Martin Heinrich

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. If the gentlewoman would yield for a question. How many of our colleagues pitched in on the other side of the aisle and said, We are going to support that kind of tax relief?

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam Speaker, like most Americans I am outraged by the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case that overturned decades of law that prohibited corporations from spending unlimited money in political campaigns. The Citizens United decision was a victory for the Wall Street banks, credit card companies and Big Oil, but it was a slap in the face to average Americans. Today, I am proud to announce that I am cosponsoring the Disclose Act, which is a direct response to the Citizens United decision. The Disclose Act will increase transparency and disclosure of political spending. It will prevent foreign corporations from places like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia from influencing American elections, and it will ensure that corporations that took money in the Bush bailout can't spend that money to influence our elections. It is time we put the American voter first and stop corporate excess in our elections. The Disclose Act will do just that.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to support House Resolution 1132, honoring the USS New Mexico as the sixth Virginia-class submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy to protect and defend the United States of America. I want to thank my colleagues from New Mexico, Mr. Teague and Mr. Lujan, for their work in bringing this resolution to the floor. The USS New Mexico was commissioned on March 27 of this year as the newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine in the United States Navy. I was incredibly proud to be at Norfolk Naval Base that day to commission the submarine and to salute the officers and crew as they set out to protect our Nation at sea. Constructed nearly 4 months ahead of schedule, this world-class platform contains some of the most advanced technologies in the entire force. Among its many capabilities, this nuclear submarine will be able to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk missiles while conducting covert surveillance missions in both deep and littoral waters. This fast-attack sub will move at speeds of more than 25 knots while submerged and remain underwater for extended periods of time. Advances in technology have allowed the submarine to no longer require periscopes and instead use high-resolution cameras incorporated with light and infrared sensors to guide the ship. The New Mexico will provide important battle group and joint task force support, ensuring stealth, endurance, and agility under the sea. As a proud New Mexican, I would like to personally thank the USS New Mexico Commissioning Committee of the Navy League's statewide council for leading a 5-year initiative to name the sixth Virginia-class submarine after the ``Land of Enchantment.'' They have also played a tremendous role in preparing construction milestone ceremonies and supporting crew activities throughout the entire construction of this ship. I would also wish to congratulate Ms. Emilee Sena of Albuquerque for submitting the winning design for the crest of the USS New Mexico. Finally, I would like to recognize Commander Mark Prokopius, commanding officer of the USS New Mexico, and his crew for working to incorporate a sense of New Mexican culture within the ship, including naming the ship's galley ``La Posta'' after a famous restaurant we all know in Mesilla, New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating the U.S. Navy and the crew of the USS New Mexico on its commissioning and thanking the hardworking shipbuilders who constructed one of the most advanced ships to ever patrol the seas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1132) honoring the USS New Mexico as the sixth Virginia-class submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy to protect and defend the United States, as amended.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation under consideration.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 24) to redesignate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 24, to redesignate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. I want to thank my colleagues for bringing this important measure before the House. This bill has the cosponsorship of an overwhelming majority of this House. It has been part of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Acts for the last 8 years. It is time this change was made, and I want to thank Representative Jones for his tireless efforts in this regard. The National Security Act of 1947 defines the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, and Air Force as the separate services, each with distinct statutory missions. By designating each service's commanding officer as an equal member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 reinforced the idea that we have four separate services. This bill supports that notion. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to provide the Marine Corps the equal recognition among the services that it deserves, even while it preserves the historical relationship that the Navy and the Marine Corps have enjoyed for over 200 years. I urge my colleagues to support this important measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Chairman, there can be no dispute that our Nation's warfighters deserve the most state-of-the-art equipment on the battlefield. They risk their lives in defense of our Nation. In turn, we must protect them with the most innovative technologies available. However, far too often the Department of Defense's acquisition system has been compromised by waste, abuse, and even fraud. I applaud the DOD acquisition panel for working on this problem. Last week, in the House Armed Services Committee, we unanimously passed H.R. 5013, the IMPROVE Acquisition Act, to put the panel's recommendations into action. The IMPROVE Acquisition Act will bring strategic financial management to the Department's acquisition system and save taxpayers an estimated $135 billion over the next 5 years. This bill will ensure that our servicemembers have the most advanced resources while making the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Our men and women in uniform deserve no less, and