Robert Hurt

Mr. HURT of Virginia

Mr. HURT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of Codie Carter Peters who passed away January 25, 2015. Mrs. Peters was a pillar in the Charlottesville community. She was a successful actress and small business owner and a loving mother and grandmother. Active and passionate about politics, she served for six years in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Republican Women's League, two of them as its president. Codie Peters lived her life with an intense dedication to the persons and causes she loved. Whether she was asserting her opinion on an issue of national importance or speaking of her beautiful family, the twinkle in her eyes was always present. Codie relished sharing with all what she had in abundance: a love of family, a love of life, and a love of country. Her delight in her commitment to her husband, Steve, was infectious; they were partners in everything, from tending to their family to their public service in politics. Codie Peters will long be remembered for her dedication and her passion. She was predeceased by her parents and is survived and fondly remembered by her husband, Steven L. Peters; her daughter, Katherine J. Peters; her son-in-law, William A. Finn; and her two grandchildren, Bennett Grace and William Patrick Finn. My thoughts remain with the Peters family, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have known Codie Peters and to remember the wonderful life she led.

Mr. HURT of Virginia

Mr. HURT of Virginia. Article IV, section 1: ``Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.''

Mr. HURT of Virginia

Mr. HURT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act. I would like to thank Mr. Fitzpatrick and Chairmen Hensarling and Garrett for their leadership on increasing access to capital for small businesses. As we begin a new Congress, I am glad to see that the House will continue its laser focus on enacting policies to help spur job creation throughout the country. Even though we have seen modest economic growth, I continue to hear from my constituents about the impacts of unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations on job creation, especially regulations that disproportionately affect smaller public companies and those considering accessing capital in the public markets. One such requirement is related to the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language, XBRL, which was mandated by the SEC in 2009. While the SEC's rule is well intended, this requirement has become another example of a regulation where the costs outweigh the potential benefits. These small companies expend tens of thousands of dollars or more complying with the regulation, yet there is evidence that less than 10 percent of investors actually use XBRL, further diminishing its potential benefits. That is why last Congress, the gentlewoman from Alabama, Representative Sewell, and I authored the bipartisan Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act, which is incorporated into title VII of H.R. 37. I would like to thank Representative Sewell for her diligent work on this legislation, which passed the Financial Services Committee last Congress with bipartisan support. This provision will provide an optional exemption for emerging growth companies and smaller public companies from the requirement to file their information in XBRL with the SEC, in addition to the information that they already file. Additionally, this title requires the SEC to perform a cost-benefit analysis on the rule's impact on smaller public companies, something it failed to adequately address in the original rule, and also to provide additional information to Congress on how the SEC and the market are using XBRL. Whether a supporter or a sceptic of XBRL, these provisions will help provide a pathway for the SEC to focus on developing a system of disclosure for smaller companies that eliminates unnecessary costs while achieving greater benefits. I believe H.R. 37 offers a practical step forward on these regulatory requirements in line with the intent of the original JOBS Act, ensuring that our regulatory structure is not disproportionately burdening smaller companies and disincentivizing innovative startups from accessing the public markets. I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 37 so that we can continue to promote capital access in the public markets and spur job growth in communities all across this great country.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for Roll Call vote #564, a recorded vote on H.R. 5699. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 534, a recorded vote on S. 2040. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 521, a recorded vote on H. Res. 756. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' Stated against:

