John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, this is an extension of what would be known as the ``aviation bill.'' I come before the House asking for one extension under the leadership of the new majority in Congress. I also come to the floor to explain the history of how we got here today with 17 extensions. In 2001, I had the honor and privilege of being named the chair of the Aviation Subcommittee. Not knowing what the future would hold, of course, all of our lives changed on September 11, 2001, and mine did, too. In 2003, we passed a 4-year authorization: The Federal Government must provide authorization and set the policy for the operation of our Nation's aviation system and for the FAA, which is the primary and lead agency. The bill that we passed in 2003 sets forth the policy and the funding for all the projects and everything eligible for Federal participation. It authorizes all the programs. When we did that again in 2003, we did a 4-year bill. In 2007, the bill that I helped author and that we brought before the Congress--again after the fateful days of 2001, after the tragedy, and again after the difficulty the aviation industry saw from 2001 to 2003--the bill that expired in 2007, the 4-year bill, was extended some 17 times. That is shameful and irresponsible that we find ourselves in a situation where we haven't passed policy. Now, why is this important? Most of the emphasis in this Congress should be on getting people back to work. If we have people working, most of our problems are solved. The States would have revenue, and the Federal Government would have revenue. Yet it's absolutely amazing, when you have the aviation industry, which accounts for 9.2 percent of our gross domestic product and activity in the United States--9.2 percent--that the Federal Government and Congress did not have in place a long-term policy and blueprint, which is set forth in that authorization legislation. So 17 times we've come to the floor, and there have been these short-term extensions of the bill that we passed originally in 2003 and that expired in 2007. That's the situation we find ourselves in. Now, several weeks ago, we did pass in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a long-term 4-year bill. The Senate has acted, the other body, and they've passed a bill. If it had been just our committee, we probably could have had the bill up a little bit quicker, but we do rely on several other committees to add input into this process. We have the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which just before we left last week completed their portion of the bill. We have the Ways and Means Committee, which also has part of the financial responsibility, the Ways and Means' responsibility, in the legislation for the extension, and they finished their work. We do need a little bit more time to come to conference, and I pledge an open conference. In the past, legislation has been decided behind closed doors. I hope this to be an open process. This extension will run us through May 31, I believe, of this year, the end of May, and it is my hope that the first bill that we can get done will be done with this one extension for, again, authorizing all of our aviation programs for the Nation. So that's the situation we find ourselves in. We need to pass this legislation because the current 17th extension expires at the end of this week, and we must have this in place to make certain that we can even function in any manner, even though we don't have all the details of new legislation in place, which I pledge to do in the next 60 days. With that explanation, I would like to thank the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, the gentleman and our leader on aviation issues, Mr. Petri.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), another leader of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the chair of the Rail Subcommittee.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee, who is one of the primary leaders in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Mr. Duncan.

Mr. MICA. Well, congratulations my colleagues. Welcome to the era of smoke and mirrors, and that's exactly what this motion to recommit is; and I urge its defeat. You heard the gentleman describing bridges. He, again, is trying to mislead the entire House on this particular motion to recommit. It is smoke and mirrors. I urge the defeat of the motion to recommit.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 662.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. MICA. I would like to inquire as to the balance of time on each side.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, again, this is a purely technical amendment and reviewed by both sides of the aisle in both bodies. We found three technical changes to correct drafting errors in H.R. 662. We want this to go to the President. We want it signed, and we want to make certain that it has all the technical provisions necessary and clear language. So the amendment adds two commas to the bill on page 12 and also another on 15. And on page 15, it also strikes an authorization in the current extension that H.R. 662 failed to strike. So it's purely technical in nature, but we do want it correct. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I come to the floor today to pass the extension of our major surface transportation legislation, that's H.R. 662. I would like to first lead off by informing Members and the Speaker that this extension is a spending freeze at 2010 levels through September 30. We find ourself in a situation where the major transportation legislation that authorizes all of the policies, the various projects, all the funding levels and all of the activities that are so important to job creation, to building the Nation's infrastructure, that legislation expired September 30, 2009. In the past Congress, since that time, we have passed a number of short-term extensions. We are now on the sixth extension of that legislation. What happens when the Congress does this is we end up sending the worst message and the worst policy possible across the Nation, across the land, to our States and our localities that are trying to build the Nation's infrastructure and trying to determine what Federal policy, what their partnership and funding relationship will be with the Federal Government. Right now, in a time in which across this Nation we are experiencing some of the worst unemployment, in my district I have some areas with 17 percent unemployment. And where is that unemployment? That's