Jack Kingston

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a unanimous consent request because I am very sorry that my office inadvertently put my friend, Mr. William Clay, on a bill which he did not intend to cosponsor. It was our mistake, not Mr. Clay's. So I ask unanimous consent that we remove the name of Mr. William Lacy Clay from H.R. 3226.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman from Georgia and the gentleman from Pennsylvania. I wanted to speak about the F-22 issue because, as we know, the Senate has cut off funding for it, but I do have some concerns about our fighter fleet. Currently, the military inventory is 3,500 fighter aircraft. That's 2,400 for the Air Force, 1,100 for the Navy and the Marine Corps. Most of these aircraft were purchased at high annual rates during the 1980s. These aircraft will reach the end of their service in the next 10 years. So what we're talking about is something that maybe could be more important in the next decade or within the next decade than might be to people today, but the Air Force will replace the A-10, the F-16, and the F-15 with the F-22 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. To give you an idea of some of these ages, there are 350 A-10s with an average age of 28 years, 470 F-15s with an average of 26 years, 220 F-15s with an average of 17 years, 1,200 F-16-S's with an average of 20 years. We have roughly 140 Raptors to replace the fleet and have no F- 35-S's and will not have them until 2013. And of course the F-22 production line will end in 2011. That's the Air Force. Now, as respects the Navy, the Navy will replace the carriers and F/ A-18 Hornets with Super Hornets and the F-35-Js, Joint Strike Fighters. The reason they're doing this is to have 125 carriers with an average age of 14 years each, 620 Hornets with an average age of 19 years.

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman. What I will do, I will submit some of these statistics for the record. But I guess the bottom line is that we're very concerned with the need to replace the aging fleet in the Navy and in the Air Force, and I believe keeping the F-22 line open resolves some of this. The Defense Committee has worked very hard on this. There's been a lot of good bipartisan dialogue. I know both sides care about it, whether you're for or against this amendment, but I think that at this time we need to go on this very cautiously and very slowly. I appreciate the chairman's and the ranking member's leadership on this issue and look forward to continue working with you.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Request information: Representative Jack Kingston