I would urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I have often said that innovation is what America does best. Recently, I had the honor of meeting one of our great current and future innovators, Ericka DeBenedictis. Ms. DeBenedictis is an 18-year-old Albuquerque student who recently won the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search, which recognizes our best and brightest young scientists. This long-standing award has been characterized as the equivalent of winning a junior Nobel Prize. Ms. DeBenedictis received the top prize because of her research in low energy orbit software, a program which would enable space vehicles to navigate the solar system using gravity's pull and minimal fuel. On behalf of everyone in New Mexico's First Congressional District, I want to say how incredibly proud we are of Ms. DeBenedictis and the hard work that she put into her project. As I've said, innovation is what America does best. And it looks like innovation might be what Ms. DeBenedictis does best too.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, our brave men and women in uniform sacrifice so much for our Nation, and it is our duty to keep our promise that they have the benefits that they deserve and have earned through their service. I know that many are familiar with the sentiment that a veteran, whether active duty, retired National Guard, Reserve, is someone who at one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of up to and including their life. We all know that the families of our men and women in uniform share the burden of this service to our Nation. To ease this burden, I introduced H.R. 4923, the TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act. H.R. 4923 would ensure that our Nation's troops and military retirees are able to provide health coverage to their dependent children up to the age of 26. This is one of the most popular provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health insurance overhaul that Congress passed and that President Obama signed into law last month. However, health insurance for our Nation's military servicemembers, retirees, and their families is under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense, so this benefit for dependent children was not extended to military families. Contrary to some misinformation we've heard, TRICARE was not altered, changed, modified in any way by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The good news is that H.R. 4923 would now provide dependent children of military families with the same benefits given to civilian children. Specifically, this bill would amend Title 10 to change the maximum age of coverage for children from 23 to 26, and it would take effect October 1 of this year. Currently, in order for dependent children to remain in the TRICARE system, they need to be attending college full time and only up to the age of 23. However, the new policy in H.R. 4923 would allow all dependent children to be covered until age 26, whether or not they're full-time students. I'm proud to tell you that that bill is supported by a growing number of veterans' service organizations, including the Military Officers Association of America, the National Guard Association of the United States, and the Air Force Association. Mr. Speaker, allowing parents to provide health coverage to their dependent children is just one way we can show our military families how much we appreciate them. With each individual who generously dedicates their life to military service, there is a significant impact on those closest to them. We know this especially well in New Mexico where we have a long and proud tradition of military service. Each time a soldier leaves home, they leave behind caring husbands and wives, loving sons and daughters, worried parents and whole communities that remain concerned for their safety. Our military families stand behind our troops and lift them up. They make significant sacrifices just like our servicemembers do. Let's honor their service to our Nation by ensuring that their health coverage meets the same standard that we have set for the rest of America and nothing less. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to New Mexico's Hispanic Education Act. Signed by the governor on March 10, 2010, this law sets into motion a multi-pronged approach to bring the community together to tackle the growing achievement gap that exists between Hispanic students and their peers. It is the first such law of its kind anywhere in the country, and it is my hope that it will not be the last. I believe that the single greatest challenge facing New Mexico's educational achievement is the fact that though 56 percent of our state's students are Hispanic, barely half of them graduate from high school. Given that education is the key to achieving our full potential as individuals and as a country, we must realize that not all education is equal. We must look at the challenges that face all our students. This disparity is too great to do nothing. The time has come to confront this disparity head on, and this is exactly what the Hispanic Education Act will do. I would like to congratulate New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, State Senator Bernadette Sanchez, State Representative Rick Miera, and Education Secretary Veronica Garcia for having the courage to champion the Hispanic Education Act. But they certainly were not alone in shepherding this bill through the state legislature. Indeed, this legislation was initiated by the countless parents, community advocates, business leaders, school administrators, and policy makers who gave their time and energy to this effort. It was their advocacy, in concert with the Latino/Hispano Education Improvement Task Force, which made passage possible. It is my hope that the goals set forth in this landmark legislation are achieved quickly. It is also my hope that other states follow New Mexico's lead. And it will be my intention to work with my colleagues here in Congress to find ways on a national level to promote Hispanic educational success. For if we are to excel in a 21st Century economy, then all students of all backgrounds must have the chance to finish high school, attend college, and go on to be productive, successful Americans.