increase teacher effectiveness. America's economic prosperity rests on scientific and technological prosperity. Every major organization representing education, business and government has documented the critical situation in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and issued a call for aggressive action. This initiative by The JASON Project will be used to develop a standards- based science curriculum for middle school students, and professional development programs to increase teacher effectiveness. These materials will help prepare U.S. students to enter a competitive global workplace in the STEM fields, enabling our nation to remain at the forefront in research, development and technology.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I just finished speaking to the Bunker Hill and Wilchester Elementary School students, and I want to bring to the attention of the people here in the audience and out there the cover of the new Economist magazine which expresses beautifully the terrible, terrible burden that this Congress, this liberal majority, is passing on to our kids. Now, there was debt run up under the previous administration. I as a member of the fiscally conservative minority voted against $2.3 trillion worth of new spending under the previous administration. I already voted against $1.6 trillion in this administration. And no matter who you are, fiscal conservative or liberal, each one of us needs to remember as parents, as husbands, as responsible citizens, that we cannot pass on a burden of debt to our kids. On every vote on every issue, we need to remember that our children are inheriting the biggest debt and the biggest deficit in our Nation's history. As bad as the deficit was under Mr. Bush, the Economist points out it will quadruple this year and stay over $1 trillion a year out into the future. Madam Speaker, on every vote on every issue, this Congress needs to cut spending. No new taxes, no new spending, and no new debt.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Patricia L. Starck for twenty-five years of outstanding achievements as Dean of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing and to recognize her contributions to the health of Texans and countless others through her leadership in nursing education. Dean Starck has shown exemplary leadership in addressing the national nursing shortage. Under her leadership, student enrollment in the School of Nursing and the number of faculty have nearly doubled; philanthropic giving has increased more than twenty-fold; the number of endowed scholarships has risen from two to twenty-four and the number of endowed chairs from one to thirteen; and seven research endowments have been created. She was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the Statewide Health Coordinating Council and also serves as co-chair of the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Study Advisory Committee. Under her leadership, the School of Nursing has embarked on several new programmatic endeavors. Dean Starck worked tirelessly to ensure the creation of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, a practice doctorate degree focused on patient quality outcomes. The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston was the first school in Texas to offer a Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree. During her tenure, the School has also established the Women's Health Care Nursing Program; the Center for Nursing Research; the Center on Aging; the Pediatric Nursing Practitioner Program; the Neonatal Nursing Program; the Acute Care Nursing Program; the Adult Health Nursing Program; the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Education and Research; the Biological Sciences Laboratory; and the Nursing Leadership and Administration Program. Dean Starck has also contributed to scholarship and research in her field, receiving fourteen grant awards for her work; publishing forty- five articles for journals; publishing and serving as editor on eighteen publications; and collaborating on and leading twelve clinical research projects and six education research projects for instructional distribution. She has brought honor to the School and to herself as the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2005 Health Policy Award; the Presidential Award for Distinguished Contributions and Sterling Leadership, the XIV Congress on Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy; the Griffin B. Bell Distinguished Lecturer, Georgia Southwestern State University; Sister Bernadette Armiger Award, American Association of Colleges of Nursing; Nursing Excellence Leadership Award, Houston Organization of Nurses; Distinguished Professional Woman's Award, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Committee on the Status of Women 1993; Collaboration Between Nursing Service and Education Award, Council Deans/Directors and Nurse Executives; Woman of Excellence, Federation of Business and Professional Women; Outstanding Woman in Education, YWCA Honoree; Leadership Texas; and Lifetime Membership, Alumni Association, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing. She is a member of Sigma Xi, Sigma Theta Tau and Phi Kappa Phi societies; and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Congratulations to Dr. Patricia Starck for twenty-five years of outstanding work for The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing, and best wishes for the years to come.