Ted Poe

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it's been said: ``a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, eventually we're going to be talking about real money.'' Well, we're talking about real money in this stimulus package. Madam Speaker, let's make it clear. Spending money doesn't automatically stimulate the economy. That is a myth. Now, this package is, oh, 800, $900 billion. How much is that? Well, that means different things to different folks. Down in Australia, that is the entire cost of the Australian economy. Or looking at it another way, $900 billion, if you take every junior and senior in high school in every high school in the United States, this money could give them a 4-year college education at a private university--now we're talking about real money--and still have $150 billion left over. Or looking at it another way, you could pay off 90 percent of the home mortgages in the United States. This is serious business, Madam Speaker, and this bill does not stimulate the economy; it just spends a lot of taxpayer money. What we should do is let Americans keep more of their own money. Cut taxes for those that pay taxes. Then they have their own money, they can spend it the way they want to, and they can stimulate our economy. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, we are being told by the administration that unless America plays this stimulus package game, ``the country may never recover.'' Once again the politics of fear and intimidation are on Capitol Hill. If we open up this $835 billion package and look inside, we see all types of goodies for special interest groups that is nothing more than government waste. There are millions in the package for grant money for neighborhood electrical vehicles that go to government workers. Here's one of these $7,500 vehicles right here. It looks like a golf cart to me. Why should the taxpayer be forced to buy these contraptions? Does anyone really think this will help the economy? Well, the taxpayers are yelling ``fore'' while being left out in the rough, and Congress keeps adding strokes to the scorecard. This bill is supposed to get the economy back on the fairway, but it's just one bogey after another. Want to stimulate the economy? Let Americans keep more of their own money. No golf carts for government workers. The government is millions of strokes over par by playing this stimulus game. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act of 2009, to help protect the elderly, particularly those suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. This legislation is the work of three bills sponsored by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), and the gentlelady from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick). Last year, the House passed similar legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support. By creating a structure similar to the Amber Alert system used to locate missing children, H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act, will help assist States in their efforts to protect our elderly. The Amber Alert system was created by the Dallas Police in 1996, after the kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old girl from Arlington, Texas. In 2003, Congress created the national Amber Alert program. As co- chair of the Victims Rights Caucus, I have seen firsthand the huge success of the Amber Alert program in locating missing children. Just as the Amber Alert program, which is currently now used in all 50 States, was designed to notify the public when a child was missing, the Silver Alert will also notify the public when an elderly adult is missing. Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the big freeway signs that have Amber Alert, give the name of the child and the license number of the car that the child was taken in, and now we will see that also occur with the elderly in our community. Citizens can now offer any information they have on the missing person which will aid law enforcement officials in their search. Currently, the Silver Alert is used in 13 of our States. These States have reported nominal costs associated with operating the system, since they are able to utilize existing Amber Alert infrastructure to issue Silver Alerts. H.R. 632 establishes a nationwide communication structure to coordinate State and local search efforts, and expand the system to those States not participating and authorizes a grant to support State Silver Alert systems and communication networks. The bill directs the Attorney General to assign an officer of the Department of Justice to act as the national director of the Silver Alert program. The director will develop voluntary guidelines that States can use in implementing the alert system and provide training and other resources to State law enforcement agencies. The Amber Alert system has proven successful in locating missing children throughout the country; so too has the Silver Alert system in States currently using it. By establishing the Silver Alert system nationwide, H.R. 632 will help coordinate State efforts in protecting older Americans the same way the Amber Alert system has for missing children. