John Delaney

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and honor Officer David Reed of the Montgomery County Police Department for his heroic actions in saving the life of an infant. Our police make it their job to protect our communities, a job that can require an officer to put their life on the line or to save somebody else's. On May 8, Officer Reed's work to protect and serve required split-second decision making, quick action, and extraordinary skill under pressure. On duty in Silver Spring, Maryland, Officer Reed discovered a woman crying over her two-month old baby. The child had stopped breathing. Reed quickly assessed the situation and took action, giving the infant two-fingered CPR. After several chest compressions, the child began to breathe again. Today, the baby is alive and back with her family, thanks to Officer Reed. Reed is a hero in our state, and I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Officer Reed, not just for his work to save one life, but for his work to protect the lives of people in our state every day. Thank you, Officer Reed. Your service to our community will not be forgotten.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to cast my vote on rollcalls Nos. 265 through 269. Had I been present to vote on rollcall No. 265, I would have voted ``aye.'' Had I been present to vote on rollcall No. 266, I would have voted ``yea.'' Had I been present to vote on rollcall No. 267, I would have voted ``no.'' On this bill, H.R. 1335, I want to emphasize that I oppose this legislation because it would roll back the progress we've made in protecting fisheries, damaging our environment and economy, especially in the Chesapeake Bay. Had I been present to vote on rollcall No. 268, I would have voted ``nay.'' Had I been present to vote on rollcall No. 269, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Chairman, I want to start by thanking the chairman and the ranking member for supporting this amendment, and I want to thank my colleague from California for giving me the opportunity to work with him on this amendment. Mr. Chairman, the reason I care about the subject matter of this amendment is because one of my constituents, Warren Weinstein, was recently killed by a U.S. drone strike while he was being held in an al Qaeda compound along the border in Pakistan. Obviously, we weren't aware that he was held there. Warren was originally captured over 3 years ago while he was doing work in Pakistan on behalf of USAID. He was 73 years old. He spent his whole life in service to his country working for USAID on foreign aid matters. He was a wonderful man and has a wonderful family. Across the last several years, I worked very closely with his wife and his family in helping them try to influence our government to find Warren. The one thing I realized across the last several years working on these matters is that, even though we have incredibly dedicated men and women who work at the FBI, who work at the CIA, who work at the State Department, who work on hostage recovery matters, as my colleague from California has pointed out, these efforts are not nearly as well coordinated as they should be. We do not have someone on point who wakes up every day with the mission of finding American hostages that are held in the Middle East. This amendment does this. By appointing and creating a hostage recovery coordinator, we will have that single person on point who will be able to take all of the resources of the U.S. Government--our technological resources, our intelligence resources, our military resources, and the resources of this Congress--and do a better job in identifying Americans that are held hostage overseas by terrorists. It is an incredibly important thing to do. Again, I saw firsthand in my experience working with Warren's family and working with very dedicated people in our government that the bureaucracy is getting in the way. The people are dedicated, but they don't have the ability to cut through the bureaucracy and grab whatever resources exist in the government. What this bill does is empower a person, an individual, who can do that, who can grab whatever assets are needed in the U.S. Government to help find hostages who are held overseas, which is why I support the amendment. As my colleague from California pointed out, they will also do a very important function, which is to communicate and coordinate with the families, the families who are suffering like Warren's family has for over 3 years with the uncertainty and a lack of information about where he is. I strongly support the amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Again, I want to thank my colleague from California for his leadership in this area and for giving me an opportunity to work with him on behalf of my constituent, Warren. I want to thank, again, the ranking member and chairman for supporting this amendment.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and honor Mr. Jan Alderton, Managing Editor at the Cumberland Times-News, for his incredible career and his retirement after nearly 48 years of journalism. Jan started at the Cumberland News in 1967 as a proofreader. Eventually, he worked his way through almost every newsroom position. From his coverage of the Maryland General Assembly in the 1970's, to his work as a sports reporter, Jan showed true commitment to his craft, and worked hard to publish the best stories each day. In 1987, Jan was named Managing Editor of the Times-News for the first time. There, Jan strived to make sure readers of the Times-News had access to breaking stories and the best reporting. His service to the people of Allegany County will be dearly missed. Local journalism, like that at the Cumberland Times-News, provides a critical service for communities nationwide, highlighting events that aren't covered elsewhere. When it comes to reading hometown news, there's only one place to find it, and that's your hometown paper. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Mr. Jan Alderton, for his dedication to honest reporting and his commitment to the people of Cumberland. Let's wish Jan a happy and healthy retirement.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and honor Mr. Jan Alderton, Managing Editor at the Cumberland Times-News, for his incredible career and his retirement after nearly 48 years of journalism. Jan started at the Cumberland News in 1967 as a proofreader. Eventually, he worked his way through almost every newsroom position. From his coverage of the Maryland General Assembly in the 1970's, to his work as a sports reporter, Jan showed true commitment to his craft, and worked hard to publish the best stories each day. In 1987, Jan was named Managing Editor of the Times-News for the first time. There, Jan strived to make sure readers of the Times-News had access to breaking stories and the best reporting. His service to the people of Allegany County will be dearly missed. Local journalism, like that at the Cumberland Times-News, provides a critical service for communities nationwide, highlighting events that aren't covered elsewhere. When it comes to reading hometown news, there's only one place to find it, and that's your hometown paper. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring Mr. Jan Alderton, for his dedication to honest reporting and his commitment to the people of Cumberland. Let's wish Jan a happy and healthy retirement.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, in less than 40 days, the highway trust fund runs out of money, which means 90 percent of the surface transportation projects in this country will stop. To help Congress appreciate the magnitude of this looming crisis, I reached out to my constituents and asked them to give me their stories about our infrastructure. We received hundreds of responses. One of them was from Magnus in Hagerstown, Maryland, who talks about a major highway, Route I-81, that runs through Hagerstown, which he describes as ``Death Valley'' because he feels like he reads a story in the local newspaper about someone dying there almost every other week. He also commented about how it hurts economic growth for the region, and the region has not been able to attract the businesses it needs to grow its economy. Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve a bipartisan solution to fund the highway trust fund, and we should be working on it now.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, in 45 days, the highway trust fund runs out of money. That means that 90 percent of the road projects in this country will grind to a halt. That is a national tragedy, particularly when there are numerous bipartisan proposals in this Congress to deal with the situation. Rather than just focusing on the macro statistics, we decided to reach out to my constituents and find out what they think about America's infrastructure. We received hundreds and hundreds of responses detailing all the problems my constituents have with long commute times, concrete falling down from bridges and hitting their windshields, and water interruptions. We cannot let this happen in the United States of America in the year 2015. I encourage this Congress to adopt a long-term highway funding bill and stop with short-term measures that just delay the inevitable. Let's invest in America's future; let's invest in our infrastructure, and let's stop Americans from having the problems that they have to deal with day in and day out with an underinvested, aging, decrepit infrastructure.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, we are confronted by a set of facts that represent both tremendous opportunity and tremendous concern for our country. First, we are competing in a knowledge-based and technology- driven global economy. Second, our long-term fiscal trajectory is not sound. Third, our nation's infrastructure is increasingly inadequate and is dragging down economic growth. Fourth, millions of working Americans are still struggling to live the American Dream. Unfortunately, none of the budgets brought to a vote on the House floor this week offer an adequate and appropriate response to these problems and priorities. I am strongly opposed to the Republican budget offered by Chairman Price. It fails to prepare our country for the future, hurts the most vulnerable Americans and reflects the wrong priorities, making it harder for many to pursue an education, buy a home or retire with dignity. It hurts seniors, parents and children. On balance, the Democratic alternative budget is a better reflection of our nation's values. However, turning the budget into a political football is also not the answer. I believe that the only way we can truly address the challenges facing our country, help our workers and businesses compete and restore our fiscal health is to focus on the best ideas. I'm tired of Congress not being able to work together productively to do the people's work.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from New York, for yielding me time to talk about my colleagues', the Republicans', budget, which is something I oppose. I oppose it for a number of policy reasons, but I thought I would spend my time today talking about what I view is a more fundamental, analytical flaw in the budget, and that relates to the overall goal of the budget. Because if you have the wrong goal, you often make a series of bad decisions to support that goal. So I think it is important that we talk about what the goal of the budget is and what the goal of the budget should be. The goal of the Republican budget is to have zero deficits within 10 years. In my opinion, that is the goal because it sounds good. We have all heard the line that we should not spend more money than we take in. That sounds really good, but it ignores to many extents the basic math of budgets. It is also an unrealistic goal, and it is also an unnecessary goal. And as a result of pursuing an unrealistic and unnecessary goal, a series of very bad decisions are embedded in the budget, which is why I want to talk about the goal. It is an unrealistic goal when you look at the condition of the Federal budget at this moment in time. After several decades of this Congress and several administrations ignoring, in many ways, the fiscal responsibility of this great country and allowing our debt to become such a high percentage of our economy, we put ourselves in a position where we have had very significant deficits and the debt levels are such that we have very limited financial flexibility as a country, and if interest rates were to go up, it would increasingly consume a very large percentage of our budget. That is the problem and that is the situation we find ourselves in. In addition, Mr. Chair, we are entering a phase where the demographic trends in the country and the aging on a relative basis of the population are putting tremendous pressure on the resources of the Federal Government. So this is a very, very challenging time to take a budget that has had very significant deficits and try to bring them to zero within 10 years. That is why it is unrealistic. It is also unnecessary because the most important metric in the financial health of the United States of America is our debt as a percentage of our economy. If we want to lower our debt as a percentage of our economy, what we have to do is have a budget where our deficits, expressed as a percentage of our economy, are consistently lower than economic growth. So we should be targeting deficits of 1 to 2 percent with a view that the minimum baseline economic growth of this country will be 2 to 3 percent, and definitionally over time that will take the debt of the country as a percentage of the country down. It will give us more financial flexibility in the future and position us so that when interest rates rise, which they will, it will consume a much smaller percentage of our budget. That should be the goal. But because we have this unrealistic and unnecessary goal of getting deficits to zero within 10 years, my Republican colleagues are forced to overcorrect in the budget to achieve that goal. There are two fundamental ways to overcorrect in a budget. You either raise taxes very high to get revenues to get it to zero, or you cut investments very significantly. Now, my Republican colleagues don't choose to raise taxes. In fact, what they choose to do is to cut taxes, which makes an already unrealistic goal more unrealistic. So the only thing that is left, the only thing that is left to bring this budget to zero within 10 years is massive, massive reductions in the investments we are making in our future and in our Nation, which, to me, is a very odd decision in light of the facts that are in front of us, and the facts that are in front of us are very clear. We are in a global and very competitive economy, and we haven't made the investments, particularly in things like infrastructure, to position this country to compete as successfully as it should in a world that is increasingly interconnected. Also, we have to make investments in our children, Mr. Chair. We are in a knowledge-based economy. And to make sure that our kids are capable of being employed and having a rising standard of living across their lives, we have to invest in their future. So to achieve this unrealistic goal, my Republican colleagues make very significant, very, very significant cuts to these critical investments, which you could argue it has never been more important to do that. In fact, they bring many of these levels down to half of what they have been historically--again, and importantly, expressed as a percentage of our economy because it is irrelevant to talk about absolute numbers. The only numbers that should be talked about is the budget in terms of a percentage of our economy. That is why I view this budget as so troubling and misguided. Mr. Chair, I spent my whole career prior to coming to Congress running publicly traded companies that I started. I used to observe other managers who are running publicly traded companies from time to time make really bad decisions about what to do with their business. Those bad decisions were often based on a fundamental premise that they would pander to the market and put forth unrealistic expectations. They would make bad decisions to achieve those expectations, and the story would end badly.

