Alan Nunnelee

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, the most important function of our government is to provide for the common defense. That is why I am pleased that the National Defense Authorization Act blocks the administration's end strength reduction proposal, as well as redistribution of important National Guard aviation assets. But I do have some specific concerns. Of specific concern of this misguided and shortsighted proposal is the impact on the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team. This unit has a proven history of defending freedom abroad. But recently, when our State was hit by devastating tornados, these were the first responders. They provided vital security and search and rescue. I commend these men and women that make up the 155th and express my concern for the support of their mission. Congress cannot balance our budget on the backs of the men and women voluntarily serving our country, nor expect their families, who already give so much, to make further sacrifices. To find areas within our Federal Government to responsibly cut, we must look at all forms of Federal spending, not just the discretionary spending alone.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for yielding. I too rise in support of H.R. 4268. In Mississippi, U.S. Highway 78 cuts diagonally through the foothills of the Appalachians to Memphis. This is the highway that our most famous native son, Elvis Presley, took as he made his way from his hometown and my hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, to find his way to Sun Studio in Memphis. While there were others whose careers may not nearly have been so visible, they made the same road. People came home from World War II, and they felt their only option in Mississippi was to leave to find a better way of life for their families, so they made their way to Memphis and then north. For the three decades following the end of World War II, they settled in and around the Great Lakes. There were small towns in Illinois and Wisconsin that had neighborhoods literally dotted with families from Mississippi, neighborhoods in Waukegan and Zion, Aurora and Kenosha and Racine; and you go on the streets, and you find people from Baldwyn and Marietta, Mantachie and Booneville. In recent years, we have had a renaissance of advanced manufacturing in Mississippi. This growth has been driven by regional cooperation among our local leaders, tough decisions that were made at the State level, but it has been primarily driven by the strong work ethic of those same people from Appalachia. In fact, a few months ago, I was visiting in one of the advanced manufacturing facilities involved in automobile manufacturing parts, talking to a man in Mantachie. He smiled, and he said: The great news about this job is I got to come home. In order to accommodate all this new growth, we found it important to upgrade U.S. Highway 78 and make it Interstate 22. A lot of work has been done by Federal, State, and local stakeholders. We are about ready to make that transition, but there is one more change that needs to be completed. A small tweak in the law is necessary. While advanced manufacturing is a very important part of our economy, agriculture is still a very important part of our economy as well. Under the existing law, ag products on the way to the market have to obtain a permit that they can carry an additional 5 percent weight on U.S. Highway 78. In the absence of that bill, that permit would not be available. To make it clear, this bill is no loss, no gain. The roadway that is in use today is the exact same roadway that will be used as Interstate 22. The mile markers, as you have heard, are specified in the legislation. There is not one additional vehicle that can legally travel this road under this law that would be able to do so under a new law. That is why I urge passage of this bill. I want to thank the ranking member, I want to thank the chairman, and I also want to thank the senior member of the Mississippi delegation for his cooperation in making this possible.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Ryan for yielding, but, more importantly, thank him for his work and leadership in this area. Tonight around America, families will sit down at the kitchen table to talk about their family finances. And there always seem to be more needs than there are dollars in a paycheck. So those families will sit down. They may shed tears tonight, and they may have some tense words between them, but before the night is over, they will sit down and make tough decisions about how they will spend their family's budget. Just last week, the State legislature in my State adjourned, but before they did, they made some tough choices. They weren't able to fund everything they wanted to fund, and they had to set priorities. Local governments and county governments are making tough choices. When it comes to American families sitting around their kitchen table, if the State legislature, if city governments and county governments are making those tough choices, they have every reason to expect their government in Washington to do the same thing. And for 4 years now, under the leadership of Chairman Ryan, we have put forward a budget that does make these tough but necessary decisions about getting control of our Federal spending. That is why I am proud to join my colleagues and vote for a budget that responsibly cuts $5.1 trillion over the next 10 years by reforming the main drivers of our debt--targeting wasteful spending. At the same time, this budget seeks to expand opportunity to help the private sector create jobs by highlighting policies that will grow the economy. Meanwhile, the administration wants to take more money out of the paychecks of hardworking Americans by raising their taxes, wants to spend more money, and wants to borrow more money from successive generations and never balance the budget. This administration has made all sorts of promises it can't keep. For example, the Congressional Budget Office says that Pell grants will begin to have a shortfall in 2016 and every year thereafter. Medicare? My mom and dad worked all of their life, paid into a program, and their government made them a promise. They said that, when you get to retirement age, we are going to provide you health care; yet the actuarial models say that program is going bankrupt, and the administration doesn't deal with it. This budget does make tough decisions and makes tough choices. And the critics? They call this budget draconian. Only in Washington is making a tough choice labeled as being controversial. It is important that we make these decisions and put our government back on a path of sustainable finances to grow our economy. By making these tough choices, we ensure our children and our grandchildren a better future because we are doing more than just balancing a budget. We are living out the American Dream. Beating in the heart of every American since this country was founded is the desire to leave a better way of life to successive generations, not saddle those generations with massive amounts of debt. So, for those reasons, I support this budget, and I urge my colleagues to support this budget, as well.