Steven LaTourette

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. No Republicans voted for the stimulus bill, and 11 Democrats also did not vote for the stimulus package. But it's worse than that because when the bill left the House, it didn't have this paragraph in it. When it left the Senate, it didn't have this paragraph in it. As a matter of fact, the Senate bill on the stimulus package had an amendment that was adopted the old-fashioned way, in a bipartisan fashion, with a Democratic Senator from Oregon, Mr. Wyden, and a Republican Senator from Maine, Ms. Snowe. And they drafted legislation because nobody liked this, handing out billions of dollars to AIG and Wall Street and seeing these executives who have failed. I never understood a bonus. A bonus is supposed to be because you did a good job. I have yet to meet anybody in any of the jobs that I had that said, Steve, you did a really crappy job; here's a bonus. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. I stopped counting it at about $125 billion. It may be more.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. A hundred and twenty-five billion dollars.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. We went on to award bonuses, and here's how it happened: The Snowe-Wyden language was in the Senate bill that said no bonuses. You know this and the Speaker knows this, that we pass the bill, they pass the bill; when it doesn't match up, we have to have a conference to try to work things out. So they appointed conferees. The Senate sent some guys and gals over; we sent some people over. No Republicans were included, by the way. And they said, Let's resolve these two bills. Well, by resolving the two bills, the Snowe-Wyden language was taken out, I mean physically taken out, and this new paragraph protecting the bonuses was put in by somebody. We are talking a little bit about Larry the Cable Guy and ``get 'er done.'' This was one of my favorite games when I was growing up, the game of Clue, and with apologies to Hasbro, the problem is we have asked, since that news came out, who put that paragraph in? It shouldn't be that hard. Who put that paragraph in? Nobody will own up to it. But it didn't, you know, come from the heavens. Obviously somebody took a pencil or an eraser and took out the Senate language and put in that offending paragraph, but nobody will tell us who did it. And we've asked and asked and asked. So here's Clue, and basically we think that we have it narrowed down to these folks. If you played Clue, you know you have to figure out what room it takes place in, what the weapon is, and who's the perpetrator. We know that the weapon was a pen. It might have been a computer, but I'm going to say it was a pen. And these are the rooms here in the United States Capitol, the Banking Committee, the Speaker's office, the Senate Leader's office, the conference room where these folks met, the lobby--I don't think it happened in the lobby--the Ways and Means Committee, the lounge, library, and the Appropriations Committee. Now, we've been asking this since March of this year, and since March of this year, we have excluded the gentleman down here in the lower corner. That's Charles Rangel, Democrat of New York, who's the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He actually emerged from this conference and sort of threw up his hands, according to press reports, and said, The government's being run by three people, and I'm frustrated. And he left. So we don't think Charlie Rangel did it.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Basically. That was his quoted statement in the press. So the other folks, and we know this individual was in the room. This is Rahm Emanuel, our former colleague from Illinois who now serves as the President's Chief of Staff. This is Mr. Orszag, who is the OMB Director. Mr. Dodd, Senator from Connecticut who is the chairman of the Banking Committee. At the top the honorable Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi of California; and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who is the leader over on the other side. And I put the question mark down there, and this really angers me, because somebody had to authorize it, but some of the statements have been that staff did it. Listen, there's something seriously wrong if a nonelected official or appointed official in the case of the OMB Director can change legislation. So they clearly had to have authorization. A lot of eyes were on Senator Dodd and the Department of the Treasury. But here's what's frustrating. We're asking that question, and it's a pretty simple question: Who did it? And maybe you had a great reason for it. Just tell us why you did it. But they won't. So we have had to go to not only come talk about it on the floor, but we have had to take other action here since March to try to figure it out. So I filed something known as a resolution of inquiry, which asked the Department of the Treasury, Hey, who said take out the one and put in the other? Just tell us who it is. That's a pretty simple question. And I'm going to say something about the chairman of Financial Services, Barney Frank of Massachusetts. He took the resolution of inquiry. They got more votes than we do. He could have killed it. He did not. He voted it out of his committee 63 or 64-0, and it's been sitting at the Speaker's desk since the end of April, the beginning of May. Now, again, the Speaker knows this, but the way the legislation gets to the floor is that the majority has to schedule it. And for whatever reason, the distinguished majority leader, Mr. Hoyer of Maryland, has chosen not to schedule this piece of legislation for floor activity. So even all of the Democrats on Financial Services that want to know the answer to the question will not get the answer to the question because we can't get the bill to the floor. So we've gone a step further. There is a provision in the House rules that if they won't act, you can file something called a discharge petition. We filed the discharge petition. It's right over there by the attractive lady in the tan suit. And we have asked Members to sign it so we can bring it to the floor and talk about it. To date, every Republican has signed it, and we don't have yet a Democratic Member who has signed it, but that's the only way we're going to get to it. But Chairman Frank did something else commendable. He called up the Treasury and he said, Quit horsing around. Just tell us who did it. And he set up a number of meetings with the Treasury Department. My staff went to the meetings. I went to the meetings. The last contact that we have had from the Department of Treasury, and I just want to get it because it really is remarkable, we got a call, the banking staff got a call from a fellow who's in Government Relations at the Treasury Department and said that, Well, you know, we really didn't like that meeting because it was too political and we think our lawyer has said we can't answer your question. Now, what the heck? It's not like we are dealing with somebody from the mob and the lawyer says take the fifth. We are talking about the United States Department of the Treasury, which is responsible for administering these billions and billions of dollars, and they're telling the United States Congress that a lawyer has said they can't tell us who authorized $173 million in bonuses for people who work at AIG? And then they tried to compound the crime because, as I said, a lot of people were embarrassed. They went home to their districts. Even Senator Dodd, there was a news article about people screaming at him at a town meeting, How could you do that? How could you do that?

