Dave Obey

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 2 additional minutes. You don't get a second chance to educate kids. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that this package will do as much as we ought to be doing to ease the squeeze on the national economy. We will have partially offset with this bill the human wreckage caused by the recession, but we will still have done nothing in this round to address the macro reality that the economy is still incredibly weak. This bill will soften the blow of State budget cutbacks, but those very cutbacks have had a negative and neutralizing effect on the Federal fiscal stimulus in the first place. This is a far less dramatic action than the Nation needs to recover from the recession. But this aid is long overdue, and the time for arguing is past. The cutbacks in food stamps in the bill are plain wrong. But face it, the minority party in the Senate is using the rules of the Senate to give them the functional equivalent of the majority's ability to determine the agenda of that body, and they have decided to follow a rule or ruin approach to governance, blocking every action they can, and in this case delaying action to the point of complete confusion. Our Nation's kids are getting ready to go back to school. They need this help now, inadequate though it is. I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' to give it to them. It's the least we should do. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

Mr. OBEY. That is the committee's intent.

Mr. OBEY. That is our intent.

Mr. OBEY. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentleman for the time. Mr. Chairman, I would describe this bill as a fiscally responsible jobs bill. It is below the President's request by $1.3 billion, and below last year by one-half billion dollars. Last year, the Recovery Act demonstrated that investments in transportation and housing both support decent paying jobs, while providing critical infrastructure investments. Let me review some of the facts: To help the economy save jobs, we put over $60 billion in the Recovery Act for transportation and housing programs. With the exception of two new programs that were created in that bill, nearly all of the money, 98 percent, has been obligated. It has started over 14,000 transportation construction projects supporting an average of 41,000 direct jobs each quarter. It has rehabilitated or developed more than 188,000 units of low-income housing, and served over 357,000 low-income individuals through housing for the homeless. But the economic downturn was far worse than was predicted. There are still many families reeling from the housing crisis. In fact, approximately 6 million homes have been foreclosed upon in the past 3 years, and our roads, bridges and mass transit systems are in desperate need of additional investment. The Department of Transportation states that there is a yearly investment gap of $27 billion just to maintain our current highways and bridges. And the state of our transit system isn't much better. This bill increases the amount that can be spent on highways and transit by a modest $4.5 billion over fiscal 2010, and over the President's request, even as we come in under last year and under the President's request overall. According to DOT's job model estimates, this increase will support more than 150,000 transportation jobs. In addition, vulnerable populations affected by the economic downturn, such as the homeless, the elderly and the disabled, are also supported in this bill through programs such as funding for section 8 housing vouchers. We have $113 million for foreclosure mitigation counseling. The bill also includes $75 million for 10,000 additional vouchers for homeless veterans, support for the homeless, with $2.2 billion allocated for housing and services, and a new demonstration linking HUD and HHS funding to better support these families and individuals. Low-income individuals have disproportionately been affected by this economic crisis. We need to focus instead on the right kind of affordable housing for seniors, the disabled and the homeless. That's what this bill does, and I urge support of it.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, to hear the gentleman talk, you would think that this bill is being gobbled up by a huge number of earmarks, causing the deficit to explode. The gentleman used a chart. I've got a chart too. This bar represents the total spending in this bill, $67 billion. This bar represents the portion of that bill represented by earmarks. Mr. Chairman, I have a tough time finding it. Oh, yeah, with this magnifying glass I can almost see the bar that represents the earmarks. Less than one-half of 1 percent of this bill are represented by earmarks. And you know what? The last time I looked, the Constitution gave the Congress the power of the purse. No Congress has ever changed any President's budget by more than 3 percent in all the time I have been here. And that 3 percent difference is the difference between having a President and having a king. And whether the President is Republican or Democratic, I want a President. I don't want a king. So all I would suggest to the gentleman from Arizona is that he keep this in perspective. Keep it in perspective. Or as my old friend Archie the cockroach said once long ago, ``Perspective is everything. Of what use is it for a queen bee to fall in love with a bull?''