in the construction industry. So it's critical that we pass an extension of the current legislation and extension that we are on, the sixth extension that we are on, and we do that before Friday. Friday is when the current extension expires. Again, this is important for jobs. Why? Our State transportation departments have only been able to do small projects. Now, they have done some sidewalks, and they have done some repaving, and they have done some minor construction projects. But because they don't have a dependable Federal partner and the hiccup manner in which we have provided policy judgment funding direction as far as our Federal law for major transportation projects, because it's been done in such a helter-skelter fashion, people are not employed. Projects do not move forward. This is the worst time that this could happen. I am determined that that won't happen again. Now, I might like to do a short-term extension, and some people have said we should do that. But the responsible thing for us to do now is to pass through the fiscal year--and this extension takes us to September 30--so States can plan, so people can get back to work, so we have some semblance of policy regarding building the Nation's infrastructure in place now. People are crying out for jobs across this country, and we may not pass any other piece of legislation this year but our transportation and infrastructure legislation. This, and the FAA reauthorization, in addition to highway and surface and all the other modes, our FAA extensions have become almost the saddest commentary you could have on building, again, the Nation's important infrastructure. We have done 17 extensions of the FAA legislation, so our airports and others can't plan. Now, we are not going to let that happen under our watch. We are going to set policy today and extend until the end of this fiscal year in a responsible manner. Some people on the conservative side of the aisle, and I will match my credentials with any of them, want to know about the money that's being spent. This is not money that's general revenue. This is entirely within the trust fund, the Federal Highway and Transit Trust Fund. When we came here, we also said we were going to force the Congress to spend more money in general revenue than we had in that fund, and this extension adheres to the policy that we won't be reckless in spending and we won't spend beyond what we have in the fund. This extension only expends funds from within that trust fund. So I want my conservative friends--and I consider myself in the conservative fiscal corner, the responsible corner in spending--to know that that is the way this is crafted. So, again, I think we have an obligation to move forward. We are doing it on a sound basis. We are freezing at the 2010 levels. And we will be able, at least until September, to get people to work. Now, I know sometimes I can move legislation along in this body, and I work hard sometimes to do that. But I can tell you I cannot pass a full authorization bill by this Friday. We just took over, again, some of these responsibilities a few weeks ago. We've had six extensions. I don't want to get to, again, into a situation where we are doing these short-term, job-killing extensions. So that's the reason that we're here. That's the responsibility that we have as a Congress in moving forward and again setting that policy and setting a timeframe in which our States and others who actually do these projects can operate. And again, it's being done within the responsible parameters that this new Congress and the House of Representatives has set forward. I do want to say, finally, that I thank my colleague, Mr. Rahall, who is the ranking member, for his interest in moving forward with a long- term bill. In reaching out, we held the first of our hearings, and we're doing these around the country. We've done more than a dozen from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We started in Beckley, West Virginia, a little over a week ago, in the hometown of the ranking member because we want our permanent legislation to be long term, a 6-year bill, to have in place sound policy. We want it done on a bipartisan basis. And to ensure also that it was done on a bicameral basis, we did almost an unprecedented hearing with Senator Boxer, the gentlelady from California, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee of the United States Senate. We did a joint bicameral, bipartisan hearing in Los Angeles last week to kick off our larger effort to, again, have in place the very best policy regarding our infrastructure for the Nation. So with those comments, again, I want to thank folks that we have an agreement here to move forward. We need to do that. We need to get people working in this country and do it in a responsible fashion. And I believe that H.R. 662 will do that. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, February 28, 2011. Hon. John Mica, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Mica: I am writing concerning H.R. 662, the ``Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011,'' 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, and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. 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. 662, 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. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. MICA. I have no further requests for time, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. I yield myself the balance of my time. Each of us who is sent to Congress, Madam Speaker, has certain responsibilities. First, we have responsibilities to our constituents in our districts. Then we are sent here, and by the grace of the good Lord, on our side the steering committee, the approval of leadership and our colleagues, we get to do certain tasks. Mine is now to try to shepherd forward transportation policy for our country. That's an important responsibility, again, because we have millions of Americans who don't have jobs. Probably the hardest thing that I face when I go home or when I talk to folks across the country and in my district are the people who have lost their homes, who can't make their mortgage payments or who are struggling. They want to go to work, most of them I've talked to, and they don't have the opportunity. Now, I know a new Congress has come, and that new Congress has been sent a very clear message about spending, about conserving assets and resources here. I think that Congress gets it and that the American people have mandated that approach. We