John Garamendi

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. So here is a tax credit, part of the stimulus bill, that actually provides up to 30 percent credit on the cost of one of these new energy systems, windows or solar.

Mr. GARAMENDI. And, at the same time, it creates new businesses. That's a win/win in a green economy if there ever was one. I am looking over here at our representative from those four marvelous counties outside of Cleveland, and I was thinking about the automobile industry and the energy that is, I think, some 80 percent of our oil is actually consumed in automobiles. You have had a great deal to do with the automobile industry, Representative Sutton. Could you share with us some of your experience and some of what was in this tax bill?

Mr. GARAMENDI. Go anywhere you would like.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Whoa, the Cash for Clunkers, I thought you might want to talk about that. You were the author of that piece of legislation.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Well, I am going to interrupt you for a moment. Because I wasn't yet in Congress when this piece of legislation went into law. So I immediately started looking around and seeing about the clunkers that I have on my ranch. And I have this old beat-up Bronco, and I thought, oh, oh, there is my clunker. I am going to trade that thing in for a new efficient model. And it turned out because it wasn't running, I had it on the not-for- the-highway license, in other words, it was just on storage, and your bill was written in such a way that I couldn't take advantage of this. So I have got a little problem with the way in which you wrote that bill, but for the rest of America it was a great idea.

Mr. GARAMENDI. We want those homes bought in California.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Once again, most of these tax reductions came about through the stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was February of 2009. And I will point out, as I did at the opening, that not one Republican voted for these extraordinarily important tax reductions that are great for individuals, for families, for working men and women, for middle class America, and at the same time, are creating new jobs in the green economy and the automobile industry, and even for those folks that are selling cars in Wisconsin. Mr. Tonko, you had something you wanted to add here?

Mr. GARAMENDI. I'd call it a boulder that she threw into the pond, and the ripples that came from that actually touched a family that my wife works with. She was at the California State fair, and this lady works with her at the State fair. The lady's husband is a salesman. In the fall, or in August, he was about to lose his job, but then the Cash for Clunkers came along, and sales shot up at his shop. And he was able to sustain his employment and continues to this day to continue to be employed. It got him past that hurdle. Representative Kagen, surely there are things going on in Wisconsin that you're going to share with us here in the next few moments about these tax cuts and the way in which they work.

Mr. GARAMENDI. That is actually a tax reduction in the early years in allowing those expenses to be spread out.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Maybe we will pass that to Representative Sutton.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Well, it just wasn't running, that was the problem. It was a real clunker.

Mr. GARAMENDI. You said 213,000?

