Richard Nugent

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 441 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 23 Offered by Mr. Gibson

Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 448, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment No. 28 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1380.

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. Sir, there is no other amendment. We withdraw that amendment.

Mr. NUGENT. We have withdrawn any other amendment. There is no other amendment.

Mr. NUGENT. I yield to the gentlelady from Connecticut.

Mr. NUGENT. Reclaiming my time, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. Reclaiming my time, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. I reclaim my time, if you would allow me to speak just for a second. States and counties and cities have figured out that they don't have the money to spend. America has got to figure out, the Federal Government has to figure out that we in fact have to cut spending. I hear this across the aisle all the time, that we all agree that America has a debt of over $14 trillion and a deficit of over $1.4 trillion. We hear the same arguments, but we never hear how are we going to do it, other than one gentleman that was up here earlier that said we just need to raise taxes. That is the answer to all of our problems. That is not the answer. The answer to our problems is really about using the dollars that we have, spending them efficiently and looking at ways to maybe work harder with less. I will tell you, as a sheriff, we had to cut our budget and we worked harder with less. And, do you know what? The Federal Government doesn't believe in that. The Federal Government believes that how we solve a problem is to throw more people at it, to spend more money. And I think what the American people were telling us, what the American people told us back in November, was that we have got to get our house in order. We have got to get our spending under control. It is not about taxing us to death. It is not about overregulating us. It is about bringing common sense back into the Federal Government that has been sorely lacking. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUGENT. I reclaim my time, and yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. I reclaim my time, and yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. NUGENT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. NUGENT. Madam Chair, every night millions of families sit down to meals where ingredients are produced here in the United States. The Agricultural Research Service is a vital part of our Federal Government's continued efforts to help farmers, producers and, ultimately, consumers. I firmly believe that the Federal Government has a terrible spending problem and that tough decisions must be made. I have the utmost respect for Chairman Kingston and all of the members of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. They have done a great job of crafting this piece of legislation. My amendment would reduce $2.5 million from the Foreign Agricultural Service and transfer $2 million of that money to the Agricultural Research Service. By adding these funds back to ARS's budget, we will be helping guarantee that our farmers remain competitive with farmers from other nations. We should be supporting increased food production here in America and maintain our domestic independence in this area of our economy and not increasing our usage and demand for foreign agricultural imports. There is still important work to be done by ARS, and that must be continued. There have been significant cuts made to the budget of ARS that jeopardize research already in progress. During my 5 months in Congress, I have had the great pleasure to meet and interact with many farmers and ranchers in my district. These men and women are some of the hardest workers that I know. They are the first up and the last to go to bed. Research must continue to be funded in order to guarantee that America's agriculture community is independent, that it remains the most productive and the greatest agricultural producer in the world. ARS's work has resulted in an oat-based cholesterol fighter, a replacement for blood plasma, a biofungicide to help prevent apple and pear rot--and I'm sure on grapes from California--and is a method to increase production of penicillin and other antibiotics. As you can see, ARS's research successes are not just limited to the agricultural community, but they help all Americans. So my goal is to make sure that America remains strong as an agricultural producer, that we don't outsource agricultural production to other nations to provide our food, and maintain a safe food source for Americans. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUGENT. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. NUGENT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. NUGENT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. NUGENT. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. NUGENT. Our goal with regards to strengthening ARS is to make sure that we strengthen the American ability to produce goods within this country. It is simple and focused. It's about keeping American agriculture strong. While we may be asking to reduce what we send overseas, I think it's more important that we have a strong agricultural base here. I will tell you, just in my home State, that agriculture accounts for over a third of the income to the State of Florida. It is one of the three legs that support Florida. One is tourism, the other one is industry, but the third one that has been there for Florida in this downturn economy has been agriculture. So our goal is to make sure that Americans can depend upon American sources of food that are safe for Americans.

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. I would like to thank my friend and Rules Committee member, Mr. Scott, for the opportunity to speak in support of this rule. Mr. Speaker, we are already fighting a war on two fronts--Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops and resources are already spread very thin. On March 19, the President announced that U.S. military forces had joined with our NATO allies to commence operations in Libya. The President did this not only without congressional authorization but without even consulting Congress on the matter. For the first 10 days of this operation, it was under U.S. command before shifting control of all ongoing operations to NATO on March 30. To this day, the President still hasn't come to Congress to ask for formal approval. When the President first committed our military to operations in Libya, he said we were talking about days, not months. Today, we are talking about months, not days. Mr. Speaker, President Obama has put us in a trick bag with our NATO allies. He knew he was committing our military forces and assets to a mission that would be unpopular, unjustifiable and unconstitutional. So, in an attempt to avoid Congress and Article I of the U.S. Constitution, President Obama transferred operations over to NATO. Although we may not be in control of the mission, there is no doubt that NATO could not move forward without U.S. assets. As my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) will point out, 93 percent of the cruise missiles, 66 percent of the personnel, 50 percent of the ships, and 50 percent of the planes are estimated to have cost this Nation over $700 million to date. I will support our troops wherever the President sends them. However, I cannot support President Obama's decision to commit our military forces to operations without the constitutionally required congressional authorization.

