Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sandlin).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriquez).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it makes no sense to me to reduce the Social Security of a retiree simply because the spouse of that person happens to be a teacher or firefighter or police officer. These jobs are not high- paying jobs. Those who chose this path have done so because they want to make life better for all of us. And what do we do? We deprive them of a significant portion of their hard-earned retirement benefits just because one spouse works for a government entity instead of a private company. That is just wrong. I urge a no vote on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will offer an amendment to the rule that will do two things. First, it will strike Section 418, the portion of the bill that prevents certain public employees from receiving the full amount of their deceased spouse's Social Security survivor benefits, benefits to which they are otherwise entitled. It will also add to the base bill, H.R. 743, the text of H.R. 594, the Social Security Fairness Act which will once and for all eliminate the pension offsets that so unfairly diminish all the retirement benefits of our valued public employees. I want to point out that H.R. 594 is a broadly bipartisan bill and has the support of 285 co-sponsors, nearly two-thirds of the membership on the House. Vote no on the previous question so we can help all of those who were unfairly penalized in their pension benefits simply because their spouse is a government employee and one works for the private sector. Let us support those who go into the public service. Let us support our teachers, our policemen and our firemen, not penalize them. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the amendment in the nature of a substitute be printed in the Record immediately before the vote on the previous question.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my sorrow for the crew and family members of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. While Sunday marked the one year anniversary of the space shuttle tragedy, the memory and dedication of the Columbia crew must never be forgotten. The seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia--six American and one Israeli--exemplified the courage and commitment that have been the hallmark of America's space program for decades. Their efforts to better understand the heavens and advance the cause of scientific discovery added greatly to our society and our Nation's vision for the future. I am especially saddened by the loss of Flight Engineer and Mission Specialist Dr. Kalpana Chawla. K.C., as she was known by her friends and coworkers, received her master's of aerospace engineering degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in my Congressional District. A native of India, K.C. was the first woman from her country to enter space. Selected amongst thousands of applicants by NASA in 1994, she never forgot her time in Arlington or her Indian roots. In fact, among some of the items that she took with her into space was a UTA T-shirt with ``UT Arlington Aerospace Engineering'' printed on one side and ``As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist,'' on the other. K.C. took great pride in her Indian roots. She believed her entry into space was a great accomplishment for her country and was impressed by the level of support that her fellow Indians expressed for her. In a final e-mail that she sent to the students of her hometown school, she said: ``The path from dreams to success does exist; may you have the vision to find it, the courage to get onto it and the perseverance to follow it. Wishing you a great journey.'' As we stop to remember and reflect upon the life of Dr. Kalpana Chawla and her fellow crew members of Columbia, we must assure ourselves that their lives were not lost in vain. We must continue the mission to explore space and to educate the underprivileged about the mission that K.C. and her fellow astronauts embarked upon. Mr. Speaker, my thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the astronauts as they continue to mourn the loss of these amazing heroes.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, for months the Republicans who control the Federal Government have held hostage some of the foremost priorities of the American people. Key national needs like education, veterans' health care, law enforcement have all been relegated to the back burner while Republican leaders fought amongst themselves over how best to privatize Medicare and reward big drug companies. But today, my Republican friends undoubtedly will come down to the floor and proclaim that this giant $820 billion spending bill finishes their work for the year. In response, millions of Americans still struggling through the aftermath of the last Republican recession will respond ``What about us?'' It is a fair question, Mr. Speaker. What about the 2.4 million American jobs that have been lost since the Republican Party first took over the government 3 years ago? What about the 90,000 Americans who will lose their unemployment insurance eligibility just 3 days after Christmas or the 2.1 million unemployed workers who will lose access to extended insurance over the first 6 months of next year? In my home State of Texas, over 130,000 people will lose unemployment insurance if this Republican Congress does not act to help them, according to the Joint Economic Committee's analysis of the data from the Labor Department. Republican leaders often try to spin away statistics like this, but the truth is the Bush Presidency has seen this Nation suffer through the longest job slump since the Great Depression, and the picture is still grim for millions of Americans trying to find good jobs to support their families. While the number of jobs in America has shrunk by 2.4 million, the working-age population in America has grown by 4.5 million. As a result, America's ``jobs deficit'' has shot up to 6.9 million on the Republican watch. That has put American workers in a huge hole and left three unemployed workers for every one job that becomes available. Despite these facts, Mr. Speaker, Republican leaders are, once again, planning to adjourn for the holidays without extending unemployment insurance, just like they did last year. Mr. Speaker, there is no reason to treat the American people with such callousness. It would be only fair to provide them with the help that they need before Congress goes home for the holidays. Even the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, supports doing it, as he said this morning in the Committee on Rules. After all, the Republican Congress has already done huge favors for their biggest supporters. Over the last 3 years, they have squandered trillions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest few, driving the national deficit above $500 billion on an annual basis and raising the debt tax on all Americans. And today, President