can also many times be here, doing things that might prove a political point; but from time to time, we have to step back, and we have to do something for the very good of the country. I think this is one of those times that we have an important obligation. What will happen on Friday, if we don't act accordingly today and pass H.R. 662, is literally a disaster because we will shut down all of the transportation projects across the land, those projects that have any connection to the Federal Government. Now, we have also said that we can't pass in continuing resolutions the authorization for legislation, so that's the situation we find ourselves in today. We have a bipartisan agreement to move forward. We have an opportunity to actually expand and define the time in which we can accomplish the important work of government. Some people say, oh, these are just transportation projects. Yet, if you go back to the very beginning of the Nation, they came together first for national security; but then the Founding Fathers--Washington, Jefferson--were pretty smart. They also wanted to be able to do infrastructure projects that transcended arbitrary political boundaries. I love to read about Washington and his vision to open the canals and the post roads. Some of the first work of the Congress was to authorize transportation and infrastructure projects for the Nation, through the vision of people like Lincoln, to connect the continent. So that kind of leadership has come from people in the past, and we have that responsibility today to move forward. So I think that people can go home after they vote for this and say, I did something positive. We acted in a fiscally responsible way. We're dealing with the trust fund money that people have paid in. When they put gallons of gasoline in their cars, they paid 18.4 cents, which went into the trust fund. We didn't spend recklessly, but we did act responsibly and we're getting people working again. And we did it in a period of time, not the hiccup and the sporadic six passed extensions, in a timeframe in which we can actually get major infrastructure projects, people working again. So I think we can all take heart in a bipartisan effort that we've had here that Congress can work and the people's work can get done by people coming together. I know we still have disagreements on policy, and I've pledged to work on both sides. I even offered to buy the beer and pizza when we finish the listening tours. And with Senator Boxer, she wanted, I think, fruit drinks, and I'll even throw those in, too, if we can come together and establish sound policy for the Nation so infrastructure can move forward. And we can do it. I really think we can do it. So we have 6 months of definition. We have 6 months to get the rest of the job done. But I'm confident that everybody here today can join and we can make a difference, a difference for those people wanting us to be responsible and do what they sent us here for.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 128, I call up the bill (H.R. 662) 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. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to another outstanding member and a new member of our committee who has great local government experience as a former mayor, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta).

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MICA. The number is 62,000, of which we have 3,770 administrative personnel in Washington, DC, and another over 9,000 administrative personnel in non-screening positions across the country.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Aderholt, first of all, I want to thank you for recognizing me and also giving me this opportunity to speak on my amendment which in consultation with you, Mr. Chairman, I will withdraw and not offer. That is amendment, I believe it's numbered 543 as printed. Mr. Aderholt, first I want to thank you for your pledge to continue to work with your subcommittee and our full committee in your rigorous oversight of how the Transportation Security Administration is spending our scarce resources. Unfortunately, the TSA bureaucracy has mushroomed since 9/11 from a workforce of 16,500 to 62,000 employees today. The purpose of my amendment is my concern about the growth and administrative overhead--a huge number of personnel. TSA has more employees than the Department of State, the Department of Education and Labor, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development combined. Now listen to this: TSA headquarters, which is within a few miles of where we're standing, has 3,776--latest count--administrative bureaucrats employed, and 27 percent are supervisors of them. The average pay of these 3,700-plus bureaucrats here is $105,000. Having helped create TSA in the aftermath of 9/11, I can tell you we never intended to support this kind of bureaucracy. Now listen to this: if you think the bureaucracy in Washington is bad, there are 9,233 non-screener employees at the airports across the country. There are only 400 airports in the program. That's 20 bureaucrats per airport on average. This agency is totally out of control. In addition, in the 2012 budget, they have asked for 3,300 more positions. In its nearly 10 years since creation, Mr. Chairman, TSA still lacks the institutional capacity to become a performance-driven organization. On January 28, TSA shut down the most successful screening program we had. We set up two models, both with Federal supervision and one using private contractors. Every positive initiative we have ever gotten from TSA came from those programs, and they shut it down. In addition, one week later, they granted collective bargaining rights to TSA workers. It is time that we dramatically reform TSA and cut its massive administrative bureaucracy. I will work with you. My cuts are not as surgical as maybe they need to be, but we will work with you to improve its mission. My goal is for less bureaucracy and to redirect TSA to its important security mission. Finally, the failure of TSA puts this Nation at risk--read the GAO reports--with the total failure of the SPOT program, the behavior recognition program. Get the classified briefings on the failure of the advanced technology. They went out and bought $500 million worth of equipment, and spent another $500 million to install it. The failure is dramatic. You can read that as Members of Congress. The failure of the pat-down program. Everyone is getting patted down. Do you think that's helpful? I implore Members to get a classified briefing and see, again, the results of that failure. The failure to have even a pilot identification. Six years ago, I asked for a pilot identification that's durable, not something that looks like it came out of a crackerjack box, with the pilot's photograph on it and a biometric measure. After spending millions of dollars, TSA gave a card, but the only pilots on it were Wilbur and Orville Wright. The biometric measure that they put in is a total failure. Any credit card you have in your wallet has a better capability than what they have produced. It is failure after failure, and they put us at risk. I thank you for offering to work with me to make the necessary changes.