Richard Nolan

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. I rise in support of the Kelly-Duffy amendment, which would prohibit expanded uses of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund at the current appropriations level. Let me be clear, the needs of the Nation's ports and harbors are great, and they are largely unmet today. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has made a valiant effort to maintain these facilities, which are essential for American manufacturers and the business community, to access markets around the world. We're talking about jobs. We're talking about business income here in every State, in every congressional district in this country. Beginning in 1997, however, as Mr. Kelly just pointed out, both Congress and the administration since that time have fallen short of allocating the entire balance of the harbor trust fund moneys to a current rate of less than 50 percent of the total revenues received. Tragically, as a result, we've fallen seriously behind in our essential harbor maintenance. If we were to restore full funding today, the Army Corps estimates it would take 5 years to catch up on the backlog in our Nation's busiest ports and another 5 years to catch up on the Nation's smaller ports, which are nevertheless essential to local and regional economies. Channel dredging is the most critical factor in maintaining our harbors. To be sure, there are other needs. In 2011, the Army Corps suggested that this fund could be used to increase harbor security. Certainly access roads and other harbor facilities need constant maintenance. But if we expand the use of these funds without expanding the total funds appropriated, we will simply add to our current backlog, choke off future commerce, and cost the American economy the jobs that we desperately need. The port of Duluth in my district is already restricting outbound shipments to 80 percent of the capacity because of this backlog in maintaining proper channel depth. How can we justify forcing our merchant fleet to operate at less than full efficiency? I urge my Democratic colleagues to support this amendment and help us prevent a bad situation from getting worse. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NOLAN. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. NOLAN. Madam Chair, I thank Representative Kaptur for yielding, and I would just add that it's costing business and commerce throughout the country and the Great Lakes billions of dollars. This is critical, essential infrastructure; and we look forward to working with you to find a way to release that trust fund for what it was intended, which is the dredging of our harbors. It is so critical to our commerce, our businesses, our jobs, and our economies.

Mr. NOLAN. Madam Chair, they are already neglecting the needs for dredging in our harbors. To divert funds from existing appropriations that are available would only make the situation worse, which is why I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. I know Mr. Duffy wishes to speak to the amendment as well.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Madam Chair, today, as the House of Representatives debates the five-year Farm Bill, I am hopeful that my colleagues can come together on issues that touch all Americans. This bill makes great strides for energy programs, the forestry industry, the organic sector, and rural areas. I have always supported family farmers. They need protection from the vagaries of pestilence, drought, flooding, and the like. A five-year Farm Bill will offer them the certainty they need to make planting decisions. I do not believe this Farm Bill is perfect, but I also do not think that perfection should be the enemy of the good. In the Agriculture Committee last month, we spent more than ten hours debating amendments. That is how the legislative process should function. After it was all said and done, Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson felt this was the best product they could get through the House. I commend them for their hard work in pulling together a bipartisan compromise. I will vote for passage of this bill because I have confidence that the conference committee can merge the House and Senate bills in a way that provides for family farmers without gutting the SNAP program. Again, I will not claim that this bill is ideal--but we need to respect the work of our colleagues and advance this process.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, as you can see, I am wearing a yellow ribbon here today. I do so to recognize the newest Minnesota Yellow Ribbon Networks being officially proclaimed at the National Guard Camp Ripley, near the community of Little Falls in north central Minnesota, which is also in my district. Yellow Ribbon is a truly remarkable program that eases the transition of our soldiers to civilian life by providing job training, counseling, and all kinds of support for servicemembers, veterans, and military families. So I want to say a special thanks to Morrison and Crow Wing Counties in Minnesota--and to the communities of Little Falls, Motley, Royalton, Swanville, Sobieski, Harding, Buckman, Upsala, Randall, Pierz, Bowlus, Elmdale, and Lastrup, all in my district--for supporting our returning servicemen and -women as Yellow Ribbon communities. We thank and honor all our military for their service to our great Nation.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the McGovern amendment. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and in opposition to some of the arguments we have heard against the program. First, I want to point out that the average SNAP recipient receives assistance for less than one year. And, more importantly, the people who do depend on assistance for a longer period of time are populations such as the elderly, children, or the disabled: people who can't work their way out of poverty as easily. The SNAP program faces a great deal of criticism, but I believe much of it is undeserved. The program is not perfect, but a few bad actors should not give us reason to push millions out of the system. The simple fact is, SNAP is not an isolate acronym. It represents real children and hardworking families who are just trying to make ends meet. About 1 in 10 Minnesota residents receive SNAP benefits. That might be below the national average, but for those Minnesotans who do receive benefits, they are absolutely critical. In my state, more than 68 percent of all SNAP participants are in families with children. More than \1/4\ of all SNAP participants are in families with elderly or disabled members. And finally, 44 percent of all SNAP participants in Minnesota are in working families. Now is not the time to rip assistance away from those who need it most. I will join Congressman McGovern in voting to restore funding for SNAP.