John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I had not been privy to the prior debates of our discussion of the subject and the repeal legislation at hand. Is it appropriate and within the decorum of the House to refer to the legislation that is being considered repealed as repealing ``ObamaCare''? I don't want to inflict any disrespect on the office of the President. In order to keep in the decorum and respect for the office, may we refer to the President's plan for health care government takeover as ``ObamaCare'' or in another term? What would be appropriate under the rule?

Mr. MICA. But if I do refer to it as ObamaCare, I'm not out of order?

Mr. MICA. Thank you. And I have been instructed by the staff that the proper term--or the title of the bill, I guess, Mr. Speaker, is Repeal of Obamacare, but I wanted to clarify that before I began. As the Supreme Court rendered its decision, I had the opportunity to stand with some of my colleagues on the steps of the Court just across from the Capitol. I stood on the steps and spoke to the crowd gathered with other Members of Congress, and I said the decision by the Court to, again, uphold the law that we seek to repeal, the decision was basically the decision to tax the people. And the power to tax, it's been said, is the power to destroy. I come before the House tonight and I'll state the same concerns I expressed on the steps of the Supreme Court. First, the power to destroy. It's appropriate tonight that the Small Business Committee is here, chaired by the distinguished gentleman from Missouri. American small business has been stuck in neutral. The decision by the Court in upholding this law is taking small business, which is stuck in neutral, and actually putting it in reverse. It's putting it in reverse because it is one of the largest tax impositions--call it a mandate, call it a penalty--that you could impose on small business, which is the primary economic generator in the United States. As a former businessman, I know the difficulty in trying to keep the door open, the lights on, the bills paid. This is probably creating the greatest uncertainty and the greatest depression in the creation of jobs since expansion of small business in the United States. So, indeed, the power to tax is the power to destroy. Secondly, I stand in support of the measure to repeal ObamaCare, or the President's plan for health care, because of the impact on our senior citizens. The power to destroy something they sought as seniors and a promise from our government, Medicare, to cut half a trillion dollars from Medicare is not the way to go. That's why I oppose the President's plan and ask for its repeal.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and accomplishments of a statesman and a friend, former Member of Congress Norman ``Norm'' F. Lent, who passed away on June 11th. Norm was born March 23, 1931 in Oceanside, NY on Long Island. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1952 and in 1957 got his law degree from Cornell University. After serving in the Navy for two years and achieving the rank of Lieutenant, Norm worked as a lawyer in private practice in Lynbrook, New York beginning in 1957, and served as an Associate Police Justice in East Rockaway in 1959-60. He then worked as the Confidential Law Secretary (law clerk) to New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas P. Farley from 1960-62. After leaving the private sector in 1962, Lent was elected to the New York State Senate from Nassau County, and served from 1963 until 1970, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. During his long tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Norm served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, ultimately becoming the ranking minority member of both committees often being cited as a ``key player in environmental and energy legislation.'' To Norm's wife Barbara and children, Barbara and Norman we extend our deepest sympathies. Norm truly made an indelible mark on our nation and he leaves a proud and distinguished legacy. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives join me in recognizing Norman Lents' years of service and dedication to his community, state and our Nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 717, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 4348) 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 for other purposes.

