Randy Hultgren

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Henry Hyde was a personal friend and mentor of mine. He first helped restrict abortion funding just 3 years after Roe v. Wade. Today, Planned Parenthood receives over 363 million tax dollars a year. We're giving 1 million tax dollars a day to an organization in desperate need of oversight. If he were here today, I think Henry Hyde would be shocked and appalled at the abhorring conditions of fraud, overbilling, and the general lack of transparency found at Planned Parenthood and at other abortion clinics across the country. We must win this fight for life. It's the only way that we can literally win our future.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life of Specialist Christopher Patterson. Christopher, a 2009 graduate of West Aurora High School in Illinois, came from a military family. He joined the National Guard while studying music education at Valparaiso University, but in his own words, he didn't join the Guard just for money for school. He joined to serve his country. His conviction to serve was so strong that he chose to join his Guard unit overseas when they were sent to Afghanistan, even though he could have stayed behind to continue his studies. Just 3 weeks ago, Christopher and three other soldiers were working in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan to clear combat routes for convoys to pass through when an IED detonated and took his life. Today we honor Christopher and the ultimate sacrifice he paid for our country and give our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends during this difficult time. We are, and will remain, eternally grateful for Christopher's service and sacrifice to our country.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of this important resolution of disapproval. I oppose raising the debt ceiling and will continue to oppose raising the debt ceiling without a real structural reform to how Washington works. A balanced budget amendment is what we need. We find ourselves in this position today because the President has come to Congress telling us that he wants to raise the Nation's debt ceiling again. Our Nation's credit card is maxed out because of his administration's reckless spending. My home State of Illinois is a perfect example of the truth that we cannot spend, borrow, and tax ourselves out of huge budget deficits; and now Illinois is the State in the worst financial shape of any other State. Today's vote will not just show which of our colleagues support more spending, but it will also reflect our positions on the greater philosophical divide confronting us: Are we for bigger government or smaller, more accountable, more effective government? Today's vote will clearly show the American people who in this Chamber wants to further grow the size of government, let it intrude further into the private sector, and give more power to Washington bureaucrats to meddle in the everyday lives of American citizens; and in contrast, it will show those of us who believe that a smaller government increases our constituents' liberties. By supporting this resolution of disapproval, we are sending a message that we are standing for smaller government and greater individual freedom. We must not increase our debt ceiling without real structural change to how Washington works.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Some in this Chamber believe that the answer to our Nation's problems is more government, that we need more unchecked spending, more unelected bureaucrats, and more rules and regulation in our everyday lives. Yet, in a Gallup Poll just this week, 64 percent of Americans across the political spectrum responded that their biggest fear and the greatest threat to our country is Big Government. They've seen, just as I've seen, that burdensome rules and regulation and out-of-control spending and debt bring us nothing but high unemployment and an uncertain future for our kids and our grandkids. That's why the House Republicans have been working tirelessly this year to pass pro-growth, pro-jobs bills that will restore the confidence our Nation's job creators need to put Americans back to work again. Yet nearly 30 of these bills, which would restore reasonable regulation, reduce spending and create a smaller, less intrusive Federal Government, continue to languish over in the Senate, which still refuses to address the needs of unemployed Americans. We can't wait. Pass these jobs bills so that Americans can start working again and so that America can move forward.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 904, the Record indicates that had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' This is a mistake. The Record should indicate that had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, last week the Illinois Farm Bureau Federation polled its members about the long-term challenges confronting them. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the number one thing that they named is government regulation. After all, Washington bureaucrats too often know nothing about rural America and challenges confronting our farming families. They've sought to burden them with new regulations on everything from spilt milk to dust. But while those bureaucrats are trying to generate more regulations, here in the House we're working hard to cut it back. This year, we have passed numerous pieces of legislation to roll back the most egregious rules proposed by the EPA and others to ensure that America's family farmers have the regulatory certainty they need to survive and thrive over the next decade and beyond. Now it's time for the Senate to act.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my concern over another example of rampant government regulation. For 17 years, the Food and Drug Administration has sought to ignore congressional intent and create a vast new regulatory regime for dietary supplements. Millions of Americans, including many of my constituents and my family, rely on dietary supplements as part of their everyday health maintenance routine. Moreover, they play an important role in ensuring that people take individual responsibility for preventative health care. We all can agree that the FDA should not limit Americans' access to dietary supplements. In January President Obama issued an Executive order to ensure that the FDA's new rules will not limit access. Last week, the comment period on the FDA's draft guidance closed. Now that they've heard from the public, and now that I'm sure they've heard from countless Americans who share my concern, I urge them to go back to the drawing board and ensure that they do not limit Americans' access to dietary supplements.