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I offer the amendment.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today on a matter of the highest priority critical to the future of our great Nation and our people. It is time to put an end to the wars of choice and nation-building abroad, and to start rebuilding America. Daily we are reminded of our Nation's fiscal crises, massive deficits, and unemployment, and shortage of revenue for the things that we know we need to do. The simple truth is, the trillions of dollars spent on the wars of choice and nation-building abroad are the primary cause of our current financial crises, not Social Security and Medicare as some would have us believe. The sad fact is our own bridges are falling down. Our infrastructure is crumbling, and our education system is struggling, while millions more middle class men and women are unemployed or underemployed. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support a strong national defense, but I also agree completely with my Republican colleague, Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama, who recently said: I don't believe America can financially afford to be the police cop on every street corner in the world. We no longer have the financial resources to do that. In fact, the $652 billion we spent on the military last year amounts to 57 percent of our discretionary budget. Mind you, education is at 6 percent; agriculture at 1 percent; transportation at 2 percent. Moreover, that $652 billion spent last year accounts for more than the next 10-largest military budgets in the world combined--China, Russia, U.K., Japan, France, Saudi, India, Germany, Italy, Brazil--we spent more than all of them combined. This $60 billion cut that is proposed in this amendment, or a 9.4 percent cut that I propose, is not an unreasonable amount. In fact, it is exactly the same amount the Commission on Wartime Contracting estimates to have been wasted through fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. Understand that my amendment is not an across-the-board cut from every line item as in sequestration, which makes no sense at all. My proposed cut is a cut from the bottom line that would give the Appropriations Committee the authority to decide where the cuts can most prudently be made. And to me, those categories are crystal clear. We want to cut our excessive network of military bases in every nook and cranny of the world. We need to cut the failed infrastructure and investments in nation-building abroad. We need to cut assistance to the armed combatants in every sectional and civil war in the world. We need to cut discretionary funds to initiate new programs not authorized by the Congress. We need to cut funds for the extravagant compensation of CEOs for giant defense contractors. We need to cut military weapons systems that were not requested by our military. We need to cut funds maintaining unnecessary facilities in Guantanamo, and we need to cut funding maintaining out-of-date weapons systems and naval vessels. Now, let me be clear where we must not cut. We must not cut veterans benefits. We must not cut the National Guard. It's our most efficient bang for the dollar that we get in our national defense. We must not cut compensation to soldiers and their families. We must not cut assistance to Israel and our other strategic allies. We should not cut funds to the teams and other elite units that can respond to crises abroad. And we cannot cut efforts to fund reform of military justice and reduce sexual assaults in the military. Moreover, it is my recommendation that the savings achieved here can be used for deficit reduction and used for investment in our own infrastructure--our roads, our bridges, our ports, our education, and the unmet human development needs in this country. We can use this money to improve the quality of American lives, to stimulate our economy, to strengthen our power as a Nation, and to help restore America's confidence in the future. Finally, Mr. Chairman, my amendment is entirely consistent with the spirit of the bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011, which recommended $1 trillion in defense cuts over the next decade, and consistent as well with the significant cuts recommended across the spectrum by liberal policy groups such as the Center for American Progress, as well as conservative and libertarian groups. Mr. Chairman, we all support a strong national defense. We support our troops, and we are committed to our veterans. This amendment is not politics, it is commonsense economics.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. NOLAN. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the Gibson-Garamendi amendment. I'm using this time to express my regret that a resolution that I presented to the Rules Committee requiring the Congress to decide on whether or not we should send arms and troops to the rebels was denied an opportunity to be heard today. The fact is, this is a centuries old conflict between the Sunnis and the Shiites. We have no friends in this fight. Believe me, I've lived in the Middle East, I've done business in the Middle East, I've studied the language, I've studied the culture. We have no friends in this conflict. The rebels--make no mistake about it--are the al Mazraa affiliated with al Qaeda.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, I rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. I lament that fact because I'm one of those who supports the Keystone pipeline for the many reasons that have been stated here. I know people have concerns about oil sands, tar sands or oil production processes, but that's a Canadian decision. The fact is that these oils are going to be moved by tens of thousands of railroad cars or trucks through the States or through a pipeline to the west. Pipelines are a proven environmentally safe and sound way to move oil around North America and the country. I am in opposition to the bill because, in committee, it became apparent that the bill relieves a foreign corporation from all of the same obligations that domestic corporations are expected to honor. They are exempted from having to comply with the EPA, with the Army Corps permits for construction and maintenance. They are relieved of the responsibility to pay taxes on the oil flowing through those pipelines. They are relieved of responsibility for cleanup in the event of accidents. That is a prescription for nothing but trouble and disaster. Mr. Speaker, those are the reasons that I speak in opposition to this rule and to this bill.