Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield back the balance of my time and urge full support for this resolution.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I too rise in support of the renaming of the Akron, Michigan post office. From its humble beginnings on July 23, 1857, this post office has been part of the community in small town Michigan. Rather noteworthy, Mr. Kildee has chosen a rather unusual naming for a post office, and one that I wholeheartedly support. This post office is not named after one brave American or one now-departed politician. Instead, it's named after the countless thousands of men and women of Michigan who have served in the Armed Forces or are serving today and deserve our respect as veterans. I would urge support of this, and I would urge all of my colleagues to take note that this post office represents a symbol of service more than the symbol of any one person. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I join with the gentlelady in supporting her legislation. Every member of the California delegation, in fact, has supported this. Because it's in Representative Watson's district, of course, it's her bill, but Johnny Grant was bigger than Hollywood, bigger than California. During his decades of service outside of Hollywood, Johnny Grant represented the finest in American service. After his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he continued supporting in many ways our men and women in uniform for the rest of his life. In 1952, when Mr. Grant, along with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra, hosted the first national telethon, a fundraiser to send American Olympic athletes to the Summer Olympics in Finland, he, in fact, set a path of service in all aspects of public life continuing with the Olympics, adding to that the Boy Scouts, the USO, fire and police services and, of course, his many trips overseas. In addition to the 60 USO trips that Mr. Grant did, I want to note two of them, because during the very difficult times in 1982 and 1983, he distinguished himself by being willing to go to Beirut to support and entertain our marines there long after many people had considered that to be out of the way. He also made two trips to Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He continued to support the USO along with Bob Hope and his many other friends throughout his life. Mr. Speaker, I believe we've given a lot of awards to a lot of people less deserving and who dedicated less their entire lives. Many celebrities are for causes when they're in their active career. Mr. Grant was for causes that were fully supported by the American people but fully funded by the generosity of people like him with his time and his energy for so many years. So I join with the gentlelady in supporting H.R. 2760, urge its passage, remind all of us that, in fact, there are those who give far less that have had these honors bestowed on them, and I certainly thank the gentlelady for picking this Hollywood post office to be the ``Johnny Grant Hollywood Post Office Building''. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I am in support of this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill authored by Eleanor Holmes Norton that is, in fact, timely or perhaps beyond its time. This was passed by our committee on a voice vote and is supported by all members of the committee. Mr. Speaker, home rule by the District of Columbia will not be complete until we harmonize as many rights and responsibilities as we can to the District. Our committee is dedicated to do that harmonization, to look for inequities, either by too much or too little, much of it well-intended in the past, some of it even needed in the past. But as the District of Columbia takes on its immediate responsibilities, we must also treat it appropriately and not have it governed by special rules. This narrowly constructed change will, in fact, cause the Hatch Act to be identical in the way it is implemented throughout the country, being implemented toward the District of Columbia. I think every American appreciates that if you lived in a city in Maryland or in a city in Virginia, you would have the same expectation of the rules of national governance as you should have here in the Nation's capital if you're involved in similar activity. For that reason, on a bipartisan basis, we support this simple but technically necessary fix. I reserve my time.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an individual whose dedication and contributions to the United States Navy are exceptional. Our country has been fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated leaders who willingly and unselfishly give their time and talent to keep this country free and safe. Rear Admiral Leendert ``Len'' Hering, Sr. is one such leader. Radm. Hering was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and commissioned through the NROTC Scholarship Program from State University of New York Maritime College in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and Oceanography. He has also earned a Master of Science degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and a Master of Science degree in Business Management from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Rear Admiral Hering's initial sea assignment was aboard USS SANTA BARBARA (AE 28), where he served as 1st and 2nd Division Officer and Assistant First Lieutenant. Upon completion of Department Head School in 1980 he was assigned to the commissioning crew of USS FAHRION (FFG 22) as Ship's Control Officer and later as Combat Systems Officer. He had command of USS ARIES (PHM 5) from January 1989 to