Dennis Cardoza

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin, the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and an absolute champion on this issue, Mr. Obey.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, the gentleman who just spoke talks about malarkey. I would say that his side of the aisle should know about malarkey after they raised the Federal deficit over $4 trillion in the last 6 years. I would now like to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and an absolute fighter on behalf of fiscal responsibility in this House.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper), a former cochair of the Blue Dog Coalition and a great Member of this House who is committed to fiscal responsibility.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from California for his eloquent comments and say I agree with him wholeheartedly. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2\1/4\ minutes to Mr. Costa from California, who has been a champion of the PAYGO rules and fiscal responsibility since the day he walked into these hallowed Halls.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would like to inquire how much time remains on either side.

Mr. CARDOZA. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 861 provides for consideration of H.R. 4351, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2007, under a closed rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except for clause 9 and clause 10 of rule XXI. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Madam Speaker, the Democratic philosophy is simple: We believe in pay-as-you-go. In other words, we believe that you should live within your financial means. Every family that makes these choices around the kitchen table every month in order to live within its budget understands that simple fact of life. The Federal Government used to understand this, too. In fact, the Clinton administration and the Democratic Congress worked with Republicans on a bipartisan basis and turned decades of exploding budget deficits into 4 straight years of budget surpluses through the use of pay-as-you-go or PAYGO rules in this House. The use of PAYGO through the 1990s and early 2000s helped lead us to the first Federal budget surpluses in over 30 years at that time, and we saw record economic growth during that period which resulted in the addition of 22 million American jobs. And in that time, America actually began to pay down the national debt to foreign nations. Despite the proven success of PAYGO, President Bush and the Republican Congress abandoned the PAYGO rules in the year 2002, allowing it to expire with no interest in reinstating it. According to the Bush administration's own numbers, President Bush's policies are on track to increase the Federal debt by over $4 trillion by the year 2008. It took, Madam Speaker, 41 Presidents combined to accumulate the total of $4 trillion in debt. This means that the debt America incurred over the first 200 plus years of our Nation will be doubled in only 8 years under the Bush administration. Worse, Madam Speaker, about 80 cents of every dollar of new debt since the year 2001 has been financed by foreign investors, including foreign governments, especially China. This has resulted in 50 percent of our Nation's debt now being owned by the following countries: China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. At the start of the 110th Congress, Democrats provided real choices and a new direction for America. We made good on our commitment to PAYGO and did what 6 years of Republican Congresses before us refused to do: We restored PAYGO rules to make sure that we do not spend more money than we have. Once again, the Democratic leadership brings to the floor H.R. 4351, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2007, that provides millions of middle-class families with tax cuts to help grow our economy without increasing our national debt. H.R. 4351 prevents 23 million families from being hit by the AMT, and it helps 12 million children by expanding their child tax credit. The Republicans will surely say that this bill raises taxes, but that is far from the truth. Let me set the record straight right from the beginning. This bill closes tax loopholes that allows a privileged few on Wall Street to pay a lower tax rate on their income than other hardworking Americans, such as school teachers, police officers, firefighters, and our Nation's veterans. This bill stops hedge fund managers from making hundreds of millions of dollars by using offshore tax havens to avoid paying income tax while other middle-class families play by the rules and pay their fair share. It also prevents multinational companies from shifting their income to offshore entities and from creating sham corporations in tax- friendly jurisdictions to avoid Federal taxation. We would all love not to have to pay our taxes. Why should we allow these big corporations to go offshore to avoid paying their fair share? It seems only fair that if hardworking American middle-class families play by the rules and pay their fair share that the wealthy and huge multinational corporations that are gaming the system should pay their fair share as well. Madam Speaker, this Congress has made great strides to get our fiscal house in order. If we want to continue down the path towards fiscal sanity, we must make sure that every piece of legislation that we consider, including this bill, fixing the AMT, complies with the PAYGO rules. The Blue Dogs and the House Democratic leadership are standing strong behind our commitment to fiscal responsibility through PAYGO. I would like to thank Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer and Chairman Rangel for their unwavering commitment to sticking with the PAYGO rules. I would also like to reiterate to the other body that our leadership is committed to abiding by the PAYGO rules and not considering any AMT bill on the House floor that is not fully paid for. Madam Speaker, the $9.1 trillion debt that our country has irresponsibly racked up, nearly half of which has happened in the last 6 years, must be paid back, and it will be paid back by our children and our grandchildren if not by us. We need to adhere to the old adage that we should provide a better life for our children than the ones that we found ourselves. Quite simply, we should be investing in our children's future and not borrowing from it. I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the right choice today, to stand by PAYGO today, to stand by PAYGO tomorrow, and support this commonsense legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 861.