Thad McCotter

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Not yet.

Mr. McCOTTER. Merry Christmas.

Mr. McCOTTER. If the gentleman will yield, let's go to the bracket between Speaker Pelosi and our colleague, Representative Bart Stupak. While Bart Stupak does has a distinct reach advantage--

Mr. McCOTTER. Let me rephrase, if I may. While Bart may have a height advantage, the Speaker has the reach advantage on this one.

Mr. McCOTTER. I think that her offense of fast-breaking arms and legs, combined with our colleague Bart Stupak's shortage of Blue Dog manpower on the bench--I think we're going to have to give this to the Speaker.

Mr. McCOTTER. I would agree. I would say that while Mr. Waxman played a better game, he spent too much time on the left side of the court. Whereas, Senator Reid was capable of smothering people with everything under the sun. You cannot argue with the final score. It is the Senate bill here.

Mr. McCOTTER. I would have to agree with that, but I would just like to point out that the Speaker and Mr. Emanuel, former teammates, know each other's games very well. This was a very, very close contest, but in the end, I believe that Mr. Emanuel was given a technical foul for profane language and the Speaker hit the free throw.

Mr. McCOTTER. I will yield to the gentleman.

Mr. McCOTTER. Looking at the chart, I'd like to first note that on the road to the championship game between Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, I see no Republicans to obstruct their path. And I think that that points out the way this process has gone. What we are witnessing now is not an argument between Republicans and Democrats; we're watching an argument amongst Democrats. Because we will have a bipartisan vote on this health care bill--and it will be in opposition. This is heartening to know that as this process goes forward, the bipartisan support for true health care reform in this country between Republicans and Democratic centrists will continue because we are supported by the American people. Fundamentally, in this debate I think the American people have reached a conclusion: that their government is not working for them. It is not listening to them. It is defying their expressed wishes. This is transcendent of the simple monetary considerations, which are great and which are dire for us. But this is really about your liberty and your relationship to your government. We do not work for government. Government works for the people. And under this health care bill, I would urge everyone to think of something. No matter how imperfect the health care system is right now, it cannot be fixed by the most broken entity in the world today, which is the United States Government. Mr. Speaker, no one in my district believes that the people who run Washington the way they do are going to do anything to improve your health care. So, in conclusion, I would just like to point out one thing. Do not give this government this type of control over your life.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. We live in a very dysfunctional time. We have heard a parade of speakers come to the microphones here in the well of the House and say they stand on the side of the American people. Yet in my 44 years of life, I have never stood on the side of someone who disagrees with me so vehemently. Overlooking it is a fundamental proposition. The Democratic Party believes that you can take an imperfect health care system and fix it by putting it under the most dysfunctional and broken entity in the United States today. It is called the Federal Government. That proposition is insane. The reality is they do not stand with the American people. They stand for Big Government making decisions in your lives. We trust the American people, and we will not turn the intimate decisions between you and your doctor over to some Federal bureaucrat. We will leave it in your hands, and we will empower patient-centered wellness and free market reforms if given the chance and a real vote.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge the Division I State Champion wrestling team from my alma mater, Detroit Catholic Central High School. On February 27, 2007, the Catholic Central Shamrocks defeated Rockford 39-24 to hoist their first State championship trophy since 1988. Third-year Head Coach Mitch Hancock, an individual State final winner for the Shamrocks in 2000, saw all 14 of his wrestlers earn a berth to the Individual State Finals. This is the first time in recent Division I history that an entire team has qualified for the Individual State meet. Three Shamrock grapplers brought home State titles to complement the team championship. Following in the remarkable tradition of legendary Catholic Central Coach Mike Rodriguez, who was both coach and mentor to current coach Mitch Hancock, the Shamrocks brought home their eighth State wrestling team title and earned Coach Hancock the Division I honors for Wrestling Coach of the Year. Madam Speaker, with a season record of 27-4, the 2010 Catholic Central Shamrocks deserve to be recognized for their determination, achievement, and spirit, and we are all very proud of their determination and effort. Equally, Madam Speaker, I also rise today to