Mary Fallin

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I would now like to yield to the gentlelady from New York for the purposes of entering into a colloquy.

Ms. FALLIN. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, it is my goal to address the issue of certain franchisees, who by all intents and purposes are small businesses, not being allowed to receive 7(a) loans due to their affiliation with larger franchisors. I believe the Small Business Lending Improvements Act should eventually contain language to modify the SBA's affiliation standard to allow that a business, if it is affiliated with another business and therefore determined to be something other than small, to still be eligible for a loan if it has no financial recourse to its affiliates for repayment of any of its debt. These businesses operate financially independent of their franchisor and therefore operate like all other small businesses, and I believe they should be offered the same opportunity to receive the 7(a) loans as any other small business. I ask that the gentlelady work with me to address this issue in the underlying legislation.

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairwoman and ranking member for their work on this issue.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to discuss something that is neither Democrat nor Republican in nature, but simply American. That, Mr. Speaker, is the greatness of this nation and of the American community, the extraordinary ability of American men and women to overcome tragedy and to be stronger for it. Twelve years ago today, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by an explosion that claimed the lives of 168 men, women and children, and that left over 800 injured. At the time, it was the deadliest terror attack ever carried out on American soil. Like everyone else in Oklahoma, I can remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I remember seeing the carnage on television, and later that day, in person, and thinking ``How can this have happened? What kind of person would do this?'' And I saw the acts of one deranged mad man bring our city to a standstill, while the nation watched and grieved. But even before the smoke and rubble had been cleared, I saw something wonderful. I saw complete strangers coming together, praying, and comforting each other. I saw a state and then an entire nation rally behind the families who had lost their loved ones. And rather than a group of victims, the men and women of Oklahoma became a group of heroes, facing down terrorists and rebuilding both their city and their lives. Twelve years later, we still bare the scars of that awful day. We will never forget. And today, the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial stands as a reminder of our pain and our heartbreak in the days and months after that attack. But the memorial stands for more than that. It reminds us of the strength of our community. It reminds us of a city and a state that came together after a devastating attack to heal itself and to rebuild. And finally, it reminds us of the greatness of this country and of the power of American hope, even in the face of the most heartbreaking of tragedies. Our memorial is a monument to our sadness. But it is also a monument to our hope and ultimately to our strength. Today we are a thriving city. We have a new federal building which is stronger and safer than the one that was destroyed. And after facing tremendous adversity, we became a stronger people. On Monday, the nation and the state of Virginia suffered another terrible tragedy, when a crazed gunman shot and killed 33 men and women on the Virginia Tech campus. It is yet another tragedy of almost unimaginable proportions--innocent students living in what they thought was a peaceful sanctuary, only to have their lives cut short by a mad man. In a time of sadness, I believe that the story of the Oklahoma City Bombing can deliver a message of hope to the families and friends of the victims, and indeed to the nation. Twelve years ago today we saw tragedy and death. But we also witnessed the healing power of prayer and the strength of friendship and community. We found God in the most trying of times and we found ourselves stronger for it. My message to the students and faculty of Virginia Tech is this: your community and your faith are more powerful than the destructive urges of one crazed gunman. Again and again the people of this great nation are faced with adversity and tragedy, and again and again we overcome that tragedy and grow stronger. So will you. And while you struggle to find meaning in this calamity and to deal with the pain and sadness of that terrible event, you should know that all of America stands with you, and prays with you, and will ultimately heal with you.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by reviewing a little history. There have been a number of times in American history when wars didn't go as we had hoped or planned. That winter at Valley Forge was certainly difficult. During the War of 1812, the British occupied this very building, and the Civil War was far more costly and far longer than we hoped it would be. In World War II, the North African campaign was something of a mess. And the bloody island campaigns of the South Pacific were not something we had foreseen. In Korea and Vietnam, we brought limited force to bear, and we wound up settling for stalemate and ultimately defeat. So some of our wars went well, but more often they look a lot simpler and cleaner in the history books than they really were in reality. And if there is one constant warning that runs throughout our history, it is this: Congress has a vital role to play in helping America win its wars. But it can also play a role that is unintended in losing them if it says or if it does the wrong thing at the wrong time. And that is what this resolution says and does, the wrong thing. This is a nonbinding resolution, which is nothing more than a political game. But the war on terror is not a game. We have to consider what our enemies will read into this resolution. What if Congress during the Valley Forge winter had passed a resolution saying it is time to send our troops home, retire General Washington, and go ahead and pay the tax anyway? What if Congress in the spring of 1863 had looked at the results of Bull Run and said, We can't win this, it's a civil war. Forget the idealism about freeing the slaves. What if Congress in 1942 or 1943 had told Franklin Roosevelt to pull out of North Africa and Italy and to give up those silly ideas of liberating France? What would our enemies have thought about America's lack of will? They would have assumed that we had lost our will to win, and they would have said America can't cut it. Well, make no mistake, Iraq is just one battle in our overall war on terror. If this resolution passes, it is sending a very clear message of our weakness, and our enemies are watching today. Just listen to the words of Osama bin Laden. He said, The whole world is watching this war and the two adversaries, the Islamic