Mike Coffman

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,070,657,293,114.53. We've added $8,443,780,244,201.45 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $7.5 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,064,879,099,682.52. We've added $8,438,002,050,769.44 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $7.5 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,053,381,143,534.21. We've added $8,426,504,094,621.13 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,052,403,868,282.85. We've added $8,425,526,819,369.77 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,991,325,677,268.42. We've added $8,364,448,628,355.34 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,005,359,240,744.60. We've added $8,378,482,191,831.52 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $7.5 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,000,235,912,585.65. We've added $8,373,358,863,672.57 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,996,371,521,571.14. We've added $8,369,494,472,658.06 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Asian Pacific Development Center for its ongoing service to the growing population of Asian American and Pacific Islander residents throughout the state of Colorado and to celebrate its Annual Banquet in recognition of the Asian New Year, the year of the Fire Red Monkey. The Asian Pacific Development Center is a role model for other communities and works to provide culturally appropriate and linguistically proficient wellness and lifestyle services to enrich the lives of our state's Asian American and Pacific Islander residents. Originally created to serve Vietnamese refugees 35 years ago, APDC has grown to include a diverse list of communities. Every day, the Center grants self-sufficiency to these residents so that they may better navigate our shared home. I, in addition to many community leaders in Arapahoe County and Aurora, attend the Annual Banquet each year as tribute to APDC's efforts, and I am proud to have the opportunity to speak this year in honor of the celebration's 35th anniversary. I applaud the Asian Pacific Development Center for continuing to empower our state's Asian American and Pacific Islander refugees and immigrants, and thus, for continuing to fight poverty and to address literacy, education, and employment in Colorado.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Construction Reform Act of 2016, an important piece of legislation that will further reform VA's severely troubled major construction program. For decades, the Government Accountability Office has documented hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns on mismanaged VA major construction projects. GAO reports from 1981, 1993, 2009, and 2013 all reflect a stunning degree of bureaucratic incompetence in VA's construction management. In my own district, a single VA hospital project is over $1 billion over budget, and years behind schedule. VA's construction failures represent billions of wasted tax dollars that should have gone towards VA's core mission: taking care of our Nation's veterans. Since 2012, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee has conducted at least six separate hearings exploring the VA's construction failures, and this bill's reforms incorporate many of the committee's findings. First, it forces the VA to leave hospital construction to the experts--to Federal construction managers like the Army Corps of Engineers. In fact, the contractor on the troubled Aurora, Colorado, project demanded that the Army Corps of Engineers take over the project from the VA before they returned to work on the project. Previously, in 2014, the House unanimously passed my legislation, which required the Army Corps to take over the VA's most troubled projects, including the project in Aurora. I am pleased that my colleagues in both the House and the Senate are now fully supportive of this transfer of authority. Second, this bill introduces a much-needed improvement over the contract change order process. The GAO and the Veterans' Affairs Committee identified the VA's inept change order management as a major driver of both cost increases and project delays. Third, the bill creates a new, independent assistant inspector general for construction who would be required to report directly to Congress when significant construction problems have been discovered.