Mr. GARAMENDI. And one. That one was my wife and I.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my good friend, Dr. Sol Lizerbram, to honor and recognize the birth of his granddaughter Rachel Esther Laulom in a baby naming ceremony officiated by Rabbi Matthew Earne at Congregation Beth Am on Sunday, April 18, 2010 in San Diego, California. Rachel Esther Laulom was born on February 3, 2010 to parents Marci and Corey Laulom. She joins her big brother Jacob Laulom; proud grandparents Dr. Sol and Lauren Lizerbram, and paternal grandparents Danny and Carol Laulom. The baby has been given the name Rachel Esther in honor of her great- grandmothers; maternal great-grandmother, Esther Lizerbram, and her paternal great-grandmother, Rachel Addi. This centuries-old ceremony is considered to be one of the most important and recognized Jewish rituals. It signifies the importance of the Jewish faith, introduces the baby to the community for their support and commitment to the physical and spiritual well being of baby Rachel. It is a time of dedication and benediction, and will allow Marci and Corey to enlighten the family and community to the significance of her chosen name. Madam Speaker, I have the pleasure of asking my colleagues to join me in recognizing the traditions of the Jewish faith and the significance of this ceremony.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I wanted to take this opportunity to honor the great work of Barry Luboviski. After serving for fifteen years as Secretary-Treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda Council, Barry is stepping down for some much deserved rest and relaxation. Barry's commitment to the working men and women of this country began when he joined the Iron Workers Union, Local 378 as an Apprentice in 1965. He became an active participant in union activities, and in 1981, he started teaching evening classes for the Iron Workers Apprenticeship Program. In 1979, Barry was elected as a Delegate to the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County, AFL-CIO, and he was later appointed to Chair the Political Action Committee of the Building Trades Council. There, he helped organize voter registration drives and membership education. Soon he was elected to serve as an Executive Boardmember of the Iron Workers Union, Local 378 and continued to help lead his local union until being hired in 1991 by the California State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO as an Organizer. After four years of effective service, he was elected in 1995 to the position of Secretary-Treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County, AFL-CIO. It has been an honor to work with Barry these many decades, strengthening worker protections and forging a more just and equitable California. Let the record show that the working people of California are better off because of Barry's leadership.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the St. Mary's basketball team of Moraga and their trailblazing NCAA tournament run. They have inspired basketball fans across this country with their teamwork and determination. The St. Mary Gaels earned a berth in the tournament with a remarkable season capped with a west coast championship and their victory in the first round NCAA tournament. They tossed aside a half century of tournament setbacks and showed that they are a force to be reckoned with. In the second round, St. Mary's went head to head with the number two seed, Villanova, a perennial basketball powerhouse, and with a gutsy performance they prevailed. And I will add that many of these young men that are on these teams will be able to stay on their parents' health insurance as a result of the action and the President's signature on the health care bill, up to the age of 26. In the meantime, we look forward to Saturday's game and another victory by these outstanding players.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Thank you. I was just thinking about the legislation that passed before I arrived here, the effort, it was called climate change legislation, but it was far more than that. It really dealt with national security. And that legislation is now over in the Senate and perhaps will become--will pass the Senate or we will have a conference committee to put it together. But from that climate change legislation, it's really national security. And the discussion we were just having here on the national security side and about climate and about jobs, all of those things come together. If we are able to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, if we are able to transition to low-carbon fuel sources, whether they are solar or wind or wave or whatever, we will also enhance our national security. I would like to take just a few seconds, actually a few minutes, talking about some of the other things that were in the American Recovery Act of last year. There was a $400 per person tax credit for men and women that were working so that they would have more purchasing power. That's $800 for a family of two. There was the tax credit for colleges. And in the legislation that we just passed 2 days ago, along with the health care reform, there was an enormous expansion of the Pell Grants so that kids can go to college, so that they could get the education that they needed; for community colleges, an expansion for community college Pell Grants. Again, changing the way in which we look at employment, employment is more than just a job. It's preparing for the next job. And in that corrections bill, sometimes called a reconciliation bill, that was accompanied with the health reform, we had the program to expand the support for men and women that wanted to go back to school and men and women that were in school. We also expanded, over time, the ability for those men and women to pay those loans back. Presently, it's 15 percent maximum for each year of employment when they are employed. We are going to reduce that to 10 percent so that they can spend their time acquiring a home, a wife, kids, a husband, and be able to continue to pay back the loans over a longer period of time. Very, very important, but unnoticed in the health care reform. But much noticed in the health care reform was the employment for the employers, the small business tax credit for those employers that continue to provide insurance for their employees. I remember a phone call that I got from a radio station. A fellow phoned up and said, Well, how does this piece of legislation, the health care reform, help me? My wife and I are a small business. We have two employees: my wife, myself. What's it do for me? And I was able to respond that when this bill becomes law--and it is now the law of the land. The President signed it yesterday. When it becomes law, it will do this for you. Thirty-five percent of the money you spent purchasing that insurance for you and your wife will be a tax credit. You will be able to deduct that from your taxes, literally reducing the cost of the health insurance by 35 percent. As you grow up to 100 employees in your business, you will