J. Forbes

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research and Development, Defense Wide, Joint Experimentation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Deputy Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness Address of Requesting Entity: Patrick Henry Building, 1111 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23218 Description of Request: Provides $2,900,000 to enhance the Commonwealth of Virginia's interdiction, response and recovery capabilities to a WMD event through the conduct of a multiple agency, maritime full scale exercise. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research and Development, Defense Wide, Defense Technology Analysis Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Old Dominion Research Foundation Address of Requesting Entity: 4111 Monarch Way, Suite 204, Norfolk, VA, 23801 Description of Request: Provides $800,000 to Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center in Suffolk, Virginia to formulate modeling and simulation standards for model research, development and use by the government, academic and industry sectors. This is the second year of a three year study.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, last night I made thousands of phone calls across my district in a tele-town hall meeting, and I listened to my constituents, and two phrases emerged. The first one was ``fear.'' They're afraid of the recklessness that would allow us to begin a massive new program the experts agree will not reduce health care costs and will devastate the economy before we fix Medicare, which they know will be bankrupt in just 8 years. They're afraid of the arrogance that leads some to conclude that a government committee or bureaucrat will make a better decision about an individual's health care than that individual can make with their doctor. And they're also afraid of the short-sightedness of creating a plan that will result in rationing health care to seniors and creating longer lines and waits for the procedures they need. But they're also grateful. They're grateful for those of us who will listen to them to bring some common sense and balance to the health care debate by stopping this race to a government takeover of their health care system and that will work instead for a system that finally puts our patients first.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3288, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Rd., Chesterfield, Virginia 23832 USA Description of Request: Provides $750,000 to construct a new interchange at I-295 and Meadowville Road which will enhance economic development opportunities for the region and help relieve local roads of the additional traffic generated. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Economic Development Initiatives Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Rd., Chesapeake, Virginia 23322 USA Description of Request: Provides $250,000 to construct a museum/ visitor center and historic park to commemorate the Battle of Great Bridge, the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and the Dismal Swamp Canal and the growth of commerce in Hampton Roads. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Economic Development Initiatives Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Suffolk, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 524 N. Main St., Suffolk, Virginia 23434 USA Description of Request: Provides $200,000 to design and construct the Dismal Swamp Interpretive Center within the new Suffolk Visitor Center.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3293, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)--Health Facilities and Services Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Health System Address of Requesting Entity: 500 Discovery Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia 23320 USA Description of Request: Provides $200,000 to assist in the building of a centralized multi-specialty children's health center in the Norfolk, Virginia area. Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Health System (CHKD) is the only freestanding children's hospital in the Commonwealth and the region's sole source of exclusively pediatric inpatient and outpatient care. As such, it furthers HRSA's mission of promoting access to vital health services. The current, scattered CHKD locations create access concerns due to the fragmentation of the services. CHKD will build a permanent home in Chesapeake to house outpatient services, and the center will serve the growing pediatric population and expansive geography that are the hallmarks of the region. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)--Health Facilities and Services Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Hopewell, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 300 N. Main Street, Hopewell, Virginia 23860 USA Description of Request: Provides $257,000 to consolidate multiple city social services agencies into one building to reduce costs. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)--Substance Abuse Treatment Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832 USA Description of Request: Provides $143,000 to support the Dual Treatment Track (DTT), which is a pretrial diversion program for non- violent defendants that suffer from both a mental illness and substance abuse addiction (federally defined as a vulnerable population). The program uses ``best practice'' models to divert individuals from the local jail who are of minimal threat to the community, yet in serious need of both substance abuse and mental health services. The DTT program provides benefits for everyone involved in the criminal justice and mental health systems. It reduces the burden of specialized care that the jail is forced to provide. It gives the court a new tool in dealing with a population that is traditionally difficult to effectively sentence. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Employment and Training Administration (ETA)--Training & Employment Services (TES) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322 USA Description of Request: Provides $250,000 to create a community service model for increasing citizen accessibility to workforce training and education resources. This initiative would form a partnership with Chesapeake Library, Economic Development, and Social Services, Tidewater Community College, Opportunity, Inc., and Chesapeake Adult Continuing Education to provide training and education resources to citizens in an effort to help them secure employment.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.Q. 3183, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Army Corps of Engineers, Construction Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, VA Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322 Description of Request: Provides $100,000 to replace the existing 2- lane Deep Creek AIW Bridge with a 5-lane, dual bascule bridge, thus providing a new structurally sound bridge and reducing traffic congestion along the corridor. AIW Deep Creek Bridge (owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers) was built in 1934 and is functionally obsolete. The City and State (along with FHWA) have made improvements on either side of the bridge and now replacement of the bridge is critical to the movement of people and goods along U.S. Rt. 17 as well as the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Army Corps of Engineers, O&M Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Army Corps of Engineers Address of Requesting Entity: 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 Description of Request: Provides $2,620,000 for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal to protect the navigation route between the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and the VA-NC state line in the North Landing River, a distance of 27 miles. The ACC is of critical importance to transportation, especially to the U.S. Navy which transported over 55 million gallons of jet fuel yearly from the Craney Island to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. Failure to fund the ACC will result in the Navy being unable to meet the fuel demand of the Oceana Naval Station. The Navy has stated that trucking this much fuel would not be feasible on a long-term basis. In addition, commercial and recreation vessels travel the ACC in lieu of the Atlantic Ocean to prevent entry into the dangerous waters off Cape Hatteras. An average of over 1,000,000 tons of commerce passed though the Great Bridge Lock yearly. Funds will be used to continue to operate the navigation lock, swing bridge, and canal. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Army Corps of Engineers, Investigations Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Army Corps of Engineers Address of Requesting Entity: 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 Description of Request: Provides $100,000 to investigate federal flood control projects in the Chowan River Basin. In many locations within the basin, six of the top 10 historical high water marks have occurred from 1998 forward, including the flood of record (Hurricane Floyd in 1999), October 2006 cold core upper level low (second highest), and Hurricane Isabel in 2003 (5th highest). Damages from these storm events have ranged from $10M to over $100M (February 2008 dollars). The reconnaissance study will evaluate the Federal interest in ways to protect the water resources of this highly productive basin with particular emphasis on restoring wetlands and forested buffers lost from erosion and flooding, reducing flood damages throughout the basin, and improving navigation and to determine the Federal interest in conducting a more detailed feasibility study. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Army Corps of Engineers, O&M Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Hopewell, VA Address of Requesting Entity: 300 North Main Street, Hopewell, VA 23860 Description of Request: Provides $600,000 to obtain funding for the maintenance dredge of the Appomattox River. The dredging of the Appomattox River will be of benefit to the region in that it will: (1) restore the Appomattox River to the free-flowing, fully navigable river that it was until the late 1970s; (2) reconnect the City to the navigable portions of the Appomattox River; (3) serve as a catalyst for the commercial and residential revitalization; (4) enhance local and regional tourism and recreational opportunities; and (5) improve the environmental condition of the Appomattox River. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Department of Energy, EERE Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Hopewell, VA Address of Requesting Entity: 300 North Main Street, Hopewell, VA 23860 Description of Request: Provides $350,000 to support the city's Green Building and Retrofitting Program. Building green requires the wise use of available materials and resources through energy and water efficiency strategies, the recycling of waste, and the use of recycled materials. Energy use is reduced through strategies such as low-e glazing, thicker insulation, energy recovery, demand-controlled ventilation, efficient mechanical equipment, and the use of renewable energy. The focus on indoor air quality that is characteristic of green buildings and better health, increases productivity, and, among students, higher test scores.