Mr. DELANEY. That is what we have here. We have unrealistic expectations, a series of bad decisions, and, if this were to be followed, a bad outcome.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Poolesville High School's Girls and Boys Swim and Dive Teams, which last month became 2015 Class 3A/2A/1A State Champions in Maryland. This year's win is the fourth consecutive state championship for the Poolesville Boys Team and the second championship in three years for the Poolesville Girls Team. Both team members and Poolesville Coach Jon Leong deserve recognition for their outstanding performance, their ability to work as a team, and their athletic talent. This year's championship will make the Poolesville Boys Swim and Dive Team the first high school team in Maryland to win more than three state swimming titles. Throughout their work, members of the Boys and Girls Swim and Dive Teams have acted as role models for their peers, and they should be proud of their accomplishments. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring the significant occasion of this year's Swim and Dive State Championship victories for Poolesville High School. The boys and girls teams are model organizations and are an inspiration in our community.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DELANEY. Madam Chair, I yield myself 3 minutes. I want to start by thanking Congressman Young, Congressman Polis, Chairman Kline, and Ranking Member Scott for their support of this bipartisan amendment. I know my colleagues join me, Madam Chair, in the view that whenever the government, the private sector, and the not-for- profit community work well together, we get better outcomes for all of our citizens, which is exactly what the Pay for Success framework is designed to do. It allows local governments to innovate and address best practices and be fiscally responsible with respect to the provision of government services. This amendment, Madam Chair, is designed specifically to allow the funds that are allocated in the underlying bill for teacher training and retention to utilize Pay for Success frameworks against those programs. Teacher turnover is a big issue in the United States. It is estimated to cost our educational system $1- to $2 billion. In my own State of Maryland, it is estimated to cost up to $45 million. It is very important that we make a difference against this problem. We want to make sure that educational agencies have as many tools available at their disposal as possible to work against this problem, including Pay for Success approaches and frameworks. Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleagues for their support of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DELANEY. Madam Chair, again, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. I thank my colleagues for supporting it here on the floor. As I said in the beginning, whenever the government, the private sector, and the nonprofit community work together, we get better outcomes for our citizens. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DELANEY. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), my friend.

