John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. In answering with bated breath, I yield myself the balance of my time. First of all, let me say on a serious basis that I've tried to have the best working relationship possible with Mr. Rahall, the Democrat leader of the Transportation Committee. He and I were respectively chosen to lead the committee, and I've tried to do my best in the last year plus several months to work with him in meeting our responsibilities. We have done some important things. We passed a 5-year stalled FAA bill, and we did it without tax increases, without earmarks, and with a good plan for the future that will put people to work in an area, the aviation industry, that accounts for 10 percent of our economic activity in the country. Let me say in regard to the former chair of, I believe, the Highway Subcommittee, Mr. DeFazio, that he was the ranking member on 9/11 when the good Lord put us both with the responsibility of trying to get the Nation's aviation system going after the horrendous attack by terrorists on our country and on the aviation system, and we did that together. I came to this position after 18 years, after my predecessor, Mr. Oberstar, who I enjoyed so much working with, who was the distinguished leader from the other side. I learned quite a bit from Mr. Oberstar and others, from Mr. Shuster who came before me. There was a whole host of great leaders in the committee--Mr. Mineta, my first chair. I tried to learn from all of them and not make mistakes but to do the best thing for the committee, not for my self-interests or my party's interests, but in the interest of the American people, because that's what we're sent here for is to help the American people. We had a crisis after 9/11. We came together. We have a crisis now. We have millions of Americans who don't have jobs, who don't have work. I supported the bill. I think Mr. Oberstar waited 32 years to become chairman. I was elected after 18 years by my colleagues. He had his bill pretty much together. I didn't have a bill. I first went to Mr. Rahall's district, who is the ranking member, and held the first hearing on this legislation in Beckley, West Virginia, which I'd never been to, and I wouldn't mind going back. Everybody there was nice to me and committed then. We went across the country and did a record number of hearings--as I said, bipartisan, bicameral with Mrs. Boxer, who I hope to complete this legislation with and with other leaders and workers, because here you can't do it yourself. You really can't. You might think you can, but you can't. So I have taken everybody's good ideas, and please don't say I wasn't bipartisan. We took every amendment, 100 Democrat amendments. I don't know anyone who has done that. We sat there until 3 o'clock in the morning--it was an 18-hour markup--and we passed 20-some of their amendments. Shoot, this is difficult. I don't have earmarks like the previous chairman had. The last bill had 6,300 earmarks. Yes, you can get the bill done quickly, but even then it took them 2 years. I've been here for--what?--14 months leading the committee, and today, we will take this to conference. To answer your question, not only will I sign the letter; I will draft the letter asking to be expeditious in going to conference and in the appointment of conferees. In addition, I'll ask our chair, Mr. Duncan, to sign that letter--I hope you will join me, and I thank you for offering that--so we can get the people's work done. I look back and I see the missed opportunities, one when Mr. LaHood came in to Mr. Oberstar and me and turned down a 6-year bill that we had planned. I didn't like everything Mr. Oberstar proposed. In fact, I probably would have had to have held my nose and voted for it; but I told him, in the interest of the country and the American people, we needed to move forward, and I was supportive of getting the bill to conference so we could work out the details. I wasn't afforded all that opportunity in this process, and I'm saddened a bit about that because I have tried to work in good faith. Now the American people are calling on us to stop the bickering, to stop the baloney, to get back to work. The American people are hurting. Then again, there is the pain at the pump. I've seen people, when I've been home, taking out a few dollars at a time in trying to pay that gas bill, and sometimes I've seen people go out and buy $5 worth of gas. It breaks my heart that they can barely make it back and forth. I saw a waitress who was telling me how difficult it was for her to get to work because she couldn't afford it. But that's why they sent us here--to get this job done, and we need to get this job done. So I think, on behalf of the American people, we need to continue the process. We've been down several roads, and some of those had some bumps and some of them had some dead ends, but let's hope that this has a path to lower energy costs and that this has a path to building this country's infrastructure, which is so important for what the business of this country is. The business of this country is business. It wasn't Big Government. So we can do it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I will be very brief. The gentleman said that I had said before we had smoke and mirrors, and once again we have smoke and mirrors. Every opportunity was given to the other side. My committee sat for some 18 hours. They never brought this issue up. We heard over 100 Democrat amendments. It was not brought up in one of the single 200 amendments proposed to the committee. What this is is an obstruction to getting people working, to getting our infrastructure for this country built. We need to vote down this motion to recommit and let's move forward in getting America building its infrastructure and getting people to work and affordable energy to people that can't even afford to fill up their gas tank today. I've had it with these delays. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time to close. Madam Speaker and my colleagues, I think it might be time right now, Madam Speaker, that we call the Capitol Physician to come to the House floor. I think we should call the Capitol Physician because there appears to be on the other side a mass case of loss of memory, and I think that we need to clear up just a few facts in what has been said here. Now, we have the gentlelady from California who happened to be the Speaker of the House. As I recall, the other side controlled the House by a huge margin, the Senate by a significant margin--most of the time I think it was 60 votes where you could do anything--and they controlled the White House for those 2 years. They could have done anything they wanted to do. President Obama, in fact, sent Secretary LaHood to Mr. Oberstar and me--I was the ranking Republican, he was the chair--and cut the knees right out from the Democrats and said he wasn't doing a long-term bill, he was doing an 18-month bill, which really sent a death signal to transportation and infrastructure projects. In fact, the other side would be in the majority probably and I would be the ranking member if they had just done what they could have done. Then they tell you that we can't pass a bill. Well, let's deal with the facts. They six times had to do extensions. Not one extension was freestanding. In fact, one time they could not even pass the