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you, Mr. McKeon. I would like to build a new extension on my house, Mr. Chair. I'd like to have a lot of things, but cannot afford it. All of us as individual Americans in our private life and business life live within our means. As the gentleman from Tennessee said so eloquently, our local and State governments must operate within balanced budget requirements. They must live within their means. They don't build facilities or operate programs that they cannot afford to pay for. And the Federal Government is at a pivotal moment in the history of this Nation. This new leadership in Congress, the new liberal leadership here in the Congress, our new President has, as Mr. McKeon said so well, taken over and nationalized huge segments of the banking industry, the automobile industry, the insurance industry, the mortgage industry. And here today, this leadership has presented to the Congress, to the Nation, for the first time, the Federal Government is going to get into the school construction business. At a time of record debt, at a time when the Nation must focus on its fundamental financial security, we are stepping into an area where the Federal Government has never really gone before. The bill, section 1, reading from the bill, Mr. Chair, page 5, ``Grants under this title shall be for the purpose of modernizing, renovating, or repairing public school facilities, based on their need.'' Absolutely noble purpose. But we cannot afford it. Page 10, section 103, ``Allowable uses of funds. A local education agency receiving a grant under this title shall use the grant for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities.'' And a long list--repairing, replacing, installing roofs, walls, plumbing systems, et cetera. This is a bottomless pit. Ross Perot's famous phrase, ``a giant sucking sound.'' We're going to hear a giant sucking sound out of the United States Treasury paying for utterly endless repairs and construction of local school buildings while we could use this $40 billion just in southeast Texas. In 8 years, Medicare is exhausted. Let that sink in. In 96 months, the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare system just reported yesterday that Medicare is exhausted, Mr. Chair--in 96 months. This is an urgent, critical emergency. The United States of America needs to follow Dave Ramsey's advice and live on a little beans and rice. Focus on the fundamentals. This stuff isn't complicated. We are in this magnificent Chamber surrounded by the greatest minds in the history of the civilized world. I look here at a portrait of my hero, Thomas Jefferson, and of George Mason. My hero, Mr. Jefferson, liked to say that if you apply core constitutional principles, the knot will always untie itself. Here today Congress needs to focus on the fundamentals, keeping America on a path to financial security and solvency. It is not complicated. Let us follow Mr. Jefferson's wisdom, follow the Constitution and the separation of powers, and limit the Federal Government to those functions set out in the Constitution. At a time of critical financial emergency, when literally Medicare payments will stop in 96 months, let's focus on the fundamentals, America. Congress needs to quit spending money; no new taxes, no new debt, no new spending, and save our children from being buried in a mountain of debt that they cannot pay. This is a noble purpose, but we cannot afford it, anymore than I can afford to build an extension on my house. I cannot borrow money to pay off borrowed money. That is what this bill, what this Congress, what this liberal leadership has been doing since January when we all got sworn in, spent more money in less time than any Congress in history. I am not playing favorites. I voted against $2.3 trillion of new spending under George Bush. I have already voted against $1.6 trillion of new spending under this bunch. This cannot be sustained. We are living on borrowed money. These Treasury bonds are being bought by foreign investors and foreign national sovereign wealth funds that our kids are going to have to repay. This isn't complicated. Let's get back to the fundamentals. As Mr. Jefferson said, the knot will always untie itself, if we will only follow the Constitution. There is nowhere in the Constitution that it is authorized for the Federal Government to get into the business of school construction. This will literally become a bottomless pit, Mr. Speaker. I am, as every Member of Congress, as committed as anyone to making sure our local schools are well built and maintained and our kids have a safe environment that is a good place for them to get an education. But let that be done by the local and State governments who are best suited to do it, who know the needs better than anyone else, and will pay as they go. And let us in Congress follow Dave Ramsey's advice and live on a little beans and rice and don't spend money we don't have, Mr. Speaker; and let's just stick with the fundamentals that these great men and women left for us, this great Nation, this great treasure, this great trust we all have. Let's not destroy the financial solvency of this Nation by continuing to expand the power and scope of the Federal Government into areas it was never intended at a time of critical financial emergency, when a mere 96 months from now Medicare payments run out. We can do something about it, but it takes action today. It is something we can all do together as Americans to make sure our kids do not inherit a debt they cannot afford to repay. I am proud to join my colleague Mr. McKeon and the Republican--excuse me, conservative members of the minority. I am going to try to avoid saying party labels. I think it is too important at a time of national emergency. We need to focus on no new debt, no new taxes, no new spending. I am going to quit saying Republican or Democrat. It is being fiscally conservative and responsible. I am proud to join the fiscally conservative and responsible members of the minority who are ready to lead this Nation back into solvency in opposing this utterly irresponsible liberal piece of legislation.