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 the conference report to accompany H.R. 4348.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, it has indeed been a very bumpy road to get to this point where we could pass a transportation bill. First, I have to thank my colleagues. I want to particularly thank the Speaker of the House of Representatives who stuck by me, who insisted that we pass this legislation that we worked on together in the best interest of the people of the United States, particularly in a time when people have lost their jobs, particularly at a time where the construction industry is at its lowest point in probably our history, and particularly at a time when it's important for Congress to act, not just to talk about problems that we have, but to get things done in the best interest of the people of the United States. So I want to thank first the Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues who participated. I want to thank the staff who have been up almost nonstop for 2 weeks day and night trying to help wrap this up. I'm not particularly pleased with some of the twists and turns. Let me say, first of all, my predecessor Mr. Oberstar, I regret that he was not able to achieve what we've achieved. He was undermined, unfortunately, by this administration to pass a bill. I tried to help him to pass a bill, not for partisan reasons or political reasons, but, again, for the people that we represent and trying to get this country, the economy moving forward. They had to pass six extensions. I was forced to pass three. But we're here today because so many people worked so hard. One of the funniest things that happened to me during the passage of this bill--and you know that people have been kind of tough on me during this process--is I came to the floor one morning after a particularly tough time, and a staffer looked at me and he said, Mr. Mica, your shirt is awfully clean. He looked at my shirt, opened my coat, and he said, Your shirt is awfully clean. I said, What do you mean? He said, For someone that's been thrown under the bus so many times, you don't have many tire tracks on you. One of the light moments in this process. But you know what you have to do is, when they throw you under the bus, you get up, you right yourself, you dust yourself off, and then you gain even more determination to win and get the job done. And that's what we're doing today. Today we're passing a bill, again, that the other side couldn't pass when they had complete control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. We're passing this today, ironically, in the week that they passed the first transportation bill in Congress, and it was signed into law back in June of 1956. This isn't the bill that exactly I would like, but this is a bill that, first of all, has the most historic reforms in the Federal participation in transportation programs in its history, since its adoption back in 1956. Those reforms are included, and there is a dramatic change in consolidation of some of the programs that mushroomed. Government mushrooms. Nobody does anything about reining in the size of government. This bill does something about that. This bill takes the plea that we've heard from Beckley, West Virginia, to the west coast, from sea to shining sea in an unprecedented number of hearings across the country. And people said the whole paperwork process, red tape of Federal Government involved in transportation projects has to be changed. And we change it here for the first time historically, dramatically reducing the time that it takes to permit and go forward with a project, dramatically reducing the cost, dramatically reducing the mandates, increasing the flexibility for local government. So we have a streamlining process, unprecedented. Now, this wasn't easy to do because my previous chairmen--and one of them that, at least, is here--they had a little thing called earmarks. In fact, the last bill had 6,300 earmarks. And you see, my hands are behind my back. I don't have them tied, but I didn't have the ability to pass out earmarks and the other little goodies in this bill. Instead, we had to focus on policy. And this is good policy. This is good policy for transportation safety. This is good policy for, again, reforms, and it's good policy for moving forward projects across the country and putting people to work. ``Shovel-ready'' will no longer be a joke. The administration, when they tried the stimulus dollars to throw that money out there, 35 percent was left in the Federal Treasury 2\1/2\ years after we passed the bill because ``shovel-ready'' even made the President and others cringe at the thought of how Federal red tape and paperwork stops projects in their progress. So those are some of the reforms. I'm grateful, again, for all that helped us move in a positive bipartisan direction. I want to compliment Senator Boxer. She and I are probably like oil and water when it comes to political philosophy, but we joined together, like everyone should do, to get the people's work done and to get people working in the United States and pass this long overdue legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), who does a wonderful job chairing and leading the Highways Subcommittee.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to one of the distinguished leaders in the House, the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), who had a great deal to do with the flood insurance provisions--worked tirelessly.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chair of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), the distinguished chair of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), one of the leaders of our committee and the chair of the Rail Subcommittee.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to one of the leaders of transportation, new on the committee, but a conferee; did an outstanding job, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), who has worked very hard for a provision, and she's going to explaining the situation that brings her here at this point.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Herrera Beutler), another conferee and a young leader in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I'd like to inquire as to how much time remains on both sides.

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

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman from West Virginia is ready to close, I am ready to close, also.