extension with the House, the Senate, and the White House. In March of 2010, they actually closed down programs. Madam Speaker, we may need the House Physician because there are multiple cases of amnesia, and we need to remind folks about the facts and what they have forgotten. Even in the extensions, I offered first a 90-day extension, and I know Speaker Boehner talked to the Senate and the other leaders and said we'll do a 90. No, we want to do a 60-day extension, they said. Then some of the Democrats felt like they were thrown under the bus, and the 60-day extension that they asked us to do, they couldn't get the votes for, they came down and spoke against yesterday. Madam Speaker, there's something wrong here. I think we really need to get the Capitol Physician involved because the amnesia is very, very serious on the other side. They had earmarks. The last bill was passed with 6,300 earmarks. They had earmarks. They had control. They couldn't even pass a freestanding bill and get it to the full committee. So, again, I think the amnesia is pretty rampant on the other side. I don't want this to be delayed any further because I want Americans to go back to work. We offer here today a long-term bill that will put people who want jobs in this country back to work without earmarks and without tax increases. The end of the era of the biggest gorilla walking off with the most bananas is over, and we will pass responsible legislation, and we will get it done. As the Cable Guy said, Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to ``Git-R- Done.'' I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Thank you for yielding. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, let's just set the record straight. The other side says that this wasn't a bipartisan process. First of all, the first hearing was held in the ranking Democrat member's hometown and district in West Virginia. We went from sea to shining sea, all the way to Los Angeles, in order to accommodate a bicameral, unprecedented bipartisan hearing in Los Angeles. Again, the comments that are made here do not reflect the reality. In the committee, we took 100 Democrat amendments, and we accepted about 20 of them. In addition to when we drafted the legislation, 60 percent of the recommendations of the Democrats were in the draft that came before the committee. Yet there is this stuff about it not being bipartisan. Then the Republicans can't get it done. These are the people who cannot get it done. They controlled the House; they controlled the Senate; they controlled the White House during this entire process. They couldn't even get it to committee. They could not get the bill to committee. It passed a subcommittee. So we have passed it. They've made bipartisanship in this committee a one-way street, and it wasn't that way before. They will close down major projects across this country if we don't pass this extension. Why are we here for this extension for 90 days? Because we offered 90 days to begin with, and they said, No, we won't do 90 days because we want to keep things stirred up. So we said, Well, what do you want? They said 60 days. Okay. In the spirit of bipartisanship, we'll go 60 days. So then they rejected that. Some of the Democrats threw each other under the bus, so to speak; and here we are at 90 days again. So, folks, let's get the facts straight and the reality straight. Republicans want America to work and our infrastructure to be built.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4281.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 600, I call up the bill (H.R. 4281) to provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a multiyear law reauthorizing such programs, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield, at this time, 2 minutes to the chair of the Railroads Subcommittee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, first I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, we know why we're here. We are here to pass a responsible extension so that people across America can go to work, that we can finish a long-term transportation bill, and that we can be responsible stewards of the trust which the taxpayers and the citizens of America sent us here for. I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, March 29, 2012. Hon. John Mica, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Mica: I am writing concerning H.R. 4281, the ``Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012,'' which is scheduled for floor consideration this week. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means has jurisdiction over the Internal Revenue Code. Title IV of this bill amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by extending the current Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority and the associated Federal excise taxes to June 30, 2012. However, in order to expedite this legislation for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action on this bill. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 4281, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds, and then I would like to yield 2 minutes to the chair of the Highway Subcommittee, Mr. Duncan. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, let's just deal with the facts. The fact is that the Democrats had six amendments--1 month, 1.5 months, 2.5 months, 1 month, 9 months, and 2 months--when they controlled the House of Representatives and the Senate by huge majorities, and the White House. They couldn't even get it through committee. They could not get it through committee. These are the facts. List of Transportation Extensions Extension #1: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 1-month from 10/01/2009 to 10/ 31/2009. Extension #2: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 1.5-months from 11/01/2009 to 12/18/2009. Extension #3: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 2.5-months from 12/19/2009 to 2/ 28/2010. Extension #4: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 1-month from 3/01/2010 to 3/28/ 2010. Extension #5: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 9-months from 3/29/2010 to 12/ 31/2010. Extension #6: A Democratic controlled House passed extension with a duration of 2-months from 1/01/2011 to 3/04/ 2011. Extension #7: A Republican controlled House passed extension with a duration of 7-months from 3/05/2011 to 9/30/ 2011. Extension #8: A Republican controlled House passed extension with a duration of 6-months from 10/01/2011 to 3/ 31/2012.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds. First of all, Mr. Speaker, I don't think it is appropriate that Members of my conference be referred to as bozos. I think that we have dedicated Americans, ladies and gentlemen, who serve this country and the Congress well. The gentleman who just spoke on September 23, 2009, said: Don't play politics with investments in our infrastructure, don't play politics with the economy, don't play politics with people's jobs, don't bring America to a screeching halt on October 1 and walk away from your obligation to extend this program. Mr. Speaker, when they controlled the House in huge numbers, they could not pass that extension, nor could they pass, I'm told, any extension freestanding. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. MICA. I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).