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. I thank my friend, my fellow Floridian and Rules member, Mr. Webster, for the opportunity to speak in support of this rule and also in support of the underlying legislation, H.R. 2055, which appropriates funds for military construction and for our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, Florida's Fifth Congressional District, which I represent, is home to over 116,000 veterans, one of the highest veteran populations of any district in America. The funds we're talking about here today have a direct effect on the lives of the men and women who have proudly served our Nation in uniform. This bill provides full funding for VA and health and educational benefits. It also funds vocational rehabilitation training for those troops who come home from war with service-connected disabilities. Thanks to programs like VetSuccess, these veterans can work with job counselors to develop the skills necessary to find meaningful civilian employment. These programs also help connect veterans who are unable to work and give them additional training to allow them to be independent living in America. Given the number of veterans living in my district, I'm lucky enough to have visited a large number of VA health and benefits facilities throughout my district. During these trips, I have had the opportunity to see and visit with a number of physicians, nurses, and staff which these funds help keep on the mission of protecting and taking care of our veterans on a daily basis. I've also had the opportunity to speak with the true American heroes, those who answered the call of duty and put their lives on the line to protect our country, our way of life, and our freedoms. Mr. Speaker, we as a Nation owe our veterans a debt that can never be repaid. However, as Members of Congress, we can ensure that we keep our promises to our troops. H.R. 2055 fully funds the benefits that give our veterans back a small measure of what they truly deserve. As a member of the Rules Committee, I am proud of this rule. We are continuing to make the 112th Congress the most open, transparent Congress the American people have seen in years. In fact, this may be the first rule that I've seen that was a voice vote unanimously approving the rule. I would like to thank the Appropriations Committee for their hard work on this underlying legislation that this rule will bring to the House floor. I spoke about visiting hospitals within my district. At Haley Hospital, the VA hospital in Tampa, I've had the opportunity to meet a number of those who have had serious traumatic brain injuries, amputees, those that have the ability to try to get their lives back on track after giving so much to this Nation. I had them point to the stars on my chest here that indicate that I have three sons serving, and they were more concerned about me as a dad than their own physical infirmities that they're fighting to try to overcome. As the father of three sons who are currently serving in the United States Army, we've been blessed as a family and as a Nation, and as my oldest son came back from 15 months in Afghanistan in combat, but for the grace of God he came back whole, not like so many others who have served this country and given so much. H.R. 2055 is a good bill, and this rule is a good rule. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support them both.

Mr. NUGENT

Mr. NUGENT. I would like to thank my friend from New York (Mr. Reed), also a Rules Committee member that I serve with, for the opportunity to support this rule and support the underlying legislation, H.R. 2017, which appropriates funds for our Nation's Homeland Security operations for 2012. Just a comment: I thought that's what we are here to talk about, and so we are going to go back on track in regards to where we should be. As a member of the Rules Committee, I am proud of this rule. It is the first open rule in 4 years, Mr. Speaker, and that's because of you. It's a continuation of our promise to the American people that we are committed to bringing openness and free-flowing debate to this Chamber as a service to the American public. And just like the rule keeps our promises to the American people, so does the underlying legislation. It keeps our promise to reduce spending, to narrow the size and scope of the Federal Government. It also keeps our promise to provide those men and women who work day in and day out to keep our Nation safe with the tools and the resources they need. I have heard a lot about local first responders in connection with this bill. Mr. Speaker, I spent my entire career in law enforcement. I spent the last 40 years as a cop, and the last 10 of those years I served as a sheriff of a county in Florida. You don't need to tell me about what our local first responders need. I know it firsthand, I have lived it. And I can tell you this: We need to follow the local example that those folks in Florida and across this Nation and States have shown us. Our local police and firefighters know how to do more with less, one thing the Federal Government has never quite grasped. Would you like to have more money? Sure we would. But they understand our Nation is in a dire fiscal situation, and what they want more than anything else is for America to be here for their future and their children and grandchildren's future. When I was sheriff, I was faced with budget shortages, and I made tough cuts. I eliminated programs I'm sure that I would have loved to have kept in place, but they didn't meet the core mission that I was elected to do. That's how local government works, Mr. Speaker, and Washington needs to learn from local governments in regards to how to get their act together as it relates to spending. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2017 is a good bill, and I applaud the Appropriations Committee for their commitment to our homeland security. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation and support the open rule.