January 1991 and USS DOYLE (FFG 39) from July 1995 to March 1997. DOYLE was a member of the Vinson Battle Group in Desert Strike; the ship earned the Battle ``E,'' all possible departmental awards, the 1996 Chief of Naval Operations LAMPS Safety Award, and two TYCOM Safety Awards. His assignments ashore include duty as operations and plans officer to Commander, Destroyer Squadron TWELVE; aide and administrative assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Naval Warfare; Action Officer, Pacific Command Branch J-33, Joint Operations Directorate, Joint Staff; 1st Battalion Officer and Ethics Instructor, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland; Commanding Officer of Naval Base San Diego; Commander, Naval Surface Group Pacific Northwest; Commander, Navy Region Northwest, and presently Commander, Navy Region Southwest. Rear Admiral Hering's personal awards include (2) Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, (4) Meritorious Service Medals, and various other personal achievement, service awards and ribbons. He and his wife Sharon have three boys. STS1 Lee Hering, USN, Tim, and Christopher. On the occasion of his retirement and on behalf of the people of the United States whom he has served with courage and honor, we commemorate the service of Rear Admiral Leendert R. Hering.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, so many Members have come up to talk about this plan, the plan that, in fact, cannot get even all of the Democrats to vote for it, and it doesn't have so much as one Republican voting for it. Hopefully, the American people understand Republicans believe there is a problem. We know, in fact, there are uninsured and underinsured. There are Americans who are concerned about losing their insurance, and of course, we all know that the Federal program, such as Medicare, is fraught with waste, fraud and abuse. What we don't hear is that we can attack the problems on a bipartisan basis. Lower the cost of health care by eliminating defensive medicine, by lowering the threat against every doctor, if he or she doesn't simply do every possible test, even if it's simply running up the tab. We can, in fact, work on a bipartisan basis on health care. The first thing we have to do is agree to do it piece by piece and to attack those things which either cause people to be uninsured or, in fact, cause people not to be able to afford their insurance. I urge you to think about that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Chairman, never let it be said that Republicans can't take ``yes'' for an answer. I only wish that we had more amendments, allowing us to further refine the bill. With that, I thank the gentleman for agreeing to the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. I have just one speaker, and then I am prepared to close-- quickly.

Mr. ISSA. Thank you. I will yield 45 seconds to the gentlelady from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins).

Mr. ISSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My amendment does not reduce by one penny NIH funding at all. My amendment simply prohibits what is clearly becoming an endless stream of repeating and repeating and repeating and repeating studies of HIV at ever-greater cost. It deals with the $325,000 to research Thai sex workers who also use drugs. What a surprise. We've already gone into extensive legislation to deal with that criminal activity on a worldwide basis. It also deals with prostitutes in China and alcohol and drug users in Russia. We're simply looking at just $5 million over three grants. Mr. Chairman, I think when we look at this $5 million, we have to consider this: A flight to Bangkok is $9,000. A ride on BART across town is $3.10. On the government rate for less than $200, people who want to study the growth of HIV can come here to Washington, D.C., where we have a 25 percent rate. Mr. Chairman, we have studied this. As a matter of fact, we have studied HIV contraction from dangerous behavior, particularly drug and alcohol, over 200 times. We've studied HIV at the National Institutes of Health over 1,400 times. We've studied just about everything one could imagine. But just so that we not miss one, how about HIV Prevention with Young Men Who Have Sex with Men: What Young Men Themselves Say is Needed? This was the Medical College of Wisconsin. We have studied it all. We have studied it for decades. This money needs to be spent on more than just study. It has to be spent on prevention and cure. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Objection.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say three things: Where are the jobs? Where is the transparency that was promised? And where will the savings come from in a health care proposal that, in fact, starts off by talking about savings while, in fact, increasing spending? You don't need a new tax if everything is already taxed and you are going to save. You only need a new tax if, in fact, you are going to spend more money, create more waste, fraud, and abuse. Mr. Speaker, the President said we would not go above 8 percent, that the stimulus would in fact drive down the tendency towards unemployment and, in fact, create jobs. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs? They were not created. Mr. Speaker, the President said that this administration would have unparalleled access and transparency, and yet the special IG for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has said just the opposite, that he's being blocked at every step, that, in fact, he's not getting the transparency that he was promised. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs? Where is the transparency?

