Paul Gosar

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Theodore Roosevelt Dam, an engineering marvel that is celebrating its centennial of service to the people of Arizona, including a majority of constituents in my own District. When Federal engineers built Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in the beginning of the 20th Century, they did not have the conveniences of a nearby town, an existing power supply or a locally skilled labor force. Several engineering feats needed to be accomplished even before construction could begin at the site 80 miles east of Phoenix. A road was cut into the sides of mountains so supplies could be hauled from the Phoenix area to the dam site. Members of local Apache tribes helped build the road, and they continued with the construction effort for the dam. Federal engineers also constructed a 20-mile canal to develop hydroelectric power at the dam to power a cement mill, aerial trams and cableways, and other equipment. Stone masons cut massive blocks from the sides of the canyon. Cranes were used to lower the stones, some weighing as much as 10 tons, to the riverbed. They were laid in a stair-step fashion, which gave the dam a distinctive appearance. Federal engineers ensured the strength of the dam by requiring the mortar joints on the upstream face not to exceed 1 inch in width. Following the laying of the cornerstone in 1906, crews worked nearly nonstop, with strings of electric lights suspended above the site allowing men to work through the night. Five years later, Roosevelt Dam had risen 280 feet high, with a base 184 feet thick that narrowed to 16 feet at the top. On the day of its dedication on March 18, 1911, it was the largest rubble-masonry thick-arch dam in the world. Due to its engineering and construction excellence, Roosevelt Dam stood nearly unchanged for more than 80 years. In the 1990s, a new generation of engineers needed to address dam safety, regulatory water storage and flood control in central Arizona. During this construction effort, the entire face of the dam was overlain with concrete, ranging in thickness from 10 to 50 feet. The concrete extended upward to create a new crest and spillways were constructed deeper and narrower, allowing for greater water releases during floods. Renovations used nearly 450,000 cubic yards of cement, enough to pave a two-lane road between Phoenix and Tucson. The additional 77 feet of height effectively doubled the capacity of the reservoir, enhancing its role in managing water supplies for the growing greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Mr. Speaker, as Roosevelt Dam embarks on its second century of service, it deserves special recognition for its engineering marvel and being an economic engine for central Arizona.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, today I join Congressman Don Young and Congressman Doc Hastings in supporting H.R. 887. I explain separately my reasons for doing so, and specifically my concerns about a request for attorney's fees of $227 million. The resolution of the litigation in Cobell v Salazar involved claims that ultimately amounted to a breach of trust by the government to Native Americans. The plaintiffs have been denied the use of money they were otherwise entitled to, according to the settlement. The petition for fees reports that ``government officials have abused individual Indian trust beneficiaries'' for decades. While the mismanagement of the Native trust monies is bad enough, a second injury cannot be inflicted on these same peoples by a fee request that is almost a quarter of a billion dollars. It shocks the conscience to see such a large request. Every dollar paid out in legal fees is a dollar the injured Native Americans will not have. That being said, I recognize, and appreciate, the work done by Plaintiffs' counsel on behalf of the claimants, and I recognize the value of that work and the years it took. In this case, the magnitude of the recovery cannot be used as a benchmark to determine attorney's fees. I would prefer to see an accounting of the actual attorney's fees incurred, by the hour, to see how that compares as a bench mark. But a contingency fee based on a resolution that is itself measured in the billions is simply avaricious. I therefore support this legislation, H.R. 887, that limits the fee award to $50 million. Congress has the ultimate power over Indian affairs. It also has the duty to protect Native American rights. The Constitution grants to Congress the express power to make regulations governing the territory belonging to the United States (Art. IV, Sec. 3, Cl. 2). In addition, the Indian Commerce Clause conveys the express power to Congress over Native American affairs. This clause provides that ``Congress shall have the Power . . . to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.'' (Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3). As a result of these powers, it is well established that Congress has plenary power over Indian affairs. It is up to us, members of Congress, to make sure we exercise these supervisory obligations. Finally, there is what is referred to as the federal government's ``trust relationship'' between the federal government and the Native American tribes. This trust relationship obligates Congress and the federal government to protect the well-being of Native Americans, peoples who rendered their lands in return for this trust. As elaborated by Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, the tribes of our country are considered ``domestic dependant nations'' whose relationship to the United States was like ``that of a ward to his guardian.'' We, the guardians in Congress, must now intervene to protect those under our care, especially where a fee dispute now creates a conflict of interest between the class members and their legal counsel. That brings us to the Cobell settlement. In rectifying the breach of fiduciary duty documented in Cobell, we cannot allow another breach to proceed under our noses. Just as the government has a fiduciary duty to the Native Americans in the first instance in ensuring trust monies are not misappropriated, so too Congress has plenary power to ensure that the Native American class members are not gouged in a fee award. I have long advocated for sensible legal reform. Excessive attorney's fees in cases like this support this advocacy. Though the Cobell litigation was contentious and time consuming, no one can tell me, with a straight face, that a $50 million dollar fee award is not excellent compensation for one case. On behalf of the 21 federally recognized tribes in Arizona, over 250,000 strong, from the Dine in the north, to the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, down to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in the south, and on behalf of those tribes in between and throughout the United States, I rise in support of H.R. 887.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 570, the Dental Emergency Responder Act. H.R. 570 will allow states to incorporate the valuable resources and knowledge of dentists and dental facilities into their emergency and disaster planning. This legislation is long overdue and will enable our state governments to take an ``all hands on deck'' approach when it comes to disaster response. As a trained dentist, I know that dental students receive a great deal of general medical training during the course of their education. As a result, dentists are skilled at patient interviews, diagnostic evaluations, triage, suturing, infection control measures, wound dressing, bloodborne pathogens, administration of medications both intravenously and orally, and basic emergency care, to give just a few examples. Indeed, some dentists receive additional training in oral surgery and are specially trained to address emergent trauma to the maxillofacial areas. Despite these qualifications, the National Health Security Strategy precludes states from including dentists and dental schools in their disaster planning framework. This is a serious omission and an unnecessary one. H.R. 570 would strike this language, and without imposing a federal mandate would permit states to evaluate how dentistry can be helpful in times of crisis and public emergencies. The Dental Emergency Responder Act is a concept whose time has come, and I urge my colleagues in both the House and Senate to support this important legislation.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Army Dental Corps as they celebrate their 100th year of service to our Nation. On March 3, 1911, the Congress of the United States recognized dentistry as a distinct profession by establishing a dental corps with commissioned officers. As a long practicing dentist, I know that dental health is a critical component of overall health and military readiness. Therefore, I commend the Army Dental Corps' work to improve oral health for soldiers and their families. I have the utmost respect for the thousands of dentists who have served in the dental corps throughout the century, providing excellent care to thousands, and I commend the Army Dental Corps' efforts to keep our troops healthy and our fighting force in the best possible shape throughout the world.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Well, it's like a parent. What we have to do is also work with our children, which you can make the analogy of Federal Government versus State government, empowering and giving them the environment for them to succeed. As a business owner, what we always want to try to do is make sure that we put an employee in the best environment with the right tools and the right education, and then they can succeed. When they succeed, they make me a better business owner and much better at what I do. And that's the same thing that we have done here. We have had unfunded mandates from education to health care, all the way across. What we have to do is start working with the States in their individual expertise and what makes them special, and allow them the flexibility to succeed as well. But we have got to put them in that right environment. And that goes all the way down from the States to the communities. This is a group effort, and this is a family affair.