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the cosponsor of this bill, Mr. Bilirakis from Florida.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009. As founder and co-Chair of the Congressional Victims Rights Caucus, I believe it's important to advocate on behalf of all victims, especially our seniors. This is why I am a cosponsor of this important piece of legislation to protect our elders. Elder abuse is a serious issue facing the country, and whether abuse is happening in homes or senior care facilities, we must do what we can as a Nation to protect these seniors. I believe that because seniors are often unable to defend themselves from mistreatment and abuse, that we must work together to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. Currently, people over the age of 50 make up 12 percent of the Nation's murder victims and 7 percent of other serious and violent crime. Our eldest seniors, 80 years of age and over, are abused and neglected at three times the rate of all other senior citizens. H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act, sponsored by Representative Sestak, helps protect our older Americans from this type of abuse. Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide grants to State and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and courts, to assist in the investigation and prosecution of elder victimization. In addition to physical abuse, these grants also include identity theft, mail fraud, and telemarketing fraud as types of elder abuse. H.R. 448 authorizes the Department of Justice to also award grant funding to local law enforcement agencies and first responders that assist in locating the elderly that are missing. These grants will support programs that monitor older Americans in an effort to prevent them from facing future harm. In addition, the bill instructs the Justice Department to carry out a study of State laws and procedures regarding elder abuse and neglect and exploitation. The study will give us a better idea of where we stand and what more we can do as a Nation to address this serious problem. H.R. 448 also directs the Department to create a long-term plan on how to better prevent and detect elder abuse. The plan is also to focus on the treatment of victims, as well as to evaluate current elder abuse programs. Mr. Speaker, everyone has a grandmother, and the thought of our grandmothers being neglected and abused is outrageous. Nothing made my blood boil more as a judge to see a case where some elderly person has been assaulted and their case was on trial. Older Americans, whether they are our parents, our grandparents, or our neighbors, hold an important place in our society. They have lived long lives and given much to their communities and their families. The acts of abuse against them are intolerable, and they deserve the protection that we can give them under H.R. 448. We passed a similar bill under suspension in the last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, as Americans worry about the economy, Washington is using the politics of fear to promote a so- called stimulus package. This $800 billion bill will cost every man, woman, child and illegal in the United States about $2,700. However, we're told unless we pass this big spending bill, we're, in essence, all going to die. The intimidating tactics used by the proponents give money to special interest groups like museums, including, believe it or not, the Mob Museum. That's right. The Mayor of Las Vegas correctly claims the bill allows for millions of dollars to go to funding the Las Vegas show piece, the Mob Museum. I wonder how the money for a high dollar edifice to glorify organized crime will help out our economy. Obviously, the government should not strong-arm the taking of the people's money only to give it to this or to other special interest groups. Let the people keep more of their own money. Cut taxes for all those that pay taxes. Then with more of their own money, the people will decide how to stimulate the economy. After all, it is their money. And I doubt they will be buying tickets to a museum dedicated to organized crime. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we've heard a lot about stimulating the economy. We've passed legislation to stimulate the economy. The Senate is doing the same thing. It's all in the effort to get us out of this economic slump that we are going to supposedly pass legislation of $800 billion to move America forward to stimulate the economy, to have pro-growth. But if you look at this massive bill a little closer, I would like to ask this question: There are some programs in this bill--just a few that I've picked out; there are a lot more--that I question whether or not these will stimulate the economy. By Congress taking taxpayer money and giving it to certain entities, does it stimulate the economy or is it just more pork? Is it just more favoritism to certain entities? In the new Stimulation Economy Act, there's $4 billion that goes to neighborhood stabilization activities. What is that? That's the community groups like ACORN. You know ACORN. That's the one being investigated for voter fraud in several States, yet to be prosecuted, of course, but money to give to these