Robert Hurt

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 754, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. Our intelligence community plays a critical role in keeping us safe from those who seek to do us harm, and I believe we need to ensure that they have the necessary tools to do their job to the fullest. It was the hard work and dedication of the members of the intelligence community that helped lead us to securing a great victory in the war on terror--the death of Osama bin Laden. We will be forever grateful to them--and all of those in the intelligence field--for their service to this country, including those in Virginia's 5th District. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank the work of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the National Ground Intelligence Center located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and those members of the intelligence community across the 5th District who are working every day to help ensure the safety of all Americans. A top priority of government is to protect its citizens from threats at home and abroad. While I believe that we need to prioritize all spending in the context of a balanced budget, we need to make sure that those in the intelligence field are equipped to carry out their duties to help protect and defend our nation, especially when we are engaged in a global war on terror and thousands of American troops continue to serve bravely in harm's way around the world. I urge support of H.R. 754.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Madam Speaker, all across Virginia's Fifth District, people are suffering from skyrocketing fuel prices. As I have heard from families and small businesses and farmers who are seeing a negative impact on their bottom lines, we need to take action now if we are going to address this serious problem of skyrocketing fuel prices. Instead of supporting policies that will help bring down the cost of gas, the Obama administration continues to actively block and delay domestic energy production, causing more pain at the pump, increasing our dependence on foreign oil, and destroying jobs. We only have to look at our soaring energy costs to see the consequences of these failed policies. Gas prices have doubled under the President's watch and are now hovering around $4 per gallon in Virginia; and as these rising prices continue to directly affect all central and southside Virginians and threaten our economic recovery, I believe we should take action now to address this crisis. Last week, the House passed a bill that would expand American energy production and create jobs by reopening the oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Virginia that has been delayed or canceled by the Obama administration. It is estimated that offshore energy development in Virginia, which has bipartisan support, could lead to the production of more than half a billion barrels of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and create nearly 2,000 jobs for our State. At a time like this, there is no reason to leave these resources untouched when it will help provide relief to all Americans. This week, we are continuing our work to maximize American energy production by considering two bills that will end the White House's de facto moratorium on new American offshore energy production in a safe, responsible, and transparent manner. By reversing the administration's anti-energy policies and tapping into these resources to maximize our domestic energy supply, we will take a significant step towards lowering gas prices, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating thousands of jobs for the Commonwealth and our Nation. I urge support of H.R. 1229 and H.R. 1231 and hope that the Senate and the administration will join us in our efforts to move towards achieving true energy independence by approving all three energy bills the House of Representatives has considered thus far.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk made in order under the rule.

Mr. HURT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Miller, Chairman Bachus and Chairman Biggert, for their leadership on this very important issue. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program is another misdirected, multibillion-dollar bailout that hurts struggling homeowners by incentivizing lenders to foreclose properties rather than continue to work with those who are facing tough economic challenges. At a time when our Nation faces over $14 trillion in debt, $1.6 trillion in deficit spending, and we are borrowing over 40 cents on every dollar we spend, we cannot continue to have taxpayers foot the bill for these unaccountable government programs that do nothing to solve the problems for which they were originally intended and harm our economic recovery. That is why I am offering an amendment to H.R. 861 which would direct all unobligated funds to be returned to the Treasury to reduce the deficit of the Federal Government once the program is terminated. The people of Virginia's Fifth District called for serious and bold change last November. By working to reduce the size and scope of the Federal Government, save taxpayer dollars and rein in out-of-control spending, we are listening to the people and taking the first steps to change the culture in our Nation's Capitol so that we can grow the economy and create jobs for all central and southside Virginians and all Americans. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment and the underlying bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURT. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller).