Mr. MICA. I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, it is good to be at this point in the completion of a long overdue, major transportation reform bill for the Congress and for the American people. First, I will take a moment and thank our staff: Jim Tymon, who is next to me here, is the tireless staff director of the Highway Subcommittee. He is day and night helping to sort things out, looking out for the people and making certain this bill has the very best provisions; Dan Veoni; Shant Boyajian; Geoff Strobeck; Joyce Rose; Fred Miller; Steve Martinko; Justin Harclerode, who is my press secretary, or assistant. He has always had to explain what I've said or at least clarify; Jason Rosa; my sidekick, Clint Hines, who has followed me on the floor with so many member requests; Jennifer Hall, our outstanding legal counsel; Amy Smith has some real firepower for good policy for the country and for transportation for the Nation; and then our untiring leader of the committee, Jim Coon, our staff director, who day and night neglected his beautiful family for the benefit of the people of this country; Then we even retired Jimmy Miller in the process, who headed this up for many, many years in the service to our Nation and the committee. He retired in the process, hopefully not as a result of all the hard work. He is a great American; Then there is Stephanie Kopelousos, who was on our team for a while. She is the former Secretary of Transportation from Florida, and she organized the Secretaries around the United States--I think the forward-thinking ones--to help us go through the laws and all the mess that we've created and redline it and get rid of the bureaucracy, the duplication, the costly red tape. So our hats are off to all of them and to so many more and to all of our distinguished colleagues who were conferees who worked on this. We actually engaged members in discussion, which is a new approach to a conference committee. We did that, but I'm sorry the other side was thrown under the bus, some by the administration, and particularly Mr. Oberstar, for whom I feel so bad because he waited so long and could never see this day. Then, in the process, we did not draft the legislation; Ms. Boxer's staff did. So, again, if there was anyone who felt that he didn't participate enough, I tried not to be responsible for that approach in having started, as I said, the first hearing in Beckley, West Virginia, Mr. Rahall's hometown, going all the way to the west coast to have an unprecedented, historic bipartisan and bicameral hearing in California with Barbara Boxer, who chaired the conference committee. So this is where we are. Tomorrow would actually close down thousands of transportation projects. Departments of Transportation around the country were on the verge of actually giving sort of IOUs or of giving notification to close down, and probably millions would have been put out of work if we hadn't acted. So this is very important for the American people, particularly at this time when we're on the cusp of not knowing which way the economy is going to go, but it has to go forward. There are some things in here that are also great: the RESTORE Act; student loans from which our students will benefit; national flood insurance from which people in my States and others will see reductions; transportation safety was paramount; there was a consolidation of some of the programs, streamlining, cutting red tape. We were able to do more with less and move transportation forward for the Nation. Again, I thank everyone for their cooperation. I am pleased that we've reached this point. It doesn't have everything, and a lot of people said it couldn't be done. As my son often says--and I'll close with his remarks, and he likes the Cable Guy--``Dad, git-r-done.'' Son, we got-r-done today. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. When the Founding Fathers created our government and established the committees in Congress, they had authorizing committees and they had appropriating committees. In 1808, the predecessor of this committee was established for a fundamental reason, and that's to make certain that programs and funding were properly executed and used by agencies created by Congress. Congress created the law that created the Department of Justice. Congress funded the programs that are under the Department of Justice. It's our responsibility to investigate when things go wrong. And things went wrong. An agent of the United States was murdered with weapons which were funded by the agency that we created. All we have asked for is the documents. All we want are the facts, and we have been thwarted. Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States, the highest judicial enforcement officer of the United States, has been in contempt, is in contempt, and is showing contempt for the Congress and the responsibility under the Constitution of this important committee of Congress. I urge adoption of the contempt resolution against the Attorney General.