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3082, the ``Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010.'' This bill will fund our nation's military construction projects and veterans' benefits for Fiscal Year 2010. While I supported this bill, and what it provides for our military and veterans, it is unfortunate the Democratic leadership in Congress refused to allow debate on many amendments including an amendment proposed by Rep. Connie Mack that would have reduced the labor costs of each construction project funded by this legislation. Currently, federal construction projects which cost more than $2,000 must follow Davis-Bacon wage requirements. The Davis-Bacon Act requires employers to pay workers at least the ``locally prevailing wage,'' as determined by the Department of Labor. Of the reports investigated by the Office of Inspector General, 100% of the wage surveys, used to set the ``prevailing wage,'' contained one or more errors. According to the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, Davis- Bacon wage requirements over-estimate wages, inflating construction costs by almost 10%. This amounts to $8.6 billion taxpayer waste per year. For our military and veterans, this is billions that could have been used to update the Vietnam-era quanzi-huts still in use at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base or to fix the Post 9/11 GI bill error that will unfairly reduce California veterans' education benefits. In this time of fiscal uncertainty, Congress must set priorities and spend wisely. Shutting out debate on an archaic measure that unnecessarily increases cost moves our nation in the wrong direction.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I just want to take a brief moment to commend Pope Barrow on his service to the House. He has been a witness to history--serving through a succession of speakers, passage of landmark legislation, and unprecedented political change. But he and his team have served as a steady hand throughout. The professionals in the Legislative Counsel's office are truly instrumental to the function of the House and our legislative process. They participate from the initial concept, through multiple rewrites and phone calls, until we have something that hopefully respects the law and the Constitution. At times we are in a rush, pushed and pulled by the demand of policy and politics to move hastily. Under Mr. Barrow's able leadership, however, he and his team always guided and assisted us with a steady hand, providing timely, professional, and nonpartisan advice. Madam Speaker, I simply want to express my gratitude to him for his service, and express my thanks to everyone in the Legislative Counsel's office for their work.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, the House voted on final passage of H.R. 2965, the ``Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009,'' rollcall No. 486. My vote was recorded as ``no'' but in keeping with my past votes on the Small Business Research and Innovation Act, my vote should have been a ``yes.'' The Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program are critical to increasing small business research and project development capabilities, and I strongly support their continued funding.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join in celebrating the 90th birthday of James R. Paulson, a veteran of World War II, a philanthropist and a leader in business. As a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, James R. Paulson was the skipper of a Sub Chaser ``SC671'', conducting mine-sweeping operations in Alaska's treacherous seas along the Aleutian Islands from the North Pacific to Japan during WWII. Jim met his beautiful wife Marijane Lewis in 1938 and they were married four years later, just days before he deployed to the North Pacific. Together they raised four wonderful children. He received his undergraduate degree from University of Puget Sound, in WA. His career as a Certified Public Accountant brought him much acclaim and he sat on the Board of Regents for 25 years at University of Puget Sound. He was one of the founders of the Tacoma Foundation and was a major supporter of it. He was a consultant and service provider with the Weyerhaeuser family, and headed a group of companies he brought together under the holding company name ``Comerco.'' These companies included Alaska Fish Fertilizer, Olympic Stain, Dawson Insurance and 23 other companies. They merged with the Clorox Company and at that time Big Jim, as he is known by his friends, served on the board of directors of Clorox. Not one to stand on the sidelines, Jim has been a lifelong public activist, working to protect the American way of life and the sacrifices that he and so many Americans have made to protect our freedom. Jim stands as a testament to the American spirit. Born of immigrant parents from Norway, he made his own way in the world, and made significant contributions to his family and his country. From nothing, he built a corporate network providing high quality careers for thousands of employees and providing valuable services and products to the nation and the world. We are fortunate to have James R. Paulson as a friend and fellow American.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3114, a bill to promote the success and vitality of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, ``USPTO.'' The USPTO is integral in strengthening America's battered economy. Although there are those in this body that believe the federal government can spend our way out of the current financial crisis, this is a fallacy. It is through private commerce and investment that we will find the light at the end of the tunnel. For many sectors of our economy, patent protections provide tremendous incentive to invest. The USPTO is already faced with a tremendous backlog of patent applications. A reduction in labor force at the USPTO would only compound this problem. It is for this reason that we must make sure that the USPTO is not forced to lay off or furlough patent examiners. Allowing the USPTO Director to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 will help to ensure this does not occur. Innovation is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. It is innovation which has and will continue to promote prosperity and wealth in the United States and aid in combating the recession in which we find ourselves today. I encourage my colleagues to support the USPTO and support this legislation.