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank Chairman Camp for his leadership on this bill. I thank Chairman Hensarling for his leadership on the issue that I rise to speak about today. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the Jobs for America Act, H.R. 4. In Virginia's Fifth District, our district, there are literally thousands of jobs that exist because of private equity investments. These critical investments allow our small businesses to innovate, expand their operations, and create the jobs that our communities need. Unfortunately, Dodd-Frank has placed the costly and unnecessary regulatory burden of SEC registration on advisers to private equity while exempting advisers to similar investment funds. These registration requirements do not improve the stability of our financial system, and they restrict the ability of private equity to invest capital in small businesses, which would spur job growth. Instead of complying with costly SEC registration, private equity should be encouraged to focus on investing capital in companies such as Virginia Candle, a company in our district that, through private equity investment, expanded from a garage in Lynchburg to millions of homes across the world. That is why I, along with my colleagues Representative Cooper and Representative Himes, introduced the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, a provision of H.R. 4 which previously passed the House with bipartisan support. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to consider this and dozens of other House-passed jobs bills. At a time when unemployment in Virginia's Fifth District is still too high, the Senate needs to join us immediately in enacting pro-growth policies to spur job creation for our communities. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4 to increase the flow of private capital to our small businesses so they can innovate, grow, and create jobs for the American people.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank Mr. Fitzpatrick and the chairman of the Financial Services Committee for their leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, for the record, all 11 bills in this package have been either voted on in full committee or on this floor with bipartisan support; so the idea that these have never been heard before and that no one knows what is in them is not accurate. I rise in support of this good bill, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act. With millions of Americans still out of work, our top focus must be enacting policies that help spur job growth throughout our country. Unfortunately, I continue to hear from my constituents in Virginia's Fifth District about the impact of costly regulations on job creation, especially those regulations that disproportionately affect smaller public companies that wish to access capital in our public markets. One such regulation is related to the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, which was mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009. While the SEC's rule is well-intended, this regulation has become another example of a requirement where the costs outweigh the potential benefits. These small companies spend tens of thousands of dollars or more complying with the regulation, yet there is substantial evidence that fewer than 10 percent of investors actually use XBRL, further diminishing its potential benefits. That is why Representative Terri Sewell and I crafted the bipartisan Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act which is incorporated into title VII of the bill we are considering today. This provision will provide an optional exemption for emerging growth companies and smaller public companies from the requirement to file their information in XBRL with the SEC, the same information which is already filed with the SEC in a readily accessible format; additionally, this bill requires the SEC to perform a cost-benefit analysis on the rule's impact on smaller public companies, something the SEC failed to adequately address in the original rule. Whether a supporter or a skeptic of XBRL, these provisions will help provide a pathway for the SEC to focus on developing a system of disclosure for smaller companies that eliminate unnecessary costs while achieving greater benefits. I ask my colleagues to join me today in voting on this good bill so that we can continue to promote capital access in our public markets and spur job growth for working Americans across our country.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of this regulatory overreach protection act. I believe that it is safe to say that no one has a greater interest in protecting our water resources than our Nation's farmers, farmers who depend on clean water for their livelihood. Just last month, I met with many farmers across Virginia's Fifth District who expressed their grave concern about the Federal Government's unilateral expansion of the Clean Water Act far beyond that intended by Congress. This overreach will add huge costs for our farmers and the millions of American families that depend upon them. That is why I ask my colleagues to join me today in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan bill to stop this administration's sweeping overreach on American farms.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Representative Carolyn Maloney, Representative Mike Doyle, and Representative Marcia Fudge, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of Maestro Lorin Maazel, who passed away July 13, 2014 at the age of 84. An American born in Paris in 1930, Maazel quickly became a child prodigy, beginning violin lessons when he was just five years old. At age seven, Arturo Toscanini invited him to conduct the NBC Symphony, and only five years later, he debuted at the New York Philharmonic. He conducted nearly all of the major American orchestras before he was 15 years old. At the age of 16, he began studying philosophy, language, and mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, while also playing violin with the Pittsburgh Symphony to help pay his tuition. He would go on to conduct more than 150 orchestras in at least 5,000 opera and concert performances during his career and make over 300 recordings. Maazel was the Artistic Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the General Manager of the Vienna State Opera. He also served as the Music Director for the Cleveland Orchestra for 10 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for eight years, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for nearly ten years, and the New York Philharmonic, America's oldest orchestra, for seven years. Also a widely admired composer, Maazel wrote most of his operas over the last 15 years. His first opera, based on George Orwell's 1984, premiered at the Royal Opera House in London and later sold out its revival at La Scala in Milan. Maazel shared his talents with the world, but he also believed deeply in mentoring the next generation of artists. Along with his wife, Dietlinde Turban Maazel, he founded the Castleton Festival in 2009, which was intended to be a ``vista-opener,'' in his words, to nurture and mentor young musicians through annual summer performances and training seminars on their farm in Rappahannock County, Virginia. He was rehearsing and making preparations for this year's festival when he passed away at their home, Castleton Farms. His legacy will live on through the Castleton Festival and through all of the artists he mentored. As Nina May, a member of the Castleton Festival Board of Directors wrote, ``the maestro's life was based on years of giving--to the arts community, to young musicians who are called to their craft and to a world that wants to preserve the majesty of classical music.'' Our thoughts remain with his wife, Dietlinde, and his seven children and four grandchildren. Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Doyle, Congresswoman Fudge, and I note with great gratitude the life of a world-renowned musical icon.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 466, a recorded vote on H. Res. 694. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 397. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 254. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chair, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 250. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment Offered by Mr. Cicilline