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Right.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Right. That's a fair summation of where we are. And that's troubling to me.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Larry the Cable Guy didn't do it. He's not on the chart. But, again, this goes back to Larry the Cable Guy, however. That's why ``get 'er done'' cannot be the way to run the United States of America, because people get embarrassed. People will not have the opportunity to read things. You and I each represent about 700,000 people, you in California and I in Ohio. I had no input in this bill, not because I didn't want to. I'll bet you had no input in this bill. It's just not the way to run the thing. And when you run it this way, you get embarrassed, and when you get embarrassed, you should own up to it. That is where I was going next. Rather than owning up to it and saying take the language out, let's not permit this to happen, it was a mistake, the majority, rather than bringing the resolution of inquiry to the floor, brought a bill to the floor to tax these bonuses which they authorized at 90 percent. I have to tell you, I don't think these people should have gotten these bonuses. But when you begin to use the Tax Code to punish people that you don't like and say, you know, today it is the AIG guys, we are going to tax you at 90 percent; tomorrow it could be truck drivers, we are going to tax you at 90 percent; we don't like the guys that do talk radio, we are going to tax you at 90 percent, it is a very dangerous precedent; and it is not only dangerous, it is stupid. And it is stupid because the head guy, the biggest bonus-getter, the biggest bonus- getter at AIG got $6.4 million. Now, if you don't think you should get a bonus, why do you let him keep 10 percent? And 10 percent is $640,000. It takes 16 years for somebody in Ohio making $40,000 a year to make $640,000. So, again, it is not only a misuse of the Tax Code; it is stupid. It was a fig leaf, because people were embarrassed, and, sadly, sometimes when people get embarrassed around here, rather than doing the right thing, they do the politically expedient thing. So they all went home. And, thank god, the Senate didn't pass that bill, and thank goodness President Obama said--he didn't say it was stupid, but he pretty much said it was stupid.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Yes, well, he has done that.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. We can't get an answer, which is really shocking, that the United States Congress can't get an answer to a pretty simple question, Who did it? I want to move on, with my friend's permission, to the get 'er done and the car companies. We were told we had to have an expedited bankruptcy proceeding, first with Chrysler and then with General Motors because that was going to save the car industry in this country and we have to move forward. As a matter of fact, on April 30, the President gave a press conference when Chrysler went into bankruptcy, and this is his exact quote, that nobody should be confused about what a bankruptcy process means. It will not disrupt the lives of the people who work at Chrysler or live in the communities that depend on it. Now, I was pretty heartened by that, and I was heartened because in Twinsburg, Ohio, we have for the moment, won't have soon, a stamping plant for Chrysler. About 1,200 people work there. In the days leading up to the bankruptcy announcement, the company went to the Chrysler employees, the UAW employees, and said, In order to make this work, you have to enter into a new contract and you have to give up some stuff. You have to give up wages, benefits, some health care, some vacation. The day before the bankruptcy announcement, the auto workers in Twinsburg, Ohio, went to their union hall and cast their ballots on giving up stuff, and 80 percent of them, over 80 percent of them, said, We are going to do it so we can keep our jobs, and we are going to do it so we can make sure that the company we work for continues to survive. That took place all across the country. And the contract, not surprisingly, was approved. Well, then a funny thing happened, and the funny thing that happened was that afternoon, when all the documents were filed in the bankruptcy case, there is an affidavit from a guy, his name escapes me, Robert, I will think of it in a minute, but that basically indicates that no, no, no, there are going to be disruptions. We are closing plants. We are throwing people out of work. Specifically, eight plants, eight plants in cities all across America were told, Hey, auto worker, even though you voted to give up some stuff to stay employed, we are shutting you down. Nationwide, it was close to 10,000 people were told they weren't going to have jobs anymore. The interesting thing is before the President went to the microphones, he went to talk and give this press conference at noon on April 30. At 11 o'clock that morning the White House was very helpful in setting up a conference call with Members of Congress, Governors, other people that were interested in this issue, and with his task force, his unelected auto task force. The task force members got on and said, This is a great day. This is a great day. We have saved Chrysler, or will through this bankruptcy. Jobs won't be lost. As a matter of fact, because Chrysler is going to enter into a deal with Fiat, the Italian car manufacturer, we have great news: we think Fiat is going to bring 5,000 more jobs to the United States. So, silly me, I got off the call and watched the President of the United States. And then there is another call. When the President was done, we had another conference call with the guy that was the head of Chrysler then, Robert Nardelli. Mr. Nardelli was basically reiterating the things that occurred during the course of the President's announcement, and then he took questions, which was nice. And the very first telephone call that he took was from Governor Granholm of Michigan, the Democratic Governor of Michigan. Obviously in Michigan they have got a lot of concern about auto manufacturing. And she said, you know, Great job. Way to go. But I just have to ask you a question. The President in his announcement said this deal will save 30,000 jobs. I just want to make sure that that wasn't code for something else, because there are 39,000 people in the country that work for Chrysler. Mr. Nardelli said no, no, no, no, he was just rounding down and there aren't going to be any difficulties, which, of course, wasn't true. Later in the call, one of our colleagues from Wisconsin, Gwen Moore, Democrat from Milwaukee, she had, used to have, an engine plant in a town called Kenosha, Wisconsin. And she specifically asked, she said, 800 people work there. Where in your restructuring do you envision the Kenosha plant being? She was told, We love Kenosha. Kenosha is safe. Kenosha is going to be fine. Those 800 people don't have to worry. So, silly me and silly Representative Moore and silly Governor Granholm, we all sent out press releases praising the President, praising the task force and the work that they were doing, only to find out that my plant was closed and Ms. Moore's plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was closed. Now, obviously that caused some concern with the folks in Wisconsin and the folks in Ohio, so the Governor of Wisconsin, Ms. Moore also and the mayor of Kenosha, sent a letter to Mr. Nardelli and said, Why did you do that? Madam Speaker, I include the letter for the Record. Chrysler LLC, Auburn Hills, MI, May 7, 2009. Hon. Governor Jim Doyle, East State Capitol, Madison, WI. Dear Governor Doyle: I want to start by expressing my sincere apologies about the confusion surrounding comments I made on a conference call with you and other elected officials about the Kenosha Engine Plant on April 30, 2009. In response to a question from Congresswoman Moore regarding the future of the Kenosha Plant, I mistakenly conveyed the status of the Phoenix investment in Trenton, MI. The facts I described were accurate for Trenton and not Kenosha, WI. I recognize this has added further confusion to an already difficult situation. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the Phoenix Engine Program production status. In 2006, DaimlerChrysler started a program for a new V6 engine family. Based on industry volumes and forecasted demand, the initial planning volumes were 1.76 million units. In order to achieve this level of production, a site selection process was initiated that included four new locations in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Mexico. Before site selection was finalized, the engine volume planned for the combined company was reduced when the common engine program with Daimler was redefined as a Chrysler only engine. This reduced the number of production sites to three. These three sites would have the capability of producing 1.3 million V6 engines. Early in 2007, for a variety of reasons, the Corporation was required to reduce its capital investments in all programs which required a new production strategy for the Phoenix engine. Therefore, Chrysler decided to reduce the number of greenfield plant locations to two. In May and June of 2007 the Company chose those two sites and announced the greenfield investments of $730 million in Trenton and $570 million in Saltillo and broke ground on the construction of the facilities. The greenfield decisions were based on the adjacency of the proposed plants to the point- of-use assembly locations. In February of 2007, Chrysler notified the State of Wisconsin and Kenosha officials that a greenfield site was no longer viable, but rather that a retool of the existing Kenosha Engine Plant was under consideration. The Kenosha retooling plan resulted in necessary capital savings; however, it required the Kenosha site to continue to produce its current engines through 2013. In late 2007 and 2008, deterioration in industry volume resulted in a drop of the 1.3 million unit demand to 880,000. This reduction in volume and the need for Kenosha to produce its current engines resulted in the company deciding to defer the retooling strategy. Chrysler kept Kenosha Area Business Alliance updated on the status of the retool through 2008. As the market began to collapse through late 2008 and 2009, a decision was made to idle the Kenosha Engine Plant in December of 2010. This and other restructuring actions were included in the Chrysler LLC February 17, 2009 Viability Plan submission to the United States Treasury and the President's Auto Task Force. The specific plant actions, including Kenosha Engine Plant, were not made public because it would have been presumptuous to assume that the plan was going to be approved and inappropriate to communicate prior to thorough discussion with the United Auto Workers union. On April 3, 2009, Chrysler officials met with the Kenosha Task Force and reiterated the need to defer the Phoenix Program. Upon emergence from Chapter 11, plans are to continue to produce the current engine families through December of 2010 at the Kenosha Engine Plant in order to support our current products. The Trenton Engine site has been completely facilitized and will launch when we exit from Chapter 11. The Saltillo Engine site has also been facilitized and is scheduled to launch mid-to-late 2010. We would have hoped to have been able to convey this information to you and the community in a more timely fashion, but circumstances simply did not afford us an opportunity to do so. It is expected that virtually all employees associated with Kenosha and the other closures announced in our Chapter 11 filings will be offered employment with the new company. While the company continues to address difficult market conditions, we expect that the Chrysler Fiat alliance will ultimately provide customers and dealers a broader competitive line of fuel-efficient vehicles and technology, and will result in the preservation of more than 30,000 jobs in the United States along with thousands of employees at dealers and suppliers. Again, please accept my sincere apologies for the confusion. We will continue to work with the people of Kenosha to ensure an orderly transition. Sincerely, Bob Nardelli, Chairman and CEO. The response they got back, Madam Speaker, on May 7 he wrote to Governor Jim Doyle and he said, I know I said Kenosha was safe, but I just need to tell you I was confused. I thought Kenosha, Wisconsin, was Trenton, Michigan. Now, if I had a nickel for every time I got in the car and tried to go to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and ended up in Trenton, Michigan, that would be something.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Now the gentleman is nitpicking.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Even the day before, and now I remember the guy's name, His name is Robert Manzo, Robert Manzo is the consultant that Chrysler hired to help sort of take them through this thing. The day before the filing, he sent this email exchange, which has been in all the newspapers, to the President's task force saying, Maybe we don't have to go this way. Maybe there is another way. Basically he said, I hope you think it is worth giving this one more shot, that is, to not have all these horrible things happen through the bankruptcy. And here is the response from Mr. Feldman, the attorney on the unelected task force, who basically said, We are done, and indicated that he wasn't going to be treated to another terrorist like Lauria. Now, I should explain. Lauria is the lawyer who represented the bondholders. These are people that invested in Chrysler, and they were told that they had secure creditor status, and it was $27 billion. Mr. Lauria represented some of them, and the some of them that he represented was the Teachers Retirement System of Indiana. So people who had taught the children of Indiana for years and had retired, in order to maximize their retirement fund they had invested in Chrysler, which was once a pretty safe investment, and they were told that they were secure, which means they get paid before anybody else gets paid. Mr. Lauria was advocating on behalf of the teachers of Indiana and saying, You cannot just get rid of us. You have to compensate these people who have invested $27 billion in Chrysler. But the response from the task force is that these people were acting like terrorists.