Robert Latta

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to a facility in the Fifth Congressional District of Ohio. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Pioneer Scout Reservation in Pioneer, Ohio. The Pioneer Scout Reservation serves as a year-round camping site for the Boy Scouts of America. From the time I spent at the Pioneer Scout Reservation as a boy, I can tell you that this camp is a very special place. Within the boundaries of the camp, scouts learn the basics of nature and gain a respect for, and appreciation of, the outdoors. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to the Pioneer Scout Reservation. The staff, who allow this camp to be such fertile ground where Boy Scouts can grow into young men, provide our communities in Northwest Ohio with an invaluable service. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to honor this establishment.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to a man who has dedicated 60 years to making weather observations for Northwest Ohio. Today, Ray Burkholder of Pandora, Ohio will celebrate this great milestone achieved by earlier weather recorders Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service was started in 1807, when the Nation's first scientific agency, the Survey of the Coast, was established. In the 1890s, NOAA established the Cooperative Weather Observation Program. Starting in 1949, when Mr. Burkholder was brought into the NOAA in Northwest Ohio, he became an integral part of the Administration. Up to this day, Mr. Burkholder has taken nearly 21,900 observations. The data collected by Mr. Burkholder benefited federal, state, and local agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. In addition to the Cooperative Weather Observation Program, Mr. Burkholder has served on the local area school board, and was the president of the Pandora Medical Center and the Mennonite Disaster Relief Service of Western Ohio. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to Ray Burkholder. Mr. Burkholder's selfless commitment and dedication to the National Weather Service and Northwest Ohio has served our communities well. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize the service of Ray Burkholder.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, one of the issues that we've been talking a lot about on this floor and across this country has been about cap-and- tax, and cap-and-tax is nothing more than it is going to be a national energy tax. Now, I have a very unique district in the Fifth Congressional District of Ohio. It's interesting in that I represent not only the largest manufacturing district in the State of Ohio, but I also represent the largest agricultural district in the State of Ohio. I know we've been talking about this and there's been a lot of information that's being put out there by a lot of different groups. But I think it's interesting to point out that the Heritage Foundation and just last week the Brookings Institution has also put out how many jobs are going to be lost by this. The Heritage Foundation is estimating that you're looking at anywhere from over 1.5 million jobs being lost; carry out to the end date with the Brookings Institution, about 2.5 percent. We can't afford to have this happening in the United States. When you look at what the Heritage Foundation did, they did a very interesting study. They did what they call a manufacturing vulnerability index. They took all 435 districts across the Congress. They said, What was the amount of energy that you use and what type of energy it was? In my case in the State of Ohio, 87 percent of our energy is coal-generated. Next door to my west is Indiana. They get 94 percent. So they ranked all these districts together. The question was, Okay, where did you stand? And this is one of those times where you don't want to be at the top of the list. Of the top 20 districts in the United States, according to this manufacturing vulnerability index, 16 of the top 20 were from Ohio and Indiana. Unfortunately, in my case, I came in number three. Number three, What's that going to mean? It means it's going to be tough to get jobs in northwest Ohio, north-central Ohio, and people are having a tough time right now because we have a manufacturing district. If we don't have those jobs and we don't have that electricity that we can turn on in the morning, make sure that those plants can run, we're not going to have people working. It's not like it's just going to affect the folks on the industrial side and the manufacturing side. As I said, I also have the largest agricultural district in the State of Ohio. And one of the things that's tough out there is there are a lot of farmers in my district that not only farm full time, but they have a job also full time off the farm, and they have to balance the two together. They're working long, long hours, especially if they're on the livestock side. So these folks are worried about not only having to turn on the energy at the workplace but also the workplace on the farm. And as we've seen some of these numbers being calculated as to what it might cost for a family of four with cap-and-tax, you're talking about in some cases right off the bat, $1,500 additional for a family of four and all the way up in the out-years being calculated at up to $4,800. Let's also put this in context of what it's going to do on the farm income side. It's estimated by the Heritage Foundation that by the year 2012 you're going to see a drop of about $8 billion in farm income; in 2024, $25 billion; and in 2025, $50 billion. So you're seeing decreases in farm income of 28, 60, and 94 percent respectively. You're going to see a total decrease from 2010 to 2035 of 57 percent and a total decrease in the baseline for farm income out there. The question is, How is a farm going to survive in this country? It's going to be tough. Ag construction costs are estimated, because of cap- and-tax, they're going to go up 10 percent by the year 2034. By 2035-- and here's a real tough one for farmers because of course, everything you're doing is out there in the field--gas and diesel prices are going to go up 58 percent; electricity costs on the farm, 90 percent. So when you're already out there struggling right there to make a living on the farm, it's going to be very difficult with these numbers to do it. Then we have to think about this. Where are these young farmers going to go? We're going to try to get more younger people out on these