acknowledge the Division I State Championship bowling team from my alma mater, Detroit Catholic Central High School. This has been a noteworthy year for the gentlemen at Catholic Central, as the championship marks the fourth State title for the school during the 2009-2010 year. The Michigan High School Athletic Association recognized bowling as an official sport in 2006. Thus, it is impressive how the Catholic Central team has risen to State prominence in a very short time. Two members of the State championship bowling team qualified for the individual finals, and although they did not ultimately win, they represented C.C. High admirably and honorably. This year, after defeating Salem 1,856-1,824 pins in the quarterfinals, the Shamrock bowlers outdueled Flint Carman-Ainsworth 1,855-1,747 to earn a berth in the finals, setting them up to take on Macomb Dakota. On March 5, 2010, the Catholic Central Shamrocks rolled over Macomb Dakota 1,834-1,565 to earn their first State championship trophy. Coach Al Bridges saw his bowlers in seventh place after the morning qualifying round, yet in true Shamrock fashion the team kept fighting and refused to give up. As the day wore on, CC kept moving up in the standings, leading by 143 pins after the Baker games. From that point on, the Shamrocks never looked back. Coach Al Bridges credits good conditioning and a lot of practice for the payoff of winning a championship. In earning their first bowling title, the 2010 Catholic Central Shamrocks deserve to be recognized for their determination, achievement, and spirit. In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the hard work and dedication of each of these State championship teams epitomizes what it means to be a Shamrock. By the teaching of our Basilian fathers, through goodness, discipline, and knowledge, the entire Catholic Central family, including this alumnus, share in their accomplishments. In recognition of their effort, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks for achieving these State titles and for honoring their devotion to Mary, alma mater. Live and die for CC High.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 872.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. We are now a week removed from the President's celebrated health care summit, and we're a day removed from the President's press conference regarding moving ahead on the health care bill despite the wishes of the American people. Prior to the summit, which I referred to as the Shamwow Summit, I was one of the voices urging the Republicans not attend unless the President decided to start from scratch and find a principled basis for compromise amongst both sides. That principled basis was not found, and the principled divide remains. The House and Senate Republicans went into the summit and they engaged admirably and honestly in the cause of putting forward Republican solutions to health care. Yet, what we found was that afterwards the President has decided to arbitrarily negotiate with himself what he purports to be a bipartisan compromise bill, one which magically has been obtained without the consent of the minority party. As succinctly summarized by Mr. Charles Krauthammer yesterday, the summit was a Shamwow Summit, and the good faith of those Republicans in the room is now currently being used in a political charade upon the people to prepare them for the proposition that a bipartisan health care bill is before them. I quote Mr. Krauthammer: ``But they,'' the administration, ``wanted to present it to the American citizenry as having tried to reach out. That's why you had the charade of the summit last week, 7 hours of discussion, when it was already pre-cooked that that wouldn't change anything. But that's part of the deal. He,'' the President, ``wants to appear to be offering to incorporate Republican proposals. And now the pivot, which we had today.'' It is important as the health care debate continues that we not lose sight of the principled divide between the two sides. On the one hand, the Democratic majority wants to have government-run, bureaucrat- dictated health care. On the other, the Republican Party wants to have free-market, patient-centered wellness. No amount of taking Republican proposals and sprinkling them onto the faulty premise of a government- run bill will make it bipartisan or will make the Republican proposals effectual, as, contrarily, we will be taking the Democrat proposals and putting them on to a free-market, patient-centered wellness bill. It is a principled divide, one which Abraham Lincoln reminds us: important principles must remain flexible. In this instance, the bridge between the two parties has not been established and the divide remains. Also within this debate I think it is important to point out a second important aspect. This is not merely about the money. It is about the liberty. We can all talk about costs. We can all talk about coverage. In my view, the current health bill would have a catastrophic impact upon the fiscal condition of the United States, which is already tenuous at best. It is about the American people wanting to make sure they retain these decisions in their hands and that the forces that we see around us throughout the