Tom Price

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, point of order.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, is the Speaker not supposed to be an impartial presiding officer in this body?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, point of order.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a dear friend and a special American on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Worthy Coe Hamling was born on August 2, 1918 on the plains of South Dakota. Armed with nothing more than the dogged determination, rugged individualism and unbending family loyalty forged by a birth attended only by his mother and God, Coe embodies the greatest qualities of America. It was at Hamlyn University in Minnesota that he met his loving wife of 66 years, Betty. His embrace of freedom, family, and the sanctity of every human being is balanced by his unyielding sense of responsibility and self-reliance. Living in Roswell, GA, Coe proudly anchors a family of five children, ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Madam Speaker, I know the entire House of Representatives joins me in extending a hearty, happy 90th birthday to Coe Hamling--an American treasure!

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to honor a dear friend and a special American on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Worthy Coe Hamling was born on August 5, 1918, on the plains of South Dakota. Armed with nothing more than the dogged determination, rugged individualism, and an unbending family loyalty, forged by a birth attended only by his mother and God, Coe embodies the greatest qualities of America. It was at Hamlin University in Minnesota where he met his loving wife of 66 years, Betty. His embrace of freedom, family, and the sanctity of every human being is balanced by his unyielding sense of responsibility and self-reliance. Living in Roswell, Georgia, Coe proudly anchors a family of five children, ten grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. Madam Speaker, I know the entire House of Representatives joins me in extending a hearty, happy 90th birthday to Coe Hamling, an American treasure.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my friend and leader from California for yielding. This do nothing, no energy Congress has perfected changing the rules to suit themselves. But this may take first prize. Virtually all of us talk about the need for entitlement reform. Entitlement, that's those programs that comprise about 55 percent of the budget. I call it a ``yes'' moment at home. It's when the crowds say, Yes, yes, please. Some reform is needed. And the rules currently in place would allow for some real reform, especially in the area of lawsuit abuse reform, not cuts in Medicare. Not an increase in premiums. As a physician for nearly 30 years, I understand clearly the need for liability reform, and it's imperative not just to decrease malpractice costs but to end the practice of defensive medicine estimated to be greater than $300 billion annually. That's $300 billion of savings without any Medicare cut, without any increase in premiums. Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, this vote today is about fiscal responsibility and ending frivolous lawsuit abuse. Let's work together. Americans want action on this issue, and they want it now. This proposed rules change means no reform.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I appreciate your perspective on this. It's not one with which I agree, but I appreciate your perspective. But wouldn't the gentleman agree that under this rule, shouldn't this be a rule where all amendments are debated?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding. There are so many remarkable aspects of this bill that deserve debate and discussion, but it's not going to happen. So the question that I would ask is, what on Earth are the Democrats afraid of? What on Earth is the new majority afraid of? This majority, the Democrat majority, promised the Nation a fair and open process, and again, they've failed to live up to their promises. This bill, we received the final language of almost 700 pages in this bill at 6:30 p.m. last night, 6:30 p.m., Mr. Speaker, and we were told that the Rules Committee was meeting at 7:30 p.m., 1 hour later. The bill itself increases the debt limit by $800 billion. Mr. Speaker, by my calculation, that is $1.3 billion a minute to allow Members an opportunity to look at the bill and determine whether or not amendments ought be in order. But the Rules Committee didn't accept any amendments. The bill has the potential to increase the national debt by 50 percent, by $5 trillion. Don't you think the taxpayers of this Nation deserve an open and an honest debate about that? The bill gives unprecedented and unchecked authority to the Treasury Department to put taxpayers on the hook for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And we've been given 2 hours to debate it, with no amendments, no opportunity for change? What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? The most sweeping changes to housing law in a generation were circulated to our offices just 16 hours prior to floor consideration. Now, this is in contrast to what the leadership, the Democrat leadership, said just 2 short years ago before they became leaders. Speaker Pelosi said in June of 2006, ``Because the debate has been limited and Americans' voices silenced by this restrictive rule, I urge my colleagues to vote against the rule.'' Well, I agree with the Speaker. But what's changed? What's changed for her? Is it political expediency or is it a broken promise? In December of 2006, following the election, now-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer bragged to the media. He said, ``We intend to have a Rules Committee . . . that gives opposition voices