farms, but we all know right now equipment costs are high. We all know that land prices are high. But then when you add all these costs up and you put these electricity costs and you put the energy costs and you put the fertilizer costs in, all these are all driven by energy costs. It's going to hit home real quick. We're going to have fewer and fewer people out on the farm. It's estimated we have less than 2 percent of Americans farming today, less than 2 percent. In Ohio, it's under 1 percent, but they're feeding us all, and we should be thankful for them. The co-ops in my district and across not only my district but the State and the country are very fearful about this. These electric co- ops out there are worried because if they have to buy more green energy, those costs would have to be passed on to the end user. That's the farmer, the manufacturer, the senior, the family, and they are all worried about it. But who's our competition? You know, last week, we had the Ag Secretary before us in the Agriculture Committee, and we asked questions about China. And China is not going to abide by cap-and-tax, and in fact, the day that we had that hearing, they said that they were not going to abide by cap-and-tax. I would ask that this legislation be defeated.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to an outstanding citizen in Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. Roger Anderson is an individual who is dedicated to serving the public and has given much of his time and expertise in helping community groups achieve success. Madam Speaker, there is no question that our citizens are the foundation of our country. From the earliest day of our nation's history, the men and women of the United States have worked to create opportunities that would provide a better life for future generations. Roger Anderson has contributed to our community as a volunteer for various clubs and committees, as an educator, an advocate for non- profit organizations, and a public servant. Mr. Anderson served as a Bowling Green City Councilman from 1976-1980 and was a member of Bowling Green's Planning and Zoning, Public Lands, and Building Committees. Roger Anderson has also held a leadership role in twelve different organizations including the Bowling Green Kiwanas Club, the Ohio Council of Higher Education Retirees, the WSOS Community Action Commission, and most recently, the League of Women Voters, where he was elected the first ever male president. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to Roger Anderson. Mr. Anderson's selfless commitment and dedication to the betterment of his community have set an example for future generations to follow. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize the service of Roger Anderson.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to an outstanding high school track and field team in Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. The young men of Eastwood High School's Track and Field team have represented their school and families ably on their way to achieving their first ever State Track and Field Championship. In their effort to surpass all other teams in the Division II State Track and Field Championship, the Eastwood Eagles overcame the challenges posed by injuries and intense competition. In their bid for the State Title, the Eastwood High Boys Team produced 4 All-Ohio performances from individuals on the team. In winning the Ohio State Division II Track and Field Championship, the members of this very special team have shown that their sport requires an individual effort for a team result. As a direct consequence of their hard work and dedication on and off the track, both their efforts and their results were outstanding. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to the Eastwood High School Boys Track Team. Our communities are well served by the type of effort and perseverance demonstrated by these young men. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize this great achievement.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to a brave group of men in Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. Company B of the 202d Engineer Combat Battalion is celebrating their sixty-sixth anniversary. Madam Speaker, there is no question the military is one of the key building blocks of our country. From the earliest days of our Nation's history, courageous men and women have fought for the freedom and safety of the American people. Our soldiers have opened doors for America's citizens and allowed our children to live in a nation that is peaceful and free. During World War II, Company B served in campaigns in Normandy, Central Europe, Northern France, Ardennes and the Rhineland. They were the only group to serve in all five campaigns and receive five battle stars in World War II. The servicemen of Company B also fought alongside the 1st, 2d, 3d, 9th, and the 15th U.S. Army, the British 2d Army and the U.S. Navy throughout the war in 10 countries. One of their most significant contributions to the War effort was the construction of the longest Treadway Pontoon Bridge in the world at 1152 feet, which was built in less than six hours while facing enemy fire. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to Company B of the 202d Engineer Combat Battalion. Our communities are well served by having dedicated servicemen who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect our beloved Nation. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize this great group of men on their sixty-sixth anniversary.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to an outstanding school in my district in Northwest Ohio. Van Wert Middle School in Van Wert, Ohio is one of only 80 schools in the United States to be recognized as a School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Madam Speaker, there is no question that education is the foundation of our country. From the earliest days of our nation's history, children have sought out the opportunity to learn subjects such as math, science, and literature. Education has opened doors for America's citizens and allowed our nation to be one of the most advanced in the world. Every year, the Schools to Watch program identifies schools across the country that are well on their way to meeting the criteria for high performance. These schools are known to be academically excellent, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable. In order for Van Wert Middle School to be selected for this prestigious honor, this high-performing school established norms, structures and organizational arrangements to support and sustain its trajectory toward excellence. Van Wert Middle School has a sense of purpose that drives every facet of their practice and decision-making. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to the Van Wert Middle School. Our communities are well served by having dedicated educators who go above and beyond the norm to teach the citizens of tomorrow. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize this great achievement.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I also rise in support today of what this would mean to our young people in this country. In my old State Senate district I represented an area in Erie County near Plum Brook Station, which is a large NASA testing facility. Just to the east of there, we had NASA Glenn, which is in Cuyahoga County. The things that we can do and achieve in this country through the space program are limitless. However, if we stand by what we are seeing happening across Congress today with this cap-and-tax legislation, we are in trouble. One of the things I am proud of is the fact that in my Fifth Congressional District I represent an area where we manufacture solar panels with First Solar. We have another company coming on line this fall that will also be in solar manufacturing. We also in my district have wind turbines, ethanol, hydrogen, biomass, and we are doing all these things in the alternative. Also though it is very, very important in this country that we have that base load capacity that we have to have to be able to manufacture, that we have to have if we want to continue to be able to be independent in this country, especially when we are talking about manufacturing in the new age of space. We have to make sure that we have these homegrown companies here today. It is going to be very, very difficult to do that if we don't have the manufacturing capacity and if we also don't have that base load capacity. One of the things we have found, of course, is that we don't have that base load capacity in certain areas, and we also don't have the ability of being able to go out there on the nuclear facilities. I think 1977 was the last time that we had a nuclear facility permitted in this country. And the problem that we have today is if we want to have more nuclear, to be able to produce more power, to be able to keep our manufacturing capacity, it is going to be very tough to do, because a lot of these parts are no longer made in this country. We have to go overseas to buy these if we can get them today. And some of the very large components are made in Japan. And there's a long waiting list because so many countries are out there wanting to build nuclear facilities and keep up that base load capacity. Why is it important? Well, again, if we don't utilize that all-of-the-above policy of not only having the alternatives because we all want to make sure in this country that we have a clean environment, but we also want to make sure that we have nuclear, clean coal, oil, natural gas and geothermal. We've all seen the headlines in the paper of course where, you know, CBO score saying that we're looking at $846 billion on this new cap- and-tax, which would be a massive energy tax on the American people. But at the same time, as the gentlelady from Tennessee was just talking about, is the tremendous cost on individuals. One of the analyses from the Heritage Foundation shows that they're looking at around a $4,300 per year tax on an average family. And how do they get to that number? It says, our $1,500 number is just the direct impact of household energy bills. Your energy bill, your natural gas bill, your home heating bill, and of course the amount of gas you put in your tank, and that would be around $1,500. But also, there is that ripple effect that goes through the economy that takes it up to $4,300. And in the year 2035 alone, the cost is $8,276, and the cost per family for the whole energy tax aggregated from 2012 to 2030 is $116,680. And compare it if we did not have a cap-and-tax, the real GDP losses increase an additional $2 trillion, from $7.4 trillion under the original draft to $9.6 trillion under the new draft. Compared to no cap-and-trade, the average economic or unemployment increases an additional 261,000 jobs, from 844,000 lost jobs under the original draft to 1.1 million jobs under the new draft. Also, interesting enough in the paper today in the Washington Times is an article, ``GDP hit found with cap, trade.'' This is from the Brookings Institution. ``The Brookings Institution on Monday said cap- and-trade legislation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions would lower the Nation's gross domestic product in 2050 by 2.5 percent, compared with levels it would reach if the legislation is not implemented.'' It also says that, ``About 35 percent of crude-oil-related jobs and 40 percent of coal-related jobs would be lost in 2025.'' It goes on to say: ``It assumes that the majority of workers would find new jobs, but the net job loss would be 0.5 percent over the first 10 years that the legislation is in effect.'' I don't think that this country can afford it because, again, to go on, you know, when you're looking at reducing the aggregate gross GDP by $9.6 trillion, destroying 1.1 million jobs, raising electric rates, as the gentlelady from Tennessee just mentioned, by 90 percent after adjusting for inflation, seeing gasoline prices up to 74 percent, raising residential natural gas prices by 55----

