Blake Farenthold

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I join the gentleman from Maryland in urging my colleagues to support H.R. 1233, and I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the winner of the 1st Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest for the 27th Congressional District of Texas. Ms. Frida Bazan, from El Campo High School, in El Campo, Texas wrote the winning essay, entitled ``Honoring My Hispanic Heritage.'' I ask that Ms. Bazan's essay be entered into the Congressional Record. It reads as follows: Hispanic Heritage makes a great influence in my life because it is a way of life. This culture is deeply important to me because it represents who I am, how I live my life, and how I view the world. All these characteristics form part of my life and personality, which I love, and lead me to proudly say that I am honored to be Hispanic. Hispanic Heritage Month means celebrating our heritage by sharing stories and informing others of our traditions and customs, while honoring where we came from. As we share stories about the traditional Christmas posadas, Dia de los Muertos celebrations, and the famous Grito de Independencia, we let others know more about our lives and at the same time spread our culture. As a Hispanic, I have strict, conservative parents who have made me the person I am today. I have inherited ideas such as being respectful to our elders, the willingness to work, attending church, dedicating myself to help others, and above all being a strong person who overcomes obstacles I may face; these are important Hispanic characteristics that have been enforced to me by my parents and grandparents. All this has helped me during my lifetime and will continue to lead me in the correct path as I aspire for my life goals. I have many goals for my future, and my biggest dream is to one day become a physician assistant and make a difference in people's lives by helping those in need. My parents have taught me to use perseverance and never stop fighting for what I want because I can reach anything I put my mind to, and I know that with their advice and my hard dedication I can get very far in life. Hispanics are people who never give up when it comes to accomplishing their life goals and will face sacrifices and have dedication to reach their goals and persuade others to do the same. Hispanic Heritage may fade away in families who move to live in the United States and adopt another culture. As a Hispanic, I consider it my duty to make sure that my heritage is not forgotten. As my parents have done with our family, I will ensure that our heritage is protected for generations by telling others about our traditions and customs. When I have a family of my own I will tell them all the memorable stories my parents told me about our family traditions. I will continue to use traditions, such as the pinatas, language, posadas, dances, and foods, to keep the Hispanic heritage alive in my life and inculcate those values to my descendants. As a proud Hispanic I will never forget where my family's roots initiated. Even though I live in a different country with a different type of life and traditions, my Hispanic heritage will always remain in my memories and deep in my heart. Congratulations to Frida Bazan for writing the winning essay. Thank you also for your participation in this contest and for sharing some of your traditions and customs. Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Shiner High School Marching Band on an outstanding accomplishment. On Monday, November 4, 2013, the 70-member Shiner High School marching band took first place in the 1A division of the state UIL marching contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It was the first time in Shiner High School history that the marching band won the state championship. The band has come close to winning in the past, placing second at the state level in 2011, and fifth at the state level in 2007. Mr. Stephen Krupicka, the Comanche Marching Band director, should be honored for such extraordinary commitment to these students, leading the band to such an outstanding victory. To the members of the band, Congratulations on a job well done! Your hard work and dedication certainly paid off. It should also be noted that I am nominating the Comanche Marching Band to perform at the National Memorial Day Concert Series in Washington, D.C. in May, 2014. The concert series will commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day May 24th-26th. Again, Congratulations to the Shiner High School Marching Band. The community stands behind you in all your future endeavors!