communication and innovation revolutions that empower them to make their own decisions every day at a greater extent than at any time in human history remain in their own hands rather than those of a government bureaucrat. This is not mere supposition on my part. I cite two recent poll numbers. Referring to the Rasmussen report, only 21 percent of United States citizens believe that this government has their consent. I cite a second sobering statistic: according to CNN, 56 percent of Americans believe the Federal Government is a threat to the freedom of ordinary citizens. As this health care debate proceeds forward despite the wishes of the American people, we are not only endangering their health care, we are endangering and jeopardizing their faith in their representative institutions, in their belief that this is a government of the sovereign people. So in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I again point out that there is a principled divide between the two parties: one wants government-run, bureaucrat-dictated health care; one wants free-market, patient- centered wellness. As we move toward the former, the American people's faith in their representative institutions will be continually eroded as they watch in obstinate insistence by this majority and by this administration to pass a health care bill that the American people have said they do not want.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Corporal Jacob Henry Turbett, a courageous and noble Marine, who died on February 13 at the age of 21. Corporal Turbett lost his life while bravely supporting combat operations in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Corporal Turbett was a member of the Second Combat Engineer Battalion, Second Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was a 2007 graduate of Canton High School and took part in Civil Air Patrol. He came from a celebrated military family. His grandfather, cousin and two of his uncles were in the Marines. His uncle was in the Navy and his sister, Jaime Turbett, started boot camp in the Navy only ten days before her brother was killed. Corporal Turbett followed in these proud footsteps by completing tours of duty in Bangladesh and Iraq. Additionally, he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He was a hard worker, a proud and brave American, and a loving husband to his wife Crystal, whom he married in July 2008. Along with his wife and sister he is survived by his mother, Sheila, his father, Richard and his brother, Joe Marsh, who is a sheriff's deputy in Humboldt County, California. Corporal Turbett sacrificed everything for his country in Operation Enduring Freedom. To his fellow soldiers, his family and friends, and to everyone who knew and loved him, he was a dedicated member of his community who answered the higher calling to serve his country. Madam Speaker, during his lifetime, Corporal Turbett enriched the lives of everyone around him by employing energy, leadership, and courage in everything he set out to do. As we bid farewell to this exceptional individual, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering and honoring his contributions and years of devoted service to his community and our country.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor Margaret Reyez, who is the recipient of the ATHENA award, which honors outstanding women for their leadership. After a 13-year career at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, Michigan, Margaret found her true calling when she became an Information and Media Center Clerk for the Westland Public Schools Student Libraries. In the position she still holds, Margaret promotes literacy and the benefit it brings. Margaret is also a featured history presenter in the dramatic program of Greenfield Village. Appearing as an 1871 era schoolmarm at the Scott Settlement School, Margaret brings history to life and continues her championship of literacy. Certified in 1987 as a coordinator with Rainbows for All God's Children, a support group for children suffering the loss of a parent through death or divorce, Margaret lent her caring heart to the most vulnerable in her community. In 1990, Mrs. Reyez was certified as a Youth Minister, devoting herself to that role at SS. Simon and Jude Church in her hometown of Westland. Margaret Reyez graduated in 2001 from Schoolcraft College with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. She is involved in numerous community service programs including the Red Wagon Literacy campaign. Mother to three adult children and five grandchildren, perhaps the greatest testament to Margaret Reyez comes from her daughter who credits her mother with instilling this in her children, ``You can be and do anything you want to if you just keep trying and don't give up.'' Dedicated to her community, she has tirelessly worked to identify the needs of families within the Wayne Westland School District, and is considered a mentor and role model to women in her community. Madam Speaker, Margaret Reyez has forged a legacy of commitment and dedication to helping families in the Cities of Wayne and Westland. I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring Margaret, and I congratulate her upon receiving this honor.

