Mark Kirk

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, while I was flattered that the President chose to include seven parts of my bill, the Medical Rights and Reform Act, in his latest health care proposal, he left out nearly every major reform in our centrist health care legislation, including the Medical Rights Act guaranteeing decisions made with your doctor will be made without government interference, lawsuit reform, and granting the right of every American to buy insurance from any State in the Union if you find a plan that is less expensive for your family or your small business. The White House proposal is based on a very expensive Senate bill with half a dozen major new taxes levied in the teeth of the Great Recession. The new proposal would tax retirement savings, cut Medicare for seniors, and adds to our long-term deficit. I urge the President to start over, to invite key congressional leaders to Camp David--there we could find reforms that we all support, like covering Americans with preexisting conditions--and present a more modest set of reforms that we all could support.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, this morning, we read reports that the administration will announce that a prison in Illinois will be home to over 70 al Qaeda core detainees. After spending $275 million on a state-of-the-art facility in Cuba, we will walk away from that investment. The new plan poses an unnecessary risk on the American people. Administration briefings revealed that we are not ending Gitmo, just moving it to the heartland. Members of Congress posed over one dozen questions on this plan 1 month ago--with no answer. Here is one of the key unanswered issues: In his archives speech, the President announced that approximately 75 of the detainees are ``too dangerous for trial or release.'' They are to be held indefinitely without civil or military trial. It is illegal under our Constitution for the executive to hold a person inside the United States indefinitely without trial. Question: How will the President suspend our Constitution's writ of habeas corpus once he brings these 75 detainees to the heartland? Courts will force him to answer, and the American people should know right now.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, Congressman Andrews and I are the two grandfathers of this bill and its policy. After 4\1/2\ years of working on this legislation, I strongly support this bill, especially its underlying policy, which is the last best hope for diplomatically ending Iran's nuclear weapons program. In January of 2005, I wrote to the Secretary of Defense with a comprehensive analysis of Iran's economy, discovering a critical weakness. Despite its status as a leading oil exporter, Iran has so mishandled her domestic energy supply that the regime relies on foreign sources of gasoline for 40 percent of its needs. In 2005 and again in 2006, Congressman Andrews and I introduced the congressional resolutions calling for a multilateral restriction of gasoline deliveries to Iran as the most effective sanction to bring their leaders into compliance with their commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 2007, we introduced the Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act to extend current sanctions to the provision of gasoline to Iran. This year, Congressman Brad Sherman and I re-introduced the Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act. This bill today is modeled after our bipartisan legislation. A restriction of gasoline deliveries to Iran administered through multilateral sanctions and enforced by the world's most powerful navies will pit our greatest strength against Iran's greatest weakness, all without a shot being fired. For the bill to succeed, the Iranians must believe also that it will be enforced, otherwise we will go down a failed policy of diplomacy in the absence of effective sanctions. My hope is that the Senate quickly takes up action on this bill, and then the administration provides needed enforcement. I want to truly thank the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Berman; our ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Congressman Andrews and Congressman Brad Sherman for all working with me. This has been 5 years of my life working on this legislation. This is bipartisan legislation which offers the last best diplomatic hope to resolve this problem.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Chair, on rollcall No. 961 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. I thank the gentleman. This bill totals 2,500 pages. Initial estimates show that it has 5,000 earmarks, and these earmarks in this legislation stretch over several hundred pages. Now, any time Congress moves a 2,500-page appropriation bill on short notice, we should urge caution. This kind of spending may be in line with other spending of this Congress. This morning, Congressman Price and I released a list of the 11 worst spending items approved by the 111th Congress. Items included $1.9 million for a water taxi to nowhere in Pleasure Beach, Connecticut, opposed by a local mayor there that said the reason why we never did this is there is no local support for this project. Or $578,000 to fight homelessness in Union, New York, a town that has reported no homeless citizens. HUD officials said, ``We hope and encourage these new grantees to develop creative strategies for this funding.'' Now, remember, the Bureau of Public Debt reports that we must borrow $160 billion per week for the United States to service our current debt and add new IOUs. Forty-six cents of every dollar spent by this Congress is borrowed, and most of it from abroad. This bill has 5,000 earmarks over several hundred pages buried in this legislation. I do not think that it represents responsible management of Federal finances. The press reports indicate that the congressional leaders will soon approve adding $1.8 trillion to our national debt next year. They need to do this to fund 10,000 earmarks they've already approved--5,000 just in this legislation--that totals $446 billion in a 2,500-page bill, accelerating spending by $50 billion over last year alone. I think we should turn away from this kind of spending and enact a more frugal set of spending priorities.