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute today to a good friend and national leader for tourism, Mr. Gary C. Sain. Gary passed away unexpectedly on Friday, May 4th after addressing a dinner event in support of the Central Florida Boys and Girls Club, which was one of his community efforts, where he provided vital leadership in support of our youth. I was at that event and spoke to Gary as he shared his excitement about Central Florida being the leading national tourist destination. Everyone in our region will testify that we have never had a better champion for tourism in Central Florida. Gary began his career in the hotel industry and held positions at several of the hotel industry's top brands for more than 40 years. He diversified his career to the cruise industry, serving as marketing director for one of the industry's top brands. As a well-respected marketing expert, Gary then went to work for a top international hospitality marketing agency. In February 2007 Gary was selected to chief executive of Visit Orlando. As the leader of the organization that markets and sells the Orlando area as the number one family leisure destination in the world, and one of the top meetings and convention destinations in America, Gary is credited with Orlando reaching a record 51.5 million visitors in 2010, the first U.S. destination to surpass the 50 million visitor milestone. In 2011 Orlando set another record with more than 55 million visitors. Gary sat on national and international boards of directors including the U.S. Travel Association, Visit Florida, Destination Marketing Association International and Meeting Planners International. He was a resource for members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, providing information on travel issues affecting America domestically and internationally. Gary was a great husband to Pam and the proud father to two lovely daughters, Olivia and Vanessa. He remains with us in sprit, fond memory and appreciation for sharing his friendship. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and memory of Gary C. Sain.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of the Montford Point Marines and the sacrifices they made in service to our Nation. The Montford Point Marines were the first African-Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps. The United States of America owes these heroes a debt of honor that can never be repaid. In June of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an Executive Order that opened the doors for African-Americans to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Between 1942 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African Americans earned the right to call themselves Marines at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Today, we honor them. I would especially like to recognize a few of the surviving members of the Florida Chapter of the Montford Point Marines. I would like to commend Marines Wilfred Carr of Palm Coast; Eli Graham, Jr. of Daytona Beach; James Huger of Daytona Beach; James Sharpe of Palm Coast; Robert Blanks of Orange City; and John Steele of Daytona Beach who have all helped keep the memory and service of the Montford Point Marine's alive in the State of Florida. The Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting tribute to the Montford Point Marines. It not only serves as an appropriate tribute to these trailblazing heroes, but also marks our Nation's endeavor toward a more perfect union, and I am pleased to offer my support.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman and my colleagues, I had intended to offer an amendment at this stage in the proceedings, but I'm not going to do it at this time because I have received some cooperation from the Appropriations Committee, and I want to thank Chairman Aderholt and the staff and others for including in this DHS bill some reforms of TSA that are long overdue. The gentleman from Georgia just mentioned that this is an agency that is out of control, and it is important that we as Members of Congress try to get agencies that spin out of control under control, and that's, I think, what we're attempting to do here. Let me say about this process, this is an incredible process and it's an open process, and so I thank our side of the aisle for allowing Members to have these opportunities. We were closed off from many opportunities in the past to make these changes that are necessary in reforming agencies like TSA. Well, let me say what they have done in this bill that is important, and one reason I'm going to support the bill--they need to go a lot further than they've gone, but one reason I'm going to support the bill is they have taken some opportunity to cut some of the administrative overhead. Listen to this: TSA has grown to 65,000 employees. Of that, there are 14,000 administrative personnel--4,000 in Washington, D.C., not very far from us, 4,000 making on average--and they've got the statistics right here, the staff will give them to you--$104,000 on average per administrative person. Ten thousand administrative people out in the field. So this bill does reduce--I believe it's by about $60 million-- some of that administrative overhead. That's only the beginning, but at least it's a beginning. This bill also cuts out programs that have failed, like the Behavior Detection Program. It reduces some of the spending there--another program that doesn't work that we need to cut funds on. It does redirect some money. And I must congratulate the committee for restoring the flight deck officer cuts. The Obama administration proposed disarming our pilots, 50 percent of that program--volunteer pilots who pay their own way to learn how to arm themselves to protect their aircraft, themselves, and their passengers; one of the most cost-effective programs we had. I guess that would be the way that the Obama administration goes. You want to keep the bureaucracy but do away with cost-effective programs. But thank you, committee members and staff, for restoring that. So almost every proposal we made from the