Mr. MICA. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. I am going to continue to reserve the balance of my time and will close at the appropriate time.

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

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the ordering of the yeas and nays on the motion that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4239) to provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a multiyear law reauthorizing such programs, as amended, be vacated, to the end that the Chair put the question de novo.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank the chairman for his diligence and ongoing efforts to bring much-needed fiscal discipline to Federal spending.

Mr. MICA. Both of which are included in H.R. 7. I would like to confirm with the gentleman from Wisconsin that my understanding of these provisions is correct, and that H.R. 7 is in compliance with the budget resolution.

Mr. MICA. I thank the chair of the Budget Committee. And first, let me commend Chairman Ryan and the Budget Committee for bringing this resolution to the floor today. I'm pleased with the cooperative working relationship between our two committees, particularly as we seek to move a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization to the floor in the near future. As you know, H.R. 7 is the most significant transportation reform bill since the Interstate Highway System was created some 50 years ago. The bill will reduce the Federal bureaucracy by consolidating or eliminating more than 70 programs and allows States to set their own transportation priorities, not bureaucrats here in Washington. H.R. 7 provides the stable and predictable funding stream that is necessary for States and construction companies to take on major construction projects that span several years. The bill accomplishes more with less through significant reforms, including cutting in half the time it takes to complete major transportation infrastructure projects. H.R. 7 also establishes a blueprint for job creation, is responsibly paid for, and includes no earmarks, no tax increases or deficit spending. As everyone here knows, our surface transportation programs expire on Saturday, and we need to pass an extension in the next few days in order to ensure that these programs will not disrupt the folks who may be furloughed and construction workers who would be sent home. I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will act responsibly and put politics aside and join us in passing a short-term extension so we can work on a longer-term solution. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 7 meets two criteria of the deficit-neutral reserve fund outlined in this budget. First, it will maintain the solvency of the highway trust fund, and second, it will not increase the deficit over the period of fiscal year 2013 through fiscal 2022. The resolution before us also assumes a new potential funding stream for the trust fund in the form of oil and gas revenues, and ensures that any future funding transfers will be fully offset.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the chair of our Rail Subcommittee.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4239) to provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund pending enactment of a multiyear law reauthorizing such programs, as amended.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4239, as amended.