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Ms. Irene Lancaster of Columbus, Mississippi, and to wish her a happy birthday tomorrow. In fact, I stand in this body today because of the encouragement of teachers like Ms. Lancaster. Her passion and enthusiasm for American history was contagious. As an eighth-grade student at Joe Cook Middle School in Columbus, Mississippi, she instilled in me a love of American history that I carry today. I can still hear in my mind her voice as she talked about the forcefulness of President Andrew Jackson. She thought she was teaching names and dates and places, but what Ms. Lancaster was really doing was preparing leaders--business leaders, community leaders, leaders in medicine and in energy--and even a United States Congressman. So happy birthday, Ms. Lancaster. In saluting her, I salute all of those teachers every day who are preparing the next generation of American leaders.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Oklahoma for his leadership in bringing focus to this important issue. The foundation for our country rests on the shoulders of ``we the people.'' Under our constitutional form of government, we the people are the boss, and Washington is the servant. Unfortunately, under this current administration, there is not a week that goes by without more evidence of out-of-control bureaucracies attempting to run local businesses through unnecessary rules and regulations. I could give many examples, but in the interest of time, I will just give one. Columbus Brick Company is located in Columbus, Mississippi. They have been making clay bricks since 1890. Mr. Al Puckett is the fourth generation of that family to run that business. After they spent substantial sums much money to bring the factory into compliance with new Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the EPA is now threatening new, even more expensive regulations without any input from the public, from the stakeholders, from Congress, or from we the people. Last June, Mr. Puckett appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. He testified: If EPA uses the same approach that they have followed on recent rules, Columbus Brick may cease to exist after almost 125 years of operation. I expect a minimum of having to shut down 2 or 3 kilns. That will mean a permanent job loss of 45 to 50 families in our small rural community. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, it gets worse. These EPA regulations do not result in any significant benefit to the environment. The brick industry in general--Columbus Brick Company in particular--is already operating well within safe levels. Unfortunately, Columbus Brick Company is not unique in the impact this rule would have on small businesses. Many would be forced to close their doors. Only in Washington are rules handed down to businesses without allowing the affected parties the ability to weigh in before the settlement agreements are adopted. Environmental regulations should be fair, reasonable, and they should balance costs versus benefits. This body understands this concept, and that is why, in February, we passed the ALERRT Act, which would require the administration to account for the cost of excessive regulations to minimize the impact on small businesses. Mr. Puckett stated it best: We are not asking for the rule to go away. We are asking that the practice of establishing unreasonable deadlines without input from the impacted industries go away. Mr. Speaker, Mississippians know that the power and drive of America is in the individual, and the great solutions to the great challenges facing our country don't come in Washington, neither do they come in our State capitals. The challenges to our solutions can be found around our kitchen tables and our homes and our churches and our communities. Unfortunately, it is the mentality that the government is the boss. It has been oppressive on companies like Columbus Brick, but their spirit of survival is what has allowed them to survive for several generations. Washington, and particularly not the EPA, is not the boss of Columbus Brick.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of my birth and my hometown, is known for a lot of things: the birthplace of Elvis Presley; we are the headquarters of the Natchez Trace Parkway. One of the things we are also very proud of is we are the very first TVA city. Many people around America think of the difference between rural America and city as the difference between whether you have a shopping mall, a lot of nice restaurants, things like that. Eighty years ago, the differences between rural and urban America were even more stark. That is why today it is my privilege to rise as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In the 1930s, rural America did not have many of the basic things of life like electricity, running water, and a lot of the things that we consider frills today, like radio, music, and news. As a result, many Americans, particularly younger generations of Americans, were migrating from the small towns and the farms across rural America and moving to the larger cities. Seeing this shift, a couple of visionary members of the Congress, including my predecessor, Mississippi Representative John Rankin, and Senator George Norris from Nebraska, made it their mission to bring electricity to rural America. On May 18, 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority was created by this Congress in an