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 904, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, $1.75 trillion annually--America's job creators are buried under the regulatory burden of about $1.75 trillion annually. The cost of the regulatory burden from new regulations just this year is $67.4 billion, which is larger than the entire State budget of Illinois, my home State. Studies and polls have shown us time and again that the regulations are a hidden form of taxation; and just as our Tax Code is in need of reform, so is our regulatory system. That's why I'm proud to support the REINS Act. This commonsense bill will require that Congress approve every new major regulation proposed by the executive branch in order to ensure that Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, retain control and accountability for the impact of government on the American people. Unless Congress acts decisively, this unchecked regulatory state will only grow bigger and make things more complicated. Let's pass the REINS Act, and let's give our job creators the certainty they need to grow, expand, and put Americans back to work.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Northern Illinois University Huskies football team for winning the 2011 Mid- American Conference championship. Last Friday, the Huskies overcame three first-half turnovers and a 20-point deficit to defeat the Bobcats of Ohio University with a last- second field goal as time expired. The incredible win caps off another great season for the Northern Illinois University Huskies as they finished with a 10-3 overall record and now head to the GoDaddy.com Bowl on January 8 to play Arkansas State. Congratulations to the players, coaches, and support staff for all of the Huskies for another fantastic season. Go Huskies.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, recently a constituent of mine wrote to me and asked: What is going on in Washington? It's a good question. She said that her husband, a small business owner, is taxed so hard that money is tight and, as a result, they cannot grow their business. And she said: If we cannot grow, we cannot create new jobs. I want to know what you are doing for job growth? Again, a good question. The answer is simple. We need pro-growth, pro-jobs policies. The House has passed more than 20 bills that do just that through low taxes, reasonable regulation, less spending, and a smaller, less intrusive Federal Government. These are commonsense bills. Most of them passed with bipartisan support. Where are these bills now? Languishing in the do-nothing Senate. To my constituent, to many others who share her concern, my simple response is: We in the House have acted; now it's time for the Senate to do the same.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, this Thanksgiving many of us had the opportunity to spend time with our families and loved ones, so I think it's fitting that November is National Adoption Month. I also think it's appropriate to take time during this holiday season to recognize the tens of thousands of families nationwide who are foster families. Unfortunately, in my home State of Illinois, a potentially tragic situation has unfolded. Faith-based adoption agencies across the State are being shut down because of their belief in traditional marriage. The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services has declined to renew contracts with several organizations. They have decimated these agencies, some of whose work was 70 percent foster care. It's an unfortunate situation, and I'm watching it closely. But today I want to say publicly that, as we fight to curb teenage pregnancy and abortion, the right to adoption is one thing we really must defend.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. The time is now. This week we watched as our Nation's debt reached an unprecedented level--$15 trillion. This debt crisis was caused by past administrations and past Congresses who refused to say no more spending. Washington spends too much and is under water. Because of that, our national security and sovereignty and the standard of living for our children and grandchildren are in jeopardy. Mr. Speaker, the time is now for this Congress to pass immediate, bold and permanent spending reforms that will hold all future Congresses accountable for their spending. And now we have the opportunity to do just that by passing a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution. Let's forever change the way that Washington spends money and bring accountability back to Congress by passing the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. We've come close before, but there's no more excuses. The time is now.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, I was pleased to see that last week the Senate finally followed the House and passed one of our pro-growth bills; but while repealing the 3 percent withholding tax is a step in the right direction, it's not enough. We've sent them more than 20 other bills, each of which would stimulate job creation and a pro- growth environment. These aren't ideological bills. They're commonsense pieces of legislation that were passed with bipartisan support. They would get government bureaucrats off the backs of small businesses and enable the private sector to invest and grow their businesses, putting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again. I hope the Senate will listen to the American people and pass the 20 bills that we've sent to them.