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 100th Birthday Celebration of Dr. Hector P. Garcia as put on by The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Foundation. Dr. Garcia was a proud Mexican- American, a World War II veteran, physician, humanitarian and civil rights activist. Dr. Garcia was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, and has been recognized by the United States Army as one of the most influential Hispanics ever to serve. The American Dream was believed and realized by Dr. Hector P. Garcia. He inspired those around him to educate themselves, participate in the democratic process, and work toward positive change. The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Foundation was organized to educate our communities about the continuing historical relevance and legacy of Dr. Hector P. Garcia. The proceeds from this 100th Birthday Celebration will be donated to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi for the Dr. Hector P. Garcia library expansion at the Bell Library. Dr. Garcia donated his papers in 1990 to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and the library expansion is necessary so the papers can be properly displayed and fully appreciated by the public and the students. Though Dr. Garcia was laid to rest in Corpus Christi in 1996 at the age of 82, his legacy will endure. He was truly an American hero and we honor him today.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much. Madam Chairman, the patent system is a vital part of our national identity. It stimulates American ingenuity, and it enhances our global competitiveness stance. Traditionally, patent holders have asserted their patents against those who produce infringing technologies, but in recent years, abusive patent litigation--patent trolling--has ballooned as companies have emerged solely to buy questionable and vaguely defined patents and to assert them against thousands of end users in the hope of extracting licensing fees. Right now, the patent trolls are going after hotels and restaurants. It is the reason you don't have Wi-Fi in more restaurants. Guess what? This is legalized extortion, and H.R. 3309 will significantly curb this problem. Though I have some problems with section 9(c) in the PTO's ability to apply the broadest reasonable interpretation claim construction standard in post grant reviews, this bill is a delicate compromise between competing interests. I hope we can deal with the 9(c) problem in the future, but overall, this is a great bill. I am not going to let the perfect get in the way of the doable. I hope my colleagues who have minor objections to the bill don't do the same. We have got to stop this abusive patent trolling litigation, and this bill will do it. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, Hispanic Heritage makes a great influence in my life because it is a way of life. This culture is deeply important to me because it represents who I am, how I live my life, and how I view the world. All these characteristics form part of my life and personality, which I love, and lead me to proudly say that I am honored to be Hispanic. Hispanic Heritage Month means celebrating our heritage by sharing stories and informing others of our traditions and customs, while honoring where we came from. As we share stories about the traditional Christmas posadas, Dia de los Muertos celebrations, and the famous Grito de Independencia, we let others know more about our lives and at the same time spread our culture. As a Hispanic, I have strict, conservative parents who have made me the person I am today. I have inherited ideas such as being respectful to our elders, the willingness to work, attending church, dedicating myself to help others, and above all being a strong person who overcomes obstacles I may face; these are important Hispanic characteristics that have been enforced to me by my parents and grandparents. All this has helped me during my lifetime and will continue to lead me in the correct path as I aspire for my life goals. I have many goals for my future, and my biggest dream is to one day become a physician assistant and make a difference in people's lives by helping those in need. My parents have taught me to use perseverance and never stop fighting for what I want because I can reach anything I put my mind to, and I know that with their advice and my hard dedication I can get very far in life. Hispanics are people who never give up when it comes to accomplishing their life goals and will face sacrifices and have dedication to reach their goals and persuade others to do the same. Hispanic Heritage may fade away in families who move to live in the United States and adopt another culture. As a Hispanic, I consider it my duty to make sure that my heritage is not forgotten. As my parents have done with our family, I will ensure that our heritage is protected for generations by telling others about our traditions and customs. When I have a family of my own I will tell them all the memorable stories my parents told me about our family traditions. I will continue to use traditions, such as the pinatas, language, posadas, dances, and foods, to keep the Hispanic heritage alive in my life and inculcate those values to my descendants. As a proud Hispanic I will never forget where my family's roots initiated. Even though I live in a different country with a different type of life and traditions, my Hispanic heritage will always remain in my memories and deep in my heart.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, we are producing more energy now than we have ever produced, and it is thanks to new technologies like hydraulic fracking for making that happen. The Eagle Ford shale in the district I represent has created over 400,000 jobs and, roughly, $2.6 billion in salaries in a 13-county area. The benefits from this are not isolated. Shale has brought back rail, steel, plastics, sand, and manufacturing; and the average U.S. household's energy costs have gone way down. I have seen numbers as high as $1,200 less for energy bills. This technology isn't new. We have been using it in Texas for over 60 years. It is regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission, and they do a great job. All of these people with all of the scare tactics sometimes forget that, when hydraulic fracking is done, it is done a mile below or two miles below the water table. It is safe. It is well regulated by the State. It is good for the economy. It is turning the balance of trade. It is saving us money on energy. It is also creating an economic revival in this country. We have got to let States regulate it. I urge the support of this bill.