Scott Garrett

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today with heavy heart and sadness as we honor another fallen soldier and the life and legacy of Staff Sergeant Joseph D'Augustine, a young man from Waldwick, New Jersey. Staff Sergeant D'Augustine was killed on March 27, 2012, while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan. It was just 1 day after graduating from Waldwick High School in 2001 that this young man enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. He served two tours of duty in Iraq, and was just 2 weeks away from completing his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant D'Augustine worked as an explosive ordnance disposal tech. What does that mean? That means that he went ahead of the other soldiers, marines, and airmen and was the one that cleared the way for them so they could go on and do their work. And so it was with this greatest act of sacrifice possible that Staff Sergeant D'Augustine gave his life while protecting his fellow men and women in uniform. He was just 29 years old. We're never going to know the number of lives that he was able to save in his work. But the tremendous outpouring of love and support that we have seen for his family in the days since his death perhaps provided a glimpse into the number of people that he touched in his short life. To those people who knew him best--his parents, Anthony and Patricia; his three sisters, Nicole, Jennifer, and Michele; and to his brother- in-law, Len--he will be remembered as a loving son and brother. To his many friends that he grew up with in high school, he will be remembered as a good guy and friend by the nickname ``Daggo.'' To his fellow marines, he will be remembered as a faithful brother in arms. And to all of us here who just may be hearing his name for the first time--to America--he will be remembered as a patriot who loved his country, the Marine Corps, and as a man who gave his life for all of us by protecting our freedoms and our liberties in this country. Let us remember this young man. The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis--always faithful. Staff Sergeant D'Augustine lived this motto. He was faithful to his country; he was faithful to the mission; he was faithful to the Corps, and he was faithful to his fellow Marines. In times such as this, words fail to provide adequate comfort to his family and friends. But it is my hope that they know that the prayers and gratitude of a nation are with them. We will always remember the price of freedom paid by Staff Sergeant D'Augustine, and may we determine to live our lives worthy of his sacrifice.

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to recognize the 64th anniversary of the establishment of the modern State of Israel. On May 14, 1948, the British Mandate for Palestine expired, and the Jewish People's Council approved the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. That document encapsulates centuries of hopes, hardships, dreams, persecutions, tenacity, and faith. And it signifies the fulfillment of the prayer of the Jewish people: To return once again to their homeland and build a nation based on the principles of freedom, justice, and peace. It is fitting that on that same day, President Harry Truman signed his name to the announcement recognizing the provisional government of the new Jewish state as the de facto authority of the State of Israel, thus making the United States the first nation to recognize Israel as a nation. In that moment 64 years ago, and in every moment since, the Jewish people have persevered in the face of adversity, thriving as a nation and as a people, and contributing globally to advancements in areas ranging from academia, economics, and business to arts, culture, and politics. And all the while, the Jewish people have continued to live as a people who, as the Declaration states, love peace but know how to defend themselves. In the decades that have passed since that momentous event, Israel has remained the United States strongest ally in the Middle East, and the United States has stood steadfastly with Israel. Today, and in the days that lie ahead, we must continue to stand unwaveringly with Israel. As the modern State of Israel celebrates 64 years, I join with countless others to extend my congratulations to the Jewish people--in Israel, in the United States, and around the world. And I offer my heartfelt prayers for the safety, peace, and prosperity of the State of Israel.

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. I ask for a recorded vote.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I'd like to yield 3 minutes then to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Graves), who also has been a leader on this in order to make sure that this House does what the American public asks for, to live within our means and to bring this country to prosperity.

Mr. GARRETT. If there are no other speakers, then I will close with the remaining time. Madam Chairman, as we come to the floor today, it is agreed on both sides that there is plenty of blame to go around as to how we got into this mess. Republican and Democrat on both sides of the aisle, this administration and past administrations as well are to blame. We can point fingers all day at blame, but what we should come here today to do is point the finger at the solution to this problem. The solution is the budget that we see on the floor today. The solution is the RSC budget that we have here today on the floor. The solution is to make sure that we do on the floor today what every single family in this country and what every single business in this country has always had to do, and that is to make the tough choices, and that is to make the hard choices, and that is to live within our means, and that is to have a balanced budget. This is the only budget that will come to the floor today that will actually do all that. This is the only budget that will come that will make sure that we actually balance--not within 50 years, 40 years, 30 years, 20 years, 10 years. We will actually balance within 5 years, and we will do so at the same time that we protect the safety net for our seniors today and in the future. We will do so at the same time that we protect our children in the future. We will do so at the same time that we make sure that we do not borrow from the future to pay the bills today. I ask you to support the only budget that does all those things. Support the RSC budget.