Mr. McCOTTER

Mr. McCOTTER. Would the gentleman yield for a question?

Mr. McCOTTER. Obviously, the President has had a very eventful first year since his inauguration. Would it not be fair to say that the rush of events and the focus on getting things done has precluded this position from being filled?

Mr. McCOTTER. Will the gentleman yield again?

Mr. McCOTTER. I just want to be clear that, despite the fact that there has been no name forwarded--let alone confirmed--for the position at CMS, we do have two appointees of the Marine Mammal Commission.

Mr. McCOTTER. In fairness, as a Detroiter, it sounds like a Matt Millen draft. I yield back.

Mr. McCOTTER. Yes. To the Chair, the gentleman from Ohio referenced a stimulus bill, which, as we all know, did, in fact, protect AIG bonuses, and was signed into law. What is also in the stimulus bill is a provision to set up the comparative effectiveness research advisory board--the positions of which have been filled, by the way. Now, the point of the comparative effectiveness ideology is to have government determine through this board what is most cost-effective in terms of your health care treatment by a concept known as ``life years.'' Is the cost worth it to add X number of years to your life or to improve the quality? Many of us consider that inherently inhumane and not the proper function of a limited government. Yet that was approved in the stimulus bill. So, like the health care bill which has followed it and that the public is having, as you say, shoved down its throat, I think that, as America continues to find out about the comparative effectiveness research council, they are going to find that equally hard to swallow. I yield back.

Mr. McCOTTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. It's certainly not funny, humorous, when we understand that, recently, we've just heard that the election of Senator Brown from Massachusetts was due to, in many ways, according to the administration, the public's lack of having adequate information about what was in the bill. We have heard that this administration and this Congress have been too busy acting to do enough talking so that we can do enough understanding as the American people. It would seem to me that, if one wants to make the argument that the American people haven't had sufficient information regarding what's in the bill and why it's in their best interest, the last place you would wish to hold your meetings regarding that bill would be behind closed doors, out of public sight. It strikes me that--to use a medical term, actually, a criminal term--do not blame the victim. Do not claim the American people do not understand what's in this bill or that they have not had adequate information when it is you who are, in fact, keeping that information from them, especially because you realize that, when the American people have seen what's in this bill and what you intend to do to have government run their health care and to make some of their most intimate life decisions for them, they've rejected it. I yield back to the gentleman.

Mr. McCOTTER. I thank the gentleman. This segues into another point on the chart, the sweetheart deals that were made with big pharmaceutical industries and others to try to get this bill passed. But the converse is the heartless deals that were also made to get this bill passed. The gentleman has talked about the disparate treatment amongst the States, which helps to explain why the bill is being handled behind closed doors so the public cannot see what Mr. Milbank, thankfully, is able to write under the Constitution. One of the two heartless deals is the taxpayer funding of abortion which is in the Senate bill. And at this point, I would like to thank our Democratic colleague Bart Stupak for his efforts here to ensure that the House bill carried his provision to prevent the taxpayer funding of abortion. It was a rare moment of bipartisanship and a very difficult issue. He has been a man of strong courage and conviction and held his ground, and hopefully we could still see that provision remain if something is passed. We have also seen the heartless deal of, as has been mentioned, cutting a half trillion dollars from Medicare. That doesn't sound like a very good deal for the senior citizens. And in the end, there is also a hidden deal that the American people don't, I think, quite realize the extent to which it is going to hurt them. The deal is this: within these bills is the concept, the quality and continuation of your life and the health care you require to perpetuate it and improve it is tied to the cost to the government. I want to be clear on this. We discuss this in our Republican House policy pamphlet, ``We, the People,'' which you can see on line at RepublicanHouse.com. The fundamental tenets of the health care bill before us set forward a heartless deal whereby your life and health care will be determinate upon its cost to the government. And that is because the underlying theory is that government can control health care costs by controlling the supply of health care and your decisions. It is absolutely backwards. A better deal for the American people would be to realize you have an inherent sanctity and dignity and liberty that allows you to pursue your health and wellness and happiness, absent its cost to the government, as long as you don't hurt other people; and to make sure that we go towards a patient-centered wellness that empowers individuals as consumers of health care to be able to make their own decisions, and allow the free market that is born of that to increase the supply of health care to reduce costs. A far better deal for the American people from their servant government. I yield back.

Mr. McCOTTER. If we did, they're not in my district.

Mr. McCOTTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. On the point about the sweetheart deals and the disparate treatment amongst the States, we have to remember that in the haste to pass this bill and in the haste of the backroom dealing and the haste of trying to ``incentivize'' their own Democratic colleagues' votes in the Senate, you have to remember that the rule of law applies equally to all individuals. As a free Republic composed of 50 sovereign States, it is critical that all States be treated equally under the law, under the Constitution. In their haste to pass this bill, they are endangering one of the fundamental foundations of a constitutionally based free Republic. That is a very grave mistake to make, no matter how much you attempt to reform anything, especially when dealing with the body politic. I yield back.