George Holding

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, across this country, there are great men and women who answer the call to serve their communities. These folks are blessed with remarkable talents and success and share their success with their communities to improve the places that we all call home. In North Carolina's 13th Congressional District, that man was Dale Bone. Dale was a man who exemplified the character, commitment, and charity of our district and who left behind a legacy of improving all things that he touched. Born and raised in rural Nash County, Dale was a proud graduate of NC State University with degrees in agronomy and agricultural economy. After several years farming in his home community, Dale founded Nash Produce in 1977 and, within a decade, had grown it into the largest cucumber producer in the country. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bone was a man of constant and restless energy. He served on countless State and national boards, committees and commissions, including his service as president of the National Council of Agricultural Employers. Dale also delved into his local community with characteristic resolve. He served as a trustee for Barton College, as a board member for the Salvation Army, and on the Arts Council of Wilson, North Carolina. In addition to all of his honors and activism, Dale was also able to make a direct, personal impact in the lives of his employees and their children. Dale cared deeply for the well-being of all of his employees, many of whom were migrant workers, by providing them with the financial support necessary for them to learn English at the local community college. Dale and his beloved wife, Genia, were also committed to improving the lives of local children. Dale and Genia endowed the Bone Scholars program at NC State University, which continues to offer significant scholarships to the children of migrant workers. In his later years, Dale was particularly proud of the involvement he and his wife had in creating and promoting Wilson Youth United, which offers direction and guidance to help local youths in the community. Dale was a man of great ability and, as a result, of great means. He recognized the fact that our country is only as strong as its communities and that the best solutions to our problems usually come from the most local sources. Across the Nation, members of the agricultural community sent thanks to Dale for his decades of untiring work on their behalf. In equal measure, Dale educated and prepared those around him to face the challenges of their futures. Dale was in all things a humble man, but I do believe that he would take great pride in the legacy that he leaves behind. Mr. Speaker, America was built by people like Dale Bone; and it's that spirit, not what we do here in Washington, that will rebuild our economy.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, Americans are struggling to find jobs in our economy, so we must take advantage of the opportunities for job growth where and whenever they arise. And today I want to highlight the positive economic impact of recreational fishing and hunting. Mr. Speaker, nationwide, sportsmen contribute over $3 billion of State and Federal revenue annually through hunting and fishing licenses, fees, and excise taxes. In my home State of North Carolina, hunters and anglers produced over 35,000 jobs in 2011--more than the combined employment of the two largest private employers in the State. Sportsmen and -women generated $249 million in State and local taxes in 2011--enough to support the salaries of over 6,000 police and sheriff's patrol officers. I rise today to support this important industry and what it is doing for my home State. Hunting, fishing, boating, and other recreational sports foster growth in our economy and create jobs.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. The deliberate targeting of conservative groups by the IRS is inexcusable, and it raises serious red flags about the agency's abuse of power. Mr. Speaker, what we see here is an institutional arrogance within the IRS. The American people should be able to trust that the agency responsible for collecting their hard-earned tax dollars will not discriminate against them based on their values or political views. While the Obama administration would have us believe that the IRS' targeting of conservative groups was the result of an increase in the number of nonprofit applications, the data clearly reveal this to be simply untrue. As if the targeting of conservative groups weren't bad enough, the IRS will also soon become the enforcer of ObamaCare--with the very same person previously in charge of the tax-exempt division at the IRS now in charge of the ObamaCare enforcement division. Mr. Speaker, we need accountability from this agency and this administration. The American people demand it.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, this administration's repeated disregard for transparency and the rule of law should trouble every American. Mr. Speaker, the administration has accused congressional Republicans of playing politics as we conduct oversight into the administration's failures before, during, and after the terrorist attack in Benghazi. But this is hypocritical, coming from an administration that already altered talking points to cover their own political agenda. And more recently, Mr. Speaker, we learned that the IRS deliberately targeted conservative groups. The IRS has the serious responsibility of collecting taxes and holding accountable those who cheat the system; and now it seems that they, themselves, are choosing when to follow the law. Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve more from their elected officials. I hope as details of these events emerge the American people will find out the truth, not just the administration's spin.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare is bad policy for patients, for doctors, for seniors, for young folks, for small businesses, for medical technology and pharmaceutical companies, and for families. Mr. Speaker, folks in my district tell me time and time again that they are most concerned about the increase in the cost of health care, and ObamaCare does nothing to address those concerns. In fact, recent reports have suggested exactly the opposite. Mr. Speaker, I think Senator Baucus was dead on when he said that he sees a huge ``train wreck'' coming down the line in regards to ObamaCare. ObamaCare was shuffled through Congress with back-room deals and false promises. American families deserve better. They deserve to make their own choices about health care, not the government. That is why I'm proud to rise today and join my colleagues in repealing this misguided and misnamed law.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Thank you to my friend from Evansville, Indiana (Mr. Messer) for the time. Mr. Speaker, few things in life are more personal than health care, the care we receive as individuals, the treatment our children receive, the treatment our friends and our loved ones receive. And beginning next year, Mr. Speaker, the government will dominate this personal arena. Dismantling this failed attempt at health care reform needs to be a priority of this Congress. Mr. Speaker, time and time again I hear from the medical professionals in my district, those who have dedicated their lives to serving others, about the uncertainty ObamaCare is causing them. What regulations and rules are going to come down from HHS and step in between the care that these medical professionals provide their patients? What treatments will they be able to provide? How many hoops are they going to have to jump through to get the procedures and tests that their patients need? How many hoops will they have to go through to get approved? Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare has also harmed small business in all sorts of unimaginable ways. Small businesses are what drive this Nation's economy, through innovation and good old-fashioned sweat equity. They are a testament to what built this country and made it great. But this law, Mr. Speaker, is causing many of them to make tough decisions, tough decisions about whether they can go out and hire that additional worker or employee; tough decisions on if they can invest in growth as they try to grow their company, and what other long-term impacts ObamaCare is going to have on their business. Many small businesses are struggling, and this law will only make things worse. We have heard here tonight about employers considering dropping coverage altogether because of the uncertainty. Providing health care benefits has served as a sense of pride for small business owners, and has always been a means by which small business owners have been able to recruit and retain the best talent. This talent is what helps them be successful but, unfortunately, under ObamaCare, providing health care is not going to be something that many small businesses do. Two years ago, Mr. Speaker, the Congress repealed the misguided 1099 reporting requirement that was included in ObamaCare. It was there to gin up revenue. In this Congress I'm hopeful we can repeal the medical device tax, and I've cosponsored a bill to do just that, one that enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support, bipartisan support that is similar to the support shared for many of the misguided provisions of ObamaCare and the wish to get in there and repeal them and rein them back in. Anyone who reads or watches the news knows that the Affordable Care Act, which, Mr. Speaker, probably should have been named the Unaffordable Care Act, as Mr. Bentivolio said earlier this evening, is costing more and more money just to get it up and running. Costs have ballooned, and the law hasn't even been fully implemented yet or nearly implemented yet. State exchanges are requesting more and more Federal dollars, which has sent the administration scrambling to pull dollars out of the so- called Prevention Fund. Mr. Speaker, the CBO estimates that ObamaCare may now cost twice as much as originally promised, at a pricetag of $1.88 trillion through 2022. Mr. Speaker, we haven't even touched on what will, without a doubt, impact individuals and families the most: the cost of their premiums. This is what American families are the most concerned about. Since 2008, families have seen their premiums grow by over $3,000, and the new report by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, based upon actual industry numbers, suggests that rates may go up anywhere from 47 percent to 400 percent. Mr. Speaker, this law needs to be repealed immediately so patient- oriented reforms can be enacted that protect American jobs and actually deliver on the promise of affordable health care to individuals and families.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, from April 16, 2013, through April 18, 2013, I missed rollcall vote numbers 106-117 as I was in London as part of the official delegation representing the U.S. House of Representatives at the funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 106: ``yea'' (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended--Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013); rollcall No. 107: ``yea'' (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended--Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013); rollcall No. 108: ``yea'' (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended--Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2013); rollcall No. 109: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Resolution--Providing for consideration of H.R. 624, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act); rollcall No. 110: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment Rogers of Michigan Amendment No. 1); rollcall No. 111: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment Connolly of Virginia Amendment No. 2); rollcall No. 112: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment Langevin of Rhode Island Amendment No. 4); rollcall No. 113: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment Sinema of Arizona Amendment No. 7); rollcall No. 114: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment LaMalfa of California Amendment No. 9); rollcall No. 115: ``yea'' (On Agreeing to the Amendment McCaul of Texas Amendment); rollcall No. 116: ``nay'' (On Motion to Recommit with Instructions--Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act); rollcall No. 117: ``yea'' (On Passage--Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act).