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of this temporary continuing resolution to urge my colleagues to do the same. As we debate this measure, let's remember why we are here. Let's remember that on November 2, the people of Virginia's Fifth District and the people across this country sent a message to Washington, a message to Republicans and to Democrats. The message was urgent, it was clear, and it was loud. The message sent was that now is the time to stop the government spending, stop the government borrowing, and stop the raid on our children's future. So what have we found since we got here? We find that our President and the last Congress, despite enjoying great majorities in each Chamber, completely and totally failed nearly 6 months ago to live up to its fundamental responsibility to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2011. Because of their failure to lead, the American people still 6 months later do not have a budget. After the House worked into the early morning hours nearly a month ago and sent H.R. 1 down the Hall to the opposite Chamber, what has the Senate done? They left town, and they failed to adopt any proposal to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. And what has the President done? While continuing to fail to lead on the 2011 budget, he has now proposed a budget for fiscal year 2012 that does not decrease spending and borrowing but instead increases government spending and nearly doubles government borrowing in the next 10 years. After it is all said and done, the Senate and the White House have not heard the message from the people in the last election and are continuing to fail to lead. Now is the time for this Congress to listen. Now is the time for this Congress to act. I believe that the majority in this House is listening and this temporary continuing resolution gets us one step closer to fulfilling the purpose given us by the American people: cut government spending and reduce government borrowing for the sake of future generations. Simply put, by voting in favor of this measure today, we are putting a $6 billion deposit on the account for our children and our grandchildren who for far too long have been forgotten here in Washington.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Madam Chair, on rollcall No. 169, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank the chairman for yielding. Madam Speaker, last November, the people I represent in Virginia's Fifth District sent an urgent message that America must make a bold departure from the status quo and put a stop to the out-of-control spending that has come to define Washington over the past 2 years. No longer can we continue on the path of unchecked, reckless spending that has crippled our economy and has left us with a massive $14 trillion in debt, $1.6 trillion in deficit spending, and an unacceptably high unemployment rate. Last year, the 111th Congress completely failed in its fundamental responsibility to adopt a budget for the American people. Remarkably, they have punted that responsibility and have kept the Federal Government operating over the last 5 months by adopting continuing resolutions. Fortunately, the new 112th Congress has accepted this responsibility to clean up the mess of the last Congress. Indeed, the House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats, worked late into the night last week to get a proposal to the Senate that recognizes the critical need to adopt a budget while cutting a historic $100 billion in spending for the rest of this fiscal year. After 5 months of failed leadership by Senate Democrats, we now find they need more time. This is truly unbelievable. Over the past week, back home in the Fifth District, I was reminded again and again by my constituents that now is the time for leadership, not for excuses. While the House takes up another resolution today that will continue to temporarily fund the government while keeping our commitment to the people to cut an additional $4 billion in spending, it is critical that the Senate join us to produce a responsible funding resolution that makes the cuts necessary to get our fiscal house in order. For the sake of the next generation of Americans, we must act, and we must act now to secure our future.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the urgent need to cut government spending and reduce government debt. Last year, our President and our Congress failed to enact a budget. This fundamental failure of leadership has put our country on a path of skyrocketing debt, growing deficits, and unacceptably high unemployment. This week, the President submitted to this new Congress a new budget proposal. Instead of recognizing the urgent need to reduce spending and reduce our debt, the President's budget proposal amounts to, yet again, failure of leadership. It is a budget predicated on unsustainable deficit spending and insurmountable debt that will be passed on to our children and to our grandchildren. Our deficit is projected to reach an all-time high of $1.6 trillion, and our national debt is projected to equal the size of the entire U.S. economy, reaching over $15 trillion by September 30 of this year. And for 21 straight months, our national unemployment rate has been at 9 percent or higher, the country's longest jobless streak since the Great Depression. The people of my district, Virginia's Fifth District, and the people of our Nation know this course is unsustainable and that it must stop. Enough is enough. It is time to chart a new course of fiscal discipline and restraint. It is time to act on the urgent message sent by the people in November that we must put an end to Washington's reckless spending. No longer should the people of the Fifth District be stuck to foot the bill for a growing and intrusive Federal Government. No longer should