organizations. How does that stimulate the economy? I don't know. Three billion dollars goes to wellness programs; how we can take care of ourselves better. Does that stimulate the economy? Maybe not. One billion dollars for census follow-up. What that means is after the census is taken, then a billion dollars is given to follow up on that. Eight hundred million dollars goes to Amtrak. You know, Amtrak loses money every year. We have to give them money of the taxpayers to fund this subsidy. Four hundred million dollars for climate change research. Now, I'm sure we all think we ought to study the climate and global warming and that sort of thing, but does that stimulate the economy to give $400 million to certain special interest groups to study climate change? Six billion dollars to colleges. No question about it. Universities and colleges need money. But shouldn't a bill that appropriates money to the universities go in an appropriations bill rather than a bill that stimulates the economy? Six hundred million dollars is going for new cars for government workers--not the average taxpayer but just government workers. Fifty million dollars goes to the National Endowment of the Arts. Don't see how that's going to stimulate our economy. I like this one a lot: $250 million for tax breaks for Hollywood movie producers so they can buy more film. Now, I don't know that those people in Hollywood need taxpayer money, but they're going to get it. And how that stimulates the economy, we'll let the taxpayers decide. The Coast Guard is getting a new ice breaker, $88 million. Stimulate the economy? Maybe not. Homeland Security is getting new furniture in the amount of $250 million taxpayer expense. Seventy-five million dollars for stop-smoking programs. I'm not sure that will stimulate the economy. And the one I like the most is $25 million for tribal, alcohol, and substance abuse reduction. Now, this is taxpayer money. This doesn't belong to the Congress, it belongs to the people. And we have the obligation to take the people's money and use it wisely; in this case, to make the economy better. I doubt if these programs that I mentioned--and many, many others that are in this massive pork bill--will stimulate the economy. It's just another way of giving taxpayer money out to different groups. What can we do to stimulate the economy? We ought to do the simple things. There are two things that I would suggest. One of those is a bill that Mr. Gohmert has sponsored, my cohort from Texas. It's no taxes for 2 months. Everybody in the United States that works, no W-2 taken out of their income for 2 months. When we have our own money-- that's the taxpayers--we will spend the money how we see fit, not how the government sees fit. Don't you think that might stimulate the economy in the short term? And in the long term, rather than spend money that we do not have, that we have to go in debt for, that we have to borrow from the Chinese of all people, and saddle that debt to our kids and our grandkids and our great-grandkids, why don't we have a tax break for everybody that pays taxes? Straight across-the-board income tax reduction. People keep their own money. They will decide how to spend it. They will decide better than government how to spend the money. These suggestions won't cost the government anything. Won't cost the people anything. It's an approach that I think that it's worth that we have a lively debate about on the House floor. It's important that we get out of this economic decline, but the way to do it is not to spend more money and make government bigger. And the stimulus package is a big spending bill for government. More government control, more government involvement in our lives, and it doesn't help the economy a bit. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, not only are taxpayers bailing out Wall Street, but the robber barons are repaying the American people by giving away jobs to foreign workers. That's right. Forget stimulating the economy by offering jobs to the taxpayers. It is reported by the Associated Press that the banks that received the largest amount of bailout money, more than $150 billion, requested over 20,000 visas for foreign workers over the last few years. As economic times have gotten worse, they requested even more visas. Last year, the same bleak economic period in which the ``Big Banking Boys Gang'' begged for a government handout, their foreign visa requests increased more than a third over the previous year. And just to be clear, these jobs were not for the so-called jobs Americans won't do. Quite the opposite. They were for corporate lawyers, senior vice presidents, and analysts. The average annual salary for these American jobs given to foreigners was over $90,000. Mr. Speaker, the American taxpayers are being played as fools. First, The Wall Street fat cats took the people's money, and now they're taking their jobs. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, we have no other speakers on this bill. I urge its adoption. Once again, I want to thank Mr. Lewis from Georgia for sponsoring this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Fleming).

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz).

