Tom Marino

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I sat here quietly listening to the argument from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and I find it absolutely amazing that they say because the President would not sign this bill and because the Senate would not pass this bill--they are right, the Senate wouldn't pass it. There are hundreds of bills on Harry Reid's desk that he will not bring to the floor for a vote, and certainly the President would not encourage that to be done. But we are doing our job here in the House. We have put a lot of time and effort in this. We looked at this law and realized what had to be done. I come from a law-and-order background, and we don't have law and order. We have distrust, we have gangs coming across, we have drugs coming across the southern border, and my colleagues on the other side don't want to do anything about it. Something that I find quite interesting about the other side, under the leadership of the former Speaker and under the leadership of their former leader, in 2009 and 2010, they had the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they knew this problem existed. They didn't have the strength to go after it back then, but now we are trying to make a political issue out of it now. What we need to do is pass this legislation, make sure that these children get back to their families, and we need to line up and protect this border from people coming across. Yes, it is true. I did the research on it. You might want to try it. You might want to try it, Madam Leader. Do the research on it. Do the research. I did it. That is one thing that you don't do.

Mr. MARINO. It works both ways, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. MARINO. With that, I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation because, apparently, I hit the right nerve.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of Little League Baseball. Little League was founded by Carl Stotz in my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1938. Little League's success is because of the dedication of the volunteers, coaches, organizers, and especially youth that participate in this organization around the world. For the past 75 years, Little League timelessly worked to grow the support of baseball and participation of youth in physical activity. Since its inception, over 35 million kids have participated in Little League baseball, with currently 2.4 million children playing in more than 80 countries around the world in over 7,000 programs. This year, some of these 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls will join in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to celebrate their accomplishments as they play in the 68th Little League World Series. I am honored to offer my congratulations to Little League Baseball. I commend the League for continuing to promote the ideals of fair play, sportsmanship, and teamwork; providing a solid foundation of skills and ethics that will assist these children for the rest of their lives. I am honored to offer my congratulations to all the participants, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, and organizers of Little League and Honor their dedication to the sport of baseball and the improvement of youth around the world.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, in early 2013, a pharmacist told me about problems he was having accessing necessary prescriptions for his customers, many of whom were older cancer patients suffering with chronic pain. What started out as a simple conversation with a constituent soon turned into serious concerns about problems in the prescription drug supply chain, problems that we aim to address here today by passing H.R. 4709, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act. Any legitimate business involved in distributing or dispensing prescriptions welcomes appropriate oversight and regulation. Further, we know these businesses value a collaborative working relationship with agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration. Manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies alike are on the front lines every day in the fight to end the prescription drug abuse epidemic. They are making efforts to educate prescribers and patients about the safe use and disposal of prescriptions and working to implement prescription drug monitoring programs that will reduce the illegal diversion of powerful opioid pain relievers. Despite a strong commitment to being part of the solution, distributors and pharmacists are finding that the unnecessary adversarial regulatory environment created by the DEA is putting effective enforcement outcomes in jeopardy. As a former district attorney and United States attorney, I have fond memories of working with DEA agents to put away drug dealers. To say that I have the highest regard for the DEA and the work they do does not even begin to convey my respect for the agency and its front-line employees. I actually went with agents and busted down drug houses. They were watching my back. I trusted them then, and I trust them now. That is why I am so passionate about this subject and why I think it is necessary to pass H.R. 4709 today. This bill will bring much-needed clarity to critical provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. In doing so, we will ensure that the DEA's authorities are not abused and threatened by future legal challenges; foster greater collaboration, communication, and transparency between the DEA and supply chain; create more opportunities to identify bad actors at the end of the supply chain; and, most importantly, be certain that prescriptions are accessible to patients in need. We are all in this together. We cannot enforce our way out of this epidemic. Education, treatment, and enforcement are all critical to addressing the problem, but so is collaboration. The clarity that H.R. 4709 brings will ensure that the current regulatory culture evolves into one that rewards cooperation and brings more successful diversion control efforts in the future. I want to thank my friend, Congresswoman Blackburn, for working closely with my team and me to develop the bill. I want to thank our champions on the other side of the aisle, Dr. Judy Chu and Representative Peter Welch, for their leadership and efforts to bring us here today. We could not have achieved this without the efforts of Chairman Pitts and Chairman Upton and their staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I also must thank House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte for his forthright suggestions that made this a more effective measure worthy of consideration by this House.