Mr. GOSAR. Well, it's actually the crux and the problem with our economy at this point in time. We actually had a government that disrupted the understanding of the way the risk was looked at. And we said, no, we don't need to follow anything, particularly in the housing industry. We actually saw bureaucrats saying, no, we don't need this application of risk. We can undermine it a little bit worse. And what we got is no skin in the game, no application, no money down, and what we had is a failure along Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Mr. GOSAR. Very, very high. It's above the norm of what would be 8 to 10 percent. And yet they gave out two loans in December, but yet have already had three audits in the fiscal year 2010 and have two more scheduled in the first quarter. Tell me where that aspect is and how that actually works, and especially when we have one bureaucrat disagreeing with another bureaucrat that this audit wasn't supplanted for another audit. That's the disruption and that's the fleecing of America.

Mr. GOSAR. It can be, yes.

Mr. GOSAR. We have people that just do insurance filings, just do our mandatory paperwork with the Federal Government.

Mr. GOSAR. No, and there's not a service to be provided. It's actually servicing the public interest within the Federal Government.

Mr. GOSAR. That's exactly right.

Mr. GOSAR. Well, you're right. I thank my good friend from Missouri for yielding. When we start to look at it in the CR, when we're talking about cuts, we can't legislate from the CR. What we have to do is we have to just make the plain cuts. And that is why in the budgetary process, that's the second step in which we're going to have to address the entitlements, looking at how we legislate directing, redirecting, and making cuts. So I think that is an important thing that the American people need to share.

Mr. GOSAR. That is exactly right. And the savings that we're making here extrapolates over the next 10 years at a great discount to the American people in our budget and what we're going to have to come up with in the future. That's what's so wonderful, at least by the first 5 weeks of this Congress, is zero implications on raising debt.

Mr. GOSAR. Well, what it is--I'll give you an example from right in our own district--is that we have a small bank that has 39 percent in liquidity versus loans out.

Mr. GOSAR. Yes.

Mr. GOSAR. Yes, I did.

Mr. GOSAR. Absolutely not, and you're not going to hire somebody when you don't know the economic rules. And we have besieged the American people with a set of rules that have a lot of uncertainty to them.