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill (H.R. 1612) to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to expand the authorization of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to provide service-learning opportunities on public lands, help restore the nation's natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational, and scenic resources, train a new generation of public land managers and enthusiasts, and promote the value of public service, the Clerk be directed to execute the sixth instruction in the amendment conveyed by the motion to recommit in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam Speaker, each of us faces a question about whose side we are on today. Will we continue to protect the insurance companies, or will we stand up for the American people? Protect the insurance companies, or stand up for people like Rebecca Gentry, small business owner, whose bottom line is suffering as the cost of health insurance for her employees continues to skyrocket. Protect the insurance companies or stand up for people like Joseph Crumb, an educational assistant, who can't get health care coverage for his neck and back injuries because his insurance company said they were preexisting conditions. Protect the insurance companies or stand up for people who are uninsured like Elise Perez-Alford, who will soon have only the emergency room to care for her seriously ill 2-year-old daughter because she can no longer afford the copayments. The time has come for us to stand up for the American people and to hold the insurance companies accountable.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam Speaker, today I rise to commemorate Brain Awareness Week and the benefits of educating students on brain science in Central New Mexico and across the country. Launched in 1996, Brain Awareness Week brings together the Society for Neuroscience, Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and 2,400 other organizations in 76 countries that share a common interest in improving public awareness of brain and nervous system research. During Brain Awareness Week, which is being held March 15-21, neuroscientists around the globe educate K- 12 students, senior citizens, and the public at large on the wonders of the human brain. These activities include tours of neuroscience laboratories, museum exhibitions, and classroom discussions on the elements of the human brain. This year, the New Mexico area members of the Society for Neuroscience hosted the 2010 Neuroscience Day at the School of Medicine at the University of New Mexico, located in my district. During this day-long event, many of my constituents learned about the wonders of the mind and the nature of scientific discovery. Today, in recognition of Brain Awareness Week, I would like to highlight a serious neurological condition that affects many of our men and women in uniform returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I recognize the great urgency of understanding and treating PTSD, especially for the new generation of U.S. soldiers returning home after prolonged exposure to combat-related stress and trauma in the war zone. One large study conducted by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, non- partisan organization focused on improving policy and decision-making through research and analysis, found that almost 20 percent of returning military personnel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Our service members aren't the only Americans at risk for this debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 3.5 percent of American adults, or 7.7 million individuals, struggle with PTSD during any given year. Unfortunately, current drug and behavioral treatments for PTSD are often unable to reduce or eliminate symptoms that include intrusive memories, emotional numbness, and insomnia. In recent years, however, neuroscientists have begun to piece together some of the neurobiological puzzles behind this complex disorder, offering new hope to its sufferers. The research dollars allocated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which I supported, are providing scientists with opportunities to discover new medical advances that will detect and treat PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other illnesses that affect our service members. For example, researchers at the University of New Mexico have found that an innovative brain imaging method, diffusion tensor imaging, can be used to reliably detect and track brain abnormalities in patients with mild TBI. This important application received funding from a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Recently, researchers at the Mind Research Network, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and brain injury, located in Albuquerque, received a $507,000 Recovery Act grant to continue pursuing similar analyses using magnetoencephalography, a sensitive technique for measuring the brain's electrical activity, which is essential for evaluating and treating TBI patients. As a result of the Recovery Act, scientific research is providing new hope to thousands of service members returning home from the war zone who suffer from PTSD, TBI, and other neurological trauma. Madam Speaker, today I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Brain Awareness Week, which exposes our constituents to the wonders of the brain. I also ask that you join me in continuing to support research for new treatments for our brave men and women returning home from combat with PTSD and other brain injuries and disorders.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand on the House floor today to congratulate our University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team for winning the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championship. In this truly remarkable season, the Lobos tied the school record for consecutive conference wins. This is the second consecutive year that the Lobos have won the conference championship. And the team recently cracked the Nation's top 10 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, a feat not accomplished in more than a decade. To all the team members and to the academic all-American and team leader, senior Roman Martinez, and to all the UNM students, faculty and staff, I want to congratulate you on a tremendous season, and I look forward to your continued success in the rest of March Madness. Finally, I want to wish the team good luck tonight in their game against TCU, and I join the rest of the Lobos nation in declaring, ``Everyone's a Lobo. Woof, woof, woof.''

