Rodney Davis

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Coach Lori Kerans for her 500th career victory. Coach Kerans is the head coach for the Millikin University women's basketball team and on December 15th led my Alma mater to beat Illinois College 66-61 to secure her 500th career victory. Coach Kerans who is a Newton High School graduate became the 15th active Division III women's basketball coach to reach 500 wins and the first in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Overall, she is the 19th women's coach all-time in Division III to reach this tremendous coaching mark. Over 27 years Coach Kerans has led the Big Blue to thirteen 20-win seasons and is Millikin's winningest coach with a 504-203 record. In 2004-05, she guided Millikin to its 14th NCAA appearance and its first ever NCAA Championship. Kerans owns a 17-11 record in NCAA tournament games and her team has twice advanced to the Elite Eight before the national championship. During the eight years spanning the 1993-94 and 2000-01 seasons, she led the Big Blue to winning at least 20 games a year--something that no other women's team has accomplished in CCIW history. Because of her dedication to success and her student-athletes, I am proud to honor the achievements of Coach Lori Kerans.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, every time I walk onto this floor, it is such an honor and a privilege to be able to represent the great citizens of central and southwestern Illinois, the citizens that have given me this opportunity that humbles me every time we walk through those doors and every time we are able to stand here in this institution and offer what our visions for America are. There are vast differences in our visions for America between many parties. Fortunately, though, there are a lot of similarities and our willingness to begin working together to craft a vision for America that the hardworking taxpayers of this country want and deserve. But another great honor that this institution allows is to actually honor some of those hardworking taxpayers in our district on a regular basis. It gives us an opportunity to talk about the many things that those in our districts do on a regular basis. They don't ask for recognition; they just do it because it is the right thing to do. And that's why today I stand here, Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate Dr. Joseph Schrodt of Decatur, Illinois, for being honored by the American Medical Association for his 50-year anniversary of graduation from medical school. While Dr. Schrodt's dedication and commitment to the medical profession through the years is a tremendous accomplishment, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to also thank Dr. Schrodt for all he and his family have done for the entire Decatur area. Dr. Schrodt's contributions to the area are too many to mention, but his advocacy and hard work on behalf of students and education is something we should all strive to emulate. Whether it was his time spent serving on the board of my alma mater, Millikin University and their board of trustees, or the Richland Community College Foundation Board, or he and his late wife Martha's work to see the health education wing at Richland Community College come to fruition, Dr. Schrodt's impact in the Decatur area will be felt for generations. So I take this time today, Mr. Speaker, to offer my thanks to Dr. Schrodt and his family for all that they have done and all that they continue to do, and offer my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Schrodt for this tremendous accomplishment.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the University of Illinois, and I am proud to represent its flagship university in Champaign-Urbana. The U of I plans to launch a university-affiliated technology development laboratory in Chicago. This collaboration will attract more industry to Illinois and the entire Midwest region. Like the U of I's current world-class research park in Urbana-Champaign, this lab will operate on the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship. This will be a center of long-term, large-scale research projects that will unite the best and brightest of the University of Illinois, the city of Chicago, and government and industry, while at the same time give a high-profile image for the University of Illinois in the Chicagoland area. Illinois' biggest technical challenge is retaining its talent. Thirty-two percent of computer science graduates from the U of I get jobs in California alone. This project's goal is to retain the next generation of Illinois-trained talent with hopes that they'll grow existing companies or start new businesses. I am proud to recognize the continuous advancements made by the University of Illinois on all of their campuses.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. I thank the gentleman from Georgia. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to remind us all what President Kennedy told us. He said: Let us not seek the Republican or Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, but let us accept our own responsibility for the future. That's where we stand today with this looming sequestration. It's time to get beyond the party politics. It's time to stop the blaming and the finger- pointing. The truth is, it took both parties, the House, the Senate, and the President, to approve sequestration. And it's going to take both parties, Republicans and Democrats, a House, a Senate, and the President, to resolve it. The decisions we will have to make won't be easy, and no one--no one--will get everything they want, but that's why we were elected. That's why our constituents entrusted us to serve in this body. So let us take this opportunity to do the job that we were sent to Washington, D.C., to be in this House, the privilege of serving in this House, let's do our jobs, do what our constituents sent us to do. Let's put aside the partisan politics. Let's work together, compromise with principle, and govern, govern like statesmen. It is expected and, I will say, Mr. Speaker, it is demanded of us.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 52 I was on the floor and tried to vote when it was closed. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 325, which is based on a very simple principle: if Congress does not pass a budget, Congress does not get paid. We cannot start the process of controlling spending in this country without a budget. We also cannot ask hardworking taxpayers to manage their own budgets when their elected leaders fail to do so. The House has done its work and passed a budget each of the past 2 years. The other body of this branch must do theirs if we're going to address our out-of-control spending. For nearly 4 years, the Senate has gotten away with not passing a budget, but they've found time to pass laws that increase spending. Failing to budget for our country for the past 4 years is a terrible way to run a government, and I support this bill which will pay for bills already obligated. We have to stop the political gamesmanship that is occurring here in this town and work together to find commonsense solutions to cut spending and find savings in our budget. I look forward to passing this bill that will finally hold Congress accountable and begin putting America on a debt repayment plan and save future generations from paying for the mistakes of the past.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 12, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' Stated against:

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Coach Carey McVickers for achieving his 500th victory. Coach McVickers is the head coach for the Taylorville High School boys basketball team and, on December 26, led my Tornadoes to defeat Rantoul, 76-35, to secure his 500th win. He has been coaching for 31 years, leading teams from all across central Illinois, in areas like Palmyra, Divernon, Williamsville, Nokomis, Pana, and my hometown of Taylorville. In his career, his teams have combined to win 12 conference championships, 9 regional championships, and 19 tournament championships. And to our knowledge, he is the only coach to have brought home a trophy from the State tournament for boys and girls teams. He has been named the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year four times and was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012. Carey McVickers is more than just a head coach; he is a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather, and is a rock within the Taylorville community. Congratulations, Coach. Go Tornadoes.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Amendment XXVII: ``No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.''

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have never seen a compromise where everybody got everything that they wanted or liked everything that they got. I certainly don't like everything that I see in this bill, and I certainly didn't get everything that I wanted. But I do like the fact that senior citizens can go to the doctors because they're being paid a reasonable rate. I don't like the fact that some of the health programs in my communities in disproportionate hospitals all across the country are being cut. I just got two phone calls a few minutes ago from two constituents, one from Oak Park, Illinois, and one from Westchester. They both did all that they could do to convince me to vote against this bill. And after listening to them, I thanked them, but then I told them, do you know that 320,000 people in our State relied upon unemployment insurance benefits last year? I don't know how I could face those individuals with no hope, no possibility, and no idea that they're going to have a check in the mail. But when I go to church on Sunday, I know that I will see people with the assurance that pretty soon an unemployment check is in the mail. And that's one of the reasons that, yes, I will vote for this bill, because it's good legislation. People need it right now--not next year, not next month, and not next week.