Joseph Pitts

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 1 minute to another distinguished member of the Health Subcommittee, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to another doctor, the gentleman from Indiana, Dr. Bucshon.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 2 minutes to another health care professional--a nurse--the gentlelady from North Carolina, Renee Ellmers.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 2 minutes to another doctor, the gentleman from Michigan, Dr. Benishek.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chair, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished vice chairman of the Health Subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Dr. Burgess.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey, another distinguished member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, 2 years ago, they said PPACA would cost less than $1 trillion. The CBO's new estimate says it's going to cost over $1.7 trillion. Stay tuned. I now yield 2 minutes to the author of the IPAB repeal, the gentleman from Tennessee, Dr. Roe.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, I would much rather hear from some of our doctor friends who are speaking so eloquently. I have another doctor, a member of the Health Subcommittee, from Pennsylvania. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman, Dr. Tim Murphy.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, I'd just like to take 30 seconds to respond to the distinguished ranking member before I yield to Mr. Bass. He mentioned that this so-called expert panel could have physicians and health care professionals. I refer him to section 3403(g) of PPACA on page 423, specifically on the majority for the panel. There's a specific prohibition that you can't have a majority of health care providers or physicians on IPAB. And as far as these being recommendations, you can't appeal; you can't sue this board. Only with three-fifths vote in both Chambers with commensurate cuts can you overturn their recommendation. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass).

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, on February 23, the Journal of Medical Ethics published an article, entitled, ``After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?'' The authors argue that an infant child can be killed since they do not have the same moral status as a ``person.'' They go even further to say that adoption is not always in the best interest of an unwanted child. The furor over this article has been immense. Unfortunately, the editors defend publishing this article on the basis that there should be reasoned engagement on the subject. This article may have the form of scholarly argument, but its substance is madness. The authors maintain that a baby can only be granted personhood through the recognition of other human beings. They fundamentally reject something that we all hold dear: that all men are endowed by their Creator with the right to life. A healthy amount of anger over this article is not only natural but also right. It is shocking and sad to see such destructive arguments given credence in a premier medical journal.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, today the House of Representatives lost a distinguished Member who served with honor for more than two decades. I had the pleasure of working with Donald Payne many times over the years. He had an incredible heart for Africa and suffering people in every corner of the continent. From Morocco to South Africa, he was a tireless advocate for freedom and self-determination. We worked together speaking on behalf of the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara. Representative Payne watched Western Sahara closely, working toward a peaceful resolution that would allow for a free referendum that could establish self-government. We also worked together in 2007 to recognize the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade and to honor the legacy of William Wilberforce. And in one amazing episode, he risked his life seeking peace in Sudan and nearly had his plane shot down in 2009. Donald Payne never missed an opportunity to advocate on behalf of the oppressed, and his work has had a lasting impact on the human rights of people around the world. I'm proud to have fought the good fight alongside of him. He will be missed.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, since President Ronald Reagan declared the first celebration in 1983, the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) and its 97 member eye banks have designated March as National Eye Donor Month--an opportunity to honor eye donors and corneal recipients, and increase awareness of the need to donate eyes. Through corneal transplants, over 1,000,000 people have had their sight restored since the EBAA's inception in 1961. This is precisely why it is so important to educate the general public about the donors and their families who afford life-changing corneal transplantations for over 50,000 people annually. Of the EBAA's 97 member eye banks, five are located in Pennsylvania, and they have a deep-rooted commitment to restoring sight by providing corneas for sight-saving transplant procedures. In 2010, charitable eye donations made by Pennsylvania residents allowed our state eye banks to provide in excess of 2,900 corneal transplants to help our fellow Pennsylvanians regain their sight, and almost 1,200 corneas for research and educational purposes. The Pennsylvania eye banks' efforts have not gone unnoticed, changing the lives of thousands of Pennsylvanians through the selfless gifts of donors and their families. The Center for Organ Recovery & Education in Pittsburgh will soon offer surgeons pre-cut corneal tissue, which will greatly enhance post- operative recovery time for those recipients undergoing Endothelial Keratoplasty. In Hershey, the Gift of Life Eye Bank educates the public about eye donation and coordinates the recovery and allocation of corneas for transplant. Serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, the Gift of Life Eye Bank also supports research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions. Located