effort to improve the living conditions and the economic conditions for seven southern States, including Mississippi. In 1934, President Roosevelt came to Tupelo, Mississippi, and literally flipped the switch to turn on the lights. Shortly after that, north Mississippi became one of the Nation's earliest regions to begin to adopt rural electrification. Over the past 80 years, the Tennessee Valley Authority has been committed not only to providing reliable, cleaner, and low-cost energy, but also committed to the economic well-being of our region across the Tennessee Valley. They have worked with local power companies, directly served customers and regional, State, and community development organizations. TVA works to create economic development opportunities around our region, collaboratively focusing on attracting and retaining jobs, capital investment, and helping our communities prepare for growth. I was once told by my friend and former TVA Chairman Glenn McCollough that the mission of TVA could be summed up in three phrases: keep the lights glowing; the economy going; and the river flowing. Well, for 80 years, TVA has done just that. With current leadership like Richard Howorth from Oxford, who is currently on the TVA board of directors, TVA is helping our region achieve success. The electricity provided by TVA has helped attract opportunity and success for thousands of people in Mississippi and throughout the valley, allowing them to show the world that we are a friendly, reliable and competitive workforce. So on this day of commemoration, I say happy 80th anniversary, TVA, and my wish for you is a prosperous and successful future.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for yielding. Today, I rise in support of H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which will make policies like the Hyde amendment permanent and government-wide, and remove funding for insurance plans that include abortions from the Affordable Care Act. Just last week, we marked the 41st anniversary of the Roe decision, and we memorialized the 56 million children whose lives have been sacrificed for that decision. I am a proud defender of life. I represent a State that stands strongly for life. I understand that the very first inalienable right in our Declaration of Independence is the right to life. But I also acknowledge that there is wide disagreement on that subject throughout our Nation and throughout this House. I recognize there is wide debate on when life may begin. Surely, we can agree that there should be no taxpayer dollars used to fund abortion procedures. There should be no taxpayer forced to pay for health care through ObamaCare that funds abortion against his or her will. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 7, and I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the final bill.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, on December 23, in my hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, two of our police officers, Sergeant Gale Stauffer and Patrol Officer Joseph Maher, were shot while attempting to apprehend a bank robber. Thankfully, Officer Maher survived very serious wounds, and he is currently recovering. Tragically, Sergeant Stauffer died of those wounds. Gale, as he was known to his friends and family, spent his entire adult life in service to his country. He joined the U.S. military and bravely served his tour of duty in Iraq as a Sergeant in the Louisiana Army National Guard. After returning home, he settled with his family in Tupelo, where he is known for his Cajun cooking, his love of the outdoors, and his passionate support for LSU Tiger football. Above all, those who knew Sergeant Stauffer knew him as a man completely devoted to his wife and two children. I will be submitting letters of support for both of these brave men's nomination for the Congressional Badge of Bravery. Ronald Reagan once said: ``Those who say that we are in a time where there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.'' By their actions, Sergeant Stauffer and Officer Maher have showed there are still heroes among us.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, the Legislative Fellowship program is a selective mideducation program where the Air Force places the very best and brightest officers and civilians in congressional offices so that they may learn the legislative process. For this past year, my office was given the opportunity to host Lieutenant Colonel Will Vaughn. Prior to the start of serving his fellowship, Lieutenant Colonel Vaughn was assigned as chief training officer for the 97th Flying Training Squadron, an Air Force Reserve associate unit supporting the multinational Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. He also served on a joint, interagency and multinational staff in Jerusalem as a plans and programs officer for the United States security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He served on Active Duty, flying the F-16 and T-37 until 2008, where he transitioned to the Reserves, instructing in the T-37 and, most recently, the T-6. Lieutenant Colonel Will Vaughn has effectively served the people of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to watching him do great things for America.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 632, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' Stated against:

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome to the House of Representatives this morning Dr. John Adams, Jr., who offered the prayer earlier. Dr. Adams is a native of Mississippi, and he is currently the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Mantachie, Mississippi. He is joined by his wife, Darla Kaye Fuller Adams. Dr. Adams has served as senior pastor in churches in Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, and Arkansas. Dr. Adams has spoken throughout the South and around the country, sharing a 13-part series about the Judeo- Christian heritage of America. He also presently serves as the executive director of the Moral Action of Mississippi and of the national organization, the Moral Action of the Baptist Missionary Association. We are honored to have him here today, and we deeply appreciate his service to our Lord and to the people of Mississippi.