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, working families and small businesses across New Mexico face difficult budgeting decisions. And when it comes to the Federal budget, we owe it to them to spend within our means and without unreasonable borrowing. This legislation, referred to as PAYGO, mandates that the Federal Government pay for new tax cuts and spending by finding savings elsewhere. In the 1990s, PAYGO helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses, but that policy was abandoned by the Bush administration. After not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and a new entitlement program, we now face a growing deficit. I am an original cosponsor of PAYGO legislation because we have to get this deficit under control. For the sake of our children and for our financial future, we must reinstate fiscal discipline in Washington. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. I simply urge my colleagues' support and yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski).

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Chair, this legislation is critical to our national security, and I want to thank Representative Dan Lipinski and Chairman Bart Gordon for their leadership. We have made some incredible advancements in the use of technology in the 21st century; and with much of our Nation's public and private commerce taking place on the Internet, defending our cyberspace from cybercriminals and cyberterrorism has never been more vital to our national security. In central New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories dedicated roughly $20 million last year to this very cause. Sandia has also created a program to train our future workforce by working directly alongside Sandia researchers to secure systems and examine attack modes. Sandia National Labs is a leader in defensive cybersecurity research and development for our Nation's intelligence community and has been home to countless high-level security advancements. For decades, national laboratories across the Nation have worked to protect their own data and networks from intrusion. Of necessity, they have developed expertise in cryptography as well as sophisticated techniques to detect and thwart cyberattacks. This amendment simply includes our national labs as contributing stakeholders to the strategic management plan for cybersecurity research. Including our national labs and utilizing their cybersecurity expertise is critical to keeping our Nation's cyberspace secure, and I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Chair.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to stand in solidarity with my colleague, Representative Ben Ray Lujan, in bringing this very challenging chapter in New Mexico history to a close. I also want to thank Chairman Rahall and Chairwoman Napolitano for their support of this settlement. The Aamodt water rights litigation is literally the oldest active case in our Nation's Federal Court, literally older than myself and my colleague. Since 1966, these communities have waited for a resolution to this case. The bill here before us represents the culmination of decades of hard work and difficult compromise by the effective stakeholders to negotiate an agreement that meets each community's long-term needs. During the committee hearings we heard from representatives of local, State, and Pueblo governments. And I want to commend each of them for their enduring efforts to achieve this settlement. The Aamodt water settlement will enable the Secretary of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to create a long-awaited regional water system. That system will be jointly operated by Santa Fe County, along with the four northern New Mexico Pueblos, and provide a great deal of certainty to all Rio Grande water users. Sixty percent of its capacity will deliver water to the Pueblos, 40 percent will go to the county water utility. This legislation has been a generation or more in the making, and I look forward to its long-awaited contribution to the well-being of the Pueblos and the future of the entire State of New Mexico. I would urge my colleagues' support.