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. --raising natural gas prices by 55 percent, raising an average family's annual energy bill by $1,500, and again, increase the inflation-adjusted Federal debt by 26 percent, or $29,150 additional Federal debt per person after adjusting for inflation.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I pay a very special tribute to an outstanding Police Chief in the Fifth District of Ohio. Richard A. Gilts of Perrysburg, Ohio has been serving the area for Thirty-Nine years, where he was promoted as the Sixth Chief of Police of Perrysburg in 2003. Madam, Speaker, there is no question that the safety of our citizens is vital. In January of 1976, when Richard was hired on to the Perrysburg Police Division, he rose through the ranks to become Sergeant in 1983 and Lieutenant in 1993. The safety of its citizens is of upmost importance to the city. Chief Gilts has demonstrated his commitment to this goal through his involvement in programs such as Safety Town, D.A.R.E., and the Perrysburg Police Foundation. Chief Gilts was an active member of Rotary International, having served as the President of the Perrysburg Rotary Chapter from 2005 to 2006. On August 12, 2004, Chief Gilts dedicated a new 26,000 square foot police facility, which replaced the 4800 square foot station that was constructed at the same location in 1965. On August 28, 2004, Chief Gilts and the Police Division assisted with operational matters during a visit by President George W. Bush at the historic Fort Meigs Memorial Park. In the week leading up to the event, Chief Gilts and the Department were consumed by logistical and tactical issues, such as procurement and placement of equipment and props, fencing, barriers, site and crowd security, medical assistance, personnel scheduling and perimeter security. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute for the service of Chief Gilts. On behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Ohio, I wish Chief Gilts all of the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit the following: Whereas Congressman Robert E. Latta extends his congratulations on the occasion of the One Hundred Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Village of Ottawa, Ohio; and Whereas Ottawa, Ohio has been a proud member of the Northwest Ohio community since 1834; and Whereas the citizens of Ottawa, Ohio provide friendship and tradition to all those in Northwest Ohio; and Whereas Ottawa, Ohio has a long history of fostering business, education, and community relationships; therefore, be it Resolved The people of Northwest Ohio are grateful for the service of the citizens and employers of Ottawa, Ohio. Ohio's Fifth Congressional District is well served by their dedication and support. We wish Ottawa, Ohio all the best during its celebration of the One Hundred Seventy-Fifth anniversary.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand before you today in support of the resolution I introduced, House Resolution 420. This resolution celebrates the symbol of the United States and supports the goals and ideals of Flag Day. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14, which is the anniversary of the official adoption of the American flag by the Continental Congress in 1777. This was done by the first Flag Act, which stated, ``Resolved, that the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternating red and white, that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.'' Since 1777, our flag's design has been altered three times under executive orders, rearranging the designs of the stars and stripes each time a State was added. As the gentleman from Utah has stated, the history of Flag Day traces its roots to the first celebration of the American flag, which is believed to have been introduced by Bernard Cigrand, a Wisconsin schoolteacher who arranged for his students at Stony Hill School to celebrate June 14 as ``Flag Birthday'' in 1885. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first nationwide Flag Day in 1916, and in 1947, President Harry Truman signed legislation requesting that national Flag Day be observed annually. Flag Day is an important day of celebration as our flag is the official symbol of our great Nation and its ideals. Our flag serves as a beacon of hope, courage, and freedom during times of crisis and triumph alike. The flag honors the men and women of the Armed Forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending the United States and serves as a symbol for those families who have lost loved ones while defending our Nation. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I ask for unanimous consent on House Resolution 420 as we celebrate our Nation's flag.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. Ohio and Indiana are going to be especially hard hit under the cap- and-tax, cap-and-trade system. I think it's important to start off with what the President said last year, Under my plan of cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to the consumers. And I tell you, my friend, that's what scares me. As the gentleman from Utah was just saying, pointing out the amount of money that's going to be collected under the system is absolutely scary. Ohio, Indiana. I would like to point a few of these out. I represent in Ohio the 5th Congressional District, the largest manufacturing district in the State, also the largest agricultural district in the State of Ohio. And when we're talking about cap-and- trade, cap-and-tax back home, it has businesses and farmers scared. Why is that? The Heritage Foundation, not too long ago, put together what they call this manufacturing vulnerability index. It takes how many manufacturing jobs that you have in your district and also with the type of energy mostly that your State uses--in our case, and also if you look at Indiana, Ohio is at 87.2 percent coal while Indiana is at 94.2 percent coal. The problem with it, as you see, we have a very high vulnerability. When you take these numbers and go across--a lot of times when you were in school you wanted to be at the top, when you were playing sports you wanted to be at the top. This is one chart you don't want to be at the top of. The Ohio 5th Congressional District ranks number three in the most vulnerable districts in the State of Ohio when it comes under the cap-and-tax, cap-and-trade notion. What's happening right now? We've been in a tough recession. Again, being the largest manufacturing district in the State of Ohio, we're suffering. And fortunately when the announcements were made from General Motors yesterday, we did not lose our General Motors plant, but just nearby in the 4th Congressional District, they are going to be closing. But a lot of my people work in those plants. So what does this mean? One of my counties right now, which is right in the corner of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, it's the highest unemployment rate in the State of Ohio. Williams County. Over 16 percent. You have hardworking men and women up there that want to go to a job every day; but because of this recession that we're in, they're not getting to a job. What we gotta do is we've got to get these people back to work. But the thing is--that's already been mentioned by my friend in Georgia-- it's going to be very difficult to retain, expand and create new jobs if