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Thank you, Mrs. Hartzler, and I appreciate your leadership in this area. You know, when the Framers of our Constitution put together this government and submitted it to the people, the American people looked at it and said, You did a good job, but it is not perfect. There is something that is missing, and that something is a Bill of Rights guaranteeing individual freedoms for all Americans. And so those 10 planks were constructed and added as part of the ratification process. I am convinced that if those 10 planks had not been added, the Constitution would not have been ratified. I do not believe it is insignificant that the first sentence of the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. And our men and women in the military take an oath of office to support and defend that very Constitution, but they do not surrender that First Amendment right immediately when they put on a uniform. The trend of military instructors and officers portraying Christians and socially conservative nonprofit organizations as ``extremists'' and potential threats to our Nation is unconscionable. Recently, they labeled the American Family Association, a group in my district that by their very name indicates that they are committed to the preservation of the American people. The fact that they are labeled as an extremist organization, unbelievable. These developments are part of what appears to be a mounting culture for religious intolerance and hostility towards Christians within the military. I do not believe that adequate steps have been taken to address the root cause of these incidents, and that is why I put together the letter that Mrs. Hartzler referred to to the Secretary of the Army, along with a number of my colleagues, to communicate our concerns regarding these developments and ask for the details on what the Army is doing to foster a culture of religious liberty among our men and women in our military. While our Founding Fathers prohibited the establishment of a State- established religion, they purposely did not restrict references to God or personal beliefs in civic dialogue, military service, or everyday life. Mr. Speaker, the dais on which you sit, over which you preside this great House, has behind it the American flag. Above that flag are the four words of our national motto: ``In God We Trust.'' Congress has a responsibility to fight attempts within our military to restrict the religious liberty of those who serve our Nation and work to safeguard these freedoms. It is intolerable for those brave men and women serving our country to be denied these very freedoms they are putting their lives on the line to defend.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, they said implementing ObamaCare is going to be a train wreck, and that train wreck went right through the Etta community in Union County, Mississippi, and ran right over Reverend Bobby Irvin. Reverend Irvin tells me: I had health insurance. I was happy with my coverage. Specifically, it is a coverage that I picked out and I selected, and my policy was canceled because it did not meet ObamaCare guidelines. Reverend Irvin was made a promise by the President of the United States: if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. That promise has been broken. It is vital that we pass the Keep Your Health Plan Act so this House can step up and honor the promise that was made to Reverend Irvin and those Americans like him: if you like your health insurance, you can keep it.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, Mississippi College, the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Mississippi and the second oldest Baptist university in the United States, recently celebrated the opening of its 187th school year. Mississippi College has since pre-Civil War days provided students from across the state and around the world an education informed by Christian values, and was the first co-educational institution in the nation to grant a degree to a woman. The university has a long and distinguished history of educating future public servants, counting current leaders in federal and state government among her alumna, including current Third Congressional District Rep. Gregg Harper, and current Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. As a member of the Board of Trustees I am also proud to recognize the leadership of Order of the Golden Arrow recipient Gayle Wicker has provided to the university's presidents through the years. Mississippi College, located in Clinton, is a proud constituent of the Second Congressional District represented by Rep. Bennie Thompson. For 64 years, students have received exemplary training in areas of speech, media, public relations, theater and related practices in the Mississippi College Communication Department. Founded in 1949 by Drs. Hollis and Julia Todd as the Department of Speech, the current Communication Department presented diplomas to hundreds of students who have subsequently experienced personal and career success in their chosen fields. Among its alumni, the department prides itself by seeing former graduates become leaders in fields as diverse as business and ministry, education and journalism. The faculty of the Mississippi College Communication Department embodies dedicated and sustained service to the university and its mission. In fact, only three men have chaired the department over the span of its 64 years: Dr. Hollis Todd, Dr. Billy Lytal, for whom the annual student scholarship fund is named, and current chair Dr. Cliff Fortenberry. With a teaching philosophy built around the practical application of theory and curriculum, departmental faculty are teachers first, individuals who view their service at Mississippi College as an investment in their students' lives and in their community. The Mississippi College Communication Department currently enrolls undergraduates in interpersonal and public communication, journalism, mass media, public relations, and theater concentrations, and offers graduate degrees in journalism, health services communication, professional communication in sports, and public relations and corporate communication. Leading in innovative online classroom offerings, the communication department partners with other academic departments to offer unique degree programs to meet student and market demands. With a current enrollment of over 5,000 students and future leaders, Mississippi College seeks to be known as a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ. The faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Mississippi College Communication Department are proud to fulfill this vision as the department enters its 65th year of service.