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 406, I was unable to get back in time to vote because my daughter was very ill. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 405, I was unable to get back in time to vote due to my daughter being very ill. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5081. It is an absolute outrage that between 100,000 and 300,000 American youth are currently at risk for becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking right here in the United States. Although we know there are many factors that make youth particularly vulnerable to traffickers and exploiters, such as age range, history of abuse, living in an impoverished community, and many others, the most astounding indicator a child will be trafficked is whether or not he or she is in foster care--in the foster care system at all. In 2013, 60 percent of the child sex trafficking victims recovered as part of an FBI nationwide raid from over 70 cities were children from foster care or group homes. Make no mistake about it. Our foster care system provides an essential service to our communities and our children. In fact, my wife and I have housed children from this system. However, we are simply not doing enough to protect these children from being preyed upon. This is why I have worked with my colleague, Congresswoman Karen Bass, to introduce H.R. 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014. This bill would make much-needed reforms to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure States increase their child protection service plans and that we increase the data being reported to Congress. To enact good law in Congress, we simply need as many facts at our fingertips as possible. Sadly, criminals in the child trafficking industry have become adept at lurking in the shadows and evading law enforcement, leaving us with very poor records and data on the activity. This is why Congresswoman Bass and I are calling on States to work with us to strengthen our records and data logs so that we can more effectively craft laws to stop these criminals moving forward. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bipartisan bill, because when it comes to those who are the most innocent among us, they deserve as much protection as possible.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MARINO. I thank the chair and the ranking member for their hard work and dedication during the appropriations process, and I look forward to working with them on a number of important issues surrounding the treatment of taxpayers by the IRS. Mr. Chairman, I will be withdrawing this amendment at the conclusion of my allotted time. However, I wish to make a point. I agree with the steps the committee has taken within this legislation, but feel more must be done to ensure equal treatment for all taxpayers. My amendment would prohibit the IRS from pursuing claims against taxpayers for underpayment where the issue is lost records, except in the case of fraud. According to its own publications, the IRS recommends that taxpayers keep records up to 7 years--and more in some cases--to respond to potential audits. This is often necessary for individuals and corporations to retain records for years and potentially longer for businesses depending upon the circumstances and types of records. The loss of records can have significant repercussions for the taxpayer and can result in penalty fees and payments of back taxes with interest. Should these taxpayers be audited, the burden is on them-- yes, the burden is on them--to produce proper records, not the IRS. While these regulations make sense, as we do not want taxpayers improperly withholding taxes they properly owe under the current tax system, it is unfortunate that the one agency promulgating the regulations does not follow these strict standards. We now know the IRS, through its employee Ms. Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, unfairly targeted and scrutinized conservative groups in their applications for tax-exempt status. Under the IRS' rules, Ms. Lerner was required to retain her records discussing policy decisions and discussions in paper form, including those related to the decision to probe conservative organizations. However, Ms. Lerner refused to follow protocol, and to make matters worse, her email copies were lost due to a so-called computer crash. Given Ms. Lerner's blatant disregard to keep records properly in accordance with IRS rules, it is patently unfair to require taxpayers to follow such burdensome standards. In addition, the IRS Commissioner testified on the topic of Ms. Lerner's emails multiple times before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suggesting that there would be no issue in producing the emails. However, the Commissioner knew there was an issue with Ms. Lerner's computer in February and that the emails were certainly lost in March. Despite this knowledge, he failed to notify Congress until June. This is outrageous. While the IRS is trying to evade explaining the loss of records, we should prohibit the IRS from mercilessly pursuing taxpayers for the exact same fault. With that, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), my colleague and the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. MARINO. I do. I am going to do that in my closing, sir. I thank the chairman for his support of the principle of my amendment. While I recognize this would be legislative language in an appropriations bill, I welcome the opportunity to work with the chair and my other colleagues to properly investigate this situation and ensure that similar situations of government abuse do not arise in the future. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 339, I was unable to get to D.C. to make votes due to a personal conflict, a friend's funeral. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 340, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Richard ``Dick'' Welteroth from my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Richard Welteroth lived a very accomplished life. He served as a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol for 30 years where he earned the rank of major. He was highly regarded in the community due to his public service which included being an Eagle Boy Scout Troop Leader of Troop 35 at St. Boniface, coaching Sunday school basketball, and helping to hone the talents of prospective baseball pitchers. Mr. Welteroth is best known for his career as pitcher for the Washington Senators in the late 1940's and early 1950's, where he played against baseball greats like Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, and Joe Dimaggio. He made his debut to the game at the age of 20. In his first season for the Senators, he played in 33 games. Overall, Welteroth played in 90 games for the Senators, with four starts, allowed only 185 hits, 145 walks and 55 strikeouts. Mr. Welteroth was admired by everyone in my hometown. When he finished his career in baseball, he returned to Williamsport, PA, and worked as a roofer, while continuing to coach baseball to the area kids. He always taught one the value of hard work and good sportsmanship, while never raising his voice in the process. He possessed a knack that developed young players into high caliber athletes who went on to compete at higher levels. He knew what made a great baseball player. I will never forget all of the lessons that Coach Welteroth taught me as he was helping me to perfect my fastball. He worked countless hours with me to develop my delivery and turned me into, not only the best baseball player I could be, but the best person I could be. Dick Welteroth will be dearly missed.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support this legislation. I was a U.S. Attorney for several years. My staff and I prosecuted a prostitution ring. There were several defendants. All the defendants were convicted. The convictions were affirmed on appeal. Women and girls from in their twenties down to their teens, low teens, were kidnapped, tortured mentally and physically, and raped, repeatedly. A wire tap revealed that the defendants were on the phone complaining that their hands hurt so much from beating the victims to get them to do what they did not want to do. The sentences of the defendants were lengthy. In fact, one of the ring leaders, who went by the name William ``Sleazy T'' Williams, an appropriate name, received 45 years in prison. This is the quintessential reason why we must pass this legislation.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I was U.S. attorney for the middle district of Pennsylvania for several years. My staff and I prosecuted a prostitution ring. There were several defendants, all were convicted. Convictions were affirmed on appeal. The victims were women and girls from their twenties down to their teens to their low teens. They were kidnapped, tortured, mentally and physically abused, and raped multiple times. Wiretaps revealed that the defendants, the pimps, were on the telephone complaining that their hands hurt so much from beating the girls into doing what the girls did not want to do. The sentences of the defendants were lengthy. In fact, one of the ringleaders who went by the name of William Sleazy T. Williams--the name is appropriate--received 45 years in prison. This legislation must be passed.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Afaf I. Meleis, outgoing Dean of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing. Dr. Meleis has served as Dean for 12 years, and will be truly missed by her students and colleagues. Dr. Meleis assumed her role as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of nursing in 2002, and under her leadership, Penn Nursing is now regarded as one of the world's most regarded schools of nursing. Thanks to Dr. Meleis, Penn Nursing is now internationally renowned for their innovative research, teaching and practice and the School has established departments of Behavioral Health Sciences and Family and Community Health. Dr. Meleis is internationally recognized for her work in nursing theory and her devotion to the health of women and girls. Dr. Meleis has intensified efforts to improve the health of women around the world by creating academic partnerships, and developing relationships with the United Nations and other international organizations dedicated to equity and well-being. The first time I met her, my daughter Chloe and I had joined her for a CARE learning tour in West Africa, I was so overwhelmed by her compassion and dedication. Her expertise and brilliance are quickly made known to those around her, but it is her endless humanitarian work and advocacy for children which is most admirable. Her work as the Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, has elevated the program to what it is today: one of the leading nursing graduate schools in the world. Although I have only known Dr. Meleis for a short time, she has made a tremendous impact in Chloe's and my life. I want to congratulate her on her long and successful tenure she has served as Dean. She has gone above her duty to ensure that the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, is regarded as a top tier nursing program, and I wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 180, I was not able to get to D.C. by the time votes were called due to a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 182, I was unable to return in time for votes due to a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 184, I was unable to make votes due to a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 181, I was unable to be in town for votes due to a personal matter. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 183, I was unable to make votes due to a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MARINO