Mr. DELANEY. Madam Chair, I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado for his support of the amendment. I yield 1 minute to my colleague from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the ranking member.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Chair, I was unable to cast my vote on rollcall No. 66 today due to congressional business. Had I been present to vote, I would have voted `aye'.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Northwest High School football team and Head Coach Mike Neubeiser of Germantown, Maryland. On Friday, December 5, the Jaguars won their second consecutive Maryland Class 4A State Football Championship. The Northwest Jaguars capped off a 13-1 season with a 34-31 win over Old Mill. The Jaguars rolled through the playoffs, outscoring their opponents by an impressive 147-67 margin. The Jaguars repeated last year's success by winning their second title in a row, and being the first Montgomery County team to do so in 15 years. The championship is the team's third title. Being the reigning champion, Coach Neubeiser's squad started the season as the favorite. Their only loss came in week 9, and the Jaguars quickly rebounded to stay on the championship road. I want to thank Coach Neubeiser and his staff for their leadership, as well as all the student-athletes for their hard work and determination to be the best they can be both in the classroom and on the field. I also wish the Northwest Jaguars the best of luck as they look to win their third straight title next season. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring this significant accomplishment.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Fort Hill High School football team and Head Coach Todd Appel for winning the Maryland Class 1A State Football Championship for the second year in a row on Saturday, December 6th. The Fort Hill Sentinels finished a second consecutive perfect 14-0 season with a 40-8 win against Douglass High School. The Sentinels have now won back-to-back state championships, their fourth in school history. They continued last season's dominance, outscoring their opponents 197-64. Coach Appel has now compiled an impressive 80-11 record through seven seasons. The Sentinels started as the favorite and never looked back, sweeping the regular season and playoffs. I want to thank Coach Appel and his staff for their leadership, as well as all the student-athletes for their hard work and determination to be the best they can be both in the classroom and on the field. The Sentinels success over the last two years has brought pride to both Fort Hill High School and the local community. I also wish the Fort Hill Sentinels the best of luck as they look to win their third straight title next season. I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues help me in honoring this significant accomplishment.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, today, I pay special tribute to an outstanding citizen from the State of Maryland, Arnold Harvey. One of the great strengths of this country is how the American people look out for one another. When our neighbor is suffering, we lend a hand. Arnold Harvey personifies that virtue. A Waste Management commercial driver for over 20 years, Mr. Harvey saw individuals and families in need along his route and worked to do something about it. In cooperation with his employer, Mr. Harvey organized food and clothing drives. He also founded a non-profit, God's Connection Transition to help those in his community in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Today, in partnership with grocery stores, retailers, churches and shelters, his non-profit donates food to 5,000 families a month. Arnold Harvey is a shining light helping others during dark times. The Congressional Record should reflect the good work he has done as a permanent testament to his generosity and the generosity of the American people. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Arnold Harvey for his outstanding service to his community.