we're in a situation where we're not going be able to compete around the world. How is that? If you look at these numbers right here with Indiana and Ohio, if you tip this down to the 20th Congressional District that's going to be hit by cap-and-tax, 16 of those districts are from Ohio and Indiana. It's not very enviable when Indiana and Ohio split eight each in the vulnerability of our jobs into the future under cap-and-tax. And it's going to be very difficult for businesses to survive. Every week when I get home, I try to be in my district at a plant or in a business. And not too long ago, I was in another factory--and these factories are all pretty much holding on to what they got. It might be that they're not able to go out there and keep people employed. So a lot of them are doing, you know, if we cut back and cut back the number of hours people are working, if management takes a cut, if they try to do anything in-house and not do any contracting out, what happens is they're trying to hold on to the jobs they got. However, there are a lot of factories in my district that are working 5, 6 days a week. Now they've got people working four 10-hour-shift days. The problem with that is people aren't working overtime. They're not getting money to put in the bank. They're not getting more money out there because--in my district I have the largest washing machine plant in the world. In a good year, they're producing over 6 million washing machines. We can produce anything in northwest, north central Ohio when it comes on the automotive side. But, again, these companies are hurting. You have got companies out there that supply the auto plants and if you're in tier 2 or tier 3, you're in trouble. They say, Well, it's going to be rationalized--I think the term was down the street--that we're going to have to rationalize what's going to happen to these. A good term for that is ``you're out of business.'' Where are these people going to go? We've got a domino effect that's going to be happening. But this domino effect is going to be happening more rapidly if these companies cannot afford power. Again, in Ohio, 87.2 percent of our power is coal generated. Indiana, again, is 94.2. So we can't have that going on because when we're talking about these numbers, we're talking about a catastrophe in the making. I just wanted to show this chart. Again, this is the top eight districts in the State of Ohio. They're going to be affected by cap- and-tax. I would like to show you the bottom eight. Well, as we start down the list, that being as least affected with a manufacturing vulnerability index ranking of only 3.2 percent is Mr. Waxman's district. When you go down to Speaker Pelosi's district it only gets down to a 2.2. And, again, we're talking about Ohio and Indiana, districts in the 100 percent, the 98 percent range. Out in California they're using a lot of nuclear; they're using a lot of natural gas. So these areas in the country aren't going to be hit. People say, back home, Bob, who's asking for this? We're in a catastrophe here in the Midwest. Who's asking for this? If you look at a map, go from California to Oregon to Washington, you know these are very low vulnerability with these States. You go from the east coast, very low vulnerability. Not a lot of manufacturing, not a lot of coal. So when you look at this, who's getting hit the hardest? The Midwest. Those States that are the industrial heartland of America, those men and women who get up every day, pack that lunch box and get to work are the ones that are going to be affected. And as the gentleman mentioned from Georgia, what's going to happen? Well, if we can't manufacture cheaply in the United States and compete against the rest of the world--and the rest of the world today is China, India and that area--what are they going to be doing about it? There is some talk around here and at the White House, We're going to go over and talk to the Chinese and say we would like you to cap your emissions. That's what all of this is about, capping carbon emissions. There is not one person in this Chamber that would say that they want to have pollution. But we have to manufacture in a way that can be done that we can compete. When you're looking at these numbers, it's going to hurt the Midwest. But what happened when the Chinese were questioned about the whole notion of what are we going to do about cap-and-tax, especially when it comes to China? China's philosophy is this--and it was a quote that was in the Washington Times not too long ago. Their minister said this: You don't understand the problem. We only produce it. You consume it. If you hadn't consumed it, we wouldn't have produced it. So you pay any of the tax that might come from this. They don't want to get involved in it. They are not going to get involved in it. So what we're putting around the legs of the manufacturing in the United States is a ball and chain. We're saying, Okay, we're going to throw you in a hundred feet of water and you better start swimming somehow. That's what this Congress is advocating, and it can't be done because America cannot compete under those standards. We have got to be on an equal playing field with the rest of the world. If we don't have that, we're going to be in a situation where American jobs are going to be lost to overseas. I said about my district, I have some of the highest unemployment in the State of Ohio. Again, high manufacturing, and we cannot afford to be in a situation where we have this type of situation where we're going to be hurting the heartland of America under this policy. And as I mentioned, we've got businesses out there hanging on by their fingertips and all we've got to do is put this chain around them and they're not going to be able to survive into the future. A lot of things are being advocated when you're talking about carbon capture and sequestration. That technology, in a lot of cases, is not even available and it's untested. And we're telling businesses we're going to have to be doing some of this into the future. Impossible. Businesses out there, they're going to say, How are we going to do this? Some of the businesses out there that are owned by multinationals across Ohio and the Midwest--you know, I've had some companies tell me, We don't have to be in Ohio. We don't have to be in the United States. We can go over to our Pacific Rim countries and produce the product and bring it back to the United States probably at a cheaper rate than you can do it