Nation on the one hand, and the United States and its allies on the other. It is either victory or glory, or it is either misery or humiliation. We cannot be the Nation of humiliation. The terrorists know what is at stake, and it is time that we show them that we know as well, and that failure is not an option for our Nation. We have to ask ourselves, what is at risk for the future of our Nation? Will our Nation be safer from radical Islamic terrorists if we pull out before the new Iraqi democracy becomes stable and an ally in the war on terror? Ask yourself, what Islamic terrorist leader has said that if America leaves Iraq that he will be satisfied and the terrorists will end their attack? Has not been said. We must take extraordinary precautions to protect our Nation from those who would do us harm, and someday our children and our grandchildren will look back on this decision this week, and they will reflect on their lives, and the question we have to ask ourselves today is will our children live in a safer America? I urge the rejection of this resolution.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Madam Speaker, as you know, February is American Heart Month. It is a time when we here in Congress and the people across America can reaffirm their commitment to fighting heart disease, the number one killer in Oklahoma and the entire United States. Nearly 80 million American adults suffer from some form of heart- related illness. Every 35 seconds, an American dies from that illness. Heart disease kills more Americans than the number two, three and four leading causes of death combined. Madam Speaker, heart disease is a big problem for women just as it is for men, if not more so. In 1984, more women than men died from heart disease. In Oklahoma, 19 women die every day of a heart-related illness. Last Friday, millions of men and women participated in National Wear Red Day to honor the many women who have been touched by heart disease. This was a great gesture, reminding us of the importance of fighting the disease. And we can fight it by exercising, maintaining health, eating healthy and refraining from smoking. Madam Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues and all Americans to remember the millions of people affected by heart disease this month and to Wear Red Day for heart disease. By raising awareness of this disease, we can improve the lives of millions of men and women in this country.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Madam Speaker, Oklahoma has a proud tradition of men and women who serve in our military and put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms. We have over 350,000 military veterans and more than one in 10 Oklahomans who serve in the military. And we are very proud of our veterans, Madam Speaker, and we believe that the men and the women returning from the war on terror deserve our honor and our respect and a hero's welcome home. It is, however, an unfortunate truth that the military men and women returning to duty do not always return to the jobs that they deserve. In fact, military veterans of various ages, both men and women, face considerably higher unemployment rates than their civilian counterparts. Madam Speaker, this is what I believe is an injustice. America's heroes should not return home from the battlefield to face unemployment and hardships. It is for this reason I wholeheartedly support the creation of a Hire a Veteran Week. The resolution before us today is an important chance for Congress to encourage our employers to help our war veterans returning home by lending them a helping hand in finding employment and supporting their families. We must reaffirm our commitment to our men and women who have served our great Nation.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time today. This bill today is a disappointment to those of us who care about the goal of energy independence. This legislation sabotages the incentives with American energy companies to expand their drilling operations and undermines the opportunities to take advantage of our Nation's untapped resources. American energy reserves are very real. The Bureau of Land Management recently estimated the United States territory contains over 2 trillion barrels of oil shale, 100 billion barrels of energy just alone on the North American slopes of Alaska, enough oil to trump Saudi oil by 10- fold. And it is our U.S. policies that keep us from accessing the U.S. reserves. Ladies and gentlemen, when we import over 63 percent of our foreign energy supplies from foreign energy sources, who are, many times, not friendly to the United States, and spend almost $300 billion of revenue in buying those foreign energy sources, it is both a national security threat and an economic threat to this Nation. That is why it is important that we carefully review this legislation, that we look at all the ramifications of it, and that we work carefully together towards a process that will move us towards energy independence and also towards the exploration of renewable energy sources. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation that will undermine the goal of energy independence in the United States and, in doing so, also drains the resources of the average American. The solution to America's energy crisis lies in expanding our oil production capacity in the short term, while investing in the alternative energy sources in the long-term solution. To subject new exploration to punitive taxes would surrender our role and our goal as an energy-independent Nation to the Middle East. And, Mr. Speaker, this logic is not an option for us at all. There is no doubt that meeting America's energy needs is one of the most daunting challenge we face as a nation. It is not, however, an impossible challenge I believe as most Americans believe that this Congress can and must take steps towards making our Nation energy independent, so that America is not held hostage by the oil reserves of the world's most volatile regions. The path forward is clear--we must move towards energy independence by increasing domestic production of oil in he short term while we invest in alternative sources of energy in the long term. I agree with the concept of this bill but believe this path is the wrong answer. Instead of moving towards energy independence, this bill tightens the noose around our neck by making us even more dependent on foreign oil. Never before has it been clearer that we should not and cannot depend on the Middle East for our resources, and yet that is exactly what this bill proposes we do at the expense of our own national security. Slowing down the production of American oil by instating an irresponsible tax increase also represents a grave economic threat to my State. Oklahoma oil and gas producers--large and small--will be hit hard by this. Make no mistake this legislation will cost Oklahoma jobs. This tax increase will mean less money for new production and ultimately less money in State revenue. We cannot today impose a tax increase which American workers will pay tomorrow at the gas pumps.