Mr. MARINO. Thank you, Congressman Kelly. I appreciate this. It is an honor to be here with you, and it is an honor to be setting the record straight. You know, I spent a couple minutes in here listening to my colleagues about what we are not doing and what they are doing. The facts and figures that they are throwing out are coming from the White House. They change on a regular basis. We will get into that stuff in a little bit. But I want to hold up something and show it to the American people and then touch on it a little bit, about what we have done in the House of Representatives. What the Republicans have done in the House of Representatives for the 113th Congress--that is just last year and this year. That is not including the legislation that we passed in the 112th Congress, from 2011 to 2012. I am holding in my hand here the names, the numbers, the dates, and the details of 220 bills that the House passed--220 bills. Some of it was with support from a handful of Democrats who saw that this is good legislation, that it will create jobs, it will keep taxes low. It does away with job-crushing regulation. It lets the private sector do what it does best. It allows the hardworking taxpayers to have a level playing field. I am just going to recite some of the bills. I am not going to go over nearly all 220 bills that are sitting on Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid's desk that he refuses to bring to the floor for a vote. I ask the Democrat leader: Senator Reid, what are you afraid of? Why do you not bring these bills to the floor for a vote so the American people can see the legislation and how their Senators vote for it? They can see it right here in the House. They can go to our Web site. They can go to the congressional Web site. They can see how we voted on legislation. I think it is despicable that one person in Congress can hold up 220 pieces of legislation and hide it from the American people. And do you know why he does it? Politics. There is an election coming up this year. He doesn't want his Democrat Senators to have a voting record. Well, that is why we are here. We are supposed to have a voting record. We are supposed to represent the American people. Some of the legislation concerns energy, the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, H.R. 2231; Northern Route Approval Act, H.R. 3; hydropower regulation; Energy Consumers Relief; Coal Residuals Reuse; Federal Lands; Energy and Water appropriations; Department of Defense appropriations; Homeland Security appropriations; Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs; the SKILLS Act; Student Success Act; the RAPID Act, which does away with regulation and time that prevents businesses from creating jobs. And who creates the jobs the best? The private industry. Look, the Federal Government has a rough time keeping Amtrak on time, and they are always way over budget, and we are going to trust them with health care? We are going to trust the Federal Government with creating jobs when entrepreneurs are the best people, women and men, to do that? Any time you want to see what legislation is on Mr. Reid's desk, you just go to the Web site, the congressional Web site and see what was passed. You are going to hear some facts and figures. I was a prosecutor for 18 years. Actually, I started working in a bakery, a wholesale bakery, at 17. I worked in that bakery until I was 33. The owner died, and a new company came in. They overlooked me for a promotion because I didn't have a college degree, but they wanted me to train the guy with the college degree coming in. I went home and said to my wife: I want to go to college and law school. My wife worked full-time, and I worked part-time. We got through college and law school, which normally takes 7 years, in 5 years. I wouldn't have been able to do it without my wife. But I know what it is like to work in a factory 60 and 65 hours a week. I know what it is like to stretch a paycheck. My wife knows what it is like to stretch a dollar from here to next year. And I also know what it is like in the criminal justice system as a prosecutor for 18 years. I have seen it all. I have seen the worst sides of life that I have ever seen. But do you know what I have a passion for? It is the children. And our children's future now is dismal. My father gave me a better life than he had. I am not sure I can do that for my children. They are now looking at over $50,000 of debt-- each of them. So that means that every dollar that they earn, over 50 percent of it--if we ever get to the point to pay the debt down--is going to our debt.

Mr. MARINO. If this were not nauseating, it would be hilarious. There are millions of people out of work, Mr. Speaker, millions of people who are losing their health care and millions more whose health care is increasing. There are 230 pieces of legislation sitting on Harry Reid's desk. And do you know what they debated a couple weeks ago all night on the floor? Nothing to do with jobs, nothing to do with deregulation, and nothing to do with getting out of the way of the hardworking taxpayer business. They debated climate change all night on the floor. Now, there is no one that is more than a conservationist than myself. I live out in the country. I love seeing the bear and the deer walk across my property. I get my water from a well. My children have grown up there. I will do everything I can to protect my children and make sure that the air they are breathing is clean, the water is clean, and the land is pristine. But do you know something? I am pretty sure the hardworking taxpayers, the people in this country, the farmers in my district, and the entrepreneurs in my district want to see the government get out of the way and let entrepreneurs and business do what it does. I am a states' rights guy. I believe the less Federal Government in my life the better. That is proven by--I just met with a group of entrepreneurs a little earlier. They are called start-ups. They are young kids. They are geniuses who know the IT industry and who create apps, create hardware, and create software. They are saying to me: Congressman, our hands are tied. We are being overregulated, and we have a lot of good ideas that will help the American people. You are going to be hearing some figures quoted. I am not a big figure guy, but I think it is important that you listen to these figures and see these figures. But I want to tell you where I got them, because as a prosecutor, I always had to back up, in court, where I got my evidence and cite it. You have all heard of the Congressional Budget Office. We refer to it as the CBO. I am going to tell you just in two sentences what the Congressional Budget Office does. The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, is a Federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States Government that provides economic data to Congress. The CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the Congressional Budget and Improvement Control Act of 1974, which means they are independent. They are not Republican, and they are not Democrat. These are people who crunch numbers, make estimates, bring us information, and then submit it to us so the American people know what the actual facts are.

Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I heard a little bit ago when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle were talking about ObamaCare, and they said that Republicans tried to repeal it over 40 times; and that is true, we did. We tried to fix it, with no help from the other side, but he said, twice, that we didn't have anything to offer. Again, that statement is not correct. Look at H.R. 3121, American Health Care Reform Act. It repeals ObamaCare and puts together a health care program that physicians and hospital administrators and the public took part in suggesting what we need in a health care program, so it is there. It is backed up. H.R. 3121, we did do something. Now, we need to talk a little bit about some issues concerning what my colleagues have said with regard to ObamaCare. I just recently heard and verified this by my staff that the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, said Tuesday that the Founding Fathers-- talking about Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and Washington, the Founding Fathers--would be pleased with ObamaCare because it means that Americans can pursue happiness without being stuck with a job just to have health care. This is the same person that says we have to pass it so we know what is in it. Well, we all know what is in it, and we all know what is not in it. Now, I want to make a point clear. Congressman Kelly and myself, this is our second term. We new Members of the House, we have a little different approach to things. This $18 trillion of debt that we are in, this just didn't happen over the last couple of years. This happened over the last 50 years. I often say to my constituents, if I had the ability to have every living President in a group of my constituents, Mr. Speaker, and every leader, I would say to them: how dare you do this to us; how dare you, Republicans and Democrats, put us into this debt. The Republicans had some opportunities when they had control of the House and the Senate a decade or so ago, but times are changing. There is a new breed here. I just want to bring some issues to your attention concerning ObamaCare that the American people need to know about. When ObamaCare was first implemented, first told about what is going to happen, it was supposed to cover 60 million people. Again, go to the Congressional Budget Office Web site at www.cbo.gov. It is supposed to cover 60 million people at a cost of $900 billion and some change over a 10-year period. You were told you can keep your doctor; you can keep your health care program. If you didn't want to participate in ObamaCare, you didn't have to. And do you know something? It wasn't going to cost you one penny more. Well, the Congressional Budget Office just released new figures and they simply put it this way: instead of covering 60 million people, maybe--maybe--ObamaCare will cover 24 million people; and instead of costing $900 billion, it now is closer to $2 trillion. And, oh, by the way, were you able to keep your insurance that you had prior to ObamaCare? No. The President said you could, but you can't. Were you able to keep your physicians? In many instances, no. Your rates weren't going up. How many of your rates stayed the same? We are talking about millions of people, millions and millions of people who lost insurance because of ObamaCare, and millions more whose insurance rates went up significantly. The President waived more than 30 provisions of his law in order to try and make it work, number one. Despite his promise that everyone who likes their plan can keep it, between 4 and 7 million Americans have had their health care plans canceled. Approximately, 7.5 million seniors will be forced from their Medicare Advantage health care plan of choice in 2014. Others will see more than $3,700 in services cut. ObamaCare imposes 21 different taxes on Americans and businesses and an additional cost of more than $1 trillion to Americans and the economy. The workforce will shrink. My colleague said there is no evidence that the workforce would shrink. Well, you go to www.cbo.gov and you will read that the workforce will shrink by 2.5 million jobs because of ObamaCare. Not a good sign for the 4 million Americans who have been unemployed for over 6 months. Eleven million small business employees will see premiums rise under ObamaCare. And Medicaid, a program that already has reimbursement rates below Medicare and one in which one out of three doctors does not accept new patients will see enrollments rise by more than 91 million Americans, 34 million of whom are childless adults. This, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Speaker, this does not work, and we have to fix it. We have offered a way to fix it, but the President said there is nothing wrong with it.