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to set the record straight here with regard to Social Security and Medicare: First of all, neither one of them are responsible for the debt and the current fiscal crisis that we find ourselves facing; Secondly, neither of them are entitlements. They're earned benefits that people started paying for the very first day, the very first hour they went to work, and they have every right to expect those benefits; Thirdly, there are some long-term problems with both, and they should and need to be fixed, but they can be done, clearly, without reducing the benefits. Let me remind all of us that nothing has done more in this country to lift more people out of poverty than Social Security, and nothing has done more to add more life and more years to life than Medicare. Mr. President, my fellow Members, we must stand up for Social Security and Medicare and protect those benefits going forward.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I was delighted to learn today from my son, Michael--who is visiting us and sitting in the gallery--that while we are looking at 40-mile- per-hour winds and blizzard conditions back in Minnesota, the snow is piling up. My son's good friend and coworker Toby, along with other kids and dads in our hometown, are bundled up in their garages and in their basements as we speak, designing and building their ultimate speed machines--the soap box racers--getting themselves ready for the exciting annual experience. I personally have nothing but the fondest memories of long hot summer days scrounging the neighborhood for old wagon wheels, axles, two-by- fours, and thin sheets of tin or aluminum as all of us kids in the neighborhood scrambled to build our soap box racers for the annual summer races down Cemetery Hill. These races were never formally recognized by the proper authorities, I must admit. In fact, we were frequently chased out of the cemetery by the superintendent and his subordinates, as well as being chased off the city streets, quite frankly, by the local police, who no doubt had our personal safety and the public safety in mind at the time. But law enforcement and the establishment never stopped us from enjoying those annual summer races. It was nothing but pure creative, constructive, exhilarating joy and pleasure that we experienced in our Soap Box Derby racers. So with those golden days of yore in mind, I am delighted to support H. Con. Res. 19, extending proper recognition in authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby on June 15 of this year. I would also like to acknowledge the steadfast support of this event by Mr. Hoyer, who has truly been a champion for his constituents in this regard. This bipartisan resolution has the support of the entire D.C.-area delegation. On the date of the event, soap boxers from the Greater Washington area will race down Constitution Avenue to test their craftsmanship and their courage in Soap Box Derby racing. Children between the ages of 8 and 17 will be competing for the opportunity to race in the National All-American Soap Box Derby held every August in Akron, Ohio. Consistent with all events using Capitol Grounds, this event is open to the public and free of charge. The organizers will work with the Capitol Police and the Architect of the Capitol to organize the details of the event. Mr. Speaker, I support H. Con. Res. 19 and urge passage of this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Congratulations, Congressman Barletta, for sponsoring this resolution enabling this important memorial service to go forward. You're to be commended for it, and I'm honored to be able to stand here on behalf of the minority and offer our support for the resolution. H. Con. Res. 18, as the gentleman just said, authorizes use of the Capitol Grounds for the 32nd Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service on May 15 on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. This is a solemn and respectful public event honoring local and Federal enforcement officers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty in 2012. One of those brave public servants was Cold Spring, Minnesota, Police Officer Thomas ``Tommy'' Decker, who was shot and killed while checking on the welfare of a citizen in an apartment in Cold Spring, Minnesota, on November 29, 2012. Officer Tom Decker was a 6-year veteran and a father of four. He was a 2002 graduate of Alexandria Technical College in Minnesota, where he received an associate in arts degree in law enforcement. Officer Decker worked in the city of Isle, the city of Watkins, and the city of Kimball, all in Minnesota, before joining the Cold Spring Police Department full time in March of 2006. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Officer Decker was one of 129 brave men and women killed in the line of duty last year. Of those, traffic-related incidents led to the deaths of 50 officers, while 49 died from firearm-related causes. In all, more than 19,000 law enforcement officers have given the ultimate sacrifice while on duty since the first law enforcement death was recorded in 1791. The National Peace Officers' Memorial Service is a fitting tribute to the 900,000 current law enforcement officers--and all Federal, State, and local police officers--who do the often-dangerous and always necessary work of protecting our families, our homes, and our workplaces. We honor these officers and their families on Capitol Grounds for the sacrifices they have made to maintain the peace in communities all across America. Consistent with all Capitol Hill events, the memorial service will be free and open to the public. I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this tribute to our fallen law enforcement officers. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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