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes. Last week, the House Republicans introduced a budget that takes the first step towards reversing the path to debt and decline that the President and his fellow Democrats have laid out for the American people. Today the Republican Study Committee, the RSC, builds off of that work and offers a plan to further cut spending and balance the budget in just 5 years. With real spending cuts today, enforceable spending cuts for tomorrow, and commonsense changes to strengthen our Nation's safety net programs and pro-growth tax reform, we can finally restore much-needed certainty to the economy and reopen America for business. To say that President Obama and Senate Democrats have failed to lead on the most predictable economic crisis in our history would be an understatement. Senate Democrats have not been in the debate at all, failing to pass a budget for over 1,000 days. The President's most recent attempt at a budget--well, it came a week late, and it adds literally trillions of dollars to our Nation's debt. Every American family understands the necessity of a balanced budget. Families also understand that setting a budget sometimes is difficult. It requires difficult choices. But even with accounting gimmicks and the massive tax increases, our President's budget never, ever balances. This is a void in leadership, and it has substantial consequences on real Americans all across this country. So, today, the RSC budget represents a clear, practical way for our economy to--what?--begin to grow again. How do we do that? First, we repeal ObamaCare once and for all. Next, we cut discretionary spending, and we eliminate programs that are unconstitutional, duplicative, or harmful. Perhaps most importantly, we don't kick this can down the road and punt these tough decisions. We actually save our national safety net programs that are currently going bankrupt today. So with these commonsense solutions and by harnessing the power of competition between private insurance plans and improving at the same time the quality of care, we put Medicare on the path to long-term solvency. This offers a real plan for the future. Today I urge all to support the Republican Study Committee substitute. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the RSC, Mr. Jordan.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina, who has been a stalwart leader in the legislation before us in trying to have the U.S. live within a balanced budget.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who understands, first and foremost, that Washington must do what every family in the United States does, and that is to balance its budget.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana, a man who understands that our President has failed to lead by not presenting us a balanced budget, so he has presented one through the RSC, Mr. Scalise.

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Chairman, at this time, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas who understands that this administration has failed our children by continuing to take from them so this administration can spend today.

Mr. GARRETT. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GARRETT. Madam Chair, in light of the fact that this House just weeks ago voted * * *

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. The legislation that is before us today ensures that American businesses will not be needlessly forced to use up the capital that they need to create jobs simply to satisfy some duplicative regulations. Under H.R. 2779, the inter-affiliate trades would be only exempt from costly margin, clearing, and real-time reporting requirements. Swap trades facing non-affiliated counterparties would still be subject to all the other regulatory requirements under proposed agency rules. So, without this bill, companies could face double--yes, double--the margin and regulatory cost. To my point, last June the office of the OCC--that's the Comptroller of the Currency--estimated that margin requirements under proposed prudential regulator margin rules could conservatively cost over $2 trillion, which could increase substantially if regulators force affiliates to post margins on trades between themselves. Without the relief of this bill, American companies face the prospect of having to post double margins on swap trades: once on a swap trade with themselves and secondly when they trade outside. So the Stivers- Fudge bill provides this needed relief. This bill strengthens the ability of the regulators to oversee the affiliate swaps marketplace because those transactions must be reported still to a swap depository, or the CFTC or the SEC. Either way, Mr. Speaker, regulators will be able to monitor these transactions very closely. The bill also gives the SEC and CFTC the power to regulate swap transactions that are structured as affiliate trades only for purposes of evading regulation. To conclude, Mr. Speaker, I commend the efforts of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle this morning, and I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of the underlying legislation, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers).

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I was hoping the gentlelady had one more speaker. I was going to reserve, as we had one other speaker on the way, but let me just check. Without seeing him here, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2779) to exempt inter-affiliate swaps from certain regulatory requirements put in place by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as amended.

Mr. GARRETT

Mr. GARRETT. Once again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add any extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. GARRETT. I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill would do what? It would provide a clear exemption from margin requirements, margin requirements imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act on where? On swap transactions for so-called end- users who use derivatives to hedge their business risks and whose swap transactions really do not pose a systemic risk to the financial system. Following the really late night of the Dodd-Frank conference committee deliberations, numerous assurances were made that margin would not be required on end-users' transactions. Now, these assurances were subsequently followed up by formal letters and colloquies by the very same architects of the bill themselves. Everyone was told that Congress clearly intended for the language to exempt end-users from the bill's margin requirements. Unfortunately, the regulators have interpreted it a different way, and they have interpreted Dodd-Frank's somewhat rushed language as not providing a clear exemption for these end-users. Representative Grimm's bill here today finally provides American businesses with the certainty that they need to use derivatives to hedge against business risk. End-users, you know, were not the cause of the financial crisis; and by any measure whatsoever, end-users are not systemically significant. Who are these end-users that we're talking about here? Well, they are the Main Street businesses from all over the country that represent all types of industries that rely on the use of derivatives to responsibly hedge their own business risk, and so they should not be and were not ever considered under the same umbrella, if you will, of regulations as banks are that are subject to posting margins on their swap transactions. In requiring end-users to be subject to a mandatory margin requirement, what it basically does is force commercial entities to act like banks. So, without a margin exemption, the cost of hedging for these would rise dramatically, and that would needlessly tie up working capital that otherwise could and should be used to expand business investments, build factories, or create jobs. So I conclude on this. It is critical that we provide U.S. Main Street businesses across this country with this important certainty, with this clarity. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GARRETT. At this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Grimm), the author of the underlying legislation and also someone who has been instrumental in making sure that we could work in a bipartisan manner to get it to the floor today.

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I think we have one more speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2682) to provide end user exemptions from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and for other purposes, as amended.