Mr. COFFMAN. As we learned with the project in Aurora, the VA went to great lengths to hide the significant problems with the project from the American people, insisting in congressional hearing after hearing that the project was on time and on budget. It was not until the project's contractor sued the VA--and won on every count in December of 2014--that the VA finally admitted it had significant problems with the Aurora project. I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure and continue with the long-needed construction reforms in the VA.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,975,719,827,131.21. We've added $9,349,942,778,218.13.11 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $7.5 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $19,012,827,698,417.93. We've added $8,385,950,649,504.85 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the city of Aurora's 30th annual commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The commemoration, ``The Promise of Democracy: Breaking Barriers and Borders,'' will allow our city to reflect upon and appreciate the rich diversity that creates the vibrant community we call home. I commend the City of Aurora, Mayor Steve Hogan, the City Council and especially my longtime friend, Dr. Shannon-Banister, who is the founder of this celebration, for all of their continuing steadfast support of the only week-long celebration in the State of Colorado. I am proud to call the city of Aurora my home. This past September, Aurora erected a life size statue at our own Martin Luther King, Jr. Library as a constant reminder of Dr. King's selfless dedication to the pursuit of social justice and as an inspiration to continue this pursuit. On Monday, the statue will also serve as an embodiment of Dr. King's very tangible presence in Aurora. I am confident that if Dr. King were alive today, he would smile upon the kind words and gestures, hours of service, and bonds of friendship that will be offered in his honor this day. His legacy as a champion for equality and peace in this country still shine, Dr. King would be proud as many fellow champions continue in his tradition and promote his dream. As we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let us embrace and invite all cultures to join us in the brotherhood Dr. King so boldly imagined and let our actions echo his words: ``This is not the time to engage in the cooling off or to take the tranquility drugs of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children.'' I proudly pledge my support to the residents of Aurora as they embrace Dr. King's vision for our country and as they work to make that vision a reality.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,989,803,014,663.70. We've added $8,362,925,965,750.62 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,891,869,602,125.16. We've added $8,264,992,553,212.08 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of United States Army veteran Ethan Edelman of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Ethan Edelman served for 3 years in the United States infantry. His military service included a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan. His personal awards include the United States Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Army Good Conduct Medal. Like so many other veterans before him, Ethan Edelman served his country with honor, with dedication, and with courage. Ethan Edelman left the United States Army to enroll as a student at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado. Last year, Ethan Edelman, tragically, took his own life on Veterans Day, a day that carries so much emotion for those of us who have served this great Nation in uniform. Ethan Edelman will always be remembered for his service to this country. He will forever be missed by his family, his friends, and by the soldiers who served by his side in combat.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,888,640,000,429.69. We've added $8,261,762,951,516.61 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,888,640,000,429.69. We've added $8,261,762,951,516.61 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,918,380,217,573.17. We've added $8,291,503,168,660.09 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the girls varsity volleyball team at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colorado, for winning the 2015 Colorado 5A State championship game on November 14, 2015. The students and staff who were part of the title-winning Cougar team deserve to be recognized for winning in what has been a season full of challenges. Following the tragic death of one of their players, Celeste James, and a serious injury to another, Amazing Ashby, the Cherokee Trail Cougars showed courage in the face of true adversity to complete their title-winning season which honored their teammates. In their dominant performances at the State championship, the girls of Cherokee Trail High School's volleyball team proved that hard work, dedication, and perseverance is the perfect recipe for champions. These volleyball players were led to the championship title through the tireless leadership of their head coach, Terry Miller, and his outstanding staff. It is with great pride that I join all of the residents of Aurora, Colorado, in congratulating the Cherokee Trail Cougars for their State championship.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,900,932,690,017.04. We've added $8,274,055,641,103.96 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,922,179,009,420.89. We've added $8,295,301,960,507.81 to our debt in 7 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2009, the day President Obama took office, the national debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08. Today, it is $18,788,138,221,346.49. We've added $8,161,261,172,243.41 to our debt in 6 years. This is over $8 trillion in debt our nation, our economy, and our children could have avoided with a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. COFFMAN

Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the girls varsity volleyball team of Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colorado, on winning the 2015 Colorado 5A State championship game on November 14, 2015. The students and staff who were a part of the title-winning Cougar team deserve the utmost respect and commendation for winning in what has been a season full of challenges. Following the tragic death of one of their players, Celeste James, and a serious injury to another, Amazing Ashby, the Cherokee Trail Cougars showed courage in the face of true adversity to complete a title-winning season which honored their teammates. These volleyball players were led to the championship title through the extraordinary leadership of their head coach, Terry Miller, and his hardworking staff. It is with great pride that I join all of the residents of Aurora, Colorado, in congratulating the Cherokee Trail Cougars on their State championship.