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of this resolution, which supports the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week. I want to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for sponsoring this legislation. This nationwide effort seeks to increase public awareness and educate citizens about the prevalence of dating violence. The Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Initiative was spearheaded by teenagers across the Nation who chose to take a stand and put a stop to teen dating violence. The Initiative began in 2004, and is now supported by over 50 national, State, and local organizations. The call to end teen dating violence was formally recognized by the House in 2006. Including today, this body has three times designated the first week in February ``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week'' in an effort to bring more public awareness to a problem confronting today's teens. Last year, an organization called Teen Research Unlimited surveyed parents, teens, and tweens--tween is someone between 11 and 14, Madam Speaker--about dating violence. The results of this poll demonstrated the depth of the problem of teen dating violence. According to the poll, one in five teens who have been in a serious relationship report being struck in anger--either kicked, hit, slapped or punched--by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Further, one in three girls who have been in serious relationships say they have been concerned about being physically hurt by the individual that they are concerned about. However, dating violence among children is not limited to physical, emotional, and sexual assault. It can also take on the form of harassment via computer or cell phone text messaging or e-mail. In fact, 40 percent of the tweens who have dated now know friends who have been called names, put down, or insulted via cell phones or social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week provides an opportunity for parents to engage their children about dating violence and abusive relationships. The Teen Research Unlimited poll indicates that parents often do not know that their children are in relationships, let alone abusive relationships. More than three times as many tweens--20 percent--as parents--six percent--admit that parents know little or nothing about the dating relationships of those tweens. I encourage parents to use this week to talk with their children about dating and violence. To start the dialog, parents or teens can call the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 866-331-9474. The Helpline promotes awareness of healthy dating relationships by making vital resources available to help teens experiencing dating violence and abusive relationships. I encourage my colleagues to support this House resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I'd like to refocus. The purpose of this bill has to do with stalking. A few years ago, most of us didn't even know what stalking was. And now, most Americans know someone or personally have been affected by a stalker out there, whether it's a physical stalker or whether it's someone on cyberspace. It has become a growing crime in this country. Madam Speaker, as I mentioned before, I think the Constitution, in essence, says one thing--that we, as people, as individuals, have the right to be left alone. And criminals who stalk to harass and to put fear in the souls and the minds of individuals should be, of course, prosecuted. I thank Mr. Royce for his endeavors years ago to make this crime a national crime, and also an awareness of most individuals. So I urge support of this legislation, this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz).

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce). He is the original sponsor of the stalking legislation.

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I'm proud to have introduced House Resolution 82, establishing January as National Stalking Awareness Month. I hope this resolution serves as a unifying force for the community leaders, policy-makers, and victim service providers. The goal of this resolution is to raise awareness and encourage prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009 as National Stalking Awareness Month. Stalking, conduct intended to instill fear in a victim, is a crime that occurs in every State in our country. As the cochair and founder of the Congressional Victims Rights Caucus, I have spoken to countless victims and victim service providers about the dangers of stalking and the tragedies that have occurred in their lives. A January 2009 report from the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics found that during a 1-year period an estimated 3,400,000 people in America reported being stalked. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, this is an increase of 2 million victims per year in the last decade. These statistics are a jarring reminder of the scope and seriousness of this crime. The Department's study also found that nearly three out of four victims knew their stalker, and approximately one in four victims reported some form of cyberstalking. Stalkers pursue and harass their victims and are often relentless. Cyberstalkers systemically flood their target's e-mail inbox with obscene, hateful or threatening messages. Cyberstalkers may also assume the identity of their victim and post information, fictitious or not, to solicit unwanted responses from other people. Although cyberstalking does not involve physical contact with a victim, it is still a serious crime. The widespread use of the Internet and the ease with which hackers can find personal information has made this form of stalking more accessible to criminals. By establishing January 2009 as National Stalking Awareness Month, Congress can help to educate Americans about the severity of stalking and encourage victims to report these crimes to the police. We recognize and applaud the many law enforcement agencies and victims' services for their effort to combat stalking and increase awareness of services available to stalking victims. Stalking has only been criminalized for 28 years. Unlike domestic violence stalking is about power and control over the victim. While stalking is now a crime in all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the Federal Government, stalking often leads to other crimes, including physical assault, sexual assault and sometimes homicide. Stalking laws are basic to the individual right of each person in this country to be left alone and their right of privacy. The best way to attack the threat of stalking is through law enforcement and education, and I encourage victim service providers, law enforcement prosecutors and community leaders to promote awareness of stalking, and I thank them for their efforts every day in making the lives of victims better. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz).

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional minute.