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you, Chairman Goodlatte. Quite frankly, I am personally offended by the claim that this bill is against victims. It is for the victims. It is preserving the asbestos trusts for those yet undiscovered victims from people who would defraud the system. This is a simple, short two-page bill. We are asking for no more information than you have to supply when you file a lawsuit in any court. We are asking for your name and the basis of your claim. We are asking that the expenditures be listed of the trust in a method that people can check to make sure somebody isn't claiming twice for the same injury so we don't have double dippers. This is for the victims. We are going to try to stop unscrupulous attorneys and folks they rope in from filing false claims. We don't want to stop anybody who has a legitimate claim. The asbestos trust has been riddled with fraud. It even comes down to Corpus Christi, Texas, the district I represent, where there were early cases where a Federal judge, Janis Jack, a Clinton-appointee and a friend of mine, ruled there was fraud with doctors. The courts are dealing with that. We are trying to deal with multiple claims and bring simple transparency. We are not asking for detailed medical information to be released. We are just asking for the basis of the claim, and that is pretty simple information. We are not asking for Social Security numbers. We are not asking for any financial information, other than the amount that is being claimed. This is public record in any other lawsuit in the country, and it is not an invasion of privacy. It is a protection of the system that was set up to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related exposure diseases that don't manifest for years after the exposure. We have got to protect this for future generations. The FACT Act is a simple, two-page bill that leverages all the privacy protections already in the Bankruptcy Code and simply asks that we know who is getting what out of these trusts so they can't get them from multiple trusts for the same injury or they can't file a claim in State court. It is to try to stop double dipping and fraud. Unfortunately, when they were set up, there weren't enough safeguards in place to run by plaintiffs' attorneys, who get percentages of compensation off of that. So we are trying to get this taken care of. The plaintiffs' attorneys have a big impact in creating and managing these trusts, and we are just trying to get some simple oversight. Mr. Bachus put it quite well when he said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. We are asking to shine the light of day on these claims so we can protect future victims. We don't want to deny anybody who is a legitimate claimant what they are entitled to. We want to get them compensated and make sure there is enough money there for everyone. This is a bill for the victims. It is a bill to stop fraud, waste, and abuse.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, I would like to take a moment to address some claims that my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made. The FACT Act is simple. There are two pages of text to the FACT Act. There is no requirement of any action whatsoever by the victims of asbestos. The trusts are the only ones that are required to do something. Let me just read to you exactly what the requirement is. It doesn't include a broad release of personal information. It is very simple: A trust described in paragraph 2 shall, subject to section 107, file with the bankruptcy court not later than 60 days at the end of every quarter a report that shall be made available on the court's public docket with respect to such quarter. It describes each demand the trust has received from a claimant, including the name, exposure history of a claimant and the basis for any payment from the trust made to such claimant, and it does not include any confidential medical record or the claimant's full Social Security number. All we are asking for in this bill is that the trusts let us know who they are paying the money to and what they are paying it for so we make sure people don't double dip so that there is plenty of money there for future claimants.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. It gives you their names and potentially a part of their Social Security numbers.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. It is not their full Social Security numbers. It is not their confidential medical records. It is the basis of their claims.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. It is a limited basis of the claim.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. It is not part of the medical record. It is just the basis of the claim. It would be simply: claiming mesothelioma from exposure at ``this'' location. It is that basic information that would allow other courts to determine that the person who is making the claim is not double dipping, that he has not already made that claim.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The amendment has nothing to do with the problem we are trying to address. Listen, all well-managed trusts, nonprofits, and businesses should have an internal audit procedure to detect fraud within that organization. What we are trying to combat with the FACT Act is fraud between organizations, where an unscrupulous attorney or claimant will file multiple claims with multiple trusts, or in State court and in Federal court, in bankruptcy court, and with the trust. So an auditor for one trust is going to have no idea what is going on in State court or in other trusts. This is a red herring to get us away from the purpose of this bill: to protect victims by preserving the funds that have been set aside to compensate victims from waste, fraud, and abuse. This is a victims' rights bill that the proponent of this amendment, I believe, is trying to undermine with an amendment that would exempt most trusts because, as I said, any well-run organization ought to have internal and external audit procedures in place. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment that undermines the purpose of the bill and support the FACT Act.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. FARENTHOLD. The point I am trying to make is that the existing victims have been compensated, and I am glad they are compensated; but there isn't an organization in place for people who don't know they have the disease.