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(2) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and clause (b) of Rule I of the Rules of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I submit the Rules of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 112th Congress. On January 26, 2011, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met in open session and adopted these Committee Rules by voice vote with a quorum present. Rules of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, United States House of Representatives, 112th Congress, Adopted January 26, 2011

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and accomplishments of an educator, a statesman and a friend, Clark Maxwell, Jr., who passed away on January 18th. Clark, was born August 21, 1934, in St. Petersburg. He grew up in Winter Park and graduated from Florida Southern College in 1956. After serving in the Army, he moved to Melbourne in 1959 and worked for Pan Am during the beginning years of the space program. After leaving the private sector, Clark began his public service while serving as Member of the Brevard County School Board. Moving forward, as he always did, Clark decided to run for and won election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1974 and finally the Florida Senate in 1978. He served six years in that body and was eventually elected Republican Leader. His passion was always education. It began at the local level, progressed to a regional level, and matured at the state level, when he resigned from the Florida Senate in 1984 to become Executive Director of the State Board of Community Colleges. He served with distinction in that position until 1997 when he formally retired. But retirement had a different meaning to Clark. After moving to Flagler County, Clark continued to support education and even hosted a television program called ``Eyes on Education''; an appropriate name as Clark always did have his eye out for improving the educational system in Florida. To Clark's wife Margo and his three children, Clark III, Judy Henderson, and Marcia Maxwell, we extend our deepest sympathies. Clark truly made an indelible mark on education in Florida. In our community, he always stressed integrity, compassion and public service, and through that principled dedication he leaves a proud and distinguished legacy. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives join me in recognizing Clark Maxwell's years of service and dedication to our community, our state and our Nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 22, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' Stated against:

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I would like to rise to engage Chairman Dreier in a brief colloquy regarding the highway funding point of order that is included in this rules package as clause 3 of rule XXI. It is my understanding that this point of order makes no change in the manner in which highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, and transit programs are currently funded, which is through contract authority derived from the highway trust fund and provided in authorization acts. Rather, the new point of order provides that Members will have the ability under House rules to offer amendments to reduce funding for such programs, if they choose to do so. In the interest of clarity and mutual understanding, I want to be assured that my understanding of this proposed change to clause 3 of rule XXI is correct.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Patrick D. Deans who was killed in military action December 12, 2010 in Afghanistan, Kandahar Province. This 22 year old youthful Army soldier and his family lived in and near the 7th Congressional District. Patrick was raised in the St. Cloud area and I never had a chance to meet him. Because he did not reside in my congressional district at the time of his death I was not officially notified of his passing. I read about Patrick's life and his service and his death in our local newspaper. When I read what this young soldier wrote in his Facebook posting on November 10th, one month prior to his being killed in a suicide bomber attack, I felt compelled to include his words and some of his life story in the Congressional Record. In his commentary Patrick said, ``A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including their life. That is beyond honor and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact.'' What an incredible statement and prophetic observation from this young man and hero. Before his sacrifice of his own life he clearly realized the commitment he had made to his Nation and also mentioned a reality of how military service and sacrifice is often forgotten by people and public officials. I believe it's important on not only Memorial Day and Veterans Day and now during the holidays and in fact every day that we remember the sacrifice of Patrick D. Deans and thousands of other men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live as a free people. Patrick grew up in East Orange county Florida and moved to Narcoossee and east Osceola where he attended Harmony High and played football. He later resided in East Orange County and graduated in 2006 from Timber Creek high school where he was a member of Air Force ROTC Program. Patrick joined the Army in 2007 and served as an Infantryman until his deployment. His awards and decorations include: Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Medal and Overseas Ribbon. He was posthumously promoted to corporal. He is the only child of Patrick M. Deans, a corporal with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and Robyn Deans of Seminole County Florida. Along with my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives I extend my deepest sympathy to Patrick's family and the eternal gratitude of our Nation.