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I just got this e-mail from JoAnne Lewis in Coffee County, Georgia. She's with the Economic Development Authority. She says that Wayne Farms is now closing down, another 165 jobs lost. This brings Coffee County, Georgia's, total job loss to 2,979, or an unemployment rate of 16\1/2\ percent. Mr. President, where's the stimulus package? Where are the jobs? Now, on top of this comes Speaker Pelosi. She's planning to ram through a $1.2 trillion government takeover of the health care system. This will cause a $534 billion tax increase and a $208 billion tax increase on small business and farmers. Therefore, more layoffs, and more unemployed. Mr. Speaker, this is not the change the folks in Coffee County, Georgia, can use. They need jobs.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3293, the Labor, Health & Human Services, Education & Other Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010: Representative Jack Kingston Request information: H.R. 3293, Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Account Recipient information: $1 million, Southeast Georgia Health System, Carlton DeVooght, 2415 Parkwood Avenue, Brunswick, GA 31522 Description: This program will establish a full spectrum of pediatric and adolescent care, including preventative immunizations and well care for Medicaid and uninsured patients in Glynn, Camden, Brantley, McIntosh and Wayne Counties. This pilot project will allow the system to cut costs of the ER, keeping health care costs down across the system. Representative Jack Kingston Request Information: H.R. 3293, Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Account Recipient Information: $100,000, Coastal Medical Access project, Pat Kota, 2605 Parkwood Drive, Brunswick, GA 31520 Description: This program will expand clinical care and add new services at CMAP's Brunswick clinic, including chronic disease management and dental and vision care. Program expansion meets the needs of many uninsured residents in Glynn and McIntosh County who cannot access health services. Representative Jack Kingston Request information: H.R. 3293 Department of Education, Fund for Improvement of Post-secondary Education Recipient information: $457,000 Armstrong Atlantic State University Cyber Security Foundation, Randy Grubb, 11935 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA 31419 Description: The goal of the Cyber Security initiative is to provide subject matter expertise to students in cyber and homeland-security issues as they relate to academic curriculum, training, and special research and development projects. Representative Jack Kingston Request information: H.R. 3293, Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Recipient Information: $993,000, Bacon County Hospital, Cindy Turner, 302 South Wayne Street, Alma, GA 31510 Description: The equipment purchase will help the hospital decide whether to retain the patient in Bacon County or transfer to a trauma care center quicker and more accurate. As a result, healthcare dollars will be saved, patient's lives improved, and resources utilized more efficiently. Representative Jack Kingston Request information: H.R. 3293, Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families Recipient information: $300,000 The Marcus Autism Center Farah Chapes 1920 Briarcliff Road Atlanta, GA 30329 Description: The Marcus Autism center will use the federal funding to develop a statewide service delivery system supporting children with Autism and related disorders. Funds will link existing academic/ research and clinical models together providing a cohesive continuum of care for the patient population. Representative Jack Kingston Request information: H.R. 3293, Department of Labor, Employment Training Administration Recipient information: $350,000, Atlanta Christian College, Dean Collins, 2605 Ben Hill Road, East Point, GA 30344 Description: ACC will use these funds to help supplement the development of a satellite campus in Savannah to bring college to working adults. This satellite campus will help ACC to equip working adults to obtain employment and/or advance to higher wage jobs.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, back in November, Hank Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, and President Bush came to Congress in a rush that the financial sky was going to fall out if we did not pass the TARP bill, the financial bailout for Wall Street. Now, we were told that if we didn't do it, that stock portfolios and savings of Americans all over the country would decrease, maybe as much as 30 or 40 percent. Well, in that spirit of panic that frequently happens in this town, we did pass TARP. And what happened to your IRA back home? What happened to your savings account? What happened to your stock portfolio? Unless you're extremely lucky and unusual, your assets dropped by 30 or 40 percent. So much for the $700 billion bailout. And then in January, President Obama, using the same panic tactic, came to us and said, we have got to pass a second stimulus program. Keep in mind we had already passed one under President Bush in May of 2008. But we had to pass, in a hurry, something big, something dramatic, $790 billion for a stimulus program. Why? Because the unemployment rate was 8 percent. But this would give us immediate results, President Obama promised. And so that was passed by Congress. And yet, now, unemployment is approaching 10 percent, and in States like Michigan, as