Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close. Mr. Speaker, it is important that campaign finance reform come to the floor and be voted on. For that reason, we will not oppose this rule, even though this is an unfair rule, an unusual rule, and a rule structured by the majority to provide the maximum opportunity for mischief and the maximum opportunity to deny the House a direct vote on Shays-Meehan. This is not a good rule. This is not a fair rule. But the minority has no choice but to permit the process to go forward and attempt to frustrate the majority's mischief by uniting our side with Members on the other side who want true campaign finance reform. We will support Shays-Meehan. We reluctantly agree that this rule should go forward so the debate may begin.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise as one of the 435 Members of the House of Representatives who oppose terrorism. I will vote for this motion even as I make clear that none of us condones acts of violence committed against the people of the United States. But, Mr. Speaker, none of us should condone the transparent political charade being put on by the Republican leadership here today. The Republican leadership refuses to allow this House to pass a bipartisan HMO reform bill. Doctors and patients support it, Democrats, and as many as 20 rank-and-file Republicans have supported it. But the insurance companies and big HMOs do not want it, so the Republicans cannot find time to let us pass a real patients' bill of rights. Neither can the Republican leadership find the time to allow the House to raise the minimum wage for working families. They cannot even find the time to send to the President the centerpiece of the Republican agenda, the huge tax plan that would risk Medicare and prevent us from paying down the debt. But the Republican leadership is turning procedural handstands to make time for this vote today. Why? For the same reasons this Republican Congress does almost everything it does. First, because Republicans think this vote will provide them with the raw material for 30-second attack ads next year. And, secondly, because the Republicans are solely concerned with providing red meat for the right wing that remains obsessed with the President. Mr. Speaker, the American people know that the House of Representatives opposes this terrorism, but the American people are also beginning to see that this Republican Congress will do everything it can to protect its special interest supporters and prevent Democrats from addressing America's real priorities.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, this rule should be defeated. Members of the Republican Party have shamelessly turned their backs on the veterans of this Nation, and they have done so in this rule and this bill. My Republican colleagues have shown, by failing to make in order the Edwards amendment, that they are perfectly willing to sacrifice the health care for the veterans of this Nation. For what, Mr. Speaker? For a capital gains tax cut that will provide the lion's share of its benefits, some 76 percent to those Americans making over $200,000. Our veterans who depend upon the Veterans Administration for their health care have sacrificed much for their country and are now being asked to sacrifice yet again to the very wealthiest in this Nation. In my book, Mr. Speaker, that simply does not add up. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) asked the Committee on Rules for the right to offer an amendment to the VA-HUD appropriations bill that would increase veterans health care by $730 million and delay the capital gains tax cut for 1 year. While the Committee on Appropriations is to be commended for adding more funds to veterans health care, the money available simply will not cover the need. Yet, the Republican majority is willing to ignore this critical need all in the name of preserving a tax cut that will provide most of its benefits for the very richest among us. For that reason, I must oppose this rule. I cannot in good conscience go home to my constituents next week and tell them I am supporting cutting veterans health care so that those who have all they need and want, who can afford the very best health care available, might enjoy a benefit of a tax cut. This is a shameless situation, Mr. Speaker, and one I know my constituents will not soon forget.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, as we are all aware, the chief complaint of the right wing of the Republican Party over the past few years has been that their leadership lacked real commitment to the core right-wing principles of their conference. Well, today, Mr. Speaker, the Republican right wing should be pleased, because the true believers have asserted their control over this Republican Congress. Today, the Republican Congress makes its priorities crystal clear. Today, the Republican Party plainly states its commitment to risking Social Security, Medicare and our economy on fiscally irresponsible, budget-busting tax breaks for the wealthiest that could cost us $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Why, Mr. Speaker, would Republicans risk exploding the deficit once again, driving up interest rates and hurting an economy that is the envy of the world? Do Republicans believe that Americans want their mortgage payments to go up? Do Republicans believe that Americans want their credit card bills to go up? Mr. Speaker, I have pointed out before that the record of the Republican Congress makes clear their belief that Congress' only job is providing red meat for the right-wing extremists controlling their party. Why else would they insist on squandering the surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest and refuse to devote even a few dollars to saving Medicare? Nothing speaks more clearly to the priorities of this Congress. Just 16 years from now, Medicare faces a death sentence, but Republicans refuse to use a dime of the surplus to delay that execution by even a day. Mr. Speaker, Democrats support fiscally responsible tax cuts, targeted to the middle class, but we cannot support risking Social Security, Medicare and the economy. I urge defeat of this bill.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Democratic Caucus, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 277) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment by my good friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). I think the point has been adequately made that local telephone companies, like every other U.S. business, keep their books according to generally accepted accounting principles, yet they must also keep a second set of books developed by the FCC in 1935. It is time to change this process, this procedure.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority spends a lot of time opining about how they want to help working men and women in this country. Yet, Mr. Speaker, at a time when the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is poised to issue a rule which seeks to protect American workers from workplace hazards which can lead to serious injury, the Republican majority wants to call a time-out. H.R. 987 does nothing to help working men and women in this country, and the Republican majority should not waste the time of this House by saying that it does. This bill is nothing more than another attack by the majority on establishing workplace protections that might very well save American businesses money in lost productivity, worker compensation claims, and disability insurance. If the House is going to call time-out, Mr. Speaker, it ought to be on the consideration of this bill and not on the health and safety of the American workforce. Mr. Speaker, work-related musculoskeletal disorders cost employers between $15 and $20 billion a year in workers compensation costs. Ergonomic injuries and illnesses are the single largest cause of injury-related lost workdays, with nearly 650,000 lost-time injuries each year. These injuries are found in every sector of our economy and cause real pain and suffering. Women workers are particularly victimized by ergonomic injuries and illness. They represent 69 percent of workers who lose time due to carpal tunnel syndrome, 63 percent of those who suffer repetitive motion injuries, and 61 percent who lose work time to tendonitis. In fact, Mr. Speaker, nearly half of all injuries and illnesses to women workers are due to ergonomic hazards. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 987 proposes for at least another year and a half the promulgation of a rule that will provide needed health and safety standards for American workers. There is sound scientific evidence that shows that workplace factors cause musculoskeletal injuries and that show these injuries can be prevented. Many employers have seen the benefit in improving workplace conditions to prevent these injuries and have, as a result, seen injuries fall and productivity rise. If the Republican majority really wanted to do something for working men and women in this country, they would drop their opposition to these workplace protections and withdraw this bill. I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 987 and a ``no'' vote on the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I urge the rule be defeated, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York, Mr. Crowley. (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