Transportation Committee for cuts and reassignment of funds have been made here--not to the degree I would like, but at least I will say it's a beginning. Finally, let me say that we've got to do something to further get this agency under control. Last week, we learned a little bit about a meltdown in security at one of my Florida airports, Fort Myers. We got some information because we get tips all the time. Everybody tells us what's going on at TSA--except the TSA bureaucrats that are trying to protect their positions. You know, they waited until Friday afternoon and released a one-paragraph statement pooh-poohing what had taken place at Fort Myers and keeping our committee in the dark, trying to keep it from the public and the press and from Congress. I took the opportunity to let the press and the public know what I knew--which wasn't much. And thank goodness for a free and open press because they went after TSA. We found out Monday morning, along with everyone else, what they had done in not providing accurate information, not telling us it was one of the most serious of meltdowns of TSA personnel. And we've had them before in Newark and Charlotte, we've had them in New York City and others. So this is an agency that's out of control. We need to cut the bureaucracy, as they've begun to do here. We need to realign where the moneys need to be spent. I have no problem with spending money for security and making certain that terrorists don't take advantage of our most vulnerable Achilles' heel in the transportation network, and for the American public, that's aviation. We've seen them go after it again and again. But you need to spend the money where it makes the most sense and does the most as far as true aviation security. Expensive aviation theater security is not the way we're going to go. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the service of one of this body's most able, dedicated and respected employees, James R. ``Jimmy'' Miller. After 53 years of combined service here on Capitol Hill and a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, Jimmy is retiring from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Miller has ensured the smooth operation of the Committee's hearings, meetings, and functions for decades. And he has been the person that Committee Members and staff have gone to when we simply needed to get something done, because no one else has a better understanding of how the House of Representatives functions on a daily basis. It has been said that every committee has a Jimmy Miller, but Transportation has THE Jimmy Miller. Jimmy has been much more than a long-serving staffer; he has been a trusted friend to me, to other Members of Congress, and to his countless Hill colleagues for more than 30 years. While his family is undoubtedly happy they'll be seeing more of him in the coming days, we on Capitol Hill will feel his considerable absence. Jimmy's service to our country began when he joined the United States Air Force in 1959, where he rose to the rank of Command Sergeant Major, the highest rank possible for an enlisted airman. During his 28 years of distinguished service in the Air Force, Jimmy served under three Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle Wheeler, General George Brown, and General David C. Jones. In 1980, Command Sergeant Major Miller became the Air Force legislative liaison to the House of Representatives. In 1987, he retired from the Air Force and was subsequently appointed by Chairman Bob Roe to join the staff of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Jimmy then came with Chairman Roe to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation in 1991. Jimmy has shepherded numerous delegations of U.S. officials to meetings with their foreign counterparts all over the world. He has crossed the globe more times than most people, having been to more than 170 countries, and he has established many friendships along the way. Jimmy embodied a bipartisan spirit over the years, serving under six chairmen, Republicans and Democrats alike. In fact, Jimmy insisted that he equally serve all the Members of the Committee, regardless of which party led the House. Jimmy accorded all of us on the Hill with the same respect over the years, whether we've wielded a gavel or a paintbrush, and we all admire his humble professionalism and dedication. Jimmy was born on August 22, 1940 to Alyce and Robert Miller in Paulding, Ohio and was one of nine children. His parents instilled in them the values of family, God, and country and helped shape their children's personal lives and their public citizenship. Even with all of his successes, including meeting many of the world's leaders, Jimmy's most important achievement has been his own family. He has been a caring, loving, and proud father to his children, Kim, Bob, Chris, and Shawn. I know Jimmy is looking forward to spending more time with his four children, nine grandchildren, one great grandson, and his wife Peg. I will personally miss Jimmy. I consider him a close friend and I know that the House of Representatives will miss him. On behalf of this body, which he has served so well, I want to thank Jimmy for his dedicated service to our Nation and wish him a happy and healthy retirement. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and all of our colleagues to join in thanking Jimmy Miller for his years of service to the House of Representatives and our Nation. We wish him a wonderful retirement and want him to know we all appreciate his service and friendship.