and alternative proposals the ability to be heard and considered on the floor of the House.'' What happened, Mr. Speaker? What are they afraid of? What are they afraid of? Here we are considering a rule in which the majority didn't even bother to post a process by which Members could submit amendments. What's changed, Mr. Speaker? What are they afraid of? What debate would be so scary that they wouldn't even allow an amendment or an alternative on the floor? The chairwoman of the Rules Committee, Ms. Slaughter, said, ``If we want to foster democracy in this body, we should take the time and thoughtfulness to debate all major legislation under an open rule, not just appropriations bills, which are already restricted. An open process should be the norm and not the exception.'' What changed, Mr. Speaker? What changed? What are they so afraid of? The Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel said, ``Let us have an up- or-down vote. Do not be scared. Do not hide behind some little rule. Come on out here. Put it on the table, and let us have a vote. So do not hide behind the rule. If this is what you want to do, let us have an up-or-down vote. You can put your vote's right up there . . . and then the American people can see what it is all about.'' Mr. Speaker, what's so scary about an open rule? Such heavy-handed tactics effectively silence half of the American people. How can that be consistent with the campaign promises that we heard from this new majority? A number of Republicans, including myself, submitted amendments to the bill. I submitted two thoughtful and substantive amendments.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. But my two amendments were not even given an opportunity to come to the floor for a vote. So this, just like energy, Mr. Speaker, just like energy, we are unable to bring the American people's desires to the floor to have a vote. That's all we ask for. Mr. Speaker, what's so scary? What are they afraid of? Are they afraid of the American people?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote. Motion to Table by Mr. Hastings of Florida

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank Mr. Westmoreland from Georgia for his leadership on this and so many other issues. You have a poster down there that talks about American dollars going elsewhere. Have you talked about that poster yet tonight?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Why don't you highlight that poster because that talks about the kinds of things that I would like to discuss.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for pointing that out. Now Hugo Chavez is the president of Venezuela, not the president of an American oil company, not the president of a friendly nation, he is the president of Venezuela, and that's what gets my constituents so outraged, and that is instead of taking advantage of the American resources that we have to make American energy, what is this leadership in the House doing? It is forcing us to continue to give millions upon millions upon millions of dollars to folks who don't like us. Incredible. T. Boone Pickens is doing ads on television right now. He talks about a $700 billion transfer of wealth every year, $700 billion from the United States offshore. And much of it to folks that don't like us. And why? Mr. Speaker, why? Because the leadership, the Democrat leadership in the House of Representatives will not even allow a vote on the floor of the House to make it so that we can vote on whether or not we ought to utilize American energy for Americans. And I know that people get frustrated by talking about the processes. They say you ought not talk about the process. But in this instance the process is policy. The process is policy. Here we had a Speaker who came into the majority leadership 18, 19 months ago. And what did she say, she said this was going to be the most open, the most fair, the most equitable Congress in the history of the Nation. And what have we had? We have had the most closed Congress in the lifetime of us sitting here. We talk about what are called open rules which allow amendments or debate on a specific bill when it comes to the floor. This has been the fewest number of open rules that anybody can remember. It is phenomenal, much more so than what we were criticized for when we had the majority 2 years ago. But what that failure of process means, what that closure of the process means is that ideas aren't able to be brought to the floor, votes aren't able to be had on bills that the American people care about. And in this instance, it is the American people's pocketbook. It is their livelihood. It is jobs. It is on American energy for Americans that the Speaker of the House will not allow a vote on this floor. It is unconscionable. It is unconscionable. I don't know if most Americans appreciate this is going on. We believe that the process of bringing American energy to Americans is complex. It takes into account all sorts of different opportunities that we have. Conservation, we all believe in conservation. We are all getting greener. Alternative fuel, we believe we ought to incentivize the creation of alternative fuel and not make it so that the government is picking the winner in the area of alternative fuel.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. It truly is remarkable because that is not what they said. They said we want to be open and we want to do all we can to make certain that the American people have appropriate energy. But when it comes to voting on the floor of the House, Mr. Speaker, they won't allow it. They won't allow it. That's what gets my folks at home upset.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. So all it asks Members of Congress to do is say I will sign a petition that says, ``I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans.''