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, last week I saw the results of a survey of the businesses from the National Federation of Independent Business. I want you to hear some of the concerns of the small businesses of the 14th Congressional District of Illinois. Eighty-eight percent of the small businesses support repeal of ObamaCare, something we've been working hard to achieve here in the House of Representatives. Ninety percent support passage of a balanced budget amendment, something this body will be voting on later this week, of which also I strongly support. Small business knows, as I do, that the way that we get our economy moving again is by shrinking the size of government, bringing confidence back to job creators, and getting Washington bureaucrats off the backs of our Nation's small businesses. We're working hard to do just that with the forgotten 20 bills that are now sitting over in the Senate, and I look forward to continuing their fight. I also want to take this opportunity to say happy birthday to Christy and Kaden. I wish I were home with you today.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, last week I was astounded to read a new Gallup Poll on small business owners' concerns; and as you can imagine, in an economy like this, they have many concerns. But the issue that they said was the most important concern for small business owners was complying with government regulation. You know what? I didn't need a Gallup Poll to tell me what I've heard from dozens of small business owners across my district. They feel threatened by the Obama administration's avalanche of needless red tape. In the House, we've worked hard to cut that red tape, provide a pro- growth, pro-jobs environment here. We've passed more than 15 bills to cut red tape, most of them with bipartisan support. You can see all of them at jobs.gop.gov. Unfortunately, they now languish over in the cul- de-sac at the other end of this building called the ``do-nothing'' Senate. So I urge the Senate to listen to American small business owners, listen to their concerns. Pass the forgotten 15. Get Washington off the backs of small business and get Americans working again.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. I want to thank my good friend and colleague for the amazing work that you've done over the years fighting for structural change in how Washington does its business. Thank you, Congressman Goodlatte, I really appreciate it. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to speak for a couple of minutes today. Mr. Speaker, since the people of the 14th Congressional District of Illinois sent me to be their Representative in Washington, DC, last year, I have fought to bring accountability and responsibility back to Congress. Time and again, I voted to cut spending and reduce the size of Federal Government, and I haven't been shy about going against and opposing colleagues from the Republican side of the aisle when I felt like they weren't doing enough to get our fiscal house back in order. With every vote, I'm guided by the belief that Washington, like our families and small businesses across the country, needs to live within its means. I know that the path to renewed and future prosperity lies through a return to fiscal sanity and not by saddling our kids and our grandkids with more debt. Our job-creating bills--that have been sent over to the Senate and are stuck in the Senate right now--along with less spending and less debt will help give small business owners and job creators the confidence they need to hire and expand, putting Americans back to work again and getting our economy moving again. Unfortunately, this Congress' efforts to cut spending are, on their own, insufficient. More importantly, any cuts we make today could be reversed by future Congresses. Long-term deficit reduction and spending restraint can only be accomplished through real structural changes to the way that Washington operates. And I believe, as many of you do, that a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is exactly the change that we need. I have been an outspoken advocate for a balanced budget amendment even before being elected, and one of the first things I did after being sworn in was to cosponsor a balanced budget amendment. A balanced budget amendment would force the Federal Government to spend only what it takes in--a novel concept--but it is the surest path to fiscal sanity, less spending, and a brighter future for our kids and our grandkids. Support for the balanced budget amendment is gathering momentum in Congress and across this great Nation. In fact, as Congressman Goodlatte said, the House and Senate are required to vote on a balanced budget amendment very soon. But Congress has been here before. In 1995, they nearly passed a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget amendment but fell one vote short in the Senate. Imagine the difference of this Nation if that would have passed at that time than the situation that we're in right now. Sixteen years later, we have the chance to finally get it right. The time is now. It is our responsibility and our duty to support a balanced budget amendment and bring accountability back to Washington.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Seven months ago this body passed H.R. 872, a commonsense bill to protect farmers, ranchers, and job creators from redundant and needless regulation. We passed it overwhelmingly with bipartisan support, with more than 50 Democrats voting ``yes,'' and sent it to the Senate. Unfortunately, as we know all too well, the cul-de-sac at the other end of this Capitol called the Senate once again did nothing. Their inaction has real-world consequences as yesterday those repetitive and burdensome regulations were forced in by judicial fiat. While they failed this opportunity to act and help our economy, the Senate does have other chances. I urge them to take up the forgotten 15 bills we passed for jobs here in the House, move the Forgotten 15, and help get our economy moving again.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor, Deanna and Robert Sader, who have received the ``Angels in Adoption'' award from my Congressional District, the 14th in Illinois. They have two special needs children with an extra 21st chromosome. Having given birth to a child with Down Syndrome, they decided several years later to adopt an orphan with Down Syndrome from the Ukraine and give little Lucy freedom with a future. Through prayer this couple made a commitment together to reach across the world to do God's work and as a result, each and every day they feel blessed to have this little girl join their family and our country. In spite of the challenges that are foreign adoptions, Mr. and Mrs. Sader never allowed the ``red tape'' to deter their mission and always considered Lucy and her sister Ragen to be their ``Pots of Gold at the End of the Rainbow.'' As an American and Christian, I am grateful I have the opportunity to recognize these two outstanding individuals and the contribution they are making to our World. I congratulate them for this special honor and recognition.