Mike Rogers

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to Robert Stephenson on his selection as Michigan's 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year. Over his 15-year teaching career, Robert Stephenson has helped to inspire and enlighten students across Mid-Michigan. Stephenson, a third grade teacher at Wardcliff Elementary School in East Lansing, was selected from 20 regional finalists statewide. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and aims to provide teachers with the opportunity to interact with policymakers, provide a public voice for educators, and focus public attention on the importance of teachers. Using a hands-on approach, Stephenson's classroom activities engage students at a higher intellectual level. He is a role model to all his students and colleagues as he uses new and innovative teaching techniques to provide students a better learning experience. Stephenson joins a unique class of teachers from Mid-Michigan. He is the fifth teacher from Mid-Michigan to receive this award in the last 29 years, and the fourth from Michigan's Eighth district in the last 10 years. Madam Speaker, education is the cornerstone of our future and great teachers lay the foundation for our comminutes. I wish to extend my gratitude to Robert Stephenson for his many years of service to the students in Michigan. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Stephenson for his years of dedication to teaching and his recent selection as Michigan's Teacher of the Year.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2997, The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 302 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $384,000 for the detailed investigation of the most promising technologies to determine the value proposition that is needed to interest commercial partners in the further development of bio based production of fuels, chemicals, and materials. Approximately, $150,000 is for salaries; $150,000 is for materials and supplies; and $84,000 is for equipment purchases and travel costs. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $346,000 for fire blight research to be shared by Michigan State University in East Lansing Michigan and Cornell University in New York. Approximately, $184,000 is for the salaries of laboratory and $162,000 for field research personnel and for materials and supplies at Michigan State University. The remaining funds will be allocated to Cornell University in New York. Researchers at both universities will collaborate on findings. Michigan State University has obtained funding from the State of Michigan, Michigan Apple Committee and industry sources and will continue to fund the fire blight research at MSU at a level of $112,000 in FY10. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding for $104,000 for research of Armillaria Root Rot. Approximately, $70,000 is for the salaries of laboratory researchers; $13,000 is for operating costs; $1000 is for travel to field sites; and $20,000 is for equipment necessary. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $246,000 for research of Bovine Tuberculosis. Approximately, $174,000 is for Salaries and support for 3 graduate students; $60,000 is for Laboratory supplies; and $12,000 for research related travel. Michigan State University will provide $127,500 in-kind funding. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $147,000 to improve fruit practices for sugar beets and dry beans. Approximately, $100,000 is for salaries and expenses and $47,000 is for lab maintenance and equipment. In addition to the federal funds provided by this grant, this research is supported by personnel, equipment, and facilities funded by the Michigan agricultural Experiment Station and Michigan State University Extension. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $266,000 to enhance the environmental sustainability of food and agricultural systems under research at Michigan State University. Michigan State University expects to leverage at least $150,000 in state, local, and private funds to expand the impacts of the special grant. Approximately, $285,000 is for salaries of 11 researchers; $15,000 is for travel expenses; $10,000 is for farmer stipends; $25,000 is for materials and supplies; and $81,000 is for communication and outreach. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $4,545,000 for wood utilization research with Michigan's share being $728,545. The requested funds will be used for salaries of key personal and graduate students. Grant funds will also be used to purchase equipment, materials and supplies needed. Michigan State University provides in excess of $500,000 in support of this project annually through use of lab space, equipment, and personnel assigned to the project. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers Bill Number: H.R. 2997 Account: United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services (USDA/CSREES) Special Grants Account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Michigan State University Address of Requesting Entity: 484 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 Description of Request: Provide funding of $346,000 for Phytophthora Capsici Research to reduce the loss experienced by Michigan vegetable growers from this disease Approximately $100,000 will be to fund graduate and undergraduate students and technical staff. $246,000 will be for research, travel and equipment purchases.