continue to receive that tax credit for every insurance policy you buy for your employees. In 2014, that tax credit goes to 50 percent, an incredible reduction in the cost of health insurance for small businesses all across America. And it goes into effect now, January 1, 2010, now that that bill has been signed. It is a very, very significant reduction in the cost of health insurance, allowing men, women who are in business, who have a small business, maybe it's a gardening business or a home care health business, to be able to continue to provide that insurance. On another scale, I received a press release today from a group in the San Francisco Bay Area that points out that they are in strong support of what the President does. This is 1,500 biotechnology businesses in the Bay Area that have banded together in an organization called Bay Bio. They said, this is a tremendous assistance to us. Small businesses, which I just talked about the tax credit available to them, but also there are billions of dollars in this bill for research on pharmaceuticals, biological pharmaceuticals, enormous impetus for those businesses to produce the biological pharmaceuticals, the next generation of pharmaceuticals, drugs to help us in our health care when we become sick, all kinds of things, from diabetes to cancer treatment and everything in between. The pharmaceutical industry in the biological area has an enormous push. They have 12 years to recoup their investment. It's given to them in the health care reform. So when our colleagues over here on the Republican side say there's nothing in this, well, wait a minute. I've got 1,200 businesses in the biological communities in the Bay Area alone saying, this is a great inducement for us to produce new biologicals that will help people with their health care. Also, in the fuel business, the same thing applies in the enormous effort that's under way to do biofuels. The incentives are built into, not just the health care bill, but also into the previous American Recovery Act to push along a whole new industry that will create an enormous number of jobs throughout the Nation. So the health care bill is far more than just health insurance. It's also an inducement for businesses to invest and to create new businesses and new pharmaceuticals to keep us healthy and to repair our bodies when we become ill. I want to talk just now a few moments about another aspect of the health care reform. We heard, before I took the microphone here, about the health care reform bill not being paid for. That's simply not true. The health reform is actually funded; it's funded in a variety of ways. But one of the most important ways is the considerable reduction in the cost of health care. I had a gentleman come into my office earlier yesterday talking about, oh, my, in the health care reform bill there's an opportunity for us to engage in keeping people healthy. A major part of that health care reform is about keeping people healthy. It's wellness. It's prevention of medical illnesses. And he was looking at this and he said, here's an opportunity for me and my colleagues to expand our business. And he talked about a company that's coming to California that will take an idea about wellness. And this is specifically for the senior citizens, and it is specifically in the legislation. Wellness for Medicare. He said, the bill allows us to change the way in which the Medicare services are provided. Instead of just fee-for-service, we can do capitation, and there's an incentive in there for us to keep people healthy. The company operates out of Florida. They're now going to come to California. They're doing 50,000 seniors in Florida, proving that they can reduce the cost by 20 percent by keeping people healthy, keeping seniors from having to go to the hospital, having to go to the emergency room. They want to import it to California. They're going to move it and ramp it up to 500,000 seniors in a wellness program, you know, everything, I suppose, from the food that's being served and the meals that the seniors prepare to, I suppose, exercise and yoga and other kinds of activities, again, emphasizing wellness rather than sickness. Nobody talks about that from our Republican colleagues, but that's in the bill. And if that 20 percent reduction is available, we're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars over the years ahead. So there are many, many parts to the program. I want to just conclude with discussing another part of the health care reform, and this is good for businesses, it's good for parents, it's good for children, and this is the insurance reform. I was the insurance commissioner in California for 8 years, 1991-1995 and 2003-2007. And during my tenure, I know the terrible things that the insurance companies were doing to their customers. First of all, a person would buy a health insurance policy, they'd pay into it year after year after year, then they would get sick, probably a significant issue. Maybe they get diabetes or cancer, some other, maybe a heart illness; and it would get expensive and the insurance companies would go back, they would actually pay a bonus to their people to review those claims, go back to the original application that may have been made years before, and find an error, perhaps it was something as simple as having acne when they were teenagers, or an asthma attack at the age of three. They would then use that to cancel the policy, leaving the person high and dry, in deep financial trouble. The health care reform law signed by the President yesterday says, no more, no more rescissions. Those days are over. The health insurance industry in this year will be prohibited from rescinding policies and dumping people after they become sick. Now, for those that are already sick and don't have a health insurance policy, the legislation provides for people that are 50 to 65, who have a preexisting condition, and this is the population that is literally unemployable because they're sick. They have some preexisting illness. And nobody, no employer up there would want to pick them up because they know that if they were to hire that person, the cost of health care for all of their employees would go up. So those people are left out. But under the new law, there is a solution for them. It's a high-risk pool that starts immediately. It goes into place in the next 90 days. And those people, and there are millions that fall into this category, they will be able to get insurance. They will not have to face bankruptcy. They will be able to be employable. This is an enormously important thing, and I've seen this in my days as insurance commissioner. We didn't have the ability to deal with this except in a very narrow way in California, with what we call the high- risk medical insurance program. But now, with the Federal Government assistance, people will be able to get insurance. The same thing for young children. Infants, the day they're born, they come up with some serious illness. Let's say it's a heart issue. That child cannot be insured under the old program. But now that