Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, most teachers, firefighters, nurses don't earn $1.4 million a year. I wish they did in our society. I wish we valued the teaching profession. There was a study recently that showed that a good kindergarten teacher is worth $365,000 a year. Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, I don't think there are any kindergarten teachers in our country that earn it. I'm grateful that of course, as the gentleman from California pointed out, that this gentleman's abuse of the public trust was exposed and corrected, and the residents of that town will hopefully compensate their new city manager more in line with the standards. Finally, he talked about Republican, Independents and Democrats doing something and caring about teachers, caring about nurses. I have no doubt that in this Chamber and in our country Americans of all stripes ideologically and all parties care deeply about our nurses and teachers and keeping our streets safe, and Members of both parties here in the House today will have a chance to express that in a very tangible way, by keeping teachers in classrooms, nurses in hospitals, and officers on the beat by voting ``yes'' on the rule and the motion here today. With that, Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, my esteemed colleague on the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague on the Rules Committee, the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree).

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1606 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this rule provides for consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 1586 and makes in order a motion by the chair of the Appropriations Committee to concur in the Senate amendment. The rule waives all points of order against the motion. The rule provides that the motion shall be debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by chairs and ranking minority members of the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ways and Means. Finally, the resolution waives a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII, which requires a two-thirds vote to consider a resolution from the Rules Committee on the same day that it is reported. The waiver applies to any measure reported through the legislative day of Wednesday, August 11, 2010. Most of my colleagues here today, Madam Speaker, have interrupted their important activities back home in their districts to be here for this unusual, but not unprecedented, August session. As we stand here today, Madam Speaker, debating assistance for States and school districts across the country, I can't think of a better reason for Members to rush back to the Capitol than to invest in our children and in our future. We are here today to extend a lifeline to teachers in classrooms across the country to ensure that students and our future are not mortgaged by a weak economy that has forced States into drastic cutbacks. Despite the failure of the Senate to move this bill during many months of debate until it finally passed last week, the urgency is real. And the appeal and need is real as well. This legislation saves or creates 310,000 American jobs, specifically for teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses. In Colorado, this bill will save the jobs of 2,600 teachers. Yes, Madam Speaker, absent the passage of this bill, class sizes will be larger for students across the State, and we will be mortgaging our future because of the current recession. These funds will go immediately to States and prevent layoffs and in some cases rehire teachers that have already been given notice, as summer comes to an end, just in time as students go back to school. Students here in Washington, D.C. will be in school the week after next. Many districts in Colorado start in 2 or 3 weeks as well. This legislation, Madam Speaker, is completely paid for, primarily by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. Not only is this bill paid for, Madam Speaker, but this bill cuts the deficit by $1.4 billion. It never fails to surprise me when some of my colleagues talk about the spending of Congress--this, that, or the other. Well, here today before us, Madam Speaker, is a chance to cut the deficit. What an important and justifiable reason for us to return here to Washington in August: to cut the deficit. These funds will assist States so they can keep qualified teachers in classrooms, pay firefighters and police officers to keep our neighborhoods safe. We need to do everything in our power to ensure that the American people are protected during this recession and that our children are educated. Widespread layoffs in these public security and education sectors wouldn't only hurt the schools and children but would further depress the economy. These men and women who work in these professions, Madam Speaker, are the backbone of our Nation and our economy. Now that the measure is before us with bipartisan support from the Senate, I hope all of our colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation and quickly moving to a final vote so that we can expeditiously get the money out to those who need it. I encourage my colleagues to support the rule and the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the Senate amendment to H.R. 1586. The new school year is just around the corner. Families across our Nation are preparing to send their kids back to school; and the experience that their children have this school year directly depends, Madam Speaker, on our actions here today in this Chamber. The package before us today recognizes that we can't afford to stand idle while our schools are being hammered by budget crises across the country. In Colorado, districts are facing the deepest budget cuts in memory. Colorado school districts have cut more than $288 million out of their budgets for next school year, so the $160 million that Colorado will receive under this program provides much-needed funds. Now I want to describe that that is typical of the experience of many States. In no way, shape, or form are we avoiding making the tough decisions or tough cuts during this recession. The States have made those. Districts have made those. We have the opportunity today to make sure that those cuts don't affect the kids going back to school. What have districts done to balance their budget? They have reduced their staff size and salaries, they have increased furlough days, they have created larger class sizes, they have reduced instructional hours, cut after-school programs, established 4-day school weeks. We are undercutting the future of American competitiveness by getting in the way of the ability to educate kids today because we happen to be in a severe budget crisis. We each here today in this Chamber, Madam Speaker, have the opportunity to get these much-needed funds to States and school districts across the country. In addition, the budget of Colorado and more than half the States in the country assume that the FMAP increases will occur. If they don't, if this Chamber doesn't act here today, Colorado would have to come up with $245 million more in cuts; and, in most States, including my home State, those cuts would generally hit education, law enforcement, and higher education. So the extension is critically important not only for the low-income families that rely on Medicaid for health services but also for all public services that are so essential for our communities. Undermining public education during a recession is no way to build a world-class educational system, no way to create the economic engine of growth for our Nation for the next century when more than ever jobs will depend on what people know and their ability to think rather than what they can do with their hands. By passing this here today, Madam Speaker, we can help ensure America's competitiveness in a global, knowledge-based economy. Inaction today in the face of today's crisis would simply mean further erosion of our Nation's human capital, our greatest asset. Madam Speaker, this is not spending we are considering today. This is an investment. It's an investment in our most valuable asset, our children and our future. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and the rule.

Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentlewoman 15 additional seconds.

Mr. POLIS. I yield myself 30 seconds. Madam Speaker, when we are talking about cops and firefighters and teachers we have and we need, and we value cops and firefighters and teachers in the reddest of red States and the bluest of blue States across this great country, that's why, Madam Speaker, 16 Republican Governors have written to us, encouraging us to pass the money for Medicaid assistance here today, including, I might add, the Governor of the State of Georgia, as well as the Governor of the State of Alabama, calling on us to act because all of us know that we are in this together as a country. Regardless of where we live, we all need these basic services. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, as has been noted, this legislation will reduce the Federal deficit by over a billion dollars. With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut, a member of the Appropriations Committee, Ms. DeLauro.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee). (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Madam Speaker, I am particularly pleased that this legislation does not include $800 million in cuts to critical education reform programs, including Race to the Top, which has encouraged education reform initiatives and accountability across our country; including the Charter School Innovation Fund, which provides start-up money for new and innovative charter schools to help meet the educational needs of our most at-risk youth; and the Teacher Incentive Fund, finding new and better ways to compensate teachers for their hard work. This bill before us today, Madam Speaker, recognizes that we need both funding and reform, investment and accountability. One without the other will not close the achievement gap. Together, Madam Speaker, teachers in the classroom and the education reform initiatives that President Obama is pursuing in a bipartisan way promise to help end the vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance in this country and replace it with the virtuous cycle of opportunity and hope. With that, Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I move that the appeal be laid on the table.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Himes amendment and on behalf of its sponsor, as he has been called away for a short time to attend the funeral of a fallen firefighter. Our hearts are with those who are grieving today with my colleague, Mr. Himes. Mr. Himes' amendment builds upon other lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez spill. The Himes amendment improves an existing environmental restoration provision that authorizes a program to protect wildlife habitats similar to those ruined by a spill and have the responsible party cover the cost of purchasing or preserving such areas. I would also like to thank the Natural Resources Committee and Transportation Committee for working with me and incorporating provisions that address a number of my priorities in the manager's amendment; namely, including language that will better ensure that the Department of the Interior follows the law as it is supposed to. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Himes amendment and the underlying bill. The CLEAR Act is good and desperately needed policy to help prevent taxpayer bailouts for Big Oil's failures. The CLEAR Act is a model of transparency, fiscal responsibility and good stewardship. I call upon my colleagues to join me in supporting the Himes amendment and the underlying bill.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, with the passage of this bill we can do an even better job in Vail, Beaver Creek, and in our mountain communities in showing you a good time, Mr. Speaker. And in showing you a good time, Mr. Speaker, we're going to create jobs for the good residents of Colorado's Second Congressional District. I urge support of H.R. 2476.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 2476. Mr. Speaker, I hope that you have had the chance to visit some of the terrific winter recreation and summer recreation areas in Colorado's Second Congressional District, in places that are known across the United States and across the world, like Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, Winter Park. People know us for our skiing. Our alpine and Nordic skiing is among the best in the world. And yet there are many more opportunities to be both good stewards of our mountain resources and provide additional recreational opportunities for you, Mr. Speaker, our colleagues and friends from across the country, and across the world. With those recreational opportunities that we give for people to enjoy our mountains with summer activities like mountain biking, activities on the mountain, activities in our rivers, with those opportunities, Mr. Speaker, we create jobs, jobs for people who reside in Eagle and Summit Counties, and Grand County in my district, and other areas across the country. We have the opportunity with National Forest System land that we use for skiing to provide additional opportunities for seasonal and year- round recreational opportunities, providing enjoyment and fun for families across the United States, and promoting jobs in my district and others like it, and the communities that serve these areas. By increasing the extent to which the National Forest Service land is managed to allow for outdoor recreational activities, we can provide more opportunities for people to interact with nature, to gain an appreciation of our ecosystem and natural heritage. With this bill, we clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to permit appropriate seasonal or year-round recreational activities. This all continues to be subject to permits that are granted through a process that takes into account impact on the lands themselves.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and in opposition to the supplemental funding to escalate the war in Afghanistan. This Nation does face a very real terrorist threat, but the terrorist threat is a stateless menace, a menace that is not rooted in any one location or has any dominion in one particular area and is, in fact, mobile. In fact, the two countries that our Nation continues to occupy, namely, Iraq and Afghanistan are not significant bases of operation for al Qaeda. This discussion should absolutely include Pakistan and the border area, particularly between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have in Pakistan a better partner than we have in Afghanistan with regard to the war on terror. It is not an ideal partner, but it is a better partner than we have found, and I hope our Nation continues to work with the good people of Pakistan and the good forces within the Government of Pakistan to help keep the American people safe and the Pakistani people safe. We need to continue our efforts to battle terrorists wherever they are. How to focus on this stateless menace? We need to use intelligence gathering, targeted special operations, and a refocused emphasis on homeland security. All these are very costly and expensive and are ongoing and an indefinite occupation of Afghanistan reduces our ability to do the things we need to do to keep the American people safe. That's why I have consistently opposed the escalation of troops in Afghanistan and will continue to do so today by voting against the supplemental funding. There is a real threat, but the answer is not to continue to indefinitely occupy countries where we only breed more sympathy with those who would do us harm. We must bring the war in Afghanistan to a responsible end. That's why I will vote against the war supplemental, and I call upon my colleagues to join me in helping to protect Americans with a new foreign policy in the region.

