Sander Levin

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a member of our committee.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to another member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Blumenauer of Oregon.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself 10 seconds. I think, Mr. Camp, Standard and Poor's did not downgrade. They threatened. Let's be accurate. I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEVIN. How much time is there on each side, please?

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland, the ranking member on the Budget Committee, Mr. Van Hollen.

Mr. LEVIN. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra), a member of our leadership and a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a member of our committee, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).

Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself 5 seconds. Mr. Camp, you were the ones who said just keep spending. We don't say that. I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. LEVIN. It is now my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the whip, Mr. Hoyer from Maryland.

Mr. LEVIN. The whip is so eloquent, I yield the gentleman another 30 seconds.

Mr. LEVIN. How much time remains from our minimum 20 minutes?

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. LEVIN. I would ask the gentleman from Michigan, do you have other speakers?

Mr. LEVIN. I yield our final minute to our leader, who will close on our behalf, Ms. Pelosi, from the great State of California.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this short-sighted and harmful legislation, H.R. 1216. Everybody recognizes that we don't have enough primary care physicians and by 2020 most experts believe that we will face a shortage of over 40,000 primary care doctors. This legislation ignores reality and would jeopardize funding for a program whose purpose is to increase the number of primary care doctors and bring down the cost of health care. As a result, it would be more difficult to find a doctor and people would be forced to turn to more expensive and less effective emergency room care. This bill is a step backwards. Rather than supporting a meaningful effort that will reduce this shortage of primary care physicians, Republicans have brought a bill to the Floor that undermines health care. It is one of the many mindless attempts to repeal health care reform that just make needed change harder to achieve. We need to strengthen our health care system by implementing health care reform. To move forward we need to reject Republican efforts, vote down this bill and reject the dangerous health care policies in the Republican budget that will end Medicare and cut Medicaid. I urge Members of Congress to reject this bill.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today will be the formal dedication of the Mandell and Madeleine Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield, Michigan. It is a magnificent, state-of-the-art cultural center on the campus of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit. It is a result of the generosity of two people who have exemplified over many decades an exceptional sense of gratitude for the opportunities provided to their families by our nation, Bill and Madge Berman. The focal point of the new Center will be a 350-seat high-tech auditorium that can be opened to a capacity of 600 seats. The Center will be a venue for people of all ages to experience classical and Broadway music and a wide variety of theatrical productions. Bill Berman graduated from Detroit schools and Harvard College and Business School, and served as a naval officer for 4 years during World War II. He next began a highly successful career in the building business, using his expertise in a variety of commercial activities and related endeavors. His deep sense of community found its voice in his service on the Michigan State Finance Housing Authority and Board of New Detroit, and he also served as the first Chairman of the Skillman Foundation. Bill Berman became an indispensable force within the greater Detroit Jewish Community in a wide variety of vital religious, charitable and educational activities. In these efforts he was actively joined by his wife, Madge Berman. She was an inspiration for their deep interests in the arts. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Symphony and the Michigan Opera Theater. Madge Berman was appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1994 and was reappointed to the President's Committee last year by President Obama. The fabulous offer for a cultural center by Bill and Madge Berman engendered support from other very generous persons that will help make this new center a reality. This warm and loving couple has brought joy over many years to their friends. They now will bring the joy of the arts to many, many thousands who have never met the Bermans but will benefit greatly from their generosity. I ask all my colleagues to join me in conveying congratulations and thanks to Bill and Madge Berman on the formal dedication today of the new Center bearing their names.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an environmental leader from Southeastern Michigan, Dan Keifer, as he retires from the Clinton River Watershed Council after 10 years of dedicated service to the Clinton River watershed. Those of us who represent urban watersheds know that the health of the waterways that flow through our communities are often measured in terms of specific indicators. A recovering river has fewer beach closings, declining e-coli pollution counts, and less bank erosion and sedimentation. A recovering river also shows restoration of native riparian vegetation, improved habitat, healthier stream flows, and the return of a wide variety of fish and other aquatic organisms. All of these watershed characteristics are measurable. Another quality of recovering waterways is harder to directly measure, but is no less essential. Recovering rivers and streams invariably have people who take the time and trouble to care for them and