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, my appreciation for your years in the House and your great service here. Congratulations and great success in your new endeavor. I agree, Madam Speaker, with President Obama and Warren Buffett: under this bill, ``Electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket.'' Under this bill, we create the single largest energy tax in United States history. Warren Buffett called it ``a huge tax, and there's no sense calling it anything else. Very poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity.'' Last night, in my district, a utility company calculated its estimate of what this bill will cost the families in my district. It will increase their electric rates $500 a year--not your statistics from those who don't live in a place like Michigan; $500 a year. And that doesn't incorporate the fact that their clothes will now be more expensive, their groceries will now be more expensive, their school supplies will now be more expensive. If you haven't noticed, people are hurting around the United States. Adding costs today is absolutely the wrong direction. It will destroy $1,400 in wages for the average family in my district. $1,400. That's a $2,000 swing. People in Michigan, who are already under assault, want to know what they're getting for that $2,000 swing. Well, they won't get a new nuclear plant. Not one. They will not get the modern electric grid that they need to carry clean electricity. Not going to get that. And they will not get a level playing field with China and India. And--make no mistake--they want to steal the jobs that make up our middle class. They're active and aggressive in doing it. You pass this bill, you won't be able to build anything in the United States of America. Their jobs are going overseas. They will also see their gas prices rise, on average, 70 cents--70 cents a gallon to families who are already under financial crisis. And who gets their money? Wall Street will. This bill takes millions, billions out of families' budgets and launders it through Wall Street. The same people who brought you the credit default swap in the housing market are now going to sell you carbon offset swaps. Billions of dollars from average Americans sent to Wall Street. That's no solution. If you want an economy built on foreign manufacturing and financial engineering, vote ``yes.'' But if you still want to live in a country that makes things, in a country that grows its own food and actually produces its own energy, vote ``no.''

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2647, The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: Operations and Maintenance--Operating Forces Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Peckham Industries Address of Requesting Entity: Peckham Industries, 2822 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lansing, MI 48906 Description of Request: Provide funding of $2,600,000 for a Cold Weather Layering System (CWLS) for U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Forces. The Marine Corps requirement for the Polartec components to CWLS is 202,000 units. $2,600,000 will fund approximately 13,000 sets of CWLS. The CWLS is designed to reduce the weight and volume that a Marine operating as dismounted infantry must carry to accomplish combat missions in mountainous and cold weather environments.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2647, The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers (MI) Bill Number: H.R. 2647 Account: Other Procurement--Aviation Support Equipment--Aviation Life Support Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Peckham Industries Address of Requesting Entity: Peckham Industries, 2822 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lansing, MI 48906 Description of Request: Provide funding of $5,000,000 for a Multi Climate Protection System (MCPS) for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircrews. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps requirement for MCPS is 21,500 units. $5,000,000 will fund approximately 2,500 sets of MCPS. MCPS is designed to replace outdated garments that are bulky, do not fit the aircrew population, have minimal water and wind resistance, and limited moisture management and cannot decrease or increase thermal value by addition or removal of layers. The majority of aircrews do not have this system.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, we have, I think, the most important decision we're going to make in the years ahead on how we look at the war on terror. Prior to 9/11, look at the events. The 1993 Twin Tower bombings, the USS Cole, the East African bombings. And after the 1993 bombings, we decided to continue our effort to treat the war on terror as a law enforcement exercise, and it led all the way through to 9/11. And this body, collectively, said we have a very important decision to make now after the 9/11 attacks. We said it's either going to be a crime or it's going to be an act of war. This body, in overwhelming numbers, decided it was an act of war, and we aggressively pursued our counterterrorism efforts around the world, and we pursued those who attacked us with absolute vigilance, and it has been successful. No one can argue it has not been successful. Think of what happened right after that. We policed up Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and because he had been schooled in the United States, the very first thing he told those who grabbed him was, I want a lawyer. Thank goodness, thank the good Lord above, they said, Sorry, pal. You're not a United States citizen. Have a seat. As for those interrogations between KSM and the other two very senior members of al Qaeda, our intelligence services tell us that 60 to 70 percent of what we know about al Qaeda and how it functions came from just those interrogations--60 to 70 percent. That's by the understanding of our intelligence community. From there, we pursued globally the effort to aggressively pursue those who attacked us and the network of al Qaeda. After the President said he would not propose reading