Bush will sign the Republican ``wither-on-the-vine'' Medicare bill. This monstrosity spends billions to subsidize HMOs and drug companies, but it actually reduces seniors' choices and it makes it illegal for them to reduce the huge out-of- pocket cost that the Republican bill does not cover. It will not let retirees cover these drug costs with the employer-provided drug coverage that they already have, even though the Republican bill may only cover selected medicines, regardless of what their doctor says they need. And it will not let seniors buy Medigap policies to cover their $3,600 in out-of-pocket expenses either. Mr. Speaker, that is an outrage, and it comes on top of a $12 billion slush fund for HMOs and $139 billion in windfall profits for big drug companies. So why, Mr. Speaker, will Republicans not spend just a tiny fraction of that to help Americans still suffering from the latest Republican recession? Why will they not use their legislation on the floor today, an $820 billion collection of several different spending bills, to provide desperately-needed relief over the holidays to Americans who still cannot find a job? After all, the omnibus spending bill provides plenty of assistance to others. For the big drug companies, Republican leaders have dropped drug reimportation language passed by the House and Senate, meaning that drug prices will still be astronomically higher for America's seniors than for people in other countries. For some of the Bush administration's biggest corporate backers, Republicans have dropped overtime protection for workers, meaning that millions of Americans will get paid less, even as they are forced to work more. And they are spending $13 million on vouchers to subsidize private schools for a few, taking desperately needed resources from the public schools that serve all American children. Despite all this, Mr. Speaker, there are still many worthwhile parts to this massive spending bill. For instance, Democrats and veterans groups have finally forced Republicans to increase funding for veterans medical care that would still fall short of what they need. And to help communities protect children against abduction, this bill includes $24 million for the national Amber Alert Program that I first introduced earlier this year. It also includes vital resources to address important transportation issues in north Texas. So why can this Republican Congress not do just one more good deed before the holidays? Mr. Speaker, why not help the 1.4 million workers who cannot find work, who have already exhausted their extended benefits and have yet to find work? Republican leaders may not care about helping them, but that does not have to stop this Congress from doing the right thing. If Republican Members will join Democrats in opposing the important parliamentary vote known as the previous question, then we can amend the rule and pass commonsense assistance for Americans still unable to find work in this jobless recovery. Otherwise, while Republicans are enjoying their vacations, hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans will spend the holidays preparing to lose the unemployment insurance they need to support their families. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee). (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is probably the House's final work day this year, but Republican leaders are, once again, callously turning their backs on the millions of unemployed Americans whose Federal unemployment insurance will expire just days after Christmas. The Republican leadership has found billions of dollars to extend tax breaks for corporations, but they keep refusing to help the jobless Americans who are still suffering from the last Republican recession. To give Republicans one last chance to do the right thing, I will oppose the previous question on this rule so that we can immediately take up legislation to extend the expiring Federal unemployment benefits. This commonsense legislation would continue the extended unemployment benefits program through the first 6 months of next year. It would increase to 26 weeks the amounts of benefits provided under the program, up from 13 weeks. It would provide new help to the 1.4 million workers who have already exhausted their extended benefits and have yet to find work. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is identical to the text of H.R. 3244, the Rangel-Cardin unemployment extension, and it also contains the text of H.R. 3554 by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) which would fix a flaw in the current law that prevents those States with exceptionally high, long-term unemployment rates from continuing to receive the help their citizens need. Mr. Speaker, Americans still face a difficult jobs market. Since President Bush took office, the economy has lost 2.4 million jobs. That is the worst jobs record for a President since Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. The percentage of Americans exhausting their unemployment benefits without finding a job has reached its highest level on record. These Americans need relief and they need it immediately. If we do not extend unemployment benefits, then more than 2 million workers will lose benefits in the first 6 months of next year, including over 130,000 in my State of Texas alone. I want to stress that this vote is not intended to stop the omnibus conference report from consideration in the House. Voting ``no'' on the previous question will still allow that bill to move forward today. But a ``no'' vote will allow the House to vote on legislation to help provide some much-needed relief to our Nation's unemployed workers, particularly during this holiday season. However, if Members vote ``yes'' on the previous question, they will kill any chance for extending unemployment assistance that is so desperately needed by millions of our constituents and their families. Let us be clear. This vote will give the House the opportunity to vote today on extended Federal unemployment benefits and on giving relief to those hardest hit to the President's dismal economic record. I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the amendment be printed in the Record immediately before the vote on the previous question.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Daniel Miller of Arlington, Texas. Daniel is the artist who designed the Texas State quarter, which will debut in 2004 and will be the 28th in the series of state commemorative quarters from the U.S. Mint. His design was picked from over 3000 entries. Daniel has gracefully and accurately captured the spirit of our great State. The Texas State quarter will feature a Lone Star springing from the outline of a map of Texas, with a lariat featured prominently. When asked about what inspired him with the coin's design, Daniel simply said, ``I toyed around with putting the Alamo in, but Texas is so much more than just the Alamo.'' Indeed, Texas is much more than the Alamo. Its rich history and people can hardly be summed up in a coin, but Mr. Miller has gamely risen to the task. Although a native Minnesotan, having come to Texas only 15 years ago, Daniel's design tells me that the blood of a true Texan runs through his veins. Daniel's inspired work will soon be familiar to millions of people across this great nation. Whether they collect or spend the Texas quarter, I believe that a little bit of the Texas spirit will rub off on everyone who encounters Daniel's work of art. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of Daniel and his work to recognize Texas's great history. I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating Daniel Miller as we celebrate his design for the Texas State quarter. We salute him today.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, marshal law rules like this one are symptomatic of the failure of this Republican government. Republicans are doing such harm to America, from Medicare and the economy to foreign policy and homeland security, that keeping the public in the dark has become their chief priority. So today, Republican leaders are yet again waiving the rules of the House. Later today they plan to do it in order to force through their plan to end Medicare as we know it, which is how the chief author of the Republican Medicare bill describes their goal. But first, Republican leaders want to pass this marshal law rule so that they can rush through a spending bill before Members, the press, and the public have had the chance to find out what is really in it. Mr. Speaker, they will not even tell us which spending bill they plan to hide from us today. All we know is that it will either spend tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money, or that it will spend hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Either way, it will become law before it has even been read by anyone except for a handful of Republicans at the White House and in the Congress. But since these are the same Republicans who have exploded the budget deficit to nearly $500 billion, raising the debt tax on all Americans, no one has much faith in them anymore. Mr. Speaker, after nearly a decade of controlling the Congress, the Republican Party's fundamental goal is simply protecting its own power by hiding from the public the damage they are doing to America. Of course, if you look at the Republican record, you can understand why they are so desperate to keep it hidden. In the nearly 3 years since George Bush became President, Republicans have created a whole host of problems for the American people. On national security, the Bush administration has plunged this Nation into its worst foreign policy crisis since the end of the cold war because they would not trust the American people with the truth about Iraq and because they could not work with our allies around the world. And while U.S. taxpayers are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Iraq, our homeland defense needs here in the United States remain dangerously unmet. On domestic policy, of course, Republicans are going for the right wing gold. Later today they will try to finalize Newt Gingrich's dream of forcing Medicare to wither on the vine, shattering Medicare's nearly 40-year-old promise to American citizens. That debate, Mr. Speaker, will be a case study in the public dishonesty that is fundamental to the Republican government. Over and over again, Republicans will repeat their poll-tested sound bytes. They will save Medicare reform and hope that millions of seniors do not notice the Republicans are forcing them out of traditional Medicare and into HMOs and insurance companies. They will talk about choice and ignore the fact that millions of seniors will lose the ability to choose their own doctors. And they will decry skyrocketing prescription prices and hope no one notices that they are actually protecting drug company profits by making it illegal for Medicare to negotiate lower prices for senior citizens. Mr. Speaker, Republicans will wax poetic about the generosity of their drug benefit, hiding the fact that premiums and benefits will actually be set by HMOs and insurance companies; and that even under the Republicans rosiest scenario, seniors with average drug bills will still have to pay about $2,500 per year out of their own pockets. Of course, Republicans will not say a thing about the $12 billion slush funds they are setting up for HMOs or insurance companies or the $139 billion in windfall profits they are giving to the big drug companies. Mr. Speaker, no wonder the Republican Medicare bill does not take effect until after the election. Republican political strategists are desperately hoping that seniors do not discover this truth about this assault on Medicare before they go to the polls in 2004. But make no mistake, when seniors sit down at their kitchen tables to pay their bills, they are going to do the math, and they are going to see that Republicans have sold them a very expensive and very harmful bill of goods. Mr. Speaker, the false promise of the Republican Medicare plan will remind a lot of Americans of the false promise of the Republican economic plan. In less than 3 years, the Republicans have taken a historic budget surplus and turned it into a monumental deficit. They have done it through reckless fiscal irresponsibility and through an obsession with spending billions of taxpayer dollars for a small elite of the wealthiest few, people like the Bush campaign fund-raising Pioneers. As a result, instead of using the budget surplus to help address priorities like skyrocketing prescription prices and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, Republicans have created a fiscal crisis and raised the debt tax on all Americans. Along the way, nearly 3 million jobs have been lost, giving George W. Bush the worst job performance of any President since The Great Depression. Millions of families no longer share in the prosperity of the nineties. Of course, you would never know the facts if you just listened to Republican rhetoric. But talking points cannot cancel out the truth. And the truth is, Mr. Speaker, that Americans continue to be unemployed at alarmingly high rates. More than 2 million workers have been unable to find a job in this economy for more than 6 months, and many of them will lose their unemployment insurance over the holidays if this Republican Congress does not act this year before we adjourn. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I intend to oppose the important parliamentary vote known as the previous question. That is the only way to ensure Republicans do not leave town for their own holiday vacations without providing unemployed Americans with the help they so desperately need. Mr. Speaker, Americans are smarter than Republican leaders give them credit for. They know the difference between rhetoric and reality. So I urge my Republican friends to look past their leader's rhetoric and join me in providing real help to Americans suffering through this economy. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)