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much, Chairman Shuster. I rise today as well in support of this bill because it is a jobs bill, and it is not just a jobs bill because the government spends money to create jobs. It is a jobs bill because it builds infrastructure that we need in this country to remain competitive and get our goods to market throughout the world. Having grown up in Corpus Christi, Texas, served by the Port of Corpus Christi, a deepwater port on the Intracoastal Waterway, I know the needs and how important it is to have ports and waterways that are here to serve our Nation. That is one of the reasons I am working with my colleague from across the aisle, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and a variety of other Texas Members to support the Texas Port Conference to raise awareness of how critical ports and waterways are to the jobs throughout this Nation. I urge my colleagues to get behind this jobs bill to get America back to work.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because we have a problem in the United States of America; that is, we spend too much. Nobody on my side of the aisle says let's not pay our bills; but we do say, just like every family does when their credit card bill comes and it is a little higher than they expect, well, let's see how we can maybe save some money. Cut up the credit cards and maybe find a way to bring in some more money. Mr. Speaker, we can bring in more money with economic growth and economic development. Curtailing things that are killing economic development, like the President's health care plan and excessive regulation, must be stopped. We have to stop spending, and we have to increase our revenue by growing our economy.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill to guarantee our Federal workers are paid. They shouldn't be the innocent pawns in the middle of a debate caused by us unable to work with the Senate. We are ready to talk. We are ready, willing, and able to talk; but we need to ratchet down the rhetoric a little bit, make sure our employees get paid, make sure they get taken care of, and make sure that the men and women who work in places in my district, the district I represent--like the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, like Padre Island National Seashore, like the Aransas Wildlife Refugee--are secure and safe. We need to get this done. The Republicans are trying to lessen the impact of this, passing bill after bill. We have passed something to fund the entire government, including most of ObamaCare with the exception of the individual mandate. We are ready, willing, and able to negotiate, and I call on the Senate to come over and talk to us so we can get this done.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, the government is shut down today because Democrats like Harry Reid and the President refuse to negotiate. We, in the House, have sent not one, not two, not three, but four different spending proposals to the Senate. All were rejected without debate, and the Senate has refused to appoint conferees to even talk to us about it. This is now about more than ObamaCare. This is now a fundamental debate about how we work in a divided Congress. Republicans must work with Democrats. The House must work with the Senate, and the Congress must work with the President. During a Conference Call With Your Congressman last night that I hosted in the middle of all of this, Gloria Wilson from Corpus Christi said: You make us feel like we have a voice. Well, I am the voice of my constituents, and that's what we're doing here in the House. Compromise and coming together and doing what's right for the country is what the Founding Fathers intended when they set up two Houses of Congress and three branches of government. We, in the House, are ready, willing, and able to negotiate with the President and the Senate. What we're not willing to do is give up our constitutional responsibility as guardians of America's purse and voices of our constituents.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the upcoming National Day of the Republic of China, which commemorates the beginning of the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China--more commonly known as Taiwan. For decades, Taiwan has been a significant partner to the United States in regards to its security, economic, and political interests. Taiwan has acted as a model democracy in the Pacific region where the people of Taiwan enjoy self-governance with democratic elections. In addition to Taiwan's political contributions to the region, it is also a vital economy in the Pacific. Because of this, I believe Taiwan should be allowed to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership sooner rather than later. Taiwan, however, is not only an economic player in the Pacific, it also plays and important role in the U.S. economy. In 2012, Taiwan was the 11th largest U.S. trading partner and it's the 7th largest market for U.S. agricultural products. In light of this, I encourage the Administration to solidify a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan, as it would boost both trade and investments for both parties. As we go forward with this mutually beneficial partnership, it is important that we continue diplomatic visits to Taiwan; and, in return, we should invite Taiwan officials to the United States. By doing this we will see better understanding and respect between our countries.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, America has a lot of clean-burning natural gas. The Eagle Ford Shale, in the district I represent, has created 400,000 jobs and roughly $2.6 billion in salaries and benefits in the 13-county area. Similar booms are happening in other parts of the country like North Dakota and Pennsylvania. Our domestic energy creates widespread economic prosperity and will continue if we don't ruin it with overregulation and red tape. Exporting some of America's huge supply of natural gas will create tens of thousands more jobs, narrow our trade deficit by billions, and help both our allies in need like Japan and the environment. When you factor in transportation costs, gas here at home will always be cheaper. The DOE recently conditionally approved additional LNG export licenses, but there's still a lot of red tape to wade through before these properties open. I worry these contingent licenses artificially overstate the potential for future LNG exports, and the lengths of time these approvals take risks our competitive and economic advantage over Middle Eastern countries. I, along with three of my colleagues, Jim Costa, Joe Barton, and Filemon Vela, created the LNG Export Caucus to help the development and timely export of LNG and encourage a rational regulatory environment that ensures the production and export of LNG, creating jobs, helping the economy, and cleaning the environment.