Miranda rights as if they were shoplifters, imagine our shock when we found they had sat down with the Justice Department and with others and had cooked up a plan called the Global Justice Initiative to change the priority from intelligence-gathering on the field to law enforcement on the field. What does that mean? It means, when they were picking up somebody on the battlefield in Afghanistan, after attacking, say, the 82nd Airborne or after putting out IEDs to kill civilians or Afghans or U.S. soldiers, he was brought back to a detention facility, and they said, We might want to prosecute that person in the future. Sir, you have the right to remain silent. I cannot tell you how dangerous that is to our national security. It is not a law enforcement event. It is an enemy combatant event. The information that that individual has is perishable. Maybe they're making those IEDs. Maybe they're financing the networks that make those IEDs. Maybe they're the ones who are planning the very next attack on U.S. soldiers. We need them to talk. We don't need to treat them like United States citizens. As a matter of fact, for those on whom they have been doing this, the individuals aren't even Afghan citizens. They're from around the world, directly and intentionally coming to Afghanistan to kill U.S. soldiers. This is a serious shift in policy on how we pursue our counterterrorism efforts--the most important, I think, we will debate here. This is our chance to send a message, a very clear message. As the senior FBI official told us, the reason they're going to do this and are doing this is that they want to err on the side of prosecution. I say, Mr. Speaker, that we err on the side of the safety of the men and women in our United States military and of the people right here at home. If you don't think it's happening, it is. A letter dated June 12 from the FBI Director says that the proposal would also ensure, when possible, that the intelligence is gathered in a manner that best preserves future options vis-a-vis the individual terrorists at issue, including gathering evidence in a manner that ensures its integrity in the event a prosecution becomes the most desirable approach, which is FBI legalese speak for saying, Listen, we're going to treat them all like we're going to prosecute them. Imagine the tension between the CIA and the DIA and the other law enforcement community efforts when these enemy combatants come in, when somebody reads them their rights, when the CIA knows they have information that may save the life of a soldier. The confusion that we interject onto the battlefield is wrong, and it is dangerous. Mr. Speaker, this is our chance. This is our chance together, in a unified way--in the same way that we stood up after 9/11 and said, It is not a crime; it is an act of war; enough is enough. Don't give them the rights of a United States citizen. Give them the rights of an enemy combatant and all that comes with it, and we help the 101st Airborne Division.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move that we reconsider the vote.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, the motion to recommit contains language that I placed into the June 15, 2009, Congressional Record to prohibit any funds in this bill from being used by the Department of Justice to provide Miranda Rights to detainees in the custody of the United States military in Afghanistan. House Resolution 544, the original rule for consideration of this bill, limited amendments to those received for printing in the portion of the Congressional Record of June 15, 2009, or earlier, designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Therefore, under the terms of House Resolution 544, the original rule adopted for consideration of this bill, my amendment was in order to be considered during the amendment process in the Committee of the Whole. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that clause 2 of rule XXI of the rules of the House prohibits a limitation from being offered on an appropriations bill if it contains legislation. Since my amendment did not constitute legislating on an appropriations bill, my amendment would have been in order as a valid amendment during consideration of the Committee of the Whole. However, the highly restrictive second rule that we operated under for consideration of amendments in the Committee of the Whole prohibited me from offering my amendment, an amendment that would have been in order under the rules of the House, despite the fact that I testified at the Rules Committee asking that I be allowed to offer it. Had my amendment been allowed to be offered during this consideration of amendments to this bill, this motion to recommit would not be subject to any parliamentary challenge. Therefore, I ask the Chair to find this motion to recommit in order so that Members can consider this very important amendment to prohibit the extension of Miranda Rights to expected terrorists, non-U.S. citizens, captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard on the point of order.