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, with little more than the blink of an eye, the American taxpayers have lost $25 billion--with no transparency, accountability or justification. In December 2008, the Treasury Department loaned General Motors $13 billion. In the spring, Treasury loaned GM another $6 billion. Days before GM declared bankruptcy, the Obama administration poured in another $30 billion--just in time to convert taxpayer loans to equity and take ownership of this American giant. All of these funds came from the Troubled Asset Relief Program--a bailout never intended for such purposes. As the Congressional Oversight Panel wrote last month, ``the use of TARP funds for the automotive industry raises questions regarding both presidents' authority to use these funds under EESA legislation and, more broadly, under the U.S. Constitution.'' Last month, the ex-``Car Czar'' Steve Rattner, the Government Accountability Office and the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel independently estimated the taxpayers' $49 billion investment in GM to be worth about $25 billion. The government's ``Bridge Loan to Nowhere'' lost half of the taxpayers' money. This is only one company. The U.S. taxpayer owns debt and equity securities in other private corporations, including Chrysler ($12.5 billion), Citigroup ($45 billion) and AIG ($41 billion). How much are taxpayers losing on nearly $100 billion invested in these struggling firms? Today, I introduce the ``Taxpayer Investment Protection Act,'' which sets a December 2010 deadline for the Treasury Secretary to divest the federal government's ownership of private firms. These TARP-funded government investments add to the Treasury's $12 trillion debt burden and put taxpayer funds at risk for greater loss. The time has come to protect the taxpayer from any more losses and set a timetable for withdrawal to get the government out of private business.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, recently, the administration announced it may move up to 215 Al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois. This proposal imposes an unnecessary new risk. We should slow down and answer basic questions. The facility is only 22 miles from a nuclear reactor. What precautions are taken? Commissions will be in Illinois--how will we protect the families of judges and jurors? We learned yesterday that two-thirds of the jobs claimed will be active-duty military. The Bureau of Prisons will hire no one over 37 years old and will hire nationwide, not just Illinois. The United States spent more than $50 million to build the state-of- the-art Guantanamo Bay detention facility to keep terrorists from U.S. soil. Al Qaeda terrorists should stay where they cannot endanger Americans. Today I introduced the Guantanamo Detainee Transfer Impact Assessment Act of 2009. My legislation prohibits the transfer of terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay to any location in the United States unless the President presents to the State's legislature a ``Homeland Insecurity Impact Statement'' conducted by the Government Accountability Office, in consultation with the Inspectors General of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the legislature then approves the transfer by a majority vote. I encourage my colleagues to join me in ensuring that a thorough threat and risk assessment is conducted and shared with the elected representatives of the American people before any terrorist from Guantanamo Bay is brought to the United States.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Recently, the administration announced it may move up to 215 al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois. This proposal imposes an unnecessary new risk. We should slow it down and answer some basic questions. The facility is only 22 miles from a nuclear reactor. What precautions are being taken? Commissions will be held in Illinois. How do we protect the families of jurors and prosecutors? Since the facility will replicate Gitmo's military administration, how will Great Lakes Gitmo improve American PR? Yesterday, we learned that two-thirds of the jobs claimed to be created will be active duty military. The Bureau of Prisons will hire no one over 37 years old and will hire nationwide, not just in Illinois. It's ironic that the administration promised $200 million to Palau to accept six terrorists--$33 million a terrorist. But for 215 terrorists, Illinois would only get $120 million--$500,000 a terrorist. That's 66 times less than the rate paid to Palau. The people of Illinois deserve to know a lot more about this proposal and how it would affect our safety.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, our goal in health care reform should be to lower the cost of health care, making it more affordable for Americans to purchase coverage. Many young adults from Illinois and elsewhere will be hit very hard under this legislation if they do not have coverage provided by their employers. We should not force young Americans to purchase coverage that costs them more because of reform. This is a new expensive tax targeted to young workers--and I oppose it. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 29 percent of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are uninsured and 27 percent of individuals between the ages of 25 and 34 are uninsured. Prices in the individual insurance market are already so high they do not think it is worth it. The misnamed ``Affordable Health Care Act'' that we are debating now will make this coverage even more expensive. The reason is that this bill requires that insurers may not charge 64-year-olds more than twice what they charge healthy 19-year-olds. This mandate will raise premiums on young adults tremendously. Young, healthy people who lack coverage, mostly because they find it too expensive at a current cost of $1,700 to $2,000 for it, will be forced to buy policies that cost $3,000, even after federal subsidies. The House bill's ``age rating'' of 2 to 1 is far below the 5 to 1 ratio currently prevalent in the insurance market. Why does this ratio exist? Simply because the medical bills of healthy young people are a fraction of what older Americans spend. Comparisons of the House bill with an estimate of what is available on the individual market now using data provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation demonstrate that a 25-year-old single individual making $30,000 will pay a premium of $3,169 under the House bill after subsidies, while similar standards with a 4:1 age rating cost $2,258. It is almost a $1,000+ leap. This is a big deal for those earning only $30,000. The Kaiser Family Foundation provides a way to estimate how insurance premiums will rise for young workers and their families: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ House Current Higher Salary bill market premium ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Single Policy: 21...................... $30,000 $2,724 $2,258 $466 25...................... $35,000 $3,169 $2,258 $911 28...................... $40,000 $3,169 $2,435 $734 30...................... $42,000 $3,169 $2,676 $493 Family of Four: 28...................... $75,000 $8,102 $7,402 $700 30...................... $90,000 $8,543 $7,862 $681 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I proposed an amendment to this bill that would ensure that anyone purchasing insurance coverage after January 1, 2013 is exempt from the individual mandate if a less expensive insurance plan than those available under today's bill Act was available six months prior to its enactment. Unfortunately, this amendment was not made in order by the Rules Committee. In health care reform, we should do no harm. We must enact reforms that will actually lower the costs of insurance premiums so Americans can afford to purchase coverage. Enacting a bill that makes it more expensive for young workers to buy insurance coverage and then forcing them to buy such coverage is wrong. In closing, I want to commend Shauna McCarthy of my staff for the many months she has committed to health reform, contributing to this amendment as well as the Medical Rights and Reform Act, which seeks to prevent government intervention in the important relationship between patients and their doctors.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 841 and 842, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall 841 and ``no'' on rollcall 842.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, we should pay special attention to the sections drafted under the supervision of the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Chairman Charlie Rangel supervised the drafting of 70 pages of this bill, pages 296 through 366. This is the same Congressman under investigation by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct on five separate counts: using official resources to raise money; problems with apartment leases; undisclosed ownership in Dominican Republic Yacht Club; compliance with the storage rules of the House; and problems with his financial disclosure and income tax. This bill raises your taxes, but ethics is investigating whether Rangel paid his. Leaders may respond with two spins: Chairman Rangel had nothing to do with writing this bill, or, he has no ethics problems. A 2,000-page bill and a coming manager's amendment that will be a chamber of horrors of special deals, supervised by a Congressman under five separate ethics investigations, that is what we will vote on this week.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor 10 brave Americans who gave their lives in Afghanistan on October 26. After executing a flawless counternarcotics/counterinsurgency operation in Darreh-ye Bom Bazaar in Badghis Province in western Afghanistan, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents Forrest Leamon, Chad Michael and Michael Weston were tragically killed when their Chinook helicopter crashed. Seven American soldiers were also lost in the crash and 26 more were injured. Special Agents Weston, Leamon and Michael were serving as part of DEA's Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Team (FAST), working in conjunction with the U.S. military, the Afghan National Army and counternarcotics police of Afghanistan to take down and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations supporting al Qaeda and the Taliban. The operation took place in a major drug bazaar just northeast of Herat City where known insurgents and opium traffickers frequently operate. Despite taking hostile fire, the operation resulted in the seizure of a very large amount of drugs, weapons, IED materials and pressure plates. During the extraction of members from the site, one Chinook helicopter with 36 personnel aboard crashed, resulting in the deaths of 10 personnel, including the three DEA special agents. Early reports indicate that several