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, for his leadership. To what lengths will the Democrats go in order to protect ObamaCare? They've already denied pay to National Guardsmen and -women and Reservists, ceased lifesaving medical research. They've stopped VA benefits. Yet these measures have passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. Now, will they deny food to women, infants and children? The Democratic colleagues in the House that support this measure, maybe they can talk to their friends and get them to support it as well. This morning, a key White House official gloated and said, ``We're winning.'' Madam Speaker, this is not a game. Those men and women in the Guard and the Reserves that have been furloughed don't think this is a game. Those awaiting lifesaving medical research and treatment don't think anyone is winning. Those veterans who are waiting in line because they cannot apply for the benefits that they have earned don't think this is a game. And the women, infants, and children that are awaiting food under this bill know this is not a game. It's time to end this charade. Let's pass this bill and then invite our colleagues in the Senate to come to the table and talk.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding time, but I also thank him for his leadership on behalf of veterans. Mr. Speaker, the House and the Senate have already passed a measure that would pay for our troops in the middle of this government shutdown, and it's proper that we do this. This morning, I had the privilege of meeting with 91 veterans from all over the State of Mississippi, who were in our Nation's Capital as part of an Honor Flight. When we arrived at the World War II Memorial, we found the entrance was blocked because of the government shutdown. Now, for these heroes of the Greatest Generation--those men who stormed the beaches of Normandy while facing German machine gun nests, those men who saw their friends die on Iwo Jima--even though these heroes may now be confined to wheelchairs, a few Park Service barricades were no obstacle. It was my privilege to meet with them at the memorial that has been built in their honor. But the real way that our Nation pays tribute and thanks them for their service is for us to keep our commitment to them, our commitment in the form of VA benefits, of health care benefits, of disability benefits. Let us not fail those who have sacrificed so much for our Nation by failing to ensure that our veterans are provided the benefits and the services that they have earned. That's why I rise in support of this bill. Our obligation to our troops does not end when a war is over, and we must ensure that our military men and women are provided with the care and the benefits they deserve both during and after their service. We have all agreed to unanimously fund this generation's military. Let us also agree to fund that of the previous generation's.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Pennsylvania for yielding, but also for his leadership on this important issue. I rise in strong opposition to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty. The Obama administration has a disturbing tendency to favor international regulation over American sovereignty. The Arms Trade Treaty is just the latest example. The Government of the United States was created by ``we the people.'' ``We the people'' established the Constitution in order to limit that government; but as a condition of establishing that Constitution, ``we the people'' insisted that a Bill of Rights be adopted, a Bill of Rights that would guarantee every citizen of our Nation rights. An important plank in that Bill of Rights includes the right to keep and bear arms, and it's guaranteed by our Constitution. Under no circumstances should we ever agree to a treaty that undermines that right. This Arms Trade Treaty encourages nations to collect the identities of owners of imported firearms, which constitutes the core of a national gun registry. The treaty also requires nations to report the data they collect to the United Nations. If that data contains information on individual gun owners, it would be a serious violation of privacy. The treaty could also restrict the ability of the United States to conduct foreign policy and to sell arms to our allies, such as Israel. Now, we've seen in recent months what happens when we rely on the international community to act on America's interests. Russia, China, and the rest of the United Nations should never be given veto authority over American foreign policy; and we should never, ever subject the United States Constitution to the whims of the United Nations. The Second Amendment is sacred. We should always stand up and protect it. That is why I strongly oppose the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty and urge the United States Senate to reject it forthrightly.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for yielding, but more importantly for his leadership. The people sent me to Congress to help preserve liberty for future generations by limiting government and growing the economy. There's not a single law worse for individual liberty, for limited government, or job creation than ObamaCare. We must get rid of ObamaCare and replace it with a system that provides choice, lower costs, and puts patients in charge of their health care decisions. Today, we're standing up for our principles, our constituents, and for Americans. We will pass this bill today out of the House, and I encourage my conservative colleagues in the U.S. Senate to take up this fight and stand with us to make sure we defund ObamaCare.