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 861 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. I would like to thank the chairman for recognizing me and yielding to me. I also want to thank Mr. Ross for being such a leader on this issue and for being a leader on so many of the Blue Dog causes that he brings to the floor every week. And there is no question, Mr. Ross, that there is no issue that's more important to the Blue Dogs than this issue of PAYGO. Madam Speaker, passing PAYGO rules at the beginning of the 110th Congress fulfilled an absolute pledge to the American people that this new Congress was going to spend taxpayers' dollars and money responsibly and without continuing to run up the deficit. It was a very important initial step when we passed the House rules this year. Waiving this rule now would break that pledge to pay for the alternative minimum tax and would be a rollback in what we've committed to do for the American people. And I believe that breaking the PAYGO rules would return us to the disastrous fiscal policies of the past Congresses under the Republican administration of this House and would be a terrible mistake. After allowing the PAYGO rules to expire, the Republicans enacted legislation increasing the national debt by nearly $1.4 trillion over 6 years. Twenty-one percent of all individual income taxes of the year 2008 will go towards paying the interest on the national debt. They won't help cure a sick child, they won't help educate one of our bright young people in this country, your tax dollars, 21 percent of which will go strictly to pay interest on the $9 trillion that have been run up in the national debt. This ``debt tax,'' as we call it, is a direct consequence of the reckless fiscal policies that have happened, for the most part, over the last 6 years. The President and the Republican majority have put us on a fiscally unsustainable path, and the Blue Dogs are unwilling to pass this undue burden onto future generations of Americans. The Blue Dogs demanded a new rule, as we talked about earlier, that put PAYGO back into place. And when we took over the Congress, the Democrats restored the PAYGO rules to ensure that the government spends within its means, just like American families have to do. In complying with the PAYGO rules, this House has overwhelmingly relied on spending cuts to offset increases in higher priority programs. Over 80 percent of the increases in spending for priority programs passed by this House have been offset by cuts in lower priority or wasteful spending programs. The Blue Dogs are committed to addressing this country's long-term fiscal challenges, and that is why we have insisted that PAYGO rules be applied to all mandatory spending increases. This Democratic Congress has made great strides to get our fiscal house back in order. If we want to continue down this path towards fiscal sanity, we must ensure that every piece of legislation we consider, including the AMT bill that we're going to be considering this week, comply with the PAYGO rules. Mr. Chairman, again, I very much appreciate your leadership, and I thank you for recognizing me and yielding me time.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, with home values dropping and the cost of health care, home heating oil and college education continuing to rise, American families are justifiably uneasy about their ability to make ends meet in a declining economy. The Democratic Congress has made protecting middle-class families its highest priority. Over the course of this year, we have passed billions in tax relief for American small businesses, increased the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, passed legislation that cuts taxes for middle-class families and given families the most financial assistance for college since the GI Bill. The New Direction Congress is also working to reach bipartisan agreements to address the subprime loan crisis and predatory loan practices that are threatening to force thousands of American families from their homes. Today, we will bring a comprehensive energy bill to the floor that will provide some much-needed relief at the gas pump as well. Madam Speaker, the needs and concerns of our Nation's working families remain one of this Congress' top priorities.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this conference report and want to single out one provision that is vital if we are going to protect our children. I want to thank Chairman Obey for including language in this conference report adopted by the Senate which includs $500,000 for a feasibility study for a National Registry of Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse or Neglect, as described in the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act. I also want to thank my home state colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein, who was instrumental in getting the Senate to adopt this important provision. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law in July of 2006. This landmark piece of legislation served to reform the Federal standards for sex offender registration, enhances criminal penalties for sex offenders, creates and amends various grant programs to protect children, and called for the creation of a National Child Abuse Registry to further protect America's children. Unfortunately, child abuse is a huge problem and the statistics tell a troubling story. Each week, child protective services, CPS, agencies throughout the United States receive more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In 2002, 2.6 million reports concerning the welfare of approximately 4.5 million children were made. In over two-thirds of these cases, an assessment or investigation followed. As a result of these investigations, approximately 896,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect--an average of more than 2,450 children per day. As the parent of two children adopted from foster care, I am particularly concerned about the number of children in the foster care system who have been physically abused. People who work in the foster care system estimate that the percentages of boys and girls in foster care who have been physically abused is as high as 75 percent. Many came into foster care initally because of physical abuse and others are children who were revictimized while in foster care. This is unconscionable. All children, no matter what their background, deserve to grow up in a stable and loving home. The Adam Walsh Act addresses this problem by directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the National Registry which would be available to child protection authorities for use as a resource in tracking previous instances of child maltreatment in order to enable child protection workers to be better equipped with relevant information in assessing cases. Each State already collects information on substantiated cases of abuse and neglect, but once an investigation is under way, adult perpetrators need only to move to another State to escape detection and punishment. This National Registry will address this loophole and ensure that violators, no matter where they live, can be brought to justice. Unfortunately, the Registry has not come to fruition. This legislation would require the Department of Health and Human Services to complete the study on the feasibility of establishing the Registry within a year of enactment. The President should sign this conference report and enact this vital provision. We must do a better job of protecting our Nation's most vital resource, our children, and this money will help us in that effort.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz- Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would like to, at this time, yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Giffords).