of the survivors performed heroic and selfless acts of bravery to rescue their injured comrades from the downed Chinook. Early this morning, the remains of these 10 brave men returned to Dover Air Force Base. I want to thank President Obama, Attorney General Holder and DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart for their presence on the tarmac as the caskets of our fallen heroes were carried off the plane by a military honor guard at 3:30 this morning. I also want to thank special agent in charge of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Michael Marsac, for caring for them. For the DEA, these are the first casualties suffered since FAST team operations began in 2005. For such a close-knit organization, the loss of three agents is devastating. The importance of their mission in Afghanistan cannot be understated. Just a week ago, the U.N. issued a report showing that the Taliban makes more money off the drug trade than it did when they ruled Afghanistan and effectively cornered the market for opium. Today I think it is important that the House take a moment to reflect on these three men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Special Agent Michael Weston grew up in Pennsylvania and California, earning degrees in computer science and economics from Stanford University in 1994 and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School in 1997. As a major in the Marine Corps Reserve, he served in Iraq, Norway and the Panama Canal Zone. Agent Weston joined the DEA in 2003, serving in the Richmond, Virginia, district office until he volunteered to deploy to Kabul to serve the DEA Kabul country office. The 37-year-old Weston is survived by his wife Cynthia Tidler, his mother Judy Zarit, his father Steven Weston, and his brother Thomas Weston. Special Agent Forrest Leamon grew up in Ukiah, California. He served in the United States Navy for 9 years as a cryptologic technician, earning awards for his service in Southwest Asia and Bosnia. He joined DEA in 2002, serving in the Washington and El Paso field divisions before volunteering to serve on a FAST team in Afghanistan in 2007. Agent Leamon first served multiple FAST team tours in Afghanistan over the last 2 years. He is survived by his wife Ana Lopez Valdenea and their unborn child, his parents Sue and Richard Leamon, and his sister Heather. Special Agent Chad Michael grew up in Muncy and Hughesville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from St. Leo University in Florida with a degree of criminal justice. After 3 years with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida, he joined DEA in 2004. Agent Michael served with distinction in the Miami field division before volunteering to serve with a FAST team in Afghanistan in September. Agent Michael was 30 years old and is survived by his mother Debra Hartz, his stepfather Leo Hartz, his brother, Eric Michael, and his fiancee Paola. Madam Speaker, our thoughts go with these families. We know we've lost many military personnel, but this is new and heavy casualties for the DEA and their families who have all given their lives in the service of the United States, her allies and our objectives in Afghanistan.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, last December Treasury lent General Motors $13 billion, another $6 billion last spring, and in June, just days before GM declared bankruptcy, the White House gave another $30 billion, just in time to convert taxpayer loans into government ownership. That's $49 billion given to GM, and taxpayers now own 61 percent of the company. Last Wednesday, ex-car czar Steve Rattner estimated that the taxpayers' stake in GM has lost $25 billion, a nearly 50 percent loss. While sales of the privately owned Ford Motors fell only 6 percent, the government-owned GM saw a 45 percent decline. How much should taxpayers expect to lose from the ``Bridge Loan to Nowhere''? Despite pledges of transparency, the ``Bridge Loan to Nowhere'' comes with none. American taxpayers are in the dark about the basic details of $49 billion given to GM. Congress, and the American people, should see the financial and operating information for GM. Taxpayers should be treated like shareholders of any other major company.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Richard Reuss of Glenview, Illinois, who recently retired after thirty years as an Advisor to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Mr. Reuss and I share a passion for the Great Lakes and I thank him for his tireless work over the past three decades to protect and improve the fishery. Mr. Reuss represented the public-at-large on the Commission's Committee of Advisors since he was first nominated to serve in 1980 by Governor James Thompson. The Committee is charged with advising the Commission about all matters relating to fish stocks shared by Canada and the United States, as well as providing an avenue for citizens to be heard on issues that matter to them. Mr. Reuss's responsibility was to consider ways in which all citizens could benefit from protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and then to provide the best advice possible to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission about how the Commission could better achieve its objectives. As an Advisor, Mr. Reuss was a consistent and strong advocate for the Great Lakes. He stayed in regular contact with boaters, fishers, and elected officials, was constantly up to date on Great Lakes issues, and worked tirelessly to keep the Commission and others informed. For years, he volunteered his time to help educate fishers and citizens about the Great Lakes, the sea lamprey problem, and ways in which we could all work together to improve the resource. He