Jim McCrery

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter).

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 is a reflection of the commitment that President Bush made shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. He talked about creating an opportunity zone similar to the zone that we created in New York City after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The bill before us today, in fact, contains many of the provisions that were contained in the Relief Act that created the opportunity zone in New York City, and there are a few additional provisions regarding housing, low income housing, the rehabilitation tax credit, and things like that. The business incentives, the business tax incentives that are designed to bring investment into the devastated areas of the gulf are, in fact, almost exactly the same as those offered in Manhattan following 9/11. Mr. Speaker, this bill is extremely critical for a timely redevelopment of the devastated areas along our gulf coast, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, particularly. This bill also provides some relief for victims of hurricanes Rita and Wilma in southeast Texas and in south Florida. Mr. Speaker, I cannot overemphasize the importance of putting into law as quickly as possible incentives to give businesses, individuals, people with capital to invest, the urge to go to these devastated areas and invest that capital, take a risk, create the jobs necessary to build back a critical mass of economic activity in these devastated areas. If we do not do that, Mr. Speaker, and do it very soon, we are going to have more and more businesses making decisions every day not to go back into these devastated areas and not to invest their capital back in those areas. Why should they, if there are hurdles to overcome that are not present in, say, Dallas or Houston or Atlanta, other places where they can take that capital and invest it and not have the hassles, the obstacles, that are present in these devastated areas. That was the whole point of providing tax incentives to businesses in New York City following 9/11. It is the point of this bill, to give people an extra reason, a little extra incentive to put that capital in these devastated areas to rebuild those areas. Mr. Speaker, I am certainly thankful for the cooperation of the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson) on the Ways and Means Committee, also the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and the staff on both sides of the aisle for their cooperation in putting together a rational, reasonable approach to encouraging investment back in these areas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), chairman of the Trade Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, many of the provisions in this bill, in fact, most of the provisions in this bill, are simply tools that the Federal Government will give to individuals and businesses in the devastated areas to help themselves. The bonding provisions, for example, that Mr. Jefferson spoke of, all of those are simply tools to allow the people in these devastated areas to help pick themselves up and restart their communities. The refinancing provision, for example, allowing States to basically refinance existing bonded obligations, that is a way that we are going to allow States to help themselves. So, Mr. Speaker, I hope that this House will today take the first step to getting this necessary help to these devastated areas and then, before we leave here for the Christmas holidays, pass a final version that we can send to the President for his signature. It is critical.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the bill just passed.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Ways and Means be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 4337) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for Gulf tax credit bonds and advance refundings of certain tax-exempt bonds, and to provide a Federal guarantee of certain State bonds, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson) for the hard work that he has put into this effort to allow the State and our municipalities the ability to help themselves. That is what this bill will do. Mr. Jefferson has worked tirelessly with me to try to clear the way for passage of this bill this evening. His efforts are to be commended. I thank him very much.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 501) providing for the concurrence by the House with amendments in the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3971.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself so much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, just in closing, again I would like to thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), my colleague on the Committee on Ways and Means, for being so constructive throughout this process. He has tried to offer constructive suggestions for inclusion in this legislation. Unfortunately, we have not been able to accommodate all of his requests, but we have included, for example, the flexibility with the use of this money for the States to increase benefits if they so choose on a temporary basis, to do some of things that the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) was so rightly concerned about. So, again, I appreciate his input, as I do the input of other members of the committee on this issue, and urge all of us to continue to work together to try to appropriately respond to this disaster, as well as any others that we unfortunately experience in this country. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would urge passage of H. Res. 501.