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Madam Speaker, this week, the Senate is expected to unveil its first budget plan in nearly 4 years. It relies on the failed policy of raising taxes and increasing Federal spending and will not put into place a requirement for the government to balance its budget. How can this be taken seriously? When our national debt is over $16 trillion, how does spending more and increasing taxes make any sense? Why not simply stop spending money--money the government doesn't have to spend in the first place-- on frivolous programs, for example, the $2.2 billion spent last year on a program that hands out free cell phones or the $17.6 million paid to PR firms to promote ObamaCare or the $1.7 billion spent in 2010 on ``operating costs'' for the Federal buildings, Federal buildings that are no longer even in use? Madam Speaker, the list goes on. We must make spending cuts and commonsense reforms. We need a budget that is reflective of growing our economy, not one that continues to grow our government.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, on January 25, 1944 a B-24 assigned to the Air Force's 425th Bombardment Squadron set out on a resupply mission to Chabua, India from Kunming, China as part of the Pacific campaign in World War II. Tragically this plane named ``Hot as Hell''--and its crew--never reached their final destination. I rise to honor the 69th anniversary of the fatal crash that took the lives of the eight crew members proudly serving in the United States Air Force. Extreme weather conditions caused the formation that day to separate and eventually led to the downing of five B-24's--two of which were not immediately recovered. For years the families of those brave servicemen remained without answers and closure. In the post-war years, the Army conducted search operations in an attempt to locate the downed aircraft but failed to discover any signs of the aircraft. Eventually, all the members of the crew--1st Lt. William A. Swanson, F/O Sheldon L. Chambers, 1st Lt. Irwin Zaetz, 1st Lt. Robert E. Oxford, SSgt. Harry B. Queen, SSgt. Charles D. Ginn, Sgt. Alfred H. Gerrans, Jr., and Sgt. James A. Hinson--had their names inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines. In 2006, over sixty years after the fact, the families of those airmen received some closure. Arizona native Clayton Kuhles, who has dedicated part of his life to locating and recovering missing-in-action US airmen from World War II in China, Burma, and India, successfully located the aircraft that went down in the mountains of northeast India. This incredible discovery is one example of the work Mr. Kuhles continues to do on behalf of those families and friends who lost loved ones defending our nation.

Mr. HOLDING

Mr. HOLDING. Article VII: ``The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. ``Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present the seventeenth day of September in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth in witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.'' Signers of the Constitution. George Washington, President and Deputy from Virginia. Delaware: George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. Maryland: James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. Virginia: John Blair, James Madison, Jr.