was particularly outspoken about the need for effective invasive species measures, whether they be measures to control sea lampreys, to prevent Asian carp, or to address the ballast water vector. In 2004, the commission honored Mr. Reuss with the C.D. ``Buzz'' Besadny Award for Fostering Great Lakes Partnerships, the Commission's highest recognition. For the first time in its 50-year history, the Commission has created the position of Advisor Emeritus and has asked Mr. Reuss to serve in that capacity. So, while Mr. Reuss is formally retiring from the Committee of Advisors, the Commission and the Great Lakes community will not lose his invaluable service. I am proud to honor Mr. Richard Reuss as he retires from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Committee of Advisors and I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking him for his remarkable service to the Great Lakes.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, the rule of medicine is do no harm, and the rule here in the House of Representatives should be to build on the success of some of our States. What are the Republican ideas for medical care reform? First, the Medical Rights Act, which says Congress should make no law interfering with decisions that you have made with your doctor. Secondly, no reform is serious unless it has lawsuit reform in the United States. And third, you should be given a right as an American to buy coverage from any State in the Union if you find a plan that is less expensive or more flexible for yourself or for your business. We should avoid the mistakes of some States and repeat the successes of others. The smoking hole of health insurance in the United States is the State of New Jersey. No lawsuit reform, incredible administrative burden, it costs $5,500 a patient to insure someone in New Jersey. The best State in the country, California, where they have cut their costs to half of the New Jersey rate, but they have rock and rolling lawsuit reform in their State. What we should do is not pass the bill that is coming up next week, a $400 billion tax increase in the teeth of the Great Recession and a $400 billion cut for Medicare.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, the House may attempt to rebrand their $1 trillion government health care plan as something they will try to call Medicare Part E. To save their own brand, they are willing to cheapen Medicare's. Medicare currently cares for seniors, but under this bill, Medicare will attempt to cover millions more with much less money. Look at CBO's accounting of the Senate bill. It shows what the House plans to do. To fund a new government health care bill, Congress will cut Medicare Parts A, B, C and D. CBO reports they will cut Medicare Part A for hospitals $128 billion; Medicare Part B for doctors, $130 billion; Medicare Part C, Advantage, $133 billion; Medicare Part D, drugs, $20 billion. The bill also raises $424 billion in taxes in the teeth of the great recession. All of this to fund a new government health care program that will not care for a single senior, but will use their health care dollars to help support a government program Congress attempts to call Medicare Part E. Do you think seniors will be fooled by this?

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, as the author of this important resolution, I rise in strong support, and I urge its adoption. I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for bringing up this resolution on the floor today, and I want to thank Mr. McGovern for helping garner bipartisan support for this effort. As many of my colleagues know, my district is home to the North American Baha'i Temple located in Wilmette, Illinois. The Baha'i faith was founded in Iran 165 years ago on principles of peace and tolerance. Baha'is are a gentle and nonviolent people. They follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, who taught respect for Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, teaching respect and tolerance around the world. Yet, since the Iranian revolution of 1979, the Government of Iran has committed a deliberate campaign of discrimination, harassment, detention, arrests, imprisonment, and the execution of one of their largest religious minorities. Based solely on their religious beliefs, Baha'is in Iran are now denied jobs, are robbed of pensions, are stripped of property rights, and are forced to endure the barbarous desecration of their holy sites as well as forced to watch their leaders being imprisoned and executed. Last spring, seven leaders of the Baha'i community were arrested and detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Their trial date has been repeatedly postponed as they languish in prison without legal resource. Although no charges have been publicly filed, Iranian news agencies report that these individuals will be charged with ``espionage for Israel, insulting Islam, propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and spreading corruption on Earth.'' Conviction of these crimes carries a penalty of death. We know what happened the last time the Iranian regime struck the Baha'i community leadership. In August of 1980, all of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is were executed. We should do all we can to prevent such a crime against humanity from being committed again. As the President pursues his negotiation policy with the brutal Iranian dictators, we should not forget the kind of people we are dealing with. Iran denies its citizens basic human rights and is persecuting its minorities and executes what they call apostates. If our diplomats ignore Iranian Baha'is and silence the voice of Iranian human rights activists, America will have failed a great moral test in Iran. Today, the House of Representatives sends a signal to the Iranian regime, and it contains an important message. The U.S. Congress will expose this regime that murders innocent women and children in the streets and denies citizens basic human rights. To the dictators in Iran we say, release your political prisoners, especially release your Baha'i prisoners, and end your ignorant and uncultured persecution of the peaceful Baha'is. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ken Bowers, the secretary general of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is, and Juana Conrad, the deputy secretary, for their steadfast devotion to their fellow Baha'is worldwide. I also want to thank the Local Spiritual Assemblies in Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Northbrook, Palatine, Vernon Hills, Waukegan and Wilmette for contributing to our community and calling attention to this human rights abuse. Thank you also to Hans Hogrefe from Chairman Berman's hardworking staff and Jeff Philipps and Richard Goldberg of my staff for bringing this to the floor. A special thanks to Kit Bigelow and Shastri Purushotma from the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of the United States for their dedication and pursuit of religious freedom and human rights for Baha'is worldwide. I cannot for the life of me think of what's going on in Iran that she would commit such crimes against 330,000 peaceful Baha'is in Iran. I am worried that the Iranian intelligence service and ministry has now registered the address of every Baha'i and every Baha'i business in the country. I am worried that they have already labeled Baha'i businesses as ineligible for government contracting. We have seen the bureaucracy of a new Kristallnacht formed in Iran. I worry that with this bureaucracy now fully formed, we could see a tremendous human rights abuse occur against hundreds of thousands of peaceful individuals. That's why this resolution is so important, not just to call attention to crimes that have been committed, but to a potential crime against humanity, which, in my judgment, the dictators of Iran are fully capable of committing. That's why this institution rises to its fullest potential, underscoring the point that America is not the most powerful, best nation in the world because we are rich or have a large military, but because we represent the moral authority of a democratic people representing the dignity of each individual on this planet. I urge adoption of this resolution and thank the Members.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I want to praise one of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle, my shipmate in the Navy, Congressman Chris Carney. Chris is a commander in the Navy and just completed 2 weeks of active duty. He served as a combat mission operations commander for the Predator and Reaper Hunter/Killer UAVs, as well as the Global Hawk. Commander Carney was the first sailor to be certified as a mission commander, now with the call sign of ``Big House.'' Over the past couple of weeks, his unit flew dozens of missions over Afghanistan and Iraq providing our troops with intel and reconnaissance. They also took out Taliban terrorists with Hellfire missiles and helped with the search and rescue of Americans. If you see Commander Congressman Chris Carney back at work today, thank him for his service to our Nation in uniform as one of our citizen-sailors.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, as the lead Republican sponsor of H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, I rise in strong support and urge my colleagues to pass this bill. We know that certain international corporations still invest billions of dollars in Iran's energy sector--in effect, subsidizing the regime's nuclear program. If states and local municipalities want to divest public funds from investments in such companies, the Federal government should support their decisions. The Iran Sanctions Enabling Act would authorize state and local governments to divest from firms with investments of $20 million or more in Iran's energy industry. Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, Colorado, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington have all enacted some form of divestment laws. The Iran Sanctions Enabling Act would encourage more states and local communities to take similar action. With Iranian uranium enrichment accelerating--and the recent disclosure of a secret uranium enrichment site at Qom--the window for effective diplomacy is starting to close. To avoid conflict, we must pass effective sanctions and provide our diplomats with greater leverage. H.R. 1327 is a good first step--but it cannot be the last. I urge Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Berman to move H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, to the floor for immediate consideration. This legislation, modeled after my Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act of 2007 and Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act of 2009, would extend current sanctions to companies that supply gasoline to Iran. Iran's dependence on foreign gasoline remains its greatest weakness--and offers the greatest hope for diplomacy to succeed. In addition, the President must take steps to fully implement current law. The Iran Sanctions Act was enacted in 1996 as an important measure to deny Iran the resources to further its nuclear program and to support terrorist organizations. According to the law, a firm that invests more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector is determined to be a violator, and is subject to a range of sanctions. The Congressional Research Service has identified more than 20 firms that likely violate the Iran Sanctions Act. Nevertheless, no Administration has ever enforced this law. I urge my colleagues to sign the Kirk-Klein letter to President Obama urging him to enforce the Iran Sanctions Act without delay.