right here in the United States. And they're saying that, but they want to stay here; but if we do this, if this cap-and-tax gets passed, America is going to suffer, America is going to lose jobs. And when you look at some of these numbers that the Heritage Foundation has brought forward, they're looking at by the year 2035, it's reducing the aggregate gross domestic product by $9.6 trillion. Destroy 1.1 million jobs per year on average with the peak years seeing unemployment rise by over 2.479 million jobs. Again, as has been mentioned by my friend in Georgia, increasing the average American cost of living by 2035, $4,300. Where are Americans going to come up with this money? If you are getting cut back on your hours right now at your plant, you're not going to have additional dollars, and then we're going to have the Federal Government mandating these things. There are not going to be any Federal dollars. Raising electricity rates by 90 percent. Again, when you look at this vulnerability, you look at the Midwest. You look at the companies that are out there that have to have that base load capacity every day to turn those machines on to keep America running. They are not going to be able to do it. Pass this bill and that's what you're going to get. We're going to see gasoline prices rise by 74 percent. Right now, you're looking at gas increasing. It was really nice for a while there this past year when we were looking at about $1.63 gasoline in northwest Ohio. Well, the other day when I got gas before I came back to Washington, it was $2.52. And people were saying to me at those gas pumps, When is it going to stop? I say, if you pass this bill, you're going to watch gasoline prices skyrocket. Eighty percent of everything that is brought into Ohio in goods is brought in by truck. So, again, those prices are going to go up. Agricultural prices are going to go up because the fuel that's needed to make the fertilizer, the fuel for the tractors to make sure that you can harvest, all of these things are going to go up. The drying of the grain. All prices are going up. Again, when these numbers that they're talking about how can you come up with $4,300, when you look at your electricity, your gasoline--you go right down the line--the food you put on the table, these prices are going to go up. Raise residential national gas prices by 55 percent. And then increase the inflation-adjusted Federal debt by 26 percent or $29,150 additional Federal debt per person again after adjusting for inflation. We can't afford this. We cannot afford this, and we can't have this happen. But my friends let me tell you, there's not one person that's not for clean energy, and here the Americans want something, and the Republican Party has come up in this House with a strategy. And last week during the break, several of us were in Pittsburgh and Indiana and California stressing the need to make sure that we have this nuclear being stressed. There's a nuclear power plant in California that supplies 10 percent of that State's needs, and the last time we've even been able to site a new plant in this country was 1977. So we can do it in this country by just having what we've got, by making sure we use our clean coal technology, to use nuclear. Get out there, get the oil, the natural gas, we use the hydro, the geothermal, and then of course on all the others. We have the wind, the solar, the ethanol, the biodiesel. We can do it, but we've got to have an all-of- the-above policy, but we cannot go with this cap-and-tax because, again, it's a jobs killer for America, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker: Whereas, Congressman Robert E. Latta extends his congratulations on the occasion of the One-Hundred Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Village of Ottawa, Ohio; and Whereas, Ottawa, Ohio has been a proud member of the Northwest Ohio community since 1833; and Whereas, the citizens of Ottawa, Ohio provide friendship and tradition to all those in Northwest Ohio; and Whereas, Ottawa, Ohio has a long history of fostering business, education, and community relationships; therefore, be it Resolved, The people of Northwest Ohio are grateful for the service of the citizens and employers of Ottawa, Ohio. Ohio's Fifth Congressional District is well served by their dedication and support. We wish Ottawa, Ohio all the best during its celebration the One- Hundred Seventy-Fifth anniversary.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to have this hour with my colleagues to talk about a very, very important issue facing this country. The issue that's facing this Congress is cap-and-tax. Why is it important? Well, as you can see from this chart right here, Cap-and-Tax Vulnerability by State. I'm from Ohio. I represent the largest manufacturing district in the State of Ohio as well as representing the largest agricultural district in the State of Ohio. If you see from this map where it says, the vulnerability key from high, medium and low, you will see that Ohio, along with a good part of the Midwest, is all facing a very, very tough time under this proposal. At the same time I know when I am back home, I talk to the folks; and they say, Well, who's proposing this? I say, If you look from California to Washington. You go from Washington, D.C., up the coast to Maine, that's where it is. You look at that--very low vulnerability. That concerns me. It concerns me because, as I said, manufacturing is the lifeblood in my district. I would like to talk about it for just a few minutes. First, every week I go out in my district. I go out in that district, and I go into plants. We manufacture everything from car parts, to batteries, to windshields, to washing machines. You name it, we make it. My district, when people say, What's your largest city? It's my hometown of about 30,000 people. So over 140 miles east to west we have a lot of small manufacturers out there. We have large manufacturers. We have a large General Motors power train plant. When you keep going across, you have a Chrysler plant. We have a furniture manufacturing plant. As I mentioned, we have a washing machine plant. We go across it, and then we have a lot of smaller ones. We have plants that might employ 50, 100 people. But those are the folks that make this economy run because small business is the main economic engine for this country. So when I see things like this where you look at the vulnerability, I see that right off the bat, we're in trouble. But we're also in