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a Houston institution, Three Brothers Bakery, on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. On this day in 1949, brothers Sigmund, Sol, and Max Jucker opened Three Brothers Bakery on Holman Street in Houston, Texas. They started with nothing but their hands to mix the dough--a literal interpretation of the term ``handmade.'' Eventually word spread around Houston about their delicious baked goods, and their hard work and determination paid off when they moved the bakery to its current location on South Braeswood in May of 1960. The story of Sigmund, Sol, and Max Jucker is a tribute to the qualities that make America great. In 1941, the brothers and their family were sent to Nazi concentration camps. The three brothers and older sister survived the Nazi atrocities and on their liberation day, May 8th, 1945, the three brothers were actually all together in the same camp due to the ingenuity of their older sister, Jennie. Later they all immigrated to America, where their entrepreneurial spirit took hold and they continued the family tradition of baking which began around 1825. The three brothers were the fourth generation of bakers in the Jucker family. Using the family recipes to make rye, pumpernickel, challa, strudels and other Eastern European style baked goods, the brothers were soon rewarded with the a large and loyal customer base at Three Brothers Bakery. Three Brothers Bakery continued to serve the Houston area until it was forced to close temporarily after Hurricane Ike, the third most costly storm in American history. The family--Sigmund, Sol's widow Estelle, and the fifth generation of Juckers, Robert and his wife Janice--could have taken the insurance money and closed the bakery permanently, but their deep commitment to the community and the family's baking history compelled them to rebuild and continue using the recipes passed down by their family for nearly 200 years, in addition to all the other pastries and beautiful, delicious cakes created for Americans. Congratulations to Three Brothers Bakery for the last 60 years, and best wishes for the years to come.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, the TEA parties that took place across this country on April 15 represent the tip of the iceberg of intense frustration among taxpayers and Americans of all walks of life. Everyone in America feels instinctively that this Congress and President are spending too much money and are growing the government too fast. We are on the brink, Mr. Speaker, of what is literally a fork in the road for the United States. We will either on the path laid out by the budget proposed by the majority, the liberal majority--and I try to avoid party labels because this is about what's in the best interest of America being fiscally conservative or fiscally liberal. The fiscally liberal majority has laid out a budget that will put America on a path to become Argentina. The fiscally conservative minority, led by the very able ranking member of the Budget Committee, Mr. Ryan, has laid out a very thoughtful, fiscally conservative alternative. Mr. Ryan recognizes, as do those of us in the minority--those fiscal conservatives who are working together to lay out thoughtful alternatives--that America needs a little dose of Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, who, in our personal lives, recommends and knows, as we all know, that you can't pay off borrowed money with borrowed money. Dave Ramsey quite correctly points out, when you've run up too much debt, you stop. Those TEA parties across America, Mr. Speaker, were the American people speaking out and telling Congress, ``Stop it. No new taxes. No new debt. No new spending.'' Any elected official who neglects that very sincere and heartfelt message from their constituents is in serious trouble in the next election. This country is in serious trouble. Let's deal with it in a thoughtful, fiscally conservative way by controlling spending, by cutting spending, by cutting taxes, by letting Americans keep more of their own hard-earned money so they will invest it to create jobs and to create wealth as we know works. Historical fact shows that keeping more of my own money allows me to invest it in the way I see best that will lead to job creation, that will lead to personal growth. America needs a strong dose of Dave Ramsey's good medicine, and that's what the alternative budget--the motion to recommit by Mr. Ryan--attempts to do, which is to get America back on a path toward fiscal prosperity. If we don't act in a fiscally conservative way immediately, the Comptroller of the United States has said in a letter sent to my office last March that, in a short 12 years, the American Treasury bill, the American T-bill--the safest investment in the history of the world--will be graded as junk bonds. Now, that's an incredible assertion from the auditor of the United States. The Comptroller of the United States says that the cumulative unfunded liabilities created by this Congress are so massive that, if we don't stop spending and start to control spending, T-bills will become junk bonds. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Speaker, I urge the Members to listen to their constituents. Just say ``no.'' Thank you. No new spending. No new taxes. No new debt. Support Mr. Ryan's motion to recommit.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, will you yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. This bill----

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, truly, in all sincerity, I would ask only if you as chairman would promise us that you would lay these bills out for 72 hours before the vote so that the American people could read the bill. My objection is to the 1,100-page $800 billion stimulus which was laid out for 12 hours.