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, in medicine, the rule is do no harm. But look at these Medicare cuts just approved by Speaker Pelosi. The Congressional Budget Office reports that the bill cuts Medicare, nursing, wheelchairs, home health, even hospice. Hospice? Yep. Medicare hospice is cut. Another principle is this: the right hand of government should know what the left hand is doing. Just a few months ago we enacted a stimulus bill to put money in the economy, but the bill we are going to consider has a $400 billion tax increase that takes money out of the economy. In the teeth of the great recession, this is what we are going to do. But you know what? That's okay, because we can still borrow billions from foreign lenders; right? Or, as one British MP correctly said when he summed it all up, you Americans are running out of other people's money.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Chicago Botanic Garden for the opening of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. This new center will serve to provide solutions to plant conservation challenges through research and education. To accomplish their goals, 200 plant scientists along with students and collaborators will aid the full time scientists and research assistants in the 38,000-square foot building. The space will also house a teaching facility and the country's first doctoral plant biology program. Additionally the Center utilizes green building practices, including an innovative rainwater glen to collect and filter storm water runoff and a 16,000-square foot green roof. The visitor's gallery will also allow the public to witness the scientific work occurring and various exhibitions. The Chicago Botanic Garden successfully opened the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center on September 29, 2009. I commend all the students, researchers and scientists who are committing their time and energy to this important project and wish them the best of luck.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, Senator Baucus's health care bill is out, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has reported it has 15 major surprises in it. Massive cuts to Medicare. You can see here that the bill cuts $133 billion out of Medicare Advantage, forcing 3 million seniors out of their choices; $128 billion is going to be cut for Medicare for hospitals; home health is cut, part D; skilled nursing is cut; hospice is cut; medical imaging, wheelchairs are cut. So we now see how this is so-called paid for, on the back of senior health care. I urge seniors to read this Baucus bill and learn about its massive Medicare cuts.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. The United States revealed a secret underground uranium enrichment facility near Qom, Iran. U.S. officials told us they were carefully observing it for ``several years.'' But earlier this year, the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, provided written congressional testimony that the intelligence community has ``no evidence that Iran has yet made a decision to produce highly enriched uranium.'' There is a glaring contradiction between the administration's revelation and Blair's testimony. I urge Members to cosign the bipartisan Kirk-Berkley letter calling on Director Blair to account for contradictory testimony on the growing Iranian threat. The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran downplaying the threat now appears to be a glaring Intelligence failure. According to the Wall Street Journal, the main authors of that NIE, Van Van Diepen, Tom Finger, and Ken Brill, should be accountable, too. Congress should ensure that key officials get this right, especially on Iran.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, foreign assistance works best when we accomplish with treasure what we would have otherwise had to do with blood. We have 68,000 Americans in uniform in Afghanistan. And they are helping our NATO allies and the Afghan Government to fight al Qaeda and the narco-Taliban. The narco-Taliban rests and rearms in Pakistan, in Quetta and the frontier area. This legislation gives us leverage and resources to encourage Pakistani resistance to the Taliban, the murderers of their own prime minister. By weakening the narco-Taliban, we improve chances for the Afghan Government to expand its authority on both sides of the border. Now last year I served with ISAF's Regional Command South in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and we had regular reports of men and material moving from Quetta and Spin Boldak into Afghanistan to attack Afghan and NATO positions. This legislation enables us to work on both sides of this border against the narco-Taliban. I commend our ranking member, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Chairman Berman for making this a bipartisan bill, because that's the way our troops would want it. When the Taliban shoots at our guys, they are not shooting at Republicans or Democrats. They are shooting at Americans. And we are responding with unity. We have no failure option in Afghanistan. If we ignore this problem, we risk repeating the mistakes so clearly described in the 9/11 Commission Report. And with North America's tallest building located in Chicago, I believe it's our duty to absolutely prevent an attack from Pakistan or Afghanistan from ever happening again to the people of the United States. And I thank both of our leaders for bringing this legislation to the floor.