the President has used his left hand to sign the legislation, we now know that those children, from the day they are born until they are 26, will be able to get insurance and their parents will be able to insure not only themselves, but also their child. The day I was sworn in, 2 days after I was sworn in, I stood here on the floor and I spoke about the health care reform that I voted on on November 6. And I spoke about a dear friend of mine whose child was born with a kidney ailment. He and his wife struggled for years to find the money to pay for the insurance. Their insurance was canceled. They had it when the child was born, but their insurance was canceled by the insurance company because the kid had a very serious kidney problem. With the new law in place, the hardship that that family has gone through for now 20 years is over. The insurance policy that they had the day the child was born cannot be canceled. And so for that family and millions of families like that, the insurance reform provides an immediate benefit. And for all of the men and women out there and the mothers and fathers that have a kid that is approaching the age of 23, and about to be thrown off the families insurance policy, know this: with the bill that was signed yesterday, and in 6 months, that child, young adult will be able to stay on the family's health insurance policy until the age of 26. And I cannot even begin to count the number of calls that I've had, and emails I've had saying, oh, thank God. I know, as a parent, that my child will continue to have health insurance at least until they're 26. And then at that time, 2014, the rest of the program kicks into place. Final point is this, and that is, preexisting conditions for all of us. At the end of this year, those preexisting conditions will no longer be the case. Final point, and then I'm going to close, long before my hour is over. And my final point is this: this legislation is fully paid for. Part of the pay, part of the money to pay for this is an obscene bonus that the insurance companies were granted 6 years ago, and that is known as the Medicare Advantage bonus. The average cost of providing Medicare insurance was calculated, and the insurance companies were given a 15 percent bonus to do what they should have been able to do without any additional money. We're going to end that bonus. We're going to take that money and plow it back into the Medicare program. And the Medicare program, by law, no benefit reductions. That's what the law says. I hear a lot of other talk out there and a lot of scare tactics, but the fact is that the Medicare Advantage program will continue, but the bonus that was given to the insurance companies, an unnecessary multi-billion dollar bonus, is going to end and the money will be put back into the basic Medicare program so that the financial solvency of the Medicare program will be extended 9 years. Now, that's important to everybody that is approaching Medicare and is in Medicare today. So people are going to continue to want to live to get into Medicare. That's what's out ahead for the Medicare recipients. And I talked about the wellness program earlier. Final point is this: on the financial side of the health care reform, the deficit of the United States Government in the years 2010 to 2020 will be reduced by $132 billion. That's in the first 10 years. So that is a reduction in the deficit. It comes about by reducing the amount of money that will have to be spent by the government on health care as a result of all of these reforms that are in the bill, some of which I've talked about tonight. In the next 10 years, 2020 until 2030, the deficit will be reduced by $1.3 trillion, an enormous amount of money. So whatever the discussion you've heard out there in public, and all of the mischaracterizations of this bill that have been going on for months and, indeed, almost a year now, the facts are the deficit will be reduced, the program is fully funded, and it provides very, very necessary benefits immediately to small businesses with a tax credit to help pay for their insurance; for individuals, ending the insurance discrimination; and for seniors, a major new effort to keep you healthy so that you can enjoy life more, and the cost of the Medicare programs will be reduced. With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back and thank people for the opportunity to explain a very, very important part of the new America that we will have in the years ahead.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Your comment about Chesapeake Bay brought back memories. In the mid-1990s, I was Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior during the Clinton period, and during that time there was a major effort under way, What are we going to do about Chesapeake Bay? How do we save the bay because of the enormous decline in crab fishing and the shellfish and other very, very important environment, but also economic assets that were in Chesapeake Bay. Now, you and your colleagues are carrying this thing a step forward using the programs to generate new ways of keeping water that flows in the bay, or cleaning water that flows into the bay. I want one of those centers of excellence in my district. I represent the delta of California, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and this is an enormous environmental problem. The fish are declining, fisheries, invasive species. We know clearly that the contamination from various sources is a problem. So maybe we can get one of those centers of excellence in California also. But what's at stake here is the knowledge necessary to solve our environmental problems and, simultaneously, from that knowledge will come the new technologies and the new jobs which will be useful, not only in Chesapeake Bay or the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but we can then export that.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Well, let me give you an example that I know in my own district, the East Bay, Contra Costa County and Alameda County. The community colleges are putting together educational programs for the men and women that will start their own businesses to do that retrofitting, to do the insulation, the caulking of the doors and windows. We need a million caulkers out there in order for our homes to be energy efficient, but they have to be trained. The installation of the solar panels, that's a kind of employment opportunity for small businesses to get up and get going, often in conjunction with the manufacturers. So what you are doing with your legislation is to provide a foundation, a financial foundation, that the small businesses or that the homeowner would then take advantage of the loan and the small businesses would then have the opportunity to engage with the homeowner to do the work. This is the kind of thinking that we are finding on the Democratic side of the aisle, how to leverage. And your piece of legislation, together with the educational programs that have also passed this House in the last several months, all come together to create jobs.