trouble because Ohio, being a large manufacturing State in total, we have another situation out there. And that situation is this: When you look at the plants that we've had, we've had to grow, as our former Governor and now Senator George Voinovich used to always tell us when we were in the legislature together, that we had to work harder and smarter in the State of Ohio. Well, a lot of factories are that way now. They don't employ as many people. But at the same time, we have watched a lot of these plants, because of the economic downturn, having to lay people off. Every week I go out into these plants. I remember one not too long ago I went into the plant, and they said, We'd like to take you in the back. They usually had around 180 employees. They said, We're down to about 70. They said, We make brass fittings; and with those brass fittings, they're in competition against the world. And of course that means the Chinese right now. They said, It costs us X number of dollars to make this product, and at the same time the Chinese can make it for 45 cents. They can't have any more impact on them, especially if we're going to raise the price of energy. We can't have a national energy tax because if we do that, these companies are going to shut down, and they're never going to open up again. Back in 1982 we were coming out of that recession that started back in the Carter years when--you might all remember--we had 21.5 percent interest rates, double-digit inflation, double-digit unemployment rates. It was tough; but people still thought, When this thing's over, those factories are going to open up. I'm going to have my job back. Not so today. Not so today because when people start looking around-- and we're in a global economy. I was a county commissioner of Wood County for 6 years. We used to compete against some parts of Ohio and over in Indiana and Michigan, but now we're competing against people on the other side of the globe, and they're going to eat our lunch if we're not careful. When we have these situations, like I said, that you go into these plants, and these folks are saying, We can't have one more increase or we're out of business, they mean it. Then the question is going to be when they come to me and say, Well, where am I going to get a job? Or like last weekend I spoke to a commencement address. I asked them beforehand, I said, Just out of curiosity, what would you like me to talk about? They said, What we'd really like you to talk about is telling our graduates what you're working on, what you're helping to try to do to make sure that--where we are going be when we come out of this tough economic situation that we're in. So you have to start these things off by saying, You know, I'm not going to paint you any kind of a rose-colored picture here. If we work hard and we do the right things here in Congress, we're going to survive. But if we pass the wrong pieces of legislation, I can't go back to that same college in a couple of years and look at those next graduates coming up and say, You know what, you're going to have a job, because they might not. So what we have to do is think about these things. Just to show you on another chart something that the Heritage Foundation put together, they took all 435 congressional districts. What they did was, they put together a manufacturing vulnerability index. They took what your State's percentage of energy usage from coal was, and then they took from each district the number of manufacturing jobs. This is one of the times you don't want to be at the top of the list. My good friend from Indiana, who will be on in a couple minutes here, unfortunately ranks number one in vulnerability in this country because of the number of manufacturing jobs and coal generation in the State of Indiana. I'm number three because I have 80,623 manufacturing jobs, and we get 87.2 percent of our energy from coal. You put those two things together, and my manufacturing vulnerability index percentile rank is at 99.5 percent, which puts you at three. When I go across my district, I can't go out there and say, Things are just fantastic. I'm telling them, Right now I want to try to keep you in business, but I will tell you, if we start passing these bills in this Congress to put a national energy tax on you, you're in trouble. And not only are you in trouble, but every generation coming up in Ohio is in trouble because these jobs aren't going to come back. These jobs are not going to come back. When you look, as I said, from 1982 when people thought, Well, we are going to come back. Why? Because the United States was at the top of the heap. Today the Chinese have become, in 2009, the number one manufacturing country in the world. We got knocked off after over 100 years being on top. Not anymore. That's why we have to start thinking about our future. When you talk about what the folks want to do here, they need to look around the world a little bit. Not too long ago in the Washington Times there was an interesting article. The headline was Chinese Official Aims Emissions Cost At Consumers. The folks here in Congress are saying, Well, it's not fair if we do all these things. We need to have the rest of the world cooperate with us. Well, guess what. Let me just read you one quote. This is from their lead climate negotiator in China who said this: ``As one of the developing countries, we are at the low end of the production line for the global economy. We produce products, and these products are consumed by other countries. This share of emissions should be taken by the consumer, not the producer.'' Interesting philosophy. They can produce it, but they're not going to pay anything for it. They want us, for consuming it, to pay that cost. But at the same time in this country what we're going to be doing is we're going to be paying on both ends because we're going to be paying to produce it. It's going to be very difficult for these manufacturing jobs in States like Ohio and Indiana to stay in one spot. The one thing would be that they might say, We're going to leave and go to another State. But I've already had companies that are multinational say, You know what, we don't even have to be in Ohio. We don't have to be in the United States. We'll just produce it in another country. That's where we are. And I'll tell you what, the future is very bleak if we start looking at these things. Last summer we talked about an all-of-the-above energy plan for this country, and the American people got