high as 15 percent; 2\1/2\ million Americans have become unemployed since the passage of the stimulus program. And now we have the same Washington-knows-best experts telling us that we have to pass major health care reform by next week, August 1. Now, I want you to think about this. This is 17 percent of the economy, and we would put it in the hands of the Federal Government. It would set up a scheme where there would be a health care czar that would run and stipulate insurance policies all over the country; and in order to sell insurance in the United States of America, you would have to go through this bureaucracy and enter into an exchange. And there, inside this closed circle defined by the Federal Government, you would compete against a government option which would have the rules rigged in its favor. And if you, as an individual, did not do that, you'd have to pay a 2\1/2\ percent surcharge. And if you, in a small business, did not offer insurance to your employees you'd have to pay 8 percent. Is that the best way to get things done? A huge, $1.2 trillion expense on top of the TARP bill, on top of the stimulus bill, on top of the war in Iraq, on top of all the other problems that we have, we're now going to go out and spend $1.2 trillion and tax virtually everybody in America to do it. We can also look at the Canadian or the German or the British system and see the rationing that it leads to. And we know, if you live around a border State near Canada, that when they need to see a doctor, they come to the United States of America. And we have also seen in States like Massachusetts, where they have a government option, that it takes twice as long to see a doctor as it does in Los Angeles. We also know that this plan will do away with Medicare Advantage. I don't know if the AARP realized that when they endorsed the bill, but this not only does away with Medicare Advantage, but it cuts Medicare itself. And then, between you and the doctor comes the bureaucrat, because you don't get a second opinion under the government-run health care system. What the doctor tells you, that sticks. You can't go to three or four doctors because the bureaucrats in Washington who make the rules don't allow it. These are things that concern me. They concern Democrats and Republicans alike, seniors and young people entering into the workforce. That's why I think we should slow this system down. And when you hear somebody say this does not require a senior citizen to have a consultant with their doctor and the government bureaucrat every 5 years, on their end-of-life plan, they're wrong because that is in the bill. Every 5 years senior citizens are supposed to report to some bureaucrat and say, here's my 5-year end-of-life plan, and as President Obama said himself, and we are going to strongly encourage hospice. Well, you know, I'd rather have my mom make that decision as my dad, who is now dead. I'd like to have her make that decision just as he did, with his doctor, not bringing in a government bureaucrat, and not having to have some sign-off by some government bureaucrat. That should scare anybody who's parents are alive or any senior citizens. Indeed, there are better ways to do this thing: association health plans that would allow small businesses to band together and get the economies of scale that the big purchasers of insurance can get; medical savings accounts, which would allow you to have deductibles; many other options. We can look at them. We need the time. Let's make the time count. Let's pull Democrats and Republicans together for the best product for America.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, I submit the following: Chatham Area Transit Bus and Bus Facilities Requesting Member: Congressman Jack Kingston Bill Number: HR 3288, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Account: FTA--Bus and Bus Facilities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chatham Area Transit Address of Requesting Entity: 900 E. Gwinnett Street, PO Box 9118, Savannah GA, 31401 Description of Request: bus and bus facilities Glynn County Airfield and Taxiway Improvements Requesting Member: Congressman Jack Kingston Bill Number: HR 3288, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Account: FAA--AIP Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Glynn County Airport Commission Address of Requesting Entity: 295 Aviation Parkway Suite 205, Brunswick, Georgia 31525. Description of Request: airfield drainage rehabilitation and general aviation taxiway expansion North Berrien Industrial Park Infrastructure Improvements Requesting Member: Congressman Jack Kingston Bill Number: HR 3288, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Account: HUD--EDI Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The Berrien County Economic Development Authority Address of Requesting Entity: PO Box 724, 201 North Jefferson, Nashville, Georgia 31639 Description of Request: The funding would be used for design and construction that includes installation of a new sewer system that will serve the new industrial park. Ray City Street Scape and Safety Improvements Requesting Member: Congressman Jack Kingston Bill Number: HR 3288, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 Account: HUD--EDI Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Ray City, Georgia Address of Requesting Entity: 704 Main Street, Ray City, Georgia 31645. Description of Request: The funds would be used for streetscape and safety improvements