Mr. CARDOZA. No other speakers. We will be ready to close.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Florida, my friend, has indicated that we are not adequately funding our Nation's veterans. I would like to remind the gentleman, my good friend, that the recent Republican-led Congress shortchanged veterans funding by failing to provide sufficient increases to keep up with VA's growing number of patients and the rising cost of health care while they were in charge. In the summer of 2005, the VA confronted a $1.5 billion shortfall as they significantly underestimated the health care needs of the new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This year the VA expects to treat 5.8 million patients, 1.6 million more than in 2001. The new Congress, under the Democratic majority, committed to taking the country in a new direction. For 2007, the Democratic-held Congress increased veterans funding by $5.2 billion, and the Congress is proposing an additional increase of $3.8 billion more than the President in fiscal year 2008. That is the largest increase in veterans funding in 77 years. The Democratic Congress once again is bringing to the floor a bill that provides real solutions to the obstacles facing America's small business owners, innovators, and entrepreneurs. H.R. 3867 ensures that veterans, women, and minority-owned businesses and other underrepresented entrepreneurs receive the assistance they need to thrive in the Federal marketplace. It also paves the way for them to develop their companies, create jobs, and give a much-needed jolt to our economy. Madam Speaker, securing a Federal contract is a major boon for entrepreneurs, especially those owned by minority and veteran small businesses. This bill is yet another step towards ensuring that these businesses are not, in fact, left behind, but rather given every opportunity to succeed. I appreciate the debate with my friend from Florida, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the previous question. The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida is as follows: Amendment to H. Res. 773 Offered by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart At the end of the resolution, add the following: Sec. 3. The House disagrees to the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 2642, making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes, and agrees to the conference requested by the Senate thereon. The Speaker shall appoint conferees immediately, but may declare a recess under clause 12(a) of rule I for the purpose of consulting the Minority Leader prior to such appointment. The motion to instruct conferees otherwise in order pending the appointment of conferees instead shall be in order only at a time designated by the Speaker in the legislative schedule within two additional legislative days after adoption of this resolution.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 773 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 773.