Mr. GARAMENDI. If I might just interrupt you for a moment, Mr. Sarbanes, this is actually happening, and your piece of legislation will expand what is taking place. I know that in California, the City of Berkeley put this program into effect about 2 years ago, but it was a real struggle for them to find a way in which they could sell the bonds. Now, your proposal would, as I understand it, provide a tax exempt municipal bond opportunity so investors would be willing to do this. This is a very, very powerful thing in Berkeley, and a couple of other cities in California that have initiated this, they are putting solar panels on the roof that are good for 20, 30 years, and, as you say, you sell the home, the payment mechanism, the repayment mechanism then goes to the next buyer. This is really an excellent concept, and you are moving this thing one step forward. Where is your bill right now? What is happening with it?

Mr. GARAMENDI. I doubt that we will be here for a full 60 minutes, but there are some things that we really do need to discuss, particularly following the previous speaker as he talked about the American Recovery Act and the things that have actually been done to really move the American economy forward. One of those things was the stimulus bill, the American Recovery Act, that is now just about 13 months old. In that American Recovery Act, there was a major element dealing with green technology, green jobs, which I think most Americans and most economists feel is where the future lies. We know we have an energy security issue. We know we import far more than we could possibly afford in foreign oil. We have to become energy independent. And in the American Recovery Act, there was an enormous advancement in research and in subsidies to encourage green technologies. I would like now, with the permission of the Speaker, to enter into a colloquy with my colleague, and I would like to yield to our colleague from Maryland, (Mr. Sarbanes).