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. And time is of the essence. We are here just this week and next week. After that, Congress goes on vacation. Congress goes on vacation. I have been ranting and raving every time when we close this House each week, usually on a Thursday afternoon at 2:30 or 3, that we are gone for another 3 or 4 days without addressing the major one issue of the American people. So in another week or 10 days, Congress will be gone for a month. And will we have addressed this issue? Not unless the American people stand up and hold Congress accountable, because I can promise you, what my good friends are saying at home is not what they are doing when they come right here.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my colleague for yielding because the issue of oil shale is, I think, the untold story that is truly one of the secrets to making, allowing America to be energy self-sufficient or even energy-independent. As you say, the vote was held here on the floor of the House to make it so that America couldn't use its resources. Some of my friends are fond of saying that America, under this Democrat leadership, is the only nation on the face of the earth that views its natural resources as an environmental hazard instead of a national asset. It is truly phenomenal. You mention that the oil shale resources that we have here, in the United States, in the lower 48, would possibly provide two trillion barrels of oil. Now, we throw around big numbers here in Washington; we are fond of doing that. But what does that mean, two trillion barrels of oil? It is not only more than the oil that is present in the Middle East. Mr. Speaker, it is more than twice as much as the entire earth has used in the last 150 years. It is more fossil fuel than the earth has used since it began, since man began using fossil fuel for energy. It is an absolute phenomenal amount of natural resource. And the thing that has made it accessible is that we now have technology that is available to utilize it and mine it in a way that is environmentally sensitive and environmentally sound. But what does this leadership say? What does the Speaker say? Oh, no. Oh, no, we wouldn't want to do that because, as my friend from North Carolina says, we believe that we can actually repeal the law of supply and demand. Well, I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, what my friends and my constituents at home say. They want to be able to use American energy for Americans. So we have got to conserve. We have got to find that alternative fuel. But in the meantime, in the short-term, in the near term we simply must increase supply, onshore drilling, exploration, offshore deep sea exploration, utilizing oil shale, clean coal technology, making certain that we have enough refineries, more refineries to be able to refine the product that we have, all of those things go into the mix to making it so that America can be energy self- sufficient so that we can bring down that spike in the cost of gasoline at the pumps, and in the cost of home heating oil which is, although it is hot right now, it will be cool relatively soon. And our friends in the Northeast, who are so fond, apparently of this current Democrat majority, with this Speaker and this Democrat majority, they will find out what this leadership has brought them, and it has brought them incredibly skyrocketing prices in the area of home heating fuel. So I hope that people are paying attention to that as they look at their newspapers and as they look at their ballots, Mr. Speaker, as they evaluate who they believe ought to be leading this Nation. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I believe that the commonsense agenda is an agenda that embraces all technologies, embraces all technologies in a way to increase American supply of energy for Americans. We would hope that we would be able to do that in a bipartisan way. Our friends on the other side though, in terms of the leadership, haven't allowed that to happen. But we look forward to the day when we are able to lead and lead with both Republicans and Democrats to bring together, American energy for Americans and bring down the cost of gasoline for our constituents all across this land. I want to commend once again my friend from Georgia for his leadership on this and so many issues. I look forward to being with you again.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, here we are, Thursday afternoon, 3:58 p.m. All across the Nation, the day shift is ending, or about to end. Folks getting ready for the afternoon shift. Other folks that work the night shift are either just waking up or just going to sleep to get prepared for another day, another day of work. Where is the House? The House has gone home, Thursday afternoon, and the House has gone home, not to return until next Tuesday. What didn't we do this week, like we didn't do last week, and the week before, and the week before, we didn't address the number one issue on the minds of Americans and hurting the American pocketbook, and that's the issue of gas prices, didn't address it, nothing. Now, the majority will tell you that they brought to the floor a drill bill. What they brought to the floor today, Mr. Speaker, cynically, was what they called a drill bill. In fact, it was really just a ``no energy'' energy bill. Why do I say that? Well, the bill had eight sections. Six sections are either current law or are clerical. Current law: No new energy. One of the sections mandated project labor agreements that would increase the construction costs of Alaskan pipelines by as much as 30 percent. Increasing costs: No new energy. The final section would increase the bureaucracy and the red tape for any new energy production. It didn't open any exploration onshore. It didn't open any exploration offshore. Increasing costs: No new energy. Now, what is the solution? Well, the solution is what the American people know, and that is that it's a broad array of items. It's conservation. Americans are doing an incredible job of trying to conserve. We're using less energy than we did last year. Conservation is the key, and we can all do more. It's finding alternative fuel, that fuel that will allow the 21st century to be an American energy 21st century. That will take a little while. So, in the near term, in the short term, what's the solution? Mr. Speaker, you know what it is. It's what your constituents tell you about. It's increasing supply. It is increasing the supply of energy, American energy for Americans. How do you do that? America has incredible resources. Onshore resources: We ought to be doing more exploration. We're only using 6 percent of the eligible land to be leased to find American energy for Americans onshore. Offshore: Deep-sea exploration. The vast majority of Americans support environmentally sensitive and sound deep-sea exploration. We