Mr. GOSAR. With the health profession, we have tons of it, from HIPAA disclosure to anything. When we deal with insurance, the paperwork is endless.

Mr. GOSAR. The Federal Government has also made winners and losers, and so we don't know in small town USA whether we're one of the winners or the losers.

Mr. GOSAR. And then our rule is that something went wrong. When it's bureaucrats asleep at the wheel, what we do is pass more regulations so that the small banks that we have in our communities can't lend. They're the ones who get audited five times in less than a year. What about the same application to the big banks? Where is that equal aspect to the law?

Mr. GOSAR. Well, I don't understand that madness, but it's something you have to learn in business. But you have to have the ability to reinvest in America. If I have got money sitting there, make it worth my while to invest back in America. That's what we can do, and that's where the incentives come in. It also helps us in giving us access to cash, which has been ladened with the banks and strapped with the new regulations that come about. Plus, we also have to look at the certainty of the environment that we create for business to grow. We're not going to take the load on our backs if we know that there's an uncertainty in the environment, whether it be health care, whether it be taxes, whether it be all of the regulations. All these things add up. And if you don't get people hired, they are a drain on the system. And America wants to get back to work.

Mr. GOSAR. Well, everybody knows the analogy of a bank. When you put money in early, and let it build up in a rolling account, compounding interest, you grow to a bigger fund. That's the opposite of what's happening here, reverse compounding interest. We are building up more and more people on the rolls with fewer and fewer people actually helping out to support it. The last part is, is that we have an economy that is lagging way behind. We are still over 9 percent for how many months now? And what we have to do is, in order to create a better economy, that's what's going to help us service these programs and get people involved. So it's a variant equation that we have to work by.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Madam Speaker, red tape, the EPA, government regulations. When I travel my district, these words come up over and over again. These are not words of encouragement; these are words of frustration. Small businesses across Arizona are struggling to keep their doors open because government will not get out of the way. Enough is enough. Now is the time to make changes that will empower our Nation and put our people back to work. Take, for example, the Navajo Generating Station in my district. They have state-of-the-art technology that makes them one of the cleanest coal power plants in the country. Yet, the EPA says this technology is not good enough. Out-of-touch bureaucrats at the EPA are threatening over 500 high-paying jobs in my district, over 80 percent of which go to the Navajo Nation, where unemployment is approaching 60 percent. The plant provides power to the major cities of Arizona and 95 percent of the power to the Central Arizona Project's canal, which in turn delivers 45 percent of the city of Phoenix's projected water demand and 80 percent of Tucson's projected water demand. The EPA's attempt to shut down the Navajo Generating Station will put Arizona's water and energy security at risk. What is worse, the Navajo Generating Station is willing to comply with the EPA, yet the EPA is imposing timelines that no businesses can reasonably meet. Why, you may ask? Because the EPA is more concerned with their agenda than they are about the people of Arizona. Today, I stand here asking my colleagues, the Senate, and the administration to listen to the people of my district. We have no more time to waste. We need to rein in government before it puts the rest of our country out of business.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, rural Arizona is under attack from overregulation, out-of-control spending, and government redtape. The small businesses that power my district can no longer compete. I just wrapped up a weeklong tour of my district, and one thing was clear: The Federal Government is in the way and inhibiting my district from creating jobs. Government agencies have over-regulated our businesses out of existence. Take for example the Schultz Pass Fire in Coconino County. Last year, a 12-year-old girl, Shaelyn Wilson, lost her life because of the government's inability to use our forest resources in a commonsense fashion. As a further insult, this manmade, bureaucrat-dictated disaster resulted in a fire that could have been prevented, and now we, the American taxpayer, will be forced to pay for it for the next 50 to 100 years. Enough is enough. A bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., should not dictate decisions that are best left to local communities that have to suffer the tragic consequences of government's actions.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. I stand here today in support of Senate Bill 188. Judge Roll lost his life in the tragic shooting in Tucson 1 month ago, and I believe it is a fitting tribute to honor his memory and service to our country by designating the Yuma courthouse the John M. Roll United States Courthouse. Judge Roll loved his country. His service as a Federal judge and the chief judge for the United States District Court was admirable. He served selflessly, as he always worked to ensure that the rule of law was upheld. Judge Roll loved Arizona. Attending the University of Arizona for his undergraduate work and the University of Virginia for his law degree, he returned to the State he loved to serve Pima County, Arizona, and the United States. Judge Roll's patriotism was evident in the fact that he went out to talk with his Representative at the local Congress on Your Corner event. His love for his country inspired him to serve and motivated him to come and support Gabby Giffords. Judge Roll lost his life trying to protect another. His act of courage will always be remembered and his upstanding character will never be forgotten. My thoughts and prayers are with his family today. The United States and Arizona has lost a distinguished public servant, but he will always be remembered for diligence and dedication to our Nation. May God be with Judge Roll's family and all the victims of the shooting in Tucson.