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. I want to thank my colleague from South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of both the bills under this rule and, in particular, H.R. 674, repealing the 3 percent withholding tax on government contracts. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but now we clearly see that it is a mandate that drains precious resources from America's job creators--small businesses. The profit margin for many businesses affected by the proposal is often less than the 3 percent mandate. The withholding tax will create substantial cash flow problems and drain capital from many businesses that could otherwise be used to invest and grow or hire more workers. Mr. Speaker, I join with many business owners, State and local governments, and educational institutions in supporting H.R. 674, to repeal this tax, and provide a meaningful step towards instilling certainty in job creators in getting this economy moving on the right track.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that by the end of this year another ratings agency may downgrade our Nation's sovereign debt. Why? Because they don't believe there's a plan to return our Nation to fiscal health. Well, they're not entirely right. In July, we passed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act. It was a commonsense solution that would have maintained our Nation's strong credit rating. The bill went to the cul-de-sac called the Senate where, as so many things have, it died. Maybe that's not surprising. Cut, Cap, and Balance would not only have cut spending, it would have changed the way Washington works. It would have made structural change. For a do-nothing Senate that has not bothered to pass a budget in over 900 days, the idea of spending cuts and fiscal accountability must be utterly foreign. Once again, we see the high cost of their inaction.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I recently asked my constituents to take a quick email survey regarding regulations and the impact that it has on jobs and our economy. The response from the 14th Congressional District of Illinois was overwhelming: 68 percent said that businesses currently operate in a hostile business environment when it comes to regulation; 70 percent said that the regulators and bureaucrats should be required to consider the impact regulations have on jobs and businesses before they're imposed. To my constituents, I say, we are listening. We're working hard to ensure that small businesses and job creators have a stable and certain regulatory environment. We're working hard to get Washington off their backs; and we're working hard to ensure that they feel confident expanding and hiring, putting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again. That's why all this fall we have been tackling and cutting red tape from the EPA and other bureaucracies. Without our action, EPA threatens to impose new rules that would devastate American jobs, raise the cost of electricity for homeowners and businesses, and drive American businesses out of existence and overseas. That's unacceptable.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. I rise in support of this commonsense bill that is good for jobs and the economy. I thank my good friend Congressman Shimkus for his very important work on this bill. What we're confronting here today is another classic example of EPA's regulatory overreach threatening jobs and livelihoods across the country. This is also an issue that concerns my constituents, as thousands of jobs are in industries using coal combustion residuals. But the jobs impact of this legislation is not limited to my district. It's nationwide. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this pro- growth, pro-jobs bill.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, if our colleagues at the opposite end of this Capitol, the Senate, are serious about getting our economy moving and America back to work, I urge them to do two things immediately. To start with, for the first time in 888 days, they should do what every American family and business does and set a budget; 888 days--almost 30 months--without a budget is not just an abdication of responsibility. It is a fundamental failure to govern. Second, they should immediately take up a bill we sent with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. We passed it in March; they've done nothing. If we don't act on it by the end of this month, our agriculture sector will be deluged with a new avalanche of needless red tape. I hope that this do-nothing Senate will move on both of these issues immediately in order to help both the American people and the American economy.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, this week, President Obama went to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. He did so, remarkably for an American leader, from a position of weakness. As the Palestinian Authority began to campaign to upgrade its status at the U.N., this administration wavered and vacillated and did nothing for too long. This was a failure of leadership and leaves us, our Israeli allies, and the ever tense Middle East at an uncertain crossroads. The President might have been able to rescue the situation with a forceful speech laying down a clear marker of America's support for Israel. Instead, he falsely blamed Israel for the stalemated peace process. I have always believed that our relationship with Israel is unique in world history and critical to both countries. Those beliefs were reinforced when I had the opportunity to visit Israel and meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in May. President Obama must stand up, not only for Israel and the Israeli people, but also for a commitment to the peace process and the rule of law.