Mr. POLIS

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

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1504, which recognizes and honors the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the most historic piece of legislation affecting the civil rights of people with disabilities in our Nation's history. Prior to its passage, too many people with disabilities received unequal treatment, didn't have the same kinds of opportunities as others Americans, faced inaccessible facilities and services, in both the public and private sectors. Many Americans with disabilities faced discrimination in education and employment, couldn't support their families, couldn't access jobs. As a result, Americans with disabilities were denied the opportunity to fully participate in society because they were not afforded the same rights that other Americans take for granted. The hard work of disability advocates and Members of Congress, many of whom are being recognized today, past and present, culminated with a bipartisan effort to craft and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since its passage, the ADA has worked to fulfill the Nation's goals of equal opportunity, independent living, economic self- sufficiency, and full participation. The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities across all sectors of society. It reduces barriers and promotes access and helps people with disabilities. That means our friends, our families, and ourselves fully participate in society. More than 50 million Americans directly benefit from the ADA. While there's undoubtedly more work to be done to ensure full inclusivity of all people with disabilities, today we celebrate a major milestone 20 years of civil rights under this act that affirm its ideals and the work ahead. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Leader Hoyer for introducing this important resolution and, once again, express my support for House Resolution 1504, honoring the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, it's my honor to yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, again I would like to encourage my colleagues to support this important step and march forward for civil rights in our country, celebrating the work behind us and getting to work to complete the task of ensuring that every American has access to the great opportunities this country offers. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.