Tammy Duckworth

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment, which will strengthen small business participation in government contracts. In my district and across the country, small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Small businesses innovate, know how to operate on a tight budget and know how to create good-paying jobs. I want small businesses in places like Elgin, Illinois, to be able to win government contracts from the Department of Defense because I know they will do more with taxpayer dollars and provide superior products and services for our men and women in uniform. However, the government is lagging behind on awarding contracts to small businesses. We are not meeting our goal of 23 percent of contracts going to small businesses, and 23 percent is a pretty low bar that we should be raising even higher, not be struggling to meet. It is even more unfortunate that we are also failing to award enough contracts to women- and veteran-owned small businesses. My amendment seeks to remedy this problem by asking the Small Business Administration and Federal agencies to include remediation plans in their annual reports on small business contracting goals. The government should explain why it is not meeting its small business goals. It should identify faulty past practices and propose new practices to increase small business participation. We need an action plan to support our small businesses, and my amendment will do just that. I thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith and the committee staffs for their help on this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and our small businesses.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I yield to our chairman.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I yield to the ranking member.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I yield to the chairman.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. A few days ago, a new report by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General made recommendations that could save taxpayers $126 million and improve border security. The Department of Homeland Security uses 62 H-60 helicopters, operated by the Coast Guard and the Customs and Border Protection agencies, for mission support, primarily for law enforcement and search and rescue missions. These aircraft are being converted to add 15 years of additional operational life. The report found that while the Coast Guard properly managed its conversion program, a similar conversion program at Customs and Border Protection led to significant cost overruns and delays that could ground as many as nine of the helicopters beginning in 2014. The IG made what I think is a very good recommendation--have the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center conduct the remaining Customs and Border Protection H-60 conversions. According to the IG, the Coast Guard could convert the remaining helicopters much faster and at a lower price tag than CBP. This could save the Department of Homeland Security about $126 million and speed up the time that the aircraft would be operational and patrolling our borders by 7 years. I was disappointed to hear that rather than implementing this commonsense taxpayer-dollar-saving recommendation in this time of scarce resources, the Department of Homeland Security is choosing instead to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. I think this delay is unnecessary. At a time when the Department of Homeland Security law enforcement personnel are facing furloughs, this is a missed opportunity to save precious funds and to meet the critical goal of improving our border security.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of a colloquy.

Ms. DUCKWORTH. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for your attention to this matter, and I hope that we can work together to ensure that management of this program is improved. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, America's daughters deserve better. Today, in the United States, women make only 77 cents for every dollar their male peers earn. In my home State of Illinois, women earn nearly $12,000 a year less than their male counterparts. During my service in the Army, compared to my male counterparts, I received equal pay for equal work. This policy of fairness has helped make our military the strongest, fiercest in the world. Pay discrimination doesn't just hurt women; it hurts working families in towns like Itasca and Elgin, Illinois. I know that my neighbors in the Eighth Congressional District believe that their daughters deserve better than this. Pay equality for women is not only the right thing to do, but it will make our economy stronger; it will make our families stronger; it will make America stronger. So, on Equal Pay Day, let us recommit ourselves to doing everything in our power to end pay inequality for our country. Congress needs to act now and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act so that women have the opportunity to stand up to this discrimination.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, the Ryan budget once again places the burden of deficit reduction on working Americans while failing to stop the frivolous spending of subsidies for oil and gas companies that cost the American people billions of dollars every year. I'm especially concerned that the Ryan budget will end the guarantee of Medicare for hardworking Americans who have paid into it. Medicare was created precisely because the private market failed to provide seniors with affordable and quality health care. Even if senior citizens are able to find decent health insurance, they would still have to pay $1,000 more a year for prescription drugs after the Ryan budget reopens the doughnut hole. Overall, their budget will force seniors to pay $59,500 more in health care costs during their retirement. My neighbors, who work so hard to pay their mortgages and send their children to college, can't afford to spend another $59,500. Rather than ramming through a partisan budget that will never become law, I encourage Congress to work together on a budget that can preserve Medicare, reduce the deficit, and grow our economy.

Ms. DUCKWORTH

Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, last week I traveled across my district listening to my neighbors, who cannot afford the cuts that will go into place under sequestration. At Harper College, school superintendents told me that sequestration will cut vital programs and jeopardize the future of our children. In Hanover Park, I listened to officials discussing desperately needed transportation investments. With sequestration, we will lose both construction jobs and potential new investments in our business parks. In Itasca, veterans who would sacrifice everything for our Nation wonder why Congress can't come together and stop the cuts that will hurt this country they love so much. They didn't go home until they got their mission accomplished, and we shouldn't go home until we revolve this self-inflicted crisis. Both parties agreed to the sequester. The time for finger-pointing and assigning blame is over. We should immediately vote on and pass commonsense measures like stopping Medicare fraud, ending subsidies for oil and gas industries, and ending tax loopholes for large corporations. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up House Resolution 699, a balanced bill to replace the sequester with spending cuts and revenues, a measure that would save thousands of jobs.