ought to be doing that. Only 3 percent of the available territory is being utilized currently. Utilizing clean coal technology: We now have technology available that allows us to use coal of which America is, remarkably, the world's greatest repository of coal in the world, and we ought to be using that for clean coal technology. Oil shale, which exists in our western area: There are more than 2 trillion barrels of oil that could be extracted from oil shale in environmentally sensitive and sound ways. Mr. Speaker, as you know, we're doing none of that. Now, it's not because there isn't legislation for it. In fact, we have bills right here at the desk: H.R. 3089, the No More Excuses Energy Act; H.R. 2279, the Expand American Refining Capacity Act; H.R. 5656, to Repeal the Ban on Acquiring Alternative Fuels; H.R. 2208, the Coal Liquid Fuel Act. All sorts of bills exist. They exist, but we aren't allowed a vote. As you know, the majority party, the Democrat leadership, beholden to leftist individuals, will not allow a vote on the floor of the House. All we're asking is for a vote. We're not asking for a guaranteed outcome, just a vote. Give us a vote, Mr. Speaker. Why not? What are you afraid of? Why not have a vote? Why not respond to the demand of the American people and increase American energy for Americans? Bring down gas prices. We demand a vote. We hope that next week we'll see it.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank a special group of people, the millions of participants and volunteers of the Special Olympics. Next Sunday, the Special Olympics turns 40 years old, and we are extremely grateful for the opportunities they provide to the intellectually disabled members of our community. The goal of the Special Olympics is simple to express, but monumental to achieve: to empower individuals to become physically fit, productive and respected members of the community through sports training and competition. Not deterred by the challenge of their tasks, the organizers of the Special Olympics programs have performed phenomenally and made a serious impact in countless lives. Ironically, their extraordinary results are likely due to their focus on the games, and not the winners. This is apparent from their oath, ``Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt,'' a message from which we can all learn. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to recognize and congratulate the Special Olympics on their 40th anniversary and to wish them continued success in their most worthy cause.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6455, the NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act. I want to thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Frank, for his willingness to bring this bill to the floor. This is an easy bill to understand. What is a little difficult to fathom is why this bill has been so star-crossed, pun intended. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson) proposed this idea first several Congresses ago, and the House has passed it several times in substantially the same form, this year with the help of the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). For reasons that aren't clear, it has always had a harder time escaping the gravitational pull of the other body; although, it's always had support. This year, the Senate acted but sent back a Senate- numbered bill with some minor amendments, and since the bill contains a revenue provision and thus has to be a House-numbered bill to go to the President, we are sending the Senate-amended language to them in this bill. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson) speaks eloquently about the importance of the space program to the American economy, to United States national security, and to the advancement of science, and I'm honored to yield to my friend from Texas at this time for such time as he may consume. (Mr. CULBERSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to say how pleased we are that this bill has come to the floor. I want to commend my friend from Texas for shepherding this through previous Congresses. I want to commend the gentlelady from Texas for painting a picture of the wonder of NASA that we all know and love. The byproducts of the NASA program have been remarkable. I remember myself that day in July of 1969 when we landed on the Moon, and watching that, and what a special source of pride that was for all Americans. I remember thinking--actually, every time that NASA has a flight--the incredible energy that it takes to boost those rockets into space. This bill is going to get something that's very special on the floor of this House, and that's a vote; that's a vote, Mr. Speaker. We would appeal to the Democrat majority leadership to allow a vote on other bills, other bills that have items of import, like the energy that it takes for every single American to live each and every day. Just a vote, that's all we ask for, just a vote. We had many of our friends come to the floor earlier today and talk about the issue of energy. And we, on our side of the aisle, believe that a comprehensive solution is absolutely necessary. We've got to have conservation, and Americans are doing their share on that score as we speak. We've got to have an alternative fuel source. And I'm one of those that's hopeful that it's not a source of energy that is selected by this Congress but that utilizes the ingenuity and the entrepreneurship and the genius of the American people to come up with that alternative fuel. But we know that we also need a short-term, a near-term solution, and that's the increase in supply. And that's what we ask for for the floor of this House is to allow a vote on an increase in supply for onshore fossil fuels, for offshore deep sea exploration, for clean coal technology, for oil shale, for increasing refining capacity so that the energy that was put into the space program can be harnessed for the energy that will solve the challenges that we have for our Nation in terms of American-made energy for Americans. So that's what we ask for, Mr. Speaker, a vote, a vote not just on this bill--which we know we'll get, and we're very grateful for that-- but a vote on the bills of significant import to the American people in this day and in this time so that we can make certain that we do, in fact, increase American-made energy for Americans.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I'm pleased to yield to my friend from Texas.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my friend for his comments. And I appreciate just a glimpse into the wonderful genius of the American people and what we're able to do when we harness the energy of the American mind and have it move in a focused direction, like increasing the supply of energy. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to support this bill and I reserve the balance of my time.