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how disappointed I am with the majority for not allowing a fair and free debate on some very important issues. Obviously this bill spends too much money. It has earmarks that have never been vetted. But we brought other issues of equal importance, things that the American people deserve to hear. I had an amendment. It says we need to stop Mirandizing terrorists in foreign countries, Afghanistan, for attacking our troops and being detained. Miranda rights--You have the right to remain silent. You have a right to a lawyer. It's happening now. And the worst part of this is that even the majority wasn't briefed or, if they were, they're not talking about it. We have one opportunity to stand up today and say, Enough. You can't criminalize the battlefield. We have FBI agents who, after our soldiers picked them up and after trying to kill members of the 82d Airborne or the 101st or our Marines, take them to the detention facility, and they read them their rights. They're non-United States citizens. They're foreigners. We just wanted the opportunity to tell America, We think that's crazy. You're going to tell a terrorist who just came off the battlefield that you have the right to remain silent. How much information will they not give that might save the life of one of our soldiers in Afghanistan today? And the biggest travesty today is, you never gave us the opportunity to talk about it, to move the issue forward. We've had about three different opinions from this administration on if they are or are not doing it. Well, I can tell you--I've been there, and I've seen it. Our soldiers are going to get frustrated. I know our FBI agents are frustrated. Our law enforcement community is frustrated. And the best you can do is say, Debate is inconvenient for us today, and some things are just better left unsaid, like the billions of dollars in this bill that spends too much money, money that we don't have, that we're going to have to borrow from the Chinese or the Russians or the Saudis. Or the fact that we look those soldiers in the eye and say, We can't even have the opportunity to talk about it on the floor of the House.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2847, FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Requesting Member: Congressman Mike Rogers (MI) Bill Number: H.R. 2847 Account: COPS Technology Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Oakland County Sheriff's Office Address of Requesting Entity: 1201 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, MI 48341 Description of Request: Provide funding of $1,025,000 for law enforcement technology to assist in fingerprinting and criminal identification. This funding would be used to complete a three part biometric identification enhancement project. $450,000 would be used for software, $125,000 would be used to upgrade patrol cars, and $450,000 would be used for portable devices. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency for this request on behalf of ``CLEMIS,'' a consortium of 105 law enforcement agencies located across nine counties in Southeastern Michigan. CLEMIS contributes wireless network technology to the mobile data computers in patrol vehicles.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I commend my friend, Mr. Berman, for his efforts on this bill, as I do Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen on her efforts on what I think is the most pressing national security issue we face today, Pakistan. And when you look at the troubles that they face and what a unique country it is, they are a nuclear-armed sovereign nation that has expressed concern about its eastern neighbors, the Indians, and all of the effort, both diplomatic, economic, militarily, intelligence, that they apply to what they view as a problem sect. And to the west of that country, even in their Constitution, they treat differently. They give it special autonomy: the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And that's the area that has caused Afghanistan and the United States untold misery, danger, something we ought to worry about. And this bill in the most arrogant way says, You know what? We know better than you, Pakistan. We're going to make you set up a teachers' pay scale if you want our Federal money, if you want U.S. money to help us in the fight against terrorism that is ongoing today by people like Batula Masood, who are trying to kill Americans today and make further unstable the Pakistani Government, or Fazlullah, who has moved into the Swat area, the first time somebody from the tribal areas has taken this effort. Fazlullah, for the first time, took some settled areas. It used to be a great area--as a matter of fact, a tourist area in Pakistan, the Swat Valley--and the military has had difficulty in trying to extract them from what is a settled area in Pakistan. That is real trouble. Many of you have quoted ``The 60 Miles from Islamabad.'' That was the Swat Valley movement, and it was done by Fazlullah, 30-something years old, rabid Taliban leader, who was able to, in just a very short period of time, take over most of the police stations. You have al Qaeda senior leadership moving freely with the Haqqani network supporting their abilities in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Batula Masood, as I said before, has been engaged in terrorist acts not only against us, but the Pakistanis. Their government is at risk, their people are dying. This bill arrogantly says, listen, we want you to help us in terrorism, but let me tell you what's important, your teacher pay scales. Those are important. This is a sovereign nation. As a matter of fact, Senator Kerry--we don't often agree with Senator Kerry--an interesting quote: ``Well''--I won't use all of his language--``we're just doing their bidding. We're their lackeys. We're not in control. You guys (the Pakistani Government) are an American puppet, blah, blah, blah.'' What he was saying is, don't put all these arbitrary caveats on this bill. Let's support President Obama. He hasn't been there that long. He wants to implement his policy. He says he needs flexibility. I agree with him. This is one of the most complicated, complex problems we will face when it comes to national security. You even, in this bill--and I don't think you're thinking about what the implications are--through your labor agreements in this bill, inspectors are to publish reports listing the names and locations of every firm in the program. This is a nation