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Today is July 7, 2009. Today would have been the 24th birthday of my own nephew, William Louis Issa. Last week, I attended his funeral. He had a connection to this House because he worked both in Cleveland, his home, and here in Washington for his Congressman, Dennis Kucinich. In his passing, I lost a nephew; Cleveland lost somebody who cared about the environment, who was passionate about wolves in the wild, who in fact had graduated from college and was going on to law school to be an environmentalist, to seek what liberty allows us in this country, which is the right to feel and do what you think is right for your country. I speak from this side of the center of this body and I speak about somebody who I disagreed with on many policies. As a young man, while he was summering here and staying at our home, he wanted me to know that the eating of meat was wrong and that if I wasn't a vegetarian, then I wasn't getting it. And he admired Dennis Kucinich, who's a lifelong--or at least as an adult person--a vegan. And he on a host of other issues felt so strongly. But, most of all, he felt strongly about the individual liberties, particularly his. Now his choice was a Prius and his choice was in fact to try to do and be everything for a sustainable ecology as he saw it. So when I thought about coming and using his nexus here to the House floor tonight to speak on what would have been his 24th birthday, I thought it appropriate to say that from the left--and he certainly was a child of the left; perhaps a child of the sixties reborn in a next generation--and from someone on the right, I wonder if we shouldn't come together the way this young man did with everyone he met and talk in terms of America's liberty. What in fact is this body doing--not to pass new laws. That wasn't what we were sent for. But to defend the inherent constitutional obligations: Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. I believe that he ended his life far too soon and without accomplishing what he would have, had he lived longer. But tonight I will tell you that I'm brought to the House floor for perhaps only the third or fourth time in 8 or 9 years to say that those on the left and those on the right, we need to recommit ourselves. At a time when we're talking about regulating CO2, where we regulate the highways, the waterways, where we're looking at an 8 percent tax on health care to pay for the new health care proposal, while so much of what we once thought of as the free wild, wild west of the United States has been changed, particularly post-9/11, I wonder if this wouldn't be a good time for men and women of good conscience on both sides of the aisle to say: Shouldn't we relook at every liberty? Shouldn't we form a liberty caucus? Shouldn't Congress be dedicated to ask the question not as Republicans or Democrats, but in fact as Americans sworn to uphold the Constitution? Isn't it time we start looking at every single law we passed and the regulation they produced and find out how many of them we could do without--not liberal laws, not conservative laws, but all of them. I believe that that is the highest calling for those of us here in Congress. I will tell you tonight, perhaps as a small tribute to my nephew, that I will reach out and I will ask every Democrat I see and all of my colleagues on this side of the aisle: What have we done in fact to defend liberty? What have we done to give somebody the right to decide they want to spend three months with wolves in the wild or that they want to in fact go out and save our delicate ecosystem from the unnatural twisting that 300 million people here in America bring upon the world. That liberty is important. It's important that we pay tribute to it every chance we have, and can. Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for the opportunity to, in a small way, talk about liberty and a man who would have fought for it.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, it is clear today that some would have us be silent as to the aspiration of the people risking life and limb on the streets of Iran today. We cannot and should not be that way. Yes, it's an internal matter, but it's an internal matter in a country which has been ruled by theocrats for so very long who have denied real free elections, and even when the will of the people was obvious, in fact, want to overturn the will of the people for a President who could be a reformer and give opportunity, particularly to women in this country. So I urge support for this resolution because it sends the message that we are, in fact, with the people who want freedom.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an individual whose dedication and contributions to the United States Marine Corps are exceptional. Our country has been fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated leaders who willingly and unselfishly give their time and talent to keep this country free and safe. United States Marine Colonel James B. Seaton III is one of these individuals. On June 25, 2009, a ceremony will be held on the occasion of his relinquishing command of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton as he leaves to assume the prestigious posting as Director of Commander's Initiative Group under General David Petraeus. Col. Seaton received his master's degree in political science from Duke University and later earned a Master of Strategic Science from the U.S. Army War College. Serving in many capacities over the years, Col. Seaton provided support for our country in places such as Grenada, Beirut, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. In 2001, he reported to the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California for duty as Division Inspector and Deputy G-7 before assuming command of 1st Battalion, 11th Marines in June 2002 and led the battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In June 2004, he transferred to Twentynine Palms, California for assignment as the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command G-3 and was promoted to Colonel in September 2004. Apart from his active duty service, Col. Seaton served as a political science instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy where he received the ``William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education'' as the top military instructor. He has also been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Council on International Policy, Inter- University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society and other various military associations. Col. Seaton's tireless passion for service has contributed to the betterment of this country. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star with Combat V, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three Gold Stars, Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon with two Gold Stars, and the Presidential Service Badge. I am proud to call James a fellow community member, American and friend. On behalf of the people of the United States whom he has served with courage and honor, we commemorate the service of Colonel James B. Seaton III and congratulate him on his new post.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished attorney from the City of New Orleans, the junior Member from Louisiana, Mr. Cao.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia. I, again, reiterate my appreciation for his appropriate and wonderful statements on H.R. 848, a bill that would simply eliminate Congress' prohibition on the Copyright Royalty Board from reaching a fair and equitable royalty for performers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time and would close quickly when the gentleman is ready.