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, the way I see it, we're watching a let's pretend attack on the deficit tonight by singling out these items that cost about a million bucks. If Members are concerned about the deficit, I would ask, why did they vote for two tax cuts, primarily aimed at rich people, that spent more than $2 trillion? Why are they continuing to insist that we provide further tax cuts for people who make over $250,000 a year, again paid for with borrowed money? Why did they vote to go into two wars on borrowed money that cost over a trillion dollars? That's where the real money is.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentleman for the time. I thank him for his overblown words. I do want to extend my best wishes to Bill Young, who is one of the most loved Members of this House and one of the most respected. I also want to congratulate the gentleman from Texas for the superb job he has done in putting this bill together. It is a well-balanced bill, and everyone understands the gentleman's convictions and his passionate desire to defend the interests of American veterans. Madam Chair, there are more than 6 million veterans and their families who depend on the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical care, for disability payments, and education benefits, and this bill represents our obligation to them. It builds on our actions of the last 2 years, which have provided the most significant enlargement of education benefits for veterans since the passage of the original GI Bill of Rights. One of the bill's highest priorities is to help cut through the bureaucracy that disabled veterans face over their claims. They shouldn't have to wait months and months for their paperwork to be processed before receiving the benefits owed to them. The bill provides for an additional 4,000 permanent claims processors--a 25 percent increase to work through more than 1 million disability claims. These resources are especially needed now that the Vietnam veterans will be eligible to file claims for disabilities caused by Agent Orange. Veterans' medical care is the largest component of the bill. According to the VA, more than 6.1 million patients will be treated in 2011, including nearly 440,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, many people think of veterans' health care as being solely focused on physical injuries. We understand now, better than ever, how combat threatens soldiers' mental health as well. We owe it to every one of them to address not only their physical wounds but also the mental and emotional consequences of war. This bill includes added resources for services to veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other mental conditions. Full access to this care remains a problem for some veterans, for seeing the right specialist can mean expensive trips and hours and hours in the car. In Northern Wisconsin, for instance, there are tens of thousands of veterans who cannot regularly see counselors because there aren't vet centers anywhere near their homes. This bill makes critical investments to meet our obligations to them. This bill also addresses the high rate of veterans' homelessness. On any given night last year, 107,000 veterans were homeless. That is shameful. With the goal of ending veterans' homelessness in 5 years, this bill matches the budget request for VA homeless assistance grants and supportive services for veterans and their families who need them. At the end of the day, it is important to remember that this bill is not just about dollars and programs. It is about our duty to American veterans--to respect their service and sacrifice, not only with flowery words on the Fourth of July, but also with actions like this, on days like this, that are less noticed but every bit as important. I congratulate the subcommittee for the bill that they have produced.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4899.

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Madam Speaker, I have a double and conflicting obligation on this matter. As chairman of the committee, I have an obligation to this House to bring this war supplemental before the House to allow this institution to work its will. But I also have the obligation of my conscience to indicate by my individual vote my profound skepticism that this action will accomplish much more than to serve as a recruiting incentive for those who most want to do us ill. Last year, as the administration was undertaking its Afghanistan review, I expressed my concern that the best policy in the world could not succeed if we did not have the tools on the ground, namely, the effective cooperation of the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, to accomplish it. I submit today that those critical tools are not at hand. The Afghan Government has not demonstrated the focused determination, reliability, and judgment necessary to bring this effort to a rational and successful conclusion. Even if we could have greater confidence in that government's capacity, it would likely take so long that it will obliterate our ability to make the kinds of long-term investments in our own country that are so desperately needed. We have appropriated over $1 trillion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to date, more than $700 billion to Iraq and $300 billion for Afghanistan. These wars have been paid for with borrowed money. What's happened with this bill is a good indication of the tensions in the false choices that we face. The bill started in March as a domestic disaster relief and youth summer jobs bill, and the Senate added war funding. Then we tried to do something about other emergencies this year, such as the loss of more than 100,000 teachers' jobs because of devastating State and local budget cuts, border security vulnerabilities, and a shortfall in Pell Grant funding because more students qualify for aid due to the economic recession. The House tried to fund those emergencies, which were largely paid for with offsets to other programs, but now, true to form, virtually everything we've attempted to do this year to address the economic crisis and emergencies on the domestic side of the ledger has fallen by the wayside. And on the current course, we will face the very same situation again next year and the following year as well. Military experts tell us that it could take up to 10 more years to achieve any acceptable outcome in Afghanistan. We've already been there 9 years. I believe that is too high a price to pay. Now, to those who say we must pay it because we're going after al Qaeda, I would note that Afghanistan is where al Qaeda used to be. Today, there are fewer than 100 al Qaeda in Afghanistan, which was publicly confirmed last month by CIA Chief Panetta. Al Qaeda has relocated to other countries and regions.

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 1 additional minute. I have the highest respect and appreciation for our troops who have done everything asked of them, but they are being let down by the inability of the governments of Afghanistan and, in some instances, Pakistan to do their parts. I would be willing to support additional war funding provided that Congress would vote up or down explicitly on whether or not to continue this policy after a new National Intelligence Estimate is produced. But absent that discipline, I cannot look my constituents in the eye and say that this operation will hurt our enemies more than it hurts us, and so I will reluctantly vote ``no.'' I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I don't know when it was that this Congress has suddenly decided that when we talk about critical needs that that does not include border security, that that does not include meeting our obligation to those students in this country who are eligible for Pell Grants who also must get funding in this bill, and our school children, who do a whole lot better if they don't lose 100,000 teachers out of the classroom nationwide. The second point I would make is simply this. If the Pakistani and Afghan Governments were doing half the job that American troops are doing in this war, I wouldn't be worried about supporting this bill. But tragically, they aren't. And the biggest favor we can do those troops is to recognize that reality. As I indicated, I will vote ``no'' on this piece of legislation. Disclosure of Earmarks The following table lists the congressional earmarks (as defined in clause 9(e) of rule XXI) contained in the Senate amendment to H.R. 4899. The Senate amendment does not contain any limited tax or tariff benefits as defined in paragraphs (f) or (g) of clause 9 of rule XXI.

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I move that the House suspend the rules, recede from the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4899) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 2 minutes to the chairwoman of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the chairman of the Military Construction Subcommittee.

Mr. OBEY. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. OBEY. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), a key member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. OBEY. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee). (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. I yield back the balance of my time.