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today, Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to form a more perfect union. By expanding health care coverage to 32 million Americans, we are continuing the proud American tradition of promoting justice, ensuring the general welfare, and broadening access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Republican leaders in the 1930s said Social Security would lead to ``the lash of the dictator'' and in the 1960s said Medicare would lead to grandparents telling stories of ``what it once was like in America when men were free.'' Yet with time, Social Security and Medicare became incredibly popular services cherished by most Americans. A broader consensus emerged, and a more perfect union was formed. I am confident that the same will soon be said about today's health care reform bill. When the people get past the slogans, the fear tactics, and the gross distortions, what they find in this legislation is a series of ideas widely popular and aligned with the best of American values. This is the second largest deficit reduction bill in 20 years. In my district, 9,000 people with preexisting conditions will finally be able to have access to insurance. 96,000 seniors will see their Medicare improved with significant prescription drug discounts and free preventative screenings. 106,000 families will receive tax credits to make their coverage more affordable. 52,000 young adults will be able to attain coverage through their parents' insurance. 13,100 small business owners will receive significant tax rebates. 1,400 families will avoid bankruptcy. A similar story exists in every corner of this great country. In the fight to extend health coverage to every man, woman, and child, this bill is an incredibly important beginning. But it's still just a beginning. ``A more perfect union'' implies that the progress of the American experience is never complete. Each subsequent generation is expected to pick up the torch and continue on our long road toward positive change. Today the House of Representatives bestowed upon this great nation the most historic health reform since Medicare. I am proud to have voted ``yes'' for health care reform. I won't live to see a perfect union, but it is a tremendous honor to see a more perfect union formed before my eyes.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Tonko, thank you very much. You raised the issue of the insurance companies and how they act in the marketplace. I was insurance commissioner in California 1991 to 1995 and again 2003 to 2007, and I can tell you horror stories about what the insurance companies do, and I will tell this to the insurance companies. When the President signs the bills tomorrow, the era of the insurance companies discriminating against Americans because they have a preexisting condition, it's over, folks. It's over. No longer will the insurance companies be able to say to you, No, I will not give you insurance because you had acne when you were a child or because you may have taken some asthma medicine early in your life or you have any of the four pages of preexisting conditions. The insurance companies will end their discrimination because the law will make it illegal for them to do so. And the issue of bankruptcy. The policies that will be available through the networks will provide, by law, that there is no longer lifetime maximum payments so that the bankruptcies that you specifically spoke to will no longer be existing. The maximum lifetime limitations that the insurance companies have used for years will be over, and shortly the annual limitations will also be over, and the benefit packages will be full because there will be national standards for benefits. The kind of cheap, useless policies that plague Americans when they can't afford a standard policy, they seek something that ultimately will not provide them with the care they need. So that is one of the major reforms in this. This is an insurance reform of extraordinary importance. Let me now yield to our colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I request that we enter into a colloquy with our colleagues from the Democratic side. Earlier today, I had the opportunity to exit the Chamber and go out to the veranda overlooking the east lawn of the Capitol, and there were a couple thousand folks out there protesting this legislation. And in their chanting they were saying: Kill Obama bill. I suspect they're referring to the health care bill, not to the President. And I was thinking about what does it mean to kill the bill. What is the effect of killing this legislation and letting time go on with the current situation in the United States? Next to me here is what is happening in the United States today. Forty-five thousand Americans die each year because they are uninsured. They lack health insurance. Forty-five thousand. That's about twice the number that are found in any of the arenas today as March Madness continues. Forty-five thousand. But that's not the end of it. So we start with 45,000 Americans. What about the rest of the Americans? We rank 19th among the industrialized nations of the world in the health of our citizenry. Our children die earlier. All Americans die earlier than the other 18 industrialized countries. The rate of increase in the health care market for the individual market in California and in many other States was nearly a hundred percent within a 1-year period. Some 50 percent last year and a similar amount this year, an unaffordable rate increase. In California, the average number of claims denied by the insurance companies was 21 percent, and the range was from 39 to 17 percent. You talk about a death panel. Here's where the real death panel is. It is in the insurance companies themselves, denying benefits, denying claims, denying treatment for illnesses and for afflictions that cause death. This has to end. On Sunday, we will bring this kind of unacceptable situation to an end, because on Sunday we will pass affordable, available health care for America. I'd like now to call upon my colleague from New York (Mr. Tonko).