Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), I am happy to yield to him 30 seconds to answer the question that I asked in my opening statement and that is, why did you remove this section of the Turner amendment that held Benedict Arnold corporations accountable? Why do you feel that we need to protect companies who purposely open up P.O. boxes in Bermuda so that they can escape paying U.S. taxes? Even if you support paying Benedict Arnold corporations, why can we not have at least an up or down vote on an amendment so that the House can decide? I am happy to yield to the gentleman 30 seconds so that he can clarify that for me.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I appreciate the gentleman's response, but it really did not answer my question, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. The bottom line is the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) decided not to pursue his amendment only after he was told by the leadership of this House that he could not have the language he wanted, and the companies that we are talking about here, these Benedict Arnold companies, are not in individual States, they are in places like Bermuda. I just think it is outrageous that these companies that really skirt U.S. tax law, and I think are not the kind of corporations that deserve to be protected, are in fact protected in this bill, and I think it is wrong. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert in the Record the complete text of the amendment that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) wanted to offer and was told that he could not offer because I think it is instructive for the American people to at least have on record what he tried to do.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject H.R. 4571, and I ask that they support the substitute that will be offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner). The Turner substitute is a stronger bill and addresses the real needs of the American public. The Turner substitute respects all Americans by setting up other three strikes and you are out systems while protecting civil rights lawsuits. The Turner substitute also prevents corporate wrongdoers from sealing their activities in court records. And the Turner substitute requires States to put into action a system to speed up the trial process and eliminate junk lawsuits. Let me again state for the record, Mr. Speaker, that it is frustrating and it is mind boggling to me that the Republican leadership insists that the Turner substitute not include language that would hold Benedict Arnold corporations accountable. What is the deal? Why does the Republican leadership not only on this bill but on so many other bills in which we try to hold these companies accountable insist on bending over backwards to protect them. These are companies that purposefully set up P.O. boxes in places like Bermuda to avoid paying U.S. taxes. There is no citizen in this country that can do that. But these corporations that make millions and millions, if not billions of dollars get to do that, get to take advantage of all the benefits of this country, but do not have to pay U.S. taxes and here they are being protect from lawsuits if in fact they produce a damaging product. It is wrong. It is outrageous. This should not be happening, and I would again just say that it is sad that we are at this point. Mr. Speaker, I would urge the adoption again of the Turner substitute and the rejection of this ill-conceived, ill-advised bill, and I would urge my colleagues to vote no on H.R. 4571. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me conclude again by saying what I said at the beginning of this debate and that is that it is unfortunate that we are dealing with such an inadequate allocation. Our cities, our towns, our States deserve much better than this. This reflects poorly on the priorities of the leadership of this Congress. This has to change. Our communities cannot afford to be short-changed on important transportation dollars. This undercuts their economic development. This undercuts job growth. We need to do much better. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me clarify to the gentleman, the point I was trying to make is your priorities are all messed up. The bottom line is there is a real need out there, all across this country, even in your State, for more transportation funding, more public transportation funding, more support. It is essential for economic growth. It is essential for job creation and you are short-changing it, and those are your priorities, and I think they are messed up. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just respectfully disagree with the gentleman, that it is the job of the Committee on Rules to go through and to analyze each and every amendment and every proposal that every Member of this House, Republican and Democrat, brings before the committee. Everybody in this Chamber should have the right to be able to go to the Committee on Rules and have their amendment considered, be given fair consideration. All of us were elected. We represent the same number of people; all of us have the same right to be able to do that. I would also say to the gentleman when he mentioned about the budget, to the best of my knowledge, Congress has not approved a budget yet, notwithstanding the fact that the Republican Party controls both the House and the Senate. So we are kind of operating under kind of imaginary budget caps that the Republican Party has decided to put into place. I would again say that to the extent that there is a shortfall here, it is because the gentleman and his leadership and his party have chosen to devote these resources to something else, namely, tax cuts for very wealthy people in this country. I think that is the wrong choice. I think it would be better to invest some of that money in a strong infrastructure. I think it would be better for our economy, and it would create more jobs. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to say I appreciate the gentleman's response, but I would just suggest that his priorities and the priorities of his leadership are wrong. What we are suggesting here is that we do have serious needs in this country, and the gentleman admitted it, in terms of transportation and infrastructure needs, and we need to address them. The gentleman and his party think that it is more important to give millionaires tax cuts rather than take those resources and invest it in our infrastructure so our communities can become more competitive, so that we can create more jobs. I mean, this mess we are in is wholly created by those of you who run this Congress, and it is an unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in right now. There are communities all across this country, States all across this country, Governors all across this country, Republicans and Democrats, who are frustrated that the Republican leadership cannot get their act together and get a highway and transportation bill before both the House and the Senate that we could put on the President's desk. I think when they look at the underfunding of some very important public transportation needs, that frustration is going to continue. So you are making choices, and I am suggesting that you are making the wrong choices. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just simply respond to the gentleman that the Committee on Rules makes its own rules, as we have seen so clearly since the majority has taken over control of that committee. So one of the frustrations that Members of Congress have is that the only way for their issues to be heard, the only way to bring up these different points of view is to go before the Committee on Rules and to ask the Committee on Rules for protections or for waivers, which, to be honest with my colleagues, is something that has happened in the past. So I would simply say to the gentleman, that is all we want, is to be able to, in the people's House, have a good debate and to be able to bring up the issues that our constituents talk to us about. With regard to this bill in particular, which many of us think is sadly underfunded because of some bad priorities of the people who are running this House, we would like to have the opportunity to correct that. When we go home, and I suspect when the gentleman goes home and he talks to his mayors and his town managers and to his Governor, they will tell him that there is a desperate need for additional transportation infrastructure funding. There are bridges that are collapsing in this country, there are road projects that are not being done; and the longer we put them on hold, the more expensive they are going to be. I would say also, it has a negative impact on economic development. I would also suggest to the gentleman, since his party does not seem very interested in creating jobs, since they have a job-loss record that is on par with Herbert Hoover, that this is a way to create jobs. We might actually do something different and get up and actually pass a piece of legislation that will stimulate economic growth and create some jobs, and I think a lot more people would be happy in this country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday Vice President Cheney reached a new low. The Vice President has a history of saying outrageous things, but yesterday takes the cake. I hope everyone realizes what the Vice President is up to. He is desperately trying to change the subject from the tragic milestone of 1,000 American fatalities in Iraq. Today we mourn with the families who have lost their loved ones. He can try to change the subject, Mr. Speaker, but he cannot change the fact that over and over and over again this administration has made the wrong choices in Iraq. Here we are, no weapons of mass destruction, 1,000 American fatalities, thousands and thousands of wounded and $200 billion later. Imagine what we could have done with $200 billion. We could have invested that in jobs, in health care, in education and veterans programs, and in ensuring that our military is the best-equipped, best- trained and best-housed in the world. Those should be our priorities, Mr. Speaker, and it is sad that after 4 years in office, Dick Cheney still does not get it.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Hooley amendment. All of us are incredibly grateful to the men and women of our armed forces, including members of the National Guard and Reserves. Thousands of our Guard members and Reserves have been activated, taking them away not only from their families, but from their jobs, as well. The Hooley amendment provides $5 million to the Department of Labor Veteran's Employment and Training Program, specifically for a nationwide campaign to educate America's employers about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). USERRA spells out the responsibilities of employers of members of the National Guard and Reserve, and it explains the employment rights of those members. However, many employees and employers do not know about USERRA. Mr. Chairman, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that 70 percent of military reservists called to active-duty work in small or medium-size companies. In response, I introduced H.R. 4477 with the bipartisan support of U.S. Representative Jeb Bradley. H.R. 4477 is a simple, straightforward bill, and it complements the Hooley amendment. My bill seeks to promote understanding between employees and employers when it comes to their rights and obligations under USERRA. H.R. 4477 would require the Department of Labor to produce a poster--similar to the Family and Medical Leave poster--for employers to post at work sites. Mr. Chairman, many employers across the country either do not know about USERRA, or they are only vaguely aware of it. By not complying with USERRA, employers put themselves at risk of facing Department of Labor investigations. By educating employers and employees before potential violations, we can protect employers from costly litigation, potential fines, and public embarrassment. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 4477 would not create additional paper work or burden employers with difficult Department of Labor requirements. In fact, H.R. 4477 is an effort to educate employers and keep them from unknowingly breaking existing law. Mr. Chairman, I commend U.S. Representative Hooley for bringing her amendment to the floor today. By educating employers and employees about USERRA, we can assist them in working out any potential conflicts before employees are activated. I urge adoption of the Hooley amendment.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire of the gentlewoman how many more speakers she has on her side.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, after the gentleman's comments, in his concern for activist Federal judges, I just want to state for the record that seven of the Supreme Court justices right now have been appointed by Republican Presidents, and pretty conservative Republican Presidents at that. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time. Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate what this bill is all about. It is a mean-spirited, unconstitutional, dangerous distraction. No matter what Members may think about gay marriage, the issue here today is whether or not we will take away people's fundamental constitutional rights. Gay men and women pay taxes, serve in the United States Congress and in legislatures across the country, serve in our military, raise families that participate in the political process. The idea that they should be treated as second-class citizens and stripped of their constitutional rights is not only wrong, it is appalling. Now, I am from Massachusetts and my colleagues will hear supporters of this bill talking today about the alleged catastrophe that has occurred in my State in the last few months; but you know what, Mr. Speaker, the world did not come to an end in Massachusetts when the State Supreme Court made its ruling. People got up and went to work and took their kids to school and paid their bills and lived their lives. The world kept spinning on its axis. In the end, I think that is what is driving the supporters of this bill crazy. The outrage, the mass hysteria, the political momentum they expected from this issue just have not materialized. The American people are a lot smarter and a lot more tolerant and a lot more reasonable than the Republican leadership gives them credit for, which is why, Mr. Speaker, even if this bill passes today, I still have hope. Mr. Speaker, every Member of this House took an oath that they would uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. I hope we will do that today. I urge all my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire of the time on both sides.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), a strong defender of the United States Constitution. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)