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. There was a czar. The President of the United States appointed the auto czar, the head of the task force. He has recently gone back into private business. It is now headed by a fellow by the name of Ron Bloom, whom we will get to in just a second. But, you know, a funny thing happened on the way to the task force too, because when they began making these decisions, people began to say, Well, who are these folks and what is their background? Were they in the manufacturing business? Did they make cars? Did they sell cars? Did they manufacture parts for cars? And The Wall Street Journal actually did a study of the members of the task force and found that most of them don't even own cars, and those that do own cars own foreign cars, the majority of them.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. I think it was 12 or 16. And then we also had one of our colleagues from Ohio, Mr. Jordan, who serves on the Judiciary Committee, and the Judiciary Committee had a hearing with a panel that asked that question, How many people on the task force have any experience at all in the car industry? And the answer was none. Nobody. But despite that fact, they have made decisions. Now, the second decision I want to talk about is the decision that they made that somehow we needed to close car dealerships all across America, and in Chrysler's case it was 789 and General Motors it is about 2,600. According to the National Association of Automobile Dealers, about 60 people work at each dealership. So if you multiply that by the number of dealerships that were instructed to close, you are north of 200,000 people; 200,000 people. And let's get this straight about car dealers. Most of them own their own buildings, they do their own finance plan, floor plan, they do their own advertising. The cost to the automobile company is pretty minimal. But, again, this nonelected task force that doesn't know anything about the car industry said, You know what? Toyota sells an awful lot of cars in this country and they don't have as many car dealers as Chrysler or General Motors, so therefore the car dealers must be the problem. They are the ones that are creating this problem. So they basically gave--we had a car dealer from Michigan, I think it was, just at Chrysler's direction, was told to put $7 million into his building to make it attractive and all this other stuff. He didn't get paid for that. He got a letter saying, You are no longer a Chrysler dealer. The car dealers basically came to town, and there were pretty amazing stories about some of these car dealers and the way they were treated. But, you know, it's not just the 3,000 men and women that own these auto dealerships, it's the 200,000 people, the mechanics, the salespeople, the clerks, they're out of a job. So I don't know how you recover the economy by having less stores.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. The gentleman is absolutely right. I will tell you that initially the auto task force ran from this dealer issue like a scalded cat, and they were really quick to put out a press release saying, We're not micromanaging the car companies. We don't know enough to run Chrysler and General Motors. This was the car companies. This was General Motors, and this was Chrysler. They made the decision. They are the bad ones who decided they were going to throw all of these people out of work. A couple of things run counter to that. The first was, just like I think it's an interesting business model that you are going to sell more cars with less dealers, the auto task force in the Chrysler bankruptcy, according to an article in the Automotive News, didn't want Chrysler to advertise their cars during the pendency of the bankruptcy. When somebody, apparently, told them how stupid that was, they said, Okay, you can spend half of it. It was $134 million. So, again, this unelected task force apparently thinks that you can sell more cars if you don't advertise and if you have 3,000 less stores across the country. The other thing that sort of gets in their way is Fritz Henderson, who is the president and the CEO of General Motors, old and new, gave an affidavit to the bankruptcy court in New York. I would like to insert that into the Record as well. United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York, In re General Motors Corp., et al., Debtors AFFIDAVIT OF FREDERICK A. HENDERSON, PURSUANT TO LOCAL BANKRUPTCY RULE 1007-2 State of New York, County of New York Frederick A. Henderson, being duly sworn, hereby deposes and says: 1. I am the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of General Motors Corporation, a Delaware corporation (``GM''), which together with its wholly-owned direct subsidiaries, Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem, Inc. (``Chevrolet-Saturn'') and Saturn, LLC (``Saturn''), and GM's wholly-owned indirect subsidiary Saturn Distribution Corporation (``Saturn Distribution''), are the debtors in the above-captioned chapter 11 cases (collectively, the ``Debtors''). I submit this affidavit (the ``Affidavit'') pursuant to Rule 1007-2 of the Local Bankruptcy Rules for the Southern District of New York (the ``Local Rules'') to assist the Court and other parties in interest in understanding the circumstances that compelled the commencement of these chapter 11 cases and in support of (i) the Debtors' petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title 11, United States Code (the ``Bankruptcy Code''); filed on the date hereof (the ``Commencement Date''), (ii) the relief requested in the motions and applications that the Debtors have filed with the Court, including, but not limited to, the ``first day motions,'' and * * * * * 93. The Company, however, is not assuming and assigning to New GM all of its existing dealer franchise agreements. The Company's vast dealer network, consisting of approximately 6,000 dealerships, developed over an extended time period in which the Company's market share was growing and was far greater than it is now, and when there was far less, or even no meaningful foreign competition. Consequently, and precisely because there are now far more dealerships than the Company's market share can support, including, in some cases, multiple dealers in a single contracting community and dealerships that have become poorly situated as a result of changing demographics, the Purchaser is not willing to continue all dealerships. Among the dealerships the Purchaser is not willing to continue, for example, are those approximately 400 dealers who sell fewer than fifty cars per year, and those approximately 250 dealers who sell fewer than 100 cars per year. Approximately 630 other dealerships are not being continued because they are dealers who, in whole or substantial part, sell brands that are being discontinued. 94. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 363 Transaction does not contemplate an abrupt cutoff of nonretained dealerships. In pursuit of the maximization of New GM's ability to, among other things, maintain consumer confidence and goodwill, provide ongoing warranty and other services, and preserve resale and trade-in values, the Company not only is giving approximately 17 months notice, but also will offer to enter into, and New GM will assume ``deferred termination agreements'' with most of the dealers whose franchise agreements are not being assumed, which should have the additional benefit of easing the hardships attendant to the dealership closings.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, could you tell us how much time we have left?

Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the Chair very much. In this affidavit, Mr. Henderson indicates that the idea of shutting all these dealerships--in their case, 2,600--wasn't his idea. The purchaser rejected their plan. Does the gentleman know who the purchaser of General Motors is? It's the United States Government.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. It's the task force. So they rejected Chrysler's plan. They rejected General Motors' plan. They said, Go back to the drawing board. Mr. Rattner, who was the head of the task force, said, You have got to come up with a new plan; and Mr. Bloom testified in front of the Senate that they rejected the plans because they didn't find the car companies' plans to be aggressive enough when it came to shutting down plants, throwing people out of work, and closing car dealerships. So again, just like when people were shocked about the AIG bonuses, people running around town here saying, I'm shocked. Well, you shouldn't be shocked. You told them what to do. You didn't say that you have to close 10. You didn't say that you have to close one in Cleveland and one in California; but you did say you have to close a bunch; and you can't walk away from that responsibility. And now there's legislation. I thought that the gentleman from New York was still in the Chair. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Maffei) is the lead Democratic sponsor of a piece of legislation that says, You've got to deal with these people fairly, these 200,000 people that you've tossed out of work. So he has proposed legislation. I have proposed legislation. But Mr. Rattner, before he left, in response to the legislation, the administration opposes the legislation to force the reopening of Chrysler dealers and prevent General Motors from closing dealers. So I don't know how much more they could be involved. That brings us to Clue, the Travel Edition. The task force has said that they're not responsible for 20 auto plants closing and about 50,000 auto workers being thrown out of work. They're not responsible for the 50,000 Delphi workers who don't have health insurance today. They're not responsible for the 200,000 people that work at the dealerships across the country that are now going to be out of business. So who is? Around this chart we have Mr. Bloom. This is the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Geithner; former President George W. Bush; the President of the United States; Larry Summers, the President's economic adviser; and down there is Robert Nardelli, the former head of Chrysler I was talking about. Again, the same scenario. This is a pretty simple question: who decided to take the ax to those 20 plants, those almost 300,000 people and shut 'er down? I mean it's no longer get 'er done. It's shut 'er down. I think we should find out, but nobody will fess up. Nobody will say who did it.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. The gentleman is correct. I just want to conclude, unless the gentleman has another thought.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Well, I will. And I thank the gentleman for participating in this. I want to thank Larry the Cable Guy for making a cameo appearance during the course of this. We want to be bipartisan. We want to get things here. But get 'er done by a date certain, no matter what the details are, when you drop 300 pages at 3 o'clock in the morning, when you drop 1,100 pages at midnight, when you work in private and in secret to draft legislation to do things like cap-and- trade and health care legislation, it really is not the way that the government is supposed to work. We know, on our side of the aisle, as Republicans, that we did such a lousy job that the voters replaced us in 2006. We understand that. But by the same token, there are a lot of bright people on our side, a lot of bright people on that side; and I would believe that we could come together on all of these important issues and give the American people some legislation that they can have confidence in because Members of both parties participated. People are very suspicious of Washington. They say, It's so partisan. They're always fighting with each other. A giant step toward solving that would be to work these things out in a bipartisan way. I thank the gentleman, I thank the Chair, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. 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, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Hunter Manufacturing Company Address of Requesting Entity: 30525 Aurora Rd., Solon, OH 44139 Description of Request: Funds will be used for a regenerative filtration system, which is currently being developed by Hunter Manufacturing Co., which will reduce costs and provide protection against all chemical warfare agents for our servicemen and women. The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, the nation's leading facility for research and development for chemical and biological defense, has a requirement for filtration systems to protect military personnel, critical equipment, and strategic facilities. Current filters do not protect against the full range of chemical and biological weapons, and they must be changed-out, creating higher expenses. The full funding would be used for the design, manufacture, and testing of the filtration system. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Navy Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Main Sail, LLC Address of Requesting Entity: 20820 Chagrin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44122 Description of Request: The Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy have been developing a system to track their vast inventories of parts and supplies. This implementation of passive RFID technology will greatly improve visibility of parts as they flow through the DoD supply distribution system to our forward deployed forces afloat. The U.S. Navy believes this effort, which will bring numerous high tech jobs to Northeast Ohio, will reduce logistics, operating, and inventory costs, reduce manning needs on Navy ships, and increase military readiness. The full funding would be used to develop and implement the passive RFID infrastructure, including the purchase of hardware and software. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Phycal, LLC Address of Requesting Entity: 51 Alpha Park, Highland Heights, OH 44143 Description of Request: Funds will be used to allow Phycal to grow, harvest, and extract oil from algae for fuel for engine testing. Through partnerships with Ohio industry, government, and non-profit organizations, this project can accelerate the creation of a bio-fuel supply chain in Ohio and hundreds of new green jobs. Reliance on foreign oil has become a national security as well as a cost issue, and there is a rising concern about the cost and availability of aviation fuel for the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force is pursuing an alternative fuels program to identify alternative ``drop-in'' fuels from a number of sources, including algae, toward the goal of 50% domestic production of fuel by 2016. The funding would be used for research and development of its extraction process including purchase of equipment and prototypes. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Army Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Advanced Materials Products, Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: 1890 Georgetown Rd., Hudson, OH 44236 Description of Request: Funds will be used to help establish a titanium production plant in Ohio to implement more effective production techniques. In the United States, there is not enough titanium to satisfy military and commercial need at its high cost, which means we must look to Russia, China, and Ukraine to supply us. This project will bring the titanium market home to the U.S. and create new jobs in Ohio. The funding would be used for establishing a pilot scale powder plant, develop necessary technology, and manufacture large vehicle components. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Steris Corporation Address of Requesting Entity: 5960 Heisley Rd., Mentor, OH 44060 Description of Request: Funds will be used by Steris to develop methods for decontamination of a range of aircraft in order to protect our servicemen and women as well as keeping our military aircraft operational. Aircraft are a major part of the military's capability to perform operations. Loss of aircraft due to chemical or biological weapons makes a significant impact on the capability to resupply deployed forces, transport forces and equipment in theater, and execute missions. Steris's work further establishes Northeast Ohio as a leader in chem/bio and decontamination technology while meeting current security needs of the military. The funding would be used for development and demonstration of decontamination ability, including testing and purchase of equipment.

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, a lot of the problems in this country can be alleviated with a good job. There's nothing like a good job. And that's why the folks in southwest Ohio were so excited last fall when a fresh-faced young Senator from Illinois came to town and promised that he would fully support the enrichment plant down in Piketon, Ohio, creating 8,000 new jobs. People had parades, they were excited. The Senator, now our President, sent a letter to our governor on September 2 reiterating his promise. Big groundbreaking on July 15, one of our colleagues, Zack Space, was there, and said there are thousands of jobs at stake. Our Democratic Governor, Ted Strickland, wrote to the President in March--Without timely approval of the loan guarantee, the many thousands of new jobs being created will be delayed or perhaps lost. But as it says in my daughter's favorite bedtime story, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, ``Oh, no.'' What happened today was the Department of Energy said there will be no loan guarantee, $2.5 billion will be lost, 8,000 jobs will not be created. But fear not, Mr. Speaker, they have not yet rejected the application of a French company, and the French company, no jobs, no investment, and rather than jobs, jobs, jobs, we should say travaille, travaille, travaille.

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. 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. 3288, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010: Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Village of Boston Heights Address of Requesting Entity: 45 East Boston Mills Road, Hudson, Ohio 44264 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $750,000 to replace a badly deteriorated 4-lane bridge that spans the Summit County Metro Parks Bike and Hike Trail on Akron-Cleveland Road. The 90-year-old bridge was last renovated 35 years ago, and the Village has had to reduce the load limit by 30 percent due to continued deterioration. ODOT bridge inspection reports identify the bridge, which has more than 10,000 vehicle crossings daily including school buses, as in need of repair. Summit Metro Parks has committed $50,000 toward a preliminary engineering study, and ODOT has committed to fund the construction phase up to $2.5 million. Approximately, $750,000 is for construction. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Ferry Boats and Terminal Facilities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Ashtabula City Port Authority Address of Requesting Entity: 4717 Main Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for a ferry service from Ashtabula to Canada. The funds will continue economic development in the Lake Erie region and facilitate travel, transport and recreation between the U.S. and Canada. Approximately, $100,000 is for planning and engineering and $400,000 is for rehabilitation and construction. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Neighborhood Initiatives Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The Cleveland Institute of Art Address of Requesting Entity: 11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 to construct the Cleveland Institute of Art's new campus facility. The Institute, established in 1882, is one of the nation's premier colleges of art and design, and completion of its new facilities will continue to enhance the region in a host of areas including job creation. The entire amount of project funding will be used for design, engineering and construction of the project. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Cleveland State University Address of Requesting Entity: 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 to construct a new roadway (400 feet long, 30 feet wide) that will run from Euclid Avenue to Prospect Avenue. The new road will be necessary for a new campus building including a 600-bed dorm, mixed use residence and retail establishments. CSU expects the new road and building to spur additional redevelopment of the E 24th Street artery. Approximately, $500,000 is for roadway construction. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Hiram College Address of Requesting Entity: Hiram, Ohio 44234 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $100,000 to study the feasibility of turning an abandoned rail line into a bike/hike path that will connect the campus with the college's James H. Barrow Field Station, a renowned, 400-acre biology and environmental studies lab. The path would be used by students and also be available to the public, and the college intends to work with the village, township and Portage County Parks Commission. Approximately, $100,000 is for performing the study. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Economic Development Initiatives Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Geauga Park District Address of Requesting Entity: 9160 Robinson Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $428,000 to assist the Geauga Park District in purchasing a 200-acre tract of land in Munson Township which would connect two preserves the park district already owns and complete an 835-acre greenway corridor. Additionally the preservation of the property would also protect water quality within Beaver Creek. Land preservation and watershed protection enhance local communities and improve the quality of life for their residents. Approximately, $428,000 is to acquire fee title to the property. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Economic Development Initiatives Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lake Metroparks Address of Requesting Entity: 11211 Spear Road, Concord Township, Ohio 44077 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 to assist Lake County with the continuation of its Open Space Plan with the purchase of a portion of Camp Stigwandish. The addition of this land into the public domain would allow for greater public access to open space. Land preservation enhances local communities and improves the quality of life for their residents. Approximately, $500,000 is for land acquisition. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chardon Address of Requesting Entity: 111 Water Street, Chardon, Ohio 44024 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $136,000 to widen and realign Park Avenue at the busy intersection of Wilson Mills Road, and also provide better sight lines for motorists so traffic can move more efficiently and safely. The project has been endorsed by the City of Chardon through its 1990 Thoroughfare Plan and its 2008 Comprehensive Plan. Approximately, $106,000 is for engineering and $30,000 is for surveying. Requesting Member: Congressman Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Sagamore Hills Township Address of Requesting Entity: 11551 Valley View Road, Sagamore Hills, Ohio 44067 USA Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $343,000 to make necessary grade and drainage improvements along 4,300 feet of a 12- foot-wide walking and biking loop trail with handicap access to all 50 acres of Sagamore Hills Park, which links to Summit Metro Parks Trail. Sagamore Hills Park is the only public park within the township, and the loop trail includes fitness programming implemented through local schools, business and the YMCA. Approximately, $318,000 is for construction, paving and other affiliated costs; $25,000 is for design and engineering.

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. 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, Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010: Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Akron Children's Hospital Address of Requesting Entity: 1 Perkins Square, Akron, Ohio 44308 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $250,000 for the renovation of the Akron Children's Emergency Medical/Trauma Center. The Hospital serves a 25-county region in NE Ohio and was one of the 10 busiest pediatric emergency departments in the country in 2008. The current Level II trauma center and emergency center are regularly overcrowded, and expansion would allow for more rapid diagnoses, treatment and release from the facility, thus reducing hospital costs. The hospital also serves a high number of underserved or uninsured patients, and a more efficient center would translate to lower health care costs. The full amount of the funding would be put toward the design and construction costs of the $18.5 million facility. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Ashtabula Council on Aging, Inc. (a.k.a. Ashtabula Senior Center) Address of Requesting Entity: 4632 Main Ave., Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $250,000 for construction of a new facility to better accommodate and address the needs of the county's senior population. It is the only fulltime, stand-alone Senior Center in the economically distressed county, and supporting the construction of the facility would help to meet the national goal of providing support to our elderly population through a host of programs the center offers. The full amount of the funding would be put toward the construction costs of the new facility. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Education--Elementary and Secondary Education Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Auburn Joint Vocational School District Address of Requesting Entity: 8140 Auburn Road, Concord Township, Ohio 44077 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $250,000 for curriculum development and technology for the Auburn Career Center for the creation of an alternative fuels education program. Auburn is a nationally recognized career and technical education facility that prepares students to effectively transition into high-skill jobs. The job market for these jobs is competitive, and training will create an educated and sought after workforce. The full amount of the funding would be used to develop the curriculum for this new program including the purchase of materials and equipment in order to teach the students in a hands on environment. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-- Mental Health Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Bellefaire JCB Address of Requesting Entity: 22001 Fairmount Boulevard, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44118 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $200,000 for the Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) program for prevention and early intervention services to high school students in eight school districts in northeast Ohio. The purpose of the program is to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors in the prevention of substance abuse and violence and to promote healthy behaviors in youth. The full amount of the funding will be used to carry out intervention, screening, counseling and programming services. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: BioInnovation Institute Address of Requesting Entity: 453 South High Street, Akron, OH 44311 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $600,000 for equipment for the newly established BioInnovation Institute of Akron, an effort supported by multiple organizations throughout NE Ohio to enhance research and treatment capabilities for patients struggling with orthopedic medical issues. One focus of the research will be more effective and cost-effective procedures for joint replacement. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University Hospitals--Geauga Medical Center Address of Requesting Entity: 13207 Ravenna Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $250,000 for health information technology equipment for the Geauga Medical Center's cutting-edge Heart & Vascular Care Project. University Hospital's Geauga Medical Center is the only hospital in the county and serves residents in four additional counties, providing service to more than 100,000 patients per year. Its Heart and Vascular Institute provides critical in-patient and outpatient vascular services which will substantially improve the health outcomes of the patients it serves. This IT program will improve patient care and reduce medical errors through a federal initiative championed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lake Hospital System Address of Requesting Entity: 10 East Washington Street, Painesville, Ohio 44077 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $500,000 for health information technology (IT) equipment for the Lake Hospital System, a private, not-for-profit hospital system serving a four county region in NE Ohio, including creation of an all digital hospital system. The hospital system boasts two inpatient, acute care facilities, a same day surgery campus, five urgent care facilities and construction is almost completed on a new, state-of-the-art hospital with total connectivity in electronic records between the hospital and its more than 200 physicians. This IT program will improve patient care and reduce medical errors through a federal initiative championed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lakeland Community College Address of Requesting Entity: 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland, Ohio 44094 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $250,000 to develop the College's Regional Healthcare Workforce Development Project with the purchase of lab equipment and technology for its Health Technology Building. The full amount of the funding will be used to purchase computer and laboratory equipment. There is a demonstrated need for health care training, and it is one of the few fields in northeast Ohio with continued growth and demand. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: HHS--Health Resources and Services Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Visiting Nurse Association Healthcare Partners of Ohio Address of Requesting Entity: 2500 East 22nd Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $100,000 for a workforce training program sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Association Healthcare Partners of Ohio (VNAHPO) home health aides. In providing more than one-half million units of nursing, rehabilitation and supportive services to more than 12,000 Ohio families, the NVAHPO is one of the largest home and community healthcare organizations in Ohio. In carrying out its patient service mission, the NVAHPO struggles with shortage and retention challenges for home healthcare aides and seeks to address this need and reduce unemployment through establishment of this workforce training program. By supporting the development of a well-trained home healthcare aide workforce, the organization anticipates providing value to the taxpayer by reducing the rate of hospitalizations and directly reducing costs to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The full amount of the funding will be used to purchase equipment and develop the curriculum for this training program. Requesting Member: Mr. Steven C. LaTourette Bill Number: H.R. 3293 Account: Education--Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Vocational Guidance Services (VGS)-- Painesville Center Address of Requesting Entity: One Victoria Square, #135, Painesville, Ohio 44077 Description of Request: Provide an earmark in the amount of $100,000 for the Training Enhancements Promoting Jobs for Ohioans with Disabilities project, which implements a training program to provide job skills to people with disabilities and other barriers to the job market. With the nation's unemployment rate approaching 10 percent, there continues to be a need for training to meet the many challenges to employers competing in the global economy, and this project will provide significant value to the taxpayer and those seeking employment who can become taxpayers. The funding will be used to purchase computer equipment and technology, as well as other equipment to carry out the center's curriculum.

Mr. LaTOURETTE

Mr. LaTOURETTE. I want to thank my good friend the chairman, and I want to thank my good friend Mr. Latham from Iowa, a classmate from 1994. I want to commend the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Olver, and our ranking member, Mr. Latham, for putting together a good bill, both on the transportation and the HUD side. There will be some criticism on the floor today about how much money it spends, and let me just tell you, as someone who spent 14 years on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as a Nation, we need to be embarrassed about what we spend on transportation in this country. If you look at the American Society of Civil Engineers, their report that they come out with on an annual basis, a scorecard in terms of how we're doing, if more Americans read that scorecard, they wouldn't put their families in the minivan and take them on vacation and drive over some of the bridges in this country. The difficulty is going to occur later this year, and I have to say I guess I'm disappointed in the administration saying that they're going to kick the highway authorization bill down the road for 18 months, which, coincidentally falls after the next midterm election. But I have to tell you that it is, in fact, infrastructure which creates jobs, and it's infrastructure which employs people in this country. And as a Republican, I can tell you, if it hadn't been for Dwight Eisenhower's vision on the national highway system, we would not have been the envy of the world we are today. But sadly, now we begrudgingly, in the 6-year reauthorization, carp about spending $35 billion a year for the entire country. And the need, I would suggest, Mr. Chairman, is far greater than that. And so, while this bill does, in fact, spend more money, and some people may not like the price tag, I think it's important. I want to talk about two other things relative to the bill. The one is passenger rail service. You know, I had the privilege of being the chairman of the Railroad Subcommittee on Transportation, and we always seemed to give Amtrak just enough money to fail. And if you look at Amtrak, when they took over the passenger rail service from Conrail, and we didn't want to be in the business anymore and the freight lines didn't want to be in the business anymore, they got bad track, bad rolling stock, bad management. And we sort of limp along. And I've had friends on my side of the aisle say, well, we can't give them a billion dollars, what a big handout that is. Well, a billion dollars is a lot of money, but the fact of the matter is that if this country is ever going to move and restore passenger rail in this country, it's going to have a price. And anybody that thinks that passenger rail, as a societal prerogative, doesn't have to be subsidized is nuts. I mean, you go over and you look at the world-class systems in Europe and in Asia. All of those countries have said for trips of 400 miles or less, we want passenger rail to be competitive with travel by car. We want passenger rail to be competitive with air travel, and they made the significant investments to make that happen. Anybody who has, and I've had the pleasure to travel with the distinguished chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in Europe on trains like the TGV and the Chunnel and in Japan on their high-speed rail. It goes over 200 miles an hour. The fact that we have ignored that as a mode of transportation in this country should be an embarrassment to the greatest country on Earth, and this bill begins to make significant investments in that. The stimulus package had $8 billion for high-speed rail. This bill has an additional $4 billion. And I'll just tell you, I don't represent a person in the Cleveland area that wouldn't say, if I could go 150, 180, 200 miles an hour from Cleveland to Chicago that I would, in fact, do that. And you want to talk about climate change. You know, the way to get money around here this year is, if you put green in any legislation, they give you money. But if you want to talk about climate change, I believe the last time I checked, the statistic is 1 gallon of diesel fuel can take 1 ton of cargo from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts. I don't know another mode of transportation that is that fuel efficient. You get cars off the road, you get trucks off the road, and you don't create the greenhouse gases that everybody is, in fact, worried about.