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

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson).

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

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens). (Mr. OWENS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, if I could ask the gentleman one final question. Is there any possibility that we will be here next Saturday? The gentleman indicated the real possibility that we will be here after 2 p.m. on Friday. Could it also be that we would be here next Saturday?

Mr. FROST. As the gentleman knows, in some cities where they play baseball at night, there is a rule that no inning can begin after a certain hour. I was just wondering if there is any possibility we could go to that in our night sessions.

Mr. FROST. The only other question I would have to the gentleman from Texas is he has indicated that we will be working late, probably each night. Does the gentleman have any idea how late that will be?

Mr. FROST. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me the customary half-hour, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support this rule and the resolution allowing the House to continue to work beyond the statutory deadline of July 31. We have a lot more work to do and the American people want us to get it done. The American people want us to pass a Patients' Bill of Rights to ensure no one is denied medical services regardless of the bottom line. The American people want us to pass campaign finance reform to take our political system back from the powerful special interests and give it to the American citizens. The American people want us to protect Social Security and Medicare before they collapse beginning in the year 2015. The American people want us to finish the Juvenile Justice bill in order to get the funding in place now to protect our schools before classes start up in the fall. Although we only have another week before Congress goes into recess, I hope my Republican colleagues will consider taking up these important issues before any others. I urge my colleagues to support this rule. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.