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 223. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following regarding rollcall No. 210, No. 211, No. 212, No. 213, No. 214, No. 215, No. 216, and No. 217--recorded votes On a Motion to Recommit with instructions, On passage of H.R. 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014, On agreeing to the Castor (FL) amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Jackson Lee amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Wilson (FL) amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Langevin amendment to H.R. 10, On agreeing to the Bonamici amendment to H.R. 10, and On passage of H.R. 10, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act. I was not present for rollcall vote No. 210. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 211. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 212. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 213. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 214. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 215. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 216. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' I was not present for rollcall vote No. 217. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which occurred on May 17th, 1954, and paved the way for integration of American schools during the Civil Rights Movement. This unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court established that state laws allowing for segregated public schools were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, energizing the movement to end Jim Crow laws dictating voting rights, public transportation, dining establishments, and almost every other aspect of American communities. One of the most important decisions in our nation's history, Brown was a deliberate rejection of a system of racial inequality. Virginia's Fifth District is an integral part of the history of the Brown decision as Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward School was one of the five combined cases decided by the Supreme Court in Brown. In 1951, 450 students at Moton High School, an African-American school in Farmville, Virginia, staged a walkout to protest the inferior facilities and unsuitable conditions at the school. The protest began as an effort to equalize educational opportunities for all students in the county, but quickly escalated to a battle for desegregation as the NAACP joined the Moton students' cause along with the other cases decided in Brown. Thanks to this pivotal decision and the efforts of so many upstanding Virginians, the students of Moton High School won a great victory against segregation to ensure equality for young people across the country. While it did not end the struggle for desegregation, it certainly was a catalyst for change. The promise of equal opportunity is a core facet of our Constitution. Today, we thank those who courageously fought for equality, leading to the Brown decision that led to the dismantling of racial segregation in our nation's public schools and giving life to the promise of our Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 200, on agreeing to the resolution on H. Res. 569. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 202, on referring the resolution on H. Res. 574 to Government Operations. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Madam Chair, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 189. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Broun of Georgia

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Madam Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 169, on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 544. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on this important issue. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Save American Workers Act. This important bill will restore the traditional 40-hour definition of full-time employment as it relates to the President's health care law. Under the Affordable Care Act, the 30-hour rule has resulted in fewer jobs and has reduced working hours for Virginians and for Americans, putting 2.6 million workers with a median income of under $30,000 at risk of losing their jobs and losing their working hours. In Virginia's Fifth District, we have heard from many constituents who have seen their hours cut due to this 30-hour rule. When hours are cut and wages are cut, the American people suffer. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill so that America can get back to work.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the ENFORCE Act which reins in the growing problem of executive overreach in this administration, and helps reestablish the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. Our founders crafted a Constitution with limited and enumerated powers for the three branches of government. Unfortunately, executive branch overreach, especially into the prerogatives of the legislative branch, has significantly increased in recent years. This overreach is so significant that this administration has not only ignored and undermined statutory requirements, it has effectively made law without congressional consent. While the executive branch undoubtedly has great powers, the Constitution expressly prohibits it from picking and choosing which laws it will enforce. If the constitutional limits on executive power are simply being ignored, it is up to Congress to demand accountability on behalf of the American people. This should not be a partisan issue but, instead, should focus on restoring the proper role of the executive to ensure that the laws of Congress that are passed are faithfully executed. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation which restores the balance of power to our government and preserves the foundation of our Constitution.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Representative Morgan Griffith, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of Elizabeth Heim Haskell, who passed away February 11, 2014. Mrs. Haskell was a pillar in her community and across the Commonwealth. She ran her own environmental consulting firm for nine years and authored many books and articles on the environment. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Air Pollution Control Board. She then served as Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources under Governor Douglas Wilder. After completing her term, Mrs. Haskell returned to Martinsville to work in her family's newspaper business as the director and vice president of The Martinsville Bulletin. She became involved with local civics, serving four years on the Martinsville City Council. She also was a member of the New College Planning Commission and then New College Institute's Board of Directors, where she promoted her firm belief in the important role of higher education in the area's economy. For her many contributions, particularly her work to further higher education in Southwest Virginia, the Virginia General Assembly named Mrs. Haskell the Outstanding Virginian in 2005. Elizabeth Haskell exemplified commitment to bettering the lives of all Virginians. She will long be remembered for her distinguished service. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert H. Haskell III, and is survived by her son, Andrew Haskell of Morristown, N.J., three grandchildren, Chase Winn Haskell, Catherine Antoinette Haskell, and Harrison Robert Haskell, and her brother, Henry C. Heim of Gig Harbor, Washington. Congressman Griffith and I note with great sadness the loss of Elizabeth Haskell, a prominent leader in the Martinsville community and all of Virginia.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chair, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 86. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Connolly