in the City of Brotherly Love, the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley recently acquired the latest technological device to prepare donated cornea tissue for the most modern, highly-effective surgical techniques. For over 52 years, the Lions Eye Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania in Erie has been dedicated to sight restoration. In November 2011, they accomplished a first; procurement of a cornea from a living donor and successful transplantation into a young man from Philadelphia. Celebrating 55 years of eye banking, the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Eye Bank in Bethlehem is a charter member of the EBAA, and to date, has placed over 25,000 corneas for transplantation. Even with the tremendous advancements eye banks have made in corneal transplantation, much remains to be done to offer more people the opportunity to receive life-changing corneal transplants. I encourage all Americans to register to become eye donors. Inform your family of your wishes; designate yourself as a donor on your driver's license; and register as an eye donor through your state donor registry. I urge my colleagues to work with their local eye banks and the EBAA to promote the importance of eye donation and its life-enhancing effects on corneal recipients. During March 2012, let us remember the donors whose gifts of sight make corneal transplants possible, celebrate the corneal recipients whose lives are forever changed and work with the EBAA and its member eye banks to continue restoring sight worldwide through public education and ongoing advancements in corneal transplantation.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. I yield myself the balance of my time. Tonight, as Pastor Youcef sits in prison, awaiting a hangman's noose, I want him to know and the people of Iran to know and the people of the world to know that we stand with him. Our thoughts and our prayers are with him. I would say to those international guests who might watch this telecast that you will never understand America until you understand that, in our Constitution, the very First Amendment contains the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion. It contains the freedom of religion. It is not our Second, our Sixth, our 16th, or our 26th Amendment. It is our First Amendment. It is the first thing mentioned in the First Amendment--the freedom of religion: Congress shall not act to establish a religion and shall not prohibit the free exercise thereof. That comes before the freedom of the press or speech or assembly or petition of grievances. If you want to understand America, you must understand this basic belief that the Americans have in the right of the freedom of religion. So we ask, we implore, the authorities in Iran: free Pastor Youcef. Keep faith with the documents you've signed. Free him. Return him to his family. I urge support, Mr. Speaker, of the Members for House Resolution 556. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. PITTS. I would like to inquire of the gentleman if he is prepared to yield back. I am prepared to close.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 556) condemning the Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy, as amended.

Mr. PITTS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leaders on both sides of the aisle for allowing this resolution to come to the floor so promptly. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Iran was one of the original signers of the declaration and has not removed their country from the agreement, even through changes in government. In October of 2009, Youcef Nadarkhani was alarmed to find out that his children were being forced to participate in Islamic religious instruction at their local school. Pastor Youcef had no radical reaction to this revelation. Indeed, he only went to the school and asked that his children be granted their rights under the Iranian Constitution to freedom of religion. These rights explicitly include parents' rights to bring up children under the religious teaching of the family. For the crime of asking that his rights be respected, Pastor Youcef was summoned to a tribunal. There he was arrested and charged with unlawful protesting. This charge was later changed to apostasy. After almost a year in prison, Pastor Youcef was convicted and sentenced to death. A panel of judges demanded that he recant his faith. When confronted with this demand, Pastor Youcef stated, ``I cannot.'' While it is difficult to peer past the gates of an Iranian prison, we have some evidence that there has been continued pressure on Pastor Youcef to recant and that there may have been attempts to trap him into blaspheming Islam. Despite this pressure, he has remained faithful. With our religious freedom protected by the First Amendment, it is difficult for any of us to imagine what Pastor Youcef has been going through, torn away from his children and family, placed in a high- security prison, with the likely outcome being the hangman's noose. Today, we're not asking Iran to respect our laws or our conventions. We're asking them to abide by the agreements at the United Nations that they have signed on to. The authorities in Iran are not proud of sentencing Pastor Youcef to death. Indeed, the Iranian Government doesn't even want their own people to know that Pastor Youcef has been charged for practicing his religion. State media have actually reported that he is charged with rape and extortion, not apostasy. Millions of Iranians are members of a minority religious group. Sunni Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are all proud to call Iran home. They want to live in peace with their neighbors, and they want to follow the law, but they cannot do so when their faith is under assault. This evening, I'm proud that we have bipartisan support for this resolution. I'm proud to join with Representative Keith Ellison on this resolution. We stand together tonight in support of basic human rights, and we appeal to the highest authorities in Iran to spare the life of Youcef Nadharkani. Please let this father return to his wife and his children. Further still, let the Iranian people freely practice their faith. Stand by your commitments to your people and to the world. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a champion of human rights, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and a member of the Helsinki Commission.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, this evening the House will consider H. Res. 556, condemning Iran for their persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing to death of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. Pastor Youcef has been in prison for 2\1/2\ years now under the charges of apostasy and condemned to death by hanging. His wife, too, was arrested and condemned to life in prison, but later released. Christians and other religious minorities are under assault in Iran today. Hundreds have been imprisoned and many have been executed on trumped-up charges. In fact, while the official charges against Pastor Youcef are apostasy and evangelism, the state media said that he has been charged with rape and extortion. The authorities in Iran know that they are violating both their own constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in their treatment of Pastor Youcef and other minorities. This week, the House will call on Iran to respect these agreements and to release Pastor Youcef so that he, his wife, and children may practice their religion freely and not according to the dictates of the state.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, why do we say that the President's health care law is a government takeover? Because, under the law, the government can force religious organizations to violate their conscience. Because, under the law, the Independent Payment Advisory Board can cut Medicare reimbursements without the consent of Congress. This same board could start running with minimal congressional oversight, given the President's attempt to broaden the definition of a recess. It is a government takeover because the minimum essential benefits package will effectively dictate the level of coverage for every health care plan in the Nation. It is a government takeover because the United States Preventive Services Task Force will determine what services have to be provided without any copayment. Finally, when the government can force you to purchase a service that it firmly controls, it's a government takeover. The list could go on and on. Clearly, the Federal Government is now in the driver's seat. The President's health care law is already failing, which is why we need to end it before it's fully implemented.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today, on Valentine's Day, millions of Americans will celebrate with a box of chocolates or candy. All told, consumers are expected to spend more than $1.5 billion on candy this holiday. What they don't know is that government sugar controls are making that heart-shaped box more expensive than it needs to be. What they don't know is that American companies are struggling to compete against foreign producers who pay half as much for sugar. Because of government price supports, marketing allotments, and import quotas, U.S. consumers and businesses pay almost double the average world market price for sugar. By some estimates, this could be costing us more than 20,000 jobs. Many of us have watched good jobs lost because the government guarantees the profits of a relatively small group of growers and producers. Reforming our sugar program isn't a partisan issue, which is why I've been proud to introduce H.R. 1385, the Free Market Sugar Act, with my friend from Chicago, Danny Davis. Maybe next Valentine's Day can be sweeter for American workers and consumers.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, the first Monday in February every year is supposed to be the day the President releases his budget, but this year the budget was delayed a week. Last year the budget was delayed a week also. The release date for the budget has been the same for decades, yet this administration seems to be incapable of completing their work on time. Back when I was a high school teacher, turning in your work a week or two late meant you failed. Now is no time to fail on budgetary matters, not when we are $15 trillion in debt and have deficits every year of more than a trillion dollars. The Senate hasn't passed a budget in more than 1,000 days. We need a realistic plan to get our country back on track. When the House put forward a plan last year, it was met with an attack that the nonpartisan PolitiFact called ``the lie of the year.'' The Federal budget affects every American, especially those who are looking for jobs. Right now, uncertainty abounds and employers wonder whether destructive taxes will hold back growth. Let's get back on a sound fiscal track. Let's end the uncertainty. Let's pass a budget on time again this year.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, institutions across the country are facing an impossible choice: Do they continue in their mission to provide for their employees, or do they violate their conscience? When the Affordable Care Act passed, there was no thought in the minds of many Catholics that the law would eventually force them into such a terrible choice. In fact, my former colleague from Pennsylvania, Kathy Dahlkemper, recently came out and said, I would have never voted for the final version of the bill if I expected the Obama administration to force Catholic hospitals and Catholic colleges and universities to pay for contraception. I might add, this rule that will go into effect on August 12 includes not only contraceptives, but abortifacients, drugs like Ella and Plan B, as well as sterilization services. Catholic and other religious organizations have cared for the sick and educated Americans of all religions since the founding of our Republic, and they've done this because their conscience compels them to show their love to all mankind. Never before has the Federal Government compelled them to violate their conscience in such a terrible way. There are fundamental questions about life and morality that the government has no business forcing on organizations and individuals. To force them to violate their conscience is wrong.