Mr. DELANEY

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and honor the following Teachers for being named Teacher of the Year in their counties, each of which is in Maryland's Sixth District: Mrs. Dana Reinhardt: Teacher of the Year Allegany County Public Schools, 3rd Grade, George's Creek Elementary School. Ms. Erin Doolittle: Teacher of the Year Frederick County Public Schools, Pre-K, Hillcrest Elementary School. Mr. Ryan Wolf: Teacher of the Year Garrett County Public Schools, Math, Southern Garrett High School. Mrs. Jane Lindsay: Teacher of the Year Montgomery County Public Schools, 8th Grade Reading and English, John Poole Middle School. Mrs. Courtney Leard: Teacher of the Year Washington County Public Schools, 2nd Grade, Fountaindale Elementary School. There are few callings more important to society than teaching, and these teachers have shown extraordinary skill, commitment, and ingenuity in the classroom. Dana Reinhardt, Erin Doolittle, Ryan Wolf, Jane Lindsay, and Courtney Leard have made a difference for their students and made their communities stronger. Their example is a reminder of the great work done by teachers across Maryland and around the country. Every child in America deserves teachers like this and schools that position them to succeed as adults. It was my sincere honor to meet with them in the U.S. Capitol and hear their perspective on the major issues in education today. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating these Teachers of the Year for their tremendous achievement.

Mr. DELANEY

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

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes. We have all been very disturbed by the recent allegations of negligence and of the falsification of information at some of the VA medical centers across the country. We must work together to better serve our servicemembers, veterans, and their families, who have served us all with such great distinction. My amendment works to solve one specific but very important problem facing military families. When our warfighters and veterans need medical care, their families are often faced with a very difficult dilemma: either to stay home because it is too expensive to travel in order to be with their families or to travel and bear the burden of the costs associated with being with their loved ones at this great time of need. Unfortunately, too many families are staying home without having the opportunity to be with their loved ones who have served our country when those loved ones are receiving care at a military hospital. Others make the trip, but they often sleep in their cars or sleep in tents that they have set up in parking lots around these hospitals. Our veterans and servicemen and -women and their families deserve much better than this. My amendment increases the funding for Fisher Houses by $16 million. This additional funding has the potential to provide more free housing for the families of patients receiving care at military and VA hospitals. In order to pay for this increased funding, this amendment reduces funding for the defense-wide operations and maintenance account, and my amendment is outlay neutral as a result. Since 1990, over 180,000 families have been served by Fisher Houses-- more than 22,000 families in the last year alone. The services offered by Fisher Houses have saved military families almost $240 million in out-of-pocket expenses since the program's inception. Families do not have to make these tough financial choices to visit and care for their loved ones. This amendment has the potential of funding the construction of at least four new Fisher homes next year. Four new homes mean the lodging for 2,000 military family members. So many men and women have served us with such distinction, and for those who return home and who need medical care, Fisher Houses can make a stay in a military hospital or in a clinic a little bit easier and a little bit kinder for our soldiers and their families. No veteran or no servicemember should do without his loved ones at this time of need. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. Last year, the House came together to support this same amendment, and I hope they will do the same this year.

Mr. DELANEY. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana, the ranking member.

Mr. DELANEY. My response to the ranking member is that I have great confidence in the Fisher House team's ability to handle the funds. I think this is an example of where we need to get ahead of the need and not be behind some of the needs, but I appreciate the ranking member's support. I yield back the balance of my time.