it. Because first of all, the American people went to the gas station, and they saw, like in Bowling Green, Ohio, $4.19 for a gallon of gasoline. People understood right off the bat what was happening. But sometimes when they hear about cap- and-tax, cap-and-trade they say, Well, we're not really sure what that is. But it will affect everybody immediately when this thing starts. Let me give you a couple of statistics here from a Heritage Foundation report. This is about the negative impacts on consumers. This is from the Heritage Foundation. By 2035 this legislation would, one, reduce the aggregate gross domestic product by $9.6 trillion, destroy 1.1 million jobs per year on average with the peak year seeing unemployment rise by over 2.5 million jobs, increase the average family cost of four by $4,800 a year, raise electricity rates by 90 percent, raise residential natural gas prices by 55 percent, and increase inflation-adjusted Federal debt by 26 percent or an additional $29,150 per person after adjusting for inflation. That's what this cap-and-tax, this national energy tax is going to get us. This is a massive tax. We can't afford it. Going back to this chart, when you look at the States that are using a lot of coal and you have a lot of manufacturing in your district, well, we can't take it. Now, let's go to the bottom of the chart. For those that are in favor of it, you look at their percentile rank. Zero. Well, that's out in California. Very little manufacturing. When you look at the number of manufacturing jobs in the bottom four of California, you've got 15,500 and 19,000 manufacturing jobs in a congressional district. Again, compare that with Indiana 3, which has almost 104,000 manufacturing jobs, you wonder why we're concerned about this in the Midwest. You wonder why we're concerned about this when we talk about making sure that our people have jobs in the future. Let's think about the tax bases out there. We've got areas in the State of Ohio that are going to be devastated when you take these kinds of numbers, and we're not going to have these jobs anymore. What's going to happen to the local school districts? What's going to happen to the municipalities? What's going to happen to the fire departments? Everything? They're all going to be affected. So again, we can't afford this, and it's a tax on the American people. It is a loss of jobs that we can't afford in this country. At this time I would like to recognize some of the other Members today that are here. My good friend, the gentlelady from Oklahoma, who I would like to recognize at this time.

Mr. LATTA. Well, I thank the gentleman, and he is absolutely correct. When you look at these margins that these companies are working with today, they are slim. It's the same thing in my district. You know, I get in those plants every week. When I go in those plants, they show me what one blip of an electrical costs. I have massive, heavy energy users in my district, especially on the electrical side. With one blip, they could say, You know what? We're done. We'll go overseas. We don't need this, and we don't need one more Federal regulation. We don't need one more government bureaucrat telling us how to run our business, and we're out of business in this country. Then what do we tell our constituents? What do we tell the next generation of Americans out there? That you don't have a job. What do you have to look forward to in the future? It's not very bright when you look at this piece of legislation. You know, the President said when he was running for office that, Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to the consumers. It goes from one to the next, and it's going to finally get down to those honest people who are going to try to be in those factories, making a product, finding out first they don't have jobs and, at the same time, that their electricity rates at home are just going to skyrocket. How are they going to make a living? How are those kids going to go to college? I thank the gentleman. At this time, I'd like to yield to my friend from Louisiana. Thank you.

Mr. LATTA. I appreciate your being here. And you bring up an excellent point when you talk about jobs disappearing. Last summer, I was number 9 in the list the National Manufacturers Association puts out. I was number 9 in the United States in manufacturing jobs out of 435 districts. Earlier this year, I dropped to 13 already. And we are watching those jobs disappear from across Ohio and across this country. And you are absolutely right. We have a massive national energy tax. Those jobs aren't going to stay. They can't compete. And they are gone. So that is an excellent point. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. At this time, I would also like to introduce my good friend from Illinois who also represents manufacturing and what it can do to his State and also across the Midwest.

Mr. LATTA. At this time, I would like to call on and yield to a good friend of mine from Ohio, the gentleman just to my south. Good afternoon.

Mr. LATTA. I thank the gentlelady.

Mr. LATTA. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. You have brought up some very good points, especially when you are talking about rural America. I know in my district when I go in the plants, one of the questions I always like to ask is how many folks have driven X number of miles? It is nothing for people in my district to drive 30 to 50 miles one way to go to manufacturing jobs. If those manufacturing jobs are not there or the cost of fuel is too high, they can't get there. That is an excellent point. I'm glad you brought that up.

Mr. LATTA. I recognize the gentlelady from Oklahoma.

Mr. LATTA. I thank the gentleman. If I could just comment on a couple of things that he said. I think you're absolutely right. I know when they shut the lights on us right here on this floor last year when we were down here talking about energy--and it wasn't hard to remember that we were talking about 65 or more percent of all of the energy that we were consuming in this country was being imported in this country. I remember those T. Boone Pickens commercials saying the largest transfer of wealth in history was occurring. I believe the number was like $700 billion per year. And so when you see those things happening, it's hard not to get up here and speak out on that. I yield back to the gentleman.

Mr. LATTA. I would like to yield to the gentlelady from Oklahoma.

Mr. LATTA

Mr. LATTA. Absolutely.

Mr. LATTA. Zero.