beleaguered by terrorists. Why would you give them a list of targets in Pakistan published by the United States Government? It makes no sense whatsoever. You often talked about the arrogance of the previous administration telling people how they ought to live and telling them how they ought to govern. This is the most intrusive, most arrogant approach to providing someone assistance that is actually helping us fight terrorism in the most difficult area I can find in the world today. I am going to ask you to please take a look at this motion to recommit. It puts a little common sense back in it and says, you know what, we'll get to the teacher pay scale and merit-based system that you would like to get to maybe another day, but today we are worried about the safety and security of our soldiers in Afghanistan who are under attack from Taliban leaders, headquartered the Shura Council in Quetta, Pakistan. We are worried about the Haqqani network, who is developing the logistical support that they need through arms and other things to help target our soldiers in Afghanistan. We are worried about Fazlullah's efforts in his first settled areas of Pakistan. That ought to be our watch today. We are getting ready to send thousands and thousands of fresh United States troops to this region. Our focus has to be national security; it has to be their security. It has to say, Pakistan, we are a partner, not your mother. We are not going to hold your hand in this. We are going to be your equal partner in your fight on terror. Thank you for your commitment. We're going to stand up for those folks. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Yes, I am.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Continuing their proud history of service MSU recently won a United States Agency for International Development and the Higher Education Development Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative Planning Grant Competition. Nearly 300 applications were submitted for capacity building partnerships between U.S. colleges and universities and higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan African nations. Michigan State University is one of 40 winners that will each receive a planning grant of $50,000. This initiative was proposed during the Higher Education Summit for Global Development and subsequent regional summits held in Rwanda last year. It is the beginning of an ongoing campaign to assist higher education institutions in Africa. In total, the grants will help to develop plans to address regional and national economic development priorities in Africa such as engineering, health, agriculture, environment and natural resources, science and technology, education and teacher training/preparation, and business, management and economics. Michigan State University will partner with the University of Malawi to address critical 21st century environment and development challenges. Their project is titled ``Ecosystem Services: Linking Science to Action, in Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources.'' Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Michigan State University on their receipt of this important grant. They are truly deserving our respect and admiration.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the Democrat budget, and I do so reluctantly. We were hoping that we could come together on something that takes the country forward. When you look at how Americans are hurting--and I'm from Michigan, and nobody knows about hurting economies like we do in Michigan--it's painful, but the prescription that the Democrats offer is dangerous: Borrow more money. Spend more money. Tax the very people who are going to get us out of this recession--the small business people. It's not that we're taxed too little already, and we have to be taxed more. I mean this bill says: Listen, you know what? With your electric bill, Americans, you're not paying enough. We're going to charge you the largest utility tax increase in the history of the United States under this cap-and-tax program in the Democrat blueprint. We're going to borrow more in the next 10 years than for all the wars that we've ever fought combined. We're going to spend every penny of it. So what happens if you're building cars or if, actually, you work for a small business in Lansing, Michigan? You're getting up in the morning under the Democrat tax bill, and you're going to pay a lot more for your shower in the morning. You're going to put the laundry in before you go to work, and you're paying a lot more to do your laundry. Your kids are doing their homework on the Internet. They're paying more to do their homework on the Internet. You turn on your coffee maker, and you're paying more. You get out to the car of which you paid a sales tax. You pay a tax for your license plate. You pay a tax for your driver's license. You pay a State gas tax and a Federal gas tax. Guess what? Your gas bill is going up to drive to work under this plan. You get to work, and for the privilege of showing up at this small business, you're going to pay more for taxes for that small business. The electric bills in that place are going up, in some cases the estimates are, by 177 percent. You're paying more. You pay a city income tax, a State income tax, a Federal income tax. You pay your unemployment tax and your Workers' Comp tax. You get home, and you're paying a huge property tax. Oh, by the way, that's going up, too. When you go to call your Congressman to complain, you pay a special universal tax on your phone. You sit down to have a beer to relax, and you pay a Federal excise tax on that beer. You pay more for wine to get it in the country. You pay more for 1 percent milk. All of this is at a time when people are hurting. It's the most regressive tax you can propose. The poorest Americans are already taxed to death. This is the wrong prescription. It borrows too much; it spends too much; it taxes too much. I encourage my friends and colleagues from the other side of the aisle who talk about priorities to name me the importance of raising the cost of doing your laundry, of keeping your food cold, of cooking your food, and of keeping your house either warm or cool to the average American, and tell me that's a good priority for the future of job growth and development. Madam Chair, I would urge the rejection of the Democrat budget, and would urge putting some common sense back in this equation.