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, you know, in America, I still believe that a man's word is a man's word. And in America, contract rights are property rights. And the fifth amendment prohibits the government from taking away those property rights without due process and without just compensation. Under the Democrat energy bill, contract rights are bona fide leases that are taken away. You cannot sell your lease, you cannot transfer your lease, you cannot derive any economic benefit from your lease until you open up your lease renegotiation. This is a complete elimination of value of these valid and binding contracts. The Supreme Court has long held that when this occurs property owners must be compensated. The Democrat energy bill doesn't recapture the money lost from the Clinton administration's badly written leases, it just opens up the floodgates for takings litigation. This is a trial lawyer's dream bill. Federal takings claims and property disputes are notoriously long. They can take a long time to resolve. Now, there was a bipartisan resolution and a vote in Congress to fix the lease mess, but last year's language was killed by the other body. It had a fix on the leases that would give back $10 billion to the American taxpayers. The Democrat bill, as written, will hurt offshore investment in drilling by American companies, which in turn does nothing to reduce our U.S. dependence on foreign energy. We are breaking our word with American companies who hold these leases and who have invested a lot of their money into drilling. In my opinion, Mr. Speaker, a man's word is a man's word, and a deal is a deal. If our government interferes with lease contracts and changes this deal, who will want to invest in American exploration?