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3082, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010 Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 3082 Account: Military Construction Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Fort Lee Address of Requesting Entity: 3901 A Avenue, Fort Lee, VA, 23801 Description of Request: Provides $5,000,000 to fund a roundabout at Adams Avenue at the entrance to Fort Lee to alleviate traffic congestion and improve vehicular and pedestrian safety.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2996, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 2996 Account: Fish and Wildlife Service, Land Acquisition Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The Conservation Fund, Chesapeake, VA Address of Requesting Entity: US 17, Chesapeake, Virginia, 23323, USA Description of Request: Provides $150,000 to fund the acquisition of 50 acres that has been identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the preferred site for the construction of a new visitor's center for the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes Bill Number: H.R. 2996 Account: National Park Service, Save America's Treasures Legal name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Chesterfield, VA Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Rd, Chesterfield, VA, 23832, USA Description of Request: Provides $150,000 to repair and preserve five historical structures in Chesterfield County.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the Rules Committee for allowing me to bring this amendment by making it in order. No matter what the motivation or the intentions, I appreciate that opportunity. And I want to make it clear this amendment is not an addition. It is an amendment in the nature of a substitute that would replace the current bill on the floor. Madam Speaker, I would also like to make clear that this is not a Democratic amendment, obviously, and I think we will hear from the Democratic leadership in a few minutes to make that clear. It's not a Republican amendment, and we will probably hear from the Republican leadership to that extent in just a few moments. But it is an amendment that's overwhelmingly supported by the American people. I never cease to be amazed at how day after day we come in this body, and as we enter this great Chamber, we somehow put on our adversarial robes and we pick up our adversarial clubs and then we go about our business. But, unfortunately, the adversarial process often leads us to be more concerned with scoring points than we are with winning solutions. In this debate I have listened to today there are good men and women on both sides, and there are smart men and women on both sides, and they all believe they are right. But there are limits to the good ideas that we can bring into this one Chamber about energy. The reality is if you're from a coal area, the people back at home know you're going to be fighting for coal. If you're from a gas area, you're going to be fighting for gas. And if you're from an area with a lot of wind or solar technology, that's what you're going to be certain it's going to solve our energy problem. But even the majority can't always be right, and that's why only 33 percent of the people in America approve of what Congress is doing currently today. This amendment, Madam Speaker, is the new Manhattan Project for energy independence. A lot of people have talked about doing something like this. Today we have an opportunity to do it. And it has a novel approach. It says that instead of the 435 of us on this floor bringing our ideas and imposing them on the American people, what we do is bring together a commission of the brightest men and women in America, from government, from the private sector, from academics, and we have them create in the next year a plan of energy for this country that would get us 50 percent independent from foreign oil in 10 years and 100 percent in 20 years or tell us why we can't get there. And this amendment also realizes that in this bill on the floor today, we are essentially redistributing another $800 billion of taxpayer money because we think we know what's best for Americans. The new Manhattan Project amendment would set seven goals for energy independence. They are goals that almost everybody agrees we need to reach energy independence: doubling vehicle fuel efficiency, cutting home and business energy usage in half, having solar power work as cheaply as coal, making biofuels work as cheaply as gasoline, safely and cheaply storing carbon emissions from our coal-fired plants, safely storing nuclear waste and producing electricity from nuclear fusion reactions. Then through grants and prizes it energizes an entire Nation to reach those goals through their innovation and their ideas and their imagination. But, Madam Speaker, perhaps the most important thing this amendment does is it restores American competitiveness by sending out two signals. First of all, it sends a signal out across this country to the American people that we trust them and America is coming back on its competitive edge. And, secondly, it sends a shot across the bow of every country in the world, telling them we are not going to surrender, that we are going to come back, and we are going to compete, and we are going to win on a fair playing field, and we are going to restore a competitive advantage that is going to lead us for the next 50 years. And then finally, Madam Speaker, it invigorates a whole generation of Americans to go into math and science and be a part of our energy solution for years to come. And so with that, Madam Speaker, I hope that we will pass this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, the gentleman mentions those 8 years of bad ideas. That's why these similar concepts were endorsed in the campaign by President Obama, Senator McCain, Senator Clinton and also individuals like Newt Gingrich. I would like to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schock).