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself so much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio for his contributions to perfecting the part of this legislation that concerns the QI program and the extension of that program. His input, as well as many others in this House, were very valuable in allowing us to reach a compromise and get this bill to the floor. So I thank him for that. With respect to Medicare premiums, we are all concerned about that. The gentleman makes a valid point. He, of course, knows very well that the Medicare premiums are simply a function of the cost of the Medicare part B program and have nothing to do with taxes of any sort in this country. We are all concerned about trying to hold down the increases in medical costs, not only for Medicare beneficiaries but for everybody in our society. I would urge the gentleman from Ohio and others to join us in trying to attack the root causes of those cost increases, such as medical malpractice reform, which we passed through this House but we cannot quite get through the Senate. Maybe with the gentleman's help, we can get those things passed and get those costs under control so we can control the increases of the Medicare part B premium. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), chairman and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. I also want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), my distinguished colleagues on the committee. A lot of people have worked hard on this issue of unemployment insurance. I also want to thank the staff of the Ways and Means Committee on both sides of the aisle, Democrat and Republican, for jumping in very early after Katrina hit to start dealing with all of these issues within our jurisdiction that affect the victims of this disaster. Thanks to the hard work of members of the committee and staff, we have been able to pass already a number of bills that the President has signed to help mitigate the disaster. This bill before us today is one that I can assure the Members of this House and the gentleman from Washington that my State very badly wants right now; it is very badly needed. They are in fact spending money from their unemployment trust fund at a very fast clip, and their part of this $500 million will give them a badly needed infusion of cash to stop the bleeding in their own unemployment trust fund. So although the gentleman from Washington may be right in saying that this is not enough to cover everything that the State will lose as a result of this disaster, nonetheless, it is a very, very important infusion of cash right now to my State and to Mississippi and to Alabama to help them in this very bad time shortly after the storm when unemployment is reaching its peak. So, again, just as I did 2 weeks ago, I would urge the gentleman from Washington and others in this House not to stop this bill from passing. Work with us later to perfect other bills which may be needed when we get more evidence in as to the financial effects on these States because of the effects of the disaster, and we will certainly work with them to provide additional assistance. Mr. Speaker, I must add that this House and indeed this Congress has passed and the President has signed over $62 billion of relief for the disaster stricken States along the gulf coast. I do not know of anyone who would call that a meager response. That is indeed a very robust response. Yes, we are experiencing some difficulties in getting that money out the door, on the ground, to the purposes for which it was intended; but those are bureaucratic problems that we have with any large government program. But the money has been appropriated, Congress has taken action, the President has signed those bills, and the money is there waiting to be spent. So I do not call that a meager response. I call that a robust response, a very quick response; and today's bill is just another step in providing an immediate response to the problems. Again, I can assure this House that my State very badly needs the provisions of this bill today and very badly wants this bill to be passed and signed by the President. Then, if there is more needed down the road, we can come back and address that at the appropriate time; but today I believe this is an appropriate response of this House and this Congress to help these States with their immediate unemployment insurance needs to keep the taxes on their employers in those States from going up at the very time when we need to encourage businesses to restart, to reinvest, and to retire employees. Mr. Speaker, again, I would urge passage of this very badly needed legislation today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is a compromise between a bill that the House has previously passed dealing with unemployment insurance benefits for the affected States on the gulf coast that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the Senate bill which addressed the same issue. There were other matters included in one or other of the bills, including the extension of the Transitional Medical Assistance Program, which continues Medicaid for families leaving welfare for work, the Abstinence Education Program, and the QI-1 program through which State Medicaid programs help low-income seniors pay Medicare part B premiums. Also, this bill is completely paid for, and the pay-for in this bill is the same as it was in the House bill when it passed the House floor a couple of weeks ago, and that is to prohibit Medicare and Medicaid coverage of drugs for treatment of erectile dysfunction. Mr. Speaker, the compromise bill today includes the very same unemployment insurance benefits that were included in the previously passed House bill. We make a few changes in the effective days of some of the programs I referred to earlier. For example, the QI-1 program in the bill before us today is extended through September 30, 2007, instead of the date of December 2006 which was included in the previously passed House bill. In addition, the bill before us includes the Senate-passed extension of the Abstinence Education Program which was not included in our earlier-passed version of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all Members today to do the same thing they did 2 weeks ago and support this bill and pass it to give badly needed assistance to those States along the gulf coast who are experiencing very much increased unemployment due to Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of the Social Services Emergency Relief and Recovery Act of 