families and businesses in central and southside Virginia be the ones making the tough choices to live within their means while the Federal Government borrows 40 cents on every dollar it spends. By making tough choices and by reducing government spending, we are taking the first step in tackling our unsustainable debt and of preserving our economic strength for future generations. By reducing spending, we are restoring a sense of certainty and confidence to the marketplace that will create a better environment for job creation. By reducing spending, we are reducing the size and scope of the Federal Government and are empowering our true job creators to hire, innovate, and expand. The decisions we face are not easy, but we have not been given an easy task. Now is the time to act and to act boldly if we are serious about leaving a better America for our children and our grandchildren.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I rise today in support of House Resolution 72. The greatest challenge facing this new 112th Congress is our responsibility to support policies that foster an environment of economic certainty and that will provide businesses in Virginia's Fifth District and across this Nation with the confidence necessary to hire and expand once again. It was refreshing to spend last week meeting with constituents and businesses in the Fifth District. People and businesses continue to struggle, and it is clear that job creation remains the top priority for the people that I represent. As I have talked to these same job creators and constituents over the past years, it is equally clear that access to capital is the lifeblood of Main Street business. It is also clear that the overregulation represented in Dodd-Frank will make it increasingly difficult for capital to be available so that our small businesses can succeed and hire new employees. My constituents believe that we must rein in the size and scope of the Federal Government by removing unnecessary regulations for our job creators. House Resolution 72 will begin this process in a deliberative and thoughtful manner as it directs our committees to review Federal regulations and assess their negative impacts on our economy. As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I look forward to working with the chairman and my colleagues as we conduct a close review of the regulations that are hindering job creation and economic growth for the people of the Fifth District and our Nation. I urge a ``yes'' vote on House Resolution 72.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, the repeal of the health care law and beginning the process of replacing it with market-oriented solutions that reduce health care costs are important steps in the right direction for the people of the Fifth District of Virginia and for our Nation as a whole. Having heard from so many of my constituents on this issue, I believe that it is essential that we repeal the government takeover of health care that raises costs, increases taxes, imposes burdensome mandates on small businesses, and jeopardizes quality medical care for our people. I rise today to share an example of the real-life implications that the new health care law has had on one doctor in the Fifth District of Virginia. His story is not unique. No doubt there are many others in central and Southside Virginia, as well as across the Nation, who are dealing with similar, negative ramifications of this law. His story is an important one to tell. It's a story of the hardships this legislation has caused to the people who have dedicated their lives to serving others. In 1999, this doctor took a huge risk when he decided to sell his home and move to Charlottesville to buy and operate an Urgent Care Center. The challenges he faced in starting up his own practice did not come without sacrifice. It was over a year before he took home his first paycheck. He and his wife lived on savings and retirement money and did not know if their business would make it until 2004, 5 years later. His sacrifice and hard work proved to be a model for success. Now he has over 40,000 charts and 30 employees, and he provides high quality care to more than 16,000 patients. The average charge per patient visit remains low, while the services rendered provide good quality care, proving that health care at the primary level does not have to come with an overly expensive pricetag. However, this doctor has made it clear in no uncertain terms that the fear and uncertainty regarding the new health care law threatens both the present and future success of his practice. Due to the tax hikes, added regulations and bureaucracy, and overall government intrusion, the doctor is no longer sure he can afford to stay in business, which means over 16,000 patients in the area served by his practice may lose access to this reliable and affordable care. What a crushing blow to the innovators that are seeking new ways to provide quality medical care to their fellow man. What a crushing blow to the entrepreneurial spirit for those who are seeking to succeed. And what a crushing blow to the very spirit upon which our Nation was founded. This is just one example of why it is critical and necessary to repeal the government takeover of health care. To ensure that doctors in the Fifth District can keep their doors open and that the people of the Fifth District of Virginia can continue to afford quality health care, it is critical that we find replacement measures that seek to truly keep costs low while removing the government from the patient-doctor relationship. We have a great deal of work ahead, Mr. Speaker, but I'm committed to continuing to find the health care solutions that are in the best interest of all central and Southside Virginians.

Mr. HURT

Mr. HURT. Section 4: ``The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.''