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Inglis).

Mr. FORBES. I would say to the gentleman, we have three, maybe four more speakers.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, can you tell us how much time we have remaining.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlelady from Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann).

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Texas, the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Barton.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, can you tell me how much additional time we have?

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes. Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot today about how these ideas of a new Manhattan Project were stale ideas of this party. I stated at the beginning that, unfortunately, we get so tied up in this Chamber in our adversarial process that all we're concerned about is how many points we take from each other. The reality is that a project like this, the new Manhattan Project, or you can call it a ``poppy project,'' were concepts that were talked about by President Obama during the campaign, by Senator Clinton during the campaign, by Senator McCain during the campaign and, as I mentioned earlier, by former Speaker Newt Gingrich, and many other people. They're concepts that have been approved by 77 percent of the American people. And what they do is substitute for taxation of the American people the concept of innovation and trusting the ideas of the ingenuity and imagination of people across America. We talked about what this bill can do if we reach just one of these goals. Just one of these goals, it could change and save us as much as $100 billion. But, most of all, Madam Speaker, this trusts the American people to do what they always do, and that is find a way to win, if we don't quit before they have a chance to win. And it sends a message to them at a time when they're back on their heels and they need some wins, that we trust that they, with their imagination and innovation, can do things that this body can't do and can't dictate to them. Perhaps it was best said by Mr. Friedman in a New York Times article that he wrote--and I don't agree with everything he says, but I agree with this. He said, I want an energy bubble. I want so many people throwing crazy dollars at every idea and every garage that we have a hundred thousand people trying a hundred thousand things, five of which might work and two might be the next green Google. But I don't want a Manhattan Project of 12 people in Los Alamos. I want it to be like the IT revolution: everyone becoming a programmer. Only, in this case, it's everyone becoming a green innovator. What IT was to the eighties and nineties, ET, energy technology, will be to the early 21st century. Madam Speaker, this amendment gives us that opportunity. This amendment will birth that ability for Americans to create the energy solutions that we need as we go forward into the next several decades and to give our children and our grandchildren the competitive edge to compete in a world economy. With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, may I request how much time is remaining?

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes. Madam Speaker, the distinguished minority leader just said that Americans must lead; and lead, they must. He also indicated that the cost of their failure would be passed on to our children and grandchildren. As one of only 17 Members in this body that has voted against every bailout bill and stimulus bill we have passed, I ask the American people who watch here, what has been the enormous cost of our failure in spending all of those dollars, and what have you got from it? Also, Madam Speaker, I would say this--that the American people can lead. They're not stupid. Only 33 percent of them approve of what we're doing. We have a choice. Only in this body could they believe that we could say words like, We're going to create jobs by destroying jobs. We're going to reduce your taxes by increasing your taxes. We're going to come in here with all your parochialism, and we can create a plan for you that is far better than the brightest experts on energy could do by having this amendment. We prefer taxation over innovation of the American people. Or we'll have a bill like this that only sets a 20 percent goal in 11 years for renewable energy, where in this bill we set a 50 percent goal of dependence from foreign oil in 10 years and 100 percent in 20 years. And, finally, that in this bill we know we're going to spend $800 billion that probably won't work. In our bill and this amendment, Madam Speaker, we know that we only pay $24 billion, and we only have to pay it when we get the results. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished minority leader, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).

Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, if we don't listen to anything else on this debate, we need to pause just a moment and listen to what's happening right now. Just a couple of moments ago in missile defense, we heard over there, ``Unless you have oversight, you should not spend money on missile defense or other platforms,'' and yet the majority and this administration fights us at every juncture to deny the transparency we need for that very oversight. This administration came in. The first Executive order that they had, said, democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency. And the first things they do, when it comes to national defense, they issue gag orders to hundreds of people in the Pentagon so that they could not talk about the severity of some of these changes and some of the cuts taking place. They classified the inspections on our vessels so we can't know the difficulty we have with maintenance requirements. They refused to certify that the budget would meet our shipbuilding plan as required by law. They refused to even send over a shipbuilding plan. They refused to certify an aviation plan that the budget would meet, that as required by law. They refused to even send over an aviation plan, and they refused to give us the outyear projections on what the budget dollars would actually be. Mr. Chairman, we have a simple amendment that would try to rein in some of these gag orders, and the majority has already sent out a letter saying it's just too hard, it's going to impact all of these other programs, when they could have exempted every single one of those programs if they wanted to; they just refused to do it. The bottom line is, Mr. Chairman, when it comes down to transparency with this administration, here's what it means: We're going to be transparent to our enemies. We are going to tell them what questions we can ask them, what we can try to gather, information from them, when they're about to attack our Nation, our innocent civilians, but when it comes to transparency to the American people and what's going in the budget, we're not going to do that. So, Mr. Chairman, I hope it will be the pleasure of this House to adopt this amendment and put some transparency back in this process.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.