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that very kind introduction. It is a pleasure to be here with you today. As a newly elected Member of Congress, I am very humbled by the opportunity to be able to serve in this esteemed body and to represent the people of Oklahoma. I have had the great opportunity to serve as a member of the Oklahoma legislature and, as the gentlewoman mentioned, as the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma for the past 12 years until I took this position. I have had the opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner with both sides of the aisle. In fact, when I was in the legislature and as lieutenant governor, there were many times that my Democrat colleagues helped me on various piece of legislation, even served as the author of some of the reform efforts that I led in our State. And I believe that many of those that ran for office this year ran on a platform of coming to Washington, coming to Congress and solving problems and making things happen and working on issues that we could find consensus on and doing good things for the people of America. And we also campaigned on platforms of transparency and openness and letting the people of our States' voices be heard here in Washington, D.C. I have to tell you that I think this past week, in the very short time that I have been a Member of this body, that we have missed some real opportunities here in Congress, and that is to let all the Members' voices be heard, all the voices of the people that we each represent, and to let the many talents and the knowledge and the expertise and life experiences that are shared among this body be allowed to participate in the process. I have to be honest that after having the opportunity to be sworn in this past week and also participating in a historic moment of seeing our first woman speaker selected and elected as the leader of this body, I have been disappointed. I have been disappointed that many of our Republican Members have been excluded. Well, I guess you could say all of them have been excluded from many of the processes of this House and their voices were not heard. I heard a debate or discussion a moment ago between our two leaders about our committee meetings and organizational meetings and that there have been a few organizational meetings held so far; yet, I ask if there had been any Members who had attended on our party's side any organizational meetings and couldn't find anyone yet who has been invited to attend one. And I know, as a freshman member, I haven't been invited to attend any of our organizational meetings yet. Yet, I also heard the leader of the other side say that they are hopeful that we can all work together. I guess I just have a hard time understanding how you can work together when you don't allow amendments, discussion, when you don't allow the minority party's voice to be heard during a crucial time at the beginning of an opening session of Congress, especially when there are so many critical issues that are important to the American people being discussed. And, frankly, I think my years of experience in Oklahoma, 16 years in office, and along with the expertise of all the other Members represented in this body have a lot to contribute. And I felt like I was slighted of that opportunity, to not be able to contribute like the minority party should have been. So I guess I just say that the public has asked us to have transparency, to have openness in government. I know I heard Speaker Pelosi say in her opening statements that she wanted three things: accountability, openness, and honesty. And I hope that as we move forward next week that all Members of this body will be allowed to have those things; that we will be allowed to have openness in our discussion, that we can get back to a routine, a process to where voices are heard in committees, where legislation is discussed, where amendments can be made to, where we will be honest with the American people about what is really transpiring in this body and how we are going to administer this body, and that we will be fair and respectful and professional in how we operate in this Congress.

Ms. FALLIN

Ms. FALLIN. Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to be here today. Mr. Speaker, over the past 12 years, I have had the opportunity to serve as Oklahoma's Lieutenant Governor and, more importantly, Oklahoma's official small business advocate. I spent years traveling throughout our State visiting with our small business owners and their employees, and they are truly the economic engine of many of our communities in our State. In our State, 97 percent of Oklahoma's businesses have 100 or fewer employees and are small businesses, and employers in our State employ over 600,000 workers that are small business workers, which means that 50 percent of our jobs are related to small business. Mr. Speaker, my concern is that a 41 percent increase in the minimum wage places a real burden on our small businesses. It is a burden that could mean layoffs. It is a burden that could mean bankruptcy for others. The Federal Government cannot force small businesses to shoulder that burden alone. If the government is to raise our current minimum wage, it must pursue a balanced plan that will provide serious tax relief and regulatory relief to those who will be hit hardest by a minimum wage increase. A plan without balance will not lift up the American workers. It will actually drag down small business. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour will cost small businesses somewhere between $5 billion to $7 billion nationwide. And when small businesses fail, minimum wage earners will suffer. The Hoover Institute estimates that fully 1.5 million small business workers nationwide may lose their jobs if an unbalanced minimum wage hike is passed. So it is clear to me that a minimum wage increase plan without a plan to offset the burden placed upon small business will be harmful to our economy, and this Congress must not sabotage the machine which powers our economy and gives life to so many of our communities, which is small business. We must help our Nation's workers in a responsible fashion and avoid a plan which I believe is well-intentioned but could be devastating to employers and employees alike. It is for this reason that I strongly encourage my colleagues to reject anything short of a balanced plan to raise the minimum wage unless one has a plan that offsets the burden placed upon small business and has serious and appropriate tax and regulatory relief.