work on their behalf. Without such public advocates, water quality improvements simply don't happen. Dan Keifer has been a powerful advocate and force for good in the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair watersheds. He has been an invaluable asset to the Watershed Council's mission to protect, enhance, and celebrate the Clinton River, its watershed, and Lake St. Clair. Dan joined the Clinton River Watershed Council staff in 2002 and has served as that organization's Development Director and, later, as the Community Outreach Coordinator. Along the way, Dan has coordinated countless projects, meetings, and outreach efforts in support of water quality in our area. In 2008, Dan was awarded the National Distinguished Service Award for Trout Unlimited for his work in coordinating the Watershed Council's Coldwater Conservation Project. Dan has also been an important part of my own office's water quality work, including efforts to support the new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and deploy resources from that program in the watershed. He has worked with my office on everything from grants, to efforts to battle the invasive Asian carp, to the emerging partnership to carry out the recommendations of the Lake St. Clair Management Plan. Through it all, Dan has been an invaluable resource to my office. Over the years, Dan has traveled the length and breadth of the watershed to speak to groups and relate the 10,000-year history of the Clinton River Watershed, telling the story about the progress that has been made from the days when the Clinton River was one of the most polluted rivers in Michigan to today when the trout and salmon have returned. He speaks of what is needed going forward to fully restore the Clinton River and address the challenges confronting this urban waterway. This is an important story. In the truest sense, Dan has been the voice for the Clinton River. Dan and his wife Heidi are moving to the Washington area to take up their responsibilities as grandparents. On behalf of myself, my staff, and everyone who has benefitted from his work, I am so pleased to join with the entire community in paying tribute to his achievements and thank him for his years of service to the watershed.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the three oil drilling bills reported by the Republican Majority on the House Resources Committee, including the one before the House today. I urge the House to defeat them. One year after the largest oil spill in U.S. history revealed huge safety and enforcement problems with ultra-deep offshore drilling, gas prices are going through the ceiling and the oil companies are raking in profits hand-over-fist. Exxon Mobil just posted a first-quarter profit of $10.7 billion, a 69 percent gain from the previous year. BP reported a first-quarter profit of $7.1 billion, a 17 percent increase. Royal Dutch Shell earned $6.3 billion, up 30 percent. Chevron's profit grew to $6.2 billion, a 36 percent increase. Conoco Phillips reported a first-quarter profit of $3 billion, up 44 percent. What is the Republican Majority's response? They want to reward the oil companies with additional offshore leases and reduce the ability of the Interior Department to review offshore oil drilling applications for safety. Proponents of this bill would have us believe that gas prices will go down if we only open up more coastal areas to ultra-deepwater drilling and reduce safety oversight of the oil companies. This is not true. None of these bills will do anything at all to reduce gasoline prices. Even if we threw caution to the wind and opened up these new offshore areas tomorrow, it would take years for them to produce any oil. Before opening up new offshore areas, it's fair to ask what the industry is doing with the leases they already have. A new report by the Department of Interior reveals that more than two-thirds of existing offshore leases in the Gulf of Mexico and more than half of onshore leases on federal lands are unused. Tens of millions of acres that have already been leased to industry sit idle. The industry should either use the leases they have or give them up. At a time when our constituents are feeling the pain of rising gas prices, it is unjustifiable that our tax code subsidizes Big Oil to the tune of billions of dollars a year. The Big Five oil companies reported a combined profit of $32 billion in the first quarter of 2011 alone. Repealing the three largest tax breaks for the Big Five oil companies would save taxpayers billions of dollars a year. Instead of rewarding the oil companies, we should at last end these unwarranted subsidies to Big Oil.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, this week, we honor a highly distinguished citizen of the State of Michigan and recognize his service to the people of the United States--Gerald Ford. Gerald Ford is a Michigan legacy and a model for those called to public service. He served with distinction in World War II aboard the U.S.S. Monterrey. In 1948, he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served with integrity for twenty-five years. And in 1974, during one of the darkest moments in U.S. history, Gerald Ford served as the 38th President of the United States, unifying the Nation during a notable time of divisiveness and uncertainty. Now, it is especially fitting that we honor President Ford's legacy. On behalf of the people of the United States, we accept from the citizens of Michigan a statue of President Ford for placement in the U.S. Capitol. From this day forward, countless visitors from around the globe will come to the Nation's Capitol each year and be reminded of President Ford's courage and strength--those characteristics which helped to heal a divided Nation and bring us together. The statue will be displayed as part of the prestigious and historic national Statuary Hall collection for years to come. President Ford has left us a rich legacy. As we accept President Ford's statue in the U.S. Capitol on behalf of the citizens of the United States, I hope all of us here will honor him by reflecting upon his legacy.