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. It is no secret that our Nation's budget is bleeding in red ink. This House has approved a budget that will turn that around, and the Appropriations Committee has brought forth bills consistent with that budget. I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from New Jersey, and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Ohio, for their efforts in meeting these budget targets and in eliminating wasteful programs but, at the same time, in preserving our priorities. This amendment specifically deletes funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, and I would like to address those priorities that are addressed by that commission. This is not a wasteful program. It has invested in infrastructure. It has changed the lives and the income of the men and women of that region, a region that I represent. When the Appalachian Regional Commission was formed almost five decades ago, it included some of the poorest counties of the poorest States in the Nation. Since then, it has achieved measurable results: the number of people living in high poverty has been cut in half; infant mortality has been cut by two-thirds; and students without a high school education have decreased significantly. But the men and women of this region aren't sitting idly by, waiting for Federal investment to show up to solve our problems. We've used the Federal investment through the Appalachian Regional Commission and leveraged it with local and other State investments. In the last 4 years, the Appalachian Regional Commission has invested $360 million in that region. At the same time, over $1 billion of other public investment has occurred. What has that done? It's attracted over $2.8 billion in private investment, which has resulted in 122,000 jobs that have been created. This commission has made a difference. No, it's not wasteful spending. The Appalachian Regional Commission is making a difference in the lives of the men and women and families in Appalachian. Because of that, I oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding. America has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources. Because of private-sector innovations, we've seen a boom in energy development both on private lands and on State lands. Sadly, due to the Obama administration's extreme environmental agenda, in these same years we've seen a decline of energy recovery off of Federal lands. The most prominent example of President Obama's prioritizing his radical environmental base over American energy development is the continued failure to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. It's a sad commentary on the state of leadership in the modern-day Democratic Party compared with the record of men like President Kennedy. President Kennedy set out bold goals and then laid out ways of achieving those goals. He came to this very Chamber and challenged the elected representatives that before the decade is out, America would land a man on the Moon and return him safely back to Earth. America achieved President Kennedy's goals. Now, given our resources from our friendly neighbors to the north, given American innovation, we should echo the challenge of President Kennedy. We should make it the goal of this generation that before this decade is out we become North American energy secure. Now, there are vastly different undertakings between landing a man on the Moon and becoming energy secure, but the spirit required to achieve success in those areas is the same. The only thing standing between America and energy security for the future is an executive branch that's run by environmental extremists that are beholden to the wealthy liberal environmentalists. Now, residents of Billionaires' Row in San Francisco can afford to indulge in fantasies of an economy run on windmills and solar panels. Meanwhile, men and women in Mississippi that are struggling to get to work know that it continues to break the better part of a $100 bill to fill their car up with gas. We, as elected officials who serve the people in need of affordable energy and a thriving economy, must deal with that reality. That's why I support an all-of-the-above approach. It does include renewable energy; but it also includes recovering American fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, recovering American coal that we can now burn cleanly without damaging the environment, and expanding nuclear energy, including small modular nuclear reactors used in the production of electricity. If we do that, America can be energy secure.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Our friends on the other side have called for what they label a balanced approach, but let's look at the record. Is their quench for new taxes insatiable? At the start of this year, they got $600 billion in new taxes due to the fiscal cliff bill that passed. In addition, they added another $1 trillion of new taxes, starting this year, for ObamaCare. A total of $1.6 trillion in new taxes have been added since New Year's. But before the ink was even dry, they began to call for even more tax increases. In fact, the budget that we're discussing here calls for an additional $2.8 trillion of taxes that will be paid for by hardworking men and women around America. Taxes like, if you sell your house, you'll have to pay an excessive tax on the gain from the sale of your house when you're in retirement. What do they do with their new taxes? Do they take it and pay down the debt? No. Instead, they take these additional taxes and use it to spend more. This budget is not content with ObamaCare that passed a few years ago, no. It expands that. I do commend our friends on the other side for at least showing your intentions that you're not going to be happy until every American is on socialized medicine. And this expands ObamaCare. It also expands food stamps. At a time when projections are showing that our economy may improve, certainly we should see individuals moving away from food stamps and on to a job supporting themselves, but that's not what we're seeing. A measure of success of a society should not be how many people can we put on public assistance. The measure of success of a society should be how many men and women can we allow to help themselves. But this budget does cut spending in one area. It cuts into our national defense, even more so than the President's budget that he submitted last year. So while we're increasing spending on things that would drain our economy and deprive our children of obtaining jobs, we're compromising the very defense of our Nation. And when does it balance? Never. Mr. Chairman, I reject this budget and urge you to vote ``no.''