Mr. CARDOZA. I have one additional speaker that has arrived.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 773 provides for the consideration of H.R. 3867, the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act, under a structured rule. As the Clerk reported, the rule provides 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Small Business. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except for clause 9 and 10 of rule XXI. Ten amendments that were submitted to the Rules Committee for consideration were made in order. All four Republican amendments that were submitted and six Democratic amendments that were submitted were all made in order. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Through a series of laws and procurement requirements, Congress established a benchmark for the SBA to give small businesses every opportunity to compete fairly for the award of Federal contracts. Despite a clear mandate that has been in existence for more than 50 years, small businesses have not received their fair share of Federal Government contracts. This is especially true regarding the service- disabled veterans, men and women, and minority-owned businesses. In 2006 alone, the Federal Government spent over $417 billion on goods and services, but small businesses have been continuously losing out on contracting opportunities. This is a tragedy. Small businesses are the engines of our economy; and securing a Federal contract is a major financial boon for these entrepreneurs, especially veterans, women, and businesses in low-income areas. We cannot afford for our budding entrepreneurs to be shut out of what should be an open market and be denied opportunities to succeed, not when their existence is so vital to our economy, especially. H.R. 3867 takes several critical steps to assist small businesses' participation in Federal procurement by updating and expanding the SBA's procurement programs. First, it improves contracting opportunities for service-disabled veteran businesses. Today only 0.87 percent of Federal contracts are granted to service-disabled veteran businesses, a far cry from the 3 percent goal that was enacted in 1999. H.R. 3867 gives service-disabled veteran businesses priority for Federal contracts, providing more opportunities for our Nation's veterans to become successful entrepreneurs. It also codifies President Bush's executive order directing agencies to provide veterans resources and assistance they need to participate in Federal contracting processes. Second, H.R. 3867 aids women-owned businesses with Federal procurement processes. The Women's Procurement Program was enacted 7 years ago to increase the number of contracts awarded to businesses owned by women. However, the SBA has been dragging its feet in implementing the program, costing women tens of billions of dollars in lost contracting opportunities. H.R. 3867 fully implements the Women's Procurement Program, giving women-owned businesses greater access to the Federal marketplace. The bill also takes the first step in modernizing the 8(a) program, which helps minority-owned businesses secure Federal contracts; but it has not been updated in over 20 years. The bill updates the 8(a) program to reflect today's economy so that minority-owned businesses have time to grow and graduate from the initiative. Finally, H.R. 3867 continues the Democrats' commitment to combating fraud and eliminate wasting taxpayer dollars. The bill enhances business integrity standards to ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to reputable individuals. It promotes self- policing to allow small businesses to challenge individual program awards. It protects disabled veterans by penalizing firms that falsely represent themselves as service-disabled veteran businesses, and it requires on-site reviews by SBA personnel before HUBZone contracts are awarded. Madam Speaker, the bill before us today, H.R. 3867, has extremely strong bipartisan support. It passed the Small Business Committee by a vote of 21-4. Among other organizations, it is supported by the National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. I would like to thank Chairwoman Velazquez and members of the Small Business Committee for their hard work that went into this piece of legislation. Madam Speaker, we all recognize the importance of small businesses to our economy. It is imperative that we follow through on our commitments to small business and give them every opportunity we can to succeed. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would respond to my friend from Florida by saying that it is the hard copy being received in Rules Committee that needs to be done by the time that has been specified by the Rules Committee. Timely filed amendments were all made in order on the Republican side for this measure. We certainly look forward to our Republican colleagues filing amendments in committee when we've called for amendments to a bill, and encourage them to file on time. Madam Speaker, at this time I would yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. House Resolution 763 provides for consideration of H.R. 1011, the Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2007, under a structured rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources. The rule makes in order the substitute reported by the Committee on Natural Resources and makes in order the amendment from the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), the only amendment which was submitted to the Committee on Rules for consideration on this rule. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill, except for clause 9 and 10 of rule XXI. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. The bill before us today, H.R. 1011, designates 43,000 acres as wilderness and nearly 12,000 acres as national scenic areas in the Jefferson National Forest in southwestern Virginia. The areas in the Jefferson National Forest that are protected by this bill are some of the most beautiful areas of the country. The areas offer numerous recreational activities, including fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, canoeing, horseback riding and skiing. These areas are virtually priceless and provide much-needed opportunities for visitors and families to spend time in the great outdoors and enjoying America's natural beauty. H.R. 1011 ensures that critical habitat for bears, song birds, wild turkeys, brook trout, and other species, in addition to preserving countless stands of old growth, a 45-foot cascading waterfall, and breathtaking scenic views that encompass wide areas. Preserving this habitat is also critical for the economy, as tourism is the fattest growing industry in the region. Each of these areas contained in H.R. 1011 were either recommended as part of the Jefferson National Forest plan or have been endorsed by the relevant county boards of supervisors in the local areas. The bill has broad bipartisan support from five other Representatives from Virginia, both Virginia Senators, Governor Tim Kaine and four county boards of supervisors. Local businesses and State organizations, faith groups, the International Mountain Bicycling Association and local bear hunters also support this bill. Finally, I would like to thank Chairman Rahall and Mr. Boucher for their dedication and hard work in bringing this legislation to the floor today so that we can ensure that America's most treasured resources are protected once again for future generations. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.