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself 2 minutes. We here need to talk straight to the American people. This bill does not codify the Hyde amendment. It goes well beyond it. We don't need to codify the Hyde amendment. It's the law of the land. The purpose of this bill is to go beyond it, and that's what you should acknowledge. In doing so, you cross a very, very important line. This bill is going nowhere in the Senate. Where it can go is everywhere in interfering with a person's access to health care, or with the use of their own money for their own purposes as they choose. The logic here, if it becomes precedent, could be used, for example, to prevent a health policy falling under the Tax Code if the procedure relates to a development that occurred because of stem cell research. We should not be doing that. It takes away the ability to use an itemized deduction. We should not do that. Where does this stop? Where does it stop? It crosses a line for the first time. It does not codify. It threatens crossing a line we should not in terms of the ability of people to provide health care and use their own resources. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to another member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. LEVIN. It is now my pleasure to yield the balance of my time to a very distinguished member of our committee, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley). (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Thank you, Mr. Pallone. Thank you for your efforts. I have been listening to the debate here, and the majority, I would describe it this way: You're so single-minded about the health care reform that you really have become mindless. You come here and talk about Federal control, but essentially what this bill would do would be to increase it. CBO says, Pass this bill and you will have more Federal control--not less--and less State control. It makes no sense. It's mindless. And you come here and say there's one governor who says something about his exchange. But every State but one has applied for and received a grant for their exchange. It's mindless, your position. My State has already received the grant, the State of Michigan; and they have used it to bring everybody to the table, including private industry, including consumers, hospitals, et cetera, to develop a plan that's right for our State. It's mindless for you to come here and say you want to pass a bill that withdraws from our States the ability to plan for the health care for our citizens in a way that is helpful to our State. So maybe there will be a mindless ``yes'' vote here. It's happened before. Where are the jobs bills?

Mr. LEVIN

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation. This bill is a retreat from a core value: to care for our children. Instead of cutting construction for these school-based health centers, we should be building more clinics to help those in need. These centers work. They keep our children healthy. I see it at the two school-based clinics in my district in the Hazel Park and the Fitzgerald Public School systems. For instance, Melissa, the nurse practitioner at the Fitzgerald Clinic, helps those who can't get care in any other place because their families can't afford insurance or can't afford doctor's fees. Just this past Friday, she saw a 16-year-old boy who didn't have any insurance because his parents' employer doesn't offer a plan, they can't afford private premiums but earn too much for CHIP or Medicaid. He was desperately ill, with a high fever and nausea. Melissa was able to diagnose and treat his strep throat on the spot. He asked her, ``How much do I owe you?'' Melissa responded ``Nothing.'' The young man burst into tears because he had been so worried that his family wouldn't be able to pay her. Another boy couldn't afford to go to an emergency room, but Melissa was able to treat a foot infection that could have resulted in an amputation. I could give you example after example because the team at the Fitzgerald school does it all. She makes sure that students have the vaccinations they need to stay healthy--300 visits this year--and provides the physicals 200 children will need to play sports. They provide counseling for teens coping with their parents' unemployment and groups for those dealing with alcoholism and family violence. The bottom line is that these clinics work and we need more of them. I urge Members to vote no on these irresponsible cuts.