2005. In part, this bill will serve as an extension to several important health care programs that already exist to assist low-income families. You will hear more about these programs from later speakers. I want to take this opportunity, though, to talk to you about another part of the bill that will offer immediate assistance to the workers that have lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina. Since Hurricane Katrina roared through my home State and Mississippi and Alabama, more than 150,000 people just in Louisiana alone have filed for unemployment assistance. The infrastructure in New Orleans and surrounding areas has been severely compromised. It is not known when these workers will be able to return to work or if they will have jobs to return to. The circumstances are a little different in Mississippi and Alabama, but assistance is greatly needed in those States as well. The Social Services Emergency Relief and Recovery Act will help provide assistance by immediately disbursing $500 million from the Unemployment Trust Funds to help these States pay regular unemployment benefits. The funds will be divided among States according to their share of expected increased unemployment benefit payments attributable to Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, Louisiana and Mississippi may soon trigger the extended benefits program which will give workers in those States an additional 13 weeks of unemployment assistance. The money in this bill may be used by the States to help pay their half of these additional UI benefits. H.R. 3971 also includes the provision to give States flexibility in using their existing Federal unemployment administrative dollars for the purpose of helping displaced workers apply for their unemployment benefits. Finally, we have included a provision to clarify earlier legislation that gave States flexibility with their TANF dollars. This change will ensure that disaster States may be reimbursed from the current TANF contingency fund or emergency assistance they pay to intrastate evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, just like all States may be reimbursed under the prior legislation for emergency assistance provided to interstate evacuees. Many of my colleagues will also appreciate that this bill is fully offset and reduces, actually reduces, the deficit by about $100 million over 5 years and $1 billion over 10 years. Mr. Speaker, the circumstances in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama necessitate immediate action on H.R. 3971 by the House. We need to pass this bill this afternoon so that these States and, more importantly, these workers can get relief. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3971) to provide assistance to individuals and States affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I want to thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) for working with me and others on not only this bill on unemployment compensation but on others that affect the disaster-stricken States. He has been very constructive with the suggestions and his comments, and I want to tell him how much I appreciate his cooperation. I do not disagree with him entirely that this package does not meet the full needs probably of the States with respect to unemployment compensation needs and other related needs; but it is a very, very positive first step. We can always come back later, Mr. Speaker, if we find that the needs of the States are indeed much greater than anticipated by this legislation; but what this bill does today, and I would beg the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) and my colleagues in the House not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, this is a good bill. This gives the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, particularly, the certainty that there are going to be Federal dollars transferred to them to help them with what they would otherwise have to pay out of their own State funds. So, essentially, we are going to be saving the States $500 million that they would have to pay out of their own State funds. That is a big deal. That is a huge help to my State of Louisiana to know that they are going to have that money from the Federal Government, and therefore, they do not have to find it from their own coffers. If the States that are involved wanted to use that infusion of Federal money to increase their benefits temporarily, they could do that. That is within their rights. They can pass a law to change those benefits on a temporary basis if they wanted to, or a permanent basis, and use this money that is going to be sent to them from the Federal Government for that purpose. So, again, I appreciate the constructive comments from my colleague on the Committee on Ways and Means and want to encourage him to continue to work with me and others from these affected States to help folks who were disadvantaged tremendously by the effects of the storm. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Deal), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over part of this legislation; and I ask unanimous consent that he control the remainder of my time.

Mr. McCRERY

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to congratulate the gentlewoman from Ohio, a distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means for coming up with some good ideas to assist in getting people back home and into housing. Her ideas are on a list that we are examining. I am very attracted to the substance of her ideas on this matter. I cannot guarantee that it is going to be in future legislation; but it is something that I am looking at very closely, as are others on the committee, including the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), I am sure. I think we will be able to get together on some of the gentlewoman's comments. I thank the gentlewoman for her assistance in helping us put together even more legislation following today's bill to help those folks get back home.

Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject matter of the resolution under consideration, H. Res. 454.