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friends for bringing up and working on an issue that we all know is troublesome, smoking in America. We certainly don't want our kids to do it. We wouldn't wish it on any family. And sometimes we disagree on the smallest things and the paths to get there. And I think this is one of those occasions. But some of those differences have huge consequences. We even offered an amendment to say to the FDA if you're going to give them this authority, you ought to be able to get nicotine out of cigarettes. And the majority said ``no.'' So what we are going to do is we're going to have them create this whole new government structure to approve or authorize or regulate a drug that, if used as directed, will kill you--for the first time in the history of the FDA. It is a problem. But as long as we get to this place of eliminating smoking, maybe we are moving forward. But here is a huge problem, and I hope my colleagues listen well. Because for several years during the course of this bill, we have been told and told again and told again that this will not impact the general fund of the FDA. It will not. But, in fact, it will. There is a dangerous loophole in this bill, and we together today can close it. I will tell you why this is important. Because it does allow in the bill specifically for money to come from the general fund of the FDA to get this thing going for as long as 6 months. Six months doesn't seem like a long time. But let me tell you, the FDA is strapped for resources and failing in many of its core missions. Many of us here agree with that. We have often said it is not meeting its mission requirements. We need to give them more, more resources. This bill today takes away precious resources from some of the most dangerous diseases and cures that may be on their way at the time they don't need it. Do you realize last year the FDA inspected roughly 6,000 of 189,000 food facilities under its jurisdiction? Three percent. Americans eat food imported from 150 countries where they are processed in 189,000 plants, scattered from China to Fiji. But in 2007, the FDA inspected just 96 of those plants. You pose to the new FDA Commissioner a very dangerous set of policy decisions. Do I not inspect food plants to get this new regulation going today or for the next 6 months? The last salmonella outbreak had 550 illnesses and eight deaths. You will make, today, the FDA Commissioner choose between one more inspection and catching one more bad outbreak of salmonella or stepping up and starting to regulate, in this new way, tobacco at the FDA. The salmonella outbreak cost the industry about $100 million just for tomatoes last year alone. People are dying because we are not meeting our obligations for food safety. This bill jeopardizes the Commissioner from meeting that core and important element in food safety in the United States. But that is not all. Chronic pain. We are very close. They have new technology that is getting close to being approved by the FDA. You will make that Commissioner stand up and say, ``I'm sorry that you have arthritis and have waited and prayed every day of your life for that cure, that new medicine that is going to alleviate your pain and give you a quality of life. I'm sorry, we have to wait 6 months for that cure.'' Six months does mean a lot. Pediatric cancer, we are very close to some great treatments, some great treatments. If it is your son or your daughter in your family, are you willing to say, let's wait 6 months for that cure, for that medicine, for that very treatment that may save your life? You make the FDA Commissioner choose when you pass this bill today if we don't close this loophole. It is not done. Biologic drugs, we all know how important they are, what kind of cures they can bring, the innovation. They are already hurting economically. You're telling them, ``wait 6 months for that new cure for whatever disease ails you because we want to get this bureaucracy started at the FDA and take some of those resources.'' What scientist are we going to ask that Commissioner to remove from the bench to do that study for 6 months to find that cure? That is what we are doing today if we don't close this loophole. Alzheimer's, we have some great cures. But they keep telling us they need additional resources to meet the demands on the new medicines that are coming forward to either alleviate pain or alleviate the disease or slow it or even cure it, God help us all if we can do that soon. But you make the Commissioner decide, today, to stop that research, to stop that process, to slow down the clinical trial so we can institute this new bureaucracy on cigarettes at the FDA. Some pretty exciting stuff on HPV, cervical cancer is in the works.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. I will end with this because I can go on and on about all the diseases that mean so much to all of us, a very simple thing, close this dangerous loophole, vote for this motion to recommit, protect the families, stand with them as they pray each night for a cure for their diseases. Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.