Mr. CULBERSON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, truly, all we ask is for transparency. All we ask is for time for the taxpayers and for the people of America to read the bill.

Mr. CULBERSON. There is your answer, Mr. Chairman. It is, I think, a terrible injustice to the taxpayers of America that the liberal leadership of this House is jamming through $800 billion spending bills with very few committee hearings, with less than 12- hours' notice, without the opportunity for Members to read the bill, with a majority that promised to be the most transparent, accountable and honest majority in Congress in history, underneath a President who promised that he would not sign a bill that was not laid out for at least 5 legislative days. The Member from Florida walks away from the microphone, the author of the amendment before us, who cannot even tell us if he read the bill. American taxpayers deserve better in a time of economic crisis. When we are guardians of the Treasury, our responsibility is as trustees--to protect our children and grandchildren from financial ruin. In 60 days, Mr. Chairman, this liberal majority has spent over $1.3 trillion, money our kids cannot afford.

Mr. CULBERSON. Did you read the bill before the vote?

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, the bill before the House is simply political cover for liberals who rushed their $800 billion stimulus bill through the House, ensuring these AIG bonuses would be paid. You know, Mr. Chairman, if the Members had more than 12 hours to read this 1,100 page, $800 billion stimulus bill, we might have been able to spot problems like this before Members were forced to vote. And in fact, Mr. Chairman, one of the Members who voted for this stimulus bill is the sponsor of the legislation before us, Mr. Grayson. I'd like to ask the gentleman from Florida if he would yield for a question. I will yield my time, Mr. Grayson. I'd like to yield to you, please, sir, for a question please, sir. Mr. Grayson, thank you very much. Because I would like to ask the gentleman from Florida--I thank you, Mr. Grayson. If I could, before I yield, very quickly, if I could, sir, would you please answer yes or no if you read the 1,100-page stimulus bill before the vote.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, the conservatives who won re-election in the House are those who overwhelmingly voted against the massive spending programs that were proposed over the course of the last administration, who voted against the $1.5 trillion of new spending of this new administration. And we, House conservatives and the minority today, are ready to lead. We are offering alternatives to this massive spending program proposed by this new administration. In only 38 legislative days, Mr. Speaker, the new liberal majority that rules Congress and rules the White House has managed to spend more money in less time than any Congress in the history of the United States. Never before have so few spent so much money in so little time. This budget proposed by the White House, spending $3.5 trillion, driving up the deficit to triple the level of last year, doubling the national debt in 8 years, ignores the financial hurricane just over the horizon that House conservatives are ready to deal with. This Nation faces unfunded liabilities at unprecedented levels, and we have got to just say ``no'' to more spending.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, here again on this House floor a 1,294- page bill has been dropped onto the American people with no committee hearing, not even a Rules Committee hearing, spending $10 billion. * * *