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, last October, President Bush and Hank Paulson said to the Congress we need to bail out the financial services industry. We have to do it bold and we have to do it quick or the financial markets will tumble. Well, we passed the $700 billion TARP program, and still stock portfolios, savings of Americans all through the country dropped by 30 or 40 percent. In January, Nancy Pelosi and President Obama told us that we had to act bold and fast to pass the stimulus program because the unemployment rate was 8 percent, and now 2.5 million jobs have been lost since that and unemployment is up to 10 percent. And now the same Washington-knows-best mentality is telling us to rush through a government takeover of health care by August 1. This will result in a bureaucrat taking the place of your doctor telling you what procedures you will have. It will result in a $1 trillion Federal program. It will result in rationing and a huge tax increase on farmers and small businesses. Ladies and gentlemen, we have to slow down. Let's learn from the stimulus program. Let's learn from TARP. Let's slow down the process.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, I submit the following:

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Jack Kingston Bill: H.R. 3170 Account: Small Business Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Alma Address of Requesting Entity: 884 Radio Station Rd., Alma, GA 31510 Description of Request: Funding in the amount of $500,000 for business and infrastructure development to entice small businesses to the area and encourage growth in the community.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman and wanted to rise today for a colloquy. And what this has to do with is some poor language that's in the bill, some on the House side and some on the Senate side. But the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) had put language in the bill that directs the Corps to report back to Congress an outline of the study based on the findings of the National Research Council workshop on water issues in Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint and Alabama-Coosa- Tallapoosa River basins, and we in the Georgia and Alabama and Florida delegations are in support of that language. However, there was also some language that was put in by Mr. Shelby on the Senate side that directs the Corps to report the critical yield of Federal reservoirs on the ACF-ACT, and the majority of Members from the Georgia delegation are opposed to that, and it's a bipartisan opposition. It's something that we are very concerned about. We feel strongly that the Corps of Engineers' water manuals need to be updated and that what the Senator from Alabama has put on the bill on the Senate side will hurt that. So what I would like to do, if possible, is ask the ranking member and the chairman to keep an eye on this issue and hopefully, as this thing develops, oppose the language that's been put in the bill on the Senate side and support the language that Mr. Boyd put in on the House side. Those two bits of language are not in opposition of each other. You can support one without the other. But the one that we have the most heartburn about in terms of the bipartisan Georgia delegation is the Shelby language on the Senate side. I would like to yield to anybody who would like to speak.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, czarist Russia, 18 czars over a 300-year period of time. Czarist Obama Nation, America, 33 czars in 7 months, 33 czars who are running policy from Guantanamo Bay, to energy, to a $790 billion stimulus package, to a myriad of other things and yet none of them have gone before the United States Senate for confirmation even though article II, section 2 of the Constitution says that the President should seek consent and advice from the U.S. Senate before appointing important policy people to his Cabinet. Now, we do appoint and have the Senate confirm sub-Cabinet members, deputy Cabinet members, a myriad of judges--indeed hundreds if not thousands of people--but 33 people at a salary of $172,000 each are running a parallel government without consent and approval. We need to stop this.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman. The word ``accountability'' attracts my attention because the stimulus accountability czar spent $18 million designing a Web page. A show of hands of how many of you want some of that action. Eighteen million dollars to design a Web page? Talk about stimulating the economy. Boy, that was one way to spend our money. Again, the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, article II, section 2, may have avoided that type of expenditure. What do these people get paid, Mr. Speaker? $172,000 a year. Thirty- three people times $172,000--not to mention the myriad of staffs and entourages that we important people in Washington, D.C., have to go everywhere with. You never see somebody just walking in by him or herself. You always see the entourage that tells the whole world ``I am important.'' Therefore, I get back to the constitutional question: If you are important, and if you have to have this big staff that costs the taxpayers millions of dollars, why not comply with the U.S. Constitution's article II, section 2: advice and consent of the U.S. Senate?

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today alarmed at the spending that is going on in Washington, D.C. More specifically, I want to talk about the President's ignoring article II, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that says, when you appoint somebody in a significant role who is part of your administration, you need to have the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Irrespective of this, President Obama has named 33 czars outside of the traditional infrastructure of Washington. Now, in its day, czarist Russia had 18 czars over a 300-year period of time, but here, in a 7-month period of time, President Obama now has 33 czars. I guess his vision is a czarist America. I'm not sure. We have a Great Lakes czar, a regulatory czar, an automobile czar, a Guantanamo closure czar, a TARP czar, a new TARP czar, all kinds of different czars, none of whom have gone in front of the U.S. Senate. Now, why is going in front of the U.S. Senate important aside from the constitutional requirement? Well, for one thing, you get an automobile czar who has got some shady business dealings--a 31-year-old who doesn't know a spark plug from a lug nut. Why do you think this person could turn around Detroit? Well, we found out now he's on his way out the door ignominiously. Maybe that embarrassment to the administration could have been prevented had this 31-year-old boy genius auto czar had to sit in front of the Senate as do judicial appointees and cabinet appointees. I think a lot of people think, well, yeah, the Senate approves Cabinet members, but they also approve deputy under secretaries. Hundreds and even thousands of people have to come before the U.S. Senate for the constitutional requirement. The Constitution can be inconvenient to this administration--I realize that--but again, article II, section 2 says you must seek the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. How about the energy czar? The energy czar is a member of some wacko socialist group who believes the way to deal with global warming is for large industrial countries--i.e., the United States of America, and this would be non-czarist America--to shrink their economies in order to offset their emissions. That's the belief of the group that the energy czar belongs to. Wouldn't it be interesting to talk to the energy czar and ask her why she thinks this is a good group to be a member of? What would the socialist group have to offer to the United States of America at this point? Perhaps the Senate would like to talk to the stimulus accountability czar.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3082, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Request information: Representative Jack Kingston

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. The gentleman from California is correct. The people from California want water, not welfare. I withdraw the motion.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. KINGSTON. I am in its present form.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, the motion does not change existing law; therefore, the gentlewoman's point of order is invalid.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard on the point of order.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.