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. I do want to thank Mr. Ryan for his leadership on this budget. Mr. Chairman, we've talked a lot about the big picture. I want to make it personal. In the early 1990s, I lost my job in a corporate merger. For about 48 hours, I moped around, feeling sorry for myself; but then, one morning, my wife and I got up. We made a pot of coffee, and we got out a sheet of notebook paper, and right down the middle of the page we drew a line. On one side, we wrote down: this is what we have coming in. On the other side, we wrote down: this is how we're going to spend it. We shed some tears that morning as we made difficult decisions. The reason I tell that very personal story is that there is no question in my mind that, today, there are Americans sitting at their kitchen tables--with that same piece of paper, shedding those same tears. Before I got here, I served in the State senate. I chaired the Appropriations Committee, and I worked with the Democrat chairman in the State house as we made difficult decisions in balancing our State budget. Families, State legislatures, small businesses around this Nation are making those difficult decisions. They have every reason to expect their policymakers in Washington to do the same thing. I support this budget proposal because it does make tough decisions and balances our budget. I support this proposal on behalf of my mom and dad, who worked all of their lives and paid into a system, and their government made them a promise that said when you get to age 65, we're going to provide you with health care. Yet the actuaries for that system say that their government is in danger of not being able to honor its promise. I support this budget on behalf of my parents because this budget says we repeal a system of unelected bureaucrats that will make health care decisions for them. I support this budget on behalf of my children and their peers who are entering the workforce, yet are facing job creators with an uncertainty of what's coming out of Washington. I support this budget on behalf of my two grandchildren, to whom I will not be part of passing on a debt that will jeopardize their future. We hear our friends on the other side of the aisle say, Well, what we need to do is raise taxes so that we can spend more. We're going to tax this current generation $1.5 trillion more. We're going to tax future generations so that we can spend more. That is not the right approach. That's why I support this budget.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, over 1,000,000 people have had their sight restored since the Eye Bank Association of America was created in 1961. Since 1983, each March has been designated as National Eye Donor Month. As a recipient of two corneal transplants, I am honored to participate this year. In high school I was diagnosed with keratoconus, a degenerative disease of the cornea. From then and through much of my college life, I lived with the belief that I would one day lose my eyesight. As a junior in college, I was told I was potentially a good candidate for cornea replacement surgery. On April 25, 1980, I had my first surgery and the results were almost instantaneous. Two years later, I had another, equally successful transplant procedure on my other eye. I live every day with the knowledge that not only was my vision saved, it took tremendous strength and compassion on the part of two families to make it possible. With corneas, the doctors are not concerned with matching by blood type, but they need to match by age. The reason is simple: the cornea does not need to wear out before the recipient does. So two families who lost a son, daughter, husband, or wife in their teens-to-mid- twenties made a decision under the worst of circumstances, and donated their loved ones corneas so that a stranger might see. I encourage all Americans to register to become eye donors and inform your families of your wishes. I urge my colleagues to work with their local eye banks and the EBAA to promote eye donation and its life enhancing effects on corneal recipients. During this month, let us remember the donors and their families who have forever changed so many lives, including my own, for the better.

Mr. NUNNELEE

Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Chairman, we've heard the criticism, this is a game. Well, any family that has found themselves in a financial crisis knows this is not a game. I'm one of those families. Eighteen years ago, I lost my job in a corporate merger. After 48 hours of depression, my wife and I woke up, made a pot of coffee, drew a line down the middle of the page, and on one side we wrote down, this is what we have coming in, on the other side we wrote down, this is how we're going to spend it. In an economy when far too many of our friends and family members are out of work, there's no question in my mind that while we're debating this, there are families that are going through that exact exercise. Those families that are making those tough decisions in their family budgets have every reason to expect their policymakers to do the same. We shed tears around the kitchen table that morning. Those families are shedding tears around the kitchen table right now. They know that's not a game. They expect Washington to come up with a budget, and that's what this bill does. This bill says, Mr. President, give us a budget. Show us when it balances. Tell us when you have a balanced budget. We ask the President to do the same thing that American families are doing.